HAYLEY’s DiGiTaL DoOBy

I always spam our office every day with links of stuff I find which I think is cool, innovative or inspiring.  So I decided to round them up in a weekly Digital Dooby instead of a trickle of spam (ew trickling Spam…not a nice thought).

So I thought I’d spread the love even more and share it with you too!  So here it is … a few links to digital stuff I like. Me, me, me.

Sharpies ‘Uncap what’s Inside
Fun site effectively using social media and tapping into the recession ‘make, do and mend’ trend. Really liked their idea for customising sandwich bags!

Sharpie 'Uncap what's inside'

We make stories
Penguin kids site to encourage kids to learn about story telling:

Creativity doesn’t need a big budget
Made on a $0 budget with the directors in one country and the band in another this music video is pretty nifty.  Makes you think how you can come up with some really cool ideas, even when you have a lot of constraints.  Streeetches the imagination.

Sour music video

Webdesign and projects checklists
Inspiration about usability, design, briefs etc to help finesse your work….:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/29/45-incredibly-useful-web-design-checklists-and-questionnaires/

Mash-up inspiration
Lots of examples of Google maps mash-ups to inspire e.g seinfeld maps, michael Jackson tribute map, wikipedia on Google maps.

Aggregation Nation

Just happened upon this site…and I’m not sure what it is…..but I like it…!?

Perhaps a Twitter aggregator?

Nothing new there, but it has helped clarify a thought that has lurking around in my head about how aggregation is becoming a common theme at the moment – think Skittles recent overlay site which aggregates content about the brand from Flickr, Twitter, Youtube etc.

I guess as we become more and more social on the web, people are looking to aggregate this new fast moving content, conversations and thinking. They need to sift through it even quicker also be able to understand the ever growing channels to actually find the meaning they really want or need.

So I’m going to be thinking about how brands can help with this. How could this idea translates into something that actually makes consumers lives easier, more manageable and meaningful? I’ll let you know if I come up with any corkers.

What info sources do customers trust?

I found an interesting slide on what information sources people trust (below). It’s taken from the Wave study.  It’s interesting to note that MSN conversations are rated 3rd.  Is this a source that brands have tapped into fully? Could they do more to harness this?  Advertising on MSN is an obvious one.  But how could instant messaging be worked into review sites?  Into product sites?  How could brands make it easier to share information via instant chat e.g. images that people can easily send during the conversation or product reviews.  Is there some search function that could be attached to chat prorgrammes to facilitate this sharing of info.  Also is there anyway to track what is being said in instant conversations, so that targeted ads can be served (little bit close to the privacy bone, but just a thought to stimulate those grey cells).

Interesting to note that again forms of social media are topping the bill in terms of trust – with ‘consumer reviews on retail sites’ at number four, reviews on price comparison sites at 5 and blogs at number 6.  And still companies can’t see the value of social media channels.  I read recently that only 55% of marketing officers are considering using social media.  When will they learn?

One small joy – I’m glad to note that Celebrity recommendation is bottom the list.

The image is quite small, so if you want a jpeg of it.  Then please email me at hayley@collectivelondon.com.

Help me want to use you more

I just read that the BBC are now offering online recipe videos and something struck me: there is a lot (LOT) of educational content online, but what is missing?

In my opinion, structure.  Like a good old fashioned syllabus.  Not everyone wants to just dip in and out.  Some people would like to do a cost effective alternative to a basic cookery course or french cookery course. They would also have more of a sense of achievement, potentially longer term engagement with the site and ability to set goals.

Of course you would need to allow users who want to dip in and out do that, but others like a bit of structure and sense of purpose.

So when are we going to see the online cookery school from the BBC or others, or a way of tailoring your own syllabus (basically a list of favourites and a tick off list)?  And how many other examples of this lack of structure are there…..youtube content, language learning content, podcasts….?

Trends for 2009?

I love reading trend reports.  Lots of food for thought for your clients and I like to see if I agree of course.  Trendwatching have released the latest trend briefing in time for the New Year and it’s got some interesting ideas.

Out with the new and in with the old

I think the key trend coming out of this report and other sources, is that consumers are not so slap happy with the shopping so I guess the new slogan will be – out with the new and in with the old?  Which could mean two things:

1.   Purchasing old goods i.e. second hand.  Which is quite possibly going to be the trend in the car market, to avoid the huge depreciation of the first purchase (if people purchase cars at all), maybe hitting up eBay more, second hand stores and the new online swap shops.

2.  Getting more out of existing goods – so customising, adding features, just generally taking more care of what they already have (one can wish) and making more quality purchases so that they avoid having to dispose and replace at the rate we have seen in the past 5 years.

This second point also means that perhaps brands need to be thinking of new angles – for example a car manufacturer might try and push it’s ‘maintenance package’ or ‘guaranteed buy back price’ harder than the sexiness etc of their offering before.  This would then take the edge of a big purchasing decision and maybe provide the tipping point to convince them to buy new goods.

Luxury

The report talks about luxury being an ‘enriching personal experience and not only an ownership or consumption of an expensive obeject’.  So with people going back to basics a little more, luxury will essentially be the simple things in life: time for reflection, time with friends, nature, social experiences.  Luxury without the guilt complex e.g the new Rough Luxe hotel in London.  I really hope this will be the case and I think in certain segments of society it will – those with family and properties will spend more time at home, mainly because of the credit crunch.  But you know, for someone like me; single, renting, working in a fast paced industry; i’m yet to understand how this will really affect my behaviour and the psychology behind it in the immediate term.

Reactive conversations with consumers

Feedback 3.0 is also another theme – and hopefully brands will start to get this right – the idea that brands engage in genuine two-way conversations is clearly not new but hopefully brands will start doing this properly.  And along with them going out of their way to solve problems they find via social media on the spot.  I simply don’t understand why brands aren’t grasping this opportunity more fully.   It’s the opportunity for brands to understand their customers far better, to get their ideas and feedback (viturally for free!), to respond to negative reviews in a more proactive way and develop their brand and products. )There is also the element of  – I wouldn’t sit there in silence whilst someone insults me normally.  Would you?  So more twittering from brands and more sites like My Starbucks Idea. But let’s hope brands find a geniune way to do this, because we don’t need a cheese appreciation social network etc….(hmm or do we!?

Green

So what will happen to the Green issue?  Well, I agree with them on this – green will still be embraced, but not as a badge of honor, but for monetary reasons.  So brands need to be able to show customers how they can save money by being green rather than just shouting about how Eco-friendly they are.

Just a few trends i’ve picked out.  So now it’s your turn – how can you apply these trends to your brand and ensure that you are reacting to what your customer really values and needs in 2009?