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March 5, 2014
UNDERSTANDING TWITTER ANALYTICS

UNDERSTANDING TWITTER ANALYTICS FOR BRANDS

With the recently held Oscars stilling providing much fodder for in-house talk on the red carpet fashions, deserving wins, overdue wins (sorry Leo), and more, today’s blog post is inspired by one incident that went viral and apparently “broke” the Internet. For those who don’t know, the Oscars host, comedian and American talk show host Ellen Degeneres did her best to lessen up the customary formalities of the entire event by taking photo selfies with random A-list stars in the audience as well as backstage. This one particular selfie, went on to break Twitter history by being the most retweeted tweet in…well Twitter history. The comedian’s group selfie taken with her Samsung phone (great product placement by the way) quickly garnered retweets from around the world nearing Barack Obama’s record of 778,800 retweets within 30minutes. Within the hour, the tweet went on to surpass one million retweets, making it far and beyond the most-retweeted tweet of all time.

From this we’ve drawn inspiration for today’s short post to put a spotlight on engagement & understanding how to effectively measure twitter for the particular benefit of brands that have a twitter presence.

And so we found a couple of interesting online guides to effective measurement of twitter analytics. Below are a few more links which we’ve bookmarked and will be making our through. Perhaps our blog readers can also find some value.

Complete Guide to Twitter Analytics via Simply Measured

Using Twitter Analytics for Business Success via Business to Community

Twitter gets Comprehensive Analytics via Forbes

February 25, 2014
NURTURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS

NURTURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN 2014

2014 has certainly kicked off on a busy note at Zaman. We have lots of interesting projects in the pipeline, and while we can’t divulge too much at this stage for some of the projects we’re working on, the 2nd edition of the Al Ain Photographia Award which we worked on in 2011, now in full swing, is one project we can speak about and you can read about it in our previous post here & visit the official award website here to find our how you can participate.

Thanks to the good client rapport and reputation Zaman has built for itself over the last 17yrs, we remain excited about the continued opportunities some of these wonderful projects give us in terms of extending our capabilities & flexing our creativity caps. In light of this it only seems appropriate that today’s blog post puts a spotlight on the importance of creating and maintaining a creative environment in our studio that inspires us and also realizing how to balance the dynamics of personalities and cultures (9 nationalities & counting!) within the team to be the best that we can be. With that said, here are three videos which we’ve bookmarked and hope that they are of inspiration to you.

Video 1: The 3 habits of creative teams

Based on his work with over 1000 teams, speaker Keith Yamashita shares his insights about great collaborative environments including: having an awareness beyond your day-to-day, respecting the unique talents of your team members, and actively cultivating meaningful one-on-one relationships.

Video 2: The 6 Characteristics of truly creative people

Tina Seelig
Tina Seelig, director of the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter) at Stanford University’s School of Engineering, teaches courses on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the department of Management Science and Engineering, and within the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. In this video she makes a strong case for a combination of elements that make good ideas spring forward, by presenting her “innovation engine,” a special mix of six characteristics like attitude, resources and environment.

Video 3: Why “gut churn” is an essential part of the creative process

What’s gut churn or gut feeling? Speaker Jad Abumrad describes it as the radical uncertainty that’s a core part of any creative process that really pushes the envelope. You’re entering unknown territory, and working without a map.
 Using examples of his own business ventures, Jad shares the benefits of negative feedback and how we can look out for “pointing arrows” that can help guide our work (even when it hurts).

January 25, 2014
FOR THE LOVE OF TYPOGRAPHY…

FOR THE LOVE OF TYPOGRAPHY…

Below are a few typography-related articles and news from around the world that crossed our radar over the last couple of days. Enjoy!

1. Helvetica Or Garamond: Typography-Inspired Eyewear – Japanese company Type, draws inspiration from ‘Helvetica’ and ‘Garamond’ typeface and creates two lines of respective eyewear. Link here.

2. A Rustic Bespoke Typeface That Is Carved Out Of A Fallen Tree – London-based firm Carter Wong Design recently embarked upon a lovely hand-made project to create a bespoke typeface for organic clothing company Howies. The resulting font is named Castan—instead of creating the typeface digitally, the firm had the letters carved out of a tree before printing them out onto paper and uploading them onto the computer.

3. Top Web Fonts of 2013: Extensis Reports. Link here

4. 26 famous architects designed an alphabet – Archibet is an illustrated alphabet honoring 26 rock star architects, from Alvar Aalto to Zaha Hadid. Archibet is a playful spin on the idea of architectural design as visual communication, as letters are the primary building blocks of meaning. The project beautifully conflates architecture and typography. Link here.

5. Typeface Designer Creates Book That Teaches Toddlers About Typography – ‘The Clothes Letter Wears’ is a picture book that teaches toddlers about the different typefaces through illustrations that shows each font as text playing dress-up. This book also features the “Cabrito”, a custom typeface based on the Bookman Old Style that the designer has made for the project—it has been designed to be especially legible for young eyes. No doubt a great gift idea for designer friends & colleagues with tiny tots to start them of on the right career path :)  Link here

January 4, 2014
ON ZAMAN’S RADAR – FIRST WEEK OF JAN 2014

ON ZAMAN’S RADAR – FIRST WEEK OF JAN 2014

Kicking off the new year, our first post is a roundup of news and happenings that are on our radar as we gear up for another year of exciting year of inspiring projects and continued collaborations with our valued clients.

1. 2014 Digital marketing trends

a) Content continues its royal reign as king

2013 saw an incremental embrace by marketers that content is a critical resource in their efforts. So much so that studies conducted by social media blog Social Media Today reported that 78% of CMO’s believe custom content is the future of marketing. Likewise, on the platform side 2013 also saw the influx of content discovery apps which support the growth trend: Flipboard, Pulse, Fancy, Houzzer, etc. This trend is expected to continue in 2014, with marketers, more likely to consider allocating better budgets to the content development process.

b) Video marketing will continue to grow

In past posts we’ve underlined the power of story telling. The delivery format of the story is just as important. Videos have the ability to convey a message that is ten times more powerful than text content. Campaigns such as KONY 2012 that gained viral fame are proof that great video content has the potential of becoming an overnight viral success. Also, with apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Vine, videos are increasingly being easily created, viewed and shared on mobile devices. Facebook has also introduced and enhanced their mobile ads platform.

2. Five brands that are winning on Pinterest

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When it comes to Pinterest, many brands aren’t quite sure how to turn boards and pins into followers and potential customers. However, now more than ever it is important to not overlook this image sharing social network. Numerous studies suggest that online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from Pinterest. The same studies indicate that Pinterest generates 4x more revenue per click than Twitter and 27% more per click than Facebook.

3. Augmented reality continues to inspire brands

Today we live in a world where brand and project launches have to compete to create amazing, engaging experiences in order to win the attention of intended audiences; and experimenting with interactive technologies is certainly a good place to start. In a promotion for the recently released game, Forza Motorsport 5, Pizza Hut UK has teamed up with Xbox One and augmented reality app, Blippar, to provide customers with exclusive game content directly on their smartphones.

4. The power of brand advocacy

In previous posts we have mentioned our belief that brands that act in an authentic manner & stick to a clear brand story will be rewarded by loyal customers. People who love your brand will introduce you to your new customers. Recommendations come from your advocates – a network of highly satisfied, passionate and connected customers who love your products and service. It can create awareness of your brand, help increase your sales, and increase consumers’ trust in your brand. 50% of advocates recommend a brand because they had a good experience with a product or service.

Recently we came across an infographic, which illustrates the importance of brand advocacy in your marketing strategy using the digital space as a context. Customers trust people like them, and that is who you’re brand advocates are. They are customers who love your product and want to recommend it to the people they care about. Click here to view infographic.

December 20, 2013
GOOGLE REVEALS TOP ONLINE

GOOGLE REVEALS TOP ONLINE SEARCHES FOR 2013

Search engine Google has unveiled its annual year-end Zeitgeist, which highlights the top searches in 2013. Described by the company as its “most global Zeitgeist to date”, it features over 1,000 top 10 lists across various categories from 72 countries. “In our annual Year-End Zeitgeist (“spirit of the times”), we reflect on the people, places, and moments that captured the world’s attention throughout the year. This year marks our most global Zeitgeist to date—with 1,000+ top 10 lists across categories like Trending People, Most-Searched Events and Top Trending Searches from 72 countries.”

Here’s a full look at the search engine’s top 10 global trending searches of 2013:

  1. Nelson Mandela
  2. Paul Walker
  3. iPhone 5s
  4. Cory Monteith
  5. Harlem Shake
  6. Boston Marathon
  7. Royal Baby
  8. Samsung Galaxy s4
  9. PlayStation 4
  10. North Korea

This year Google split the list into the top “trending” searches – i.e. those with the most intense periods of interest – and “most searched” terms overall. Among the highlights were the fact that Paul Walker was the top trending search of the year, after his untimely death following a car crash in November, followed by ‘iPhone 5S’ and ‘royal baby’.

For the UAE, search trends pretty much mirrored the overall global trends with results such as footballer Lionel Messi winning spot of ‘most searched for athlete’ while local shows such as Arab Idol made it in the top 3 spot for most searched for TV show. Although the list serves more as an interesting review on events of the year past, some brands in industries such as gadgets & tech, more specifically mobile phone categories, could find value in matching the results against marketing key campaigns carried out for the year e.g. which mobile phone brands & models were searched for the most & in which part of the world. The full list can be found on Google’s blog here.

November 23, 2013
ON OUR RADAR

ON OUR RADAR THIS WEEK

1) A perfume inspired by Helvetica font

A creative collective based in Oakland, has created Helvetica: The Perfume. Inspired by the modernist font, the collective calls this product “the ultimate modernist perfume” with 24k gold printing on the bottle to make it look more exclusive.

 

2) 12 of today’s best living illustrators

In December, Taschen releases a book that celebrates this successful 1% of the illustration world: 100 Illustrators, a hefty two-volume collection of the biggest and boldest talents in the field today. The 100 artists featured here were culled from a pool of 600 that had contributed to Taschen’s Illustration Now! Series, which, since 2008, has been publishing the work of the world’s most exciting illustrators in sleek, full-color installments.

3) Tourism slogans from around the world

How do you sum up a country in three or four words? With difficulty, if these tourism slogans are anything to go by. Here’s a look at the phrases destinations around the world have used to try to persuade tourists to visit. From “Jamaica – Get All Right” and “”Latvia – best enjoyed slowly” to “Colombia – the only risk is wanting to stay”, view the full list collated by The Guardian newspaper here.

4) 18 insanely addictive font games via Mashable

Typography helps you engage your audience and establish a distinct, unique personality on your website. Knowing how to use fonts to build character in your design is a powerful skill, and exploring the history and use of typefaces, as well as typographic theory, can help. But it doesn’t have to be boring. Mashable has collated a selection of online and mobile font games to enable design professionals to expand their knowledge and identification skills.

November 12, 2013
CAPTURING THE EVOLUTION

CAPTURING THE EVOLUTION OF FILM DESIGN

In light of the upcoming Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) design enthusiasts and film buffs might enjoy today’s post which features “Designs On FIlm: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction” – a 384-page book by author, interior decorator and cinema style blogger Cathy Whitlock. Through the use of film design— called both art direction and production design in the film industry—movies can transport us to new worlds of luxury, offer a vision of the future or evoke the realities of a distant era.

Published in 2010 the book traces the history of motion picture sets and interiors from early 20th century silent movies to 21st century sci-fi films. In the book, while the author Whitlock wholly celebrates the usual western-industry giants such as MGM’s Deco and Modernist master Cedric Gibbons (who also designed the Oscar statuette), she also gives props to lesser-known names: British designer Ken Adam, who helmed the Mod look of 1960s James Bond films and William Creber, who designed the “Towering Inferno” skyscraper and took inspiration from Turkish rock formations to create the primal architecture in “Planet of The Apes.”

According to reviews, the book is both anecdote-laden and informative and is a collector’s gem with images plenty of archival photographs and architectural renderings, such as a Carey Odell illustration for the 1937 film “Lost Horizon”.

Through an engaging narrative the book illuminates the often under celebrated role of the production designer in the creation of the most memorable moments in film history.

Whitlock narrates the evolving story of art direction over the course of a century—from the massive Roman architecture of Cleopatra to Mrs. Robinson’s suburban lair in The Graduate to “Blade Runner,” “Mildred Pierce,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Chinatown”, “L.A. Confidential”, Sofia Coppola’s design work in “Marie Antoinette” and the digital CGI wonders of Avatar’s Pandora.

If we were to collate a similar compendium for the Middle East or Arabian film industry what great productions do you think would be featured?

November 2, 2013
THE DUBAI GRAPHIC ENCYCLOPEDIA

THE DUBAI GRAPHIC ENCYCLOPEDIA VOL. 1

To consider compiling an encyclopedia (of any kind) in post-Wikipedia times is an exercise in emotional withdrawal. But this did not deter these creatives. Designed over a year ago by Dubai-based curatorial practice Brusselsprout the first edition of the first of its kind Dubai graphic and visual encyclopedia presents a reality that acts as a counterpoint to all the excess of attempts to decipher and understand Dubai.

With the aim of organizing scanning devices for the entire physical reality and processing information in much the same way as the early explorers did in order to reach unknown lands in what is now referred to as the United Arab Emirates, the encyclopedia will be updated periodically so as to provide an authentic (temporal) guide and a database for Dubai and its times. Source

August 20, 2013
ON OUR RADAR

ON OUR RADAR THIS WEEK

1. 10 colours that increase sales & why – over the years there has been enough research that suggests specific colors tend to stir certain emotions in customers, which in turn creates brand relevance and motivates purchases. This article lists 10 colors that brands should consider to appeal to various audiences or project a certain message.

2. 45 Pinterest boards to inspire via Creative Bloq – a treasure trove of inspiration Pinterest for us is a definite reference when we’re developing mood boards for client projects (follow us here).

3. AirlineTrends.com – a good resource for staying updated on news about the airline industry. Topics covered include authenticity, social media, storytelling, co-branding, personalization & more.

4. Emirates NBD Rise campaign – as local bank Emirates NBD continues its 50th anniversary celebrations, we’ve noticed display ads like the one above directing us to the bank’s Rise campaign; which according to the site is “…a unique platform that celebrates their entrepreneurial spirit. Providing SMEs a forum to network, share learnings, explore business opportunities and grow. Helping them realize their true potential.” You can read more about the initiative here.

5. In the spirit of World Humanitarian Day (Aug 19th) we came across this interesting digital campaign that demonstrates how organizations & brands can work together to harness the power crowdfunding via social media. Led by the hashtag #theworldneedsmore this is a collaborative initiative between the UN & global brands like Gucci, Western Union, Intel to harness hashtags, trending topics & online chatter across across the world to raise funds for worthy causes. Full details here http://worldhumanitarianday.org/

6. What makes an ad worth spreading? How can brands create ads leverage the fact that we live in a participation age & customers want more than sale pitches. Article link here.

7. The Engagement Project – an initiative by Google to study, understand and prove the value of engagement in modern brand building.

The motivation, according to the website, is to leverage the current status quo in terms of how we communicate given that:

“Our digitally mediated lives are changing how we interact with each other and how brands engage consumers.”

The portal therefore serves as a repository of insightful whitepapers & lessons generated from interviews conducted with industry visionaries, the world’s biggest brands and content creators on the cutting edge, and researchers who are codifying our experiences.

What interesting online or offline gems have you stumbled upon this week? Share in the comments! Or send us a tweet @ZamanBranding

August 15, 2013
TYPOLOGY OF SEATING

TYPOLOGY OF SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

‘A Small Typology of Parliamentary Seating Arrangements’ is the work of designer Felix Kingmueller who was inspired by the design solutions that surround us, which are not based on unique design decisions but derived instead from pre-existing solutions. Channeling his fascination with the lively televised debates that take place in the British House of Commons, he researched and compared the seating arrangements in select parliaments, such as Britain, France, Germany, China & Italy.

What piqued our interest was this notion of a ‘science’ behind seating arrangements. Over the years Zaman has designed and managed innumerable events (exclusive & mass public) at the request of our clients to support them in marking their business milestones.

When approaching event management with a branding cap on, the priority is ensuring a consistent and seamless brand experience for all audience types – from the point a guest receives their invite to when they leave the event premises.

During what can be referred to as the ‘guest journey’, the seating plan is one of many critical components requiring careful consideration. Depending on the scale of the event, location & the caliber of profiles on the guest list (in the GCC it is common to have royalty attend industry events) – a lot of effort goes into ensuring that all guests in attendance don’t feel shortchanged from the event experience.

Read about a few of our past events here – QFIB, Mushaf Qatar, FAPCO & more.

While we’re not sure that brand experience is a primary consideration in the daily proceedings of parliaments across the world, some of the findings from this seating arrangement typology certainly makes for an interesting article – e.g. The endless rows of seats of the Chinese National People‘s Congress, makes it the world‘s largest parliament, seating a mass of almost three thousand members in the three floored auditorium of the hall of the people!

In ‘Typology of parliamentary seating arrangements’, the designer reveals that there are numerous factors influencing the design of a parliamentary seating arrangement.

“In the case of the Britain’s House of Commons, it is simply based on the former use of the space as a chapel: the choir stalls were turned into benches and the altar into the speaker‘s chair. On the other end, why the French favoured instead the hemicycle can be attributed to the continuous rows of seats of the hemicycle symbolizing political unity, previously embodied by the king.  While in France the king was killed and monarchy was abolished during democratization, it survived in Britain preserving its unifying function. Thus a medieval seating arrangement can still be a proper design solution.”

You can read the entire article here – Link

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