Author Archive

Color, etc.

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Kwame Taylor-Hayford is VP/Senior Sisomo Producer at SaatchiNY. He joined the agency in 2008, and has worked on integrated campaigns for jcpenney, General Mills, P&G and Turner Classic Movies, among others. Below are a few of his picks for the latest and greatest sight, sound and motion on the web and on your phone.

VW INNOVATIONS

The new VW app in action

Using both a print ad and an iPhone app VW allowed readers of Norway’s top newspapers to experience the new innovations in their cars using augmented reality (AR). Open the app to test drive a virtual VW and try out lane assist, adaptive lights and adaptive cruise control.

The app takes AR beyond just a gimmick in a fun engaging execution. It’s also a great example of how both traditional and non-traditional media can be used together to deliver and reinforce messages about the cars features.

ABSOLUT GLIMMER

Absolut Vodka engaged artists in Brazil to create art using their new limited edition Glimmer bottle, and input from fans via social media. Users were encouraged to send messages about what makes them exceptional via Twitter and Faceook. Over 5 days the tweets/posts were turned into unique pieces of art, with photos of each piece tagged back to individual users on Facebook.

Absolut took advantage of one of the best things about social media… the ability to send personalized responses to users in real-time… rewarding them for their participation and ultimately making them feel more connected to the brand.

COLOR IPHONE APP

Color, on an iPhone near you

Color is a new mobile app that allows users to share images, videos and text with people around them… no logins or passwords required. Just open the app, and you’ll immediately have access to the content of other app users around you.

The app launched to little fanfare last month but it’s an interesting concept with very smart technology that takes real-time sharing and location based services to the next level, allowing meaningful connections with people in your immediate vicinity that you may not already know.

Category: Creative, Digital & Interactive, sisomo

HOLIDAY SISOMO

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Kwame Taylor-Hayford is VP/Senior Sisomo Producer at SaatchiNY. He joined the agency in 2008, and has worked on integrated campaigns for JC Penney, General Mills, P&G and Turner Classic Movies, among others. Below is a round-up of some of the cooler Integrated/Sisomo produced specifically for the Holiday Season.


SAATCHI & SAATCHI LA – NOGPONG

Saatchi LA Staffers Drinking Eggnog . . . for charity

Created by Saatchi LA, this inventive site allowed visters to play a game of beer pong (using eggnog) with a Saatchi employee. Vistors took turns launching balls into cups of nog, with every shot made earning money for charity. Fun game, cool tech… and another excellent example of how the lines between the physical and digitals worlds are slowly (but surely) being blurred.

NOGPONG.com

Editors Note: The Front Page image showcases some of the behind-the-scenes technology used to make NOGPONG run.

PNC BANK CHRISTMAS PRICE INDEX

The Christmas Index

PNC Bank created this beautiful interactive picture-book to share the results of their “Christmas Price Index”, which sums up the value of all the gifts given in “The 12 Days of Christmas”. They’ve been keeping the index for 27 years and over that time it’s insights on consumer spending and trends in the economy have closely mirrored the very real Consumer Price Index. Fun site to check out… especially since it’s the season for gifting.

The Christmas Price Index

CIROC SAFE RIDES

Ciroc Vodka and the NYC department of transportation team up to offer free cab rides on New Year’s Eve. Feels right for the Official Vodka of New Year’s Eve… and it supports their campaign celebrating designated drivers and responsible planning. Don’t forget to grab a pre-paid debit card and enjoy the New Year. See you in 2011.

Category: Creative, Digital & Interactive, sisomo

SISOMO, ETC.

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Kwame Taylor-Hayford is VP/Senior Sisomo Producer at SaatchiNY. He joined the agency in 2008, and has worked on integrated campaigns for JC Penney, General Mills, P&G and Turner Classic Movies, among others. Below is a round-up of some of the cooler Integrated/Sisomo campaigns floating around the web, followed by some of his thoughts on each project.

JAY-Z: DECODED CAMPAIGN



For the launch campaign of Jay-Z’s first book Decoded, each page was recreated in the context of where the events described took place; lining of a suit, bottom of a pool, billboard etc. The fans were invited, via a partnership with Bing Maps, to find every page with the first people to do so winning a signed copy of the book and tickets to an exclusive New Year’s Eve concert on New Years. The book launches today and there are still a few pages left to find so… get your search on.

Decode Jay-Z

VOLKSWAGEN FUN THEORY: THE SPEED CAMERA LOTTERY

More innovative work from Volkswagen and the Swedish National Society for Road Safety. This social experiment, which asked drivers to obey the speed limit for a chance to win a pot of money (which was contributed by the people speeding) proved that fun, and some cash, go a long way in changing behavior.

The Speed Camera Lottery

RALPH LAUREN: 4D EXPERIENCE

Ralph Lauren turned the front of their flagship stores in NY and London into an engaging brand experience using 3D imagery; featuring their latest fashion products, digital sound effects and scents from Ralph Lauren Fragrances. Very SISOMO. Be sure to checkout the behind the scenes video.

The 4D Experience

MONET 2010

For the art lover in you. This beautiful interactive experience celebrates Claude Monet’s work, currently on display at the Grand Palais museum in Paris, France.

Check it out Here

Category: Creative, Digital & Interactive, sisomo

Sight. Sound. Motion.

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

Kwame Taylor-Hayford is VP/Senior Sisomo Producer at SaatchiNY. He joined the agency in 2008, and has worked on integrated campaigns for JC Penney, General Mills, P&G and Turner Classic Movies, among others. Below is a round-up of some of the cooler Integrated/Sisomo campaigns floating around the web, followed by some of his thoughts on each project.

ARCADE FIRE – The Wilderness Downtown

Rock group Arcade Fire collaborated with Google to create what is probably the most impressive demo of Google’s Chrome browser to date. Enter your address to get a personalized version of their latest music video featuring animations, images and maps of your neighborhood in beautifully timed browser windows. Not only is it very cool, but is also does a great job of showing how powerful Chrome is (Any doubts? try using the site in Safari or Internet Explore).

Uniqlo’s Lucky Counter & Lucky Machine


Simple and smart promotions for retail brand Uniqlo that take advantage of two popular trends; twitter and casual gaming. Lucky Counter allows users to lower prices on specific products by tweeting about them. The new lower price is then available for all to enjoy. If you’re more of a gamer then checkout Lucky Machine and win coupons of up to $2000 by beating as many levels of a fun pinball game as you can.

How Many Friends Do You Know?

Check out this un-branded social experiment that puts all your “virtual” friendships into perspective. Sign into the site using Facebook and complete a simple test which asks you to name a few Facebook friends using nothing but … their profile pictures. Turns out I only “know” 20% of my friends, which might explain why the most popular pick up line of 2010 is “You look familiar… aren’t we Facebook friends?”

Category: Creative, Digital & Interactive, sisomo

SaatchiNY Loves Sisomo

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Kwame Taylor-Hayford is VP/Senior Sisomo Producer at SaatchiNY. He joined Saatchi in 2008, and has worked on integrated campaigns for JC Penney, General Mills, P&G and Turner Classic Movies, among others. Below is a round-up of some of the cooler Integrated/Sisomo campaigns floating around the web, followed by some of his thoughts on each project.

TAP project: Dirty Water Vending Machine

Excellent example of leveraging non-traditional media to not only raise awareness of a social issue but also generate revenue to support the cause.  Money spent purchasing Dirty Water from this vending machine will be donated to help raise awareness of water conservation, potentially impacting the lives of millions of people worldwide.

Sony: The Rocket Project

Experiments are always fun… especially when they involve rockets. Sony tapped some brainy high school students to build and launch a rocket with the help of their new Vaio laptops. The entire experience was filmed, with daily updates posted to the site for the 100 day duration of the project. The entire story will air on the Science Channel this fall.

Pacifico: Mexico via Pacifico Micro Site

No video for this, but you can click the above image to check it out. Blurring the lines between the physical and digital worlds will be a big theme moving forward. Each page on this micro site is a live video feed from murals in Mexico and California. As new content and functionality are added to the site, the murals will be repainted. It’s no Nike Chalkbot, but it’s a fun twist on a micro site.

Front Page Image from The Rocket Mavericks’ Flickr Page

Category: Creative, Digital & Interactive, Our People, sisomo

King St. Q&A – Kwame Taylor-Hayford

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Kwame Taylor-Hayford is a VP/Senior Sisomo Producer at SaatchiNY. He joined Saatchi in 2008, and has worked on integrated campaigns for JC Penney, General Mills, P&G and Turner Classic Movies, among others. If you’re interested in learning more about him, be sure to check out his Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

Photos taken by Sasithon Pooviriyakul, an Account Supervisor at SaatchiNY. You can see more of her wonderful work on her website.

1. What do you do at Saatchi & Saatchi?
Help bring our creative ideas to life through sight, sound and motion

2. What was your first job?

I used to teach all the old guys in my neighbourhood how to use their computers for $25/hr.

3. If you weren’t at Saatchi & Saatchi, what profession would you most like to try?

Professional soccer player… playing in the world cup… for Spain since they won.

4. What motivates you most?

My old man, he’s an impressive guy.

5. What blogs, magazines, books, papers or websites can you not live without?

Complex

Kanyeuniversity

Engadget

GQ

More recently –  twitter.

6. What are your Lovemarks?

Family

Apple

Coke

7. What’s your best “nothing is impossible” story?

I once saved a child from a burning apartment… just kidding. that would be a great story though wouldn’t it?

8. What is your favorite place in the world? Why?

Accra, Ghana. We go back every other summer; it’s a great escape… no TV, no emails… just quality family time.

9. Who do you most aspire to be like?

Like the greatest ____ ever.

10. If stranded on a deserted island and you could bring only one thing, what would it be?

HBO

11. Tell us something surprising about yourself.

I grew up mostly overseas in Ghana, Egypt, England and South Africa.

12. What’s your DOT?

Shutting down my AC before leaving home.

13. What’s your favorite creative pursuit.

Writing… about anything really.

14. What led you on the path you’re on today?

Trying a few things and figuring out what I didn’t want to do with my life…

15. Do you have a motto?

“It’s only impossible until someone does it.”

16. What do you do for fun?

Is it bad that I had to check my facebook page for the answer to this?

17. What’s your favorite client story?

If I remembered it… it probably wouldn’t be my favorite.

18. What’s your favorite thing to do in NY?

Being out in the city… meeting people, trying new things.

19. Whose your favorite artist/musician/designer?

It changes a lot, but for now . . .

KAWS

Lupe Fiasco

Johnathan Ive

20. When’s the last time you gave a standing ovation?

N.E.R.D concert at Irving Plaza. Good times.

EDITORS NOTE:

Interested in doing the King St. Q&A? We want to meet all of you! All you have to do is copy and paste the Q&A, overwrite with your own responses, then send it to the editors via the Contribute button on the bottom right.

Category: Creative, King St. Q&A, New York, Our People