Self service points give shoppers the opportunity to browse though an outlet and purchase items at a human
free checkout kiosk. After experiencing one of these checkout stations at a Sydney Big W store last weekend,
we decided to investigate further. Read more
Interesting read from yesterday’s Adnews.
Young Aussies are fitting 38 hours of activities into every 24-hour period thanks to multi-tasking, new research from Synovate has found.
The annual Synovate Young Asians study, which covers 11 markets across Asia Pacific and looks into youth media perceptions and consumption, has for the first time published findings on Australian youth.
The survey found that 52% of Australian youth say their internet usage has increased from the previous year, compared to 16% of respondents who reported an increase in TV watching, 17% in reading newspapers, 13% in reading magazines, 30% in playing sports and 27% in “offline†meetings with friends. Read more
With a celebrity obsessed culture, brands are finding more ways to cash in on the market by not only getting a celeb to endorse their brand but are co-branding the two together. This gives the celeb ownership of the product which in turn feeds confidence to consumers.
Tiger Woods has a deal with Gatorade to launch a co-branded sports drink. The “Gatorade Tiger†campaign will be followed by other products, all with flavours selected by Woods himself. This is Tiger’s first beverage deal and is estimated to be worth $100 million. This brand has gone one step further to engage consumers, as Gatorade Tiger even has its own YouTube Channel!
Politicians are increasing their digital interaction with voters.
Indian politicians are sending ‘vote me’ text messages to mobile phones, New Zealand politicians are setting up Facebook profiles, American campaigns use YouTube to broadcast far more creative messages than traditional top-down television ads from elections’ past, and of course, there was the Kevin07 campaign! Read more
Virtual gifts are part of everyday Facebook use but for the first time virtual gifts can be redeemed in real life for real products! Mars Snackfood UK is the first to use this product through an application called Celebrate.
When Facebook users buy each other a virtual chocolate bar using PayPal, the recipient receives a voucher ID code on their mobile which can then be scanned in stores to redeem the real thing. As a tangible gift, this makes a lot more sense to pay for an actual product rather than buying a computer graphic for $1 for a friend.
Insight: Brands constantly need to find new ways to interact with their consumers which some are doing through Facebook. Mars Snack food UK is simply providing their consumers with an easier way to purchase their product and a reason to do so –because it’s fun, new and different with a reward at the end!
How can your brand do something different using today’s technologies?
Speculation is brewing in the US with the possibility of a recession a reality, that they could go back to the ‘old luxury’ model with only the super rich being able to afford anything…
Using the US as an example: In the past few years, many middle-income shoppers were able to upgrade in an era of easy money. Petrol was cheap, as was credit and there was a ton of cash left over. Luxury companies responded to this ‘left over cash syndrome’ by offering a new class of goods that the not-quite-über wealthy could afford, effectively transforming prestige goods into “masstige.” (prestige for the masses) Read more
