PLAY would like to welcome its newest additions to the team – Jenna and Bec!

Jenna is PLAY’s Head of Digital – but she likes to refer to herself as the agency’s ‘Digital Cheerleader’. Her passion for all things digital combined with her ability to make a great Yorkshire tea have seen her fit nicely into the team. She joins us with over 7 years experience in digital marketing.

Bec joins the Client Services team as the new Account Co-ordinator, and what a first couple of weeks she’s had! Diving straight into a range of projects, her energy and bubbly personality have seen her fit in perfectly with the dynamic Volkswagen team. She’s been great so far.

Welcome ladies!

Last Thursday, PLAY and the World Movies team collaborated to deliver the very first ‘World Movies Secret Cinema’.

Attendees bought tickets to a secret film in a secret location – meaning they had no idea what film they were watching, or where they were watching it!

On the morning of the event, guests were instructed by SMS to head down to Taylor Square to look for the ‘sad bride’. Our bride was primped to perfection by our make up artist Holly Edwards to look as though she had been crying and roamed Taylor Square, pointing to, and revealing the secret venue – The Standard.

Little did the attendees know that the sad bride was a character from the secret movie.

As guests entered, they passed a club scene of dancers, again not knowing that this was a scene from the film.

As they walked through the venue, guests were treated to Middle Eastern canapés, including delicious baklava from our caterers at Infusions Food Designs.

When they got to the top, we surprised our guests with Middle Eastern style pillows and rugs – instead of chairs!

Finally, the secret film was revealed; ‘Circumstance’ by Maryam Kashavarz, a controversial film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011.

All in all it was a great night. Check out the video footage and tell us what you think!

I remember the excitement of watching things in 3D when I was a kid. Back then (and it really wasn’t that long ago), watching something in 3D was rare – it was the type of stuff you’d see at cool places – like the IMAX Theatre or Questacon!

Now, 3D is everywhere – we can experience in the comfort of our own home, and I’ve noticed of late, that many brands are using it to amplify campaigns and make them…well, even cooler!

The first one that caught my eye was the Chevrolet Sonic Claw Game Promotion. A 3D Projection of an old school claw game on the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood Boulevard allowed users to control the claw for the chance to win prizes – including a brand new Chevy Sonic! It even won a Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest claw game!

The second one is one that many of you will be aware of, as it generated talkability internationally. Coachella, one of the world’s biggest music festivals, used 3D to bring 2an artist back to life. A 3D version of rapper 2pac appeared in the middle of Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre’s set, and performed with them – rapping and moving in signature 2pac style! It was not only the most talked about performance of the festival, it also trended worldwide on Twitter and the video went viral.

Finally, another cool 3D campaign that caught by Burberry in Beijing. To celebrate the launch of a new flagship store, Burberry held a catwalk show, integrating 3D models with real models! Very clever indeed.

With ANZAC Day approaching this week, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the current ‘Raise your Glass’ campaign by VB.

I’m sure you have seen the VB ads at the moment. It’s quite an emotional campaign, and I personally think it is really effective.

The appeal is asking Australians to raise a glass on ANZAC Day to commemorate the services of our soldiers, past and present.

In addition, VB will be donating a portion of profits generated from the campaign to Legacy and the Returned and Services League (RSL).

There has been some controversy over the campaign; many people believe that a day as sacred as ANZAC Day should be free from any branding/advertising.

Although I understand this argument, I personally think this campaign is genuine. VB is an iconic Australian brand, and one that I think our soldiers can relate to, so for me it just seems fitting that they support ANZAC Day. In addition, the fact that RSL has agreed to be involved makes this even more genuine and credible.

At the end of the day, the aim of this campaign is to generate more awareness, to pay our respects, and to ultimately donate to appeals that are independent of the VB brand, which to me is a great thing.

This ANZAC Day, please don’t lose sight of the real reason behind the day. Regardless of what beer (if any) you are drinking, please take a moment to raise your glass and honor our Diggers.

We’ve all heard about the newest (and coolest) kid on the block, Pinterest. And, being in the marketing industry, it was only a matter of time before we saw some very cool and fresh campaigns utilising the network.

This time, the one and only Barack Obama has joined Pinterest.

Normally when celebrities join social networks, I’m not really phased – after all, it’s become quite normal. But in the case of Barack Obama and Pinterest, I was intrigued.

Obama is using PInterest as a tactic for his Presidential campaign. Creating a number of Pinboards that range from “Obama inspired recipes” (yes, it’s true), “Pet loves for Obama,” “Obama 2012 in acton” and “The First Family” the account showcases a number of personal and professional shots of the President, as well as visual artwork that displays his promises and thoughts for the next election.

The most clever part of this, I found, was the power given to his followers. Obviously, followers can ‘like’ and ‘repin’ his pins, and, given how influenced we are by our peers, particularly on social media, this is probably one of the most clever political campaigns I’ve ever seen.

I think this campaign is really a testament to the power of visuals in the media, particularly in politics. This is a fantastic way for Obama to create an image for himself in a controlled environment.

Last Thursday, PLAY launched the Westfield Miranda Fashion Festival.

The campaign kicked off with the opening of a Chandon Bar in the heart of the shopping centre, allowing customers to enjoy a glass of bubbly while they shopped.

The bar will offer customers a free jewellery cleaning service (selected times), and by purchasing a glass of Chandon, you will be in the running to win a major prize pack, including a VIP Styling Session.

The Chandon Bar will be open every Thursday-Sunday between April 5 and May 13, and will be located on Level 2, in front of Portmans.

For more info on times and events, ‘like’ the Westfield Miranda Facebook here.

So what are you waiting for? Get shopping!

We love a good celebration here at the PLAYhouse. Especially when it involves chocolate. So I thought it would only be fitting that, in light of Easter which is fast approaching, I share an interesting campaign that was developed by Appitalism in New York for Mars.

The company has developed a very cool mobile advertising campaign to drive sales for Easter.

The mobile ads (I have pictured one as an example) will lead consumers to a microsite with the famous M&M characters, and will provide access to four Easter-themed recipes – with the main recipe being M&M’s of course!

An additional bonus – if you’re hopeless in the kitchen like I am, each recipe will show photos and a step-by-step process to ensure that you don’t burn your (whole) kitchen down.

It’s a clever way for M&Ms to tap into the Easter market – particularly given that M&M’s aren’t really well-known for their Easter eggs. As well as this, I know alot of families who don’t buy Easter eggs anymore, simply because there are too many people in the family, and it can become costly. Many of these families will opt for making sweets instead, and this is a great tool for all those people.

Or, if you’re anything like me, and you just want an excuse to eat a heap of sweets over a few days – it’s great for that too!

Get baking!

I recently saw a story on AdNews about the most trusted brands in Australia. It stated that Google, Apple. Ikea, Paypal and Youtube are the most 5 trusted brands according to Australians.

The article really got me thinking – with such a diverse range of brands in the top 5, what exactly are these companies doing right? What makes a brand trustworthy?

There’s the obvious reason we could put this down to – consistency of service and product quality, but surely there have to be more factors.

Looking at the top 5 list, one similarity I noticed between all of them is the level of interaction we have with each of these brands. I’m sure you use at least one of these brands daily like I do.

The top 5 brands have successfully allowed themselves to become a part of our lives, in way where we don’t even think of ourselves as consumers. Obviously, the abundance of digital brands is a reflection of the shift in our lifestyles but I have never once thought of myself as a consumer of Google – for me, typing something into Google is a no -brainer – and obviously, Australia agrees!

This is a real asset for any brand, and any brand who is able to achieve this level of trust in a push-pull consumer environment is fascinating to me.

To read the full AdNews article, click here

Like pretty much everyone else on the face of this Earth, I am currently obsessed with the app ‘Draw Something’.

There have been many stories in the media about the use of social media as a part of the recruitment process. Now, Muse advertising agency in Amsterdam has decided to recruit it’s next round of interns using an app – and you guessed it – that app is Draw Something.

For anyone who is not familiar with the app/genius creation, it works similarly to Pictionary. You select a friend to play the game with (through Facebook, e-mail or Twitter friends), you  get given a word to draw, and the user must guess what your drawing is.

So then how exactly would an advertising agency use this to recruit interns?

Simply put, the game, like advertising is about clarity, simplicity and creative expression. Asking someone to draw something on the spot can easily determine someone’s ability to do all those things. And given that visuals play a pretty big role in advertising, it bizarrely makes sense.

As well as this, it can help determine whether or not the applicant will fit in with the company’s culture – the process itself would only appeal to a certain type of person.

Watch the video Muse made, explaining the process above.

Happy Drawing!

In a recent attempt to get creative, get involved and find out a little bit more about the area, I have kept my eyes peeled for innovative community projects to participate in.

The Good Gym, an initiative led by Social Lab, encourages people to exercise in a way that directly benefits less mobile or isolated members of their community…and makes them feel good about themselves!

“Runners jog to their house, deliver something nice [like a magazine or a piece of fruit], have a brief chat and are on their way again.”

With a rigorous safety policy, joggers can also choose to join regular group runs and help local community projects.

Along with deliveries they’ve been known to shift books and rubble, decorate and plant gardens.

Sounds pretty awesome, right?

Unfortunately, this brilliant idea is currently only happening in Eastern London. I would love to see something like this branch out globally, or at least somewhere closer to home.

And there’s many many more cool ideas where that one came from. For example, ‘I heart your bike tags’ to share bike love around your community and the Pie Lab – bringing together opinion leaders to share ideas and visions over making pies – are some of the group’s many recent activities.

I stumbled across the Social Lab browsing PSFK.com, but it turns out they are actually part of a larger collaborative project called Social Spaces. These guys are all about tapping into new ideas, collaborating with people from different disciplines and ways of thinking, and finding innovative ways to share them with the rest of society.

Make sure you check these guys out!