Some of the DNA Advertising team pushed aside their mice and picked up their joypads as they headed down to Extended Play, Plymouth’s first Games event discussing the future of the games industry and the positive impact it can have on the region’s emerging and talented producers, artists and developers. From console to phone, web to multiplatform, the games industry has become a dominant force in the media and design world. With the southwest traditionally being a fertile breeding ground for game developer talent, Extended Play looks to highlight the slowly emerging games industry in the region and uncover what opportunities exist for studios.

The British Council’s young interactive entrepreneur of the year, 26 year old 
Paul Croft of MediaTonic, took to the stage for his keynote, centering his talk around the ‘origin point of success’, about his experiences in becoming such a recognised player in the industry and the future of brand game design and scope for ‘advergames’.

Traditionally smaller developers take most of the risks without pressure from clients and company overheads, riding the curve and making their mark at just the right time. This window for exploitation however, is extremely narrow. As the technology and route to market become more conventional and a trend begins to form, it’s only a matter of time before well-known development houses grab the monopoly, running with the idea and doing it bigger and better. This is even more apparent today, with a 6 monthly transition in fads, making iPhone apps ‘so last season’ and with Farmville being the biggest game in the world, it’s now all about social gaming and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Although it may still seem fresh, within the industry the App bubble has pretty much burst. There is still money to be made, but with over-saturation of Apps it’s already no longer the method of choice… On the flipside, with over 61.6million active users of Farmville on Facebook, it affirms the potential of social online gaming as the next big advertising and brand building medium… In another 6 months it’ll no doubt be another story.

Earlier in the year, Paul, Simon, Matt, Rob and Jon headed down to a Design In Devon meet to see D&AD president Simon ‘Sanky’ Sankarayya discuss ‘The changing landscape of digital design’. Whilst departing his knowledge of interactive design, social media trends and their benefits to clients and audiences, he used this inspiring video as an example of ‘hacking’ technology and breaking the boundaries of interactivity within non-commercial, self initiated projects. It has to be shared – the amazing EyeWriter, ‘a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus & custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes’.

We all believe that computer gaming over the past few years has become more interactive. To date, most of the ‘so called’ interactive games, still put you as another character within the game, such as ‘Drake’ in Uncharted (PS3). However, you are never actually yourself within the game. But surely, the whole point of interaction, is the ability to truly interact with the environment and the character/s within that environment and that they can react with you. I’m not talking about wearing a headset, or some eyewear trickery. What I’m talking about is the next generation of gaming, where you can talk to characters, show facial expressions and build a relationship with a character through the TV/Computer screen. You will have the ability to have conversations and truly interact with their environment in ways that you thought would never be possible. Anyway, enough of me waffling on, take a look for yourself – be prepared to be blown away – I was.

Article by Paul Mabin – Creative Director / Managing Director

This Month saw the return to paid-for news content as THE TIMES took a bold decision to charge for access to their online newspaper. A risky strategy from Mr Murdoch but the entire industry will be watching with baited breath to see if it pays off.

As I recall, back in the early days of the web this was the first business model of most of the newspapers as they dabbled with providing content online for the first time. This model was soon replaced by the user demand for free content online and one by one the papers moved over to an Ad generated model of providing content online, one which was probably a little foreign to most of them.

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DNA Advertising are again proud to be working with Torbay council, Creative Torbay and Torre Abbey on their latest exhibitions. After the success of TACO 09 (Torre Abbey Contemporary Open) and the Ultimate Day Out campaign, DNA have this year created an identity for ‘TAMED’ and ‘Art on the English Rivera’ as well as designing and producing the advertising and literature for the highly anticipated exhibition. Running from 6th July – 30th August and in conjunction with TACO 2010, TAMED brings the work of renown artists such as Richard Long, Heather Jansch and Damien Hirst to Torbay. See the details above or for more information or see the Torre Abbey website at torre-abbey.org.uk. We hope to see you there!

After doing some recent research for one of our clients, I came across some advertising produced for BMW. Believe it or not, these adverts were actually used, but mainly in Greece. I’m not sure that we would get away with them in the UK. If you dig deeper into these campaigns and read forums and blogs, they have been causing outrage and controversy for years, with claims that they are ‘demeaning’, ‘sexist’, ‘chauvinistic’ and ‘degrading’. However, whether we like them or not, BMW must be having the last laugh. The very fact that people are talking about these adverts all over the world, whether in a good light or bad, can only be more publicity for BMW. As the old adage goes, their is no such thing as bad publicity – however, not quite sure BP would agree with that statement at the moment.

Opinion – Paul Mabin (Creative Director / Managing Director)

It’s hard to feel anything but sorrow for the BP oil disaster at the moment. I’m sure that BP are getting a lot of stick at the moment, but it seems to have spurned a lot of creativity among us designer types. Not one of the images shown are complimentary, as you can imagine, but there are some well thought out and well executed pieces of art. Some people have obviously spent some considerable time thinking of the idea and obviously feel passionate enough to create a piece of artwork that gets their point across. Just click on an image to enlarge it.

Article by Paul Mabin (Creative Director / Managing Director)

Earlier in the week I wrote an article on the Canon 5D MKII, shooting HD content for the last episode of House. While writing that article I was interrupted by the sound of Naaa, Na Na, Na Na Naaa. Yep, you guessed it – the intro to Coronation Street. Not a programme that I generally watch, but my beloved wife Donna loves it – I wonder how many men say the same thing? Anyway, I glanced over to see the intro and noticed that, at last, it has changed after being the same intro for about a million years or so. Apparently it’s to coincide with the first episode being broadcast in HD.

Don’t worry though, you hardened Corrie fans, the cat walking across the flat roof and the image of outside the Rovers Return are still present. However, those of you that don’t like drop focus imagery are not going to like it. I think it’s a welcome addition to the Street. Let’s hope that the rest of the programme gets updated – spoken by a true ‘Enders’ fan.

Well done ITV.

Article by Paul Mabin

As a budding amateur photographer, I always keep abreast on what is happening in the digital arena. I have recently purchased a Canon 5D MKII after much research. The reason for my purchase was to add something extra to my photography – higher resolution (21.1MP) as well as a better image sensor and full HD video capture.

I have been extremely impressed with the camera so far, after only a couple of weeks of use. However, I have been more impressed with some of the work produced by other companies using the 5D MkII.

The last episode of House aired on 17th May and was shot entirely on a Canon 5D MKII. The House director Greg Yaitanes was available after the programme to answer any questions viewers may have had by using twitter. One of the questions asked was “how was the quality compared to the cameras traditionally used?”. Gregs’ response to this was “I loved it and feel it’s the future – cameras that can give you these looks”.

Greg also used the entire range of Canon Prime lenses as well as Canon 24-70mm and Canon 70-200mm zoom lenses. The effects are amazing. By combining the use of such a competent camera, twinned with Canon prime lenses, the style of imagery created is simply stunning. The subtleties, the use of depth of field, the clarity and colour help make this episode a visual treat.

The outcome was as engaging as any other House episode. I don’t think this will be last time we’ll see a Canon DSLR camera being used in the same way for TV film production or for movies. You may even see a film from me in the future – if I ever find the time!

Article written by Paul Mabin

In the commercial design world there are a number of common ways of printing we’re all used to; offset litho, digital, flexo, etc… But what about printing in 3D – and running off body parts?!
I sounds far-fetched but ’3D printers have been used in architectural schools for quite some time already (and self-replicating home models are becoming more and more common), a 3D food printer is under development, and now several sources are working on 3D bio-printers: machines that will “print” organs so patients will no longer have to wait for transplant donations. Recently, the first commercial organ printer was built by biomedical company Invetech and delivered to Organovo, a company that has pioneered the bioprinting technology.

The printer is already capable of producing arteries, which doctors will be able to use in bypass surgeries in as little as five years. Other, more complex body parts should be possible within ten years: bones and hearts, for example. The printer works by using two print heads. One lays down a scaffold and the other places human cells into the shape of whatever organ is being formed. There’s little threat of the new organ being rejected since it’s made of the patient’s
own cells.’ – Read more at Gajitz.

So what does this mean for the graphic design industry? Well, obviously it  means we’ll finally be able to send flesh bound books like the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis to print!

(Opinion: Jon Price – Graphic Designer)

The recently launched Apple iPad may not instantly deliver the commercial impact of the iPhone, but it represents another important step towards the inevitable convergence of the personal computer and the publishing industry. Whether we like it or not, the way we design is going to change forever.

Before long, graphic designers (and photographers) will have to start working in a different way. Using devices such as the Apple iPad, the consumer will be able to access all kinds of ‘publication’ electronically – which will undoubtedly feature both still images and, increasingly, video content and animation. Not only is video more engaging, it is also easier and faster to consume – an important factor in today’s ever-busier society. Like it or not, most of us that don’t currently ‘do’ moving pictures are soon going to have to learn. (There are already professional cameras on the market, such as the Canon 7D, which can capture both stills and full HD video. This is no accident.)

Currently, many agencies deal with, say, press advertising entirely separately from digital, television and video; indeed clients often use a different agency for one than they do for another; but increasingly there’s a call for integrated campaigns and for agencies that can deliver value across multiple channels. Promotions are becoming multi-dimensional, which adds complexity (and an interesting challenge) for the agencies that dream them up. Ultimately the agencies that will gain an advantage are those that can become truly media agnostic – those that can combine static content with rich media and whose ideas can work across all types of platform.

It’s up to the design and photographic industries to embrace new technology and to guide their clients on this fascinating journey we’re all taking. Sure, this will mean investment and upskilling for many of us, but the benefit will be the ability to offer a more holistic approach to corporate communications and, with it, client retention and loyalty (not to mention how interesting all of our jobs will become!).

The iPad is another signal that the publishing and design industries are in the middle of a revolution.  We wait with bated breath to see where it will lead!

[Opinion: Paul Mabin - Creative Director]

2010/01 Michael Bierut from CreativeMornings on Vimeo.

A brand new talk from Pentagram’s Micheal Bierut on clients, the good and the bad.

(Opinion: Jon Price – Graphic Designer)

For anyone who didn’t see Ascari appear on ITV the other night – check out this bite-sized clip, or take a look at the website we designed and built for them at http://www.ascari.net.

Incidentally, we shot, edited and produced the film and soundtrack on this site ourselves.
We captured most of the footage in three days then spliced in some shots we had storyboarded for Ascari when previously commissioning another South West company – Denhams. The benefit to Ascari is that the whole thing is royalty-free. Just before Christmas we received a call from a company in the USA. They saw the Ascari film, loved the soundtrack and have asked us to do the same for them. Don’t you love it when that happens? Watch this space!

It used to be that an advertising agency was simply that – an agency that you would go to if you wanted to advertise.  You would expect to pay them to create a message, devise a look and then put it in front of as many potential customers as you could afford. 

In recent years, however, the boundaries have become increasingly blurred between advertising agencies, marketeers, design groups and digital agencies.  Pressure is increasing on all of these to create ‘integrated’ solutions – campaigns that work across all media. Hence advertising agencies are having to diversify into areas once exclusive to digital or design agencies, and vice-versa. 

That’s not to say that there are no longer any specialist agencies out there. There are.  But the service offering for each type of agency is becoming more integrated. Where the agency can’t deliver something internally, they will almost certainly have a relationship with someone else who can. This is great for the individuals working within the agencies.  Being able to work in areas that we would not previously have experienced makes the job more fulfilling and more enjoyable; it also gives us more opportunity for learning and personal development.  For the client, it is perhaps not always clear which type of agency they should be working with, but it is also true that their agency (however they label themselves) is now more likely to understand how to satisfy their clients’ broader commercial and marketing objectives, using a broader palette of communications.  Surely that’s good news for everyone?

(Opinion: Paul Mabin -Creative Director)

This month, Tatler, the contemporary British glossy journal published by Condé Nast Publications, celebrates 300 years of publication with a special collectors’ anniversary edition. The unexpected fold-out cover, designed by David Newton, represents Her Majesty (no stranger to the iconic Tatler cover) in various graphic styles and finishes from past eras. However, the real gem is amidst the luxury fashion and designer brands – a fascinating 21-page feature that chronicles the trend-setting publication from it’s humble beginnings in 1709 to today! Nice.

www.tatler.co.uk 

It’s the culmination of nearly a year’s work – the new Princess Yachts International suite of brochures have been unveiled at the Southampton International Boat Show. It has involved hard work from the team (and many late nights), to get this prestigious project delivered for the show and thankfully, the feedback we’ve had from Princess Yachts and their distributors has been exceptional. This year, we’ve extended the suite by including an electronic brochure, presented on DVD, which has also been equally well received.  The icing on the cake for Paul, Simon, Vicki and Matt, was to be taken out into the Solent on a Princess V48 at the Boat Show. Of course, it’s absolutely essential to the design process to experience how the the boat handles and manoeuvres first hand…(That’s what we tell Princess anyway). Now it’s back to the office to start the whole process all over again!

Has it been a year already? Last night DNA once again attended ECO (Exeter Contemporary Open) at Exeter Phoenix. ECO is a national platform for emerging contemporary artists and aims to reflect themes and concerns in current practice over a broad range of disciplines. DNA were proud to sponsor the New Media category and awarded the prize to Hayley Lock, whose striking work has become the poster image for the exhibition. Congratulations to Hayley and Exeter Phoenix for putting on such an enjoyable event. ECO runs from 17 Sep – 4 Nov, so be sure to drop by if you can. Here’s a nice smiley pic of Rich with winner, Hayley Lock.
www.hayleylock.com

We’ve been working with Subway for many years now and, although it’s never been a brand that’s stood still for long, the company is now part-way through a really interesting repositioning exercise. Working with London agencies McCann Erickson and Momentum their plan is to make more of how easily you can customise their subs into something you really fancy – whatever you feel like (something you can’t do with a KFC or McDonald’s). We’re really pleased to be part of the process and hopefully it won’t be long before we can show you some of the ways we’re chipping in!

Read more at: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/subway-to-launch-new-brand-strategy/3004226.article

Or check out their new ads here: www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2009/09/09/11338-subway-set-to-reveal-new-campaign

In my opinion, there’s no such thing as an ugly Aston Martin. The cars might not have the clipped finish of a Porsche, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the DB9 and V8 Vantage are two of the best looking cars ever produced.

But when it was reported that Aston were launching a Bugatti Veyron-beater  - the limited-edition One-77 – I thought to myself, ‘can they really deliver a car that justifies a £1million price tag?’

I must admit, despite being an Aston Martin lover, I thought no…

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A lot of articles have been written about how consumers in general make decisions about purchasing a product or a service. One thing is for certain, social media and the ability to read other people’s recommendations is playing an increasingly significant part in most consumers’ buying habits.

In a recent survey by Nielsen, 90% of people said they trusted recommendations from people they know (perhaps not surprising), while an impressive 70% trusted the opinions of other consumers posted online. These were followed closely by brand websites, editorial (invariably someone’s PR) and brand sponsorships.

The Internet has given the consumer the ability to post information online without having to go through a third party. Such “straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth” communication is clearly very powerful, demonstrating the potential of social media as a marketing tool.

Be warned though, social media can be as destructive as it can be helpful. Marketing a service or product through blogs, forums, social networks and other online communities necessitates losing control. One has to be a) supremely confident in the quality of what’s on offer, and b) willing to take the good with the bad!