#we are starcom

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Brendan Courtney and Sonya Lennon join us on the bench to discuss their digital fashion offering Frock Advisor, what it offers and where the idea came from. 

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NNI POP Press Planners of the Year

Yesterday marked the first ever POP (Power of Press) planning competition. 5 teams were pitted against each other to compete to win the title of ‘Best Press Planners’ and a newly commissioned trophy to showcase proudly in their office. In case you weren’t aware, POP is a new initiative set up by the NNI (National Newspapers of Ireland) back in January of this year for young media planners or media planners with less than 3 years’ experience in a bid to educate them on the power of advertising in press and to encourage them to plan press.

The POP competition kicked off at 9.30 in The Factory, Barrow Street with presentations from the three guest judges. Firstly, John Gildea, Head of Account Management in Owens DDB, took the stand sharing his experience in the advertising industry and told us how his team recently won a NNI press award with a clever cut-out VW badge advertisement. Kathleen Moore, Head of National Communications in Tesco Ireland was next sharing her story on how the role press played a vital part in the launch of Tesco’s ‘Change for Good’ campaign and campaigns since. Kathleen was followed by Paul Farrell, Managing Director of IPG Mediabrands who shared a few words of wisdom when it comes to planning press drawn from his experiences both on agency side and client side.

5 teams; Mediavest, OMD, MindShare, Aegis and ourselves (Starcom) were then given a different brief each and charged with the responsibility of creating a 3 month long campaign with a rate card budget of €500,000.  Each team were given 4 minutes with each newspaper title to discuss their ideas and ask any pressing questions they might have.

After creating the campaign, each team had to pitch their press advertising strategies to the team of judges who were looking to see some clever and innovative ideas. The teams had to express that they had a deep understanding of press and how to use it best for their clients brief -all in under just seven minutes.

The day ended with a short speech from the host of the day, Anna Clarke from the Cullen Communication, and the presentation of the trophy. After much anticipation, Anna announced Starcom as the winners and we were presented with a new shiny trophy. It was a great day and a fantastic way of getting the younger generation to think about how they can utilise press and implement creative ideas in reality. Well done to all 5 teams and everyone involved on the day.  

[wearestarcom-blog]

Top 5 Stories WC 12th August

1. YouTube founders are back with MixBit; a potential Instagram killer

YouTube co-founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley are back in the start-up game with a new video-sharing app called MixBit that could drive inroads into the market currently dominated by Instagram and Vine.However, unlike the other apps that capture single sequences of video, MixBit enables users to mix, edit and stitch together videos. MixBit videos are also a second longer at 16 seconds compared with Instagram and Vine’s 15 second durations respectively. 

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/33758-youtube-founders-are-back/

  2. Google unveils voice and gesture controlled smartphone

Google has unveiled an American-built “self-driving” smartphone, the first made from scratch by Motorola since it was acquired by the internet company last year. Using voice control as its standout feature, the Moto X is designed to be in permanent listening mode, able to serve up directions, a weather forecast or dial a number in response to a spoken command.

Using similar technology to the Google Glass spectacles which the company is preparing for commercial launch, the device can be operated hands free. By speaking the trigger words “OK Google now”, users will be able to wake up the phone without touching its screen.

http://www.psfk.com/2013/08/google-voice-gesture-control-phone.html

  3. Gap Buys Up All of Tumblr's Mobile Ads for a Day

 Gap wants to create a "pop culture moment" for its fall Back to Blue campaign, and it's turning to Tumblr to create it. Gap issued a call on Tumblr for creators to share, through an original piece of content, what "blue" means to them — blue being, of course, the colour of Gap's logo and of its signature product, the blue jean. The four winning submissions, as determined by Gap, will be distributed through a mobile ad takeover on Tumblr on Aug. 29. On that day, Gap will purchase every single mobile ad Tumblr runs, the first brand to do so

 http://mashable.com/2013/08/12/gap-mobile-ad-takeover/

  4. Apple rumoured to launch new iPhone in September

 Apple is expected to unveil its next iPhone at a special event on Sept. 10, sources told AllThingsD. The launch comes at an important time for Apple, which continues to make a lot of money from the iPhone but has seen its global market share dip amid a growing wave of lower-cost Android devices, as well as an intense battle with arch-rival Samsung.

http://allthingsd.com/20130810/circle-sept-10-on-your-calendar-for-apples-big-iphone-event/

  5. Norway's Prime Minister Goes Undercover as a Taxi Driver

Imagine hopping into a taxi and having Barack Obama ask you, "Where ya headed?" That's what it was like for some Norwegians who found Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as their chauffeur last week. After his regular Friday meetings with the country's king (Norway is a constitutional monarchy), Stoltenberg decided to try something "quite different."

"As prime minister, it is important to listen to people's opinions," he says in the video.  "And if there's one place people say what they really mean, it's in the taxi."

http://mashable.com/2013/08/12/norways-prime-minister-taxi/

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Understanding Irish Mobile Shoppers

  Over the last 18 months, smartphone ownership and usage have grown exponentially in Ireland. Not only has the amount of time spent on them grown but so has the variety of functions they can perform. Recording your favourite TV programmes, finding your way from Sir John Rogersons Quay to Fumbally Lane, betting on the Grand National and buying the week’s shopping – all of these are easily doable from your smartphone. There is quite literally an app for everything.

The smartphone allows us to fill boredom time on the bus with games and entertainment, it allows us to get work done in taxis and it lets us all shop without ever needing to step foot in a shop. Online retailers like boohoo.com and asos have become retail giants without having to provide a changing room for any customer. Just in case you didn’t already know 18% of men (322,000) admit to shopping on their mobile phones while 17% of women (318,000) agree to the same.

But is the mobile shopper different to the foot soldier that traipses Grafton street looking for a new pair of jeans or a discount off new shoes. To find out we took a look through TGI to get a feel for who the mobile shopper is.

Discerning but Media Alert

Those who shop by mobile are more discerning, the time they save shopping through mobile makes them a little pickier. 43% believe that ‘well known brands are better than a retailers own brand’. They are attracted to and show loyalty and an appreciation for recognised brands above own brands, particularly when it comes to the beer they drink – 48% stick to the brands of beer they are familiar with. Interestingly mobile shoppers index at 157 versus all adults when it comes to how alert they are to media sponsorships and partnerships. This would lead us to believe that the mobile shopper with their hectic schedule and propensity to multitask is in fact more alert to the activities of brands than the average shopper.

  Risk-taker & Impulse Buyer

The mobile shopper is not as risk averse when it comes to their finances as we might expect. Over 1 in 4 admit to spending money without thinking. This is certainly one instance in which having the mobile close to hand can cause problems with the purchasing - when you can purchase with simply with ‘one click of an icon’. The lack of a rational mindset in the mobile shopper is also in evidence in how they view owning stocks and shares; they are more likely to own stocks and shares as they don’t view them to be as risky an investment as others might.

Despite news and current affairs being available 24-7 at their fingertips, the tales of woe that relate to our current economic outlook have less effect on them than most adults. This attitude carries into their use of credit cards, many are happy to purchase things on credit believing they will be capable of paying the money back in due course. It appears the mobile shopper is almost a marketers’ dream.

  Leisure Activities:

The time they save by being so active on their mobile is reinvested in keeping themselves healthy and happy through a wide variety of sport and leisure activities. They are twice as likely as all adults to participate in an individual sport/activity with swimming, cycling and jogging the most popular sport related pastimes. One in three is a member of a sports club and of these 85% partake in club activities or club related activities regularly. The mobile shopper is 50% more likely than your typical adult to be involved in competitive sport. This competitive spirit does follow them onto their phone however, they are also 30% more likely to place a bet in any location (including on their phone) than all adults.

  While some of these traits and characteristics will change as the mobile shopper fast becomes the majority rather than the minority, there is plenty of food for thought for how marketers and advertisers alike can extract the most opportunity as possible from these emerging trends.