2011 has been a big year for trends, innovation and inspiration. Of course, you already know this because you read our weekly newsletter, What Next.
This morning I was looking through the analytics for What Next to see which were the most popular stories of 2011. I came across a remarkable discovery. The most popular story (according to unique views) had nothing to do with new technology – nothing to do with augmented reality, nothing to do with mobile apps and nothing to do with gamification. In fact, it was quite odd. However, I believe it could possibly turn many marketing strategies on their head in 2012.
Here are the most popular What Next stories of 2011:
5. ‘The hotter it is, the less you pay for a Bud‘
Budweiser won their way into the mouths of sweaty Irishmen by reducing the price of beer as the temperature increased. Recession + low heat threshold + alcoholics beer lovers = marketing win.
4. ‘Billboard creates a little magic‘
I can’t imagine a brief that comes with much more pressure than a ‘Magic Festival’. Surprisingly, a print ad wouldn’t suffice. However, the Quebec City Magic Festival pulled it off brilliantly by releasing live pigeons from a billboard every time a passer by walks past. We still don’t know how they did it.
3. ‘Keep your desktop organised‘
The third most popular story of the year was from IKEA who released some bookshelf icons to help keep your desktop files in order. I did consider disqualifying this story as it was likely to have been clicked on and shared by people who stalk you for car parks, sit on every couch they see and eat $2 hot dogs… yet, here it is.
2. ‘Font inspiration at your fingertips‘
The second most popular story was an app called Font Combinations which helps those picky, obsessive and controlling art directors make sure they have matching fonts. I bet they’re wincing in pain right now.
And our most popular What Next post of the year, the greatest, most insightful trend is…
I am speechless… but am expecting lots of briefs involving kittens next year.
They were the five most read What Next articles of 2011. My personal favourites were Lego’s bus shelters, Carlsberg’s cinema experiment and National Geographic’s augmented reality. What were yours?
Nathan Bush is BCM’s Head of Interactive Strategy
Haha. Awesome.
My personal favourite for the year was the Maccas interactive billboard in Sweden http://whatnext.bcm.com.au/2011/2011-67/maccas-interactive-billboard-game/. I liked it because it was a great idea that utlised different marketing formats to deliver a pretty cool experience.
The other one that really grabbed my attention was the Shoot’em up dinosaur video on youtube for Primeval 5 http://whatnext.bcm.com.au/2011/2011-79/shoot-em-up-dinosaur-style/. It was a great example of Web 2.0 using the interactive element to turn the common one-way youtube video into an interactive and engaging experience.
The Tesco’s QR code for Korea also I thought was pretty amazing http://whatnext.bcm.com.au/2011/2011-70/tescos-qr-code-stores/, it was a great idea that not only added value to the company’s offering but also translated directly into some pretty impressive sales figures.
And on the topic of cat videos on the internet, one my favourites has to be stalking cat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzjgBAaWZw