Archive for September 2005

Takara has introduced a new product called "Can of Words" - a can containing a bean seed buried in dirt/mud. When you water it for five days, a sprout emeges bearing the message "I Love You" on the bean sprout. Takara engraves the message onto the seed using a laser.

<Via Strange Products>

Marc from Noticed Trends has written an awesome piece for IF on how to use inferential scanning of content for trend spotting. All you budding trend spotters take note:

"The key here is to infer "unintended messages" through spotting anomalies; a process called "inferential scanning," which a few consultants specialize in applying for trend-spotting. For example, if authors of content subconsciously mention the words "lately and noticed" within the same brief sentence, the reader may infer an anomaly– the unintended message which may signal emerging trends."

IF

"iPod?" the store owner asked from twenty feet away. It’s a telling sign when the middle aged owner of the mom&pop post & packaging store in the West Village can tell the contents of your non-descript brown box from that far off.

After hearing a very educational lecture given by Method’s Eric Ryan about the power of the brand, I found the approach of Google’s Head of Innovation, described in Business Week magazine, a little disconcerting.

The Business Week article paints Google’s Head of Innovation as a rather hard nose business woman. Marissa Mayer grew up as one of those high school super stars in Milwaukee and entered Google as their twentieth employee.

Mayer’s approach is to pour out a lot of products early – believing it creates an internal environment of fearlessness – and that consumer’s don’t remember your less successful products.

It’s a very product led strategy rather than a brand led one: the strongest idea will survive, the weaker ones will perish. However, it doesn’t appear to try to establish a defendable emotional connection between the brand and the consumer. This is reflected in the examples Mayer gives of brands and their lesser successes: Madonna’s Sex Book and Apple’s Newton. “Nobody remembers [them]," she says. I’d differ to agree - the Newton and the Sex Book are some of the ingredients that make the relationship people have with Madonna and Apple today.

Google’s approach isn’t about people, not even the staff: an
internal email discussion list set up to allow the flow of ideas is normally
used by Google employees to beat newcomers into Googlethink – “It’s
about 50% new ideas, 50% indoctrination of new employees,” she told
BW. Her response to a team presenting possible names for a new Google personalized service: “You’re killing me.”

Eric Ryan looked at a category where everyone owned the product benefits: ‘kills all germs’, ‘cleans better’, ‘longer lasting’. It was a low interest category because no brand owned an emotional benefit. Ignoring the financial market hype, do you see a similarity with the ’search’/'portal’ space?

Today, Americans proudly display their bottles of cleaning products when in the past they would have hidden them under the sink. They products are on display because they’re Method products. In four years in a sector tightly controlled by the channel, Ryan and his colleagues now sell 25% of all hand soaps in Target.

Search doesn’t have distribution restrictions. Brands based on product benefits are at even greater risk. While everyone marvels at the colors and the fit of Google’s Betas, when is a little boy (or brand) going to raise his finger and point out the obvious?

Method
Google
Business Week Article
Further PSFK Reading: Eric Ryan On Method’s Success

Apart from being one of the coolest bands on the planet, Franz Ferdinand have started blogging.  In preparation for the release of their second album on October 4th - ‘You Could Have It So Much Better’ - the bands new website provides specific RSS feeds for each of the bands members.

The members of the group have all been equipped with laptops, microphones and digital cameras, to upload footage to the site from wherever they are in the world.

…and no, the ‘comments’ are not available!

Franz Ferdinand official site/blog.

Ad veteran Carl Johnson runs a marketing agency in New York that all others are watching. Within 12 months, they’ve managed to win work with CocaCola on Dasani and the New York Times. That doesn’t stop them: Anomaly is down to the last four agencies pitching for the BMW USA business. IF sat with Carl to talk about why he returned to the agency world and why the major brands are attracted to this new model of agency.

IF

The M400 Skycar Prototype, discussed in a previous post by a fellow PSFK’er, is now available for purchase through the Neiman Marcus Christmas book. This vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle conjures up images of the Jetsons. 

This flying machine rides at 350+mph, gets up to 28 mpg fuel efficiency, and runs on alcohol. It can be purchased for $3.5 million, however it is not FAA approved, and according to the NM website:

"Certain regulatory requirements must be met for purchase of the prototype, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Federal Aviation Administration authorization."

So reading the rules above, it seems that it does not have FAA approval and that would be required for purchase…which brings me to believe this is part of a publicity/buzz campaign??

Check out other "Fantasy Gifts" in the Christmas Book that include a $50,000 tree house, $200,000 railroad, and a $1.5 million private Elton John concert.

See previous PSFK post "Moller Skycar"

Neiman Marcus Christmas Book: Skycar

Moller Skycar

Neiman Marcus’s Christmas Book is out, and inside (pages 94-95) you’ll find a limited edition Lexus hybrid. This car, said to be the world’s first luxury hybrid performance sedan, will be available for purchase at 12 noon Eastern on October 19…but you’d better hurry, because only 75 will be made of this limited edition. The price is $65,000 plus tax, title, etc.

Neiman Marcus 2005 Christmas Book

Lexus

What are these objects of desire, you ask? No, these Nano size tins are not the latest MP3 players. These cool little tins house, you guessed it, Mints. Oral Fixation mints are cunningly packaged in brushed tins "reminiscent of 1920s cigarette cases" and come with witty names, like the 7 Deadly Cinnamon or Sugar Free Tibet. Get your fix at luxury hotels, museums, gift shops or online at www.oralfix.com.

Contributed By Rob Jama