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Vending Machine – Facial Recognition

Sunday, January 23, 2011 | Augmented Reality, Consumer Generated, Engage

Kraft has invented a vending machine that analyses your face to predict what you want to eat.

It combines facial recognition with a fuzzy logic algorithm that suggests meal solutions via recipes, shopping instructions and even provides food samples. While you operate the touchscreen on Kraft’s “Meal Planning Solution”, a camera analyses your face to determine your age and gender, the better to anticipate what you want to eat.

The screen advisor will also suggest recipes based on the shopper’s meal-time intentions: a weeknight dinner, for example, or a weekend dinner party, or game day potluck–using Kraft dressings, CoolWhip, or Ritz crackers.

If shoppers are willing to assist the effort by swiping their local market’s loyalty card or their mobile phone, the kiosk can make recommendations based on past purchasing history. The kiosk syncs with Kraft’s iFood Assistant, which allows shoppers to add recipes, shopping lists, etc. to their smartphones via a barcode scanner.

Best of all, it will dispense a sample, so you can continue your trip down the aisles fueled by Oreos or Triscuits.

If the experience of using these vending machines is engaging, I would expect these machines to start appearing across retail outlets over the next 24 months.

See also this emerging technology for Addidas which is part of Intel’s Virtual Footwear wall

mygreenbottle

Thursday, January 20, 2011 | Consumer Generated

BRITA’s mygreenbottle pledge widget- a good example of inviting consumer participation into the cause of reusable bottled water.

Social Media ROI example

Thursday, January 13, 2011 | Engage, Headline

Here’s a great video from Fred Caballero discussing a process for measuring the ROI on Social Media

In the video Fred provides an example of linking a sales goal to social media tactics pointing out the value of “Listening” and the necessity to have at least a 6 month time frame in order to generate ROI.

Socialisation of the Organisation

Wednesday, January 12, 2011 | community, Engage, Presentations, Social Networks

Having worked in Knowledge Management for a large multinational I have had experience in the challenges involved in realising the value of shared wisdom across the organisation, without enforcing the burden of overcomplicated information categorisations.

So I read with excitement this manifesto on Social Architecture which provides a cleverly thought out view on how organisations can embrace socialisation to generate real value.

Weekly links (weekly)

Sunday, December 26, 2010 | Bookmarks

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

5 tips for adding Video into your Digital Strategy

Monday, December 6, 2010 | Consumer Generated, Video

I have often discussed the growing demand for watching videos over the internet, so it was with interest that I read the recently published statistics from comScore.

The following chart shows the population reach, and some key viewing statistics by country which was releasd to support the launch of their Video Metrics service

comScore Video Metrics by country April 2010

comScore Video Metrics by country April 2010

The volume of videos watched is huge, and it must be rememberd that this is largely because the length of videos watched online are often only 5-10 mins.  However, the hours per viewer number indicates just how powerful this medium is going to be in terms of audience attention.

What amazes me is the high percentage of brands who don’t have video included in their digital strategy.  Usually this comes from an ignorance of the size of this medium.  Most decision makers in marketing teams, or their agency don’t spend a lot of time online and are often unaware of the changing habits of the online consumer.  Secondly, they often assume that producing video content has to follow the same expensive process used to produce television commercials.  This means that someone has to swim against the tide, and often actually start publishing video content to initiate a change in focus.

I’ve listed 5 initiatives that I have found to be successful for

So I’ve listed 5 initiatives to get  ways to help you get this done.

1.  Research what content exists for your category.

Video should be something that is monitored along with your Social Media Monitoring process.  Understanding what video content is available helps to narrow down and discover more about the market that is vying for share of attention.  It’s a good idea to group the content into sub-categories so that you can more easily digest this.  Identify the opinions being expressed, and list any topical gaps or areas where your stories will rise above the clutter. Here’s a selection of video search tools that will help.

Truveo
Yahoo Video
Blinkx
Youtube
Google Video

Outcome: Research report on video content for your category.

2.  Audit your current content

Hidden away in corporate shelving, or archived sales conference video tapes are some great content that provides an easy source of material.   Most agencies are quick to upload your tv ads, which should not equate to ticking the box on internet video.   Consider enhancing the content of your ad, by uploading the back story to the ad itself, or extending the content of a 30 sec spot into a 10 min spot.  This is why it’s important that television ads incorporate a digital execution strategy.

Outcome: List of existing video content

3.  Get basic Video Hardware

Even if you intend using professional resources to record video content of major events, conferences etc, I still recommend purchasing some basic video equipment which is available for ad hoc opportunities like interviews, testimonials from passionate fans, or technical explanations from your R&D people. I still remember buying one of the early digital camera’s for a consumer packaged goods company that I worked with, and it stored the pictures on a 3 inch floppy drive.  Once people started seeing how easy it was to record & share images, the camera soon was constantly in demand. The point is that sometimes change requires demonstation & experience.

Thanks to advances in technology, and global competition, it doesn’t cost very much to get the basic video equipment these days.  Portable video recorders like the Flip video, Sony’s Bloggie, or Kodak’s Zi8 start at around $150.  HD Camcorders can be purchased for less than $1000 making it relatively easy to purchase as a business expense.  Video equipment is also easier to use and many of the new devices include an integrated upload to youtube facility.

Having the equipment on hand lets you experiment and start to learn the basics of video production.

Outcome: Equipment & basic knowledge of use

4.  Experience : Record what you already do

There are so many existing areas that brands invest in, and unless there is a legal or copyright reason not to, we suggest that they make a great starting point for getting experience around this medium.  Whether it’s an internal speech made to employees, or a trade show exhibition that you have invested in, you can help extend the life of these events using video recording. If also helps to showcase some of the content you record which helps to encourage others to utilise video as a part of business communications.

Outcome: List of easy opportunities for video content, quick win case studys that can be used for a business proposal.

5.  Business proposal

Once you have completed the first 4 steps, you should be in a position to write up a business proposal to extend the use of video within your business, so that resources can be allocated to this function.
I suggest you start with something small, which can be used as a quick win.


Weekly links (weekly)

Sunday, December 5, 2010 | Bookmarks

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.