Social Media Monopoly Board Game

Yes it's here the Social Media Monopoly the board game, bringing together everything we love about the web today into one place. Properties include Facebook, YouTube, Foursquare, Digg, Reddit, and Blogger, with the Jail now replaced with Myspace (where you are sent to think about what you've done). The board can be seen below, with the Mashable and Technorati cards below also. Enjoy.


Pic - Social Media Monopoly Board Game


Mashable Card Examples




Technorati Card Examples





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Augmented Reality - Do you believe the hype?

I just thought I'd share an article I wrote at the end of last year for my agency's The Insight E-newsletter about Augmented Reality and whether brands should be buying into the hype in 2010. As usual feel free to share your thoughts, I'm always happy to hear and chat through any opinions out there similar or dissimilar to my own.


Augmented Reality - Do you believe the hype?

Augmented Reality (AR) is the term used to describe a live view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with virtual computer-generated imagery, and was certainly a big talking point of 2009, especially in a media sense, where it seemed AR kicked things up a notch and stepped into the media limelight. In 2009 we saw Blink 182 playing inside crisp packets, Transformers fighting on DVD cases, and BMW's racing around our desks leaving a trail of paint behind them in their wake. What's more we finished the year by inviting AR into our homes for children to play with on the living room floor due to the release of the Playstation 3 EyePet, a Tamagotchi style computer game tipped as a Christmas 2009 smash.


Pic 1 - Playstation 3 EyePet

It certainly does appear like augmented reality is here to stay, and will become even more mass market as consumers get used to the idea of seeing and hearing about the technology, as well as more importantly being given a reason to interact with it (and come back for more). Giving the user a reason to interact is perhaps the most crucial piece of feedback most AR campaigns would have received last year, and although it is all well and good pushing AR campaigns upon consumers, to warrant the £25,000 to £60,000 production cost of most campaigns will on average occur, brands are going to need to work harder to achieve the PR and success that was perhaps easier to achieve in the first half of 2009.

2010 will be the year, I think, where AR will really find its place in mobile, and as we have seen in 2009 with the multitude for apps which are already using AR (such as Yelp, and Wikitude), it seems that AR has found an environment where a wider collective of users can experiment with the technology as well as spread the word easily among the smart phone community. We have already seen existing apps adding augment reality updates to their existing services, such as Urbanspoon, and TFL’s London Bus and Tube apps, and there are apps in development giving advertisers the opportunity to showcase events and offers within applications, allowing users to not only see and view reviews of venues, but purchase tickets or save coupons.


Pic 2 – Bionic Eye Application

Agencies specialised in the development of augmented reality also foresee POS as also being big in 2010, with consumers being able to view products before purchasing, and bringing something new to the shopping experience. We have already seen some impressive examples of this in the US with Lego offering children the chance to see their much anticipated toys come to life before purchasing.

So should you be using augmented reality this year? The truth is that even though the sceptics are saying it’s just a fad, and the bloggers are pleading for long term usability, there are still advertisers bucking all trends. What may seem like silly AR competitions are still grabbing attention, simple test budgets are still catching the early adopters eye, it seems that there are still a multitude of barriers to be broken with no right or wrong rules outside of the normal guidelines to early web fashions, and so if the idea fits, and well communicates the campaign objectives in a way which will offer something to the user, I’d say give it a go.


Related Posts:
Top 10 Augmented Reality Advertising Campaigns… so far
Top 10 Augmented Reality Advertising Campaigns… so far - PART 2

Top 10 Augmented Reality Advertising Campaigns… so far - PART 2

When I posted my previous Top 10 (Top 10 Augmented Reality Adveritising Campaigns… so far) there were almost immediately a host of new examples, and that trend has certainly showed no signs of slowing. There has however started to emerge a new trend which is far more beneficial to the end user, and that is that more and more brands are conjuring up useful ways to integrate augmented reality within their campaigns, with mobile playing a very big part in this. It has also occurred to me while collecting these examples, that while AR still remains quite gimmicky, it can be much more than that (as is hopefully shown in the below examples).


10. Financial Times
Okay, although this might not be the most creative use of AR, but to be showcased on the front cover of the FT, and be followed up with a full page article looking at how the twin challenges of digital media and the recession are forcing advertising agencies to rethink the way they do business, I think it just goes to show how far AR has come this year alone. Although the technology may have been around for a few years now, the fact that it is gathering this much momentum is quite exciting (and so worthy of a place in the top 10).





9. IBM
There have been many examples of events offering programs within mobile applications to help people get around, however I think this may be one of the most innovative created by IBM for this year’s Wimbledon. It involved an app for T-Mobile's G1 which provided information via AR for users to view stats related to the matches, as well as see what’s on sale in the stores and receive real-time Twitter feeds.





8. Paramount - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
To celebrate Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen due released in the UK in June, the ‘We Are Autobots’ Augmented Reality campaign was launched giving the user the opportunity to play the role of Optimus Prime, as well as find hidden messages from Bumblebee which giving users the chance to see exclusive Decepticon footage from the new film via AR. A great way of generating a bit of extra buzz around this much anticipated movie release.





7. Doritos-late-night
This example by Doritos offered consumers the opportunity to select one of two bands (Blink182 or Big Boi) to play a concert for them on the back of the packet. Again one of the more gimmicky example on this list I’m afraid, but still a nice continuation of the previous Doritos example from my previous post, allowing users a chance to grow familiar with the technology.





6. Mattel – Avatar Toys
Announced by Mattel at this year’s Comic Con to follow the much anticipated Avatar movie, a series of toys will be released, each incorporating augmented reality, marking it the first time AR will appear in a retail toy. The i-Tag technology created by Total Immersion will allow consumers to bring their toy to life, and battle others giving a new dimension to their experience.





5. Wrigley’s - 5 Gum
This example for the launch of Wrigley's 5 chewing gum in France, allowed users to mix together their own music using a number of AR symbols. Three symbols representing the different flavours linked to a certain track, with the distance from the main marker determining the volume and effects for each track. This was not only a very innovative user of AR, but I think encompassed the messaging and attributes of the brand.





4. Yelp / Lastminute.com
Once again I have had to tie to similar examples together. Both are, for me, two very good examples of AR on mobile providing a very useful function, but are available free and fully available apps in the Apple App Store.

Yelp
Review site Yelp offers an application that shows users where to go from restaurants to bars and so on. The excellent thing about this app however, is that the AR feature is actually hidden in the app, and only accessible if you shake three times (the phone not you). By doing this you unlock the Monocle feature which overlays the reviews onto the image shown via your camera on your 3Gs iPhone.





Lastminute.com
Something of an ‘under the radar app’ the NRU (pronounced near you) offers a similar experience to the Yelp application, using the features of the phone to not only direct users to the nearest bars and restaurants, but as you would expect gives Lastminute.com full reviews if you tap any of the available options in your area.





3. Glasses Direct
This is a very useful and helpful use of AR, which allows users to visualise the product before purchasing, more importantly it allows them to do this without needing to leave the comfort of your own home.





2. United States Postal Service - Priority Mail
This is another great example of useful ar, giving users the ability to check the size of their packages before sending, saving the user time, but also giving the customer a pleasant experience which they will in turn
associate with the brand.





1. KIA Soul
The “Go Hamster Go!” game released a couple of weeks ago marked the first use of augmented reality in a social media environment. Now I know that it was an Auto brand that topped my last top 10, with the BMW Z4 example, but I'm afraid Kia soul will have to top this one for me. Not only is this really enjoyable use of AR, but it is also in my view a fantastic example of how augmented reality is being integrated within the media environment.






Related Posts:

Top 10 Augmented Reality Adveritising Campaigns… so far
RubberDuckZilla: Augmented Reality Game
BMW Z4 “An Expression of Joy” - Augmented Reality

Twitter Most influential List

This was a neat little article released in the middle of last week naming the most influential Twitterers in the world. Put together by agency JCPR, their 'Twitter index' was based on an algorithm, rating the number of followers each user has, as well as the interest their posts generate among followers, including the number of times their name is mentioned and how many times they are 'retweeted' by others. The list is as follows:

The Top 20 Influential Twitters, according to JCPR:
Jonathan Ross (@Wossy)
Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton)
Stephen Fry (@StephenFry)
Ashton Kutcher (@AplusK)
Graham Linehan (@Glinner)
Demi Moore (@MrsKutcher)
CNN (@CNNbrk)
Lance Armstrong (@LanceArmstrong)
New York Times (@NYTimes)
Wil Wheaton (@Wilw)
Shaquille O'Neal (@The_Real_Shaq)
Downing Street (@DowningStreet)
Jason Bradbury (@JasonBradbury)
Philip Schofield (@Schofe)
Soulja Boy (@SouljaBoyTellEm)
Jimmy Fallon (@JimmyFallon)
Barack Obama (@BarackObama)
John Mayer (@JohnCMayer)
Michael Arrington (@TechCrunch)
Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest)


Unfortunately I fell just outside this, but then again there’s always next year!!


Another interesting Twitter Influential list can be found here: www.twitalyzer.com which includes 100 names, and is regularly updated using measures of average influence, their signal-to-noise ratio, their generosity, velocity, and clout (you can even drill down by country if need be).


You can follow me here @funkadelicad

South Park mentions Susan Boyle in latest episode

As you may of heard there is a certain lady called Susan Boyle creating a bit of a Twitterstorm over the last week or so, and whilst I was desperately trying to avoid writing about her, I kind of feel compelled to mention this recent update. It was tweeted today by Telegraph.co.uk that South Park (not being a show to miss an opportunity to poke fun at the latest hot topic) have namechecked Susan Boyle in their latest episode (see below).



You can view the full Telegraph.co.uk article here 'Susan Boyle is namechecked on South Park' and for all of those who are interested in how a normal everyday cat-lady can go from zero to hero in a matter of tweets, please read Nick Burcher's post entitled: Susan Boyle - Google Insights for Search shows her global celebrity status!.



Susan Boyle - Mentions Chart (www.twist.flaptor.com)



Susan Boyle Performance - Britain's Got Talent

Baker Tweet - Twitter tool for Bakers

Baker Tweet is a piece of hardware that allows bakeries to update their followers as to when there is anything new about to come out of the oven. The below video explains all, but basically the baker can turn a dial and select the relevant product, then with the push of a button a tweet is sent.





If you wish to find out more you can visit Poke (the creative brains behind this), or follow Albion's Oven on Twitter @albionsoven to see what's coming out of the oven.