Microsoft brings us Bing, their oh so inventive way to take a notch out of the illusive Googling (as a verb!)

Bing does have some nice features and I will definitely take my time trying it out. But do they really think people are going to start to say bing it,  I binged it?  Well why Microsoft is attempting yet again to push into Google’s realm, Google is out coining a new verb.

Google Wave is a new tool for communication and collaboration on the web.  This is an attempt to bring all of the communication areas into one …… Wave.

So will we being say Wave like we do Google?

Did you join the wave?

He is on the Wave.

I saw it on your Wave.

Start a Wave.

I don’t really know, but I do know that while Microsoft is out trying to do something that is already been done, Google is taking away their steam by announcing something completely new and unique.  You must innovate to lead not follow, and for the last few years the behemoth Microsoft has been following a lot.

So what do you think, will Bing make a significant impact in Search?  Will Wave change the way we communicate?  Or will both of these just be tiny footnotes in the quickly changing landscape of the web?

More to explore: Google Wave, Bing

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Filed under: Jim Hanifen, Search Marketing, Social Media

Post by Piotr Jakubowski
Visit his blog at:
http://piotrj.wordpress.com/

One of the blockbusters from last year, The Dark Knight featured the likes of Christian Bale, Aaaron Eckhart and the late Heath Ledger in what turned out to be one of the greatest hits of all time. Ledger was posthumously awarded with an Academy Award for his supporting role.

This year the summer season kicks off with a projected blockbuster in the form of an X-Men Origins movie, Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman. Snowballing off the relative success of the original X-Men series, Marvel has decided to invest in this prequel.

So despite Batman and Wolverine being super-heroes, what else do they have in common?

Integrated advertising campaigns.

The Dark Knight’s campaign began with a series of posters showcasing the Joker and the now infamous line – Why So Serious? The advertising focused on providing teasers to the movie, Warner having already developed a loyal following with the Batman Begins prequel. With Heath Ledger’s death, the focus of the campaign shifted on the Joker character, revealing a character embodied so well by the actor.

The piece de resistance in the Dark Knight’s campaign, however, was the ARP game that was created in larger cities to send participants on scavenger hunts. These games, along with an online network of over thirty Dark Knight related sites proved to be a strong foundation to promote a film that eventually grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

Wolverine on the other hand included some unfavorable PR, as a month before the premiere news broke that the full film was leaked online. To date, over 4.1 million downloads of the film have been made, something that may affect the release of the movie. Grossing “just” $87 million its first weekend (Batman grossed almost $160 million), the movie is set to be profitable, though not a record breaking blockbuster.

Catering to the largely male audience of the Marvel series films, many Wolverine ads ran on sports channels such as ESPN. During the NBA Playoffs, even Charles Barkley sported a pair of claws in a spot between quarters. The online experience isn’t as extensive as Batman, though it still includes social media vehicles like Facebook and MySpace. An interesting aspect to note is that the iPhone app is featured on the site but unavailable (coming soon). Unfinished business?

So Batman vs Wolverine – who would emerge victorious?

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Filed under: Interactive Advertising, Piotr Jakubowski, Videos