People love sharing stories, and this one is perfect for sharing. It’s interesting, it’s unexpected and it’s fun. Most of all, people want to talk about it. Not just people in Sydney, but people all over the world. Just seeing this YouTube case study video is enough to make you sit up and take notice. It’s something you want to share online and help go viral.

This is how word of mouth has changed in the last few years. Whereas before it lived solely in the offline, ‘meatspace’ now it can move swiftly and powerfully through online networks in a matter of minutes, reaching all across the globe. A story in Sydney can be shared to a friend in India who shares it with a friend in England, who shares it with a friend in Canada who shares it with a friend in New Zealand. While this sounds much like a basic description of online virality, it really describes and shows how brands can harness this power to have themselves directly in front of consumers as quickly as possible. And most importantly, a message coming from a friend is so much more authentic than one coming directly from a brand.

Great work Lynx!

Just saw this trailer for a new series starting in the States. It’s produced by JJ Abrams, who was behind a little series you may remember called Lost. In this new series – Revolution, we’re in the near future when all of the earth’s electrical services go out of action. Society is left to pick up the pieces and as expected, things don’t always turn out the way we want them to.

Can’t wait for this one!

He might be a little unconventional, but this kid is gangsta for DAYS. Check out his new joint: Haters Wanna Be Me

*The opinions expressed in this blog post are not to be taken (too) seriously

All eighties comedy movie montages aside, it’s worth mentioning that Yesterday’s Pupil is doing the right thing and giving away free (incredibly good) music. Yesterday’s Pupil is PH van Pletzen, a Pretoria based virtuoso with an ear for electronic music and perfectly crafted pop hooks.

In today’s climate, where music is largely available for free (legally or illegally) it pays to give it away. Many bands these days view CDs as nothing more than a business card, and that’s a good way to look at things. Gone are the days when bands could make the majority of their money from CD sales, now they have to rely on live performance. In some ways, this is a return to how music used to be. Those who innovate will do well, and those who refuse to, will fall by the wayside.

The good news is people like Yesterday’s Pupil are doing things like this – producing a high quality musical product and giving it to happy music fans like us. This is the third installment in his series, where he is releasing small EPs every few months. All you need to do to get yourself all of this great free music is click on his Facebook page, over here.

And what about a crime scene? A crime scene where the most important thing to do is collect evidence and do everything possible to catch the criminal? That’s where the DNA Project comes in. With a great activation at Cape Town Station this morning, they showed directly how tampering with a crime scene can make it impossible to convict anyone.

The image started with a face created out of tiny pebbles, and as people walked over it, they began to degrade the image, until it couldn’t be made out any more. This physically shows people what happens when you don’t protect a crime scene.

It’s clever, it’s worth talking about and it creates a lot of buzz. That’s just the kind of advertising we like. And to top it all off – it does good at the same time. Thumbs up!

First we have The Dark Knight Rises, the bookend to Chrisopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. With the amazing piece of work that The Dark Knight was, it’s difficult to imagine how Nolan and his crew will improve on it, but looking at this trailer – this movie looks set to be unbelievable.

But if that’s not enough, we also have Prometheus to look forward to (directed by Ridley Scott of Gladiator fame). It’s a futuristic sci-fi thriller that looks like it will have us all on the edges of our seats. Cannot wait for this one.

And for all our Lord Of The Rings fans out there, we have the prequel to the entire series, The Hobbit, being presented in full 3D. Peter Jackson is shooting the entire film at a higher frame rate, which means the picture will be crystal clear and super realistic. Cannot wait for this one either!

Pass the popcorn!

Smarties vs Astros

In the red corner – Smarties. The original, colourful, simple and a huge memory from all of our childhoods.

And in the blue corner, we have Astros. The new kid on the block, with a little biscuity nugget of goodness in the middle.

We’ve had a great time on Twitter and people feel so strongly about this issue that Instant Grass has started trending in South Africa. In fact, it’s gone so well that we will be making this a regular Friday fixture.

Welcome to #IGDebates…

We’re now in the perfect place for Word of Mouth. And it works in the following ways:

1) Creating pre-awareness. 

When a brand is undertaking an Above The Line campaign in South Africa, bolstering it with Word of Mouth helps to create a fertile ground. With the idea already seeded in someone’s head, seeing a TV ad that backs it up gives them an ‘a-ha’ moment. With the idea already planted in their head about a brand (from a trusted source), seeing another message about the brand reminds them about it, and can ride on the coattails of their previous feeling.

2) Sharing authentic brand messages between trusted friends

Research has shown that people will trust a message about a brand that is given to them by a friend much more than from the brand itself. We can see this in our online behaviour. Most of us these days, when searching for a new product, will look for reviews about a product or even seek out a thought leader in the field. We all have that ‘one friend’ who’s really into gadgets or cars or gaming – they are the trusted people you ask for advice. When Instant Grass looks for brand advocates and people to seed Word of Mouth campaigns – these are the people we look for.

3) Personalising your brand

With a Word of Mouth campaign in South Africa, you can allow people to see your brand in a new way. No longer is it a boring, clinical box on the shelf – it becomes a living, breathing thing when there is someone you know sharing messages about it. The more you can connect with a brand, on an emotional and personal level, the higher your interest in it. This means you want to spend more time with the brand and enjoy it, make it a positive part of your life.

Added to this, the culture of South Africa itself is rich in storytelling. We are used to sharing knowledge and experience through the telling of stories. The more prevalent this is within a culture; the higher the chances of a Word of Mouth campaign really meaning something.

So, with the right people in the right place sharing the right story at the right time you can wind up with a Word of Mouth campaign that is greater than the sum of its parts, creating something truly powerful for your brand.

Here’s Nando’s response to Santam from last week – love how they’ve gone above and beyond what Santam suggested – great way to do good and push your brand forward at the same time.

A hearty round of applause to both Nando’s and Santam!

Well, the good news is Santam has hit back – asking Nando’s to donate food to a children’s home as ‘payment’ for their spoof.

With the ball now firmly in Nando’s court, we hope they do the right thing and donate the food – not because they should ‘pay’ but because they can end up doing something good for people and reap the rewards for it. If they play ball and donate the food to the children’s home (by 4pm on Thursday, no less) they show their consumers they are good-natured, fun, smart and quick to respond.

Everyone wins – Santam, Nando’s and the children’s home! Let’s see what happens!

Check out the Santam response below…