Intelligent Designscan solve communication problems

Innovation has been the business buzzword for the last few years, challenging new thinking across every industry. But how are companies actually making innovation tangible? Some are using design as a vital component to invigorate the products and services they offer, and not to just look cool, but to reduce costs, improve sustainability, create differentiation and increase price premiums.

Apple uses design to secure a price premium on their products, proving that consumers will pay a higher price for well-designed products and services, particularly when coupled with a compelling and synergistic brand image. Nike is enabling consumers to realize their own innovative designs with its custom-designable Nike ID products – appealing to high-performance athletes as well as the fashion-forward. Using practical style as one of its core differentiators, Target has improved aesthetics and functionality across numerous everyday products from prescription medicine bottles to housewares. Their loyal consumers prove that design can drive preference and create a distinctive, fun brand personality that stands out in a crowded marketplace. Appliance manufacturers like Whirlpool and LG have injected smart and colorful design into everything from washing machines to refrigerators making household chores more efficient and a little less mundane. Johnson & Johnson has invested heavily in an internal design studio charged with building brand distinction and operational efficiencies into its designs. Beyond just differentiating its products, the studio emphasizes an improved sustainability approach to design and packaging with the use of environmentally conscious materials, combining real product innovation with an efficient design ethos.

Although they may have different motivations and strategies, all brands are looking for ways to differentiate themselves. In 2010 expect to see more brands utilize design more effectively to deliver better products, services and experiences that also help to make the world a better place.

Mobile phone, Best direct marketing tool

The role of the mobile phone is clearly changing. We’ve become used to increased functionality – cameras, music, games, the Web, etc. – as standard, but what’s happening now is changing not how we use the phone, but how it can use us. Phones are tools, keys that allow us to access and enjoy many new services. But keys work from both sides, and new technologies are enabling brands to connect with consumers directly and personally, wherever they are.

The most visible of these technologies is the growth of mobile couponing, which offers clear benefits for both consumers and brands. True, mobile couponing has been around a while, but changes in mobile usage behavior are now increasing its viability, value and adoption, following trends in Europe and Asia where it’s already thriving. Coupled with GPS technology, brands can now track and target consumers in the right place, at the right time. Imagine driving past a coffee shop and receiving a coupon for a free pastry with the purchase of a latté.
Camera phones open the door to more proactive and creative mobile couponing tactics. For example, Crunch Gyms made the most of their call-to-action billboard and offered a free guest pass to anyone who brought in a snapshot of their outdoor advertisement. The next wave in mobile couponing will encourage customers to scan product barcodes and receive offers directly at the point of purchase. The beauty of these kinds of incentives? Consumers won’t just opt in, they’ll be the ones actively initiating the request. And, they’re timely, personal and trackable. Marketers can evaluate results and metrics almost immediately, and ideally evolve the transaction into a relationship. Cellfire, the mobile-couponing service, has reported mobile coupon redemption rates of 5-15%, much higher than the average 3% return on traditional printed coupons. Mobile coupons seem a sure-fire way to reach a generation of users who aren’t reading newspaper circulars and won’t go anywhere without their mobile phones.

In 2010, use of these services will clearly increase, but as importantly, the way people use and think about their mobile phones will be what really continues to evolve.

Branding in times of Recession

After years of incredible growth and consumer spending we now find ourselves deep in the midst of a global recession. 2009 looks to be a very difficult year for many consumers, businesses and brands – so what do brands do in these tough times? The initial reaction so far appears to be – cut prices or do nothing! Companies aren’t spending, consumers aren’t buying, no one has credit and fear is ruling the market. In fact the only brands that are even doing remotely well are price players like Walmart, Target and McDonald’s or household essentials produced by P&G and Johnson & Johnson. Value is the word of the moment – or is it?

Value brands do not just compete on price. Although price is important, value brands also deliver a strong brand experience through customer service, quality products, and brand consistency. Businesses today must adapt their operations, marketing and advertising strategies to remain competitive and relevant, but staying true to the brand is fundamental. This is easily said for necessity-based brands that can better weather a recession, and will inevitably use this opportunity for growth at the expense of competitors. But for lifestyle, luxury or experience brands, the most dangerous pitfall will be the temptation to digress from what defines them in favor of value-based messages. Especially for these image brands, upholding what they stand for is what will keep consumers identifying with them – and that means staying on brand. Consumers need to see that brands are both recognizing and adapting to market pressures. But brands are built upon an enduring belief and if customers stop believing, they will stop caring – a fate far worse than any short-term recession.

2008 has already seen the demise of some well-established brands like Lehman Brothers, Mervyn’s, ATA and Aloha Airlines, but also the emergence of new ones like Better Place and Twitter. To ensure their brands survive long enough to succeed in these challenging times, businesses must avoid losing sight of who they are and why their brands matter. In the recent words of Harley Davidson, “If 105 years have proved one thing, it’s that fear sucks and it doesn’t last long. So screw it, let’s ride.”

Branding with help of Social networking

Achieving brand presence on social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has become a heightened priority for most consumer brands. But do brands really belong there? These sites were designed for people, not products – to foster sharing, communications, relationships – and are highly personal to their users. Whether people actually want to “befriend” a brand remains to be seen. At first pass, it seems people are less likely to interact with brands on social networking sites than other online venues, despite some valiant efforts by brands like Intel, Pepsi, Target, and Tide. Over time however, these hesitations may fade, as brand presence becomes more commonplace, more rewarding, and more accepted. Those individuals that do opt-in as brand buddies clearly expect something in exchange for their friendship: financial discounts, inside information, sneak previews, competitions or incentives. In short, they want more out of the relationship than just being “friends”. Befriending a customer has a price; the question is how high is it?

As brands become more sophisticated in this space, expect to see more experimentation as they try to define what works for them. A good example is the site Generation Benz, by Mercedes-Benz. Essentially creating their own social networking site, Mercedes-Benz is tapping into its own community to target prospective customers and learn what they value. This interesting spin on the social networking phenomenon is capturing for Mercedes a passionate, engaged audience that will help shape the brand’s future.

There is no question social networking is here to stay – what remains to be seen is how businesses will penetrate and weave this social fabric into their media mix to gain access to a more connected and expressive consumer. In coming years expect to see more and more befriending as brands and consumers seek to define the rules and boundaries of social networks, and as importantly determine the metrics for measuring success in this new medium.