Search results matching tag 'Vodafone'

The Tweet 40

2637600 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Vodafone is building upon it's presence in the micro-blogging platform Twitter in an attempt to drive traffic to its Vodafone Music store. The mobile operator has created a new service which it is billing as the "first-ever interactive real-time top 40 chart for music lovers". Making use of Twitter's 'hashtag' capabilities, users add the artist and track name that they are listening to, proceeded by the RealTop40 hashtag. These votes are aggregated on the realtimetop40.com website, where a constantly updating top 40 list sits and of course all tracks can be purchased from the Vodafone Music webstore.

The headline-grabbing, investment-driving phenomena that is Twitter has stamped it's place firmly into the Zeitgeist. From Obama to Stephen Fry it's hooked an estimated 10m users worldwide, claiming consistent year on year growth of 1000%. If MySpace is synonymous with music and Facebook for friends. Twitter is about opinion and soap-boxing. What's more, researchers at Penn State University found that 20% of tweets are about brands, so harnessing and shaping the platform's chit-chat (and making it positive) has never been so vital.

Along the same lines as wearehunted.com, the Real Top 40 is a neat activation. Music has broad appeal and people are willing express their opinions on it, so the activation is inherently viral. Moreover it makes use of the Twitter's hashtag functionality and carefully, almost surreptitiously mobilizes Twitterers off-site for a soft-sell with relevance.

Four tips for mobilizing those Tweeters:

1. Give them a reason to engage
Deliver an activation that is interactive and go for instant gratification, Tweeters want to be a part of something there and then.

2. Make it viral
Of course the realm of Twitter is inherently viral, but build in broad appeal to your activation to ensure it echos.

3. No one likes a pushy brand
Allow the users to own it and let your brand take the back seat. This is their territory so be respectful. In the case of Vodafone's activation there is no company name grandstanding. The branding amounts to a logo on the website.

4. Offer, don't sell
Of course there is an end game to all this, but again don't be too pushy. The 'offer' should have relevance.

Vodafone to Give Star Mobile Developer €150K

2292853 — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:36:00 GMT

The deadline is fast approaching for UK mobile developers to get in entries for the Vodafone Mobile Clicks competition that will see a talented idea get €150,000 to produce a new mobile site or service.

This is the first time the compeition has run for the UK, and developers have until ~~Thursday, 14th May 2009~~ FRIDAY, 22 MAY 2009.

It is an opportunity to show the mobile technology industry that Britain's got mobile developer talent, and for last year's winners, it was a financial and professional success.

"As a judge for this year's Vodafone Mobile Clicks competition, I'm very excited at the prospect of seeing what Britain's talented mobile internet developers have to offer," said Helen Keegan, a specialist in mobile marketing, advertising and media, who heads Beep Marketing and pens the blog Technokitten. "It's a great opportunity for developers and folks with good ideas for mobile internet applications to win the cash to deliver and develop those ideas further. The entry criteria are straightforward and as long as you're over 18, resident in the UK or Netherlands and are in a start-up or are planning to form a start-up with your idea then you pretty much qualify to enter."

Winners last year included:

-Nulaz, a location-based social networking service that let's people see where their friends are, share locations and view local information.

-Tipspot an events guide

-Map the Gap, an idea-sharing application for mobile phones.

More information in the press release here.

Mobile industry bloggers are getting the word out about the competition, visit:

AllAboutSymbian.com

AlexKinch.com

MobileMarketingMagazine.co.uk

Vodafone Mobile Clicks is a close cooperation between Mobile Monday Amsterdam, Mobile Monday London, Vodafone NL, Vodafone UK, PICNIC and Trend8.

Glad to see some funding going toward mobile innovation,

-Lisa

First day on the blog...

661315 — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:00:00 GMT

As our debut post I felt we should set the tone and context for the forthcoming content of the FRUKT on music blog. My business partner and I sat in Hyde Park with a bottle of cold Rosé more than ten years ago and talked about how despite working for a globally renowned major record label, it didn't feel like embracing the future was on the agenda.

The chairman had never bothered to speak to me, despite me being the only person in the UK company with the words 'new media' in my job spec. Our belief was that consumer brands and technology companies, who were both 'involved' with music as sponsors and manufacturers of hardware, could become more central to the whole music business.

They could make the transition from sponsorship to partnership, enabling new ways to discover, share and distribute music and even in some cases, we could envisage ways that non-traditional music companies, could invest in and support the growth of talent. Fast forward ten years, and here we are. Eight years of FRUKT under our belts working locally and globally to bring brand ideas to life through music for clients like Heineken, BT, Coke, Nokia, Sony Electronics, O2, Vodafone, Orange, 3, Topman and many more.

Music is more than a channel - it's a huge and expansive cultural space. Given that there's never been a time in history when so many people have enjoyed so much music in so many ways, and that the traditional music business is struggling to define it's role, the game is open for new players to make their play and define a role in this exciting cultural space, and consequently share some of the love that fans have for music. So thankyou for inviting us into your world, and we look forward to having you on board for the ride as we explore the world of brands and music, and champion and celebrate the brands who go the extra mile.

iPhone Killer 2 - Storm Warning

1649191 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:08:00 GMT

I predicted a few weeks ago in my blog that the G1 from Google wouldn't be the iPK (iPhone Killer). Well, time will tell whether I'm right or not. Well a new week, a new phone and this one (in my opinion) has more chance of winning the clash of the touch titans. The Blackberry Storm (pic below) will be launched this side of Xmas in the UK exclusively through Vodafone with pretty much all the features of the iPhone (and a few more besides). For instance it will be 3G enabled (natch), it has a 3.2 mp camera with video function, GPS capacity, mp3 etc. And one advantage it has over the Google G1 ? This one actually looks the part.

However, the main feature of the Storm is actually the touch screen itself. It apparently has a 'clickable screen'. So what does that mean exactly ? Well, the screen is kind of flexible and responds to how hard you touch it. In theory you will be able to type things much more easily because you know that the click has been registered by the Storm because the screen will depress slightly. Sounds cool right ? (and from experience of the iPhone I know that sometimes your touch commands are not all that easily registered by the unit, so the reassuring analog nature of a kind of soft click sounds funky).

As for price, well expect it to be pitched around the same as the iPhone. And with a legion of Crackberry addicts (me included) waiting impatiently for a touchscreen version of our constant companion I reckon that this little baby may just be the real rival for the iPhone we have been anticipating.