Time to get over that whole chatroom thing. Seriously.

Never tried living in a virtual world? Then you haven’t lived. Don’t be naïve enough to think that virtual worlds are for nerds with too much time on their hands. Social networking has evolved into a fantastic 3D environment with incredible scope for interaction. Stroll down graphically created streets and beaches, hang out at clubs and bars, visit the seven wonders of the world. In Second Life, there are no less than 4 million avatars (the term used to describe members) to share this Utopian experience with. Other worlds to explore include Virtual Ibiza, Dreamville, There and Cybertown.

Go to a club to meet twenty of your friends. Take a wander through the pyramids. Take part in a political debate. Visit a casino. Appear in your own dance video. Train with the US Army. In a world where many feel they have little control over their lives, there are few boundaries in the virtual world.

It’s mind-boggling to consider the awesome potential of these virtual worlds and we’ve only begun to scratch the surface. Tired of a hectic commute and constant distractions in the workplace? Achieve the ultimate work-life balance by working in a virtual office. Some universities are even setting up virtual classrooms for students who live far away or are unable to attend class. Might we also live to see the day where we go to visit a virtual psychologist or attend a virtual courtroom?

MTV has embraced the capabilities of virtual reality worlds and fans can now enter virtual realms of such TV shows as The Hills, Laguna Beach and Pimp My Ride. Outside of entertainment, the potential to benefit your business is enormous. Business travel could become a thing of the past as business meetings take place in virtual boardrooms and eliminating your carbon footprint will boost the green credentials of your company.

Marketeers at the top of their game have recognised that virtual worlds can help them to target tech-savvy, smart and young consumers. Marketing departments of major multinational companies are creating one-off virtual worlds for customers to experience, wholly immersing them in the brand. Coca Cola has launched Coke Studios where users can create music in a virtual studio and receive ratings for their tracks. Other companies starting to experiment are McDonald’s, Intel, Aeropostale, Levi’s, Nike, and DaimlerChrysler.

by Frances Macken

A social and academic networking site designed solely for university students in the UK, called Studyvox, is aiming to challenge generic sites like Facebook and MySpace when it launches today. Studyvox, created by Kevin Martin and Sara Hildebrandt, aims to give students in higher education a dedicated web space so they can meet and talk to each other online and find partners for study, sport and socialising. The site works as an information directory, providing students with a new way to communicate, other than using email or college message boards.

After two and a half days of a powerhouse lineup of speakers and attendees, the IAB’s Annual Meeting, Ecosystem 2.0—Driving Growth in Digital Marketing, was officially closed in Phoenix, Arizona. Senior voices from across the industry—leading executives from media companies, marketing and agencies—came together to grapple with the major issues of interactive advertising, helping set the vision for the coming year and the years beyond.
By the start of day three, it was clear that four key themes had emerged from the conference:
• Platforms are competing for marketer, agency and publisher attention.
• Insights & a great user experience can surmount feared “commoditization” of media.
• The interactive industry must pursue education of “digital immigrants.”
• Agencies can play a key role, working with the media and the platforms, in this time of massive and rapid change.

Advertisers want to get under your skin, to tempt and coax you. What better way to woo you then by making ads more specific to your needs and interests. Maybe you’ve noticed how ads which seem unusually particular to you seem to crop up while you browse the internet. Creative matter you are exposed to in online ads may have been adapted to your gender, age and interests and it’s all down to behavioural targeting. As you routinely surf your usual sites, a mass of information is being gathered about your profile. Consumers are targeted via the sites they choose to browse, the content and more finally their behaviour once they have located the desired content. Advertisers can then ensure they are getting through to the right demographic. It’s also beneficial to the consumer who won’t be hit with ads about products and services they are unlikely to pursue in the real world, making the whole experience more positive. The full adoption of behavioural targeting by agencies will have a tremendous impact on the digital market.

If you’re dawdling at work or the boss’s back is turned, now’s the perfect time to view the cream of the crop creative from around the globe.

It’s an absolute must see!

Check out ace basketballer Kobe Bryant as he leaps over a speeding Aston Martin. We’re sceptical but it certainly looks realistic:

Kobe Bryant

Diamond or Square

Which tastes better, the diamond or the square? Watch some in depth market research and quality control taking place at Shreddies HQ:

Diamond Shreddies I

Diamond Shreddies II

Discovery Channel: I Love the World

This emotive ad looks great and scores high on the feel good factor. Don’t it make you feel like a grain of sand on a vast expanse of beach. Or a blade of grass in a…large field. I could go on. Just watch it:

I Love The World

Nike: Inspire

Eastern-inspired with a catchy vibe, it’s got us swinging around in our office chairs, breakdancing in the boardroom and swinging from the fluorescent light fittings:

Showing Off

It’s tricky to type as we simultaneously pat ourselves on the back.

Read below about some of our successful exploits in the digital realm over the last twelve months. Having scooped 4 awards for digital at the APMC Awards, it’s obvious we’ve been pulling out all the stops for our high profile clients. We give and we give and we give. That’s the kind of saintly folk we are. You understand how exhausting it is as we attempt to maintain an air of modesty.

Nokia Press Play

Full creative, media plan, production and campaign optimisation of the Nokia Press Play Online Campaign. This consisted of a sponsored Nokia Bebo profile supported by a Bebo homepage takeover and roadblock on launch date and a full advertising suite. We created the advertising using interactive video ads that required a high level of engagement from the user. We currently maintain an ongoing dialogue with Bebo users for Nokia and content is updated regularly. The campaign delivered 10 times the industry standard on interaction rates and was voted Best Practice by Nokia Global.

Pot Noodle

We created Ireland’s first animated online series that encouraged users to write a short script and submit online. Every week we selected the best scripts and published them on www.potnoodle.ie where visitors to the site were encouraged to vote for their favourites. The winning script was animated and this was repeated for the duration of the 8 episodes. We developed the full creative (including the new tagline ‘use your noodle’ used on all POS), the pot noodle website, the animation, and the Bebo profile. We copywrote the dialogue with the Bebo users over the duration of the campaign. Nominated for best integrated programme at APMC awards 2008

Lynx Bomchickawahwah

We developed an online site that used Youtube style technology to allow users to upload video content from their mobile recording their very own BCWW moments.We developed 48 sheets to support the campaign and seeded the idea with film schools throughout the country.

Lynx Vice ‘Nice Girls Turn Naughty’

The brief was to create a mechanic to engage with the new Lynx Vice product. We produced an online chase for the ‘nice girls turned naughty’. Users had to race against the clock searching for clues across mock micro-sites, social networks etc to reveal the id’s of the nice girls turned naughty. Winner of silver for best use of digital media APMC 2008

Nokia Trends Lab

We were asked to launch a new music platform that involved interactions with consumers through innovative use of technology. We responded by organising a series of events that engaged the audience through bluetooth downloads, uploads to our VJs and online. Winner of ICAD Bell for promotional innovation 2007, winner of bronze for best promotional innovation APMC 2008, winner of bronze for best use of digital media APMC 2008, winner of bronze for best use of experiential marketing APMC 2008. Also the Winner of Best Use of digital media at APMC 2007.

With outstanding results like these, you can’t deny that we’ve found our vocation in life. It’s so pure and it fills our hearts with joy.

A selection of jargon-tastic digital terms to drop casually into conversation with colleagues and peers…

Social Networking Sites

A category of websites allowing individual profiles which can be interacted with both by the profile owner and other users. They also enable semi-persistent public commentary on particular profiles.

Rich Media

An umbrella term for online interactive media which uses advanced technology to promote brands online, including video and audio which strengthens the interactive experience, this making it “richer”.

Impression

A single “view” of an ad, with or without interaction is known as an impression. There may be many impressions occurring when a user browses around a site where the ad pops up on a few occasions.

Blog

A blog may be a personal account of a persons’ opinions, comments and/or activities displayed in a chronological order. Organisations and companies can also use a blogging function on their websites. In more recent years, many journalists are blogging which allows the general public to give feedback on news items.

It might come as a surprise to many advertising agencies that they have neglected to consider targeting one in nine consumers living in Ireland today. It’s estimated that there are more than 100,000 Polish immigrants now residing in Ireland and a similar number of Chinese immigrants, not to mention a host of other nationalities. They are just as likely to use social networking sites, dating sites, email and online information sources and are eager to find information about health services, housing, education, employment, banking, transport and mobile communications. As foreign nationals don’t tend to read Irish newspapers or watch Irish television programmes, we need to be clever about the manner in which we advertise to this section of the populace. One place that immigrants tend to congregate is certainly online. Websites such as Vaveeva.com have been launched to assist them in their effort to find answers. To take the Polish as an example, there is a variety of popular websites which boast heavy usage from within Ireland such as Onet.pl, Polskidublin.com, Gazeta.ie, Interia.pl, Polishcentre.ie and O2.pl. Dublin radio station FM104 recently launched a Polish website called pl104.com. This move follows recent trends in all traditional media circles, the Herald newspaper recently began publishing a weekly Polish supplement. It’s evident that the consumer profiles we once relied on to sell products and services to are shifting. It’s an exciting challenge for advertisers to keep up with the pace as Ireland diversifies even further.

by Frances Macken.

Tree Nation

A social networking site devoted to combating desertification and land degradation. Users receive a virtual tree which corresponds to a real tree which the organisation will plant on your behalf in Niger. For a minimal price, it’s the coolest way to combat climate change.

EURONCAP

An eye opener for every driver on Irish roads. If you’re brave enough, check out this site and enter your car details. Then watch a test simulation of your car crashing.

Newseum

The world’s first Museum of News has been opened in Washington DC. Their website features more than 500 front pages from international newspapers updated daily.

Same Name As Me

Register and meet people with the same name as you. Then set about organising get- togethers where you can compare lives and anecdotes!

Time Machiner

What would you like to tell yourself in ten years time. Maybe you could send yourself an email, reminding you of your aspirations and goals. It’s easy to do with this website which allows you to email yourself or anyone at a pre-set date and time. Maybe send a confession to somebody five years after you snogged their crush! An application to play around with.

Hot on the heels of being retained to content manage the Lynx website coming online shortly, the team at eighty:twenty are delighted to welcome Toyota Ireland as our latest client. Keep your eyes peeled for our innovative new digital campaign due to break in June 2008 to support Toyota’s new sponsorship of the GAA Football Championships.