Monday, December 31, 2007

ilovebooks.com.mt







Before 2007 is over, it is worth blabbing about another website which was launched this year in March. The website is a proper online bookshop and serves as the online space for a bookstore in B'Kara (Malta). Purchases over Lm8 (€18.63) are delivered for free to any Maltese household. A charge of Lm1.50 (€3.49) applies otherwise. Customers in tinier Gozo may need to email the bookstore for shipping. It seems the bookstore is also working on shipping arrangements for clients outside our shores.

I like the website. What I wish to see in 2008 are book reviews from readers, a 'book wish list' application and book rating.

Blogged with Flock

What about the 'tal-lira' brand and the euro?


Today is the last day of the LM currency. This currency has been with us for the past 35 years, 11 of which has seen the rise of the 'tal-lira' empire. The 'tal-lira' chain started off in a small garage in Iklin, next to JB stores and flourished into 20 outlets which sell almost everything. The latest additions include the 'tal-lira' superstores and 'tal-lira' cinemas.

On my way back home I wondered what will happen of this brand when there will be no Lira any more? An advert in yesterday's paper leads me to understand that the brand will not change but the price will...it will be cheaper! Instead of the equivalent €2.33 per item, all items at the stores will sell at €2 (Lm0.86).

The concept is clearly 'straight forward pricing'. Rounding the price allows 'tal-lira' customers to easily work out the final purchase when they pick 1,2,3 items or more. As the advert slogan rightly points out, the brand is not about the lira per se, but about one common and simple price.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Marie-Digby is still on YouTube

Last October I wrote about Marie-Digby and how her 'home-made' video of her singing Umbrella managed to get almost 2 million views in one year. I kept tracking Marie-Digby on YouTube (even though she never gave me an interview through her MySpace page). The Umbrella video was added exactly 6 months ago, and until now has close to 4 million views.

Last week Marie released a new original song over YouTube, just in time for Christmas. This time, the video location is Capitol Studio A, a long way from Marie's bedroom. In the past week the video has generated 143,973 views. 'Bring me love' has also been recorded in full band version and may be heard at this link, which so far has generated a mere 859 views, and has been added a week prior to the successful video at Studio A. Another video made by one of Marie's fans generated another 8,000 views. The song is also the featured music bed for the ABC Family original movie Holiday In Handcuffs.

But really, is this all about posting a Video on YouTube or Hollywood Records know the internet very well!?

Saturday, December 29, 2007

2007 Highlights

Below I would like to draw up my list of 2007 highlights of the local interactive and marketing worlds:

#1: Virtual Competitions
In 2007, XFM gave us The Virtual Model and Virtual Rock Star Competitions. The online audience had to vote for their favorite model or band. The winning model got a front page on Pink Magazine whilst the winning rock star got to record her own song, a photoshoot in London (and much more exposure locally). Bands/Artists had to post their home-made video. Some of user-generated content did get some good viewing (ex. Slur - 1,939 views; Drive - 1,249 views; Elisa - 2,141 views)

#2: You - syndrome
On a similar note, Vodafone (Malta) has come up with 'The Face of Vodafone' campaign. In this same year, UK's teen magazine Shout launched a campaign to search for a teen fashion model. The campaign was managed by Miller, the local distributors of Shout magazine.

#3: PM discusses budget online
This was the year in which the Prime Minister (of Malta) discussed politics through an online forum. The budget2008 website has been given a lot of attention in all media. Politics apart, I believe this was a highlight (especially because we did it before The Queen posted her first video on YouTube!). This gets me to the second highlight:

#4: Facebook Malta
The local acknowledgment of online channels also results in a number of important people having their own facebook profile. Apart from the music artists such as Ira, Wintermoods and Salt (my band), a number of MPs also have their own facebook profile. 13,753 have joined the Malta network and that still excludes me and a couple of other lazy people who still plan to join later.

#5: Lamp-post advertising!
In the past 3 years, FacesDisplays introduced bus-shelter advertising in Malta. In 2007, our lamp-posts are also holding promotional banners, similar to the Chogm ones. Brands who have started using the service include Rocs & Inglott, KFC, Burger King & SG Solutions (Apple)

#6: Juice, You and ME
The list of free magazines continued to grow. In March Juice Magazine hit households. The magazine's 160,000 copies are printed in Milan by In-Print. Maltapost also continued to invest in its Direct Marketing services through Mailbox magazine published by 26thFrame. Design magazine ME got its online space at medesignmag.com. Health & Beauty magazine, You, also launched in 2007. The magazine is distributed with The Sunday Times.

#7: 2 Covers, 1 magazine
Tune-in also came up with a first for the local publishing industry. To promote 89.7 Bay's Abel and Elinor, Tune-in published 2 versions of the magazine on the same Sunday. Readers could choose between getting Abel or Elinor on the front page. My household got Elinor!

#8: Shu!
Exit launched Shu! store. The store design was in the creative hands of Chris Briffa Architects. In 2006, Exit and Chris Briffa have also worked together on the 2-22 wine bar, also situated in Valletta.

#9: New / Revamped websites in 2007
I surely did not come across all the local websites which were launched or revamped in 2007, but here are some I know of, and have also blabbed about: GO.com.mt, Timesofmalta.com, Di-ve.com, klikk.com.mt & Kiwilicious.com

#10: I started blogging
And finally, in 2007 we also launched our mini-project which is still at its early stages...and started blabbing on this blog.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Digital Arts 2008 Calendar


This year Malta will host the first DigitalArts Expo. The Expo has been given extensive publicity through a free calendar which was distributed with The Times today. I am very excited about the expo and hope the content will be as good as the publicity the event has got so far. The brains behind the expo reside at ICA Ltd. We hope to be able to BLAB! about this very soon.

(digital illustration by Neville taken from the DigitalArtsExpo Gallery)

Hey, the Queen posts on YouTube!


This is the year of Social Networking! Even Queen Elizabeth posts her videos on YouTube through TheRoyalChannel. The channel has 17,099 subscribers and is #2 most subscribed channel. The YouTube channel has seen almost 1 million views. The latest post on the blog is the Queen's 2007 Christmas Broadcast. Half a million people have watched the broadcast so far. 19 videos have been submitted on the online channel since October.

Who said I couldn't speak to the Queen. Now I can even share videos with her!

Was it about 'God' or 'Gifts' this 'Christmas'?

The chart below is a Buzz Chart which basically monitors what people are saying in thousands (100,000) of boards, forums and other discussion based resources. The service is provided by Omgili Ltd.. Though the methodology for drawing up the 100,000 sample and for classifying buzz is not explained, the service is a very 'pretty' information product...so I had to try it out.


According to the graph above, on Christmas Day, 25.6% of the buzz related to 'Christmas'. 'God' featured in approximately 5% of the daily buzz of the past week. 'Gifts' also made a lot of buzz but did not exceed discussions about 'God' until today.

And we thought people were not concerned about the real meaning of Christmas!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Life thru a lens...

Even though I think that is one of Robbie Williams' best albums ever [do Angels and Let Me Entertain You ring a bell?], what I will be doing now is blab! on a different kind of lens...

As Karl mentioned in the previous post, Seth Godin has delighted 'us' with a short but very good e-book on how to get your page frequently clicked. I read the e-book and found it quite entertaining and on top of it all: informative. However, there is one particular thing that struck me most, and that is the concept of: lenses!

Lenses - it's all about what we see. Yes.. that is all! Godin describes lenses as being the means through which we can express ourselves and our opinions while diffusing them with the rest of the world. Hence, a lens could be a blog, a site, a comment left on youtube, a page... anything that delivers your views.



Now that was the nice part... Opinions do matter; however they're not everything. YOU, as a viewer, have lots of power. A lens depends on people for it to persist and keep being available. Conversely, the author or creator, so to speak, has to be dynamic enough to come up with new stuff every so often or else his/her page will stagnate... AND that is when you can say goodbye to clicks [and counting].

Ironically enough, this argument provides me with another reason for me to continue BLABbing [allow me this one Karl :P]:


Reason #5: Risk-Taking
I consider myself an adventurer [not when it comes to caving in Gibraltar though..] and consequently love taking risks. This blog is the fruit of two risk-takers. No one could predict where this will take us and yet we achieved quite a lot. Thus, we can go on to -


Reason #6: Striving to be the best
[OK Karl.. allow me two please..] In order to be viewed you have to be the best... or let's say one of the best. In a world where people are spoilt for choice you have to be THEIR choice. BLABbing allows us to explore this and work round it. Stagnation is a big NO-NO!


Hope my lens was interesting enough for it to generate clicks :P

Monday, December 24, 2007

Why BLAB anyways? - (Part 2)


Before 2007 is over, I would like to introduce Seth Godin to the list of featured faces on this blog. In this particular post I would like to share with you his latest eBook ('...and your clicks for free'), which is the best 5 minute read for those of us who dream to have a popular, frequently visited, online space in 2008.

According to Seth Godin good web pages that generate traffic have to have Unique, Useful and Updated content...if you're too busy to read more you may stop here. This is what we need to do for a successful web page. Work on it!

Seth Godin's book provides another reason for me to continue BLABbing:

Reason #4: Making the web a bit better

Any good idea, be it content or the greatest invention, is more about the audience than the author or inventor.

Successful pages are the ones which provide a unique and useful resource which is always updated. Hence Google, Yahoo and a couple of others are the pages we go to when we need all sorts of things. I hope and dream that BLAB! will become one useful resource soon.

Follow this link and go through Seth Godin useful tips. It shouldn't take you longer then 5 minutes.

Happy Christmas!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Why BLAB anyways?


BLAB is 2 months and 1 week old. During the past weeks we have blabbed about detailed posts such as the new timesofmalta.com, the American Magazine Conference 2007 and The Body Shop Story. Some quick posts included Nokia World 2007, Alexandra Pace's HotCouture photoshoot and di-ve.com.

Blab has also been featured several times in the Viral Video Chart thanks to content related to successful virals. Virals that featured on this blog included the Cadbury Gorillaz Viral, the successful story of Marie-Digby over YouTube, and the ever mostly viewed 'The Evolution of Dance'.

During 2007, Kylie Minogue and Kevin Roberts also featured in our blog. Apart from all this, the usual YouTube, Google and Facebook blabs were almost regular.

Having gone through the past blabs I am personally surprised at the amount of varied content we've posted. Visits to the blog have also been encouraging, and these do not include users who read our blog through flog (the facebook version of BLABinteractive), yet I sometimes do feel my posts are echoing back in a virtual empty space.

And this gets me to the big question...why blog anyway? I discovered blogging some 5 months ago when I got into the working world. Since then I try to read blogs on a regular basis since this helps me a lot in my daily work. I must admit that December has been very busy and this resulted in less blogging. Before the end of 2007, i will draw up a list of reason which make blogging worthwhile. Feel free to add more (even if you're reading this in 2008):

Reason #1: Knowledge Sharing
Good blogs such as GomoNews (my personal favourite) and many others are a knowledge resource at work and good (intimate) content at home. Through blogging I got to share many ideas with friends and discovered many new things.

Reason #2: Content Filtering
There's too much content for us to digest. Blogs filter this content and provide concise and relevant versions of it. Blogs also allow us to back track on past content which we would have not come across.

Reason #3: Personal Content
My blog is a log of most of the interesting content and articles I come across. I was able to go through the posts of the past 2 months thanks to Blogger and its search facility!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Flock


From Shawn Harding's post dated Nov. 3:

"It is my sincere pleasure to announce the release of Flock version 1.0. The Social Web Browser is now available to download from www.flock.com. This event marks a significant milestone for our company. When I arrived at Flock one year ago, the primary goal I set for the company was to transform us from a great idea company into a world-class innovation and execution company."

Flock incorporates Facebook, Youtube and all the other Social networks. Seems browsing is becoming ever more social!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Nokia World 2007

I was fortunate enough to be reading GomoNews at the time Nokia World webcast was on. I managed to listen to the CEO's opening. Following that was Nokia's vision of mobility in the future delivered by Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Multimedia, Nokia. I was really inspired because I feel Nokia really understand that mobility is not limited to SMS, Voice...and maybe internet. Mobility also implies that the mobile is a new media channel, and media needs content!

I will say no more because I am really new to the mobile world but just wanted to share this short video about Nokia and 'The Fourth Screen'.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

66.3 million pairs of eyeballs

I feel that after having introduced the Viral Video Chart widget, we have to feature 'The Evolution of Dance'. Since April 2006, this video generated 66.3 million views on YouTube only. The video maintains the record for the 'All Time Most Viewed', 'Most Rated' and 'Most Discussed' video on the tube.

Just in case you're still with your mouth open, Judson Laipply did this, and he is now quite a popular guy. Top celebrities would love that size of an audience whilst big brands would pay hefty money for that.

Enough said. Here is the all time successful viral:



Enjoy and spread the news.

Daily Top Viral Videos on BLAB


As from now, you may check out the top 5 viral videos on this blog (middle coloumn). We hope you find the widget useful. The list is compiled by The Viral Video Chart, on which blabinteractive has been featured in the past. Any similar content ideas are welcome...just comment below!

mini-blab: what I would improve in the new di-ve

As a user (and not a 'wanna be interactive guru'), one thing which I would add to the new layout is a clearer distinction between one box and another. In particular, in the header, I would clearly separate any adjacent adverts. Buttons at the top could also distinguish themselves from the top banner advert(s).

The website layout fails to use all the width provided by wide screen resolution. Though this does not hinder the clear delivery of content, making layout width change according to window size and/or screen resolution, may be worth considering.

In my next post I plan to review the novelties I particularly like in the new layout...so don't think I'll end up on a negative note. Promise I will provide a more detailed review!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

new di-ve website is here


The new di-ve website has just got a new look. From the press release: "The makeover involves extending the news with a vast range of other information services, in text, audio, video and interactive modes "

I will go through the site later on this evening (too much sitting at the computer for the day). In the meantime you may check it out and comment on it on BLAB. It is definitely looks more complicated...see for yourself

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Pacman - Interactive has become human!


Making fun of Pacman, a classic interactive game! Added exactly 1 month ago, the video has 1.8 million views. Let's exceed 2 million views by end of November!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

my band has gone 'interactive'

Moving away from the geeky stuff, both me and Janice form part of a band called SALT which has been nominated for Best New Artist at the Malta Music Awards, and the Bay Music Awards. You may view the latest video message on Youtube, then to make it all more interactive, you may text 'SALT' to (+356) 5061 9803!

the new timesofmalta.com (part 2)

A new service on the new timesofmalta.com, currently being discussed by many during coffee breaks, is the new ePaper. In appearance, the ePaper looks like a PDF version of the print issue, but technically, the ePaper offers much more than that.


The highlight of the ePaper is its ability to translate news articles to audio allowing busy readers to listen to a news broadcast whilst posting a blab such as this one! The ePaper is being provided by NewspaperDirect, 'the world leader in multi-channel newspaper and magazine content distribution and monetization. The company has agreements with over 500 newspaper and magazine publishers from 73 countries around the globe to market, sell and/or print their publications worldwide.'

I am no expert but I believe Allied Newspapers’ approach of making news content available as much as possible enables it to fully monetize the content proposition.
On the other hand, I am not sure the ePaper will catch up. I believe additional functionality provided by the ePaper could have been included in the website directly.

The website contains most of the printed content (and more), it’s easier to handle, bookmark, link to blogs and simply browse through. The ePaper is slower, less interactive and priced in a complex manner. If Allied Newspapers want to offer additional functionality at a price, may i suggest a more sophisticated version of the website, offered to users who sign up against a monthly subscription.

It would be interesting to test the ePaper against the normal website on devices other than the normal computer screen, PDAs, for example. Would the above arguments still hold?

Finally, the new Times’ website includes audio visual ads. whilst the ePaper fails to translate the Vodafone advert to normal audio.

go back: the new timesofmalta.com (part1)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

BLABinteractive features on the Viral Video Chart


Was off to sleep when I noticed that we were featured on the viral video chart. In fact, BLABinteractive was one of the 741 blog posts related to the Cadbury Gorilla Viral. I will definately be blogging about this site later on this week. In the meantime you may get to know How to Charge an iPod using electrolytes and an onion



Goodnight!

Monday, November 19, 2007

YahooMail is (still) under construction


The 'new' layout for YahooMail, which has been around for the past year, is still under construction. My attempt to edit my account details redirected me to the old mail layout. I am amazed...is Yahoo too busy to re-design a simple online form, just for the sake of consistency!?

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I work for Youtube!

3,632,722(and still counting); That's the number of times the latest Cadbury viral advert was viewed in the past 2 months.

It is funny how we're still amazed by the power of viral advertising. If you think about it, it just makes sense: I am engaged in a fun video (where the product is secondary) and so I tell my friends about it.

When media struggles for consumer attention, the consumer decides what works and what doesn't in the advertising market. YouTube has given us a more powerful medium where we can choose our 'lovemarks' and BLAB about them.

It is only because of this sharing that YouTube is so popular. Once we stop working for YouTube, YouTube has to close down! Until then, check out one of my 'lovemarks' at this link

Saturday, November 17, 2007

HotCouture does it again!


For the second consecutive year, HotCouture has teamed up with a local radio station to choose its campaign model. Last year HotCouture had chosen Eleanor, winner of Bay Radio's Dream Job competition. This year, it was XFM's Virtual Rockstar winner Ann de Gaetano (a.k.a. Slur) who featured in the campaign.

The concept of using 'success stories' such as Elinor and Ann de Gaetano goes in line with "You too can be a star", HotCouture's slogan. The whole thing provides a nice story which the girls may talk about and connect with!

Photographer Alexandra Pace and her team were behind this year's photoshoot, the making of which may be seen on her latest blog post. Final product also featured in Pink Magazine today.

the new timesofmalta.com: (part 1)


Online readers should have realized that timesofmalta.com has been given a new layout and feel. The layout uses more grey and more coloumns, which for some may be too much to handle visually.

From an advertising perspective it's interesting that the website now includes audio-visual video-adverts, apart from the usual display banners. I believe that these kind of online adverts are a first locally (excluding the flash animations or youtube embedded videos used on some other websites).

From an interactive perspective, i feel that the new layout could have been introduced in a more subtle manner. Some of the website sections have been removed and new ones were added.

Amongst the new sections there is the blogs section. The section currently links to 3 blogs. I hope that more blogs will be added at a later stage...we would be interested to BLAB on the timesofmalta webspace!

Another new section is the Media section which features Video Stories and Video downloads. Finally, for all Sudoku freaks, an online Sudoku provided by WebSudoku.com

Friday, November 16, 2007

Google doesn't do magic (yet)

You may have realized that Gmail has some modified features. Some of the features which I managed to identify include:
(1) Reply box at the end of each email conversation
(2) Simpler profile window when you scroll pointer on (chat) contacts

My friend Matthew also suggested the following:
(3) Updated contacts manager, including a search as you type.
(4) Pre-fetched messages to load them faster
(5) Filter messages under “more actions” (auto mark them, add labels, etc)

Matt says, "the changes are extremely subtle. Most people won’t immediately notice them, but that might be a good thing as new stuff doesn’t have to be intrusive…" . Matthew has just finished his thesis on Usability of online websites, and I am so eager to have a look at it.

So what about the magic? Well, many think that the Google guys get it right at the first try. The truth: Google continuously analyses user behaviour and improves accordingly.

A popular example is the DELETE button which initially did not exist on Gmail. Google wanted to put forward the concept of infinite storage and so who needs to delete any emails anyway? It turned out that users were just looking for the DELETE button...and so Google introduced this.

So...is Google interested in creating the best interactive experience to get the best audience?:YES

...Is Google into magic?:NO

Conclusion: Interactivity demands analysis of customer behaviour

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Couch Potato (2007 Edition)


I am not sitting on a couch and not watching TV yet it is Sunday (a free day) and I have been in front of my computer screen since 10.30am. Excluding lunch (1hr or so) and ad-hoc walks around the house, that makes a bit more than 4hrs and more than 32 different sites (not to mention the web-pages, 2 pod casts, some previous downloads).

According to Wikipedia a couch potato is "a person who spends most of his or her free time sitting or lying on a couch". 2 lines down the definition states: "Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults don't get enough physical activity"...

Am I becoming the (interactive) couch potato?! I think I'd have to resume posting my next BLAB about The New Gmail Features later on this evening. Until then, I will switching off this machine and moving on the lengthy strolls around the house (already started jogging on the spot!)

Saturday, November 10, 2007

The real interactive


I am currently watching ira play live and the crowd going wild. This has nothing to do with digital but it is definitely interactive. If only we aspiring marketing gurus could replicate this kind of interactive experience and sense of belonging that music artists provide, we would definitely get to the lovemark stage(scroll down for previous post about kevin roberts) goodnight dear reader!

Friday, November 09, 2007

Too many posts: Facebook's New Ad System

Facebook has launched a new ad. proposition which basically revolves around Word-of-mouth advertising. The new system allows users to blab about their latest purchases.

I have been reading about the new ad. model since it's launch on Nov. 6th but this article made me write some comments about it. As stated in the article, Facebook gives an identity to the person recommending the product, giving added value to the product reviews and recommendations that we're so used to.

Some marketers are skeptic about the new ad. model because they can't imagine users actually taking the initiative and speaking about their product. Since I have discovered Kevin Roberts I have to quote the guy. Roberts believes in LoveMarks, products which we love and are loyal to even beyond reason (Classic example: Ipod). Various organizations define loyalty as the moment when the customer becomes a brand evangelist and recommends the product. Everyone has his/her list of lovemarks. I have drawn my list:

TomPeters.com: The guy is so excited about his job
Google (& Blogger): Makes things simple and available for everyone
My SonyEricsson K8510: It is not the perfect mobile device but the good camera features make me speak about it
Tronky: Everyday breakfast, can't do without
Gomonews: Edgy wireless news at the right time
Adage.com: The big picture about advertising
Alicia Keys-Unplugged: My colleagues at the office have heard the album (even though I usually plug in earphones)

Disclaimer: Karl may have gone out of point with the above Lovemarks list but he hasn't read the book yet.

I will definitely recommend the above services/products on my facebook profile!

Kevin Roberts - A late welcome



I must admit that I am late, very late. I have discovered another marketing guru and promise to get to know more about him, his company and most importantly, his books, in the near future. Kevin Roberts needs no introduction from us at BLAB but deserves respect and attention! He is the "CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the world's leading creative organizations, employing over 7000 people in 83 countries"

Most importantly, Kevin Roberts is the author of LoveMarks and The LoveMarks Effect, both of which I hope to be able to read soon.

More about Kevin Roberts and Saatchi & Saatchi (an Ideas Company) here

"the web is better when it's Google" - Google OpenSocial (part 2)

This BLAB promises to be a very, very subjective one and backed by little factual insights, but I have some issues with Google...and the OpenSocial business.

Google is in my top list of organisation who understand interactive and inspire 'aspiring marketing gurus' like me (not that Google really cares about this ranking). Google revolutionized Search but most of all, Google observes me all the time. This it does to deliver great experiences and better services but somewhere in all this there is financial return and I often feel that this may come at the expense of my privacy (and I am not the only one)

OpenSocial promises great experiences to us Hi5 and MySpace users, but it also promises Google more analytics about which widgets I use, when I use them, where I use them, etc.

True, "the web is better when it's social" but does Google really care? Is it more a case of "the web is better when it's Google!"

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Kylie goes for Social Networking


Kylie Minogue and Parlophone, the singer's record label, have just launched KylieConnect.com. KylieConnect.com is the first Social Networking Site dedicated to an artist's current and prospective fans. The site allows fans to setup their own profile and the good news is that the site may also be accessed over mobile. Haven't checked the site fully but the interactive idea definitely deserves a BLAB.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Google just can't help it...Google OpenSocial! (Part1)

Google has to have a share of the attention being drawn upon Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as Facebook. True, Google has Orkut, its own SNS, but that is not enough!

Google has over this past week launched Google OpenSocial which is an easy to use API based on Java and HTML allowing the development of third-party applications for sites such as Hi5 and LinkedIn. The good news (for Google) is that MySpace is also adopting Google OpenSocial, allowing the serving of third-party applications to its 200 million accounts.

Google OpenSocial is also good news for third-party developers such as Slide which were also present at the OpenSocial Campfire. Slide is basically a widget network serving widgets to 134 million unique viewers a month.

Below is my (very) simple Slide widget featuring a number of companies involved in the OpenSocial project.


Marketers and big brands may advertise and get their brands across using widget networks such as Slide's. Marketers will definitely seek to make good use of this extended network of widgets and applications, yet what about lonely $15 billion worth Facebook which managed to get a mention on today's Sunday Times of Malta and is currently the hot topic on the most popular marketing blogs and websites (the latter being far more important to 24 yr. old CEO Mark Elliot Zuckerberg)?

OpenSocial is definitely more attractive than Facebook's FBML (Facebook MarkUp Language), a mark-up language used to develop widgets but which restricts these applications to run only on Facebook. Should Facebook join the crowd?

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

"Remember who brought you to the dance" - some lines about the the 2007 American Magazine Conference:

What happens when a bunch of people from the magazine industry gather in one big hall for the American Magazines Conference? What would happen if it actually happened here in tiny Malta? How would the many local SOHO design agencies face the big print giants! We could discuss success stories such as 'Homeworks' or 'Circle', but then we could also question what went wrong with 'The Onion' and similar good ideas that did not succeed in the long run.

I discovered the wonderful print industry in my University days. Print is nice and most importantly very engaging. Magazines are considered to be the most trusted advertising medium, much better than the web. At the same time, some think that media is currently in its 'Golden Age', as stated by Beth Comstock, NBC Universal President - Digital Media and Market Development. People are estimated to spend an average of 12 hrs a day with media! In this 'Golden Age', the magazine industry should be at its best, but this is certainly not the case.

Alternative media are shouting for attention and it seems the magazine industry, with its expensive production costs, is having a hard time. Wenda Harris Millard, who previously worked at Yahoo and now is president of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia believes magazine publishers will soon pay the price for the bad circulation practices and the fragile distribution network. Many would add that the 'paying-the-price' part is already happening.

On a positive note, alternative media could (and should) be seen as an opportunity magazine publishers could benefit from as Adam Moss of the New York Magazine thinks.

I am all for interactive media and strongly believe that finally it's all about content coupled with wise distribution at the right time and over the right medium.

The bottom line though is the end user, the reader, the audience. It is this audience that the magazine industry should focus on if it wants to succeed. It could be print, it could be web, but finally it is about delivering relevant content in the readers' preferred format. As editor of Essence Angela Burt-Murray nicely puts it, "Remember who brought you to the dance".

Who cares about the price anyways?

This is not an insightful BLAB...but it is good news. We don't have to worry about price anymore. Radiohead has taught us a big lesson. Prior to the launch of their new album, In Rainbows, Radiohead decided to let their fans decide how much to pay to purchase the album download. And so it happened, 1.2 Million downloads only in the first week! (Average price: $8). What is happening to the (marketing) textbook 4Ps!?

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

It's all about good storytelling..

The Body Shop... Rings a bell or two? Definitely! One can find Body Shop stores [over 2,000 to be precise] in more than 50 countries. The brand The Body Shop is not only known for its full and diverse range of body products, but it also represents the epitome of the phrase going green; anti-animal testing, all for community trade and all that jazz.. The site in fact lists these green initiatives as values, which the International plc. states to follow rigorously.


All this going green affair has raised eyebrows and stirred some hot debates, especially when L'Orèal purchased The Body Shop for an estimated £652.3 million. This is due to the fact that L'Orèal still tests its products on animals, thus contradicting one of The Body Shop's cardinal values mentioned above, resulting into boycotts from customers and retailers from all around the globe. The late Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, had to face all of this hustle and bustle caused by the media frenzy in an interview with The Guardian, in which she argued that she sees herself as a means through which she can change points of views and directions within a larger company, thus leaving a huger impact onto the trading society.



This woman strikes me in oh so many ways.. She managed to build an empire and push the envelope in things that really mattered to her; she maintained that businesses can be run ethically and still make profit - she proved her own theory and made it become a tangible reality. Anita started out her business in 1976, her first shop being established in Brighton. She adhered to her own personal marketing strategies with her unique persona and non-business-like demeanour; probably the best and most fitting advertising strategy ever.


Her best marketing move in my opinion is what she terms as storytelling. Dame Roddick built a story around her business in order to put across her message to the masses. She managed to effectively communicate with people through the stories she revolved round her products and this seems to be quite fruitful up to this very day:



'The original Body Shop was a series of brilliant accidents. It had a great smell, it had a funky name. It was positioned between two funeral parlours – that always caused controversy. It was incredibly sensuous. It was 1976, the year of the heatwave, so there was a lot of flesh around. We knew about storytelling then, so all the products had stories. We recycled everything, not because we were environmentally friendly but because we didn’t have enough bottles. It was a good idea. What was unique about it, with no intent at all, no marketing nous, was that it translated across cultures, across geographical barriers and social structures. It wasn’t a sophisticated plan, it just happened like that...'


Coupled with stories is the art of imagery. Visuals can work wonders and we all know that. The Body Shop is seen as something stylish and trendy, something that hip people cherish and make use of. Thanks to good stories and visuals, The Body Shop has created a name for itself and became a big brand. The colour green has now a new meaning and a new 'owner' so to speak.. it is owned by The Body Shop and it is effectively communicated to people.


Dame Anita Roddick died on the 10th of September 2007 at the age of 64. She was awarded the 1991 World Vision Award for Development Initiative, her company being voted as the 2nd most trusted brand in UK in 2004 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the Sage Colleges that same year... All of this happened because she believed in her stories and dared to take risks, even if that meant having your first shop positioned between two funeral parlours... What else is there to say? Dream on and communicate your stories... you never know!

Monday, October 29, 2007

BLABinteractive.com: Let the BLABbing begin

We've been working on this for a couple of weeks now and here it is. This space is simply an organized blog; the contents, we hope, will be simply interesting for you to read. Contributions (or as we like to call them: BLABs) will be in the hands of Janice and myself.


As the profile clearly says, we're interested in anything related to marketing, advertising and interactive media. We'd like to cover both events and news happening in tiny Malta and around the globe.

Finally, your BLABs really matter! You can comment (BLAB) or simply include our small initiative on your Facebook profile / personal blog. You can also submit news about the products you market or simply like to BLAB about.

So, humbly, let the BLABbing begin.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Dualism: sex, gender and ads?



Let's face it.. no one wants to stand near a guy with distinctive body odour [and I mean.. Distinctive!]. So one fine day, the AXE company decided to come up with some pleasantly fragranced body products.. and nothing strange there.. However, a twist besieged the primary aim of such products..


.. and has taken the form of a programme:
Male showering products are usually marketed as a requirement for meeting the standards of the other 'cleaner' sex.. yet AXE takes this fact to new heights.. How? Oh.. by promising sex.


We have all watched an AXE ad, at least once in our lifetime [if not.. just google or youtube AXE.. they'll take you to places you never been to]. We all know [?] what the contents of such ads hint to.. resulting into huge feminist uproars. This is nothing new.. Laurien Alexandre refers to Jean Kilbourne's Killing us Softly [1986], a short film depicting how multi-billion dollar transnational businesses make profit out of women's backs. Furthermore, Kilbourne states [1990]:



‘The ads sell a great deal more than products. They sell values, images,
and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and
normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be. Sometimes
they sell addictions.’



Even the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood [a coalition of healthcare professionals and advocacy groups that is affiliated with Harvard University] is working towards stopping the AXE ads from being aired, arguing that they degrade young women. This line of merchandise is constantly marketed on MTV and MySpace, global windows which lots of young boys and girls more than just peep through.


And for those who believe images rule out sound and music.. the AXE team has made an agreement with what is described as 'the world's naughtiest band'; the Bom Chicka Wah Wahs, who, with their songs and voices, enhance the AXE ads with even more sexual content.. Fully loaded.. yeah baby!


In no way is this post meant to admonish the ads in question. Some boil these down to sense of humour; a good one at that. Others think they are just plain tasteless. Thing is Kilbourne maybe is right in saying that ads sell more than just mere products.. and companies actually invest in light of such piece of knowledge. The math is simple here: Men need AXE to draw women's attention.. they just can't do it on their own. I wonder whether Austin Power's secret to his Mojo was AXE deodorant.. I wonder..


Saturday, October 27, 2007

Nothing new: Mac understands Interactive Search!


I am not an Apple guru and have been discerning my mac book investment for the past 3 months, but the new Mac OS X Leopard is quickly convincing me. There is nothing new in saying that the guys at Apple have succeeded in coming up with User-Friendly applications but the new TimeMachine is the limit. Briefly, TimeMachine keeps track of past desktops, making it easier to go back to previous versions of files even after the user has over-written or lost important file contents. TimeMachine is just one of the many new applications. Check full demo here.

hey women, don't fall for the media circus!

Wasn't planning to blog about this but a (male) friend of mine told me about this:

According About-Face, "Studies have shown that exposure to idealized images of women result in lowered levels of self-esteem and body satisfaction in women." The organization regularly draws up the top 10 offenders and the top 10 winners. A popular offender is SKYY Vodka which is the top offender in the latest 'Gallery of Offenders'. Others 'Offender Brands' include Levi's, Sisley, Guess, Calvin Klein, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Ads. in the offenders include idealized (or stereotype) images of women.

Apart from the offenders, there are the winners. Winners include Keds, Aasics, Eileen Fisher, Nike and Fruit of the Loom. One particular ad. for clothing brand Eileen Fisher, which constantly features in the 'Top Winners List', says, "I've developed an eye for what's real in people and things". In all the 'Winner Brands', there is a sense of warmth, 'group' and most of all include real people, not idealized supermodels.

And here I recall what branding-guru Tom Peters and Martha Barletta tried to convey in 'Trends', one of the Tom Peters Essentials Series: "People-ize your Communications!" Whilst us man like to stand out and be the winners, women are warmer and more emotional. As 'Trends' clearly points out, "women want to feel warmer toward others, by finding points of commonality".

Dove is definitely thinking 'group' and 'real beauty'. I was very surprised not to see Dove in the winners' lists. I should point out though that Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty does feature on the organization's site. Through its culture of embracing real beauty, Dove has also gone a step further by setting up 'The Dove Self-Esteem Fund'.

At the end of this post I have one dilemma. If women agree that certain images offend, that their idea of beauty has been distorted by ads. which big brands such as CK, Guess and Sisley continuously splash in their face, why is Glamour, BRITAIN'S No1 WOMEN'S MAGAZINE? Not allowing the 'Offender Brands' to advertise in this magazine would definitely threaten the feasibility of the project and send out a clear message to the offenders!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Marie Digby: just open the marketing Umbrella..ela..ela:

Those of us who have not come across any YouTube video of Marié-Digby until today have got to learn that Marié-Digby is a real You-tube success story, not only from an artistic point of view but also from a marketing perspective. Just take a look at the two screen shots below:



The first one features results of my search for Mandy Moore's cover of Umbrella, the summer hit song from R&B artist Rihanna, the second snapshot, features my second search, Marié-Digby's cover of Umbrella. One can easily see that Marié's most popular video has had 1,959,742 views in just 4 months whilst that of celebrity Mandy Moore got 462,526. In total Marié's videos are said to have exceeded 2.3 million views.

Now this is not a fair comparison since other respective versions of these videos should also be included in total views and Mandy's video was only added 2 months ago. Yet this is definately an indication that sometimes standing out is not the only way to promote a new product, service, brand or even artist. The comparison also hints that big brands (such as the "Mandy-Moore" brand) often fail to be as personal and as intimate as other brands are.

Marié's Umbrella did not stop at You-Tube since MTV included this cover in its popular reality show "The Hills" and Los-Angeles Star98.7 radio also included the song in the music playlist. Sometime after all this was happening The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article in which it disclosed a record-deal Marié had signed with Hollywood Records much before her videos were posted on YouTube. WSJ accused Marié of feigning an amateur status whilst not revealing her MySpace and YouTube pages her major record deal from the beginning.

From a marketing perspective though all this presents a wealth of insight:

Primarily this was a case of being in the crowd and not be any different from the rest. Marié's case, even if a strategic campaign planned out by Hollywood record as disclosed by WSJ questions the continuous need to be as distinct and original as some creative agencies attempt to be.

Secondly, all this has to be seen in the YouTube context. YouTube allows viewers to control the media channel and the audience like that. Marié is one of us, she does not want to sell anything to us! Marié-Digby as a product provided this same opportunity to the YouTube audience. Viewers could promote someone who shared their dreams and ambitions such as 'becoming famous whilst fulfilling your dream' or 'doing what you really love doing'. It's as if viewers felt the obligation to help out and share Marié's talent.

Thirdly, Marié chose to go viral. Being recommended by MTV is cool but having 2.3 million views on YouTube definately says something about the power of recommendation and how much we trust it more than any rightly branded product or service.

So...well done Marié!

Friday, October 19, 2007

New brand in town: Klikk


Klikk is a new local brand in Malta. I've spotted Klikk advertising on the papers and a couple of billboards. Quite fascinated with the mega big banner they have placed on the retail store. Klikk takes over Forward Tech store. Will update you with some images of the new Klikk store.

Short post: What's your digital world?

AT&T has launched a site totally dedicated to your 'digital world'. My (Our) dependency on the digital world is evident. Making a fuss about it makes good sense...it's a digital realization. And by the way, what is Mandy Moore's digital world made of? check site here

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

When your brand is 'too little, too late'


Apologies for having to post about this for the second time this week but this ad. is shouting for attention, yet the only thing that attracts my attention is the discrete small print which identifies the source. Why are local political parties afraid of there own brand? Is it because they don't like to portray themselves as being 'too negative, too much' or a strategic decision to make opinion sound as factual.

I've never heard of a Mac product which lacked a bold Apple sign, nicely placed at the centre of a plain white surface And for that matter a local embelishment project that was not associated with one of the two parties.

Politics apart, what happens when your brand is THE problem? When you have spammed your clients too much that they try to avoid you? What do you do when your brand fails to deliver? What do you do when you've messed up your reputation? Re-brand, Re-launch, Change market or give up?

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The 1 week brand free challenge



If you have a problem with shopping, you’re obsessed by brands, or you just want to make life cheaper and easier, try following these tips for a less branded lifestyle.

1. Avoid advertising
2. Separate wants from needs
3. Shop around
... and the list goes on.


A friend of mine told me about this site today and whilst I am on the verge of committing myself to blog about ads., ads. and more ads. 'The One Week Brand Free Challenge' is not actually what I was planning to blog about! The Brand Aid site tries to helps anyone who is brand addict to get over it.

In truth brand addictions do exist and from a marketing perspective these addictions are referred to as 'Loyalty', the peak of the customer lifecycle. Just as I am writing this Apple comes in mind. And so below I am posting evidence of brand addictions:






Is it loyalty or addiction? Without giving it much thought I would say that it depends on the product or service. Loyal as I can be I would never queue at the local Apple vendor in the early hours of the day just to be an early bird for the latest Apple product. Then again, it is thanks to these early birds and brand addicts that trends are set and products are turned into the latest fad. And so it comes as no surprise that Steve Jobs refunded back the $100 dollars to each iphone buyer following the latest iPhone price slash.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Call Castille


NO!, not the budget on BLAB! Well not exactly, yet from an advertising perspective this campaign (above) needs some attention. According to Maltastar this campaign was just political propoganda. Surprisingly enough the PM does not agree, and if the statistics quoted today are true...in marketing context, I'd choose to disagree.

According to the budget speech there were 4,500 respondents who contacted the OPM to give their personal feedback. Now considering a population size of approx. 401,880, and at the same time assuming even toddlers can pick up the phone and 'Call Castile', 4,500 responses mean a response rate of 1.1%.

Narrowing down the population to persons who can actually respond and at the same time have come across one of the various campaign ads. makes a higher response rate. Finally, response does not necessarily measure the success of the campaign since the campaign also promoted an open consultation relating the the 2008 budget. So do your math and tell me what you think, or rather, 'Call Blab!'

Sunday, October 14, 2007

testing images



We will soon be conducting a full report on 'The Axe Effect'. At the same time we hope to attract a large chunk of female readers by spraying Axe all over our blog. I've decided to start wearing axe for that matter. Catch you later...

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Testing blabs

We are currently testing our BLAB blog, adding news snippets here and there and tweaking the layout. We have not advertised this space but just in case you come across it...any feedback is welcome.

We'll be blabbing very soon