by Belinda Lui | Dec 27, 2013 | Design, Latest
Innovation can be defined in many ways. You can deliver innovative design or an innovative user experience. In any scenario, innovation stems from the desire to either create something unique and original that has never existed before, or to take an existing product or service and make it even better. Here at 3H, we thrive on the being innovative and thus, put together a list of some of the companies we thought were the most innovative companies of 2013:
2013’s Most Innovative Companies:
1. Burberry: The company’s cutting-edge vision of creating a new user experience brought the runway to the physical stores — through the mirrors. Using RFID chips, which can be read by screens and mirrors, when a customer is trying on clothes, the mirrors can respond by showing images of how it was worn on the catwalk or details of the garment’s construction.
2. Sephora: It’s exceedingly frustrating to choose a foundation when your skin tone keeps changing with the seasons. Without an endless cycle of trial and error, finding the right colour can be a tedious task. Thankfully, Sephora has a handheld device, whose technology is based on that used in graphic design, which holds over 1,000 SKUs of colour to determine an exact match for customers.
3. Flipp App: This is an app that aggregates information from users and retailers to provide the ability to search flyers by interest and your location. Magazines have gone digital, why wouldn’t flyers? This is considered one of 2013’s most innovative companies because they identified a need: making a necessary part of everyday life more convenient, while being environmentally friendly.
4. Crate & Barrel: The retailer’s 3D Room Designer gives customers the ability to ‘try on’ a piece of furniture in their rooms before buying it. Users simply upload a photo of the room they would like to furnish to Crate and Barrel’s online platform and provide their room’s dimensions. The photo is the wiped clean of its furniture, enabling shoppers to substitute pieces from the retailer’s online catalog and visualize them as they would appear in the room. Shoppers can then email the modified photo of their room to the nearest Crate and Barrel and schedule a personal design appointment with an associate.
5. Uniqlo: The Japanese clothing giant has made “fast fashion actually fashionable” (a distinction that some other fast-fashion retailers might disagree with), citing its collaborations with such designers as Jil Sander and Rei Kawakubo.
What examples of innovative companies weren’t mentioned here? We’d love to hear your comments!
by Belinda Lui | Dec 20, 2013 | Communications, Latest
The art of communicating, in my opinion, isn’t given enough weight when discussing business success. Being able to formulate questions that deliver useful answers, is a skill that every professional (and people, in general) should hone to ensure a better chance at success. Good questions can move your business, organization, or career forward. They squeeze incremental value from interactions, the drops of which add up to reservoirs of insight.
The problem is, most of us ask terrible questions. We talk too much and accept bad answers (or worse, no answers). We’re too embarrassed to be direct, or we’re afraid of revealing our ignorance, so we throw softballs, hedge, and miss out on opportunities to grow.
But we don’t have to.
The following advice can help you with communicating, not to mention being a better conversationalist:
Don’t Ask Multiple-Choice Questions
When people are nervous, they tend to ramble, and their questions tend to trail off into a series of possible answers. (“What’s the most effective way to find a good programmer? Is it to search on Monster or to go on LinkedIn or to talk to people you know or … uh… uh… yeah, is it to, um…is there another job site that’s good …?”) You’re the one with the question; why are you doing all the talking? Terminate the sentence at the question mark. It’s OK to be brief.
Don’t Fish
“The really ‘bad’ questions are leading ones–the questions where you’re fishing for a particular answer,” says veteran journalist Clive Thompson. First of all, if you know the answer, why are you asking? If you’re seeking confirmation on something you already suspect, ask objectively, and ask directly. You’ll come off as confident (and less of a chump), and you’ll get more honest answers.
Interject With Questions When Necessary
Stopping a conversation to ask the right questions is far superior to nodding along in ignorance. Notice how great interviewers like Larry King or Jon Stewart maintain control of their conversations; it’s almost always through polite interruptions–not with things they want to say, but with questions that keep the Q&A on course. Mature people will rarely be upset by interruptions that let them continue talking. To the contrary, additional questions make people feel like they’re being listened to.
Repeat Answers Back For Clarification Or More Detail
If you’re getting vague responses–or complicated ones for that matter–restate the answers in your own words. (“So, your software will email me any time there are important news stories in my industry?”) This will typically yield either a definitive “that’s correct,” or a clarification with extra detail. Either way, it’s useful for getting a precise answer.
Don’t Be Embarrassed
The worst kind of question is the one left unasked. There’s typically no point in pretending you know something when you don’t. People are much kinder than we often give them credit for. If you are unsure about something, just ask.
And if you ask a bad question from time to time, it’s okay. It happens to the best of us. The advice in this article, however, is a good starting point to asking better questions, communicating more effectively, and moving forward in your professional success.
(Information from: Fast Company)
What other tips can you suggest for asking better questions?
by Miriam Hara | Dec 16, 2013 | Advertising, Latest
It really goes without saying that star power builds awareness. However, utilizing celebrities as part of a brand’s advertising campaign can be a double-edged sword. The more obvious reason is that stars themselves, especially in today’s landscape, are brands in their own right. They aren’t just actors or athletes, they too are responsible for their own brands and propelling it forward. As such, it is difficult for a brand not be eclipsed by the star’s own brand… and to stand apart from the star’s own persona. But it can be done:
No brand utilizes star power as well as Chanel No 5.
Chanel No 5 has always used star power to propel its brand forward; to constantly reinvent itself and to evolve with the times. In fact, star power is at the cornerstone of Chanel No 5’s brand persona. The 2013 ads for Chanel No 5 featuring Brad Pitt were very well thought out. It was a novel approach featuring a man’s perspective on Chanel No 5. With Brad Pitt, Chanel No 5 spoke to women on a totally different level than the ads that featured Nicole Kidman and yes, even Catherine Deneuve (1979 Chanel No 5 ad). Brad Pitt spoke to Chanel No 5’s target – women on a purely fantasy level.
Now, one year later, Chanel No 5 advertising, just in time for the holiday season, features the legendary star Marilyn Monroe. What a beautifully executed, thought-provoking and emotive concept. It speaks to women on so many levels — although I would say with confidence, it equally speaks to men!
From a design and purely conceptual level, the current Marilyn Monroe is no trend, embracing the retro trend. The film footage in black and white is beautiful to look at and the audio track adds nostalgia to the sexy persona that is synonymous with Marilyn Monroe. Highly emotive, the ad playing on every woman’s sexiness. With that one simple testimonial, “I wear Chanel No 5 to bed” unlocks the inner woman in every woman. What woman can’t relate to the idea of this self-indulgent concept, celebrating her independence and self-love!
So kudos to Chanel No 5… Much to my chagrin, I must say, “step aside Brad Pitt!”… after all, Marilyn Monroe provides to women something that Brad can’t offer: a feeling that is easily attainable. All they need to do is wear Chanel No 5 to bed!
by Belinda Lui | Dec 16, 2013 | Business Success, Latest
Productivity means making active steps towards accomplishing something — not thinking about what we have to accomplish. What are we “putting down” when we “put it down on paper”: a current of thought, a torrent of emotions, the first incisions of a decision Flannery O’Connor said that she writes in order to discover what she knows. And as research into writing shows, the act of tracing your thoughts across a page can make you more productive, more emotionally aware, and a less irrational decision maker.|
If we spend less time trying to remember what we have to do and spend more time figuring out how we are going to do them, this will result in increased productivity and efficiency.
Here’s why…
1. Writing clears the clutter from your mind
TED speaker David Allen emphasizes that your mind is for processing, not for storage. Storage of information, after all, can be outsourced in any number of ways, including writing down your to-do list on a pad of paper. The insight underlying this is that attention is a finite resource, one that gets depleted over the course of a day. So if you’re walking around thinking about what you need to do next–rather than thinking about how you’re getting to get it done–you’re misspending your neurotransmitters and letting your productivity suffer.
2. Writing assists in retaining a bank of knowledge
Productive people take better notes: if somebody is dropping knowledge on you, writing down what they say allows you to commit your attention to next insight–rather than trying to remember the last one. Like the Chinese proverb says, you can trust the faintest of ink more than the strongest of memories . As you take more and more notes on awesome things said and read, you can amass an awesome bank of knowledge.
3. Writing helps with realizing growth
Journaling in particular helps you see how you have grown. Harvard Business School research director Teresa Amabile has discovered that people feel more engaged, more productive, and have a greater sense of meaning in their work when they record even the most miniscule of accomplishments within their days. She calls this the Progress Principle: the more you’re aware of your progress, the more involved you’ll feel in making it continue to grow–productivity is making use of this learning.
4. Writing helps you understand your life
University of Texas psychologist James W. Pennebaker has found that writing about their lives helps people to organize their thoughts and find meaning in their traumatic experiences–from people diagnosed with HIV to Vietnam veterans. This is crucial, since the more meaning you find in your difficulties, research shows, the more resilient you’ll be in over-coming them, which reminds us of how the happiest people often have the hardest jobs.
5. Writing helps you become more wise
The last reason to write about life: it helps you study your emotions, which makes you wiser, faster.
“What we construct as wisdom over time is actually the result of cultivating that knowledge of how our emotions behaved,” says USC neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, “and what we learn from them.”
This reinforces Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman’s recommended first step for making better decisions: buy a notebook
(Information from: Fast Company)
How has writing helped you in terms of productivity? Tell us in the comments.
by Miriam Hara | Dec 15, 2013 | Interactive, Latest
Over the last 4 years, at Christmas time, retail gurus have been stating that online retail shopping has been increasing exponentially. The fact is, we all do it. At the speed of life and the demands of maintaining that speed, what’s easy and quick is what we gravitate to. Last year during the Christmas season, retail online shopping increased by 14% from 2011 in the U.S. alone. This year the predictions have obviously been higher. I have always wondered what will be done with all these gigantic shopping malls once the trend goes completely towards online. Can the premium that real estate demands for retail store frontage be a thing of the past?
Who says that retail online shopping has be to done on a computer?
This Christmas season, retail online shopping has taken a new perspective and a very interesting one, thanks to Walmart and Mattel. In Toronto, while many commuters were waiting for their train to get back home, Union station converted its enormous concrete poles into mini shopping areas. All it took was some high quality printing showcasing high quality pictures and a QR code that led the shoppers to the online shopping site. Commuters were able to browse the photos, identify the toys that they wanted and point and scan. The gift was then delivered to a shopper’s home. Not bad! Multitasking has never been easier…. nor has Christmas shopping!
This year, the Toronto Go-train, with the help of Walmart and Mattel, took it one step further. It has converted 2 of its train cars into “virtual mini shopping destinations”. Commuters may now browse and shop in the luxury of their commute time! All this is still well within the definition of retail online shopping…. but it’s still a retail online shopping experience.
As Toby Desforges so eloquently stated, “Online sales are replacing retail sales. Consumer goods companies invest massively in sales and distribution via traditional retail. The continued growth of these channels is no longer universally assured. New online channels and indeed retailers are likely to grow rapidly in the coming years. This will put sales teams under extreme pressure, not just as they struggle to create new skills but also as they wrestle with the demands of bricks and mortar retailers in decline.”
This has led me to think about the new retail shopping destinations. All that will be needed is concrete… converting concrete poles into vritual shopping areas! How cool is that…or is it?! I have visions of a Shopping Park. We will all be casually walking through nature, with all the tree trunks being hosts to retail goods and QR codes….yikes…I’m shuddering!! Think about it… taking a walk through nature will never be the same.
