brand-e

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.

It’s December and two musical advent calendars are here to guide us through the festive season. Spotify has tasked the likes of Leona Lewis, Jason Derulo, Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5, Ryan Adams, Westlife, Pixie Lott and Primal Scream with coming up with a personal selection of songs for the 24 Christmas days available on the Spotify Festive Playlist app on Facebook.

Top digital player among Europe’s niche fashion brands? That would be UK lingerie maker Agent Provocateur, ahead of fellow British fashionistas Ted Baker and Stella McCartney, according to L2’s Digital IQ Index: European Niche Fashion report, writes Maria Stadtmueller.

Agent Provocateur snags top spot with its racy assets and an online voice which deliver across channels, says L2. It also boasts the strongest mobile presence in the study.

Close to three-quarters of Forbes Global 2000 companies – the top-ranking 2k brands in the world – will boast at least one gamified app by 2014, says Gartner. But it’s a question of quality not quantity – because there’s an art to gamification, the tech research outfit reckons.

“Gamification aims to inspire deeper, more engaged relationships and to change behaviour, but it needs to be implemented thoughtfully,” said Brian Burke, research vp at Gartner. “Most attempts at gamification currently miss the mark, but successful and sustainable gamification can convert customers into fans, turn work into fun, or make learning a joy. The potential is enormous.”

When Tinie Tempah performed at London’s O2 last week, he got the audience of 15,000 fans to smile for a group photograph. No ordinary photo, mind, but a high-resolution 360-degree interactive image (snapped by Gigapixel FanCam). Now the audience has been tasked with going to the artist’s website to find themselves grinning at the O2, and to tag their image.