Hi everyone, here’s the latest Trend Report from last month with lots of exciting inspirations and trends for you to take a look at!
Privacy issues and oversharing of personal information on social media platforms have always been a bit of a delicate topic, where particularly Facebook has been repeatedly under fire. However, the concept of sharing personal data has now taken a bit more of a serious and thought provoking note.
Mark Zuckerberg announced at the beginning of the week that Facebook has added an organ donor status to its Timeline view. Users can add where and when they signed up and share their donation stories. “[W]e believe that by simply telling people that you’re an organ donor, the power of sharing and connection can play an important role,” the company wrote in a blog post. The feature also allows you to find a link to an official donor registry in your area.
Could social media actually have the power to save lives?
For more info, check the source link below: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Organ-donation/105491556152132
Starbucks have always been one for creating personal connections with their customers and offering premium and customized coffee experiences. Unfortunately, this is something that decidely gets lost at the coffee pickup counter….‘Hey, who ordered the Venti, non-fat, no foam, 6 pumps hazelnut, extra hot, with extra caramel drizzle and whip, caramel macchiato???’. Does this sound embarrassingly familiar?
This is why Starbucks’ invitation for us to come by and actually introduce ourselves, so that we can from now on be called by our names and not just be labelled by our order, is a really neat idea. It really is such a little thing, but then again, aren’t it always the simple things in life that mean the most? What a great way to start a Monday morning!
Here’s the February Cultural Fuel Trend Report! With Valentines Day and the Superbowl having taken place, it’s definitely been a busy month in the advertising world. We hope you enjoy and get inspired by the inspirations, trends, as well as insights and opinions that we’ve come across!
KLM has always looked to be on the cutting edge of social media and its latest initiative is definitely something that’s going to be creating a lot of buzz. With their new ‘Meet and Seat’ program, passengers now have the option of sharing their social network profiles and photos and based on this, choose who they might want to sit next to on their flight.
Before all hell breaks loose over privacy concerns, this ‘social seating program’, available on flights between Amsterdam and New York, San Francisco and São Paulo, currently is opt-in only. You are able to edit your profile and photo, hence controlling the information visible to other passengers. The seating map shows the seating plan and the Facebook or LinkedIn profiles of only those other passengers who have decided to participate in Meet & Seat. You’ll be able to contact them before the flight and choose to sit next to them if the seat is available.
Nevertheless, it’s to be anticipated that there’ll be quite divided opinions on this program, with the more adventurous amongst us viewing it as a social-networking match made in heaven and others as a stalker’s paradise. What’s your verdict – cool or creepy?
I’ve always been a fan of the cute little crushed fruit mixes in a bottle and the way the guys at Innocent really know how to get their consumers involved in fun and playful ways, like with their ‘The Big Knit’ initiative. Just in time for Valentine’s Day this year, they’ve come up with yet another adorable little act to win us over.
They’ve launched a special website, http://valentines.innocentdrinks.co.uk/label/, which allows consumers to create and personalize their own little love labels to stick on their favourite smoothie bottle. They can add their own creative messages and poems or even choose to call it a ‘Limited Lover’s Edition’, which they can then give to someone special.
Brilliant phrases you can incorporate onto the bottle have included “It may or may not have an aphrodisiac effect. Sip it and see.” or “It’s a gift from someone who’ll set your groin on fire”. Getting your five-a-day has rarely been this flirtatious and fun!
Looks like 2012 got off to quite an inspiring start! Here’s what caught our attention in the world of creative inspirations, trends, as well as insights and opinions in January. Have fun browsing through!
As part of Tropicanaʼs “Brighter Mornings” campaign and coinciding with their new ‚Awake to Alive’ TV commercial in the UK, a giant “sun” was installed in the London cityscape at Trafalgar Square. What a great way to light up Londonʼs grey winter mornings and to let Londoners wake up from their slumber to truly brighter mornings!
Check out the making of video to to see how Greyworld went about making this fantastic public art installation. Providing some impressive stats, the Trafalgar “sun” produces the equivalent light of 60,000 lightbulbs, weighs over 2,500kgs, is 30,000 times bigger than a football and took 6 months to create.
Definitely a bright idea!
Find out more on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TropicanaJuices
Image taken from: http://www.knowyourcell.com/features/568563/when_it_comes_to_checkins_ive_checked_out.html
It looks like there’s a new player in the game in the world of mobile location-based services, Uberlife. ‘Great, so what?’ is the first thing that might pop into your mind. These types of services have now been around for years and amidst the jungle of existing applications such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places, or SCVNGR, why should this one suddenly be worth talking about?
The truth is, the ever-evolving fleet of location-based services have been largely constrained by the simple fact that most only let you share where you currently are, which is of limited value to users. Think about it, once you’ve checked in to a place, there is often no longer any opportunity for others to come and meet you, all that’s left to do is for them to ‘like’ it or add a comment. For being a form of social media, the often obnoxious element of ‘hey, look where I am, and you’re not’ has a decidedly anti-social touch to it.
This is exactly where the London-based startup Uberlife comes into play, by offering a refreshing twist. Whilst their iPhone and Web app is built on a similar real-life, location-based framework as existing services, it’s more than just the basic check-in. The key differentiating factor is that you’re now broadcasting where you intend to be in the future, creating new events on the go and inviting your friends to ‘hang out’ in advance. These ‘hangouts’, which can be a quick beer after work, a spontaneous cinema trip, a last-minute coffee run or simply chilling in the park, can be followed on the network by your friends. They are able to check-in, add comments, and share images of the meet-up to create a nice little memorabilia of the event.
One might argue that there are of course existing mechanisms already in place that facilitate getting together, such as over Twitter and Facebook, but more often than not these go under in the fast paced way of life or are quite simply far too formal. Uberlife recognizes that meeting up with friends these days involves a great degree of pre-organization and frustrating messaging back and forth until a plan eventually comes together. In comparison, the app presents us with a spontaneous, simple and mobile means to bring people together that taps into and integrates seamlessly in today’s ‘on-the-go’ lifestyle.
Critically, this manages to address a fundamental need. After all, what use is a check-in if it can’t be spent and shared with friends? As opposed to sharing where you’ve checked in to, you’re now sharing plans about where you and your friends can check-in together. It aims to bridge the gap between the often remote nature of supposedly ‘social’ media platforms and actual real life socializing.
This clearly is far more relevant and interesting to not only users but also businesses and brands who may be willing to experiment with location-based campaigns and programs focusing on check-in rewards. From a business perspective, wouldn’t it make far more sense to send out offers to those intending to be at a certain place at a certain time, rather than once they’ve announced that they’re there? If businesses are aware of what you are intending to do and where you’ll be, relevant offers and promotions can be generated and implemented far more strategically.
Keeping in mind what Starbucks cleverly did with Foursquare and its Mayor specials, the future check-in could offer exciting opportunities for experimenting with novel ways of communicating with consumers. After all, surely businesses would be much more interested in the prospect of a group of people intending to show up, rather than simply knocking $1 off a Frappuccino to the single person that ends up being the Foursquare Mayor.
The real question remaining of course is whether or not these apps are actually able to generate business value, where one of the biggest hurdles to establishing themselves as valuable tools for businesses in the past, has been encouraging people to actually opt-in to geolocation. What is of foremost importance to avoid being another unclicked icon on the iPhone, is how engaging a service is and what value it provides users with. So far, in lacking a fundamental social element and raising the question of ‘so how do these services actually help you?’, the basic ‘check-in’ has failed deliver what can be seen as genuine ‘value’ or reward for users sharing their locations.
Another app that is looking to inject a more social element into the field is last years’ start-up We&Co, that has aimed to leverage the power of a simple ‘thank-you’. The iPhone app is designed to allow users to thank service professionals, like their favourite barista, hair stylist or bartender at places they visit. The focus is therefore no longer on solely the place through the check-in, but on the people, adding a distinctive human element to the service. Employees can respond to the thank you and encourage you to drop by again, where businesses can choose to offer discounts or freebies as incentives to regular and the most gracious thank-you’ers, creating further ways of connecting meaningfully with their customers.
When a quantifiable metric can be attached to positive encounters between a brand and its customers, this acts as direct reinforcement for employees to provide an even better service and for consumers to continue to proactively share their appreciation. In today’s cynical consumer environment, a positive reinforcement cycle that is built around enjoyable exchanges beyond simply places or prices, allows deeper connections and enduring relationships to be formed between businesses and their customers.
The overarching theme that is therefore becoming clear for the successful evolution of location-based services is the crucial need for them to incorporate a genuinely social component into the mix. It is only once you start looking beyond the limitations of the standard ‘check-in’ that these services could really play an intriguing and influential role in creating compelling and relevant consumer engagements through and with the smart phone. More crucially, it opens up the unique opportunity for technology to enable us to actually be truly social again.
Here’s the Cultural Fuel Trend Report for December! There’s been some great, notably festive, inspirations, as well as interesting trends and insights that emerged in the final month of 2011. Enjoy!
