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Will You Dig Digg's Redesign?

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:58:00 EST

Digg is redesigning. The announcement was made at South by Southwest Interactive conference this past weekend.

The redesign aims to incorporate Facebook and Twitter's significant impact in defining services based on content-sharing. The result will be a Digg social discovery engine that will extract high ranking posts from those sites and tailor responses to user interest.

“When I say the new Digg is socially curated, I’m not kidding,” says CEO, Jay Adelson. “This is just not the most popular or most dugg stories. This is, in theory, what should be the most relevant story to you at any given time. Every single thing has changed. The entire website has been rewritten.” [more]

User-chosen tags replace previous methods of categorization, and the Digg reach now extends further to the social web for pertinent stories. Automated tags are offered for individual stories, but users can add their own, and construct topic pages based on those tags. Once a user chooses several topics, Digg will build them a customized homepage.

The redesigned Digg.com is in pre-beta. Digg users, and newcomers, are invited to sign up at new.digg.com. The site will officially launch in the coming few months.

Digg is continuing to work on and test all aspects of the new site before the public launch – such as the controversial “Bury” button, which allows a reader to call a story out for being spam, a duplicate, a wrong topic, inaccurate, or just “lame.” Digg also hopes to better handle anti-social web practices like group-burying and trolling.

“We’re going to be curating stories socially,” says Adelson. “We’ve got a new backend, a new infrastructure layer, a new services layer, new machines — everything. That’s scary.”

Digg is one more of the pioneering brands taking a second look as social media enters its second act. “It makes it feel like a startup again,” opines Adelson.

James Cameron And The Prospects For 3D Television

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:22:00 EST

For awhile now, 3D televisions have been the talk of town. Samsung's even unveiled their 3D TV’s at the annual tech event CrunchGear, attempting to woo regular Joe’s and Jane’s to fill their living rooms with 3D television sets. But before you throw out your “worthless” HD televisions and get fitted for your 3D glasses, stop and think whether the switch is worth it.

How could it not be worth it? All of the new, great entertainment out there is in 3D, like Avatar, and, well, maybe just Avatar.

That’s the point Avatar director and 3D-pioneer, James Cameron, is trying to make at least. Cameron isn’t convinced that there’s enough 3D entertainment out there to make such a purchase worthwhile for everyday television viewers.[more]

That’s not to say that he’s bursting Samsung or other company’s bubbles, but rather, he’s actually putting the pressure on other mediums – like television networks – to up the 3D ante.

“It can't be filled by movies, because we can't make them fast enough,” said Cameron in an interview. “So its going to have be filled by live production or near-live production.”

As cool as watching Avatar or other future films in 3D at home could be, the ceiling for television networks to film their daily programs in 3D technology is even higher. Imagine watching NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams, the New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox, or a live Black Eyes Peas concert (James Cameron just collaborated with them on a 3D concert) – all in 3D. That, arguably, could push more television owners over the edge, forcing them to splurge on the next generation of televisions.

Seasoning Naming War Gets Heated

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:38:00 EST

So you’re surveying the shelf at the grocery store and have the choice between “Slap Ya Mama” and “Punch Ya Daddy” seasonings, made by two different companies. Which do you choose? Is the packaging confusing? The makers of "Slap Ya Mama" Cajun seasoning, Walker & Sons, thought yes, and filed a trademark infringement suit last year.

The spice war recently reached boiling proportions and a federal judge ordered "Punch Ya Daddy" to change its logo and packaging, which was deemed too similar. It was determined to be damaging the plaintiff's business. The name, however, is fine. The judge ruled that “Slap Ya Mama” is a common term in the Bayou, while “Punch Ya Daddy,” a name concocted by a child, is not.[more]

“Slap Ya Mama” has been around since 1988 and has 12,000 friends on Facebook. It is the established brand. “Punch Ya Daddy” launched this year.

The moral of the story is to protect your brand, including the name and trade dress. When you are the market leader, competing brands may be willing to take the chance to ride your coattails. When a major brand names a new product, lawyers weigh potential name confusion issues very carefully to avoid lawsuits and consumer-related recognition problems. And the playing field should be the same for all brands -- including seasonings.

Headline Roundup: Click To Buy

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:55:00 EST

Luxury brand Cartier will finally open an online store for American shoppers. [WWD]

PayPal's new app allows for money transfers via smartphone. [TechCrunch]

Designers are trying harder to appeal to consumers rather than create trends. [NY Times]

A Burger King new promotion puts consumers' mugs on sandwich wrappers. [BrandFreak]

Phillips-van Heusen spent $3 billion to acquire the Tommy Hilfiger company. [NY Times]

Sports channel Versus is back on the air thanks to a Comcast-DirecTV deal. [LA Times][more]

India banned Fashion TV for the second time due to indecent exposure. [Independent UK]

Virgin America flight attendants participate in a new reality show called 'Fly Girls.' [WSJ]

Model Gisele Bundchen designed an eco-friendly skincare line for Sejaa Pure Skincare. [People]

According to Hitwise, Facebook is the U.S.'s most-clicked website. [Daily Finance]

Procter & Gamble aims to become more green with a new campaign. [Boston Herald]

Twitter doesn't quite announce its ad strategy at SXSW as planned. [Adweek]

The Augusta National Golf Club's 2010 Masters Tournament will air in 3-D. [Business Insider]

It isn't available for purchase just yet, but iPad batteries already have a cost. [AP]

Around The Web: Shop On!

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:45:00 EST

With sales up, luxury e-boutique Net-a-Porter was bought by Richemont. [Vogue UK]

MG Icon, Madonna's fashion project, will include Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. [WWD]

French Connection will decrease its stores and sell the Nicole Farhi brand. [Reuters]

Continental Airlines is pricing its in-flight meals to save costs. [NY Times]

Is Apple Defending Its Brand Into The Ground?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:37:00 EST

Last October, we reported on a brewing Apple trademark battle in Australia. Apple was suing Woolworth, an Australian supermarket, over its use of an apple for its brand logo. Apple claimed the logo would compete for market share and create confusion in the minds of consumers.

Well, it seems Apple's trademark adventures Down Under continue. In a new ruling, the tech giant has been told that it has no exclusive use of its vaunted "i" prefix. More than just another trademark lawsuit loss, reports of questionable legal action on Apple's part is beginning to pile up and the brand that "thinks different" is beginning to look a lot like...*gasp*... 1990s Microsoft. [more]

The brand that came into Apple's legal crosshairs this go-around is DOPi. Apple argued, "The emphasis given to the letter 'i' results in the consumer’s attention on seeing the mark being immediately deflected to that particular part of the mark. The eye thus having been drawn to that particular part of the mark will perceive the very different treatment given to the letter 'i'... The manner of that depiction would immediately bring to the consumer’s mind the association of the mark 'i' with [Apple] and its family of 'i' products, especially the iPod musical player..."

In rejecting Apple's claim, the trademark officer noted, "Apple has not therefore demonstrated to my satisfaction that the person of ordinary intelligence and memory would be caused to wonder, or be left in doubt, about whether the Goods come from Apple merely because the Trade Mark terminates in the letter "i," however that letter may be presented. Nor do I think the fact that the Trade Mark is made up of the letters of the Apple’s IPOD trade mark in reverse order would cause a significant or substantial number of relevant consumers to wonder whether the Goods were those of the Apple."

Essentially, if you have a device and want to put an "i" suffix or prefix on it, go for it (in Australia anyway).

The bigger concern for the Apple brand here is the seemingly increasing pettiness of its actions in the name of defending its brand. It is understandable, and likely, that Apple's legal team is simply being diligent and puffing its chest as a show of seriousness about its trademarks. Yet, the brand's PR team should realize that Apple is not just any other brand; its actions, however routine, make the press and everyday consumers see such actions not as those of a meticulous brand, but as those of a bully.

Tesco Serves Up A Cart Full Of Fashion

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:58:00 EST

Tesco, the UK-based grocery chain, is launching a new fashion line. Branded F&F Couture, it will feature 16 items with prices up to $212 on clothingattesco.com later this month.

The collection was unveiled during London Fashion Week complete with a runway show and pumping music track. Pieces included a vibrant printed silk tunic, a brown/white striped vest, a pastel printed pantsuit and a tulip skirt.

Jan Marchan, buying director at Tesco Clothing, said: "F&F Couture signifies a new era for supermarket fashion. And we're so confident that the range will be a success that work has already begun on the Autumn/Winter range."

However obscure it is to have a little fashion alongside your produce, the concept has worked at European retailers like Monoprix in France and Marks & Spencer, whose gourmet Simply Food stores complement their retail offerings. Wal-Mart and Target are also doing their best to create one-stop-shops for the busy consumer. However, Tesco is going a bit higher-end, which will make it a tougher sell. It’s one thing to buy a $10 shirt at Wal-Mart, yet quite another to drop $136 on a jacket decorated with metallic silver sequins at Tesco.

Brand Revolution: Will social media weaken or strengthen brands?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:02:00 EST

Social media platforms force brands to face modern challenges and opportunities.

Going Mobile: Does The Future Belong To Apps Or WAPS?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:55:00 EST

Competition is heating up between smartphone applications and mobile browsers, prompting brands to rethink the future of portable devices and software platforms. Some techies say that applications popular with the youth market will displace search engines. Others claim the future belongs to APIs that allow browsers to adopt the best features of applications.

“For smartphone users, mobile web is the killer app,” says Nielsen’s David Gill at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference in Austin, TX. Given the popularity of the smartphone, mobile web – formerly known as WAP – is back in a big way.

Smartphone applications have been the darlings of digital media the past year. Apple has transformed the mobile user experience with its highly successful iPhone App Store, opening the way for advertisers and publishers to engage consumers in a meaningful way that WAP sites had failed to do.[more]

Nielsen predicts Google’s rival Android system will be on 50 million devices within two years, enhanced with apps like Shopper, which takes a picture of a product or barcode, uses Image Recognition technology to source suppliers and compare prices, and then completes the transaction via integrated m-payment.

However, SXSW panelist David Gill observes that applications are not problem-free. Apps will proliferate from 100,000s to millions, leaving brands with a distribution challenge. Also developers of apps are in a “sandbox” which is a barrier to scalability. Apple’s SDK, moreover, does not permit third-party m-commerce solutions, obliging publishers to monetize via Apple, for a 30 percent fee.

For the network carriers, applications can threaten disintermediation. Speaking on the same panel, Dan Applequist of Vodafone (part owners of Verizon) described current efforts to promote mobile web best practices and, through an open source initiative entitled W3C, to enable WAP developers to integrate the same features that app developers use – such as geo-locate API, camera, accelerometer etc., adding design toolkits like Canvas and SVG, and generally replicating for mobile web browsers all the functionality, utility and Wow factor that has made smartphone apps so popular.

Fellow panelist David Hewitt of Sapient pointed to advances in Sprint’s 4G network, with speeds 10x faster than 3G browsing, and said that over the next two years, delivering m-commerce solutions will prove to be one of the carriers’ key driving forces. However, he also noted that, for the foreseeable future, brands will be most active in the App store space because this is what the 13-17 year youth demographic is used to. Apps are less clunky than mobile web pages and they enjoy what Applequist described as an “Install Event,” making them easy to monetize.

And for many tech and media brands, terms such as youth demographic and monetize are buzzwords, and that may mean apps are going to be around for quite a while.

Mars Pushes Nutritional Labeling As US Model

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:27:00 EST

Mars already dominates the chocolate-confectionery business in the American market. Now, the Mt. Olive, NJ-based candy giant would like to dictate how US food and beverage companies label their packages.

The Food & Drug Administration is expected to propose guidelines soon that will require CPG companies to provide simple, meaningful nutritional information on the front of their packages – and not just the rear. Furthermore, they're expected to require all food and beverage brands to keep cockamamie, grandiose or confusing claims off of packaging.

At first in Europe and now in the US, Mars has been rolling out a simple nutritional scoring system on all of its products based on “Guideline Daily Amounts” (GDA) of calories and key nutrients.[more]

The front of the package of each Mars product bears an icon, titled “What’s Inside,” that lists the number of calories and the percentage of the government-recommended daily number of calories that the package contents represent. On the back is a repeat of the calorie information as well as similar figures for total fat, saturated fat, sugars and sodium.

“Consumers were telling us that they find it very difficult to make [food] choices throughout the day and to manage a balanced, healthy lifestyle, and to get information about what’s inside the foods they ate,” Hank Izzo, vice president of research and development for Mars Chocolate North America, told brandchannel. “The most important thing was calories, and getting help in managing their calorie intake as the day goes on."

Mars has been promoting its GDA system at trade shows and in other meetings with competitors and other CPG players. It also is lobbying the American Dietetic Association for support. If competitors embrace its approach, that could help sway the FDA to adopt essentially the Mars scheme for many categories of foods and beverages – and solidify the brand’s perhaps unlikely status as a health-and-nutrition trailblazer.

Lay's Hopes Consumers Will Upload Smiles To Flickr

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:59:00 EST

Food conglomerate Frito-Lay is reaching out to Flickr users around the world with a new campaign. The brand is leveraging the popular photo-sharing website as the destination for its ongoing “Happiness Exhibit,” Lay's is encouraging consumers to upload photos that specifically exhibit positivity.

The promotion is an extension of Lay's “Happiness Is Simple” campaign from 2009, which was designed to promote the importance of “life's simple pleasures.” Lay’s, of course, posits that such pleasures are found in a handful of sliced potatoes.[more]

Eager to prove its relevancy in a tech-savvy world, Lay's hopes that upcoming holidays and springtime bliss will compel consumers to post their happy memories onto Flickr, where the site has created a section devoted to the promotion. Submitted photos may be published in upcoming themed issues of People magazine or even on Lay's-branded bags.

Ad agency Juniper Park spearheaded the project. Executive creative director Barry Quinn explained that potato chips are often enjoyed at events like “your birthday, when you’ve got friends over, or you’re watching the game, or it’s the Fourth of July.” And with the incentive of being published, Lay's hopes consumers will participate in the branding exercise – hopefully with a bowl full of chips on their laps and smiles on their faces.

Brands Can Target Buyers With Real-Time Web Ads

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:12:00 EST

Imagine marketing a brand and knowing in real-time when a prospective buyer searches for your product category or a competitor's brand on the Web – and then being able to instantly place an ad for your brand.

It may sound far-fetched, but it's fast becoming a reality with advances in online advertising. Now that Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are all offering a technology called "real-time bidding," Web advertisers can purchase ad space that appears "in the milliseconds between the time someone enters a site's Web address and the moment the page appears." That means an advertiser can effectively know what a site visitor is looking for and serve up a related ad instantly.[more]

Neal Mohan, VP for product development at Google, tells The New York Times, "Even throughout the course of a day, information can change pretty dramatically. The more precise you can get in terms of being able to act on it as soon as you get that information, the better it will be." Google likes the idea for another reason – the company found that advertisers are willing to pay a premium to websites for real time ads.

In theory, real-time bidding could eliminate wasted ad dollars because it's so targeted, but it involves a high degree of technological sophistication. There's another tricky issue as well – the question of whether such "tailored advertising" oversteps the boundaries of privacy.

Nonetheless, before real-time bidding, says Google's Mohan, "the technology hasn't really been there to deliver on the promise of precise optimization, delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time." So while real-time bidding pushes the envelope, it could help advertisers do a better job of pinpointing prospects, and as a result consumers will see more of what interests them.

How Well Will President Obama's Brand Withstand Negative Publicity?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:17:00 EST

The president may be ensnarled with Congress right now over the fate of his sweeping health-care reform proposals, defied by Iran over nuclear proliferation on the Persian peninsula, and chagrined by poll numbers that are the worst in his short presidency.

But Barack Obama has another big problem that may rank with the others in regard to its long-term impact: His brand – built upon a foundation of values such as change, bipartisanship, and hope – has begun to wane. That was evident in a string of state-level races, beginning last fall, in which Obama’s personal appearances and popularity failed to win the day for Democrats. And that sort of thing also has to concern him a bit about 2012 if not before.

Some former Obama insiders who already have been victimized by Obama’s troubles – or helped cause them – illustrate his problem.[more]

One of them is Desiree Rogers, the Obamas’ social secretary, a long-time friend of the family who nevertheless was chased from office by the publicity stunt orchestrated by a pair of aspiring reality-show stars who crashed a state dinner. She also appeared tone-deaf to America’s economic backdrop when the Harvard-educated former corporate executive appeared in a WSJ magazine photo spread posing in the White House garden in $110,000 diamond earrings.

But apparently another of her worst mistakes was not only tarnishing her boss’s reputation but also thinking of the president as the bearer of “the Obama brand.” According to the New York Times, Rogers was scolded by David Axelrod, a top Obama advisor, for referring to him as a brand. “The president is a person, not a product,” he reportedly said to her.

Of course, the president actually is both. The rise of his brand propelled Obama to the presidency, with its promises of post-partisanship, hope, change and renewed respect for America around the world. So the diminution of his brand isn’t good news for Obama – or the rest of us.

Branded Webisodes Herald New Frontier On Digital Landscape

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:39:00 EST

The convergence of digital technology and online media has spawned the increasingly popular webisode, and the branding industry is scrambling to understand and capitalize on this new tool. Today, brands and entertainment are part of a flourishing new ecosystem powered by digerati from outside Hollywood and Madison Avenue – and sponsored web series are the new currency.

TV networks and media agencies are developing webisodes at a furious rate. Traditional producers such as Magical Elves, Reveille and Fremantle, are being joined by comparative newcomers, Katalyst, Vuguru, and Electric Farm.

Early entrants learned tough lessons in trying to port television-sized productions and budgets to the web. Successful partnerships now include producers and brands from the get-go. Marketing budgets now grant projects approval previously in the domain of network executives.[more]

Scott Donaton, creator of Ad Age’s Madison & Vine in 2004, comments, "Five years ago, the content creators were reluctant to collaborate; they didn't see the brands had any place in the conversation with networks…[On TV], there's a lot of objectives the brand has no control over. In the digital space, you can work the other way to develop and design the content and control the audience. Now you have a chance, as a brand, to meet your objectives and find your audience."

A successful partnership between MindShare Entertainment and Unilever has spawned some of the more notable web video hybrids: Megan Mullally’s I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, "Turn The Tub Around,” Marisa Tomei and Bertolli Pasta, "Into the Heart of Italy," Jane Krakowski and Breyer's Ice Cream, "Smooth & Dreamy.”

According to MindShare President, David Lang, "Four years ago, clients were dipping their toe in branded entertainment. Now we're at the lessons-learned stage. It's very important to not just have the touchy-feely soft data points but verified proof that we're meeting our clients' goals and objectives."

Pepsi recently released "Blue Room" in "If I Can Dream," a talent competition live streamed from 19 Entertainment; also, Mountain Dew has an online webisode, "Circle of Eight." Ready for launch is a Sierra Mist series and product from a partnership between IAC’s College Humor and Ben Silverman’s, Electus.

Pepsi's chief consumer engagement officer, Frank Cooper, sums up the new timeline: "Yes, more money is moving into digital and should move into digital, but we have to maintain a healthy budget on TV. However, you should push that TV button at the right time in the process for communicating to consumers – it should not be your default switch."

The traditional television commercial mindset will simply have to adjust as more money and resources are moved to where consumers are spending more of their time: online.

Headline Roundup: Failure Is An Option

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:42:00 EST

Exxon changes its brand strategy by tapping unique places to find oil. [CNN Money]

Barnes & Noble is trying hard to find sales in the recession. [LA Times]

Palm has good products but isn't a strong competitor for smartphones. [Boston Herald]

Facebook photo albums are putting printing websites out of business. [Washington Post]

Luxury accessories brand MCM is undergoing a makeover for the Asian market. [WSJ]

Music labels may become obsolete, but syncing music is still a pain. [NY Times][more]

Microsoft's Xbox is currently the best-selling gaming console. [FT]

Lay's hopes that Flickr users will start craving potato chips. [Brandweek]

Prada was sued for discriminating against physically unattractive employees. [Consumerist]

Plus-size furniture makers see success as consumers pack on the pounds. [Daily Finance]

Is the Google Android aesthetic too similar to Apple's iPhone? [Business Insider]

Steve Madden wants to design accompanying footwear for Madonna's line. [WWD]

SXSW has inspired conversation, which would be harmful to brands. [Econsultancy]

Air France claims in a new lawsuit that Ryanair is flying unfairly. [Businessweek]