Pepsi are yet to announce which artists will be involved in the concerts that will begin in the summer, but expect Nicki Minaj to feature, given that the deal also includes a TV ad with the Superbass singer.

This looks to be the next stage in the famed Cola Wars, following on the back of rival ­Coca-Cola announcing a deal with online music provider Spotify, which will see the music player integrated into Coca-Cola’s Facebook page that also happens to have a fanbase of 41 million users. A Facebook Spotify app is also being developed.

I expect that the powers that be at Pepsi have seen the power of the hashtag with the countless trending topics from the Beliebers, One Directioners and the like. This campaign will provide Pepsi with the opportunity to have their hashtags, videos and other ad content to go viral.

Although Pepsi are yet to reveal the full details of the campaign, they have a great opportunity to really engage with their fanbase here. No doubt they already have their artists already lined up, but will Pepsi allow their fans to vote for who they want to see in concert? If the artists buy into this, they could follow the example of NFL star Cam Newton, who posted videos online for why he should be voted onto the cover of the 2012 version of Madden, the famed American football video game franchise.

How about asking people to demonstrate how they are “living for now”, as the slogan goes? With the tie in to Twitter, this could use the 140 characters allowed in a tweet, or ask people to post a video on YouTube; they could even use the social network of the moment Pinterest to show what “living for now” means to them.

If you were Pepsi, how would you look to engage with your fans with campaign? Who would you want to vote to see in concert?

It would be great to hear what you would do, either here or on Twitter @andrewlowdon.

At first glance, your eyes would probably be drawn to the blob of green pins in northern California or Silicon Valley, which is home to eBay, Facebook and Google and quickly being nicknamed the tech capital of the world. Then you would probably move your eyes to the second blob of green pins in the east, which would include Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong where most mobile technology is dreamed up.
You would probably even see green pins in New York and Stockholm but what about the UK? Where do they fit in this green/red pin scenario? Five years ago I would have said the UK was definitely full of red pins but now, cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool are raising awareness of the local digital talent.

However, the city that made headlines in 2011, both locally and nationally, is Leeds.

Some of the most innovative and successful digital agencies are based in Leeds and it is obvious with the fresh and unique talent showcased all over the city.  However, in the last two years agencies in Leeds that are in high demand and ahead of the digital curve are rebranding and revising their strategy to include more than just the basic digital marketing offering. By adding innovative designers and marketers, agencies are able to utilise the local talent and offer world-class services for their clients.

Keith Wakefield, Leader of Leeds City Council, said he agrees and is devoted to making Leeds one of the best cities in the UK with a thriving digital sector to match.

”We are a hugely ambitious city. To remain competitive our businesses have to be in a position to take advantage of the opportunities enhanced digital connectivity provides.”

One opportunity for businesses to do this: the Leeds Digital Festival, which will be held for the fifth year in 2012. Thousands from Leeds celebrate the digital technology scene in November with events, seminars and social events that not only showcase the true spirit of ‘digital’ in Leeds but also its uniqueness. While the last three years have seen a great representation of support, it was last year’s festival that really made an impression on other agencies and digital enthusiasts across the UK and world. From digital lunches to digital photography projects, the 2011 Leeds Digital Festival definitely got the attention it deserved.

”There is no doubt we have the talent,” said Councillor Wakefield. ”The Leeds Digital festival provides a great example of the creativity and dynamism that exists within our digital sector.”

Leanne Buchan, who headed the festival last year, said that while cities like Manchester may have a stronger reputation and legacy of being ‘digital’, the scene in Leeds is newer which is much more exciting.

”The thing I loved most about the Leeds Digital Festival was that it was about Leeds. It’s important to look at other cities and keep up to date with what’s happening but the digital festival was the first time we collectively created events and a platform that was purely about what was happening in or of interest to the Leeds digital scene. It was also the first time this event became relevant to a national audience as it was simply about great digital work, or issues relevant to that sector and less about trying to pitch us against another city.”

So why does Leeds have such a thriving digital scene? The honest answer: while I don’t think it necessarily earns the accolade ‘digital city’ of the north, Leeds has indeed earned the right to be a front runner for other cities who deem themselves the main contenders. The one thing Leeds continues to play on is its ability to be unique. Rather than the inclination to compare, I think Leeds is in a league of its own.

”Digital is so prevalent and such a growth sector that even London doesn’t have the stronghold it once had anymore,” said Leanne.’ ‘As technology continues to grow and push boundaries, the focus becomes less about who’s top dog and more about the quality of the work, the ethos of the community and ability to stay competitive in a tough market.”

While the recession may have blown a strong wind over the UK economy, leaving cities like London out in the cold, Leeds’s digital scene is safe and sound, stuck in tight with its green pin.

If you have been to the Leeds Digital Festival, what did you think? Share your experiences and comments below.

Further research suggests Dan Weiden actually took the idea from Gary Gilmore’s last words – “Let’s do it.” – spoken before his execution by firing squad (he was an American spree murderer of the late ’70s). Weiden (or indeed Nike) would not wish to be associated with the words of a murderer, thus it stands to reason that the original source be kept quiet.

After stumbling badly against arch-rival Reebok in the 1980s,

Nike rose about as high and fast in the ’90s as any company

can. It took on a new religion of brand consciousness and

broke advertising sound barriers with its indelible Swoosh,

“Just do it” slogan and deified sports figures. Nike managed

the deftest of marketing tricks: to be both anti-establishment

and mass market, to the tune of $9.2 billion dollars in sales

in 1997.

                                   Jolie Soloman,  “When Nike Goes Cold” Newsweek, March 30, 1998

A Modern Take

In many ways advertising has changed a lot since the late ’80s with the advance of the internet. The advent of both search marketing and social platforms as an advertising medium are revolutionising some companies’ fortunes, especially those who ‘Just do it’ right (yes Old Spice, I am thinking of you).

How could Nike have taken advantage of these developments if the campaign was to run today?

The Backbone of the Internet

Search has become synonymous with advertising and any self-respecting advertising campaign would be backed up with a search campaign. Obligatory campaign-related terms would contain references to both the slogan and brand, helping to re-enforce the messaging in the new campaign. Specific use of ‘Just do it’ could be combined with a separate campaign site, containing related content and viral material.

Search engines are the starting point for many people accessing the internet, and would be vital to improve the visibility of a large-scale campaign. Search would be vital in promoting visibility of the campaign, even if they rely on other mediums to make the first contact.

Celebrity endorsements were vital in the original Nike campaign, helping to improve the desirability of their products. Search could be turned to this advantage, displaying adverts for searches on sponsored celebrities or high profile sports figures would help to synonymise the brand with those figures (and subsequently improve the desirability and quality associations these celebrities provide). In order for this to be successful, the pages would have to contain relevant content and information about each celebrity – a small setup cost given the long-term brand perception benefits.

Spoofing the Google Search Home

The ‘Just do it’ slogan lends itself nicely to a functional spoof of Google’s homepage, replacing the ‘I’m feeling lucky’ button.

Social Advertising

Social networks are a great catalyst when trying to generate buzz around a topic, and could be the life or death of such a campaign. In 1988 these adverts would have been talking points in both the playground and office, whereas now they are the ‘meat and veg’ of social networks.

Short memorable videos, with the potential for viral activity, could easily have been produced to fit the ‘Just do it’ slogan, especially videos that would have appealed to the target market. Many extreme sports and internet clips (those that populate the hundreds of TV clip shows) would be ripe for use when coupled with this slogan.

A more risqué approach could be adopted to broaden the viral appeal; however it takes a brave brand to risk association with such themes.

If you were relaunching a classic advertising campaign using the new channels available today to include search marketing – what would you do differently?

I have had the pleasure of working in some excellent traditional marketing agencies, one of which is known the world over as one of the best. Yet, the brutal honesty of the situation is that a search agency has given me, and continues to give me, the sort of creative opportunities which simply were not available in the other agencies I worked in. The reason for this is very simple – The ‘client’ is completely different. When you are creating a website, a letterhead, a brand or a leaflet, the client you are creating it for is the ultimate decision maker, deeming the piece a success, or not. If they’re happy, everyone’s happy; you’ve got the money in the bank and it’s all happy days. But what is so often forgotten is that the real client in all of this is the target audience.

With any good design process, the target audience is always in mind. But in those circumstances, even an understanding client finds it difficult to let go of what is ultimately to be their pride and joy, and can get very stringent and cautious, ultimately signing off a conservative inevitability. Of course, it depends on the client but that is my own experience. In the end, it is they you are there to please, even if you know this isn’t necessarily the best choice.

It is a very different situation when creative linkbuilding is involved. Creative linkbuilding is all about one thing – the links. If you get the links you’re aiming for, then the piece has been an inspiring success.

For a designer, the implications of this are huge, which is why this specific area of marketing holds a holy grail of creative opportunities. Links are created, ultimately, by interesting content, inspiring, challenging design and innovative, attention-grabbing digital experiences.

There’s a word which used to have a bit of a taboo status hanging over it for me, that word being ‘funky’. I’ve always been a fan of design which is relatively fun, has a sense of humour in the right places and tries to do something a bit cool, or maybe even weird at times. So inevitably I’ve always tried to ensure the work I create includes my personal vision of what makes good design. In my previous roles at marketing agencies, although that sort of creativity and graphic visualisation was appreciated by colleagues, ultimately it would be too ‘funky’ for the clients we had. Often those pieces were not even shown to the clients, let alone put through to production. Again, perhaps that says something about the sort of clients catered for but, ultimately, everyone needs their bread and butter and the buck-paying clients tend to be the most conservative. In hindsight, this is entirely understandable.

How times change. Now it seems are we are striving for ‘funky’ because ‘funky’ creates links! ‘Funky’ is that cool, youthful effect used on an infographic. ‘Funky’ is the javascript animation applied in order to transform a flat line graph into an immersive, interactive piece of digital beauty. ‘Funky’ is that subtle css3 transition which adds an extra layer to create a more reactive design for the user. And inescapably, ‘funky’ is sometimes an absolutely fantastic idea because all of those examples make a link more likely to be acquired; they all serve a real purpose rather than being something the design team fancied adding to better promote their personal portfolios!

Of course, it must be added that we need to be able to rationalize our input, but as long as we have the links in mind then we will always end up with a highly creative piece. Variety is the spice of life, and the diversity of the work we are doing, both in terms of the medium and stylistic challenges, is truly refreshing. Ironically, this diversity meets one of the aims most traditional marketing agencies dream of fulfilling: it provides a freedom to designers, based upon its positive impact to our clients.