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While the tablet frenzy is reaching epic proportions and everyone seems to be looking at Apple, HP does not want to let it's efforts slip by unnoticed because it does have something interesting to say...it has a tablet and it's very cheap!

However, the company has a fun way of going about things, it's almost as if the brief was "How can we be as un-Apple as possible?" and they went and produced a YouTube film that is a snoozefest.



One would think given the attention around tablet computing, that they could find a more dynamic and imaginative way to tell their very interesting story.


Posted by Ed Cotton Social media is what many brands want a part of, but very few have made it.

On the surface, it seems simple, but dig a little deeper and you come across a myriad of complex political and structural issues that are standing in the way of success.

It seems there's probably a role for consulting companies to step into the vacuum and help companies navigate their way through this complexity. It appears Charline Li, formerly a superstar analyst at Forrester felt this way, because she now has her own consulting group- Altimeter.

Glancing through Alitimeter's Slideshare credentials deck, it appears they have a vibrant business model. There are very few consultants or agencies digital and otherwise who can help clients answer every single one of these questions the credentials deck suggests they answer.

Strategy

How do emerging technologies impact my strategy?
How can I align technology with my business goals?

Leadership

How do I lead my company in this new landscape?
How do I transform this organization with these technologies?

Tactics

What channels should I use to reach my audience?
How do I integrate technologies into existing systems?
When should I use which technologies?

Technology

How do I decide which technologies/service providers to use?
What's the future of emerging technologies?

How long before Altimeter gets an on offer from IPG, Publicis, WPP and the rest?



Posted by Ed Cotton There's a great story in the LA Times about a company which bucked the trends. When everyone was moving to DVD, they brought VHS tapes and still found buyers.

"The last major Hollywood movie to be released on VHS was "A History of Violence" in 2006. By that point major retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart were already well on their way to evicting all the VHS tapes from their shelves so the valuable real estate could go to the sleeker and smaller DVDs and, in more recent seasons, the latest upstart, Blu-ray discs. Kugler ended up buying back as much VHS inventory as he could from retailers, distributors and studios; he then sold more than 4 million VHS videotapes over the last two years.

Those tapes went to bargain-basement chains such as Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Family Dollar, and Kugler's network of mom-and-pop clients and regional outlets, such as the Gabriel Bros. Stores in West Virginia or the Five Below chain in Pennsylvania."

Proof is ever we needed it, that trends take some time to die and that it takes a long time for technology to fully saturate.

While we all crave the new, remember there are many that can't access it.


Posted by Ed Cotton For years video games and their makers have been dismissed by many as irrelevant, child's play.

The industry has carved out an impressive place in the entertainment space, but never seems to get the love or respect it feels it deserves.

With computing power advancing at a rapid rate and consoles being at the forefront of this, we are now starting to see games and the gaming industry being taken seriously.

One of the first examples was Folding@Home on the PS3, which allows console owners to band together to help medical science.

The latest manifestation is the amazing collaboration between Citroen and Polyphony Digital, the makers of the hit driving simulation game, Gran Turismo.

The Citroen GT unveiled at last week's Paris Auto Show was created in Polyphony's computers and then rendered into a live concept at Citroen.



The car therefore has been designed to perfection for both the real and virtual/digital worlds.




Posted by Ed Cotton Technology is about to take another leap forward and the static Powerpoint presentations of old are about to be replaced by something entirely new and a lot more dynamic. Welcome to the world of The Minority Report, where we will be able to interact directly with a presentation materials and manipulate them in real time using our hands. It will interesting to see which agencies make the technological leap forward and start using this for client and pitch presentations.




Posted by Ed Cotton nike-entering a new era? (40.01078714046552 , 116.54296875) Nike is a brand that was built on the back of raw emotion of sports, but is it about to change?

Are product performance and technological innovation going to be the drivers from now on?

Take a look at the amazing exhibition the brand is putting on in Beijing that celebrates the 100 most important innovations in the company's history.

In the past, the company has been reluctant to let technology dominate the story, but in this show, it's the star.

Perhaps, the brand feels it needs to demonstrate the substance that lies at the heart of the company and put fear into anyone, especially the smaller Chinese upstarts, that Nike's success isn't something that can be easily copied.


Posted by Ed Cotton