Creatives all over the world do their best to visualize their ideas when pitching clients, preparing for photo shoots or simply putting their ideas on paper. Apart from sketching with Sketchbook Pro I’ve personally been using Flickr and Google Image Search combined with Photoshop for ages. Lately I’ve added Bing and iStockphoto to the list. It’s a time consuming process but it’s usually getting my message across.
Today however I’ve seen the light. A new web based application(down at the moment due to high traffic) that I found on Mashable let’s you draw your ideas and then it composes an image out of that doodle of yours. It’s made by five Chinese Computer Science and Technology students at Tsinghua University and the National University of Singapore and it’s sick!
Whatever kind of ides you’ve got in your head – it’s now easier than ever to get a matching photo. Draw and you will conquer! Here’s a video explaining what this mind-boggling thing does:
We live in the best of times. It’s all happening now!
What makes an object timeless? Why in some cases do we all end up liking something so much so it rises from being just another thing to instead becoming culture? Certain designs and certain objects has that little extra, they’re like an open fire – we can’t stop staring. And what’s even more strange is that [click to continue…]
Just say the word – Viral – and brand owners go bananas. It’s what you want. Communication spread all over the world without a penny in media spend. It sounds so easy but in fact, not that many videos circles the globe every year.
Let me share one of my ways of increase the probability of succeeding.
I call it “The Viral Triangle”
I’ve created The Viral Triangle in order to get a better understanding from clients that viral marketing is all about buzz and creating hooks that pull people into the loop. The components of The Viral Triangle is something [click to continue…]
Nothing is like it used to be. A couple of years back I attended a Luxury marketing meeting in Monte Carlo. I was one of the speakers and I spoke about how the younger generation will want to see more things from the Luxury brands than just good old beauty shots of expensive products. A couple of posts back I highlighted the IWC print campaign which is a step in the right direction.
Today however I’m amazed with how prestige cuvée champagne house Krug balances innovation with luxury.
Krug has limited the edition to 4,000 numbered copies worldwide and 12 sets with a bottle of Krug Grand Cuvée in a gift box only available at the Ode to Art Gallery in Singapore.
What’s truly nice about this piece is the fact that it’s demonstrates what branding is about today. If you’re looking to spread your brand it’s all about becoming talk of the town and not necessary pay to place your ads all over town.
This activity is about innovation, creativity, partnering with great people, a great print house, the Krug brand, industrial design, video, print, ideas, effect, visuals etc etc etc. There is something for everyone out there.
When you create communication pieces like this they’re spreading them self due to the fact that they offer something unique that is relevant to a multiple of audiences that in their turn spread the content further. In this sense my blog now becomes another branding surface for Krug.
Krug spreads their brand in social networks based on creative and innovative ideas
If your communication initiative is good enough you’ll probably end up with all good branding surfaces. The thing is that bloggers like me and other brand surfaces like to blog about bad stuff too. So make sure your piece of communication is up to the job, otherwise you might end up damaging your brand instead.
So, to conclude this post. What you gotta do is to create brand activities that are absolutely on top of the scale when it comes to innovation and creativity. If you partner up with someone or as in Krug’s case a bunch of great people, your campaign will kick off like never before since there is so much in there for everyone.
ps. I found the campaign on Luxury Insider. Down in Monte Carlo I met the founders of the site, a great bunch of young entrepreneurs.
I seek inspiration everywhere. But Steve Jobs and his lifework with Apple is absolutely one my top inspiration sources. Ran into this Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005 on YouTube. Steve shares the highs and low of his life.
What strikes me with this one is that Steve in a great way conveys the importance of not becoming a product of your business/background but instead always look for the unknown. Also the fact that sudden changes in life usually leads to something better as long as you keep our fire burning. (Something I’ve experienced myself).
Two quotes from Steve Jobs I personally live by too.
Steve Jobs – “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to loose”
Steve Jobs – “The only way to do great work is to love what you do”
ronnestam.com was voted Sweden’s first blog on Innovation, future trends and digital communication. It’s written by Johan Ronnestam. He's widely regarded as one of Sweden’s leading speakers and authorities in the field of modern creative and conceptual thinking and skill of innovating brands and their communication.
