Star Wars fans from now on can edit their beloved movies. Through Star Wars Mashup they can edit clips, share them with others in the Star Wars community, and publish them on their own web logs (cz). This way, people co-create the movies. At this time still after the movie has been edited professionally. Later we will be able to use the raw materials to create our own movie. And games of course. Step by step even interactive image experiences become co-creation projects. This is a small step in that direction.

Users of one of the biggest online social networks in the world: Facebook, from now on can develop applications for this social network, and share them with others. Facebook provides the tools that even an 8-year-old should be able to use (em, Dutch). Brands are experiencing a brand coming out: the border between employee and consumer fades, the brand manager becomes a facilitator, and the brand grows stronger than ever. This is a small step in that direction.

Related trends

• Brand coming out

Through Joox (not to be confused with big brother Joost) users can now directly see a good amount of movies (with or without subtitles), directly from the browser (mf, Dutch). With this, Joox lays the foundation to grow into a home entertainment coaching brand, a brand that entertains you while you sit on the sofa. Joox will have to work his way through some difficult processes, as at the moment the content probably is completely illegal. At least this shows us now how easy it will be in the future. In the end these types of brands will have all movies available (with or without subtitles), in all languages and at every display. This is a small step in that direction.

Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws puts reviews of its house brand products President's Choice at the centre of its stores. Consumers can write reviews and give ratings at the website. These then are printed on posters, on staff T-shirts, and on the shelves. Loblaws calls this shelf talk: "Jason from Regina, Saskatchewan, says: ‘This is the best cookie I’ve ever tasted.'" (ms). Brands, even retail brands, unite more and more people. Now online through the web site, later we will be able to leave our spoken review in the store: "this is really yummy, only the top is not so handy." And this will directly be added to our personal profile. If we are in a foreign country and we see a new product there, we can tell our own brand: "I want this in my home store." And this can be done world wide. This way the customer is in the lead in every possible way. Which actually seems logical, as the consumer is the one who pays. This is a small step in that direction.

Delft University of Technology wants to make all its teaching materials available digitally, without charge. This applies for books and lecture notes as well as for tests and video recordings. The University will start this project in June. As rector Jacob Fokkema puts it: "the aim of this project is to contribute to a climate of open knowledge organizations, operating in global networks" (nu, Dutch). Brands become more open, and share their general information with everybody. Information becomes free, but whoever knows how to make information specific for individuals, who knows how to help select information individually, adds enormous value to peoples' lives. That exactly is what coaching brands will do. Opening up information is part of this social process of change.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

Job site TotalJobs starts an online job fair, the so-called 'clickbeurs' (Dutch), in an environment that looks a lot like a Habbo Hotel (the populair chat world for children). Job hunters can walk the virtual fair as avatars, and they can talk to recruiters. 39 companies are present at the fair, for whom TotalJobs tries to recruit starters
(em, Dutch). Brands start 3D worlds and invite consumers in. Now it is still done through a separate site, later you will be welcomed by a virtual brand agent in your own 3D TotalJobs environment, and you can start a spoken dialogue with that brand agent. This is a small step in that direction.

Related trends

• More 3D

Route Mobiel continuously researches its customer satisfaction by sending an e-mail with questions after a customer has had damage. One of the questions is what type of car came out to help the customer. For an answer, the customer can click on pictures of these cars. In this we can see the move to visual communication. We read less, and communicate more and more through sounds and images, exactly what humans are made for. Now Route Mobiel still has its questions accompanied with written text, and has its customers click with the mouse. Later we will have a spoken dialogue with an artificial brand agent, and we'll point our fingers to the car that came out to help us. This is a small step in that direction.

Dinnersite.nl (Dutch) allows restaurant goes to see where restaurants are located using Google Maps. In the example you can see restaurants with a menu of over 40 euros in Amsterdam Central. Again a coaching brand which helps with outdoor entertainment is created. Soon we'll be able to reserve a seat using Dinnersite. Then Dinnersite will ask us for a review and we can start looking for good reviews. First in general, but then also reviews of our friends or friends of friends. And then Dinnersite (with or without a partner) will start to do the exact same thing for the restaurants in the rest of the world. Some sectors are further along than others, but catering too is slowly shaping itself into the coaching brand model. This is a step in that direction.

The New York Times has published its enormous article archives. All pages with good titles, descriptions and a perfect internal linking structure. Brands are becoming more and more open. It's no longer about information (something which is more and more often easily available to everyone); there is no more lack of information and with that the economical value of information has disappeared. It's more and more often about the selection of information (and products, services, experiences) tailored to the individual. That's the field of coaching brands. In this way the New York Times can grow into a news coaching brand.

Related trends

• Coaching brands

Telecomvergelijker.nl, the biggest comparison site of telecommunication products in the Netherlands, will indicate how and by whom they are financed (mc, Dutch). Brands become more and more open and transparent. This is an example.

Dutch housing site Jaap.nl claims to show a bigger number of houses than Funda, the established brand in this area. Personal-brands-to-be now mainly focus on being complete. First in the Netherlands, then in surrounding countries and finally in all countries in the world. Relying on this completeness, the consumer can be served best, and value be added. This way Jaap can develop into a home coaching brand.This is a small step in that direction.

Social music platform Last.FM's users can now also watch music videos. Recording companies, among others EMI and Warner, will make about two thousand clips available online. And the amount will grow quickly, according to Last.fm. Their final goal is to have all music videos online that have ever been made (em, Dutch). This way music coaching brands gradually take shape. These brands give us auditive entertainment, and can show us the matching video if we wish. Or the song texts, the karaoke version, or the versions of the various instruments. And that for all music that has ever been made. This is a small step in that direction.

Financial auction site Zopa brings together money lenders and borrowers. A borrower states the conditions for a loan, and if these compare to offers of lenders, the deal can be made. The risk is spread by dividing the total amount of money into smaller amounts, provided by several lenders. The credit scores of people who are borrowing money are thoroughly checked (dc, Dutch). Here banking 1.1 comes into being. It is he existing principle of a bank, as Zopa has to make money too. Using IT to make a new start, processes can be reinvented, or even be deleted if necessary. This way situation can arise that is comparable to what Easyjet has done in air transport. Zopa can grow into a transaction brand, with a price fighter position in the savings and loan markets. In the end financial coaching brands will advice us on what we should do with whom (what transaction brand), under what conditions. And they will take care of that for us. That will be the added value of the financial coaching brand, and that is where their margins will be. That is banking 2.0. The development of this kind of transaction brands contributes to that.

Dag is a new news brand in the Netherlands. The media consider it the fourth free newspaper in the Netherlands, however the organization rightly announced it as a cross-medium news brand. And it has the ambition to grow into a news coaching brand, a brand that stands next to you and follows the changes in society with you. And if you see something yourself, Dag happily listens to you. In the navigation they have a tag 'participate', you can rate every item, and give your reaction on everything. Later we will be able to ask Dag in a spoken dialogue (in the car, in the shower, or at the railway station in Cape Town): "Is there any news?" Then we will get, in text, image or sound (whichever we prefer), the latest news since the last time we asked that question. This is a small step in that direction.

The SamenWoonScan (Dutch) van de Postbank (Dutch) helps you organize your finances when you start to live together. After entering information such as your old and new living situation, monthly and yearly incomes, current primary bank and ongoing insurances, pensions and loans you're given an overview of what you should be thinking of. As such you get advice on fiscal partnership, dividing regular costs, a 'living together' contract and setting up a will. You also get matching offers from the Postbank. Brands are starting to think along more and more.
Postbank can grow into a financial coaching brand, a brand that strives for a long-term relationship and coaches within its financial area of expertise. As a trusted partner, Postbank will soon also start to sell (all) products of third parties, compare them for you, make the best choice together with you and take care of the transaction. Then the advice will be truly credible and relevant. However, changes don't happen overnight, but step by step. This is a step in that direction.

LaatJeLeiden, a Dutch student site, has animated its logo. Brands will animate their logo more and more often. To exhibit brand personality, to broadcast a message, or just to create additional attention to stay in the visitor's memory longer. Animating the logo simply wasn't done in a time where you only had a few seconds to show it. Young people, not yet burdened by thoughts from the mass communication era, show that you can do much more with a logo. It won't be long before we can also interact with the brand. Will all traditional brands too. This is a step in that direction!