IFA 2012 - Everything will be connected to everything

My love-hate relationships with trade fairs continues after my visit to the IFA. Why is it that at these fairs products like the 84 inch 4k Bravia televisions from Sony are so bloody impressive? Why is it that Samsung can proudly present their home connection framework, even though it is not sure when exactly this will become available in Europe and actually make you feel good about it? The design of the trade fair booths sure help convincing you here. But the overwhelming amount of visitors plus the long stretches you have to walk, get on my nerves quickly.

Anyway, a stroll for a few hours on the first day revealed a lot about the current state of innovation in the world of multi-media and consumer white goods. How does this affect branding and the way brands interact with their clients and with other brands to create meaningful branded interactions and eco-systems. Here are my 7 Branding Strategy thoughts.



1. Brands can't do it alone but some keep trying

There was something not right with the Sony stand. Their 84 inch 4k screen technology is mighty impressive, no doubt about that. But in the main area on their booth they focused primarily on their media own devices and eco-system. The presentation felt like an Apple system. Closed and totally focused around their own products, even though their tablets are based on Android, i.e. on Open Source software. But they kept going on about how Sony would enhance your music experience because al your music would be available on all your (Sony) devices instantly and how you can share photo's with friends. Yes, it will sure enhance our lives but so do the products and services of a gazillion other Brands. What is your real USP here then?

So somehow it feels wrong that you don't see a single other smartphone or tablet on their stand. It was as if entering a different political system when walking into the hall Sony that had completely occupied. The security guards at the entrance all of a sudden get a different symbolic meaning...


My recommendation for Brands in any field would be to forget about the 'I am all the Brand you ever need' attitude and accept that you can achieve much more if you connect in certain areas with niche players.



2. Washing machine marketing is a lot of fun

When you get to explain stuff like PowerFoam technology, VarioPerfect, PureCycle, LogiControl, SoftSurge, Vibration Reduction Technology, Direct Drive Motor, Ceramic Drum, ProTex Plus, having a job as a washing machine salesman must be a lot of fun. 

I talked to a guy on the Samsung stand who told me how PowerFoam technology would reduce detergent use by 70% and provide me with 'dry-cleaner' like results. How does he know that I am actually satisfied with my dry-cleaner? 

In addition I will be able to connect my washing machine in the future to a household communication network that allows me to start and stop the machine from anywhere in the world. As said, not available in Europe yet but soon to come. Apart from practical issues, such as: who will actually load the machine so that it makes sense to start it at a distance, I am yet to be convinced that this life enhancing technology is what I need to be happy. Nevertheless I am sure that the value of this use-case and the value of having connected appliances will become clearer soon.

Samsung Smart Experience, connecting all household appliances.



Back to what this means for Branding. When you look at all the proposed home-networking systems it is clear that again we will see a mash-up of services and products, which means a similar mash-up of Brands, Brand Strategies and Brand Values. Although Samsung wants you to believe that you can do everything and more with their system only, I am expecting the consumer to choose systems and solutions that they can mix and mash-up themselves, unless the User Experience and Value Proposition is so spot on and seamless as the one offered by Apple. But it is hard to see which Brand has the visionary leadership to take Apple's crown.


Brand Strategy will require thinking as to how screen real estate is shared when the screen sits in a car from Brand A, the information comes from a Brand B device and the connecting network is managed by Brand C.


Relevant links

Samsung Connected Devices

Telekom Connected Consumer Products



3. Telekom 'Joyns' the home dots

Of course you couldn't mistake the Telekom booth for any other brand thanks to the magenta carpet stretching across the complete thing; über-branding as usual, not to be missed. 

Telekom is seriously trying to revolutionize the Telco industry e.g. with Joyn, the new Message standard. Although that is interesting, even better is their Home Network standard, called 'Smart Connect'. 

Where Telekom really tries new concepts is with their Qivicon Start-up. This partner based business model that is actually more in line with the future if networked businesses as other providers offer. Telekom's model is based around connecting interfaces that partnering companies, among which we encounter Miele and Samsung, can use to allow their products, e.g. washing machines, to be operated by and share information with apps. 

This network has its own Branding, i.e. Qivicon, so interesting enough Telekom moves to the background as Brand. Ultimately Qivicon should generate its own revenue through the interface licensing, according to the sales person on the booth.

Interesting question in this case is of course if building start-up Brands is part of the future Strategy for Telekom and to what extent this will be part of their overall Brand Strategy, including the B2C part. A case to be closely watched from a branding perspective.


To the Qivicon website

4. Screens, screens & more screens, how to stand out





The television screens and touch screen monitors are overwhelmingly impressive. It is interesting to see how visually how underwhelming in comparison the audio brands look. 


Globally leading brands such as Yamaha and Teac were present but they have somehow difficulty impressing you in the same direct fashion as the television giants do. Sure, everyone doing something with audio is now offering some form of media and audio streaming for at home. 


But pure sound players occupy relatively little floor space at the IFA. This is probably also the reason why Branding is so much a visual exercise and much less a sound thing. Only the largest brands have sound logo's and even their these evolve very slow. 


Will this ever change? I don't have the stats here available but it seems in this world that human beings are more visually oriented and less guided by sound so it is probably the correct reflection of how consumers tick.


So back to screens. I think I've never seen so many screens being used on a consumer electronics trade fair, apart from the gaming and computer fairs maybe. If you take the countless screens on smart phones, refrigerators, remote controls, climate systems and even garden appliances into account, it becomes clear that we're living in an increasingly 'screened' environment. With recent trends as mega-super-sized television, 4k+ pixel resolution and 3D (even without glasses) it is clear that in the visual space brands still have a lot to explore.


Big question is how Brands can make best use of these new technologies and if there are ways of enhancing the visual 'on-screen' brand look and feel through sound, haptics and scents.

See the Sony Bravia 84 inch screen

(oh and btw, since when has Sony's website turned into a e-commerce shop? Looks & feels like what Nokia did about a year ago in Europe and it felt totally off...

5. Where were Google, Microsoft & Nokia?


Another observation or actually more a question is: where were Google, Microsoft and Nokia. The first is one of the major players in a networked world and has some reputation damage to repair, specifically in Germany. They were there in 2010 with a Keynote speech but as far as I could see they were absent this year.

The other two were absent too, even though you'd tend to think that the IFA would be the perfect opportunity to show off the results of their now two year partnership in the Windows Smart Phone area. Saving costs or incurring opportunity costs. Sure is, less eyeballs on your Brands at least at the IFA.



6. The best innovation are invisible


It is often said that great design should be experienced and is therefor ideally invisible or unnoticeable. It is so good that you accept it and use it right away. 


I would say that the best innovations are those you also hardly notice. The best example is I think Panasonic's induction based wireless charger for electrical cars. It was on display in what looked like a go-kart after a major playground crash and you could easily miss it. But as published in a long-term test article with the Nissan Leaf in Car Magazine, one of the biggest user problems currently is dealing with the dirty electrical cable after a charge. 


Panasonic's system proposes a wireless system consisting of two blocks, one mounted underneath a car and another surface-mounted at a charging station. When the car moves over the surface-mounted charger and stops right above it, the 2 blocks are pressed together so that the car batteries are charged using wireless induction based technology. Gone are the dirty hands and the always entangled wire.


Again the relevance for branding is also here that Panasonic proposes a solution to the car-industry and that this in turn means that car and supplier brand will have to find a way to co-exist, something that Bosch has done for years already in the automotive sector. 

7. An Apple a Day


When you are Apple your omnipresence is such that you don't even want a booth I guess. Apple products were literally everywhere: Bosch showed an interactive manual on an oversized Apple iPad screen. Every manufacturer of audio and hifi equipment has an iPad docking something-system on offer. Most of not all smartphone apps are of course available for iOS. You so much expect to see the iPhone/iPad user interface on every booth that you tend to overlook it.

Is that bad for Apple as a Brand? For now I don't know. It is true that the new iPhone5 rumored to have a different connector. That means that all you're old docking station needs a replacement or (if at all possible) an adapter... A tiny but substantial Brand initiated annoyance. This will certainly raise a few eyebrows but will this be detrimental to Apple's Brand Equity? That remains to be seen.


So...

My visit to the IFA was inspiring in the end and it is reassuring to see that Digital still moves as fast. Brands can only ignore the side-effects of digital interaction and interconnectivity at their own peril. Consumer touchpoints based on touchscreen experiences are the new reality. The new motion sensors and face recognition technology will take this to the next level. The IFA only confirms that Brands have to stay digitally tuned and networked.