White and ReWrite but whatever you do, don't make the hunter shoot the bear!

Just in time for back to school, Tipp-Ex has done an interactive YouTube campaign that lets you rewrite this story. It's a fun little piece of social media that is easily shareable and will occupy you for a good five minutes or so. I don't know how strongly this reinforces the Tipp-Ex brand however... I would've probably displayed their strap line "white and rewrite" in a much more obvious fashion but nevertheless this is one of the more creative bits I've seen out there recently.

Have a play!

Virgin says, Don't Go Zombie!

www.dontgozombie.com

What a great viral game that ties in major cultural trends to promote Virgin trains to English young professional. With the array of zombie movies that have appeared over the past few years - 28 Days, I am Legend, Zombieland, Day of the Dead - and the emergence of Google Street view in our everyday lives, this game communicates Virgin's promotional message - don't become a commuter zombie, take Virgin trains - effectively and maintains Virgin as a culturally relevant brand in today's marketplace.

What I especially like about this game is that you can enter your postcode into Google Maps which creates a personalized gaming experience for each user - you're fighting zombies on your recognizable neighborhood streets. Additionally, you're promoted to invite your friends on Facebook to save you from your zombie fate (if you loose) or challenge your high score (if you're particularly skilled) which ties in the highly relevant Social Media aspect. Then again, tying in Social Media is pretty essential in any campaign these days.

Well done to Virgin's digital agency Elvis.

On me 'ead with Dominos

I love it when I see American brands adapted to the English market. In celebration of the World Cup, this Dominos viral game has you heading the football to collect points. If you win the game's 'Cup Final' you're entered to win one of 25 £100 pizza parties. Special coupons and discounts are given out along the way in return for data, what else? Reminders to order online are a constant on the microsite and of course, don't forget to share with your 'mates' on Twitter and Facebook. This is a tidy little piece of user engagement which hits all of the current marketing trends: World Cup fever, social media, viral games and the all-important data collection.

Check it out: http://www.onmeead.co.uk/

BP's digital brand voice

Is BP's digital brand voice at risk from a Twitter imposter that has amassed a following twice that of the petroleum supplier/Gulf Coast destroyer's own official feed? Apparently not because the other day BP told AdAge that they might not take it down. They said "People are frustrated at what's happening, as are we, and that's just their way of expressing it." If you take a look at @bpglobalpr you'll see the imposter tweets are quite humerous with gems like

"Catastrophe is a strong word, let's all agree to call it a whoopsie daisy."

"Proud to announce that BP will be sponsoring the New Orleans Blues Festival this summer w/ special tribute to Muddy Waters."

"Jelly beans, roller coasters, pizza and trampolines. Without oil, none of these would exist. Just something to think about."

However, according to Twitter the name @bpglobalpr isn't legal if it's not an official BP tweeter, they need to say explicitly that it's fake - which they don't. BP condoning this feed will certainly not help them improve their currently terrible reputation, in fact it only perseverates their image as an uncaring, money-hungry, environmentally unfriendly oil company. Why don't they start a retailiation tweet about their clean up efforts? Keep the public informed and try to reposition themselves in the mind of the American public.

Will be watching to see how long @bpglobalpr lasts...

Twitter responds to Foursquare

Twitter now allows users to attach location data to individual Tweets. What will this do for Foursquare and will this detract from their USP? Luckily they've established a game and point system that draws users in but until restaurants/bars/companies/brands/city councils start to reward mayors, will it really be enough to have the web-based title? I doubt my more tech-slow friends will appreciate the 'cool factor' of 4square without more tangible rewards. And what about the less competitive individuals... if you're not visiting enough places in your city to ever put you in contention for mayorship or massive points, will the incentive to use 4square be big enough? Food for thought...

Regardless, I think this newest social media platform has incredible potential and I'm excited to see how it develops.

Check out this interesting article on the rise of Foursquare

The Persona of the Social Media Landscape

Thought this was very creative... need to check out 4chan and devianART though. What about Flickr?

Click on the image to see in more detail...