INSPIRING OBSERVATIONS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE / 2013 / …€¦ · Marriott, Starwood, and Accor are...

UNTAPPED POTENTIALAFRICA ASCENDINGrising marketing powerhouse

LEAN IN TOWARDS MENthe other half of the shopper market

VALUE IN PLAIN SIGHTunlocking hidden capacity in everyday resources

LOOK, NO HANDS!touchless tech gets the job done

INSPIRING OBSERVATIONS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE / 2013 / ISSUE 3 / WWW.ANTHEMWW.COM

SIGHTINGS

SIGHTINGS 2013 : 3 2

/IN THIS ISSUEIn this issue of ANTHEM SIGHTINGS, we find innovation that is drawn out by identifying Untapped Potential. A core tenet of this trend is to see things that have been there all along by re-imagining competencies, products, experiences, and brands in new ways. Or, perhaps in some instances, it’s that the time is just right, as appears to be the case for Africa, a continent that is getting more commercial attention, or men, who are finally being seen as shoppers in their own right. Untapped Potential can be powerful, in that it doesn’t require more to be put in place. It simply takes looking at things in a new way—seeing what’s been sitting in front of us in plain sight, but is now re-created and re-formed into something newly powerful.

PROGRESS IN PLAIN SIGHT


04 AFRICA ASCENDING rising marketing powerhouse

06 LEAN IN TOWARDS MEN the other half of the shopper market

08 VALUE IN PLAIN SIGHT unlocking hidden capacity in everyday resources

10 OH, THE PLACES FOOD WILL GO eating taken to new heights

12 THE NEW MEDIA creating relevant touchpoints

14 SLEEP ADVANTAGED do more with sleep

15 BRAND ACCESSORIZING the buzz

16 LOOK, NO HANDS! touchless tech gets the job done

18 DO GOOD DESIGN leveraging design for the better


The soles to a pair of Toumis from Oliberté pay hommage to Addis Ababa, home to the

premium footwear brand.

Africa has long been a continent of rich natural resources, and now with strong economic growth and an

emerging middle class, Africa is starting to show the world its true potential. According to The Economist, in the past ten years, the continent has had six of the world’s fastest growing economies. Looking to the future, the African Economic Outlook organization puts Africa’s GDP growth at 4.5 percent in 2013 and surging to 5.2 percent in 2014, considerably above the world average. While the definition and spending of the middle class is different than the rest of the

developed world, at an estimated population size of over 300 million and expanding, it’s enough to make people pay attention. And that’s exactly what’s happening. Major international companies are entering the country with goods and services, or they are partnering with African businesses to market products locally and abroad. In addition, local manufacturers and craftsmen are developing African-made and African-branded products to meet increasing demand.

Whether it’s existing global businesses or new to the continent companies, foreign

investment is ramping up in Africa. Unilever, which has been in Africa for more than a century, is now courting the African consumer on several fronts. They are offering low unit packs at affordable prices, water efficient cleaning powders, and personal care items that are customized to local consumers. In addition, Unilever is helping the economy by training thousands of hair stylists, which let’s the company test out new products and create a pipeline for future demand. Beyond consumer goods, Africa is also attracting business and leisure travel. Hotel chains Marriott, Starwood, and Accor are planning

/AfRIcA AScENdING

rising marketing powerhouse

MARKETING


on opening over 40 properties in total over the next few years.

Investment by local companies is also accelerating. SABMiller, founded in 1895 in South Africa and the second largest brewer in the world, recently launched Chibuku Super, a Zambian beer made from sorghum or corn or both, which is gaining popularity in Ghana, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Tanzania. The new drink comes in plastic bottles instead of a cardboard carton, which makes it less perishable and easier to ship across the continent. Beer is seen as an aspirational beverage by Africa’s middle class, which is fueling the category’s growth. To meet demand, SABMiller is investing a significant $2 billion over the next five years.

In addition, new brands and businesses are starting up and thriving. Premium shoe company Oliberté opened its factory and headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in late 2012. They use a pan-African approach to procure raw materials for their men’s and women’s footwear from Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, and South Africa. From their website they state, “… one of Oliberté’s goals is to support that growing middle class by building a world class footwear brand that can create thousands of jobs and encourages manufacturers from other industries to work in Africa.”

While consumer demand is heating up in Africa, demand for “made in Africa” goods is increasing abroad. Several companies have partnered with local African communities and

craftsmen to showcase African creativity and design. American retailer J. Crew teamed up with Indego Africa, a non-profit organization, to sell handcrafted bracelets made by Rwandan women with locally sourced Dutch wax cloth. The bracelets quickly sold out. Another successful collaboration is between Italian design house, Diesel, and international clothing brand EDUN, founded by Ali Hewson and activist musician Bono. The collection is completely produced in Africa and features 35 denim garments made with cotton from Uganda and incorporates symbols from local Dogon culture. The goal of the partnership is two-fold—develop sustainable trade and highlight the creative opportunities available in Africa.

In summary, the African continent is just beginning to unleash its potential; it has strong growth and a swelling middle class with discretionary spending. For marketers, as growth in BRIC countries start to lose their luster, Africa may prove to be the next growth market. If investing and selling in Africa directly is not possible, consider partnering with local businesses or non-profits that help facilitate tapping into African communities to manufacture or embellish goods to sell back home. Given its momentum, Africa will be a major world player in products, marketing, and branding. /

Diesel and EDUN pair up for a collection that is completely manufactured in Africa and features

African-sourced cotton.


Through their aptly named store front “Liquor Store,” in New York, J. Crew brings together carefully curated looks for men.

Marketing articles often refer to the ubiquitous “she” consumer and shopper, simply assuming

that men are not a factor in most shopping occasions. Yet while women continue to do most of the shopping, spending more of their own money, men certainly are an active target market given evolving gender roles and the fact that more people today now live alone. While certain male-focused categories such as personal care—which is reaching $5-6 billion in spending—have developed over the last decade, it’s still common for men to be an under-served and untapped market. Some marketers are recognizing this outage and spending more time and marketing dollars focused on understanding what men want to

get beyond the traditional women 18-65 year old consumer demographic.

Tide, for one, has developed he-focused products and advertising, acknowledging that men actually do laundry. With men’s role in the household evolving—from stay-at-home dads to men simply taking a more active role in the household and doing more chores—it makes sense to start to speak to him. Last year, Tide started to offer products with a football theme, partnering with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and showcasing him on the front of pack (a la Wheaties) on Tide Plus Febreze Sport. The football theme was also supported with ad campaigns that partnered and showcased

the National Football League and teams, an obvious and smart association. Other campaigns have also brought dads doing laundry front and center. These campaigns prompted some male bloggers to speak up about finally being recognized, pleased to see that a company was acknowledging their new role and investing behind such campaigns.

While one might think chips would all be targeted towards men, the Ruffles brand was historically targeted to families. After much analysis, in the last year Frito Lay decided to reposition Ruffles to squarely target men. This new focus impacted the brand’s entire marketing mix. The company started with new product launches, such as

/LEAN IN TOWARdS MEN

the other half of the shopper market

MARKETING

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its Ultimate (deeper ridges) and Max (male-inspired flavors) lines, specifically formulated with men’s preferences in mind. They complemented this with a new distribution strategy, one that focused on deepening presence in convenience stores where more men tend to shop on-the-go. They then rounded this out with a recently released “Ruff McThickridge” ad campaign that brings to life characters one might find in a 1970s action movie. This is a holistic and humorous campaign that finds these characters fighting for their coveted Ruffles chips.

Men-focused shopping continues to expand, as well, with the belief that by customizing the experience to this target alone, retailers can connect that much more deeply with men. Take the STORY store in New York, which re-invented itself for the summer, focusing solely on men. Renaming the shop, “HIS STORY,” the retail outlet brought together the best of men-targeted fashion and personal care products, with counsel from Details magazine, to guide men in what to buy to create their specific look. Even Procter & Gamble took part in a shaving station featuring Gillette, Braun, and Old Spice. The store also hosted male-themed events, again making the experience fully immersive to draw shoppers in.

Also in New York, J. Crew launched its “Liquor Store” to specifically target men, providing curated items just for him. Anthony Sperduti of Partners & Spade, which developed the concept for J. Crew, noted that this powerful retail concept allowed the company to re-brand itself to this male target. Bringing together a unique vibe in a non-traditional J. Crew environment made the space a destination. The company went so far as to write, “What A Man Should Know,” to not only provide men with tips and tools, but to also demonstrate its commitment to understanding men and their needs.

Marketers should consider two views—embrace the idea that perhaps their brands’ core target just might be men, or determine a way to bridge the gap and deliver gender-neutral marketing. It takes deep insight and thoughtfulness, however, to communicate to men in a way that’s genuine and not rote or stereotypical. If you want to target men, invest the time and resources to understand the best way to build strong connections. /

Frito Lay’s Ruffles brand now markets more squarely towards men, while Tide’s recent collaboration with the NFL and Drew Brees show they, too, are beginning to capitalize

on men’s more active role in the household.


Based in Vancouver, Local Garden is leveraging “vertical growing technology” to grow

3,500 lbs of fresh produce in only 6,000 sq ft of space.

With the global population expected to hit 8.1 billion people by 2025 (U.N. estimate), there’s general

recognition that more value will need to be extracted from our limited resources. Over the last few years we’ve seen innovations that unlock the value of existing resources, deriving more from them, as demonstrated by companies such as AirBnB and Zipcar, where consumers took advantage of rentable space in strangers’ homes and sharing—instead of owning—cars that may go unused most of the time during a day.

Now this mindset is being applied to achieve greater utilization from other untapped assets. Take RelayRides.com, for example. Not satisfied with only facilitating consumer-to-consumer car rentals, which it started doing in June 2010, Relay Rides recently moved into utilizing the potential of unused cars sitting in airport parking lots all over the U.S. With availability at 100 airports in some 30 states, car owners can receive free airport parking, car washes, and shuttle service in exchange for the use of their vehicles while they’re traveling. So what was once an under-utilized resource (unused cars sitting

at airports), now becomes a value-generating asset. Rooftops offer another plentiful, typically unused asset that exists all around us. Canadian start-up, Local Garden, recently transformed a parking garage roof into a state-of-the-art sustainable farm in the heart of downtown Vancouver. With only 6,000 sq ft and their patent-pending “vertical growing technology,” the Local Garden operation produces 3,500 lbs of fresh greens every week. That’s comparable to what a traditional farm does with 5 acres of land. And

/VALUE IN PLAIN SIGHT

unlocking hidden capacity in everyday resources

INNOVATION

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The “Pop Up Hotel” is created using modular furnishings that turn unoccupied commercial space in urban areas into environments for sleeping, entertainment, and recreation.

according to the company, its vertical growing technology uses less than 10 percent of the amount of water consumed by traditional farming methods. Further, the process doesn’t use any chemical pesticides and there’s virtually no transportation required. Local Garden says they can transform virtually any unused space (e.g., vacant lots, unused warehouses, or even factory rooftops) under any climate conditions into a local farm with their technology.

Never being one to sit on the sidelines when it comes to sustainability, Austin-based Whole Foods Market is following a similar model and building its first commercial scale greenhouse on the roof of its new Gowonus-Brooklyn store, scheduled to open later this fall. This 20,000 sq ft greenhouse will generate enough produce for several Whole Foods Markets in the New York City area. Here, too, the operation will use significantly less water than traditional farming methods, and because of special building materials and electrical equipment, it will consume less energy, too, making the entire operation that much more sustainable.

So today’s roofs are tomorrow’s local farms. And what about our floors? Companies are also reimagining how we extract value from such everyday elements of our environment.

For example, Rotterdam-based Energy Floors has created a Sustainable Dance Floor (SDF), which takes the kinetic energy of dancers and converts it into electricity. When dancers step on SDF flooring, a subtle flex in the floor is converted into energy, with each floor square (about 30 inches x 30 inches) able to generate about 35 watts of energy. While the initial concept appeared in clubs around Europe, current applications have been brought to health clubs, museums, convention centers, and other types of hospitality spaces.

Finally, in the hospitality space itself, we find unused capacity turning into the new concept, “Pop Up Hotel,” conceived by PinkCloud.dk, an international architecture collective founded in Copenhagen. The concept, inspired in part by the commercial real estate crisis in midtown Manhattan, uses modular hospitality furnishings and amenities to transform ordinary office space into fully functional hotel, entertainment, bar/lounge, exercise, and restaurant space. With approximately 17 million square feet of unused office space in midtown Manhattan, the founders of PinkCloud.dk saw an immense opportunity to transform an area of post-recession decline into a vibrant, stylish hub of entertainment just steps away from Times Square, one of the most popular

tourism areas in New York City.

For marketers, the application of this philosophy—extracting value in plain sight—is vast. What’s the untapped potential of your product or service? How can you unlock more value from what might already be within your existing asset base or supply chain—from product to marketing? Can you re-purpose your product, such as its packaging, into something of greater value? With paradigms and business assumptions being successfully challenged all the time, now’s the time to challenge your own assumptions. Do it before your competition beats you to it, knowing that you’ll win the respect and admiration of your consumers, who now more than ever expect their favorite brands to be engaging them with creativity and leading innovation. /


As foodie culture has become more mainstream, we expect even more from our food. Whether through

hybrid food creations or new dining experiences, there is an evolving standard for food, leading to a proliferation of new techniques, products, and services that demonstrate there is always a potential to turn raw ingredients into more.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERSFor Food brands, these trends show that our evolving food culture leads to continued elevated demands and desires—from product forms to standards to experiences. What all brands can take away from these examples is that perceived barriers shouldn’t hold a brand back from innovation. New combinations, raising the bar, and asking “why not?” can lead to new offers such as these that might just catch the attention of your consumers, as these have. /

/OH, THE PLAcES fOOd WILL GOeating taken to new heights

INNOVATION

ABOVE: First introduced by pastry chef Dominique Ansel of Ansel’s SoHo, when the Cronut first hit the busy streets of New York City, foodies everywhere rejoiced. Part croissant, part donut, this new delicacy has become so coveted that it has led to a string of other hybrid creations. BOTTOM LEFT: The Pretzel Croissant, a close relative to the Cronut, has also turned heads as foodies indulge in the part pretzel, part croissant delight. BOTTOM RIGHT: This trend isn’t just for those with a sweet tooth. The recent introduction of the Ramen Burger, a burger patty couched in two ramen noodle buns, proves that the fusion of classic foods is a trend that’s on the rise.

HYBRID FOODSLooking for the hottest thing in food? It’s all about hybrid—we’re not talking about the eco-conscious type, rather hybrid tastes. Connoisseurs are leading the trend with eccentric amalgamations; what’s better than coupling two loved foods into one delicious bite? From sweet to savory, kitchens all over the country are seeing the potential to create new indulgences by blending two dishes into one.


LEFT: Bridging technology and food, BlueApron, Boxed, and PlateJoy aim to guide consumers in planning healthier meals. BlueApron recently received $8 million in funding led by Venture Partners. TOP RIGHT: Hampton Creek Foods is making egg substitutes from plant-based ingredients, selling first to businesses and soon to consumers. BOTTOM RIGHT: There’s a growing trends towards eating less meat, fueling innovation of healthy alternatives, such as pea protein, for converted carnivores. Beyond Meat is one company that has attracted investors to its tasty veggie burgers.

UPPING THE ANTEOrganic, local, natural. No longer are consumers satisfied with just these labels. A new movement in food is exposing the potential to do even better by food, pushing consumers, chefs, and grocers alike to search for more socially responsible and better-sourced food that goes beyond an organic seal of approval. Venture capital and angel investors are even entering the space, funding start-ups, which they believe are more nimble and flexible to these changing demands within the food space, as compared to more traditional food manufacturers.

RIGHT TOP: EatWith promises the experience of a home cooked meal through a local’s lens. Consumers can now travel to Israel and Spain and experience a home cooked meal prepared in a local’s homes, while also gaining a true glimpse into foreign cultures. RIGHT BOTTOM: KitChit promises a home-dining experience with a professional chef of your liking. Consumers can go online, read chef profiles, and select their favorite for a private dinner in their home, putting a new spin on dining in.

NEW DINING ExPERIENCESGone are the days of the simple family Sunday night dinner. Consumers are actively seeking new ways to cultivate in-home dining experiences. As a result, new ventures are tapping this potential, pushing dining experiences to new heights. Start-ups such as EatWith, SupperKing, and Melba all offer ways for consumers to experience home-cooked meals either prepared in-home by locals or by professional chefs, suggesting that home-cooked meals are still highly coveted.


Newsweek has transformed to become a weekly digital publication, presenting curated articles through a web experience that takes consumer

context into account.

While the media industry has already gone through significant transformation, it continues to

evolve, impacting not just the what, but also the how and when, consumers engage with media, consuming everything from news to information to entertainment. What’s at the center of these changes? The consumer. It seems as if media companies are finally recognizing that to get the eyeballs, they need to provide what consumers want. It’s much more of a pull vs. a push model, unlocking potential by focusing on the viewer instead of the content itself. With this in mind, these examples, from TV to Print to Radio, demonstrate that there continues

to be potential to engage consumers more deeply by better understanding their needs, in the end providing them with richer, more meaningful entertainment, media experiences, and marketing content across all these channels.

Consumers today are being asked to put their money where their eyes are. We’re seeing a proliferation of pay-to-watch media options from Netflix to Amazon offering original paid content. YouTube is also jumping into this pay-to-watch model, asking viewers to now pay for the creative content that gets posted on its site. The benefit to viewers is that the model will reward and continue to then draw

the content they seek, yet it also gives content creators a way to get compensated for their creativity. Re-upp.com is yet another new way for viewers to make their preferences known vs. letting powerful media companies make all the calls. Started in May of this year in Stockholm, Re-upp.com lets fans jointly invest to keep their favorite shows on-air. With viewers making their own choices, entertainment will become that much more targeted and relevant.

With the 24/7 news cycle and so many content outlets, it’s nice to find some media providers who are actually demonstrating restraint in how they offer

/THE NEW MEdIA

creating relevant touchpoints

INNOVATION


The ‘Perceptive Radio’ from BBC uses object-based broadcasting to customize the listening experience based on location and sound environment.

up news, information, and entertainment, acknowledging that we just can’t take in all the mostly irrelevant and untargeted information thrown at us. Both The Atlantic and Newsweek offer weekly issues that were specifically created with the consumer in mind. The Atlantic offers a weekly dose of its best content, serving up what they believe is a good mix of articles that readers can enjoy at the time they might be most open to taking it in. Newsweek made headlines late last year when it first announced that it was taking its magazine off stands and shifting to a digital-only format. While this may seem “same old,” Newsweek brought its own take to the digital magazine experience, from continuing to publish curated content only one time per week to designing a digital layout with a core focus on the consumer/reader experience.

While Internet radio, such as Pandora, certainly delivers personalized music, traditional radio formats have not progressed to offer a more customized, enhanced consumer experience. The BBC is on the forefront of changing this. Still in test mode,

the BBC announced in May the development of its ‘Perceptive Radio,’ created by its Future Media North Lab division, that not only customizes content depending on location, but can also alter the actual sound experience based on the listening environment. This technological advancement is similar to responsive design for web content and is being coined object-based broadcasting—essentially turning a linear piece of content (the old way) into objects that can be re-assembled based on the media platform and listener environment. Again, such customization can create a more compelling consumer experience that will draw consumers in because they want to rather than have to.

This ever-evolving media landscape means that marketing touchpoints will also be in constant flux, but with this new consumer-centric focus these evolutions are likely for the better. While these changes keep marketers in a state of continuous education, the advancements just may make what has become a complex media mix a bit easier to navigate, allowing for an improved approach

to connecting with consumers in meaningful and efficient ways. These developments continue to open up opportunities to better target media investments and to deliver relevant and timely content, thereby becoming a part of a more immersive and relevant consumer experience that drives efficiency and higher impact, with more relevant consumer content delivered at the right time. /


/SLEEP

AdVANTAGEd

CONSUMER

do more with sleep

Leveraging technology, Johnson’s Baby Bedtime Sleep App turns Johnson & Johnson from just a consumer products manufacturer to a sleep consultant. The app helps parents develop and track baby’s bedtime routine, offering lullabies and ambient sounds in addition to a sleep log, sleep analysis feature, and even access to ‘ask the expert.’

One of the latest Toy of the Year winners (T.O.T.Y) is Cloud b, offering a range of innovative products that use light, sound, and even scent to help infants and toddlers (and therefore parents!) sleep better. Twilight Turtle Tunes T3 eases fear of the dark and uses Bluetooth technology for programmable melodies and star projections for up to 24 hours.

Procter & Gamble is jumping in, too, incorporating aromatherapy into popular household care products Febreze and Downy with relaxing scents to create a soothing bedtime atmosphere.

In our search to improve our potential and accomplish more, our natural tendency is to be more active and take on more

tasks. Many will quote Benjamin Franklin to justify stretching their days to accomplish even more: “There will be plenty of time to sleep once you are dead.” Those who do may be surprised to find out that the key to accomplishing more is to actually get more sleep. Recent research has shown that getting more sleep not only improves overall health, but can help with cognitive function, motivation, mood, and memory.

Many have yet to learn this, as the Center of Disease Control has found that nearly 41 million Americans are sleep deprived. Given this, the search for products to improve sleep is growing and is projected to reach $32.4 billion this year in the U.S. alone. The market includes everything from pills, products, and medical devices to “sleep consultants” who

farm themselves out to hospitals, labs, and sleep centers. Marketers outside of this sleep-aid arena have recognized the opportunity and are getting in on the action by creating products from gadgets and apps to home goods with features to help consumers of all ages get more sleep.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERSAs our examples demonstrate, there’s an opportunity for companies to offer consumers novel ways to help them get more sleep, be it by creating interactive apps or helpful tips to give them restful experiences, or by offering products that can give them some extra winks. While brands have been focused on helping people accomplish more by offering benefits that enable multi-tasking and provide more energy, it could be that offering the opposite—restful, sleep inducing experiences—might be the way to help consumers achieve their full potential. /

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/bRANd AccESSORIzINGpartnering to create a complete brand look

More than ever consumers are drawn towards brands, products, and content that fit who they are and their lifestyle. At the same time, most shoppers don’t have time to build their own complete personas from the abundance of merchandise available

to them. At this intersection, we find brands accessorizing to create more complete solutions for their shoppers. What’s different than traditional partnerships? Instead of companies simply doing one-off cross-promotions, they are tapping the potential to connect with consumers by providing holistic solutions via complementary partnerships.

THE BUZZ

IN GOOD COMPANY FROM J. CREW

In Good Company, from J. Crew, is a perfect example of this method. The J. Crew retail store, catalog, and website are no longer full of just its own merchandise. Today you find fully stylized looks including bags, shoes, watches, and sunglasses from other manufacturers that meet J. Crew’s standards or share their values. What’s interesting is that these are product categories that J. Crew could easily produce themselves, yet the brand is partnering and accessorizing with other like-minded brands to emphasize its authority as a fashion house and lifestyle trend-setter.

Cross-partnerships are not new, but they typically are with non-competing product categories. It takes courage to bundle one’s product with another’s based on a philosophy and like-mindedness. Yet, in today’s branding environment, consumers are seeking holistic, lifestyle-oriented solutions. And they don’t typically want to be shaped head-to-toe by one brand. Accessorizing with other like-minded companies just might be the best solution that actually unlocks consumer connections and growth.

/ THE TAkE

“J.Crew brought in other brands, which is something most fashion

retailers don’t do. J.Crew was humble enough to do that. Brands have a

big emotional space in our culture, whether it’s a pair of Levi’s, a Timex

watch, Alden shoes your father gave you for graduation. We felt they

recontextualized the J.Crew product. It started in a small way with the Liquor

Store, and J.Crew has taken it to a deep level.”

Anthony Sperduti of Partners & Spade, creators of J. Crew’s men-targeted ‘Liquor Store’


The new Moto X smartphone from Motorola is equipped with voice-

activated Google Now, a completely hands-free feature that allows users

to make calls, send texts, play music, and much more.

Jack Dorsey, founder of Square, said it best when he described the vision for his company. He gave us a view of what a

new world of touchless technology might look like. Though his company’s small white credit card reader attachment for smartphones was a revolutionary innovation in and of itself, Square didn’t stop there. Using the new Square Wallet app, patrons of restaurants and shops that accept Square payments can now charge their credit cards without the need to fiddle around their purses and pockets for their wallets. As shoppers enter, the cash register behind the counter detects a user’s mobile phone equipped with the app, and all that’s needed to pay is one’s name. Again, Square Wallet is just one example

of a product that has gone mainstream demonstrating this new concept of touchless technology. The ability to do things without the need to even lift a finger is quickly being applied to many aspects of our lives. New products from a variety of industries are showing how touchless technology is opening the doors for our digital devices to do all the busy work for us, so we can get back to doing what we’ve set out to do.

Google has been a pioneer in the touchless technology space—first with their ultra futuristic Google Glass product and now with the voice-activated Google Now functionality that has carried over to the company’s newest Motorola smartphone, Moto X. While

/LOOk, NO HANdS!

touchless tech gets the job done

INNOVATION

/

“We are building

technologies that fade

away, that go into the

background so people

can focus on what is

most meaningful to

them.”

- Jack Dorsey, founder of Square


The Nymi band from Bionym recognizes a user’s own unique biometrics and will detect them any time the user needs to authenticate his identity.

Google Glass certainly isn’t marketed to the everyday consumer, Moto X brings the voice command aspect of the product more within reach. Unlike Apple’s Siri feature, users don’t need to press a button to activate and make a request with Google Now—just say the words “OK, Google Now,” and the phone will wake itself up, ready to listen. Are your hands busy cooking dinner, but you need to make a phone call? Have your phone within earshot, say “OK, Google Now, call Alex,” and you’ll be in touch with Alex in no time. Or perhaps, you need to text a friend? Start your request with “OK, Google Now,” and your wish is literally, Google Now’s command.

We have all experienced the frustration of stepping up to our front doors and having to fumble around our purses and briefcases for keys. Now, touchless, keyless entry for the home is becoming a reality with products like Lockitron. Lockitron, a device that easily installs onto most deadbolt locks, has built in WiFi and Bluetooth, which allow it to detect your smartphone and sense you approaching, unlocking the door in advance as you approach. Have guests coming over? Grant them access through the app so they, too, can do the same. Lockitron’s success in funding over $2.2 million for the development of their product has led the way for other competitors to enter the space. Established lock and lock set manufacturer, Kwikset, is also ditching the need for keys, but not going completely touchless just yet. With its Kevo

product, entrants are only required to tap the lockset in order to have it detect a person’s mobile phone or key fob, unlocking the door once it has authenticated.

Another company that hopes to incorporate touchless technology into our lives as a means of authentication is Bionym. The company’s vision is to replace all authentication mechanisms from fingerprints to pin numbers with the Nymi band. So, forget the car keys, the passwords, and the like—Nymi reads your unique cardiac rhythm and will use your biometrics to authenticate your identity to allow entry. Simply press your finger against the interface once you put the band on in the morning, and the device will scan for your personal biometrics throughout the day to authenticate and allow access to everything from your car to your laptop and from your bank account to your Amazon account. In this way, touchless technology essentially erases the long lists of passwords, access codes, and keys all of us struggle to memorize and keep in our heads each day.

All of these examples demonstrate the potential of touchless technology to work behind the scenes to bring more ease to our daily lives, even in the most static of industries such as door locks. These innovations all free us from needing to find our keys, remember the infinite iterations of our passwords, and fumble around with other objects throughout our daily routines that we didn’t realize until now were quite a nuisance. While it may just be one simple step that these products are carrying out for consumers, they impact us in subtle, yet significant and desirable ways. How can your product be optimized to relieve consumers of that one extra step? Or, how can your industry bring a technological advancement to bear that can put touchless technology to work for your consumer? You never know how that one, easily overlooked step can be infinitely valuable in simplifying the everyday for your consumers. /

The Nymi band from Bionym runs for $99 and

comes in three colors.


The Kite Patch make humans virtually “invisible” to mosquitoes by blocking their ability to detect

the carbon dioxide we emit.

design can produce beautiful and functional objects. But that’s not all. Today we find design moving beyond

form and function to have an even greater impact, creating holistic solutions that elevate consumer experiences, impacting their well-being in powerful ways. This movement has been on the rise and is called Public Interest Design. While architects led the way in creating this movement, Product Designers and Graphic Designers are now also embracing projects with an elevated sense of purpose, demonstrating that design has the potential to change the world.

A few organizations have championed this cause and provide support for those

wanting to join the movement. A leader in this space, Publicinterestdesign.org, has offered camaraderie and tools for designers and entrepreneurs alike to combine design and service. Through its Design 100, the organization also brings visibility to those pushing the cause forward, highlighting designers who are making a difference around the globe. The HDC Connect Beta is another organization that is offering a community and resources to solve the world’s biggest challenges. Endorsed by IDEO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, HDC offers a methodology of how to best Hear, Create, and Deliver for human centered design, and connects a network of people who value projects that make a difference.

Kite Patch is one great example of the type of ‘do good’ design that these organizations would applaud. Kite Patch is a new product design that provides protection from mosquito bites through a small sticker that can simply be applied to clothing. Free from dangerous and expensive chemicals, Kite Patch impedes the mosquitoes detection of the carbon dioxide we exhale, making humans “invisible.” The company, which was crowd-funded, also gives back; for every ten Kite Patches purchased in the U.S., ten Kite Patches are sent to families in Uganda where the danger of illness or death from mosquitoes is most acute. Clearly this product design improves health, well-being, and the standard of living in multiple markets.

/dO GOOd dESIGN

leveraging design for the better

DESIGN

The Nextdoor mobile app helps bring neighbors closer together in a digital age.


The Nextdoor mobile app helps bring neighbors closer together in a digital age.

Another example of smart, good design is ColaLife’s AidPod. Here the ingenuity and practicality of structural design aligns to a desperate need. Using existing Coca-Cola distribution channels and formats, structural designers engineered and utilized the available spaces in between sections of a cola crate to package a “pod”of simple medicines targeted towards communities around the globe. Currently in beta in Zambia, these pods house the Kit Yamoyo, (or “Kit of Life”), which includes medicines, zinc tablets, soap, and a cup. This smart idea and use of space is just the tip of the iceberg when one considers the other much needed amenities for those in need that could be packaged and distributed in this manner in the many containers that cross our oceans and travel our roads.

A new invention brought forward by Indian designers Gautam and Kanupriya Goel could also have widespread impact. The two have won accolades for their idea of using “self expiring” printing techniques for pharmaceutical products. Over time, clear and obvious warnings are revealed when medicines are no longer effective, are dangerous, or are life threatening to consume. While this innovation is not yet approved for distribution, the potential is clear for how this highly functional approach to graphic design might save lives in the future in countries across the globe where language is a barrier, or failing eye-sight or illness may impair judgment.

We can imagine that in the future more entrepreneurial companies will join this movement to bring the power of design and service to the world. Perhaps some large companies will join in, even in partnership with others who lead the charge. Yet, while not all companies and brands may have public interest design as its goal, one could argue that its intent could be applied to any product regardless of its target market. The fact is, as these examples have shown, design can impact consumers’ well-being. Even simply bringing a smile to someone’s face is a positive step in the right direction.

Marketers should realize that design can be the lever to have greater impact in your consumers’ world. So, dive deeper into not just what your shopper is looking for, but for what your consumer truly needs in the broadest sense. What is her experience and her major and minor hurdles around how she interacts with your product? How can you reframe or re-imagine your product to make a profound difference in her life? How can design participate with an intuitive solution that makes her experience easier or safer or makes her world a better place? What we face now as marketing and design partners is both an opportunity, and in some sense a responsibility, to leverage design for its transformational potential. /

Similar to Millennials who want to do good in the world, today’s future design talent is wired to do work with purpose. Not surprisingly, we find online communities, blogs, scholarships, and conferences for students rapidly emerging to foster this motivation. Design for America is one such program that rallies for cross discipline (architects and product, structure, and graphic design) students to affect change for good. The Public Interest Design Institute hosts training programs at Ivy League and State Universities that applies SEED (Social/Economic/Environmental Design) Principles to everything they do.

With Design Ignites Change, entities like Adobe Foundation and World Studio Projects provide a platform of mentorship for design professionals and college and high school students to design for change in their world. Finally, A Better World by Design is an annual conference at RISD that brings together young innovators. This year’s theme “Pause and Effect” will put emphasis on the power of reflection, revision, and redirection as a part of the creative process. All of these efforts will yield design talent who are motivated to design for the common good.

EDuCAtING thE NExt DEsIGN GENERAtION

ColaLife’s AidPod leverages the unused space in Coca-

Cola crates to house pods of simple medicines to be sent to

communities around the world.

For students of design, programs hosted by the above organizations and many more provide education and

training in the field of public interest design.


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/AFRICA ASCENDING

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/LEAN-IN TOWARDS MEN

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/VALUE IN PLAIN SIGHT

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/THE NEW MEDIA

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/SLEEP ADVANTAGED

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/BRAND ACCESSORIZING

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/LOOK, NO HANDS!

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/DO GOOD DESIGN

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/cONTAcT:

Kathy OnetoVice Presidentbrand Strategy

[email protected]

Anthem is a global creative agency that actively connects brands with people by amplifying desirability—creating an insatiable thirst for brands from package design to brand campaign. Anthem sells brands to drive brand performance. Anthem is part of the brand development group of SGK (NYSE: SGK), formerly marketed as Schawk, Inc. For more information visit: http://www.anthemww.com.

©2013 Schawk, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright holder. Schawk is a registered trademark of Schawk, Inc. The Schawk and BLUE logos are trademarks of Schawk, Inc. The SGK, Anthem and Brandimage logos are servicemarks of Schawk, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective trademark owners.

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INSPIRING OBSERVATIONS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE / 2013 / …€¦ · Marriott, Starwood, and Accor are...

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