Where is the Puck?Where is the Puck?Blog about new business trends. Exploring the future. How is business going to change? What new trends can be expected in our society? What new technologies or products are going to be available? How can you take advantage of those trends?
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Metadata Marketing
2008-02-22 19:18:00 As we do more and more things online, we leave more digital real-time data trails. Especially when we actively participate in generating content on various websites (writing blogs, participating on social networking sites, using online chat or VOIP, using GPS, scheduling meetings online), but also if we just passively post our personal profile on various websites. The data trails combined from various digital sources will create “massive universe of metadata” (see: Jan Chipchase, article in Harvard Business Magazine), which will have important privacy implications, but it will also present great opportunities for marketers. According to Jan Chipchase, for example, we will be able to figure our where the greatest concentration of our target demographics at any particular point of time is, and not only that, but also we can read their current emotions… so we can create and place our ads accordingly… Wow, this is great! No, wait, this is actually scary!? Waht do ... More About: Marketing , Metadata
Glen Hiemstra’s Outlook for 2008
2008-02-16 03:03:00 Here is the outlook for 2008 according to Glen Hiemstra (video “Outlook s 2008” as posted on Futurist.com) – partial list of trends and events: - Turmoil in financial markets in US - Continued growth in China - Nanotechnology: more breakthroughs - Home management trend: competition for managing all electrical devices, cable, phone and Internet - Climate crisis: no progress in 2008 - Oil prices will continue to increase in 2008 (from $90 to $140 per barrel) - Population Trends: Generation from 18-22 will be the key innovators in Internet developments drawing most attention of venture capitalists Check out www.futurist.com to learn more…
Scent Marketing!
2008-01-25 00:08:00 (Article written for “Where is the Puck?” by Stephen Park and Stephanie Savage, 4th year students of School of Business at the Capilano College, Vancouver, BC, Canada) Scent marketing is a subgenre of “sensory branding,” it’s using smell to attract consumers. Smell is one of the strongest senses, and it creates long lasting memories. It’s not solely used to sell houses and cars anymore, marketing teams are using it to sell everything from cell phones to air travel and other consumer products. Recent examples are the ‘Got Milk Campaign’, Sony, and Weeds Television series. The ‘Got milk campaign’ used bus shelters which had the scent of cookies along with a picture of cookies and the ‘got milk’ logo. Furthermore, Sony is selling new phones which come in a variety of colour and smells such as apple pie and vanilla. The pros of scent marketing include originality, attention grabbing, and consumers remember it and... More About: Marketing
“Vision 2020″ and 80/20 Rule
2008-01-08 21:46:00 Yes, it is true that we can learn a lot about today’s and tomorrow’s life and business by reading “old” books… As promised before, here is my comment of Davis’ and Davidson’s book “2020 Vision ” published in 1991; the following thoughts particularly caught my attention: • The emergence of bio-chip and bio-economy… • The emergence of info-mediaries – linking buyers and sellers electronically… • An 80-20 Rule for the 2020s: “By 2020, 80 percent of business profits and market values will come from that part of the enterprise that is build around info-business… The new info business will include services that provide turbocharged information, industry-wide product offerings, preview, twenty-four-hour access and self-design features… • “Do you and your company spend less then two thirds of your time and energies on your business, and more than one-third on your organization? If so… it may be time t... More About: Prime
Marketing Research Trends
2007-12-03 19:30:00 In his recent presentation before Capilano College School of Business students (Vancouver, BC), John Jensen, VP Technology of GMI, one of the world’s leading online marketing research firms, identified a number of important marketing research related trends: MACRO TRENDS (AFFECTING MARKETING RESEARCH) a) From OFFLINE to ONLINE: More and more business done via the Net b) From ON-SHORE to OFF-SHORE: Off shoring of fulfillment and production-oriented work c)From DOMESTIC to GLOBAL: Use of panel-based research goes global d)From DISTRIBUTED to CENTRALIZED: Mainstreaming of software as a hosted solution INDUSTRY TRENDS a) Consolidation of market research companies b) Online research is mainstream c) Research panels are coming to the fore d) Enterprise research software is becoming a necessity HOW ARE THESE TRENDS AFFECTING MARKETING RESEARCH BUSINESS? a) Just collecting data online is not enough b) Customers want - More accurate results, faster and cheaper - Integration with CRM,... More About: Marketing , Trends
4Ps of Marketing Are No Longer Enough!
2007-11-08 20:42:00 I went to the Ikea store the other day. Time and again I am amazed with the way they do their business. No wonder they are one of the world’s most successful companies. No wonder their owner. Mr. Ingvar Kamprad, is ranked #4 on Forbes 400 list of billioners. IKEA taught me something. It is not just about 4Ps of marketing. You can have excellent and innovative Product, competitive Price, great Promotion and Place, yet there is something more. This “something more” is actually the INTANGIBLE ingredient. You can’t copy it. You can’t manipulate it as easily as 4Ps. Yet, it is the heart and the soul of the business. It is called: EXPERIENCE. IKEA experience is very, very unique. Here is a small sample of innovative things they do: * Self-service: you are picking and carrying your own items - like in the grocery store! * Furniture self-assembly * Great kids playground * Great restaurant in the middle of the store * Unique, funny and unpronounceable Swedish names of t... More About: Marketing
Thomas Jefferson: “I am captivated more by dreams of the future, than
2007-10-26 04:36:00 Nice quote, found in an “old” book about the future, “2020 Vision”, by Stan Davis and Bill Davidson…More comments about this book will be placed here soon… More About: Dreams , Future , The Future , Thomas , Thomas Jefferson
Design Me!
2007-09-25 19:50:00 Nestle has recently launched marketing campaign to design new box of SMARTIES! Kids would play on smarties.ca website, add colours , design their own box and hopefully win great awards. Smart, indeed! Intelligent way to involve your target audience, to INTERACT with them and get their interest and loyalty. More and more companies will adopt this model of “interactive marketing” in the coming years. More About: Design
Online Marketing “Trends” to Ignore: Is Virtual World Marketing
2007-09-14 21:31:00 Great article on Ad Age by Mark Simon about ten online marketing trends to IGNORE. Check them out here. Yes, I agree that we need to ignore some new “trends”. They are just fads and won’t prove the test of time. However, I would disagree with Mark regarding marketing potential of virtual world. Mark suggest to ignore anything that has to do anything with virtual worlds like Second Life. Well.. I think Mark is going to far with that one… Note that there is certain segment of population who LOVES virtual worlds. They likely share similar demographics and/or the same interests. Why not target them if our brands are for the same target market? After all, there are more than 9 million residents of Second Life and about US $ 1,000,000 is being traded every day. Marketing on virtual worlds has to be done intelligently though: it has to be better integrated into overall virtual world experience. More About: Online Marketing , World , Trends , Online
Market to Women! (you will attract men, too)
2007-09-06 21:05:00 According to Martha Barletta we tend to slice the market into various niches, but we foolishly ignore distinction between male and female cultures. Instead, we need to start marketing to women, we need to appreciate women’s approach to thinking, feeling, buying and shopping. Here are a number of key strategies how to market to women, as stated in Tom Peter’s and Martha Barletta’s book “Essentials” (partial list): * BE HER EQUAL: Cast your pitch to women in peer-to- peer terms, rather than top-down terms * JOIN HER: Remember, you are selling to “we” (mindset), not “me” * HUMOR HER * LEND HER AN EAR: Listen, listen closely, and then (but only then) go into sales mode * LISTEN TO HER “LIST”: Explore the longer list of factors that women bring to every purchase * SHOW HER MORE: For women no detail is too small * REACH HIM, TOO: Stop worrying that your efforts will be a turn off for men. If you surprise and delight wo... More About: Women , Market
Disruptive Age
2007-08-17 02:48:00 We live in a DISRUPTIVE age - age of dramatic changes in a way businesses will operate. Here are some of the most important trends of this age according to Tom Peters and Martha Barletta as presented in their book “Essentials – Trends”: 1) RE-IMAGINE our enterprises and institutions! The fundamental nature of the change now in progress has caught us off-stride and on our heels. No aspect of the way our institutions operate can be allowed to go unexamined. Or unchanged. 2) Brawl with NO RULES. We have to make things up as we go along 3) Incrementalism is Out. DESTRUCTION is in. “Continuous improvement” philosophy is becoming dangerous. All or nothing. 4) INFOTECH changes everything. There is no higher priority than the total transformation of all business practice to e-business practice. The new technologies are the real thing. The IT revolution is in its infancy. 5) Ninety percent of all white collar JOBS as we know them will be disemboweled in the next 15 years. GONE. ...
Long Tail: Threat or Opportunity?
2007-07-04 20:02:00 According to Chris Anderson, the tuture of business is selling less of more. Anderson coined special term to describe this new trend: “Long Tail ” (his book: “Long Tail: The Future of Business is Selling Less of More”). According to Wikipedia, the long tail is “the colloquial name for a long-known feature of statistical distributions… In these distributions a high-frequency or high-amplitude population is followed by a low-frequency or low-amplitude population which gradually ‘tails off’… In many cases, however, the long tail …can make up the MAJORITY of the graph.” Sounds too academic? Maybe, but take for example Amazon’s business model. Large proportion of Amazon.com’s book sales come from obscure books that are not available in brick-and-mortar stores! Where inventory storage and distribution costs are extremely low, it becomes profitable to sell relatively unpopular products; however when storage and distribution costs are high only the ... More About: Opportunity , Unity , Long tail
Insourcing and Other “World Flatteners”
2007-07-03 19:50:00 We all know how OUTSOURCING has changed the business world and helped create virtual companies and virtual businesses. At the same time, however, completely opposite trend is emerging, too. Acording to Thomas Friedman (best selling book: “The World Is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century” ) “Insourcing” is one of the top ten trends, or “flatteners”, that have leveled the global playing field. Insourcing is when company’s employees EXTEND their services - beyond their core business -on behalf of another company. For example, UPS repairs Toshiba computers on behalf of Toshiba. The work is done at the UPS hub, by UPS employees. Friedman’s top ten trends or “world flatteners” are: * Collapse of Berlin Wall-11/9 - the starting point for leveling the global playing field * Netscape: Netscape and the Web broadened the audience for the Internet * Workflow software: The ability of machines to talk to other machines with no humans invo... More About: Sourcing
Six Supertrends that Will “Squash The Stock Market” Over the Ne
2007-06-30 23:48:00 Can you profit on stock market by understanding the trends? Yes, according to the co-founder of Motley Fool website. While doing historical research and studing past stock-price trends is NOT your friend, understanding “demographic supertrends” will help you invest in those industries that will outperform the market. According to Tom Gardner (Fortune, June 25th) these six supertrends will “squash the market” over at least the next five years: 1) Home Entertainment 2) Rising Oil Prices 3) Eating Out 4) Home Building 5) The digital doctor’s office 6) Alternative sports More About: Stock Market , Market , Stock , Squash , Ends
Digital Youth Trends
2007-06-07 23:41:00 Enjoy this 19 min video lecture presented by Josh Spear on Zeitgeist Europe 2007. Here are some of the trends presented by Josh: - “Mobile cell as the center of gravity!” - “Micro blogging” - “Virtual gifting” - “Mass Individuality” - “Dating is gaming” Wow! More About: Trends , Youth , Digital , Ends , Trend
Arie de Geus: Learning Faster - The Only Sustainable Competitive Advantage
2007-06-07 22:16:00 “Learn ing faster than your competitors is the only sustainable competitive advantage in an environment of rapid change and innovation” Learn more from Arie de Geus, former manager of Royal Dutch Shell, business strategist and author widely recognised as the originator of many of the principles and practises underlying the Learning Organisation concept: http://www.ariedegeus.com/ More About: Competitive , Petit , Sustainable
Fastest growing industries: Securities, Oil and Internet
2007-06-02 00:01:00 Top ten fastest growing industries based on most recent Fortune 500 list (% of revenue growth): 1) Securities : 44.1% 2) Oil and gas equipment, services: 31.4% 3) Intern et services and retailing: 24.2% 4) Commercial banks: 23.7% 5) Engineering, Construction: 21.8% 6) Hotels, casinos, resorts: 17.1% 7) Health care: insurance, MNGD. care: 17.0% Mining, crude-oil production: 16.8% 9) Wholesalers: diversified: 16.8% 10) Metals: 16.1% More About: Industries , Growing
Digital Furniture!
2007-05-31 01:31:00 Microsoft is working on a coffee-table-shaped “surface computer” … based on Bill Gates’ view of a future where the mouse and keyboard are replaced by more natural interaction using voice, pen and touch… “Microsoft Surface” will allow people to touch and move objects on screen for everything from digital finger painting and jigsaw puzzles to ordering off a virtual menu in a restaurant… Check out also: Brisbane Times and New York Times More About: Furniture , Digital , Digi
Podcasting Everywhere!
2007-05-30 23:54:00 According to research done by eMarketer podcasting is trend not exclusively reserved for young people students and alike. Note these facts: - Most iTunes podcasts (31%) are done by individuals with $100,000+ household income - Most iTunes podcasts (47%) are done by those with College / graduate degree - 69% of iTunes podcasts are done by males To learn more stats: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id= 1004938&src=article_head_sitesearch More About: Podcasting , Casting , Where
New Trend Tracking Tools
2007-05-23 08:12:00 Google has recently launched new tool designed to help you identify new trends. In addition to already existing tools Google Trend s and Zeitgeist Google will now also enable tracking list of the current top 100 fastest rising search trends and it will be refreshed several times daily. Check out http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends. Yahoo! has its own service called Yahoo Buzz that shows most-searched-for subjects and the biggest movers. More About: Tools , Track , Rack , Tracking
The Next Stage in Human Evolution: Merging with Technology
2007-05-18 00:05:00 In the most recent issue of Fortune Magazine (May 14, 2007), Ray Kurzwell, visionary thinker and futurist, inventor of flatbed scanner, electric piano, large vocabulary speech recognition software and man who successfully predicted that the computer will beat men in chess (it happened in 1997, one year before his prediction!), says that we are the species that go beyond our potential.. According to Kurzwell, merging with technology is the next stage in our evolution… Here are some of Kurzwell’s thoughts, as presented in Fortune: - Mankind is on the cusp of radically accelerating era of change unlike anything we have ever seen and almost more extreme than we can imagine - The Law of Accelerating Returns: don’t underestimate the power of technological change. Information technologies are doubling in power every year. Doubling every year is multiplying it 1000 in ten years. It is remarkable how scientists miss this basic trend… We are stuck in the intuitive linear vie... More About: Technology , Evolution , Human , Uman , Merging
Advergaming!
2007-05-16 20:36:00 I wrote about advertainment and Youtube earlier on this blog… Here is similar yet special new form of advertising: ADVERGAMING. Integrating advertising messages in Internet Games. Brands like Skittles, Chips Ahoy, Cheetos, Mountain Dew have already been using this new approach. Many believe this will work out well for two reasons a) high emotional context while playing the game b) deloping first loyalty among young people. More About: Ming
Web 3.0!
2007-05-16 19:58:00 As we have just figured what is meant by Web 2.0 (user generated content; interaction; putting YOU in charge) there is now talk about Web 3 .0! The new web (Semantic web or Web 3.0) will become more intelligent by transforming web pages into web database. Discovery engines (described before on this blog) are just the beginning!
Marketing Trends as Presented on AMA Conference, BC Chapter, May 2007
2007-05-12 20:06:00 Marketing Trends – According to Dennis L. Dunlap, CEO of American Marketing Association (as presented on AMA Conference, BC Chapter, May 11, 2007): 1. Empowered Consumer 2. New Media 3. Audience Fragmentation 4. Mass Customization 5. Channel Power 6. More Commoditization 7. Globalization 8. Profitable Growth Quest OK, but how do you win in the future? Here is Dunlap’s list of five winning strategies (Ivan’s notes and comments in brackets): 1) Start a fire, then carry the torch (focus on revenue and growth, innovate, and lead!) 2) Wear the customers shoes, crate a path for them (gain credibility, enhance value and focus on relationships – how, where, when the customers want it) 3) Measure with precision and prove your mettle (Measurement is number one issue for marketing managers… CEOs need prove that marketing impacts results; marketing managers must develop measurement systems, return on marketing programs…it’s hard but achievable) 4) Run a sprint and a mara... More About: Marketing , Present , Mark , May 2007
Google + YouTube + DoubleClick + Radio Ads = ?
2007-04-17 00:11:00 If you thought the deal with YouTube (bil $1.6) was HUGE - then think again! Googl e just acquired Double Clic k - the leading online marketing agency for bil $ 3.1! Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070413/ap_on _hi_te/google_doubleclick Apparently Google will now dominate the online marketing world… Even more interestingly: Google recently launched RADIO ads in conjunction with adwords!! Yes, you read it well: RADIO ads. What is next for Google? Where is the marketing and media puck going? I will let you think about this… More About: Radio , Youtube
Shift Happens!
2007-04-07 03:45:00 We are living in exponential times… Here are only some of the amazing stats presented in video “Shift Happens!”: 25% of the population in China with highest IQ is greater than the total population in North America The top 10 jobs that will be in demand in 2010 did not exist in 2004 The U.S. is 20th in the world in broadband Internet penetration (just behind Luxemburg) Nintendo invested $140 million research and development in 2002 alone. The US Government spent less than half as much research and innovation in education… 1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online There are 106 million registered users of MySpace. If MySpace were a country it would be number 11th largest in the world (between Japan and Mexico) It is estimated that 1.5 exabytes of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year. That’s estimated to be more than in the last 5,000 years… More About: Pens
Know-Wow! (6): DeQ (Delight Quotient) in Three Dimensions!
2007-03-27 22:29:00 Part 6 on KNOW-WOW!: the art of delighting to achieve success in business. DeQ is a three dimensional representation of your success in delighting. Its result is not a single number, but rather a matrix consisting of three numbers from 0-9. The ideal score would be: 9, 9, 9. Your DeQ can be determined by using three questionnaires, to be filled out by company’s internal and external “clients” (i.e. employees, customers, community stake holders and residents). To learn your company’s DeQ - fill out the questionnaires that will be presented in the next few posts. More About: Light , Know , Sion , Dimension , Three
Know-Wow! (5): What Is Your Delight Quotient (DeQ)?
2007-03-25 22:27:00 Part 5 on KNOW-WOW!: the art of delighting to achieve success in business. Are you perceived as a giving company? Are you delighting your customers? Are you admired in your community or among your employees? The good news is: There is a way to measure your success in delighting There is a way to improve your DeQ (delight quotient) over time Deli ght Quotient (DeQ) is the measure of your success in delighting in all three most important dimensions in your business: relationships with your customers, relationships with your employees and relationship with your community. You may now be wondering how can DeQ be measured…. or what maximum DeQ is…or even what your DeQ is! If so, keep reading… check out this blog in few days! More About: Light , Know , Delight
Know-Wow! (4): The Low of Wow (or the “10-300 Principle”)
2007-02-28 03:27:00 Part 4 on KNOW-WOW!: the art of delighting to achieve success in business. You all know of Pareto’s 20-80 principle. It says that 20% of your input (products, markets, customers) will bring you 80% of your overall output. Well, the input-output imbalance holds true here as well. Actually, this imbalance proves to be even more dramatic, as there are human emotions involved. This principle could be called the “The Law of Wow”, or, if you will, a 10%-300% principle. Let me try to phrase it: “If you invest 10% more effort in trying to wow your customers, you will stand a 300% better chance to win prospective customers than your competitor”. How come? Well, imagine being “only” 10% taller than anyone else around you. Who will stand out and get attention of ALL? By being 10% better (faster, less expensive, prettier…) you will get attention of ALL your prospective customers and thus far better chance to convert them into your real customers. It takes only 10... More About: Know
Know-Wow! (3): Delighting = Giving
More articles from this author:2007-02-23 03:26:00 Part 3 on KNOW-WOW!: the art of delighting to achieve success in business. The best way to delight is to GIVE: give more than your customers would normally expect. This is actually the tough part. We have been taught that business success is all about receiving or TAKING. Right? Think again. Those who have learned the art of giving proved to be the best “receivers”. The business is the dynamic balance between giving and receiving. Don’t wait to become success to start giving… If your goal is to “receive” (money, reputation, status…) then START with giving! The same principle applies both on individual and corporate level. Remember the golden rule? More About: Light , Giving , Know , Ving , Deli 1, 2 |
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