Just read a really interesting post on the Swamp blog about the recent BMW augmented reality
campaign for the new Z4.   Apart from being a really clever way to get people to interact with the car I was really impressed with BMW for pushing the boundaries yet again.

Obviously technology and design will appeal to BMWs target market and by using an emerging technology like AR, it has helped to extend the buzz beyond the motor press and into the technology, design and creative clusters.  The web is buzzing about the campaign, across everything from news to blogs and video.  This campaign is a classic example that demonstrates how the means of communication can say as much about a brand or product as what you’re saying.

By creating an impressive application of AR they’ve position the brand and the car as innovative, technologically advanced, stylish, aspirational and fun as well as given people plenty to talk about.  BMW is particularly good at innovating in its marketing, one of my favourite campaigns was the short film series it did, especially this from 2002 - ‘Beat the Devil’…Brilliant!

Posted by Deborah Copeland

If a few people discuss your brand’s latest campaign around the office watercooler, perhaps someone two desks down might overhear the conversation.

But the same number of people posting their views on the net (via blogs, forums and uploads) can in theory be ‘overheard’ by everyone with web access worldwide. Not only that, but their views will remain visible online indefinitely.  

Even if your brand’s marketing activity takes place entirely offline, it’s still likely that it will be discussed online.  And the online environment is about as easy to control as a swarm of bees.

Which means that any marketing activity, however routed in traditional media channels it may be, needs to keep a watchful eye on how it is being received by the online community.  Because not all online buzz is positive.

posted by GemmaT

One of the Swampies emailed me about my post on spring cleaning in social media, commenting that it had made her think about how the whole concept of privacy is actually becoming outdated.  She reasoned that if privacy is being replaced by a more open, online society happily broadcasting their lives via flickring, facebooking and twittering, the politicians of the future will be digital natives, used to both sharing and seeing outrageous content online.  Which might make the tabloid ‘splash’ a mere footnote in history in a more permissive online society.

But perhaps the tabloid press will be fondly viewed as pussycats compared with the cumulative tiger power of bloggers and citizen journalists (digital natives themselves), unhindered by the laws of libel and with cameraphone always at the ready.  With information (however true it might be) able to be disseminated across the globe in minutes via an electronic version of chinese whispers, the potential for inaccurate or sensational reporting is immense.  And unlike traditional newspapers, today’s blog post isn’t going to be out of mind by tomorrow as fish and chip wrapping.

So not just individuals but brands too are going to need someone to watch out for their digital reputation.  Someone to watch their digital back.  Someone like us.  : -)

posted by gemmaT

From PR to digital marketing and all that’s in-between – I would like to introduce myself to the online world as a newly converted technophile. The ever-changing dynamic of the ‘www’ never ceases to surprise and intrigue me – the ‘what’s next’ factor is definitely keeping me on the edge of my swivel chair. And that’s exactly what I love about it.

I’ve recently noted that incomprehensible dots and shapes are bizarrely the latest marketing tool advocated by not just key players in the retail sphere from where it originated – Japan (such as Puma Japan), but by music artists (e.g. the Pet Shop Boys), and the film industry on an international scale. It was recently used to promote the DVD release of 28 Weeks Later in London, and the latest James Bond: Quantum of Solace in Australia.

The dots and shapes I’m referring to are barcodes. The barcode concept has been jolted into the 21st Century as they are no longer being used to merely differentiate products and prices at the supermarket check-out – but to also store information on a brand, promotion, person – you name it! Once the barcode (‘2-D’ or ‘QR’ code, DataMatrix and Microsoft Tag) has been ‘snapped’ on a software-enabled camera phone, it links to digital content that can be viewed via a mobile phone’s internet browser – genius!

Umbro did a world-first early last year by placing a QR (Quick Response) code on the care label of their new England away kit. Once ‘snapped’, this led over 50,000 England fans to an exclusively accessible, mobile site - created by our very own digital division, Swamp @ Brahm.

It’s this new technology coupled with an increased demand from people to be informed and entertained that has led to many brands in the UK jumping on the band wagon.

For the first time, Pepsi will see a big PR push of the QR technology into Britain after recently unveiling its plans to print over 400 million barcodes on its products. The barcode will hyperlink consumers to websites, games, competitions etc. in an attempt to interact with target audiences. Since the announcement, the Times Online recognised that City AM (free financial newspaper) and Yell (Yellow pages) are also set to entice British consumers in such a way.

This trend cements the notion that mobile phones are being viewed as an integral platform to view information and content by consumers about, well, anything.

It’s common knowledge that third-party generated content is seen to be more credible than that generated by the brand itself as it’s deemed more objective – however, self-published content still has an integral role to play especially when it comes to informing consumers.  But, it goes without saying that perceptions held – particularly in today’s ‘search and share’ society that no matter how positive or negative they may be, they can be helped or hindered by what third-parties are saying.

Although it seems that the purpose of companies embracing this new technology is for brands to interact and engage with its consumers in a new and exciting way, as a PR it raises the question – is there an opportunity for me to use this communication method by way of reputation management? This is something I’m currently exploring for a couple of clients – watch this space!

Posted by Charlotte Brophy

We’re finally here, after months of planning and preparation we are close to launching OnVisible to the world.

Being a mother of two young children I’m tempted to compare it to getting married and having a family.  You search for years to find the right partner, someone on the same wavelength, that shares the same vision and then when you’re settled, and sure….you procreate.  Not quite that straightforward I know, but you get the picture.

OnVisible is very much a partnership and born out of a meeting of minds between Swamp and Brahm PR. 

Brahm acquired Swamp back in December 2006 and since then we’ve been talking and sharing and working together to develop our OnVisible baby.  We’ve been working in online PR for years but OnVisible marks a real step change in how we’ll develop and implement campaigns for our clients, and how we’ll market our expertise.