• Can MySpace be saved? Can the revamp of their UI breathe life into their fleeting online social presence?
• Old Spice takes over the interweb. Will 6 million YouTube views, 70,ooo Twitter followers, and the 22,500 comments translate into sales?
• After what can be summed up as negligence since the iPhone 4G’s release, Apple has finally publicly and officially recognized the death-grip. Their solution; free iPhone cases/bumper.
• BP announces that the oil has stopped flowing from the well for the first time since April 20.

Happy 4th of July and welcome to yet another CreativeFeed Week in Review. Please, hold your applause till the end – here are the highlights of the week.
 

 
• Now that July is finally upon us, look forward to a couple more months of speculation, false reporting and unsubstantiated rumors on LeBron watch.

 
• While eight teams remain in the World Cup, there is only one team you should be rooting for to win – Argentina?   God no. Paraguay, and here’s why.

 
• Apple fanboys and fangirls still lining up for the iPhone 4,  despite the death grip problem that Apple recently recognized

 

• Americans pay respect to the longest-serving member of the U.S. Congress, Senator Robert Byrd

 

• Pressure mounting on BP and Obama Administration as they face ridicule for ignoring foreign offers of equipment and volunteer aid

 

• The man with the iron gut, Kobayashi (once former hot-dog eating champ), fights to compete in one of July 4th’s greatest tradition; Nathans Hot Dog Contest.

What a busy week for journalists and bloggers.  Here are some big things that have happened in the tech industry, as well as the BP fiasco.

• Apple has passed Microsoft as the most valuable tech company (2nd most valuable US Company).

• Sony releases a video of their flexible OLED, a color screen thinner than a sheet of paper.

• Yahoo and Nokia has announced a worldwide partnership.

• According to BGR, iPhone 4GS expected to be released mid June

• Poor working conditions and low salaries lead to 10th suicide this year at Foxconn Technology, Chinese manufacturer for Apple, Sony, Nokia and Dell.

• The BP Oil Spill, now the worst oil spill ever in history,  has cost BP over $930 million so far.  Live feed of the gushing pipe here.  BP should also hire this guy for their PR campaign ( video below)

The Oprah Winfrey Network, a 50-50 venture with Discovery Communications, has secured a $100 million deal with Procter & Gamble, although the network doesn’t even launch till next January.

With a budget of $2.7 billion in 2009, $100 million may seem small for the consumer giant, P&G, but for OWN, the recognition by P&G as a lucrative opportunity sparks the attention of other marketers.

The deal will span for 3 years, and is said to include ad time as well as P&G product placement in some of the network’s shows. It’s also rumored that there are provisions in the deal tied with the network’s performance. However, with Oprah’s cult like popularity and “domesticated” audience, P&G products like Pampers Diapers and Crest Toothpaste will sure to perform favorably to the audience’s priorities.

Though huge, upfront media buys aren’t unheard of in the industry, it’s interesting that this one is built largely on the fame of one person, Oprah Winfrey.

Without any ratings, coverage, reach and demographic established, this deal is a guessing game for P&G, but who cares, it’s Oprah!

At CreativeFeed, we hope the best for Oprah and Procter & Gamble!

Today is FourSquare Day!  The first global social media holiday, ever.

Didn’t get your friends anything?  Don’t worry, this is a holiday for sharing information and earning badges, not gifts.

Foursquare is a social network game, primarily used in mobile devices, for users to share their location with friends and also earn bragging rights by obsessively visiting locations for badge points.

For instance, around the corner of our NYC office, Timo K. is the Gym Rat of Equinox and down the street, Tony C.  is the Mayor of “The World’s Best Sandwich Truck”.

So today, throughout 100 major cities across the world, Foursquare Day will be hosting official “check-in” locations, where people can physically meet, earn their Foursquare day badge and perhaps awkwardly exchange words.

At CreativeFeed, we’re impressed with how Foursquare has redefined business competition on a customer loyalty basis.  Traditionally, businesses compete for customer loyalty through an exchange of quality goods or services, with Foursquare, customers are competing for customer loyalty via virtual badges; and it’s working!

If you’re reading this and you’re a Foursquare user, please chime in!

Do you use Foursquare and how does it compare to other apps like Yelp or Loopt?

Are you using Foursquare for its ping feature or the gaming aspect?

For you New Yorkers, the “Foursquare Day Swarm” will be at the Roger Smith Hotel on 47th and Lexington, from 7:00-9:00PM.

Here is a full list.

Bill Gross,  the pioneer of GoTo.com just announced their latest project, TweetUp, “the Google of the Twitter world”.

This service will function in two ways:
1. Companies can bid on keywords to raise the ranking of their posts.
2. TweetUp will filter posts according to an algorithm based on retweets, clicks and company bids.

As an active user of Twitter, @CreativeFeed is curious about the effectiveness and functionality of this service.

• Will paid vs. organic search results dilute the user experience of a genuine and open social community?

• What will happen to the companies that don’t pay for keywords? Other services that involve paid search results have been labeled as cyber extortioners.

Recently, P&G has re-centered its focus on the shelf. CreativeFeed can certainly get behind this effort, as we understand the importance of selling at the most basic level. With that, we’ve put together our top 5 pros and cons to in-store marketing.

5 Pros:

“I walked in to buy deodorant but left with a full toiletry set”. Clever in-store marketing promotes compulsive purchasing through great packaging design.

Creating Brand Identity Can Forge a Franchise Linking Product. The human mind is more likely to recognize an item when seeing it again. Product lines with a certain packaging theme will introduce new items of the same product line.

“I told my friends about the product not because I liked the product, but because I like my friends “. Great packaging creates consumer conversation, which is becoming more important as growing online social networks make it easier to promote products and services through a peer to peer network.

It’s More Than Just a Box. Great design is communication without words.

Efficiency. A recent study by Nielson found in-store advertising accountable for 50% of product awareness, where television is just around 33%.

5 Cons:
High Reward, Higher Risk of Failure. Creativity is often subjective and failing design initiatives can have major repercussions for product and company reputations.

Coordination of Cooperation. Manufacturers can create an amazing design, but the retailer is ultimately responsible on how it will be executed, such as retail floor layout, lighting, product stocking and placement.

Sensory Overload. Retailers want to create a comfortable shopping atmosphere for their costumers, but brands want to be seen. Can this conflict of interest still create an enjoyable shopping experience?

Changing Product Design Instead of Product Lines. Bottom line, consumers care about the quality of the products they purchase.

Think Global, Stay Local. A brand overhaul has little consideration for local consumers.

CreativeFeed wants to know how packaging design influences your purchasing! Leave a comment below.