Build it and they will come in 2008

Recently I discovered a website (Springwise.com), that sends me an update each week of "new business ideas for entrepreneurial minds". This falls into the Creative Process classification of this website. Take a look at some of the ideas:

More than half a century ago, the Polaroid camera produced the world’s first instant printed images, spitting out photos just a minute after they were taken. And while today’s cell phones and digital cameras take snap shots that can be transmitted to other phones or computers instantly, people still have an old-fashioned desire to hold printed copies of their snapshots in their hands. Proof: one of the biggest buzz-generating products to come out of this year’s Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show was a printer about the size of a deck of cards that can create 2x3 inch photos in under a minute. The printer is the result of a collaboration between Polaroid and Zink, another US firm that developed the device’s inkless printing technology. With a store-delivery date slated for this fall, the Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer can be linked up via Bluetooth or USB to other portable media such as cell phones and digital cameras—all for a retail price of USD 150, plus USD 4 for a 10-pack of paper. Granted, the instant mobile printer may not be as disruptive as the iPhone, but it does show creative entrepreneurs how an older company can neatly reinvent itself, even if it’s products have long been technologically leap-frogged. Polaroid’s pocket-sized printer harks back to the company’s original breakthrough, making media instantly available for sharing. It was an idea that spawned a small-scale social revolution as millions devised innovative uses for the product: everything from instant photos of wedding receptions to the identification-card making devices used by organizations and governments. No doubt people will devise new uses for Polaroid’s minuscule printer. But the real lesson here is that there’s a wealth of opportunity to be mined in old ideas, provided you have the creativity and the capital required to reinvent them. Website: www.polaroid.com/onthego Contact: info.digitalinstant@polaroid.com Today's consumers may exhibit varying degrees of infolust for new products and services, but their interest doesn't often extend to direct mail. Enter Matter, which is taking an unconventional approach to direct marketing by sending out boxes of "interesting stuff" instead. London-based Matter works with product manufacturers to compile collections of items carefully designed to please specific audiences, and it sends them out to consumers at no charge. Each participating company creates and contributes an item—something that explains what the company does, says something about its ideas or values, or can be tried out. Matter then combines the items in a targeted fashion and sends them out so that they arrive on a Saturday—when consumers are more likely to spend some time with them. The pilot box, which just hit consumers' doorsteps on February 2nd, included items from Sony Ericsson, Stolichnaya, Nintendo, Nissan, Penguin and Virgin Atlantic, among others. Sony Ericsson's item, for example, was a small figurine of the Music Monster—a cultish figure intended to represent consumers' personal musical desires—packed in a straw-lined case complete with bite-marked brochure. Nissan's item was a set of "crayons" that are really soap—intended to send the message that the brand is not what consumers expect, according to the Matter blog. The next edition of Matter will be aimed at males aged 25-35 and is scheduled to ship out this summer. Matter is a collaboration between Artomatic and Royal Mail, and it targets consumers in the UK only. One to experiment with in other parts of the world? Website: www.matterbox.co.uk Contact: contact@matterbox.co.uk

Sphere: Related Content