Creatures of Habit

Brands and marketers spend a lot of time and money with “new and exciting” initiatives based purely on trends that are influencing their consumers. But what they should be doing is improving their existing products and marketing efforts based on consumer habits.

As consumers, we are programmed to intuitively select the products and brands we need based on what looks familiar (e.g., the easiest decision to make). And as marketers, “the goal is to make consumers repeat their purchases by matching the value proposition to their needs.” Consumers don’t want to spend the mental energy when shopping (online or in-store for that matter), so why make them?

Branding, Design, Advertising, MarketingThe solution for brands lies within understanding the habits of their consumers, and evolving or improving upon them based on what their brains are programmed to be looking for. And unless consumers are absolutely screaming for a change, and the return is solid for your business, then making a dramatic change is no bueno.

Brands like Coke, Tropicana, GAP, and many more have undergone redesigns in some capacity over the years. Consumers didn’t demand it. They weren’t educated on the change, nor provided a real rationale. The result was backlash, and even a decline in sales, which pushed the brands to quickly go back to the original. A lot of time and money lost. However, sometimes it pays off (only if the demand is there), but often times it doesn’t.

There are more examples and insights we could share, but we simply don’t have the time, nor blog post space to do so. That said, we want to leave you with this very simple message: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And if you decide to fix it, make sure you do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt the habits of your consumers.

Coffee As Unique As Your Handprint

Memory-by-Wenyao-Cai-Electrolux-Design-Lab-2012-finalistA small but important part of many people’s lives is the intimacy of having a barista who remembers who you are and more importantly how you have your coffee. Memory is a coffee maker that uses hand print recognition to act as your personal barista and make the right cup of coffee for the right person. Set it to your preference of weak, medium or strong coffee or even an espresso to a ristretto. When you’re ready for your perfect cup of coffee, Memory will scan your hand and get it right every time. The machine was designed by WenYao Cai from China, an Electrolux Design Lab 2012 finalist.

No matter how hard we wished it wasn’t, Memory is still in the concept phase and isn’t ready to be on the market just yet.

What Sparks Our Fire: An innovative gadget that allows you to get your perfect cup of coffee with a simple scan of the hand.

Do you wish Memory was out on the market? Let us know your thoughts.

Food Without The Fuss

photo-main (1)Our kitchen has drastically changed over the last 30 years to make our lives easier when preparing meals. Now, there could be a new addition to our existing high tech equipment: a smart microwave/oven that can learn your habits and help you stay fit. It’s called the MAID oven (that stands for Make All Incredible Dishes), and it learns your tastes and habits.

MAID Oven is a Kickstarter project that met its $50,000 goal in just five days. The advanced oven has a list of recipes, and users can upload their own into the database. Once you’re ready to bake, the oven has settings to automatically set the temperature and cooking time for whatever dish you might be whipping up. The coolest feature the device offers is that MAID Oven can act as a pseudo health-conscious dietitian. Depending on your eating and fitness habits (it can sync with your smartphone or smart watch), the oven will make suggestions for meals that factor in your calorie intake and taste preferences. It has access to an unlimited number of recipes from the web so you don’t have to worry.

Another feature of the sophisticated oven is you can control it with your voice. You can actually tell the oven what’s for dinner — it’s got built-in voice recognition. It doesn’t end here. MAID Oven also comes with an accompanying smartphone app. This means you can get push alerts when your food is done cooking, adjust cook time and temperature settings from afar, or remotely activate/deactivate the oven while you’re away from home. Isn’t it magical? Feel free to check out MAID Oven baking pizza, pasta, and even cake in the Kickstarter’s demo video below.

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MAID should be ready to go to market by Thanksgiving 2015. Hopefully you can deactivate the dietary suggestions for the holidays!

What Sparks Our Fire: A useful device with smart features and functionality that could truly make cooking easier, healthier, and more fun.

Will you be making some space in your kitchen for the MAID Oven?

The Invisible Umbrella

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If you dream of a world where people use air-powered umbrellas to fight the rain, you can wake up. The future is now. To be honest, the umbrella is one of those gadgets that hasn’t really been updated much in the last 200 years. Sure, technological advancements have allowed them to become easier to handle and more durable, but overall, it’s pretty much the same deal. But a new Kickstarter campaign has launched an idea that changes the umbrella game completely. It is called the Air Umbrella and it makes use of the airflow to form an umbrella without a visible cover.

Put simply, the gadget releases air that pushes the rain away. Currently, there are three sizes of the Air Umbrella available: small, medium and large. You can also fit two people under the Air Umbrella. The air umbrella will be ready to launch by December 2015. Head over to the Air Umbrella Kickstarter page to find out more.

What Sparks Our Fire: Engineers that strive to bring innovation to the most basic objects.

Would you consider investing in an invisible umbrella once it becomes available?

Get On Cloud 9

Screen Shot 2014-11-19 at 4.47.10 PMDo you sometimes wish you could fly? Well, Hong Kong-based designers David Koo and Zheng Yawei developed something close to sitting on cloud 9 with this astonishing concept design. Yes, a couch that floats in the air. The levitating couch uses a magnetic force from the bottom base to stay afloat. And is designed like a cloud for ultra comfort and relaxation. Sadly, this Cloud sofa remains a concept for now, but it looks like something anyone would try out for sure. And if this isn’t magical, we don’t know what is.

What Sparks Our Fire: Though only a concept, the Cloud may be the coolest idea and most aesthetically pleasing couch, ever.

What do you think of Cloud? Would you be willing to relax up in the air like the Mario Bros?