Photo credit: Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show

So the Giants won the Super Bowl. We thought maybe you hadn’t heard.

That’s big news, but from an agency point of view there was something even bigger afoot at Super Bowl XLVI — and even though it happened on the field, it had nothing to do with football. It was 3D projection mapping, and it was an integral part of Madonna’s halftime performance. It was proof that this relatively new technology has really hit the big time.

3D projection mapping has actually been around for a while, but this Super Bowl’s use of the technology shows that it’s a tool that is growing more powerful every day.

3D projection mapping animates stationary, 2D objects with 3D video. In the marketing world, it’s most effective when used on a very large scale, accompanied with impactful music and some sort of PR-worthy event or spectacle. It’s an incredibly powerful experience in person, but part of what’s great about it is that a powerful live experience can live on in video.

At the birth of the technology, these animated “films” were projected almost exclusively onto the sides of buildings. A couple of key examples of that kind of application are the Hot Wheels Secret Race Battle against the Customs House in Sydney, and the launch of the new Johnnie Walker Green Label bottle against a historic building in Taipei.

As we’ve watched the technology grow, however, we can see it being used in more and more versatile ways. Carmelo Anthony used the technology to help launch his new shoe in New York, for example: This application used a building backdrop for some portion of it but in large part the projection took place right over the water of the Hudson River.

At the Super Bowl this year, the technology was again pushed to new levels when multiple parts of the arena were used as projection backdrops, including the grass of the field. Pulsating stereo speakers and yardline markers made the field come alive, and 3D images from the field were even projected onto handheld LEDs carried by individual audience members in the crowd. That capacity for real crowd participation has never been done before, and the performance itself is now being hailed as the best halftime show in years. Maybe that’s because it’s the event that finally put 3D projection mapping on the map.

photo credit: http://courseoftheforce.com

Calling all aspiring Jedi Knights!  You’re cordially invited to take part in an epic relay race — with lightsabers — leading up to Comic-Con International 2012.  From July 7 – 11, participants will run quarter-mile sections of terrain spanning from Santa Monica to San Diego, and are (of course) encouraged to sport their finest Star Wars-themed running gear. This monumental event is aptly dubbed The Course of the Force.

Tell me this doesn’t sound like a good time!  I’m thinking of at least checking it out, but if you’re so inclined, you can register here.  All proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of SoCal.

Personal Style

The man on the defensive end of the Super Bowl XLVI-winning New York Giants, Justin Tuck, knows how to show his appreciation. Tuck’s teammates each got a special gift in celebration of the NY Giants’ Super Bowl win — and MKTG INC was happy to join in the celebration. We facilitated the engraving of 84 personalized bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label — one for each of Tuck’s teammates and coaches. The bottles were engraved in 24 hours, just in time for the parade, and media outlets such as ESPN’s SportsCenter, Yahoo! Sports, Fox Sports, USA Today and AM New York spread the news about Tuck’s championship gift. Each bottle had the player’s name on it along with the label “Super Bowl XLVI Champions.” Mario Manningham’s bottle was engraved with the words “The Catch” to commemorate the most-talked-about play of the game. Congrats, Big Blue!

Photo credit: SportsGrid.com

Photo credit: James Beickert

Peter McCutcheon

If you found yourself in SoHo this holiday season, chances are you saw the giant Johnnie Walker Striding Man in front of 133 Greene Street. “A Johnnie Walker store? This is too good to be true!” was frequently heard on the street or seen on the scrolling Twitter feed in praise of Johnnie. But there was actually one thing that was even better — this was a store in which everything was free.

Johnnie Walker moved into one of NYC’s hottest neighborhoods for all of November and December to deliver an unforgettable series of events. If you were one of the 5,000 lucky fans to make it inside the House of Walker, you stepped inside a modern man’s paradise. The lovely Johnnie Walker ladies were on hand to greet guests with Johnnie Walker cocktails, and a rustic open kitchen churned out hearty bites. A series of shelves featured an impressive collection of books, a saber-tooth tiger skull, vintage sports memorabilia and my personal favorite, an antique diver’s helmet. Guests could watch any combination of games on any of seven flat-screen TVs (eight if you count the one in the bathroom). A man cave featured a Johnnie Walker pool table, vintage arcade games and an Xbox Kinect system, and rare bottles of Johnnie Walker (with price tags of up to $27,000) lined the walls — but you’d have to break through a glass case to sample those gems.

Most nights, Johnnie Walker’s National Brand Ambassador walked guests through a sampling of the full brand portfolio, showing people how to enjoy each of Johnnie’s blends in a unique way. The Weekend Retreat events allowed small groups to reserve their own private tables and drink Johnnie Walker cocktails as they prepared for a night on the town. We also opened our doors to a long list of partners who wanted to invite their colleagues into the world of Johnnie Walker: Delta, NFL, the New York Times, the Boomer & Carton show, Hulu and Tiffany, to name a few. Regardless of event, everyone left with a new appreciation for Johnnie Walker and the art of whisky blending.

The House of Walker finally closed its doors after an incredibly successful run of 98 events. Don’t worry, though: anyone who didn’t experience the House of Walker will get another chance when our national tour returns to New York in the spring. Cheers to that!

Photo credit: Techcrunch.com

“Sharing is caring.” You’ve heard this said as a life philosophy before, and it is also what makes social media so powerful. But beyond the world of sharing status updates and re-tweets, photo-sharing is quickly becoming the preferred method by consumers and brands alike. Enter Instagram, the world’s hottest photo-sharing app. Instagram, an app for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, lets users take photos, apply one of a number of filters, and share them with the world via social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr and Flickr. This much-buzzed-about app has grown a user base of 10 million in the past two years, and with the pending release of an Android version scheduled for the near future, that number will undoubtedly keep climbing.

Part of Instagram’s appeal is its potential as a marketing tool. As social currency becomes an ever more important factor in the marketing world, apps like Instagram will be a vital way to connect brands with consumers. Like Twitter, Instagram utilizes hashtags, so photos of a specific topic are easy to find. The same hashtag can be applied for both Twitter and Instagram, so marketers can quickly measure a program’s traction across multiple social networking services. But it’s Instagram’s core function of photo-sharing that is most important. At a time when consumers are doing their best to cut through clutter, a simple photograph is now the quickest way to convey a specific message.

What’s even more interesting about Instagram is how it has been leveraged for more value. For proof take a look at Brooklyn-based tech shop Breakfast and their location-based product Instaprint. Instaprint is a tangible product that scours Instagram in search of specified hashtags or locations and then prints out the collected photos in a vintage style that mimics Polaroids. The Polaroid-esque prints can then be customized and branded, making them perfect for the experiential world. Forget photo booths and step-and-repeats — with Instaprint, the consumer is the photographer. Now any consumer at any event can proactively engage with the experience. They can print a branded photo onsite, add comments to it and share the final product across their network. Sure, a cool vintage-style photo looks nice on the fridge, but a consumer who uses Instagram to become an advocate for a brand looks even nicer.

So what’s it all mean? It means that a picture really is worth a thousand words. It means that the connection points between consumers and brands are expanding in every direction, and Instagram is on the frontlines of that expansion. When consumers share their Instagram creations with their friends, they are making a statement for all to see. Tie in our clients’ brands and that’s what we call an “Instawin.”

Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant signs pairs of the new Nike KD IV Coppers for select fans in Oklahoma City, Friday, Dec., 23, 2011. (Photo by Alonzo J. Adams)

This past December, NBA superstar Kevin Durant (KD), with the help of MKTG INC and Nike Basketball, set out in his conversion van to give away pairs of his Nike Zoom kicks, known as the “KD IV Copper.”  The shoe’s unique copper colorway was developed for his Christmas Day matchup with the Orlando Magic.

KD gave away the highly anticipated shoes to fans at three different locations. The twist? No one knew where those locations were ahead of time.

To match KD’s humble demeanor, MKTG INC avoided in-store chaos with a grassroots approach that built a groundswell online. KD posted teasers about the activation via Twitter, giving fans a heads up that they’d need to keep their eyes open to score a free pair.

By featuring destinations from KD’s ‘Basketball Never Stops’ commercial, MKTG INC tied the programming to the brand, while giving fans an intimate experience with their local star.  KD tweeted the destinations in real-time, as fans flocked from all over Oklahoma City for a chance to win a pair of the KD IV Copper and meet the NBA’s quiet superstar.

The response on Twitter was overwhelmingly positive. Over 6000 related tweets were posted over the course of three days, all with one recurring theme: Kevin Durant is awesome (and generous). In fact, a Santa hat-wearing KD made ESPN’s Top 10 Plays on the night before Christmas, spreading Christmas cheer and wishing all a good night.

Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant poses for a group photo with fans and winners of the new Nike KD IV Coppers in Oklahoma City, Friday, Dec., 23, 2011. (Photo by Alonzo J. Adams)

Pop-up Pretties

Photo credit: Business Insider

It’s looking more and more like the pop-up is a “trend” that’s here to stay. But no two pop-ups are the same, and not all are created equal. Here are our tips, originally pubbed in Business Insider, for creating pop-ups that really step up.

Photo credit: The Muppets Google+ Brand Page

Google+ has been heavy on the + these days. With its new brand pages, it’s not only the latest platform to enter the competitive social media arena — it’s setting up to be a real powerhouse.

Just compare it to Facebook — when Facebook launched in 2004, it took three years to gain 25 million users. Google+ achieved this in one month. How’d it manage that? Its established suite of widely used platforms (Gmail, Google Docs, Gchat) sure helped spread the + word. Another motivator is the first-mover advantage: Digitally savvy brands now have a new opportunity to show themselves as innovators by being among the first to establish their Google+ presence. Marketers won’t want to miss that + boat.

But one of the biggest brand drivers in this sphere might be the great features of Google+. These include:

That World-famous Search
Unlike on Facebook, Google+ brand pages directly integrate Google search, thus increasing a brand’s visibility across the Web. Since Google owns more than 60% of the search market right now, that’s a powerful selling point for brands who want to improve their search optimization. Plus, if a user recommends a brand page, that action is shared on his/her Google+ profile, visible to his/her friends.

Speaking of Those Friends
Google+ is built up of more than 40 million users — early influencers every one. An enterprising brand will take this rare chance to craft personal relationships with the kind of super-consumers who are every marketer’s dream.

Uncluttered
A lot of Facebook folk report feeling inundated with updates. For brands that means your activity is more likely to go unnoticed. Not so for the clean and uncluttered Google+, which focuses on only the most relevant content.

Google+ Hangouts
Google+ Hangouts allows users to host a live audio/video chat with their audience. Video chat’s obviously been done before, but never on a social media platform, and marketers are seeing it as a great way to video-connect, say, entertainment talent with a large group of fans. Major brands like Dell are already considering using Hangouts as a customer support line, and, most recently, the Dalai Lama used Hangouts to chat with Desmond Tutu. And hey, if it’s good enough for the Dalai Lama, it’s good enough for your brand.