Creating an impact that lasts, especially surrounding charity work or social issues the general public would rather shy away from can be tricky. With inner city hustle and bustle the world around moves very quickly indeed meaning messages have to short and to the point. How do you get your audience to take notice? Is interactive media the key?

JWT London and JCDecaux caused a stir in Euston Station, London this week with a billboard campaign for the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV). Aimed at targeting commuters and passers by the campaign urged them to use their smart phones to diminish an abusive domestic situation. Featuring an abusive man yelling at his partner ‘Drag Him Away’ encourages onlookers to get involved by visiting the organisations website or by scanning featured QR codes dotted around the station, resulting in immediate action displayed on the large screens. The participant is able to see the man move across a variety of billboards by dragging him away, urging people to report such situations to the NCDV as the screens synchronise.

The campaign has been met with a variety of opinions. On one hand this is the first time e-motion screens have run user controlled content and the actual technological achievement of the concept is great. On the other hand, whilst the challenge with these types of campaigns is to get the audience to interact, does this digital advancement shift the focus away from the important issue at hand of domestic violence?

Caught up in the buzz of digital interactivity or a genuine call to action? You decide.

See how it works here!

*Images courtesy of JWT

If you are looking for a Cause-related marketing campaign, brief the Exchange now!

Paper Boat Creative

American lifestyle clothing brand Converse, famous for its ever popular Chuck Taylor All Star shoe, has reached into the realms of many a market for decades. These include basketball, skateboarding and extreme sports and indeed the music industry.

Their most recent ad campaign ‘Just Add Colour’ features a mash up of the brand’s key visuals, such as the shoe, colliding with the raw edge of street art. A variety of print mediums have been used as various artists transform cities across Austria, Germany and Switzerland in a guerrilla marketing inspired performance.

The brainchild of Schröder+SchömbsPR, the making of the street art pieces can be watched as a film as the unique techniques of individual artists create the works in a frenzy of colour splashes and rainbow hues.

Overall an interesting marketing campaign that certainly proves the strength of Converse and its long successful history. What is particularly great about projects like these is the general public get involved and the campaign attracted much attention, resulting in spontaneous confetti-party.

Watch the video for the project here!

If you are looking for an innovative marketing campaign, submit a brief now!

Paper Boat Creative

‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ is a line that most are probably so familiar with these days, that it no longer even registers on the radar anymore. It is true that this poster design (and many other parodied variations of the wording) has been overexposed to the extreme in recent years; but while this is a fairly new object in popular culture, the origins of the design are much older.

Many may already be aware that the poster was commissioned by the British government during World War Two as propaganda for the war effort at home, but the story surrounding that, and the years that followed remained perhaps somewhat of a mystery until now. Barter Books, the bookshop where the poster was rediscovered in 2000, has released a quirky video telling the story of the poster and reminding us all of the ideals behind it, and just why it captured the public’s imagination so firmly in the first place.

Interesting viewing:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHkKXFRbCI

If you are looking for ways to build a unique brand image , submit a brief now!

Paper Boat Creative

Now I’m not usually one to promote huge corporations but the latest brainchild of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam has a certain slick charm surrounding it despite the context and history of the company.

Demonstrating the power when two huge corporations build on each others success, Coca-Cola has over 40 million fans on Facebook and recently has been provoking responses using a series of mysterious riddles. Users or fans who solve these are then sent to minisites with a variety of visual rewards; all of which provoke Coca-Cola’s tagline of a ‘small moment of happiness’.

The first riddle posted was as follows:

‘It’s warm and sandy, right under your feet

By this crackling fire, good friends will meet.

Fun music is played, by women and men

You’ll think to yourself, When can we do this again?

There’s nothing more that I desire

Than hanging out at A_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.com

Fans who cracked it realised it lead to abeachbonfire.com

Each mini site for each riddle uses a simple, vector style graphic to demonstrate and simulate each of the scenarios fitting in with the companies current brand style. The accompanying soundtrack is subtle and in each relates to the sensation of drinking the fizzy beverage.

My favourite so far is the the falling dominoes which is simply a visual masterpiece as the trail completes a full circle.

A smart campaign that invites fans and users alike to solve fun riddles and ultimately share the ‘Coca-Cola’ experience. Keep an eye out for the latest riddle which will be released every few days.

If you are looking for an innovative marketing campaign to attract more customers, submit a brief now!

Paper Boat Creative

Here’s a question for you. Do we consider the contents of our emails enough? A lot of job roles today are bombarded with an explosion of emails throughout the day; the creative industry included. However, is answering or sending emails really the way to maximise productivity within the team?

Created by OnlineITDegree this handy flowchart brings an element of humour and realisation of how many emails we send and receive on a regular basis. The chart explores various routes with a number of different outcomes, ultimately aiding in your decision to publish or send an email.

Personal things that spring to mind of additional things to consider are banishing poorly written subject headers (the bane of our existence – how many times have you had to search for that elusive email with the subject ‘hi’ or ‘project’) and condensing quoted text down to it’s fundamental message.

Putting aside the irony than this flow chart will be most likely popping up in designers inboxes, we think it’s a rather nice, subtle and light hearted way of making creatives think about how to get the best out of their email correspondence.

View the infographic here!

Paper Boat Creative

The Guardian’s new ‘open journalism’ campaign features a modern twist on the age old tale of the three little pigs. The television advertisement, by agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), details the aftermath of the three little pigs tale breaking and unfolding through modern media outlets (Twitter, YouTube) as well as more traditional journalistic avenues. The film itself is a fast paced and snappy dramatisation of the story featuring live action sequences of the armed arrests of the pigs, forensics investigation, and legal proceedings; as the public take first to the Internet, and finally to the streets in protest.

The storytelling makes commentary on issues of social rights and injustice, whilst also making reference to the snowball effect that twitter and other forms of social media can create, often before the whole story has the chance to unfold.

The advertisement campaign, which debuted on the February 29th, will also continue across a range of other media outlets over the next month. The campaign is both amusing and thought provoking; A clever commentary on the current economic climate and social issues that we are facing in modern day Britain.

Celebration of open journalism or terrifying reality of how social media can manipulate stories? You decide.

Watch the video here.

Paper Boat Creative

Scottish artist, Robert Montgomery’s concept behind his guerrilla campaign in essence is nothing revolutionary. Like countless street artists before him, he hijacks billboards, advertisements and bus stop displays to show his message to the world.

However, there’s something quite thought provoking about the manner in which he executes his poetry. For the past ten years, Montgomery has been replacing ad pitches with his written words, presenting commentary on modern day society and its debates (consumerism, politics, beauty campaigns). His work captures the audiences imagination and attention is unexpected ways and is an interesting sight within the everyday public realm.

Although an untraditional ‘street artist’ Montgomery’s thoughts and the way they are shared seem very apt in Britain’s current financial climate and his writing process is one to be admired.

If you are looking for unique and innovative advertising, brief the Exchange now!

Paper Boat Creative

Image source: http://www.psfk.com/2012/02/guerilla-artist-poetry-ads.html

Ahhh Valentine’s is around the corner and you’re probably snickering at the thought of giving roses, candy, and having to do something sweet for someone else. Bah humbug!

A study last year showed that actually 73% of people who were aware of Valentines said they wouldn’t do anything, ended up doing something sweet anyway!  Whether it was going out on a date, treating friends to a nice meal, going out of their way for someone else or simply being a bit more positive.  The buzz of Valentine’s works, and yes that’s a direct result of advertising.  Like it or not, people do get affected.

Though you may think the hype of valentine’s may be reserved for kids or for extra sappy individuals, it creeps in to our consciousness and positive action can be carried out as a result of that. 

Think about how this yearly reinforcement of a single day of love could be applied in your own communication campaigns.  A story and mood that is reinforced with consistency over a long period of time can definitely bring about action to those exposed to your advertising. 

Think about how a single consistent message can bring about action, even to those of us who come off as stone cold. 

We hope that on the 14^th, you observe those around you and see how a single message has made them behave just a little bit differently.  Who knows? You might just get a lot of roses and candy for being extra attentive.

Want campaigns that show the love? Brief now!

Photography (and romance) by Paper Boat Creative