Archive for December 2007

As you can probably see, PSFK had a wonderful 2007. Thanks to you all for returning to the sites, coming to our events and conferences and even hiring us for a little bit of information and advice.

And, of course, big thanks to our writers, speakers, staff, sponsors and contributors : you are PSFK.

Wishing you a very inspiring 2008. Make change.

Another really nice outdoor campaign using taxi cabs in London. Primarily aimed at Chistmas revellers, the NHS sees its peak time for A&E/ER during the festive period and much of this is down to the normally sober British public upping their consumption of alcohol considerably.

images via AS ARE BORING

I saw this ad on the tube yesterday and absolutely loved it. It’s promoting Becks’ new lager Vier which is of course 4% alcohol by volume.

Image via Dutch Uncle Agency

Following on from the Guardian’s key trends, we’ve got Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasions 2008 Digital Trends. Part one of his predictions is the battle for eyeballs between advertsing and content:

“The media’s challenge is to figure out how to thrive in transition as their big advertisers recognize they can use the web to bypass them. The key for the media is to use their reach to help marketers quickly build scale for their own content. This is no easy feat for businesses that have long fulfilled the producer role. However, they may increasingly need to find a way to balance their own content with advertiser-created offerings they host.”

Yet another great How To from Scamp’s blog. Once again he’s asked a superb guest writer to contribute and this week it’s come from Paul Burke, a legendary writer of radio ads.

“Radio will not boost your career prospects. British advertising is still in thrall to the visual. So, even an award winning radio campaign will bring you neither a giant pay rise nor a slew of creative directors beating a path to your door. Your work will be invisible. Literally. Its merits will go unreported in Private View and unrewarded as Pick of the Week.

“Still reading? Good. Because if you’re a real writer, as opposed to one indistinct half of a “creative team”, these drawbacks won’t bother you. You’ll find radio the purest and most satisfying medium of all.”

At long last the BBC has launched it much vaunted iPlayer. The iPlayer will allow users in the UK to catch-up with shows that they’ve missed online.

The BBC have adopted a flash based format which works across browsers and on both Macs and PCs. The operation of the site is pretty slick and those with a decent broadband connection will have no problems watching almost broadcast quality content on their personal computer.

The BBC have also commissioned some ads to promote the new service.

Futurology is an odd thing, by no means an exact science it has to base predictions on existing conditions and emerging trends. The Guardian has pulled together a review of some of the most interesting trend predictions for 2008 - much of this will be familiar to PSFK readers.

“The business of short-range futurology - that hybrid of science and intuition that reads the runes of business and consumer trends in an effort to predict what will whistle its way into the mainstream within the next 12 to 18 months - is now in high demand. So what do the crystal-ball gazers reckon will be the top 10 trends of 2008?”

1. The rise of the N11 - the next 11 countries showing economic promise after China and India

2. Peer-to-peer lending - one of the key financial trends of 2008 will be the growth of person-to-person lending exchanges in which borrowers and lenders come together directly on the web and cut out the banks

3. Social networking grows up - according to data recently released by the European Interactive Advertising Association, 18% of European over-55s now visit a social networking site at least once a month

4. Reverse knowledge migration - as well as bright and well-educated workers coming from the developing world to the west, people will start to move in the opposite direction

5. Handmade on the net - people are looking for authenticity and turning to craft skills

6. Clubbing Together - we are moving from an economy where it is good to own stuff to one where it is good to rent stuff

7. The new vicarious consumption - we are now happy to have experiences through others

8. DIY education - people are turing to the web for self education

9. Digital housecleaing - people are becoming more conscious of their online identities and increasingly will want to manage these

10. Virtual identity managers - because of our online identities many of us are going to end up hiring professional stand-ins

Jason Oberfest, head of Product Strategy and Business Development at the Los Angeles Times reveals how they are working on building a content business in a digital era.

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This past September at The PSFK Conference Los Angeles, Michael Ellis of 5+Design spoke about building connections with brands through real world experiences. 5+Design is an international design firm with services in architecture and urban design that is focused on the creation of unique and compelling retail and mixed use destinations.