All right - I'm honestly not really sure if I got this right…
Let me start over. I watched the speech Thomas Friedman gave at the World Bank; the topic was his book “The world is flat”.
At first I thought this might be interesting. Interesting being defined, as something I did not know yet, would catch my attention, maybe would even astonish me.
The whole speech is 53 minutes long. Actually, after about 20 minutes I started to wonder: What is it that this guy wants to tell me?
The speech and therefore the book are about how technology, meaning the internet, the globalization and the constant worldwide communication made the world flat. Well, I kind of agree on this. But I would not call the world as flat but as very much smaller than 10 years ago.
Friedman explains why the first chapter of the book is called “While you were sleeping”. And basically this is the key sentence to the speech and therefore the book.
I feel like Friedman is a bit complaining. That he has missed the whole process from 1980 to today. That everything is faster, closer, technological. I can’t help it – but it seems like he just woke up two days ago and starts to realize what has happened over the last couple of years.
Of course it’s a big thing that has happened! The Internet and its technology changed the world – maybe even revolutionized it. And yes, we could start wondering what would be if this didn’t happen “by accident” (quote Friedman).
But frankly: You could ask this question anywhere. What if penicillin wouldn’t have been discovered – by accident, too? What if Gutenberg wouldn’t have come up with the printing machine at the time hi did?
Big stuff like globalization or the worldwide wiring does not happen over night. So I just don’t see why Friedman actually gets to talk 53 minutes about a process every listener and every reader could witness himself.
I wonder if Friedman tries to explain the last 10 years plus a short preview of the future to people who did a) not pay attention or b) just woke up from a comma.
The world is not flat. It has gotten smaller. Is it a good thing? I don’t know. But from my own personal experience I learned that those people who complain most about the globalization (i.e. unfairness), the technology (big brother is watching you) and the nonstop, constant communication (like cell phones) use the advantages these things bring the most (cheap flights, the web, etc).
So if you’re wondering, too about how the world has changed – I wonder about you.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Weekly blog post: Engagement!
Obviously, „Engagement“ is the new word in advertising. Meaning, it’s not enough to just attract, inform, educate or interest a target audience.
Today, it’s more about getting potential clientele to actually get involved with a product – whether they (meaning we) are aware of this or not.
Of course, nobody can be forced to engage with anything. So therefore, the engagement itself must be attractive and/or fun to make it beyond the first obstacle.
A very nice example – at least in my point of view – is a game created for the California Milk Processer board. Realizing that the consumption of milk decreases, their advertising agency (Goodby, Silverstein & Partners) was challenged with an interesting fact: Everybody already knows that milk is healthy and good for us. So how to remind people to drink more milk again?
The result is the online game Get the Glass. Not only is it done very well in a graphic point of view with its sweet, loveable characters. It provides the player with useful and probably not yet common facts about milk with every field the figure advances on the virtual game board.
A challenging, not too easy to play game that catches interest and draws attention to milk itself… Honestly – what more do you want? In my opinion, this is pure engagement.
At the end, the game offers a special glass and/or a certain amount of money if one participates in the marketing research questions. I like this part very much, too. But this time with the view of a student majoring in advertising.
Go try it out – and let me know how far you got! : )
Today, it’s more about getting potential clientele to actually get involved with a product – whether they (meaning we) are aware of this or not.
Of course, nobody can be forced to engage with anything. So therefore, the engagement itself must be attractive and/or fun to make it beyond the first obstacle.
A very nice example – at least in my point of view – is a game created for the California Milk Processer board. Realizing that the consumption of milk decreases, their advertising agency (Goodby, Silverstein & Partners) was challenged with an interesting fact: Everybody already knows that milk is healthy and good for us. So how to remind people to drink more milk again?
The result is the online game Get the Glass. Not only is it done very well in a graphic point of view with its sweet, loveable characters. It provides the player with useful and probably not yet common facts about milk with every field the figure advances on the virtual game board.
A challenging, not too easy to play game that catches interest and draws attention to milk itself… Honestly – what more do you want? In my opinion, this is pure engagement.
At the end, the game offers a special glass and/or a certain amount of money if one participates in the marketing research questions. I like this part very much, too. But this time with the view of a student majoring in advertising.
Go try it out – and let me know how far you got! : )
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