Brand Cambo
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Brand Cambo
Everyone took notice of Michael Campbell when the Kiwi golfer beat the world’s best in the US Open and netted US$1.2 million in prize money—including sponsors, looking to attach themselves to brand Campbell. But just what is brand Campbell? “At first, I didn’t even know what a brand meant,” Cambo tells Andy Kenworthy in the current Idealog. So sports branding consultant Hamish Reid was called in to teach Campbell about branding and the brands about Michael Campbell.
Of course, branding a person is very different to branding a product or a company. Andy finds out how the process works for Campbell, and Lauren Bartlett finds how Amazing Race face Phil Keoghan wields his celebrity clout. Read more in Idealog #21, or on our website.
Singing shirts
AUT’s Co-Lab creative technologies lab has snared Dr Leah Buechley from MIT for some sartorially electronic workshops. Buechley has developed technology that allows fabric to react to stimuli such as light, sound and touch and is holding workshops in Auckland to show how it’s done. Think LilyPad Arduino, conductive thread, LEDs, sensors, speakers and more, and you’ll get the picture.
Buechley kicked off AUT’s Creating Technologies Conference today with additional talks by Ponoko’s Derek Elley and associate professor Charles Walker. Read more at the Co-Lab website.
Idealog contributor Simon Young attended Buechley’s workshop this morning and is writing it up today on the Idealog blog. Keep an eye open for an update on Idealog TV, too.
To be is to Beatle
 No, you still can’t buy The Beatles on iTunes but soon you’ll be able to be a Beatle, when The Beatles: Rock Band is released. We Ideologues would never dream of masquerading as Liverpool’s finest, but we’re huge fans of the beautiful trailer for the game. Check it out at the official website.
But first, the Worst …
At Idealog, we spend our days ferreting out the newest, coolest, cleverest, kick-assingest things that Kiwis are up to, and there’s never a shortage. But now we realise the errors of our ways: the real story is in the worst. Meet Worst magazine, an ingenious online rag that reveals the worst of everything: the worst music, the worst shopping, the worst art, the worst camel … you get the idea.
Could it get any worse? Too right—they’re now looking for submissions for issue 2.
Jericho prospers as recession bites
There’s a smarter way to do everything. For insights into how you can improve your business decisions and investment—or simply to get some inspiring ideas— visit BusinessInsight, a collaboration between HB Media and IBM. This month’s case study: Jericho grows capacity 500%. How? And what’s the ROI? Watch the video and read the case study here.
A series of YouTubes
Visit the home page of US advertising agency Boone Oakley and you’re immediately redirected to YouTube. Nice idea, nice work, shame about poor Billy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elo7WeIydh8
Death or rebirth of a brand
General Motors has a bunch of iconic brands in its automotive stable, the result of buying smaller carmakers. It did so perhaps because it couldn’t innovate itself, and it’ll be interesting to see what becomes of famous makes such as Saab that pioneered many cool car design features.
The symbol of American wasteful opulence, Hummer, maker of gas-guzzling urban assault vehicles for the tackier-than-thou crowd, has already been sold to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery in China for what’s thought to be much less than the US$500 million that GM valued the brand.
If the Chinese simply carry on producing monster trucks like to the American ones, the Hummer purchase will be a waste of their money. The target market won’t touch Chinese-made Hummers. But, imagine if they were to remake the brand and produce a vehicle with a real emphasis on sports and utility instead of being flabby and obscene? That could be quite a coup.
Outbreak of Salmonella Dub
Auckland’s hip Quadrant Hotel has extended its arms to the local music scene by adding its own exclusively mixed CD from perennial New Zealand fave act, Salmonella Dub.
In a beautiful piece of Kiwi-centric marketing, The Quadrant’s Salmonella Dub Selection will be available exclusively through The Quadrant Hotel. It’s offered to hotel guests and can be purchased online at from June 15.
Job of the Week
Flash Developer (P0506) Great Location / Great Team • Variety of Projects • Creative Agency Our client is looking for an intermediate to senior Flash Developer to join their expanding digital team. You will be at least 3 to 4 years agency/commercially experienced and know Actionscript like the back of your hand. Experience in Flex would also be a bonus along with PHP, HTML, CSS. This role will offer you the opportunity to also upskill yourself and learn new areas or develop your skills in motion graphics, Eyeblaster and 3D Flash. The key to this role is that you will have the passion and drive to push creative boundaries and deliver your best work on each project.
If you feel this is the right next step for you, please send your details to Louise Lawton at Portfolio Recruitment on 09 379-9303, or apply on our website.
Innovate through recession
The first Social Innovation Camp kicks off tomorrow in Wellington, bringing together a mix of social entrepreneurs, web developers, business specialists and creatives to propose and vote on three top ideas to innovate out of recession.
This is in preparation for the full weekend SI Camp later in the year that will develop the three ideas into full working web prototypes. If you want to attend, SI Camp is held from 2pm to 6pm at Deloitte House, 10 Brandon Street, Wellington. RSVP here. Auckland will host the second SI Camp on August 1.
If you can’t go, keep an eye on the Idealog blog. Peter Griffin will be liveblogging the camp as events unfold. We look forward to some surprises.
A message from Neil Finn
“For a number of years now I have been an enthusiastic supporter of Ray Avery and Medicine Mondiale and the remarkable work he does using science to make a difference in the developing world. His passion, ingenuity and determination are inspiring.
“On June 24 at a Black Tie dinner at Auckland Museum, I will give a private performance to raise funds for Medicine Mondiale and would like to invite you to take a table or some tickets and join us. For me it is a way of acknowledging the importance of Ray’s work, his global view and the millions of lives Medicine Mondiale positively impacts on.
“Buy tickets online or call our team and all arrangements can be made.”
If you’re not familiar with Ray’s work, check out our back issues and Idealog TV. We’re with Finn on this one.
Keeping your shirt on
Well done Luke Hedley from Auckland who took away the start-up package worth $10,000 with his entry t-shirtopedia, for the AS Colour Little Help competition.
The judges thought Luke’s entry combined simple graphics and quirky humour, ’taking facts to the street‘ with the unique concept of placing encyclopedia descriptions on t-shirts in limited print runs. A run of Luke’s t-shirtopedia tees have already been printed in an first edition of 150 hand-numbered ones.
All designs in the Little Help project will be showcased on their website that will also provide an online community for t-shirt designers in New Zealand and Australia. Check it out.
Quote of the week
“New Zealanders, as soon as they leave the shores, inherently become ambassadors for the country and New Zealand products. So I only feel I’m doing my bit. I just happen to have access to a lot of media. I’m happy to use that profile to support brands I really believe in.”
—Phil Keoghan on the upside of celebrity
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
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