When we introduced the idea of Down-to-Earth-ism in our 10 Trends for 2010, we described this trend as an evolution of the New Austerity. We argued that consumers were stressed, strained, and suspicious, and that pie-in-the-sky promises seemed inconsistent with what consumers really wanted: real, reliable solutions from brands. We weren’t being literal about the [...]

In our 10 Trends for 2010, we cautioned brands to be wary of the rise of Consumer Controlled Conversations. Now that consumers had become comfortable “expressing themselves” online, we felt they would increasingly use their (digital) voices to demand accountability, immediate assistance, flawless customer service, and other perks from brands and retailers. So, it’s not [...]

The fine folks at PSFK shared this fun little phototagging effort from the Orange-sponsored Glastonbury festival. Actually, “little” is probably the wrong word. After all, Orange is trying to break the world record for most people tagged in a single photo, by getting all 70,000 folks to tag themselves in the image (using Facebook Connect). [...]

If you’re struggling to make sense of Twitter’s advertising system, that’s understandable. They’ve rolled out a handful of tweaks with little press, and brands are celebrating the results without a whole lot of context. So, let’s step back and take a look at the two primary options for advertising on Twitter (at least for now): [...]

We’ve had plenty to say about “viral marketing” here at The Awesome Blog. Heck, we even dedicated a whole Potty Posting to the topic (or, at least the “dude” side of it). In that posting, we mentioned the “Was that real?” genre of these campaigns, where the point of the effort is to create a [...]

We admit it, Samsung. We’re impressed. A couple of weeks ago, we sang your praises for your excellent use of projection, and gave you props for supplementing your event marketing with foursquare. But you couldn’t stop there, could you? You knew we were a sucker for those Youtube takeovers, which always end up being immersive [...]

Sorry about the posting delays – we’ve been a bit swamped over here. Man, we could use a vacation. Speaking of which, have you seen Upshot’s work on the new Corona “Win a Beach Getaway” campaign? Click here to be taken to Facebook, where you can send your friends a blue Corona bottle for a [...]

As marketers continue to find practical applications for augmented reality, we continue to send them your way. In the first video on the right, Swiss watch brand Tissot demos an AR application that lets you see how 28 of their watches look on your own wrist. After all, it’s not like you’re really buying these [...]

In 2008, we shared a video called “Social Media Revolution” that asked the question, “Is social media a fad?” In 2010, it’s clear we know the answer. While the service du jour may come and go (no, Chatroulette is not the future), it’s clear that social media at large is tapping a deep-seated human desire [...]

Thanks to everyone who attended Upshot’s first Smartshot webinar!  For those that missed it (or just want to see it again), we’ve posted the webinar above. If you’d like to learn more, we encourage you to check out our previous entries on the topic: “POTTY POSTING” Column: What the Web Will Be Like with Facebook’s [...]