Since the birth of the iPod and now the iPhone, people constantly have earbuds wedged into their heads. Whether on the subway, walking the streets, or shopping, more and more people’s lives have a soundtrack. It's not the most social activity, but I can attest that it turns a mundane stroll down the street into a music video. More and more people are acquiring mobile devices with mp3 players and more and more people are listening to music. That shift in behavior creates a whole new opportunity for retailers and record labels.
Music has the ability to make you feel a certain way, and it's not coincidence that some of the world's most influential brands regularly feature music in their commercials. Can you remember the last Apple or Nike commercial that didn't have some awesome background music? Probably not.
Using music to enhance a shopping experience is nothing new. Walk into an Abercrombie & Fitch and brace yourself for a cacophony of "brand appropriate" music. Maybe it’s just me, but I think taste in clothing doesn't necessarily correlate to taste in music. Generally the retailers select the right genre e.g. you don't hear rap or classical in an Abercrombie, but that doesn't mean you like what you are hearing. So how can retailers connect with different shoppers using in-store music without deferring to the current broadcast approach?
Imagine walking into an Abercrombie. [Just for the record, I don't shop there] Instead of heading directly to the table of pre-torn button downs, you approach a screen with a long list of songs ranging in genre. Next to each song is a 2D barcode. You whip out your iPhone, snap a pic of the song your want to listen to, and off you go. Your earbuds are securely fastened and you are shopping and bopping in your own world. You've attainted that perfect balance of privacy in a public space and now you actually want to spend time in the store because you are streaming some free new music you really like. Retailers love having more people in their store and record labels love having new avenues to distribute their artists. Abercrombie wins because you had a great shopping experience and reinforced their brand with cool music that's tailored for you. I don't know what to call this idea or business, but it needs a name or handle so for now let's go with Soundtrack Shopping.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
You, me, and Blackberry
I’ve strongly considering adding a place setting at the dinner table for Blackberries. I can’t remember the last time I sat down to a meal where my guests or myself didn’t regularly check our Blackberry’s. For some people it’s possible to go 15-30 mins without glancing, but for others it’s a shameless multi-minute compulsion. Nowadays there is a constant need to be in touch and although many of us recognize this pathetic behavior, it’s virtually impossible to stop it. Blackberry is the scapegoat for this post, but I'm referring to any Smartphone, PDA, or cell phone.
Many of us justify this behavior because “we have work e-mails that need to be read” but most of the time we’re all simply surveying what else is occurring. We’re rarely content in the here and now because we assume everyone else is doing something better. With these devices we've all become opportunists, totally disregarding the etiquette that once existed about when and when not to check the Blackberry. We’ve all succumbed to the fact that we rather know what is going on elsewhere than be stuck in present.
The only time I consciously ignore my inner urge to check the Blackberry is when I am on a good date, an important face-to-face meeting with a superior, or some kind of funeral etc… I’d normally be ashamed to admit this, but given my relatively objective observations, I’m one of the better ones. I have some friends that check their Blackberry’s like a nervous tick. If they moved their eyebrows as regularly as they check their phones we’d think they’re a tad off. It’s scary how extremely pathetic and juvenile the behavior is.
I’d like to think that one day when I have a wife and children, I’ll forbid the use of Blackberries at the dinner table, but it's totally idealistic. It's digital whispering! I can’t stand it and I can’t stop it.
Many of us justify this behavior because “we have work e-mails that need to be read” but most of the time we’re all simply surveying what else is occurring. We’re rarely content in the here and now because we assume everyone else is doing something better. With these devices we've all become opportunists, totally disregarding the etiquette that once existed about when and when not to check the Blackberry. We’ve all succumbed to the fact that we rather know what is going on elsewhere than be stuck in present.
The only time I consciously ignore my inner urge to check the Blackberry is when I am on a good date, an important face-to-face meeting with a superior, or some kind of funeral etc… I’d normally be ashamed to admit this, but given my relatively objective observations, I’m one of the better ones. I have some friends that check their Blackberry’s like a nervous tick. If they moved their eyebrows as regularly as they check their phones we’d think they’re a tad off. It’s scary how extremely pathetic and juvenile the behavior is.
I’d like to think that one day when I have a wife and children, I’ll forbid the use of Blackberries at the dinner table, but it's totally idealistic. It's digital whispering! I can’t stand it and I can’t stop it.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The facebook economy is around the corner
When I logged onto facebook today I saw that one of my friends created a whole photo album of t-shirts. The shirts were professionally photographed and the album title was the name of the company, Bambu Clothing. People started commenting on the pics, “I like them – where do I buy them?” This is where facebook can make serious $$$.
They let the girl upload the photos and make her pay X cents per tag. If someone clicks on the shirt they get redirected to the t-shirt company website and facebook charges another X cents. If a purchase is made, facebook makes a % of sale. This is a what a facebook economy or enhanced social networking will look like. Users and brands alike can make money.
It’s the future and it’s going to evolve with or without us.
They let the girl upload the photos and make her pay X cents per tag. If someone clicks on the shirt they get redirected to the t-shirt company website and facebook charges another X cents. If a purchase is made, facebook makes a % of sale. This is a what a facebook economy or enhanced social networking will look like. Users and brands alike can make money.
It’s the future and it’s going to evolve with or without us.
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Value of a Voice
The other day I called my friend Josh on his work line and was shocked to hear the voice on the other end. "Josh Green's Office" said his female assistant. I laughed aloud. It was surreal hearing someone answer the phone for my 23 year-old friend who only graduated from Dartmouth 8 month prior. I felt like I dialed the CEO, not my friend, and it was then I realized the value of a voice.
Nowadays everything is digitally automated. You dial numbers for businesses and assume you are going to get a recording. It's par for the course, but it's not a sonically pleasing. Calling Josh made me appreciate how nice it is to place a phone call and hear a well spoken human being on the other end. Boom! An idea struck me. What if you could have an answering service whenever you wanted and remotely activated and deactivated it through a text message, email, or cell phone application for a nominal fee? It would be incredible! You'd have your own personal secretary whenever you needed it.
There have been so many articles published about Americans having side businesses. Someone is a teacher during the week and runs a SAT tutoring office on the weekends, or a CPA is creating proprietary tax software on the side etc... It would be such an advantage to have a human being answer your phone calls. It sounds so incredibly professional and the caller would never know the person answering your phone wasn't your own personal secretary.
So how does it work? What makes it so much different from a traditional answering service? The remote ON/OFF switch and ability to change your status on the fly.
Let's say you are a full-time businesswoman and in your free time you are writing a screenplay. You've distributed the script, established your own LLC and want producers to think you are a full-time screenwriter with a bustling office. All you have to do is send a text message to 12345 that reads "ON: Stacy Heath's office. She's in a meeting right now, may I take a message or put you through to her voicemail?" When your number gets dialed, the person answering the phone reads your message verbatim. Immediately the dialer assumes you are important and successful. So much of life is based on a first impression, and hearing a well spoken human being on the phone is the best way to start a conversation.
As soon as you want to turn the service off simply text OFF to 12345, send an email or do it via an iPhone or BlackBerry app. You can even create a schedule that coincides with your workday so you can directly receive calls starting at 7pm without manually disabling the service. You can edit the message as often as you like because it's only a text message/email/smartphone application entry away. Each person can handle many different accounts because all they do is answer the phone, redirect the call, or take a message and relay it to you via email. You can establish a monthly fee of $10-$20 or employ a pay-as-you-go or pay-per-use billing method.
This would totally change the way people approach their businesses because labor costs are so prohibitive. With this system you can effectively start a company on a shoestring budget and appear like you're hitting on all cylinders, primed and ready to conquer the world. That's the value of a voice.
Nowadays everything is digitally automated. You dial numbers for businesses and assume you are going to get a recording. It's par for the course, but it's not a sonically pleasing. Calling Josh made me appreciate how nice it is to place a phone call and hear a well spoken human being on the other end. Boom! An idea struck me. What if you could have an answering service whenever you wanted and remotely activated and deactivated it through a text message, email, or cell phone application for a nominal fee? It would be incredible! You'd have your own personal secretary whenever you needed it.
There have been so many articles published about Americans having side businesses. Someone is a teacher during the week and runs a SAT tutoring office on the weekends, or a CPA is creating proprietary tax software on the side etc... It would be such an advantage to have a human being answer your phone calls. It sounds so incredibly professional and the caller would never know the person answering your phone wasn't your own personal secretary.
So how does it work? What makes it so much different from a traditional answering service? The remote ON/OFF switch and ability to change your status on the fly.
Let's say you are a full-time businesswoman and in your free time you are writing a screenplay. You've distributed the script, established your own LLC and want producers to think you are a full-time screenwriter with a bustling office. All you have to do is send a text message to 12345 that reads "ON: Stacy Heath's office. She's in a meeting right now, may I take a message or put you through to her voicemail?" When your number gets dialed, the person answering the phone reads your message verbatim. Immediately the dialer assumes you are important and successful. So much of life is based on a first impression, and hearing a well spoken human being on the phone is the best way to start a conversation.
As soon as you want to turn the service off simply text OFF to 12345, send an email or do it via an iPhone or BlackBerry app. You can even create a schedule that coincides with your workday so you can directly receive calls starting at 7pm without manually disabling the service. You can edit the message as often as you like because it's only a text message/email/smartphone application entry away. Each person can handle many different accounts because all they do is answer the phone, redirect the call, or take a message and relay it to you via email. You can establish a monthly fee of $10-$20 or employ a pay-as-you-go or pay-per-use billing method.
This would totally change the way people approach their businesses because labor costs are so prohibitive. With this system you can effectively start a company on a shoestring budget and appear like you're hitting on all cylinders, primed and ready to conquer the world. That's the value of a voice.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Finally a 2D Breakthrough!
It finally happened. The standardization battle shifted. The tide changed. Scanbuy's Scanlife application will now be preloaded on all LG camera phones. For the past few years, 2D barcode companies have battled to get shelf space on camera phones to no avail. They won small battles like earning the ability to be downloaded over-the-air, but no one was able to convince a handset manufacturer to pre-install their software...until now. The problem with 2D barcodes is that no one knows anything about them. No one knows anything about them because they aren't prevalent. They aren't prevalent because no one has the software to decode them. However, all this is going to change. "It's one small step for Scanbuy, and one giant leap for the 2D barcode industry."
2D barcodes are nothing new to Japan or Europe, but they will soon be the next biggest marketing tool for brands in the US. Every brand wants their customer base to interact with their brands. Whether it's a Flash microsite or a video game, brands want consumers to spend time with them, play with them, fall in love with them. Be prepared to get barraged with campaigns that have a "snap" call to action. No longer will you have to send in a form to "enter for a chance to win," you'll just snap a photo. Want to add time to your parking meter, just snap. Want to buy movie tickets, just snap. Want to do anything, just snap. The sky is the limit!
You heard it here first, "some brand is going to leverage this technology so well it will change the whole way marketers look at 2D barcodes." The race has officially commenced.
2D barcodes are nothing new to Japan or Europe, but they will soon be the next biggest marketing tool for brands in the US. Every brand wants their customer base to interact with their brands. Whether it's a Flash microsite or a video game, brands want consumers to spend time with them, play with them, fall in love with them. Be prepared to get barraged with campaigns that have a "snap" call to action. No longer will you have to send in a form to "enter for a chance to win," you'll just snap a photo. Want to add time to your parking meter, just snap. Want to buy movie tickets, just snap. Want to do anything, just snap. The sky is the limit!
You heard it here first, "some brand is going to leverage this technology so well it will change the whole way marketers look at 2D barcodes." The race has officially commenced.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Katie Couric the Brand
Since her big debut a couple years ago as the host of the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric has faded into the sunset. She tried to turn her morning talk show gig into a nightly news anchor position...and it didn't work. However talented a journalist Katie Couric might be, she is a victim of her own brand. For years on the Today Show, Katie perfected her role as the US's morning news gal, and in the process created an incredible brand. She was so good at what she did that no one could see her doing anything else. She was typecast.
Her brand resonated with the demographic that watches the Today Show, not Dan Rather. Katie Couric "the brand" was so well established that it was impossible for people to accept her as someone new. I'll never be able to see James Gandolfini as anyone other than Tony Soprano, and I'll never be able to buy Katie Couric as Tom Brokaw. It just ain't happening.
In what seems to be a last ditch effort to reinvent her brand, Katie Couric has gone to the chopping block. She lopped off her hair! Just the other day I caught a bit of her program and noticed that her hair vanished. She now appears much more chisel, masculine, and serious. I am not sure if this look will get her the kind of respect that she wants, but it's clearly a hail mary.
It's so bizarre that some women need to appear more masculine to be taken seriously. Rachel Maddow, Katie Couric, and Hillary Cinton all have short hair. Many female CEO's wear short haircuts too. It's no coincidence, and it's very interesting. My guess...subconscious sexism.
Her brand resonated with the demographic that watches the Today Show, not Dan Rather. Katie Couric "the brand" was so well established that it was impossible for people to accept her as someone new. I'll never be able to see James Gandolfini as anyone other than Tony Soprano, and I'll never be able to buy Katie Couric as Tom Brokaw. It just ain't happening.
In what seems to be a last ditch effort to reinvent her brand, Katie Couric has gone to the chopping block. She lopped off her hair! Just the other day I caught a bit of her program and noticed that her hair vanished. She now appears much more chisel, masculine, and serious. I am not sure if this look will get her the kind of respect that she wants, but it's clearly a hail mary.
It's so bizarre that some women need to appear more masculine to be taken seriously. Rachel Maddow, Katie Couric, and Hillary Cinton all have short hair. Many female CEO's wear short haircuts too. It's no coincidence, and it's very interesting. My guess...subconscious sexism.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Tagging Products on Facebook
Many many months ago, July 2008ish, I came up with an idea to tag products on facebook. I thought this could revolutionize the way brands and consumers interact on social networks. For example, if John Smith tags 12 Mountain Dew cans, he can get one free. It's hard to imagine that a large amount of people would be compelled to spend the time tagging their products without some form of incentive. However, assuming the products were tagged, it would transform them from flat images to clickable hyperlinks. So, if you clicked on a Snickers bar you can be taken to their brand page on facebook, snickers.com, or wherever the company choses. Essentially it would completely shift the way we interact with photos on facebook. User generated product placement is the term I coined to describe this idea. I can't figure out why it hasn't happened until tonight.
I predict that facebook is currently scanning its billions of photos with software that detects all major and relevant brands. e.g. Keystone, Budweiser, Pizza Hut, Pepsi etc... and plans to offer the a brand tag/hyperlink to the companies. Let's assume they cull through all the photos and find the Taco Bell logo 12 million times on facebook. I bet they'll establish a "price per tag" and offer it to Taco Bell. Taco Bell can then create promotions, coupons, and microsites that activate once a a facebook user clicks.
Time will tell if this revenue driving platform is currently being stirred in the facebook cauldron.
I predict that facebook is currently scanning its billions of photos with software that detects all major and relevant brands. e.g. Keystone, Budweiser, Pizza Hut, Pepsi etc... and plans to offer the a brand tag/hyperlink to the companies. Let's assume they cull through all the photos and find the Taco Bell logo 12 million times on facebook. I bet they'll establish a "price per tag" and offer it to Taco Bell. Taco Bell can then create promotions, coupons, and microsites that activate once a a facebook user clicks.
Time will tell if this revenue driving platform is currently being stirred in the facebook cauldron.
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