brand-e

Mobile marketing outfit Upstream has come up with The Challenge. Do you have what it takes for its latest recruitment drive? Upstream is looking for a team of marketing campaign managers, but it is looking online only, writes Sally Ratcliffe.

Forget about emailing that CV off for it to be spammed by some tired recruiters’ inbox, and start jumping through Upstream’s clickable hoops. All set to decrypt anagrams, show best figures in maths and match some cool emotions to a hypothetical scenario? Then you’re ready to crack on with The Upstream Challenge.

Specific Media-owned Myspace has rolled out a Myspace music player with features such as built-in search, music recommendations and integration with one-time arch social network rival Facebook. The new player boasts over 40 million tracks, with 30 million exclusives from unsigned artists. Listeners will be able to use the advertising-supported service for free.

JWT London’s Innovation Lab has rolled out a portal for gaming outfit Playcast’s television and desktop audiences. The Lab’s head, Miguel Andres-Clavera, says gameplay and usability are at the core of the new digital hub, with social integration one of the main focuses.

Social TV is already a big trend, with 61% of global respondents to Motorola Mobility’s 2011 Media Engagement Barometer study saying they have already discussed a TV programme with friends via a social network.

Users have preference for accessing a social TV service using a PC, smartphone or tablet (43%) rather than via a television set using an on-screen menu (40%).

The media-making campaign of last month was Benetton’s return to attempted mischief making, Unhate. Now, it clearly stirred the Vatican into action, but did it move the brand-e Campaigns Panel during the month of November? Well, in large part it did.

“There is a genuine sense that Benetton want to inspire change, that this is a long-term commitment, and that they have really thought through how to enable change,” says Dare’s Nadya Powell. “It also feels bang on for the brand that broke other taboos (just-born child, AIDS victim), now it’s about getting rid of all the hate.”

Thomson has developed an interactive map showing the evolution of western dance music over the last 100 years. The journey begins with traditional folk music from Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, writes Steve Mullins. The sixties soul and funk explosions trigger the rise of disco in the States, and synth pop in Europe. In the late 70s and early 80s, hip-hop, house, techno and electro explode, and that spawns a multitude of other genres.