Author Archives: tbuesing

Let the Games begin

I first posted this on our Publicis Digital blog. It was a follow up to a joint Mojo & Zenith Optimedia session on ‘Understanding gamers and great games’ and is a pretty well-curated group of game trailers, courtesy of my colleague Nat Jones. A collection of videos that have in the past and recently stirred gamers’ hearts and minds.

First up, the big one, the Mac Daddy of ego-shooter games, ‘Call of Duty’ in its new iteration Black Ops 2 has aficionados fumbling for their wallets.

Limbo is one of the most atmospheric, monochromatic and unusual jump and run adventures of recent times.

Even more challenging in terms of navigation is ‘The Unfinished Swan’ in which paint splatters that you need to throw in front of you, lead the way.

Journey lets users start a mission to reach a mountain top with the help of co-players. The clou: all you can communicate with is a single sound. Morse code anyone?

Even if you don’t know who or what Rayman is, the Origins edition makes for entertaining viewing.

In Gamers’ talk ‘Fez’ is a ‘platformer’ in which you need to figure how to get across structures and buildings. The game is reminiscent of classic 8-Bit arcade games, albeit in a warped version.

OK, as a last treat, this is a big step into fantasy game nerds’ territory. But if you have ever heard of the 1980′s craze ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ you will appreciate the jokes, played out by characters from the ‘Summoner’ game.

Global Australian of the Year Award

Last night saw the Inaugural Global Australian of the Year Award, hosted at Sydney Town Hall and  initiated and organised by Advance. As per Advance’s own definition, it is “a community of global Australians who are able to make a difference for Australians, Australian companies and Australia around the globe. We believe Australian talent is one of our greatest exports and resources.”

See the nicely decorated venue below and spot the visual identity of two overlapping ripples, created by Pim Van Nunen at Publicis Mojo, proud  supporters of Advance.

Advance at Town Hall

Advance at Town Hall

It was indeed a humbling experience to see so many highly successful and at the same time giving and community-minded Australians up on stage. Many of the prize winners had foreign-born parents, some of which proudly accepted the prizes on behalf of their children working overseas. No surprise for such a young and immigration-oriented country, their backgrounds ranged from Holland, Denmark and Germany to Vietnam and Malaysia. See their new website and winners here.

Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman

Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman

Jeremy Heimans

Jeremy Heimans

The new Advance logo on an idea bulb

The new Advance logo on an 'idea bulb'

Have a Pintermission with Honda

Honda is one of the first brands entering social network Pinterest.  In line with their CR-V ”Leap List” campaign, they do it strangely enough by asking top pinners to take a break and get outside. You might remember the campaign through the Ferris Bueller sequel video. So this Pinterest part of the campaign is all about getting out and living life to the fullest.

Pintermission

Pintermission

Honda is offering $500 each to the most active pinners  if they’ll take a 24-hour break from Pinterest and do the things they normally pin about. And then pin/post about those. Which in a way brings us full circle to the question: ‘How much pinning is too much?”

I liked the personalized invitation via an @ mention below, showing true blogger outreach, with effort going into research, personalised and engaging through craft. See all invites after the jump.

Pinterest invitation

Pinterest invitation

9 questions to get QR codes right

QR codes have copped a lot of flak after hyped expectations met with reality. Blogs like WTF QR codes and Pictures of People Scanning QR codes are testament to the scorn showered upon them. While some might have already moved onto the next big thing in connection technology (NFC anyone?), B&T / Kevin Moreland have just published a good list of questions to ensure your use of QR codes isn’t doomed from the start.

  1. Is the surface mobile friendly?
  2. Can consumers physically get to the code?
  3. Will consumers have internet access?
  4. Is it big enough?
  5. Is the information at a minimum?
  6. Does it lead to a mobile friendly destination?
  7. Is there value behind the code?
  8. Will consumers realise there is value behind the code?
  9. Have I scanned this?

Apart from the technical best practices I would really stress questions 6, 7 and 8 which are too often neglected. People don’t explore these code. That would be like saying people click on banners just to see where it would take them. Either they get why they should use the code or they don’t.

Get the full article on B&T

If you like Easter ask for s’more

This is first on my blog: cooking recipes and classic homemade craft. My lovely wife Kristin and her friends Corina and Jules have put a lot of time and effort into this online magazine/blog called “s’more” (= some more).

Smore Easter edition

Smore Easter edition

So if you are after some last-minute inspiration for baking, cooking and crafting around Easter, browse through the first edition of “s’more”. The magazine is also available as a PDF download here and finally, you can start following the s’more crew via their blog.

I’m incredibly proud of Kristin and her friends for pulling this off. And if you look closely, you might discover yours truly, modeling his way into a new career as ‘food editorial background talent’.