The world is changing, and brands adapt. Even the concept of brands themselves is changing. This is extensively described in the book. Until August 2006 this category was the main focus of this web log. Tangible, visual changes of brands are discussed here.
New Dutch travel portal Travelta aims for completeness. The site at the moment includes travel packages from about twenty tour operators. Arke and Oad are expected to join soon. Travelta expects to cover about eighty percent of the total online travel packages by this spring. From the first second onwards Travelta personalizes the site by giving these options: "I have been here", and "I want to go here". Besides visitors can interact with other visitors.
New Dutch insurance company Ditzo strips insurances. By cutting all redundancies, they create what they call themselves 'fat free products'. Because Ditzo could start from scratch, it is not bothered by legacy systems or existing customers' expectations. Existing companies are tied in because of the expectations of customers, who for example have always valued their relational magazine and the communication by letters, or have an image in the market that would be damaged by a 'wild', new approach. This however is the step forwards.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Company) has definitely started with broadcasting in High Definition (HDTV) format. Daily listings are already available. All brands, not just broadcasting companies, will start to entertain, inform of involve us in HD format. It's increasingly about images, and high definition sound to touch us more than ever. Right now we think HD is quite something, but later we'll have 3D and holographic projection. It'll start to be really lifelike when images start to respond to us. The text messages of today are nothing compared to that. Currently the BBC is at the front of the line.
Music service Napster from now on is also available at mobile phones through telecoms provider AT&T (mc, Dutch). More and more brands can be found at mobile phones these days. Music brands are usually the first, looking at the expected young users group. In the end brands will be accessible through every possible display, in dialogue. This is a small step in that direction.
Microsoft in its campaign The Ultimate Steal, aimed at students, has them make an avatar and record their own text. The character than speaks the text, and the lips move with the text. The talking avatar then can easily be moved to social network Facebook. Friends thus will see the character, and get the possibility to try and make one themselves (cz). Brands more and more will use pattern recognition technology to understand our texts, our speech and our facial expressions. In this case for a campaign, in the future brands will facilitate us communicating realtime with our friends. As ourselves, as a better version of ourself (just a little more beautiful, wearing slightly nicer clothes, and no glasses), or as somebody else. This is a small step in that direction.
Starting today, Coke Studio users will find themselves transferred to a whole new Coke-sponsored area in the There.com 3D virtual world. As part of its many prolonged branding efforts, Coca Cola has been operating a 2D virtual world environment via its MyCoke.com site. Called Coke Studios, the site lets customers create avatars, listen to and share music with others, or purchase virtual goods through the My Coke Rewards online reward program. (cz).
Brands build 3D worlds in which they invite their clients. Now as part of a separate 3D world, later everything will be connected, so that you don't have a clue of in which 3D world you really are. Just like in the real, physical world. There is only one physical world, and within that are lots of little 3D worlds which trouble free connect to each other. When passing a border, for example the border of a yard, there usually is some kind of dividing line, which however is easy to pass (from several directions). Virtual brand worlds will develop just like that.
Live Search, live.com's search engine, now can also rhyme. Live Search is the world's first rhyming search engine. If you type 'rhyme
Opel uses podcasts, audio files on demand, to train its sales people on the road (sb, Dutch). More and more often people will be connected to brands while driving. For fun, to be informed of the latest news, or for training for example. Increasing traffic jams contribute to this development. Now we still do this by clicking documents, in the future we will just call out: 'Opel'. The brand agent then appears and we (as employees) can just ask the brand: 'could you tell me a little more about selling cars to handicapped people?'. After that the interactive audio training automatically starts. And as consumer we will be able to ask: 'Can I add central locking to my car?' We are recognized, the brand knows what car we drive, and our sentence is correctly interpreted. Thus the dialogue forms itself. From day to day..
Transmissions is the new music initiative of social network site MySpace. Musicians can provide materials to be sold through Transmissions: especially live-concerts. The artist determines the sales price. The income is shared between MySpace and the musicians (em, Dutch).
The music business model slowly but surely totally turns around: artists in the near future will make money on their live concerts, and use their recorded music as promotion. At the same time, music coaching brands evolve: brands that can entertain you with music, wherever you are in the world. They can easily develop from social networks, as the relatively young users of these networks (coincidently) also have a more than moderate interest in music than other age groups. In the end social networks will return to their core activity: facilitating mutual contact, and music coaching brands will go their own separate ways. Their own brand name, and their own look-and-feel are good first steps.
Dutch beer brewery Heineken shows the routes of its drivers on the map through its website, as part of a game. Pictures the drivers make during their drives can be seen as well (em, Dutch). We more and more get used to having insight in companies' processes. Now the occasion is a game, but more and more often consumers force organizations to work more transparent. This is something everybody still needs to get used to. But it is logical. After all, you do want to know that the painter you hired to paint your house, is really working on it. You pay for it after all. The same goes for big companies: they are at the consumer's service, and the consumer in the end determines what happens, and how. Working transparent is part of that development.
Social Network Hyves makes it possible for third parties to read profiles. In the test version of so-called People API, other websites gain access to profiles. This is the same one could see in a real-life visit, without being a Hyves member. The amount of information then is limited. However by granting a brand permission, the brand can get access to someone's friends list (em, Dutch).
TodaysArt then places your friends on a map. So far for the gimmicks. Now it really will be possible for brands to connect their accounts to Social Networks, to Hyves accounts. With that, it will be possible to see what customers know each other. Then 'advice' can go one step further: 'friends who went to this hotel last year absolutely loved it!' Then the most powerful medium, word of mouth advertising, will get an extra injection. It is all about to start now.
Video portal PC Zapper invites consumers to her office for a yearly feedback session. On a Wednesday night consumers are coming to tell PC Zapper how to do better. For participating they receive a gift certificate of 25 euros, their travel expenses are reimbursed, and they get free pizza and soft drinks (pz, Dutch). Thus brands more and more involve consumers in the process. In a qualitative way, by having people send them ideas. In a quantitative way, by having people cast their votes. And creatively by involving people in sessions like this. In a next step, consumers will also help design the product. With that, the border between supplier and consumer slowly disappears. Brands are having their brand coming out, and PC Zapper shows us how to do this.
Dutch web agency Mirabeau has placed all its employees online. From now on they can all be reached through www.mirabeau.nl/naam. Besides, all employees have their own T-shirt, with the URL to their own web page printed on it. At their own 'virtual business card' you can see a picture, the name of the employee, a quote (for example: 'do you know what happens when you turn off javascript?' from Martin), and some extra info. We can expect many more companies to put their employees online.
Auto site ZoMoTo now can directly determine the value of a second-hand car by putting in the license plate. The site also developed a very smart way to search in the complex supply of occasions, and besides offers the possibility to search for new cars. (em, Dutch). Now ZoMoTo still wants to earn money through advertising. As a developing mobility coaching brand ZoMoTo in the future will also help you when you are using your car, by answering questions like: Where is the cheapest gas station right now? Who can fix this damage the quickest and cheapest way? Or: should I just buy a new car? Every time, every couple of months, a little bit of extra value is added, so the service becomes better and more personal. At a certain point its added value becomes so obvious, that we are willing to pay for it. Then ZoMoTo doesn't just get a spot in our heads, but also - and especially - in our hearts.
At Dutch restaurant site Iens, restaurants from now on can present themselves through video. Restaurant De Libreije in Zwolle is one of the first who have used this possibility, and it shows a professional video. (em, Dutch). In the developing of coaching brands and transaction brands, it becomes more and more important for transaction brands to present themselves through the coaching brands. All means will be used to make this happen, and video should not be avoided, as people tend to think very visual.
Social Network Facebook recently has made a connection with 3D world ActiveWorlds (similar to SecondLife). After clicking an ActiveWorlds icon, Facebook asks permission to pass on login information to ActiveWorlds. Facebook asks to pass on:
An Intelligent Equivalent of the 3d world
Intelligent Autonomous Robots doing incredible jobs
Nature & technology perfectly blended