W3Haus UK Labs

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Archive for May, 2009

Bing! Bing! The new Google killer from Microsoft!
29 May 2009

Microsoft once again has a go at dislodging Google from the top of the search engine world with a new search engine Bing. It’s not up and running yet, but you can see the a demo here: http://www.decisionengine.com (warning! Silverlight plugin needed!)

Bing will offer a series of extra features that Google does not offer (maybe because they are not necessary?). The question is if Microsoft wins this battle will we Bing for things on the internet? Like we currently Google for search terms?! We hope not!

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Meet w3haus – video reel!
28 May 2009

W3haus – apresentação + passeio pela agência from W3Haus on Vimeo.

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w3haus launches to the press in São Paulo and becomes trending topic on Twitter !
27 May 2009

W3haus launched the São Paulo Brazil office officialy to the press yesterday. The launch was popular online as well, being featured on several of the advertising and media websites as well as Twitter – even becoming a one of the top trending subjects!

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People WILL talk about your brand online – will you be the one leading the conversation?
20 May 2009

In the role of a creative digital agency we spend a lot of time thinking of ways to use digital social mediums such as MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Reddit, etc. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that, right now, social media is AT THE CORE of our campaigns, no longer just an extension plugged into microsites, and virals.

So I will try and explain what it is about social media we like and how we are using it:

It’s an efficient and cost-effective use of ad spend

The cost of a successful social media campaign is almost the same as a failed campaign. Once created, scaling costs are minimal and it costs more or less the same if 10 people use it or 10 million. It is less about the money you throw at the campaign and more about whether people identify with your message and find it interesting enough to participate and pass it on to their friends. The key here is the intelligence behind the message.

A successful social media campaign will gain massive exposure through friend referrals. Because people are now more connected than ever, one individual can reach thousands of his peers easily through social networking, blogs and Twitter. And each person has the power to spread the word to his peers, creating an exponential word-of-mouth effect never before possible.

Successful social media campaigns have a potential to be incredibly effective, even with low budgets – if done right – as the online audience them becomes the media in which the message is carried, spreading virally from one friend to another without any ad spend costs.

The shift in thinking is from interruption advertising to branded content creation worthy of friend referral.

Done right, it will create an army of brand ambassadors and evangelists out of ordinary people

When people stop thinking about your brand as advertising and start treating it as content and a lifestyle option they become your fans. They identify with your message, visit your website frequently, actively seek out other individuals who are like them, who also enjoy your brand to trade experiences. We are, after all, social beings and long for peer interaction and social affirmation/confirmation.

It’s crazy for some of us who are a bit older to understand, but the new generations will defend some of the brands they consume with fervor only matched by sports fans. This contrasts with previous decades where interruption marketing would love to tell consumers what they should be doing and consumers would treat brands with a high dose of skepticism. Now it is our peers who are doing the selling to us and the lines between commercial and social are blurred.

An example of this is the Mac vs PC debate, where Mac supporters will spend countless hours debating why their choice is superior to PCs and proudly sport their support for Apple on their social media spaces and jump at the chance to defend the brand in any online medium.

People will, whether you want them to or not, talk about your brand online

And their message will be heard by millions. This is a reality and, depending on how people are talking, can increase or damage sales in a dramatic fashion. This is where we step in. We believe it is better to be involved in leading the conversation and engaging wherever the customers are then leaving them to talk on their own. We believe brands need to create tools for their fans to express their love and admiration for the brand and the lifestyle it represents.

Coca Cola PARC

(Porto Alegre Rock City)

We were recently commissioned to spread the word online about the upcoming Coca-Cola Rock Festival (PARC – Porto Alegre Rock City) and create a nice buzz with aspiring rock enthusiasts and fans online – an online PR seeding effort. Our first step was to identify a talking point, friend-referral-worthy – and luckily we had a great one – there would be a competition for amateur aspiring bands to win invaluable coaching sessions and pro tips to reach the next level in their careers.

Knowing that aspiring bands are very digitally influent, we knew that if we engaged with them and they liked our message we would be able to create a successful and seeding campaign as they would help us spread the word about the festival on their Myspace pages and Facebook profiles.

So what did we do? We interacted with our target audience online – through their Myspace pages, blogs, Orkut, Twitter and Facebook profiles identifying people who would spontaneously love to be our digital ambassadors for the event. Soon after, thousands of visitors started appearing at our competition site and we have since created a Twitter profile to talk about the bands that are signing up, thus creating a feedback loop, where more and more bands want to participate as they will not only get a chance to win but extra exposure.

Because they like you.

Social media is a new way of interacting with your consumers. It is all about giving up some of the control of your communications to your consumers. It is an incredible leap of faith for a brand, not without pitfalls, but done right, can generate fantastic results and make brand ambassadors out of ordinary people. And all because they love your brand and what it represents.

This post was written by Rodrigo Cauduro, one of the creators of w3haus and managing director of w3haus London. With a degree in Architecture and urbanism, Rodrigo abandoned all that when he met the Internet in 1994 and has been working with it ever since - advertising and promotion online.

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Wolfram Alpha – the new Google! Will change the web when launched!
14 May 2009

It hasn’t been launched yet, but click here to see a screencast. The difficulty will be no longer in finding knowledge, but asking the right questions! Reminds us a little of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy dilemna

We’re not sold on the name yet either

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Carolina Palma in the (UK) haus
11 May 2009

Carolina Palma from W3haus Porto Alegre is visiting us in the UK office!

A quick detour through Holland Park after a client meeting…

.. and sampling our local favourite restaurant for lunch – Saponara, from the Saponara brothers Marco and Vincenzo (if you are ever in Angel/Old Street – check them out - 23 Prebend Street Islington,

N1 8PF).

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