Even the kitties are getting down with the fancy dress theme!

This year’s party is a little bit special… IT’S A FANCY DRESS PARTY and the theme is kittens & memes! We’ve got all kinds of festive treats lined up and some awesome prizes for the best outfits, so keep an eye out on our blog over the next few weeks for tips and costume inspiration.

LONDON: On Monday 12th December we’re teaming up with the lovely folk from The Reel to celebrate Christmas in style at Cafe 101. We’ve got a bunch of excellent films, a shedload of cash behind the bar a disco and lots of xmas yums! (I’m afraid tickets for this one have now sold out.)

BRISTOL: On Wednesday 14th December we’ll be at The Big Chill Bar with more festive delights, awesome Christmas themed social media chat from James Ainsworth and fun interactive music demos from Tangible FX.

(There are a limited number of tickets available for the Bristol #KittenCamp so snap up your tickets now to avoid a sad face later!)

Follow us @viraladnetwork for more #KittenCamp updates or check out our dedicated Facebook and Tumblr pages for more inspiration!

Meowy Kitthmas!

“At first glance, the new YouTube channel design, looks set to turn use of the channel on its head. Gone is the need to use any search (why would you, that is what Google is for) instead, as soon as you sign in, there is a video timeline, most recent at the top.

With a lot more than just a quick nod to the style of Twitter’s website and Facebook’s wall, the new design puts the most recent video at the top of a list of videos from all the channels you subscribe to.

This is a huge step away from the channel-based approach that has been the focus up to now. It is also a leap on from the Cosmic Panda revamp; the poor beast looks simply to have been buried behind the new user’s home page.

The first thing that hit me was the sheer number of things on the page. Check out the image above. That said, having grown to love the simplicity of Twitter’s timeline, you soon adjust to the new layout. There is a lot to take in, with individual videos form your subscriptions taking center stage, recommendations on the right sidebar and main navigation down the left, yet it feels natural, an significant evolution not a revolution.

Fundamentally users are going to be forced – with a small ‘f’ – to change the way they use the channel. Subscriptions are no longer an after thought, they are the crux of the whole experience. I can see subscriptions going through the roof.

The other major change is that registering with Google will be the entry point into getting the most out of YouTube. The majority of us have already taken this plunge be it from Gmail, iGoogle, docs or maybe even Google+. Till now my YouTube use, like many people’s I suspect, has been adhoc, I simply watch the videos embedded in sites off the platform. There has been no need to sign in. Now there is a solid reason to sign up and get subscribing. This will soon become the norm, turning the current status quo on its head.

Brand channels are going to have to think seriously about the impact in two ways:

1. Channel takeovers and on-site advertising could be much less effective
2. Visiting a company or brand channel will now be an after thought and not the main reason to go to YouTube, no more prioritization of videos they want you to see

There are also ways to discover more quickly. Trending, popular and music buttons on the left hand navigation pull up YouTube compiled lists. The music list is a clever idea, as a significant number of people already use YouTube as a computer based jukebox. These look to be global lists at the moment and localizing would make this even more compelling.

So is this another indicator of Google’s broader strategy to put the content at the center of the user experience? Is it now putting individual preferences and popular recommendation at the heart of YouTube? Is this a result of the surge in search on Facebook? Looks to me like all of these things.”

Marcel made his internet debut just over a year ago and has since racked up over 13 million views on YouTube. It’s easy to see why he’s so popular, I absolutely love him, so when I heard that the follow up video had been released I was quite excited!

Life can be hard for a shell, when your car is a bug with a mind of its own, your afraid to drink soda incase the bubbles make you float up into the ceiling and balloons are shrouded in danger, but Marcel doesn’t let anything get him down.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Address Is Approximate: A lovely little stop motion animation by director Tom Jenkins. A lonely desk toy longs for escape from the dark confines of the office, so he takes a cross-country road trip to the Pacific Coast in the only way he can – using a toy car and Google Maps Street View. Beautiful and touchingly sad, well worth a watch.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Devil Wears Raybans: Maybe you’ve seen the new trailer for The Devil’s Double, maybe you also noticed that the actors in the film are all rather strangely attached to their sunglasses. Well a couple of the guys from the office here (who certainly don’t have too much time on their hands), thought it might be fun to make this little parody mash up. It made us all chuckle, in fact Icon films liked it so much they’ve agreed to let us upload it as fan based content to help promote the film.

Click here to view the embedded video.

David Mostyn, Video Business Card: We get tones of good CV’s and job application forms through the post all the time here at Rubber Towers and in this day and age it’s difficult to set one candidate aside from the next. With so much competition for jobs it’s particularly important to try and make yourself stand out from the crowd so when we got this video business card through we thought it was worth a mention.

Shot by Ben Mostyn for his father, who’s an acclaimed cartoonist with 40 years’ service working for the likes of Disney and DC Comics, the video is a mini-homage to Wes Anderson.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Mongol Rally is an epic 10,000 mile charity road-trip from London to Mongolia across three deserts, five mountain ranges and seemingly endless stretches of remote barren land. It’s been described by some as “the greatest adventure possible”, but as one of the least populated countries in the world and with no support crew, help lines or road signs and sometimes days of traveling without seeing another living soul, the reality of life on the road can be hard.

This is definitely not a holiday but for those with the perseverance, ingenuity and sheer good luck to make it across a third of the world’s most inhospitable terrain and over that finish line the thrill must be pretty epic!

Tempted? There are still places available in the 2012 race, check the website to find out more.

Directski.com: I’m sure we would all agree that some healthy competition keeps everyone on their toes and a bit of friendly banter between rival companies never really does any harm. Well, online ski holiday provider Directski.com are certainly testing that theory by releasing this amusing video ad in response to an alleged disagreement with their competitor, Crystal Ski, over price comparisons.

With the title ‘Crystal Ski were so annoyed about our low prices they phoned our dad’, the video shows the two owners of the company, their dad and a rather intimidating Frank Bruno, challenging their competitors to a fight to prove whose dad is hardest.

Our dad vs their dad… We know who’s cheaper… Now let’s see who’s harder.’

Now we’re waiting to see if Crystal Ski make a response video!

Here’s to Real Friends extended trailer: Scotch whisky brand, Chivas Regal have ventured into the film industry, going beyond product placement to produce movies in the hopes of reaching a more receptive mass market. They worked with Euro RSCG to commission two short films by Academy Award winning short filmmaker Joachim Back.

The films are intended to increase awareness of their brands ‘social chivalry’ with two stories about the highs and lows of modern male friendships. We’ve been seeding the  extended teaser trailer but both films; Here’s to Big Bear and Here’s to Twinkle are available to watch now, perfect for a little afternoon break!

This time we had some double feline battle action, with Meme-Master Meow up against Viral Kitty, in a fluffy cat-fight of YouTube awesomeness. Followed by Festival coordinator Rosie Fairchild taking us on a whistle-stop behind the scenes tour of the Bristol Cycle Festival.

With an amazing program of events ranging from guerrilla knitting, challenge rides and cycle speed dating to secret sing-a-long cinemas, the festival was brought to life with no budget by a whole host of dedicated volunteers, all passionate about the beautiful invention that is ‘the bike’.

And… we all got special stickers, did some roll play cycle games and wondered why Brit Eckland needed a bum-double in the famous wall banging scene of the Wicker Man!

Among the highlights from this week’s meme battle were Nonononononononon Cat, (I’m not quite sure what his problem is, but he definitely does NOT agree.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vs Jedi Kittens Strike Back (both cute and geeky, got to be a winning combo.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then over to the bizarre TV commercials – If you liked the Chuck Tester taxidermy ad that we featured in the viral chart rundown last week, then Cuban Gynecologist: Local Car Commercial, (another hilarious offering from comedy duo Rhett & Link), will be right up your street.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Vs the heavily parodied Flea Market Montgomery with a cameo on The Cleveland Show.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the ‘best journeys’ category we had the awe inspiring What Does It Feel Like To Fly Over Planet Earth Vs Gamer Commute, one man’s epic drive to work, (if only real life was that exciting!)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Finally, the Horsemanning song. Ever since the Planking phenomenon took off, the internet has been looking for ‘the new planking’. We’ve had Owling, Stocking, Cone-ing, Plumbking even Scarlett Johansson-ing! Well this little tune takes us through the art of Horsemanning.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, who won the war? Drum roll please …

Da da da daaaaaaaah…. Congratulations to Viral Kitty!!! Yes it finally happened, Chris’s winning streak has been broken. Is Meme-Master-Meow loosing his touch? Let’s see if he can steal back his crown in the next battle.

Which brings us to our first exciting announcement… We’re planning a #KittenCamp Christmas spectacular on 14th December. Not only will we have a whole host of extra special guests, activities and prizes but we are moving to a new venue. Since we appear to have outgrown our lovely little space at Goldbrick House we are heading to pastures new and our Christmas party will be at the Big Chill Bar. Places will go fast so reserve your ticket now to avoid a sad face later!

Second exciting announcement…. There is now an official #KittenCamp Tumblr! We will be posting all kinds of fun clips and bits & bobs on there so keep an eye out, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Meow for now!

So what has it been like to work as campaign manager for VAN?

* You will work with some truly intelligent, witty and welcoming people. I have been taught a lot, made to laugh and and kept on my toes.
* The role has clear structure and you have the satisfaction running seeding campaigns from start to finish. You will be involved in sales, agreements, client handling, media buying and final reports.
* You will work with some incredibly popular brands and some high profile agencies.
* You will be kept up-to-date with all the latest funny and fascinating virals.
* You get a sexy MacBook you can take home in the evenings and weekends. Sweet.

What do you need to enjoy being a campaign manager?
* An understanding and love for Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, Google Analytics etc. If you don’t have this now, you soon will.
* Good verbal and written communication
* Ability to manage time.
* A drive to hit target.

I have loved working for VAN, I am not entirely sure the realisation that I am leaving next month has actually sunken in yet to be honest. I have been part of the VAN team for a year now and Team Rubber for nearly five, and I can truthfully say I have loved it. I will be taking away some fantastic skills, knowledge and happy memories. Fortunately though, I am only moving around the corner so the guys at Rubber Towers won’t be getting away from me that easily.

Interested? Full campaign manager job description here.

Here’s a few quick tips to maximise the effectiveness of your Viral video campaign.

Bigger isn’t always better.

People have a short attention span online, so keeping your video short is the best tactic. By all means have a long version of the Viral that the most engaged viewers can seek out, but use a concise version to take to the masses. We reckon a minute is a good target to aim for.

Be entertaining / interesting

If your content interests people, they’re far more likely to keep watching and ultimately engage with your brand. Seems obvious, but it’s amazing how many people will create a ‘viral’ that is actually just a dry sales message. Whilst this approach can work for TV advertising, online viewers will just stop watching if they aren’t engaged. Online video campaigns generally work better for branding campaigns rather than explaining your newest product’s features.

Start with a BANG!

Get your key message across in the first 10 seconds of the video. People will make up their mind pretty quickly if they are gonna keep watching, so its key to grab their attention from the start. You should also plan for a drop out towards the end of the video.

Leverage the Love

If people have enjoyed your video they will be more open to engaging with other marketing content. Include a call to action at the end of your video – drive traffic to your FB page, YT channel or website. You can also offer a click through link in the video description (or as part of the VAN viral player)

(image via http://thingsthataretotallyawesome.wordpress.com/)

The Ice Cream Man has (aka Matt Allen) has decided to dedicate his life to ice cream, living the ice cream dream – or as he puts it “Slingin’ the cream.  Livin’ the dream”.  Now that’s awesome

The genius thing about the Ice Cream Man is that he’s turned giving away ice cream into a business.  What’s even cooler is that he’s created an *ice cream powered ad network* – a totally genius idea, turning ice cream into a form of media – as with each ice cream he also gives away flyers / posters for nice and friendly brands.

A key to the success of his ice cream powered network, is Ice Cream Man’s partnership with Ben and Jerry’s – who donate all the ice cream for free, and without whose ice cream I daresay Ice Cream Man would merely be *Man* (ice creamless).

So hats off to Ben and Jerry for supporting such an awesome concept, and here’s hoping The Ice Cream Man can navigate his way across the Atlantic and do a tour of the UK for the summer months . . .

Check out the Rubber + VAN team meeting Ice Cream Man:

And Ally and Alex loving the Ice Cream Man a little too much:

@ViralAdNetwork