Messages from beyond the shop front 
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Road trip bloggette
Surf and turf for lunch by the canal in Castlefield. Hope those prawns arent native 
Road trip to Manchester
In the first of a day long series. We document our trip to the North West on our content roadshow.
Here Director of Media James 'Henley' Erskine marvels at the sight of Crewe from the window of his personal cabin 
Here Director of Media James 'Henley' Erskine marvels at the sight of Crewe from the window of his personal cabin
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Microsoft Xbox strikes content deals with C4, BBC and YouTube - Sarah Shearman - Marketing magazine
Microsoft Xbox strikes content deals with C4, BBC and YouTube
Microsoft has partnered with a raft of entertainment brands, including Channel 4, BBC, LoveFilm and YouTube in the UK, to deliver their content to Xbox 360 games consoles in a move it claims will "transform TV".
Microsoft: TV ad for the Xbox 360 game, Fable III
Microsoft yesterday (5 October) announced 40 partners planning to launch entertainment services on the Xbox Live platform, towards Christmas.
Other brands in the UK that will provide an entertainment offering via the console include Channel 5, Microsoft's own MSN portal, on-demand video content service Blinkbox, and music video website Muzu.tv. Sky content has been available on the Xbox since 2009.
Users of the Kinect motion sensitive controller will be able to find and select content on Xbox Live by using voice and motion gestures.
Microsoft also aims to make content "more social and personal" by allowing users to share what they are watching or listening to with friends on the Xbox Live network.
Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft, said: "The announcement is a major step toward realising our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy.
"Combining the world’s leading TV and entertainment providers with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360 and the intelligence of Bing voice search will make TV and entertainment more personal, social and effortless."
Sarah Milton, head of VoD at Channel 4, said: "Continuing our strategy of making content available, on demand, where our viewers most want to watch it, we’re delighted to be able to offer 4oD on Xbox 360 – Britain’s best-selling console in 2011."
LoveFilm, the film rental service, has been open about its "platform promiscuous" strategy, and just last week announced its was making its tablet debut on Apple’s iPad.
Simon Calver, chief executive of LoveFilm, said: "We are proud to be a part of Microsoft's expansion into the entertainment space, and are confident it will help fuel our ambition to become Europe's largest membership entertainment service."
Ciaran Bollard, chief executive and co-founder of MUZU.TV, the music video site, said the move could "only be described as a revolutionary music video experience".
Partners in the US include HBO, Comcast, Verizon and NBC Universal. There are already existing partnerships with Netfilx, ESPN and Hulu.
Microsoft's news comes as Google prepares to launch Google TV in the UK in the next few months.
The announcement follows hot on the heels of Facebook's move last week into entertainment. The social network announced that a raft of partners, including Vevo, Spotify and The Guardian, were creating appsto allow Facebook users to consume and share their content.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
The Walking Dead Season 2
One of the things that is so fascinating about media today is the ability we have to access what we want to consume from which platform but the sad fact is that very little of this 'multi access touch point' mularkey actually produces anything worthy of the gift of technology we've been given - and almost none from the World of Branded content because brands are not really prepared to fund what is a very expensive outing without direct benefit. This will change I have no doubt but for now
- we have to look at the more 'traditional' areas of production such as literature (Stephen Fry's Autobiography app extravaganza for example) Feature films (the extraordinary Matrix comics/hidden videos/board games guerilla stuff) and now TV in the form of the second season of The Walking Dead - the horror survival series based on the very popular and extraordinarily harrowing and excellent graphic novel series.
Stephen Fry's App/biography
The series of back story webisodes released on production company AMC's website just before the release of the second season in a fortnight are great, adding richness to the story. They still have this frisson of hidden content which appeals to fans and the curious. They also aid in spreading the word and the content across the web.
Andrew Lincoln in happier times
I look forward to a time where brands can involve themselves in top quality production without either ruining the editorial with their presence or being marginalised to the point of having bought a very expensive headline sponsorship
The marketing director was sick of not getting the most out of the product placement deal
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director The Big Shot | 75-77 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SY
Friday, 30 September 2011
Content doesnt get much more compelling than this...
I was going to write a piece about how great it was to see a long form piece of content get passed around virally using sharing mechanics that have become primarily used for short form content with little depth
and that is great. But then I watched it......I could write a piece on the sad state of the human condition both evil and ignorant but can I just ask you to watch this....everyone!
> Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director >
and that is great. But then I watched it......I could write a piece on the sad state of the human condition both evil and ignorant but can I just ask you to watch this....everyone!
> Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director >
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Print and Interactivity
I recently took part in a round table debate run by the wonderful Philip Smith - head of Brand Republic content for Marketing magazine (available now at all good Soho newsstands). the subject was print and interactivity and I was ever so slightly concerned before I went what with the majority of our work being based around the moving, speaking or gaming media but I needn't have worried. I prepared by looking at print ads, examining different interactive add ons such as QR codes and went in with a view on how print might cope with the interactive demands now put on all media if not by consumers than by the agencies that create such conditions of engagement. http://bit.ly/omkUj7 As it turned out the conversation almost immediately turned to the concept of engagement regardless of the media and this was great as it confirmed what I believe that unlike the great advertising truism - The medium is NOT the message. I listened to some very interesting viewpoints and case studies from client and agency people alike but it did all boil down to the simple fact that whether you are producing a great press ad or a great piece of editorial content success is based on the quality of the content, the relevance to the person and the credibility of the message - I really think its as simple as that. By the way just so you know I DID do my homework I found that the best press ads are the ones with simple brilliant creative - didt get a chance to show them in the roundtable...
> Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director >> The Big Shot | 75-77 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SY
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