To be completely honest, this should probably be Part 1.5. This isn’t actually a blog (it’s a shopping site, I think) and I don’t actually know what they’re saying because it’s all in Dutch. I don’t speak Dutch. However, I think the animation on this site is absolutely gorgeous. Click on the site and just wait and watch. The animation will start in a second. Really fantastic, I promise. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

http://producten.hema.nl/

Oh my God, did you click? Did you watch? It’s amazing, RIGHT? I have no idea exactly what the little pop-up at the end is advertising, but I just LOVE this concept. It’s like an online Rube Goldberg project. It’s fun, engaging, and visually beautiful. It doesn’t hurt that it shows off the technical expertise of the site builders, as well as the fun aesthetic of the people who own it. I think business would be a LOT more fun if everybody incorporated this kind of sense of humor and attention to detail.

On an only-vaguely-related note, anybody who speaks Dutch want to tell me what the site is ABOUT?

I don’t go gaga over websites too often, but this one just made my jaw drop. From the cutting edge design, to the complete integration from every digital touch point, to the overall inspiration based concept - this digital creation - hands down - wins in my book.

Lego Click: According to adverblog, LegoClick “is a a virtual canvas of ideas, inspired moments, quirky stories, solutions and tips, working as a collaborative plateform to inspire people.” In my opinion it could quite possibly be the best designed site, I’ve ever seen. In addition, the collaboration and brand integrated ethos behind the execution is what is truly genius. A must see for any designer and/or marketer!

Below is the short film that Lego did to unveil their brilliance. Go forth and explore Click! more….

I think I’m going to do a series on blogs I like. Some of them might not seem like they have much to do with media or advertising at first glance, but stick with me. I promise they’ll be relevant.

For Part I in this series of Blogs I Like, I’m going to start with Put This On. Their tagline, “How to dress like a grownup,” pretty well says it all. This is a style blog aimed at men, and probably most resonant with guys in the business world who want to look professional, polished, and modern, without looking like a) their dads, b) Steve Urkel, or c) douchebags. It’s a fine line.

Not Good

Good

Obviously it’s a good idea to dress well if you are attempting to make a business deal or get a job or impress people in any way. But it is also a good idea to keep things simple and classy, which is where Put This On comes in. In addition to giving sound style advice (and trust me, gentlemen, I am a GIRL and, as such, I am fully qualified to expound on what looks good on guys), the blog promotes smaller clothiers, vintage shops, and other style blogs. They are also working on videos about specific style subjects, though to date they have only completed one (with excellent production values–Denim).  The thing I really like about this blog is that they practice what they preach–they keep the aesthetics of their site clean, polished, and classy, while providing exceptional content.

And NOW we get to my point about this site. Quality content, sound advice, beautiful aesthetics, and generous cross-promotion. This is the model all websites should adopt. Take heed, media folk. Take heed, and Put This On.

***DISCLAIMER: Let me just say, before I get into the actual post, that I love Sherlock Holmes. And mysteries requiring deductive reasoning. And witty banter. And steampunk. But most of all, I LUURRRVE Robert Downey Jr. So beware of fangirlishness popping up in this post.***

We at Nostrum have been fiddling around with augmented reality stuff for a while now, and as part of that, I’ve been researching film promotions. Now, as I warned above, I was already excited for Guy Ritchie’s upcoming reboot of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and the delightfully lugubrious Mark Strong. So when Robert (Nostrum’s Robert, not Iron Man Robert) asked me to check out a promotional game for the film, I was happy to oblige and immediately hopped over to 221b.sh. I landed on a nicely designed page depicting a nice darkly luminous Dickensian-looking London…and a ridiculously long load time. The long load time, combined with the huge “Facebook Connect” button, led me to believe that the game was going to be some lame Facebook game where you get two choices: 1. run away or 2. “fight.” And by fight, they mean hit a button and get a message that says “you just fought and won 20 gold coins!”

I was therefore quite pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a real, participatory game. It’s kind of like the scavenger hunt games that were set up leading up to The Dark Knight, and apparently, for Iron Man 2 (why didn’t I hear about that one??), except the evidence is all in one place. You get assigned a case by Scotland Yard and then put together the evidence to solve it. And here’s the kicker–you need two people to play (ideally). One plays as Holmes and the other plays as Watson, and they each get different evidence and have to consult in order to solve the mystery. Of course, you can play both ends yourself if you’re like me and don’t feel like waiting for somebody else to figure it out. It has all the usual stuff, like automatic status updates and so forth to spread the word, but it’s not a Facebook game.

The mechanics of the game itself are well-done, except that they load too slowly. You watch a video from Scotland Yard or a victim setting up the mystery, and then you read police reports, newspaper clippings, mysterious letters, and so forth, to piece together what’s going on. Then you do some more creative things like chasing down burglars, breaking into buildings, exploring hideouts, and interrogating witnesses. It incorporates strategy games, timed games, hidden object games, and logic games all in one, which is what makes it more fun (and way more participatory) than your average Facebook game. Plus it hints at the premise underlying the plot of the film without giving anything away or relying on teasers like Sherlock Holmes wallpaper or AIM icons (which nobody cares about). In short, it’s fun, it’s intriguing, and it’s well-done.

And it’s ongoing until the film comes out on Christmas Day. There’s a new chapter every Monday. Ok, Holmes, now go find your Watson and get sleuthing.

Alright, I think I managed to avoid too much fangirl blather. What do you say?

I just ran across this video and it made me very excited and not in a typical advertising manner.  I didn’t think about potential donation capabilities that could rain in from a viral hit or massive success attributed to the marketing team because they nailed the strategic objectives of the campaign; I  got happy because someone on their Executive Team had the forethought to know that this was a positive move for their company and had enough trust in the staff  to believe that this could work and went with it. I could only imagine the back and forth that went on between legal and each department around what they couldn’t do because of X,Y and Z.  But kudos to the Executive and his/her team who green lit this for it truly shows how when passion and company’s culture are on the same page good things can emerge.  And only when every level of a company is engaged and participates in a manner that they are comfortable with does something like this take off.  From the Facilities Department to the Rehabilitation Team to the Executive Suite at Providence Health Services in Oregon, nostrum salutes you and your 2Million viewed (and counting) viral smash….

People may or may not know that we here at nostrum are extremely big fans of Gary Vaynerchuk and all the people over at VaynerMedia. Gary leads an amazingly eclectic conglomerate of social branding campaigns outside his core business of Wine Library TV.  From the launch of Corkd (@Ronga) to the NFL’s NY Jets’ Social Initiatives to a few packaged goods brands to the flipping NHL, Gary is leading the behind the scenes charge on so many levels, it astonishes me.

I recently attended his Pasadena book signing for his new book Crush It. At the event, an animated and intensely passionate Gary reared his dominate, yet endearing head telling all the Vayner-aics how toil, sweat and hustling got him where he is today. He had over 200 people salivating on his every word and trust me Vromans’ made some bank that night on Gary’s back. In fact, I overheard the manger say how floored he was at how many people showed up and continued to say that to his recollection only Bill Clinton and Howard Stern had more people for a signing than Gary.

Throughout the entire 2 hour session, Gary ranted and raved about the book, but what struck me as so amazing was that when it was time to sign books, he spent on average 3+ minutes with every single person autographing books, posing for pictures or just advising them based on a question or 2 they had prepared for him. He took the time and the energy to do it all with a straight face and a smile.

Post signing, I was lucky enough to spend an un-interrupted half hour with the man, the myth, and the legend. During our conversation his passion and charisma bubbled to the top (which I expected), but it was his listening skills that impressed me the most. As we chatted while driving the 110, I thought he would lead the conversation with overt references to his insights and lifestyle but that was not the case at all. He focused on what my concerns were (in relation to my business dilemmas) and addressed each individually based on how he felt he could assist. We talked business, ideation and passion and to each aspect he had his own take, yet never did I feel like I was being preached at; it was more like hanging out with a friend discussing the day over a beer (or sorry a glass a wine).

One response that rings ever so true is what he said when I asked if it is ever hard to continue to be “nice” for an event, even when you’re not mentally there. He responded with a wink and smile saying something to the effect that “these people came out to say hello to me and to purchase my book, the least i can do is honor them with a few words and/or an autograph.” He went on to say it all goes back to the early days of adding his personal posts to every single wine article he came across in order to obtain greater influence within the wine community. Trust me he still does this; if you don’t believe me check out how he wins over a negative reviewer of Crush it.

Few people have that ability to connect on so many levels with so many different types of people and still stay true to everything that they believe in: Gary is one of the chosen few.

Thanks for the ride Gary and see you on the other coast…robert

The winter Olympics are a few months away and I’m beginning to wonder if the Vancouver team has missed a Golden opportunity (pun intended). As the buzz grows the committee has launched just 1 social site, www.twitter.com/followthetorch which has protected tweets and only 2 followers!?! As much as I love Vancouver and think these games will be awesome, it feels like they might miss the social media boat.

Even though the Vancouver Olympics are seeing a slow roll toward social media it is in no way highlighted on their website or what it could be. The official website has some very cool graphics and videos, but it lacks a central facebook page, twitter feed, blog, or even e-mail sharing abilities. One major problem with the Olympics and media is that they only happen every 2 years. In the social sphere that is an eternity. I admit its still early in the game for full details to be released but Vancouver could start to create buzz now.
A few things I hope they these Olympics include…

Let the world share videos like this….
(Great video highlighting how the Olympic medals were made)

Create a blog: let the world know what went into the planning the 2010 Olympics

Work with iphone and blackberry app creators so that original and unique applications will be available

Thats just some of my thoughts and hopes, the torch begins its cross Canada Trek October 30th 2009.
It starts in Victoria BC, and linked is a site with full details.

Since 2006 the digital landscape has seen a great shift. The games in China were full of side issues which created a distraction for what could have been done. These 2010 Vancouver Olympics are a perfect opportunity to showcase how Sports and Social media can work together.

This Mashable compilation of hilarious Twitter spoofs brought me back all the way to my very first blog post with Nostrum, way back in March.

The Jon Stewart one is still my favorite…and I still like Twitter.

We’ve all seen trompe-l’oeil paintings in neighborhood Italian restaurants and antique shops. My favorite nail salon has a great painting of a Tuscan vineyard. It’s fun to look at, but nothing special, right?

Wrong.

This video of an installation at a German museum shows what happens when trompe-l’oeil gets a 21st Century makeover.

Talk about augmented reality. I don’t know how anyone could find the motivation to go inside–I’d just sit there and watch the museum change shapes.

The SekaiCamera app is all about function and bringing the user experience to life in both the real and virtual worlds.

This was prototyped at TechCrunch’s Top 50 Conference a few months back and from what was written, it was the talk of the conference. You can see the actual presentation that was done here.

Anyway, we came across this execution in our research and just thought it was so amazing.  Plus, the team here just started rattling off potential uses and ideas around this app.  Honestly the possibilities are endless!

But we see one major obstacle to overcome: Tagging.

As noted across countless blogs and by industry insiders, this will be crucial in facilitating mass adoption of these types of technologies.  If we don’t have a “Dewey Decimal” system of sorts for tagging we all will get lost in the virtual shuffle.

As we here at nostrum, inc. continue to investigate and research new and emerging technologies, we like to share some of our findings with our friends.

Augmented Reality Apps are out in full effect now and are becoming more and more mainstream (at least to us geeks). This recent addtion to the app arsenal is one of the best uses yet for it.

Check this out and let us know what you think. And if you have any other finds, please share; we love this stuff…

Just came across our desks today…

Nike has innovated again!  This time with Lance Armstrong and the Tour De France.  The two entities have teamed up with the development of Chalkbot - a robot messaging system of sorts.  This robot lets users send 4o character long messages, texts, emails or tweets to a server and then relayed to the Chalkbot.  Then throughout the course of the Tour, the messages are PAINTED (yes painted) on the streets that the cyclists travel on!

According to our friends at vanskengroups blog “culturebuzz” The Chalkbot was developed by Deeplocal and StandardRobot for the Nike Livestrong campaign, created together with Lance Armstrong in support of the brand’s cancer foundation.
It allows fans to disseminate their messages of hope and encouragement, as well as joining the fight against cancer.
Simon Prestidge UK Marketing Director at Nike was quoted as saying: “We don’t do advertising any more. […] We need to become part of people’s lives and digital allows us to do that.” We’re sure you get it, the cause is laudable and the concept is truly innovative.

So visit wearyellow.com and/or text LIVESTRONG followed by your message to 36453 to participate in this very innovative campaign.

I saw this recently and it made an immediate impact on me and the team here. By blurring the lines between online and offline social interactions, it is a must see for an CMO who is reticent that this “social media thing” is just a fad.

Props to Sour and their directorial team: Masashi Kawamura, Hal Kirkland, Magico Nakamura, and Masayoshi Nakamura for their innovated and inspiring work. I am just waiting to see how many “copy cats” will be “sampling” this execution over the course of the next few months.

The seed merges 2D and 3D stop motion animation for all to see.
Just something we happened upon and wanted to share:

A few weeks ago Razorfish had their 9th Annual Corporate Client Summit.  From what we viewed in the clips, it seemed like a cool party with some interesting topics and commentary.

Innovation Hell by Joe Crump, Group VP Strategy & Planning, Razorfish from Razorfish on Vimeo.

We at nostrum love that the Web 2.0 space will let others learn and expand their minds through literally viewing the presentation that was given.  In the clip attached, Razorfish’s Group VP of Strategic Planning, Joe Crump discusses the pros and cons of innovating and Razorfish’s insight into what it takes to get this type of work done.

While we here at nostrum would never compare ourselves to the likes of a Razorfish or any other corporate shop of that scope, we do share similar ideals and mantras.  We too believe that creativity does NOT equal innovation and that while a process may be warranted to get a job done, it is not a necessity.  For we feel (like Razorfish) that sometimes the process stymies the ideation and weakens the intended result(s).

Take a look at this presentation and big props to Joe Crump and his digital dream team over at Razorfish.

Thank you for sharing and we will be sharing some of our insights with the masses soon!

Don’t take it from us, take it from some of the most recognizable and successful people on the planet.

I saw the phrase “lets make better mistakes tomorrow” a few weeks ago on FFFound and thought it was great upon first glance.  I kept mulling it over and didn’t think too much more of it after the initial discovery, except that it resonated on so many levels with how I see learning, even more so digital learning.

To me, it exemplified the 360 nature and fast paced trial and error approach of the social web.  So I kept it as a ‘lil personal find’ and honestly that’s where I was planning it would stay.  It wasn’t until I put it up as my screen saver and it happened to show prior to me starting my keynote presentation that I saw it was a serious conversation starter. People immediately started asking questions and commenting about it.  I got everything from what does that mean to people’s unsolicited interpretation to it.  For a small little quote that never was intended to be seen, I soon realized that it truly struck a chord with the audience and I needed to share it.

So after the meetings subsided for the week, I sent a mass email to the core nostrum team and asked them what it meant to them. I got back insights showcasing each individual’s unique style of thinking and how it resonated with them.

Each answer is unique to the individual and truly is the foundation of how nostrum sees the digital world and thinks within it.  The comments ran the gamut: a bit of skepticism, cynicism, idealism, pragmatism and understanding all with the overarching theme of doing it for the betterment of the project.

So take a peak at how the team sees that statement and tell us how it resonates with you? Read the rest of this entry »

This was done by Jason Theodor who is a creator, thinker, writer and strategist out of Canada.
We thought we would share his presentation for this type of approach to solving problems parallels Nostrum’s style.

Thank you for sharing Jason and hopefully we spread the message further. Please tell us your thoughts…..

Take a second and listen to this man. If you dont know who he is, you probably were born after 1980, live outside of LA or are not basketball fans but that’s ok.

This leader is a 98 year old genius and is considered the GREATEST COLLEGE COACH EVER! He led the UCLA Bruins to a staggering 10 NCAA Championships in his 12 year career - a feat that no one has ever even come close to and most likely will never happen again. But it’s not the basketballl or the sports that i truly care about, its the simplicity of the rules that he structured HIS life and in turn his team around. All these simple steps can be weaved into our daily lives on and assist when helping clients and staff in truly understanding the time, energy and patience it takes to get a job done.

So as a favor to me, Nostrum, Inc. and as a courtesy to the most amazing person on the planet take 3 minutes to watch this clip and let us know what you think….berkeley