When I tell you that I’m a big fan of Chrome, relax, I’m not hinting that anyone get Westwood round to pimp my ride – I am rather referencing Google Chrome, the web browser launched in late 2008 by the ubiquitous internet behemoth.

Having used it as my default browser since downloading the programme over a year ago, I’ve since installed it on my home PC and laptop, as a welcome break from Internet Explorer. I realise that I’m not the first person to break convention here, with any Mac users out there, along with the more technologically savvy, already well aware of life after Microsoft when browsing the web, with Safari – Apple’s own browser – and Mozilla’s Firefox, the main contenders for IE’s crown in the years BC (that’s Before Chrome); however, December 2009 finally saw Google’s new window onto the web overtake Safari’s hard-won market share. No mean feat, a year after launch.

This leaves the stats from December 2009 looking something like:

1. Internet Explorer - 62.69%

2. Mozilla Firefox - 24.61%

3. Google Chrome - 4.63%

4. Safari - 4.46%

5. Opera - 2.93%

6. Netscape Navigator - 0.32%

7. Various others - 0.68%

(Source: Market Share)

This may not look too significant a shift, although given that this % represents around 40 million users, and that Internet Explorer’s global usage dropped by almost 7% last year (from 69.23% in Feb 2009), you might start to appreciate the long-term machinations of Messrs Page and Brin, and how these might impact on one William Henry Gates III in the war of the super-rich supernerds.

In quite a major move for the brand, Google has even been running an offline ad campaign publicising Chrome. Commuters at Oxford Circus may well be familiar with both the posters and digital escalator creatives drawing attention to the ‘fast, new browser, made for everyone’. Indeed, in the lead-up to Christmas, Google engaged in another rare piece of ATL, with a Metro wrap (you may have seen this repeated last week), as well as a call to action for people to make Chrome one of their Xmas gifts to a loved one, via the www.givechrome.com website. Well, it’s better than a pair of socks.

This activity certainly translated into curiosity amongst web users, with searches for Chrome overtaking Internet Explorer for the first time ever, which Google – or its media department – would doubtless argue contributed to its rise in the browser rankings that very month.

So, what’s good about the product? Well, it’s very clean, clear, fast and free; you can have lots of different web pages running at the same time with no drag, and if any particular page crashes, Chrome simply shuts down that tab, rather than the whole browser. I’d definitely recommend it, although the programme is still not a catch-all: certain Microsoft plug-ins are incompatible with Chrome (hmmmm, how unexpected), making it difficult to use some online applications such as the SkyPlayer. For everyday browsing of the internet, however, it’s fantastic.

Other than the slow burn process of accruing new advocates and users, what next for Google Chrome? The answer is actually slightly more ambitious than you might think, with Google now moving further into Microsoft’s back yard through the development of the Google Chrome OS (Operating System). Whilst it’s still a way off, with an official release scheduled for the latter half of 2010, the concept is remarkably different to the traditional Windows offering. As outlined by company chiefs at Google HQ in November last year, the OS is designed with a focus on three user requirements: ‘Speed…Simplicity…Security’, achieving its aims via a radical approach: to all intents and purposes, Google Chrome OS only works when you are online.

What the hell? So I’ve got to be online for my PC to work, you say? Well, sort of.

Although this may sound pretty restricting, Google are not setting themselves the challenge of beating Microsoft at its own game, but rather carving up a piece of the action for themselves, namely through appealing to the burgeoning netbook market. Sales of these small, light, web-friendly PCs were up 103% in 2009, and with decreased price points and increased wi-fi availability, this trend looks to continue. To date, the concept has received a mixed reaction: for the always-online professional netbookers out there, Google are preaching to the converted, with a promise of a system that will be ready to surf the web within seven seconds of power-up; plus they won’t need to store all their docs on their hard disc, with data instead stored remotely and accessed via the web. Google aren’t the first to use a ‘cloud’ system, but probably are the first to take the concept of virtual storage for mobile PC users to such a commercial extreme.

From starting life as the cleanest, fastest and most efficient way to find what you need on the internet, Google has, in an incredibly short space of time become part of our culture, our very vocabulary. And in today’s information age, there appears to be no stopping them: news, video, mail, maps, photos, phones, toolbars, Trends, translation, into China (and out again?) - and we search, and we search, and we search…

By Jonathan Izzard on January 19th, 2010

Tags: Advertising , Brand marketing , China , Digital marketing , Media

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Channel 4’s successful bid against the BBC to win the UK broadcast rights to the London 2012 Paralympics defied predictions and surprised leading observers. The latest in a series of bold and innovative moves by the London 2012 Organising Committee in their quest to create and deliver a Games for a new era and a new generation, it’s a decision that will be good for the Paralympics, for consumers, and for London 2012 sponsors.

Justified or not, there was always a concern that the BBC would prioritise resources to the Olympics over the Paralympics. Channel 4’s bid removes the issue with a raft of unprecedented commitments: re-branding itself as The Paralympics Channel during the Games; 150 hours of Games-time coverage;  two ten-part peak time documentaries in 2011 and 2012; dedicated coverage of the Paralympic Torch Relay; and the biggest marketing campaign in the broadcaster’s history - a particularly crucial feature given the key Paralympic legacy objective of changing attitudes to disability.

But not only is changing to Channel 4 all good for the Paralympics: it’s good for consumers too.

Being free-to-air, access for all to coverage of the Games is assured - a vital consideration. Channel 4 also has a strong and proud track record of innovative coverage (Italian football, horse racing, cricket) that consumers will no doubt now see applied to the Paralympics And isn’t it good for consumers - indeed for society as a whole - that after a decade of Big Brother, Channel 4 is returning to its traditional diversity/minority remit?

I’d also argue that for consumers, having two London 2012 broadcasters is better than one, in that the inherent competition it will engender between the two stations (already visible in their somewhat barbed PR around the announcement of Channel 4’s win) will drive up coverage quality.

And finally, it’s undeniable that Channel 4 winning the rights to cover the Paralympics is brilliant news for the London 2012 Games’ sponsors. Leveraging an Olympic and Paralympic sponsorship is one of toughest challenges in the sponsorship playbook, owing to the nature of the rights: leveraging it in the UK, with - up to now - the non-commercial BBC as the only Olympic broadcaster has made it even tougher. The entry of a commercial station offers London 2012’s sponsors a new, and welcome, marketing option.

By Tim Crow on January 12th, 2010

Tags: London 2012 , London 2012 sponsorship , Olympic sponsorship , Olympics

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Back in September I wrote a blog about the Synergy team outing to the Olympic Village. We were hosted by Des Blake, a local resident who is working with the ODA to promote the tours available to the public. Well, having read our blog, Des has been in touch with the Synergy team and I thought I would share his comments with you:

Dear Caroline,

My name is Des Blake, thank you so much for your kind and positive words on your blog about my first tour. Do you remember I said I may see you or get touch on 2012 well I am keeping my promise. Please see picture, and today’s date 2012!!!

I now have a far better out look on life, more positive about things, and local people are always stopping me in the street to chat about the 2012 games! (When I have my 2012 top on or when they see my Olympic badge!) I have always had a dream since a boy to represent the UK in the Olympics, or to be involved in one, I feel by doing this work I have gone along way in achieving this!

The pleasure I get from for seeing the smiles and the excitement on the people’s faces and the thanks they give me as they leave the tour bus is incredible!

Kind Regards,

Des Blake

Des, thank you for getting in touch and we’re really pleased to hear that the Olympics is already making a difference. We look forward to seeing how the village develops and hope that the tours keep you busy right up to July 2012.

By Caroline Ayling on January 4th, 2010

Tags: London 2012

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2009 is turning into a vintage year for Synergy: having already landed a raft of awards during our 25th anniversary, we’ve now added arguably the most prestigious of them all by scooping Marketing magazine’s 2009 Sponsorship Agency of the Year award.

Congratulations Synergists, thank you to the Marketing panel, and most of all a big thank you to our clients for your support.

By Dominic Curran on December 8th, 2009

Tags: Sponsorship , Synergy

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So, the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ finals is almost upon us. At 5pm GMT today in Cape Town, Sepp Blatter, Charlize Theron (yes, really) and co will select the teams from the four designated pots that will make up Groups A – H next summer in South Africa.

But what does it all really mean to the brands, the fans and to FIFA’s flagship?

From a brand perspective there are no surprises in terms of the major head-to-heads we’ll be seeing: Nike managed to comprehensively crash adidas’s party in Germany at the last World Cup, with Joga Bonito stealing adi’s ball from its own back yard. What about 2010, though? As the first World Cup to take place on the African continent, will the joy, enthusiasm and raw power that characterise African football play into Nike’s hands, or, as kit supplier to 11 of the 32 teams, including hosts South Africa (versus Nike’s 10), do adidas have something else in their locker? Although if anyone understands African football, it’s Puma. Together with reigining champions Italy, Puma supplies four of the continent’s six nations: the brand’s use of its African assets in Africa’s World Cup will be interesting to track.

So what about the draw itself? Whilst Portugal and France’s poor qualifying records have upped the ante on any prospective Group of Death, all we can do at this stage is wait and speculate. For sponsors, a killer draw may represent a challenge, for others an opportunity: big Group Stage fixtures in the diary drive scale and anticipation and allow for advanced planning…but also affect permutations in the Knockout Stage. From a fan perspective, no one wants a Group of Death – but who imagined they’d see France getting ‘Senegalled’ back in 2002? Whether it’s the relief of a dream Group, the agony of the worst draw imaginable, or the buzz of a being drawn against a historic or local rival, this will be THE big global sports story of the next few days no matter what happens today.

What about FIFA? After a 2006 tournament remembered for Zidane’s madness, rather than his magic, a sticky tie here or there is likely go down pretty well with the organisers, adding to the colour and vibrancy already imbued by hosts South Africa. And, as a prelude to Samba Football going home at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil, the 2010 draw is a critical moment in FIFA’s perennial brand and business rivalry with UEFA and its titans, the Champions League and the European Football Championships.

By Jonathan Izzard on December 4th, 2009

Tags: Default , Football , Football Sponsorship , Synergy , World Cup

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