A small list of poor companies that deserve Santa’s Naughty List for even considering their individual 2010 marketing sin, let alone enticing it.
Tagged '2010' 
'Share Happy': Augmented Reality Ice Cream Machine Dispenses Treats When You Smile (Video)
Posted by Rick Mathieson on June 21st, 2010 at 3:24 pm
I didn't know Unilever was the company behind brands like Wall's, Ben & Jerry's, Good Humor, Breyers and Klondike.
I did know it was innovative.
And just to show off a new concept, the consumer goods brand has worked with SapientNitro to unveil the world's first smile-activated vending machine at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Augmented reality draws people in, by showing their face outfitted with goofy mustaches and whatnot. The consumer is then prompted to make a big smile, and the "smile-o-meter" measures his or her grin. A photo is taken and, with permission, uploaded to Facebook. The user can then pick out the ice cream choice by using a touchscreen interface.
I know the mother brand didn't want to play favorites, but Good Humor did seem like the tastiest choices for this particular initiative.
Learn all about it, here and here.
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Forget 2010: Ten Marketing Predictions for the Next Decade
Posted by DJ Francis on January 6th, 2010 at 12:00 am
I'm proud of Critical Mass' standard of always seeking the extraordinary. So you can imagine my self-disappointment when I sat down to write another "top 10 predictions for the new year" post...it felt decidedly un-extraordinary.
So, forget about 2010. Let's talk big. REALLY big.
Here are 10 predictions for the next decade. That's right, the whole darn decade.
Sure, it's a little linkbait-y, but this is a fun way to start the new year and could ignite some great conversation. What will happen? And how will you succeed in this new decade?
1) Content Strategy Becomes the New Information Architecture: You've probably heard the saying, "Information architecture is to design what content strategy is to copy." And it's true, except that content strategy lags about 5-10 years behind IA as an agency deliverable. Expect clients to demand content strategy and hence agencies to staff up with folks who understand that the content on a site is as much a science as it is an art.
2) Marketing Sciences Get Sexy: Forget impressions, views, and hits. These dinosaurs are extinct and today's darlings (the all-too-vague visitors and clicks to name two) will likely follow them into the ether. Web metrics will... Read more
Trends with Traction at the iMedia Agency Summit: Have agencies become commodities?
Posted by Adam Kleinberg on December 9th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I just left the iMedia Agency Summit in freezing-cold Scottsdale, Arizona and it was a great event. Lots of energy and excitement in anticipation of what's to come in 2010.
So, what is to come in 2010? Throughout the event, there has been a series called "2010 Trend Watch" where thought leaders identified issues that would be important to marketers in the coming year. I spoke this morning on The Commoditization of Agencies.
What do I mean by commodity? According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity, "A commodity is some good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market."
Things like paper towels.
I believe that agencies are becoming commodities and if we don't change how we measure our value could be in danger of extinction.
Ironically, Dave Smith from Mediasmith spoke yesterday about "Demand Platform Technologies." He predicted that they will allow agencies to plug directly into exchanges making ad networks obsolete. Anyone who has ever walked the floor at AD:TECH knows that ad networks are already commodities. Why would media agencies want to assume that role?
The reality is that media agencies are already undifferentiated.
I had lunch with... Read more
