Testing the expedition marketing waters for itself, Tropicana set its sights on the arctic circle, where people live for WEEKS without sunlight. To make a “Brighter Morning for a Brighter Day” in the small town of Inuvik, Canada, Tropicana erected for them a replacement sun on their 31st day of darkness.  The result is a beautiful commercial (airing March 1st) showing the town’s surprised and delighted reaction to this gift on a “day” they probably hadn’t expected to remember.

Check it out:

Thanks to Agency Spy for tweeting the link!

As a community manager, I often wonder why companies won’t just accept that they need to engage their customers with social media, and why they can’t see that consumers (not just ad people) are using and consuming social media at an astounding pace. Realistically, there are a lot of good reasons for this, chiefly that they don’t see any empirical evidence that the times are changing. This presents a real big challenge to social media enthusiasts like myself, as we are so consumed by trying to keep up with “it” – “it” being The State of NOW, as Jeff Pulver so aptly puts it – that we have a hard time stepping back and seeing it with “client eyes.”

Enter Gary Hayes of Personalize Media, @GaryPHayes on Twitter. He has created this amazing app (below) that is tracking the rapidly advancing rate of people using the social web. Notice this app is updating itself in real time. Could it provide enough evidence of this crazy media revolution that’s so difficult to quantify?

Thanks goes to Chris Voss for blogging it before me and tweeting the link.
UPDATE: 2/22/2010: Just realized I only mentioned the social media counter and not the tabs for mobile and games. Check out those categories with this counter, too!

Just found a great live feed of Union Square, 3 blocks north of Renegade’s office. Today we watch it fill up with snow, in July with sun bathers.  Thanks for the feed goes to Blue Fountain Media!

Yesterday Virgin Atlantic announced it's Fear of Flying course, that supposedly has a 98% success rate, and unveiled the accompanying iPhone app intended to coach passengers through their attacks of fear while on board.  Included in the app are facts about flying, a Q&A section, and breathing techniques for fear emergencies while in the air. 

Talk about marketing as service!  Given that 1 in 3 adults are scared of flying, I'd say they are hitting a wide market with this one, and, in addition, are helping individuals make big strides in their personal lives.  This is the same thingPorter Gale, VP of Marketing at VA, discussed in her presentation last week at the 140 Characters Conference in LA, when she said Virgin Atlantic is striving through tech and social media to help their customers on a more personal level.  I'd say they are doing a darn good job at it.  What's next?

Today is Blog Action Day, and the topic this year is Climate Change.  Renegade has been working to improve our relationship with the environment for over two years now, and I believe we've accomplished a great deal. 

Here's a quick summary of the things we've done in the past 2 years:

• Cut our copy paper usage 44% per person by printing double-sided
• Decreased our energy usage 75% by using more fans and windows and less AC, using laptops instead of desktops, and shutting down our computers every night
• Banned paper coffee cups and plastic mugs and replaced them with glass (a move that paid for itself in terms of footprint size and fiscal cost in less than a month)
• Stopped ordering cardboard boxes and began reusing the packing materials we receive in the mail
• Began recycling!
• Supplied tire pressure gauges to every Renegade with a car to promote fuel economy
• Switched to a hybrid car service
• Made the switch to eco-friendly cleaning supplies

There's still so much more work to be done to lessen Renegade's impact on the environment (not to mention the rest of of the ad industry).  By taking the initiative to improve our impact as a company, we've impressed upon many who have worked with us in the past 2 years the importance of making eco-changes in their own lives – an accomplishment in and of itself.  I believe it is the responsibility of companies like Renegade to show their workers and as many other people as they can how to protect the environment, rather than harm it.

Back in 2007 we created a screen saver that gives tips for being green and allows users to contribute. It's called the Greensaver. Download it now!