BrandDigital | BrandSimple: The Blog

The special effects are dazzling and the audience overwhelmed with sight, sound, and sensation. No, it’s not the award-winning film, “Avatar” I’m referring to, but the latest and greatest devices and apps presented at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. While many of these whiz-bag digital wonders are truly wonderfully welcome additions to our connected lives, many represent the glints in the eyes of the innovators who, yet again, managed to overestimate their necessity or utility to the general public. In my recent article in Forbes Online I write about why the most successful of the newest crop of digital consumer goods will be those developed to give people what they really want and need, not just what’s crazy cool. Like in any brand category, many of the products and services that become leaders in this category will be those whose creators saw obvious ways to make life in the digital lane better and more convenient – products that make the competition exclaim, “Gee, why didn’t I think of that. It’ so obvious.”

Image courtesy @gabyu via Flickr

Some think chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Others, flight delays and crowded malls. Those in the brand business, myself included, think about trends we’re likely to see in the year ahead. Given that I had some time due to a flight delay of my own, I took the time to write down some of the things we’re likely to see in the marketplace in the year ahead, including which brands will most likely get stronger, and which might actually go south (not for the winter, but forever). While my record on some predictions is somewhat spotty (did you read what I wrote about Jay Leno?!), I feel pretty secure in my assessment that companies that play by the essential rules of branding, that is, offer people products and services that are meaningfully different, will continue to do well. For my year-end assessment, click on the link to Forbes Online. (If you want a chuckle, you can also read my column on Leno!) Happy new year!

Image courtesy @Ana Young via Flickr