Kookmeyer Institute

**ATTENTION ALL SHOPPERS**
Do not – repeat – do not buy the new Apple iShuffle. The earphones and controls are appallingly flimsy and you will have to pay $59 for new ones when they inevitably fall apart (even though the iShuffle itself retails for only $90!).

Oh who to believe! AKQA is shouting about results for its VW iPhone application – 4 million downloads plus an ‘80% increase in leads, test drive and quote requests without a print ad, banner or broadcast spot in sight’. But compared to what exactly? One Facebook fan, Paul Bartlett, makes some interesting points in a post on the agency’s wall. Personally, I hope the stats are as flattering as they sound – I’m trying to get my own app across the line at the moment.

$129 for a new power adapter is, in the words of Bill Lawry, ludicrous, ridiculous and completely lacking in logic. The guy at Ubertec tried to tow the corporate line, telling me it was ”good value considering the technology in it”. Whatever mate – better to tell it how it is like they do at Magnum Mac and still get the sale.

The Kookmeyer Institute learned a lot in 2009, perhaps most of all from two websites for adidas.tv and 221B. The former made me realise that destination sites really do need to be supported by an integrated marketing strategy – be it a seeding campaign, above-the-line advertising, POS, swing tags or whatever – to drive traffic. Because if nobody sees it what’s the point? The latter made me reassess my approach to content. AKQA will probably win some craft award for its online game to promote the new Sherlock Holmes movie. But it’s so comprehensive that in appealing to the most diehard fans it might have lost the opportunity to hook borderline punters. Perhaps a better approach would have been to simplify the game and keep more users involved for longer. Interesting. I wonder if the guys at ViralBlog will get their hands on the stats and share some kind of report with us in the new year.

This is a year old but it’s the most engaging Christmas idea I’ve seen from an agency. Simply walk up to the Wieden + Kennedy office in London, get your photo taken as Santa or whoever and go online to create a personalised Christmas card! Much better than microwaves going off or, in the case of Hewlett Packard NZ,
a ‘12 days of convergence sing-a-long‘. You might also like to check out W + K’s advent calendar for 2009 (I tried but it wouldn’t open for me). PS Vimeo’s so much cooler than YouTube don’t you think, even if it’s not as popular. Not that it does anything better but it’s like buying adidas when everyone else is buying Nike (if you know what I mean). PPS Merry Christmas.

W+K Xmas Interactive Window from ezblaine on Vimeo.

When you write a blog that nobody reads there has to be some sense of self-indulgence. Check out this music video by MC SpandX. I love it, love it, love it not least because I too hate those hipsters on their fixed wheel bikes.

Apparently one of the casualties of the recession is recycled waste, which continues to stockpile daily. Still, we have to believe (BELIEVE) we can make a difference. Download this software for PC or Mac and wait for the lovely chainsaw reminder the next time you press Ctrl + P.

Living next to Auckland’s most expensive supermarket – New World Victoria Park – I felt it my duty to spread the word about this new co-op starting in August. I quite like the idea of markets that don’t sell junk. Property developers used to talk about transforming the nearby Victoria Park markets into a true destination for arts and crafts, but nothing’s ever come of it. Shame.

What will it be? Cervelo (Hayden Roulston) or Garmin-Slipstream (Julian Dean)? Personally, I’m gunning for JD, who is now on his fifth tour (a record for a Kiwi). These teams (and others) are really making a good fist of channels like Vimeo to keep fans posted. Hopefully Bike NZ can do something similar with the track champs from Invercargill next time round, especially if the local TV station takes along its cameras.

True to AC/DC’s rebel status, Sony Music Creative is breaking though firewalls using the world’s first music video in Excel format. Take that you IT nazis! So far it’s had 1 million downloads and over 1.4 million YouTube views.