The Head Down Revolution

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If you live in a major metro market, then you know what it’s like to walk down the street and see 90% of the people with their heads down buried in their phone. I was one of those people, until I found myself standing in the middle of the street in Manhattan writing a text and nearly getting hit by a taxi. From that point on, I made sure that I was always looking up. But I am definitely in the minority. And this post is not about the safety, or lack thereof, when it comes to texting. It’s about how marketers can capitalize on this Head Down Revolution.

According to Statista, the U.S. mobile phone penetration has reached 81%, representing 223 million consumers. And those consumers spend an average of 4.7 hours per day glued to their smartphones. More importantly, is the role that texting now plays in our everyday lives, especially when it comes to marketing. For an eye-opening example, texts have a 99% open rate compared to 20% for email*. Pretty amazing, huh? Now I imagine that smartphones are currently in the midst of fine tuning their hardware to introduce features that can block such correspondence. But who knows when that will come?

So until that day, marketers have a humongous opportunity to take advantage and focus their outbound efforts on the behaviors of the smartphone user. A behavior that is now second nature, and while receiving a text from a brand may seem like a nuisance at first, it is certainly less of one than an email. Also, if you’re sending info or content that isn’t selling, but more serving them something of value, then you’re more likely to be able to maintain that dialogue.

And isn’t a dialogue what we want? It opens the door, and leads to traffic. And when you have enough traffic, ultimately it will lead to transactions. It’s this approach to marketing, partnered with the aforementioned tactics, that can build the awareness and engagement you’re looking for.

Now how about a little “social experiment”: The next time you’re walking down the street, take note of how many people’s’ heads are down. It truly is a sight to see. Just think, those eyes could be engaged in your brands message. And if the message is “timed” to when your customer is in the market for a new product, it becomes relevant and timely — a very powerful combination.

*Credits: Jack Loechner — Editor of The Center for Media Research; SinglePoint; Statista

Save Hundreds On Gas Every Year

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Automatic Smart Driving Assistant is a gadget designed to unlock your car’s full potential, making driving safer and more efficient. Automatic can help you spend up to 30% less on gas (about $800/year) by learning your driving style and giving you real-time audio feedback when you do something that wastes gas. Automatic also monitors your car health and warns you when something is wrong. It provides written details of the problem and possible solutions; it tells you if it is something you can do yourself and save a trip to the mechanics or if needed, helps you find a mechanic nearby. But most importantly, if you are ever in a crash, Automatic provides a full-service crash response 24/7 and alerts 911 with your location and can even contact your loved ones to let them know what happened and that help is on the way.

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Automatic is extremely simple to set up and use: plug the Automatic link into your car’s onboard computer with no tool required and connect it to your smartphone via the App (on iOS or Android). Automatic is only available in the US.

What Sparks Our Fire: A gadget that redefines people’s relationship with driving, making it safer and more efficient by giving you useful information.

Are you ready to be a better driver and adopt a smart driving Automatic Assistant?

Never Lose Your Keys Again

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Everyone hates it when they lose their keys. Worry no more. The GateKeeper GK-Chain, a Bluetooth 4.0 proximity tracker key fob will help you prevent item loss, locate items, and automatically log you off of your computer when taken out of proximity.  So, instead of typing in your password every time, the device unlocks your computer when you approach, and locks it when you leave (you can also set the GK-Chain to require a key and password).

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How it works? All you have to do is to sync the device with your smartphone and attach the key fob to your valuables -bags, purses, dogs. What is even more interesting is that Gatekeeper GK-Chain also allows you to use it for different scenarios. For instance, parents can be warned if their children go out of a certain range. The project has been successfully funded on Kickstarter and is now available to pre-order.

What Sparks our Fire: A useful device can help us save time in our daily lives.

Do you think The GateKeeper GK-Chain is a revolutionary idea? Share your thoughts.

Makeup Meet Your Match

make up genusEveryone is talking about wearable technology. In fact, Apple announced yesterday the release of its most anticipated product: the iWatch. But, in beauty land, L’Oreal is leading the conversation with augmented reality technology in its new app Makeup Genius, taking the way we look at beauty and cosmetic application to the next level.

The app took over 10 years to develop and uses an exclusive RT Track 64 facial-tracking-algorism to deliver the most precise facial recognition through a live mirror camera. It allows you to see what you really look like with certain shades of makeup on in real-time as you turn your face, change your facial expression and take various angles.

So, if you ever found yourself trapped in the makeup aisle at a drugstore for hours trying to figure out the perfect shade of lipstick, blush, eye shadow or eyeliner and end up covering every square inch of the back of your hand with different colors, you will love this app. Simply put, you can now test out the colors virtually and make your purchase without having to go to the store and make your hands look like a palette.

How it Works
1. Download the app (works on iPhone or iPad)
2. Take a selfie
3. Let the app scan your face
4. Apply virtual makeup (you can choose up to 300 color cosmetics plus it also works on all ethnicities and allows for 400 lighting situations)
5. Purchase your perfect match instantly

What Sparks Our Fire:  A free makeup app using the latest augmented reality technology to help save time in your search for the perfect makeup shade.

Have you tried Makeup Genius? Share your thoughts!

Did You Find My Message?

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Over the past few years there have been countless messaging apps that enable users to reach out to friends over new mediums in fun and useful ways. Facebook Messenger and Snapchat are the most successful, but they aren’t even relatively fun compared to this new app.

Traces is an app where you send messages that can only be retrieved by your friends when they get to a specific location. So, when you are sending a message you pick a place where the receiver has to go within a time limit that you set in order to open it. It’s like a scavenger hunt, but with messages. Traces lets you share messages, videos, and even songs. The only downside is that the app is currently only available in the UK where it is in beta – but they are planning on bringing it to the US soon, so for now we just have to hang in there.

What Sparks our Fire: A fun new way to message our friends

Where would you place a Trace?