It somehow feels wrong to promote Microsoft in general, but lately I’ve been wowed by some of their innovative products and software. I expect this out of Apple or Google, but when I saw previews online of Microsoft Surface from CES 2008 earlier in the year, I was wowed.  It also got me wondering if this might ever become commonplace in our lives.

If you’ve never seen Microsoft Surface check out the video below.

AT&T has already started to roll these units out at some of their wireless stores, so it’s well worth a visit to check it out; and while you’re there, give yourself another reason to play with the iPhone.

When I began writing this post, my intent was to just share a cool new toy with everyone, but what really dawned on me was how fast things were changing, and how as an agency we’d be at the forefront designing these new types of experiences for consumers.

Ten years ago as a start-up agency, my universe was fairly limited to websites, emails, and the very sexy work of corporate extranets. Now we are diving into Second life, Facebook apps, mobile apps, and hopefully (with the blessing of a nice client) Microsoft Surface experiences. Digital experiences are becoming increasingly important. As an agency, the way we create strategies and design and develop them to their full potential needs to change and adapt all the time.

It’s fair to say that agencies sometimes dive into unknown territories - were no case studies exist, no proven numbers. It’s always a risk for both the client and the agency to dive into uncharted waters, but rewards are high when you nail it. The point I’m trying to make is that we, with our smart people and unbelievable clients, could in the near future have an opportunity to work on a project the involves Microsoft Surface or any other progressive digital experience. I guess this is why we all love working for an agency like Engauge, it’s the chance to work on something others might only read about.

If you want to get wowed by another Microsoft product check out Photosynth, it will blow you away.

I don’t often watch South Park, but when a friend sent me this clip I had to share it with everyone. As I watched, it dawned on me how much we rely on the internet these days, and nothing can illustrate it better than this clip.

Click on the picture above, or visit this link to view the clip.

Would you be able to function on a day-to-day basis with no internet?

Why would you want to spend a lot of $$$ to build a site to permeate your brand into the mind of the public, and then never really show the brand itself? In the case of the Sound of Color, The GAP has a great concept, beautifully presented and meticulously executed, to support their “Color Redefined” campaign, yet the site never refers to the campaign, the logo, or Gap products. Not a stitch of denim anywhere! It does leaves the viewer with a strong and, more importantly, a new impression of the Gap brand. While still perceived as youthful, The GAP is seen as an idea generator, a patron of the arts, a catalyst for creativity, and in tune with technology and communication.

The message is delivered through the language of music and video, which the target audience speaks fluently. To their credit, The GAP has focused on the viral possibilities of the site and music downloads, rather than the more traditional use of media placement. The site will live for only a month, but the music will be woven into the fabric of daily life as its passed from friend to friend. The strong response elicited in their audience is one that will persist. That’s $$$ well spent.

Everyone is trying to figure out online video these days.  We know that every day more and more people are turning to the web to view content that they used to get from their television.  Look no further than the once popular TV show, “America’s Funniest Home Videos”.  Today that’s called YouTube.  And most of the popular TV shows today are broadcasting their episodes on their websites soon after the episode runs on TV.

I recently found two blog posts / articles that talk about how to get online video right.  The first is by YouTube Celebrity (he probably hates me calling him that), Kevin Nalts.  If you missed it, Nalts recently pranked us at Spunlogic and you can see it on YouTube (of course).

In his recent blog post entitled, “The Marketer’s Cheat Sheet to Viral Video” (which, if you are at all interested in viral video and how it should work with marketing, you should subscribe to his blog), he goes through eight steps to making a successful viral video.  This post is a must read for any marketer trying to figure this not-so-new medium out.

Taking a different tact on the online video space, Esquire magazine has an article that talks about the qualities that make a successful webisode.  I had to post about this article because it talks about Michael Cera, which gives me yet another opportunity to mention that Arrested Development is the greatest show of all time.

And if you haven’t checked it out yet, take a look at Clark and Michael (pic above).  Excellent example of what a webisodic show should be and yet another Cera masterpiece.  He’s the really cool looking guy on the right.

A couple of my friends and myself got together on Valentine’s Day, and started asking the age old question … What is Love? Really.

Ok. Maybe not. But I love Jib Jab and it has gotten a lot easier to use. You should all check it out!

Here in the Behavioral Research Department, we always have the opportunity to uncover unique and interesting discoveries. So, when we were tasked with planning a surprise Second Life engagement party for Spunlogic Account Manager Nalini Humphrey, we thought we had a pretty good idea of what we were in for. Unique and interesting definitely weren’t lacking, especially with Batman, flying watermelons and….Well, take a look for yourself … click on the video below. =)

Ever since I could remember, I’ve watched the Super Bowl strictly for the commercials. Not being a huge NFL fan, the game doesn’t really all that much matter to me (however, I did pull for the NY Giants this year). But in the past few years I feel like the commercials have gone downhill, and from what I can gather, I’m not the only one. This year I took notes on the commercials and did a bit of analyzing.

Of the 60 commercials I kept tabs on (I excluded all FOX commercials and may have included locally shown commercials), it broke down to 41 brands who spent the dollars (approximately $2.7 million dollars for 30 seconds!) to air several sub-par commercials. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized there wasn’t much integration with the online channels that many of these brands have created. Only 23 brands listed URLs in their commercials! You’d think with spending that much money on a commercial(s), they’d do everything possible to extend the brand experience online. Of the 23 URLs displayed along the way, 13 were direct links to the brand’s website, 3 were URLs that either mirrored or redirected to the same page used as the homepage, and 7 were microsites dedicated to the campaign.

What’s even more surprising to me is that many recognizable brands didn’t include their website URL on their commercials (Coca-Cola, Bud Light, Budweiser, Victoria’s Secret, and Gatorade). Yes, we’re familiar with your brands, but are we familiar with what you’re doing online? Maybe, but why chance it? With the way marketing is heading, it’s safe to say all of the brands have a website, but is the URL known? Make it easy for consumers to find you and put your address in front of them when they’re captive!

I have to admit, my favorite commercial was the Tide-to-Go talking stain, it was priceless (and so true). I have a hard time focusing on what someone is saying if there’s a stain on their shirt, so distracting! In case you missed it, you can view the commercial here. The microsite allows visitors to watch the ad again, participate in contests, as well as take part in filming a spoof and interacting with their channel on YouTube. To me, Tide-to-Go got it right this year: entertaining commercial, microsite dedicated to the commercial, and social/interactive/engaging aspects of the site. Way to go!

And in case you missed any of the other commercials, you can view them on MySpace – they have them hosted for your convenience. And if you’re interested, I’ve listed out the brands (and linked to their sites) that make up the numbers mentioned above.

Brands who listed website URLs:

Planters
Under Armour
Sales Genie
Bridgestone Tires
GoDaddy
FedEx
Cars.com
Toyota
Garmin
Career Builder
ONDCP
T-Mobile
E*Trade

Brands that used URLs that mirror/redirect to site:

Doritos
Taco Bell
Sunsilk

Brands who listed microsites:

Tide to Go
Audi R8
Sales Genie
Hyundai
Dell
Sobe Life Water
Pepsi Stuff

In Behavioral Research, we love conducting User Experience tests. At times, we don’t even have to ask questions to understand user reactions. Sometimes, facial expressions tell you everything you need to know.

It’s a confusing thing, trying to figure out how to take advantage of the “new web” - social networking, video distribution, Web 2.0, etc.  I recently was speaking with a large group of marketers in the Atlanta area about social networking and the question that always seems to come up at these things is, “Should we create our own social network or should we try to work within some of the more popular ones?”

And my answer typically is “fish where the fish are”.  I first heard this quote in a presentation by a friend of mine, Tom Daly (who also just launched a great travel blog called Traveling Parent), when he was talking about some of Coke’s online initiatives.  What’s interesting is that Coke actually does a great job of knowing when to fish where the fish are and when to create their own pond.  If you have the kind of brand enthusiasts that Coke has, there are certainly times when it makes sense to create something just for them.

In the November issue of OMMA, an article by Mark Walsh entitled, “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over“, talked about Anheuser-Busch’s inability to cut ties with Bud.tv.  Granted, Bud.tv has been everyone’s favorite whipping-boy since it launched, and I even got into the act in the beginning.

In Walsh’s article he states that, “Perhaps A-B should think of its online business more like its offline one.  It doesn’t sell beer from a central outlet in St. Louis but through a vast distribution network…(online it should) maintain its niche sites but let third-party sites like YouTube act as brand distribution hubs.  Let Hulu, Joost and others figure out online entertainment networks”.

Well done Walsh, I couldn’t have said it better myself.  Case in point, why go to Bud.tv to watch their fantastic ‘Swear Jar’ commercial, when I can do it on YouTube in an environment I already feel comfortable with?

For those of you starting to feel the pain of the writers strike like I am, there are more and more alternative sources for “TV” popping up every day on the inter-web.

Internet TV comes in many shapes and forms, but the latest player (literally) in the game is Miro. Granted it’s not brand new, but the release of Miro version 1.0 (”bug-free”) is hot-off-the-presses.

“Cross-platform, open source video application Miro is now available in a full-featured, bug-fixed 1.0 version. The program formerly known as Democracy Player plays almost any kind of video file, but its real value lies in its content fetching and organizing features. Miro can subscribe to video podcasts, grab from YouTube channel feeds or BitTorrents (letting you make your own season pass) and keep video libraries organized, amongst other features. Miro is a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux.”

I haven’t used it enough to know how it compares to the competition, but it seems to be hitting all the right spots. If you have (or plan to) download it and use it I would love to know what you think.