Benchmarking allows Analytics users to compare data with other companies, under the same industry, that shares their data. There are over 1600 industries to choose from in the Benchmarking menu and the report can be further filtered.

Unfortunately it’s not automatically available and you do need to activate it because it affects your privacy settings. Check out the  steps here to enable Benchmarking in your account.

Reports

Reports are found under the “Audience” section of the Google Analytics reporting interface.
(Go to Audience > Benchmarking)

You are able to run reports by Channel, Location and Device and benchmark your website against its industry vertical, size by daily visits and geographic location with the six standard metrics to compare.

Whilst Benchmarking isn’t new to Google (it was an original feature that was removed in 2011 in lieu of a direct email), this is only the beginning of the latest Benchmarking tool. Google will be introducing additional capabilities on this feature soon and we are so excited to see what they will come up with.

Yours in analytics,
Brio Team

Among all the submissions that they have received, 40 were picked as semi finalists in July this  year. By mid August, these semi finalists were whittled down to a final 10 entrants, including concepts for wearable cameras, low cost bionics and a bionic mattress.

The finalist will be pitching their Ideas on front of a panel of judges on November 2, 2014 and the winner will be announced on November 11, 2014.

Make it Wearable is a part of The Creators Project, an initiative that encourages and fosters creative expression, pushing the boundaries of design and technology to find new and innovative opportunities for how and why we use tech in the future.

Yours in Wearable Technology,
Brio Team

Finalists:

BABYBE – Emotional Prosthetics
Team
Raphael PM Lang (Captain)
Member:
Camilo Anabalon

First V1sion – Player Perspective
Team
Jose Ildefonso (Captian)
Members:
Angeliki Terezaki
Roger Antunez
Anastasia Pistofidou

Nixie – Flyable & Wearable Camera
Team
Christoph Kohstall (Captain)
Members:
Jelena Jovanovic
Michael Niedermayr

vumbl – Sports and Activity Necklace
Team
Tom Shrive (Captain)
Members:
James Price
Mark Siddorn
Samuel Tassell

Open Bionics – Low-Cost Robotic Hand
Team
Joel Gibbard (Captain)
Member:
Sammy Payne

Wristify – Cooling or Warming Refresh
Team
Matthew Smith (Captain)
Members:
Sam Shames
Megha Jain
David Cohen-Tanugi

Snowcookie – Skiing 6th Sense
Team
Martin Kawalski (Captain)
Members:
Zbigniew Nawrat
Piotr Lukasik
Ewa Waliczek

BabyGuard – Smart Healthcare
Team
Xiaoshan Huang (Captain)
Members:
Shuai Ye
Chen Guo

ProGlove – Production Tool
Team
Paul Günther (Captain)
Members:
Jonas Girardet
Thomas Kirchner
Alexander Grots

BLOCKS – Snapable Platform
Team
Serge Vasylechko (Captain)
Members:
Hakeem Javaid
Omer Al Fakir

We were really proud to be a finalist in the ‘hotly’ contested BADC awards this year for our branding work with Proactive Accountant Network. It is always great to see a project grow from Discovery Workshop, where we defined the brand with the outlaw archetype, shaping the brand right through to stationery design. To be recognised by our peers is so rewarding.

Thanks BADC.

This annual exhibition has been running since 1997 and is a great platform for emerging artists to mingle and share their work and views.

Are you ready to put yourself out there? Hurry as you only have 7 days to enter!

Yours with Art Exhibitions,
Amber van Sloten

Ok shameless plug warning! We’re super excited to see our client Spare Ticket announced as a National Finalist for the Australian Marketing Institute’s Awards for Marketing Excellence in the ‘New Brand’ category. We’re up against some ‘stiff’ competition: Warnie’s underwear brand Spinners; Simplot’s Quorn and Queensland winner Mater Mother’s Private Redland; so fingers crossed!

The awards are a part of the AMI’s two day conference, Focus on the Future, held at the Hilton Sydney from October 19-20. The conference will showcase a number of high profile speakers from Microsoft, Commonwealth Bank, Spreets, Telstra and Nestle, to name a few, bringing together some of the world’s greatest marketing minds.

Will you be going?

Yours in marketing coolness,
Janet

From over 15,000 submission from more than 190 countries, people have chosen a winner, Serbian designer Predrag Stakic. The first ever logo for Human Rights, is an open source product, free to be used by everyone, everywhere – for the purpose of promoting and protecting Human Rights.

As citizens around the world protest and make sacrifices for the ideals, they will have one new tool in their arsenal, a symbol that demands human rights for everyone, in every language.

To find out more: http://www.mail.com/cinema-for-peace/714052-human-rights-logo-unveiled-york.html#.684496-stage-teaser1-1
View the submissions here: http://humanrightslogo.net/ideas

Dislaimer: If the logo is used for commercial purposes the user has the responsibility to ensure that no rights of third parties are compromised.

Yours in human rights,
Tanya Heading

Gamificiation: introducing the new buzz word for a marketing direction that takes cues from games.  Gamification in its basic form is introducing the mechanics of games and combining them with technology to deliver a unique brand experience for the consumer.

These ideas are starting to be used by savvy marketers as some of the traditional marketing strategies are failing to deliver any return on investment. Consumers are looking for and in many cases expecting a level of reward and more engagement with a brand then they ever have before.

These are the five most commonly used game mechanics, as identified by Gabe Zichermann the author of Game-Based Marketing.

• Points: Points are everywhere, and they’re often used as a way to denote achievement. Points also measure the user’s achievements in relation to others and work to keep the user motivated for the next reward or level. They can even double as action-related currency.
• Badges: While badges have their origins in the physical world, Foursquare popularized the digital variety with its oh-so-clever set of real-life merit badges that range from easy (Newbie badges are awarded to users on their first checkin) to nearly-impossible to unlock (it takes 10 movie theater checkins to earn the Zoetrope badge).
• Levels: Businesses are encouraging mobile users for example to level up and get better discounts for becoming more loyal patrons.
• Leaderboards: Leaderboards rank users and work to motivate and encourage them to become players. Foursquare started with city-centric leaderboards, but now places the emphasis on ranking users against their friends. Earn a few points for a checkin, and Foursquare will show you which of your friends you’ve flown by on the leaderboard. A great strategy for anyone who is remotely competitive.
• Challenges: These range from the simple to complex and often involve communal activity or group play.  We have utlised this techniques for our client SpareTicket, where a seller can swap a ticket to say a concert for a challenge.

Isn’t it exciting to be entering an age where communication is only going to be limited by our imagination!

Check out Jesse Schell in this video recored at DICE  last year. It will really give you an idea of where Gamification can take marketing. (skip through to half way for the best bits if you are pushed for time).

Remember Social Media was once a buzz word… today it is a marketing phenomenon that is rapidly expanding and taking a larger slice of even the most conservative businesses marketing budget.

Yours in Gamification.

Belinda

After receiving hundreds of entries, the winning design was by Cynthia Lee from Nottingham University.

The 11 finalists can be viewed here on Facebook.

Tell us what you think about the winning design?

Yours in logo development,
Amber van Sloten

We’re all very excited about the Cannes Lions Festival which is currently in full swing. Shortlists and winners are being announced daily at the Cannes Lions website and diary entries from Aussie representatives at Cannes are being detailed at Campaign Brief.

The festival describes itself as ‘the world’s only truly global meeting place for creative professionals’ and to win a ‘Cannes Lion’ is widely regarded as the most prestigious award in our industry. The best global talent is showcased over seven days and 57 sessions, and thought-leaders and experts come together to inspire, debate and entertain.

To celebrate the festival Youngbloods are hosting an event at Limes Hotel tomorrow for a night of screening, judging and drinking. $15 will get you entry, a free drink on arrival and canapes. Not to mention the priceless opportunity to hear some of Brisbane’s top dogs cast their vote on who will win what at Cannes. They’ll also be giving away 1 x AdSchool Workshop and a lunch date with a professional in your chosen field on the night.

Tickets are limited and must be purchased prior to the event, buy them here: www.qldyoungbloods.com.au/cannes

But if you can’t make it you can still view highlights from the Festival, interviews with the speakers and photos from around the Palais, as well as all the winners as they are announced, here.

Yours in advertising,
Janet