Happy Halloween from Print Zombie!
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Tasty and sublime package design
We see it every day. Some of us design it, some of us produce it, some of us sell it. Here's a link to a site that showcases some very attractive package design that will hopefully inspire and engage.
http://lovelypackage.com/
For Pepsi, a million bucks doesn't buy much, but costs a lot more.
Pepsi has decided to go for a new look. Again. After spending upwards of $1,000,000 to come up with a 'new' look and feel, they've announced a winner. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss I think that line goes...
http://adage.com/article?article_id=132016
http://gawker.com/5070093/pepsis--new-logo-a-bargain-at-several-hundred-million-dollars
Magic Crystal Display - Outdoor Poster
Here's a EL display. EL = Electro-Luminescent. Basically individual lighted panels... kind of like the indigo watch. Using print and bright LED lighting - this product creates a animation sequence that continous flashes. Very much like "the Esquire magazine" cover recently.
Car - New trunk flyer
This was the first flyer ever to be stuck to the car trunk, not the windscreen. Specially-printed strips of paper let money to flow from car trunk across major German cities. The maximised the impact and raised awarneness of Postbank Private Credit behind a minimal budget. "Take away 50,000 Euros in instant credit."
New evidence points to ink on paper longevity
Imagine, if you will, the world in 100 years. People know how to read, but they don't understand the file formats of days gone by (Betamax or 8-tracks anyone?). If only they had printouts of what was on these antiquated storage mediums. If only someone had printed the text on paper designed to last. Oh well, who needs that old knowledge anyway, it's only history, it's not like it's going to be repeated...
http://www.physorg.com/news144343006.html
http://www.physorg.com/news144343006.html
Pantone Rubik's Cube
Finally! A way to make choosing a colour much more fun! Who needs swatch books when you can have hours of enjoyment manipulating your new Pantone Cube...
http://ignaciopilotto.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/rubitone-concept/
it's no Tim Hortons but.....
A print of a cup of Folgers coffee was placed on top of manhole covers in New York City, USA. Holes on the print allows the steam to come out. Wordings around the cup reads ‘Hey, City That Never Sleeps. Wake up.” from Folgers.
Mix Tape/USB Tape
MP3's killed the mix tape, and a disc full of dragged-and-dropped tracks just doesn't show the same decdication. Fake that old school aesthetic with this cassette from suckUK. The hollowed-out cartridge conceals a 64-meg USB stick, and a blank insert hosts your scrawled track list and schomoopy cover art.
How to tell if that photo of your internet lover is real
Just in time for the Christmas card season, here's a great article by Scientific American on how to spot a fake (read photoshopped) picture on the web or in print. Given that this is something that has been occurring semi-regularly in the media, it's worth knowing what to look for. It's also useful to apply this to your own work - making sure that it doesn't scream 'fake'.
The article is a wee bit technical, but makes for interesting reading.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=5-ways-to-spot-a-fake&print=true
And just for fun, here's a link to a site that will show you what not to do when you're photoshopping an image.
http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/
The article is a wee bit technical, but makes for interesting reading.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=5-ways-to-spot-a-fake&print=true
And just for fun, here's a link to a site that will show you what not to do when you're photoshopping an image.
http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/
That billboard over there...I swear it's following me
Old news for some, odd news for others. Billboards in Manhattan can now gather data on who views them by using a hidden camera. Data gathered is then used to 'tailor' the billboard to the viewer based on estimated age and gender.
Ah the wonders of facial recognition software.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/business/media/31billboard.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
Chevrolet "I need a new owner"
This mailing is sent to GM's database of Chevrolet owners, this repurchase mailing asks recipients to insert the CD in their car stereo and listen to their current Chevrolet's "recorded voice" (complete with personallized model of the registered vehicle). The recording then procedes to break up with their customers" "it's not you... it's me..." enticing them to find a new soulmate in a nearby Chevrolet Dealership.
Tide Longer Lasting Whites
To demostrate the long-lasting whiteness of the Tide detergent, they created an outdoor poster in a really busy road, with constant heavy traffic. The poster was covered in cotton with self cleaning effect which over the course of a few weeks became more and more polluted, finally revealing a clothes life of a brillant white clothes
The Shark Project
The Sharkproject is an initiative to raise awareness about the threat of shark extinction, centered on “finning” – a practice in which the shark is caught, their fins cut off and the rest of the animal thrown back to the sea. This mailing is printed on rough paper similar to a shark’s skin and tells the recipient where to cut the envelope open, revealing a bloody shark fin stump. Cool and powerful.
Traditional media still alive...for now.
The death of traditional media has been exaggerated, according to global leader for entertainment and media practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong.
Speaking at the World Association of Newspapers readership conference, Marcel Fenez said that although digital advertising will continue to soar over the next five years it will still only globally represent 10 per cent of total advertising for newspapers by 2012.
He forecast that global print advertising will grow 1.8 percent to $123.3 billion in 2012, while global digital advertising will grow 19.3 percent to $13.4 billion.
He said: "One of the things we need to get into context here is that traditional media isn't dead yet and won't be for the next five years."
"It's very important to think why. The over-50s are helping to sustain traditional media, and also in many of the emerging markets there is still plenty of room for traditional media. The death of traditional media is exaggerated, at least in a five-year context."
Total lobal newspaper advertising will grow 2.9 percent to $136.8 billion in 2012, with digital advertising accounting for 43 percent of the growth, according to Fenez.
Talking about the current economic climate Fenez said that advertisers will take a "wait and see" attitude and be cautious about spending in the first half of 2009. "They won't do anything until mid-year. If they have the revenue, they'll release their budgets."
Research by PriceWaterhouseCoopers showed that media executives were 25 per cent more likely to collaborate than any other industry, which Fenez said was important, especially in a recession.
"We're realising that to win you don't need to rip the other guys eyes out," he said.
Fenez used the example of News Corp and NBC Universal which this year launched a new shared online video distribution network.
"Collaboration is really important, especially at time when finance is tough. You are going to be looking at ways you can collaborate. Then you can all win," said Fenez.
"Think about who to partner with, is it a brand or a distributor, who could you partner with to develop an innovative distribution? I think that's extremely important for all the sectors in the media industry."
Speaking at the World Association of Newspapers readership conference, Marcel Fenez said that although digital advertising will continue to soar over the next five years it will still only globally represent 10 per cent of total advertising for newspapers by 2012.
He forecast that global print advertising will grow 1.8 percent to $123.3 billion in 2012, while global digital advertising will grow 19.3 percent to $13.4 billion.
He said: "One of the things we need to get into context here is that traditional media isn't dead yet and won't be for the next five years."
"It's very important to think why. The over-50s are helping to sustain traditional media, and also in many of the emerging markets there is still plenty of room for traditional media. The death of traditional media is exaggerated, at least in a five-year context."
Total lobal newspaper advertising will grow 2.9 percent to $136.8 billion in 2012, with digital advertising accounting for 43 percent of the growth, according to Fenez.
Talking about the current economic climate Fenez said that advertisers will take a "wait and see" attitude and be cautious about spending in the first half of 2009. "They won't do anything until mid-year. If they have the revenue, they'll release their budgets."
Research by PriceWaterhouseCoopers showed that media executives were 25 per cent more likely to collaborate than any other industry, which Fenez said was important, especially in a recession.
"We're realising that to win you don't need to rip the other guys eyes out," he said.
Fenez used the example of News Corp and NBC Universal which this year launched a new shared online video distribution network.
"Collaboration is really important, especially at time when finance is tough. You are going to be looking at ways you can collaborate. Then you can all win," said Fenez.
"Think about who to partner with, is it a brand or a distributor, who could you partner with to develop an innovative distribution? I think that's extremely important for all the sectors in the media industry."
When telephone promos go wrong. Very, very wrong.
It's not quite print but it's an example of how not to roll out a telephone promotion for your new movie...
http://www.blogto.com/tech/2008/10/saw_v_telemarketing_campaign_shut_down/
Sometimes it makes sense to ask the question "When this launches, is everyone going to get it?" It might save hours of time and tears.
http://www.blogto.com/tech/2008/10/saw_v_telemarketing_campaign_shut_down/
Sometimes it makes sense to ask the question "When this launches, is everyone going to get it?" It might save hours of time and tears.
HP announces partnerships with MySpace, MTV
HP executives focused on how the company will capitalize on what they called the transformation of print from analog to digital, and announced key partnerships with brands such as MTV, MySpace and others to help achieve HP's goals, at the company's annual Imaging & Printing Conference in San Diego.
To help grow its retail business, the company also announced the November launch of a new Web-based program, which will offer small and midsize business owners affordable marketing services, such as stationery and Web sites.
Approximately 53 trillion pages will be printed in 2010, 10% of which will be digital, according to HP. The company outlined a series of initiatives and new products to help it build market share and accelerate growth with consumers, small and midsize businesses, print service providers and enterprise partners. All were an extension of HP's Print 2.0 strategy, which was introduced at last year's imaging and printing conference.
The market is dominated by analog, but there are opportunities for digital print in commercial print, signage, publishing and packaging. This week, HP announced a new business development program to help print service providers make the transformation from analog to digital.
To help grow its retail business, the company also announced the November launch of a new Web-based program, which will offer small and midsize business owners affordable marketing services, such as stationery and Web sites.
Approximately 53 trillion pages will be printed in 2010, 10% of which will be digital, according to HP. The company outlined a series of initiatives and new products to help it build market share and accelerate growth with consumers, small and midsize businesses, print service providers and enterprise partners. All were an extension of HP's Print 2.0 strategy, which was introduced at last year's imaging and printing conference.
The market is dominated by analog, but there are opportunities for digital print in commercial print, signage, publishing and packaging. This week, HP announced a new business development program to help print service providers make the transformation from analog to digital.
Goodyear - Running on a Flat Knife.
The brief was to support the launch of the new Run on Flat tire, increase awareness of Goodyear and drives sales. They were briefed to develop an integrated campaign with in-store POS and ambient activity. They wanted to communicate the proposition of a tyre that keeps on going after a puncture, in an intriguing and unusual way. Most communications surrounding the launch of a new tyre are only in dealerships, however we wanted to expose a wider audience to Goodyear. They created a fake plastic knife that was placed onto the wheel arches of cars using suction pads giving the impression that the knife tip was embedded into the tire. (This was attention-grabbingly real from 2m or more.) The ROF knife was distributed in car parks and around the vicinity of dealerships.
Heroes - Promotion
Heroes is a drama series about ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. To create intrigue and hype for it's premiere screening, they wanted to demonstrate one character's amazing ability. The ability to stop time. So they did it in real life with the help of about 60 event participants who were asked to pose completely statue-still, mid action. They also froze over public drinking fountains, as well as drinks poured at cafes. Coins that were dropped for buskers were suspended in mid air, skateboarders were paused on ledges mid grind, a courier was stopped in the middle of toppling over with his delivery, etc. At the scene pavement signs read, "Someone can stop time. Heroes. 8:30pm tonight. TV3"
Interactive POS
First interactive advertising system premiere in Bulgaria amused its viewers in may at one of the most crowded places of the capital - the Mall of Sofia. The system is an extension of an advertising campaign for an anti-wrinkle beauty product by the Actavis pharmacy company. Special software and cameras recognizing the movement of your hand smoothing woman's skin on the screen as easy as a child game. Added value of the interactive performance were the children who attracted by the system drew in their mothers as well.
Better than a scratch card, more fun than a fortune cookie, snap the magnet and win!
SNAPNWIN™ IS THE REVOLUTIONARY CARD FOR AWARDING PRIZES, INCENTIVES AND REWARDS. Snap out the magnet portion from the SnapNwin card to reveal prizes or code numbers hidden from sight in the center of the card. It comes in standard business card size and postcard size, the product offers the messaging, functionality and ease of distribution.
They can be printed as a collectible series the snap-out magnets can become incredibly desirable to your audience being proudly displayed as a complete set on a fridge or filing cabinet! The unique design, the keepsake magnet combined with an instant win card, insures that your message will be in your customer's sight long after paper cards, brochures and the like are tossed into the trash. They have become the method of choice for store promotion, trade shows, instant win campaigns and fund raising events.
Direct Mail - Empty Envelope
Develop an idea to provide clear information to MasterCard holders that in future they will be receiving nothing in mail but can easily check their monthly statement via the internet.
The direct mail not only achieved great awareness among MasterCard holders, it also gave the new online tool a successful launch.
Sushi Roll "Sushi train"
Nice advertising idea for the sushi restaurant Sushi Roll at the point of sale. Stickers of sushi meals were bonded at the handrails of an escalator. Inexpensive realisation with a great effect.
Agency: JWT Sydney, Australia.
Agency: JWT Sydney, Australia.
PMS Color Doesn't Match the Swatch
Have you ever specified a match color (PMS) only to be disappointed when your print job arrives because the printed color doesn't match the color swatch? There are a few things to consider when choosing a match color to avoid disappointment.
First of all, consider the paper. If you are printing a match green on a bright white sheet, it will look a certain way. If you print the same green on an off-white sheet, it will look completely different. To make sure you are not surprised by the appearance of a particular ink on a particular paper, you can ask your printer for an "ink drawdown." The printer produces a drawdown by mixing your chosen ink and spreading a little on your chosen paper using a putty knife. While this thin film of ink won't show you how text or screens of the color will look, it will at least give you a general idea of the final appearance of your printed piece. This can be particularly helpful when you consider that many printing inks are transparent and are therefore dramatically altered by the paper color.
Second, consider the use of the color. If you print a solid green (as a background, for instance), it will match your color swatch. However, if you print a column of text (particularly one set in a small point size) in the same green, it will appear lighter than the color swatch. This is because you are printing a little green surrounded by a lot of white. Therefore, your eye sees a lighter green.
Finally, remember that the colors in your PMS book change over time and with exposure to light. Replace your color book periodically (the expiration date should be noted on the book).
When in doubt -- and this actually is always a good practice -- send the color chip to your printer along with the job. Even if the color has changed over time, you can ask your printer specifically to match the color on the supplied chip.
First of all, consider the paper. If you are printing a match green on a bright white sheet, it will look a certain way. If you print the same green on an off-white sheet, it will look completely different. To make sure you are not surprised by the appearance of a particular ink on a particular paper, you can ask your printer for an "ink drawdown." The printer produces a drawdown by mixing your chosen ink and spreading a little on your chosen paper using a putty knife. While this thin film of ink won't show you how text or screens of the color will look, it will at least give you a general idea of the final appearance of your printed piece. This can be particularly helpful when you consider that many printing inks are transparent and are therefore dramatically altered by the paper color.
Second, consider the use of the color. If you print a solid green (as a background, for instance), it will match your color swatch. However, if you print a column of text (particularly one set in a small point size) in the same green, it will appear lighter than the color swatch. This is because you are printing a little green surrounded by a lot of white. Therefore, your eye sees a lighter green.
Finally, remember that the colors in your PMS book change over time and with exposure to light. Replace your color book periodically (the expiration date should be noted on the book).
When in doubt -- and this actually is always a good practice -- send the color chip to your printer along with the job. Even if the color has changed over time, you can ask your printer specifically to match the color on the supplied chip.
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