livingbrands

FutureScoping 87

Just to let you know, the latest edition of my trends newsletter is now out: "emerging trends, new ideas and general thought stimulation"...or so it says on the cover.

10 things we didn't know before the 21st week of 2010

1. People conduct 22 Google searches each day, on average.
2. Guinness really is good for you.
3. Planets eat stars.
4. Ray Alan's puppet Lord Charles was modelled on Stan Laurel.
5. A pollen expert is called a palynologist.
6. Brushing teeth is good for the heart.
7. Botticelli's Venus and Mars were high on drugs.
8. Murray has a kneecap made of two separate bones rather than one.
9. In winning Eurovision songs, one word in every 50 is "love".
10. The risk of contracting HIV is higher during pregnancy.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

Don't hide your truth beneath innovation

How true is this. As we scramble for product innovation we lose site of brand truth...

(Gavin Potenza)

Get yourself to Chief Culture Officer Boot Camp

Grant McCracken is hitting London this Friday to lead a day on his Chief Culture Officer concept. Hosted by Mark Earls, this is a must attend event for anyone interested in contemporary culture per se, and the part of culture in building effective businesses in particular.

Tickets still available, for picking up on the door I'm guessing.

Hoping to attend, so may see you there.

Grab yourself some MEtime

A heads up on our new campaign for Metro, because it's time to grab yourself some MEtime with Donnie Fox and Bill Craze, the hottest newsreaders you'll find online.

Designed to provide some unique and ownable destination content for the Metro website, MEtime offers up an anarchic and ironic alternative to the latest news (or so we say).

We developed the MEtime idea (along with its personality...and personalities), wrote and directed the film cotent (you can check out more here)...

Developed the look and feel of the MEtime microsite, inc a Metro site takeover...

 

And all the print and collateral material (with much more to come)...

Look for lateral yet simple solutions

Two American farmers come up with a solution to the BP oil spill. Nothing fancy, but very ingenious. And who knows, it might even work.

Just goes to show: it's always worth looking for solutions in unexpected places...

Thanks to Tom

10 things we didn't know before the 20th week of 2010

1. Kiefer Sutherland watches Coronation Street.
2. In Greece, trombonists and hairdressers can retire early because their professions are classed as unhealthy.
3. Sex is not dangerous for heart attack patients.
4. A million people a month are refused a drink in a pub.
5. American and British sign language is different.
6. Twelve is the optimum age for lying.
7. Jigsaw puzzle sales reached a weekly peak of 10 million in 1933.
8. The German army used nettle fabric to make army uniforms during World War I.
9. There are 450 music festivals in the UK this year alone.
10. Sextuplets are born once in every 4.5 million pregnancies.

(Borrowed from the BBC)

Tangibly digital

The future is digital (and the present for many). But as living online becomes normalised, it loses its ability to surprise and thrill - it's just what we do (I remember when getting an email was a rare and exciting occurrence).

Conversely, as our lives become increasingly digital we start to value more the real (in an old skool sense) and tangible - experiencing and interacting with real things in real time.

And much has been written about how the best business/comms ideas nowadays bridge this gap between our digital and tangible lives.

Which is why I like the really simple concept of Lifetokens: send someone a sign of you affection or appreciation, which they can then redeem online to get your message.

 
It would have been easy to make this a digital-only app. Easier and cheaper and fitting better with the lives people lead.

And many provide such a service.

But when you send with a click it somehow lacks emotional content...and is just as easy for the recipient to ignore or feel ambivalent about what you've sent.

Think: when was the last time you gave people digital flowers? And for those who have (shame), did it really mean anything?

In comparison, it is the almost unnecessarily time consuming and indulgent nature of Lifetokens – ordering something online, that is then delivered by post, for someone else to redeem on line - that makes them special and worth spending $5 on (to send anywhere in the world).

 
Whilst the digital bookends remain the same, it is the bit in the middle that says you care...and that makes others feel cared for.

And probably the bit you will keep and remember.

Reminds me of an article I read some while ago (and could never then find again), which quoted research saying how much kids who've grown up digital natives value getting stuff through the post.

Where an older generation sees all the problems digital has solved, for a younger generation a letter or parcel is a rare treat...even a bank statement (as I know from my own son!).

So time to get tangibly digital. Or is that the other way round?

Why money doesn't motivate (with cool illustrations)

An RSA lecture by Dan Pink, on what really motivates us. Great talk. But even better are the illustrations that have been used to bring it to life. How much do I wish I could draw like this...

There's lies, damn lies and pointless research

Men are bigger liars than woman.

That's according to (self reported I guess) research conducted by The Science Museum.

Bless.

Or could it just be that women are more likely to lie about their lying to a researcher asking about how much they lie.

Which i think is possibly the text book definition of ironic.

Only 10% of people lie to their partners as well, apparently :o)

Top (reported) male lies are...

1. I didn't have that much to drink 
2. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine 
3. I had no signal 
4. It wasn't that expensive 
5. I'm on my way 
6. I'm stuck in traffic 
7. No, your bum doesn't look big in that 
8. Sorry, I missed your call 
9. You've lost weight 
10. It's just what I've always wanted

Top female lies are...

1. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine
2. I don't know where it is, I haven't touched it
3. It wasn't that expensive
4. I didn't have that much to drink
5. I've got a headache
6. It was in the sale
7. I'm on my way
8. Oh, I've had this ages
9. No, I didn't throw it away
10. It's just what I've always wanted