Online travel agency HolidayCheck shows the trend in changes in appreciation of accommodation. This way, a place which has always been valued highly but which is slowly deteriorating, can see its appreciation go down. The amount of reviews is still limited, but that is a matter of time. Due to these kinds of analysis travel coaching brands get more value (Holiday Check has the potential to grow into being such a brand), and transaction brands, providers of (local) services and products, will be more and more pressured to deliver top products and services. This real-time trend analysis contributes to that.

Through the Samsung SPF-72V we now also are wirelessly connected to our photo frame, so that the pictures we just took are also directly available in our living room (nl). So this is another connected screen. Now just for pictures. In the future this frame will also react to our commands. We will be able to switch on the lights, sound, or TV through it. Then every photo frame will also be a remote control for everything in our house (and beyond). For all brands serving us. And if we then want to see a cool picture much bigger on our TV screen, we only have to point at it, and we just drag it to the TV. With one snap of the finger. It is that simple. At least, it will be.

It was possible to report crimes through the internet already, but now it is also possible to follow the process until it goes to court. The Dutch politiekorps Noord-Holland Noord is the first to make this possible (ld, Dutch). Thus companies, government organizations and other organizations operate more and more transparent. The brand memory, which contains the history of the communication between brand (in this case a government organization) and brand members (civilians in this case), slowly but surely becomes completely accessible. Now only certain elements are shown. In the future all processes paid for by civilians, everything the government does, become accessible real-time. The only exceptions will be made for situations in which there is a direct risk for the people involved, the safety in the street, or the welfare of people. Civilians will always have the last say about this however. They after all pay for it.

Toyota's pickup truck Tacoma has a role in the popular World of Warcraft game, in which the truck interacts with all kinds of characters, among which a dragon (ab). This way brands enter the worlds of consumers in a way in which it adds value. At the moment the brand doesn't add value in the game, or worse, appears unwanted, it won't be used. Now a truck in a fantasy game is still surprising and therefore fun, in the future brands will try to find more natural surroundings in games.

Protection device supplier Taser International (which also supplies to consumers) considers equipping robots with weapons. The American army already has been using PackBot, made by iRobot, equipped with deadly weapons. A couple of hundreds of these robots are currently active in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Taser plan takes this a step further however. In their plan, the police can use robots against civilians. Thus robots could give electronic shocks to criminals until the police arrives (via ns). The question now is, what happens if the robots make mistakes through which people are accidentally wounded or even killed.

In this video you can see an example of applications of an Eyeclick interactive screen, reacting to our fingers (fc, Dutch). Brands too build worlds which we navigate through with our fingers. And then they combine it with voice navigation. Brands then at the same time react to what we say. And then to what we look at, and what emotions we show in our faces. In a couple of years this will be normal. Eyeclick anticipates this development with its name.

Mail order company Wehkamp calls consumers to place a film on video sharing site YouTube, in which the new catalogue has the leading part. The first prize in this contest is 20,000 euros. A model film in Tell Sell style can already be seen (rb, Dutch). Brands more and more use video in their marketing mix. In a structural way and, like here, in campaigns. So that in the future we will have one thousand video recipes for every can of peas, five hundred different videos for certain yoga exercises, or three hundred applications for a certain plug. After all, a picture says more than a thousand words.

In the Netherlands it will soon be possible to apply for a (new) passport in any city you want. This is the result of the changing from local travel documents administrations to a national administration, aimed at fighting identity fraud (nu, Dutch). Now on a national scale, later European, and in the end worldwide. Then we are born, get a number assigned to the country of birth and nationality, and which directly includes our DNA material. Related news in 2015: 'European civilian service numbers will start in 2019'. News in 2040: 'United Nations aims for introduction of global account numbers in 2050'. If we want to make the world a safer place, we need to be able to make somebody accountable for his behavior, and thus be able to find him or her. And that on a worldwide scale.

Vlingo Mobile makes it possible to have mobile phones listen intelligently. Instead of building the intelligence into the phone, the spoken sentence is sent to a central point, and analyzed there. The advantage of this is that potentially millions of sentences come together at the central point, through which the system can learn quickly and therefore highly exceed the quality of current voice recognition systems (at). After having experimented with our phones for a while, we will now start to just talk with it again. Just like in the old days. Only now it is computerized, and where possible supported by images. This development contributes to that. And brands by the way will do the same thing. When we ask the question: 'are there any fun last-minutes for me?', we will get an immediate answer. In word. And in image.

India is the country to which most work is outsourced worldwide, but the country is developing rapidly, which makes the wages rise. Therefore, some Indian companies have started to outsource activities too, not only to Eastern Europe and South-America, but also to 'poorer' parts of the United States (tc, Dutch). And thus the biggest 'developing countries' of the world, China and India, develop to be the biggest economies in the world. They will determine what the world looks like in about twenty years. In their slipstream Asia and Africa will also be able to develop into wealthy powers. So that in the end we will get a much more equal world society. But it will be 2050 by then..

Related trends

• More equal

Telecoms operator T-Mobile awards its loyal customers with a loyalty discount. All business customers - big and small (starting with 5 people businesses) - get 1% extra discount to their user costs every half year (tc, Dutch). Brands have more and more trouble to get new customers through campaigns. The old paradigm 'it costs 5 times as much money to get a new customer as opposed to keeping an existing customer' is intensified by this development. Brands therefore will more than ever pamper their existing customers. This is an example of that.

Through Google Maps companies and consumers can now make their own maps which don't just show specific locations (like ATM's, cafes or fashion shops) through the well-know water drops: they can also give characteristics or even interactivity to complete geographical areas. The example shows the 2007 Australian elections (mf, Dutch). Through this we better and better map the physical world, and at the same time determine what we want to see ourselves. Now in 2D on the computer, later in 3D on the mobile phone. Nature, objects, people, plants, and animals: we all map them real-time. Now we still need to actively browse and click through maps, in the future we can just ask, and it will appear on demand.

Keijser Capital clients now can place their investment orders 24/7 by phone. An order is executed automatically, without another person being involved. Orders supported through this service are: selling and buying funds, canceling transactions, follow-up on advice the investor got from Keijser Capital, ordering exchange rate information, and looking into ones own account (tc, Dutch). Over the years to come we will be able to have a spoken dialogue with all brands. This is an example of that.

Comsys offers companies an interactive voice response system through which consumers can upload videos on their mobile phones (cc, Dutch). Through this system, brands can communicate with consumers in a more visual way. It will first be applied in the entertainment sector, but soon other sectors will follow. So that we sill be able to call the doctor to show him the eczema on the knee, call the plumber to show him the cabinet under the sink, and ask the insurance companies for advice by showing them the first impressions of the damage. This system makes it all possible.

Rabobank publishes pictures of parents with their newborn babies on its website. In this case at the local branch of Genemuiden. Thus brands act on the 'think tribal, act personal' principle. By realizing that customers, people, members, always have relationships with others, and giving them their own spot in this way, they will be able to attract many people out of the direct surroundings of their existing customer database. Besides, by being present in a (very) early stage of life, a lifelong bond is created between person and brand. It is an example of long term thinking, of which coaching brands are bound to bring us many more examples.

Related trends

• Coaching brands
• Tribal

Through Training with the Stars every (Dutch) runner, biker, or fitness enthusiast can now get their own personal coach on their MP3 player. The training is accompanied by encouragements and tips from Dutch top athletes Mascha Dolman, Leontien van Moorsel and Gianni Romme, as well as music keeping up the pace. Athletes can keep their log through the site. After registration they can directly download their first MP3 (ts). Thus new brands show how they take on the role of personal coach. In the future also for purchase advice for products, for special training weeks, or for nutritional advice. This way personal sports brands slowly develop.