The Espresso: Edition 138

One of the frustrations I have with marketing and brand people around the world is that they are not in fact marketing to create a better brand, they are just promoting.

In a teleconference call recently with Peter from Life Technology, a brilliant company making real headway in the fight against cancer and other life threatening diseases, Peter said he quite often got frustrated by global brands that just "added to the noise". And he is right. There are companies who are just blasting out noise. There's no real thinking behind it, no real strategy, no positioning, no point of difference, it's just noise trying to flog stuff. If you work in a company, you're an entrepreneur, you have your own brand or you have anything to do with how you promote and present yourself, then I ask you to really sit down, look at yourself and your competitors and ask yourself "Am I just adding to the noise?" If you have no clear point of difference, no overt benefit and no way of helping your customers or society then you are just another person or company promoting another faceless brand and adding to the noise.

Turn on the TV, listen to the radio, flick through the newspaper, ponder your favourite magazine or look at the colourful banners that are flashing in front of you on any given website, it's just noise. Don't add to the noise, this is your chance to be really honest with yourself and step away from the clutter.

The Italian Institute of Technology has created a new type of paper that is both water-proof and magnetic. By treating a regular piece of paper with a solution containing monomer, it can form a protective shell around the tiny fibres in the paper making water literally bead off of it. There will always be a place in our lives for reading a book or newspaper in the bath and now its even easier! The magnetic properties in the paper are ideal for anti-bacterial purposes which will could have a massive impact in the hospitality and food industries. Other uses for this new technology could include protecting hard copy paper files from humidity and wear. The concept is still in beta testing but we are just glad that somebody has looked at one of the most overlooked items around and thought "I could do something with that".

Anyone with a child will understand the struggle that's involved with unfolding or collapsing a stroller. Now, builders of the world's first power folding stroller, Origami, reckon you can do it all with a simple push of a button. Debuting at the CES Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas earlier this year the company is hoping to change the world (for those that use strollers) using a built-in generator near the rear wheels that takes care of the folding. In addition, the generator (which operates whilst the wheels are rolling) enables parents to charge their phones (honestly?!) as well as run the lights which are built in for safety. Apparently the next version will have a built in microwave, oven and coffee machine!!! 

Car companies are realising that they need to think differently to counter the negative association that most of us harbour towards having our cars serviced and the time commitment required driving to and from the service department, not to mention waiting for the service to be carried out. Bahrain's' national motor company is seeking to change how we feel about car servicing in general by not only offering free wifi and/or a shuttle to a local destination if you want to go shopping whilst your car is being serviced, but it also has installed a state of the art gym so you can work out whilst your car is being worked on. If you're into fitness you can now kill two birds with one stone - have your car serviced whilst you do good service to your waistline. Car companies will tell you that one of the greatest discomforts people have in buying a car is getting it serviced. Surely this is a step in the right direction