Top 100 social brands of 2009

Social marketing agency Vitrue has published a list over what they call the most social brands of 2009. By most social they mean the brands that get talked about the most on social media sites. To determine this they have created a tool called Social Media Index which counts the times a brand is shared through social networks, images or videos. The list doesn't say anything about the quality or success of social media campaigns. Or about whether the social buzz is positive or negative for that matter, but I still think it's interesting to see what people are talking about out there on the social web.

Top 10:

1. iPhone

2. Disney

3. CNN

4. MTV

5. MBA

6. iTunes

7. Wii

8. apple

9. Xbox

10. Nike

Check out the rest at The Vitrue 100

Banksy comments on global warming

Via Woostercollective

Augmented reality - technology hype of 2009

Augmented reality was one of those things that just seemed to pop up everywhere in 2009. Most of the time the AR based concepts were nothing more than marketing gimmicks that didn't seem to use the technology to improve on things. It was merely a case of let's-do-it-because-we-can" syndrome.

like this Tokyo store front where you can get the latest shopping information by looking at the building through your iPhone. But why would you have to download a special iPhone app, that only works when you stand in front of the building, to get that information?

Or this Mini print ad that shows the new model when viewed through a web cam. Again, I just can't see why people have to go through all this trouble to access information. There doesn't seem to be much in it for the user.

But there has also been examples of really helpful and interesting AR ideas. Like the Nearest Tube iPhone app by acrossair that will guide you to the nearest tube station.

Or the Invizimals game for Sony PSP where you can use the portable device to detect and catch monsters in your surroundings.

There's clearly potential to apply the AR technology to popular culture in useful and exciting ways. Let's hope we see more of that and less of the gimmicky stuff in 2010.

G-Star is entering into social media territory in their New York Fashion Week Competition

In a previous post I wrote about how crowd sourcing seems to be gaining popularity in advertising, but in this online competition by G-Star the crowd sourcing idea has had a social media layer added to it. People are simply encouraged to sign up for the competition by using the log in from their favorite social networking site. Then it's up to the individual Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or Flicr user to impress the G-Star judges by uploading video, images and writing tweets showcasing their passion for fashion and denim. The most convincing social networking effort in each category is rewarded with a trip to New York Fashion Week where they get to cover the G-Star runway show, and get their reports streamed live on G-Star.com.

The aim is of course to get people to participate and engage with the brand in a more active fashion. But the way the competition is set up also allows G-Star to get a valuable presence in people's social networks and online conversations. Definitely a good attempt at integrating social media and advertising. It will be interesting to see what the development will be like in this area in 2010.

Spotted at Viralblog

Christmas installation by Lost Boys International

Why not celebrate the fact that it's christmas by creating a big Christmas-carol-playing mobile?

The Mobile Mobile installation is created by London agency Lost Boys International who decided to turn a company mobile phone upgrade into a giant Christmas themed recycling project - now on display in their lobby. Mobile phones hanging from the ceiling are assigned an individual tone and connected to computers that call them up when activated.

The result: Whenever the installation is tweeted the mobile ringtone orchestra plays Choir of the Bells. Or, you can play your own Christmas jingle live in their lobby by using your computer keyboard. Pretty cool!

Via Imaginary Foundation

MediaBeat interview with Nick Law

Nick Law, Chief Creative Officer at R/GA (they have among other things done the interactive NIKEiD platform), shares his views on future advertising trends. He talks about how social media and platform building will play a bigger role in the advertising landscape in 2010. Law also points out that it's going to be more and more about maintaining ongoing relationships with customers than it is about broadcasting a message. This means that brands will have to focus more on fitting into people's daily lives and their individual media rhythms in order to engage with them in the digital space.

Via psfk

Print After Party

Great project from Posterchild and Jason Eppink.

The little installations inside abandoned newsracks in NYC are meant to celebrate the end of print. Radios, disco balls, paper cut outs and LED lights all make up the good bye party for the news paper media.

Eppink explains:"When the last vestiges of a collapsed empire litter the landscape, there's only one thing to do: throw a bumpin' party and dance on the ruins."

Print After Party from Jason Eppink on Vimeo.

Posterchild is a very productive street artist from Canada - his blog is worth checking out, there are almost new up dates every day. Jason Eppink is probably most know for his Pixelator project - also worth checking out if you're not familiar with it already.