In October 2013, GigaOm Mobilze, the Californian conference on all things up-and-coming in the industry, announced the Internet of Things as the next bit hype – with a special focus on health- and fitness- monitoring wristbands. Were their predictions correct? We revisit the topic of fitness wristbands, half a year after.
An Example of Fitness Wristbands Today
The Winning Combination
Less than a year ago, the creators were still debating on what the optimal combination should be. Companies has understood since 1980, when the first chip in shoes had been introduced, that the solution should be portable. It should ideally have onboard capability for music and blue tooth. And most of all, it should be personalized. Yet, the product designers soon discovered this recipe wasn’t all that obvious. There were some challenges to be solved first.
Industry Challenges
When discussing the main challenges the industry faced at the time, Paul Gaudio, the head of Adidas Interactive, and Olof Schybergson, the CEO of service design firm Fjord, mentioned the following key challenges:
(1) The product category being so novel in itself, there are little standards to follow. In many ways it’s very challenging because there is very little to benchmark it to – it could go any one direction. On the other hand, it is an exciting opportunity as the new players get to envision what this technology should essentially be like. Mobile in itself took about a decade to mature to its current form (and it is still evolving!), so what we are witnessing is similarly the baby steps of this new industry. It’s not to be taken for granted, it is a difficult feat to define an entire industry.
(2) Consummers want less, not more. At any given time, they want to carry one item at most. Traditionally the items were either clip-ons (such as the iPod shuffle) or hidden in shoes, but the wrist seems like a good candidate because we already have the habit of wearing watches, not to mention the fact it “won’t introduce social awkwardness” (the way google eyeglasses may be doing right now). “We want to bring function with what you already use and have, instead of adding a new item”, Paul Gaudio explained.
Flops & Failures
There have been attempts at things that did not work, prior to reaching the products we now enjoy on the market. One of them was that a lot of effort was put into mobile apps, until marketers realized runners, for the most part, use exercise to disconnect and leave everything behind — they don’t want to stay connected!
The other mistake which has plagued the industry for a while at the start, is that, to put it in Olof Schybergson’s terms, “it is a category that is looking for the main functionality. Is it about lifestyle? Is it for extending your phone? Getting to “who is this for? and “what is its target market” is the most difficult.”
The Heart of the Matter
With some skepticism on consumers having to adopt yet another gadget with a new dashboard somewhere with new passwords and new online habits, I asked Paul Gaudio and Olof Schybergson whether adoption will, in their opinion, be an easy curve for this product. Their answer? “We left certain things out. And that’s the hardest question to ask you : What will we leave out?”
This indeed is the heart of the matter. Looking over the last few months, the industry has done well in terms of simplifying and creating a base product that consumers can easily grasp: a wristband that records your physical activity and charts it on a graph accessible through mobile and internet. The industry has now stepped into a second phase, with customization and targeting of products, as future trends will surely show.
FUTURE TRENDS
Analytics
Recently, a Canadian-based company put fundraised to produce their new “Airo Wristband”. The company had to cancel its pre-orders, as it decided it may need a little more perfecting before going out onto the market, but their idea takes the wearables a little further: they provide analysis while minimizing your input. They are currently working on developing a product that would be able to give you the nutritional breakdown of your food without you having to enter it manually, and it would be able to be proactive and help you take breaks for stress reduction, or getting more sleep, before your body becomes deprived of sleep or relaxation. Whereas most solutions on the market simply plot graphs for their users, the next wave of wearables might be able to interpret the data, and make personalized recommendations based on said data.
Complementing Tools
Scales are an excellent example of products that have already started to integrate with wearables.
New scales such as this smart food scale might soon integrate into fitness wristbands too, if the trend prevails, moving from laborious calorie-counting to integrated
One device, many users
Another innovative product that has come onboard recently is iBitz, which combined the electronic world of children and teens (a little bit like Tamagochis did a decade or two ago) with the concept of wearable tracking devices. The innovation lies not in the tracking device itself, but in the interface through which to view the results. Interestingly enough, the interface is able to change based on the user’s age group, displaying a game for children and teens, while displaying a plain dashboard for their parents.
The following presentation will explore the roadblocks and the enablers for organizations to support teams in their leadership and innovative thinking. The concept of intrapreneurship will be introduced, as well as common practices to encourage teams and high-potential team players. The presentation ends with a slide you can print and bring into a brainstorming meeting with your team, to formalize knowledge transfer and empower your leaders to learn and make better decisions on the go.
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Conclusion
Intrapreneurship is the process by which we cultivate entrepreneurial attitudes in teams of large organizations. Although seldom presented in leadership seminars or MBA programs, this skill contributes to a truly innovative organizational culture, no matter the industry. Companies who invest in intrapreneurship see lower turnover rates and higher levels of innovation in their services and processes, as well as a better knowledge transfer as team members progress in their careers, to new positions within the organization. What will you do today to be a more intrapreneurship-enabling leader? Download the following one-pager as an exercise to be completed with your team, and find out how you can root practices and tools into your organization to encourage your leaders to share and learn from each other.
Being creative is often seen as something positive. Take the following video for instance: The Hope Soap is obviously a very creative person’s brainchild – and it helped reduce 70% of illnesses in the South African community where this product was made available.
The Issue with Creativity
If you are a project manager or director, you know that creativity has potential for huge payoffs while having an equally huge potential for risk! This is because the road best known is usually the fastest one when we are pressed for time or have very little margin for error. Creative people tend to disturb teams because they take routes no one has taken before – and hence represent a danger for incurring additional costs, or delays in a project.
Tips for Creative People
The following tips, hence, all revolve around this basic principle: if you are a highly creative person, you will benefit from both understanding your environment’s reluctance to non-conventional solutions, and from finding a way to minimize risk for your team.
(1) Understand which portions of your job can and cannot accommodate creative thinking
To view creative thinking at one end of a continuum, and analytical thinking at the other, is a misconception: in truth, many jobs require both skill sets. For instance, in my role as a functional analyst, I need to be very rigorous when writing the technical documentation, so that both the client and my programmers and designers teams understand the work we are trying to accomplish, with precision. Creativity has no place in reforming the template of a use case, or the methodology with which we engage with clients (stories and scenarios, use cases, etc.). Creativity is however needed in the conceptual design of the solution we thus document with such rigour; most design patterns will come from industry standards, but there is always this peculiarity in each project which forces you to think out of the box. Focus on investing your creativity there, and avoid reinventing the wheel for everything else.
(2) Identify the ‘core’ of things
On a recent mandate, we were asked to imagine a revolutionary idea, and think out of the box, for a very forward-thinking client in a conventional industry. I had to think for a moment before designing my website and mobile app concept, to understand what their company represented at the core – allowing me to pretty much change every single thing about the service, except for that core element. To illustrate what I am describing, have a look at the following video. By understanding what absolutely needed to be there in terms of content, and what their brand stood for in terms of identity, Virgin was able to revamp its security video- creating a completely new, out-of-the-box product, while staying consistent to their brand and industry regulation:
THE VIDEO
THE MAKING-OF
(3) Surround yourself well
Diversity means success. Teams gain a lot from both creative and analytical thinking. Being able to team up with peers that are better at the analytical side may help you achieve a lot more than by yourself, because you will each have complementary skills that, together, will create a better finished product. Seek out people who admire your creative or conceptual side, and who have the analytical or grounded skills you admire and may or may not have. Similarly, look for team leaders who value your creativity (perhaps a creative team leader himself!) when picking your next assignment. This will ensure your creativity is seen as a strength for the team, and that it will be used to its fullest potential.
(4) Present your ideas well
When presenting your ideas, evaluate who your target audience is. If you are working with fellow creative team members, then present your ideas with enthusiasm and excitement. If you are working with less creative-oriented people, downplay the innovativeness of your idea and present it as close as you can to what they already are familiar with or what is already in place. Show the team how you are limiting risks and show you have thought out the plan carefully.
(5) Look for Fit
If all else fails, you may have to reconsider whether you are where you should be. I believe creative professionals have a duty to adapt to their environment and to share their skills with others on their teams. I believe, too, that creative professionals also have a lot to gain from not only forming partnerships with analytical thinkers, but also to learn from them and to develop that side of their personality, if it is not a skill-set they also have. However, a creative person must be supported by his or her environment. A culture which allows a certain amount of risk and even failure, and that values high returns over conventionality and safety, might prove a nurturing environment for an out-of-the-box thinker. Certain industries, too, may be more fit for creative thinkers.
CREDITS
This article stems from personal reflections after seeing the inspiring presentations of Sylvie Geneau, from CRÉnO-Innovation (“Créativité en Entreprise”) and Louise Laforce (“Mobilisation des Équipes”) at the Institut de Leadership en Gestion’s course ”Certification en leadership et habiletés de direction ” (Learn more at http://www.institutleadership.ca).
Yesterday, the Festival de Canne’s Lion d’Or Award Winning commercials were shown in a pre-screening event – and as of today this collection of note-worthy spots will be shown across the city (scroll down to find out participating venues in town). And for those of you who can’t make it, here’s the creme of the crop! Have a look at some of the most striking commercials of this year right here on Corina On Work as I share my top 10 favourite commercials from the Lion d’Or’s finalists.
Lurpak butter overcame uncommon regulations in Denmark through this creative, colorful ad! Notice the attention to detail in this ad, where the kitchen seems colour-coordinated down to every fruit and vegetable used!
As part of this humorous campaign, Nike created karaoke opportunities for the public to participate and interact with the ad! Its larger appeal however has to do with the way it connects particularly well to a feeling familiar to all runners… and lovers!
This music video of ”Ok Go!” is part of a larger series of advertisements called ”Let’s Do This” and made by Chevy to connect with young audiences. In it, a group of young people get to try extravagant challenges that bewilder and amuse audiences.
What’s trendy, and worthy!
Rankings are obviously always subjective but I used a few criteria which determined my top 10. The question boils down to ”What’s a Good Ad?” and beyond the classic answer that it’s something that grabs attention and sells more, I’ve identified a few points that, to me, make these campaigns particularly successful. These are great starting points upon watching the ads for the first time, to reflect on their value:
How in-tune is it with the trends outside of the advertising industry? One of the most popular trends in the past three years has been everyday public reaching celebrity status – through youtube publishing, reality tv-shows, flash mobs and candid camera comedy shows. Those past trends however are past and no longer ”trendy”– so how does the media build on these while taking the ideas further and pushing the envelope? Just as it is customary in other art-forms, how does the advertisement balance continuity with innovation using its digital medium?
How relatable is it? Very simply put – if the commercial generates the same emotion as the viewer’s own emotions in regards to a situation, then it’s basically won the battle. This is marketing in its simplest form: how well does the spot understand the consumer watching it?
How difficult was the topic? Some products are an easier sell than others. And for those not-so-glamoreous ones, coming up with a creative concept gets my vote.
How well is it executed? It’s unfortunate but true: if you have a brilliant idea, but can’t execute it properly, then it will have little value. Good execution is key to reaching out to consumers because most people won’t stop and think much about the intent or concept. Execution matters.
How much social value does it have? This is a huge bias on my part as I regularly volunteered in my community since I was small – but it actually does reflect an ongoing trend in consumers in general : people more and more are looking at organic food, fair-trade coffee, eco-friendly cars and other such services and products because they care! They care about the environment, about the society and about their community. To me, if the advertisement communicates and encourages social missions rather than focusing only on delivering profit, they get my attention!
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
In this spot, Coca-Cola plays to its biggest advantage : the feel-good emotions associated to the brand. In a blind test conducted by an independent party, test subjects were given a squirt of soda — either Coca-Cola or Pepsi — while the scientists observed the neurological activity of the brain in an RMI Scan. What the researches noticed was that irrespective of what the subjects were actually given (Pepsi or Coca-Cola squirt), the brain responded to what they were told they would be receiving, a split-second before the squirt. Depending on the brand mentioned, different parts were activated — and in Coca-Cola’s case, it was the center for memories and pleasure that was stimulating, thus highlighting the connection consumers feel with the brand. While Coca-Cola’s ”Corporation” status makes it a little bit difficult for this company to pull off the ”social” and ”community-oriented” angle on this (the grass-root, ”flash mob meets candid camera” angle does not seem extremely credible), it definitely does create a ”Feel Good” emotion, hence staying consistent with their biggest asset : the emotional value of their Brand!
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
In the advertisement industry, this is an ad that got an unfair dose of bashing, in my opinion. True, the Olympics, and ”moms” were a very easy target – but in terms of helping the public relate to and be excited about soap and laundry detergent – what a feat that is! The music in this advertisement adds to the dramatic effect with an interesting buildup — yet you know it is truly a good communication ad-wise when you try looking at the video while muting the sound: the clip tells a story, and provides very interesting visuals that flick very fast. In sum, an excellent slice of life – with an interesting twist! The ethnic diversity is also very noticeable as you watch the casting choices – most likely not a trivial observation for a multi-national company tailoring to a nation of immigrants!
Corina’s No. 8 : Nike’s ”I will Run to You”
(Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, Portland)
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
In this ad, which was filmed in 5 cities across a 11 days span, Nike almost makes you forget that you are watching an ad — it truly feels like a romantic comedy put to music. The feel good music is very catchy and the words and scenario are clearly design to connect with viewers’ feelings on the sometimes very challenging goal of running, being healthy … and pleasing a loved one! The gender roles are reversed in this ad, which are perhaps part of a larger trend with women earning much disposable income and joining in traditionally male sports, and while remaining a little bit too ”commercial” and sticking to traditional recipes in this ad, I must still highlight that this spot, unlike many others, manages to retain the viewer’s attention until the very end — and by very end I mean down to the very last second – where even when you think you’ve seen the punchline… well you haven’t!
Corina’s No 7 : Direct TV’s
(Agency: Grey New York, USA)
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
This is a spot that was very much applauded in the advertisement community mostly for its effectiveness in being catchy while being very short. And while humour is probably the easiest way for a company to go, I must give credit to Grey New York for linking so well to elements of the popular culture such as the recent happenings with cats on social media.
Corina’s No 6: Zonajobs’ Grandma
(Agency: DraftFBC, USA )
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
The unexpected turn on this absurd advertisement makes it an instant hit with pretty much anyone watching it… In North America at least. This takes a modern popular culture element at turns the story around this — and it catches your attention by building a big suspense: where is this going? You won’t know until the very end of the spot! This spot however does not make my top 5 because although it is entertaining and amusing, and may be distributed to friends and family through social media, it is too lengthy for a same consumer to watch over and over. And in terms of advertisement, one-time-use ads are a huge investment considering the fact people won’t watch them again.
Corina’s No 5: Paralympics’ ”Unstoppable”
(Agency: BBDO Toronto)
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
Advertising something as touchy and perhaps ”un-exciting” thing as handicaps is very difficult. The advertisement has especially been impressive to me because it really reflects not just a marketing vision but the vision of the entire event in itself — and that is, that paralympians are people to be admired. The visual is particularly effective as the first obstacle the athlete runs by is a training room, showing how his challenge as an athlete are the same as any regular Olympic athlete. However by going back in time and tracking the athlete’s history, the viewer quickly realizes that paralympians have overcome even more obstacles than perhaps a traditional Olympian, and therefore that they are perhaps even more athletes than the common misperception carried by some. Perhaps adding to this ”Superhero story” is the story of the film crew in itself: the Paralympics had a restrained budget. To fit this budget, the team had to be overly creative: they decided to film everything in one shot to minimize editing, to use 3D modeling software to work and prepare for every detail of the camera angles without wasting film-crew time onsite and due to the torrent of rain that poured down that day, they had to essentially get everything on tape in a very short time frame of 2 hours. The story behind this commercial simply ads to the credibility and skill of this well crafted message. Kuddos to the team!
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
Non-for-profits are more and more competing for mediatic attention and public support. Unlike the Ronnald McDonnald House that leverages a big corporation’s branding to get donations, and unlike the traditional celebrity endorsements we usually see in this industry, Bernado’s Children’s Foundation decided to be its own person, so to speak, and to tell its own story – no celebrity status needed. And it is particularly effective at doing so – taking us from a range of emotions from joy to fear and confusion, to pain and sadness, to hope. Such an emotional roller coaster in such a short amount of time is only possible because of the identification from the public to the character on the screen — a proof that BBH has indeed understood how to get its viewers to relate to the problematic of children abuse. Lastly, I will highlight the challenge in dealing with such sensitive topics (ex. abuse, road accidents, etc.) as it has been shown in studies that a certain degree of shock is helpful only to a point – after which it backfires, with users emotionally tuning out. The agency has really well dosed out just how much distress to let through to reach the viewer without getting shunned out.
Corina’s No 3: Lurpack’s ” Lightest ”
(Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, London)
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
It’s well known in marketing that you have what we call ”complementary goods”. Like cars and gas. Or pop corn and cinemas. Or chocolate and milk. Such complementary products can sometimes help a brand to promote what it sells – like the milk advertisements did with chocolate cake. But try this challenge: the Danish butter company ”Lurpack” was facing government policies to reduce obesity (basically the government added a special tax to butter and other products which have saturated fat) – and this not-so-healthy product decided to appeal to the public with… green vegetables! (And apparently, the Dane kids have as much of a hard time eating their broccoli and Brussels sprouts as we do over here in North America!). Using a clever jingle and using beautiful foodie-friendly imagery, the creaters of this advertisement manage to showcase this product by using surprisingly little screen-time focused on the butter itself, and rather by focusing on the healthy vegetables it accompanies. A clever way to turn an unhealthy product… into a prime choice for health-conscious consumers!
Corina’s No 2: Gandhi Books’ ”Woods”
(Agency: Ogilvy, Mexico)
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
Understanding your target audience is key : and with this clever commercial, understand they did! While showing the excitement of books combined with the values of readers, such as family, hobbies, and food, this series of advertisements successfully reproduces the reader’s experience when reading in everyday life – a life governed by chaos and outside demands, that leaves a young professional and mother compromising between the many demands of her busy day!
Corina’s No 1: Chevy Sonic’s ”OK Go!”
(Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, USA)
TRENDY – RELATABLE – DIFFICULTY – EXECUTION – SOCIAL VALUE
There are So. Many. Car. Ads. Out there. So many. But this one is particularly well designed for its audience : young people spend countless hours on youtube watching videos, and many others at sharing said videos through social media. Chevy mastered the art of generating buzz and turned its ”Let’s Do This” campaign into a real collection of viral videos. Drawing inspiration for youth’s propensity at being daring, this particular spot shows the adventures of a (daring!) music band on the road! Entertaining, memorable, shareable… and extremely well executed! This ad’s got every ingredient to be successful!
The Lion D’Or Screenings in Your City
The commercials presented in this Top Ten are part of a wider selection of commercials which you can see in the cinemas as of tonight, worldwide! To find it, search for the ” THE CANNES LIONS – Festival International des Films Publicitaires 2012” at your local cinema.
And for those who want the official review, here is the one introducing this festival at Montreal’s Cinema du Parc:
” Established in 1954, the Cannes Advertising Film Festival is the largest annual gathering of international advertising, where the most prestigious advertising awards are handed out. The competition is judged by creative talent from the best agencies on the international scene.
For the movie lover as well as for the entertainment devotee, for the profane as well as for the advertising professional, there’s a little for every taste. There’s enough to constitute a faithful reflection of advertising production in 2012, which is highlighted by the humour that’s nearly always present, inserted as it is at times among the more serious passages of a social nature. ”
Corina on Work 