Skiddoo me away!
February 22, 2012 by
PLAY Communication was selected to launch the new online travel booking company Skiddoo during Sydney Festival 2012.
The month long event was used as a launching pad for the new website which allows you to book the cheapest available flights online from Australia without all those hefty additional fees.
A variety of travel related competitions were offered to consumers who visited the various Sydney Festival events across the Sydney.
With many companies sponsoring the overall event, the competitions were an integral part of the sponsorship execution. Two key competitions were offered:
1. Win a trip for you and three friends worth $25K – This competition was only offered through Facebook.
2. Win $2k towards your next trip when you book with Skiddoo.
Both competitions generated followers on Facebook and a database for the brand.
In addition, the following were offered to consumers free of charge:
1. Luxurious lounge areas
2. T-shirts,
3. Tickets to sold out Sydney Festival events
4. High resolution photographs that could be retrieved through he Skiddoo Facebook page
The website and Facebook page is now and running, with many reaping the benefits of cheap flights from Australia.
If you didn’t get a chance to visit Skiddoo at Sydney Festival check out the pictures here
New Volkswagen Driving Experience Website
February 16, 2012 by
PLAY is excited to be a part of the launch of the new Volkswagen Driving Experience website. Launched to the public on 13th February, we received an outstanding 500 bookings in the first 24 hours.
If you think it’s time to brush up on those driving skills, book yourself into one of the three available courses and experience all the latest in Volkswagen technology in their premium range of vehicles.
For more details or just to check it out, please see: https://www.volkswagendrivingexperience.com.au/
No CommentsLove is in the air..
February 13, 2012 byLove is definitely in the air with Valentines Day just around the corner – so I thought I would share an ingenious campaign with all you modern romantics out there!
Dating service eHarmony has launched a social campaign to make contacting loved ones easier this Valentine’s Day by converting social media messages into hand-written letters.
The campaign will allow fans of the eHarmony Australia Facebook page to enter a message to an intended recipient online, which will be written out by calligraphers who will personally address and send the envelopes to the recipient.
The Love Letters campaign comes after an eHarmony survey found that only 13% of the estimated 24 million Valentine’s Day messages that will be sent this year will be hand written.
Anna Musson, eHarmony campaign spokesperson and etiquette expert said: “It can’t be denied that the romantic gestures of the past are slowly fading. Love letters were once the glue that held relationships together. Now, handwritten letters have become almost obsolete – receiving one in the mail is a pleasant surprise. This has happened for good reason. Writing a letter is no longer convenient nor is it particularly timely. Online communication tools like email and social media are immediate, reliable, free and, quite simply, more suited to our constantly evolving lifestyle. But the fact is, we still love receiving a handwritten note.”
Dating using a marketing model
February 9, 2012 by
It’s not often a day goes past when I am not surprised by a crazy, amazing, or in this case amusing, new app. Being in marketing however, I feel I need to justify this particular app to you all – using none other than the marketing model above.
The marketing model:
We all know that when we work on a brand campaign, feedback and evaluation is equally as important as the initial research and strategic planning. We need to learn from mistakes, not only to make sure we never repeat them, but also to improve and make changes for future campaigns.
Why then, when it comes to our personal lives, do we quite often fail to obtain that all-important feedback? I’ll give you an example of this using the model above. Let’s say someone has asked you on a date for Valentine’s Day this Tuesday…
1. Research
Social media (duh) – do a bit of Facebook stalking, maybe check out his or her Twitter feed and of course the classic ‘Google name search’.
2. Strategy
What am I going to wear, do I need to get a haircut, should I be fashionably late?
3. Implementation
Buy a new outfit, get a haircut, and make sure cab arrives 5 minutes late.
4. Launch
The actual date; had a great dinner, enjoyed his or her company – BUT they don’t call after what you thought was a successful night out… !?
Now you’re left wondering what might have been, no feedback and no chance for you to make important changes for future dates!
Introducing… WotWentWrong: the newest dating app to make sure you always get the feedback you need. Simply send an email or a text message to the person in question asking them to rate your date and let you know why they lost interest. While strangely masochistic, when comparing to a marketing model, it makes sense.
I know I laugh – but hey if it works for marketing, why shouldn’t it work for your personal life as well!?
Check out the app here and please do let me know how it goes!
No CommentsThe Price-Placebo Affair
February 8, 2012 by
In a perverse off-spin, a doubles pass to this sold out gig, at a Sydney venue, netted a number of hyper-competitive and over-enthusiastic consumers resulting in a e-battle that pushed the price of these highly sought after tickets to a towering price of $1000 on eBay. Keeping in mind that the original ticketed sale price was $66, it’s a hefty profit margin one savvy scalper has pocketed.
The concentrated hype that has surrounded this artist since her debut, has encouraged an unprecedented desire in certain social groups to partake in the corresponding trend. It makes me question the motives of those bidding for the tickets; does this reflect their assumption that this event will be worth it? As the e-battle increases the price, can it then be perceived that this event is more valuable (as an experience) than any other event of a similar nature? At $1000, will this event raise the bar beyond that of all other $55 events previously attended?
The bidders answer to these question is more than likely YES, as the price-placebo of perception is often relied upon by consumers for reassurance, especially when the nature of the object is either subjective or deemed exclusive. Case and point; tickets to a sold out gig.
In this instance, was the price-placebo effect really at play here? I believe it was. Rational purchase decision-making was thrown to the wind, as the emotion of the process took hold. As the price increased, so did consumer perception (and maybe even expectation) that this purchase would enable them to partake in an invaluable experience, resulting in enormous perceived value. And all for the nominal price of a thousand bucks.
Blog Update: Lana Del Ray’s Australian tour has been postponed until further notice. I imagine rational purchase post-justification will shift to blundering buyers remorse of a rather expensive proportion quite quickly.
No CommentsA Powerful Call to Action
February 6, 2012 by
At PLAY, we appreciate a well done campaign. One that is done with the cause and effect at its heart. This is precisely what has been done by Solidarités International who devised a campaign to get people considering the issue of dirty drinking water.
They have made the un-hip issue of dirty drinking water relevant, interesting and brutally informative through the creative use of water writing.
To view the full video click here
No CommentsThe newest experiential campaign..in space!
January 31, 2012 by
Here at PLAY, we love a cool campaign. Especially when it’s (kind of) in space.
News has just broken that two Canadian high school students have launched a Lego man nearly 25 kilometres above sea level! This was high enough for the little man to be hovering above the arc of the earth – and they got it on video! Not bad for a couple of kids..
Their local newspaper has reported that the project took them 4 ½ months to complete, stating that the hardest part was sewing the parachute.
In just three days, their YouTube video has gone viral, gaining over 2 million views.
Read the full article on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website here
Watch the YouTube video here
No CommentsWhy your company should blog
January 25, 2012 by
Here at PLAY, we are subscribed to a fantastic newsletter called Social Media Examiner. We recently saw a great article by Marcus Sheridan, about why your company should blog.
It’s important that a company blog is relevant to your industry and that your business isn’t just blogging because it seems to be the trend.
A blog, like all social media channels, is a way to connect with your customers, clients and other relevant stakeholders in your business.
It should not just be used for search engine optimisation – although this is one great reason to blog, in order to attract visitors to your website, your blog must intrigue your website visitors – so think about what they would like to read before you post!
One thing Sheridan pointed out that really resonated with us, was that blogging forces one to stay up to date with your industry. This makes it easier to explain things to your clients and customers, and to answer their questions.
Another point Sheridan made was that a blog (if used correctly) can be linked to consumer/client trust. The aim of a blog is to keep your readers connected to your company and your industry, and by explaining trends to them in an easy-to-read manner, it helps develop trust – which can then further link to sales.
In addition to this, Sheridan explains the importance of recognising consumers’ need for two-way communication in the digital age. In a world where brands and companies are more accessible to their customers, and where customers can easily share experiences and information with their peers, it is important to recognise the value of customer feedback. Like tweets and Facebook comments, blog comments can be a valuable tool for measuring brand perception. Comments should be welcomed, not ignored.
Thanks, Social Media Examiner, for the great tips!
To view the article, click here.
No CommentsSocial Media predictions for 2012
January 19, 2012 by
Popular marketing blogger Heidi Cohen recently wrote a blog post that resonated with us here at PLAY.
The start of the New Year is a time of reflection, learning and going forward for anyone. For the marketing industry, this is achieved through an abundance of ‘Top Ten lists’, agency credits (did we mention we won 3 B&T Awards?), key learning’s, and of course predictions.
Heidi’s article focuses on social media predictions for 2012, with the input of 24 marketing experts.
Here are some of the predictions we found particularly interesting:
- E-mail is not dead, and will never die. The growth of social networking sites will fuel the growth of e-mail. At the moment, there is a misconception that social media networks will result in the death of e-mail.
- Companies will realise that customer-driven social media is the most successful, and genuine form of social media strategies.
- iPads and tablets will be as common as mobile phones, and will be used for business, education and leisure.
- Niche social media sites such as Pinterest and InstaGram will become more prominent, as mainstream social media sites become more business driven.
- Companies will start to focus on building real online communities – put simple, networking!
To read Heidi’s full article, click here.
No CommentsTop 10 Ads of 2011
January 6, 2012 byWelcome everyone to the new year!
And with a new year comes the tradition of the ‘Top for 2011′ lists. Today, AdNews announced their picks for the Top 10 Australian TVCs for 2011.
Beverage brands led the pack with ads from Johnnie Walker, Strongbow Cider, Tooheys Extra Dry and Hahn Super Dry. However the Sydney Opera House and Earth Hour also feature, along with NAB’s Unpopular, Melbourne International Film Festival’s Potato Peelers and WA Office of Road Safety’s Enjoy the Ride; there is certainly an ad for everyone. Not sure I agree with the inclusion of Coles Down Down Big Red Hand campaign but you can make up your own mind on that one!
While I do love the Enjoy the Ride ad, I have to concur with AdNews on number one, my top pick is also the Nocturnal Migration TVC from Tooheys (above). The combination of Prodigy and some cool-looking deer out on the town, mirroring a potential Saturday night for us human urbanites, makes me want to hang out with the Toohey’s Stag this weekend!
Click here to watch all of the TVC’s on the AdNews website.
No Comments