Author Archive for seinn

The story of garbage and why your brand needs one now

02
Sep
10

terracycle


Every snack bag, baby diaper, candy bar wrapper that goes into the trash, is a story waiting to be told. The question is, will the story be a negative one documented by a critic or a positive one created by you?

If the product you market is made from non-recyclable material, it’s getting easier to convert that negative into a positive story. A company called Terracycle is helping CPG brands like Frito Lay and Mars turn their waste into upcycled products like speakers. These re-birth stories are not only good for the planet, but a golden opportunity for business (as evidenced by Terracycle’s success).

Founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University freshman named Tom Szaky, TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of non-recyclable waste material. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart and Target, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Every month it gives $100,000.00 in $0.02 donations and has are over 8.5 million people in the U.S. actively collecting waste to create its upcycled products.

Whether you Terracycle or not, the real strategic imperative for your brand is “Why do you need a garbage story now?” For a long time consumers felt good about throwing your products into the ‘recycling bin’; every week the garbage man came and the trash just went away (presumably to be recycled). But documentaries like “Bag It” are driving awareness of what ‘away’ really means, not only for the planet’s well-being, but also for ours. As awareness piles up and upcycles into activism, why not tell a garbage story with an eco-happy ending? Now is good…

#thetrendwatch

P.S. If you’re interested in Terracyle, here’s a look at the media buzz surrounding the concept…

(via: brandchannel)

“It’s a sickness” project

27
Aug
10

sick

That thing you geek out about, that you could talk about endlessly, obsess over the minutia, that’s your sickness. If you’re sick like we are, you’ll love itsasickness, an obsession network for an obsessive culture. Check out Get Sick from itsasickness productions on Vimeo.

Star power aside, the genius of itsasickness is two-fold:

1) the organization of both user generated content and expertise into focused intelligence: the obsessor as the expert, the obsession as the insight.

2) the truth that the way to be interesting is first to be interested.

What’s your sickness?

YouTube’s “Life in a Day” Experiment

07
Jul
10

lifeinaday


Life In A Day” is an historic global experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film: a documentary, shot in a single day, by you.

Every day, 6.7 billion people view the world through their own unique lens. Imagine if there was a way to collect all of these perspectives, to aggregate and mold them into the cohesive story of a single day on earth. Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of “Life in a Day,” a historic cinematic experiment that will attempt to do just that: document one day, as seen through the eyes of people around the world. – Official Google Blog

Renowned director Ridley Scott signed on to executive produce the experiment and Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald will edit the most compelling footage. The final documentary is slated to premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Check out the video introduction for “Life in a Day” after the jump:

Life in a Day Introduction

If you’re inspired to join the experiment and determined to make the final cut, here’s some insight into what executive producer Ridley Scott is looking for:

Ridly Scott on “Life in a Day”

If you partake in the experiment, let us know. We’d love to see what a day in your life looks like.

There’s no excuse. You have a digital camera, go out and shoot your film. Seriously, there is no excuse. – Ridley Scott

#thetrendwatch

Slurp: A Digital Eyedropper

06
Jul
10

Slurp



Digital media is like water; it’s difficult to pick up with your bare hands. Unless, that is, you have a digital eyedropper.

slurp3


Using water as a metaphor, Slurp is a tangible interface designed to “extract (slurp up) and inject (squirt out)” information from one object or device to the next. As words do Slurp little justice, check out the eye-dropping demonstrations of the concept after the jump.

Scenario: locative media

Scenario: smart office

By providing haptic and visual feedback during the extracting and injecting process, Slurp is one genius step towards “physicalizing” digital media, a monumental task:

Digital objects come in many shapes, sizes, formats, packages, and levels of complexity; it is this very dynamism that makes digital technology so compelling. Abstract digital media resists being captured by physical form for good reason—the constraints of static physicality could overly constrict such media’s use. – Jamie Zigelbaum. MIT Media Lab

While Slurp may seem fanciful at present, its application could be everyday useful in the near future:

As computation spreads further into the real world one can envision a future where every physical object is created with a digital object attached to it. For example, it would be nice to have a spec sheet for the
light bulb you just bought incorporated directly into the light bulb itself, or to have media files showing the
history of an antique couch come embedded in the couch rather than on external media. These media files could be modified or added on to; in the couch example the new owners could add their own experiences to the couch’s history. The information stored in the physical object could be a simple url, allowing for the participatory culture of the current Internet to extend into physical space and objects. – Jamie Zigelbaum. MIT Media Lab

Would you Slurp?

#thetrendwatch

NeighborGoods: The Location-Based Sharing Of Goods

02
Jul
10

neighbor



Inspired by sites like Craigslist and Freecycle, NeighborGoods is a network to help people save money by sharing things with friends. Started in sunny So-Cal, NeighborGoods has a bright future, hitting the sweet spot of the location-based sharing trend.

neighborgoods


Here’s how NeighborGoods works (video):

According to NeighborGoods, the most common bit of feedback they get is, “I wish there were more people near me to share with.” To recruit new people, NeighborGoods integrated Facebook and Twitter into the user experience. Now the stuff people borrow, rent or sell will automatically be broadcast to their friends. With saving money and sharing stuff being über-spreadable, NeighborGoods numbers will swell the more current users share.

While Neighborgoods measures its tangible impact in terms of dollars saved, its intangible benefits as a result of community building could be priceless. On a lighter note, NeighborGoods is simply fun. As username ‘fever’ in Hollywood discovered, “Rockband for Wii. Check. Bike helmet. Check. This party just got a whole lot rowdier thanks to NeighborGoods.” If you’re ever in Hollywood and need a good neighbor, apparently fever is for rent. According to his bio, the going rate is $2 per hour. Now that’s a good neighbor.

Happy sharing.

#thetrendwatch

The Digitalization of Consumption

30
Jun
10

facebookcredits



It’s a simple fact that the more we socialize online the more money we spend on virtual goods. If Facebook gets 500 million plus people to like its currency called Credits, could virtual goods soon become the new material consumption?

The notion of virtual consumption as an alternative to material consumption seems a little far-fetched at first, but it’s hard to ignore this: 10 years ago virtual goods didn’t exist; now they’re estimated to be a very real $5 billion industry. As virtual markets grow from $5 billion to say $50 billion, how will it change consumer culture?

Rather than dive into market data, we felt it more interesting to examine why people are buying virtual goods. By understanding the why, it’s easier to imagine how the digitalization of consumption will affect consumer culture. So why do consumers pay real money for digital objects that don’t really exist?

Most of the thinking we came across was of the “consumers purchase virtual goods for self-expression” or “for recognition” variety. While such motivations are true, we craved a different lens for looking at virtual goods and stumbled upon a PhD thesis entitled Virtual Consumption. Written by Vili Lehdonvirta, Virtual Consumption gave us the nugget we were looking for: what are being bought and sold on the virtual goods markets are permissions.

In popular discourse, spending real money on virtual goods is frequently attributed to Internet addiction and manipulation by marketers. The results of this dissertation suggest that the fundamental drivers of virtual consumption are rather found in individuals’ social and hedonic motivations….unlike information goods (such as music, software and news), virtual goods are rivalrous: one person’s use of a virtual good excludes others from using it. What are being bought and sold on the virtual goods markets are therefore not data, services or objects, but permissions: the exclusive right to use this feature or that corner of an online environment frequented by thousands of people. – Vill Lehdonvirta

What’s interesting about permissions is its relevance to the masses. Getting permission (i.e. license) to drive seemed like a bigger deal than what kind of car you got your permit in. In the same sense, our desire to use special features or gain exclusive access to corner of a network could make virtual goods as valuable or perhaps even more valuable than material goods.

Not only could permissions be valuable from a “consumer” perspective, but also from a branding perspective. In the real-world, it’s hard to get people who love Coke (the real thing) to drink Pepsi. But what if in a virtual scenario Pepsi offered someone who loves Coke real-time permission. Might that Coke fan try Pepsi, the virtual thing? If so, permissions could help challenger brands trump their competition’s higher status. As brands battle over giving us permission, the virtual goods marketplace could see an influx of ad dollars.

In the end, virtual consumption may never surpass material consumption. But it’s easy to see how the virtual goods marketplace could drastically alter the face of consumer culture.

#thetrendwatch

3 Creative YouTube Channels To Watch

25
Jun
10

Starved for inspiration? Searching for the best viral campaigns? Or just looking for some cool videos to watch?

Here are 3 YouTube channels to keep an eye on:

1) Create or Else
To celebrate what inspires creative ideas, Ogilvy launched Create or Else. Featuring content from all fields, from arts to science to industry and beyond, Create or Else is a blend of UGC and Expert Curation. Guests from creative industries around the world will be invited to curate the channel, bringing content that provokes discussion and the flow of ideas.

(via: prnewswire )

2) YouTube Play
A collaboration between YouTube and Guggenheim, YouTube Play seeks to unearth and showcase the very best creative video from around the world. In contrast to Create or Else, YouTube Play is a contest with some serious perks. Videos submitted to the channel will be judged by Guggenheim’s jury of experts and the most loved work will get displayed at the Guggenheim in NY starting October 21, 2010.

(via: google blog)

3) Show & Tell
Before there was Create or Else and YouTube Play, there was Show & Tell, a collaboration between YouTube and the Art Director’s Club. Show & Tell is a new gallery-style brand channel showcasing the best marketing and advertising campaigns on YouTube. While the channel doesn’t have an intro video à la the previous channels, YouTube Car serves as a nifty proxy.

(via: Social Times)

As each channels grows, we’ll be interested to see which curation-style people gravitate towards. For the most part, YouTube is an endless source of videos. It’s the curation that’s needed to help us find the most inspiring.

#thetrendwatch

PhotoCity: The Game Designed To Re-Create The World

24
Jun
10

PhotoCity is a game with an incredible goal: to create a 3D model of the entire world, one photo at a time.

By taking photos of buildings around a city, gamers can earn points, capture flags, and virtually own their favorite buildings. Here’s a look at how the game works.

Using 3D reconstruction algorithms to build 3D models is in nothing new. What’s pure genius, however, is the use of game mechanics to supply the human power required. Will PhotoCity succeed? Both Intel Corporation and Google are betting on it with financial backing.

Look for PhotoCity to come to your city. If it does, what building would you want to virtually own?

#thetrendwatch

Will Digital License Plates Be The New Billboard?

17
Jun
10

california.license.plate



Just when you think the world’s run out of space for ad placements, along comes the digital license plate.

With technology developed by a small San Francisco based company called Smart Plate, ads or images bought by companies or consumers would replace the plate number whenever the car idles for at least four seconds. What’s interesting about the idea, is that drivers will reportedly select which messages are displayed on their license plate (kind of like the ad selector on Hulu or YouTube). With users selecting ads, the new status could be the messages you chose to display versus the kind of car you’re driving.

While some drivers support digital license plates as a new funding source for the cash-strapped state, others are concerned that the ads will distract drivers. We imagine the latter argument won’t hold water though, given that drivers could already be distracted by traditional billboards. In either case, the bill was approved by California’s State Senate without a dissenting vote last month, 25-0, and is currently awaiting final approval in the Assembly.

With more than 32 million registered vehicles in California, digital license plates could be a serious money maker. If California cashes in, look for other states to follow the Golden State.

The V.J. Is So 80s – MTV Seeks A Twitter Jockey

14
Jun
10

mtv_twitter


MTV, creator of the very first V.J., is looking to hire a Twitter Jockey, a hybrid on-air and online position.

So far the network has identified 18 potential candidates and is asking the crowd to find 2 more. The 20 hopefuls will compete in a series of online challenges this summer designed to reveal their personalities and demonstrate how they connect with Twitter followers. Ultimately five finalists will compete on a live show Aug. 8, when fans will pick who gets the gig.

On all levels, we applaud the move by the network. Fans want more than just their MTV, they want to interact with it. Having a real-time T.J. presence could rock.

P.S. If you think you have the chops, the hunt is still on at tj.mtv.com (note the six figure salary:)

#thetrendwatch




The TrendWatch:


The TrendWatch is the collective postings of some of the FullSIX Group’s designers, strategists, and consultants on new media and marketing trends. It is meant to be an impromptu think-tank, and is a way for us to share theories and beliefs about how we think communication and connectivity is evolving.

We work for The FullSIX Group; a leading full service marketing agency with digital DNA. From our 15 international offices with over 600 employees, we constantly embrace and encourage innovation to make integrated marketing and communication campaigns that are more accountable and efficient for our clients.