We’ve published several election themed posts lately – about how the candidates should have campaigned digitally, about broadband, we’ve even published a designers guide to the election. Overkill? Not for a second – here’s another one.

This time, the focus will be a bit less specifically digital. if there’s a big story to emerge from this election, it’s the speed with which the ALP was able to turnaround the mountain of goodwill they generated by ousting of John Howard, saying Sorry to the Stolen Generations and steering Australia through the global financial crisis remarkably unscathed. Even the potentially disasterous sacking of Kevin Rudd as party leader was offset by a wave of goodwill for Julia Gillard. How did they turn this into a disaster?

The reality  is that there are hundreds of reasons reasons, and they’ll be debated  for a long time, in forums more relevant than this one. This is not the place for policy. It is the place, however, to look at campaigns and brand  Brand was a huge factor in this campaign and  it really stuck out for me the way the ALP, particularly the Prime Minister, stuck to their message so closely. They hammered the same lines over and over again, and eventually it was to their detriment. In fact, they stuck to their message so closely they trashed their brand. (more…)

I wasn’t among the 4 million odd Australians who tuned in to the Masterchef finale . Watching grown men cry because 3 portly gentlemen, one seemingly headed dressed as Oscar Wilde, think they put too much butter on a sandwich is a bridge too far for me.  By not tuning in, I missed the major launch of the TAC’s new “Everybody Hurts” campaign (a nice summary from Campaign Brief here), a 3 minute commercial which aired right in the middle.

The campaign is powerful stuff, especially in contrast to the mawkishness of Masterchef. Advertising a serious issue, the campaign illustrates the impact of speeding in a way that’s emotive , insightful and touching. Despite the fact that the REM track it uses has been TV’s go-to “moving” song for the past 10 years, and despite it’s overtness , it manages to maintain taste while having a real emotional resonance. It works better online than as in the 3 minute TVC , because despite the long running time, some of the (albeit very strong) content feels crammed in, and a bit sound-bitey as a result.

Where this campaign stands out against a lot of recent behaviour-changing campaigns Ihave seen is that it doesn’t set out to shock. This is not to say it doesn’t have the capacity to shock. I found the vision of the very disturbed “slightly removed” people like the mortician and friend from work made a particular impact. Nor is it to say that campaigns designed to shock can’t have be effective has definitely played a major role in changing people’s behaviour – the TAC in particular has been moving in this direction with some success for many years. (more…)

It was just one remarkable factor in a remarkable campaign, but it’s still surprising just how effectively Barack Obama was able to utilise social media and digital campaigning in his 2008 presidential campaign. He pushed his message and brand, generated support and mobilised financial backers. He attacked and diminished his opponent, without cheapening himself or tarnishing his image. Through this success in the “new media” he was also able to highlight the age difference between himself and his opponent, and add credence to his message of being the harbinger of change and innovation.

In considering the lessons this offers for the upcoming Australian election, there are a few qualifiers. The Obama social media campaign, particularly My Barack Obama, were primarily fund raising exercises. As well as financial factors, the length of the American campaign and the reliance on volunteers to facilitate their campaign rallies (occasionally quite elaborate affairs), so mobilization of supporters is vital just to keep the campaign running smoothly. As well, the Australian campaign is (mercifully) significantly shorter than it’s American equivalent and at a set time, which brings significant planning advantages.

Despite this, there’s a lot both sides can learn from Obama’s campaign, and from what’s happened since. Here, then, are the 5 tips we would give both parties, should they ask, about how they should conduct themselves digitally during the campaign. We are offering the advice to both parties because we are wise and benevolent like King Solomon and Quentin Bryce.

1. The Normal Rules of Twitter Don’t Apply (for the campaign period only)

I’m going to get slightly controversial with this one. For the next week or so, before the campaign hots up, expect to see several stories about Gillard and Abbott’s presence on Twitter. 90% of these will be bookended by a quote from a “social media expert” of some description, who’ll advise them that they are “broadcasting” too much, and that they need to “engage in conversation” (never “have more conversations”, for some reason) with their followers. Ordinarily, fine and sensible advice. Post-election, it’s just what they should be doing.  But right now, I’m not so sure. (more…)

When you hear the phrase “Queen of the Internet”, you’re probably inclined to think of Lady Gaga or, if you are a traditionalist Tia Tequila.  But the title’s also been given to Mary Meeker , a Managing Director at investment bank Morgan Stanley. Meeker, who heads up the bank’s global technology research team, earned the title after the publication of her ground breaking  if unimaginatively titled  The Internet Report in 1995. The report successfully predicted much of the dot.com boom, and despite the bubble’s bursting in 2000, has been highly regarded and closely followed by investors and the tech industry every since.

Meeker’s 2010 Report was released to the public last month, and again, it’s full of fascinating information.  It’s particularly strong on the rise and rise of mobile computing and the flow on effect this boom is having on innovation and customer expectation. It finds:

- The growth of mobile internet is unprecedented, with the inflection point where the number of smart phones shipped surpasses PCs predicted to be reached as soon as 2012. Smart phones shipments have already overtaken feature phones in the USA. They have been the biggest growth drivers of computing devices in history. The report notes that wireless options are growing rapidly to meet this demand, and that the demands of wireless consumers have expanded massively year on year since the device’s launch. (more…)

Check out this recent edition to a classic piece of Australian Architecture by Melbourne based Maddison Architects. Originally designed in 1995 (when the land probably cost about 10k!) by Peter Maddison, this icon house overlooking the ocean on Phillip Island has received numerous awards and can be found in a number of books. Recently, Peter was lucky to be able to build on his previous work by designing a modest addition to the house. If you are down the island anytime, check out the shack. (located on The Esplanade, Surf Beach, Phillip Island)

Igloo CEO and Co-Founder, Andrew Englisch, was recently interviewed on Q Radio for Qantas by Ita Buttrose. If the mile high club is not quite your thing, take 5 mins to hear his Andrew’s take on digital, social media and how igloo came about. The perfect way to pass time when flying Melbourne > LAX … only 15 hours to go!

Listen to the interview

As we emerge victorious from a huge website build, complete with everything you can cram into a website – Interactivity, Social Media, Flash, Javascript, etc. all built on top of Sitecore – we feel that we have so much information to share with the world. I had a brief chat with some of the many key people involved in our latest project mazda.com.au and asked them, “what was the most important lesson to take away from the project”. I’ve tried to elaborate on these concise points and hopefully there is something in this for everyone.

Staffing a digital agency is very similar to casting for a movie. There are plenty of people that will fill the role, but it’s in the critical scene that the real star shows their value. Similarly, when selecting the right staff in an agency its easy enough to employ people who are ‘good enough’, but it’s not until your company’s flagship project is on the precipice of failure that the real guns will step up and prove their worth.

Make sure you know your culture and staff to suit that culture. A dev shop will be more inclined to find people who can grind it out from 9-5 and who are less creatively inclined as they can get easily distracted, however if you’re at a creative agency you may lean towards staff who are lateral thinkers and more outgoing but can be a little harder to control. Maybe you need a mix of the two? If you don’t understand your culture you will never recruit the right people.

As much as I want to avoid using another pun, here it is. You can’t choose your family, just like a digital agency can’t choose it’s clients’ partners.

You need to develop your relationship with these third parties as it could be all that stands between you and missing your deadlines. Think of ways to improve the relationship whilst respecting the boundaries you both have in your prospective markets. At igloo we work very closely with all of our clients’ suppliers and maintaining a beneficial relationship is of the utmost importance. Treating them as a competitor will only serve to make your job impossible when you are relying on them at the last minute.

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Check out the Fifteen Melbourne, video project overview featuring Co-Creator and Executive Head Chef, Tobie Puttock. Watch on iglooTV or on the igloo youtube channel.

Yesterday I went to check out the opening of the long awaited Tim Burton Exhibition at ACMI. The place was absolutely packed with people, some even dressed up as one of the characters from his movies. The gallery was nothing short of amazing, with displays of some of his earlier works and sketches, stuff he did while he was at Disney, all the way to his most recent work in Alice in Wonderland. Melbourne’s gray and chilly weather somewhat complement the ominously twisted feel of his work to boot… (more…)

igloo’s key values are Innovation, Collaboration and Exceptional Service, or what us in the know like to call – ICE. So it’s no real surprise that it’s something we focus from time to time here on the blog. I’m going to tell you what innovation means to me and then try to explain how to bring it to life for your yourself or your organisation.

What is innovation?

Innovation is creating something new; something original. But not inventing and not designing.
It’s using what’s around you, but just doing it better. Using your experience and knowledge to develop a product or process that is superior.

Henry Ford famously said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Henry Ford didn’t invent the automobile.

He wasn’t even alive when it was invented in 1769. 1806 saw gas internal combustion engines, 1838 for the electric car, 1885 introduced petrol engines In 1902, at least 50 US firms manufactured and sold cars, generally expensive to purchase and difficult to maintain.

Ford developed an intuitive understanding that many people wanted faster horses to do practical jobs like getting to and from town quicker so more work could be done on the farm.

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