i [love] marketing.

Uniqlo's Flexibility is its New Go-To Market Strategy

Uniqlo has built its retail empire around the "Made for All" POV, meaning its products are such that anyone and everyone can wear them.

Now, being more sensitive to local economic and physical differences among its consumers in different regions and markets, Uniqlo revised its go-to-market strategy. Instead "everything fits everyone" thing, they are making larger-sized items for the US market and cheaper items for the economically disadvantages regions in China. This is quite a ballsy move for any retailer due to consequences that differences in sizing and quality can do to the brand, yet an incredibly intelligent one, as it makes the brand more adaptive and resilient globally.  

Haptic sensations coming to the screen near you

Once it reaches mainstream, it will be a wonderful thing for blind people, but it is a sort of field day for the rest of us, too. Fujitsu's next-gen touchscreens, unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week, will allow us to feel haptic sensations from our screens. If we are watching a video of water, we would feel its slippery surface. If we are looking at the picture of rocks, we would be able to feel them, too.

The technology behind the haptic screen sounds pretty sci-fi today, but I am sure it will become run-of-the-mill in a few years. Fujitsu uses ultrasonic waves to vibrate the air at the very top of the screen, effectively turning air into a flexible, responsive surface giving off the impression of different textures. Pretty smart.

We could have totally predicted the Normcore coming

Amid all the cries for "authenticity," "uniqueness," "difference" the real cool comes under the trend Normcore. It adheres to the principles of blending in vs. standing out, melting into the crowd instead of attracting attention, and being just like everyone else. 

It is an expected and, honestly, quite welcome backlash to the crazy advertising machine telling us we are unique, just like everybody else. Credits go to K-Hole for coining the term that captures a general attitude of "the self-aware, stylized blandness. It's an attitude embracing sameness deliberately as a new way of being cool, rather than striving for “difference” or “authenticity.” In fashion, though, this manifests itself in ardently ordinary clothes. Mall clothes. Blank clothes. The kind of dad-brand non-style you might have once associated with Jerry Seinfeld, but transposed on a Cooper Union student with William Gibson glasses."

Gotta go buy my Uniqlo hoodie now. In gray, of course.

Scough is the answer to your prayers, Newyorkers

For everyone who lives in New York and rides the subway, this is a godsent idea. But first: how many times you turned your head in disgust trying to remain civil and at the same time cursing the person next to you on a crowded car who didn't cover their mouth when coughing? Well, yes.

Enter the Sough. It's a nice-looking scarf (forget those surgical masks) with a hidden filter that purifies the air we are breathing, on the subway and off. It fends the germs away, and when placed directly over the mouth, allows its wearer to breathe in the bacteria-free air (or nearly.) 

Get yours here! 

For those who are tuning in tonight...

According to Nielsen, the average age of Oscar's viewer is 51. That's kinda AARP audience, so it's not surprising that it doesn't attract the flurry of brand activity that, say, Super Bowl or Grammy's do. Still, for those who are watching, Twitter is the primary companion of this evening's festivities. Knowing that, Twitter partnered with Poptip, a social surveys company and E! Online, to create a card tracking the popularity of Oscar nominees. 

Those who follow E! Online on Twitter can vote in real time for the nominees, and Poptip notes the results. Expect a lot of good data coming out of it, even if your favorites aren't chosen. 

I like the mini-museum idea

 

"The mini museum is a portable collection of curiosities where every item is authentic, iconic and labeled.It's been carefully designed to take you on a journey of learning and exploration. The idea is simple. For the past 35 years I have collected amazing specimens specifically for this project. I then carefully break those specimens down into smaller pieces, embed them in resin, and you end up with an epic museum in a manageable space. Each mini museum is a handcrafted, individually numbered limited edition. And If you consider the age of some of these specimens – it's been billions of years in the making.  The majority of these specimens were acquired directly from contacting specialists recommended to me by museum curators, research scientists and university historians."

I kinda want one.

The mini-museum's Kickstarter page is here. 

Planning is about adding value

 

 

I was lucky enough to be a guest at Julian Cole's Planning Salon this morning. Definitely follow it for the thoughts of the best in the brightest in business.