Dave is a big Rocky Horror Show fan, a few months before the Shows UK tour starts Dave purchases two tickets for the first night of the London leg of the Show's tour.
A month before the Show Dave recieves his tickets, with them is a letter with a message "Text this number now to begin your Rocky Horror Experience" (or something similar). Once texting the number Dave recieves an application for his mobile phone which recieves news feeds in the run up to the show (basically the application is an instant RSS reader).
In the month leading up to the show every few days Dave recieves a new news item with facts about the Rocky Horror Show, the cast and suggestions for Audience Participation. Finally a few days before the show Dave recieves a news item with details of a Rocky Horror Singalong Flash Mob event, with a number of meeting times and places and instructions for how to use the Rocky Horror Experience (RHE) application to recieve songwords during the singalong, it also tells him to take some photos of the even on his mobile phone if he gets the chance. Dave then logs on to a Rocky Horror fansite forum to discuss this new, exciting event.
On the day of the show Dave and his friend get the train into London in full Rocky Horror costume. The Show begins at 7.30pm, but the first Flash Mob singalong is happening at 5pm outside a pub a few streets away from the theatre.
At 4.55pm Dave and his friend reach the pub where the first singalong is happening, a group of Rocky Horror fans in costume have already began to gather outside, Dave and his friend join the group and wait until 5pm with their mobile phone's ready with bluetooth switched on and their RHE applications open. At 5pm they recieve the lyrics of the first line of "Sweet Transvestite" at the same time as everyone else gathered in the area, so everyone begins to sing as each line of the song appears on their RHE application. When the song ends the RHE group go into the pub they were standing outside for a few drinks until it's time to move to the next meeting place. While in the pub Dave finds and connects to the bluetooth point that sent out the lyrics and sends a couple of the photos he's taken.
The next meeting time is 6pm outside a pub closer to the theatre, the same series of events occurs as before, this time with the song "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me". Also this time the group is larger, due to other memebers of the RHE group contacting friends who are on their way to the show and passing on details of the Singalongs and telling them how much fun the first one was. As before the group go into the pub they're standing outside until it's time for the final singalong, and again Dave bluetooths a few photos to the RHE bluetooth point.
The final singalong occurs at 7pm outside the theatre, as before the group gathers with their RHE applications ready, this time the lyrics for "The Time Warp" appear on the application. Then the group enter the theatre to watch the Show.
After the Show on the train home Dave recieves a news item to his RHE application giving him an estimate of how many people took part in the Singalong, it also tells him that over the next few days he will be sent some of the best photos taken by the participants.
Wednesday 6 December 2006
Thursday 30 November 2006
bluetooth vending machines?
"Your Bluetooth-enabled phone can communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled vending machine to buy a can of Diet Pepsi, and put the charge on your phone bill."
read the article here
the article this was taken from was written in february 2003, has anyone seen one of these "Bluetooth-enabled" vending machines? did it ever catch on? are they all over the place and i've just not noticed?
read the article here
the article this was taken from was written in february 2003, has anyone seen one of these "Bluetooth-enabled" vending machines? did it ever catch on? are they all over the place and i've just not noticed?
Tuesday 28 November 2006
Flash Mobs
A while ago I heard of an event called "Mobile Clubbing" where people gather in a location (in this instance, Liverpool Street Station) at a set time and begin to dance to music they're listening to on their walkman/mp3 player/etc (Video on YouTube.com). Jon Sutton and Matt Iles informed me this kind of event is called a "Flash Mob"...
In modern usage, flash mob describes a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disperse. They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob
I though it might be interesting to create some kind of Rocky Horror related flash mob, possibly a sing along, to promote the start of the new Rocky Horror Show tour. A certain place and time (preferably near the theatre an hour or two before showtime) for gathering could be advertised on a Rocky Horror fansite to spread the word through the fan community. Those attending the opening performance of the show could possibly recieve information about the event when they recieve their tickets for the show.
With the shows cult status, I feel fans of the show would take to this idea well as it gives the Rocky Horror "Sluts" (as the diehard fans call themselves) a chance to gather in their costumes before the show.
In modern usage, flash mob describes a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disperse. They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob
I though it might be interesting to create some kind of Rocky Horror related flash mob, possibly a sing along, to promote the start of the new Rocky Horror Show tour. A certain place and time (preferably near the theatre an hour or two before showtime) for gathering could be advertised on a Rocky Horror fansite to spread the word through the fan community. Those attending the opening performance of the show could possibly recieve information about the event when they recieve their tickets for the show.
With the shows cult status, I feel fans of the show would take to this idea well as it gives the Rocky Horror "Sluts" (as the diehard fans call themselves) a chance to gather in their costumes before the show.
Sunday 26 November 2006
The Rocky Horror Show
After our seminar on Friday (Nov 24th) with Jon Sutton and Matt Iles from 'BT Ideas' I have a few more ideas to expand on my initial idea for a campaign based around a musical launch.
Considering a musical with a cult following such as "The Rocky Horror Show" Matt and Jon suggested I create something to appeal to fans of the musical who go to see the show time and time again.
First I shall research some background information on the musical and it's cult following:
The Rocky Horror Show is a long running stage musical (opening in London initially, on June 19, 1973) which inspired the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was written by Richard O'Brien, who returned to his native England after growing up in New Zealand. The musical was developed by O'Brien in collaboration with Australian theatre director Jim Sharman, who had already gained extensive experience directing rock musicals with the groundbreaking Australian productions of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Horror_Show
The film 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' (based on the stage show) has a similar cult following to the stage show...
Despite its initial luke-warm critical and commercial reception, the film developed a cult following, becoming a midnight hit at the Waverly Theatre. People began shouting responses to the characters' statements on the screen. These mostly include melodramatic abuse of the characters or actors, vulgar sex jokes, puns, or pop culture references.
Other audience participation includes dancing the Time Warp, throwing toast, water, toilet paper, hot dogs, underwear, and rice at the appropriate points in the movie... read the rest of the article on wikipedia.com
To summarise the article: audience particpation is encouraged, including dancing to "The Timewarp", throwing items related to the scenes (e.g confetti is thrown on stage during a wedding scene) and shouting comments to respond to the actors lines. Audience members attend performances/screenings of the stage show/film dressed as characters (e.g men in drag):
photos from Timewarp.org.uk
Considering a musical with a cult following such as "The Rocky Horror Show" Matt and Jon suggested I create something to appeal to fans of the musical who go to see the show time and time again.
First I shall research some background information on the musical and it's cult following:
The Rocky Horror Show is a long running stage musical (opening in London initially, on June 19, 1973) which inspired the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was written by Richard O'Brien, who returned to his native England after growing up in New Zealand. The musical was developed by O'Brien in collaboration with Australian theatre director Jim Sharman, who had already gained extensive experience directing rock musicals with the groundbreaking Australian productions of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Horror_Show
The film 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' (based on the stage show) has a similar cult following to the stage show...
Despite its initial luke-warm critical and commercial reception, the film developed a cult following, becoming a midnight hit at the Waverly Theatre. People began shouting responses to the characters' statements on the screen. These mostly include melodramatic abuse of the characters or actors, vulgar sex jokes, puns, or pop culture references.
Other audience participation includes dancing the Time Warp, throwing toast, water, toilet paper, hot dogs, underwear, and rice at the appropriate points in the movie... read the rest of the article on wikipedia.com
To summarise the article: audience particpation is encouraged, including dancing to "The Timewarp", throwing items related to the scenes (e.g confetti is thrown on stage during a wedding scene) and shouting comments to respond to the actors lines. Audience members attend performances/screenings of the stage show/film dressed as characters (e.g men in drag):
photos from Timewarp.org.uk
Thursday 23 November 2006
Musical Launch
For the assignment I'm considering creating a promotional campaign for the launch of a new (West-End) musical, possibly using mobile technologies such as Bluetooth to advertise and market the musical.
To begin with I shall research other musical launches, one that has caught my attention most recently has been the launch of "The Sound of Music", months before the musical opened the BBC broadcast a program called "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?"...
"How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? That's the question on the lips of Graham Norton as he searches for a new Maria Von Trapp for the forthcoming West End production of The Sound of Music."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/maria/about/about_show.shtml
This television program created a huge amount of interest in the musical, drawing "an average of six million British viewers per episode." (CBC.ca)
To begin with I shall research other musical launches, one that has caught my attention most recently has been the launch of "The Sound of Music", months before the musical opened the BBC broadcast a program called "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?"...
"How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? That's the question on the lips of Graham Norton as he searches for a new Maria Von Trapp for the forthcoming West End production of The Sound of Music."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/maria/about/about_show.shtml
This television program created a huge amount of interest in the musical, drawing "an average of six million British viewers per episode." (CBC.ca)
Tuesday 21 November 2006
'Word of mouth' and Viral marketing
Word of mouth (WOM) , aka Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM), is the passing of information by verbal means, especially recommendations, but also general information, in an informal, person-to-person manner, rather than by mass media, advertising, organized publication, or traditional marketing. Word of mouth is typically considered a spoken communication, although web dialogue, such as blogs, message boards and emails are often now included in the definition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_of_mouth
Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce exponential increases in brand awareness, through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of a computer virus. It can often be word-of-mouth delivered and enhanced online; it can harness the network effect of the Internet and can be very useful in reaching a large number of people rapidly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing
The Classic Hotmail.com Example
"The classic example of viral marketing is Hotmail.com, one of the first free Web-based e-mail services. The strategy is simple:
1. Give away free e-mail addresses and services,
2. Attach a simple tag at the bottom of every free message sent out: "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com" and,
3. Then stand back while people e-mail to their own network of friends and associates,
4. who see the message,
5. Sign up for their own free e-mail service, and then
6. Propel the message still wider to their own ever-increasing circles of friends and associates.
Like tiny waves spreading ever farther from a single pebble dropped into a pond, a carefully designed viral marketing strategy ripples outward extremely rapidly." (Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, 2005)
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
Having looked into viral and "word of mouth" marketing this is an area that now interests me, I have never really thought about it before, particularly with the Hotmail example, although I use Hotmail almost every day, I've never considered the small advertising message at the bottom of each email to be "Viral marketing", this shows how easy it is for viral marketing to affect it's audience without the audience realising.
For example Burger King's Subservient Chicken website is a good example of this, users are far too busy haivng fun telling the man in a chicken suit what to do that they get distracted from the fact they're being advertised to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_of_mouth
Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce exponential increases in brand awareness, through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of a computer virus. It can often be word-of-mouth delivered and enhanced online; it can harness the network effect of the Internet and can be very useful in reaching a large number of people rapidly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing
The Classic Hotmail.com Example
"The classic example of viral marketing is Hotmail.com, one of the first free Web-based e-mail services. The strategy is simple:
1. Give away free e-mail addresses and services,
2. Attach a simple tag at the bottom of every free message sent out: "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com" and,
3. Then stand back while people e-mail to their own network of friends and associates,
4. who see the message,
5. Sign up for their own free e-mail service, and then
6. Propel the message still wider to their own ever-increasing circles of friends and associates.
Like tiny waves spreading ever farther from a single pebble dropped into a pond, a carefully designed viral marketing strategy ripples outward extremely rapidly." (Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, 2005)
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
Having looked into viral and "word of mouth" marketing this is an area that now interests me, I have never really thought about it before, particularly with the Hotmail example, although I use Hotmail almost every day, I've never considered the small advertising message at the bottom of each email to be "Viral marketing", this shows how easy it is for viral marketing to affect it's audience without the audience realising.
For example Burger King's Subservient Chicken website is a good example of this, users are far too busy haivng fun telling the man in a chicken suit what to do that they get distracted from the fact they're being advertised to.
Thursday 16 November 2006
Last.fm
http://last.fm
"About Last.fm
Last.fm is the flagship product from the team that designed the Audioscrobbler music engine. More than ten million times a day, Last.fm users "scrobble" their tracks to our servers, helping to collectively build the world's largest social music platform.
Last.fm taps the wisdom of the crowds, leveraging each user's musical profile to make personalised recommendations, connect users who share similar tastes, provide custom radio streams, and much more.
Founded by Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel and Richard Jones, we are a London-based company with a music-obsessed team of developers and creative professionals from around the world.
It's never been this easy to share your taste and discover new music. Welcome to the social music revolution."
http://www.last.fm/about/
"About Last.fm
Last.fm is the flagship product from the team that designed the Audioscrobbler music engine. More than ten million times a day, Last.fm users "scrobble" their tracks to our servers, helping to collectively build the world's largest social music platform.
Last.fm taps the wisdom of the crowds, leveraging each user's musical profile to make personalised recommendations, connect users who share similar tastes, provide custom radio streams, and much more.
Founded by Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel and Richard Jones, we are a London-based company with a music-obsessed team of developers and creative professionals from around the world.
It's never been this easy to share your taste and discover new music. Welcome to the social music revolution."
http://www.last.fm/about/
Mashups
Looking at links to "mashups" posted by Richard Adams I realised I use one or two of the sites listed, so I thought it'd be usefull if I look into what exactly mashups are...
Mashup (web application hybrid)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mashup is a website or web application that seamlessly combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience.
Content used in mashups is typically sourced from a third party via a public interface or API (application programming interface). Other methods of sourcing content for mashups include Web Feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom) and JavaScript.
Many people are experimenting with mashups using eBay, Amazon, Google, Windows Live, and Yahoos APIs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28web_application_hybrid%29
Mashup (web application hybrid)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mashup is a website or web application that seamlessly combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience.
Content used in mashups is typically sourced from a third party via a public interface or API (application programming interface). Other methods of sourcing content for mashups include Web Feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom) and JavaScript.
Many people are experimenting with mashups using eBay, Amazon, Google, Windows Live, and Yahoos APIs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28web_application_hybrid%29
Wednesday 15 November 2006
Assignment.
I'll begin my blog by posting the aims of this assignment...
Aims
1 . To investigate the evolving contexts within which interactive media products and systems are developing.
2. To identify the key issues underpinning design practice within this context.
3. To investigate a range of possible types of interaction, the limitations and possible solutions.
4. As a designer identify technical, economic, cultural and social contexts within which the product or system and operate.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able, at threshold level, to:
1. Develop a context specific solution to demonstrate the interactive possibilities relating to immerging technologies and contexts.
2. Develop and apply concepts for either conventional or novel forms of interactive software, products or systems.
3. Engage in appropriate design methodologies in the production of a project.
4. Demonstrate a perspective of the current and historical contexts of design in this field.
5. Apply research methodologies in relation to interactive design problem solving.
Learning and Teaching Strategy
Formal lectures will provide theoretical underpinning for learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 5. Workshops in software will enable the student to undertake project work demonstrating learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 5. The research folder will allow learning outcomes 1, 2, 3,4 & 5 to be assessed. Individual and group tutorials will allow for formative feedback and will further develop learning outcome 2,3 and 4. The final presentation will allow learning outcome 5 to be assessed.
Overall Assessment Strategy
A ten-minute presentation of the project will ratify learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 5. A further detailed assessment of the project will allow for summative feedback and examine learning outcomes 2, 3 and 4. The submission of a research folder will demonstrate learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Assessment Schedule and Strategy
1. Research Folder
50%
2. Project
50%
http://mydigitalworkshops.blogspot.com/2006/11/hello.html
Aims
1 . To investigate the evolving contexts within which interactive media products and systems are developing.
2. To identify the key issues underpinning design practice within this context.
3. To investigate a range of possible types of interaction, the limitations and possible solutions.
4. As a designer identify technical, economic, cultural and social contexts within which the product or system and operate.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able, at threshold level, to:
1. Develop a context specific solution to demonstrate the interactive possibilities relating to immerging technologies and contexts.
2. Develop and apply concepts for either conventional or novel forms of interactive software, products or systems.
3. Engage in appropriate design methodologies in the production of a project.
4. Demonstrate a perspective of the current and historical contexts of design in this field.
5. Apply research methodologies in relation to interactive design problem solving.
Learning and Teaching Strategy
Formal lectures will provide theoretical underpinning for learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 5. Workshops in software will enable the student to undertake project work demonstrating learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 5. The research folder will allow learning outcomes 1, 2, 3,4 & 5 to be assessed. Individual and group tutorials will allow for formative feedback and will further develop learning outcome 2,3 and 4. The final presentation will allow learning outcome 5 to be assessed.
Overall Assessment Strategy
A ten-minute presentation of the project will ratify learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 5. A further detailed assessment of the project will allow for summative feedback and examine learning outcomes 2, 3 and 4. The submission of a research folder will demonstrate learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Assessment Schedule and Strategy
1. Research Folder
50%
2. Project
50%
http://mydigitalworkshops.blogspot.com/2006/11/hello.html
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