Augmented Reality

A few weeks ago I attended the national Direct Marketing Association’s annual convention at McCormick place here in Chicago with some colleagues.  In all my years of direct marketing, this was the first time of attending and I was curious to see how good old fashioned direct marketing was being represented in the new digital era.  My own work with clients has changed drastically over the last decade, and I wanted to see if the DMA had kept pace with that change.

I attended several fascinating sessions, but the one that was most intriguing was a session about the latest mobile technologies, including augmented reality trends.  Augmented reality is a view of the real-world in real time that has been “augmented” or enhanced by computer-generated sensory input.  More specifically, augmented reality uses the camera on your smart phone to overlay information on your field of view that you see through your smart phone.

IKEA uses augmented technology with its catalog and a smart phone to let customers see what specific pieces of will look like in your own room at home.  Way better than taping a catalog picture of a table to the wall in your dining room to see if it looks good!!

Check out this IKEA video.

Even more practical, and useful, is what Audi has done in Germany using augmented reality to create a new version of an owner’s manual.  I recently got a new car, and it’s a different brand from my old car.  The other day, a strange light appeared on the dashboard.  I flipped through the owner’s manual to no avail.  Then, I took a picture of it and texted it to my husband, who told me I needed to fill my tire immediately!  Audi’s new owner’s manual eliminates the need for a handy husband (at least when it comes to cars).

Audi's Augmented Reality.

Of course, my mind went wild thinking of applications for our clients, and in my everyday life.   How about an app showing how your home would look with new energy efficient lighting, or new energy efficient appliances, along with an estimate of how much you could save based on how many lights you have in the room?  How about scanning an item from the grocery store, and getting some recipe ideas or even better, seeing the cooked item on a dish at your kitchen counter?  For now, I’ll settle for looking at my living room through my smart phone and seeing it cleaned up, instead of looking like this:

Amazing how much chaos a two-year-old can get accomplish in a very short amount of time…

Your Brand's True Colors

I have an 8 year old daughter who is currently into those paper “fortune teller” gizmos.  Remember, the ones you make yourself out of a piece of paper and operate with your index fingers and thumbs? Your “client” chooses a color, then another color, then a number, and presto, your fortune is revealed. This article about brands and colors made me think of her fortune teller game.  Maybe her fortunes can really tell a person something about themselves if she includes some of this wisdom.  What do your colors say about you?

YOUR BRAND'S TRUE COLORS

BizBash Social Media Workshop

On Wednesday we went to BizBash IdeaFest in Chicago and participated in a workshop organized by @IanSohn from Ogilvy & Mather on Social Media for Event Marketing. Ian’s presentation was Event-specific, but his ideas could also be implemented into any marketing plan. We discussed the importance of including social media – not as a tag-a-long after-thought to the overall effort – but having it's own agenda and specific purpose. Social media can be looked at as a way to ignite an entire campaign, promotion or event. It stretches the reach to include a larger audience… including virtual attendees, consumers, etc. through "word of mouth". These were my favorite take-aways:

PRE (Event, Campaign, Promotion)

– Establish a calendar – then tear it up

This point really resonated with me. I think it's great to have a plan but it takes away the essence of the vehicle to know what you're going to say ahead of time. We don't need to tweet just to tweet – it's better to be moved to. It can be what makes your tweet ring true – that something you saw or heard or experienced is something worth sharing. Basically, have a plan but be prepared that you probably won't follow it.

DURING

– 80/20 rule: Don't be boring

I like having rules to follow and this 80/20 breakdown is a great rule of thumb. 80% of your content should be relevant information, what's happening, what's engaging you, what you're interested in (and seeing and doing and hearing). Save the other 20% for self or brand promotion. Also, the best content is serendipitous – not planned!

POST

– Generate an Impact Report: How many tweets, re-tweets, favorites, shares, comments, likes, uploads etc.

To me, one of the best things about social media is the ability to track activity. Simply by including a #hashtag, we can search for content and record the results. How many people are interacting with Eire Direct? Our clients? Our creative??? What are they saying? These answers are so easy to collect – they are right there at your fingertips.

The main thing, you need a plan. It can and should be simple. It should allow people to exercise their own creativity and experience – but with a little added direction and forethought. Social media efforts can be everyone's job, or no one's job – so be clear about your objective and assign responsibilities accordingly.

New Year. New Website.

We have a whole new look over at Eire Direct!

Scroll through our Services... Read more about our Characters... Take a look at our Portfolio.

Thanks for visiting. We hope to hear from you soon.

Choosing Colors

The Creative/Production Team here at Eire often gets feedback regarding color choices. I came across an interesting article today that summarizes color and how different colors evoke different emotions. When we use a color and you’re not sure why, know there is reasoning and meaning behind every color we choose.

Click here to read the article.

Pumpkin Brownies

With the shorter days and cooler weather, I find myself staying indoors more and wanting to cook comfort food and bake things that fill the house with wonderful scents. A couple years ago I discovered this recipe for Pumpkin Brownies on Eating Is Art blog, and they have become a crowd favorite – perfect for this time of year!

Pumpkin Mixture
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup pumpkin puree

Dry Ingredients
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2-1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (the only way to go!)
1 bag chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and dust with flour. With an electric mixer, or in your stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and well blended. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla and the pumpkin puree and continue to beat until thoroughly mixed. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg and stir them into the pumpkin mixture to form a smooth batter. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!

Refreshing

We’ve made a new lunch discovery here at Eire. (Always a reason to celebrate!) Our go-to corner deli for sandwiches, soups and salads has been serving Watermelon Gazpacho for the soup of the day, and it is delicious! A refreshing twist on the more common tomato gazpacho, it’s cool and sweet with a perfect little kick. I don’t have Brett’s recipe, but here’s one that is similar. (Brett’s has lots of jicama and some sort of a hot pepper diced in, too!) Get chopping and enjoy!

Ingredients

8 cups finely diced seedless watermelon, (about 6 pounds with the rind) (see Tip)

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

2 tablespoons minced shallot

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Mix watermelon, cucumber, bell pepper, basil, parsley, vinegar, shallot, oil and salt in a large bowl. Puree 3 cups of the mixture in a blender or food processor to the desired smoothness; transfer to another large bowl.  Stir in the remaining diced mixture. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Melon Tip: Melon selection & storage – Look for symmetrical unblemished melons, without flat sides, that have a creamy yellow spot on the bottom indicating ripeness. At 92% water, this fruit should feel heavy when you heft it. Precut melon flesh should be dense, firm and appear moist. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or keep in a cool, dark spot. Cover the cut surface of melon with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Nutrition – Per serving: 116 calories; 5 g fat ( 1 g sat , 4 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 2 g protein; 2 g fiber; 296 mg sodium; 345 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (110% daily value), Vitamin A (45% dv).