The BBC reports here that the Symbian operating system will be made open source.   Symbian is currently used by Nokia and Sony Ericsson and is owned by a consortium formed out of the UK electronics and PDA maker Psion.  I owned several Psion devices and they were well ahead of their time.  But, that was over 10 years ago; prior to implementation of Bluetooth and prior to integrated smartphones.  The operating system was great, but was never really developed further under the Symbian tab.   Hopefully, hopefully, the open source community will be able to do something great with it.

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New York, January 1, 2010 —  Last Exit, LLC. has appointed Willie Mack as Executive Director of Engagement and Communications.

As an Executive Director will assume high level responsibilities for the growth of the company. Willie will assist in the business development and expansion of the agency into the Luxury, Fashion, Entertainment and Music industries, while forging strategic partnerships and alliances. He will also direct and mange client engagements utilizing his 15 years in client services and business consulting experience. He will provide the agency with a keen insight into the dynamics of brand-consumer behavior online and offline.

“As part of the pathway to growth, Last Exit has partnered with other companies to provide all the services our clients need. The relationship with Willie Mack from Mack Industries proved to be not only a step forward strategically but also a leap culturally. We’ve worked very successfully and very happily together on a few campaigns and being good friends simply make this good business sense.” said Nuri Djavit, Founder and CEO at Last Exit Group.

“Over the past 15 years I have had the pleasure of working with iconic and emerging brands to develop and execute integrated campaigns that engaged the media and consumers while increasing market-share and revenue for my clients. I am excited at the prospects helping to grow with Last Exit and increasing its services offering for our clients.” Mr. Mack stated.

Willie Mack will also expand the communications, social media and online PR services of the agency. “A brand has to be able to not just create a great product but also tell a relevant story to consumers in a compelling way. Digital provides countless platforms  to disseminate, track and measure these engagements and Last Exit is a leader in helping clients understand the best ways to capitalize on these platforms.” Willie said.

In 2003, Willie Mack founded MACK Industries a brand consulting and creative services agency. It was during this time he developed and executed numerous global campaigns, press/product launches, exhibitions, photo shoots and TV commercials for a range of clients such as: ABSOLUT, AMEX, Ben Sherman, Flavorpill, Persol, Ray Ban, TED, Icon, GOOD, and Wired Magazines and celebrities such as Gisele Bundchen, Common, Cirque du Soliel, Eve, Lenny Kravitz, The Roots, and The Police.

“We are truly delighted to have Willie join our team, it’s a pleasure to have someone of his caliber share our vision for Last Exit and its potential within the digital communications industry.” said Paul Newnes, Founding Partner & Commercial Director at Last Exit Group.

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New York, January 1, 2010 —  Last Exit, LLC. has appointed Adam Phillips as Director of Strategy and Media. Phillips will oversee consumer and media strategy development, connections planning and analytics.  “With Adam’s expertise, we will be able to expand our digital media services both on and offline. We are extremely excited to have him join the agency,” said Paul Newnes, Partner and Commercial Director.

Phillips has a keen insight into consumers and their interactions with technology, media and culture. Prior to Last Exit, he was a Strategic Planner at McCann Erickson, and a freelance strategic planner and media consultant working on brands, such as MasterCard Malibu, Ketel One, Avis, Applebee’s, William Grant and Sons, and RJ Reynolds.

Commenting on his appointment Phillips said, “I’m really excited about being in a place so on the front lines of where the communications industry is headed. Last Exit has a great team that consistently creates great work. I believe that in my new position as Director of Strategy and Media I can help add the cultural and behavioral insight that will inspire and direct that great work beyond simply a supporting role communications strategies, to being a foundation for communications that defines and elevates our clients brands.”

Adam has blended the roles of the account planner, the media strategist and the data analyst, into an approach to strategic planning tailored for the digital media world.  At Last Exit, he will expand the company’s capabilities and services on and offline by bringing these skills together to craft business solutions through human insights, cultural currents and behavioral analysis.

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A nice little article first published here was re-published a lot.   Doesn’t mean any of our trends for 2010 will be correct, but nice anyway.

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• Belated happy 2010. May it be a prosperous one! #

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• http://bit.ly/1tuiPO #
• just launched a new site and store for one of our favorite clients: http://strat-o-maticmedia.com/ #

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There seems to be a growing tension in the world of social media!

Almost every client brief now asks how we would place brands within the social environment. And I find myself questioning if there really is a place for every, or even any brand, within our personal pages online?

Aren’t the likes of Facebook and Twitter the realm of mates rather than marketing, of chat instead of commerce, of sharing, not shopping?

Perhaps it is for these very reasons that brands are so keen to be part of the social sphere? Marketing managers doubtless recognise this ‘emotional’ environment as very different from the “rational” destinations they create for their own brands online. They no doubt also note their own changed state of mind, when looking at their Facebook pages or writing their latest Tweet? These are times when we are all off-duty, open-minded, less cynical and potentially more receptive.

As an agency, we DO believe there is a place for brands within the social sphere, but only if a certain mindset and approach is applied:

• social media is a personal, emotional space – standard advertising and promotion isn’t appropriate
• context and personalisation are key, relating to users, their likes and dislikes, preferably on an individual basis, are likely to engage and, therefore, succeed
• considering and involving friends and groups is a powerful way to achieve relevant and timely interest
• overall, this is a pretty intolerant space – ‘road-blocking’ or ’spamming’ is guaranteed to create a negative brand reaction

In summary, our belief is that there is no problem combining brand messages with our personal spaces, as long as sensitivity and care are used.

Playing devil’s advocate now, allowing advertiser access to our beloved social media sites may be a necessity anyway! Facebook, Twitter and other social spaces operate under generally unsustainable revenue models today. Inviting brands to get more involved may be the only way we can hold on to these sites we have become so attached to.

Indeed, it would appear that Facebook’s recent news about imminent profitability is heavily driven by The Gift Shop, Facebook Connect, and other ways brands can engage on a deeper, better informed level with consumers, as opposed to monetisation of display advertising alone.

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I’ve always been a huge fan of the FPS (first person shooter) game and can remember being awestruck the first time I played Doom on the PC way back in 1993.  I even handcoded some custom levels using the first version of DEU.

So, to see the Doom sequel, Quake come to be a browser based game is pretty exciting.  The fact that it is an amazing port of the game is even more amazing.

Check out Quake Live.

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Forrester Research has just released a forecast showing considerable gains in digital marketing, with a cut back in ‘traditional’ advertising dollars.

Their research shows a considerable shift to what marketers see as an efficient communication platform, citing digital as “no longer experimental”, but more efficient where advertising is more inefficient. Six out of ten marketers Forrester surveyed agreed with the statement “we will increase budget for interactive by shifting money away from traditional marketing.” Only 7% said “we have no plans to increase our marketing budget.”

The report also indicates a massive shift towards social media marketing; something that we are excelling in here at Last Exit, with campaigns such as that for Canon.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

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