POST DIGITAL

Future Of Wearable Tech

Sensors, Wearable tech, and personal eco-systems are all the rage, but the craze goes beyond connected eyewear such as Google Glass and smart timepieces such as Apple's rumored iWatch. Wearable technology is an undeniable trend and brands like Nike, Apple, Samsung and Google are all bringing out products to satisfy consumers growing awareness and demand for new products. 

Much has been written about smartwatches in particular due to the Samsung Galaxy Gear watch and the new Apple iWatch - What does this mean the future of wearable technology? Is it all about wrist based devices? Can wearable technology cross over from being an fashion accessory to being a functioning part of our everyday lives? What do you think will happen in the future of this industry?

PSFK Labs in collaboration with iQ by intel created this great report which covers how the latest trends are evolving.

 

Fashion Forward: From The Runway to Ready-to-wear

Designers are creating apparel, accessories and fitness wear that can do everything from monitor your heart rate to charge your smartphone. For the Fashion Forward scene here are some of the latest players in the space:

• Charge It: Someday you may be able to charge your smartphone with your clothes. Flexible solar panels have inspired designers to come up with clothes and accessories that can power electronics. Start-up Wearable Solar is using the technology to make lightweight wired garments that enable the wearer to charge a smartphone up to 50 percent if worn in the sun for a full hour. And New York-based Voltaic Systems makes a collection of bags that can charge a variety of devices.
• Baubles and Bangles: In the future, our own personal air purifier may defend us from all that nasty air outside. Worn on the wrist, the Hand Tree design sucks up and filters polluted air, and recycles it back into the atmosphere. It was created by Alexandr Kostin, a semifinalist in the Electrolux Design Lab Competition. The purifier gas a refillable carbon filter, a rechargeable battery and an organic light-emitting diode screen.
• Rainbow Winters: Some sharp people want to make our clothing to, well,do more.  Amy Winters, the designer of the Rainbow Winters clothing line, makes garments that respond to their environment.  For example, the dress is made with holographic leather and reacts to sound. As volume increases, it begins to illuminate and make what Winters describes as "visual music." The bathing suit reacts to light, with the center panel turning into purple dots in the sun.
• Trackable Couture: Things can get lost pretty easily in those massive walk-in closets. In his fall 2013 collection, fashion designer Asher Levine included tracking chips that let items be located by the owner using a customized TrackR app. Levine, who has created looks for Lady GaGa and will.i.am., partnered with Bluetooth solutions company Phone Halo on the chip.
• Adafruit: City bike-sharing programs such as New York's Citi Bike may be great, but the stations may be a bit hard to find without a map. Adafruit, a company that sells DIY electronics and kits, has built a helmet to help make that process more efficient. It has a built-in navigation system that uses lights that flash on the left or right to let the rider know where to turn.  The interface is still a bit complicated, though: The user has to manually enter the coordinates of a destination, but it is still safer than trying to use a smartphone while riding.
• Ying Gao: Using eye-tracking technology, fashion designer Ying Gao has created a set of dresses that move when someone is looking at them. When the garment is gazed at for a time, tiny motors move parts of it in patterns. The dresses also glow. covered in photo-luminescent thread or featuring glow-in-the-dark threads that make up the base layer of fabric.
• Sounds That Carry: The merger of technology and high-end accessory design is a definite trend. Handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff has made four clutches that encase speakers for Stellé Audio Couture.
• A Sock With a Message: The start-up Heapsylon has a smart sock, Sensoria, that is paired with an anklet to automatically detect the type and level of activity based on pressure signals coming from the foot of the wearer. Sensors in the sock communicate data to the anklet, which then can relay the information to the user via an app. For example, it can track a runner's regular form and send an alert when he or she is making an injurious movement.
• Close to the Heart: Even more intimate than smart socks, intelligent sports bras can track users' performance. This NuMetrix sports bar, made by Textronics, has a small transmitter that snaps to the garment to tracks a user's heart rate.
• Light It Up: Berlin-based label Moon Berlin, which makes luxury clothing, focuses on using technology to enhance the look of its designs. Soft-circuit LEDs are integrated into the garments, connected to an electrical circuit attached to rubber-like materials that are integrated into fabrics.

 

The Issues and Questions

While some are creating products to enhance and expand your personal eco-system, others are quite skeptical about the trends because of the following:

1. Privacy. One thing is poking finger into a touch screen in a public place, the other is talking to the device. Wouldn't people look like lunatics talking to themselves all the time? 
2. Practicality. How practical is it? Compared to poking an icon, sending and processing a voice command seems to take a lot more time, even with the best processing speed and the best voice recognition accuracy.
3. Data Storage -  Who owns this data? How much of it belongs to the person and how much belongs to the brand? Where do you store all of your vitals?

 

Getting entrenched in the history

As computing moves from our desktops to our phones, we look into the future to see how technology will become increasingly ingrained in our movements and our active lives. Wearables have the possibility to make us more knowledgeable about ourselves and our surroundings, and connect us with each other in an uninterrupted, more intimate way. From DIY wearables to high-tech sensors and smart fabrics, the years ahead will show how integrated technology can impact our lives for the better. 

Any thoughts on this trend?

[Sources: PBS, PSFK, CNBC, CNN, Ted Talks]

The Shops at Target

Target recenlty revealed its new micro-niche retail strategy. Like many retailers they are picking up edgy trendsmart shops from Miami to SF—and plugging these mini boxes inside the larger Target retail box.

This concept is not a new one as commercial real estate developers have already seized upon this idea at Boston’s Newbury Street, Chelsea Market in Manhattan and Santa Monica Place in California.

Target typically does this right. If the concept takes off with consumers, we can look forward to more boutiques and more categories.  I ponder what the online implications of these boutiques will be?  will it be a gilt like object or something much more location-based social networking centric?

on: pepsi's social vending system

Pepsi new vending machines encourage consumers to give the gift of Pepsi. PepsiCo's Social Vending System is a state-of-the-art networked unit that features full touch screen interactive vending technology, enabling consumers to better connect with PepsiCo brands right at the point of purchase. A prototype of the Social Vending System will debut at the National Automatic Merchandising Association's One Show in Chicago, April 27-29.

on: google's social commerce blunder

How many of you were following the NYTimes article "A Bully Finds A pulpit"? It was a fascinating look at the a weak point in Google's ranking technology. This in-depth report showed how a glasses reseller was able to gain in Google ranking due to dozens of complaints on forums. This negativity was then mistaken as popularity by Google’s algorithms. 

Google has rushed in a crash program to resolve this issue without giving away too much about how they arrived at a solution. What is certain is that people saying bad things about you could now directly impact your search rankings, and should be taken more seriously.  

Does anyone smell legislation coming to regulate social commerce?

on : southwest airline's chief apology officer

"Without service there are only buyers, not customers" - Lester Wunderman 2009

Southwest Airlines has assembled a team of digitally savvy apologists to reach out to customers they disappointed. Their main task is following up after all sorts of crummy customer experiences like misplaced baggage, flight delays, and even stuff out of their control like bad weather.  [via WOMMA]

Like TwelpForce and Comcast, Southwest Airlines knows that great customer service leads to loyalty. This is the type of proactive customer care that builds brands. People are accepting of mistakes when a brand representative acknowledges the mistake and proactively tries to fix it.

read more about Southwest Airlines approach to customer loyalty in the Chicago Tribune.

on: creative errors

A large part of experience design is designing for the we know the user will do and then taking it a step further in designing for what we know they can do.  Error pages are often neglected by designers because they are rarely seen, or at least that’s the plan. But we all know things happen. A visitor may incorrectly enter a url, or try to find something on your site that just isn’t there. These are times when the 404 page will receive a few visits, but visiting an error page isn’t necessarily part of a pleasant user experience.  In this post I have rounded up a few of my favorites.

nokia's ovi love

carsonified

at first sigth

joyent

hdqt.co.uk

product planner

chrisglass.com

xhtml kitchen

twurn

agens

ON: Nike's Grid

It starts with 40 postcodes across London each with a ‘Grid’ phone box. Participants play for their postcodes by running between boxes, dialing in at each location code and score points that earn badges (for speed, endurance and stamina).  This is experience planning at it's best.

ON: Direct Response Video

Last week I sat on a panel at a digi-day conference on video.  Our topic was DRTV in the digital space.  

For those of you digi-rati that don't do TV, DRTV stands for Direct Response Television. In general awareness advertising, the spot usually gets your attention and answers "Why this product?".  A DRTV spot answers "Why this product right now?".  DRTV comes in a few flavors. It can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes long.  Most DRTV spots ask for the sale, give you a reasonable offer and then flash up a toll free number to redeem the offer.  It is a very effective way to sell products via television.

If you were born in the digital space, like me, the thought of a DRTV spot online seems like an epic waste of media space.  As a matter of fact it is an improper use of the digital medium.

This line of thought lead me to sit and draw up how I would take the power of video and combine digital direct response and social media.   Here is a prototype of a portable direct response video player.

 

A "how-to" or demonstration video may be a great way to show HOW your product or service can benefit the consumer.  This would work much better than the 15 & 30 second awareness pre-roll. You could also tie consumer comments and or ratings to the video.  The entire ad module could be shared in social networks.

Within the video player you could put in 3D imagery with a written description along with a full up shopping cart.

The consumer could complete the entire purchase process in the video unit by using overlapping modal windows.

A click to chat feature would let a customer service rep help you or even connect you to others who are using the product now.

The Big Idea Still Counts
As a true believer in the big insightful idea, I am especially keen on tailoring the message to the medium. You would not dare put a banner ad on TV. Why would you throw your 30 second ad on the web and then never ask for the click or the sale? 

No matter what your big advertising idea is, you must customize it to the medium for the best results.

ON: Scam Car Warranty Calling Campaign

Has your cell phone been ringing off the hook with calls from new and interesting phone numbers you have never seen before? Shoot...My cell phone is ringing again.  The number on the screen is (623) 238-6228... I'd better pick it up.

JP-B: "Hello?"
Automated Caller: “Your car warranty is expiring. We have notified you several times by mail. Press 1 to renew your warranty.”
JP-B: [annoyed pesses 1] Hey - my car is new!
Operator: Silence then a sigh [Hangs up!]

As a card carrying member of the Direct Marketing Association, I am always willing to listen to someone's pitch or even CRM program, especially if they have my cell number. When I realized this was a scam I did some homework. 

Just in case you thought that this call was from your favorite auto brand that had completed their sophisticated CRM program, worry no more, its scammers who have created a system that is untraceable so far. The NYTimes reported that States have begun investigations.  It is disturbing that the criminals are doing better job of following up on my car's performance than the brand that I bought it from. hmmm???

If you are getting these calls from numbers like (623) 238-6228, (408) 587-2116, (202) 552-1332, (702) 520-1105, (609) 948-0971 and (562) 289-8136 these calls are illegal.  A clever person over at reddit has discovered the identity of one of the spammers.  They have posted their phone number for the world! Gotta love the power of an active community!  

If you are getting these calls or have information about the companies making them you can report these it to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) - and file a complaint with the FCC at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html.  When you report it, you will help make sure that only the brands you love can call you and offer you something new or interesting!

ON: 2009 A Year to REFRESH

Refresh.  It seems like a simple task. Hit a button on your browser and the page changes. Easy, right?  It isn't.  A refresh usually takes complex systems and or labored work to make real change.  The same can be said of the state of affairs around the world.  The arrival of the New Year has come and gone. While 2008 was a year of promises and hope, 2009 should shape up to be a year where we buckle down and begin the change required to refresh our world while achieving our sales goals.  It will take complex and fundamental change.

Dictionary.com defines change as: to transform or convert, to transfer from one to another, a transformation or modification; alteration.

What will you CHANGE this year?  From the environment, to the economy, to your health, to brand plans, to the way agencies work, we are due for rapid systemic change.  In a time when we face mass unemployment, a war, unrest in the middle east, rapid climate change and an impending economic depression, we have fallen in love with people and products that exuded authenticity and promised radical yet positive change. They have refreshed our outlook.

Why are so many brands retreating to their roots?
In focus groups, people are saying they want stability in unstable times.  Of course they do.  That seems logical. When we are shaken to our core we want the basics to remain the same.  Many brands are taking a step back, reflecting on their roots. Some will tell you "You can depend on us" - look at this Allstate ad.

This is a beautiful ad. (well written, acted and art directed)  "Back-to-basics" is a simple idea.  It reflects on the past, establishes trust and reinforces the brands strongest attributes.  Hey, who doesn't want to protect what they love.  However, it does nothing to get me to consider switching.  Nothing that says come with me, change something. It takes a practical approach to hard times. That is merely one example of a slew of brands who are missing out on what we desire.  The big opportunity is not that we have roots. It's what in our roots or brand DNA that can make change and refresh our world.

We still desire a Hero! Someone or something we can look to who will make us laugh, smile and refresh the outlook on the future.  Who needs another somber ad when watching Inside The Actors Studio on Bravo?  Don't most of us use TV as a cheap get away?

Don't be practical! Be emotional! Be a Hero.
While many brands retreat to their roots, the few products that exude confidence and show fundamental change will prosper. They will see sales of product.  Brand Managers need to examine our conversations to determine their Brand DNA.  They should ask themselves "What will inspire a moment of happiness?"  More importantly, "What in their brand will evoke an emotional buy it now response?"

A great example of a Refresh is Pepsi's 2009 launch of their new advertising and brand look.

Simple & smart.  Offers a smile. A pick me up.  It establishes a different tone from the big celebrity-filled production numbers that Pepsi helped invent for my generation. Its a great happy-greeting-card to the world.  I like the music, by indie rockers the Apples in Stereo. The upbeat lyrics "And the world, is made of energy/And the world is electricity." reminds me of the early British pop invasion after World War II. 

Many have been critical of the Pepsi refresh. They have said that it was jumping on a political bandwagon.  They are wrong. That is a short-sided view that seems to lack insight into what the audience desires.  In torrid times we need a smile. We need a dose of happiness. We are going to need a lot of energy to make a change.  What is brilliant and incredibly consumer-centric is that we buy things that make us feel good.  We always have.  We always will.  This is America.

Insight: When I need a pick me up, I want something that gives me a fresh, fun moment of optimism to get through the day.

The Idea: Pepsi. A Pick Me Up.

What is unfortunate is that the website does not live up to the happy innovation of the brand.  RefreshEverything.com began to show some promise when it was simply a refresh button.  Now it has been taken to the mundane.  It does not help pay off the promise. It's design is dated and done. The site would have been great before the election.  The idea that you are asking of the president seems off when, it should be about what are you going to do to refresh everything.  The design lacks the fresh simplicity of the product and does not allow me to share or spread the joy of Pepsi with friends. The site is a missed opportunity. Shame on their digital agency, this seems surprisingly off brand. A Refresh is needed.

Retreating is not the answer. 
One size does not fit all. Brand is about how I feel about your product.  Branding is about ubiquity, visability and functions; its about bonding emotionally with people in their daily lives. Only when a product or a services kindles and emotional conversation with the consumer can they realize their sales potential.

I think we will help support brands that offer us an opportunity to refresh.  A brand who is willing to get passed the practical and help us act irrationally (emotionally) through entertaining function that facilitates the change that our worlds need will realize revenue in a downturn.

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
—Henri Bergson

Be a change agent this year.  Begin to innovate it will lead to a Refresh!  Happy New Year!