Brand Mix

It's the third birthday for the blog. Yeah! What better time to consider these end-of- the-world-as-we-know-it stories:

1) The Web is Dead. Long Live the Internet Wired

Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff thought-provoked us this week with this Infographic and its accompanying proposition--the World Wide Web is dead (or dying anyway), eclipsed by Skype, Netflix, peer-to-peer and hundreds of thousands of apps. Chris looking on the demand side: "As much as we love the open, unfettered Web, we're abandoning it for simpler, sleeker services that just work." Michael considering the supply side: "Chaos isn't a business model. A new breed of media moguls is bringing order--and profits--to the digital world." The article has generated tons of comment and discussion including this graphic-disputing rebuttal from Boing Boing.

2) Who's Got the Money? - Visa, Mastercard, AT&T, Verizon, Discover, Paypal: The Phoenix Principle
So, the web may (or may not) be dying. What about money, checks debit and credit cards? Are they doomed too? In 10 years, we may live in a world without cash. Adam explores the implications of the news that mobile carriers are working on a venture to replace your credit cards with a smartphone app that acts as your debit and/or credit card. No cash. No plastic. Potentially massively disruptive. He asks: "What happens to cash registers? What happens to desk clerks in hotels - will they be necessary? What about cashiers in retail stores - any need? Will banks have any need for a local branch? Why would ATMs exist? Quite literally a raft of companies would be affected that deal in the handling of transactions - from Visa and Mastercard to IBM and Diebold."

3) Facebook Places: Foursquare Without the Fun? socialmediatoday
Big news of the week on the social media front is Facebook's launch of Places. It would seem like this would be the end of the world for Foursquare, Gowalla and the rest but, according to socialmediatoday, it looks like Facebook is in more of a partnering than obliterating frame of mind. Plus there are no badges or mayorships on Places. So, your choice may be: Function without Fun or Fun without Function. Here's more: 1) Places User's Guide 2) An NYT article on the bitter Foursquare rivalries and office battles.

4) The Last Exorcism
Early on, Merton/Ben Folds Five found a great use for Chatroulette. Now The Last Exorcism has found another use--marketing that makes your head spin:



5) How Snooki Got her Gucci: The Dirt on Purses: The New York Observer
Snooki, star of MTV's Jersey Shore, self-proclaimed "guidette," known as Nicole Polizzi at high school before earning her nickname (apparently based on the character "Snooki the cootchie crook" from the film Save the Last Dance) because she was the first of her friends to make out with a boy), is not that special someone that luxury brands typically want to associate with. (All Snooki info courtesy of Wikipedia, btw.) Yet, there she was, on red carpet after red carpet toting her Coach bag. Until she started to be seen with other bags--seemingly a different brand in every new tabloid photograph. Were other fashion houses gifting her bags? Yes, but not theirs. In perhaps the first known example of unco-branding, it seems like the fashion houses have been rushing to send her bags from their competitors. It's a race for disassociation!

6) The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary: HealtheBay
A different type of bag--the plastic bag. Jeremy Irons narrates this mockumentary, in David Attenborough style, about a plastic bag's journey from your careless hand all the way to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, twice the size of Texas. Not sure about the effectiveness of this video. I found myself routing for the bag!



That's it! Back soon with more stories from the world of brand strategy. More thoughts and comments also available on Twitter (@martinjbishop).