My dad had a plane. And, some of my most memorable childhood moments were in the air. One thing I regret was that I didn't get my pilot's license. Maybe it's time. When I saw the A5 from Icon I couldn't help but dream. What a cool idea to have a plane that can land on a runway or water, then fold it's wings back and pull it behind your car. Amazing.
Just when it felt like the flow of innovation was slowing Apple shifts the paradigm again with a new iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod and iTunes 7.0. I especially like the matchbook size Shuffle and the idea that you can new play games on the iPod.
Apple proves, once again, that if you are willing to constantly transform your business it makes it very difficult for competitors to compete. The speed at which Apple has been able to innovate keeps the cultural dialogue about their products fresh and top of mind. Occupying so much of the conversation, there's no room for their competitor's voices to be heard!
So you're going out and you want to look sharp. The question is, what accessory will really get you noticed? Instead of going as yourself, be a billboard, or in this case a video board.
Egokast has come up with a media player that doubles as a belt buckle and should really get you noticed.
In a twist on who's watching who, Shaw Kaake, the man behind the player told the New York Times:
This is the first media device that you don’t watch, but everybody else does. Instead of staring into your BlackBerry or your P.S.P., you’re looking at the reactions of people to the content.”
While you might be ready for a new gadget are you ready for everybody to be looking at your belt?
A couple of weeks ago I posted about the consumer content creation trend and that many people, including GM, have jumped on the bandwagon with their Chevrolet brand. Last week, it launched chevyapprentice.com where people can create their own 30-second spot for the Tahoe by mixing the provided visuals and soundtrack.
It seems a lot of people went to the Chevy site and started creating spots. The only problem is that people have been creating ads bashing Chevy and sticking them up on YouTube.
Drew Neisser of Renegade captured the state of the CGA (consumer generated content) market when he was quoted in a New York Times article covering the Chevy backlash. He said:
"There's a gold rush fever about consumer generated content. Everybody wants to have consumer generated content, and Chevy doesn't want to be left behind."
While I applaud Chevy's attempt to enter into the CGC world it might have been good to think about the product they wanted help promoting. As can be seen from many of the spots shared on YouTube, an SUV might not have been the best product to throw to the wolves, in light of high gas prices and concerns with global warming. Likewise, Chevy might have spent some more time thinking about the brutality of some of the paradies that have become internet hits.
Co-creating with customers is a powerful strategy, one that can give a brand a deeper connection with its customers, but the strategy needs to be well thought through. The risk of not knowing your potential customers well enough to know how they will react to an opportunity to co-create can be an expensive lesson in the world of CGC.
