12000 HITS FOR YAHOO! THINK TANK

Following the unveiling of the Yahoo! Think Tank, a transparent perspex cube measuring 3.6 metres by 4.8 metres and standing three metres high in Sydney’s Customs House, more than 12,000 people from around the globe have been challenging Australia’s top creative talent with their online advertising briefs.

The Yahoo! Think Tank is a fully-functioning creative studio with a rotating team of creatives living inside 24 hours a day, seven days a week until Thursday, November 17th. The teams are generating online advertising ideas in response to briefs submitted by anyone through the Yahoo! Think Tank website (www.yahoothinktank.com.au).

Briefs have been received via the website from around the globe from places such as the USA and Brazil as a result of blog postings and word-of-mouth. The breakdown is as follows:
* 52% of briefs have been submitted by Australians
* 15% per cent of briefs are coming from people in the USA
* 6% per cent from Brazil
* 4% per cent from the UK
* 3% per cent from France

According to Brett Corrick, Marketing Director at Yahoo! Australia & NZ, “The response has been amazing. We set out to raise awareness of online among the Australian creative community and are thrilled that creative agencies and clients from around the globe are interacting with the Think Tank by rating ideas and submitting briefs. We now have creative teams asking if they can go inside the tank, requiring us to shift schedules at the last minute to keep up with agency demands!”

“Having five minutes to crack a brief definitely makes you really concise,” said Laurie Ingram, Senior Art Director of M&C Saatchi fresh from a stint in the Think Tank. “It’s been interesting to approach briefs from an online point of view rather than traditional mainstream media – surprisingly it’s allowed much more creative freedom!”

You can go to the website to watch and listen via webcams and microphones as the ideas are generated around the clock. Each idea is turned around in five minutes and dozens of briefs are worked on each day. Creative ideas are also posted in an online gallery so you can rate them. Twelve creative ideas have already been awarded the “Yahoo! Big Idea Chair stamp of approval.”

Visitors can interact with the creatives through the website by suggesting themes for the day, following the blog and submitting messages which will appear on a LED ticker inside the Yahoo! Think Tank.

Everyone is welcome to gaze inside the Yahoo! Think Tank at Customs House and watch as the briefs are turned into brilliant online creative ideas.