Brand Lag

In a number of tech usage areas, brands are a step behind actual consumer behaviour. Brand Lag being a neat term of the moment. WiFi in shops and what shoppers are doing with their phones is an issue that a number of brands are not up to speed with shopper wants. -an area I have been working on this last year.

Brandlag
In a similar vein BBH ventures have a new product out (Playground sessions) that fills in a gap where no product existed, but behaviour had already been established, in this case learning musical instruments via YouTube

"...The product was first developed through Zag’s “brand lag” process, where the company identifies areas where consumer activity is outpacing brand activity.

“We identified different territories of brand lag and one was around adult learning,” says Vance, who joined Zag in 2009. “The other was around digital music. YouTube is in many ways associated with music and it was clear that a lot of people were going to YouTube to learn how to play instruments.” The phenomenon of Guitar Hero was also a contributing factor shaping the idea for the new product. “We knew that with technology and scale there was the opportunity to converge gaming and learning,” says Vance. “Can we do Guitar Hero with a real musical instrument; can we do Rosetta Stone with instruments? The challenge was, can we reinvent how instruments are taught. We identified the brand lag, then it became a question of, can we build it?....” More HERE

Google Wallet first big move

I did get really excited by the launch of the Google wallet, the possbilities looked so great, but since launch not much has caught the eye, the no brainer of getting the NFC (Near Field Comms) to work on mass transits systems, basically Oyster on your mobile was launched today in the States. Coins now look so old school plus weigh your pockets down.

The real change will happen when more of this is rolled out with volume handsets like the iPhone5

"...NJ Governor Chris Christie announced earlier today that the third largest transit system in the country has partnered with Google to bring their wireless Wallet payment system to bus routes and rail lines in the Northeast..."

via http://techcrunch.com

Shopper Marketing is Mobile

I must say it everyday, but am so oftern met by stares of yes, yes, later. But for Shopper Marketing to really work instore it must be with an integrated mobile strategy. A recent presentation by Kiddicare really underlined this.

Chris Lake, Director of Innovation, eConsultancy

"...Last Wednesday more than 1,500 marketers descended on Old Billingsgate in London for JUMP, our annual multichannel-focused event..."

Kiddicare

Simon Harrow, Technology Officer at Kiddicare.com

Mobile and NFC will save physical retail. 

Email is the glue across the array of different tools used in digital.

Kiddicare now generates 11% of its revenue via the mobile channel.

Browsing and behavioural data should drive customer communications. Kiddicare focused on this and increased repeat business from 7% to 14% in six months.

Planners -look up!

Good thoughts from Sarah Newman chair of the APG calling for more 'Noisy thinking' the key point being the most powerful work from planners in 2011 was via collabortion and cross displine (and agency) teams.

"We suffer not just from ignorance of the future, but from a limited capacity to imagine what the future might be," John Kay said in Obliquity.

Much as any tourist to London is told 'Look up' the best of this amazing city is above head height, so with planners work, so much is just above/outside the normal round of tasks. We are moving however slowly away from the generation of Google based planning and into a more analogue/digital split view of an activated world.

There are a whole bunch of skilled/informed souls outside of normal agency life that planners must have relationships with from Psychologists to Carers

"Planning is an exciting discipline in an exciting world. But planning needs to stop talking brilliantly to itself and start talking to a broader audience ... and be a more dynamic, high-profile and appreciated agent for change in the agency and marketing worlds." Adam Morgan

New generation instore deals, Asile50

Frankly, life is way to short for cutting out coupons and the like, but everyone loves a discount. A bunch of such like-minded souls have come up with a solution; Asile50

"..Aisle50 have partnered with supermarket chain Lowes Foods, utilizing their existing customer loyalty card. Customers are alerted with the deal of the day by email — usually around 50 percent of the normal price — and then purchase the item at that discounted rate online via Aisle50. The credit for that item is automatically loaded on to the customer’s Lowes Fresh Rewards card which, when swiped at the checkout in-store, removes the item wholly from the bill..."

Looks like it's the over 50's who are driving social media growth on mobile devices

New report from Nielsen (HERE) looks at social media trends, within this report are some neat insights about the over 50's. The rather forgotten, by most brands, but hugely significant sector (UK 50% of pop over 50 by end of 2011) Really important to understand the emotional outlook of a group who may be physically old but display spending patterns more akin to teenagers. Budget aware but prone to irrational urges to satisfy pleasure. I did a briefing paper on them late last year, specifically looking at drinking habits.

MatureMarketNov10.pdf Download this file

 

 

We all want to be loved, its not the same as being 'liked'

Tens of thousands of Facebook likes are not the same as a handful of customers who personally recommend your brand.

We feel the warmth of human endeavour in giving smart advice, a joy to see one of my favorite brands (LEGO) focusing on this above all else

The CEO of LEGO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp was interviewed after presenting really positive financial results for 2010/1. He was asked

“..what market share do you aim for worldwide, and where should the growth come from?”

Jørgen answered: “I have no specific market share goals for LEGO. We are measuring our success on customers satisfaction and on how many recommend LEGO products to others – so our growth and market share are just a result of this strategy.”

Good set of China digital stats

A lot of stats and claims about the internet in China have to be taken with a pinch of salt. But there are a couple of reports from Burston Marsteller recently that do a good job or summarising current activity. Twitterisque microblogs look a much bigger deal this year as they cope better with low bandwidths: also the growth of brand social media activity seems to be driving a more interactive discussion format.

digitalchinaworld.pdf Download this file
bmapsocialmediainfographicsbookleth12011-110809222841-phpapp02.pdf Download this file
More 

www.twitter.com/BMAsiaPacific    www.Burson-Marsteller.Asia     www.facebook.com/BursonMarsteller.Asia

Worried your Eco car makes you feel impotent? Cadillac have just the car for you

Just when you thought the American car industry finally got the modern world they build the Cadillac Ciel, less a car more a barge, it really is huge, but yet it is sooooo wrong it just has to be right. -and the doors are fantastically impractical you just want them (but not in a Tesco carpark!) I mean in the days of Whipcar.com and Streetcar.com if you are really going to own your own car I think you should go balls out and get this. Nothing says I own the road like having a car that covers ALL of it! I would love to see this try and get through central London. The promo film features two young couples weekending in wine country, you do feel the cars more natural habitat would however be in old skool rap videos. Worth noting as well that in the film there appears to not only be no roof or covering but also no seatbelts - lets face it, if you are aiming on annoying the European eco's, you might as well really go for it!

WSJ pics of the whale, sorry Ciel here : http://on.wsj.com/pvyXM9

Fastcodesign.com also have pics and few good points about design studies gone mad: http://bit.ly/p7mFQ7

What is it like to buy spirits in Sainsbury's?

A 2010 look at spirit shoppers in Sainbury's, I pointed out the need for a brave approach to spreading shopper triggers out and around store, using both Wi-Fi and ontrade activity. Tesco have this month announced they will be rolling out free Wi-Fi across its stores. Also the recent award winning Tesco work in Korea that used QR code shopping in the Metro is a great example of multi-point shopper marketing

Spirit_Shoppers_in_Sainbury's_v2.pptx Download this file

July will be all about ZMOT thinking

Well actually there is a whole bunch of stuff this month to ponder, from Google+ to 'Networks of the Unacquanited' and 'data is the new oil' but in terms of agency activity here at Saatchi and our new chums at Google its all about ZMOT

click for video preview

"...Whether we're shopping for corn flakes, concert tickets or a honeymoon in Paris, the Internet has changed how we decide what to buy. Today we're all digital explorers, seeking out online ratings, peer reviews, videos, and in-depth product details as we move down the path to purchase. At Google, we call this online decision-making moment the Zero Moment of Truth—or simply ZMOT...."


London capitol of the world

If you like stats this is an excellent read, (no honest, it is)  but also a great insight into future trends.

MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities:
Cross-Border Travel and Expenditures 2Q 2011
Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Ph.D.
Global Economic Advisor, MasterCard Worldwide
London remains the global capital. This based not only on visitor numbers and average spend, but that its visitors come from the most diverse cities of origin.

Key trend is how American cities are getting less and less relevant on the global stage, none make it into the top 20 this year. Only New Yorks staggering average visitor spend of $2,671 (my last bar bill may of helped with this) make any headlines within the report.

Key global  growth cities for 2012 with all factors considered are Istanbul and Kuala Lumper. In the long term, Istanbul's key rival in the region may be the newly democratic Tunisia as it has similar workforce, transport & economic attributes

Big big sign on the horizon however is China, New regulations mean Chinese nationals can now travel to places like duty free Hainan Island (savings of about 30% on luxury goods) Predictions show that by 2014 China will be the worlds biggest consumer of luxury goods

Remember we work in the worlds best city.  People want to come here from just about every county across the globe. Once here more want to work, spend & invest than in any other city in the world. Wants more it's Friday and the sun's out


http://bit.ly/iTK1KA (news bit on report)

 

They've got search nailed, now time for the banking system

Google Wallet turns your phone into a wallet.

http://www.google.com/wallet

Screen_shot_2011-05-26_at_19

Begins field test today in the US, full roll out later in the year. Launch is on Android but can't see it not coming to the iPhone at some point.

Google Wallet is a cashless system (NFC) using a 'tap' technique similar to an Oyster card. Launch announcements covered its use as a store loyalty card. Store voucher and cashless payments

Questions at the launch centred on the data privacy issues (held by each of the stores own systems) and why you still need to sign, Google says this is just piece of mind for the shops. Big question of course what happens if you lose your phone (Mathew) Google Wallet uses a similar system to the Apple 'wipe my phone' remote control via a laptop

This is a video of retail partners talking about why they have signed up to the system = http://bit.ly/jeI4Vd

This is a link to the official press release = http://bit.ly/ltkZ3h

If you are one of those worried about Google taking over, do note they are NOT taking any revenue from the payment side of the system just the deals & voucher side, so pretty soon they will be able to undercut credit card payment systems in all stores............be scared

Small note for students of design, the logo for Google Wallet is strikingly similar to Google Wave the bonkers collaboration tool they launched a few years ago that died shortly after because know one could work out what to do with it.

You can also see this on my other blog = http://philipslade.posterous.com, why have I got two blogs? can't deceide on formats so went for both, content almost the same on both -ish