08 May 2008

I’ve been having some issues with my bank lately. Which Bank? The one that’s Determined To Be Different; The Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

I discovered yesterday I’ve been charged fees for the last six months that I should be exempt from. I’ve been into my local bank numerous times, and while I’ve since rectified the problem so I don’t receive future fees, each time I’ve been told I cannot be refunded.

Today I called Commonwealth and spoke to a lovely man named Rod. Rod cared. We spoke for about twenty minutes and Rod told me he would happily refund the money. He also helped me change accounts and gave me some really useful advice.

Rod then gave me his direct number and asked me to call him in a week to close my current account, transfer my debit card details and make sure it all goes smoothly.

I will be giving him a call and after that conversation I’m going to ask him about the investment options they offer.

If only all Customer Service Officers could be more like Rod.

Posted by Zac Martin

07 May 2008

Julian Cole told me about The Gruen Transfer, a series about advertising soon to appear on ABC.

Looks really interesting, particularly after they’ve released some “commercials” for fake products promoting the show like this one…

 

 

Particularly on a channel that does not run TVCs, they seem to have gained a few bit of attention. Even more interestingly, during the Logies every time Andrew Denton was shown he was holding a beer. Turns out he is the show’s producer and I managed to capture some shots from the event…
Is that… Gruen beer?

 

For a brand that rarely advertises, the ABC does a fucking good job of marketing.

Posted by Zac Martin

05 May 2008

I find tools like Google Trends and the recently launched Facebook Lexicon interesting.

They’re cool for a about twenty seconds while you run some quick searches but I have to wonder how useful they are? Sure, it tells you how much buzz is being generated around your keyword search but you can’t tell if it’s good or bad. There’s no context what so ever around the results therefore making these tools rather useless.

Unless someone can think of a practical application for them?

Posted by Zac Martin

05 May 2008

…Not Chris Lilley. Some actress picked it up instead.

In what was an incredibly long event, filled with shameless plugs by Nine Network, the biggest disappointment in Australian television history occurred when Chris Lilley was denied the Gold Logie for Summer Height’s High.

Even Hamish and Andy, comedic gold, seemed to swing and miss tonight. Perhaps they need to stick with their powerhouse radio show? The highlight was, lo and behold, Chris Lilley’s Mr G performance. At least they recognised him (and good quality television) by awarding him the Most Popular Actor and Most Outstanding Comedy.

Can’t wait to see what he does next.

Posted by Zac Martin

04 May 2008

My most anticipated movie of 2008 is The Dark Knight. I cannot wait to see it. What I’ve really enjoyed is the marketing strategy that’s been used to promote the film, particularly their successful use of viral campaigning. The latest is a reel of footage given to contest winners that has been “vandalised” by the Joker. The Dork Knight immediately found its way onto YouTube here…

 

 

These guys sure do know how to generate buzz. However, I would have seen the movie anyway and bought the DVD, even without this. I wonder at what point does a campaign become pointless in terms of ROI for something already this big?
Posted by Zac Martin

26 April 2008

I’ve spoken previously about how much I disliked the anti piracy campaign. Here it is…

 

 

And here is the new one. Unfortunately its not anywhere on Youtube (sigh) but you click on the link and scroll down to watch it.

The first essentially calls me a criminal while the second effectively raises awareness and gets you thinking. Now tell me, which do you prefer?

Posted by Zac Martin

23 April 2008

Last time I asked if Facebook could make Twitter obsolete. And with Facebook’s new chat feature, I wonder if it can make MSN Messenger and other such software outdated.

Perhaps in a few months we’ll see audio options to wipe out Skype and finally video options to bin ooVoo?

Perhaps this video isn’t too inaccurate..?

 

Posted by Zac Martin

22 April 2008

I’ve always found the bottled water market interesting. I never thought I’d find myself purchasing something you could just as easily get for free but now I do.

Apparently it’s a very competitive market. So competitive in fact, particularly in the flavoured water market, that… well… you can see for yourself…

 

Two complete difference brands, Nutrient Water and Vitamin Water, yet so similar. The one thing I do like is the creative copy, although its not as clever as Another Bloody Water, which I’ve already blogged about.

But what I find most interesting about the bottled water market is the brand Evian. It’s either incredibly creative or just plain stupid, but if you spell Evian backwards you get… Naive. Perhaps I should reconsider my decision to purchase bottled water in future.

And on a side note, Stan, note the use of reflections in the first image.

Posted by Zac Martin