Fire Kills!

Whilst doing some work for university this evening I have come across a really powerful ad for Fire Safety.

Being petrified of fire myself, this is a message close to my heart.

It is such a shame this really important campaign is reaching so few people.

So please take the time to share this video with friends and family, and go and show them some support on Facebook & Twitter.

Love Rie xx

Not Really Public Transport Reading Material...

I am a great lover of adult fantasy fiction, as regular readers will know. But I have come to the conclusion that some chapters I have been re-reading of late are not suitable for reading in public!

The character Eric Northman
as described by protagonist Sookie Stackhouse

Picture me on a train, reading this: 'Dead to the World' by Charlaine Harris.

     "If there was an international butt competition, Eric would win, hands down - or cheeks up" 

This left me laughing softly to my self but it got worse!

     "I was so on fire for him I was surprised that flames didn't flicker out of my fingertips"


     "'Look at me my lover.' The way he said 'lover' was like a caress, like he was calling me by a name no other man had ever used before or ever would after."


    "'I wish' I said, 'I could save orgasms in a jar for when I need them, because I think I had a few extra."


    "Eric wanted me to be looking into his eyes; that obviously flicked his Bic."


I am sure I was blushing by this point, and looking over my shoulders guilty at my fellow passengers to see if they could see what I was reading.

I love the way this scene never got to pornographic, and was really well written! I am going to start using the term 'That flicks your Bic' - love it!

Got any favourite quotes you felt guilty reading in public?? Put them in the comments below; I would love to hear them! [nothing too graphic please!]

Get reading!

Rie xx

Why I Will Always Love Books.

With all things literary moving digital it seems the future will move away from books. But I can't help but love the printed page and the little messages left behind by previous readers. It seems to tell a history that will never be gained by a eBook.

Library books in particular are some of my favourite reads with post-stick notes, pencil scribbles and full on highlighting of pages really enhancing my reading experience.

Here is a book I got out of my university library this week that I really loved.

Black book on bottom right - Mythologies by Roland Barthes (2000)

Little pencil notes of a library book reference, a meeting & a website URL.

Post stick notes found inside the front cover including a shopping list!

There are some book that I will always purchase where I can namely the Charlaine Harris 'True Blood' series and Kelley Armstrong's 'Women of the Otherworld' series - and undoubtedly new. I still hold dear to my heart the printed book.

And I will always be a library dweller reading the notes left by others before anything else.

Despite the above I will not miss carting heavy text books, or running out of reading material whilst on holiday. I may be slow in embracing the digital trend, and will never fully abandon my books I still look forward to the future of reading!

Rie xx

RTS Southern's Social Media Talk - Summary

Last night I went along to a talk about social media and itsinfluence on TV and news broadcasts. Not really knowing what to expect I was pleasantly surprised by a well organised discussion by some interesting speakers.

I particularly enjoyed the participation with the audience and I got some great answers to my questions about how to convert social media sceptics. So I just thought I would do a quick summary post on what I learnt.

Social media is well social, and it is difficult to get technophobes and sceptics to listen to the advantages of this fast moving and valuable tool to businesses. Here are some of the best tips I was given and how they can help individuals and businesses get the most out of social media:

1.   Know what is in it for youMake sure you understand what you niche is and research them online. Twitter has some great advanced search techniques, as well as Google so make use of them to really understand who your target market is, where they are talking and how to engage them. You don’t need to replace traditional marketing techniques, but simply enhance them. Followers on Twitter, likes on Facebook and views on YouTube all mean more traffic to the your website.
   
   
2. Set out your objectives
   Setting up a twitter account is easy, but knowing why you are doing it and who you are going to target is more difficult. Do you want to sell more products? Do you want to build brand awareness? Or just see what other people are saying about your brand? Make sure you know what you are saying, in what tone and to who before you jump in and start randomly posting.
   
   
3. Know your stuff
   Almost anyone can set up and account on these sites, but running them can sometimes be a little more complex. What might work best for Facebook, might not work on Twitter so make sure you are educated on how to make the most out of these sites. If you’re not sure, don’t post. There are a lot of people that are professionals so turn to them for help.
   
   
4.  Don’t be anonymousHaving a good profile on all social networking sites is important. A good profile picture is essential so people can recognise you / your brand easily. A short and snappy bio is also vital to let followers and friends know who you are and what you are about quickly. It will help build your followers and make sure potential followers can find you easily online.
   
   
5.  Be authentic, be the expert, be funnyIts okay getting the followers but keeping them is another matter. It only takes seconds to unlike something on Facebook, or unfollow on Twitter so make sure every message counts. Be true to yourself, personal accounts always get more followers than business style pages. Be the expert in your field, if you cannot write original content RT or post other peoples – just make sure you give the credit where it is due. Most importantly keep the tone light! No one wants serious tweets all the time, so if you find something funny or cute share it!

Want to know more?:

Sue Llewellyn - Social media trainer and Twitter wizz!
RTS Southern - Good Facebook page, better website.
Me - Follower my Twitter to get more related stories by me and other people.

Thanks for reading,

Rie Reviews

The Churned 'Forever' - Yeo Valley Organic Advert

It seems that follow up television adverts are a real trend right now. In my last post I spoke about the new Lynx Effect advert ‘My AngelGirlfriend’ and how much I loved their new humours advert.

Yeo Valley Organic has also got a really good follow up advertisement to their Yeo Valley Rap also played in the advertising break of the X Factor featuring their band The Churned singing ‘Forever’.

I really love the way they draw on the conventions of boy bands, and their pop music videos in such a way it’s almost a parody of the whole X Factor concept. The song is even downloadable with an online campaign to beat the X Factor winner-to-be Christmas No. 1!

The television ad prompts us to go and look at the YeoValley Facebook page and sing along to appear in the ad break of the final of the show. The Sing Star style app asks fans to 'Sing in Harmony' to the advert into their webcams to hit the right notes and achieve high scores. You can compare top scores with the rest of the UK and your friends on Facebook in a nice interactive package.

I also love the customization on their YouTube channel with even the the Yeo Valley logo being adapted to mirror/parody the YouTube logo.

Overall this is a really creative integrated marketing campaign that has got people talking!

I am really enjoying the creative approaches being used to grabbing consumer’s attention at the moment particularly with mass consumables. I just dread to think how much this cost for a 2 min advert at peek time!

Rie Reviews xx

Lynx Excite – My Angel Girlfriend Advert (BBH)

When the original Lynx Excite TV advert came out in February this year I fell in love with the movie style drama of it. I found the whole concept of the campaign fun and well executed. I felt the PR stunts and social media presence worked well to create a campaign people wanted to be involved in.

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the next chapter of this campaign during the commercial break of X Factor (ITV) this Saturday!

This new 61s and shortened 30s adverts tell the humorous tale of what it is really like to date an angel. From wing feathers in sandwiches, to hogging the bathroom blow drying them in the mirror, it uses markers of everyday life both men and women can appeal to.

Whereas Lynx’s previous campaigns are more overtly sexualised (think back to this summer’s campaign for Premature Perspiration with Lucy Pinder) the Excite campaign still appeals to a young male audience but in a classier way. 

The first adverts felt more like a utopian time gone by in a picturesque European town (actually filmed in Croatia) that had been ambushed by angels. This new instalment however propels the concept into the modern day fits in better with the rest of the Lynx campaigns commenting on the nature of modern heterosexual relationships - or how men want them to be!

This has to be my favourite campaign of 2011!

Original full length advert released in Feburary 2011