I mean something

Card from unplannd

 

Everyday, I consciously make an effort to shift my thinking.

Masses to few (1)

Consumers to people (humans)

No Brand

Will ultimate utility trump brands in the future?  At what point will brands have diluted their meanings so far that non-branded utility wins?

A return to the beginning of cpg? In what product categories will brands still be applicable? 

Check out debranded home

We think, therefore we are.

 

Found out about this from PI3008 and wanted to share. 

 

Thought to take away: 

Past: You are what you own.

Present: You are what you share.

Search me

 

 

I am obsessed.

Search tool. Visually driven. Smart as hell. Uses Apple-like displays and functionality. 

 

Sold. I am a user. 

Affluent

More and more big money makers are heading into Walmart… and are comparison shopping online.  

(Others still continue to spend money like crazy.The theory, we will always have lots of money, let’s just keep spending seems to apply to Paul Parmar.)

 

Walmart says their number of affluent consumers has increased to 2.2%, while an American Express survey finds that 70% of those households making $100K + prefer to shop online, researching products and prices. 

My question is this: Are the affluent more like to comparison shop when they are in private?  Does shopping at Walmart tarnish their self image or is penny pinching how they built their money?

 

How will the next generation use technology?

Frankly, we could make predictions until our faces turn blue and still not even come close. Rooted in patterns and habits, it might be easier to understand how current consumers are adapting new patterns of conversation, of technology usage, and so forth.

 Instead of looking at the obvious next generation consumers (ahem, Harper Drake), let’s instead look at an older generation to see how technology shapes their lives today.

 After two mini-research projects, I have come to this conclusion: current intimacy with technology defines where these consumers will go next.

 Case Study I: Mobile focus groups in Chicago

Boomers taught me this.

Their mobile is their best friend. It connects them with others, provides them information access points, and is never far from reach.  Despite the BFF status, they are quick to turn on the mobile. If the information is not easy to get/find/manage, they want nothing to do with it.

 After talking with them about the future of mobile, they see it as a ubiquitous device that does everything from opening the garage door and turning on lights, to remotely controlling their TiVo to help them record shows they may have forgotten about, to streaming doggie day care video so that can watch their pets while they are at work.

YET, when asked what feature they see themselves using the most in the future, it is hands down voice capability.

 

 Hmm. Moving on.

 

 Case Study II: My Parents (Mom: Rachel,  Step-Father: Ken)

I again learned some new things from my parents.

I learned that Ken plays solitaire on the computer to “warm it up” and then moves on to the Internet (once the computer is warm).

I learned that email attachments are something that you only forward on. Not something Mom knows how to physically attach to an original email.

I learned that Ken knows how to read text messages, but doesn’t know how to send them.

 I tell you these things not to spite my parents. I tell you these things to give you a broader picture.

My mom has been using a computer for 16 years, the Internet for 12, and yet has no desire to watch TV shows online or download music. She uses the Internet to check and send email, book trips, print out maps, and shop. Her offline interests (travel, shopping, communicating) have translated into the functions that she is most intimate with online.

 Ken’s vision of mobile phones is quite interesting as well. When asked to describe his ideal mobile phone, he basically described the iphone. He wants a slimmer phone that fits better on his hip, with a bigger screen and larger buttons that will make it easier to use. The iphone is not yet a reality to him. It’s what comes next.

 So, how do we leap this hurdle?

The point:

We need to realize that consumers come and in shapes, sizes, and mindsets. What might be truly “next generation” to you and I, ignores the millions out there who aren’t yet quite comfortable with the mobile web, or even the stagnant web for that matter. Our goal, no matter who the consumer is, should be to create well-designed, intuitive experiences that take the challenge out of learning new technology, therefore creating deeper experiences more readily.

Boomers can brainstorm a million things they that WANT to do with technology. But, in reality, they can only actually see themselves using features they are already comfortable with. So, what’s next? The are driven by utility, thus, technology and all things associated need to be accessible and easily assistive.

How do we help them build on the intimacy and baby step into the future?

 

Value, not lower prices sought

Two interesting articles today. In both instances, consumers are choosing a value-add over lower costs. Interesting thoughts, contradictory to what we would expect in a recession period, but great for brands to truly think about. How and where can they add the most value?

• The most popular idea on My Starbucks Idea — by a 9,000-vote margin, with about 60,000 votes — is for Starbucks to promote “conversation” at its coffeehouses. 
• Marking a turnaround after a decade of decline, consumers now more often cite product performance as a reason to buy a given brand of gasoline, according to NPD Group analyst David Portalatin. Given record prices, it’s “a little surprising,” Portalatin says. 

Design creating trust

Piggybacking off of Ben’s trust post. Found an interesting snippet in April’s Fast Company…

Worldwide e-commerce spending is expected to surpass $7 trillion this year. If you are looking to jump into the e-commerce ring or simply enhance your site, consumers have noted a few interesting things around where they shop online and with whom they place their ever trusted credit card information. According to the article, retailers cultivate trust through design. A study found that consumers feel more comfortable making purchases from “impersonal and anonymous sources” if they are easy to navigate and search, and provide full and detailed information about goods. A highly functional Web site doesn’t just help customers find the product they are looking for, but it also makes them feel comfortable about being there in the first place

Lesson learned: create a smartly designed e-commerce site with a great user experience and then soak the suckers for all their are worth. Credit card numbers for sale…?!

Tracking the talkers

Large amounts of folks today are putting their words online, whether on their profile pages, in the form of a blog, a comment, a Tumblr, and the list goes on. As planners, this information can be extremely insightful and allows us to, in a sense, conduct virtual ethnographies– learning many personal and intimate things about people simply through a Google search. The most fascinating of this data lies in the aggregate. Tag clouds are perhaps an easy visual way to quickly get an idea of some hot topics. But, what about feelings as a whole?  Smarty pants Jonathan Harris (Lovelines, WeFeelFine) has given us a better glimpse into what the aggregate mass is thinking: based on time of day, geography, weather, and many other dimensions. The newest of these sites tracks public consciousness around Presidential candidates. 

Bandwagon Celebs

Manufactured celebrities. Who needs real talent when you can post a video to YouTube and get millions of hits, by mimicking, mocking, or simply providing a commentary about true celebrities. Next generation behavior: Online and mobile video technology can lead to instant fame… this begs the question. Is it better to put true talent out there (Chocolate Rain) vs. using your talent to know what types of videos people are viewing online and being outlandish enough to put it out there to simply garner press (Leave Brittany Alone)?