The joys of text

New research of 1000 people from an online insurance brand called e-sure, has revealed that one in five couples spend as little as fifteen minutes a day talking face -to-face with each other.

Over a week, that works out to approximately three hours and 45 minutes together.  Fifty-one of those minutes are spent in silence watching television and thirty-seven minutes carrying out household tasks.

London couples spend the least time communicating face-to-face with each other: just fifty-two minutes a week.

Instead of talking, couples choose to filter interaction through social networking sites, texts and emails.

Annually, the average couple sends 1,002 texts and approaching 400 emails to each other.

Whilst startling, from a marketing point of view, none of this really comes as a huge surprise.

Branded technologies and services such as Skype and FaceTime from Apple appear to offer society great opportunity to communicate effortlessly and capably – even across continents.  However, as is so often the case, appearances can be deceptive.

In just about every walk of modern day life, day and night, rather than meeting ‘eye-to-eye’, brands encourage people to peer endlessly at screens on PC tablets, mobiles, laptops and so on.

Take business airline travellers.  As soon as the aircraft ‘all-clear’ dismemberment bell sounds, they automatically reach for their iPhones, Blackberries and so on; checking emails and continuing to use their technology to touch lovers and spouses at each step of their journey out of the airport terminal:

“Just leaving the plane”.

“Just picking up my bags”

“Just waiting for the airport parking bus to arrive.”

Then there are those at work who obsessively scour Facebook, Twitter, et al, to discover what every other lost soul is doing.  (Usually – as it turns out – checking out what every body else is doing).

If they don’t have a spouse they may instead Tweet “Just picking up my bags”… and, in the case of wanna-be media types looking to assert their social worth -“Just going to the studio.”)

Eyes down for blogging bingo

Sometimes when I lecture, at some point, a younger delegate casts their eyes to surreptitiously text under the cover of a table.

Like all of us, they have been conditioned to so.  Brands increasingly encourage society to live lives online.  (Facebook alone has enough members to fill entire countries).

Technology-led online society is marketed to make us all feel more productive – and so admired by our peers.

For example, products like Amazon’s Kindle cut out the need to browse a book at common bookstore.  Instead War and Peace can be delivered directly within two minutes to the Kindle’s screen.

Being recognised in an increasingly lonely world calls for us to become fully ‘tooled-up’.

That’s a 24-7 job.

Rather than nurture physical relationships, people increasingly spend every spare moment managing the efficiency of their in-boxes and social media pages.

Such pages have become personal outposts on various social networking sites, aimed to attract like-minded tribal members.

If, heaven forbid, the technology fails – panic sets in.  Equally if a person no longer constantly receives text email, or social networking updates he or she feels unwanted and ‘out of the social work and home-life loop.’

Google will answer your prayers

Marketers attend conferences to learn how to influence influencers – garner a following and then those turn followers into influencers.

A book called, Persuasive technology: computers to change what we think and do, notes that key opportune moments to grab a person’s attention online include:

• …when their worldview no longer makes sense.

• …when  they feel indebted because of a favour.

• …immediately after they have made a mistake.

• …immediately after they have denied a request.

At such times of vulnerability, people are offered refuge and even a sense of community and support online.  (A comfort once sought from the church, temple, mosque or synagogue).

So online has become the first line of support before actual human interaction. That lifeline increasingly gains greater strength and security as society feels less and less assured.

The firmer the channel to reach people – the more attractive such a conduit becomes to brands.

The esure research notes that couples living in major cities like Glasgow and London text or email each other the most.

This coincides with just-released official government figures that immigration into the UK will swell the population to 70 million people by 2027.

In many cases, economic migrants send earnings back home – so failing to fully integrate into a greater UK based society.  That adds to an even greater communal sense of disconnection.

Every one of   the 70 million – migrants or not, especially in the major cities (which always attracts greater numbers in search of work) will at some point, seek kinship and identity with others going through similar experiences).

Rather than venture beyond their doors into traffic-choked streets, online social media offers them a more refreshing outlook.

The virtual world

Meanwhile at work, open-plan offices paradoxically exacerbate the need for privacy.  That desire for space drives opportunity for technology-centric brands to bridge gaps.

Whereas in the past workers walked to other people’s offices for conversation, today in order to avoid being overheard, they email each other – often across the distance of just a few desks.

Back at home, rather than remaining social centres for family discussions, chic kitchens, complete with gliding cabinet doors and integrated TVs, have become efficient distribution points for serving up time saving brand-endorsed meals.

The net result is that increasingly people feel more comfortable living within their consciousness rather than a part of a social family.

As any writer of radio commercials knows, “the mind (imagination) sees more vividly than the eye”.

On line brands encourage us to feel connected through actually becoming further disconnected.

From day-dreams of vacations by logging onto holiday sites, to blogging on Word Press – it all serves as a means to either help us escape from the crowd, or have the feeling that, for example unlike at work where fear of redundancy forces us to keep quiet, we at last have the chance to be heard and valued.

Even watching TV in households has become more of a solitary pastime. 3D televisions require dark glasses to be worn – blocking out a sense of shared viewing.

Along with another sole soul brand maker: the iPod, the BBC iPlayer was recently named as one of the UK’s ‘coolest brands.

The irony is that the word ‘cool’ was distinguished as:

• Stylish.

• Innovative.

• Original.

• Authentic.

• Desirable.

• Unique.

… every naturally occurring human trait that social media so often efficiently removes from the individual.

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours

Extra marital affair sites like AdultFriendFinder and Ashley Madison, boast members in the hundreds and thousands – up to millions.

Such sites offer standard technologies delivered by other less salubrious social networks.

These include blogs, emails, chat-rooms… all perfectly synchronised to provide clandestine solitary escape to fantasy.

So whilst under the pretense of checking out an Excel file, one partner ‘comes-out’ of a predictable relationship to a soul mate, the other remains engrossed with their own PC or mobile screen showing a ‘catch-up’ episode of ‘X-Factor’.  (Or perhaps on the prowl for other technologically cuckolded people).

Branding has always been about perceptions.

Marketers use elaborate techniques such as stylish advertising, packaging, pricing and so on to suggest a desirable image in the mind of a potential consumer.

They have done well.  In fact, they have become so successful that perceptions are now more potent than reality.

And all this was bought to light by of all organisations – an online insurance brand.

Oh the bittersweet wonderful irony.

Jonathan Gabay

www.brandforensics.co.uk

Share on Facebook

Bookmark to:

Brands so hot - they're cool

Aston Martin, the iconic British sports car manufacturer, has been named coolest UK brand in the annual CoolBrands survey.

Pioneer of punk Vivienne Westwood is ‘en vogue’ topping the list of fashion brands with BBC iPlayer named coolest website.

Factors taken into consideration when judging the brands included, style, innovation, desirability and originality.  The process was independently managed by The Centre for Brand Analysis on behalf of Superbrands (UK) Ltd.

Researchers identifyed thousands of brands, which were then judged by a voluntary Expert Council and over 2,300 consumers.

This year Aston Martin reclaims its position at the top of the table narrowly pipping Apple’s iPhone to the post, a direct role reversal of last year’s results.

Aston Martin has topped the rankings four times out of the last five years showing that the quintessentially British brand is always held in high esteem by the nation.

When it comes to fashion, Vivienne Westwood tops the poll in the style stakes beating fellow luxury brands Chanel, Jimmy Choo and Alexander McQueen.

As well as iPhone polling at number two, iPod comes in at number three with the Apple brand itself coming in at number thirteen. However the ground breaking iPad doesn’t make the grade.

BBC iPlayer, Nintendo Wii and YouTube  feature in the top twenty showcasing the popularity for fun and accessible brands. Despite two luxury automotive brands in the top twenty (Aston Martin and Ferrari), Mini also makes the list, further highlighting that the top of the rankings is a concoction of ‘classic luxury’ and ‘down to earth’ cool.

In terms of specific categories, many of the leading brands have retained their pole position but there are also some interesting changes. In particular Harley-Davidson has knocked Ducati off the top spot when it comes to the coolest motorbike, Ray-Ban has replaced Rolex as the coolest fashion accessory and The Fat Duck has replaced The Ivy as the coolest restaurant.

Top 20 CoolBrands 2010

The expert council and consumers were asked to consider the following:

• Are they stylish?

• Are they innovative?

• Are they original?

• Are they authentic?

• Are they desirable?

• Are they unique?

The CoolBrands selection process was independently administered by The Centre for Brand Analysis Ltd.

A comprehensive database of the UK’s coolest brands was compiled using a wide range of sources, from sector reports to blogs. From the thousands of brands initially identified, approximately 1,100 brands were short-listed.

An independent and voluntary Expert Council scored this list, with members individually awarding each brand a rating from 1-10.  The lowest-scoring brands (approximately 40 per cent) were eliminated. A nationally-representative group of just over 2,300 UK consumers (accessed via a YouGov panel) were asked to vote on the surviving brands.

The opinions of the Expert Council (70 per cent) and the British public (30 per cent) were combined and the 500 highest-ranking brands were awarded ‘CoolBrand’ status.

Check out:

www.coolbrands.uk.com

Jonathan Gabay

www.brandforensics.co.uk

Share on Facebook

Bookmark to:

Share on Facebook

Bookmark to:

A boost for e-publishing brands

The global publishing brand, Macmillan has reportedly withdrawn its e-book titles from being sold for Amazon brand’s Kindle reader.

Apple announced at the end of January that Macmillan was part of a group of major publishers that would sell their titles on Apple’s ibookstore designed for the iPad.

Apple is letting publishers charge more than the $9.99 which Amazon set for titles sold for its Kindle.

Under the Apple understanding, publishers set their own e-book prices, with Apple profiting from 30 per cent of the revenue. This is expected to raise many e-book titles to $12.99 and $14.99.

Whilst not being as ambient-light ‘friendly’ as products like the Kindle or Sony e-reader, the iPad does allows embedded multimedia as well as colour (making it ideal for publishers of textbooks).

Trouble ahead for iPad?

In designing the iPad, Apple reportedly overlooked incorporating the ability for viewers to see Flash-enabled content.

Equally, and from a branding point of view, potentially more problematical, rival technology brand Fujitsu claims that the name iPad is theirs.

It’s our understanding that the name is ours,” Fujitsu’s PR director Masahiro Yamane reported inThe New York Times last week.

The Fujitsu iPad – a touchscreen mobile device used in point-of-sale –  was launched in 2002.

One of the many other ipads out there

iPad, iPad …everywhere

Another tech-brand, Magtek manufactures its own iPad – an encrypted encrypted credit-card swiper.

And  it doesn’t stop there…

… Seimens uses the name: ‘iPad’, in combination with its engines and motors.

A Canadian company called Coconut Grove Pads Inc. offers polyurethane bra inserts and shoulder pads registered as the iPad.

Coconut Grove’s president, Hylton Karon, described the products as:

“…You know, little quickies you ladies use to enhance.”

The company, which manufactures bras under the brand name The Natural, owns the iPad trademark in the United States.

With so many iPads being marketed on the web, even YouTube is enjoying an unexpected lift on its site.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Back to serious business…

The New York Times reported that in July, Apple “used a proxy to apply for an international trademark for the iPad,” it has since submitted multiple requests for additional time to contest Fujitsu’s application.  Apple reportedly has until the end of February to decide whether it will formally contest Fujitsu’s right to the name “iPad.”

Jonathan Gabay

www.brandforensics.co.uk

Share on Facebook

Bookmark to:

A new wave of technology

Following months of controlled leaks and miss-direction, the Apple brand finally launched – neither the iSlate, nor the iTablet but iPad  - and so opened a veritable flood of divided opinions from tweeters, facebookers, podcasters, bloggers and die-hard Apple fans.

(According to Nielsen, immediately following the launch Twitter published 10,000 tweets about the iPad every five minutes).

The iPad (not to be confused with the iPod) has been launched with the post downturn consumer in mind.

In an attempt to reach markets which to date other tablet brands failed to capture, the iPad (with a reported ten-hour battery life between charges) can be synchronised with iPhones.

It offers an all-in-one platform which, as widely predicted, combines old world technology of books and print with new world technology of touch sensitive multi-media.

iPad the 'big brother' of Ipod

Holding the internet in your hands

“What once occupied half your living room can now be dropped in a bag. It’s pulling together a variety of needs (in) a universal entertainment device,”

explained NPD analyst Ned May to the Reuters news agency.

Refuting that the iPad is a netbook type device, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs described the ‘big brother’ of iPod which has already been adopted by over 75 million people, as a “third category” device between smartphones and laptops.

Aggressively aimed at a price-sensitive market, in the US, prices for the 9.7 inch multi-touch, device will start from $499 for a 16 GB of storage model, leading to $699 for a 64GB WIFI version and $829 for a model which adds 3G.  (International prices will be confirmed by June 2010. The full range will be available globally in 90 days).

News of the pricing strategy sent shares in Apple rocketing as high as $210.58 (up 5.5 percent from their session low).

Meanwhile long-time brand adversary to Apple – Microsoft  reported a 60% jump in profit,  mostly due to the launch of its software branded Windows 7.

Microsoft’s net profit came in at $6.66bn (£4.13bn) for the three months to 31 December 2009, up from the $4.18bn it made in the same period a year earlier.

Up the Amazon without a paddle – just a finger’s touch.

As a contender to Amazon brand’s Kindle e-reader, as well as Barnes & Noble’s Nook reader and Sony’s family of e-readers, the iPad’s screen technology appears to have won admiration from just about every camp.

Adding iBooks to iTunes sends a direct challenge to the hitherto invincible Amazon.  (Rumours are already rife that Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos will respond with a suitably enhanced version of his Kindle reader, which, at entry level, currently retails from $259).

Turning a new leaf for publishers

The iPad platform offers the hard-pressed book-publishing sector a much welcomed additional channel to win back lapsed readers.

Thanks to enabling books to incorporate video, the iPad also helps reach new customers and enliven academic textbooks.

(Between its platforms – the App Store, iTunes and now iBookstore Apple is open to business to over 125 million credit card customers who have registered for instant ‘click’ buying).

Major brands which have signed up to the iBookstore platform include Pearson, Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, Macmillan and Hachette Book Group.

Equally traditional newspaper moguls such as the New York Times are rumoured to be anticipating charging advertisers premium advertising rates for advertisements placed on iPad versions of their publications.

(Both National Geographic and Time were showcased as demonstration sites at the iPad’s inauguration).

Slick outside – dramatic inside

In addition to accommodating modified software sub-brands such as stand-alone versions of Keynote and Pages (presentation and word processing packages) the iPad features Apples own 1GHz A4 chip.

By escaping complete dependency on third party traditional microchip makers such as Intel, the brand has tightened its grip on controlling every aspect of the Apple delivery experience; from silicon processors to shop front assistance.

To augment its content and support, Apple is inviting developers to create products such as games for the device. (Recently one Apple customer downloaded the three billionth ‘app’ from Apple’s App Store).

Frown – you’re not on camera

Disappointments for avid Apple brand fans include the iPad’s lack of a camera, rumoured lack of support for Flash,  as well non- announcement of 4G mobile phone support.

From a branding strategy perspective, excluding a camera and 4G was not a complete surprise.

The tactic offers the brand the opportunity to bring out new models around Christmas or 2011, which may include a camera as well as 4G.

It also allows Apple to give its other ‘IP’ brand – the iPhone- a Spring or Summer sales boost.

At that time Apple is expected to release a 4G iPhone, which is likely to incorporate a 5mp camera.

(Sources suggest that Vodafone in the UK is finalising processes to handle the increased bandwidth requirements in time for the launch).

Leading the children of Apple to the promised land

Parting of the waves

The launch of the iPad could not have come at a more apt time.  This week, around the world many religious communities will be reading a highly appropriate chapter from the Old Testament.

It tells the ongoing story of Moses leading his flock on a journey in which they eventually witness the giving of the ‘tablets’ which redefine the rules of humankind itself.

In the chapter (called in Hebrew “Beshalach”) Moses leads his people through the ‘reed’ sea, channelling divine powers to split the oceans in two.

And so whilst Apple has split opinions, it has also cleared a direct path  -perhaps not to receiving the expected Tablet, but iPad – which has the promise to launch thousands of apps and countless new ways to listen, read and experience the good book as well as accompanying mp3 track and iTunes movie.

Jonathan Gabay

www.brandforensics.co.uk

Share on Facebook

Bookmark to:

Apple brand goes to Hollywood?

The Apple Computer brand is reportedly seeking to complete a deal with broadcasters such as Walt Disney and CBS for a web-based TV subscription service; possibly charging viewers a monthly fee.

If supplied, such content would deliver genuine added value for the ‘tablet’ computer (which some pundits have suggested may be called the ‘iSlate’).  The device is thought to be a cross between an iPod and a laptop, with WiFi connectivity.

(Turner Broadcasting System, News Corp., Viacom, and Discovery Communications are as yet uncommitted to supplying content).

It is strongly believed that the new Apple device will be released very early in 2010.  (Apple itself has so far refused to corroborate even the existence of such an appliance.  However this follows the brand’s typical ‘radio-silence’ adopted before any imminent new product release).

Throughout the web, rumours are rife that notable book and magazine publishers including Time Inc and Condé Nast, have produced digital versions of their magazines for a raft of new handheld tablet devices from various computer manufacturers including Samsung, Hewlett as well as Apple itself.

The new commandments of TV broadcasting as published on the tablet?

With other providers, including public services such as BBC iPlayer, going from strength to strength, this could be a key market for the brand to get involved with during 2010. Equally, if the monthly subscription service does goes ahead, incumbent traditional network suppliers could face especially tough competition from the iconic brand which was only recently acclaimed by Adweek as the brand of the decade .

Following the relatively slow uptake of Apple TV, an interface which streams iTunes individually rented or purchased movies, tv shows as well as other media to a television or computer, the Hollywood Reporter proposes that whilst the suggested new tablet may woo over many viewers, it won’t cut the cord on cable TV as currently enjoyed on traditional sets in the home).

Watch this space – or should that read ‘slate’ for further updates…

… Who knows this time next year, watching the Queen’s traditional Christmas message may become a completely different kind of viewing experience. (Already available as audio podcasts on iTunes since 2007).

Jonathan Gabay

www.brandforensics.co.uk

Share on Facebook

Bookmark to: