The partnership between an agency requires far more than agency to bring brilliant creative to the table. It requires a brilliant product or brand as well. The pairing as such, will yield timeless, emotion invoking creative content that will further expand upon and solidify what is already known.
HÉCTOR SERRANO DIGITAL DOWNTIME WATCH
This prototype watch tells you how much time you spend on Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail each day. It retrieves information from the Internet and displays a pie chart of the hours devoted to social media.
www.hectorserrano.com(via Paul Makovsky)
(via emergentfutures)
Source: stoweboyd
Forget Digital, There’s a Huge Opportunity Offline
All eyes on digital.
Let’s agree that digital is here to stay. But what about the stuff that was around before digital?
There’s a serious opportunity to evolve the local point-of-sale experience and develop hyper local distribution networks for the better. The best price in a near real-time delivery situation is the future’s best kept secret.
Here’s why:
Walmart, Amazon, Google, eBay, Craigslist.
Get it? Ok thank’s for agreeing.
Don’t quite understand where I am going with this? Let me explain.
As e-commerce evolves, many are looking for it to take over completely; enter Amazon’s astonishing growth YoY. However, there are many factors that will challenge the e-commerce landscape, and sure enough, accessiblity online isn’t one of them. Accessibility offline however, that’s a different story. It’s a game-changer, and consequently, the motivation for my post. You see, these giants are playing a territorial war in the digital space. Even at the most end-consumer level, the giants are more concerned about controlling the conduit of consumption through their very own platforms and offerings, e.g., iOS / iBooks, iTunes, App store; Kindle, Google Docs, Android marketplace, Chrome/ Chrome OS and more.
Each of these initiatives advance the benefit of the user, yet I can’t help but point out that while each of these are great, they should almost be expected from tech leaders like this.
I believe the real opportunity lives offline. Not devices, accessibility to real life. Like goods and services. Something that newer, innovative startups like foursquare focus on. Now I’m not talking about check-ins. I’m talking about check-outs.
The etailer world for eBay, Walmart and Amazon is getting fierce. Amazon launched Prime, which has had nice adoption but really doesn’t address the real issue. It just subsidizes expedited shipping. And now they are bundling free eBooks, media on demand and more to help push it even further. Walmart is now offering enhanced logistics, with free store shipping and pickup, while also piloting free shipping for products $45 and up to select test markets.
What’s missing? The non-manufacturer market place. And more importantly, the blaring call-to-action it yields in terms of showing real demand for the best priced goods, delivered ASAP.
In the current economy which are more popular? New cars or used? Dealers’ business thrive off of used car sales these days, where there are better margins and lower price-points.
Where else? Craigslist and eBay. They are busier than ever.
With a strong demand in the peer-to-peer marketplace, etailers can capitalize on this demand for value oriented, immediately accessible goods.
Solution: Build out means for infrastructure to deliver goods faster, locally. Amazon has distribution mega-centers strategically positioned around the nation. As does Walmart, to a much more serious tune. The direction for these back-end logistics chains will only further evolve. Expect massive investments in infrastructure, much like Verizon did with FiOS.
Right now you can get a great price, but wait. Or get an item now, but pay a premium [technically retail]. Deliver a solution where people can get their product within 24 hrs at a great price and you will change the game.
What do you think?
Nokia nanotechnology to create bendable phones and incredible interactivity.
Source: yankodesign.com
Automotive Shopping Behavior Study 2011
Today’s vehicle shoppers research and decide faster than ever. They use a diverse set of online tools in their research process and have high expectations from brands throughout the path to purchase. Insights from this year’s auto buyflow study include:
- 81% of auto shoppers decide within 3 months (vs. 67% in 2009).
- Safety, utility and fuel efficiency are among the attributes top of mind for shoppers.
- Searching inventory and obtaining trade-in information were among the top shopper behaviors that increased this year on 3rd party sites.
To view the full study, click here
Source: thinkwithgoogle.com
IT leaders must embrace the post-modern business, a business driven by customer relationships where the customer is everywhere, and so must your business; a world fuelled by the explosion in information, collaboration, and mobility, enabled by the cloud,” said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president at Gartner and global head of Research. “You must pursue simplicity by putting people and their needs at the center of design. You must dare to employ creative destruction to eliminate legacy, and selectively destroy low impact systems.
The value of the time consumers spend online and on social networks and blogs continues to grow, most visible through the influence on purchase decisions. For instance, 60 percent of people who use three or more digital means of research for product purchases learned about a specific brand or retailer from a social networking site.
Most startups fail because they didn’t develop their market, not because they didn’t develop their product.
Impact of Technology on Society
The convergence of technological influence- resulting in rapid, standardized and integrated framework development- with technology itself, will thwart modern architecture [physical] yielding exponential advancement.
Meanwhile in business and society there is a clash between progressive ideology and reformist safe harbor.
One is specific, the other, broad.
The point:
Technology rapidly advanced in many pockets throughout our existence. What will be interesting to see is how it influences and evolves our morals and expectations.
