May 17, 2012

Business Problem Topology Mapping: Using Kinect in Merchandising

Business Problem Topology Mapping is taking a technique or a technology that has been used or developed for a specific purpose in one field or business category and applying it in an unrelated category to solve a similar problem.

In the video game world, the Kinect was invented to allow the game console to “see” what the player is doing in order to provide a richer and more realistic game experience. They use a device with cameras and spatial sensing to capture this movement.

A company called Agile Route is taking the Kinect and placing it atop a store shelf so that shoppers can be tracked. They are using the captured data to help design better ways to display merchandise for increased sales and a better customer experience. Brilliant!

With thanks to Jeff Sexton for sending me a link.

Using Kinect to build real world Google Analytics from Administrator Agile Route on Vimeo.

BrandingBlog Radio: Magical Thinking with Jeff Sexton

Sometimes I’m a bit intimidated to talk to Jeff Sexton. It’s kind of like going back to high school and having an intellectual chat with your old English teacher…or in this case, an Olde English teacher.

He’s been doing an awful lot of Magical Thinking lately. One of the more interesting examples involves tiger penis. Yep.

In addition to discussing feline phalluses (phalli?) I also got him to talk about how a business owner can use Magical Thinking to improve marketing, merchandising and the customer experience. That’s the practical application of Magical Thinking. Of course, if it’s phalli you want, go check out this guy.

One more thing….if you enjoy this podcast and get it on iTunes, it would be so cool if you could give it a rating and a comment. Thanks!

Soundbites: Personal Experience Factor and The Approach

 

Adam: Welcome once again to BrandingBlog SoundBites with Wizard of Ads Partner, Dave Young from BrandingBlog.com. I’m Adam Lefler. Hello, Dave.

Dave: Hi, Adam.

Adam: Today, we’re talking about Personal Experience Factor: the Approach. What do you mean?

Dave: Well, Personal Experience Factor, Adam, is the term that we use in the Advertising Performance Equation that relates to the actual experience that you’re delivering to a customer if you’re a brick and mortar retailer. If you don’t understand the advertising performance equation, you might not be familiar with this concept. [Read more...]

BrandingBlog Radio: Wizard of Ads Partner, Tom Wanek

Tom Wanek is the author of Currencies That Buy Credibility. A great little book for finding some unique ways to give your business sound credibility in the eyes of your customers.

On the podcast this week, we discuss the chicken and egg scenario of customer experience vs strategy and core values. Which should you focus on first?

Tom is one of those guys who I’m always having interesting conversations with about marketing, branding and strategy. This time, I had the recorder running and you get to listen in.

Soundbites: Personal Experience Factor

Chris: Welcome to BrandingBlog SoundBites. I’m Chris Loghry along with Dave Young from BrandingBlog.com and a Wizard of Ads Partner. We’ve talked about several things. We’ve included the Ad Budget Calculator in a couple of the podcasts. You can always go back to that and check that out online. There’s a link to that on the podcast. Today we want to touch on the topic of the power of personal experience. Hello Dave.

Dave: Hi Chris. Personal experience, it’s a big deal in any retail store.

Chris: Now are we talking about the customer? Are you talking about the retailer themselves? Which angle are we taking here? [Read more...]