July 12, 2008
| I would say for this post that images are going to communicate more of what I can write.
It is impressive how a brand and an phone, labeled as many as the materialization of our dreams, can generate this buzz around the world.
Now, you can say, that Steve Jobs, Apple and the iPhone rule in planet Earth.
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Here are some images from around the world that portrait the fever of the new iPhone 3G. Either if you like the new device or not, you need to admit that we are witnessing history. The world of mobile phones will never be the same after yesterday, July 11th. 2008. That date will down in history as the day in which Steve Jobs claimed his ownership of planet Earth.
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June 25, 2008
Since the whole social media revolution started about two years ago it has been kind of a question mark of how this new “personal interaction” reality will be affecting brands (from an emotional and a rational perspective). Brands have been trying, with moderate success, to be part of the whole social media interactivity. Nevertheless there is one concept that brands are starting to understand and try to keep up to speed: Social shoppers.
This concept has emerged due to the whole sharing that the social networks provide. With all the variety of widgets and tools to exchange with your contacts, consumers have been posting reviews from products in terms of performance, quality and characteristics.
The power of influence that one consumer can have over his/her contacts may not be underestimated. Let’s imagine one scenario for a moment: you are looking for a new gadget (a mobile phone as an example); you go into the company’s website and search for the model you are looking for. You get the results, check the product attributes, technical specifications, etc. In the end you see a quote from the manufacturer: “our product is the best mobile phone available in the market for watching videos.” After doing your product review you log in to your favorite social media and search for some other friends or consumers that have already purchased the mobile phone. You get 10 reviews in which you check the comments and there are no high fives for the product and you can even see the quote “the video resolution and quality stinks…”… here comes the question: would you still believe that the mobile phone is the best in the market? The answer will definitely influence the purchase decision; then, you are a social shopper.
Check out some sites that have fully understood the social shopping trend - Amazon.com
As described above, the voice of the crowds can really drive a purchase decision. Now, more than ever, brands are watching very closely how consumers rank their products in the different social media or at different blogs. They ought to do that because it is more credible to read a review from a consumer rather than looking at the great selling lines at corporate sites.
Revolutionary factor.
All of us, maybe without notice, have become social shoppers at different levels. Truth is that our social interactivity has been ruling the way we share our thoughts and provide opinions and reviews from products and services. Marketers should clearly understand how to build through this interactivity and get the most out of it that making sure that their products/services will be DELIVERING the most to their consumers, so that those consumers can DELIVER to other shoppers.
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June 22, 2008
It continues to amaze me how Nike is the top leading brand in the sports market and it continues to raise the bar in so many aspects. The NikeID concept was introduced in Europe and now is becoming one of the key drivers of innovation from Nike.
The main concept is that consumers can take pictures with their mobile and send them to the NikeID studio so that they are able to customize their sports apparel. After they send it to the NikeID studio they receive a free wallpaper for their mobile phone. They can also choose to get their new pair of sneakers with the colors based on the pictures that they took (this is the part that is called NikeID on the shoe).
Screenshot from NikeiD Studio website
The very trendy thing is that consumers are able to place their own stamp of the Nike gear and emulate their own customized collection (e.g. Jordan AIR).
Through these empowerment, consumers are really owning the brand from several perspectives and get the best out of Nike.
You can fully customize your sneakers @ NikeID.com
Revolutionary factor.
Nike+, NikeID, Nike Run, Nike exercise…(and the list goes on and on), the brand has been able to diversify its offer to their different audiences and according to market insights that have well established Nike as the state of the art brand of consumer empowerment.
For more information visit nikeid.nike.com
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June 15, 2008
Over the past two years, brands have jumped into the train of enabling their consumers to personalize and own the brands. As simple as this might sound in today’s world, it is a big step when you are moving from a brand centric to a consumer centric approach.
If you can recall marketing communication activities from brands since the 1960’s, it was all about the image and soul of the brand. You may think of many examples and that approach was a big white paper in which all brands moved when building their business & marketing plan. Upon the end of the century the biggest consumer brands started changing their approach to the consumer. There were many efforts to empower consumers to provide their opinion of their beloved brand and even contribute in a larger scale, like designing communication campaigns, creating gear or even developing promotions.
Some brands that have understood the “i” prefix
In the early years of this decade (2000) it was really rare to find a brand that wasn’t trying to jump into this empowerment trend. However there were some brands that were really trying to stay ahead of the pyramid looking to set the next big move: i-brand. Please, don’t get me wrong that this i-brand has something to do with the iPod. It is a broader concept. The power of the prefix “i” has completely changed the way how brands develop their vision of the future; they must make sure that consumers will be feeling even more that they are in command of the brand. While I was writing this post I found this quote on the Knowledge Networks website and it really summarizes everything: Making consumer insights actionable and accessible is the next challenge facing companies that seek to unite behind a new focus on their best customers. Lets take a look at 3 brands that are really leading the way.
Nike+.
You can visit www.nikeplus.com to learn more about this sports product that was introduced in 2006 (note: I just got mine finally!). The joint between Nike and iPod enables runners around the globe to enhance their workout and keep a very close track of their running. The device is truly awesome if you think about it from the connectivity point of view and that it sends information to the iPodnano that can be uploaded into the Nike+ website. Now, for 2008, Nike+ has been the core of the Nike Human Race 10K communication to promote the race that will take place on August 31st.
Google Friend Connect.
You know and use Google like if it has been around forever. That might seem true and the beauty of it is that Google has been slightly growing the different services that are offered to the Internet users. The latest example will be the power of Google at your personal network through Google Friend Connect. The newest upcoming product will allow every single web owner to add traffic by easily adding social features to their website.
Absolut Vision.
Absolut has been my favorite Vodka brand since I was a legal age drinker 
The way Absolut develops its communication is just marvelous. You can do some research about it since the mid-90’s and I bet that you will fall in love with it. Coming back to the “i” concept, Absolut has been launching several consumer generated content promotions since 2005. The latest, and I truly believe has been the best, isAbsolut Vision. Through the Absolut Vision consumers can materialize the way they see world and having the Absolut concept at the center of it. Visit www.absolut.com to view some of the uploaded visions.
Revolutionary factor.
We are approaching the end of the first decade of this new century. Over the past 8-plus years brands have taken best care of their consumers than they were during the previous 40 years. You can’t blame them because there have been so many changing factors that have driven marketing activities. Nevertheless brands have understood that they need to shift the core of its activities to those that pay for their products - the consumer in case you missed it :-).
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June 12, 2008
To start this post, first I got to admit that I am starting to feel a little bit the “pressure” of being part of the second wave of the early adopters for the newest iPhone 3G. As it was widely expected, the latest iPhone - which will be introduced on July 11th. - will feature the top data connection available in the market: 3G technology. Leveraging on this fundamental change, Apple once again raises the bar in terms of innovation and staying ahead of its competitors. Even though this adjustment is not a radical one, there are a lot of implications from a marketing perspective on how Apple created the iPhone as a cult object.
First you have to remember that the iPhone was introduced last year. One key building block of the strategy was to make the iPhone the most aspirational product ever introduced. They accomplished this by limiting the initial existance and making sure that, for the first 2 or 3 months it would be available only in the U.S. and at a high price ($499.00 its introductory price).
The second generation of the iPhone was revealed less than one year after the iPhone first generation was introduced. This was a big blast by Apple because it has inmmediately transformed the whole industry and the first iPhones are being sold at he great price of $50.00 or $75.00
Another great move from Apple is to make the newest iPhone available at 22 countries. This is a huge blast from last year. By making the iPhone almost unreachable for most people during 12 months, created an even higher expectation and now it is guaranteed that the iPone will be a big blast.
Revolutionary factor:
Steve Jobs keeps this neverending tale of surprising us with his brilliant marketing strategies and confirming that the successful long range plans do exist. It is only a matter of how you can percieve the strategic direction that the company (and the brand) is following in order to making sure that they can strenghten her leadership position in the market.
The iPhone 3G is here, and it is going to stay for a long time.
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June 8, 2008
This is the first post of the revamped version of TrendGiorno. Just for the record we are running WordPress 2.5 which seems to be very user friendly; hope it will not deceive me
For the first post of this newer version I wanted to explore one of the latest innovations that is quickly gaining a lot of attention:Wii Fit. From a personal perspective I got my Wiiconsole about 5 months ago. From the very beginning I fall in love with it (even though my XBOX 360 was relatively new). As you know the real success factor for the console is the big entertaining factor behind it. Also one of the key insights that Wii has exploited is to “move” the player and be active while playing.
Wii Fit was originally announced on July 2007. It was presented in Japan earlier this year and has been introduced to America in April / May 2008. With this diversification Wii is taking the approach to the next level in which the console becomes a fitness machine that can be used by other consumers (mostly women) and innovate in the gaming field. It also maintains the simplicity of installation and theeasiness to play-exercise with the console.
Watch the Wii Fit trailer
Revolutionary factor:
Wii raises the bar to the other consoles in the market and also to other consumer products in terms of making sure that brands focus on a consumer centric approach in all aspects. It is fundamental to take into consideration consumer’s opinions and needs which can only contribute to a company’s leadership (either to increase it or reinforce it).
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