Blog Archives
Vote for David Merzel as Marketer of the Year (more info)
Vote for Me on
Here is what we have achieved thanks to this creative approach.
• Successful launch of Kinect / Xbox 360 thru a very innovative marketing approach.
• Our division has doubled its turnover in less than three years.
• Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, rewarded my Team as the most successful division worldwide.
Link to Voting Site Trends
NL: http://trends.knack.be/economie/game-1194827758183.htm
FR: http://trends.levif.be/economie/game-1194827758419.htm
Voor NL versie, click hier / Pour le post en français, clicker ICI
Ubisoft Press Conference E3 [my notes from Los-Angeles], via @davidmerzel’s BLOG
Just seen the Ubisoft Press Conference E3.
Some great stuff to come.
First, the launch of Assassin’s Creed Revelations in November.
Then, Rayman which seems great. Take a look at the demo here-below.
Interesting new concept called Rocksmith and you can plug your own guitar. I really want to test it tomorrow at E3.
Rabbids on Kinect uses augmented reality to bring the Rabbids into YOUR home. Party games, 4-player co-op and online picture sharing.
I don’t forget Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon – Future Soldier, which is very promising. Kinect will be used in this Game, to customize your weapons as example.
Tintin is coming. As Belgian, I’m proud of this.
Your Shape for Kinect looks great and this is the perfect game or ideal sport coach for my wife.
Just dance 3, also available on Kinect seems very cool. My doughter will be happy to test it.
Press Conference Microsoft / Xbox @ E3. [My Notes from Los-Angeles] via @davidmerzel’s BLOG
I had the chance to be, this morning, in the Xbox 360 Media Briefing @ E311 – Los Angeles.
You will find HERE the full conference
Here-below, some key outcome
The show started with a cool demo of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.
Then, we saw a demo of tomb raider.
We discovered the Voice recognition Kinect on Mass Effect 3 and how Kinect (thru voice recognition) could influence the scenario of the game.
For Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier, you can use KINECT to tailore your weapon. Amazing demo. I really want to test it. All future titles in this franchise will leverage Kinect.
Xbox Live is also changing.
Tomorrow, you will use your voice to access your music, games, video.
Youtube is coming to Xbox Live. Bing is going to come to Xbox Live too.
You can search games thru Bing. You say it, Xbox finds it. Look at Demo Bing here-below.
Cliff Bleszinski presented GOW3 and Ice-T on stage for an amazing demo (see demo here- below)
2011 will be also the Year of Halo with Halo Anniversary including Fully Remastered Campaigns from previous editions. 15th of Nov is the D Day for this launch (see trailer here-below)
Forza 4 looks amazing too. Release is foressen this year the 11th of Oct (see trailer here-below)
Fable “the Journey” looks also great. You can ride the horse thru your Kinect and make other cool thinks (see demo here-below)
Disneyland Adventures is a Great game to experience Disneyland Parc’s Attractions. This will be Available this Holiday. My kids will be happy, I’m sure.
Kinect Star Wars. It looks so cool. My son will be happy. He is top fan of Star Wars. You use Kinect and that’s pretty cool (see demo here-below)
Kinect Funlabs will be available for Xbox Live Members.
You can create avatar like you. Amazing demo.
Kinect finger tracking is also coming.
Object capture. You can scan your favorite objects and bring them to live (see demo here-below)
Kinect Sport Season 2. Top franchise of Kinect today. That’s clearly a game for my parents who can play Golf and other games.
Last demo of the day : Dance Central 2. This is the perfect game for my doughter Noa. (See Trailer here-below)
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You think Twitter is a waste of Time ! The 5 Stages of Getting Twitter. via @davidmerzel’s BLOG
Intersting reading from http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/getting-twitter_b9660
The concept of ‘getting Twitter’ is important.
There are still billions of people out there who don’t understand what Twitter is, don’t care what Twitter is, or, worse, both.
It’s the evolution that these individuals go through that you can read in this article.
Stage 1 – Denial (“Twitter is a waste of time.”)
Denial is the first thing that most people feel about Twitter. They’ve decided that it isn’t for them. They’re far too busy, and Twitter is a waste of time. They’re already on Facebook, after all – and they hate that, too. And look what happened to Myspace. Why make the effort?
Stage 2 – Anger (“Why would I care about what people are having for breakfast?”)
Twitter, Twitter, Twitter. That’s all the newspapers ever talk about! Who cares what some celebrity said to another on Twitter? Who cares what people are tweeting about when American Idol and The X Factor are on? Who cares about these super-injunctions? Who cares that Twitter broke the news before anybody else (and that several people took on-the-scene photos, too)? Twitter, Twitter, Twitter – enough already!
Stage 3 – Bargaining (“I’m only signing up because my friends are on there.”)
Finally, they cave, and begrudgingly open an account, mostly to appease friends, or perhaps because Twitter is being mentioned a lot where they work. Yeah, I’m on Twitter, they say. Often they’re very active for 24-72 hours. And then completely ignore it for the next few weeks.
Stage 4 – Depression (“It doesn’t make any sense.”)
For many this is the worst stage. They’ve finally made the effort and signed up, and now all their fears are confirmed. They were right – Twitter isn’t for them. There’s nothing to see or do. It’s like talking into a vacuum. Who are these people following me? Why are these people following me? Who should I be following? Where are my friends? Who cares what I have to say? How come I can only write tweets about what I’m eating for breakfast? What the heck is a hashtag!?
Stage 5 – Acceptance (“I get it!”)
Many people don’t get to this stage, abandoning their Twitter accounts somewhere between bargaining and depression. But for those that do it’s totally worth it. They keep plugging away, keep reading, keep learning, keep asking questions and keep doing it. Suddenly, the light bulb goes on. Nobody can tell you what Twitter is, because Twitter isn’t any one thing. You have to find out for yourself. Then, suddenly, it’s your Twitter. You own it. You shape it. And you get it. And baby, it’s a beautiful moment. And often those who were the most resistant, and the most critical, become the biggest evangelists.
I’ve seen this process repeated again and again by friends, family, colleagues and clients. It isn’t always in this exact order – sometimes denial and anger swap places, and sometimes the depression stage is skipped entirely – but more often than not this is exactly how it goes whenever somebody walks the path from Twitter dismisser to Twitter critic to Twitter devotee. And then they go on to play a crucial role in making believers of other cynics, too.
What is the NETWORK effect ? [infographic] @davidmerzel BLOG
This infographic explains what is the network effect and how is social networking more powerful.
Click on the infographic to enlarge.
Source : http://getsat.presscdn.com/wp-content/uploads/network-effect-infographic-full.gif
So cool the #Microsoft Artist Edition mice [@davidmerzel BLOG]
Announced last week, the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 has been transformed with with artwork commissioned by five premier artists from around the world:
Kirra Jamison (Melbourne, AU)
Matt Moore (Portland, ME)
Linn Olofsdotter (Portland, OR by way of Sweden)
Mike Perry (Brooklyn, NY)
Jonny Wan (Sheffield, UK)
For a closer at all the patterns in the new collection or some background on the group of artists, check out the Artist Edition website.
Microsoft Partners around the Wold [infographic]
Very interesting infographic showing the size of the Microsoft Partner Network and how it works.
A New TREND : the Food Photography [INFOGRAPHIC]
A new TREND : the Food Photography
- A lot of people go online to talk about the sandwich they just ate. But they’re not just talking about it, they’re photographing it.
- Why? In many cases, people are documenting their lives — or at least the gustatory portion of it.
- Sometimes, it’s to celebrate the completion of a dish or a special occasion.
- Some folks are photographing “food art.”
- At least once a month, 52% of people take photos with their mobile phones.
- Another 19% upload those photos to the web.
- Reasoning that marketers should pay more attention to such nonverbal web communication, interactive agency 360i recently did a deep dive into the data and found a few constants.
- Only 10% of hundreds of photos that 360i analyzed for this infographic included human beings.
- It’s rare to see any brand mention — that happened just 12% of the time.
- So, there is huge opportunity for brands.
- If you’re a marketer who’s hungry for new insights, this might be a good place to dig in.
source : http://8.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Foodtrends-Infographic-Mashable.jpg
3 ways to encourage meeting presentations
Today, I had a very good meeting with my team.
Here-below, some tips, I’ve discovered in HBR.
- Don’t dominate. This not only gives others less time to speak up but also conveys that only your ideas are important. Let at least three people speak before you talk again.
- Be positive. Demonstrate that all ideas are valuable by restating important points. Thank people who are usually reticent for their comments.
- Ask directly. To get input from everyone, ask each person for their thoughts. Don’t do it in a confrontational way. Try, “Do you have anything to share?”
Source : http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/managementtip.php?date=050211
The Art of Conversation [infographic]
We are in a world where the storytelling has never been as important.
Why?
Because, the consumers (or partners) decide, thru their conversations, if your brand / product / service is cool or boring.
If you have a simple and great storytelling (meaning your meet a real need or solve a real issue), the consumers (or partners) will e your best ambassador / fan and will convey your message !
In this context, this is key to first listen to your audience and then to create real engagement and conversation.
Once you’ve listened and understood the real consumer needs, It’s p-to you to build a compelling storytelling.
Go to the link here-below to discover a very cool infographic on how to build storytelling.
http://davidmerzel.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/the-art-of-storytelling/
The infographic here-below, shows the different platforms used by the consumers to have conversation and/or share something (movies, music, pictures, …).
