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Category Announcements
  • Feb 7, 2011

And finally…

Like it or not, Facebook isn’t going away—well not this year anyway! Brands are going where the customers are and that means social media. But just getting liked isn’t enough. Consumers want more, and brands need more than a thumbs-up. Brands will increasingly push the limits of Facebook to enable richer interactions and more meaningful connections. Facebook will be the first point of connection with brands – and not just in some limited way – they’ll have more content, more commerce and more community. Just accept that the rules of privacy have changed, that people will spend millions of dollars on virtual goods and that you really cannot have enough friends. This year, Facebook has won.

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Category Announcements
  • Feb 4, 2011

Step by step, consumers are taking over creative control. Some brands are willingly embracing this opportunity – crowd-sourcing their ad campaigns, giving out prizes for packaging, outsourcing their naming or voting over videos – but others are being forced to play the game more reluctantly. And the corporate logo appears to be the next target. The design story of 2010 was the consumer reaction to the new Gap logo and the back-peddling that followed as Gap succumbed to the pressure of consumer dislike (much like Tropicana did) and went back to the way things were. And now, the new Starbucks logo could be heading for the same fate. Consumers have a voice and when they don’t like something today they have many ways to express it. This year, we are going to see design become the next platform for creative expression – but when is the right time to listen?

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Category Announcements
  • Feb 3, 2011

It’s official – all .com web addresses for four-letter names have gone. We are rapidly running out of options. The naming system for the internet is finally going to have to change. The .net TLD never got going and .org was never a good answer. Country codes like .co.uk, .fr, .kr or .jp have eased the pressure over the last few years, and the idea for localized domains like .nyc or .paris could become reality this year. But it looks like this is the year all those odd domains like .tv, .mobi, .museum and .xxx are finally going to come of age. Building your brand in the digital age demands that it have a home on the Web that people can find, but with Google or Bing at your fingertips, who needs to know the address? Any domain will work as long as you can find it through search. Brands are going less mainstream, yet people are still going to find them. Of course with Facebook, Twitter and mobile apps, maybe you don’t even need a website anymore…

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Category Announcements
  • Feb 2, 2011

International brands are going to need each other more. Western brands going east; eastern brands going west. We are going to see more deals, more tie-ups and more relationships as brands look to become more relevant and more pervasive in expanding communities around the world. The truth is, brands don’t necessarily need to – or know how or to – do it on their own. International partnerships will give them inroads to new territories and new users where they can find success not just eventually in the long-term, but immediately in the short-term. A new era of global collaboration is underway.

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Category Announcements
  • Feb 1, 2011

With nearly 1 in 3 people in the US battling weight issues, fitness is in and obesity is out. The message that the nation needs to be fitter is being heard by brands, and they are acting. Whether it’s by improving a product, changing a perception or just getting with the program, brands will be increasingly aligning their messages and actions to focus on health and fitness. Consumers want it and need it. From PepsiCo and Burger King to Sesame Street and MetLife, brands are making some big investments to promote public awareness and education and putting their money where their mouth is with big donations to healthy charities. Brand managers take note – a healthier brand is going to be a more profitable one.

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