Color

Pantone are pretty good at picking colour trends or perhaps its just that people follow what they say and therefore create products in those colours.  Either way we’re likely to see lots of turquoise in 2010, both in products and retail outlets. “Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from […]

Running all weekend at 303 Grand is a whole new pop up retail concept. Subports, an SMS purchasing system is presenting a shop of unique gifts that will be wrapped up so that buyers won’t know what’s inside. An on-site psychic will help shoppers decide which gift will be most appropriate. Subports presents “Clairvoyant” from […]

“The SOHO” in Tokyo Bay is set to open January 2010, deseigned by Wonder-wall’s Masamichi Kitayama. Typically known more for retail design, his attention to detail has been turned to an office complex which is perhaps more reminiscent of a 5 star hotel in terms of its ammenities and design aesthetic. As you approach the […]

I love creative use of alternative media and this example from Germany takes the cake this month. A German book publisher Eichborn attached small ultra-light advertising banners to 200 flies using wax. The banners fell off after a few hours so no harm to the flies except of course that it made them easier targets […]

Sotheby’s are planning an auction on Nov 17 in Geneva which will feature a collection of some 400 lots of rare natural-coloured diamonds and historic jewels estimated to fetch in excess of 29.5 million. One of the most anticipated pieces is a pear-shaped fancy vivid blue with a modified brilliant cut weighing 5.96 carats – […]

Many people were underwhelmed when Esquire ran the first eInk cover last year, so there’s been a degree of scepticism about an issue of Entertainment Weekly in September which will carry an ad with an embedded small video screen for Pepsi & CBS. The technology for the battery-powered ads was manufactured by Americhip and has […]

When you think about Louis Vuitton you don’t normally thing of particularly innovative store design, but two of their most recent openings have really set a new bar for the brand.  In May they opened a store in the Seibu department store in Ikebukuro Japan. It was only a limited opening store, not a permanent […]

Much has been written & researched about the psychology of colour and its application to retail environments. The general rule of thumb being to choose colours which support both the shopper experience & the psychological headspace you want to draw out in the consumer, then use them judiciously – by which I mean don’t splash […]

Holiday Inn this month “launched” their brand “relaunch” which involves refreshing over 3,200 hotels by the end of 2010, new brand standards, touchpoints and of course a new logo & ads. Whilst Holiday Inn perhaps hasn’t grown as fast as other IHG brands in the last few years, there are over 1,000 Holiday Inn & […]

Lonely Planet spent a lot of money developing applications for Microsoft Surface but have yet to roll one out anywhere. Many expected it in their new store at Sydney Airport (their only store in the world) but from comments made on Twitter it appears the timeline couldn’t be met and it “might” show up some […]

Samsung have launched new vending machines with 46″ LCD touchscreens. These have been developed in partnership with Kraft and at this stage at least will be used exclusively with Kraft product. The concept is pretty simple, rather than having to type in the number corresponding to a product, you simply touch the image of the […]

In mid April the weekly Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating is at 103.4 (up 0.8 points). This is 3.3 points higher than it was in April 2008 (100.1). Interviewing for this Consumer Confidence Rating was conducted on the weekend of April 11/12, 2009. Improvements in confidence about the future have driven the Roy Morgan Consumer […]

Here’s another reason why dieters should avoid all-you-can-eat buffets: When faced with a large variety of items, consumers tend to underestimate how much of each item is present, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Authors Joseph P. Redden (University of Minnesota) and Stephen J. Hoch (University of Pennsylvania) investigated consumers’ […]

New Scientist reports that engineers in the UK are working on a sort of “fear detector” which will enable amusement park rides to automatically adjust based on the level of excitement riders want to experience. New Scientist explains: A human operator can see a person’s heartbeat and facial expression and hear their reaction via a […]

Fitness First wanted to drive membership in the Netherlands to its gym chain. They picked winter/spring when people were looking to lose some weight in time for summer (though not sure bikini’s are that big in Rotterdam). Anyway what they did was target people at the bus stops while they were waiting to catch a […]

Blending social media with viral marketing, JetBlue’s new campaign is another in a long line of triumphs. Why? The subject matter is topical and the timing is brilliant.  That not only increases how often its spread but importantly how often its used in blogs online Humor – it always works but when times are tough, […]

In a great new idea for non-traditional advertising, Flogos (a US company) have created a machine which makes floating clouds in the shape of company logos – or anything else for that matter. The clouds themselves are a mix of soap and helium so they’re environmentally safe.  There are different formulations which can be used […]

All the F&B at JetBlue‘s JFK Terminal 5 is operated by OTG. There are essentially 4 components to their F&B strategy. Full service restaurants/cafes showcasing some of NYC’s top chefs A gourmet food hall which enables passengers to mix & match menu items from 8 quick serve eateries A Gourmet Market which offers more than […]

Its not a bad idea, one of the problems with looking up hotel websites is that you get a couple of photos of rooms if you’re lucky, and no real sense of the hotel or resort itself.  Some people revert to looking at review sites like tripadvisor or even Flickr for more “real” images of […]

A few new youth fitness franchises have sprung up around the world which incorporate kids’ fitness with video games – the aim being to try and turn around the issues of childhood obesity. NexGym keep kids moving through video game inspired workouts.  Not dissimilar to the Canadian Bulldog Interactive Fitness or Colorado’s XRKade. NexGym has […]

An interesting new concept in promotional pens for those who want to be different (and I’m tempted to say annoyingly obnoxious too). “With the push of a button, project your company’s logo or message on a wall or other flat surface,” the company explains. “The pen comes in White, Black, Blue and Silver Barrel Colors. […]

The sophisticated Adam & Eve Hotel in Turkey has clear lines and beautiful bright tones that are undeniable enjoyable to see as they blend with the eclectic touches of minimalism. With a fusion of colorful lights, the environments created are for the internationally chic crowd in search of the best places to indulge in the […]

You’d better be careful next time someone asks you what you want to drink—if you answer “anything” or “whatever is fine,” you just might get that. These bizarre beverages aptly titled Anything and Whatever because that is precisely what you get. All the labels from Singapore marketing company, Out of the Box, look the same, […]

NEW: Colin Benjamin Thursday, 29 November 2007 The future is now A friend has directed a venomous response to what he describes as this column’s gross inaccuracies. He disagreed with my call that the election result could have been closer if there had been another week of Costello fear-mongering. That Bennelong could have been saved […]