Carphone Warehouse pranks customers with competition

Carphone Warehouse has recently set up a competition in their Oxford Street store to promote the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

They set up a promotional display including Samsung's latest phone, encouraging customers to answer it when it rang to win an instant prize, claiming "Everyone Wins!".

The trick was that the phone calls are made by famous 'Fonejacker' comedian Kayvan Novak.

See what happended in gthe video below.

Whitepaper - PR in a changing media landscape

As part of The Think Tank's sponsorship of B2B Marketing's Knowledge Bank PR Channel, our PR Director Samantha Dawe has produced a Whitepaper titled 'PR in a changing media landscape'.

The whitepaper looks at the need for a new mindset in a changing media world. Many commentators have spoken about the basic model for media and marketing being broken. While media fragmentation is seen as a challenge, an expanding range of media options is also an opportunity.

The whitepaper is free to download either from the B2B Marketing web site or by clicking the link below:

PR in a changing media landscape.pdf (254 kb)

Target builds giant dolls house in station

In an experiential stunt of the grandest of scales, American retailer Target built a life-size dolls house in the middle of Grand Central Station in New York.

The installation, which was created by Deutsch Los Angeles, is a showcase of their Threshold home décor line and features between 3,500 and 4,000 products, with staff on hand for demonstrations and help.

The dolls house was built in just 54 hours by fitting together interlocking 4-by-8 panels creating a 1600-square-foot open-plan house, as well as a patio and lawn area.  This space allows Target to show-off their latest lines in their entirety, which would not be possible to do in stores, and will give some great exposure with over 500,000 people visiting the station every day.

You can find out more about the installation at Ad Age here.

The 26 most annoying things about working in an office

To almost brighten up your day, Buzzfeed UK has compiled a list of the 26 most annoying things about working in an office.

The list spoke to us at The Think Tank so much that we had to share it with you.

Buzzfeed built the list from this BBC article and this thread on Facebook.

Some of our 'favourite' points are:

• People leaving the kitchen in a mess
• Endless Birthday whip-rounds (and when it's your turn)
• Stupid Buzzwords

Take a look at the full list here, and let us know which speaks to you the most.

Ad turns magazines into WiFi hotspots

In a recent issue of Forbes magazine Microsoft ran an ad about their latest product, Office 365. In a limited number of magazines there was a  surprise for the reader, a WiFi hotspot, courtesy of T-Mobile.

The ad contained a wireless router that would provide 15 days of free WiFi, the router would last for two to three hours per battery charge.

The premise is that Office 365 is a use-anywhere version of Microsoft's Office software, allowing people to work on documents where-ever they are. 

A clever but costly stunt.

2013 Sony World Photography Awards

This year's Sony World Photography Award winners have been announced, and are currently on display at Somerset House, London.

The awards are organised by the World Photography Organisation, and have two main categories; open and professional. They are judged by an Honorary Judging Committee which is broken up in to groups for a selection of categories from Architecture to Sport.

The Professional winners from each of the 15 categories are being exhibited at Somerset House until 12th May 2013, including the overall winner, Andrea Gjestvang for her series, "One day in history," which intimately captures the young survivors of Utoeya, Norway July 2011 massacre.

Other winners include Fabrice Fouillet in the Architecture category and Christian Aslund for Campaigns.

Take a look at all the entries and winners here.

Buy tickets for the exhibition here.

The Chalk Room

Design studio JamesPlumb has followed up their refit of East London based store Hostem's shop floor with a new showroom in the basement of the same building.

A dimly lit room, decorated with some unique furniture, The Chalk Room is currently dedicated to Hostem's bespoke service, made-to-measure clothing and accessories, but shoppers can also order furniture from JamesPlumb including a chandelier made from clusters of antique lampshades and a chest of drawers built from stacks of suitcases.

To create the downstairs room the studio opened up the space, painted it dark and dimmed the lighting, creating a calmness by making the corners and edges of the walls disappear.

Some of the unique furniture they have provided for the space includes a Chesterfield sofa that has a table coming out of the centre and a wardrobe that appears to be falling over. 

Find out more about their work with Hostem at dezeen.

Photographs by Thomas Giddings.

Irn-Bru penguins invade Russia

In an attempt to increase their market share in Russia Irn-Bru has created a new campaign involving penguins.

The campaign for the soft drink, which was released in Russia back in 1998, currently comprises of two videos.

The videos show the penguins getting up to no good in a shopping centre and underground rail station. The campaign is similar to the 'Gets you through' campaign currently running in the UK.

Take a look at the wacky videos below.

Sponsorship of B2B Marketing Knowledge Bank

The Think Tank is proud to be the sponsor of the PR channel on the B2B Marketing Knowledge Bank, the UK’s premium resource for B2B marketing advice and best practice.

As part of our sponsorship we will be issuing a range of articles, white papers and web casts over the coming months, focussing on Public, Press and Media Relations.

To kick off this sponsorship we have issued the following ‘How To’ guides, case studies and white papers (click on the titles to view):

HOW TO: Survive a press interview

HOW TO: Manage your brand online

CASE STUDY: Permasense turn to The Think Tank to launch new company in risk-averse sector

Whitepaper: PR in a changing media landscape

We hope that you find these interesting and if you would like to discuss any of them in detail please contact Samantha Dawe, Director of PR, The Think Tank at samanthad@thinktank.org.uk or by calling 020 7831 2225.

A new name in Aluminium Building Systems

The Think Tank has been working with global aluminium building products group, AluK, to bring the brand to the UK following the purchase of Blyweert Beaufort.  

Through the development of the brand identity in the UK and an integrated marketing strategy the introduction of the new brand has been a great success.  

Over the past few months The Think Tank developed a range of collateral and marketing tools for AluK, ready for the launch in April 2013. This included a sophisticated web site that engages target audiences and provides them with the information they require to specify and purchase AluK products. This is already delivering results through lead generation.                                 

The Think Tank organised a launch event for customers and the press at the beginning of April and has introduced the brand through a combination of PR, Advertising, eDM and Social Media, building brand awareness and encouraging enquiry. This has seen immediate results for AluK and has started to develop a new positioning for the group that offers a complete range of aluminium windows, doors and curtain walling systems.  

We are continuing to develop the marketing strategy for the group and to raise awareness of the brand through a variety of marketing channels. This include engagement and support for existing customers as well as the launch of a wide range of new products over the coming months.  

View the new AluK web site here.

How to survive a press interview

This piece has been written by Samantha Dawe, The Think Tank's PR Director.

Working with the press can be a great way to get stories about your products and your organisation across. But before you leap in for a chat take a few minutes to think through what you are going to say.

Using the press effectively to get your point across is a skill. In most cases, you only get one go at this in an interview, so you need to get it right first time when you are speaking to journalists directly.Whether you’re speaking at a planned face-to-face interview, a quick chat catch up at an industry event or a short briefing over the telephone, you will be in the spotlight. Here’s a short memory-refresher on the dos and don’ts of dealing with a press interview.

DO
Prepare, prepare, prepare
Wherever possible build in time to do some preparation before you meet the journalist. Read the publication they are writing for. Ideally find out what the journalist wants to cover in advance so you can be ready with the right sort of information for them. If you don’t know this in advance, ask them when you meet or speak to check. This will also give you time to collect your thoughts. Have you had some media training? It’s worth it if you are in any type of marketing role.

Know your facts and figures
Remember you can talk to a journalist about any information that has already been announced, and bringing in other examples as context can often help illustrate a point. Again, have facts and figures to hand (be prepared wherever possible) so you can refer to them.

Be succinct
Try to speak in short sentences and repeat key points that convey your view. This helps to minimise the risk of being quoted inaccurately. Resist the temptation to go on and on about your favourite theme unless this is the only subject to be covered in the interview.

Raise points that you feel may be of interest
The journalist may have done some preparation but you are also able to raise points on a subject too. Make sure they that are relevant to the journalist’s train of thought; showing them you are trying to give them as much information as you can is usually perceived as helpful as long as you don’t go overboard.

Be interesting
Bring in how you see the industry or your sector developing, if appropriate. This sort of insight also shows that you and your company are continuing to keep track and responding to change. Don’t speculate though unless you are happy to see your speculations in print.

DON’T
Don’t talk about areas you don’t know about
Don’t make forecasts about products, markets or sales, unless the information has been agreed beforehand and you can produce the data to back it up. If you don’t know much about a subject, say so. And wherever possible get someone in your company to speak to the journalist who is an expert.

Don’t gossip
And don’t be derogatory about the competition; it’s unprofessional. Just give factual information to the journalist, and let them make their own comparisons. Talking too much about the competition actually helps to sell it, so you may want to avoid that.

Don’t be evasive
If you don’t know something (see point 1 above) or you feel you need to get more information in front of you, say you will find out for the journalist and get back to them; check the deadline they are working on. This can also be used to ‘buy some time’ while you formulate an appropriate response to a tricky question. But if you promise further information, make sure it is followed up, even if it is to say that you need more time.

Use colourful phrases with care
Avoid the use of particularly colourful phrases unless you are absolutely sure you want them used. Otherwise, they may appear out of context or as headlines. A sub-editor may well select the juiciest quote from a journalist’s copy just for this purpose: “Widget Ltd’s Marketing Director Paul Smith says that they are murdering the competition”. Enough said.

Don’t go “Off-the record” unless you are really, really confident
This can be a dangerous trap – you are giving information ‘off-the-record’ for a journalist’s guidance, they should not publish it under any circumstances.

You have to tell the journalist the information is ‘off-the-record’ before you give them the information. The phrase should not be used retrospectively.

You should then say when the information you are discussing is ‘back on the record’ that means they can write up what you are saying.

A general rule of thumb is not using ‘off-the-record’ at all. In exceptional circumstances with a journalist that can really be trusted and you know – for example a trade press journalist you are in regular touch with and you know writes in a fair and informed way, and above all will respect this convention, you might be OK. But why chance it?

A Director I knew went ‘off the record’ with a journalist to say that he expected the privately-owned company he worked for would be floated in the next six months. It was a great story and appeared in print. You can imagine the fall out that happened when it was published.

This piece was written as part of The Think Tank's sponsorship of the PR Section of B2B Marketing's Knowledge Bank, and forms part of a series of guides, blog posts, case studies and a white papers.

Renault gives speed dating a new meaning

In a new video from Publicis Brussels, we see a new style of speed dating. The ad has been made to promote the new Renault Clio RS.

In the video we see a group of people attending a speed dating event, only for one guy to be left without a date, see what happens when he is taken outside to meet Caroline.

Watch the video below.

Budweiser lets you make friends with a clink

It's an age old tradition across the globe, you say "cheers" (or regional equivalent) then 'clink' glasses, an almost universal symbol.

Now American beer brand Budweiser in Brazil wants to make this social act, even more social, with their Buddy Cups.

The smart cups detect the contact between them and adds the other person as a friend on Facebook, this is done via a chip in the bottom of the cup and a code which you scan with your smart phone to activate it.

The cups are reportedly going to be used for events and concerts, but how far afield no one is sure.

Watch a video about the new cup below.

Man-Made Tornado in a Museum

The Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart has a bit of an unusual attraction.

The building has the world's most powerful man-made tornado, and whilst this does attract visitors, this is not the reason for its existence.

Created from 144 jets spewing 28 tons of smoke in a 112-foot-high column, the idea of a tornado in a showroom containing over 150 luxury vehicles may seem like an odd one, but it is actually a clever fire-safety mechanism.

The building is made from a steel structure based on a double-helix, featuring a massive central atrium viewable from the floors that spiral around it. All rooms are open, all walls are curved and each of the 1800 triangular window panes on the exterior walls is unique. This however means that there are no fire zones within the building so by creating this tornado they are able to expel smoke emissions from within the building. It is said to take about 7 minutes for the jets that line the interior walls to get the smoke to whirl into a tornado and escape through vents in the roof.

Watch a video of the tornado in action below.

Jaguar's mini movie to celebrate new release

Jaguar's F-Type is their first sports car in 50 years. To celebrate that fact they have released what can only be described as a mini movie.

The twelve-and-a-half minute film, created by The Brooklyn Brothers in London and RSA Films, stars Homeland actor Damian Lewis and also features a specially commissioned song, "Burning Desire," from Singer Lana Del Rey .

Shot in Chile's Atacama desert, the film plays up Mr. Lewis' upper class British heritage, comparing him to Prince Harry and casting him as a smooth operator with a dry sense of humour.

Whilst it has been compared to BMW's 2001 film by Fallon, but George Bryant, founding partner of Brooklyn Brothers has denied the similarities.

Watch the video below and let us know what you think.

Scratch-and-Sniff banner ad

From the company that brought you 'the man your man could smell like' comes a new kind of banner ad. Old Spice, who are becoming renowned for their crazy ad antics has produced the internet's first scratch-and-sniff banner advert.

Unlike Google's April Fools joke, this one won't have you pressing your nose up to the screen, instead you fill in a form and they will send you "the smell of the Internet".

Another clever and amusing campaign from the brand, promoting their Wolfthorn line of products.

Take a sniff for yourself here or see it in action over on the Onion's Sport Page.

ThingLink lands on Facebook

This week interactive image platform ThingLink officially hit Facebook. Already available for use on Twitter since November, the platform allows users to embed links to anything, meaning that you can link an image to a website and the person viewing it would not have to leave their Timeline.

The images work by having anchor points embedded on them, when a user hovers over that point they get information and with a click, they can open YouTube videos, audio clips, other websites and virtually anything else that would previously have been linked to in the description.

This could open up new avenues for brands, marketers and general users providing interactive images that will have more impact than normal posts might.

Whilst this isn't the first interactive image brand to launch their services on Facebook, Stipple launched on the network back in January, it does show a growing trend for people and brands trying to improve the level of engagement they have with their followers. One company to already try it has been Doctors Without Borders with this post.

The platforms reps have said that since it launched on Twitter, engagement on posts was increased, with some up by five times, so the scope seems to be there for it to do well on Facebook.

Is interactive imagery the next step for social marketing? Let us know what you think.

Clerkenwell Design Week

Next month will see the return of the Clerkenwell Design Week. The event is a showcase of architecture and design works from across the globe, with a focus on British designs.

Held in a variety of locations in the historic Central London area, it will see show regulars returning as well as some new faces such as Arper, Plumen and Foscarini.

Brands returning to the festival include Vitra, Knoll, Boss Design, Domus Tiles, Deadgood, Dare Studio, Jennifer Newman, Muuto, Magis, Zanotta, Johnson Tiles, and Dezeen.

The week takes place across 50 furniture showrooms and several special locations. The Farmiloe Building, a former Victorian merchants warehouse, will play host to high-profile international brands; The House of Detention, a subterranean Victorian prison, will form the festival’s hotspot for new designers, and the 12th century crypt and charming garden of the Priory of the Order of St John, will act as the hub for interior decoration trends.

Taking place the 21st to 23rd May 2013, it is the fourth time the event has taken over the area, being spread out over several different sites, and will offer talks, debates and parties throughout it's course.

To register for the event click here.