Facebook ‘likes’ Barça

The world’s top sports team on Facebook? That would be football’s Barcelona with over 26 million ‘likes’, ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid (24 million) and Manchester United (22 million), according to Sportingintelligence’s latest rankings. Only basketball’s LA Lakers and Boston Celtics break football’s domination of the Top 10.


The sound of a branded serenade

heineken-valentineHeineken has launched a Valentine’s Day Facebook application, The Serenade, based on the brand’s 2011 film The Date. The new app enables consumers to send personalised songs inviting their loves out on a date, writes Maria Stadtmueller.

The brand and Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam have developed a catalogue of 640 different serenades for users who need to choose a recipient in the form of a Facebook friend, then tell them why they are so special, and where they would like to take them on a date.


BBC takes top 10 visual

official-chart-bbcBBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart is now visualising the top 10 best-selling singles in the Chart via the Radio 1 website for the first time, says Maria Stadtmueller. Listeners will be able to watch the final hour of The Official Chart every Sunday as Reggie Yates counts down the top 10 tracks.


Is there a brand Zuckerberg?

facebookFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to join the world’s super rich if the company’s planned IPO goes down well with the market, with his stake set to give him a close to $30 billion share in the Social Network – at a Facebook valuation of $100 billion - writes Sabine Stork*.

And Zuckerberg retains lofty hopes for his social media baby, which he compares to the invention of the printing press and the television. “Today, our society has reached another tipping point,” he says in a missive accompanying the IPO filing. “There is a huge need and a huge opportunity to get everyone in the world connected, to give everyone a voice and to help transform society for the future.”


Firms like Facebook, turn away from blogs

inc-500Social media usage within the Inc 500 ranking – the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in the US – has changed in the past 12 months. While these outfits are now incorporating the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, texting, mobile apps and Foursquare, they are cutting their use of blogging, message boards, video blogging, podcasting and MySpace, according to a report by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts.


Cutting to the brand Chase

the-chase-microsoft-advertisingIntel wanted to launch a digital campaign that would increase its brand awareness and promote the incredible power of its new Core i5 processors, writes David Pugh-Jones*. We can’t see these processors, since they are embedded in our PCs, but they are in fact the backbone of these remarkable machines that we use everyday. The question was: how could Intel make these processors, which seem unfamiliar or even boring, come to life and really convey to the average consumer the possibilities they create? How do you build excitement around something that’s, well, invisible?


Hunger for the Games

hunger-gamesLionsgate Studios and games developer Funtactix are launching The Hunger Games Adventures, a social gaming title which will open in concert with the film adaptation of the Suzanne Collins’ bestselling novel The Hunger Games in March, writes Steve Mullins.

Players of the game will be able to explore the world of Panem – the setting for The Hunger Games trilogy – and complete missions that will take them to each of the ‘Districts’ and the ‘Capitol’ where they will interact with characters from the story.


So Fabulous-ly social on Facebook

News International today launches a ‘social media magazine’ on Facebook for its Fabulous mag, which the publisher folds into The Sun newspaper every Saturday. The Fabulous Facebook app will feature Fabulous Radio so users can share their Spotify playlists, a weather tool, which recommends outfits suitable for the prevailing climatic conditions, plus a fashion blog.