Think MIT's Media Lab who are creating interactive marketing.
Sixth sense technology is currently being developed by MIT’s Media Lab to give you relevant information about whatever’s in front of you (in-store, on the high street, while you’re travelling) in real time, just like Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
A system comprising built-in camera, projector, mirror and mobile (the computation device) recognises any gestures you’re making and responds to your requests.
Then you can project any relevant information to help you make a decision on any surface – your hand, a piece of packaging, a newspaper – anything.
This makes it totally mobile and therefore instant and easy to use. Check out this TED link for Pattie Mae’s inspiring talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html
Ref http://blog.massivelynetworked.com/2009/03/what-happens-as-marketing-gets-truly-interactive.html
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Think like retailers MUJI who give new life to the humble phone book as a container.
(Cheers Gemma for spotting this one)
Think like Koleston Naturals.
Their innovative use of billboards re-inforces the beauty of nature by making use of the views right under our noses.
Koleston Naturals is a hair colourant made from natural ingredients for women aged 20-40.
The strategically placed billboards use a die-cut silhouette of a woman’s head to reveal the scene behind them.
And so as the day progresses from morning to night, nature’s light changes to tell the simple story that Koleston Naturals enhances your looks naturally.
Brilliant.
(Many thanks to our digital whiz Alex N for this one).
Ref http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/2009/03/koleston_naturals.html
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Think like Apple.
No opportunity is missed, no matter how small – even the occasion of forgetting and resetting your password is not overlooked (see the top right-hand corner).
It may be a little thing but if you get it right it’s something that could make your customers smile inside.
(A big thank you to Wadey for sharing her personal experience with us).
Think like Fitness First.
No more living in denial about the size of your waistline, thanks to this fantastic, albeit terrifying, guerilla marketing initiative from the health club chain.
Unsuspecting commuters in the Netherlands are faced with viewing their body weight in bright lights – quite literally – when they take a seat at this Rotterdam bus stop.
A little scary maybe but extraordinarily clever, and guaranteed to increase membership numbers at the local Fitness First. (Thanks Ben for this one)
Ref: http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2009/03/fitness-first-bus-stop/
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Think like new Dutch online facilitator, Spaarbod, who’ve created an auction website where banks bid for customers’ savings.
https://secure.spaarbod.nl/site/
Instead of spending time researching the highest interest rates, Dutch consumers can now put their money up for auction and get banks to bid for their custom.
After registering with Spaarbod, you state how much money you'd like to put aside, for how long and on which terms.
The website automatically calculates the best rates currently available.
At that point, you can sign up for that offer.
Or you can wait and see which banks will bid at auction.
Spaarbod sends your data – minus personal details – to participating banks, who make an offer in a sealed-bid auction.
Within a day, you receive an email listing the five highest bidders, and you can pick the best offer.
The service is free for consumers, and banks pay a commission for every bid that results in a savings deposit.
Ref http://springwise.com/financial_services/spaarbod/
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Think like Platform21 and follow their 'Repair Manifesto'.
They want to make repairing cool again by opposing throwaway culture and celebrating ‘repair’ as ‘the new recycling’.
Rediscover the joy of fixing things, share your tips, tricks and your most ingenious repair jobs, at http://www.platform21.nl/
Also, check out Planet Green to help you get recession-ready and learn the fourth R – Repair
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/recession-ready-repair.html
Ref: http://www.psfk.com/2009/03/the-repair-manifesto.html
Think like confectioners, Mars, who’ve taken cues from the wine connoisseur and specialist coffee house with their high-end chocolate store, Pure Dark.
Based in New York’s West Village, the staff really know their chocolate and are there to educate as well as cut you samples and help you make your own combinations.
At Pure Dark, it's all about the purity of the pod.
This is the delicious, raw essence of dark chocolate: the precious fruit of the cacao tree at its simple, natural best.
The Pure Dark™ collection is chock-full of robust ingredients harvested straight from nature – thick, hand-crafted Slabs, Barks studded with plump, dried fruits and crunchy nuts, Rounds dusted with exotic flavors, and lightly roasted cocoa bean Nibs which all deliver an authentic, earthy chocolate experience.
http://puredark.com/
Ref. http://blog.futurelab.net/2009/03/pure_darktm_chocolate_harveste.html
Think like Surface View, who can cover your walls with interior graphics that will make an extraordinary impact at home or at work.
Take your pick from the National Gallery, the V&A, the Tate and more.
(Thanks to big Kev in Elmwood Melbourne for this one.)
http://www.surfaceview.co.uk
Think like Golden Hook, the woolly hat people, who connect grannies and uber-cool urbanites through personalised fashion.
The idea’s simple. Go online, choose your hat shape (simple, long, Peruvian or pompom), and either pick an off-the-peg hat or customise a blank one.
Next, choose which granny you’d like to knit it for you and ask her to write your name on the label, e.g. knitted by Simone for Clémence No.23 (all of the models are numbered).
They make great personalised gifts too.
(Fab spot, Wadey!)
http://goldenhook.fr/en/
Are grannies becoming cool or what?
Not long ago we featured ‘Green Granny’ Barbara Walmsley from Oxfam giving us ideas on how to make do and mend.
Maybe megatrend ‘anxiety’ is playing its part; after all who could be a more trustworthy marketing tool than yer gran?
Think like the progressive UK bank first direct, which has pushed its customer advocacy strategy by creating a ‘Little Black Book’.
It’s a recommendations site for first direct customers to post tips and advice on restaurants, travel, shops, people, reliable builders, money-saving tips and so on.
As a third of first direct customers join via recommendations from existing customers, this makes perfect sense.
As the site states:
"As first direct customers, you'll know by now that we're not like other banks.
We tend to do things a little differently. We know you appreciate that – and that's precisely why we wanted to create the Little Black Book.
Or rather, why we want you to create it. Because the Little Black Book isn't just another review site.
It's more of a unique source of inspiration – a collection of interesting recommendations made by people like you for people like you that you're unlikely to find anywhere else but here.
And it's exclusively for first direct customers."
Ref http://blog.futurelab.net/2009/03/first_direct_creates_customer.html
Think like British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver who is looking to create the next generation ready meal!
His Recipease retail store offers people the opportunity to assemble ready-to-cook meals using ingredients that have been prepped ahead of time by on-site staff.
Customers begin by booking a session online, and then choose the recipe (or recipes) they'd like to make from a seasonal menu that changes every two months.
If they just want to whip up a quick pizza or curry, though, there’s no need to book.
When they arrive at the Recipease shop – the first is located in London's Clapham Junction – they find all the ingredients they need; washed, chopped and prepared.
All that's left for them to do is follow the step-by-step instructions for assembly.
Each recipe requires about 10 minutes on average, the site says, and trained chefs are available to help.
Then they can take their recipe home to cook and enjoy.
If even ten minutes seems a bit too much like hard work, they can just pick up an ‘Easy to Go’ ready meal...
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipease/index.html
Ref: http://springwise.com/food_beverage/recipease/
Think like the person behind this great example of single-minded whiteboard focus!
This idea of ‘doing one thing well’ is explored thoroughly in Jim Collins’ bestseller, ‘Good to Great’.
It’s summed up by the fable of the fox and the hedgehog;
"The fox is clever and smart and is constantly trying new things and new ways to get the hedgehog; distracted by new ideas and going off into a multitude of directions.
He isn't successful.
The hedgehog does just one thing but he does it really well – he knows how to curl up into a ball and have his pointy spikes sticking out.
Well, I'm a fox. I move in different directions, distracted by new ideas and new potential product offerings and new ideas in target prospects.
I'm working harder than I have to."
So how can you be the hedgehog?
Find ONE THING that you do REALLY well and just stick to that!
Ref http://influxinsights.com/blog/article/2176/multi-tasking-is-dead--long-live-single-tasking.html
http://www.bizinformer.com/50226711/are_you_a_fox_or_a_hedgehog.php
Think like the people of Facebook.
There’s a sweeping new craze where you can create your own album cover, just for fun.
Simply follow the instructions and a band name, album title and cover art are generated for you.
(Cheers Wadey)
Think like D.I.Y. online portals etsy & dawanda.
Clothes may make the man, but in the wake of the global financial crisis, they are showing us that, in fact, (wo)man makes the clothes and accessories.
The new Cut-Magazine in Germany is showing promising signs of success as Germans become more interested in creating things themselves.
It includes 170 pages showing how you can make your own clothes.
It’s released four times a year so your homemade fashion can always be bang on trend.
http://cut-magazine.com/
Ref http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-diy-trend-inspired-cut-magazine-the-man-makes-clothes
Greg Taylor
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Last login: 20 Nov 2009
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