PSFK Author:
Industrial Brand

With the assistance of Headline Design, Virgin Media Group have re-branded over 1000 of their buildings throughout the UK. Hoping to foster a new work environment that caters to a younger generation (the average age of a Call Center employee is 23), the designers focused on converting underused areas of buildings into more lively, communal areas where the distinctions between workers and management disintegrates. They call the new work environment ‘Our Neighborhood’ are hoping the new face lift encourages workers to feel more comfortable interacting with one another.

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In its fourth season, Top Chef, the top rated food show on cable television, is emerging as a formidable competitor to Food Network as it continues to extend its brand. Already selling an array of products (Fan Gear, Chef’s Library, Chef’s Tools) through its branded online shop, Bravo is bringing Top Chef to life by creating new touchpoints through which viewers can interact with the brand. Such as:

Top Chef: The Tour: An 18-wheel “Top Chef” truck will stop at 20 cities across the U.S., offering cooking demonstrations, gourmet tips, and of course, Top Chef gear. Former cheftestants are also expected to be present.

Top Chef Cruise: A Top Chef branded luxury cruise is in the works for May, 2009.

Top Chef Cooking Classes: Bravo has teamed up with the Culinary Institute of America to offer Top Chef branded cooking classes at New York’s Astor Center this summer.
Frances Berwick, executive VP and general manager of Bravo Media, describes the company’s strategy:

Our goal with this is to really go beyond the network with our show brands and affinity groups. Viewers are often fanatical about our shows, and many of these things are tactile versions of who the viewers are and ways to extend their experience. We’re all about being more Bravo in more places more often, and this all speaks to that.

-Contributed by Robert Hsu

Earlier this month, in an interview with CNBC, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, “We believe the best [YouTube] products are coming out this year. And they’re new products…much more participative, much more creative…much more interesting in and of themselves.”

As part of their continued efforts to experiment with new ways to provide value to YouTube advertisers, Google have announced buzz targeting. The press release reads:

“One of the greatest aspects of YouTube is how it has democratized the way in which videos are discovered and promoted,” said Shiva Rajaraman, YouTube Product Manager. “On any given day, a video from a top-tier content creator or an ordinary YouTube user can become the next big thing.”

YouTube’s product and engineering team tapped into this core ethos by creating an algorithm that determines which YouTube partner videos are quickly becoming popular on the site and about to go viral. The algorithm looks at several factors, such as acceleration of views, favorites, and ratings activity, and then allows advertisers to target their ads specifically to these videos on YouTube.

“Every advertiser hopes that their campaign will to be the next big viral hit online, and they come to YouTube to reach the millions of video viewers who are on the site everyday,” said Rajaraman. “Buzz targeting lets them do both at the same time. They associate their brand with the hottest content of the day, while reaching the most engaged users in our community.”

Lionsgate was the first advertiser to partner with YouTube in the pilot of this product, by using buzz targeting to promote the release of the film “The Forbidden Kingdom.”

“With so many videos going viral on YouTube at any given time, buzz targeting allowed us to reach a very large, diverse audience,” said Danielle DePalma, Director of Digital Media, Lionsgate. “By running ads against some of the most prominent content on the site, we were able to place our brand at the center of the experience that millions of people have on YouTube every day.”

Ads for “The Forbidden Kingdom” ran against more than 500 of the most popular partner videos in music and entertainment, including content from major music labels and videos from users in the YouTube Partner Program.

“Buzz Targeting was an amazing opportunity for us to capitalize on the most popular videos on the site,” said DePalma.

YouTube

Nokia has over 300 designers worldwide, and ships over 1.2 million products everyday. Core77 has an audio broadcast that investigates their design process, ethnographic wanderings, sustainability initiatives, and plans for the future. They chat to Younghee Jung from the services and UI design team, Rhys Newman from the Homegrown Project, and Anton Fallgren and Aki Layneh, two industrial designers out of the Copenhagen studio.

Core 77

One of Unilever’s most renowned brands, AXE deodorant, recently went to market in Argentina with a new product concept and communications strategy. In order to increase consumption of its product, Unilever created “AXE 3”, a combination of two already-existing AXE deodorants mixed into a third fragrance. In order to convey this innovation, Unilever’s agency developed a media-neutral campaign where “mixed fragrances” corresponded to “mixed women.” The idea was to show men the power of mix and matching women with different tastes and preferences.

Initially, the launch consisted of TV and billboards, as well as flyers that showed how men could match up different parts of the female body. The second phase consisted of interactive billboards where men could vote on their favorite combinations through their mobile phones or the AXE website. These virtual combinations then became incorporated by real women who went out to radio shows and strategic points of sale asking men to vote for them. The winning combo was shown on billboards throughout the city of Buenos Aires.

As a result, the campaign reached high levels of awareness and engagement. In Latin America, the campaign generated a 35% rise in consumption per application. Usage in grams increased 50% for the hybrid product and the product’s life cycle reduced by 10 days due to the increased usage. Market share went up 2% with 10% incremental turnover.

At the very least, a great example of how to integrate product and communication concepts.

Canneslions Presentation

Contributed by Lourenço Bustani

Cscout points us to a sleek new push pack box designed for Glyna, a Japanese sleep supplement powder that comes in long individual packets.

Other than the novelty of something new, the benefit to push packs is that the outer box remains intact after the initial opening, where as traditional boxes tend to get ripped to shreds with just the slightest bit of impatience.

Cscout: Push-Pack product design in Japan

When challenged to create a relevant museum/experience for Lucas Bols and all of its brands, the Dutch Booze brand responded by creating House of Bols.

In March of 2007, across from the Van Gogh Museum, House of Bols is a hybrid museum and brand extension - “it’s an adventure of the senses and an initiation into the world of cocktails and bar tending.” Visitors can learn about the rich history of the worlds oldest distillery, test their taste buds in The Hall of Taste (pictured), and even try their skills at flair bar tending.

From the photos, the space looks beautifully intoxicating.

House of Bols

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.