Denuology: The Observation and Observations of Denuo.

DenuoFlash: CJA Talks Mobile; Advises Panelists to Think Value Prop

mdebrunner — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:09:55 +0000

Courtney Acuff joined a handful of mobile experts last Thursday to discuss the state of the mobile industry and where it’s headed. This 75-minute panel, held at the downtown Hilton, was sponsored by the C hicago Interactive Marketing Association (CIMA) – the city’s only organization focused solely on interactive marketing. Topics ranged from scalable mobile tactics to accurate metrics/analytics and how the platform can be monetized and built to last.

Moderated by Connectual’s Managing Partner Aaron Goldman, the panel included Erin McKelvey, SVP/Marketing, Millennial Media Mobile; Gian Fulgoni, Chairman, ComScore, Inc.; and Josh Cherfoli, Online and Relationship Marketing Manager, Porsche Cars North America, Inc.

The discussion kicked off with a question about the difference between the connected internet vs. mobile internet. Panelists all agreed that it’s still the internet, the only thing that’s different is how and where you access information. Acuff challenged panelists to adopt a different mindset when creating an experience online and in the mobile space.

“If the ads are the same,” she said, “you’ve totally failed.”

Her words rang true, as many audience members applauded her statement and one person within earshot even audibly cheered “You go, Courtney.”

The conversation moved to search – a discipline that Courtney dubbed “the gateway drug to everything in mobile.” If you don’t have a mobile search strategy, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. It is absolutely the way to advance features and close the circle on the mobile experience.

When asked if every marketer should be involved in mobile, Courtney stated that mobile shouldn’t be thought of as a tactic or add-on – it should be a core component of the communication strategy. All plans should be built with the audience’s value proposition in mind vs. what app you think they would like. True to Denuo’s unique operating model, if communication plans are built from the ground-up vs. top-down, you bring fresh perspective and a completely unique solution to the client. Referencing Denuo’s recent HP Mobile@Retail campaign, Courtney demonstrated how mobile can fill the gap at point of purchase and provide necessary details to consumers who are looking for more information on a product while in-store. Mobile is absolutely how consumers link to the real world and if there is a mobile entry point that gives them information they can use elsewhere, they’re going to leverage it.

When the conversation moved to best practices, Courtney said building relationships was key – speaking to the right partners helps the industry find efficiencies and move the discipline even closer to becoming something that is an automatic component of any marketing plan.

To end the panel, Goldman asked what the panelists saw in the future. Courtney candidly said she hoped she wouldn’t be in the same spot:

“In five years, I hope we’re not having the same mobile roundtable. It’s all information and content, we shouldn’t be siloed into mobile vs. online vs. social etc – it (mobile) has enough clout to expand across all marketing platforms.”

Denuo Loves Dreamcast

btorres — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:56:44 +0000

This serves as the first of what will be many posts detailing LOVES featured in our Denuo Rotating Header™.

Denuo loves Dreamcast, that wacky Sega gaming console released on 9.9.99 in America.

Denuo loves Dreamcast because it swung for the technological fences against the impending juggernaut of the Playstation 2. It ushered in a new era of videogame console specs: 128-bits, built-in internet connectivity (56kbps worth!), discs that stored more than a CDs worth of data, and VGA-capable graphic resolutions.

The Gators at Denuo love Dreamcast because its two official colors were orange (USA & Japan) and blue (Europe).

Denuo loves the Visual Memory Unit. A combination memory card and basic portable gaming system – it allowed for gamers to take micro-versions of their Dreamcast games on the go. The idea of connecting the portable and console gaming worlds still hasn’t hit the big time, but a decade later folks are still trying.

Denuo loves the Dreamcast controller. As painful as it still is to use, it served as the inspiration for the modern classic that is the Xbox 360 controller. Heck, Denuo loves ALL the zany controllers the Dreamcast pioneered. Dreamcast fishing rods, Dreamcast keyboards, Dreamcast microphones, and even Dreamcast maracas. When it came to plastic and silicon, Dreamcast went for broke.

That’s LINE as in phone line. For a 56k dial-up modem.

Denuo loves that Dreamcast was the first connected console. Sega squeezed all they could out of that 56k modem and ended up creating a plethora of connected gaming experience. Sega even had its own ISP for a while, SegaNet, which provided lower latency gaming connections over a dial-up connection. As amazing as it sounds, the setup worked. Gamers at the dawn of the millennium had (relatively) lag-free online console gaming through dial-up because of the Dreamcast.

Denuo loves Dreamcast games. The Dreamcast library represents game development at its most ballsy, wacky, innovative, and just plain ol’ GOOD. It introduced so many innovative concepts that we’re STILL seeing its influence.

Sega certainly knew that “subtly” was the route to go in announcing the first console MMO.

Denuo loves Phantasy Star Online. Many a Denuologist sunk hundred of hours in front of their TVs exploring, hacking, and slashing through the world of Ragol with friends from across the world. Heck, Sega even solved for international conversations with a universal symbol/translation system accessible within the game.

Jet Grind Radio remains one of the most refreshingly stylish games ever.

Denuo loves Jet Grind Radio. The game gave players a position in a rollerblading gang of graffiti artists in an uber-stylish, futuristic version of Japan (so, uh, like Japan I suppose). More importantly, Jet Grind Radio introduced the world to a technique called “cel-shading,” in which 3D rendered graphics took on the appearance of hand-drawn animation. The effect has gone on to become an industry staple – and is heavily featured in another thing Denuo loves.

FYI: From now on when Denuo says “the future” we mean “Space Channel 5.”

Denuo loves Space Channel 5. The game put players in the orange platform boots of Space Channel 5 reporter Ulala in her quest for higher ratings against her rival Pudding from Space Channel 42 (this is not a joke). Along the way Ulala is tasked with saving save the world from an invading alien army armed with ray-guns that force people to dance. Also – Michael Jackson makes a cameo (again – we’re serious here). But the greatest thing about Space Channel 5 was the music – with its boss-nova style it can be heard in the halls of Denuo from time to time.

I mean, look at those graphics. They still look awesome a decade later.

Denuo loves Shenmue. An epic that boasted hyper-realistic graphics and for first time actually HAD them. Set in a living, breathing recreation of a 1980s Japan town it featured a cast of hundreds, all of whom lived their own “lives” within the game. And perhaps, most importantly, it was one of the world’s first “sand box” style games. Shenmue allowed for gamers to move the story forward at their own pace, had a “day and night” system (revolutionary at the time) and provided plenty of “real world” distractions (an arcade featuring Space Harrier!) to keep you busy outside of the main plot. Shenmue also happens one of the most expensive games ever made coming in at at LEAST $20 million dollars to create.

Dreamcast’s legacy certainly lives on today – as demonstrated by this handy graphic.

The Dreamcast’s legacy still lives on today in modern franchises. The entire 2k Sports series of games originated on the Dreamcast. They were some of the greatest sports games of their day – and 2k Sports still provides some of the greatest sports gaming experiences a decade later. Project Gotham Racing and its innovative Kudos system got started with a fantastic Dreamcast-exclusive by called Metropolis Street Racer. Soul Calibur had its breakthrough moment when it launched on 9.9.99 alongside the Dreamcast and blew everyone away with its visuals and fluid mechanics. These are just some of the franchises that had their big, breakout moments on Dreamcast and still remain viable today.

Seaman, Zombies, and a Monkey named Amigo. All weird. All awesome. All on Dreamcast.

Denuo loves that Dreamcast was unafraid to be so damn WEIRD. There was Seaman – in which players interacted with a snarky fish-man who was aware of time, date, personal gameplay history (!) and most importantly voice. Players visited Seaman every day and everyday there’d be new things to discuss and do with him. He remember answers you gave him, and used them in conversations weeks later. Also, Leonard Nemoy narrated it – updating players on their progress with his dulcet tones (as heard on the video below).

Conversations with digital fish-men are always this engaging.

There’s also Typing of the Dead – a typing-tutor version of Sega’s popular House of the Dead franchise. Players used the Dreamcast keyboard peripheral to behead zombies by typing words quickly. The guns in the game were replaced with Dreamcast and keyboards. WMP as weapon. Weird, but great.

When the zombie apocalypse comes, make sure you’ve got a keyboard handy.

Then there’s a personal favorite, Samba de Amigo, which shipped with an expensive, unwieldy, and officially sanctioned Maraca Controller. Imagine a latin-themed Dance Dance Revolution, but using maracas and hands. It featured a Brazilian Carnival aesthetic and starred Amigo, a monkey whose emotional stability is dependent on your performance. Other modes in Samba de Amigo had you shaking maracas with a partner to determine your “love compatibility” and a Whack-A-Mole style minigame called… wait for it… Guac-a-mole. Brilliant.

Samba! De AMIGO!

Denuo loves Dreamcast because it was unafraid to be innovative and risky. Denuo loves Dreamcast because it pushed the gaming industry into the new millennium. Denuo loves Dreamcast because it was, very simply, awesome. That is all.

Sit. Walk. Slouch. Communicate. Create. Consume. Why the iPad will be a hit.

rtoba — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:53:14 +0000

The iPad will be a home run.

While it is unlikely to sell at the volumes of the iPod, iTouch and iPhone, due to its high price point, it will be a successful, industry-impacting product.

And the absence of a camera and flash and all the stuff the “gizmo-gadget-geek-hood” berate will be a significant reason for its success.

People around the world spend their waking hours in three spheres. These are:

a) working / creating in which the dominant posture is sitting,
b) communicating/travelling in which the dominant posture is walking or standing, and
c) consuming/relaxing where we slouch.

The computer is optimized for working/creating while you sit. The mobile phone is ideal for communicating/travelling. However in the area of consuming/slouching, there has been no dominant multi-purpose electronic device.

Yes one can watch television on the computer and read books on the phone, but these are tertiary benefits of the dominant role for each device, which are creating and communicating. They fall in a usage gap, as discussed here.

The iPad is optimized for consumption of electronic media, and for slouching. It is perfect to consume books and magazines and online video and Facebook and Twitter.

It is about a state of stature and a state of mind, not a state of technology.

In a slouching device, I do not want a stupid camera or anything (including buggy flash) to remind me of work or technology.

Forward understanding of human needs combined with design elegance is what makes Apple successful. Not creating Swiss army knife technologies that only the small fraction of us that read the tech crunches, gizmodos and mashables of the world lust for.

Technology usage has been freed from the geeks. (Though, happily technology creation still lives with them.)

We want the technology to go away so we can get on with creating, communicating and consuming.

And Apple understands this better than anyone else.

Denuo @ Media 2010 Sydney to Debunk Sacred Cows of Marketing

cchen — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:58:02 +0000

Photo Credit: X|Media|Lab

Tim Harris and Saneel Radia recently descended upon Sydney to talk marketing creativity and make tangential TMNT references at Media 2010, a one-day international gathering of media, marketing and advertising leaders. Denuo was excited to be represented among this influential group to discuss the new rules for success in the evolving digital landscape.

In Sacred Cows Stifling Marketing Creativity, Tim and Saneel identify the sacred cows that lead to less creative organizations, and offer up their perspective on the philosophies that make creative companies successful.

Keep reading for reactions and video from our presentation, as well as Saneel’s podcast interview with Australian mag, Marketing.

Video: Tim and Saneel present @ Media 2010

(Will open new window)

#media_2010: Reactions

Podcast: Marketing interviews Saneel Radia

Prior to Media 2010, Saneel connected with reporter Sean Greaney via podcast to discuss agency structures of the future and how social media has evolved and continues to be impacted by the advent of apps and technology such as the iPad. Saneel pontificates on tomorrow’s talent, shares his obsession with foursquare and being an Aardvark resource and even accuses the interviewer of internet-stalking him.

Listen to the full interview here.

This podcast appears in Marketing Magazine online, a leading Australian trade pub that has been covering industry news in the marketplace for over 25 years.

Koalas: They’re cute and sleepy.

Thanks to Mary DeBrunner for contributing to this article.

This podcast appears in Marketing magazine online, a leading Australian trade pub that has been covering industry news in the marketplace for over 25 years. Check out the full interview here: http://tinyurl.com/yalbceg

Reflectuer- Issue 53

Ellen Bird — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:17:33 +0000

Issue 53 is a fun issue. We start by looking at a number of sites that are all about social commentary via cartoons. Then there are the Tweenbots – little robots that can only travel in one direction and therefore need help to find their way through New York’s Washington Square Park… and got it!

We move on to 5 Second Films, which is exactly what it sounds like. A good, quick distraction for a long day. And finally, Panoramas.dk will show you breath-taking panoramic images from around the world – hundred of them.

Hurry up – click above for the full issue.