via Ad Lab : Barcode Scanner Applications

Ad Lab has a thought-provoking post on the possibilities presented by two barcode scanner applications for Android, namely ShopSavvy and CompareEverywhere.

The main crux of the post, it seems, is that the power of these applications lies not solely in the ability to locate online and local (via GPS) retailers with the best prices on scanned items, but rather the ability to aggregate scanned items into comprehensive wishlists (effectively what already happens in major retailers for registries, albeit with a more savvy pricing gun).

I think it would be really intriguing to aggregate scanned data in reverse, as well - meaning that stores could subscribe to local (or global) databases of scanned items, see how they rank on those items, and adjust their prices accordingly a la Google Adwords’ real-world cousin. That’s where things get really interesting.

Be sure that Google thought of this implication long before I did.

Joe Camel v. American Apparel

So it all starts when The Observer reported on UK health officials consideration of unbranded cigarette packaging as a means of cutting smoking rates, witness:

Public health officials say it will strip cigarettes of their glamorous image and reduce the numbers of young people taking up the habit.

Not sure that I buy this, but I digress.

We Made This then picked up on the Observer article, posting on September 24:

What’s the betting the tobacco companies are already looking at ways to make their cigarettes look totally unique in some new way - coloured cigarette papers perhaps, or coloured foils inside the packs… desperately trying to something, anything, to retain some semblance of individuality. Maybe they’d launch entirely new brands, where it was all about the name - perhaps using a really short name, or a really really long one…

Hmmm…

Flickr: Uploaded on September 24, 2008 by alistairh

Today, Darryl from Brand Flakes for Breakfast chimes in with an altogether different take:

Maybe we could put them all together in Bad Stores and there would be Bad Super Centers. Maybe there would even be a Bad Mall. Perhaps Target could open up a Bad division.

Not to make light of what is clearly a serious topic to many, but are we ultimately confusing a stripped down identity system with a lack of branding? Are we to seriously consider the idea that impressionable teens will shun cigarettes once the packaging has been reduced to black Helvetica Medium on white ( while they rush to brands like American Apparel whose blank brand identity is entirely mashable )? Certainly, packaging (as the Observer article notes) can influence purchase patterns, but confusing the appeal of smoking with the appeal of cigarette packaging is naiive.

Selling past the close to you

RFID has become the girl you’ve dated a few times, like, see some potential in, and is now planning your wedding.

Witness this post on Springwise.

RFID, like most technologies worth their salt, needs no gimmick attached to it, but rather incorporates seamlessly into our existing devices, worlds and routines. I’m not at all certain how Tikitag fits that criteria.

via CultureBy: The consumer gearshift

The always-eloquent Grant McCracken posts on the difficulty that we, as consumers, have in shifting our way of life in tumultuous economic times. Of course, he’s written on this subject in other forums previously, but this post seems particularly poignant now.

Futures of Entertainment 3

The Convergence Culture Consortium has announced dates for FoE3, November 21-22 on the MIT campus. A promising schedule, to be certain - less industry-focused at first glance, and a little heavier on the academic end. This I presume to be a product of demand.

That said, Grant McCracken is speaking - worth the price of admission alone.

via Experience Curve: Audience as Editor

Karl Long at Experience Curve outlines the idea behind GooseGrade - a novel service, if of as-yet-undetermined value.

This begs the question, of course, when a similar set of tools will be released that allows consumers the same ability to edit errors (even of a grammatical nature) on retail, news and corporate sites. Hard to comprehend how this might be embraced, but it’s worth sleeping on (which I’ll do now).

via PSFK: Opening up fair trade

A great read by Orli Sharaby at PSFK on the inventive notions behind CraftNetwork. Quite well-written, and deserving of your ninety seconds.