Ok so I was just reminded by our friends over at Design Milk to have another peek at the social media propaganda posters that Aaron Wood did a while ago. Delightfully cute and great stimulus for a workshop when you want to push around social media. Here they are. Enjoy.
Filed under: Emergent media, Future of Media, Innovative advertising, Innovative marketing, Innovative promotions, Innovative retail | Tags: conversion marketing, Eightbar, future of retail marketing, hursley park, IBM Hursley Park, retail trends
I’ve also just come across another piece from eightbar. For those of you who only know eightbar as the common eightbar blues chord progression, eightbar here is the unofficial blog of cool and interesting things from the creatives and techies at IBM’s Hursley Park Laboratories in the UK.Filed under: Futures, Futurists, Innovative retail, Innovative stimulus | Tags: digital platforms, future of retail, innovative retail, mobile phone use, retail game, retail trends, target consumers
A good pointer from Linked In I looked at this morning was this article on the 14 Transformations that will define the future of retail shopping in 2020. If you’re in the retail game or just focusing on conversion more than just consideration, have a sticky beak, it’s an interesting read >
14 Transformations Define Future of Shopping In 2020 By Brian Regienczuk
The lines between online and offline shopping will continue to disappear as we move closer to 2020. There will be many transformations: tagging things you like on the street, on shows you watch and items in ads you see. This will streamline much of how we shop; getting shoppers to physical stores that carry things they like, telling stores more about what their target consumers want, and allowing each shopper to emerge in virtual shopping experiences.
Join the transformation in how we shop by 2020, and bring your own thoughts and links to the table at the end. (more…)
Filed under: innovative education, People you should know | Tags: #pencilchart, education innovation, John Spencer
Following on from my previous innovation in education post, I wanted to share another thinker with you. John T. Spencer is a teacher from Phoenix USA who has become Twitter famous overnight. John used to write a blog called Adventures in Pencil Integration, and a couple of years ago, he turned it into a book called Pencil Me In. The book substitutes a modern-day teacher trying to use technology like laptops, iPads, and smartphones for an early 1900s teacher trying to figure out how to meaningfully use pencils in a classroom. Someone recently tweeted Spencer about reading the book, he dashed off a few tweets with the hashtag #pencilchat in response and “it took off.”
More interesting than this latest Twitter phenomenon however, is John’s teaching philosophy which he shares with us on another of his blogs: Education Rethink.
“I believe that true impact occurs in a paradox. The more I try to “make an impact,” the less I impact a student. The more I try to teach to the test, the worse students do on the test. The more I focus on changing behaviors, the worse students behave. The more I try to be relevant, the more irrelevant and hopelessly “uncool” I become. Yet, when I teach to the student, I find that they often pass the test, think well, treat one another with respect and find my class to be relevant.”
John also shares his thoughts on the value of regular and meaningful student conferences in the classroom; why he’s starting the pre-occupy movement for those of us too busy to sit around just occupying Wall Street and why the kill and drill components of standardised tests are testing us to death.
John has also written three books, one of which is described here to give you a taster:
The Hollywood prototype of Silverscreen Superteachers presents a mythology that the best teachers are those who go into rough areas, make a huge difference and tell their stories in the process. The goal is to make a difference and change the world. After awhile, it becomes a mask that teachers wear – a mask of professionalism, of authority, of knowledge and expertise. Unfortunately, masked crusaders are not what children need. They need alter-egos more than superheros – regular people doing great things when they stop trying so hard to do bigger things. What if more is not better? What if changing the world is not a better goal? What if the best way to teach content is by teaching less? What if the best way to lead a classroom is by serving it? What if the solution missing in most of educational reform is not “more” but “less?” This is the main premise of a paradox of humility. It is the notion that learning increases when teaching decreases. It is the idea that teachers who quit trying to change lives are those who end up changing lives. It is the belief that the best way to achieve is by de-emphasizing achievement.
For those of you interested in education and let’s face it, who isn’t? Run your peepers over this man’s pages. He’s a terrific contributor in the education debate.
I saw this cute visual merchandising idea in Sportsgirl the other day and thought I’d share. Reminds us that even a simple borrowing from another category can freshen up a retail experience. Not only is the borrowing of the mixed sweets idea a super cute visual merchandising idea; it also encourages consumers to select multiple items as a gift pre-Christmas. Delightful.
Filed under: Advertising, Futures, innovative education, Innovative stimulus | Tags: positive posters
On the 10th November Positive Posters announced that Christopher Sousa Ebels from Australia was awarded first place in their 2011 Positive Posters competition. Christopher’s entry, “The Real Carbon Tax”, was chosen by the panel of judges as the winning poster out of over 2,500 entries. Second place was given to Dee Choi from Australia with “McVegetables” and third place went to Anita Wasik from Poland with her entry “Corporate Abuse”.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Positive Posters it’s a not for profit group started by two Aussies wanting to make a difference with design. Check ‘em out.
Filed under: Food trends & info, Innovative retail, Nice Design, packaging | Tags: Amelia Lackmann, innovative packaging, innovative retail, Nikki Green, The Little grocer, visual merchandising
Check out The Little Grocer in Armadale Victoria for some really cute interiors by interior stylist Nikki Green along with a really sweet ongoing window display by Amelia Lackmann. Great eye candy.
Filed under: Community, happiness, Innovative stimulus, Lifestyle trends | Tags: Bhutan, GDP, GNH, wellbeing
borrowed from evilcabeeza's photostream @ Flickr
Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product.
The term was coined by Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972. It signalled his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan’s unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. Like many worthy moral goals it is somewhat easier to state than to achieve, nonetheless, it serves as a unifying vision for the Five Year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans to the country.
While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH is based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.
Measuring our Progress
On the 16th of November Bhutan hold their annual forum on Gross National Happiness A country that has facinated many of us for decades since the King of Bhutan refocused the country’s vision to include and more importantly measure, the country’s happiness in an effort to start to manage that as effectively as it would traditionally seek to manage economic growth. Below is an article from The Australian suggesting that Bhutan’s goal of happiness could be a lesson for us all. I’ve also posted some additional research reports from the global wellbeing studies from the nef in the UK that you might also find interesting.
Filed under: eco marketing, farm to table, Food trends & info, Innovative stimulus, Lifestyle trends | Tags: Carrie Brownstein, Fred Armisen, Portland, Portlandia
And while we’re on the subject of Portland, which by the way if you’ve never traversed that far is an absolutely wonderful city.. It’s progressive, it’s considered, it’s design focused, you can eat well easily, people value organic and it generally feels like an all round healthy approach to life and life style. On that note,if you’re into the whole farm-to-table thing you absolutely need to check out this episode of Portlandia. Portlandia is a series created by local musician Fred Armisen and his partner-in-crime Carrie Brownstein. It’s a hilarious series covering the various aspects of what makes Portland weird. . . ["Keep Portland weird" by the way is a self titled motto bestowed upon Portland by the locals who live there]. We all love a bit of organic produce, we all care about the provenance of our food but this is perhaps taking it a little far . . . It’s genius. Enjoy.
You can check out more about Portlandia here. Better still, check out the real thing.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Beatbox Burger, Melbourne food trucks, Raph Rashid, Taco ruck
Portland food trucks
I was in Portland earlier this year and dropped in to get a feed at one of the Portland food trucks with some local friends. Regulars to LA will be familiar with the food truck trend which has exploded over there, they have regular food truck nights in Venice Beach and indeed some of the best LA restaurants are in 4 wheel rotation during the day to keep the locals fed and watered. Locals follow them on Twitter to find out where they’ll be serving that time of day, and LA trucks are often met on street corners by groups of hungry bystanders waiting for the tasty mobile to pull up & spread the love. In true Portland style, the Portlandia food truck scene is a little more low key and old school. Portland local Talia’s “Whole Bowl” is undoubtedly the tippity top of the pop in my mind and I’m sure I’m not the first person to google Talia’s special sauce in an attempt to recreate the goodness offshore, likewise the People’s Pig does a cracking roast pork sandwich, but I digress….
A little closer to home here two foodie vans are starting the scene in Oz and making their way around Melbourne serving parcels of deliciousness on the streets. And that my friends, is the point. Raph Rashid’s Taco Truck and Beatbox Kitchen are trawling round Melbourne town serving up his famous Taco truck Burger by the hundreds. You can keep abreast of where this delicious mobile will be by following him on . . wait for it, twitter.So for those of you residing south of the border, go forth and enjoy. As for Sydney, well we’re still waiting to catch up to the foodie trend. Lord Clover has been pushing for Sydney to trial late night food vans but shopkeepers and restaurant owners are pushing back saying it will create an unfair playing field given the lower start up cost of the food van. Since when did we not innovate within distribution channels and business models because it might put pressure on other businesses? As a rule, food trucks are not necessarily serving cheaper food but they are innovating in how, where and what they serve. It’s true they’re more nimble and have greater flexibility but industries change and this is a small example of change within hospitality. As with most industry, the best way to remain competitive is to read the trends shaping your space and innovate. Food trucks like small bars will park their wheels in Sydney. It’s just a matter of when. In the meantime, Sydney can watch Melbourne put another notch in their city street life innovation bedpost alongside pop up foodie offers, small bars & street art.
