How One Hospital Innovates: The Newborn Stock Ticker
marketing, social media | No Comments »
This billboard shows how many babies are being delivered in real-time at the Parkview hospital. I wonder what the benefit of this type of sharing is to both parties?
For the hospital
- Everyone is doing it here – so you should too
- We help you celebrate your new baby
- We care (privacy here is not much different than a birth announcement in the paper right?) about you
- We are safe – you can trust us
For the parent
- They care about us
- They are nearly as excited about our new baby as we are
- We will tell our friends about this
Explaining the revolutionary concept, Boyden & Youngblutt Advertising & Marketing Creative Director Ian Mosher said, “Having a baby is such a huge life event for new parents, and we wanted to find a unique way for the parents and Parkview to be able to share their big news with the community – and still keep it personal. The LED board seemed like the perfect solution. Having the babies’ names appear makes it more than just a billboard. It’s really a giant birth announcement.”
Overall a pretty fun and interesting concept for parents. I’d love to see my soon to be daughter’s name up and would absolutely tell my friends about this… talk about real-time sharing taken to another level. Oh, and of course, a truly smart/clever way to market Parkview.
Would you like or dislike a birth announcement like this? Why or why not?
via Adrants
Chevrolet Does Social Media, AR at SXSW
augmented reality, chevrolet, social media | No Comments »
Chevy’s Camaro (above), Cruze and Volt are all part of the new push into smart phone apps.
Just stumbled upon this interesting nugget on Edmunds Inside Line.
Chevrolet has a mobile iReveal application in Beta form that, when downloaded, unlocks 3D models of vehicles and even inserts a virtual image of the car over the setting the user is looking at through his or her smart phone’s camera lens. Augmented reality, says Barger, has the potential to let a user “virtually preview different colors of the Camaro in your own driveway.”
This is brilliant… seeing a brand new shiny car in your own driveway before you buy it? The question is: How much will this technology enhance the test drive for buying and selling a car?
Don’t Hate the Term
marketing, social media | No Comments »Despite Being Sick of the Term, 72% of Marketers to Invest in “Social Media.” Both an interesting and fun nugget here.
“51.4% of marketers polled by the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) say they are tired of hearing the buzz words social media, Twitter, and social networking. Yet, despite that nauseous feeling, 72% of them plan to invest in social media in 2010.”
Q: Are you planning new social media initiatives in 2010?
Apparently marketers have forgotten their own mantra.
“Just when you become sick of an ad campaign, is exactly when the message is just starting to stick with your target audience.”
Isn’t there a mantra out there for design? Could be something like:
“Just when you become sick of the web 2.0 design style, it is exactly when that style is starting to stick with your target audience.”
I know I feel this way, especially when dealing with insurance company redesigns. Lastly, I had to re-blog this b/c that chart needed some love.
Game Mechanics and Social Media
games, social media | No Comments »
An interesting presentation on using game mechanics to create applications and services that are fun, compelling, and addictive in the context of social media. Below are some interesting highlights:
Games shape our behavior by:
- Leveraging our primal response patterns.
- Engaging us in flow.
Game mechanics (the building blocks):
Collecting
Collecting allows you to show your stuff, give you bragging rights, and help you complete sets.
Points
Points drive loyalty (frequent flyer points, etc.). An example of points are rating systems: social points given by other “players”. Points create levels. Levels in turn punctuate the experience.
Feedback
Feedback draws attention through movement and change, makes your game more fun and compelling, and induces flow.
Exchanges
Exchanges are a basic, primal form of social engagement.
Customization
Customization increases investment and is overall fun and engaging.
The slideshow also explains how MySpace is like a game, shows how to make serious games more fun, and gives insight on what to expect in the future of social gaming.
