GetUp! are running a ‘Save the Net’ campaign in protest at the Australian Government’s planned internet censorship filters. Designed to block ‘inappropriate’ and ‘unwanted’ material, the filters will slow down internet access speeds by up to 87% and subject Australians to levels of government intrusion on par with that experienced by internet users in other bastions of democracy such as China, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

You can read a fact sheet on the proposed filters here.

Or go and sign the petition.

The New York Times has a great round-table piece that examines the effect of digital media on advertising. The themes covered are the usual ones - the proliferation of screens, the rise of social media and the fragmentation of audiences - but the high calibre guests involved (Benjamin Palmer of the Barbarian Group, Lars Bastholm of AKQA and Robert Rasmussen of R/GA) make it worth reading.

The overriding message is on the need to understand that there is a dialogue going on about brands that they cannot control. The transparency created by the internet means brands and agencies need to be authentic in their claims and able to back up their message. And of course, the ability of digital to offer engaging experiences that extend traditional campaigns.

Definitely worth a quick read. See it here.

The Concrete team just released our first ever music video clip!

Filmed for our friend Nick Knowledge, it was put together on the smell of of an oily rag. A guerilla style shoot that criss crossed the inner Sydney City Rail train stations saw the team dodge ticket inspectors whilst managing to capture enough footage to put together the rather nice and atmospheric piece you’ll find above.

Have a little geez and let us know what you think

Twitter is a contentious issue around Concrete HQ. This social messaging service allows you to share your thoughts, questions and anything else you deem fit with your network of followers in 140 character chunks called Tweets. While we’re not yet converts for personal use, the Concrete team can definitely see the appeal for certain individuals, and more importantly, we can see a huge opportunity for smaller businesses, not just those mythical Goliath-esque beasts known as brands.

If you have a tech savvy customer base or want to tap into “thought leaders” from a design/tech background, then without a doubt, Twitter should be considered an essential part of your burgeoning social media strategy.

You do have a social media strategy right?

(If not, don’t worry too much, we can explain it all to you. Though you should get onto it soon)

However, the types of brands and businesses that can benefit from the connection and personal touch Twitter offers is more varied than you think and extends well beyond ‘cool’ brands.

A recent article in AdPulp discusses how a bar in Portland uses Twitter to communicate changes in products and special deals to their customer base. They can send out a ‘tweet’ promoting happy hour on Friday afternoons, or a special drink promotion just for Twitterers as a way of engaging their customers when they’re not on the premises. A bond can be created with customers by playing on the notion of the Twitter followers being insiders or part of the crew. Think of it as mini emails that will actually be read.

These techniques could be applied to a variety of businesses that don’t traditionally consider digital marketing. Is your business one of them?

Imagine a sandwich shop in a design heavy area sending out a promotion on traditionally slow days for a special $5 sambo deal. Or keeping their customer base informed of a new addition to the menu. The possibilities go on and on, but the point is that there are a wide variety of social media tools out there that can be easily added to your marketing mix to help drive traffic to your stores, not just your website. And they’re free!

Remember, people are spending more and more of their time online and they’re spending lots of that time on social media sites. Plus they’re starting to access these sites more regularly and in a variety of different locations using their iPhone/BlackBerry/3G Handset. Doesn’t it make sense for your business to be there with them?

You shouldn’t discount the use of digital channels just because you don’t sell stuff online. The range of industries and business types that stand to benefit would surprise you. You just need to know what’s out there, who’s using it and how you can make it work. Or know someone who does.

Have a little squiz at the Twitter hype video below or  seek out some of the Concrete team for a ‘tweet’ here and here.

How Do You Use Twitter? from biz stone on Vimeo.

Much to our delight the Concrete team has discovered that Surry Hills offers a cornucopia of cheap steak options for lunch. We can pretty much dine out on an $8-10 steak every day without having to walk more than 10 minutes from Concrete HQ. The jury is still out on whether this is a good or a bad thing.

Check out what we’ve unearthed so far on the map below. Feel free to drop us a line at hello@workwithconcrete.com with other suggestions.

Photo by ewanr



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Mike from How To Impact put us onto Common Craft, a maker of videos that are “short, simple and focused on making complex ideas easy to understand.”

Using paper cut outs and a whiteboard to create simple stopmotion visuals, Common Craft have built a library of videos about a range of mainly internet based concepts such as Social Media, Wikis and Podcasting as well as other non-internet related but nonetheless extremely important topics that include Electing a US President,  CFL Light Bulbs and that ever present threat to human survival, Zombies.  Their commitment to the use of plain English means the videos are succinct and accessible, allowing even the most reticent techno-phobe to grasp what’s going on.

The company sells packages of videos for training and promotional use and has completed custom videos for some quite big names including Google, Boeing, Microsoft, Geffen Records and LinkedIn, both for internal use and new product launches. You can see the work they did for Google Reader above.

The Concrete team thinks this is a great product offering and one that could benefit quite a few organisations. Visit their site to find out more.

Beyond Kokoda has been getting a lot of press coverage over the last week or so.

The Weekend Australian had a great piece on the series (read it here) and today’s Sydney Morning Herald has a lovely full page article in The Guide section. See it online here.

There are plenty of quotes from Concrete’s intrepid producer Stig Schnell and if you squint you can make out one or two other Concrete team members dressed up as Anzacs.

Those of you with Foxtel will be able to watch the series premiere on The History Channel this Thursday, September 25th at 8:30pm. Or visit the History Channel page here to find out about future screenings.

The Concrete team has a deep and abiding love for clean lines, monochromatic palettes and uncluttered space. So when we stumbled upon minimalsites we were understandably very excited.

Run by Junghoon Park, a graphic designer from Atlanta, minimalsites is an online repository of sites that celebrate the mantra of less is more. The site’s mission statement of “doing more with less” is one that Concrete wholeheartedly supports.

Visitors can submit sites they feel should be listed as well as rate and comment the work already there. Go and have a look for yourself. http://www.minimalsites.com.

We named ourselves Concrete for a variety of reasons. Not only does it speak to a no-nonsense approach and associations we admire such as versatility and permanence, it also sounds cool and looks good in both Helvetica and Gotham.

We’ve also been dreaming of a thin wafer of concrete as a business card. And, one day, Hans Solo-esque statues of the founders, but in concrete instead of carbonite. Or at least I have been.

Putting aside dreams of grandeur for a moment, ever since we started telling folks our name, we’ve been getting sent cool things made from concrete. Like this Tivoli Radio that has been shelled in concrete. Read more about it here. And feel free to send any interesting concrete snippets you come across to: public@workwithconcrete.com

The Concrete crew are getting very excited about the upcoming release of Beyond Kokoda.

Beyond Kokoda is a two part documentary series that tells the stories of the Japanese and Australia soldiers who fought each other across the remote Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea during World War II. It utilises the personal recollections of soldiers from both sides to tell the tale of a battle renowned for its savagery and miserable conditions. A frank and open discourse, the series challenges many of the nationalist myths that surround the conflict today.

The series was put together by SGSS Productions with help from the History Channel with pretty much the entire Concrete film team and quite a few of our freelance partners working on the series in some form or another over the last few years. The Concrete team contributed as writers, producers, editors, cameramen and as the occasional extra. See if you can’t recognize the odd valiant Aussie solider in some of that archival looking footage.

The History Channel will be premiering the series on September 25th at 8:30pm.

Get in touch with Concrete today to see how your brand could benefit from storytelling and production like this.
View more promo clips The History Channel has put together after the jump.

30 Second History Channel Promo

60 Second History Channel Promo

90 second History Channel Promo

Foxtel Commercial