Let's differentiate! How?

Who doesn't want to be authentic. It's almost a brand new vibe. This is a search, the search for authenticity in the pos-modern life.
So, I will give you a tip, a simple tip, because being simple is not being mediocre.
Use regional identity as an authentic voice.
I miss regional identity in our globalized world with lots and lots of huge groups who control almost everything.
I miss, I want more identity and authenticity making part of my routine. Simple like eat pasta made by an Italian or drink a Brazilian caipirinha. It is the way it has to be.

mind the gap

Mind the gap...underground can become a mainstream.
Underground is underground because it is not known or
is it not known because it is underground?

Joke - Guiness

What are you having?
The world most important brewers are gathering in a Dublin bar to celebrate the en of an international conference. The president of Budweiser orders a Bud. The head honcho at Miller calls for a Miller and the Coors rep wraps his hands around a pint of his own. All of others follow suit but when it comes to the head of Guiness , he orders a Coke. “Why aren’t you having a Guiness?” his colleagues ask in amazement. “ Well, if you guys aren’t having a beer, then neither will I”. Boom boom.

Out of Time - Contemporary view

Repeat, fast-forward, delay, recycle, rewind: these terms are part of the language we use to describe how temporality is manipulated in the contemporary world. Recent technological advances facilitate an unprecedented alteration compression and extension of the time. These new possibilities coexist with a vision of history as fractured, contradictory and subjected to multiple interpretations.

Nouveau Niche

Providing your customers and clients with status, directly or indirectly, in whatever form or shape. After all, there is little that consumers do that isn't consciously or subconsciously influenced by a desire for recognition from family, friends, and any fellow consumers they come into contact with.
Mature consumer societies in which many consumers have 'out-consumed' themselves, and have started to truly value and promote creativity as a necessary ingredient for innovation and competition on a macro-economic level. Sounds familiar?
Now, translate that value shift to individual consumers (celebrating creativity, instead of passive consumption), and what you may end up with is a trend like GENERATION C (C for Content, for Creativity, for Contributing, for Connecting, for CUSTOMER-MADE and so on), which we’ve spoken about many times in the past.
"In economies that increasingly depend on (and thus value) creative thinking and acting, well-known status symbols tied to owning and consuming goods and services will find worthy competition from 'STATUS SKILLS': those skills that consumers are mastering to make the most of those same goods and services, bringing them status by being good at something, and the story telling that comes with it."
- From wine to whiskey: The Whisky School at Ladybank Distillery lets participants create their own whisky
- Another one to keep a skilled eye on: wikiHoW, the 'How-To Manual That Anyone Can Write or Edit'. Aiming to be the world's largest how-to manual, it already contains more than 11,000 articles written, edited and maintained primarily by volunteers. Topics range from how to bathe a cat to how to create one's own currency converter.
- BMW Performance Driving Schools: BMW offers a wide range of courses designed both for beginners seeking to build confidence and advanced drivers looking to master the art of performance driving. And you don’t have to own a BMW to attend one of their courses.
Skillful consumers
Take any kind of status-heavy industry and you are now guaranteed to spot a number of start-ups that sell STATUS SKILLS instead of status symbols:
skills can only be acquired by doing something yourself first!
“http://www.trendwatching.com/briefing/ sept 2006”.

Quickly Stop for a Wine

The personality that gives originality to things, places, products or brands generally come from very simple things. They are originated from authenticity, cultures, costumes or habits aspects.
Places with these kind of features are being further more difficult to find, now it that everything is globalized and the owners are always the same big companies is harder to find differentials.
This is a simple example of a place that keeps your own characteristics according with the owner’s personality. It is simply agreeable to follow your own concepts to give sense for your things.

The owner is an Italian who is around 60,65 years old, certainly, he enjoyed his life with his friends in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, he is the kind of person who is very playful. And, is still enjoying receiving visits from his friends whom still come to his bar….
The bar is made with wood chairs, tables and details on the ceiling or the wall there are some home-made drawings with drunk’s satires.
The wines selection is incredible…each option and price is written on the board and if you want you can order, too, Italian appetizers; in the lunch time each day there is a different dish that makes a good combination with some wine.
To conclude, who attends is the friendly owner, he does his typical jokes which completes the environment with a pleasant intimacy.

Coke and Menthos – the success of an experiment

Too many brands, products, options that do everything to be worth to trying be different from competitors, call attention and interact with the public. Every silly thing, every kind of curiosity.
Behind so many “little” or “silly” actions don’t we need more sustainability?
People have the need of feeling fulfilled, they look for satisfactions and are always trying to find themselves in a crazy environment, where the market itself is also lost. What a crazy world!

Buy it, easy, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, upgraded it, charged it, zoom it, press it, snap it, quickly erase it, write it, save it, loaded it, check it, play it, burn it, rip it, …………………………………………………………
TECHNOLOGIC
(e.g. Daft Punk’s music)
August, 2006

Fcom once more is launching sound with personality. Its art, poetry + music, made with a high quality production and a female touch with Brazilian vocals. Something introspective that you can hear all day long and don’t be fed up.
http://www.saoparis.com/WEBGBsaoparis/index.html

Consumer’s tribes and subcultures.

We can say that tribes are divided in kinds of subcultures.
Talking about an actual mature and aware consumer, the action of consuming becomes ethic, a way of society participation due to personal values and ideals. A choice that differes them socially. In this manner, consumers segments themselves in tribes, groups that are identified by products/brands choices. It means values, ideals.

E.g.-selling action that can divide consumers in tribes identificated by personal values and society participation:
Sunking, a label set up by foreign designers, but based in London and Rio. Their products are sold across Brazil, Canada and Europe in boutiques and inter-net. Brazilian images are printed onto clothes in innovative, imaginative ways. The label also supports Cancer research UK and The Brazilian National Cancer Institute.

* Brands more intimate and closer. To consumers focus on "tribes". They interact with kinds of consumers subcultures.

Changing the tendency of copy and paste

Changing the tendency of copy and paste, just erase and reboot with fresh eyes and ears.

The erasers for all their futuristic anarchy insists that they have no desire to promote a specific ideology or blaze trail for some cause. It reflects the scene in which the ensemble is active, Athens is a city in transition, and The Eraser’s mutability seems to represent a broader course of development.
Theerasers.blogspot.com, freepieceoftape.blogspot.com
www.synch.gr

“The Wire – June 06, pg.16”.

There are contradictions in Brazil's image

The brand I would love to be running is Brazil, my country. We are famous for football, samba and political scandals. Once a year we are also famous for naked ladies and carnival. Nothing wrong with all these qualities. However I believe there is a great story about Brazil.
We are more than frivolous and fun crazy. We are leader in aerospace and aeronautical engineer. Embraer carry passenger all over the world. Our farmers are the world leaders on technology + efficiency + productivity, and are rapidly becoming known as the gardens of the world. Furthermore, we have the biggest forest in the world.
Most relevantly, we have a leading, world class creative communication industry. Brazil has led the world at Cannes Awards, indeed, digital and media prizes.
The remarkably Brazil’s differential is its creativity. There is an incredible miscegenation and diversity. We can count with an interesting culture and a privileged nature.
To conclude, Brazil has potential to be successful. Even though, everybody lives there with some problems, such as, things don’t happen in a fair way, the lack of education for not privileged people or the bad income sharing. Yet, Brazilians people seems to deal well with contradictions.

Samba

A concrete example of Brazil’s contradiction.
(Down there is a Brazilian playing samba in London’s underground and on the next wall one Brahma’s advertisement).
I was in underground, suddenly, I met a Brazilian playing samba-bossa, at the same time, I looked at the wall and saw a Brahma ad. A casual and great combination: Brahma with samba-bossa.
Although, the man should prefer a chance to play in another place. Brahma must be satisfied to be in a lot of ads. Further more, being sold in many bars, clubs and supermarkets around the world.
(link text “ there are contradictions in Brazil’s image”).
So, that’s it! All kinds of Brazilians (poor people, immigrants, even brands or products) are enjoying opportunities. While, all about Brazil offers a promising future.
Brazilians can get on with contradictions…
Brazilians are fashionable and still fresh now, why miss opportunities!

Dead landscape
Sonar – toilet - jun.2006
Nothing against Bud, but against over-publicity.
Take care because your brand can be part of trash landscapes. It is nothing but publicity in all places…

Colors - Best Wishes

Winter 2005/2006 66

“I wish there were more mixed-race kids in the world and they stop trying to turn people into prototypes”. Aylin Gungor, 25, editor. Istanbul, Turkey

“I wish time slowed sometimes”. Anna Bielecka, 33, from Poland, film translator, Paris, Franca.

“I wish I had a robot. I wish Apple would make cars”. Kosta Stratigos, 31, web developer, Royal Oak, USA.

Good and simple
Photo title: Play after dark
Shot with Canon – John Miller - London student.
Playing your imagination
You can Canon
This is a good and simple advertisement. Visually beautiful and following the communication concept. In addition, it’s a great initiative to promote new photographers; furthermore adds value for the brand’s image.

Sinthetic world
Synthetic worlds are popular: currently, these new worlds have around 10 to 20 million inhabitants. “source: Edward Catronova”
We are living in a time with no limits; we can mix, choose, create and transform in millions ways. It is the technology in a huge development process.
In the new world everything is synthetic, clothes, music, even food is made of synthetic components.
Today people sell “natural products” made of synthetic components.
Now, let’s remember the meaning of these words:
Natural: Present in or produced by nature: a natural pearl. (www.dictionary.com).
Synthetic: Not natural or genuine; artificial or contrived: “counterfeit rhetoric that flourishes when passions are synthetic” (George F. Will).
Do you know if we mean “natural” in the same way that people had meant 15 years ago...or do you know how people will mean “natural” in 2021?

Crazy to be connected

· Consider the fact that 812,000,000(!) human beings are now online worldwide (Internet World Stats, September 2004)
· More than 100 million people worldwide log on every month to play interactive computer games (source: NYT, December 2005).
· In the USA, over 70 percent of males in the 18 to 34 demographic play video games, according to NPD Group. Young men play 12.5 hours of video games a week, while they watch television 9.8 hours, and three-quarters of households with a male member age 8 through 34 own a video game system, according to Nielsen Entertainment (source: MediaLife January 2006).
· An average European gamer will play for 10.9 hours a week, 87% have played in the last week, and 72% play at least three times a week. To put this into perspective: gaming is, for gamers, the third-most-popular use of media entertainment in the last week, after watching TV (96%) and listening to music (94%) (source: Mediaedge:cia, December 2005).
· Sixty percent of trendsetters and 33% of mainstream 14-34 year-olds have a social networking page (source: TrendCentral, May 2006).
People addicted to online access, the fuel that keeps their own universe going.
What If you connected to yourself before be crazy to be connected?
“http://www.trendwatching.com/briefing/”

Innovation

Innovation – isn’t rocket science. It is an obsession with understanding or creating what makes consumers happy, what delight them, which problems they face, and then creating something that delivers to those needs. “trendwatching” – trendwatching.com/briefing – august 2006 trend briefing on innovation overload

Metropolis (meanings)?

Metro-mother (Greek); Polis-city/town (indo-european). A major city, economic and cultural center – an important hub for international connections and communications, cultic and original cities. Clustered around an urban center.


BEHIND EVERY SUCSSEFUL NEW PRODUCT OR EXPERIENCE THERE IS AN EMERGING CONSUMER TREND.