Your Country, Your Call

I was invited along to Guinness Storehouse on Monday evening to give input into a new Social Media focused project that is being launched. I had only been told bits and pieces about the campaign and, to be honest, I really didn't know what to expect. However, there were a few key things that I knew and they were enough for me: Dr. Martin McAleese was the main person behind the campaign's idea and it was all being patroned by his wife, President Mary McAleese. Aside from this, I had been told that all work on the campaign, by all parties, was being done on a pro bona basis. Considering the global economic situation we all find ourselves in, this was a pretty stand out point.

The evening began with an an overview and background from Dr. McAleese and then a general open floor discussion / Q&A about everything to do with the project from the overall strategy through to the site design.

The campaign microsite, which will be the main focus of all activity is www.yourcountryyourcall.com/.

So what is it all about? This is a international competition (anyone in the world can enter) that is being driven by a hope to ignite imaginations and inspire thinking. The overall goal is to find two ideas that have the ability to fuel prosperity and jobs for Ireland. The ideas could be anything – absolutely anything, the only caveats are that they must focus on Ireland and should be so robust and expansive that they will be looked on in a decades time and seen as true turning points in Irish history.

The two winning ideas will secure their ‘thinkers’ a prize of €100k each and the ideas will then have a €500k implementation fund (as well as the expertise of a host of world class people from all walks of industry) to get them off the ground.

The competition also has a second side to it – Your Ireland Moment, which is a call for people to submit their personal moment that they most felt proud to be Irish. This can be found through the main site.

The whole project will have an extremely strong focus on Social Media and will be driven heavily through both Twitter and Facebook. however, there will also be event, radio, print and television used across the campaign duration to help boost awareness and participation.

This is Dr. McAleese’s brainchild and something he is truly passionate about. Personally I think it is really exciting, and well worth a look. In fact, I already have 4 ideas scribbled down on paper that I need to flesh out a bit. Check out the following video from President McAleese about the campaign...

Recognizr

Big hat tip to PlanBStudios for sharing this video...

A TAT Cascades powered prototype of the Augmented ID concept. Accurate mobile face detection and recognition using Polar Rose's FaceLib. Recognizr shows how powerful computer vision and 3D graphics can be used to create fast, precise and aesthetic augmented reality. This prototype runs on Android.

NCPC: Dolphin Boy

Stunning work by Saatchi & Saatchi (US), this is a YouTube video with a difference. Although this isn't the first "out-of-bounds" use of YouTube, it is definitely one of my favourite.


Check out 2008's Wario video that used the same concept of "out of bounds".

Ballygowan: Be Part of It

Today, Sunday February 14th, Ballygowan unveiled their new campaign to raise funds for breast cancer awareness across Ireland. The campaign, in support of the Marie Keating Foundation, or Action Cancer in Northern Ireland, is called ‘Be Part of It’ and promotes the early detection of breast cancer to help save lives. Phase One of the campaign sees the launch of a range of new pink bottles of Ballygowen through both off-trade and on-trade channels. Each bottle of of the new Ballygowan Pink that is sold will make a contribution directly to the foundations.

The ‘Be Part of It’ will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign across all channels and is patroned by Ronan Keating. The campaign will, however, be primarily driven by a new campaign microsite and facebook page. During the next eight months the campaign will also run a series of events to involve consumers in raising funds for the charities, in the lead up to Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Ronan Keating, speaking about the campaign, said; "The Marie Keating Foundation is very close to my heart, as you know. I am delighted that a brand like Ballygowan has come together with the Foundation and our Be Part of It partner in Northern Ireland, Action Cancer, to help raise much needed funds. What’s really exciting for all of us is that this campaign is not only about fundraising, but also raising awareness and education. I am thrilled to be part of it".

The Ballygowan Pink bottles, in 500ml and 2 Litre bottles, are now available from all grocery and convenience shops, while special glass bottles, in 250ml and 750ml, are available in pubs and restaurants nationwide.

Leonie Doyle, Head of Stills Marketing at Britvic Ireland said; "We are delighted to introduce our Ballygowan Pink bottle, as the first part of our ‘Be Part of It’ campaign. Breast cancer affects 1 in 12 people in Ireland. We hope that our campaign can play a key role in raising much needed funds for the Marie Keating Foundation, as well as educating woman on the importance of early detection in beating this disease. There will be lots of ways for consumers to get involved throughout the year and raise more money for this great cause".

Media Monks

MediaMonks is the biggest independent digital production agency in the Netherlands. They work for national and international agencies across various different market segments (B2B, B2C and government). They develop for multiple formats and platforms and, imho, produce some of the best digital media out there. Seriously, just sit back and watch...

To be honest, even their ad is pretty cool...