You can’t expect anything more crazy than this. A literal yet impactful approach taken by Volkswagen Denmark to introduce the direct sales of cars online. I think the idea of having it so direct creates the powerful message of how easily one can own a Volkswagen. Funny as this stunt might seem to be, it sure delivers a good conversation starter. Das Auto.
Re-directing the driverless technology
Driverless technology have always been a topic widely discussed amongst tech enthusiasts. Google has helmed the title of being pioneer in this technology and we have seen quite a lot of examples of projects and experiments done by them. The parent company, Alphabet, is now embarking on an alternative direction for this project. As much as we hope to see this coming alive, Google is facing a lot of potential challenges in the practical implementation of this technology. Setting up a new company, Waymo, it plans to lead this innovation through collaborative approaches. The concept would revolve around Waymo working collaboratively with auto manufacturers to bring their innovation to goo use. This would definitely include making new vehicles from ideas to reality. Regardless, the data and information accumulated throughout the research remains pivotal to the evolution of automobile. This can be therefore be leveraged by close working relationships with auto manufacturers. The new initiative now remain a effective solutions for businesses worldwide.
Beverage for the summer
Check out the new flavor from ClemenGold Gin. Love the new branding and visuals. Based in South Africa, the brand had its product designed by agency ‘Fanakalo’, with a strong emphasis on bright flavor colors. Looking for a really awesome beverage to beat summer? Here it is.
Interior design with tea
Retail store interiors plays a significant role in helping to keep your customers staying engaged in the store. By now, it should be no surprise that most shoppers tend to return to a shop they purchased before, especially if it can connect with them emotionally. To do this, there must be an opportunity to spark that chemistry with these shoppers. Check out this tea shop in Vancouver, Canada.
Situated along the street, the facade is a beautiful blend of white and red cherry blossoms. The entire design direction is very much inspired by Japanese art, capitalising on the minimalist details that potentially forms into a differentiated tea-drinking experience. In this case, it does not matter if the customer is familiar with the cultures or equipped with the knowledge of Japanese tea-drinking. The customer will immediately be immersed into the entire experience.
Back to the future in 40 years
Simple yet concise. There are things about the Japanese culture which makes it so unique and attractive. Be it their music, culture or fashion, everything seems to have that very special flair that could almost transcend reality. Clothes that might look so weird and ideas so radical making its way on to the streets, becoming an everyday affair is proof of the society’s acceptance to constant change. How did youth culture transformed traditional mentality into what it is today? Check out this video by Japanese agency, Hakuhodo, as they create this amazing mash of music video to illustrate the transition of times for Beams in the last 40 years. Amazing work.
Mercy.
Im going to mumble the exact same word she used in the video. “Mercy.” BMW recently released a video featuring Clive Owen, Dakota Fanning and Jon Bernthal in a short action packed movie with fast paced action simulating an escape scene. Needless to say, this is a high budget commercial with lots of planning and cast. Obviously, it is not an everyday affair that creatives can work with such handsome budget and awesome cast. Anyway, the idea of a brand investing this much to create a blockbuster work is commendable. Although the story line is far from being really diverse, the commercial is atypical of most auto car commercials. It place the new 5 series in good light by revving up its reputation further. Nice work.
Gaming on the go
With the proliferation of mobile games, the gaming industry began to see increased trends of people devoting a large portion of their time and finance into this area of entertainment. As an active gamer, I am also guilty being part of this staggering number of gamers. Now, does that mean console gaming and arcade gaming is losing its appeal? The answer is a Yes and a No. You probably notice the decrease in traffic in your neighborhood’ LAN shops, cyber cafes and arcades. But on the other hand, you see people gripping tightly on to their mobile phones on the train and completely sticking their face into the games wherever they go. This makes you doubt the survivability of traditional gaming. However, Nintendo proves us wrong by actually playing the “catching-up” game. Check out their new console, aka ‘NX’. It is the hybrid of both console and mobile gaming experiences.
Have you check out their trailer? its fantastic. It brings out the essence of the brand and also packs all the function and features of this new tech. Personally, I think they did an awesome job.
The daredevil camera man
NIKE’s 2016 commercial, ‘The Next Wave’ is the epitome of good cameratography combined with a solid storyboard. If you are blown away by this video, then you should know this was made possible through the skills of camera operator “Gimbalninja”. The Austrian is famous for his daredevil attitude when it comes to shooting dangerous stunts and absolutely challenging actions in motion. Akin to a first person shooter game experience, the camera experience for the viewer allows one to see the ninja’s perspective. The clip allows you to see how the story flow in very exciting angles all across Beijing and Hong Kong. It was able to feature a nicely curated film of several different sports overlapping smoothly. In short, getting the right script is important but executing a piece of really good work requires getting the best person for the job. Albeit a niche occupation, it is definitely a highly sought after skill set. Check out the videos below.
Fly!
While working on a previous brief for a client of mine, the idea of VR struck us in the midst of our brainstorming session. Some cringe while others embrace it passionately. Consumer VR experience in today’s context revolves greatly in a ‘controlled’ interactive environment. Why is that so? It becomes extremely challenging to bridge that level of experience into consumer retail, exhibition or even online. Brands are riding on the technology wave but are always skeptical about its outcome and especially for those who are cautious of the perceptions from their target audience. So, we have always had a conservative approach to emerging technologies. Have a look at Parrot’s new Drone plane. The drone offers real time flight experience by allowing the user to navigate the flight from a first person view. The “Disco” drone is no mediocre technology. It ramps up to 80km/hr and its glide trajectory is almost impeccable. Running at 45mins per flight, it allows consumers now to own a piece of technology that brings drone flights to a whole new experience. VR is no longer just a novelty experience used to boost brand’s ego but a usable technology that consumers can indulge in.
Video on the go
Image source: Digitaltrends
By now, you should be so used to having a separate app on your mobile phone that is used solely for your conversations held in Facebook. The Facebook messaging app is certainly a very developed platform that was clearly planned ahead of its launch. I remember how it used to annoyed me when I had to download a separate app just for Facebook messaging. But the flip side of having an additional app also meant that we now can have more features within the app making it more robust in features. Not only are you now able to continue text messaging, you can also have the video loading in tandem. It also gives you customizable features like muting the video while you type. Facebook continues to embed more into our daily lives and making many subtle adjustments to accommodate our user experience. Is your brand thinking along the same direction?
Zack Chia 