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Info
- Postgraduate Researcher at Bournemouth UniversityMarketing and Advertising | Bournemouth, United Kingdom, GBSummaryAdvertising graduate with internship experience at top advertising and marketing communications agencies.
Currently working towards a PhD on experiences of owning digital virtual goods.Experience- Oct 2011 - PresentFreelance / Creative Enterprise BureauPast work includes research projects for ITV and CBS Outdoor. I have also planned, implemented and monitored social media campaigns for local companies, alongside website design and SEO. I currently manage Grapevine Telecom's marcomms activity from strategy development to implementation.
- Jul 2011 - Jul 2011Planner / Leo Burnett Summer SchoolSelected from over 300 candidates to take part in Leo Burnett's Summer School programme. Assigned to the Proctor & Gamble account, working on a number of FMCG brands including Fairy, Bold, Ariel, Lenor and Daz. Team pitch for Kellogg's Cornflakes.
- Aug 2010 - Aug 2010Social Media Summer Internship / McCann EricksonFormulated a franchise level social media strategy for HiQ and presented this strategy to key staff. Praised on both my strategy and my pitching skills.
- Jul 2010 - Jul 2010Planning Intern / Adam & Eve LondonAssisting the Planning team during the successful Benecol pitch, compiling research on Benecol products, branding, past communications and competitors, alongside working with the team to develop a core brand proposition.
- Jun 2010 - Jul 2010Summer Placement / KindredDeveloping potential positioning territories, conducting competitive analyses, preparing focus group stimulus materials and producing a presentation on crowdsourcing and co-creation.
Education-
2011 - 2014Bournemouth UniversityPhD in Exploring Consumer Transformations through Digital Virtual Consumption
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2008 - 2011Bournemouth UniversityBA (Hons) in Advertising and Marketing Communications
Activities: Leadership Programme, Volunteer at The Hub, Live briefs from Fallon London, MediaCom & Bright Blue Day -
2006 - 2008Radyr Comprehensive School
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Honors:Best Sales and Marketing 2007 - Young Enterprise Programme Regional Finals Academic Achievement Award, 2008- Radyr Comprehensive School Academic Achievement Scholarship 2008 - Bournemouth University Bright Blue Day Award for Best Dissertation PhD Studentship 2011 - Bournemouth University
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Posts
- Dec 17, 11
Many book lovers have expressed concerns in recent years that marginalia (the annotations often found within the margins of books) may die out as e-books become the norm.
Marginalia dates back as far as the 1800s, with readers not just passively absorbing the text but actively commenting on its content and voicing their own opinions. Such marginalia can influence the book's future readers' experience of the text - I'm sure everyone can recall checking out a library book annotated with the thoughts and opinions of past readers. Some see it as defacing a literary work, even as graffiti, whereas others feel that it adds to the reading experience.
However, with e-books increasingly replacing traditional material versions some have commented that marginalia may be at risk of dying out. E-book readers such as the Kindle allow users to highlight text and make digital annotations, however the main flaw here is the missing social element that makes marginalia in e-books such an important part of literary culture. Although Kindle users can now 'lend' e-books to their friends, their friends will not be able to see the annotations that they have made. However, Read Social have picked up on this missing element and aim to "connects people across reading systems" allowing users to make comments on ebooks which can be seen by all other Read Social users, regardless of the ebook reader they are using.
Despite suggestions of a dim future for marginalia, we see marginalia resurfacing in digital form - but is actively sharing digital notes with other e-book readers the same as discovering and deciphering a barely legible scrawl in the margin of your favourite classic?
- Apr 05, 10
With the launch of the fantastic ‘Should Have Gone to Specsavers Effect’ campaign, I thought I’d take a look some of the most famous ad spoofs of the 21st century:
1. Tango spoofs Sony Balls
2. Specsavers Parodies Lynx ‘Bikini’ ad
3. Sony Bravia ‘Paint’ Spoof
4. Pot Noodle spoofs Guinness ‘Tipping Point’ ad
5. Specsavers spoof Barclaycard ‘Waterslide’ ad
Spoof ads show that your advertisement has had a lasting effect and that consumers haven’t been able to get it out of their heads and therefore spoofs should be seen as a compliment, rather than an insult. In that case congratulations Fallon, your Sony Bravia ads appear to be the most spoofed ads of the past decade!
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Posts
- Jan 18, 12
WHYBIN/TBWA in Australia designed these national flags made from food associated with each country to promote the Sydney International Food Festival. They’re a couple of years old now, but I thought I’d share them anyhow.
France- Cheese and Grapes
Italy – Basil, Spaghetti and Tomatoes
Brasil- Banana leaf, limes, pineapple, passion fruit
Japan - Tuna and rice
South Korea- Kimbap and sauces
Vietnam- Rambutan, lychee, starfruit
Australia – Meat Pie and Sauce
Greece- Kalamata Olives and feta cheese
China - Pittaya/dragon fruit and star fruit
Thailand - Sweet chilli sauce, shredded coconut, blue swimmer crab
And of course, good old Blighty – Scone, cream and jams.
- Nov 29, 11
This outdoor campaign created by Beattie McGuinness Bungay for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a charity set up in response to the high suicide rate among men, caught my eye in a recent copy of Campaign.
The copy is simple but memorable, illustrating that charities don’t always need to resort to ‘shockvertising’ to break through the clutter and get their message heard.
- Oct 06, 11
Coke are giving Australians the opportunity to create personalised bottles and cans to share with the people that matter to them.
Coke bottles emblazoned with150 of the nation’s most popular names are now on sale across Australia, and Coke have even recorded a special song for each of these names.
What if your name’s not in the top 150?
Not to worry, pop down to a participating Westfield shopping centre and they will create a custom can, just for you.
Share a virtual can
On Coke Australia’s Facebook Page, fans can also share a virtual can with their Facebook friends (although this feature hasn’t been launched just yet). A great way to spread the campaign quickly online, allowing Facebook users to share with their friends for free.
This campaign is fun and engaging, allowing people to get involved with little effort on their part, and reinforces the brand’s association with fun times with friends.
As Brad and Dan would say: “Good Call”
- Jun 27, 11
Who hasn’t seen the latest Google Chrome ads which, in a bold move for an internet browser, utilize traditional primetime TV advertisements in an attempt to make us fall back in love with the web.
Based on a highly emotive US campaign, the ads have been adapted for a UK audience. The first ad to launch was ‘Dear Hollie’, showing a father using the web to share memories of his daughter as she grows up. Whilst the US campaign ran ‘Dear Sophie’ ads, the British version features ‘Hollie’ (see both versions below), showing real footage of Hollie’s childhood captured by her parents.
The second spot shows how Google Chrome and other related Google products have been used by the It Gets Better campaign to upload and share messages of support for the online gay community, and similarly to the previous spot, is highly emotive and life-affirming.The internet gets a lot of stick for being dangerous and unsafe, with stories of unsuitable content, hacking and identity theft. However, this ad promotes everything that is good about the web; the power of the web to do great things, provide a wealth of information that would otherwise be unavailable to us, connect with people we may not have been able to without the power of the web, make other people happy with interesting and entertaining content and, in the case of the ‘It Gets Better’ project, make a real difference to the lives of others.
The internet used to be exciting and filled with possibilities, but many of us have become so familiar with the internet, particularly those who have grown up browsing the web, that we have become stuck in a rut of a couple of frequently visited websites, oblivious to the vast amount of interesting, useful and entertaining content available to us. I think the recent ‘The Web Is What You Make Of It’ campaign has made many people fall back in love with the web, re-realizing its full potential and transforming our perception of the web as a useful but routine tool to an exciting space to be explored and experimented with.
Whether these ads are enough to really change the way we use the internet is doubtful, however the positive and optimistic feeling that the ads promote is undeniable. Whilst the campaign has created positive feelings surrounding the Google Chrome brand and is highly memorable, I would question whether this campaign is strong enough to encourage many internet users to switch internet browsers. Whilst the campaign promotes the power of the internet, this power could be unleashed by any internet browser. In some cases, an increased liking of the Google Chrome brand and what it stands for may be enough, however perhaps focusing on the benefits that Google Chrome offers over other browsers may have provided a more solid foundation for brand switching.
- Jun 20, 11
A collection of the best branded 3D projections that I have come across online:
New Balance
New balance sneaker Projection mapping_01 from Hayoung Jung on Vimeo.
Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels – Secret Race Battle from PostPanic on Vimeo.
Samsung
NuFormer – Samsung, Amsterdam, May 2010 from NuFormer on Vimeo.
Ralph Lauren
NYC Ralph Lauren Opening from Nick Jernigan on Vimeo.
Hyundai
Interactive Floor Projections
However, now that we are familiar with 3D projections and the novelty has worn off, brands will have to work harder and develop more innovative ideas to attract a similar level of attention. I think this medium’s full potential has yet to be unlocked; when brands use this medium in a way that is relevant to their brand purpose and values rather than simply putting on a show and stamping their brand logo on it, that’s when the real magic will happen.
- Jun 01, 11
I’m sure you’ve all seen the recent ads starring the lovely Gavin and Stacey actress Joanna Page as the new face of Superdrug. I’m not sure if this applies everywhere, but in Cardiff Superdrug used to be seen as a poor man’s Boots, something which the brand seem to be attempting to resolve. The campaign, which launched late 2010, seems to be taking Superdrug in a fresh direction, representing youthful, fashionable beauty. ‘Nice one’.
- Joanna Page Announced as New Face of Superdrug
One of the first ads I saw from this campaign was fairly memorable, resonating with young women across the country by showing Joanna Page in that awkward rush to look as though you wake up looking effortlessly gorgeous. Already the brand is appealing to the younger generation, whilst Boots’ ‘Here come the girls’ ads are getting a bit ‘samey’.
However, what really caught my attention was this recent ad, promoting the recently introduced ‘Superdrug Beauty Card’.
After resisting the temptation to join many other major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waterstones and main rival Boots in the loyalty card club, Superdrug seems to have finally caved in. And I feel this may have been the right thing to do.
Clearly, these cards do not buy loyalty, otherwise I wouldn’t have about 10 of them in my purse, many from competing retailers. Brand loyalty cannot be bought, simply earned by offering consistently high value to customers, often more in terms of added value such as customer service and shopping experience.
However people do love to use loyalty cards, and enjoy the experience of building points. Even though Boots Advantage Card offers a measly 4 pence worth of points for every £1 spent in store, the chance to gather these points can somehow seem like a better offer than buying items for less in Asda or Wilkinsons.
Irrational as I am, I have often made the choice to walk past Superdrug and make a 10 minute journey to Boots, just for the chance to gain a couple of points on my Boots card. Would I ever make a 10 minute journey for the equivalent of 12p in another circumstance? Not likely. Will I still make the journey now that Superdrug will also offer me points? Probably not. Most likely I will sign up for a Superdrug ‘Beauty Card’ and simply use the appropriate card at whichever store is most convenient at the time. So in a way, the introduction of this competing card erodes any ‘loyalty’ the Boots Advantage Card has built up over the years, along with the differential advantage the card provided.
And what of the 10p per £1 offered by the Superdrug ‘Beauty Card’? Will the extra points draw consumers to Superdrug? Perhaps in the short run, but I feel that the experience of using the card and collecting points may be more important than the number of points provided. In any case, the retailers want to avoid becoming overly competitive on points, as constantly raising their points-per-pound will simply erode the profits of both retailers with no long term benefits for either.
The main obstacle that Superdrug face is persuading customers to sign up for a Beauty Card in the first place, when they already have their trusty Boots Card safetly tucked up in their purse, where it has been for the last couple of years. Perhaps the gimmicky mirror on the back of the Beauty Card will help? A free mirror which fits niftily in your purse? Why not?
I’m very interested to see how Boots retaliate and how the battle for customer loyalty plays out. Comment and let me know your thoughts, would you switch to Superdrug or stay loyal to Boots?
- May 08, 11
At the end of March Proctor & Gamble launched its first ever brand campaign promoting itself as the company behind many of our favourite household brands. The campaign launched in the build up to Mothers’ day and promoted P&G as ‘Proud Sponsor of Mums’, following on from the implementation of a similar strategy in the US (see below).
What really appeals to me about the campaign is the insight. When a woman becomes a mother for the first time she acknowledges that she will be putting her needs aside, as her children become the focus of her life. She acknowledges that subsequent years will involve spending a phenomenal amount of effort looking after and caring for her children with little thanks for her effort. But she is happy to do so, as when we become parents we are saying goodbye to being selfish, as for the rest of our lives there will always be someone whose needs come before our own and who we would do anything for.
However, children often take their mothers for granted; we have grown up with them always being there for us when we need them, and as a result we take them for granted. We often only begin to appreciate them once we fly the nest and begin forging a life without their constant support. This campaign recognizes the tendency for mothers to be taken for granted, and serves as a celebration of their selfless efforts.
The campaign uses photos sourced from employees of P&G and its agencies, giving the ad an authentic feel. However I do think the execution is lacking somewhat, and the creative seems slightly corporate, suggesting that P&G are a little out of their comfort zone when showing off their softer side. For me, the ad seems to get a little ‘cringeworthy’ at the end, and could possible do without the last line of copy, ‘You couldn’t breath without her’, which seem to be stating explicitly what the ad implies very well on its own.
Nevertheless, an interesting move by the brand and a fantastic insight which really comes through in the final execution. Thoughts?
- Apr 19, 11
Wow. Just wow. This feels like a completely new direction for the brand. Past ads have focused on the product, trying to convince a skeptical audience of the freshness and quality of its chicken.
Some past ads have taken a more emotive route focusing on togetherness and sharing, but none has done it quite so well as this one. The ad shows a people searching for ‘emergency chairs’ as a large group gather for a meal of KFC in the Summer sunshine. The appeal of the ad is largely in the memories it evokes for its audience. The search for ‘emergency chairs’ typically occurs when family and friends join us for special occasions such as Christmas dinner or a Birthday lunch and this ad brings back fond memories of good times spent with loved ones. The ad taps into a great insight which I think will resonate with a really wide audience.
It feels like some great strategic planning has gone into this new direction, and the ad is executed beautifully, shot by award-winning director and documentary maker Benito Montorio in South Africa and featuring a beautiful track. The one bit I’m not too sure about is the suggestion of romance between the teenagers shown (about 50 secs in). To me this ad screams family and this romance element doesn’t seem necessary, acting more as a distraction drawing attention away from the ad’s key message.
The ad features KFC’s new strapline ‘So Good’. Simple is good. But this is a bit bland, this could belong to any brand and could mean anything. Maybe it’s a grower?
Anyway, I’m nitpicking. It’s undeniably a beautiful and powerful ad and hopefully the first of many from the brand.
- Apr 18, 11
Oh dear. I should love it. It is quite funny and some of the lookalikes are pretty spot on.
From another brand perhaps this would have worked for me, but given T-Mobile’s recent flash mob history this is simply far too predictable. This ad is exactly what you’d expect from the brand.
Also, the ad bears remarkable resemblance to the famous ‘JK Wedding Entrance Dance’ clip which did the rounds in 2009. Nothing wrong with being inspired by something which has entered popular culture, but the ad doesn’t seem to have quite the same feel good vibe as the clip. Also, I would have loved to see the queen lookalike do more than clap- now that would make me laugh.
Saying that, the viral has racked up almost 5 million views on YouTube since it was uploaded on 15th April so there’s no doubting its spreading power. In fact, I’ve already spoken about this ad to 6 people outside of the ad industry since seeing it two days ago, and have even shown it to two, which is more than I can say for a lot of virals.
Overall, opinion seems to be pretty divided on this one -What do you think?
- Apr 12, 11
Can’t believe I missed this fab piece of work by Ogilvy Brazil when it was first released in 2010. Burger King went to extreme lengths to reinforce the ‘Your Whopper, Your Way’ slogan and illustrate how far BK will go to make your ‘Whopper’ exactly the way you like it.
How? By printing each customer’s face on their burger wrapper of course! A secret camera discretely took a photo of each customer which was then printed on the wrapper of each freshly made burger whilst they waited. Admittedly and understandably the burger lovers’ surprise is tinged with a level of confusion, but this campaign really reinforces the idea of a ‘Whopper’ personalized to your individual tastes and provides a brand experience consumers will remember for a long time to come. Great stuff.
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Posts
- Jan 18, 12
It might look someone suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has been at the kitchenware, but these are images of IKEA’s new collection.
The images are by Carl Kleiner, the same photographer who shot the IKEA cookbook (“Hembakat är Bäst” (Swedish for ‘Homebaked is Best’)) in a similar style a couple of years ago, adding some visual flair to boring recipe lists (below).
- Jan 18, 12
WHYBIN/TBWA in Australia designed these national flags made from food associated with each country to promote the Sydney International Food Festival. They’re a couple of years old now, but I thought I’d share them anyhow.
France- Cheese and Grapes
Italy – Basil, Spaghetti and Tomatoes
Brasil- Banana leaf, limes, pineapple, passion fruit
Japan - Tuna and rice
South Korea- Kimbap and sauces
Vietnam- Rambutan, lychee, starfruit
Australia – Meat Pie and Sauce
Greece- Kalamata Olives and feta cheese
China - Pittaya/dragon fruit and star fruit
Thailand - Sweet chilli sauce, shredded coconut, blue swimmer crab
And of course, good old Blighty – Scone, cream and jams.
- Dec 21, 11
Seeing as my current research relates to the increasing dematerialization of consumer culture, I was excited to see this beautiful CD sleeve featured by Creative Review.
Martin Kvamme created this nature-inspired sleeve for Mike Patton’s film score for the film adaption of La Solitudine Dei Numberi Primi by Paolo Giordano. According to Kvamme every vein of the leaf is blind embossed to give its surface a leaf like texture – try replicating that in digital form!
- Dec 19, 11
JWT have cleverly added their show reel to their business cards. Smart but not flashy or over the top and prospective clients will never get lost on their way to the agency as they’ve even included a handy map. Nice.
- Dec 17, 11
Stefán Pétur Sólveigarson has developed this clever design, with measures for child, adult and family sized portions.
- Dec 09, 11
Via http://gizmodo.com/5865972/save-this-cheeseburger-wrapping-paper-for-your-juiciest-gifts
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Tweets
- Jim's dad is adorable "the fuzz!" #americanpieMay 20, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Grappling with actor-network theory #phdlifeMay 18, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Bernard, can I borrow your watch please? CheersMay 12, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- End of a busy day in London. Spending evening on train back to bournemouth when I should be watching Apprentice, dammit!
- Love this ad for Jewish Film Festival http://t.co/VDpvwmUzMay 01, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- My week on twitter: 1 mentions. Via: http://t.co/EFgEVHJh
- Haven't been to the gym for almost two weeks because of my knee= far too much pent up energy. Bikini bod will have to wait...Apr 25, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- My week on twitter: 2 new followers, 5 mentions. Via: http://t.co/EFgEVHJh
- Lets hope my 'betting on the horse with the funniest name' tactic pays off this year #shakalakaboomboom #grandnationalApr 14, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Spent morning defining terms relating to epistemology. Each one defined sprouts 3 more! Perhaps too in depth? #storyofmylife #phdchat
- @SpreadingJam SpaceJam, oh wait... #ReplaceMovieNamesWithJam
- Just tried chocolate philly on toast... was not a nice experience! Nutella ftw.Apr 13, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @NonverbalPhD Thanks! This looks very promising :)
- @evalantsoght Its an 80,000 word social science thesis, so would be just over 10,000 words a month for 6 months which seems feasible...?
- Need a year to collect my data, so wondering whether 6 months is feasible for write up start to finish? Or am I being overambitious?#phdchatApr 12, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- After spending the morning reading books on philosophy it's back down to the real world with a bang- planning the rest of my phd #phdchatApr 12, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- My visualized LinkedIn network- actually very interesting to see it laid out like this! http://t.co/U7QLpF5l
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Photos
