Want to impress your friends at the next backyard barbecue? Need some great social media marketing and online branding stories to add to your library of knowledge? Then look no further! Brandsplat’s list of Five Things You Might Have Missed is chock full of interesting tidbits sure to wow your coworkers and comrades.
1.) Tweet Songs: ’90s alternative band Blur is on the verge of making a big comeback, so to let the world know they’re still here, they hopped on Twitter. But unlike every other retro act sending out desperate “Remember me?” tweets, Blur is using the platform to release two brand new songs. The tracks will be recorded by the band at a secret location and then released via @blurofficial, the group’s Twitter account. It’s the latest music marketing stunt pulled by record companies using Twitter, and we have to say it kind of rocks.
2.) Teeny Tablet Trouble: Google’s Nexus 7 tablet with the 7-inch screen should have been bigger news this week. After all, it’s the first tablet of its size, and one experts say could take a big bite out of the iPad’s sales. Yet news of fires and Obamacare kind of took the wind of its sails. Still, we think this branding story is worth watching. As tablet tech gets cheaper to produce, brands are bound to get more competitive — and so will the marketing.
3.) Poetic Post-Its: Brandflakes for Breakfast pointed out this great viral music video by The Family Bones early last month. It’s worth the watch if you missed it because it’s incredibly creative — and it’s a great accidental commercial for Post-Its. Animated Post-Its express the sweet sentiment of the song while viewers are left humming the tune on their way to Staples to pick up some more of the handy slips of paper.
4.) Apps in Time of Crisis: The Colorado wildfires are undoubtedly a national disaster and a real tragedy. But as is often the case, an inventive person uses horrific events like this to help others. Colorado Springs-based programmer Robbie Trencheny came up with a web app to help track the wildfires so area residents knew where they were and how long they had before they needed to evacuate. It’s always inspiring to see developers use technology to help mankind, especially in times of need.
5.) News Breaking Blogger: And finally, we’d like to tip our hat to 81-year-old Supreme Court blogger Lyle Denniston, who was the first news source to break the story of the Supreme Court’s decision on the health care law. Denniston shows that blogs can actually be reliable news outlets while proving that you’re never too old to create headlines.
