Tag Archives: Gekko

Jan 28 2014
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Wearable tech could be very lucrative with the right execution

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Britain is a country with a passion for the latest technology. Consumption figures are huge with Britons spending £9billion on new tech devices. Clearly, this underlines just how present gizmos and gadgets are in our daily lives. What this figure also represents is a healthy sector that is ripe for the picking and one that technology and electronic retailers operate in. However, with the dawn of another year new tech trends are making themselves known and retailers must be abreast of them in order to get a slice of a lucrative market.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas many new devices made an appearance. One of this year’s stars looks to be a Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush from Kolibree, which will tell your phone how “efficiently” you’ve been brushing your teeth, and for how long.

Technology by its very nature is an ever evolving sector, with the new quickly replacing the old and all but the most tech-adverse consumers wanting to keep abreast of what is coming on to the market. This desire to have what’s hot and new is one of the reasons why 2014 looks like it will be the year of wearable technology products. Beyond the constraints of the typical mobile phone or tablet, wearable tech means products that are not only portable, but are hands-free. Think of Google’s Glass or Samsung’s smartwatch. Much more than a straightforward time keeping device, the smartwatch is a transportable tech hub giving users access to all their data points, conveniently located on their wrist. In essence, its convenient aspect complements the general rhythm of the wearer’s everyday life.

This lifestyle-based approach is often targeted towards the health conscious. Personal health and wellbeing will be important factors in all wearable devices as consumers try to rationalise buying ‘gadget bling’ under the pretext of it improving their health and fitness. Take the Fitbit Force, a newly released wristband that learns your daily activity, calories burned, your sleeping patterns and weight. The brand understands that to be successful, wearable tech must not only chime with consumers’ lifestyle needs but also present a level of desirability. The consumer must genuinely want to buy the product and that usually means presenting it more as a lifestyle item and less like a complicated piece of technological innovation. CES has also shown that wearable technology and the connected health category now even extends to your pets, with US tech firm Voyce announcing a smart collar for dogs.

There is also a significant trend to manufacture tech with a more obvious focus on fashion and style. There were clear examples at CES to demonstrate that tech companies are starting to think about fashion and design. The Netatmo June bracelet is made with Louis Vuitton and Camille Toupet-designed jewels that track your sun exposure. There was also the MetaWatch, designed by ex-Fossil engineers and made with expensive metals and classic leather wristbands. However, the most noteworthy wearable at CES was the Pebble Steel smartwatch. It’s designed to be worn with either a stainless steel band or a genuine leather strap, forgoing the ostentatious sportiness of the original for a modern, sleek look – essentially embedding a level of customisability to match its style nous. Its designer Steve Johns said that the new design was influenced by both traditional watches and modern technology like mobile phones. This is a balancing act that may prove difficult, but will ultimately be what the consumer is looking for.

But what does this mean for the retailer? Clearly the fashion-focused watches represent the apogee of interactive but stylish consumer technology. However, it also represents that the more accessible, wearable tech items are of primary interest to the retailer. These devices that have a strong consumer lifestyle element mean that retailers are in the privileged position of being able to sell big-ticket items that have an inherent level of desirability. This means that these products are relatively simple to sell; retailers just need a structured through-the-line approach with multiple touchpoints in order to exploit them. Get the execution right and this new trend could turn out to be very lucrative indeed.

read the full article at http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/opinion-wearable-tech-could-be-very-lucrative-with-the-right-execution/033011

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Jan 15 2014
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Google Endorsements: Industry reaction

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This weekend Google announced its latest advertising platform – Shared Endorsements. Similar to the soon-to-be defunct Sponsored Stories option on Facebook, Google’s Shared Endorsements will pull in users’ names and profile pictures in adverts, ranging from Google Play store recommendations to adverts for restaurants.

Following the announcement The Drum asked a cross section of marketers what the introduction of Shared Endorsements could mean for advertisers and what lessons Google could learn from Facebook’s mistakes.

It’s no surprise that Facebook’s Sponsored Stories didn’t meet with vast amounts of success. So how can Google’s Shared Endorsements avoid that trap?

The trick is to offer consumers exactly what they want. No-one likes to be bombarded with messages that are completely irrelevant to their tastes and buying behaviours. Think how frustrating it would be to be marketed a beer ad if you only drink wine.

Nonetheless, the potential this offers to marketers is huge, with a massive, global audience who will potentially see their ad.

Therein lies its key factor – its reach. Google’s audience is so vast that it outstrips all other forms of advertising. What brands must ensure, however, is that the content that they are putting in front of people actually appeals to them. After all, a targeted campaign will always be more effective than a blanket approach.

read more at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/01/14/google-endorsements-industry-reaction-digitaslbi-havas-mec-iprospect-and-more

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Dec 13 2013
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YouTube ad revenue surge: Industry reaction from Gekko

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A report from eMarketer has estimated YouTube’s 2013 ad revenue will shoot up by 51.4 per cent to $5.6bn, signalling the massive appeal of online video content for advertisers and marketers. 

Increased mobile activity along with the explosion of Smart TVs with YouTube connectivity has afforded YouTube incredible opportunities to create a valid revenue stream via advertising. Every LCD/LED on the market today offers connectivity, and if they don’t, just take a look at the integration of YouTube on Apple devices right through to Apple TV. Streaming is now also the norm, with adults and young people alike viewing video content they’ve searched for or have been sent to view.

Although advertising opportunities for brands on YouTube are plentiful, caution is certainly required. Banners are accepted and are either ignored or absorbed subconsciously. Furthermore, if users have to view an advert before viewing a brand’s video content, this becomes dangerous territory. Power to you, YouTube.

Daniel Todaro, Gekko

Read the full article at http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/12/12/youtube-ad-revenue-surge-industry-reaction-carat-ebuzzing-gekko-iprospect-mec

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Dec 05 2013
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Can Anything Be Done To Save The Ailing PC Sector?

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Following what was described as the longest decline in history back in the summer, PC shipments are now at a five year low – and it shows no signs of abating, despite the traditionally fruitful festive period impending.

Steve Jobs, sitting on stage at a conference in 2007 with Gates, first raised the idea of a “post-PC” era, a time when the traditional PC would no longer be the centre of a user’s universe. Instead, more mobile, function-specific devices would come into play, and would make computers much more personal than the PC. The proposal of a post-PC era was certainly in the interests of Apple, but the vision would quickly come to fruition with the iPhone kicking a smartphone revolution; one that would also include such vendors as Samsung and HTC, as well as bringing Google’s Android operating system to the fore.

Flash-forward to Christmas 2013 and fewer consumers have a new PC on their wish-list this year?  Gartner research shows the desktop and laptop market in Western Europe is declining even faster than expected and would likely continue to do so. The UK has been hit especially hard, making for particularly grim reading following a brutal 2012. But should this be a surprise?

Well, we can point to frugality as one reason, with consumers and businesses unwilling to trade in and upgrade their current PCs until absolutely necessary (with Windows 8 no doubt having an impact on this decision), but tablets and smartphones are taking huge chunks out of PC market share.

This is evidenced in no clearer detail than the contrasting fortunes of Lenovo and Acer in recent weeks. Lenovo, the world’s biggest PC maker, has been focusing on mobile devices amid a slowing global PC market. The result? A 36% jump in profits. Meanwhile Acer, the world’s fourth largest computer manufacturer and has been hit by further losses.

Ofcom’s Communications Market Report points to how that is playing out in terms of usage. When consumers are active users of smartphones (now at 51% penetration in the UK) and tablets (now double the penetration of 2012 at 24%, 56% of which is iPad), those consumers are swaying away from using desktop PCs and laptops. Our smaller, less expensive and Internet-friendly alternatives are taking over. It’s perhaps too soon for this Christmas now, but brands in this space need to adapt quickly.

With new brands entering the tablet market all the time, trying to grab a slice of the fortunes (Tesco’s Hudl the latest in a long line), it has driven a tremendous level of choice and value to the consumer; enabling it to become a cost-effective option for the vast majority of consumers.

Moreover, the connectedness provided by our smartphones and tablets also mean that we’re using our PCs significantly less. Whether it be shopping, banking, socialising or e-mail, the strain is now spread across three of four devices and with less functions to be relied upon, the PC upgrade more often than not will be bottom of the priority list. With lower usage means a longer product life too.

However, despite the market shrinkage, I believe there is still a place for PCs in people’s lives. But they have to quickly find and define a new purpose. If e-mail, shopping, banking and even TV-streaming are to be handled by tablets, then in addition to the latter, photography, gaming and design can be the new points of emphasis. Likewise, how can manufacturers tailor their offering to their business audience?

The critical issue when looking at the dip in shipments is that the lost unit sales are largely at the lower end of the PC market. Cheap, commodity-spec, throw-away boxes powered by low-end chips have been made obsolete by tablets. Rather than attempting to be as multi-purpose as possible should PC manufacturers look to consolidate function and emphasise value within USPs.

PCs may never regain the market share they once enjoyed, but there is still plenty of space for them to exist in a complementary role —more portable, more energy-efficient and in a range of new form factors. Whether targeting businesses or the consumer, the PC remains an integrated part of the user’s wider digital consumption habits, becoming the hub of your digital life which tablets and smartphones complement as satellite devices.

By Daniel Todaro, MD, Gekko

read the full article at http://www.techbubbles.co.uk/blog/can-anything-be-done-to-save-the-ailing-pc-sector/

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Nov 26 2013
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Europe’s Warm Embrace to Advertising

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I understand the importance of a uniform approach for global brands, ensuring the same message, feel and equity is experienced by consumers whether they’re in Bangkok, Bombay or New York. However, on a recent trip to the style capital of Europe Milan, I experienced a global brand that successfully tapped into a region where style and brand are paramount.

As marketers we must not only make our brands inspirational but also accessible to all and in Milan, Samsung has tapped into a demographic you may have never thought possible through some particularly clever use of technology.

The Ambrosiana Gallery in Milan’s Duomo district was once the studio of Michelangelo and displays not only the works of the great man, but precious artwork in a remarkably beautiful and ancient setting. Samsung however, has cleverly added a unique modern twist through the use of technology, integrating smart phone functionality as a means of interpreting the art. Next to each piece is a magnetic/electronic chip that gives visitors more information when they place their smartphones over it.

In this instance it’s about the art that you’re viewing but – to Samsung – it’s about you engaging with the brand and experiencing the technology as a portal bestowing you entrance. For some it’s a revelation and I’m guessing that for many of the visitors who make a point of using the feature, it is just that.

What better way for a brand to show that it understands the consumer than by placing a campaign in a venue that is synonymous with the city’s characteristics and fits the perception of Milan. Samsung not only takes into account the consumer demographics within the city, but also uses a variety of publicly-available information to create a picture of how well-suited the city is to the brand. Beyond Samsung this model is adaptable for virtually any type of product. For a fashion label, I am sure a place like the Ambrosiana Gallery would make a beautiful home for greeting fashion-conscious consumers. A depiction of understanding for the cultural life of cities makes all the difference when analysing whether a brand’s campaign is relevant or not.

You only have to read the stats to know that Italy is a place of adland freedom, with a huge Samsung advert adorning the side of the city’s iconic Duomo Cathedral as it undergoes renovations. Could you imagine Samsung creating something like this in the UK, a Christmas installation in St. Paul’s Cathedral? In the UK, our heritage buildings are fiercely protected and they would certainly lock their doors to a brand’s knock. In Italy however, advertising can be found on buses, trams, buildings in glorious Technicolor lights, allowing brands to speak to their target audiences, even when they least expect it. Rules, whether right or wrong, are abandoned. Brands have a luxury of freedom that they don’t have in other countries.

Italians are I suppose, used to a heavier level of brand messaging. Just look at the production values of national TV (in particular any transmitted by a Berlusconi company). The advertising is plentiful and sometimes even better than the programme being watched! With this in mind, are Italians (or European’s in general) more accepting of consumer electronic brand advertising as they know what they want and their maximum price point for quality products or specific brands?

Subsequently I believe this has resulted in a market where brands are not commoditised and able to sell at a price point that enables a margin and sustainable, profitable growth as opposed to crowded categories with brands trading at a loss and eventually abandoning the category altogether.

Could this be why so many UK retailers have unsuccessfully succeeded in Europe and beyond?

Image credit: Leonard Ambrosiana 

Read the full article at http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2013/11/25/europes-warm-embrace-advertising/

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Nov 22 2013
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Top 7 tech gadgets to gift this Christmas

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From health gadgets to espresso machines, we present the festive hot list 2013

Brits now spend £9bn on new tech devices each year, carrying around £22bn worth of gear around with them. Preparations for the Christmas rush are under way and all but the most-forward thinking of consumers is beginning to think about what to buy. You’ll already be getting bombarded with glamorous retailer ads with annoying tunes. For those who will struggle to buy that gift for the busy business-driven loved one in your life, here are my top seven recommendations which will spread joy beyond any advert or celebrity endorsement.

1. Fitbit Flex
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This is the ideal gift for any healthy-minded individual. This bit of kit learns your daily activity, calories burned, your sleeping patterns and weight. It is lightweight and very comfortable and all you have to do is upload wirelessly and see progress on your mobile or online.

2. iPhone 5S
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Of course there has got to be an Apple product in this list! The beautifully designed iPhone 5S looks like the iPhone 5, but goes so much further under the hood. It has a new finger print identity sensor, 64-bit A7 chip, faster and better iSight camera and ultrafast LTE wireless.

3. Panasonic NC-ZA1 Bean-to-Cup Espresso Machine
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This compact and stylishly designed machine fits into any kitchen and will impress discerning coffee connoisseurs with its state of the art technology. A decent coffee to start the day is a must and the new Panasonic NC-ZA1 Bean-to-Cup delivers a personalised cup, just to your taste as it’s delivered through the easy touch screen function.

4. Eastpak Gybbs bag
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Perfect for storing all your gadgets in one stylish but hardy bag. It is roomy and is available in lots of on trend colours to suit smart or casual dress.

5. Toshiba Portégé Z930 Ultrabook

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Ultra light at 1.1kg and thin at 8.3 mm, it delivers with an Intel Core i5 processor, 128GB SSD, HD Graphics, non-reflective display. The steel grey metallic, magnesium chassis and matt black keyboard makes it a stylish gift. The perfect business tool and leisure too, portable and fast.

6.Samsung UE55F9000 LED 4K Ultra HD TV
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This is arguably the world’s most advanced Smart TV system and probably one of the year’s most exciting and eagerly awaited TVs. A 4k ultra HD 3D Smart TV with built in Freeview HD gives you viewing choices shaped around your viewing needs. It is clever enough to recognise your face and voice, it has gesture control and upscales your content to four times the resolution of Full HD. It is the first UHD TV that upscales HD 3D content to a UHD resolution.

7. Epson Expression Premium XP610
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The Expression XP-610 Small-In-One Wi-Fi is a premium printer, perfect for home users who are interested in printing photos and need a Wi-Fi printer that can print glossy photos and crisp, clear text documents. It has touchscreen control that will do your document printing as well as any scanning and copying you need too. What’s more is that there are two loading trays so that you don’t have to keep switching between photo and plain papers. It works from your iPhone too with Epson iPrint sending prints directly from your phone.

Gifts for all pockets that any tech aficionado will know all about and perhaps wish for.

Dan Todaro is the MD of field marketing agency Gekko

Read the full article at http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/top-7-tech-gadgets-to-gift-this-christmas/6858.article

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Nov 12 2013
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Are retailers wasting money with their big budget Christmas TV campaigns?

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When your local supermarket, department store or specialist retailer breaks a brand new above-the-line ad in November, you know the silly season is upon us. With so much revenue and profit generated in this quarter you can understand why the stakes are high. Ads increase exponentially in prime time slots to lure us and retailers live off the hope that the shopping public will spend their hard earned cash through their cash registers. Production values go up, a memorable ditty is sung and a plethora of celebrity smothers the campaign, but do retailers really need to spend so much on the celebrity endorsement? As a marketer, I fully embrace the necessity of advertising and I understand the value in it. I agree that prime time advertising slots are a must if you want to make an impact, as are production values, but based on the criticism lauded on the lacklustre impact Marks & Spencer’s “Leading Ladies” campaign, can retailers justify the expense?

In August Annie Leibovitz shot and featured 10 leading ladies from Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren and artist Tracey Emin to drive sales of ladies fashion (pictured). Did the campaign need to be so “high budget”? Beautiful and well produced was the advert, but I can’t help feel that the garments the ladies were selling were somewhat lost in the foray of the campaign. It was not great fashion and to be honest I doubt many women felt drawn to the concept that these leading ladies really dress in M&S, felt comfortable in what they were told to wear or really engaged with consumers to convince that M&S was back on trend. After all, they’re usually sporting the latest designer labels down the red carpet. With Marks & Spencer posting its ninth consecutive quarter of falling clothing sales, the results certainly don’t live up to the celeb hype. Therefore, you’d believe a rethink was in order for Christmas Peak but not so. Rosie Huntingdon Whitely, David Gandy and another Oscar winner Helena Bonham Carter feature but I reserve my judgment on whether this will truly resonate with the average M&S shopper this time round.

From Waitrose to Debenhams to John Lewis with its just released Lily Allen advert singing the Keane song Somewhere Only We Know, retailers will spend according to market analyst Nielsen, an estimated £390m on advertising over the last three months of 2013. That’s £128m more than one retailer M&S reported in profit for the first 6 months trading. But then John Lewis reported record sales last Christmas, so ads can work but you need the quality products to help close the loop.

Brands in crowded categories may require celebrity endorsement to drive advocacy, however some do it better than others. Do retailers really need to drive our emotion to shop in their stores with the glamour of celebrity wearing, eating or commenting on the quality, style and taste of what are really just run of the mill products? What’s more, how much of the campaign is devoted to the celebrity? I can’t imagine that the aforementioned Oscar winning actresses are inexpensive; on the contrary, they are eating into an already squeezed margin. And do celebrities themselves truly embrace the brand enough to tap into its target audience? I doubt the M&S leading ladies of the summer are donning M&S’ A/W collection, even when they pop out for a pint of milk.

Some of the heavyweights have ditched celebrities this Christmas. Asda has slashed investment in its Christmas advertising campaign and blasted rivals’ “celebrity filled” ads. The grocer has cut its budget by 10% and put value at the heart of its festive messaging.  It has also been announced that the Tesco ad will not be celebrity-focused either. We shall see if they turn their savings this Christmas into profit.

Brands are increasingly defined by experiences, so the use of celebrities has to perpetuate the story and allow consumers to visualise the products as part of their lives. Celebrity ads have become ubiquitous. Marketers often scrap over celebrities for a chance to use their name. The need for standout means marketers are exploring new approaches to maximise the celebrity’s appeal. Some work, others fail, some are unproven. Regardless of approach, the ad has to be credible and authentic.

For brands, often such deals give advertisers a direct line to celebrities’ fan followings via their personal Twitter accounts and Facebook pages. However, the true asset is a star’s relevance, buying a marketer the kind of buzzy exposure that only a Hollywood headliner can bring. The choice has to be right. So why tech brands have enrolled the world’s biggest stars to endorse cutting-edge tech products is anyone’s guess. Kevin Bacon for EE, Robert Downey Jr for HTC and David Beckham for Motorola back in the day; I really can’t see the connections here – please tell me if I’m wrong. Brand recall is vital but let’s not forget the goal here, revenue, and whilst Beyoncé may drive me towards buying Pepsi, do I care which retailer I purchase it in?

No one will argue more than me that ATL campaigns are crucial. But I shall enjoy critiquing from my sofa the raft of celebrity appearances and voiceovers, which will grace my TV screen over the coming months. Perhaps I will be congratulating my choice in viewing via Freeview+ to allow me to pre-record and fast forward past the ads to my favourite Christmas special. Then again I may just hold out for John Lewis’ much lauded Disney –inspired masterpiece.

Read the full article at http://wallblog.co.uk/2013/11/12/are-retailers-wasting-money-with-their-big-budget-christmas-tv-campaigns/

Daniel Todaro is Managing Director at field marketing agency Gekko.

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Nov 06 2013
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Has Product Placement Gone Too Far?

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Product placement within film and TV is hardly breaking news. Since the dawn of broadcast media, brands have been eager to muscle in on our attentions and put their logos in front of us. We now expect to see James Bond with his Omega watch, driving his Aston Martin and flashing his latest smartphone. But I have to ask, are brands now taking product placement to a whole new patronising level?
 
Recently, we took the kids on a cinema trip to see The Smurfs 2 (not my choice, I hasten to add!). I can’t say I was expecting an Oscar-worthy, two-hour emotional tour-de-force of filmmaking, but I was astounded by the degree of product placement within the film. Prior to the screening, I wasn’t aware that it was a Sony Pictures production, but by the end I was wondering if the script was actually based around Sony products!
 
From the newscaster presenting in front of a Sony LED TV to every single adult cast member using a Sony Mobile (of course, demonstrating its full range of services), I actually think it’s difficult to argue that the brands didn’t tailor the script to meet their product placement needs. The villain Gargamel even used a Sony Vaio tablet to cook up his dastardly plans. Twice!
 
As it transpires, Sony Pictures secured deals worth $150 million from over 100 corporate partners to promote a raft of products within the film, far exceeding the production budget of $110 million. To my kids, and I’m sure every other child in that theatre, this likely didn’t register. But for us more brand-aware adults, it was so blatant that I have no doubt I missed several more Sony products woven into the script.
 
Are brands beginning to push their luck a bit too far? Investment in the film and TV industry is crucial, but, in exchange for a sizable cash injection, brands are naturally going to push for as much of the limelight as possible, with scant regard for the script. The larger the investment, the larger the degree of control exerted.
 
The trend was highlighted in typically overstated-fashion by Morgan Spurlock last year with The Greatest Movie Ever Sold – a documentary on product placement with a $1.5 million budget entirely funded by… product placement. As brands become an even more ever-present constant in every facet of our lives, the natural progression is that the volume will further increase and the stakes raised even higher.
 
The connotations for the film and TV industry are slightly worrying, particularly at a time where the industry – I believe – is enjoying the rudest of health in recent years through some remarkable films, TV content and documentaries. I wonder if, as brands seek greater screen-time, we are going to see a day in the not-too-distant future when an actor will refuse to endorse a brand in a movie? Or will the lure of money continue to trump all as more and more blockbuster movies appear as little more than very long adverts with a storyline bolted on?
 
To some extent, audiences do want to see product placement within films; for example, to see a character entering Starbucks as opposed to a trademark-friendly, fictional alternative adds a degree of realism to proceedings. However, there is a fine line that needs to be observed or else the brand risks sticking out like a sore thumb. Unfortunately, since James Bond swapped his Martini for a Heineken, Will Smith dwelt a bit too long on a pair of Converse in I, Robot and Superman reboot Man of Steel hedged it’s box-office failure by securing over 100 global brand partners to the tune of $160 million, the act of product placement has been increasingly taking the spotlight away from the actual stories themselves.
 
I like to think I can appreciate both great branding and great filmmaking, but how closely should we be allowing these two disciplines to merge? With cinema visits in decline and gimmicky features such as 3D failing to take off, the money has to come from somewhere after all. But is it in the brands’ best interests to push their own agendas at the expense of great filmmaking? Is it in their best interests to appear cheesy, naff and downright uncool, thereby damaging their valuable brand equity?
 
You would think not, but, still, I can’t help but feel that it’s up to us – the audience – to make that stand.

Read more at: http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2013/11/05/has-product-placement-gone-too-far/

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Oct 24 2013
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Rajar Q3 2013: Industry reaction

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Rajar has today announced 90% of the adult (15+) UK population – 47.7 million people – tuned in to their selected radio stations in the third quarter of 2013. This is up by approximately 1 million adults on the same quarter of the previous year.

Highlights this quarter include a major decline for Nick Grimshaw’s BBC Radio 1 breakfast show – recording the lowest listening figures in 20 years. However, better news for Kiss FM, which saw a 16.5% quarterly and yearly increase – taking its weekly reach to more than 5 million.
 
Here, Newsline presents industry reaction on the latest results, with opinion from Dan Todaro of Gekko:

‘What stands out for me is the extent to which our lives are so increasingly dominated by smartphones. Convergence is an oft-used term, but radio consumption in particular provides a stark illustration at the speed in which this is happening. Consider that back in Q1 of 2011 and the iPhone 4 was still very much a novelty for most consumers and less than three years later consumption in the 25+ category has almost doubled, whilst the age group fuelling this shift – the 16-24s has jumped from 28.6% to well over 40%.
 
With digital listening increasing across DAB, Digital TV and online through PCs and laptops, it too paints a portrait of how our lifestyles are being fundamentally altered by the technology around us. Everything is so easily accessible and radio is no longer restricted to specialist devices.

Far from being a platform in decline, I think the possibilities for brands to engage is ever-increasing as the way in which we engage and interact with radio changes. Particularly as our current 16-24’s grow older and give way to a new generation of even more highly connected, digitally savvy youths, we’ll soon know of radio only as a medium.’

Read the full article at: http://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2013/10/24/rajar-q3-2013-industry-reaction/

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Oct 22 2013
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Freeview unveils experiential road show featuring dancing tadpoles

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Freeview is looking to extend its latest campaign with a new experiential road show featuring two dancing tadpoles.
 
Created by Gekko, the activity features a large dome structure containing a digital floor projection featuring the tadpoles, recognisable from the ongoing TV campaign, with children able to ‘splash water’ and interact with the tadpoles.
 
James Chambers, retail marketing manager at Freeview, said: “With our latest experiential road show we wanted to demonstrate that entertainment is even better when it’s free. By creating something fun and a bit out of the ordinary, we hope to get people thinking about Freeview differently.”
 
The road show will be fully integrated with current ATL, digital, PR and social media activity.
 
A team of ambassadors will also be on hand to demonstrate all the benefits on offer from Freeview.

Read more at http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/22/freeview-unveils-experiential-road-show-featuring-dancing-tadpoles#RO8hMRtOS53fuIdw.99

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