DIGITAL. TRENDS. FUTURE.

30
Mar

Future of Robotic

Last week there was a big meeting of Robo-Engineers in Tokyo.
Here is my favorite Robo – Video.

30
Mar

Who killed the electric car?

I missed this movie. It was featured in June 2006 already.

Who killed the electric car?

It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American technology to the forefront of the automotive industry. The lucky few who drove it never wanted to give it up. So why did General Motors crush its fleet of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert?

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? chronicles the life and mysterious death of the GM EV1, examining its cultural and economic ripple effects and how they reverberated through the halls of government and big business.

26
Mar

Arrived in Milan

Leaving Munich behind with 18 degrees spring weather and arriving in Milan – raining and with 6 degrees.
Mhm – Bad Timing.

I am here to meet potential new clients and cooperation Partners.

Friday i have been to Düsseldorf and we met Mr. P. Diddy at the intercontinental Hotel. We did not realize it (i am not good in recognizing celebrities) but then we saw the line of Groupies in Front of the Hotel and started to think about the Person.

25
Mar

Testing the PlayStation 3

This weekend was dedicated to the new Playstation 3. I already tested the new online function and tried to drive a car with the new motion-controller.
PS3

There have been big Launch Event in Germany. The biggest was in Berlin in the “Sony Center”. Here is a short Video of the Party:

But If you check out this Video – a viral-video for the Nintendo Wii:

22
Mar

B2B Marketing

Here are some great thoughts about B2B Marketing.

Some experts argue that branding plays no role in B2B marketing. Their arguments typically include:

B2B buyers are rational decision makers (or a committee of rational decision makers) who are not swayed by emotional factors such as brands.
B2B purchases are all about the relationship between the individual sales rep and the buyer; if the B2B brand means anything, it is created by the sales rep.
B2B products do not promise to make you “cool” or “sexy” or any other aspirational attribute. Price is the only thing that matters.
B2B products are too complex to reduce to a tagline or ad.
B2B companies sell to narrow audiences, so advertising to create a brand does not make sense.

(…)

Business Buyers Have Emotions Too
Despite those arguments, my belief is that branding does matter to B2B marketers, and for one main reason: B2B buyers are still people, and people are emotional. And, as research increasingly indicates, emotions impact economic decision making. In Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell writes that buyers make most decisions by relying on their two-second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.

(…)

Because brand-influenced heuristics impact buyer decision making, companies with strong brands often have better financial performance. The heuristics used by potential buyers lead to greater access, lower price sensitivity, better openness, and more forgiveness for mistakes for well-branded companies.

The book Business Market Management: Understanding, Creating, and Delivering Value argues that strong brands are reflected in these preferential actions:

Greater willingness to try a product or service
Less time needed to close the sale of an offering
Greater likelihood that the product or service is purchased
Willingness to award a larger share of purchase requirement
Willingness to pay a price premium
Less sensitive in regard to price increases
Less inducement to try a competitive offering

Read the full article: B2B Branding – Why Branding Matters in B2B Marketing

22
Mar

Design your Life

“In the name of provocation, let me start by saying that DESIGNERS SUCK. I’m sorry. It’s true. DESIGNERS SUCK. There’s a big backlash against design going on today and it’s because designers suck.

So let me tell you why…..”

Read this article by Bruce Nussbaum at Business Week.

21
Mar

Testing “Future of TV” – Joost

Joost Logo
Today I started to test a new TV Service – “Future of TV” – called “Joost“.
The initial project was known as “The Venice Project” and was now formed into a new company. The StartUp is founded by the Skype and Kazaa Founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström.

Thank you Martin, for inviting me as a “Beta Tester”.
Joost™

For more information about “Joost” I recommend the current Wired Article: “Why Joost is good for TV”.

19
Mar

Travel-Overview

After an inspiring travel to China and Thailand we arrived back in Munich yesterday evening.
Here you can see an overview of my journey of the last weeks.

The main time we spent in Beijing to work at the CScout office. At Shanghai I met many interesting people including Birgitte Wolff of China.de. On the way back we spent a few days in Bangkok and Koh Samui to reflect the strategy for CScout’s China Expansion.

Travel Overview 03-2007

Locations:
– Beijing, China
– Shanghai, China
– Bangkok, Thailand
– Koh Samui, Thailand

05
Mar

Business Foot Massage

Andreas WeigendDuring my stay in Beijing I met Andreas Weigend who is Professor at the Tsinghua University in Beijing for the Executive MBA Program.

He organized a great “Foot Massage” next to his Hotel so we could relax and talk about Business opportunities.
Our discussion has been on current projects but also on the development of the chinese market.
His newest project is called “imagelooop” – he is supporting the german startup during the expansion period.

Andreas, thanks for your time and hope to see you soon again.