Overthrow: 10 Ways to Tell a Challenger Story

Posted on Mar 19, 2013 in Insights
Overthrow: 10 Ways to Tell a Challenger Story

Overthrow: 10 Ways to Tell a Challenger Story is a book which builds on 10 key business types dubbed as “challenger brands”, defined as those which have “ambitions that outstrip their available resources” and are “always looking for ways to do more with less”. Which business is yours? Here are the 10 examples:  The Irreverent Maverick:  ...

What The Veronica Mars Movie Tells Us about Product Loyalty

Posted on Mar 14, 2013 in Insights
What The Veronica Mars Movie Tells Us about Product Loyalty

The Veronica Mars Movie, the dream-come-true for fans of the cult hit TV show canceled six years ago, just became the fastest Kickstarter project ever to reach $2 million. 1 day is all it took. Not bad for a show that never topped #138 on Nielsen ratings. So why are fans of the teen girl ...

Challenger Brands Coming to the Forefront of Consumer Awareness

Posted on Mar 13, 2013 in Insights, News

A recent article in the Australian AdNews outlines a study of new consumer behaviors in response to advertisements produced by the “Big Four” banks. These ads are being labeled by consumers as “insincere” and distrustful, and consumers turn instead to challenger brands for their banking needs as a result. This study also researched consumer sentiment ...

Netflix “Flixies” Awards

Posted on Feb 28, 2013 in Insights
Netflix “Flixies” Awards

Netflix just announced their “Flixies” Awards, rewarding users for their weekly TV binges during their downtime (or imagined downtime) at work. Netflix has launched a new section of their Facebook page that allows fans to vote for their favorites. But the categories aren’t going adhere to the typical boring categorizations. Instead, the list of categories ...

Facebook Hires Pixar Artist to Create New Emoticons

Posted on Feb 14, 2013 in Insights
Facebook Hires Pixar Artist to Create New Emoticons

Emoticons have always seemed to be deliverable in a rather standard set of expressions, but recently with the development of Emoji and their plethora of dynamic animated depictions, Facebook too is started to see a need to enhance their own set of smileys. They’ve hired Matt Jones from Pixar to aid them in the task ...

Transmedia Buzz

Posted on Jan 3, 2013 in Insights
Transmedia Buzz

It looks like transmedia storytelling is all the buzz lately, with TV shows even embracing transmedia storytelling methods. Just last month, Jimmy Kimmel, of “Hey Jimmy! I told my kids I ate all their Halloween candy” fame (oh, and he also hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live), hosted a Skype-based contest live on his show. In the ...

The Audience is Key

Posted on Nov 24, 2012 in Insights
The Audience is Key

While it’s important to cover traditional channels of communication in advertising, it is important not to ignore a new, very effective channel for promotion – the audience itself. Simon Staffans reminds us that in a transmedia marketing landscape, it’s not only important to think about the audience we want to reach, but also the audience ...

Lady Gaga is Twitter’s most popular user

Posted on Nov 4, 2012 in Insights
Lady Gaga is Twitter’s most popular user

Surprisingly (or maybe not), Lady Gaga is Twitter’s most popular user, with 30 + million followers. Not even the POTUS, the fifth most followed tweeter, can keep up with her 9 million-fan-lead. Troy Carter, the brains behind her media strategy, is optimistically adapting and reinventing what most think is a broken industry – the music ...

Disney acquires Lucas Films

Posted on Oct 24, 2012 in Insights
Disney acquires Lucas Films

Disney has recently acquired LucasFilms, but what comes with the franchise is one of the largest, most loyal and zealous fanbases in history. While this may come as a huge monetary blessing for Disney, they have also inherited an enormous responsibility in caring for these fans. Disney must learn to take care of the delicate ...

CNNMoney: “How VIZIO Conquered TV”

Posted on Jul 25, 2012 in Insights
CNNMoney: “How VIZIO Conquered TV”

CNNMoney today did a write-up on VIZIO (who we are proud to call a client) and its meteoric climb over the past decade to become not only a disruptor, but a major player in the television space. Starting by changing the game by selling HDTVs for less the competition, they now produce some of the most innovative entertainment ...