Your Story Alive: A Live Communications Blog

November 12, 2008 9:40 AM

Tim Brown: The powerful link between creativity and play

Posted byElijah B'Sheart

At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play -- with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn't).

Tags: Creative Inspirations, Photography, Music, People, Media, Interactives, Innovation, Global Design, Green Design, Guerrilla Marketing

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August 11, 2008 9:26 AM

‘playing the building’

Posted byElijah B'Sheart

‘playing the building’ is an installation created by david byrne a small organ sits in the massive building, with wires spawning from the back. touching the keys willnot play the note you expect to hear, but rather play the building. the wires are sending signals to a variety of mechanisms, which vibrate columns, radiators and beams in the building. The best part is anyone can play with equal skill. Byrne calls it the democratization of music.

Tags: Cool Stuff, Creative Inspirations, Environmental Design, Interactives, Pop Culture, Museums & Attractions

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July 17, 2008 5:32 PM

Underwater Art? Hold Your Breath

Posted byAngela Heiple

The video is a little dizzying, but it's one of many that shows off this swimming pool art installation from The 21st Century Museum of Art in Kanazawa City (Japan). This original piece by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich made such an impression, there are now replicas all over the world.

As you can see from the video and the picture, the people underneath the "swimming pool" can actually look above at other people looking in. Check out more pics here.

Tags: Museums & Attractions, Interactives

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June 19, 2008 11:27 AM

Pop-up Photo Studios Enhance Retail Experience

Posted byAngela Heiple

Narcissistic Fashion Photo Shoots - Photograph Yourself at Topshop (GALLERY)

(TREND HUNTER) Topshop is giving shoppers the chance to create their own fashion moment by setting up pop-up photo studios inside their stores. The UK retailer’s followers in London, Dublin and Manchester are presented… [More]

Tags: Cool Stuff, Interactives, Retail Environments

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May 29, 2008 1:10 PM

Interactive Human Body Museum

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester

This sounds so cool - I can't wait to go check it out! It sits along highway A44 between Amsterdam and The Hague - a giant, human-shaped building. It is the home of Corpus, a tactile interactive museum experience that takes visitors through the spaces inside their own bodies.

The tour begins on an escalator ride through a wound in the calf. Once inside visitors experience the body’s reaction to a wood splinter. After the 3D fertilization movie, guests follow a block of cheese as it makes its way down the digestive tract. Other exhibits feature the heart, lungs, mouth, and of course the brain. A beanbag game even allows visitors to try and take down bacteria before it can cause an infection.

At the museum you can experience hay fever from inside the nose, replete with a rollicking sneeze. You can don 3D glasses and watch as cartoon sperm fertilize an egg. You can bounce your way across a rubber tongue as you navigate taste buds and hear burps welling up in the deep. -TrendHunter. Pretty cool stuff!

Interactive Human Body Museum - Corpus (VIDEO)

Tags: Exhibits, Interactives, Museums & Attractions

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April 24, 2008 1:57 PM

Xerox's Journey Helped by Gabby, the Green Gene Kid

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester

Edward Gala, Vice President of corporate marketing at xerox, walked us through xerox's journey during the last session at EMS 2008. And how experiential marketing was a brand differentiator for them. On 1/7/08, xerox launched a new logo and a new look and feel - something fairly radical for the first time in 40 years. It was interesting to realize the new brand was helping launch the re-birth of the "new" xerox. And for any of us who have gone through this process, it is a real opportunity to look at all of our communication pieces under one umbrella to get the messaging and execution on target.

The YouTube clip shows Gabby, the daughter of one of Edward's colleagues, talking about the different products and demonstrating the strength of xerox's products vs. the competition. I love it. Gabby has a lot of presence and the videos are fantastic. To me, it shows the boldness xerox is willing to take and the strength of their products. It also shows the importance of social media to xerox (actually, using the right mix and the right messages) AND social responsibility - an integral part of their fabric. Clearly, to develop products like these, it has to be in their DNA - green is not a bandwagon concept for xerox.

An interesting look into the world of xerox...I wish Edward would have shared what didn't work for them. However, the really important part of Ed's message... the one of getting comfortable with risk taking and being strategic (so one can turn the ordinary into extraordinary) was very well received.

Tags: Brand Stories, Cool Stuff, Green Design, Guerrilla Marketing, Interactives, Media, People, Technology

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April 21, 2008 8:34 PM

Extending Event Impact Through Social Media

Posted byLaura DeMeulemeester

So, it's the first day of the 2008 Experiential Marketing Summit and Ric Peeler and Bryan Rhoads from Intel gave a presentation on some of the reasons Intel uses Social Media and their approach. I thought it was informative - from learning a general overview (via case study examples shown) to helpful analytics (via industry data cited - such as people are 6x more likely to buy product vs. direct mail) and just plain 'ol fun terms like "Google-juice", "link-love" and "color commentary conversations, not copy"...the latter being an important phrase to keep in mind since your goal is to create a relationship, not a marketing brochure.

Ric and Bryan's passion for Social Media is evident, and is probably what helps drive the authenticity of their campaigns. Clearly Intel has enjoyed much success with some of their campaigns - CES in particular comes to mind as I've personally experienced a couple of them. However, what I also liked about their presentation was their honesty about what didn't work so well ... that often they couldn't engage customer in dialogue in their space.

I'm curious, how do YOU find success with nurturing this balance between corporation and inspiration, yet provide that organic atmosphere where your customers engage in the conversation?

Tags: Advertising, Brand Stories, Cool Stuff, Guerrilla Marketing, Interactives, Media, Pop Culture, Product Launch, Promotions, Technology

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April 03, 2008 10:58 AM

Mosaics for Marketing - Steve Jobs Made of Apple Products (GALLERY)

Posted byMatt Hubbard

Mosaics for Marketing - Steve Jobs Made of Apple Products (GALLERY)

(TREND HUNTER) We've seen some awesome photo mosaics, some even functioning as more than art and delivering social commentary. While this image of Steve Jobs doesn't hold any moving messages about society, it could serve a function. The entire image is made of up Apple products, so the finished portrait could fu… [More]

Tags: Cool Stuff, Graphic Design, Interactives, Photography

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March 24, 2008 6:50 PM

Inflatable Digital Multimedia Display - Puffersphere (VIDEO)

Posted byAngela Heiple

Inflatable Digital Multimedia Display - Puffersphere (VIDEO)

(TREND HUNTER) Working in advertising for some of the world's big brands introduced me to the fantastic world of event organizing. Europe is the perfect place to find innovative ideas to promote brand launches and events. The Puffersphere, for example, is a phenomenal way to display multimedia shows. So what is thi… [More]

Tags: Business Theatre, Cool Stuff, Creative Inspirations, Events & Promotions, Interactives, Media, Technology

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March 17, 2008 11:38 PM

Meaningful Conversations Lead to Meaningful ROI

Posted byMatt Hubbard

Observing behavior at dozens of tradeshows throughout the country has me wondering if we've forgotten how to create meaningful interactions in the show environment. Authentic interactions that establish trust and further business relationships.

Perhaps we've become too impatient as both attendees and exhibitors in the US? So focused on lead capture and the assumed ROI that follows that we've grown accustomed to arms-length engagement that doesn't require too much commitment from either the exhibitor or the attendee.

Each year at the Exhibitor Show, we try to break this mold by developing fun and unique experiences that create opportunities for meaningful conversations to happen. This year's experience revolved around playing Mad Libs. Last year's experience featured cootie-catchers. The year before that it was making S'mores. What did any of this have to do with our business story? Well, nothing really. At least on the surface.

In our business (and probably yours), our people are our story. It's why our clients sign up and why they stay. By creating fun engagement activities that require a commitment to interact with our people, our story is told in an authentic and memorable way. As live communicators, let's challenge ourselves to set the table for great conversations to happen in our environments. I think you'll find that meaningful conversations will lead to meaningful ROI.

Tags: Exhibits, Interactives, Brand Stories

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Developed by the creatives of EWI Worldwide to inform, inspire and engage. YSA promotes innovation and creativity within the world of Live Communications, by sharing fresh ideas and creative applications from a variety of perspectives.

"Creative in our industry is no longer about architecture and design, but understanding the most effective means of communicating a client's story and meeting their business objectives. We built YSA to provide a source of inspiration in our industry, where creative and storytelling come together to achieve a higher meaning and a greater result."

-- Bud Price, CCO, EWI Worldwide

For more on "Live Communications", visit www.ewiworldwide.com.

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