There was a great article in the FT’s Inside Business section written by the paper’s media editor, Andrew Edgcliffe-Johnson.  Describing how newsrooms have shrunk, he looks at how services such as PR Newswire (owned by UBM plc) are responding and how it sees its future being driven by digital syndication, social media and search engine optimisation.   

As we have commented before in our blog, a rethink has started for press releases as multimedia content to help feed the growing number and variety of news outlets online.  Edgcliffe-Johnson argues that “search and social media trends suggest corporate content will only grow”.   

So not only do we now need to be aware of the fact that the majority of news is ‘broken’ online, but also that how we package up that news into deeper content will increasingly make a difference. This will have an impact not only in how this might be facilitated both client and agency side, but also that the content must be credible and ‘watchable’.   

There will be a need of closer integration of advertising, digital marketing, PR and investor relations concludes Edgcliffe-Johnson.  

See the article in the FT here (registration required).

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BIRT (Business Information Reporting Tools) developer and founder Actuate has launched a fantastic interactive app, Dash for Gold. The app allows you to investigate and explore the results of past sports competitions and compare them to this year’s games.  

Using their intuitive reporting dashboard they interrogate a wide range of economic, demographic and geographical data to hunt out the trends and enable users to analyse and predict their own medal winners in simple and easy to understand graphical interfaces.  

The Think Tank was asked to create a brand identity for the online application including a detailed infographic which explains what users can expect when they delve into its data.  

The branding was extended to a series of multi-lingual online banners and a video that guides users through the experience. Working closely with Actuate during the app’s development, The Think Tank provided advice on messaging, design and graphical execution of the microsite and application as well as the marketing collateral that promotes it.  

This simple to use app puts you in control of the data past and present, allowing you to predict this year’s winners alongside a competition for the best dashboard created by users.  

Actuate Dash for Gold includes:  

Did you know: Sports and competition data at your fingertips

All historic and current information at one glance in a dashboard application with sports data that is updated daily. Compare and analyse historic results by country or by discipline. Get timely information on your country's medal count.    

Interactive Analytics: Explore & Play  

The interactive analytics section of the Dash for Gold app allows you to correlate sports and medal information with external data and gain completely original insights. The app brings together different public databases with geopolitical and economic data by country as well as some fun facts. Review performance against world economic and demographic factors such as wine consumption, CO2 emissions or fertility rates. Or maybe you already knew that countries with a low birth rate under perform in swimming?    

BIRT Dash for Gold Contest: Join the athletes and compete  

From 27th July you will have the opportunity to create your own interactive dashboards to uncover trends and fun facts about the world’s top sporting competitions by applying economic, climatic, historical and other indicators to sports data. You'll be amazed at what you find as you drag and drop Google-style gadgets to discover hidden correlations and expose exciting information about your favourite countries and sporting events.  

When you're ready, submit your dashboards to the competition and they'll be published to the community for all to see. Judges will evaluate and choose the top four dashboards and each will win a 32GB 3rd generation Apple iPad with WiFi.  

To get in the game you can find out more and register here to keep current on the latest updates and contest announcements.    

On the go – Mobile Dash for Gold  

Keep your sporting facts handy wherever you are with mobile access to Dash for Gold. After registering, you will receive a link to access daily updates to the latest competition results and figures. Dash for Gold Mobile has been optimized for iPad and viewable on most tablet browsers.

Get predicting here and delve into the facts.

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This project by retailer Pimkie called Color Forecast has been developed by Pedro Cruz and runs feeds from high definition cameras in Milan, Paris and Antwerp to track the colour of fashions worn across the cities.

The software analyses the passing colours and shows in real time which are worn most often, then the colours are compiled into an infographic to see how trends evolve.

See the website here and see how it works below.

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2011 seems set to be the year of the mobile with apps being created faster than ever before. With a prediction of nearly two-thirds of retail shoppers soon to be using their mobiles for shopping, it would seem as though apps can't be created fast enough.

ForeSee Results have utilised data from the Christmas shopping period to create a benchmark for shopping trends. Such were the results that they have made the bold statement that 'any retailer not actively working to develop, measure, and refine its mobile experience is leaving money on the table for competitors."

Historically trends that hit the consumer market will at some point be on the table for discussion in the business market in the near future. At what point the B2B market will seriously look into this as a touch point in their marketing strategy we shall have to wait and see but it will inevitably be yet another medium for the market to get its head around. For more information on the rise of the mobile follow this link  http://bit.ly/gYeHop

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