Favourite Picks from the 2010 Webby Awards Part 1

It is always a pleasure to go through the long list of Webby winners and nominees - such inspiring work can be found. I wanted to share some of my favourite campaigns and reflect a bit on what makes them so special. I'll start off with two of my favourites.

First pick is Adobe's Virtual Museum of Digital Media, developed by Goodby, Silverstein and Partners:



When I first saw the museum in action in 2010 it was truly astonishing. Adobe have created a marvel - an online experience like no other. From the idea that they had an architect develop the concept for the entire building and then actually place it virtually into different major cities, to the complete interactive experiences with the exhibits, the visitor guide and recorded curator. What I especially appreciate about this project is that it is not just a demonstration of digital capabilities but a long-term project to give creative digital artists a platform to showcase their work.

Second pick is Airwalk's Invisible Pop-up Stores, developed by Young & Rubicam. The case study of the project can be viewed here - no embedding options unfortunately: View Case Study

To summarize, the idea was to develop custom online stores for a limited edition relaunch of a popular Airwalk shoe from the past, that can be viewed on GPS-enabled smartphones. The campaign was specifically targeted at the brand's key target group - skateboarders. The aim was to reach this audience at the primary location where they spend their time - at skate parks and beaches. When the kids would hold up their phones in one of the areas and start the Airwalk app they would see an on-screen catalog of the shoes, be able to customize them and order their selection instantly. What impresses me with this project is the complex targeting and the smart integration of exclusivity - the shoes were only available in these special "invisible" stores. Along with the adidas Virtual Footwear wall, these projects are my favourite eCommerce ideas from the past year.

The Next Generation of Books

Came across something special on TED today - a presentation by Mike Matas - ex-software developer of the iPod and iPad interface. His current company Push Pop Press has developed an immersive digital book for the Apple devices that has interactive content, videos, documentary content and infographics built into the book and at your finger tips. Video below demonstrates the functionality - I personally would love to read through such a book. I am one to enjoy reading - sometimes going through hundreds of pages a day if I really enjoy the book. This project however, seems like a new experience altogether. It was interesting to hear that Mike's company are trying to develop a "toolkit" to allow other companies to easily create content as the pieces shown and I am very curious about the potential implications.

History of Social Media Blunders

Came across a wonderful SlideShare presentation by SMI on what has gone wrong for brands in social media over the last few years:

Social media Screw Ups - A History

View more presentations from Social Media Influence.

Social media might be the "coolest thing ever" according to some but it should definitely not be taken lightly by marketers and companies. With all the potential in the channel there are also great risks and no company, regardless of size or reputation is invulnerable to them. Maybe the most important insight for me from the presentation is to actively listen to and learn from your target group - that is the foundation of all successful marketing effort. Social media gives us great freedom to do exactly that - listen first-hand to the conversations of our audiences.

Audience Involvement via Digital

I've been looking into case studies of one of the world's leading digital agencies - AKQA and will be posting several campaigns of theirs from the past 2 years. Below is their unique campaign for the launch of the new Sherlock Holmes in 2009. They managed to create a truly captivating experience for their audience giving them a customized game that kept them busy for weeks with new content and improvements.



The campaign was a huge success generating coverage across different media and incredible numbers in social media mentions and views.