Great Strategy

Bonds 12 Days of Christmas

2012-01-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

Over the Christmas holiday season, TV viewers were polarised by the BONDS Aussie remake (or rather distortion) of the 12 Days of Christmas. Here it is for the sake of argument. Ad makers say that when the audience is polarised, then they have succeeded with their ad campaign. So I guess you call this success? Well it definitely stuck in my mind, but not sure whether it made me want to buy BONDS for someone's Christmas present.. thoughts?

#smokedbywindowsphone at the CES

2012-01-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

At the CES 2012, every promotion
1. bring in a crowd
2. leave an impression
3. send people off with a message to share

This promotion was very simple. Give away $100 to anyone who is able to update their Facebook and Twitter with the same message message faster than the Windows Phone representative. However, if you lose, you need take a mug shot holding up a sign that says "My phone just got smoked by Windows Phone". Check out the video for the execution. Great strategy!

Private Health Insurance competition heats up

2011-10-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

I am not sure whether this is really the case but from an individual's point of view, it seems that the private health insurance wars have started to heat up a little. Here are a few anecdotal points

Not too long ago, Medibank was offering a free movie ticket at my workplace to anyone who wants to get a quote from them about their private health insurance
This was closely followed by MBF / BUPA who set up a little van out the front of the car park and arranged for consultations with staff, offering Coles/iTunes vouchers of $20.
Medibank sent a nice pamphlet recently to advertise their new mi Health medibank advice line
They then followed up with a survey sent to presumably all their members asking whether they read through the pamphlet and whether this made them more or less likely to stay with Medibank or see them as providing value added services.

This is quite interesting as I had recently wondered whether private health insurance companies could do more for their members. I look at examples overseas where health insurance providers would even organise parties etc or exclusive screenings for their members. Things like that.

Maybe that is a future strategy someone is willing to look at? I know it would sway one particular 30 year old private health insurance holder.

How to Effectively Use Foursquare Checking In

2011-09-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

I and millions of others on this big blue planet have wondered, what's the point of Foursquare? I think its only very recently that checking in has been adapted to the marketing world. Nokia came up with an awesome little idea combining a vending machine with social media tool Foursquare.

The Nokia Gift Machine from 1000heads on Vimeo.

Will this get you to check in?

Who's Australia's most recognised Group Buy player? Scoopon Cudo Jumponit or Spreets

2011-06-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

An interesting comparison between the searches mad by internet users in Australia show the growth in popularity of group buying in the past year and which players have taken off in "name recognition.

From the graph below, we can see that in WA and South Australia, there is one clear leader - Scoopon which gets more than double the searches than their competitors. It is interesting to note that Scoopon started in the Eastern States but since it spread over to WA and SA, it seems that the website has overtaken its Eastern State counterparts. This could be because of the stronger word of mouth effects in smaller cities. What isn't shown is that the most popular search term has been "perth scoopon".

This is certainly a trend and comparison worth watching in the coming months. I've noticed Cudo increasing in advertising on tv so one would expect an increase in cudo searches in the future..

Click to Enlarge

We're watching Virgin Australia relaunch

2011-05-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

It's always a very interesting experience to watch a company rebrand themselves and see how that rebranding impacts on the consumer's conscience. Today Virgin Blue rebrands itself as Virgin Australia, with the website redirecting to virginaustralia.com.au and the new homepage looking much more upper class as if everyone just got a seat upgrade. Purely intentional as Virgin Australia aims at the business travellers who have always looked at Qantas as their preferred carrier.

The advertisement to be screened tonight across Australia has been released on Facebook with 218 likes and it certainly brings out the vibrancy that Virgin is clearly gunning for with the relaunch. Entitled "now you're flying" gives people the impression that Virgin Australia is the right choice, as well as implying that Virgin Blue in a sense has grown up. Take a look...

I would be really interested to see how the Virgin lounges and the flights themselves "feel" after this relaunch and see how the whole rebranding is carried out on the business end of the company. What are your thoughts?

Why Myer China MyFind site won't survive

2011-03-16T19:59:00.001-07:00

You may have all heard about the Myer online store which they are trialling to compete with the likes of CatchoftheDay. The website is myfind.com and you may have probably visited it once but probably completely forgot what the website address was. My prediction is that this website will bomb out and Myer will conclude that online shopping does not work for them however, there are reasons why this would be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

From a cursory glance at the website we can see some reasons why it will not succeed

There is a lack of mindshare amongst online communities about the website.
Online shopping is mostly about price and nothing is standing out demanding that you buy it on the myfind.com website.
There isn't from what we can tell any social media engagement by Myer
The news about myfind.com has completely dried out and the spike in web traffic probably has flattened out by now
Many of you will probably stumble over this website because myfind.com is not only obscure to Myer customers (intentionally) but also to the general online community and google searches (unintentionally).

So don't be surprised if Myer's venture into online sales falls apart soon but remember it could have been helped.

Best Superbowl ad 2011

2011-03-01T23:03:00.001-08:00

The best part of the Super Bowl each year for many avid creatives around the world is to see what top advertising dollar buys you. One of my favourite ads in this year's Superbowl mix was the VW advertisement

You can see 20 of the Soperbowl ads at the Mumbrella blog here. Check out especially the Doritos ad.

Great Synergy - Nokia and Burton Snowboards

2011-01-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for it? This winter somewhere in Europe, you are about to see what a Nokia phone and a snowboard can do together. I was reading a blog by one of the product managers I met in London in August and felt that this would be of interest to people who get excited about marketing. I've extracted a part of his blog entry with the link to the rest below.

"I didn’t come at this trying to find a way to work with Burton and only them. Truth be known, I have been snowboarding for some years now and my mix of brands includes Foursquare (arguably Burton), Bonfire, Lib Tech, Dakine and also the ubiquitous Burton (a pair of Mission bindings in case you’re wondering).

What attracted me to Burton was a combination of factors. Compared to Nokia they’re a small company, but there are a lot more similarities than differences.

Like Nokia, Burton was a business that was started with a pioneering spirit and a willingness to bet the farm on a new, uncharted product territory.

Also like Nokia, Burton benefits by having a belief in innovation and driving its category forward. (As an aside, it may sound odd for me to claim innovation as a core belief of Nokia – but this is one of the many challenges of being a marketer in the company at the moment. We invested around 40 billion euros in R&D over the last two decades and registered no less than 11,000 patent ‘families’; we just haven’t been great at telling that story).

Both brands have a truly global reach and had built up a global community of fans, critics and others somewhere in-between. In other words, people we can engage with.

As part of the presentation there were some initial thoughts of how the two brands could work together. These ranged from a mobile Web TV app to showcase their tons of content through to an idea that we called “Board’s eye view” (NEVER underestimate the power of a pun in a presentation….); a project that would allow you to see a rider’s journey through the half-pipe using the technology found in one of our devices; gyroscope, GPS, cameras, wi-fi and so on.

The Board’s Eye View project was initially a joining of some dots.

Dot 1: The successful Push N900 project had produced a skate hack, which brought together the physical skate world and its virtual gaming world cousin; literally identifying a skateboarder’s trick (from a list of pre-programmed tricks) and assigning a score for a successful Ollie (or whatever).

Dot 2: More and more the work I’m doing is about continual consumer engagement, which involves communities doing something that they are passionate about with our devices and then getting their deserved kudos for doing it.

Dot 3: We were looking for like-minded brands to partner in our marketing in 2010 and 2011.

Dot 4: We had a powerful device coming to market (the N8) that’s packed with technology and we needed to demonstrate that.

Dot 5: On a purely selfish level, Helsinki had been -20c for the last two months and I needed to get out of the cold and darkness. And hell, if Vermont was good enough for Ben & Jerry’s then it was going to work for me."

Read the rest here.

Why did iiNET sponsor the NBL?

2010-12-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most exciting things I heard this year was that iiNET would be sponsoring the National Basketball League! It was the meeting of two up and coming success stories in one agreement and I could see the massive potential for both sides.

For the NBL iiNET is fun-loving company that has grown from a WA start up in a garage and understands the challenges of being in a changing market, just like the NBL. They are more daring than traditional sponsors which means that the NBL is more likely to have more leeway with innovation and experimentation which will be good for the game.

For iiNET There is no doubt in most people's minds that basketball is a grassroots sport which has a very strong passionate group of followers. There are probably much more kids playing basketball than there are playing AFL. For iiNET to get in early in joining the NBL, they can get a good deal for sponsorship and also generate some goodwill for the company amongst the many basketball fans in Australia. Also, as a result of the NBL wanting to expand its brand, iiNET will naturally benefit from this expansion and receive valuable mindshare in the Australian public as basketball grows.

I was very interested to read on the iiNET blog today about why iiNET sponsored the NBL and many of their thoughts I completely agree with. Much can be gained from this partnership and I only wish I could have a part in it :)

Chinese Twitter Weibo Sells 1,000 N8s in one event

2010-12-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

In China, Twitter is banned but to say therefore that microblogging does not exist would be incorrect. Nokia recently held an online "press conference" on Weibo with over 400,000 participants. News sources say, through that event, Nokia was able to sell 1,000 N8 phones showing the immense potential that engaging in social media strategically could be achieved.

"Micro-bloggers could wear a 3D eyepiece to watch Nokia's online 3D promotion video and interact with the company through its micro blog on Sina Weibo, China's largest micro-blogging website."

Nokia has been leading the multinationals in Social Media strategy employing 1000 Heads in London to keep their social reputation in check and following the launch of the N8, a plethora of fans have started blogs and openly endorsed the N8 in spite of mainstream media's critical look at the flagship phone.

On the flipside, managing a crisis on social media has also been proven lately, with Qantas officially joining the Twitterverse with their @qantas_airways Twitter account to counter the negative press and talk on social media regarding their mechanical problems.

But joining twitter does not mean you have the street cred to start your own # hashtag for example. Social media is a very quick way to grow but it can also be a very quick way to die.

Not good strategy - WA Businesses Socially Inept

2010-09-28T01:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this article in the WA Business News which suggested that WA businesses have not embraced the power of social media. Coming from WA, I see this as a little disappointing as my perception had always been that WA businesses are more technologically adventurous, seeing as Perth is the most isolated city in the world geographically. Social media is definitely a frontier to be crossed if businesses in WA want to get ahead of the game and Twitter is one of the first places to start.

WA businesses online but not tweeting
28-September-10 by Kym Fuhrmann

Western Australian businesses are the most likely in the country to have a website but many WA small businesses are choosing not to use social media, according to two new surveys.

The latest MYOB Business Monitor found 40 per cent of WA businesses were likely to have a website, higher than the national average of 35 per cent.

The survey found 25 per cent of Western Australian businesses are also likely to use their website for e-commerce.

But a separate poll by the Small Business Development Corporation found only a third of the state's small businesses are using social media.

SBDC Acting Managing Director, Jacky Finlayson said the Ready Response social media poll found 65 per cent of small business operators did not use the medium to promote their business.

"When used correctly, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media tools can be of enormous assistance to small business operators with limited capital to spend on advertising and promotion," Ms Finlayson said.

The MYBO survey found only 18 per cent of businesses used social media.

Tim Reed, MYOB CEO, said, "Social media has received a lot of hype in Australia over the last 12 months so it's quite interesting to see such a low adoption of these online platforms by Australian businesses."

"Rather than being well established, the results indicate that online marketing is only just emerging in Australia."

"Despite the current low adoption rates of social media and websites, it's inevitable that the use of online platforms will increase rapidly in Australia as business owners see global competitors using these forums to lure local sales offshore," Mr Reed said.

According to the SBDC of those WA businesses using social media, 89 per cent were using Facebook, 68 per cent were using LinkedIn and 52 per cent were using Twitter.

Johnnie Walker as Proud of Product Placement as Gecko of Greed

2010-09-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Last night, we went to see the movie Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps and we were greeted by an advertisement that ran nearly 7 minutes long, entitled "The man who walked around the world". It was the Johnnie Walker advertisement, where Scottish actor from Trainspotting, Robert Carlyle, narrates a story about how the Johnnie Walker brand came to be. It may be because I have not been going to the movies all that often but I was surprised at how long the ad was, much longer than the usual 30 second or 1 minute ads.

It wasn't until part way through the movie, everyone laughed when we saw Jake Moore hand the Chinese contingent a bottle of... you guessed it.. Johnnie Walker Blue Label. It seemed to be redefining the meaning of product placement. It seemed just placing the product in the movie was not bold enough, that now you also should consider having a 7 minute advertisement preceding the movie as well. I thought it was good strategy anyway because I walked away with a clear memory of that moment in the movie where entertainment was hijacked by advertising. Borders book stores also featured as product placements in Wall Street.

Nokia World Expo - Free Trips and Social Media

2010-09-09T01:25:00.000-07:00

Well I've probably scored the best ever perk of being a blogger - a free trip from humble old Perth to London as a guest of Nokia to attend the Nokia World Expo. It all started with a blog about the Nokia E65, then the blog about Nokia E63 started when the E65 was replaced. The premise was something quite simple, record all the tips and tricks that I learn whilst using the phone. The E65 and E63 blogs became the most comprehensive blogs on the internet about the E65 and E63 and both continue to rank on the first page of Google searches for their respective users.

Nokia caught on to the internet traffic moving through Perth and started offering me the opportunity to trial new phones that they were launching. I thought that was a pretty neat gig to land, receiving a new phone to trial every few months. A few weeks ago, I received an email from 1000 heads, Nokia's brand marketing gurus who had been liaising with me over the last few years.

Would I like to go to London to attend the Nokia World Expo? Of course I would!

CEO of Nokia and other speakers at Nokia World 2010

This weekend I will board an Emirates plane to blog all the way to London and back about the upcoming Nokia offerings for 2010/11. Amongst the phones to hit the market will be the Nokia E7 and the Nokia N8 which brings in HD video, 12MP camera and WebTV. 25 bloggers from around the world, and one from Australia, will be covering the launches, posting photos, tweeting updates and Facebooking the event to whoever cares.. and those who don't. Great strategy? I think so.

For the next week, expect to see Nokia trending up in the social media indicators.

Volkwagon's Guerilla Advertising

2010-07-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

My favourite form of advertising is when advertising challenges the daily grind and presents a more viable, innovative alternative. Of course each advertiser wants to answer the question "Why?" for the consumer and one of the best ways is to get into everyone's daily schedule to engage them where they are. That's why I love guerilla marketing and this example here put out by Volkswagon which confronts everyday people going about their daily lives with an alternative way through life.

What similar ads have you seen around? leave a comment and a link :)

Transitioning Loyalty to Another Media - Hamish and Andy

2010-06-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

I knew this was going to smash it big when I was listening to the radio on the way home from work last night. Usually TV shows get a 10 second promo before the news or a one page advertisement in the paper next to the TV guide but Hamish and Andy's radio show shamelessly plugged the "Caravan of Courage" TV show. Their massively successful radio program has a very loyal following and it was no surprise when H&A made it known the Caravan was on Ten, everyone locked in their heads to tune in. They also got some help from Ten's 7PM project, a news program aimed at Generation Y which everyone said would fail but continues to rate very well.

Hamish and Andy are definitely setting themselves for a switch to television soon and if the ratings from last night are any guide, Ten may have a fight on their hands to keep Hamish and Andy.

Thursday’s ratings:
1. Masterchef Ten 1.829m
2. Hamish and Andy’s Caravan of Courage Ten 1.749m
3. Seven News Seven 1.382m
4. Today Tonight Seven 1.308m
5. Nine News Nine 1.231m
6. A Current Affair Nine 1.154m
7. ABC News ABC 1.123m
8. Sea Patrol Nine 1.101m
9. Two and a Half Men Nine 1.056m
10. Law and Order: SVU Ten 1.053m
11. Home and Away Seven 1.009m
12. The 7PM Project Ten 0.933m
13. Getaway Nine 0.891m
14. Ten News Ten 0.884m
15. The Footy Show Nine 0.729m

This is how you launch a new product - iiNET

2010-06-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not from Scottsdale but after reading the letter that Scottsdale people got from iiNET, a part of me wishes I was there. One of the things people are usually most proud of is the suburb in which they live. So when you get a letter from the country's third biggest internet provider like the one below, what is your likely response?

I've always thought that local shops do not take advantage of their geographical advantage enough. The people who walk and drive past your shop are the ones most likely to be your loyal customers. I know iiNET sends out similar letters to suburbs in which they recently enabled for their ADSL2+ internet. It is this sort of targeted marketing which is most effective. Just sticking the name of the suburb in doesn't work. I'm speaking to you, real estate agents. Anyway, what do you think?

Rebranding the Big Bad Bank - NAB

2010-06-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

Recently, one bank which has caught my eye has been the National Australia Bank. In advertising, usually people try to avoid using negative words or connotations but its surely a reflection of public opinion when a bank's main slogan is More Give, Less Take. I personally found this slogan quite catchy, although it somewhat implies the bank's past reputation. The advertisements have been quite effective, with ads such as the one below invoking a warm feeling on the viewer.

As I said, the bank with the unfortunate shortened name of nab, has been on my horizon for a while. However, its their most recent foray into social media that has got me quite interested. I saw this first through an advertisement on SMSPup, which seems to be the first place companies turn to launch a social media promotion.

The promotion is called "Doing the Right Thing" and the website implies there is some exposure via the Austereo network such as 2dayFM. People submit stories about people who have done the right thing even if it is as small as giving way to them on the roads or returning a stolen wallet. For every story submitted, NAB will pay $5 to a charity. I think the idea is brilliant because quit often these acts of kindness goes unrecognised and unnoticed. People are also very interested to see how people have been "blessed" by people around them. It also encourages readers to also (be a man and) do the right thing.

It is a good way to link your company subconsciously to a feelgood statement such as "doing the right thing" and I am sure many people don't even realise their impression of the bank changing from participating or hearing about this promotion.

MLC demonstrates a sign of the times

2010-06-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

Effective advertisements reflect the sign of the times and one ad that does this well is the MLC ad about income protection. It starts off with a young couple talking at home with the guy on a laptop. The girl asks him about considering income protection insurance and he changes the subject by talking about the video he found on the internet about some elephant who dances or something. She gets distracted and eventually gives in to his beckoning to check out his discovery on the internet. The advertisement says "Isn't it funny how we make the time to talk about some things but not things that are important?" I am quite sure many of us didn't even realise that this ad made us consider the possibility of income protection insurance.

Foxtel ad we just hate! but works

2010-06-02T01:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah we are nearing the EOFYS but nothing annoys me as much as the Foxtel ad. Unfortunately in advertising, its not about whether you love it or hate it, its whether you remember it or not that really matters. Running in probably the third year straight, the end of financial year sale advertisement obviously seems to have achieved previous expectations as it haunts us once again. Although the ad annoys me to no end, I feel it's necessary to include it below for the sake of completeness. Can't wait till the end of the financial year.

World Cup Advertising Pass and Fails

2010-05-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

This is more of an idea than a post. I would like to see what you have noticed about the world cup advertising this year. As the biggest show on earth unwraps itself in the coming weeks, which companies have you noticed have made the most of their sponsorship dollars? and which ones shouldn't have bothered?

Just to get things started, here is a three minute ad from Nike.

Ubank - Check your bank balance on Facebook

2010-05-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ubank has been a favourite bank of ours for a while because of its innovative approach towards traditional banking. Almost exactly one year ago, we wrote about Ubank for its informal and casual approach in marketing, and it seems to have worked.

The subsidiary of the National Australia Bank has been leading the online savings accounts market with market beating rates. Recently, they have even offer 6.21% for their customers if they automatically deposit $200 a month into their Usaver account.

We like Ubank because they

Offer 24 hour support for customers
Allow customers to contact them via skype
Tweet regularly not just to broadcast updates but also personally replying to queries
Sends SMS and email to customers immediately when a transaction takes place on their account.
Signs off on all their correspondences with "Speak soon", implying customer loyalty

Now, in a very bold move, they are about to offer the feature to allow customers to use FACEBOOK and other social media to check their online balance! According to ZDNet, UBank says that over 80% of their customers who log onto the Ubank site only do so to check their balance. The feature will be through a Ubank application which requires authentication through the customer's mobile phone via SMS. That is great strategy and my feeling is that most of Generation Y agrees.

Kambo's VIP sales cost plus $1

2010-03-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

I came across an invite to a Kambo's VIP sale where all electricals were priced at Cost + $1 for invite only vips who were allowed to bring a friend. It was one of their first such sales and apparently companies such as Lycopodium got invited. I can't remember where I saw the invite but it was online, not via email.Anyway, I went to have a look to see what it is like.

The parking situation was crazy when I arrived 20 minutes after the sale began (6pm). Cars were everywhere streaming in and out of the car park, searching in vain for a car park before resigning to parking on the grass or any other makeshift parking spot.

There was a free sausage sizzle which didn't last any longer than half an hour. Drinks were still available an hour later, with people helping themselves to can drinks in the fridges. It was PACKED. If you wanted to buy something, you needed to see a sales person who would enter your name and phone number into the system and then specify the price of your product. It seemed quite possible you could specify whatever price you wanted (maybe they need to check that).

Then it was on to the massive queue as people lined up to pay. Some interesting observations:

Massive success pulling in people to see the store. Many would have been there for the first time that night.
At the door, each person had to give in their invite, as well as tell them their postcode.. useful information to find out how far the promotion spread.
Cost plus $1 is a great way to move your stock in one night
Not everything was on sale so they could have made quite a lot of money on ancilliary purchases or complementary goods
People didn't think twice, buying things that they need and much of what they want as well
As people had to line up a long time, one effect was that people would buy more stuff to make the lining up more worth it
For others, the long line was enough to drop your iron and leave the store, opting to pay full price than spend half an hour lining up to save $6.
Staff took too long sorting through invoices that had been printed out, trying to find people's names from four different printers.
More staff processing payments would have improved their total revenue for the night.
Perhaps giving customers a number on their invoice would have sped up the sorting through paperwork.
Many people would have signed up to be a member of Kambo's that night or when their friends told them about the sale the next day

Why Social Networking skills are essential in Australia

2010-02-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

A Nielson survey has revealed that Australians are the most social network savvy people in the world. Australians on average spent more time using Facebook and Twitter than the US and UK for example.

Country	Unique Audience (000)	Time per Person (hh:mm:ss)
United States	142,052	6:09:13
Japan	46,558	2:50:21
Brazil	31,345	4:33:10
United Kingdom	29,129	6:07:54
Germany	28,057	4:11:45
France	26,786	4:04:39
Spain	19,456	5:30:55
Italy	18,256	6:00:07
Australia	9,895	6:52:28
Switzerland	2,451	3:54:34
Source: The Nielsen Company

Read the blog entry on the Nielson website here.

Trying to catch a falling star

2010-02-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

It's almost midnight and I just had to blog about the Lotterywest ad campaign that has been running in the past few weeks. I realised that the last blog entry was about Lotterywest but that is purely coincidental. Have a look at the video below and see what you think. What makes it so good? Catchy song which sticks in your head (that's why I'm here), great storyline and emphasizes Lotterywest's subtle role in helping community. There are not many ads that you don't get bored of watching.. I am not sure if it is already but I think this ad makes for a great ad for cinemas. Great strategy once again to Lotterywest.. kinda explains why they decided not to require naming rights for Perth's Australia Day Skyshow.

You Don't Always Need Naming Rights

2010-01-18T23:12:00.000-08:00

Photo taken from the 2010 Perth Skyshow

Credit goes to Lotterywest this week after they announced that they will continue to support the Australia Day fireworks with financial support but do not want the Australia Day fireworks to be called the Lotterywest Fireworks and prefer just "Australia Day Celebrations". They said in an article by WAToday that "Of course we want the public to know (about our support). (But) we didn't think that - with the importance of Australia Day - asking for those naming rights was consistent with our overall approach."

Its a good reminder and a great strategy, that a company be consistent with their company ethos and not just pursue things just for the sake of commercial benefit.

Coke v Pepsi this Saturday on Perth Beach

2010-01-06T00:45:00.000-08:00

Not sure whether Coca Cola and Pepsi are aware of this but their summer campaigns seem like they are about to go head to head on a Perth beach this Saturday. Coca cola has sent out an invite to all their staff regarding the Coca-cola Bottle Blast which will give people a little experience similar to the summer Coke advertisements that feature a massive coke bottle that blasts people out of the top of the bottle.

I am quite sure that you won't get that experience but something fun will be at Scarborough beach looking a little like this - a massive.. bouncy castle?

Meanwhile, as reported in Mumbrella, Pepsi are doing their summer promotion with a Hit Refresh campaign where the first person to locate a Pepsi button will get a $250 gift card.

Coca-Cola will be on Scarborough Beach Friday to Sunday from 10am-6pm.
Pepsi will release their clue on twitter some time between 12pm and 2pm on Saturday.

Edit: Great Strategy had a look at the Coca Cola promotion on Saturday afternoon. They gave away mini coke and coke zero cans, hats, beach balls and sun glasses. There didn't seem to be as big a crowd as they expected, possibly because of the recent shark scares at Scarborough Beach.

Pepsi's "Hit Refresh" campaign hardly attracted any participants, with the prize almost forfeited until Asha of Dianella found the button, almost two hours after the start of the promotion.
Mars Australia was also doing a summer campaign on the beach, giving away free mars bars and an ice sculpture set up not too far away from the Coca-Cola promotion.

Nokia E72 Launched via Blog Challenge

2010-01-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

The geniuses behind Nokia's world brand marketing, 1000 Heads, has outdone themselves with the recent release of the Nokia E72 around the world during the Christmas period, giving every blogger the extra holidays to spend more time writing up their reviews and exploring the E72 to its fullest extent. Locked perspex boxes, guarded by a magnetic lock, were sent to bloggers such as the MyE63 blog with the slick, new Nokia E72 and a poster with a clue that each blogger had to solve to solve the combination lock.

The anticipation of playing with the Nokia E72 would have been overwhelming. Usually bloggers receive the cardboard box that you get your mobile phone in it but this time, with a little more (well spent) dollars, 1000heads made bloggers excited and with such a launch, it is hard to imagine 1000heads doing anything much different from this product launch. How much difference a big perspex box and a little extra effort can make has us awarding Nokia with the marketing strategy of the month.

Some bloggers just couldn't wait..

Droids in Times Square and Live-in shopfronts at 5th avenue

2009-11-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

As businesses look towards the holiday season, we've had some interesting promotions in the US following Black Friday, the first Friday after Thanksgiving which marks the beginning of the retail silly season.

Google Android started off with a Times Square display of their new Droid's ability to do voice searches over Google. In the campaign droiddoes.com, Google showcases the features that iPhones don't have. People in Times Square were able to speak to the display and have Google search their query on a big screen, powered by Droid.

Also another Great Strategy can be found at XOXO clothing store on 5th Avenue, New York has taken shopfront displays to another (lower?) level. Not only does their shopfront feature real women, they spend much of their time trying on different outfits available in XOXO and another proportion of their time just sitting around in.. not much. It sure draws a crowd but I wonder how many women then decide to buy something from XOXO after they see the clothes modelled in the shopfront. Go to www.whatwillshedonext.com to read or view more on this ad campaign.

iSnack 2.0 - it had to be said

2009-10-07T00:37:00.000-07:00

Ok we have not blogged for a while but everyone in the blogosphere must mention something about iSnack 2.0 and so here we are, doing the inevitable and ready to lambast the collective wisdom of the competition panel (whoever they were) selecting such a moronic name as iSnack 2.0.

Many bloggers and marketing commentators floated the idea that it may have been great strategy to pick a crap name and create a talking point for everyone gathered together to watch the AFL finals. Think about it, this point has merits. Apart from the mental reluctance to conclude that someone consciously thought that iSnack was a real good name, we have to consider that the launch of this name happened during the AFL finals. A major fail would be to pick a neutral name that washes off the brain before the next ad break so picking a contraversial name could have been a master stroke to ensure that the 2.95 million people watching the game would start talking about Vegemite than the Cats. Think about how many people you know who DOESN'T know that:

There is a new vegemite
It has a crap name
There's cheese mixed in with vegemite

And how many people wondered aloud to you what it would taste like?

Considering they did an online vote for the new name to replace iSnack 2.0 also may be a hint that they knew what they were doing. After all, it was the Web 2.0 interactivity that decided the final name. How many people voted in the online poll? 30,000 in 3 days. 751 mentions of Vegemite in Google News just in the last 24 hours. Not bad. And the new name - Vegemite Cheesybite. Didn't we see this coming before the competition?

440ml Coke Cans and Bottles

2009-09-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

As a means of upgrading the spend per person, Coca-Cola has decided to move drinkers of the 375ml cans and 390ml bottles to 440ml. The cans have already started to appear in IGA as "AFL cans" and the bottles should be appearing in distribution chains soon.

If you are the first to notice one of these drinks, leave a comment with a link to your picture.

Highlights of the Week - Nando's Chaser Bruno launch

2009-06-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Whilst the Chaser's War on Everything signed an agreement not to interfere with the Bruno launch, the Sphere Agency led the charge, bringing in a fake Bruno flanked with an entourage of semi-clad models to promote Nando's Chicken, an Australian Portuguese chicken fast food chain. Two posters were held up that said "This year's hottest chicks are covered in peri-peri" and while the fake Bruno was being dragged away, the remaining models poured sauce all over themselves standing on the podium set up for the real Bruno.

Considering the number of cameras and videos being shot of this incident, it was a stroke of genius from an Australian advertising agency that has made headlines in other parts of the world like the New York Daily News, Toronto Sun and even Brazilian media. However, most outlets did not want to mention the fast food chain responsible for the best punk'd premiere.

Highlights of the Week - Perth Hero's in Pizza wars

2009-06-25T20:32:00.001-07:00

Like many of you, I get excited when I see a company doing that little bit more to drive business their way. I am of course talking about Hero's Pizza in Perth. The pizza market in Australia is already very crowded, with smaller operators having to think beyond sticking a sign on the top of their shop and hoping people stumble in so there is nothing like a small pizza shop taking it to the big boys in town with their all-out efforts to market their dough. They stop short of putting up a road closed sign on Canning Hwy in order to get people to get a pizza before they realise that they didn't actually want one.

Underwear Outside on - if you want $5 off your pizza, turn up at the shop wearing your underwear on the outside. Here are a few that beat you to it.

Ongoing Winners wall - The website has a winners picture gallery of people who have recently won their pizza.

Quality guarantee - If the pizza is not bigger, better and fresher, you get it free.

Everyone loves gamble - Every time you buy a pizza, you get to spin the wheel for a chance to win a free pizza. The website claims that they have given away $34,262 worth of pizza so far.

FREE stuff - While waiting for your pizza, they offer free coffee, tea and slushy drinks while you wait and I think arcade games as well.

Massive signage - When business is slow, they hire a roadworks wheelie sign to direct all traffic to Hero's Pizza from Canning Hwy, one of the main arteries in Perth.

Merchandise - Nothing says you need to get with the "Jones" like an offering of merchandise to die-hard fans. To push you that little further to buy your own Hero's underwear, they run promotions to give discounts to those that bought into their success, maybe to reduce the buyers remorse you may suffer when your friends don't think that your Hero's visor is as cool as it looked in the shop.

There are very few businesses that make such an effort on their doorstop to bring in customers. We all have those streets in our cities (eg James St in Perth and Lygon St in Melbourne) where people are hounded as they walk past but many businesses sit there and wait, hoping that someone would walk in to buy their kebab or whatever. I can imagine the owner of Hero's frantically pacing up and down at any moment there are no customers sipping their free slushy. We need more business owners like that.

One admission from me is that I haven't actually tried their pizza. But their effort so far certainly wins a gold star from Great Strategy.

Twittering Up Your Profile - Perez Hilton v John Mayer

2009-06-23T00:59:00.000-07:00

As I'm typing this blog, Perez Hilton and John Mayer are exchanging tweets since the incident where Perez Hilton was punched in the face by a tour manager for Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. Usually, what celebrities say is filtered by their publicists and spin doctors and this is the reason why Twitter has become a major promo opportunity for people like John Mayer. John decided to send Perez a few pointers like offering to train him in an old martial art called "Never Call A Black Dude a Faggot Jitsu."

Meanwhile, Perez Hilton has been increasing in mentions on twitter by users around the world and hey, even blogs like this one. Who are the winners? Perez Hilton and John Mayer. As the textual stoush is being played out, more and more twitter users are "following" the two to get updates on their twitter account. So how much did this extra publicity cost the two celebs? Nothing. Perhaps one hour of their time.

The instant access that Twitter gives to companies and their "followers" makes it a very powerful marketing tool and one that you need to know how to use well in order to prevent a major backlash from users, like the one Perez might get if he doesn't play his cards right engaging Mayer and his jitsu.

In the time this blog was posted, Perez increased his following by 207 people and John Mayer ended his 1 on 1 with this:

@PerezHilton Good night Perez, you dumb s***. #perezisokbyme

Highlights of the Week - Uni Loonies Wildcats Marketing Juggernaut

2009-06-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

It was a simple idea, but a marketing stroke of genius in sporting history. We're talking about the Uni Loonies, the Perth Wildcats rent-a-crowd supporters who took up complimentary front row tickets to the Perth Wildcats games in exchange for a menacing and contagious presence in the stadium.

Australian Luc Longley, playmate of Michael Jordan and former owner of the Perth Wildcats brought back the idea of the Uni Loonies to Perth when he saw raucous and parochial fans in the US college basketball scene. University students with little to lose would be encouraged to encourage mob mentality against visiting teams in the Perth Entertainment Centre. The result -

a massive increase in crowd attendance for the 1999/2000 season,
12-1 win rate for the Wildcats at home,
a national award for a television story done on the Uni Loonies
free radio and press coverage of Wildcats games
and of course, the championship celebrated appropriately on home turf.

Admittedly, I think the Uni Loonies supporters idea was a great strategy because I got free season tickets to the Wildcats and I was involved in coming up with most of the ideas that the Uni Loonies did that season. Surrounded by likeminded fans who would look at you if you weren't chanting with them, rather than the other way around, we egged each other on and made the Entertainment Centre a fearful place for teams. It became a little embarrassing for lukewarm fans too.. imagine three rows of people pointing in your direction because you weren't standing up to support the team.

How to kill a good idea? Get greedy. The Wildcats administration decided to charge us a nominal price for season tickets the next season. That immediately had a massively dampening effect on the enthusiasm of the Uni Loonies. They became like other fans, bandwagon jumpers - cheering on the team when they were doing well, waning support when the team needed the support most. The Wildcats may have received around $4000 in ticket sales from us, but lost the immeasurable effect of turning the Loonies into crowd-pleasers.

Why did it work? The Uni Loonies were given complimentary tickets with the condition that they support the team vocally. This gave the fans more ownership of the team than ever before. If the team lost, these fans would realise they had a part to play in the loss. As a "sixth man" on the court, the Loonies would do anything to help the team win and bring in the involvement of the rest of the crowd. Without perceived ownership, fans become just spectators.

I've decided to post some articles on the Uni Loonies separately as this is getting long, so you can read more about what the press said about the Uni Loonies here. Photos will be posted soon as well.

"The West Australian" Articles on Wildcats' Uni Loonies in 1999/2000

2009-06-18T00:44:00.000-07:00

How to make attendance increase 22% in one season

Newspaper articles about the Perth Wildcats in the 1999/2000 season.
Survival Priority For Titans

Dave Hughes

492 words

12 April 2000

The West Australian

TWAU

170

English

LAST roll of the dice for the Victoria Titans? Uh-uh. Try last roll of the hand grenade.

Expect an explosive reaction from the Titans to last Friday's six-point loss to the Perth Wildcats when the best-of-three National Basketball League grand finals resume at the Perth Entertainment Centre tonight.

Perth, 15-1 in front of its fanatical supporters this season, is shooting for a record fourth championship title.

The Titans, though, are shooting for survival - and if anyone can appreciate the consequences of desperation, it is the Wildcats. Tonight's antagonists have had to extricate themselves from awkward situations in the elimination and semi-finals.

Both fought back from a game down in the first round of the play-offs and both survived a hostile environment to win the deciding semi-final.

Impressive as it is, the Wildcats' home-court record does not guarantee them victory against a team that has consistently proved its resilience this season.

The Perth players acknowledged this by keeping their emotions in check after last Friday's hard-fought win at Melbourne Park.

They know the Titans will be a tougher proposition tonight because it is unlikely that players like Darryl McDonald, Jason Smith and Ben Pepper will have another off-night.

Victoria coach Brian Goorjian knows as well as anyone that improved defence and rebounding are critical to his side extending the series to a decider on Friday.

The Titans got hammered on the backboards in game one and it was Perth that produced the only significant period of sustained defence, holding the Titans to 12 points in the third term, while scoring 22 themselves.

Despite Perth's caution, the Titans' task is ... well ... titanic.

Just as several Victoria players will expect to make a more significant contribution, so, too, will Wildcats captain Andrew Vlahov.

Titans forward Tony Ronaldson lit him up like a display window for 25 points and it is inconceivable the Perth captain will allow that to re-occur.

The Wildcats will also enjoy their own rims. They do not find Melbourne Park a shooter-friendly environment and will expect to record a better percentage tonight.

Equally, the Wildcats will enjoy their home crowd. The Uni Loonies and Hawaiian Boys create an intimidating atmosphere for visiting teams and the bedlam they create is sufficiently infectious to spread to the back row.

Victoria will have to disrupt the Paul Rogers-Ricky Grace connection that dominated game one. Rogers, who on Monday became the first Perth representative to win the league's Most Valuable Player honour, should again dominate the keyway and Grace's ability to control the tempo is pivotal.

Although Perth will want to meet Victoria's assault head on, it must do so with controlled aggression. Foul trouble nearly cost it game one, with Grace and Vlahov teetering on the brink with five fouls and the Titans taking 14 more free throws.

How'd You Go?

Dave Hughes

573 words

10 April 2000

The West Australian

TWAU

English

THE Uni Loonies have the better name, but the Hawaiian Boys have an impromptu Melbourne chapter.

The two groups sit behind the baskets at either end of the court at Perth Wildcats home games and give considerable stick to opposing teams in general and one player in particular.

The Loonies, from Murdoch, win the award for the best sledge for their "Rillie is a tape worm" chant, directed at West Sydney's skinny, shaven-headed shooter during the elimination finals.

UWA's Hawaiian Boys take the sartorial honours, if only for catching the eye of Melbourne-based Wildcats fans during telecasts from the Entertainment Centre.

...

Document twau000020010828dw4a003gd

How'd You Go?

Dave Hughes

574 words

1 February 2000

The West Australian

English

IT'S official. The bounce is back in basketball, especially in Perth.

The National Basketball League recently completed its mid-season audit of crowd numbers, something which in recent years has caused officials to shudder violently and reluctantly peep at the findings through their fingers.

This summer, however, the attendance figures were accompanied, not by groans, but by the popping of corks. The increase from last season was 15 per cent.

Admittedly, the gain was achieved in part by the near sell-out for the opening of the monster Olympic venue at Homebush in Sydney and the arrival in the league of Cairns.

And nowhere have crowds risen more than at the Perth Entertainment Centre. The Wildcats have been playing to a 22 per cent bigger audience since Andrew Vlahov and Luc Longley bought a controlling interest in the club and set about winning back the fans.

No Place Like Home For The Wildcats

Dave Hughes

485 words

15 January 2000

The West Australian

109

English

...

When Andrew Vlahov and Luc Longley bought a controlling stake in the Wildcats last August, they determined that one of their key points to revitalise the moribund club was to emphasise a basic tenant of professional sport: win at home.

The considerable home-court advantage the Wildcats once enjoyed had all but evaporated. The frenzied, house-full atmosphere which helped the Wildcats to 12-1 records at home in 1991 and 1993 had faded to the indifference of a half-empty stadium and a barely tolerable 7-6 mark in Perth last season.

To rectify this, Longley suggested that ticket prices be cut to lure back the families and that free tickets be given to several hundred local students who, in essence, would be required to sing for their supper. Loudly.

Longley was seeking to recreate the crowd frenzy of US college basketball, hence the formation of the Uni Loonies from Murdoch, who sit behind one basket, and the Hawaiian Gang from UWA, who sit behind the other.

The Uni Loonies frequent the same website where they plan their game-night chants and activities.

They target a specific opposition player and harass him from the time he steps on the court to warm up to his final exit to the change room.

"It's got to be intimidating for opponents," said Vlahov.

"The students have been fantastic. They get everyone else going and the place is as noisy as it was when I first came into the league."

Only one NBL team has been unbeaten at home in the 1990s - the now defunct Magic, who went 12-0 in Melbourne in 1992.

Document twau000020010828dw1f00ouf

Our article about the Loonies here

Highlights of the Week - Your Generation

2009-06-10T00:10:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you want to increase your TV audience? Increase the target audience.

What if you don't want to dilute your current demographic appeal? Specifically target other demographics.

If you don't get we're talking about, we're talking about the Channel 10 show "Talkin' 'bout your Generation". The show pits two representatives of three different "generations" against each other to answer questions about everything. Baby Boomers vs Generation X vs Generation Y. From the facebook groups, social commentators would have noticed the huge appeal of reminiscing of the good ol' days whether they be the 70's, 80's or 90's. Its seeing slinkys and hypercolour t-shirts that puts smiles on some people's faces, bemused faces and then followed by "you had to be there" attitudes to the generations that missed out.

Talkin' 'bout Your Generation has averaged 1.3m+ viewers each episode which indicates that someone has hit the right formula with this show. Add to it the expert hosting by Shaun Micallef and a panel of comedians from all the eras, this show has lots still to give. My prediction is that this sort of TV show will be produced more in the coming months where the different "eras" go against each other whilst advertisers laugh their way to the bank.

Tuesday’s (9/6/09) top 15 shows:

Seven News - Seven 1.7m
Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation - Ten 1.7m
NCIS 8:30pm - Ten 1.6m
The Zoo - Seven 1.5m
A Current Affair - Nine 1.5m
Today Tonight - Seven 1.4m
Find My Family - Seven 1.4m
Masterchef - Ten 1.4m
Nine News - Nine 1.3m
NCIS 9:30pm - Ten 1.3m
Two and a Half Men 7pm - Nine 1.2m
All Saints - Seven 1.2m
Home and Away - Seven 1.2m
Two and a Half Men 8:30pm - Nine 1.2m
Two and a Half Men 9pm - Nine 1.1m

Edit: Can I just say, I told you so? Great Australian Cook-off

Everyday Rewards and Epumps

2009-05-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

Many of us find it particularly exciting when they see a company leading in innovation and product development. Woolworths is no longer a groceries store but quickly becoming the corporate "corner store" and recently, its their petrol station revolution that has us blogging about today.

Many of the Caltex Woolworths petrol stations are rolling out epumps (see locations here) which allow customers to pull up to a bowser, wave a credit card at the bowser, fill up and then drive away. No need to queue up, no need to get a receipt either because the receipt is emailled to your email account immediately.

They've used the new epumps to also roll out:

1. Everyday Money credit cards which give 10c off petrol so you can buy petrol at 98.9c in Perth

2. Everyday Rewards loyalty cards

3. Subsequently causes you to see Woolworths stores as another opportunity to earn points.

4. Makes you want to try out the self serve innovative woolworths check out stations in the City.

5. Everyday Rewards website which has a communal suggestion box where people rate each others' suggestions and you can see how much you have saved shopping at woolworths etc

In a matter of one week signing up to the Everyday money credit card, I found myself at a Woolworths petrol station, shopping at woolworths and surfing on their website. That is one successful promotion.

Highlights of the week - SMSGlobal

2009-05-18T23:46:00.000-07:00

When you have a competitive product, the challenge is to get that product out there. At the recent CeBIT expo, SMSGlobal were giving out cards offering 225 free sms when you sign up to SMS Global for free. That was the sort of deal people come back from expos with a smile on their face.

Quickly, the offer became the top offer on many bargain websites like OzBargain and TopBargain, increasing their publicity even more. I have no idea how many people signed up to SMS Global in the past week but I would not be surprised if 10,000+ people did.

Once the 225 free sms are used up, users would find the 10c / SMS (cheaper if you order more than 100 sms in one go) a very reasonable price to continue using the service. Many of the triallers would definitely become paying customers, because:

1. The price is right

2. They are already over the hurdle of signing up

3. The website offers many flexible ways of importing the mobile numbers from excel etc

4. You're happy. A happy customer is a good customer. Getting $22.50 worth of sms, puts a smilt on anyone's face.

5. Many people don't know yet how to sms from their computer via their mobile phone so this will make life easier for them

6. You can make the sms come from a "Name" such as "Fred Flintstone", rather than just a random number.

SMS global, good work!

Twitter - why a bird sound makes so much noise

2009-05-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

As someone who describes himself as quite internet savvy, I managed to resist the urge to join Twitter until only a month ago. I thought, what's the big deal about a social network that only allows you to update 160 characters at a time? You can't even put the URL links in that you are talking about, without turning it into a TinyUrl.

So I joined twitter with two eyes open to identify what the big deal is, after Ashton Kutcher was the first Twitter account to have 1,000,000 million followers.

Here are some things I found interesting about twitter, which are relevant to marketing people:

1. Twitter allows you to update your customers subliminally. Every time they log on to twitter, they see your company name and your updates.

2. Twitter increases your customer loyalty. You are talking to people at a personal level with twitter, even if you are a bank.

3. Twitter allows you to search your company name to see what people are saying about your company. (eg Getting a lot of "steak is crap at Harry's" twitter updates.. then its time to rethink that recipe)

4. Twitter can grow your following very quickly.

5. Twitter breaks down the barrier between company and Generation Z, who don't go to a store counter or call up on the phone.

I'm still looking so these are some things I have found.

Highlights of the week - Ubank

2009-05-11T23:34:00.000-07:00

NAB's subsidiary which has aimed at the younger generation, getting itself on twitter and facebook. Recently offered free 1GB thumb drives to the first 1000 followers on Twitter. One week later, they still have 1,200 followers and they are giving daily updates about their call centre and other "behind the scenes stuff" and replying to individual twitterers which makes the bank a more friendly face on the net.

So what does a bank do with people following them? Have a look here http://twitter.com/UBank or here are some of their twitters:

@jessnichols You're definitely on our list, hope our emails are not hitting your spam folder, it'll be posted soon. Thanks for touching baseabout 7 hours ago from web

Hello to all 1,300 of our Twitter friends. Thanks so much for for tuning in. Share your feedback anytime to @UBank, DM or hello@ubank.com.auabout 9 hours ago from web

Hello, We've emailed all registrants for the UBank 1GB USB Drive, check your inbox folks, some of you may have some info to confirm. Thanks.about 10 hours ago from web

Why do we follow you when you follow us? It's simple. If you take the time to listen to us, we try our best to reciprocate. Tweet soon.about 10 hours ago from web

RT @bankingreview 7 tips on how to improve your financial knowledge and save money using Twitter http://bit.ly/PysIo Features @UBank...about 17 hours ago from web

An update for those *still* waiting for an email from us regarding USBs, we're running a bit behind with that, it'll be out later today, thxabout 18 hours ago from web

The NAB website has a great little video on "What the budget means for you" as well as a fact sheet http://bit.ly/yA12T #AusBudget09about 18 hours ago from web

@philipargy Thanks for your feedback, we'll take it on board, at the moment there are some privacy issues to consider with #Skype chat11:22 AM May 18th from web in reply to philipargy

Call queues to our Direct Banking Centre (13 30 80) have eased, no wait time now, thanks for your patience + sorry for any inconvenience :)10:17 AM May 18th from web

@philipargy We use #Skype for VoIP calls 24x7 to our Aust. Direct Banking Centre, we're not available via Skype Chat yet http://bit.ly/N5TCZ 9:54 AM May 18th from web

If you don't want to wait on hold, you may wish to apply online at http://bit.ly/5QCdY 9:39 AM May 18th from web

4.51%pa for 3 months is causing a queue at our Direct Banking Centre, sorry for the delays folks, we'll get to your call as soon as we can9:39 AM May 18th from web

Money Box Webisode 6 - It's all about Superannuation, now with over 1,300 views, check it out on our YouTube channel http://bit.ly/16d1pl 3:22 PM May 16th from web

Happy Saturday folks, we're always open here and thought we'd say hello. Speak soon.3:15 PM May 16th from web

Positive rate change eff. 16 May. 6mo now 4.11%. 1mo 3.26%, 3mo 4.51%, 9mo 4.01%& 12mo 4.01% unchanged. Compare@ http://ubank.com.au/compare 11:04 PM May 15th from web

Greatest Job in the World

2009-05-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

We won't spend too much time talking about this stunt, except to say a $2m campaign attracted over $150m worth of free publicity in the world to advertise a $150,000 one year contract as an island caretaker and blogger.

This publicity stunt has earnt worldwide acclaim with many touting it as the most successful publicity stunt in the world in 2009. Ok that's enough.