Things to Watch

• ‘Iron Sky’
  May 15, 2012 | 4:52 pm

  

  In a post last October, we looked at innovative ideas for crowdfunding movies. The new film Iron Sky, a sci-fi comedy involving Nazis on the moon, was financed both by traditional crowdfunding (from some 10,000 contributors) and crowd-investing (around 200 people are shareholders and stand to benefit from any profits, according to Wired.co.uk). And Finnish writer-director Timo Vuorensola, who amassed fans with a low-budget Star Trek spoof, also involved the crowd in the creative process—e.g., to help with historical research, props and visual effects. This had the added benefit of creating evangelists, he told The West Australian: “When people are contributing to a film, they take ownership of it and spread the word.” Iron Sky is playing around Europe, in Australia and a few other markets, and has a North American distributor lined up. —Marian Berelowitz

  Image credit: ironskyfilm

• Betting on touch screens
  May 10, 2012 | 10:15 am

  More flat surfaces are becoming screens, and more screens are becoming interactive, as we note in our 10 Trends for 2012 report. In one recent manifestation of this trend, the upscale Hong Kong Jockey Club installed several 10-by-4-foot touch-screen tables, where members can view videos and see updated race results, as well as gamble, using RFID-enabled smart cards to place bets. The tables, which each accommodate eight players, can also interact with members’ digital devices.

  The Club is looking to install the tables at other tracks around the world, according to Possible, the WPP agency that created them. “Designed to resonate with the always-on tablet and smartphone generation,” screens such as these will increasingly replace formerly static flat surfaces. —Will Palley

• Celebrity Facebook games
  May 2, 2012 | 11:15 am

  While some are questioning how much potential remains in the Facebook gaming market, a batch of celebrities are turning out their own apps for the social network. Oprah’s Thank You Game, which aims to “help spread gratitude around the world,” was designed by game maven Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter Labs. Jay-Z’s new Empire is based around his rise to fame, with players creating a Sims-like avatar before running empires of their own. Another famous rapper is behind 50 Cent’s Blackjack, basically a version of the casino game. And Jersey Shore’s Snooki beat them all to the punch with Match Game in February. —Will Palley

• Twitter RSVPs
  April 25, 2012 | 10:15 am

  

  Brands are increasingly using Twitter in innovative ways—e.g., via “micro-affiliates” or for e-commerce. To help manage demand for sought-after new sneaker editions, Nike recently debuted a Twitter RSVP process that allows customers to reserve a shoe at any of a dozen U.S. stores, avoiding long lines and mayhem. Sneaker fans must follow the Twitter account of their local store, which sends a tweet at a random time on the designated day. Consumers must then direct-message the store within 60 minutes, including the product-specific hashtag, their name and shoe size. Shoes are awarded on a “first respond, first serve” basis and can be picked up on the launch day. —Will Palley

  Image credit: Myrone Delacruz

• Upending hotel booking
  April 17, 2012 | 11:45 am

  

  Launched in late 2011, BackBid.com is a booking site that pits hotel against hotel to gain a client’s business—in the end helping the consumer to win out above all. Here’s how it works: Users book a room and post the details to BackBid.com. From there, other hotels in the area can outbid the current booking, offering lower rates or room upgrades and more amenities. Users can then accept one of the offers and rebook at the competing hotel. The model offers hotels an opportunity to fill empty beds without resorting to heavy discounting—which could ultimately cheapen the brand’s image. Instead, hotels can make savvy travelers feel like VIPs by offering a seemingly personalized discount package. But it’s a potential catch-22, since those beds might be empty due to would-be guests defecting to competitors with better bids. —Jessica Vaughn

  Image credit: backbid.com

• Micro-affiliates
  April 13, 2012 | 10:30 am

  

  It’s one thing for a brand to have millions of followers on Twitter; it’s another to have that army doing some work for you. American Express recently started offering a credit to customers who tweet an Amex-related promotion (e.g., #AmexWholeFoods, to receive $25 off a $75 purchase at Whole Foods). U.K.-based Park Resorts, similarly, is offering savings and credits to brand followers who share promotional links.

  “It’s simple and frictionless,” as Ed Gilligan of American Express told The New York Times. The ease of getting consumers to send a brand’s message certainly saves on media costs, and the message is more likely to be noted (Nielsen reports that 92% of consumers around the world trust recommendations from friends and word-of-mouth more than any other form of messaging). “Micro-affiliates,” as these consumer participants are sometimes termed, is an idea that fits well in a post-Groupon world, where deal-loving consumers respond to offers to save money they may not have spent otherwise. —Aaron Barr

  Image credit: American Express

• United by Blue
  April 11, 2012 | 12:45 pm

  

  With businesses like TOMS Shoes and Warby Parker, we’ve seen the rise of the “Buy One, Give One Away” business model—a strategy we highlighted in our 2011 100 Things to Watch List. Now, we’re seeing more brands linking customer purchases to tangible do-good initiatives. Apparel maker United by Blue, a certified B Corp, says it has “one hand in the apparel industry and the other hand in waste management.” That’s because UBB vows to remove a pound of trash from oceans and waterways for each item sold (since launching in 2010, they’ve removed some 83,000 pounds of junk). The company proudly “does its own dirty work,” as the UBB website lays out, and the brand-organized cleanup events serve as organic community-building experiences for the volunteers, typically local residents. With more cause-minded products and CSR activities launched every day, socially focused efforts will increasingly need to promise tangible results so that customers associate each purchase with a measurable benefit. —Jessica Vaughn

  Image credit: Unitedbyblue.com

• Second-screen movie apps
  April 5, 2012 | 12:00 pm

  TV networks aren’t the only ones experimenting with complementary mobile apps. Big-screen producers are seeing potential in the second screen, with movie apps that go beyond the outtakes and commentary of classic DVD extras. A $4.99 iPad app that debuted along with the Blu-ray edition of Monty Python and the Holy Grail yields the screenplay, Michael Palin’s diary and more. And if synced with a Blu-ray player, the app doubles as a remote control and surfaces pertinent extras at key points. Kids flicks are a particularly good fit: Warner Bros.’ free Happy Feet Two app, for instance, helps viewers “sing, dance, and play along” in sync with the Blu-ray. Disney offers free second screen apps for Bambi, The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp that include extras like stills, storyboards and flipbooks along with Blu-ray syncing. These apps provide a window into a future where viewers access augmented content across synced screens. —Deanna Zammit

• Azealia Banks
  April 2, 2012 | 10:30 am

  

  Formerly known as Miss Bank$, 20-year-old rapper Azealia Banks has been garnering significant attention since she released her debut single, “212,” in December. She topped NME’s 2011 cool list and came third in the BBC’s Sound of 2012 countdown. The New Yorker’s first EP is set to launch April 17, and she’s working on a full-length album, Broke With Expensive Taste, while collaborating with Kanye West and Lana Del Rey. —Will Palley

  Image credit: myspace.com/azealiabanks

• 4D cinema
  March 28, 2012 | 3:00 pm

  Hang on to your popcorn. Another “dimension” is being added to the theatrical experience: physical effects. In some cases, theaters are installing seats that shift, rumble and otherwise move in sync with the action. “We are trying to reflect everything you would feel in real life without crossing that line of being like a theme park ride,” Guy Marcoux of high-tech seat manufacturer D-BOX told The Guardian. Around 3,000 D-BOX seats have been installed in theaters across North America, Japan, Germany, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Other 4D experiences incorporate “in-theater special effects,” like Broadway 4D, a permanent musical theater attraction planned for a long-vacant historic Times Square theater.

  It seems the entertainment industry is working ever harder to create experiences that manage to entice viewers away from the big screens and high definition they already have at home. —Deanna Zammit

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