Festive Season Announcement
Dear colleagues,
It is hard to believe but the winter holidays are already upon us. Should you plan to visit us, please be aware that Adgistics’ offices will be closed between 25th December and 2nd January.
Naturally, this will not disrupt any of our services. In case of an emergency please get in touch with your respective account managers or email helpdesk@adgistics.com.
All of us at Adgistics wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!
Yours,
Team Adgistics
How Adgistics could help Unilever cut carbon footprint
Unilever is having trouble calculating the carbon impact of digital media. Although the major carbon impacts of print are reasonably transparent- cutting trees, making paper, printing pages and shipping products around the globe, many agree that the digital path is also far from perfect. According to Greenpeace, by 2020 the world’s server farms will consume more electricity than France, Brazil, Canada and Germany combined.
So, how could Adgistics help Unilever make the world a greener place?
Our Brand Centres provide a single point of reference for tens of thousands of users worldwide. Adgistics’clients and partners do not need to keep copies of the marketing materials on their machines because they know they have access to the most up-to-date versions anytime anywhere. Should creative collaboration be required, there is no need to throw images or videos around – any number of users can work on a single version of the file in the cloud. By not storing redundant copies of an asset on personal machines, the use of outdated versions is prevented and server space is saved. Fewer server farms require less energy. Consuming less energy is a pretty efficient way of cutting your carbon footprint.
Mr Di Como, we are happy to elaborate.
Adgistics Digest #11: What you should have read in November
Turbulent times: while the media discuss various scenarios of
the allegedly looming economic apocalypse, Apple gets in trouble over poisoning a village in China and Daimler kills the legendary Maybach brand. Vigilant advertising watchdog ASA has noticed that Lynx ads are a touch too frivolous and may even be inappropriate for children. Lynx retaliated with a video apology, which will probably secure more customers than the original campaign would have. If you are still reading, chances are, you are into advertising; the fine people at Adweek have put together what they believe to be the top 10 commercials of 2011.
Story of the month
Adgistics comes to North America
For the last year and a half we have been exceptionally busy, running in- and out of meetings, scoping businesses, consulting partners and designing solutions. As a result of all the hard work, our client portfolio has doubled in the 14 months up to November 2011. In addition to a number of big wins in Europe, Adgistics’ Brand Centres have attracted a lot of interest in the New World. Our remote personal assistance centre may be legendary but nothing beats a face-to-face chat. With a new office opening its doors in Toronto, we are able to provide even better service to the world’s busiest market. With pride and fanfare, we announce the launch of Adgistics’ first operational company outside of the UK, Adgistics North America.
http://goo.gl/0RYqv
Marketing
Dude, you are a barista
The Samsung ad enjoyed impressive viral success before even hitting TV partly due to a good and honest script, partly because few people expected anything of quality from Samsung. While the witty ad will without any doubt recruit quite a few customers, it fails to comprehensively attack the iPhone. The main points of the video, that the new iPhone looks very much like the previous model and that it could have had a larger screen just support the opinion that many of those who criticise Apple just “don’t get it.” In the words of John Gruber, “Bigger is not necessarily better.”
http://goo.gl/TkuPV
Tesco “gets it”
Tesco, on the other hand, clearly understands technology. The virtual store project developed for Homeplus, their South Korean arm (ironically, co-owned by Samsung), won a Grand Prix in Cannes and is currently running a full-time trial in Seoul. The Cannes festival even added a new category, mobile Lions, to next year’s list, but that may just be a coincidence. At home, Tesco experimented with embedding augmented reality into the online shopping experience. A simple plugin allows customers to get a full 3D view of the item they are interested in. Although it is hard to evaluate the process without testing, the concept seems clever, practical and easy to use.
http://goo.gl/cEBw9
Naughty colors
United Colors of Benetton are professional provocateurs. Their ads have been challenging (offending) people of all social, racial and religious groups since 1980s. This time the unhate campaign has depicted world leaders passionately kissing their political nemeses for world peace. Admittedly one of the least appropriate images caused a predictable media storm, successfully (and affordably) promoting the campaign around the world. The White House and the Vatican took the ads very seriously and were not amused. Not as seriously as Fox News but considering the shots feature homosexual kisses, it could have been worse. It is yet unclear whether the ads will help the troubled company regain some of its former glory but as last chance shock therapies go, Benetton clearly knows the trade. For some reason, people seem to find kissing politicians more offensive and inappropriate than the ad making fun of Robert Mugabe and the late Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin.
http://goo.gl/Fzmo6
Technology
Waking up
When one looks at recent valuations of the popular Social Media platforms, it becomes evident that contrary to the famous saying, stepping into the same river twice is quite possible if one is in a good company. The market value of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Groupon and the more exotic Russian Yandex grew for some time, culminating in a number of successful IPOs earlier this year. LinkedIn shares went up over 109% on the first day of trading, those of Yandex and Groupon – 55% and 31% respectively. The sobering November saw Groupon shares lose 16% in a day and those of LinkedIn – 23% in a few weeks. The reason? Rising concerns that shares are traded at an unrealistic valuation. This shocking revelation doesn’t seem to have stopped Facebook, whose IPO, one of the largest in the history of the market, is expected in the very near future. Considering the conjuncture of the global economy, even supported by the rumours that the Social Media giant is due to release its own handset, the $100bn valuation looks a touch surreal. For those who do not follow the news on daily basis, The Street offers an overview of the top tech IPOs of 2011.
http://goo.gl/Uz3yp
Google challenges iTunes
Google got serious about cloud music. The new service, imaginatively dubbed Google Music, will provide infrastructure to access and purchase 13 million tracks and enough space to store 20 thousand of them. Following the deal-rich May, it was only a matter of time before Google would launch something big. The further development of the project followed a rather predictable route: if Facebook uses Spotify to stream music through its social network and Apple sells tracks online, what could Google do? The new music service combines both approaches inviting users to download tracks as well as share them through Google+. With the second direct challenge to Apple, first being the launch of Android phones in 2008, Google tries to take advantage of the breadth of its business empire. Considering Apple are pioneers in the market with an 8 year head start, PC user support and a solid fan club, the fight is easier started than won. On the other hand, Google Music may be the best alternative for those who, for whatever reason, don’t use iTunes. I guess, the success of the project depends on its usability that has so far, unfortunately, not been Google’s forte.
http://goo.gl/uhEje
Zeitgeist
The rebellious 99%
No matter what one thinks of the movement, Occupy Wall St is in many ways reflective of the mood and energy of 2011. Effective form of peaceful protest or pointless ramblings of hipsters who have too much time on their hands, what started as one of many similar left wing splashes, has grown into a wave that has lasted for months and covered hundreds of cities on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, it is almost hard to believe that a single man could have started something as rebellious, rude and spontaneous. New Yorker talks to Kalle Lasn and takes a peek behind the shabby curtains.
http://goo.gl/XzDP8
Holidays are coming
Christmas time is both magical and controversial, the height of compassionate idealism and mind-numbing hypocrisy. It is an emotional time, whether genuine or fake. The cards we send and receive, the presents we seek and expect, the parties we dream of or avoid, the family dinners, the TV specials – whichever way you look, Christmas is an emotional tornado.
Every time I hear the coke jingle I instantly remember the time I saw the ad for the very first time. I remember what my room looked like and what book I was holding; the snow behind the large rectangular window and the computer game I bought myself that day. Once the backdrop of the lazy holidays, Christmas commercials have grown to dictate the mood. Over 3,000,000 people have watched the John Lewis Christmas ad in just over two weeks. That’s as many as those who visit the Natural History Museum in a year. It has been reported that the clip has moved adult people to tears. It is an old song, but every Christmas seems to make us simpler. In 2011 we consumed more than expected and got sentimental over the corniest of clichés.
http://goo.gl/QuZL5
Like this:
The fire marshal, the singer and the future of brand management
I sigh in relief: two days of demos and talks, networking and keynotes, seminars and caffeine-rich tea have passed; mediaPro 2011 is over. Not that I don’t appreciate a legitimate excuse to talk about Adgistics’ vision but enough is enough. A trade exhibition is a great school for any marketeer. It teaches us to think outside the box, make swift decisions and keep calm along the way: no matter how much one prepares for the event, the unexpected is unavoidable.
Looking back, these are the mediaPro 2011 moments I am going to cherish and remember.
1. Half an hour before the show opened a fire marshal asked me to remove a number of potentially hazardous items, requiring a total rearrangement of our stand. I hold no grudges; the new look was actually much better.
2. A singer approached me, offering a new Vodafone jingle. Since Adgistics have been working with the communications giant for over a decade, the lady thought I could get her track into the ears of the ‘right people’. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. Trying to compensate, I gave a few, hopefully helpful, tips and was rewarded with a CD sample. Good music, by the way.
3. The conference programme of the event included some truly great seminars. I would like to specifically point out those of Richard Robinson (Google), Pippa Norris (Ministry of Defence) and Rowan Gormley (Founder of Naked Wines). I have also suffered through three of the worst presentations ever seen from companies that I won’t mention – a very helpful, albeit not too pleasant, experience.
4. The panel discussion hosted by Adgistics was a great success. It is inspiring to see an event that you organise work out so well in a theatre filled to standing-room-only. In spite of the Spartan environment, the panel members and the audience clearly had a great time.
So, what was it all about? As you already know, Adgistics invited five influential and internationally acclaimed marketeers to discuss the current issues and the future of brand management in general and, in particular, the extent to which the technology is going to determine brand success. We deliberately tapped professionals from disparate backgrounds who wouldn’t have discussed the topic in advance and, naturally, were free to say whatever they pleased. Representing the creative aspect of the industry were Nicolas Mamier (MD of Appetite) and Jerry Fielder (CEO of Winkreative); and on the client side: David Wheldon (the legendary former Director of Brand at Vodafone, turned angel investor) and Paul Davey, once famously entrusted with the Herculean task of bringing Smirnoff vodka to Russia. As a prominent advocate of marketing analytics, the international writer, consultant, academic and last year’s keynote speaker Professor Robert Shaw provided a sobering perspective from the world of numbers and algorithms.
There is no point repeating everything that was said: quite a few of you reserved a seat and enjoyed the debate live. Suffice is to say, the well-attended forum that was twice as long as the majority of seminars (including keynotes) will be remembered by the speakers, who answered some sharp questions, the audience, challenged by the unorthodox ideas and us, who put it all together. The event is over but there will be plenty more; watch this space.
Photos by Angela Confeggi
Adgistics hosts a forum at mediaPro 2011
Why should you care? (A subtle invitation)
Candy days
For companies looking for new suppliers, trade exhibitions are often a waste of time. One spends the best part of the day traveling across town to find oneself in a brightly-lit warehouse filled with success-hungry junior salesmen, who are often technically inept but eager to push their product nonetheless. Free sweets and souvenir giveaways are hardly an incentive to visit either – all in all, many such events are organised for participants to blow their trumpets rather than for technology seekers to discover something useful.
How is mediaPro different?
Two things should make you consider dropping by Olympia this year.
- If you are looking to improve your marketing efficiency, mediaPro, one of the largest events in the industry, does provide a great overview of a rather overcrowded sector. It is good for preliminary filtering – seeing what’s out there, cutting the list of prospective vendors from 100 down to more like 10. You can then have several five-minute chats and shorten that list even further. A few more demos and voilà- you have three suppliers shortlisted to send an RFP out to.
- Secondly, mediaPro offers a great conference programme. From keynotes to forums and workshops- you get to meet the people that are normally very hard to meet. Senior managers from Fortune 500 companies not only deliver keynotes but also participate in open discussions.
Brand success will be determined by technology
This year Adgistics invites you to participate in our panel discussion on the role of technology in brand development. Five A-list marketeers will share their experience and answer your questions:
David Wheldon
(legendary ex-Global Director of Brand at Vodafone),
Jerry Fielder
(CEO of Winkreative),
Nicolas Mamier
(MD of Appetite),
Paul Davey
(partner at Modern Marketing Solutions) and last year’s keynote presenter
Professor Robert Shaw
(international speaker, writer, consultant, director of Business Economics and honorary professor at Cass Business School).
As you can see, aside from being world-class marketeers, these gentlemen have very little in common. They come from very distinct backgrounds and have influenced and directed the growth of global brands using very different approaches. We therefore can expect the discussion to be lively and diverse. Can the technology around brand management be used to re-energise a brand? How can technology best help brands to thrive? Join us for what promises to be a fascinating morning at mediaPro.
The forum will take place 11.25 – 12.25 in the Marketing Technologies Theatre on Tuesday 1st November
Please email RSVP@adgistics.com to reserve a seat or make any other queries. If you are unavailable in the morning, Adgistics’ stand is right next to the theatre. Drop by any time – we will gladly let you know how it went and show you some of our latest client offerings – the new adidas global hub, the vibrant Cirque du Soleil Brand Centre, the next generation of the Network Rail system and the pan-European Ford dealer marketing hub.
See Adgistics at stand A20
Adgistics Digest #9: What you should have read in September
With the untimely death of Steve Jobs, the next few weeks will surely be overblown with millions of fairly similar articles touting various combinations of “brave”, “visionary” and “genius”. Should anything interesting be actually crafted on the subject, I will cover it in the next digest.
Meanwhile in our own back yard, at Adgistics we have completed the new adidas hub that will manage the brand’s advertising worldwide. As one of our founding clients, adidas has been collaborating with us for 12 years now. Yes, we are that good.
Story of the month
11 Oscars
In a nutshell: Interbrand’s new Best Global Brands report is out and features 11 Adgistics’ clients. Naturally, we are immensely proud to work with the best and celebrate their success as if it was our own. These reports are like Oscar nominations for brands, making us assistants to the executive producer at a large Hollywood studio. It is not a glamorous job. We do not get to go to the red carpet, our names do not open doors to exclusive venues, no-one cares what we had for lunch or how we spent the night. What we do get to do is run around a lot, organise stuff, help the guy who holds everything together and actually makes the movie. When the movie wins, we feel good. This year we have won 11 Oscars. Billions of people around the world are going to be watching, reading and listening to ads, passing by posters and delivering brochures managed by Adgistics‘ Brand Centres. One of our clients, HTC has joined the ranking for the first time; old friends from adidas and eBay have had a great year, their brand value has grown by 12% and 16% respectively. We didn’t do it ourselves. But we believe we played a small part in their growth. And that’s quite something.
http://goo.gl/Ndiac
Marketing
Some Nuts
How dull are pistachio nuts? A pub snack, healthier then crisps but oodles less sexy, even their colour is boring. To make something cool out of pistachios one needs a hell of an imagination. Furthermore, branding pistachios is quite a pain- try finding unique selling points when all products look the same. Well, guess what? As of September 2011 even I, someone who lives thousands of miles away from the States and doesn’t eat pistachios unless blind drunk, knows that somewhere behind the horizon lies a beautifully absurd place where mobsters, dominatrices and Winklevoss twins share the coolest snack in the world- Wonderful Pistachios.
http://goo.gl/FJovL
Toyota in Court for Stalking
Toyota is an awfully friendly brand, whose image promotes “family”, “moral values” and “eco-friendliness”. How on earth can the same people who gave us the Prius get sued for “intentional infliction of emotional distress; unfair, unlawful, and deceptive trade practices; and negligent misrepresentation, among other things?” It’s much easier than you think actually. In a bid to attract young consumers who, allegedly, like to punk each other, the company launched a campaign that very much resembled Michael Douglas’ ordeal in “The Game”. Now, imagine waking up in David Fincher’s movie – what could possibly go wrong..?
http://goo.gl/LdLdT
Technology
iPhone4S
Tim Cook had a tough day. He had to present a new product to a cult of followers that have been eagerly waiting for a year and a half. His predecessor, cherished by many around the world as a demigod, was gravely ill with no chance of recovery. Tim Cook knew that the new product was not nearly as impressive as the last one but was anticipated around the world with a capricious impatience bordering on hysteria.
Considering the cards, the new Apple team did a sterling job. The new iPhone will be good enough for ardent supporters, those previously oblivious to the comfort of the most popular smartphone at all and those who have the older 3G and 3GS variants. The only customer segment left bitterly disappointed are those, like myself, who have been playing with iPhone 4 for a year and a half, are bored with it and want a new toy. But we can wait.
http://goo.gl/CbaZ5
Building Galt’s Gulch
Inspired by Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, PayPal founder Peter Thiel is building a colony in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of San Francisco. Тhe novel depicts an alternate reality where a dysfunctional, incompetent, ultra-socialist regime governs the United States, people are taught that the humility is the highest virtue and that the strong, smart and able must work harder to support the incapable. The dissidents lose their businesses to nationalisation and are forced to quietly assimilate into the crowds. In a country fast spiralling into apocalypse, an apologist of the morality of rational self-interest, an individualist and a gifted man named John Galt starts a private colony for those he considers worthy. Hidden from the all-seeing eye of the masses, the movers and thinkers of the world who refuse to work to support the ungrateful and intellectually decrepit mob, retreat leaving the crumbling country to its fate.
John Galt was an ascetic ingenious engineer, philosopher, businessman and politician, who literally built the new world with his own bare hands. Peter Thiel is an ambitious and successful entrepreneur who plays John Galt. Nevertheless, the project that started three years ago is an interesting experiment worth following.
http://goo.gl/DhpNO
Zeitgeist
Sometimes, There’s a Man
Have you seen The Big Lebowski, the 1998 dark comedy with Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore and John Goodman? If not, you have missed out. A brilliant satire, a cult of its generation, the movie is charmingly absurd, sharp, creative and hilarious. Many good motion pictures have ardent fans. Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction is, deservedly, a prime example. Thankfully, Tarantino’s admirers never started a religion – things could have gotten messy. Dudeism, on the other hand, combines Chinese Taoism and the philosophy of Epicurus with the value system of “The Dude” – Jeff Bridges‘ hippy baby boomer protagonist.
http://goo.gl/sZ4q3
Loot or be Bullied
For those who still argue the origins of the London riots, UNICEF has published a study on child well-being in the UK, Spain and Sweden. Apparently, the once legendary cool and self-sufficient people of Albion have somewhat degraded over the last few decades. Not only are children in the UK obsessed with consumerism, helpless parents accept it as normal and keep buying kids high status objects to protect them from bullying. So, next time there is a crowd of teenagers looting an Apple store, don’t frown- the kids may just be seeking acceptance.
http://goo.gl/T4ukt
Adgistics Digest #8: What you should have read in August
There is something deeply wrong with this summer. Where is the lazy careless fun? Isn’t August supposed to be the month when one can have a casual three-hour lunch with a colleague and no one would notice? The London riots, the hysteria around the quasi-departure of Steve Jobs, the inclusion of the word ‘woot’ into the Oxford dictionary, the ambitious valuation of Rovio – every week saw a new major story unveiling. In the meantime, here at Adgistics, we have been celebrating the launch of the Swisscom Brand Centre. Designed in collaboration with Moving Brands, it takes the telecomm giant’s brand story to the masses. Check it out should you have five minutes, the system is partially open to the general public.
Story of the month
The departure of Jobs
On Wednesday, 24th August Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple and moved to become the chairman of the board. Expected as the event was, it caused a shockwave of truly bizarre proportions. Despite the predictable media hysteria, Jason Snell of Macworld wrote a rather sobering piece on why the world is not going to end just yet.
Irrespective of the future of Apple Inc., Jobs should be remembered and scrupulously studied by future generations of marketeers worldwide. His presentations are energetic, competent and genuinely passionate about the most insignificant of details. Whether unveiling the original Macintosh in 1984, or Mac OS X in 2000, the man looks and acts like a magician aweing partners and rivals alike.
Those unfamiliar with the history of the largest IT company in the world, will find this documentary informative. For those with a little more time (or passion for the subject) we dug out the interview Steve Jobs gave to Daniel Morrow of The Computerworld Smithsonian Awards Program. Recorded over 15 years ago, it sheds a little light on the extraordinary success Apple enjoyed after Jobs’ return, demonstrating the incredible insight of the man once dubbed the Saddam Hussein of Silicon Valley.
http://goo.gl/O1NRR
Marketing
The most inspiring pitch of the month was certainly delivered by the, at this point already famous, grad students from Atlanta’s Creative Circus advertising school. What would most young people do if they wanted Jon Hamm (the actor who plays Don Draper on the hit TV-series Mad Men) to speak at their commencement? Hire an imitator? Organise a public petition online? Try to approach Hamm through Social Media? Three students made Creative Directors of major advertising agencies pitch the idea to Hamm on their behalf.
http://goo.gl/WD7Li
Bloomberg Businessweek provides priceless insight into the world of 2010, putting together a list of brands most popular in the United States that year. Uninspiring as the result might be, it is calculated from an enormous amount of data and portrays a rather honest, if not too appealing, picture.
http://goo.gl/iLg7t
Last month we mentioned the media explosion caused by the discovery of fake Apple stores in China’s Kunming. After the digest for July was published, another few dozen stores replicating popular western brands have been uncovered in the capital of southwest China. At first glance the situation seems laughable, at the second- absurd and somewhat annoying. This well-argued article suggests that western businessmen are not exactly guilt-free, in their helpless naivety trying to command the consumer of the 21st century.
http://goo.gl/upZ1F
Business
In the middle of the month Google did what seems to make perfect sense: it bought Motorola Mobility. Unlike the ever-acquiring Facebook, Google has been sitting on a large pile of cash that is about to get $12.5 billion thinner. The decision of Android OS developer to buy a major Android mobile maker caused a surprisingly aggressive reaction of the market, forcing Google CEO Larry Page to explain his decision to the media. The interview didn’t seem to convince Standard & Poor who has advised investors to sell Google’s stock. In this report, Larry Dignan of ZDNet explains why the acquisition makes sense in half-a-dozen bullet points.
http://goo.gl/BsX8n
Had Steve Jobs not resigned, the news of the month would certainly be the incredible rise of his company. The headlines all around the world exploded in unison: Apple, the company on the verge of bankruptcy less than fifteen years ago became the largest in the world. The largest by market capitalisation, but who cares about the technicalities? In the sea of emotional reports, usually reviewing the history of the gadget maker, Ars Technica puts things in perspective, analysing various criteria of corporate valuation.
Although Apple is obviously not the largest enterprise in the world or even in the United States, the following piece is worth reading. Should you be wondering what Apple has besides a cult of edgy supporters eager to pay a premium, we have the answer.
http://goo.gl/zPUmO
Hewlett Packard, the world’s largest computer maker, announced its plans to “go IBM”; and leave personal computer and mobile devices to others. Avoid the instinctive reaction to see HP as the ageing wolf, leaving the pack due to its inability to hunt. By buying Autonomy, a British software-maker, HP may be doing a very smart thing that promises to secure company’s future for many moons.
http://goo.gl/opL5t
Media & Technology
Even for people who have enjoyed those hot August days in absolute safety, the London riots of 2010 were immensely frustrating. Most were appalled by the aggression of the youthful participants, some criticised the weakness of the Metropolitan Police. The only subject everyone seems to agree on is the importance of Social Media in street protests. Amongst the vast number of articles arguing the toss over the philosophical “is Social Media good or bad?”; the following piece examines the evolution of Blackberry smartphones from enterprise business tools to the favourite toy of jobless youngsters.
http://goo.gl/SynJu
Research In Motion has unveiled plans for a social network that will allow people to stream and share practically unlimited amounts of music for just £5 a month. The idea seems very neat: users will have online and offline access to 50 tracks of their own as well as the collections of their social circles. The screenshots look decent. The only, but obvious, handicap I could think of is that this obviously consumer-targeted service desperately lacks branding. The extensive and very positive ZDNet report refers to it as BBM Music- not the most inspiring of names. In the meantime, Ars Technica has analysed Blackberry’s position on the market and came to an unexpected conclusion: in spite of the 47% rise in earnings last year, the company is in serious trouble.
http://goo.gl/H0WyA
Zeitgeist
Can people who don’t work set hours have fixed holidays away from the office? Are we turning into the society of the obsessed, working every day to our retirements (or, rather, deaths) and enjoying it? When was the last time you went away for at least a week and didn’t think of checking work emails? Every age has its customs; the culture of our times seems to be calling for Worlidays.
http://goo.gl/hvrbE
Surrounded by crowdsourcing, we have lost respect for professional critics. If anyone can publish a review in blogs and forums, why would the opinion of so-called professionals be more important than that of your mate who really knows a good burger when he sees one? Since we are on the subject, why would the opinion of a paid writer be worth more than your own? You have access to the public, can write, you even got a special commendation for that report you wrote in school. What makes them think they know better? Tom Harrow offers nostalgic view on the art of food criticism.
http://goo.gl/Apcw7
What is a company worth?
Adgistics launches Insider
Assets are tangible or intangible resources capable of producing value. Adgistics’ largest tangible asset is our workplace, located a stone’s throw away from the southern side of Tower Bridge. The ground floor office is filled with smaller assets- the furniture, the computers, the video conference unit, the plants and so on. The table football and the Gaggia coffee machine are especially respected objects, somewhat blurring the line between a place of work and a family living room.
The main effects of a software house are, of course, intangible- the proprietary software and the know-how that have allowed us to stay at the top of our game for over a decade. However, when it comes to assessing the value of Adgistics, our most valuable assets are, without any doubt, human resources. Over the last year our company has welcomed a colourful mix of almost 20 new people. Naturally, our team is academically qualified and possesses impressive practical knowledge but this is where the likeness ends. We appreciate diversity because it provides a unique view on the challenges at hand.
Adgistics is enjoying an exceptionally successful streak. Every month adds to the list of our assets: new desks get covered with computers and notepads get filled with plans and ideas. Every month we manage to go a little further, grow a little faster, and develop something a little more advanced. The tangible assets are the tools that make our business operational; the intangible ones are what make it a successful one.
Insider is a new format for us. Limited to a paragraph of text and a captioned image, it will provide a little insight into the affairs of Adgistics. Although not restricted to office life, the section will, nonetheless, be mostly about our professional endeavours. Those who work with us know we take branding very seriously, going the extra mile, trying to learn as much about the client’s brand as possible. Genuine understanding of the brand’s essence is the crucial requirement for building an environment that would complement and enforce its spirit. Insider is laconic. We are not going to explain why our methods are the best in the world, there will be no propaganda. Should you have any questions- we will gladly answer any emails or tweets. Insider provides a peek behind the scenes; welcome.
Adgistics Digest #7: What you should have read in July
July has been surprisingly dramatic, with yet another winner stripped of the Cannes Lions, US presidential candidates debating on Twitter and The News of the World tabloid affair causing a storm that is far from over. In the meantime, Adgistics won a major new client, expanded into Australasia, established yet another strategic partnership with a creative agency and developed a new product. Details to be unveiled in a series of press releases, the latest addition to Adgistics’ offering introduces a strong element of brand management into its artwork automation technology. Get in touch for more details or wait for the official press releases. The normally relatively quiet summer period has turned out to be excitingly hectic this year.
Marketing
Scent of a man
The last time I bought an Old Spice product was over fifteen years ago. At that time I switched to Axe (Lynx), whose advertising unconditionally and wholeheartedly appealed to my youthful spirit. As I grew older, my taste changed in favour of the more mature brands that barely advertise at all. One thing seemed certain: the chances of Old Spice appearing on my polished bathroom shelf were close to those of a pleasant school reunion- non-existent.
In 2010 my perception of the brand changed completely. I even considered buying a set just to remind myself of the fragrance. The campaign developed by Wieden+Kennedy is pure genius. Immaculate both in copywriting as well as artistic execution, it not only created a lot of buzz- something many marketeers see as an achievement by itself; with over 1.4 billion impressions, it skyrocketed Old Spice Bodywash sales and practically reinvented the brand.
A year later, after the actor Isaiah Mustafa became famous and was, deservedly, offered 11 roles in various projects (as oppose to 3 in 2010), Old Spice was in need of a new face. Hiring the legendary actor/model Fabio seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, the “old” Old Spice guy turned out to be an image hard to top. So, P&G not only brought him back within just a few days of the first responses, they even organised a duel between Mr Mustafa and Fabio, a fight mano-a-mano for the affection of the public. Whether part of the strategy all along or an example of rapid reaction, both agency and client deserve the highest praise for this outstanding collaboration.
The uncertain Lions
Everyone within a mile of the marketing industry knows about the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. One of the most prestigious awards in the business, it is something like an Oscar for Mad Men. Being rewarded with a Lion is a career-changing experience, propelling the fortunate ones into the hall of eternal fame. The drama started with the independent Brazilian agency Moma Propaganda winning two awards in the Print and Outdoor categories. The highly controversial work has caused quite a storm in the professional community. The story took an unexpected turn when the suggested client, Kia Motors Brazil, announced it had never commissioned the work in the first place. In an unprecedentedly harsh decision, the creatives involved in the hoax have been stripped of the awards and banned from the next festival.
http://bit.ly/rrhxwv
One would think that scandals like this are exceptionally rare. Well, in the curious world of the Cannes Lions this is not strictly true. In 2010 the Grand Prix was taken away from Ogilvy Mexico when it was found that the work granted the highest mark of the industry had already been submitted a year before and not even shortlisted.
http://bit.ly/aLT4mQ
And then there was the 2009 WWF debacle with DDB Brazil submitting a work that suggested that the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York was nothing next to the losses the world annually endures due to tsunamis. Both the US office of WWF and DDB Brazil (!) managed to convince the public they knew nothing of the campaign.
http://bit.ly/r1FDg3
The good
Who said video ads ought to be 30-45 second long? German car-maker BMW has released what seems to be the first advertising music video. Almost ten times the length, it doesn’t actually say much but demonstrates the creation of the latest 1 Series vehicle. While unlikely to revolutionise the company’s branding, it sets an interesting precedent: product placement is yesterday; the game has reversed.
http://bit.ly/n9Bhmx
Google has introduced a special AdWords credit card to help the small- and medium-sized businesses that don’t have the budget for the campaigns they believe they require. The first vendor financing initiative, probably one of many to come, is good news for all the cash-strapped start-ups.
http://reut.rs/n6dfFC
The bad
Just a week after introducing a healthy low calorie range, Starbucks was forced to recall the products in the states of Georgia and Alabama. Allegedly contaminated with listeria, the operation delivered a heavy blow to the otherwise successful launch.
http://huff.to/pSWbYv
At some point in our careers most of us have wanted to leave the workplace and never come back. Usually we compromise. Sometimes we make a little row. The nameless employee of Whole Foods went out with a bang. An over 2000-word resignation letter accuses the “faux hippy Wal-Mart” of a remarkable number of sins from greed to indifference to the environment (!). Frustrated employees are nothing new – it happens – but the decision by the allegedly human- and eco-friendly chain to ignore the story picked up by a range of international media, CBC to The Washington Post is astonishing.
http://bit.ly/qtQnHW
The ugly
Hyatt is in a conflict with the unions. According to the latter, the chain has been replacing long-term employees with low paid temp workers all across the United States. Hyatt management is of a somewhat different opinion, which, for the purposes of this note, is beside the point. It is a conflict like many others. They provide some negative publicity but, unless something extraordinary happens, mostly in the left-wing media. Well, guess what? Something has happened. On the day the temperature hit 43C, the manager of Park Hyatt Chicago decided to disperse the loud protesters by turning on the heat lamps installed in front of the building.
http://huff.to/mXT8LZ
The story of the Starbucks’ Chilean baristas demanding decent pay has escalated from “a plan to walk out for several days” on 7th of the month to a hunger strike on 26th. The bad story turned worse when Forbes announced that the founder and the CEO of the company who “always believed that businesses can – and should – have a positive impact on the communities they serve” had become a billionaire.
http://bit.ly/rmzScC
Business
Sweat, tears and expensive furniture
We have all heard of fake Louis Vuitton handbags. One buys them in the most random of places, wherever the disciples of Derek Trotter feel safe selling. It may be a stall at the far end of Portobello Market, an obscure underpass or a perfectly on-brand store in the centre of the city. This month saw China hit by two scandals, one after the other. On the 19th the general manager of the DaVinci retailer, the provider of the luxurious European designer furniture to country’s elite, broke down on national television when accused of selling fakes. Apparently, a number of items (and we are talking of products like a $100,000 bedroom set) were not actually produced by Versace, Fendi or Armani but by their skilful Chinese colleagues.
http://bit.ly/nBvnV8
Aple to the people
Just a few days later the western press screamed, writhing in righteous wrath. An American blogger found a fake Apple store in the beautiful Chinese city of Kunming. Just to be clear: we are talking of a building designed and built almost perfectly in line with Apple’s brand guidelines for the sole purpose of selling counterfeit Apple goods. Contrary to the expectations of the western media, the would-be employees of Steve Jobs who, allegedly, were unaware of the legal status of their store, when confronted didn’t seem to care.
http://bit.ly/qsAv4z
It is back!
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has its own wiki-page; and a quite an expansive one. A month into the disaster it seemed BP might not survive the blow and be taken over by one of its rivals. A few months later, getting back on track was expected to take a considerable amount of time. In April 2011, marking the anniversary of the event, BP’s tone became a little calmer, more self-assured and proudly humble. Having spent tens of billions of hard-earned US dollars, the company dared to stop self-flagellation and investigate whether it could get some return on investment. The posters featured the perfectly blue Gulf of Mexico and promised the continuation of BP’s commitment.
This month saw the launch of the company’s first TV ad since the spill. After all, BP is one of the main sponsors of the 2012 Olympic Games and the merry event is just around the corner. At the same time the gentlemen decided to stop the payouts since the affected have been handsomely compensated already. Sean Smith of Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs was part of the team that led the Obama administration’s communications response to the largest accident in the history of the industry.
http://huff.to/ofP1se
Media
Tomorrow Never Dies
News Corporation’s founder, chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, is one of the most famous personalities of our times, an archetype of a gifted, clever and without any doubt ruthless businessmen. Sufficient to say, the gentleman is rumoured to be the prototype of Elliot Carver, the James Bond villain from “Tomorrow Never Dies”. In 2010, News Corp made a bid to take over BskyB and even got the governmental backing to do so- there seemed to be no limits for the “billionaire tyrant”.
The case of Milly Dowler made even the most passionate gossip girls turn on to their former bible. It was discovered that not only the journalists of the News of the World hacked the missing girl’s voicemail, looking for new stories, they deleted some of the voice messages in order to free space for the new ones, making the girl’s family, as well as Scotland Yard, believe she was still alive.
The tabloid was closed; a number of senior managers including the CEO of News International have resigned. Both Rupert and his son James, who oversees the European and the Asian arms of the empire, were summoned to the House of Commons to answer some uncomfortable questions. The FBI has launched an investigation into claims that the British tabloid tried to bribe the police to get hold of the personal information of the 9/11 victims. Considering the exorbitant length of waves the affair is still making, what we have seen so far may very much be just the first drops of a downpour.
http://nyti.ms/oeS4oz
Internet
G+ going places
It is hard to imagine someone actually challenging the might of Facebook. Replacing MySpace as the world’s most popular Social Media platform, its valuation soared from $15 billion in 2007 to $100 billion last month. The number of people not yet on the platform is shrinking, the advertising rates have risen 74% in the last 12 months – Facebook is doing well.
Under these circumstances, the idea of Google launching a direct competitor seemed to entail more bitterness then business practicality. The events of late did not make a particularly strong case for Google+ but demonstrated that successful competition is quite real, making the Guardian look rather stupid. Unveiled in the invitation-only mode at the very end of June, the system saw the invites selling on eBay just a few days later. As for the big rival, Mark Zuckerberg was one of the first to check the platform out. Ironically, the most followed user of the project, he was clearly impressed: both the friend export tool and the G+ ads were banned on Facebook.
http://tcrn.ch/mK4MWz
People never change
Microsoft lived up to its reputation when it reached an agreement to power English language queries on Chinese Baidu. Filling the gap, after Google left the market a year ago, the deal will get the company a little closer to a slice of the 470 million people pie.
http://bit.ly/l8XWrA
iAd in free fall
With almost half a million Apple apps downloaded over 15 billion times, the company seems unstoppable. As rumoured last month, the gadget manufacturer is moving its chip production from Samsung to a new vendor. Fortunately for all involved, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company does not produce handsets and is therefore unlikely to become a rival. The only project that doesn’t seem to work out for the Californians is the one targeting business people and not the general public: apparently the charm of Apple’s branding doesn’t work so well when it comes to people seeking value-for-money. Whilst Facebook ad rates are up 74%, those of iAd had to be cut by up to 70% to avoid an exodus.
http://bloom.bg/r4FnWE
Twitter’s valuation up over 216% in 7 months
Twitter is maturing fast: following the registration of its millionth app, the service has launched its own Developer site. A week later it was announced that the company have lost four of its core product managers. The departed were the last key employees closely affiliated with the previous management who decided to “get out of the way” of the company a month ago. In the meantime, the microblogging service saw its valuation more than double in seven months from December 2010.
http://nyti.ms/qQwYgx
Zeitgeist
Marketing today and tomorrow
Three men of experience share their views of the future of marketing. The distinguished professionals that steered their respective companies through the ups and downs of the last few decades share their vision on staying relevant in the world of new media. Experts in the field, they equally understand the potential of the “old school” ABL ads as well as mobile apps. The enthusiasm of Steve Ridgway, the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, even made me forget my various experiences with the airline, which, sadly, were rather far off the path envisioned by the customer experience guru.
John Hayes, the CMO of American Express talks of technological revolution in marketing, the subject very close to our heart, and building a club of customers who would stay passionate about the brand for decades. Finally, Duncan Watts, the director of Yahoo’s Human Social Dynamics group, throws the scientific approach into the debate.
http://bit.ly/oK1F0C
Just deal with it
Every year life seems to flow a little quicker; the days feel shorter; competitors more agile, their teeth- sharper. Considering the circumstances, the class of yuppies that has been around for some thirty years should have either adapted to the ever-rising pace or vanished. Instead, the young professionals (young being a rather relative factor here) get ever more insecure, nervous and fragile. This book of lullabies is a highly emotional outcry of the over-stressed infantile parents. A few decades ago, we would be talking of teenagers, “accidentally” promoted to parenthood; today the target audience of the bestseller is the successful upper-middle class urban professionals that run offices and, believe it or not, manage other people. As a joke, the book seems to be quite hilarious; as a symptomatic product created to vent the frustration of weak, capricious parents- not so much.
http://bit.ly/ojzbT6
Adgistics Digest #6: What you should have read in June
People often see summer as a lethargic season of holidays and parties – a few months of sticky heat, open windows and the rustling of fans. Even life itself is expected to flow a little slower in summer, divided between siestas and fiestas. This June certainly broke a few stereotypes. Short, wet and full of drama, it saw Apple lose a patent case, Facebook get criticised for being overpriced and LulzSec bring chaos to the New World.
Marketing
Jobs cometh
One of the few things Apple lovers and haters agree on is the value of Steve Jobs. Whether he’s the man who singlehandedly turned a troubled IT company into a cult that surpassed Microsoft in market capitalisation or a snake worshipper, no one doubts his skill as a marketeer. The latest hot product on the market is the man himself. Unlike that of David Ogilvy, the biography of the man ‘whose health affects the stock market‘ is not written by its protagonist. Unsurprisingly, that trifle doesn’t get in the way of its success – 9 months before hitting the bookshelves, the book is already a bestseller. For those who cannot wait until next March, the savvy people of Bluewater Productions have crafted a comic version, out this August.
Tattoos, Facebook and Viral Disasters
It started like any other act of madness of late – a woman has tattooed the pictures of 152 of her closest Facebook friends on her arm. Seems to be a logical step up- naming one’s child ‘Facebook’ is so last season, the world moves on. Once the tattoo turned out to merely be a viral marketing stunt, I sighed in relief. Despite causing quite a stir, the campaign didn’t do Facebook many favours. If it was meant to fix May’s PR disaster, the company should take a closer look at its marketing department.
http://bit.ly/iRJbYq
New Retail Concept by Cheil
Marketeers aspire to generate new ideas – develop brands, change perceptions, break stereotypes and so on and so forth. The most obvious embodiment of our work is advertising. Whether it’s the 30 second clips you see on TV, the print ads that subsidise glamourous glossy magazines, the web banners or radio jingles. The general perception is that marketeers make people want to buy stuff. Usually stuff no-one needs, but that’s beside the point. The work the South Korean office of Cheil Worldwide did for Tesco is unique. The ultimate criterion of success in advertising is sale figures and in the case of Tesco Homeplus online sales went up 130%. However the real achievement is far greater. Cheil has developed a shopping concept that may be the future for purchasing goods, groceries or otherwise.
http://bit.ly/9kAYs0
Business
Apple Breaks up with Samsung
It was good while it lasted: the consequence of a series of legal disputes over intellectual rights appears to be the end of an era of collaboration between Samsung and Apple. This month the Californians not only filed another suit against the Korean maker, this time in their native Seoul no less; rumour has it that Apple is ‘most likely’ to source the next generation of their processors from a new supplier.
http://bit.ly/ljZGMk
Apple loses patent suit
June 14th will go down in history. After almost two years of fierce legal battles, Apple has lost the war. According to the settlement the company will award Nokia a one-off payment as well as royalties. The exact sums are kept confidential but considering the Finnish maker was demanding royalties on all iPhones sold worldwide, it is safe to say that Nokia’s shareholders will be having a good year.
http://bit.ly/lbUvWy
iPhone4 off the chain
Lots of iPhone news. First and foremost, the new model will not see the light of day this summer. Breaking with several years of tradition, Apple now looks set to deliver the gadget in the last quarter of 2011. For any other company, a delay like this would be seen as a blow but the Californian wizards are capable of making money even from setbacks. On June 14th the unlocked iPhone4 hit American stores. In one fell swoop, Apple boosted falling sales, pleased international travellers (now able to use local SIM cards) and sweetened the relationship between AT&T and The Federal Communications Commission ahead of the T-Mobile merger. All that without losing any future sales – a purchase of the unlocked iPhone4 will not necessary get in the way of obtaining the new version on contract.
http://bit.ly/ieW8gg
Clouds over iCloud
Just two days after Apple unveiled iCloud, a student from Birmingham claimed the service is based on an app he created and the IT giant rejected from their official App Store a year ago. The story of the world’s largest IT company infamous for reprimanding competitors to ‘create their own original technology, not steal ours‘ made surprisingly few headlines, and was shortly followed by a predictable suit filed by a company named iCloud Communications, over the use of the iCloud name. Avoiding feeding the media fire, Apple is calmly migrating clients of the unsuccessful MobileMe platform to iCloud. And they called Bill Gates evil…
http://cnet.co/k1rQq9
Facebook Losing Cool
June was a month of revelations. In an interview given to CNBC, David Dietze, the President and Chief Investment Strategist at Point View Financial Service, discouraged investors from following Facebook’s listings plans valuing the company at $100 billion. Considering Facebook’s slump in users already has its own name, a valuation of 25 times its advertising revenue that would make the social network one of the largest companies in the world, would indeed seem somewhat ambitious.
http://bit.ly/jztSDK
Technology
Internet Access has Become a Fundamental Right
The United Nations has declared Internet access a human right, and disconnecting people from it to be against international law. Considering the developments of the last few months, the news falls into the realm of politics rather than technology. Unlikely to be taken seriously by those who enforce internet blockades to silence opposition, the report will surely cause cheering in the post-Napster community: it ‘considers cutting off users from Internet access, regardless of the justification provided, including on the grounds of violating intellectual property rights law, to be disproportionate and thus a violation of article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’
http://lat.ms/jnkKhp
A Billion Client Company
According to ComScore, over one billion people worldwide visited Google in May. In times of economic instability I am so used to reading about billions owed and spent that it took me a while to comprehend the magnitude of the event. A billion people is roughly a half of the world population with internet access. In other words, every second person with internet access googled something in May. A monument to man’s intellect, the company that didn’t even exist 15 years ago has come a long way. Naturally, it’s hard to make an omelette without breaking some eggs; Jay Greene of CNET has counted Google’s enemies.
http://bit.ly/lRLblj
The Hackers of Might and Magic
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. At the beginning of the month the White House formulated a new cybersecurity strategy, allowing them to ‘respond to hostile acts in cyberspace as to any other threat to the country’, and thus reserving the right to use all means including military force. The waterfall of hacks by Lulz Security that followed the event is pretty hilarious for a bystander but probably not so much for the gentlemen in charge of victims’ internet security. Sony appears to be the first prominent casualty. Losing over a million of its entertainment website’s, SonyPictures.com, user passwords amongst other private information was just a warm up. A week later the hackers published 54 megabytes of the company’s software source code.
What followed next will not be easily forgotten: the hacks of the FBI affiliate and the CIA resources, culminating in a breach of the intranet of the US Senate, leaving a timely message: ‘Is this an act of war, gentlemen?’ Having made enough serious people seriously annoyed, Lulz Security have announced their dispansion. Considering the group’s behaviour so far, the number of people they have upset and the initial reaction of the IT community - no one took the declaration too seriously. Jerry Brito of TIME looks at the curious case of digital jesters.
http://ti.me/k2U4SZ
Centenarian with a Bite
IBM was founded a hundred years ago – the year the world first celebrated International Women’s Day, Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole and the Mona Lisa went missing from the Louvre. To put things in perspective, Nino Rota was born and Gustav Mahler died in 1911. It was time before time; the epoch before the World Wars, the discovery of penicillin and the invention of Band-Aid. Commemorating the centenarian, The New Yorker has put together a slide show on the history of the company.
http://nyr.kr/kFj3Ic
Game Changer
In times when Microsoft is forced to lead the life of a senile patriarch in the shadow of a charismatic turtlenecked leader, Windows 8 seems to be the long awaited panacea. It could become the fountain of youth, protecting company’s future for years to come. Ever since the presentation of Windows 7, enthusiasts have been fantasising about the next generation of the operating system. The leaked Build 7989 has revealed a number of interesting new features and aesthetic additions, bringing the discussion to the boiling point.
http://bit.ly/ifXy8I
Intelligence
Control Thyself
To what extent are our decisions truly ours? According to various studies, the things we eat, drink, touch, hold and even sit on at the time of decision-making substantially influence our opinion. The new study by Professor Tuk of the University of Twente (The Netherlands) challenges the established theory of ego depletion, according to which the resources of self-control are finite and in denying ourselves a burger for lunch we run the risk of snapping at our boss or shooting a neighbour.
http://bit.ly/jdt5vV
Eliminate Biases in Team Decision Making
For those who find the prose of More Intelligent Life too populist, Harvard Business Review has published an extensive article on cognitive biases in decision making. Written by Daniel Kahneman (with Dan Lovallo and Olivier Sibony), a senior scholar at Princeton University and a Nobel Prize laureate, it features a 12-question checklist, intended to spot the biases of teams making recommendations.
http://bit.ly/imTFwG
From England with Love
I came to London seven years ago, having studied in several European schools and universities, lived in Denmark and Germany and consider myself to be quite open-minded. Amongst the many things I love about the United Kingdom, there are several that, mildly put, I just don’t understand. National cuisine is certainly one of them. When I stumbled upon this recipe for the perfect English breakfast I realised that despite the passion of its author, I am a lost cause and should stick to my sashimi. For those amongst you who appreciate heavy meals at 9:30am, Simon Hopkinson provides six steps to create the ultimate full English.
http://bit.ly/jVAPls
