Tissot Brings Augmented Reality To Point Of Sale

Tissot has partnered with Harrod's by installaing an interactive window display that enables consumers to virtually ‘try on’ watches from both the Ladies and T-Touch men’s collection, complete with a fully interactive touch screen that allows potential customers to experience the wider Tissot range range in an innovative and fresh way.

Whilst the idea and execution is no doubt highly engaging and interactive, the paper wristbands do somewhat detract from the premium nature of the watch brand, in my opinion...

Below is a video showcasing the many positive responses from potential purchasers, so perhaps my opinion doesn't matter much, in this instance.

Via - Luxuo

Augmented Reality Film

The Witness claims to be the first film to take place on the "outernet", blending drama with real life interactivity through a specially designed iPhone app, where participants either inadvertently saves the day or becomes the villain of the story as a result of a series of decisions they make along the way.


In order to participate, German viewers would apply online, where "winners" got to enter a real-life version of the movie in which they play a role, using their phones to watch snippets of the film that play out like a virtual layer over the physical environment they are in.

Via - YouTube

Cash, Credit Card Or BMW Key?

Contactless payment transaction systems have already been in existence for some time now. But thanks to innovations from BMW, these transaction systems may see more ubiquitous presence going forward.

By integrating the necessary technology into the BMW key itself, drivers will be able to unlock far more than just their cars in future. Below is a short clip from IDG News Service that gives you a hint of the convenience this may provide for you.

Via - Autoblog

Interact With Ads - There's An App For That

In support of the new Honda Jazz campaign, the Japanese automotive brand has launched an iPhone app that allows viewers to participate and influence the commercial.

The app lets viewers catch and play with the characters as they appear in the Honda Jazz spot, whether it's being viewed on TV, a computer or iPhone. The goal: try to catch them all, and watch for some "unpredictable extras" — and, of course, keep Honda Jazz top of mind.

Via - YouTube

Suits To Transport - BMW

BMW's design projects for students continue to inspire creative and surprising results that will and should change the way we see mobility in future.

The results of the latest initiative, in collaboration with the European Institute of Design in Barcelona, have been unveiled and dubbed as "Suits to Transport" - a unique mixture of mobility and fashion presented in highly creative designs.





The "Comme des Voitures" below would enable an inhabitant of urban cities moving n boots soled with large ball-bearings, with an element of virtual information over-layed on the experience with ambient and real time information on the intelligent visor.


Via - Barcelona Daily Photo

Less Is More For Levi's

Levi's assessed the resources used in the manufacturing process of 501 denim in 2007 and discovered its jeans were, like the human body, mostly made of water.

Over the lifetime of its jeans, from the cotton fields to consumer to the laundry machine, an average pair of Levi's was found to use up 3480 liters of water, or"the equivalent of running a garden hose for 106 minutes."

Realising that it was difficult to change the behaviour of cotton farmers and consumers alike, Levi's decided to make a difference themselves.

The innovation in an attempt to save water in the manufacturing process has resulted in the Levi's Waterwill cost the same as the original Levi's, but will use 28% less water in the finishing process, which when multiplied by the 1.5 million pairs Levi's expects to sell this year, adds up to 16 million fewer liters of water consumed.

Via - Levi's

Adidas + Intel = New Spin On Retail

Intel, in partnership with Adidas, has launched a spectacular virtual display that renders products in 3-D, and allows a shopper to spin and zoom in on the shoes, and call up specs from a touch-screen display.


Supplemented by a supply of actual shoes that can serve as fit models, the display wall allows retailers to deliver massive inventory in a relatively small space.

The clever use of technology can really catapult traditional retailers into more interactive and immersive experiences for shoppers and is the closest any brand has come to combining e-commerce and traditional retail.

Via - FastCompany

Mercedes Aesthetics No. 2

Mercedes Benz has just showcased their latest design experiment at the Detroit Auto Show. Known as "Aesthetics No. 2", the designers drew inspiration from organic forms and made use of an extensive sculptural process in order to arrive at the final design.

It's a creative way for a luxury brand to showcase not only their premium nature, but also provides a more human connection for the everyday person and certainly does a great job at building the brand.

Via - YouTube

Surprising Service

PSFK provided an interesting new idea for restaurants who are looking to increase their word-of-mouth recommendations.

The restaurant in question is called Ogori Cafe in Japan. Apparently an innocuous enough looking cafe with an interesting difference in the way patrons experience their orders.

According to the post, "you get what the person before you ordered, and the next person gets what you ordered. Thus, if you’re in on the game, you can choose to be either a generous benefactor, and treat those that come after you – or try your luck at being cheap. Either way, it’s an interesting experiment that explores surprise, kindness and encourages interactions."

There's also an interesting account of their personal experience when they visited Ogori on the post which definitely makes you realise that unexpected generosity is possibly the easiest way to bring joy to those around us.

Via - PSFK

Beck's "Music Inspired Art"

Becks has launched an interesting interactive initiative in promotion of their campaign, dubbed "Music Inspired Art".

The beer brand has installed interactive billboards all around London that invite passers-by to plug in their MP3 players and view their selected tracks in the form of visual displays. The interactive poster generates a graphic display from the music that is being played on the iPod. Once the track is over a still is taken of the display and uploaded to becks.co.uk/flickr.

Uploaded pictures are tagged to the various posters sites, which completes the interactive circle for participants.

Via - Talking Retail

Pepsi Max Crowdsources Global Campaign

The creative direction for Pepsi Max's next global campaign rests solely in the hands of fans and budding digital creatives.

Pepsi Max is calling on entrants to submit a proposal for a 90-second ad under Pepsi's ethical banner 'Refresh Everything', with the eventual winner being granted budget and guidance to produce a Pepsi Max digital advertising film that will be rolled out in early 2010.

The added incentive is that the ad will also be played on the big screen before the gala premiere of British actor Clive Owen's new film, Boys are Back, at the London Film Festival.

If you think you have what it takes, download the brief online here.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Breathing Life Into Toys

A new online platform developed by US company ToyBots is about to revolutionise the way children interact with their toys in future - or rather, how their toys interact with them.ToyBot's new platform will essentially provide the online software for toy-manufacturers to build their "hardware" around. With internet connectivity and GPS tracking enabled on potential future products, a teddy-bear could ask it's owner for a hug or even learn some catch phrases and talk to their owners.

According to Revolution Magazine, "Other innovations include being able to "tickle" -- say for example -- your Barbie online and it will giggle in the real world or a grandmother would have the ability to record a story that the toy can read to her grandchild hundreds of miles away."

An interesting application which the platform also allows for is the connection to social networks from the physical toy - which would allow children to have a physical avatar to their online presence whilst interacting with each other.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Connecting The Old Fashoned Way

Whilst Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube have been considered essentials for any marketer worth his or her salt in the 21st century, it'd seem that one of the most established communications tool is making a comeback and offering an older, but perhaps more effective way of connecting with consumers.

A small company based in the Silicon Valley called SayNow has been offering a free service allowing stars to connect with their fans (65% of whom are teenage girls) via voicemail over the past few months. The approach has been gaining in popularity, with the service claiming that it averages 10 million fan calls per month - equating to one million voice minutes per day.

Callers can also leave voice messages of their own, many of which are then made public on SayNow.com. Callers can sign up to get text alerts when stars like Selena Gomez, of “Wizards of Waverly Place,” or the Jonas Brothers (22 million SayNow calls from fans and counting) record a new message.

Artists can also choose to chat on live conference calls, as well as returning calls for one-on-one conversations that can be broadcast to the entire group. Part of the value-add SayNow provides to it's users is the ticket sales alert, allowing fans to be the first in line to purchase tickets to see their favourite artist in person.

With cellphone penetration ever increasing worldwide, SayNow's business model is certainly one worth keeping an eye on for brands.

Via - NY Times

Lots Of Product-Related Tweets

Having analysed over 500 000 tweets, Pennsylvania State University researchers Jim Jansen concluded that around 20% of them disseminates some kind of product-related information.

Jansen and his team looked for tweets mentioning a brand and why the brand was mentioned - to inform others, express a view on the brand or something else - and found that people were using tweets to connect with the products.

According to the press release, "with about six million active users daily and predictions of more than 20 million users by the end of the year, Twitter has become the next big thing on the Web."

With businesses starting to make profits from the use of Twitter - both in terms of sales and as a brand-building tool - the micro-blogging tool could see increased adoption in future. Imagine your brand reaching a potential of 6 million per day, can any brand afford to ignore this free channel?

Via - Penn State University

Google Earth Augmented

Some smart academics at the Georgia Institute of Technology has infused the latest marketing craze that is augmented reality with an old crowd favourite that is Google Earth. The result is a mash-up that could potentially allow brands to showcase their presence in a life like scenario in the online environment.

Below is the proposed technology in it's infancy stages but already holds much promise for brand application in future.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Be A Ralph Lauren Designer

Ralph Lauren has launched an iPhone app that allows users to design their own customised rugby shirt on their handset and then immediately order their perfect shirt online - as long as you're based in the UK.

The application has also been designed so that users can superimpose their own faces on the design and share it with others - adding a nice social media element to the initiative. Users can share their look on Facebook Connect, email, or within the app's Rugby Gallery, which will distribute the look to Rugby.com as well interactive high street store windows across the UK.

Via - Rugby.com

Magical Pizza Doors

Domino's Pizza in the Netherlands launched an interesting campaign which not only serves to increase day-to-day sales and get consumers to see a new side of the long-standing fast food delivery category, but also contains the all important viral element as well as PR-value.

The pizza chain simply installed white doors featuring delivery phone number and equipped with doorbells for the delivery people to ring in a public space - thereby allowing modern consumers to satisfy their need for instant satisfaction right there and then.

A fantastic example of a simple idea based on a relevant consumer insight.

Via - Adverlab

Consumer-Generated Vitaminwater

Glaceau Vitaminwater is making use of social media for research and engagement with their latest Facebook application, which monitors buzz from various sources including Google News, Twitter, Flickr and food blog Foodgwaker to create a list of the top ten flavours at any given moment.

If a certain flavour consistently causes enough of a buzz, a final top-ten list will be published on the virtual Flavour Creator app where a final ballot will be held and the most popular flavours available in stores by net year.

Another nice touch calls for consumers todesign the label for the bottle, name the flavour and write the entertaining blurb explaining the water's health benefits, with the winning design selected by Vitaminwater's celebrity partners 50 Cent and Carrie Underwood. The new flavour and label will be announced in December with the winning designer taking home $5000 for their efforts.

Basically, the entire process allows Coca-Cola to create the most popular flavour for the relevant target market, by simply handing over the power to the consumers themselves.

Via - Brand Republic

History Of Flight

Nike has recently launched an interactive portal aimed at sharing the story that is Air Jordan.


The beautiful site, called History of Flight, contains interesting anecdotes and stories that have all helped to shape the Air Jordan story throughout the sub-brand's 24-year history. The easily navigable space also entices users to try the various links, thereby increasing the time one spends interacting with the brand.

Definitely worth checking out!

Via - Nike.com

Recycled Advertising

Target in the US have recently launched an interesting initiative to highlight their commitment to sustainability.

The company has commissioned 2 emerging artists in Michael Anderson and Josh Goldstein to design art for their Times Square billboard that will be on display until the end of October. Thereafter, the vinyl from the billboard will be transformed into 1,600 limited edition bags designed by Anna Sui.

US consumers can pre-order the bag online for $30. Not a bad price for an exclusive piece of art!

Via - PSFK