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Trend observations, analysis and future predictions since 2005
Category: Coaching brands
Coaching brands are a new type of brands which will develop over the next ten years. Coaching brands cover areas such as health, money, travel, home or children. Within their area they know everything that is available (world wide!) and besides, they know everything about us individuals. This way coaching brands will anticipate our wishes, advice us and help us make transactions. We will select 10-20 of these coaching brands: one for each area. These brands become our friends. They are available anywhere we are, world wide. These brands will have themselves represented by ‘coaching brand agents’: visual characters with which we start vocal dialogues. In the long term these characters will look like people. On TV, on the mobile phone or on any other possible display they will appear when we want them to. This all goes slowly, step by step. Those steps are discussed here.
Transmissions has artists determine the price
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.
ZoMoto determines prices
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.
Restaurant Libreije shows video presentation
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.
Related trends
MSN Reporter requires login
If you want to write a reaction on news site MSN Reporter, from now on you have to first create an account, or log in through an existing Live/hotmail account (dc, Dutch). At first sight, it looks like a user unfriendly step, but it will improve the quality of the service, and with that the satisfaction of the users. As people who react can now be identified, comment spam can be avoided more easily, and also people who purposely write very negative or very positive don't get much chance any more: they will be traced down quickly. Also, an individual can only vote once. Through that, a poll evolves toward market research: it becomes more and more representative (although lots of steps have to be taken to make it statistically relevant). Furthermore, MSN Reporter can build visitors profiles by looking at the reactions of an individual, and with those start developing dialogues necessary to become a news coaching brand.
Joost has third parties make comments
Through video site Joost Coca-Cola now facilitates people to share their comments on (fragments in) video content. Users who have installed Joost already, can download a so-called joba document, which then can be activated in Joost. Then their comments appear in bubbles, with a wink to Coca-Cola (cz). By making it possible for third parties to leave their comments, Joost can quickly grow. People will send each other fun fragments, only Joost has to be installed. In the end a developing home entertainment coaching brand like Joost will facilitate these comments itself. After all, if you are positive about something, Joost will want to know, so it can give you even more surprising content on your next visit.
Otto introduces life style agent
Dutch mail order company Otto introduced its Life Style Agent. This small software program nestles in the task bar and continuously shows new offers in the area of lifestyle, fashion, and living. Not just of Otto, but of all kinds of sources (cc, Dutch). Brands are becoming pro-active. They continuously watch the world for us, and select exactly what we want. The brands who know us best, will offer us the most relevant products and information. These brands we will love most. This is a small step in that direction.
DirectWonen shows house sale history
Dutch site for rental houses and houses for sale DirectWonen from now on also shows the price for which houses have been for sale until a year ago. The time the house has been on the market is also shown. The site has always been the leader in the area of rental houses in the Netherlands, but now apparently also offers information on houses for sale, with this history as a distinguishing extra value (em, Dutch). Thus home coaching brands slowly develop. They stand next to the consumer and look at the whole market. Information about the price for which a house has been for sale earlier is not readily disclosed by the seller, but is very relevant to the buyer. Information about the status of the house before (rental or not) is relevant as well. In a while, housing sites will contain ALL rental houses, and ALL houses for sale. Then the added value will be in adding categories, like mortgages. And after that the selection of contractors, painters, movers, or moving services. Earlier or later it will be a drama to take care of this yourself, and home coaching brands then give you the break you need to relax and enjoy the fun part of moving.
Wixi listens and connects
Through Wixi Dutch users can now say a catchword, which then is automatically interpreted and called. Anyone can buy such a catchword. It is possible to buy off a catchword so that the caller doesn't hear an advertisement first, but it is also possible to reserve a catchword for free. Then the caller first hears and advertisement. Besides, there are many more possibilities, among which printing a business card with the Wixi catchword included (via am, Dutch).
For example, it is possible to buy the word 'workshop'. A caller dials the number 0900-0100 and says 'workshop'. Then he or she is connected to the business that bought the catchword. Unfortunately, in this case it didn't work perfectly, and I was connected to a different catchword. That of course is not very good. It is a step in the evolution though. Brands more and more learn to (automated) listen to consumers. In the future they will put our pronunciation in our personal context, and will be perfectly able to understand what we are saying: in the end even better than humans. Then we only have to say something and we get connected every brand, every part of the government, every individual, on demand.
ReisRadar wants to be one-stop-shop
New Dutch online travel portal ReisRadar (travel radar) is meant to be a one stop shop: visitors can search AND book their vacation all on one website. The user can extensively look through daily refreshed travel stories, travel tips, and news. This is realized through a cooperation with review specialist Zoover.nl, which already contains almost 400,000 personal reviews of more than 100,000 accommodations around the world. Every new review at Zoover.nl is directly placed on ReisRadar (em, Dutch). Thus travel coaching brands gradually develop. It starts with completeness of the supply. Then the consumer can start searching. Booking is the next step. Asking a review comes after that: after all, then ReisRadar is sure you really made the trip. After that, ReisRadar includes your travel history (and those of your friends) in future advice. Thus travel coaching brands develop to be very valuable brands, for which we are more than willing to pay. Advertising then doesn't make much sense any more. And thus publishers slowly start using the enormous chances they have to grow into coaching brands, the biggest brands of the 21st century.
Related trends
TomTom includes traffic info secondary roads
Through the newest TomTom navigation systems with HD Traffic (High Density) motorists now can even see traffic jams on secondary roads. This way not only you can see if the A4 highway is jammed, but also if there is a lot of traffic in the Martin Luther King street (em, Dutch). Brands are starting to help us real time, anyplace. So that we know where our friends are, so we don't pass a showroom of a special design kitchen we always have wanted to see, or so we won't miss the ultimate photo occasion. This is a small step in that direction.
Renting out your stuff through Zilok
Through Zilok consumers can rent out their own stuff, or rent things from other people (dc, Dutch). In the time in which information was scarce, publishers could promote companies through advertisements, billboards, and commercials. Companies that could develop a core competence like rentals. Very often however, it is perfect to borrow something from a friend, or a friend-of-a-friend, but we don't have much knowledge of the things our friends have. This information slowly becomes available. Now by consciously posting it to a website. In the future we will have an inventory list of all our belongings, which we share with our insurance company, our home coaching brand, our fashion coaching brand and other coaching brands, and even with our friends (and friends of friends). The reputation of the individual then becomes important, like it is in our daily lives. If you lend something to somebody, most people want to get it back (in good shape), but not everybody has the same ideas about this. People who share the same standards will connect to each other. Thus the virtual world more and more resembles the physical world.
Related trends
Google Video indexes all videos
Google video now indexes videos of all kinds of sources, among which of course YouTube, but also video.yahoo.com, metacafe, expotv.com, myspace video’s and some Japanese video sites (dc, Dutch). Thus home entertainment coaching brands slowly develop. In 2007 it is all about category completeness: first all videos together. So we will be able to sit comfortably on the couch, and get a selection of everything that has ever been made. So we are sure not to miss anything. If we then also know what our friends watch, we are all up-to-date tomorrow in school, at the office or with our sports team. This is a small step in that direction.
Bouwmarktconcurrent sells do-it-yourself products online
Through Bouwmarktconcurrent (do-it-yourself store competitor) consumers can online buy traditional brand products like tools, building materials, or sanitary (dc, Dutch). Now this is still a competitor of the physical store. In the future every physical store will have a bigger assortment online than off line, we will be able to see the stock, make reservations, and order. Then we can have our order delivered, or - if we like that better - pick it up at the store. The borderline between off line and online then fades. In the end, home coaching brands will connect to these stores, and they will be able to advise us directly about placing a jacuzzi on the third floor, considering the weight of it. But first all materials, the deliveries and the prices must be made available. Bouwmarktconcurrent adds to this process.
Self-driving cars
US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) yearly organizes a 100 kilometer race for robot cars. With a lot of extra computer power and big sensors these cars nowadays are pretty well capable of navigating themselves through the course. In theory, we could have this technology in our own cars. However, (unfortunately) it will take a long time before we won't need to get our drivers license any more, and can summon our car (or any other car) to pick us up and drive us home while we are drunk. In the end everything will move itself, so that we can save ourselves the energy, and do what we are better at ourselves. This will not happen until at least 2050.
Hyves sells brand preferences
Social network Hyves wants to (anonymously) sell active brand associations of its members to the respective brands. The most popular brands at Hyves on average have more than 100,000 fans. Fashion brand Björn Borg for example, has 230,000 brand fans. Besides, Hyves knows the other brands to which somebody associates, and how this changes in the course of time (em, Dutch). In a media landscape in which brands have a hard time to reach people through advertising, they will be able to promote their products through brands that do have access to the consumer. In the bi-directional world thus developing, consumer knowledge is the specialty of coaching brands, and transaction brands fully focus on top products. After all, to be recommended to somebody, you need to deliver top products.