Eureka moments: Bright ideas for the dark economic times
There will never be a shortage of smart new ventures, brands, goods and services that deliver on consumers' wants and needs. And if those wants and needs currently revolve around practicality, efficiency and responsibility, and less about traditional luxury, splurging and upgrading, then that's what brands should deliver on. Which seems doable, judging from the recent innovations rounded up by trendwatching.com in their May briefing.
1 Enduring Free Love
The free love trend will continue to do well, with a dash of Generation G thrown in. Check out the following free love innovations:
For example, FedEx Office recently drew attention by extending a helping hand to job seekers, offering free printing (on March 10) of up to 25 black-and-white copies of their resume at any of the company's 1,600-plus stores across the US.
2 DIY
The trend towards control-craving consumers who enjoy doing the work that brands used to do for them is not new, but the innovations that it continues to spawn certainly are:
For example, an initiative from Lexus, Time and American Express Publishing, called mine, allows consumers to create their own personalised magazines by choosing editorial content from several top magazines.
3 Sellsumers
There are some clever new ventures that help ordinary consumers make money instead of spending it:
For example, Hollrr encourages fans of specific products for spreading the word to their friends via email, Facebook and Twitter, and rewards them with deposits into Amazon Flexible Payment Accounts.
4 Status Stories
Do you really know what you are selling? Often, providing consumers with the right ingredients of a story – with conversation starters – is the product.
It's My Scar uses wax renderings based on photos of scars that are sent in by customers to create highly personal bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces.
5 Kids, Teens and Moms
Serving well-established demographics (and their well-documented desires) in novel ways is an endless source of innovation. A spotting: BillMyParents allows parents to monitor their children's online spending by forwarding any attempted purchases to the parent for them to deny or authorise with a credit card number. The San Diego-based service currently only targets US consumers.
6 Generation
G That's G for Generosity, not for Greed:
San Francisco-based Replyforall is a site that raises money for charities by adding a cause's information to a user's email signature. The signature shows information about the cause, along with a mention of one of Replyforall's participating financial sponsors. Replyforall distributes sponsors' payments among the causes that users have selected.
7 Brand Butlers
An integral part of Genertaion G, the brand butler trend will inspire creative brand professionals to come up with innovative campaigns for many years to come.
Heineken has teamed up with design agency UXUS to create a "democratic airport lounge" at Hong Kong's International Airport. The Heineken Lounge treats travellers to luxuries and perks typically reserved for first and business class passengers.
8 Off = On
Where will you find the most fertile grounds for innovation? Just follow consumers, and observe what excites them. Nine out of 10 times, you'll end up in the online world.
San Francisco-based startup Legacy Locker entrusts the details of customers' online accounts, from Gmail and Facebook to eBay and PayPal, to assigned beneficiaries in the event of the customer's death or disability.
9 Eco-Bounty
The latest from entrepreneurs preparing for the coming eco/green/ET bonanza:
Wi-Drive is a green, weekday bus service that offers high-end transportation for San Francisco commuters. By emulating the comfort of a limousine with amenities like leatherette seats, wifi and LCD screens, Wi-Drive is giving transportation a luxury spin.
10 Twinsumers
Hunch is an online decision-making tool that gets to know a user through his or her answers to seemingly random questions. Based on those answers, Hunch aligns users with other people that are like them – their twinsumers – and can offer personalised answers to complex questions like: "Should I go to medical school?"
11 Intent and Clout
These times are suited to entrepreneurs with a soft spot for group buying and "intention economy" concepts. When Dutch consumers register with Spaarbod, the service automatically compares interest rates from various banks and gets the banks to bid on a saver's funds. CrowdSprout lets groups of parents interested in purchasing the same item band together to get a better price by bidding.
12 Mapmania
Yes, maps are the new interface. Amplified Journeys is a site from sound system manufacturer Harman Kardon that gives users driving directions and matching playlists of location-inspired music. ING Wegwijzer, an application built for the T-Mobile G1 (Google) phone, allows users to locate the nearest ATM simply by pointing their phone's camera in any direction, with nearby ATMs showing up on the display.
13 Hyperlocal
Truly local services, fuelled by the advent of borderless technology. Loews Hotels' Adopt-a-Farmer promotes local farming while providing its guests with food made from locally sourced, seasonal, organic and sustainable ingredients. Neighbo is an online platform in the UK that brings together neighbours, tenants and landlords to help improve both practical issues and social connections, using widgets, calendars and forums.
14 The Global Brain
This is one of those trends that not only keeps growing, but also effortlessly absorbs other emerging 'themes'.
Netherlands-based c,mm,n is an initiative that aims to create a model for sustainable cars, starting with a community designed prototype. The car's blueprints are publicly available under an open source licence, so its design can be used and modified by others as long as any derived works are shared with the public.
15 Less and Longing
Here are some innovations making the most of 'less', or the most of 'longing'. New Jersey-based Rentobile provides a wide selection of the latest cell phones for rent on a monthly basis so that consumers can try out various devices without a long-term contract. Borro is an online pawnbroker that provides short-term loans to customers who cannot borrow from banks. It offers them cash for jewellery, gold and memorabilia.
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