Katie White, aka cheese girl

Bob at lunch.

Heat maps of the world based on news coverage

10 steps to personas

WalMart time lapse video

After being invited to collaborate on the Interact Congress blog, I finally got to write my first post. You can link to it here or it’s repeated below. Let me know what you think.

Here’s an interesting new way to look at consumer engagement with your online advertising: clickmaps from FlashTalking.

Clickmaps are essentially a heat-map showing where consumers interact with your ad above and beyond regular click tag reporting. As regular readers of my blog will know, I’m a sucker for cool visualisations and relate more to pictures than stats.

The creative and strategic implication being that it helps us to garner better understanding of what drives consumer engagement. Or in regular parlance, draws the eye.

Here’s some examples. To make it work, use the fade option - fade out the map, watch or interact with the ad, finally fade the clickmap up again for the interaction view/heat map.

Sony Playstation - the Call To Action buttons seem to be getting the most of the action.

Virgin Mobile - clearly the opportunity to wax the guy and then wax him him more at the end wins out. Poor bugger.

Social networks - see the social media options, especially share trailer being high points of engagement.

I certainly know some peers and clients who would also appreciate this more visual representation of data than having to wade through reams of stats to the point where they’re pushing pins in their eyes for blessed relief. You get what’s working in an instant.

Be interested to know what you think.

While I’m getting my holiday stuff written up, photos uploaded, Spam Show scripted, feeds read etc. here’s some stuff and things.

I think I swear too much. But apparently not. This site says I only swear across 7.1% of my site which is below average of 9%. I’ve never been below average in my entire life (apart from Math A-level which is another story). Must try harder. Cock. Tit. Wank. Fuck. I’m still at a-hole level on the dashboard image though. Found here.

Test yourself on the randomness of You Tube comments.

A whole load of randomness

Pumpkins with human faces. I can’t decide if this is freaky or funny. Or both. It comes from Ohio (sorry, Norm).

Carrie supplied all of the above - ta!

Download the latest report from Trendwatching on all things Eco.

More loft clearing to make way for bump later in the year, so more stuff to sell. Go on, have a nose, have a bid.

While doing some much needed catching up on my feed reader this past week I discovered I had missed the boat on the blog action day on 15.10. Apparently on this day every blogger was meant to write about something to do with the environment. Well, I missed it. So here’s my thing 16 days late.

I walk when I can, we wash at 30 not 40 (except towels because otherwise that’s just gross), we shower not bath, I used the train on my commute to town (but have to drive to the station otherwise it would take me 3 weeks using public transport) and we recycle: bottles, paper, cardboard and even veg peelings which we give to either Jude’s brother or my mum for their composters. We buy fair trade. I do my bit. Skip back a couple of posts and you’ll see I even bought one got one tree.

I also filled in this little quiz. I seem to be a sucker for them these days. My blog personality is below.

Bailey’s are offering you the opportunity to find your flavour and promoting both the new mint (I’ve tried it and it’s ok) and caramel (not tried it but too sickly?) flavours. Site uses flash to serve up a few questions which you drag your cursor to the one you like the most. You then see your personal illustration come alive during the process which uses an eclectic mix of illustration & photography which although it didn’t go live, is incredibly similar to some work we produced for Smirnoff Experience back in the day. Still looks very fresh though. Although the end result seems a bit clunky rather than a nice, contained illustration. The sofa looks particularly at odds.

But then I’m splitting hairs here as they do let you embed the code for your illustration in your blog (tick), send to a friend and invite them (tick, tick) and not too overly salesy (tick) and fits the mood and personality of the brand well (tick). But is there a “mini” of the caramel I could try? I don’t want to spend over £10 if it sucks. Anyway, here’s my “personality” and my illustration. My flavour was mint by the way. Thankfully.

A cool customer to the core, you’re good to have around in a crisis. Although you like a joke as much as the next person, there is a calm and serious side to your nature which you take pride in. With a love of creature comforts, you prefer to socialise at home. When it comes to fashion, it’s a case of no pain no gain. Having said that, you’ve no time for people who don’t take care of their appearance. Some might say you were brash, but you’d call it honesty. Of course, nothing will stop you staying out late boogying with your friends. But you’re a closet techie, revelling in gadgetry if it can be chosen over a more simple life. And as for travel and adventure… who needs it when everyday life is a rollercoaster? Oh yes… and you’re feeling quite nice today.

I think everyone must have used Dove as THE example of how a brand can truly influence culture, perception and attitude . Here’s the development of the campaign targeting parents of young girls who have massive exposure to the altered and warped images of beauty. Powerful.

Some of you will know that this year has been eventful, to say the least, for me. And those events have given me a different perspective. I’ve enjoyed myself at Modem/Digitas and met some wonderful folk but it is time to bid them farewell & wish them all the best.

As for me, I’m going to be pursuing different challenges, environments and opportunities. The world is my lobster as a friend of mine erroneously declares on a frequent basis. So I am open for hire. Want a seasoned marketing pro who can think and do client services stuff then get in touch: nr_gill@hotmail.com or see where I’ve been at Linked In

News as it happens will be appearing here.

Picture of a road in Pompei from our holiday in Italy, 2006.

A third of American men don’t wash their hands & 12% of women don’t either. Ewww. That’s disgusting. And that’s how germs are spread. Just ask the NHS! Quote from the Guardian:

Guys need to step up to the sink

It’s not that hard is it? I found the image on Flickr and the photographer’s commentary questions how stupid people are to need instructions. Clearly very if the numbers above are true. Worryingly, the numbers have gone up since last year. Remember that next time you shake hands with someone: one in three chaps is likely to have touched their bits without washing. I feel ill. Another argument for email, conference/video calls and virtual environments Vs physical meetings? Reduce costs and reduce germs.

An art invasion across Cumbria with a Google map mash up

Get matching collar and cuffs (source: popbitch)

And Dan Aykroyd is an avid UFO spotter. As well as creating the best movie ever. I should clarify that I mean the Blues Brothers, not Coneheads.

Jake: How often does the train go past?

Elwood: So often you won’t even notice.