Search results matching tag 'orange'

Patrick - The mute assassin - Swayze is dead

255762 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:14:00 GMT

Sad news today, Patrick Swayze, also known as the mute assassin in the Orange Gold Spot ad, has died.

Okay, so he's best known for 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Ghost' by most of the world, but let's not forget 'Point Break' where he had such great lines as "Little hand says it's time to rock and roll".

The spot he shot for Orange was one of the early ones and best where we see Patrick Swayze pitch his 'The Silent Hunter' movie idea.

The silence was never going to fly with the Orange panel, but aged 57 it does sadly today after a two year battle with pancreatic cancer working until the end (most recently playing an FBI agent in in the US TV show 'The Beast').

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Mobile music: Brand-as-you-go

1794479 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:46:00 GMT

Orange UK has launched a new free music streaming service aimed squarely at 16-24 year-olds today in a bid to capture a youth market hungry for free music. The new service - entitled 'Monkey' - is a JV between Universal Music Group, Orange UK, and Channel 4 and is the first free music package positioned entirely towards pay-as-you-go customers. The new deal will serve up thousands of songs from Universal artists, plus free competitions, news, gossip, exclusive access to artist content as well as providing the ability to share playlists via social networks. All of this will be free if users simply top up their phones with £10 credit.

"The free music element of the package fulfils an untapped market that is looking for a low-cost, easy access music service," states Orange. "Unlike some music services, which are either restricted to high-end more expensive handsets or have download costs, Monkey is for everyone," echoes Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange. Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research however takes slight issue with this highlighting how the 600 minutes a month restriction on Orange's new pay-as-you-go music service positions it as slightly less than free in reality. He argues that customers regularly paying £30 a month in phone credit are actually paying the equivalent of £2.14 per album.

So where do other brands fit in this new musical picture? Well, the service is also expected to tie-in with Oranges recently announced partnership with Blyk, the mobile marketing company, with Orange suggesting that Monkey will include "great offers from relevant brands". It’s plain to see the youth market wants free music, but do they want this to come with brands on board? The answer seems to be yes for a large percentage of the market. A recent KPMG Consumers and Convergence survey suggested that 40% of UK consumers are happy to watch mobile ads in exchange for free music. A figure backed up by an annual research survey from 3ple-Media, which stated that 41% of mobile subscribers are 'quite likely' to forward mobile ads in exchange for free access to music tracks. (Notably in these cash-strapped times this is up from 30% in last year’s survey)

What particularly interesting about the Blyk tie up is that Orange will serve advertising based on users preferences. How this works in practice in terms of what brands a Lady Gaga fan gets over a Razorlight fan is at present not entirely clear. However, the fact that music consumers want personalised advertising is. Around 48% of 18-45 year olds say they pay more attention if an online ad is relevant to them according to Lightspeed Research. One can assume this translates equally favourably across to mobile as well.

So can brands reach music consumers via mobile? Undoubtedly. Can they get the relevant cut through? Arguably yes if the ad content is personalised to user preferences. The main factor here is that advertisers need to see mobile as another touch point in a wider music related strategy. Around 51% of consumers say ads are highly effective if they “give me new information” according to a new Harris Poll. A non-related ad is going to get passed over, but one that drives the user into a deeper musical experience elsewhere is going to have the highest engagement factor. Mobile ads in this respect act as bookmarks to a deeper rooted music association in the minds of music consumers. Not so much music-on-the-go, more a music experience you can go to.

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.

Analogue Politicians in a Digital Age

2175094 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:00:00 GMT

I'm pinching David Cameron's catch-phrase on Gordon Brown for the title of this blog, but it seems very relevant to describe Orange's Future of Politics report which was published earlier this week. This is a great report which argues for UK politicians, our political structures, Parliament and political parties of the need to "embrace the digital age to re-energise and transform democracy" and begin a "digital golden age of Parliament".

I acknowledge that our politicians are representatives of all the British people, including the few who don't have access to broadband, don't use social media or even own a mobile handset. However, I don't think anyone doubts the need for UK politicians and their institutions to adapt to the digital age - although many people (particularly some of those working in Parliament) like its Victorian ways and traditions. But a modern and effective democratic institution needs to shed its 'club' image that the vast majority of citizens can't and don't associate themselves with. As the report acknowledges, new technology and media still feel a bit tacked on to existing structures and approaches. The Number 10 Downing Street e-Petition site and YouTube channel are welcome developments in the right direction though.

Some of the ideas within the report are perhaps a big ask (for example a 3D virtual Parliament). However, I think of real significance is the use of social media to galvanise and organise political opinions (particularly around single-issues) and as a platform to raise funding. We already know how the Government feels about social media in politics: it is distinctly uncomfortable with it. But this is undoubtedly how some politicians are beginning to engage with their supporters, constituents and (dare I say it) colleagues. The report also makes much of Barak Obama's much-heralded 'text-book' online campaigning during the 2008 US Presidential election and the large amount of small donations he received via social media. Obama built relationships with people before asking them for money.

UK politicians should definitely sit up and take note of this report. Otherwise they'll remain firmly entrenched in a world that no one else but themselves actually recognise. Change or wither.

Wanted teachers for international/local students

2433659 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:31:57 GMT

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IAB Engage, case for 100% digital; an advertising perspective

2371004 — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:07:00 GMT

Justin Billingsley the brand director at Orange is making his case for advertisers to transfer 100% of their business online.

The transition to 100% digital is a crushing inevitably, and not if but when. The reason Orange is currently testing their brand in a number of digital medium is be at the frontier when that time comes.

Billingsley said one of the only reason why traditional advertising still exists is because of archaic executives who grew up on advertising as a tangible thing, they like to see where ads run, and to them ads have time, are in a rectangle.

Agencies need to change idea of a brief being a 60 sec or 90 ad to instead being media agnostic.

Advertisers have a lot to learn from brand Obama, and how they think about digital. In November 2007 in the US candidacy race there was one candidate who was focused on "I want your vote", and the other said, "Ii want you to get online and give me $5."

There are brands that are focused on vote, like McCain, and others, focused on journey, in the end people weren’t focused as much on the final vote, but rather on influencing others.

Obama won.

Consumers are absolutely in charge, they have what advertisers value, and not just in terms of money. They offer so much more, including how many times brands are talked about, it's not just the transaction but what led up to it.

Searching is a fascinating leading indicator of interest levels, and advertisers can look at search terms to see how that is buzz is growing, looking at it by region where it’s located, in unprecedented short time.

Also interesting, when searching "Orange Broadband" in Google, the first advertised link goes to an O2 website, also the fourth site down leads to a website called, orangeproblems.co.uk, where people upset with Orange service have set up a forum to share their experiences. Billingsley does not see this as a problem, more of a privilege, it’s a conversation between people, where brands can solve a problem and users can see the solutions.

He said: "The stakes are higher but payoffs are higher as well."

Blogs and forums are the new backyard fence or pub, and advertisers can be scared of what is said there or be there and try to make things better.

"If it’s annoying, it’s advertising, if it's not annoying, it gets called something else."

Brands have three roles online, first, to entertain not to annoy, second, to answer questions and third to act as a utility to help navigate to make the journey better. If brands are not doing these three, then they are not doing a good job.

Billingsley gave specific examples that Orange is doing to incorporate those three points, including recent campaigns with the Glastonbury festival and its pay as you go Balloonacy website-balloon race campaign.

However, Orange has had other digital campaigns that were failures, specifically Orange Island - a second-life location where users can congregate. Orange Island was like a "cathedral in the desert" a nice looking campaign that no one went to. Billingsley points out that Orange Island did not tick off any of the three digital advertising keys.

100% digital advertising also means a huge increase in the amount of accountability for advertisers, with real time responses from consumers.

Are Brands Missing the Point When it Comes to AFP & Branded Content?

1363416 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:48:00 GMT

The more I delve into the world of ad-funded programming and branded content the more examples I see of brands missing the point.

On line and mobile communities are only going to watch branded content if it brings some real value to them. For content to be valuable it either has to be about a subject matter that the viewer has a personal interest in or be informative or it can just be good solid entertainment and fun. What branded content and AFP should not be is a thinly veiled advertisement.

As I watch the trailer for Sony Ericsson's Xperia, Who is Johnny X , all I see is crude product placement which dominates the screen and immediately de-values the content in my eyes. I feel like I am being asked to watch a long advertisement. It's the wrong way of approaching branded content.

It makes my mind immediately jump to the tongue in cheek Orange cinema ads where the Orange board suggests to the likes of Snoop Doggy Dogg ways in which he could incorporate the Orange marketing messages into his rap song.

Eurostar got it right. BMW Films got it right. Sagatiba in Brasil got it right.

Eurostar have made a coming of age film about 2 teenagers in London. Yes it is based in and around St Pancras and yes the Eurostar appears in the film but they gave Shane Meadows free reign to make a film and not an advert.

The BMW Films series, "The Hire", consisted of eight exciting and action-packed short films featuring popular directors and starring Clive Owen. Yes he drives a BMW but the stories are as good as you would see in the cinema and so the viewer appreciates the fact that BMW has put this together to entertain them.

Sagatiba presents a film about "The Spirit of Brasil". The title of the film ties in nicely with their advertising strapline but the film itself is about what makes up the Spirit of Brasil and is about football, music and beaches and not about Sagatiba.

Brands are going to have to take a much more sophisticated approach to AFP and branded content if they truly want to come over as authentic to their customer base.

Re: What are Orange up to? Who's their agency

2369260 — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:01:51 GMT

NiCk, Thank you for the reply....I'm glad my comments have stirred up some emotion. I'll answer what you call the "inaccuracies" with the hope that you can see how the whole "I am" campaign could have been dramatically improved upon. If I was Orange or the agency associated I'd be extremely disappointed with the work done. Front page domination of Google (if that is an objective) can be achieved. You make the assumption above that people will always use a "horizontal" search engine first and then look at something like flickr....what about those people who spend their time in flickr and use that to search first? People behave much differently online these days than they did even 6 months ago. So, below is a summary of answers:- - Front page domination in Google, Yahoo! etc could be achieved by ensuring, not only he site and micro site ranks, but also all the other content which could have been deployed. i.e. - The video imagery already created for Jont, Mark Beaumont et al could have been placed in an "I am" channel on You Tube and other video sites. - Likewise, the imagery placed on a flickr account called "I am" - Profiles for each could have been set up on the major social networks with details of profiles, all friends of each other, and with dedicated groups for potential customers to interact with.....and guess what Pipl (you're right about it being a people search engine) would have the profiles shown in the search results for "I am" - Each personality could have had their own blog, to encourage interaction again, and have a presence within the key target areas of the blogosphere....and Technorati (you're right again...it searches blog posts and forums) would also pick it up. - There are many other areas which could have been covered and when using addictomatic to search for "I am" Orange and the associated personalities would have visibility across all the various social media platforms. If all of the above content was tagged and optimised correctly, with a solid and useful link structure; and done in advance of the offline marketing going live, the campaign with the "I am" call to action would have been successful. A very short bullet point answer, with a load more detail I could add (but I won't) and I hope it clears up the "inaccuracies".

Which is your favourite 'I am' ad? Mercedes, Orange or the pet food?

1319935 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:59:00 GMT

Another ad about me hits our screens. Mercedes has taken a spooky and moody treatment to promote the cars to a younger audience with three TV commercials using 'I am Mercedes' as the payoff. The first aired in May featuring Josh Brolin, star of ‘No Country for Old Men’, and the last has just gone out featuring David Leon, soon to appear in Guy Ritchie’s next piece of work. These ads take time, care and significant investment to develop.

They are artworks. I am Mercedes. But am I any the wiser as to why I should spend £40K on one? I am unclear. It’s not that complicated a brief to sustain the emotive connection the ads make as we go online. Now that pretty much every new car sold is substantively researched online before anyone goes near a dealer, it should be an imperative to have a linked up strategy for the web. But (and I hate to say it again) when I search ‘I am Mercedes’ I find two sponsored links – one to the Mercedes web site, the other to the I am Orange thingy I’ve commented on previously both here and on the MRM Worldwide UK blog. All the natural search links are to various trusted places where I can see the ads again, so that’s good. On the Mercedes web site though, I can only see…the ads again!

And some production sequences as well. Hmm. Two things spring to mind. When will we stop thinking that the making of the ad is interesting to anyone but ourselves? Secondly, in this instance, shouldn’t the online experience be the starting point?

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I heart Orange

2228399 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:52:00 GMT

Orange's new (or relatively new) Orange Rock Corps idea is true brand participation genius. Compared to the heavy handedness of it's "I am" campaign, this ticks all the right boxes for me - mixing the idea of "community" (and real life connections - at the heart of any mobile operator's values) with a healthy dose of entertainment, fun and most importantly "social action" (the new rock n roll for today's middle classes).