Augmented Storytelling As A Force For Good – ReWILD Our Planet

Today, we were joined by over 70 journalists from Southeast Asia to launch REWILD Our Planet, Singapore’s first Social Augmented Reality (AR) experience jointly developed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Google, Netflix, ArtScience Museum of Singapore, and PHORIA.

I was particularly proud of steering this effort given the pedigree of partners we had the pleasure of working with as well as the important cause we were championing. It wasn’t easy, but we successfully pulled off the launch of a sensorial experience that connected people to nature and one another through immersive storytelling that blended cutting-edge AR technology with stunning 4K video footage from Our Planet, a new Netflix original documentary series voiced by world-renowned naturalist, Sir David Attenborough.

Experiencing REWILD Our Planet

Combining spectacular IMAX-style projections with spatial soundscapes and AR, the experience lets participants explore four landscapes representing the last wilderness places on Earth: the forests of Borneo and India, the oceans of Asia, the grasslands of Mongolia, and the frozen worlds of the Arctic. It then highlights the urgency of restoring (or, “Rewilding”) nature by encouraging groups of participants to work together to unlock global weather patterns and magical animal encounters. The experience ends by leaving participants with a deeper understanding of shared solutions and a meaningful pledge to act and help bring nature back.

Ultimately, this immersive storytelling experience – where state of the art technology and quality entertainment meet – not only showcased the breathtaking diversity of our planet, but it also drove important conservation conversations, especially about how protecting our planet is a shared responsibility.

Spot.Ph’s video feature of REWILD Our Planet

The experience uses footage from Our Planet, an eight-part series that showcases the planet’s most precious species and fragile habitats, revealing amazing sights on Earth in ways they have never been seen using the latest in filming technology. From the creators of the award-winning series Planet Earth, and the result of a four-year collaboration with Silverback Films and WWF, Our Planet combines stunning photography and technology with an unprecedented, never-before-filmed look at the planet’s remaining wilderness areas and the rare and wonderful animals that call these places home. The ambitious project was filmed in 50 countries across all the continents of the world, with over 600 members of crew capturing over 3,500 filming days.

I’m really proud that we’re able to bring great and vital content like this to millions of people worldwide, informing and inspiring them towards taking action for the greater good. With REWILD Our Planet, I hope we are also taking this one step further by showing how stories can come to life in a way that spurs us all to help improve our environment. We couldn’t be more delighted to do this in concert with our amazing partners.

If you’re in Singapore, I hope you will go and check out this amazing experience at the ArtScience Museum – entrance is FREE! Also, join many others and watch this stunning documentary series, which starts streaming today!

Leadership, Management, Internal Culture and Stuffed Animals

I saw this story via my LinkedIn profile today and was totally amazed by what I read.

These were the parts that really got to me, emphases mine:

At the mention of Whoops, a handful of team members would stand up and one-by-one retell the story of a mistake, big or small. It might have been a mishandled customer case, a forgotten internal data analysis or causing a car accident on the way to work. Often, the team’s managers and directors contributed anecdotes. Once or twice, an employee’s Whoops mistake cost Google millions of dollars. After hearing all the yarns, the team voted on the worst mistake and Whoops would be thrown from one side of the room to the other, finding the “winner” of the competition who would put the monkey in his or her cubicle for the week.

Then Duke the dog was summoned. In contrast to Whoops’ self-reported monkeywrench mistakes, Duke stories are retold by someone else and the dog is a reward for service to the team that went above and beyond the call of duty. Several Googlers would stand and tell a story of a teammate’s dedication: how a colleague alerted them of a problem in a customer’s account, or stayed late that week to process unusually high customer spoort volumes, or released an internal tool that might have increased our productivity dramatically. Again, the team would vote on the stories and Duke would be bestowed on the winner. Then, the all hands meeting adjourned.

Despite their childlike simplicity, Duke and Whoops, were incredibly effective management tools. Whoops created a culture of honesty and transparency, where mistakes were shared in an environment of openness, trust and support. With Whoops, Kim created a culture that valued learning and camraderie over pride.

Duke celebrated our internal successes. Each week, we wanted to win Duke because we knew whatever effort we contributed at the very least would be celebrated before our teammates and Duke, prominently displayed on in our cubicle would remind our teammates and start conversations. That knowledge made us all work harder.

To the individual, it mattered who won Duke and Whoops. But sharing all of the stories, building a community based on shared experience and trust, was far more important and beneficial to the team. The dog and the monkey were tools to weave a fabric of shared experience and create a culture of strong values.

Can you imagine your company creating a culture that truly values honesty and transparency? Where mistakes are shared with openness, trust and support; where learning and camaraderie is valued over pride?

I am a firm believer that one of the most overlooked and undervalued things in an organization is its internal culture. Leaders and managers are too often focused on immediate gains and easy-to-report KPIs, leaving internal culture to the HR department, or worse, a part-time special interest group. Leaders must realize that their main job is leading people to achieve success and greatness – which then translates to results.

Maybe this is why Google continues its momentum as the world’s #2 brand, with its stock price hitting the $1,000 mark.

 

Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2013

Interbrand hast just released their Best Global Brands 2013 survey results and, after 13 years, there is a new king of the hill: Apple.

The study, which looks into the value of corporate brands, noted that Apple is the first company to push Coca-Cola aside – which had been the top most valuable brand every year since the study first began in 2000. Interbrand assessed Apple at $98.3 billion while second place winner, Google came in with a brand value of $93.3 billion, well ahead of Coca-Cola’s $79.2 billion value.

I think it’s really interesting to note that 5 out of the top 10 brands are technology-related brands, followed by beverages (1), business services (1), diversified (1), restaurants (1), automotive (1). I believe it’s truly indicative of the increasing recognition of technology in global business and consumer consciousness.

Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s Global Chief Executive Officer stated, “Every so often, a company changes our lives—not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Apple now ranks #1.”

He continued, “Tim Cook has assembled a solid leadership team and has kept Steve Jobs’ vision intact – a vision that has allowed Apple to deliver on its promise of innovation time and time again.”

Interbrand bases its assessment on a combination of the company’s financial performance, its role influencing consumer choices, and how well the brand lets a company charge premium prices and deliver profits.

Click here for the full report in PDF.

Adweek’s 10 Best Commercials of 2011

Adweek listed 10 of its favorite commercials from 2011. Interesting list – but here are my favorites:

Nissan Leaf – Gas Powered Everything

I especially like how they take the concept, “What if everything ran on gas?” and apply ad absurdum to prove its point in the end.

 

Dead Island  – Official Announcement Trailer

This is the first time I’ve seen how a video game can evoke emotions!

 

Google – Dear Sophie

This is how you humanize technology… by showing me how it makes me more human.

 

Chrysler – Born of Fire

I really like the *attitude* behind this – sometimes, a brand really does need some attititude. Other highlights include the kicking copy at the end: “Imported from Detroit”.

 

Chipotle – Back To The Start

A nice little bit of stop-motion animation coupled with a well-selected song – and a wonderfully thought-provoking message reinforce Chipotle’s brand values.

 

Volkswagen – The Force

This was really was quite cute – to the point that it became a viral hit over social networks.

 

Which of the 10 did you like? Check out the full list of 10 along with Adweek’s commentary here.

How 10 Brands Came About

I’m currently doing some thinking on “brand storytelling” (more on that as it comes), and thought this was an interesting article via Graphic Design Blog on how 10 brands originated. It got me thinking about the evolution of a brand – from what it originally was to where it is today. If anything, it also makes for great introduction fodder during presentations!

Cool facts about how brands came about: