A New Take on Coupons

I stumbled across a really cool example of billboard advertising on The Marketing Blog (brought to you by the editorial team from Marketing Magazine) today: James Ready beer has these innovative billboards in Southern Ontario that act as giant coupons. The idea is that passersby can take a photo of the billboard and show it to the vendor mentioned in the ad to save some money.

I just think it's so creative. Everyone and their dog has a camera-phone combination nowadays and so many businesses are jumping on the smartphone app bandwagon, offering cool technological ways of connecting with their product or service. That's great. But what I like about James Ready's approach here is that it's a witty mix of high-tech (you need a camera on you when you see the ad) and low-tech (you need to be the one to take action and take a photo of the sign... you can't just click "download"). And the whole coupons-save-you-money thing plays in so well with their raison d'etre (being a cheap beer).

The Do-Good Power of Blogs and Social Media

Pedigree is promoting their brand of dog food with an interesting viral web marketing campaign. They're taking advantage of social media and the blogosphere to get some attention and do some good. As Amber Macarthur of the Globe and Mail reports, Pedigree will donate a 20-pound bag of dog food to an animal shelter every time a blogger writes about their adoption program. Over 300 bloggers took advantage of this opportunity. Unfortunately, this blog post won't count as the campaign ran from September 16th through the 19th only. If you'd still like to help, become a fan of the Pedigree Adoption Drive on Facebook and they'll donate a bowl of food to shelter dogs on your behalf.

This is a great example of the power of blogs and social media for businesses in Ottawa and around the world. Macarthur explains the possibilities:

Ever so gradually, companies are recognizing that social media success isn't so much about what consumers can do for them but what they can do for consumers -- and the world. There are plenty of excellent examples from brands south of the border that are leading this trend. In Canada, big businesses are little slower at finding the connection between social media and corporate responsibility, but there is no reason we can't play catch-up, help a few animals in the process, or even better, make this country a better place to live.

Vintage Ottawa Promotional Video

Take a trip back to the 40s with this awesome video - an episode of James A. Fitzpatrick's Traveltalks devoted to our own beautiful city of Ottawa. Thank you, YouTube! What a great promotional video for Ottawa tourism. As an Ottawan myself, it hits me that the video is so summer-focused given how striking our winters are.

Start Saving Now: Boeing to Offer Space Tourism in 2015

As a kid, I wasn’t as into space and the solar system as a lot of my peers, but taking a tour outside earth’s atmosphere was somewhere on my to-do list. When I grew up and opted not to go the astronaut route, I thought the “space travel” box on my list would remain unchecked. Now, I’m reconsidering.

Boeing, the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of military and commercial airplanes in the world, has announced a partnership with marketing firm Space Adventures, and plans to send tourists into orbit in a new space capsule by early 2015.

Space Adventures has already sent seven well-to-do folks to space, but with the Boeing partnership, the number of space tourists should take a drastic jump. Take a look at this quote in the Ottawa Citizen today from Brewster Shaw, the VP and GM of Boeing’s Space Exploration Division:

"By combining our talents, we can better offer safe, affordable transportation to commercial spaceflight customers."

The definition of “affordable” certainly changes from person to person. And are “commercial spaceflight customers” really a consumer group? Previous trips way up to the International Space Station have run about $40 million, and though prices for the Boeing capsule haven’t yet been released, I can’t see them dropping too significantly. If prices come down $39,999,500 or so, I’m going to suggest a quick trip for a 2015 MB staff outing.

Ottawa Group Promotes “Conservative” Film Festival

Ottawa’s Free Thinking Film Society believes film festivals and art house cinemas in Canada are only showing documentaries and non-fiction films that represent one side of the political/ideological spectrum: The Left.

“Although there are a lot of courageous voices in the non-fiction film industry producing thoughtful pieces of art which reject cultural relativism, central economic planning and American culpability for all that ills the world, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the listings for most art house cinemas,” explains the organization's website.

You know how the old saying goes: If you don’t like the status quo, change it.

The group is doing just that. After several years of holding one-off “conservative/libertarian” film screenings, the society is putting on a full film festival, the Free Thinking Film Fest from November 12-14. The festival will feature 19 films, three gala nights, and a debate between Ezra Levant and Elizabeth May. All events will take place at Library and Archives Canada.

Here’s a look at the most anticipated films coming to the festival:

Kalifornistan, Nov. 12, 7 PM

“In the shadowy Port of Los Angeles, an insane terrorist stalks a beautiful dancer ... while plotting the nuclear apocalypse he hopes will make him a celebrity. KALIFORNISTAN is a darkly comic satire on terrorism made by Canadian actress and filmmaker Govindini Murty and American filmmaker Jason Apuzzo.”

The Stoning of Soraya M, Nov. 14, 7 PM

“Academy Award® nominee Shorheh Aghdashloo stars as Zahra, a woman with a burning secret. When a journalist (Jim Caviezel) is stranded in her remote village, Zahra takes a bold chance to reveal what the villagers will stop at nothing to hide. Thus begins the story of Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), a kind woman whose cruel, divorce-seeking husband trumps up false charges of infidelity against her, which carry an unimaginable penalty.

Soraya and Zahra attempt to navigate the villagers' scheming, lies and deceit to prove her innocence. But when all else fails, Zahra must risk everything to use the only weapon she has left - her voice - to share Soraya's shocking story with the world.”

Watson vs. O'Brien: The Ottawa Mayoral Race on Social Media

I know it seems like the campaigning has been going on for a month (at least), but the Ottawa mayoral race officially starts tonight. At this point, it’s really a two-man race between former mayor and Ontario MPP Jim Watson and our current mayor, businessman-turned-city-politician Larry O’Brien.

Watson is kicking his campaign off tonight at Tudor Hall on North Bowesville Rd., while O’Brien will be getting his re-election campaign started at the Heart & Crown in the Irish Village (Clarence St.).

Recent polls show that Watson is the man to beat, but we’re a long way away from October 25. I was curious to see how the two heavyweights were doing on the social media front thus far. Let’s have a look:

Facebook

Watson’s Facebook page is a little more dynamic than O’Brien’s. He’s got more pictures up, and messages from supporters taking up space on his wall.

O’Brien’s wall is mostly filled with posts coming through from his campaign twitter account. The page doesn’t seem to be monitored by O’Brien or anyone else on his campaign. In fact, the last post is from a Jim Watson fan. It reads: “there is no way shape or form you should ever get re elected. You will run this city into the ground. Your no tax platform years ago was a lie, and your over spending and raises are absurd.” Ouch. That’s not a good first impression for someone trying to find O’Brien on Facebook. Hopefully someone on the campaign will take care of that soon.

Jim Watson “likes”: 1,181

Larry O’Brien “likes”: 139

Advantage: Jim Watson

Twitter

It’s night and day here for the two candidates. Watson is doing all the right things on twitter – getting a conversation started, responding to people, showing a personal side, and reaching out to his Ottawa-based supporters. Look at these two tweets:

“@DBast Yes, it's me. On my blackberry and on my computer. If you still want to volunteer, come to my office and we can set that up!”

“@k8brownlee Thank you! I've lost 9 pounds canvassing as a matter of fact!”

O’Brien is doing a lot of the wrong things on his twitter page. Nearly every post is just a link to information you can find elsewhere. There’s no conversation going on here, and no personality shining through. If people aren’t engaged, they won’t follow. Here’s the last tweet from the O’Brien campaign:

“Latest newsletter from Larry O'Brien Campaign http://conta.cc/bui6zm via #constantcontact ”

See what I mean?

LarryObrien2010 followers: 196
JimWatsonOttawa followers: 1472

Advantage: Watson

Photo Hosting Pages

Both Watson’s and O’Briens campaign websites are using outside hosting sites to showcase pictures. O’Brien’s using Picasa, Watson is on Flickr.

O’Brien has one album up from June 29, 2010.

Watson’s Flickr Page already has a ton of election-targeted photos. The first one is Jim positioned perfectly in the centre of a photo taken at the Capital Pride Parade (Aug. 30). In the foreground is a Jim Watson for Mayor sign, in the background is a clear blue sky and the Parliament buildings. It’s a bit staged for my liking, but that’s ok. The Flickr page also has a photo of Jim helping a supporter drive in the “First Lawn Sign of the Campaign”.

Advantage: Watson

Watson is dominating on the social media front, and it’s clear that he sees a lot of benefit in it. Maybe his supporter base is part of a more "online" demographic, but I do think that O’Brien should exert a bit more effort to have a more robust online presence. I’ll check in again mid-campaign to see if things have evened out a bit. Stay tuned for that.

Are Games the New Social Media?

We all know that the last five years, if not the last decade, have been about the birth, growth, and spread of social media. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and other social networks and blogs, have transformed not only the internet, but the way people live their lives. Social media isn’t a fad, and it’s not done evolving. Just this week, Apple joined the fray with the new Ping social network that will be included in its iTunes 10 offering. Facebook continues to grow and offer new features, and new social media sites spring up all the time. It seems to be all social media all the time, but what’s next?

Seth Priebatsch, the founder of SCVNGR (a start-up company backed by Google Ventures), thinks the future lies in games. At a TEDx event in Boston, he said the last decade was about creating a “social layer” over the world that actively connected people. The next decade, he asserts, is going to be about the “game layer” that will serve to influence people. It’s fascinating stuff. Check out the video.