The first step in the process was to speak candidly to Rio’s residents and understand their perspective with respect to the city’s current moment. We also wanted to understand, given the current state of affairs, what role a brand like Nike could play. Artists, community leaders, athletes, social entrepreneurs, musicians and many other cultural producers were spoken to over the course of 3 weeks as we camped out in the city. Some of the key themes we drew out included:

• The Nike brand at the time was merely a foreign aspiration; few people had access to the brand nor could they relate to it through any memorable touchpoint.
• People were skeptical about Nike’s intentions, concerned with what appeared to be well-timed opportunism, given the 2 big events ahead.
• There was an overriding concern that if Nike adopted a top-down media-saturated “brand attack” in Rio, typical of big corporate brands, it would be widely rejected by Cariocas.

These are some of the reasons why Nike and Mandalah chose to adopt a bottom-up approach in Rio based on 2 somewhat adjacent principles: sport as a catalyst for social transformation and sport as an integrative force among residents of the city. the concept we developed – “inFusion” – is a play on words that refers to the city’s rapidly changing social dynamics as well as the role the Nike brand could play by infusing the city with its passion, energy and excellence in sport…

To find out what happened next, download the free white paper.

One of the highlights of the event will be the workshop sessions, in which participants can gain firsthand experience in topics like ethnography, scenario building, or rapid prototyping. Of course, the event will also have great opportunities for networking, not to mention a chance to enjoy the city of Miami. If you’re interested in attending, we encourage you to use the code FT12FP to receive 20% off the regular rate. Florian would also be happy to meet up for coffee, so if you’re already planning to attend, drop us a line at nyc@mandalah.com.

The euro crisis has hit European consumers hard, and Jan Zijderveld of Unilever has already voiced concerns about poverty returning to Europe. As a result, the company is already adapting by cutting their packaging size (and prices). This business model has been a proven success in Asia, where small laundry detergents are being sold for only two to three cents. Unilever has also launched a discount brand to appeal to Greek consumers. While this may prove a successful short-term strategy, Unilever does risk tarnishing its image as a premium brand, and it may be difficult to increase prices to their typical level when the crisis does pass.

Levi’s Jeans has adopted an alternate strategy to maintain its premium image in India. Rather than reducing the price, in 2009, they partnered with local banks to offer a payment plan in which customers could pay for jeans in three monthly installments at 0% interest. The program has seen terrific industry and consumer response, and has generated a lot of PR and buzz.

As the global economy continues to limp along, more and more firms will be forced to deal with the consumer’s shrinking budget. No matter which strategy your brand adopts, it’s essential to maintain flexibility and constantly monitor local conditions to identify the right solutions.

Someone has answered my gentle prayers and FINALLY designed a pen that I can use all month long! I use it when I’m swimming, riding a horse, walking on the beach and doing yoga. It’s comfortable, leak-proof, non-slip and it makes me feel so feminine and pretty! Since I’ve begun using these pens, men have found me more attractive and approchable (sic). It has given me soft skin and manageable hair and it has really given me the self-esteem I needed to start a book club and flirt with the bag-boy at my local market.

I am so amazed that BIC is making this. The last thing we need are women writers. Pens were made for men… If a woman has something to say, tell a man, if its important enough to remember, we will write it down for you. That’s the way its always been, and that’s the way it should stay.

Meanwhile, a stereotypically masculine brand has expanded its efforts to appeal to female customers with specially designed products that are designed to fit women better. That brand? The NFL, which estimates that women make up 40 to 45% of their fan base,  yet only account for 15% of merchandising sales. The NFL’s first efforts to increase women’s sales used the “pink it and shrink it” technique, which met with limited success. As a result, they adjusted their strategy to start offering more luxury goods and everyday wear, as well as partnering with well-respected women’s brands.

The organization’s latest ad campaign, “It’s My Team,” continues to balance the sport with style, featuring famous football fans who happen to be female, like Condoleezza Rice and Serena Williams. Furthermore, the ads will be placed in a variety of publications, from Women’s Health and Sports Illustrated to InStyle, Seventeen, and even Vogue—the last place you would expect to find anything about football.

So what makes the difference between promoting a successful female line and generating consumer backlash?

1. Determine, from the consumer’s perspective, if there is a reason to differentiate a line based on gender. Women clearly see the value in better-fitting, flattering apparel, but pens—especially inexpensive, disposable ones—are more limited as to how much they can be physically modified. As a result, the supposed benefit comes off as a cynical marketing ploy.
2. Be feminine, not girly. Women want to feel attractive and youthful, but not immature. Note that the NFL campaign uses a simple gray backdrop and block font rather than pink colors, curly-cue fonts, or other “cute” signals. The women featured all appear playful yet confident, and have been successful in very diverse fields.
3. Target people, not women. It is interesting to consider whether the BiC pens would have received substantial attention if they had not labeled them “For Her.” There is certainly consumer demand for colorful pens, and if they were simply marketed as such, they would still attract the right customers—the majority of whom (but certainly not all) would happen to be women. On the other hand, thanks to these reviews, more people than ever before are aware of the brand!

This isn’t the first time Google has launched the SMS service— in fact, it launched in the US over a year ago but failed, largely because it did not meet a perceived need in the market. (With smartphones now making up 50% of the US market, receiving an email SMS would feel like a step backward.) Rather than give up on the idea entirely, though, the team at Google found a more appropriate market. In fact, several multinational companies are relaunching failed products in new, (typically) emerging markets in an effort to recoup their losses.

Take, for instance, the Tata Nano. In spite of (or, perhaps, due to) a major publicity campaign, the “World’s Cheapest Car” flopped in the Indian market: fewer than 10,000 units are sold every month, instead of the expected 500,000 sales annually. The company seriously misjudged the market by assuming that lower-income consumers would flock to an inexpensive automobile rather than noisy or unsafe motorbikes. Instead, lower-income consumers largely avoided the brand, as no one wanted the stigma of only being able to afford the cheapest car in the world. As a result, in January 2012, managing director P.M. Telang announced that the company was planning to export its cars to Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar—markets where it is hoped that owning a cheap car will not be as problematic for consumers.

Tata is not the only car manufacturer reconsidering these markets. Nissan is expected to bring back the lower-end Datsun brand, which as been out of production for the past 30 years, to India, Indonesia, and Russia in 2014, and may consider expanding to Africa soon.

While all brand managers naturally hope that their brand will connect with their intended target immediately, these case studies demonstrate that initial failures can be still be salvaged, and that even seemingly long-gone brands can be brought back successfully. As consumers in emerging markets gain more purchase power, we can expect to see more companies identify opportunities to give brands a second life.

This particular history happens to be Sears’, but it could just as easily summarize the current debate over the future of retail, with brick-and-mortar stores fighting what they perceive as the unfair advantage of cheaper, e-commerce sites. Their biggest concern, of course, is Amazon, which has been developing warehouses near major cities with the ultimate goal of making same-day delivery possible. The well-publicized liquidation of Borders and Best Buy’s decision to close 50 stores have also reinforced the idea that brick-and-mortar retailers are doomed. But it’s important to put e-commerce into context: while $194.3 billion is sales is admittedly a large chunk of change, online retail represents a surprisingly small part of the market—just 8.6% of all retail sales in 2011. In fact, several large chains have already experimented to find how brick-and-mortar stores can compete:

Offer exclusive products. To limit “showrooming,”—trying out a product in store but purchasing it for less online—Target has been working with its vendors to create limited editions and mini-boutiques that online vendors can’t replicate. This strategy also benefits smaller producers who do not have the resources to generate national exposure, such as The Candy Store in San Francisco, The Privet House Home in Connecticut, and the Polka Dog Bakery of Boston, some of the first participants in “The Shops at Target” campaign.

Curate. Who said a brick-and-mortar store has to be in the same place, all the time? This July, American Express, Target, and Paper Magazine sponsored the Super Duper Market, a three-day event featuring local vendors such as Brooklyn SodaWorks,  Empire Mayonnaise Co., and Whimsy and Spice. Temporary markets give visitors a pressing reason to buy, and limit the retailers’ risk, as they never take possession of the goods.

Improve customer service. As anyone who’s wandered a floor in search of a salesperson can attest, good help is hard to find—literally. Retailers have cut back on floor help in an effort to lower costs and compete with online price, yet a recent Harvard Business Review study found this counterproductive. Low-cost retailers like Costco and Trader Joe’s that have higher labor costs due to increased training, salaries, and employees on the floor, are actually more profitable per employee and per square foot.

Image Credit: Stratecongroup.com

Adapt the experience to the location. With their smaller, non-standardized layouts, urban stores require a different strategy than big-box stores. Best Buy’s new, small-format Connected Stores, will be based on a showcase model, featuring highly trained staff, specialists, interactive displays, and tech workshops—all of which sound suspiciously like Apple stores. (If you’re going to copy a retail strategy, though, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better alternative—Apple’s sales per square foot are six times Best Buy’s). Meanwhile, Best Buy Express vending machines, typically found in airports, offer travel-oriented items but are entirely self-service.

In short, brick-and-mortar stores may not be able to compete on price, but by providing unique experiences and better service, they can maintain their relevance to consumers. Both online and brick-and-mortar retailers may end up converging in a multichannel approach—after all, even Sears eventually opened up stores, and stopped printing its famous catalog in 1993. The most important lesson though, is to be aware of new retailing opportunities: surprisingly, Sears, the company that was founded on mail-order retailing, didn’t launch a website until 1998.

It may come as a surprise, then, to learn that Budweiser has been sponsoring a series of parties celebrating buying local. The “Made in America” campaign features local musical artists and vendors in Phoenix, Denver, Nashville, and other cities across the US, and will culminate in a Musical Festival in Philadelphia over Labor Day.

If you think it’s counter-productive to promote a mass brand at local festivals, you’d be right—they’re actually part of a larger campaign to promote “Project 12,” a new line of small-batch beers developed by brewmasters at Budweiser’s 12 breweries. Six of the beers were selected to go on tour, and now festival attendees will have the opportunity to try them and vote for their favorites. The winning beers will be sold this fall in a limited edition sampler pack. Budweiser’s forays into the craft market aren’t just for good publicity, they’re also good business. The US beer market declined 1% in 2011, but the craft beer market, though small—its volume made up just 5% of sales in 2011— increased 13% in volume and 15% by dollar value.

Project 12 shows that even seemingly monolithic, nationally recognized brands can credibly position themselves as local by developing the internal assets they already have. But how can imported beers take advantage of this trend? As strange as it may seem, brands can still positioning themselves as local… from somewhere else. Within two blocks of our office, we found two billboards proclaiming the authenticity of their origin:

While both beers are still brewed in their countries of origin, the companies behind them are the very definition of globalization—AB InBev owns Stella Artois, while Amsterdam’s Heineken International, obviously, makes Heineken. However, this international reach—the ability to get the same products wherever you go—has left consumers thirsty for brands that give them a sense of place, a connection to a specific experience. By emphasizing their nationality, Stella and Heineken can position themselves as authentic, unique beverages, not just as the end result of a detached, impersonal conglomerate.

Buying local is likely to maintain its premium status for the foreseeable future, so all global companies—not just brewers—must take a close look at how they emphasize their local roots. Of course, companies must be careful not to stretch their origin story too far, as a quick Google search can turn up reveal the truth. On the other hand, if you’re a local brand looking to go national, check out our article on how to expand without losing your local edge.

Since being bought by New York film critic Aaron Hillis and his wife, Jennifer Loeber, Video Free Brooklyn, a small DVD rental store in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill, has been featured in publications from the New York Observer to the Wall Street Journal.

Everyone seem to be intrigued as to why anyone would buy a business purveying a near-obsolete media format. They might be surprised to hear that Video Free Brooklyn, which has been around since 2002, is actually a profitable business (the previous owner was simply moving on). And in what Hillis calls a “post-Netflix” digitalized world, the advantages of the neighborhood video store are becoming all the more appreciated.

At Video Free Brooklyn, new releases are available immediately; there is an extensive, well-curated indie and foreign film section; and the staff are film enthusiasts, well-qualified to advise and recommend. Cobble Hill locals can look forward to fun events like  talks and screenings that will appeal to everyone from film buffs to kids, and we even heard a rumor of free video return PICK-UP service!

This transformation won’t occur without a lot of hard work and elbow grease, however, which is why Aaron has started an IndieGoGo crowd-funding campaign. Contributions will go towards things like building moveable shelves that can be shifted around to turn the store into an event space.

In response to lifestyles that are becoming ever more on-demand and convenience-oriented, a greater appreciation of old traditions and past-times has emerged, hence the returning popularity of crafts, artisan foods, vinyl, Instagram and the like. Video Night and the ancient ritual of movie-browsing are definitely another to keep. Become a supporter of Video Free Brooklyn on IndieGoGo here.

Fast forward to today, where enlightenment and actualization are increasingly sought after. Building on the economic foundations of the baby-boomers, current generations have been presented the world as their oyster. More and more people are developing the curiosity, self-esteem, and chutzpah to do what they want irrespective of income levels or societal expectations. And with a growing number of confident neobohemians roaming the streets, more and more people are becoming inspired to build explore their interests and passions.

Enter the changing landscape of adult education. The high tuitions, formalized class models, and quantifiable progress indicators of traditional schools just isn’t cutting it for many people- the future of education is passion-driven, crowdsourced, and affordable.

Brooklyn Brainery is a poster child for the movement- anyone can teach a class about anything. Teachers range from experts to hobbyists. The Brainery arose from the need for continuous self-actualization in the form of learning, and the desire of experts to share their knowledge. By all metrics, it is a runaway success, and the organization is looking to expand.

This new educational paradigm is also a great tool to promote equality. The Hacker School Recently offered 23 scholarships for women to attend their three month program. They received over 600 applications. While the program itself is free, the scholarship is meant to encourage women to enter a field in which eight out of ten colleagues are male.

One program to keep an eye on is also the most radical- the Trade School eschews traditional exchanges of money for knowledge, instead asking would-be teachers and students to traffic in objects. A class may be taught by someone asking for something as trivial as socks or as important as food. One class asked only for student participation. Others use the requirement to ask for materials which were used in the class. What makes the trade school unique is that it is a replicable system. For a small consideration, anyone in the world can start a trade school. And many people have- courses are offered in London, Guadalajara, Singapore, Manila, Barcelona and Oakland, to name a few.

While developments in the concrete world are promising, the digital world has proven to be a godsend for globalized, personalized, and free education.
Be sure to check back next week for our take on the most important developments in the cloud.

While the anonymity of the Internet allows for frequent cases of bullying and harassment, it also allows people to do good and give back anonymously.  Wikipedia, where people anonymously share their knowledge and extend the platform without reward, is a great example of this.

Another poignant tale is that of the young man in this image. This image went viral on Monday, when someone found the camera he lost in Amsterdam. Via Facebook, the finder asked friends to share and spread the photo in order to find the camera’s owner. In only a few days and over 57,000 shares later, the man from Canada was identified and reunited with his camera.

But being kind doesn’t always have to be without rewards. Thanks to some business-savvy social entrepreneurs, the returns on doing good and supporting others are suddenly getting better and better.

 The Mutual, for example, bills itself as a “Groupon for good”. Subscribers donate $10 per month to one of The Mutual’s partner causes (there are currently five causes on board) or spread the money across causes. In return, they get perks from local businesses. At Butter Lane, for example, customers get two cupcakes for the price of one, every time they visit!

Smallknot is a Brooklyn-based startup that provides incentives for supporting small, local businesses in your community. In crowd-funding style, you choose your favorite local business campaign, be it to replace old chairs in a cafe or create a beer bicycle, and invest a small amount in it, receiving goods, services, discounts, and unique experiences in return.

The Internet offers plenty of opportunities to do good and be generous, whether for a material reward or just a warm, fuzzy feeling. In the end, there is not too much of a difference between doing good online or in real life.