How very touching

Noticed how touch screens have finally come of age?

It's no longer the preserve of the geek with the palm pilot - everyone's on it! From the iPhone, to that MIT bloke on YouTube using a Wii remote as a touch device (Okay so he is a geek, but he's good!).

Now there's a smart little gizmo called RFDI, which enables any physical item to be recognised when placed against a programmed touch screen and trigger images, information, video etc.

Whilst this is all still pretty new, it's got massive implications for things like retail, leisure, you name it really, anywhere you want to pick something up and find out more about it.

It's easy to understand why we love these ideas so much as it plays on our human weakness of curiosity and play; something simple and interesting, but at the same time clever and somehow magical.

In the pictures is a really nice adaptation for The Royal College of Fashion. Over 1000 graduate cards can be selected and placed on interactive screens which bring up the portfolio show. Images are then scrolled through on screen by simply rotating each card. Beautifully simple and interactive.

Nice Diesel campaign

This is one of those instances where you see a campaign and say, "I wish we'd done that one!".

Diesel have done a good job here of creating a global initiative that truly delivers locally.

And really it's a simple idea too - get the rights to use a few big, well placed walls in key cities around the world, then ask creatives and designers to make competition design submissions to appear on the walls.

Hey presto, a big free outdoor campaign with a cool PR story thrown in. Easy.

See more at dieselwall.com

Genius propositions!

This revelation in retail POS came to our attention recently. Genius I think you'll agree.

Though simple executions always end up opening the bigger debate here at Le Manoir Open.

In this instance, it's prompted a discussion around a subject very close to our heart over 'sector norms'.

Why is it that brands so frequently become tied to their own rules? For instance, why do so many car brands present the same benefits, features and aspirations as their competitors. Same goes for mobile phones, for food groups, TVs, you name it.

Funny thing is, the most successful and popular communications tend to be those that break these norms, think - Skoda Cake, Cadbury Gorilla, Honda Cog, Sony Bravia...

What we've been focusing on now, is looking at pop culture and learning from how opinion forming consumers act, to then drive innovation for brands. So if consumers want to 'mash up' music and fashion genres, on/ off line experience, multi-format media on demand etc... then brands should follow suit, by being more inventive and mashing up communications and experiences.

Taking inspiration from other sectors and cultural influences allows brands to stretch more and have a more creative input into things like advertising, experiential, retail design... the ultimate result being more exciting and interesting consumer experience.

And that can only be a good thing.

Take a seat

I bet we can all sympathise with going to a festival, gig, picnic, or outdoor event and needing a sit down but can’t as the floor is wet or dirty or just some place that you would rather not put your derrière!

However, someone clever has come up with a cracking little solution to this, something compact, lightweight, environmentally friendly, and comfy to park your booty on!
It’s called the Green Seat and is a small collapsible seat with a back support, it even has a little carry handle!

It is made out of mostly recycled corrugated cardboard and is 100% recyclable!
Not only are they GREAT as they are – they can be branded easily making messages highly visible to large numbers of people.