Weblog Consulting Register Login Subscribe to Free Influx Emails Join our Facebook Group Branding Street Cred Technology Lifestyle Style Entertainment Interviews Art InfluxTV Map Widgets RSS — All Subjects RSS — More Feeds

Search

Advanced Search

Contact Privacy Policy

There are a number of reasons why large flat screen televisions have taken off; the arrival of HDTV, the appeal of creating a home cinema, the growth of DVDs that allow for better quality experiences and the idea that its something you can easily impress your neighbors with.

Most of the appeal with the large screen TV lies in the immserve multi-sensory experience it provides, it's like being IN the movie theater or AT a sports game. Fast-paced, energetic images of rock concerts, action movies and sports are often used as cues for advertising for these products.

Colorcalm is taking a completely different approach to this expanding market. Instead of producing fast, loud and intense DVDs, it does precisely the opposite. Colorcalm is to flat screen Baby Boomers flat screen TVs, what new age music is to their CD players. Its mission is to allow users to transform their flat-screens into relaxation devices. Colorcalm's first DVD used colors and audio to create different user selected moods based around the idea of color therapy which it put this together with the help of global color specialists, Pantone.

According to MoCoLoco, Colorcalm will soon launch their second DVD, that's a little more sophisticated than its first; it features music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, New Order and Michael Nyman and visuals created by artists; Peter Saville and John Maeda.

Colorcalm have launched a version for babies, are featured "entertainment" on Jet Blue flights and are used by a number of retailers.

The idea of using a TV as a relaxation device is an interesting one. It's likely that the trend of relaxing uses for TV will continue with the next generation of gaming consoles offering a wide variety of gaming experiences. Since Sony believes the new Playstation 3 will have a lifespan of 10 years and the average gamer is 35, the idea of "middle age friendly games" makes sense.

Slower-paced simpler games like poker, checkers and chess being played in with 3-D graphics within a massively multiplayer environment could appeal to this audience. In addition, with the importance of health to this older demographic, it's likely slower paced exercise games could emerge; yoga could be one example. There could also be new a new generation of games designed to promote relaxation that could involve art or music that could be created to appeal to an older target. These would all further develop the idea of "Slow TV".

It's been said that there are two type of business; those that cater for "fast" needs and those that deliver to "slow". You need to decide where your brands fit and plan accordingly, because there is often little room in the middle. Some brands can play across both spectrums, think of Starbucks as one example, with the fast-paced Double Shot at one end and the more calming Frapuccino at the other.