By now all Twitter users must have moved over to new twitter.

If you haven’t then you should… It does everything that you wanted old twitter to do, it’s as good as the third party apps such as Tweetdeck for using Twitter, ok, you can’t have other social networking sites running concurrently but it has some good functions.

If you want some help with the new twitter and the functions it offers, then check out Twitter’s dedicated page: http://twitter.com/newtwitter

We’ve moved over to new twitter and love it, you can find Agog on Twitter at twitter.com/agoglimited

What do you think of new twitter?

Here at Agog we have helped Facebook reach 500 million users. To follow Agog on Facebook, click on the following link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Agog-Advertising-Design/111144968935521?ref=mf

That makes Facebook not only the biggest social network in the world but also the fastest growing.

Read more at the Guardian Online here.

Something Funny is going on. It’s the phenomenon of Pop-up business ventures; these temporary outlets have been spreading like wildfire. Since 2003 the trend has been gathering momentum, and although this is nothing new now, the trend is certainly showing no signs of slowing. There are not only an abundance of pop-up retail outlets dedicated to creating a certain buzz around high-end designer collections, there are also pop-up galleries, bars, clubs, restaurants and spa’s.  Dr. Martens Pop-Up store in Spittalfields, London is an industrial style unit kitted out with wooden pallets, sheets of steel, bare concrete floors and an all round industrial feel that accentuates the fact that this is only a temporary venture: it’s been thrown up and and can be pulled down just as easily.  The goods on offer are also rare collaborations between designers like Louise Body, Raf Simons, Stussy and Yohji Yamamoto, demonstrating yet further, the temporary existence of these stores and the fleeting curiosity of short attention spans so ever-present in todays consumer buying trends.

Even though the emergence of these outlets occured in 2003, the novelty still hasn’t worn off. The effect of the Pop-Up store is still as strong as it was when the buzz around these ventures was first created; and that is because of their nature…….they are fleeting in their very existence: much like our attention spans. They cater to the demands of the opinion formers, the early adopters and the trend setters, the precise demographic that will ensure that the wares that the shop was promoting will be desired long after it’s departure, keeping the brands current, cool and in demand. 

The Pop-Up store is a great marketing tool that can work for a broad range of businesses on a much smaller budget than a TV ad campaign, with very similar results. It’s looking likely that the pop-up store is here to stay and will continue to produce pleasing results for the consumer and business alike.

Dr. Martens Pop-Up store in Spittalfields, London

Ksubi Pop-Up fashion Outlet

Reebok Pop-Up fashion outlet

Saatchi & Saatchi Canada recently produced a viral ad depicting the decline of the traditional ad agency and the importance to act now to embrace the digital age . Many industry professionals found the whole thing rather pretentious of the Saatchi & Saatchi agency, and the negative feedback left on the Campaign website suggest that the viral clip had been met with a less than luke-warm response.

However, I have to say that I got it, it was a cheap shot at all agencies out there as well as themselves, but I got the message and the fact that agencies and big brands alike have to embrace the change. But the problems pointed out by this clip arn’t new issues. These issues have just evolved. 15 years ago, when an ad break appeared on TV sets, the consumer would get up to make a cup of tea, now we fast forward on our Sky+ remote, 15 years ago we didn’t have spam, we had junk mail, and that ended up in exactly the same place as the digital stuff: in the trash can. The issues facing the industry arn’t that technology is changing too quickly to keep up with…..it’s that consumers are more aware than ever of being advertised to.

These days a seven year old can spot a sales pitch from a mile off.  Did you know that at 6 months old children start to recognize brand logos? What we need to do is find new ways to engage with our target markets, most people don’t mind being advertised to, so long as the experience is pleasurable…..that is how come we have so many iconic ads, if you can make being sold to an experience for our consumers, they won’t begrudge those big brands their hard earned pounds becuase they have worked for them. The ad industry is not the devil stoking the fires of consumerism, it’s just a product, but the industry has some pretty heavy artistic credentials, the industry is an art form and most people can see this, so why don’t we do what artists do and keep on finding those interesting ways to engage the public, keep surprising them but most of all, stay one step ahead.

Watch the Saatchi&Saatchi Clip; http://bit.ly/cNhC8r

Good example of a grassroots campaign:

David James is like an invisible force. He moves along quietly and discreetly but leaves an indelible mark behind. He is like an earthquake miles below the sea, and his work is the tsunami that hits the shores. He likes it this way. His ideas have defined a generation and even his early work has a timeless quality that feels relevant and evocative at the same time. David James is Prada’s Creative Director, he has been heading up their ad campaigns for nearly a decade, each of them slick and artistic with the power to catch the attention of the beholder and draw the eye in, even though these are ads, in todays day and age, where consumers easily flick over the pages, unengaged and bored by the familiar, fast forwarding the programms, or simply blocking pop-ups, David James is creating ads to linger over, to ponder, to observe.

His career over the last 22 years has seen him work with fashion industry giants as well as dance acts, artists and fashion magazines. His layouts, often stark and bold, often give a surreal quality to his work. My personal favourites are the Another Magazine shoots, where the imagery is distinctly more provocative and expressive than that of his work for Prada or Miu Miu, however this is not say that his work for those brands is less important. David James has set the standards for fashion advertising today. He blurred the lines between fashion photography and art. His images don’t just speak to every woman who has aspirational fantasies whilst clutching a glossy lifestyle magazine, his images speak freely to anyone perusing the pages.

He uses image as language, and text as image, and in doing so creates truly beautiful art, accessible by all and designed for advertising…..a skill that has demonstrated the power of advertising, not as a catalyst for consumerism, but as an art form in it’s own right; Now that is a skill all ad agencies should learn to master.

To check out David James’s online exhibition visit www.davidjames-outofprint.co.uk accesible online until mid May.