Angry Birds Space becomes fastest-growing mobile game ever
While nobody can deny the massive popularity of Rovio's Angry Birds franchise, there are plenty of skeptics who question whether Rovio's cash cow will remain popular forever.
And for good reason: in today's fast-paced and highly-competitive gaming market, which now includes millions of social and casual 'gamers', producing hits is difficult but keeping them hits is often even more difficult.
Managing your brand abroad: a guide to multilingual branding
We’re nothing if not resourceful in the UK. While high street sales may be dropping, a number of UK-based retailers are marketing themselves abroad, yet keeping the business (and product fulfilment) on UK shores.
Scottish brand Lyle & Scott, for example, has expanding markets in France, Germany and Sweden through e-commerce sites designed for those markets, while managing the business from its home in Selkirk.
Q&A: Frank Rose on digital storytelling and media immersion
Frank Rose is the author of The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation Is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories and a contributing editor to Wired.
Last week, he gave one of the keynotes at Ad:tech Sydney, based upon digital storytelling and why marketers need to surrender the idea that brands control their messaging. I was able to catch up with him afterwards, where he generously expanded his thoughts on this complex topic.
Think like an entrepreneur: Five strategies for brand innovation
Innovation. It's brought up in articles, at conferences and in board meetings. But how can we innovate in companies that still don't have the flexibility or the right mind set?
Julie Cottineau, former VP of Brand for Virgin USA, brought the idea that we are all entrepreneurs to Columbia University's Brite Conference this morning. Innovation isn't just for new businesses so how do we bring it to the heart of an established company?
Websites crucial to CPG brands: report
Major CPG brands spend eye-popping sums of money every year across multiple channels trying to convince consumers to buy their products when they walk into the supermarket.
When it comes to how that money is spent, you're probably more likely to think about high-profile television campaigns than you are to, say, websites. After all, a funny television ad for a cereal probably seems more appealing than a cereal website.
RIP: The Priceline. com Negotiator
William Shatner is probably best known for playing two roles: James T. Kirk on Star Trek, and The Negotiator in Priceline.com commercials.
James T. Kirk will live forever in the minds of Star Trek fans, but The Negotiator is dead after plunging off a bridge in a bus in the process of saving a family.
DC Entertainment rebrands with interactive logo
Rebranding is never easy. A company's visual identity is extremely important, and established companies can risk a lot when they make changes, making change challenging.
Such a challenge was faced by DC Entertainment, which yesterday unveiled its new brand identity. The iconic comic publisher, whose fictional characters include universally-recognized figures like Superman and Batman, was founded nearly 80 years ago. But you wouldn't know that looking at its new logo.
Domains becoming less important: Ev Williams
With ICANN set to allow the expansion of the pool of gTLDs, you can be sure that many marketers will be hearing, and thinking a lot about, domain names in the near future.
But are domain names becoming less important? Ev Williams, who started Blogger and co-founded Twitter, thinks so.
How to use paid search as a branding tool
Paid search is typically perceived as a direct response channel. It is most frequently used by firms for sales and lead generation.
There are definite brand benefits to paid search, but most advertisers do not focus on the softer brand metrics when placing Adwords campaigns. Clickthrough and conversion rates are what matter the most, as far as most people are concerned.
As such it was rather interesting to spot a seemingly random paid search ad for Ann Summers, which was anchored to a keyword search on last year’s budget.
Craigslist's growing PR problem
Craigslist is an internet icon, and it's a unique one. Despite the rapid evolution of the internet over the past decade, Craigslist in 2010 still looks like Craigslist in 2000. The fact that Craigslist has managed to thrive largely its original form is a testament to the value it offers.
But Craigslist is under assault. And it's not competitors who are attacking. It's politicians and the media. The reason: adult service ads which many say are frequently used in the illegal trafficking of women and children. And which many argue Craigslist continues to allow because they're a lucrative source of revenue.
