We are already buzzing with the huge opportunities that these could present with an events and exhibition setting. Or for that matter – the office.

Here are just a few examples of these 3D sticker decales in use. We agree with Midnight, who on earth wouldn’t want to have a secret tunnel behind a bookcase leading up into a a secret laboratory, workshop or study. We would!

The online suppliers Couture Deco from the USA advise that they are washable, UV resistant, highly durable, and probably most importantly – fire resistant. Big ticks all round. The only thing that is not so great is that you apply them with regular wallpaper glue which in itself is not so bad except pretty much everyone here at our studio have had disastrous experiences at home doing this. Size? Pretty standard sizing however they can of course be adjusted for a specific spaces by simply trimming with scissors or a stanely knife. Apparently they are dead easy to remove.

Costs? At the time of this post – USD$279 plus shipping… so certainly not cheap and probably better suited to more permanent fitouts like cafe, restaurants, office spaces, and the home… but if budget does allow then from an event point of view – the results would be… as one of our younger staff members is want to declare – ‘well wicked’. Which we understand is a good thing. haha. hmm.

This company also produces other assorted decales that have really strong creative event usage possibilities. We are particularly excited with the ‘bird cage’ imagery. Kinda cool. And at USD$109 plus shipping, a little more manageable. Can also be applied to glass which is v.cool.

Source Notes:

These 3D stickers can be sourced from Couture Deco. And a special thank you to Midnight for the reference.

Anyone working in events knows – it is a business of hurry hurry wait wait wait hurry hurry hurry oh dear lord hurry and… wait. It’s the nature of the beast.

Well the following Apps may help you to pass some time, refresh yourself and keep you focused, sharp and not bored. We present the top gaming and creativity apps for Event Professionals as certified by the FACTOR168 Creative Event Company crew.

Gaming

Entertainment in the form of ‘games’ on smartphones is pretty optimistic when compared to the sensational experiences delivered by the consoles such as PS3 and XBOX360 but there are some games that have proven handy while sitting in a taxi, or at the airport, or even in the waiting room of a CEO who has incredibly poor time management skills (or is just plain rude). Settle…

Unlike other iPhone Apps, there is a wide scope of games sitting on phones but these four seemed to have rated highly with the team. Interestingly enough of the four only one is free – and two of them are in fact the most expensive Apps purchased.

Perhaps in terms of moneterizing smartphones there is something in this after all!

• FaceFighter – The cool thing about this little game is that you can photograph a colleague (face straight on is best) and simple then place his or her face within your ‘foes’ face. Then proceed to kick and punch 8 different types of fluids out of them. Personally I haven’t felt compelled to change the face of one of our more annoying vendors for some time and at $1.99 has proven to be a bargain!

• Bubblewrap – This really is what you think it is. Just sit back and pop bubble wrap to your heart’s content. Oh and it’s free… the only thing we’d recommend is to throw your phone to mute as the sound of popping will eventually turn someone in the office into a ball of fury… and talking of fury…

SF IV (StreetFighter) – This is game is an extension of that old classic from Capcom. You fight against one opponent after another in various ‘exotic’ scenes. It was advertised as having had a make ovr but I can’t see it.

Same characters, same scenes, and most of the controls and special moves are same same. For $9.99 it’s pretty overpriced but it does deliver on providing instant entertainment while commuting so whaddya’ want? The little angst ridden dialogue pieces in between challenges are pretty funny.

• Real Racing – Of all the Apps, this is the second highest in cost – $4.99. Unlike SF IV it delivers and then some. I have to confess when I was shown this app I dismissed it as being kinda dumb for a smartphone but it actually really works in this medium. The nice thing is that if you have WiFi access, you can compete against others and yourself in leagues… kinda cool although at the end of the day it is a car racing around and around the same series of tracks. I suspect the love affair with this app will drop away quicker than others but until then vroom vroom!

Some kinda cool Creative Apps

• Idea Stimulator – The Idea Stimulator was developed by a leading creative evangelist in Australia, Nigel Collin. A friend and fan of the FACTOR168 team.  Nigel started many many moons ago as an actor, found himself in demand as a corporate events master of ceremonies before attending The Disney Institute’s Organizational Creativity course (the same one that one of our founding partners Darren Kerr also attended), found the mouse, and from there developed some seriously effective, inspirational, and powerful creativity tools. This is the iPhone App version of one of his popular business management books and it works really well. And priced at $1.19, yeah I know it’s a kinda strange number, it is really great value from Australia’s guru of creativity and recent TED star.

• Thought Leaders - This is super interesting… not sure as an App… but do check out their website.

Jac Bowie Burlesque – Despite the overt advertorial nature of this App, we just like it. This stylish lady is a smart cookie who has transformed herself from a flight attendant to the Queen of Burlesque in Australia and by all reports is in the process of taking over the world through her business endeavours. If nothing else, it serves as an interesting example of monetizing a business. And let’s face it… a little burlesque in a show is always good fun if it’s the right audience.

• PhotoTropedelic – This is sheer indulgence and was a recommendation by a pal through a pal via Facebook (welcome to 2010!) and on a whim we purchased it and it’s turned out to be our all time top App. Priced at $1.99 it’s well priced and we recommend this to anyone who has a passion or even a passing aesthetic interest in POPart style of design. Some quick examples of what it can do are below…. cool huh?

Source Notes:

if you’d like to read the original Best iPhone Apps for Event Professionals – click HERE.

All these Apps can be found at iTunes and we are sorry to all the Blackberry and Nokia users… but it seems we are an iPhone business by individual choice.

FACTOR168 Creative Event Company

Creative. Strategic. Tactical.

Sensational Events through Powerful Experiences.

Cue applause.

We have nothing more to say about this clip other than it seriously rocks in an amusing comic-geek kinda way.

Sometime ago The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel and almost all of their super heros (except for like the cool ones like Spiderman, Superman, and Batman).

With that in mind we thought we’d belatedly celebrate this union with this clip that for some odd reason always seems to draw laughter from the more disturbed members of our team. And laughter is good right?

Source Notes:

A news article talking about Disney acquires Marvel

The clip was from Marvel.com

FACTOR168 Creative Event Company

Creative. Strategic. Tactical.

Sensational Events through Powerful Experiences.

So be well warned – come the 25th this month, all Geeks, and those that harbor geek tendencies who are yet to come out of the IT Support closet, will be stepping up and out from behind their computer screens. And then…

They’ll come out of comic book, a little more slowly out of the gaming stores, they’ll setting aside their handheld device with steely conviction, and as one proudly bellowing ‘Hazzar!’ along with chest beating and complicated hand shakes before scampering off for poptarts or cheese powdered crunchy bits.

Now of course if you feel really kinda motivated, you could actually participate in more formal Geek Pride activities. But before you take this step, best you swat up on the Geek Pride Manifesto created to celebrate the day. The key elements such as the basic rights and responsibilities of geeks are detailed as follows -

Rights:

1. The right to be even geekier.
2. The right to not leave your house.
3. The right to not have a significant other and to be a virgin.
4. The right to not like football or any other sport.
5. The right to associate with other nerds.
6. The right to have few friends (or none at all).
7. The right to have all the geeky friends that you want.
8. The right to not be “in-style.”
9. The right to be overweight and have poor eyesight.
10. The right to show off your geekiness.
11. The right to take over the world.

Responsibilities:

1. Be a geek, no matter what.
2. Try to be nerdier than anyone else.
3. If there is a discussion about something geeky, you must give your opinion.
4. Save any and all geeky things you have.
5. Do everything you can to show off your geeky stuff as though it were a “museum of geekiness.”
6. Don’t be a generalized geek. You must specialize in something.
7. Attend every nerdy movie on opening night and buy every geeky book before anyone else.

But okay – are you actually a Geek? Check out the matrix below and see where you or someone you know that you suspect of carrying the Geek DNA and make a quick assessment.

For some non-geek ladies that have read the above manifesto, they may find a geek a more attractive proposition. If so, feel free to pop over to this SITE for a funny and kinda sweet ‘how-to-nab-a-geek’ guide.  Sadly I recognized a lot of former boyfriends in this… oh dear.

With that in mind and with the expectation that there may be some empowered frisky Geeks smothered in Old Spice on the loose this 25th, you may find it informative to consult the following Geek dating chart… it all now makes so much sense. Funny yet disturbingly rings true.

Source Notes:
The dating geek chart is courtesy of the fab website www.gossipgamers.com and the Geek Matrix is courtesy of this SITE. All other images from http://vi.sualize.us/

The manifesto of Geek Pride Day is courtesy of the font of most instant knowledge – Wikipedia. The history of the day can also be found HERE .

FACTOR168 Creative Event Company
Creative. Strategic. Tactical.
Sensational Events through Powerful Experiences.

Well it’s May the 4th err Force Be with You!” In celebration of Star Wars Day – which character did you like best? Vote HERE. I think I’m gonna have to vote for Lei…

It seems other people share this same interest – one even created a website exclusively devoted to the slave outfit called Leia’s Metal Bikini.

It got me to thinking… and so of course I googled it and crikey! The results were… diverse… and perhaps a little perverse…

Check out some of the lesser deeply disturbing star moments in the pantheon of Princess Leia slaveness.

Yeah… okay so one of them isn’t Princess Leia but it does appeal to me. Odd. Very odd. Almost as much as this clip where some artists have engineered a full on pillow fight of a group of girls costumed up… for artistic purposes.

FACTOR168 Creative Event Company
Creative. Strategic. Tactical.
Sensational Events through Powerful Experiences.

It is manna to anyone with a creative bent and a sense of curiosity and invention – of looking at things differently.

During his career as a newspaper cartoonist – his legacy was his ‘invention cartoons’ where he looked at inventing incredibly elborate machine inventions to perform simple tasks such as pencil sharpening, or washing windows, avoiding bill collectors, peeling apples, putting toothpaste on a toothbrush. He was about creative problem solving in unconventional ways and having a lot of fun in the process .

Since his passing in 1970, his creative approach has continued to be celebrated in the form of his postcard format book called the “Rube Goldberg’s Inventions”.

IN essence these inventions over engineer very simple tasks in a very very complex fashion and usually features a series of chain reactions.

The Perdue Univeristy, Indiana USA, started the annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (RGMC) in 1987 and the results have been creatively intriguing and always entertaining in terms of human ingenuity. The name of the game is to solve a problem in the MOST CONVOLUTED AND COMPLICATED MANNER POSSIBLE.

Now when you to take this Goldberg approach and mesh it with a very creative and quirky musical group OK GO – the result is a masterful visual and audible event. Memorable and fun.

OK Go’s song This Too Shall Pass” and it’s Rube Goldberged all the way. Enjoy.

Hope you enjoyed that as much as we did.

Of course this is not the first time this musical group have delivered on a memorable video clip experience.

A previous music clip, very very simple in execution and concept, was superbly delivered on the back of some fabulous choregraphy using treadmills. The clip is called “Here It Goes Again”.

Just fabulous… Rube Goldberg and OK Go… fantastic. The applications within the special event environment in terms of team building, in regards to stage showcraft, out-of-the-box thinking and creative innovation is wide ranging and excites the heck out of the FACTOR168 team and never fails to recharge our mojo.

Now for some Goldberg trivia.

Some Goldberg trivia – Rube Goldberg’s machine inventions were the inspiration for the much loved classic board game “Mouse Trap“. Compare his artwork, compare the board game… yeah, you can see it too huh?

PLUS in 1931 the Merriam-Webster dictionary adopted the word “Rube Goldberg” as an adjective defined as accomplishing something simple through complex means.

Source Notes: More on the creative world of Rube Goldberg and for more music got to OK GO.

FACTOR168 Creative Event Company
Creative. Strategic. Tactical.
Sensational Events through Powerful Experiences.

Rubber Ducky, you’re the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Rubber Ducky, I’m awfully fond of you;
(Woo woo be doo)

Seriously who doesn’t like Rubber Ducks.

In fact according to some – Rubber Ducks and Fundraising Events are a perfect match!

If you’re looking for a great charity fundraising idea, then organising a rubber duck race for a charity fund raising event is the perfect idea! A rubber duck race is easy to set up, wholesale rubber ducks are quite cheap to buy and you can make a good profit for your charity. People love watching rubber ducks float down a river or stream and are generally only too happy to sponsor a rubber duck to help raise money for your charity. There are plenty of great charity fundraising ideas out there, but we think that a rubber duck race can be a unique and fun event for all.

This blurb was taken from a UK outfit that sells wholesale Rubber Ducks. it just goes to show that there is always someone out there happy to sell something….

To me plain yellow is a tad meh’ – if you want to make a ‘splash’ (LOL) at your fundraising event, consider ducks branded with your company logo or designer ducks.

Ok ok, so we got the ducky-vibe going on but what else for the rubber duck…

Wellstrap yourselves in, check your reality at the door and launch yourself into Rampant Duck Madness that is Rubber Duckzilla.

Lotta fun that. Also love the cool tag - ‘for people who don’t like drinking water’.

Yeah, I have admit it, I’d try an Oasis beverage based on this strange advertising event.

Imagine a fundraising event stormed by a RubberDuckzilla! Pocket ‘emptyingly’ Cool!

I also like that fact that you can extend this RubberDuckZilla event experience in the form of some equally strange online flash games  http://www.rubberduckzilla.com/

Rubberduckzilla was brought to you by The Coca-Cola Company.

Yeah, we don’t know why either but we suspect someone got fired over it … or promoted… but be rest assured, something would have happened for sure. You can’t create rubberduckzilla online flash games and not expect something to happen. It’s like a butterfly flapping it’s wings and ka-bammbee! We got tsunami for dinner.

Look having said all that – my post today is all about giving some consideration to ducks within your event desing. They are proven winners when used within fundraising events and can be suprisingly effective as prizes and props during team building exercises where guests need to get all their proverbial ducks in a row.

Anyhoo, some other helpful linkagery for you -

Rubber Ducky lyrics courtesy of Squidoo

The Logo Duck is brought to you by… Dell I guess via LogoDucks.

The funky looking designer duck can be purchased at a number of placed including Giftmonger.

Editor:  Arrr Greg mate, that’s a lotta outbound linkage we got right there. I can already hear our SEO expert fellow weaping and muttering inbound links people… inbound! But you know what, I am guessing you don’t give a proverbial ‘duck’ about that. Still, ducks are kinda cool…

FACTOR168 | Creative Event Management Company

Almost everyone else, certainly all my peers,  saw it as witty and funny and just plain smart viral marketing in action.

What do you think?

Does this seriously promote and celebrate negative practices or is it yet another victim of political correctness run rampant… and do you think the makers of this clip kinda knew it would attract a consumer and media firestorm around it and banked on the upside of drawing more eyes to Air NZ as good thing regardless of how it is achieved.

* Just a quick clarification for those that have been living under a rock and don’t actually know what a ‘cougar’ refers to. It is often employed to describe a sexually active woman in her 40′s who are so desperate for affection and the pursuit of robust sexual encounters that they tend to target young often inexperienced men in bars and clubs.

And this is what this clip is sending up with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Cougars stalking their younger prey. Anyway enough of that – check out the video and be prepared to enjoy it… or be offended… or perhaps both in equal measure.

Look I am sorry but personally I thought that was just brilliant.

Is it PC? No of course not. Offensive? Not to me.

I can see similar on mainstream media during primetime. Just not as amusing.

The American ABC network is airing a popular show based on this very phenomena. With that in mind, I kinda figure the notion of “Cougars” has firmly sidestepped PCness and been accepted by mainstream community social mores.

The show is called ”Cougar Town” and stars the very cute blue-eyed brunette Courtney Cox, previously of ‘Friends’ fame’, as she stalks her younger toy-boyish prey. Check out episodes from the official website here.

Look in all seriousness I think Air NZ deserves a big gold star for cutting through all the competing media clutter with a storng dose of humour and has achieved their marketing objective of elevating their brand profile amongst social media savvy consumers at little cost and in doing so also produced a moment that can withstand repeated viewings.

Big tick to Air NZ. In fact in a very backhanded compliment manner – it is very ‘Virigin’ of them in many ways.

Some source credits -

The little postit image at the top of the post advertises a show from Donna Moore.

The clip is courtesy of Youtube (but I suspect Air Nz had a huge hand in it).

FACTOR168 | Creative Event Management Company

I’ve found them to be tremendously helpful and it helps with my transmissions from my imagination to paper. I am also pragmatic as I identify each closed black matt book with white marker paint down the spines. Adding to my growing library of musings. Happy and content.

That was until I came across a Moleskine that fuses the functional with the artistic.

Check out the following covers commissioned and sold online by Modofly.

Moleskines as functional art. Very cool. Must have cool.

…but so far I have been paralyzed in my add-to-cart action by the sheer glorious range of choices on offer but my personal shortlist is featured below.

FACTOR168 | Creative Event Management Company

No not that one… nor the one with the Salsa dipping sauce and Mojo Webb soundtrack… no. It is my Finnish pleasure.

I can’t recall exactly when I cam across this musical… umm.. phenomenon… and I can’t remember who introduced me to them but I am externally grateful. They always brings a smile to my dial and when the creative well is a little shallow, this outfit always seems to refresh and re-energise me.

They are a Finish Rock Band created by a Finnish (you’ll notice that I really like using the word Finnish where ever possible in this paragraph) film director Aki Kaurismaki (seriously that is his name, cool huh?) who featured in his Finish film cunningly titled “Leningrad Cowboys Go America” starring a fictional Finish progressive rock band with a taste for polka – the Leningrad Cowboys. Finished with laboring the Finish.

After the film, the band not expectantly took on a life of its own. Recording music, making videos and giving concerts. The band appeared in two other Aki Kaurismäki films, “Leningrad Cowboys Meets Moses” and “Total Balalaika Show”.

This second film featured the band in concert and for the first time with the 160-member Alexandrov Ensemble. It was in Helsinki and it was magic.

The Cowboys followed this up with a slightly smaller ensemble, about 70 odd Alexandrov member. They played at the 11th Annual MTV Music Awards in New York to an estimated global audience of 250 million people worldwide. Not bad at all.

This strange musical fusion of Finnish Art-Pop and Russian Military gave birth to some of the oddest cover renditions I have heard, but nothing more so than their glorious take of “Sweet Home Alabama” – the signature hit song from one of the most famous airplane crash band’s Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Check out the wacky glory of the Cowboys and the Alexandrov’s in action below.

About ten years after this concert film the Cowboys and the Ensemble got back together for a concert imaginatively titled “Global Balalaika Show“. And they were still popular! They have since toured regularly including private corporate functions… although I suspect seeing them perform without the Alexandrov Ensemble would be a little disappointing in some ways. For me anyway. The clash of stiff Cold War feeling military uniforms with the pop-art explosion of the Cowboys loud-jackets and Cirque de Soleil inspired pointed hair and shoes. It’s this visual and audible clash set to music that makes it all work so wonderfully.

As a general rule, the Leningrad Cowboys consist of eleven cowboys and two Leningrad Ladies. Their songs indicate a strong thematic preference for Genghis Khan, Russian folk standards, tractors and rockets, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles, and of course vodka.  Naturally.

That’s not to say that they haven’t tried their hand at more contemporary-ish songs.

The second clip embedded below is their version of that late ’90′s hit from punk-ish group Offspring. In some ways I like this song “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” more so than their other offerings. If for no other reason than it features the Ladies auxiliary of the ensemble opening the track by singing “Give It To Me Baby” in heavy accented English. Adorable and fun.

AND check out the way they have gone about staging the concert. Tiered stage levels and an elevated catwalk flown through and above the audience. Transferable to a memorable corporate environment? Yes sir.

The Leningrad Cowboys official site can be found overrrrr….overrr… here!

and the wonderful Russian Choir and Backing band is the Alexandrov Ensemble… and their site can be found……over….. there!

As a special added bonus for 168′ers – we have organized, kinda, for their entire site to be presented totally in Russian for a greater cultural experience. Awwww pretty.

Your most welcome.

FACTOR168 | Creative Event Management Company

Options and combinations. Endless sides. Huge laminated menus. But thankfully they all shared a common trait – they were all unimaginatively literal. They detailed exactly what was in the meal to the exclusion of everything else. And that’s mighty handy for a traveler half out of her mind with roadtrip candy and cola.

America is the land of choice. No doubt about it. When I visit for business and pleasure, I always try to make time to spend sometime walking the floors of their supermarkets like Winn-Dixie or Vons. The long cabinets packed full of every different type of ice cream flavor possibly imagined. It leaves me gob-smacked and disgruntled by my poor excuse for a diary aisle back home.  Our chocolate and beer is far superior. There is that.

A personal favorite is the more upmarket (eye of the beholder) and the seemingly more personal service offered by Trader Joe’s. Love their little hand written menu suggestions, in-store product reviews, and a selection of cute shop-boys hard at it.

The thick paper bags in the West Hollywood store are so retro cute. They make me feel so much greener while I over consume  – well more so than my normal plastics. And they sound great when you crumple the tops up as you walk.

Anyway back on message – Americans are a lot of things, good and not so good, and one of them is that they are literal. They say it how it is. They are not shy about coming forward and spelling it out. Unlike say the French… sure they always sound cool and exotic in their accented English but really… what are they really saying? So… obscure.

And I suspect that as a nation the French share a limited appreciation for a massive range of diary confectionery goods to choose from. A vast wine or cheese selection? Sure. The French love it. Mint Ribbon Ice Cream with Pralines… nope. Only us Australians and Americans there… the English? Most probably still in the pub eating salt and vinegar Walker Crisps and nursing a pint of something warm that may with care and refrigeration resemble beer. Gross generalization but there you have it.

Sometimes being literal yields the most unexpected results. Rather than the extended song and dance… just ask for the sale… wondering – just ask her/him out. Unhappy? They’ll never know unless you literally spell it. Just as importantly – happy? Then literally tell someone… tell everyone.

The guys and gals from Dustfilms agree and have recreated some really funny results from their compact series of ‘literal videos’.

Drawing on their personal music video favorites (they are without a doubt Gen X), they have remastered them with ‘literal’ lyrics to match the video clip.

Sure – it is a little hit and miss.The Billy Idol rendition of ‘White Wedding’ isn’t so hot.However the following clip from Tears for Fears featured below is a clear winner. Enjoy.

* Check out the old card filing system in this video. Yes Virginia – their really was a world before the world wide web and ‘puters. Entire libraries were full of paper books with covers and woven spines, and ka-thousands of index cards and heavy date stampers to manage them all.

Take an electronic leaf out of the kindle book – and just say it how it is. What you want, what you expect, what you like, what you don’t. And hopefully there will be someone who will be listening and care – like we do…. and perhaps the cute guys at Trader Joe’s.  Literally speak and listen.

FACTOR168 | Creative Event Management Company

Now in Australia we do have some cheerleaders… from the top of my head you can find them at National Rugby League games (well the more successful teams anyhow) and possibly the National Basketball League… although I don’t know about the basketball anymore.

This season there are no teams representing two of the largest population centers in the country – Sydney and Brisbane. The other largest city, Melbourne, may not also enter a team. It’s fair to say that basketball in Australia may be following deadly dull Baseball as a failure of American sporting imperialism… still the League, Rugby Union, Football (aka Soccer) and of course Australian Rules are very healthy…

Anyway I digress… Pom Poms.

I came across a Pom Pom supplier who provided very handy web tips for those not Pom Pom savvy. It addresses the big questions such as size, application & technique, the vexing issue of extra length.

It would seem that the jury is out on the question of length versus the inevitable ‘stringier look that comes with…umm extra lengthage. Personally I am firmly in the camp that believes it should be more about what you do with your Pom Poms than physical ‘pomery’ questions.

Unless of course we are discussing the aesthetics of colour color. So many to choose from and of course combinations – go a contrast or just have colored accents… perhaps a three color mix. Perhaps you prefer holographics…. ooh boy.

Some handy tips to takeaway from the site include -  consider your performance area, consider your uniform, consider future performances, consider choreography. Not unlike a basic showcraft checklist when designing a staged event performance.

So after I finished researching the web for Pom Poms… with so, so, so many pretty cheerleaders demonstrating their Pom Pom skills – I came across this little gem on Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die website. Love the fun energy and simplicity of it.

It is a seemingly Brady Bunch inspired homage by Jonathon Smith to Missy Elliott’s track “Shake Your Pom Pom”.

Not quick on the uptake – this clip required a second viewing before I realised that each face was performing a very specific audible signature within the song track. Brilliant.

An event idea being formulated ahead.

This would be a great format for a corporate video clip showcasing top business achievers at play. In fact a series of these 3×3 ‘Brady Bunch’ styled clips could be produced and played progressively throughout the program as conference ‘zingers’ – kicking off each program element of a conference.

A finale clip of the day or perhaps as a presentation at a closing gala dinner could feature a compile build of all the various event speakers, guests, various stakeholders – expanding on cue from 3×3 through to perhaps 12×12 or 32×32 layout. With the physical use of multiple projection/display screens, a really cool full room effect could be achieved.

We have found that these sort of video production techniques have proven not only to be effective in terms of creating a memorable shared experience, but can also effortlessly restate the key event message as well as providing for an additional sponsors profiling platform.

Oh and don’t forget to add Pom Poms! Interaction is powerful.

FACTOR168 | Creative Event Management Company

How to best describe bucky balls?

Well the manufacturers describe them as as “the Amazing Magnetic Toy with Millions of Uses”. Really? Look I think that’s a stretch but it’s a nice tag line in any case.

The bucky balls are a collection of magnetised balls that allow you to fiddle and fumble with them as you create different shapes and patterns. Consider them a strange toy cross breed between perhaps a Rubic’s Cube, possibly an Etcha-a-Sketch (check out the wacky Etcha-a-Sketch LAND …so umm way cool and chillin in ma hangout… apparently) and without question a fistful of BB air gun pellets.

Okay. Granted. It sounds kinda boring and somewhat… well.. dumb.. but I assure you once you start playing with them (or crafting a new muse if someone in the office inquires) it can become very very addictive.

The Bucky Ball guys website can be found here.

It has a couple of info-commercial videos that are a guilty enjoyment. And of course if you feel so compelled, you can order directly from these fine folks your own set of balls. Enjoy.

Oh, and since this is our finding and sharing our creative muse part of this website and since it seems all my compadres seem compelled to post with a youtube insert, I thought you might enjoy the creative efforts of this basketball fan as he employs the etch-a-sketch toy at an NBL event with some sensational results.

Hoo-boy! Can this guy sketch. Amazing. He’d be great as a sizzle moment during a tradeshow me thinks. Check it as they say. Man, I am so not hip to the ways.

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Consider this if you are in anyway fragile, remotely prudish, or just not too keen on the French or watching people walking a lot.

For the rest of us – here is a great music track with a catchy driving beat and addictive chant like lyrics supported by a very simple concept and memorable vision.

In brief – a series of girls take turns striding down a series of streets in Paris, relieving each other relay style with Dylan-esque lyrics repeatedly masking out their genitals. Okay then.

Sure sure there is a certain degree of titillating shock value to be found here I guess but I’d counter that in this day and age… it isn’t actually all that shocking. Just enough ‘shock’ I’d imagine to ensure it reaches a global audience. The fundamentals of viral marketing appear to be all ticked here (let’s face it – this very post is testimony to this) ensuring a greater enhanced profile for this band.

As evidenced by their extensive touring now being undertaken it seems to be working out just fine for them… and having good music in my humble opinion certainly can’t hurt.

Artistically there is a lot to like about this project. It’s smart and simple.

And I love the effortlessly smooth transitions the ladies perform between each other. To be honest, I didn’t even see the first relief girl enter the scene until her dress came up.

From a purely commercial point of view, what I really love about this project is that for a relatively modest budget outlay – an allocation for a camera mounted vehicle or motorbike (or even a scooter), talent fees, and a reasonable block of edit time, this almost no-cost exercise has delivered a great result with huge ongoing potential for the band.

It is fair to say that this particular approach is not for everyone or for every business. But this notion of creating a strong vibe through an experiential event staged within the public arena is well worth considering for some.

It can certainly ensure media coverage. It can generate genuine word of mouth buzz  around the brand or product. It can seriously elevate profiles through the ‘compounding magic’ of viral electronic marketing.

A number of things to be mindful of in considering this style of experiential marketing. Safety above all else.

If staged in the public space and your undertaking a guerrilla approach like this clip – then speed and surprise are everything. If not, expect to either be shut down very quickly or even worse – public reactions may be much more studied and contrived and let’s face it this isn’t so hot. Forced moments invariably consign video productions to the edit suites as a ‘fix-it-in-the-edit’ casualty. Suddenly there’s CGI everywhere and a budget bled out all over the floor.

Other elements to consider are -a practical budget and a strong sense of what is ‘appropriate’ and what isn’t in terms of general public sensibilities and brand identity.

You’ll also need a seasoned experiential events partner to help produce, navigate, and execute the project at hand to ensure maximum value and impact is achieved from the ‘moment’.  Of course, above all else, you and your organization will need to demonstrate courage and conviction.

The music clip is not so surprisingly called “Baby Baby Baby” and is courtesy of the bands myspace website – Make the Girl Dance

FACTOR168 | Event Management Company

A girlfriend of mine who also works as a producer of special events sent us this link and we love it so much we thought we should share it. Cue dramatic organ music followed by a manical laugh from the stationary cupboard “Maaawwwwaaaahahahaha!”

Importantly – you’ll need speakers for this link…otherwise… well you’ll find out.

So turn the speakers up, click the link and sit back and listen… one of the things we really like about this is that the longer you listen the more the ‘story’ develops… good fun and we recommend leaving it running while you pop out for a meeting or lunch… guarranteed to drive your workmates zombo-crazy. Enjoy – zombo.com

FACTOR168 | Event Management Company

This video ‘mash’* has creatively cut together a number of period Jazz musicians together and married them to a funky psychedelic soundtrack. The results are great. Love it.

This sense of taking the old and reinventing with a fresh new take is very liberating and can be applied to all sorts of things. Reinvent a product or a service, perhaps a business process or even a brand identity – I suspect most things could do with a thorough ‘mashing’ from time to time.

A great ‘mash’ opportunity is the much loved and anticipated ‘happy-faces’ event video clips we are often asked to produce and run at the conclusion of incentive styled events. A ‘mashed’ approach could work really well here. But of course like most things, be mindful not to over do it as the impact of this stylized effect can be lost or become…well… annoying.

* This videoclip is apparently called a ‘mashup’.

I wasn’t sure what this was but have been reliably informed it is a technique where as number of different data sources are are brought together to produce an integrated result that was not the original reason for producing the raw source data.

Ummm okay… so ‘mashing’ is where a collection of video images are edited together as a running montage to a cool soundtrack…. new words old meanings. Man do I feel old.

FACTOR168 | Event Management Company

FACTOR168 | Event Management Company

Again – enjoy responsibly.

We really digged this clip as it had all the right ‘mix’ of components that translated into a good communication experience. Strong characters, a good storyline, a strong sense of humour, a fresh take of pop culutre (preps rapping!) and above all – much like the product – it was all good fun.

Enjoy. But of course in moderation.

Sure.. though this sounds like the name of some long-defeated Decepticon, I assure you fine people (and Autobots) that it’s something far less diabolical.

Simply visit  the Gravatar website , sign up for the free account, upload the photo you’d like to use, and you’re all set. Your newly-created avatar will now show up here along with a plethera of other website and blogs.

Well, as long as you put the electronic mailing address you used to sign up to gravatar.com in the e-mail field when adding your comment.

That’s it. Easy. So do it.