Worth their Alt

Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.

Worth their Alt

How exactly do Dean Poole and Ben Corban at Alt Group do it? Last year, the designer duo and their team hauled in no fewer than 55 awards locally and internationally. Steven Shaw went to talk to the Alt people, and discovered that it’s about design that takes brand positioning and story right up to the front, and into the brief.

There’s an important smattering of Kiwi directness to Alt’s work too, and of course avoiding those Brand Onions that make you cry.

Catch the Alt knowledge on our website.

Carbonscape Footsie Finalists

Congrats to Kiwi charcoal specialists Carbonscape for making it onto the shortlist for global Finacial Times Climate Challenge Competition. Carbonscape is one of five companies to get through to the last round.

The FTCCC is seeking exciting innovations as well as practical ideas to reduce carbon emissions, so as to make the world more resilient to climate change. Winners get a US$75,000 prize sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, and a panel of judges including Sir Richard Branson will decide who makes off with the loot.

FT readers will be asked to vote for the CCC entrants—go and check it out and cast your vote if you can.

Virulations

It’s no secret that ad agencies’ efforts to get to grips with the Internet have been a bit hit and miss. Some viral marketing goes down really well, like that Cadbury Gorilla, but others, like the Ferrit stuff, makes you wonder if a virus is eating the creatives’ brains. (And can’t we call it something other than viral? That word is just so interactive and multimedia.)

Having said that, ad agencies churn out virals like there’s no tomorrow, and they do need a home. So good on Unruly Media for creating Viral Video Chart where agencies can see their ouvres and those of others. Totally brilliant idea and guaranteed to keep both agencies and clients happy.

Here’s one for Schweppes by Publicis Mojo. It’s 12 minutes long. Let us know if it’s funny.

Bruno and the brown shirts

Borat was funny (yes it was!) but Bruno looks better. The world’s bravest comic pushes all the buttons that make you go “aiiiee!!!” We’re looking forward to the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU8nhHYlQ-I

Brands in the wrong hands

“Right now, we’re gonna teach you how to smoke Smarties.”

Social mediaphiles doing Smarties, crack-smoker style, is probably not the kind of brand image Ce De Candy wants to portray, but what to do? Advertising Age delved into that tricky question, and has some good answers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACDSkCeEfWs

Job of the Week

Intermediate Mac Operator—FMCG Company (P0497)

My FMCG client is looking for a fantastic intermediate Mac operator to help roll out an exciting newly redesigned brand over a wide range of packaging formats. You will be part of a small close in house studio and hard working marketing team.

Knowledge of the print process is essential and previous packaging experience an advantage but not essential. We are looking for someone who is proactive, has initiative and common sense. The work is predominantly packaging work on one brand and also includes general merchandise work and being involved in other brands.

There are great benefits involved and plentiful parking. You must have at least two years commercial experience.

If this sounds like you please email your CV and a PDF portfolio no bigger than 3mb to Annie McCulloch, or apply on our website.

Armistice remixed

This is from last year, but still good: the Auckland War Memorial Museum let people make their own clips in memory of the 1918 Armistice between the Allies and Germany.

The Memory Maker site was made by the government’s DigitalNZ initiative that aims to make New Zealand content easy to find, share and use. Great stuff and kudos to all the companies involved in the project.

What’s with Tim’s Widget though?

Down the nanotubes

Take silver paste, transparent tape and 25-micron carbon nanotubes. What do you get? A nantenna, of course. This is a nanotube antenna, weighing about one ten-thousandth of its copper equivalents but transmitting just as well.

Copper is becoming increasingly scarce and therefore expensive, so this is one area of research to keep a close watch on. (Via Sean Gourley)

In glorious Microsoft Vision

IT really is becoming touchy-feely, isn’t it? Look at what Microsoft thinks screens will be like in ten years’ time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxVS5nYFnkA

Entronsed

From the Red Bull Studio in Auckland, Live Sessions with the Trons. Eight tracks in Quicktime format. Makes us happy. Don’t forget to check out the other artists as well, like Dictaphone Blues.

Brainweek update

Hawkes Bay and Tasman are showing great commitment, but Manawatu and Southland are slacking. Women are amassing more brain cells than males, but men are registering at the Brainweek site faster than females and catching up.

The twentysomethings complete working memory and logical reasoning tasks at high rates; however, thirtysomethings complete more daily tasks required for brain growth.

Brains don’t feel pain, which is why you can operate on them without anaesthesia. (Why can’t you have a massive night on the tiles then without a headache? Hmm?)

Appliance yourselves for the future

The Electrolux Design Labs 2009 global design competition is on, and the Swedish household appliance giant celebrating its 90th birthday this year so it’s a special event. This year, the theme for the competition is Jetsons, that futuristic cartoon family that those over 50 will remember with fondness.

If you’re a designer at Massey and Vic Uni, AUT or one of the country’s indie design schools, go read up on the Jetsons and design something funky and futuristic for Electrolux. Finalists will get an invite to London to present their entries to a jury of hip designers and experts. Judging is based on intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight.

Winners will receive a smokin’ €5,000 and a six-month paid internship at one of the Electrolux global design centres. The second prize is €3,000, and third prize €2,000.

The deadline for Design Lab ’09 entries is May 31, 2009. Students may enter one design via the Design Lab website.

Get in behind

Couldn’t have been done in Nu Zild. Dogs here don’t like being whistled at.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

Quote of the week

“Innovation really emerges from the system. It’s not something you can have a fixed process for. The real meaning of innovation is that something has been accepted and widely taken up. Ultimately, that’s what we’re interested in. All ideas have to be linked to business growth.”

—Dean Poole, creative director of Alt Design

More at Idealog online

Read more on our website: web exclusives, opinion, creative directory, Idealog TV, the Idealog blogs and the Idealog podcast. See you at idealog.co.nz.

  Juha Saarinen
  Ideologue, Weekly