A Wider Net

At CES, I found eStarling, a manufacturer of digital picture frames, and to my knowledge the only one out of about 50 exhibiting manufacturers, that allows you to email a photo directly to the frame. Apparently Thinkgeek was selling the WiFi versions these puppies at one point. Regardless, you can certainly “picture” these being used to send your loved-ones photos from far-far-away-land. Would it be so wrong to give these to customers and slip them a promotional image every so often? They are, after all, premium-priced premiums, and they have to put up with corporate logos tattooed all over their other SWAG. This just feels a hundred times cooler. Digital signage to the individual desktop. Banner Ad Designers rejoice! People may be ignoring you on the web, but they can’t ignore you if they’re waiting to see pics of the grandkids.

You can also have the display automatically grab images from an RSS feed, such as a feed from a Flickr photo sharing account. It’s a pretty neat device, and I bet there are lots of clever ways to use it for marketing and signage applications. Yes, I’d like one.

Their products have been featured many times on Engadget and USB News and at CES, Dream Cheeky had a booth full of crazy USB devices. These are the kinds of things that define the concept “would not buy for yourself but wish someone would buy for you”. From the office warfare USB Missile Launcher to the cuddly USB Kitty, there’s something here for everyone that you can’t send liquor to.

Walletex showed a line of credit card-sized USB Memory drives, which are double-sided. They are well-suited for corporate promotions and distribution. They come in sizes up to 2GB. They can contain automatic launch code. They are also waterproof and unbreakable.

They also showed a neat MP3 player in the same size, that doubles as a RAM drive. The buttons are built right onto the card, and you plug the special adapter into the USB connector to allow headphone connections.

Not shown was a Web-Key in the same form-factor that contains automatic internet link and custom presentation software. This is a more feature-rich solution for promotions, as it links the data on the drive with a web site.

Finally, they have a credit-card form-factor WiFi Finder, too.

Here are some of the CES photos I took so far.

I fell in love with this little (and I mean - little) gadget today. It’s a Personal Travel Assistant(TM) (yep, it’s trademarked - how did that make it through the trademark office?) It’s a Garmin Nuvi.
Like most portable GPS navigators, you can bring it everywhere and it helps you find places with spoken turn-by-turn directions. What makes it cool is that it’s think and slick and does and a TON more. Let’s say you use the directory to find a place you want to go - it lists the phone number, and using a wireless blue-tooth connection to your phone, you can have it call the place for you. You can speak to the other end using the device like a speaker phone or pick up your handset and take over. It also features an MP3 player, an audio book reader, a photo viewer, and the ability to receive traffic update signals in your area. It has language translation, currency conversion and so on and so on. It’s just awesome, and it fits in your coat pocket. *drool*

Pricey at $600-900 depending on the features and size you buy, but if you travel a ton, aren’t you worth it?

If you have a hot prospect that you’re having trouble persuading, consider sending them this insanely confusing watch. Include a note that says something like “Communicating your business goals can be very confusing. Let us help make sense of things”

or

“If you think this watch is confusing, then you should ask your customers what they think of your website. We can help”.

Or… don’t say anything. Act like it’s perfectly obvious.

Nabaztag - a wildly buzz-worthy robot that speaks, listens, blinks, and wiggles - can wake you up, tell you the weather and the traffic reports, read you the news you care about and email that you don’t, and even help you send secret messages to your rabbit-toting significant others. It’s worth a few minutes to play around on their site - you won’t believe me otherwise. It’s a communication bot and a toy, but unlike most other robotic devices that read you your mail and tell your kids stories - this one has moods, speaks it’s own mind, and listens to you.
I haven’t figured out if this creepy-yet-awesome rabbit is a sinister plot or a wildly inventive communication gadget. There’s something orwellian-creepy about a fleet of talking rabbits placed at our bedsides that receive their programming via the internet. I can imagine TV Tech-u-dramas called “Max Headroom Raving Rabbids” or “Star Trek Series 15: The Trouble With Nabaztags”

No matter how you slice it, these cute rab-bots are full of smart technology, and they do bring to mind one interesting marketing hook: Can you gift these to your customers in such a way that the critters will have to broadcast your news updates every morning while their owner is having coffee?

This is Engadget’s fault. But if you send it to a key customer and they love it, then it’s my fault.

Having seen this in several places now, I finally thought of a way to tie this completely insane USB gadget into aWiderNet. The Striker II is a USB Missile Launcher that allows you to use your computer to adjust its trajectory, point a laser at your intended target, and fire. It has (to my knowledge) absolutely zero work-related merit. It is, however, the best way to get gadget-hounds like me to attend a webcast. Most of your audience has all the MP3 players and USB memory sticks they can stand. This cube warfare device would get them to eat a sandwich at lunch just hoping to score one of these puppies, since they could never buy one for themselves - wives and managers would never approve.

Get these products to an ER! Some look like human hearts. Others - stomachs, livers, and lungs. Welcome to the fine art and science of Pharma-themed promotional items. Need a capsule-shaped tape dispenser? How about a hypodermic syringe USB memory drive? Maybe you don’t, but in the world of pharaceutical shows, this stuff is gold. And I found the BEST catalog of pharma-tchotchkes. Sourcery, a prominent high-tech promotional item manufacturer, has a division named, oddly, SourceryPharma, and they have an interactive flash catalog full of amazing products.

While I can’t see myself wanting to lock my bike with what appears to be an artery stemming from a human heart lock, I love the USB syringe and USB lighted beakers. There are tons of items in their catalog that make you shout COOOOOOOL!

They’re coming to Innovation Day with a basket full of goodies, and I can’t wait. I try to take joy in the little things. Even if those little things are pill-shaped LED Flashlights and Lung-shaped staplers. Coooooool.

The folks at Picture Marketing have developed a great way to add value to an event while driving traffic to a website and gathering valuable survey data. How do they do that? They take your picture!

It’s a concept that has been well-proven in sports stadiums across America. You have your picture taken, for free, in a ballpark, and the photographer hands you a card with a web site address on it and an index code. Using the index code, you can find your photo among the thousands of other shutter-blessed attendees. The hope of finding a great keepsake memory drives people to these sites and once there, nothing is free.
The Picture Marketing folks take a different approach to corporate events. They send you sets of camera kits and you equip brand ambassadors to take the pictures. A branded website is built for people to visit and view their photos. In the process of accessing the photos, the visitors can be polled for information, given offers for merchandise, or invited to join an online community. In fact, one customer used Picture Marketing to drive traffic to an introNetwork site.

According to Picture Marketing’s website, the desire to download their own photos results in an attendee response rate of 50-80% which is outstanding. Companies have to be careful how this is used, so attendees don’t feel like they’re being pushed into buying something. Done right, this is a powerful way to connect an onsite experience with a follow-up online experience. I’m excited to have Picture Marketing here on Innovation Day to show us their process and their latest toys.