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h&m sets a new course
2008-03-17 16:38:00
The well-known Swedish fashion company H&M enters a new phase. H&M always followed the same route: cheap trendy fashion. Now they enter a new phase. By buying the upcoming Swedish fashion company Fabric Scandinavien (behind brands like Sunday Sun , Cheap Monday . HM enters a new role as a venture capitalist. Before HM had to produce products to get revenues, now (with acquisitions) they have to control the portfolio of stocks. This could be a boring, dangerous and reactive way to go. Before they were forced to lead and forge a path, now they can just look and follow. In the long run, this could be a problem: when you fall back and get satisfied, the world around seems to fade away. The acquisition strategy marks a shift from H&M’s old approach of launching sub brands (or rather sub companies in another category such as COS  Where will it end for H&M? Will it become the new PPR ?By Claes Foxerus. You can find more writing from Claes here.  H...
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the lost ring- a breakthrough arg?
2008-03-17 15:24:00
The Lost Ring is one of the most lavish alternative reality games ever presented. It probably helps that it has the massive budgets of the International Olympic Committee and McDonald’s to leverage.Like every great ARG it has lots of layers/nuances and really engaging ways to drag players into the mystery of The Lost Ring. A quick peek at the trailer and it’s easy to see they are trying to take ARGs to the next level; somewhere between movies and video games. The problem is that ARGs are pretty inaccessible to the masses. Unlike movies and video games, which operate on the “sit and watch” or “pick up and play” modes of operation, ARGs demand a lot of attention from the players as they trawl through clues to crack codes. While the IOC and McDonald’s might have high hopes for The Lost Ring, it’s unlikely to get the masses anytime soon in its current form. However, perhaps this game or something in the near future will find a way of opera...

the art world's number one star-banksy
2008-03-15 16:47:00
Has Banksy taken over from the  "Master of Light" Thomas Kinkade , as the number one artist in the world? Interesting film showing 1 hour in the life of one of his pieces.(Via Wooster Collective).Posted by Ed Cotton
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design and the elastic mind
2008-03-15 16:39:00
Core 77 has a great podcast on the new MOMA exhibition "Design and the Elastic Mind ". It features a few interviews from the opening night and a longer sit down discussion with famed curator Paola Antonelli. The interview is Paola is especially good, as she talks about the idea behind the exhibit, the process of curating and highlights some of MOMA's future plans for bringing a Boeing 747 into the collection. My big take-away from the broadcast is the emergence of two interesting forces that are now shaping contemporary design thinking. 1. The shift from the decorative to the serious- designers are no longer content creating beautiful objects- they want to have an impact. Design and the Elastic Mind is all about the intersection between science/technology and design. 2. The idea of "beta" is now present in the design world- work in progress is good and objects no longer need to be finished to be presented. Posted by Ed Cotton

real time brand tracking
2008-03-15 16:21:00
Most of us are used to tracking brands on an infrequent basis, but given the rise of  internet conversation and  the emergence of Black Swan events, shouldn't we be looking at something that's closer to real time? YouGov is a company that has been doing just that in the UK for a number of years and now appear to have brought their service to the US. With the recent FAA grounding of Southwest planes, YouGov used its Brand Index tool set to measure the impact of the news. Interestingly, it showed just how strong the Southwest brand is and how it looks likely to be able to weather the current storm. By combining buzz with other more traditional measures BrandIndex gives you are more holistic view of brand performance. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Time , Real , Tracking , Real Time

p&G shares trends deck on the web
2008-03-14 19:23:00
Dave Knox, a brand manager at P&G put his youth trends deck up on Slideshare for all to see. Welcome to the new P&G. (thanks Anastasia!) | View | Upload your ownPosted by Ed Cotton
More About: Trends , Shares , Deck

entertainment-driven brand creation
2008-03-07 19:13:00
A well-known British actor gets his dream assignment, the chance to make a program about the perfect pint of beer. Nice work if you can get it, but there's even more upside because the show is all about creating beer that actually makes it into production. Apparently, leading grocery chain Sainsbury's is interested in carrying the new brand. The integration here is fantastic, no bolt-on or add on association, but a deep education in the form of programing that becomes a three hour ad for a new brand. Although, it will be tough for this fledgling brand to compete against the established players, the rich level of content and the emotional journey that the programming will take viewers on, will be so much deeper than any ad campaign from one of the leading brewers. The challenge will be building and maintaining the momentum after the initial wave of coverage and PR.However, it does show an opportunity for a new way to think about branded content. What if Bud was to develop a new bre...
More About: Entertainment , Brand , Creation

the social network meets the bank
2008-03-07 18:52:00
This is a really nice idea. Smarty Pig is a site that helps people save for specific goals and allows friends and family to contribute to those savings plans. Traditional banks should look at this because the 2.0 companies are snapping at their heels with innovations like this. Thanks to ColinPosted by Ed Cotton
More About: Social , Network , Bank , Social Network

influx interview-indi young- adaptive path- part two
2008-03-05 16:49:00
Here is Part Two of the interview I did with Indi Young of Adaptive Path . For a discount on her new book go to the Rosenfeld Media web  site, drop Indi's book in the shopping cart (which can be done here: ), and enter the discount code (FOINFL10) for a 10% discount while completing the order.5. How do you discover new unmet needs/behaviors and imagine new uses that consumers don't yet display?The mental model is not about changing consumer behavior so much as supporting it better, and supporting it in new ways that haven't been thought of before.  The easiest thing to do is look for gaps between a tower in the mental model (representing a set of behaviors around a particular concept) and the ways an organization supports it. There could be no existing support for a tower, or it could be weakly supported, in which case you could use the concepts in the tower to brainstorm ideas. You could already support a tower, but perhaps extend your support to better support some of ...
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influx interview-designer series- indi young- part one
2008-03-04 04:17:00
Indi Young is one of the founders of Adaptive Path and the author of the recently published book-Mental Models: Sparking Creativity Through Empathy.We exchanged a few emails and ended up with a fantastic interview.Here's Part One.1. Can you briefly describe your background?I've been a "software designer" for 21 years.  My undergrad degree was in Computer Science.  In those days, there were none of these fun study programs like interaction design.  This was before the Mac and before the desktop metaphor became prevalent.  I have been consulting for 17 years, often helping startups craft their initial offerings and assisting Fortune 500 companies redesign existing architectures.  I teach workshops, act as a team guide for projects, and present at a few conferences.  My book about mental models and alignment with products and services was published in Feb 2008.2. Explain how the Mental Models process came about?It has roots in a project I was doing with ...
More About: Series , Interview , Designer

what is this?- answer today
2008-03-03 15:34:00
The International Seed Vault in Norway. (designed to store duplicates of seeds to protect the genetic material in case of loss because of war or natural disaster).Several people- including, Peter Rojas, got it right. Posted by Ed Cotton
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brand as friend and facilitator
2008-03-02 20:05:00
A few weeks back Esther Dyson wrote an op-ed piece in the WSJ about the future of  advertising. She uses the example of Dopplr (the travel based social network) as a way of imagining a new brand relationship. "Each user determines who will get into his own garden, whether friends or vendors. Look at Dopplr (where I plan to become an investor), a site for travelers. I list my trips, and see how they intersect with my friends' itineraries. "Oh, we'll both be in London April 4? Let's get together!" Or, "Juan and Alice will be in town next Tuesday. Let's hold a dinner!" You can imagine or visit equivalent approaches for books (a hypothetical Amazon 2.0, new and more personalized), clothes (Glam.com and Stardoll.com), and even money management. So what's the business model? I'll "friend" British Airways, which will say, "We see you're going to Moscow next month. Why not fly through London and we'll give you 10,000 extra miles?" I'm no longer in a bucket of frequent traveler...
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invite your customers to come and see you
2008-03-02 17:55:00
Innocent Drinks has always thought differently about the relationship it has with its customers. It's constantly looking to level the playing field, which can be something of a challenge as the company grows. However, they are continuing to innovate in this area of outreach, as witnessed by its announcement for an AGM in April."We’ve always liked to know what you think of our drinks. That’s why we ask you to ring the banana phone or pop into Fruit Towers. And it’s great when you do because we get to have a chat, and find out what you’d like to see innocent doing next. This year, we thought we’d go a step further and have our very own AGM. It’s not going to be particularly formal (no men in suits telling you about profit engineering). We see it as being more like a get together in a village hall where you find out what’s going on, have a bit of a debate and then vote on a few things. We’ve never done anything like this before, but the ...
More About: Customers , Invite

what is this?- check back for the answer on monday
2008-02-29 07:12:00
Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Answer , Check , Back , Monday

where is your brand telling its story?
2008-02-29 06:03:00
Wandering around Atlanta airport yesterday, waiting for a connection, there was only one thing to do, visit Chick-fil- A . The brand is something of a Georgia institution and a favorite of fast food lovers nationwide. What's interesting is that this company isn't afraid to tell its story. In a world where every fast food chain has its own chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A is proud of its original one product story, so proud that it displays its story, not on a board in its store, but right there on the pack, where someone might actually read it. Many brands have great stories, but where exactly are they telling them?Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Story , Brand

a next generation cola war
2008-02-27 20:16:00
Pepsi just launched an interesting new initiative in the UK with a very selective introduction of Pepsi Raw- a natural version of the cola. It's a step in the right direction; a new on-trend formulation instead of yet another flavor or diet variant, but the ambition appears weak. It's only being sold in selective nightclubs and not nationwide. It's also only in the UK.Which leaves me to speculate the following questionIs Coca-Cola going to seize on the opportunity and launch a new natural formula Coke anytime soon? Will Pepsi go global with Raw?It looks like we might be entering the next phase of the cola wars. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Generation

tomorrow night- learn about mental models from indi young
2008-02-27 17:41:00
Influx recently wrote about Indi Young 's (Adaptive Path) book on Mental Models . If you are in SF tomorrow you can catch her speak at CNET's HQ. Some more details here. Mental Models: Sparking Creativity Through Empathy Anybody can tell you when they're in love, but can they map out the behavior that leads to this sought-after state? Take a look at other models of behavior, such as the habits of good project managers, the diverse considerations that go into the selection of a university, perhaps what long-distance runners expect while on training runs, or even what motivates the behavior of cats. Once you understand a group this deeply, imagine the creativity it sparks for the products you are designing. Indi's work spans a number of decades, from the mid-80's when the desktop metaphor was replacing command line and menu-based systems, to the mid-90's when the Web first toddled onto the scene, to now, when designers are intent on crafting good experiences. After 10 years of con...
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influx interview- scott belsky- behance
2008-02-26 22:32:00
Behance is a company that serves the needs of the growing network of independent creative professionals. It does everything from helping them find jobs, foster collaboration, generate new ways to think and delivers an engaging environment to view portfolios and creative samples.I spent some time with Scott Belsky, the founder of Behance, to learn a little more. 1. What inspired you to make the leap from Wall Street to the creative world?My work on Wall Street involved organizational and leadership development. I specialized in helping new, rapidly growing teams deal with the challenges that come along with growth. At night, I would try to leverage some of these skills for my friends in more creative and entrepreneurial roles. I found that, more than anyone else, creative leaders and teams struggle to push ideas forward. I became very interested in the leadership and organizational struggles of the creative world. I also believe that life is interesting because of the creative achiev...
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quote of the day: cadbury ceo admits he trusts young creatives
2008-02-22 02:20:00
"I am a 55-year-old person who has lived through a different advertising experience ... In the end, I trusted in the young and talented people who came up with the idea." Todd Stitzer-Chief Executive-Cadbury (He approved the gorilla!)Thanks to Scamp-who appears to be on 24/7 gorilla watch!Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Quote Of The Day , Young , Quote , Trusts

is your brand with the program?
2008-02-21 23:30:00
The idea of brand as media, is something I have gotten tired of talking about.Here's yet another brand creating its own channel of content. "This is the YouTube channel for the Social Media Communications team at Nokia. We'll be posting as many videos on Nokia stories, products, services, and people as we can get our hands on or produce ourselves." The point here is not to compete with NBC or the hamsters on YouTube, but to provide content for consumers who like your brand, or are just simply interested in hearing what you have to say. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Brand , Program

is you brand with the program?
2008-02-21 08:03:00
The idea of brand as media, is something I have gotten tired of talking about.Here's yet another brand creating its own channel of content. "This is the YouTube channel for the Social Media Communications team at Nokia. We'll be posting as many videos on Nokia stories, products, services, and people as we can get our hands on or produce ourselves." The point here is not to compete with NBC or the hamsters on YouTube, but to provide content for consumers who like your brand, or are just simply interested in hearing what you have to say. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Brand , Program

there's nothing wrong with trend transfer
2008-02-21 07:55:00
Molecular gastronomy is a ten year old trend, first seen in elite restaurants; you've got the Spanish pioneer El Bulli, England's Fat Duck and a handful of American imitators. Now the rush is on to bring molecular science to the spirits category- every spirits brand on earth is going to be trying this idea in the next three months. It's all about making a semi-solid version of the key component parts of a spirit or a cocktail.In the spirit of full transparency and disclosure- Bacardi's UK digital PR agency sent me the code for this film today (please excuse the gratuitous brand promotion), but I also read a story in the WSJ about Cointreau doing the same thing. Clearly, this isn't something you can easily do at home or in your local pub- it's special venues only; the ones that have liquid nitrogen on tap. In a world starved of ideas, there is nothing wrong in borrowing a trend from one category and moving into to another. It will bring some much need excitement to the world of...
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home farming will be the hot new trend
2008-02-21 07:09:00
With food prices going out of control and everyone in recession mode, are we all going to start growing our own? Will chickens soon be heard all over suburbia? Will we be abandoning our lawns and growing wheat? Obviously, this is a little OTT, but there's certainly something going on out there. The desire to take control of your own food supply and to bring costs down is strong.There's certainly a business opportunity here for brands who can bring out the farmer in all of us. However, this being the C21st, we aren't so good at the heavy lifting side of the farming business, we want things to grow on our own terms, not theirs. We need crops that are in tune with our way of life and deliver what we want and need.In short, we need designer crops. Of course, they are already here and appearing on your television set. These tomato plants look positively scary. These tomatoes were certainly created in a laboratory and it appears if they aren't controlled, they could easily take over t...
More About: Home , Trend , Farming

can you find drama in problems?
2008-02-20 06:16:00
Procter and Gamble has been a master of the problem-solution formula for over 50 years. In many circles it was viewed as something of a cliche and was often cited as some of the industry's worst work.For years, Procter’s ads revolved around setting up themselves as THE experts who knew better. They were always the authoritative men who got “real” women to highlight their positive experiences washing with a detergent or as in this spot for Bold, used guilt (note how the announcer reminds the woman she is second rate!)This year, a spot for Tide from Procter and Gamble cleaned up (sorry!) at this year’s Superbowl, with most critics judging it to be the best of the bunch. This is a momentous achieved for Tide and its agency because ten years ago, no one would have imagined a Procter spot winning a coveted creative accolade.To make this happen, Procter has done something radical, they’ve abandoned the idea of being patronizing experts, they’ve left be...
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fighting the complacency that success brings
2008-02-18 19:44:00
It's common for companies to struggle to achieve success and once they achieve it, they become complacent and rest on their laurels. Everyone talks a good game about continuous innovation, but it's a hard thing to do, especially with companies high on their own success.Stanford's Bob Sutton has just completed an interview with Pixar's Brad Bird, where Bird revealed his role was to stop the rot of complacency setting in after the company had achieved major successes. "Bird explained that he was brought to Pixar partly because senior management was worried that the company would become too complacent after three big hits: Toy Story, A Bugs Life, and Toy Story2.  To help fight against such complacency on The Incredibles, Bird wanted people to work with people who weren't satisfied with how things were done and so -- to staff the film-- he requested "Give me your black sheep." Posted by Ed Cotton
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why user experience design isn't planning?
2008-02-17 20:49:00
Many ad agencies are trying to work out just how to bring the interactive discipline into the fold. A critical component piece of this is the User Experience Design er. It's a discipline that has some similarities to planning, but also draws strongly from the design world. Its role is to examine the minute detail and inter-relationships between each element of consumer experience in order to create stunning experiences and products. It isn't Account Planning . The science and nature of the discipline is the subject of the book Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior written by the founder of Adaptive Path, Indi Young. All the charts and images from the book are up on Flickr and can be seen in the slideshow below. They show just how much detail and rigor goes into the process and informs us humble planners that writing briefs for ads might be a different and perhaps easier ballgame. Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.Posted by Ed Cotton

the envionment: where are the standards?
2008-02-16 18:12:00
With the continuing momentum behind all things green and environmental, the issue of standards is becoming more and more important. There's a growing feeling that there need to be objective measures to help people understand what's the good things and the right thing. In the last few years, the LEED rating for buildings was often highlighted as a great example. However, recently the tide has turned against LEED, witness this amazing example relating to San Francisco's new Federal Building."Too damn ahead of its time, the systems used for environmental control in the Fed Building are so innovative that they have yet to be considered so by the overly-prescriptive commandments of Green. The Green Buildings Council, however, claim that LEED is a work-in-progress, and have consented to take the next few months to reevaluate the Federal Building. Hopefully they'll continue to update their requirements so that LEED becomes less of an pocket industry encouraging architects to "tack on" ...
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newsflash-ad agency creates imaginative space for itself
2008-02-16 07:58:00
Kessels Kramer opens a new office in London. It combines a gallery, a store and hopefully a place to create brilliant communication. Shouldn't more agencies be doing this, weaving themselves into the fabric of the culture they are supposed to be inspired by?Via CR BlogPosted by Ed Cotton
More About: Space , Agency , Imaginative

red's art heist- 7 reasons why it's brilliant
2008-02-15 17:24:00
RED, the brand designed and built to raise money for Africa, has been keeping a low profile in the last few months that was until yesterday.As we all know, money talks.In a single day, RED raised an incredible $42.6 million to add to the $50 million raised to date through its efforts with brands.It did it with an auction of contemporary art.Here's are 7 reasons why its brilliant.1. Contemporary art is simply the hottest and most valuable product out there- prices have been going through the roof in recent years2. Big name artists are the hottest brands there are- especially guys like Damien Hirst who had work in the auction3. Rare and limited editions have a premium value- so art created especially for RED- fitted that criteria4. RED leveraged its celebrity founders to give the art and the auction cache.5. Playing to the guilt factor- like the RED brand in general- purchasers can feel good about buying and artists feel like valued contributors6. Partnering with Sotheby’s ad...
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create first, get approval later- free valentine's gift- a radiohead album
2008-02-14 17:25:00
Amplive was fast out of the gate. Just a few days after the release of one of last year's most acclaimed albums, Radiohead 's In Rainbows, he had remixed versions of a couple of the tracks. He built up quite a bit of support and it now looks as if the band have paid attention and given their official blessing.Download here.Another smart move by the band, who could have hired an army of remixers for the project or even searched for the best versions from the community, instead, they rewarded the guy who worked fastest and broke the rules. Amplive is in for a busy 08.Via Rob at Marketing Pop Culture and Digital Media WirePosted by Ed Cotton
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