360 DEGREES Weblog

Popularity can be a blessing and a curse. British retailer Burberry transformed itself from a fusty, upper-crust maker of raincoats into a trendy luxury brand in the early part of the decade by plastering its trademark plaid on everything from miniskirts to bikinis. Sales went through the roof, and an initial public offering in July, 2002, raised $440 million.

But the first indication the mania was reaching a tipping point came after a well-known British soap star appeared with her baby clad head-to-toe in matching “Burberry check” outfits in 2002, provoking widespread media ridicule. The tan, black, white, and red plaid pattern also became a staple of counterfeit garments, which were widely adopted by a downmarket demographic.
Reporting lackluster holiday sales in 2004, the company said counterfeiting and the image problem associated with the omnipresence of the plaid pattern ” had not been helpful.” Experts fretted that Burberry’s hot streak was coming to an end.
“Up the Price Ladder” Fast forward to 2007 and the pendulum seems to have swung back in favor of the company whose trench coats have been worn by everyone from Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca to Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. (BUSINESSWEEK)

The “Chalet” is by far the most famous product of Swiss architecture. The wooden dwellings with sloping roof and overhanging eaves, are as much a part of the Swiss landscape as the Alps themselves. The single storey bunkers traditionally served as seasonal farms for dairy cattle in the summer months, and haven’t changed much since these humble beginnings.

But high up on a mountain pass in the Bernese Oberland, a new type of seasonal home has emerged as a stark contrast to the timber heavy squats the country is so famed for. With its back turned to the harsh northerly winds, this contemporary take on the log cabin straddles the vistas to the south via a huge five meter glass pane that invites the landscape to fill its vast, open plan spaces.

Swiss planning regulators favor lots of small, pokey windows, this house is anything but. Rather than shielding its inhabitants from the outdoors, the house embraces the mountainous terrain, with large glass doors opening out onto the wooden terrace that appears to float alongside the house.

Traditional chalets have a tendency to shy away from the landscape, sealing off its inhabitants to the beauty of the environment it inhabits. This building however, embraces the countryside with an unyielding arrogance and swagger. Perching precariously at the tip of a mountain, it stares boldly at its surroundings. The interior eschews its contemporary credentials with clean, simple lines and muted colors. But at the same time, it feels traditional, homely, and welcoming. A small homage to the portly abodes that continue to dominate the Swiss landscape.

Pop-up retail created plenty of buzz over the past few years, but seems to be over its peak. So, what’s up next? How about pop-up hotels and resorts? Two recent spottings from the travel and tourism industry:

On land, there’s Spanish Hotel Movil, a large truck trailer that can be dragged to any location and turned into a two level hotel within 30 minutes. After its 11 rooms are unfolded, the hotel on wheels can sleep up to forty people, making it roomy enough for wedding parties, family reunions or luxury camping trips with a large group of friends. Hotel Movil isn’t short on luxury: every room has a bathroom, plasma screen TV, DVD, internet access and more. Depending on the trailer’s configuration, a bar and movie screening room can also be included. Price for a weekend is EUR 7,000. Alternatively, you can buy a hotel of your own for EUR 400,000.

Secondly, touted as “the next frontier of the sexy jet-setter life,” Nikki Beach at Sea aims to be the world’s first floating resort, and will move from party to party across the globe. The concept is being developed by Nikki Beach Hotels and the Kloster cruise family, targeting Nikki Beach’s young and hip South Beach clientele. The USD 498 million floating hotel and party boat will set sail in 2009, starting off in St Barth’s for New Years, then on to Rio for a week of carnival, followed by the Winter Music Festival in Miami and the Cannes Film Festival.

While a floating resort isn’t a venture you can start up overnight, pop-up hotels could carve their own niche for exclusive, ‘any time, any place’ travel experiences. And there should be plenty of opportunities for the events industry, too. One to watch!

Maxim Velcovsky and Jakub Berdych of Qubus Studio have given the Czech Republic’s St. Bartholomew’s church a bold interior makeover simply by treating the seating. White Panton chairs with custom cross cut-outs replace rigid pews, and Eames Shell chairs with Eiffel tower bases take center stage. Who said church is boring?

As a barrier-free, mobile and flexible kitchen, the “Ideal Kitchen”, with its L-shaped countertop, offers a high degree of design freedom and a very high level of design, in the opinion of the jurors. The countertop is suspended from the wall, so that it can be set at any height. A 17 cm-wide rear “spine” serves not only as a storage option for kitchen implements, spices and electric appliances, but also to keep the wall clean. Mobile containers and a kitchen cabinet offer additional storage space.

Like potato chips and pandas, Legos seem universally appealing: does anyone not like them? For managers at the privately held, Danish-based company—which celebrates its 75th birthday this year—that’s mostly a blessing. At a time when parents struggle to pry kids away from computer games, moms and dads feel good steering tykes to a wholesome, sit-on-the-floor toy that seems to invite creativity.
But in the last decade, Lego experienced the downside of having a brand that’s so adored. Emboldened by the public’s fondness for its colored bricks, managers tried to expand well beyond toys and build Lego into a full-blown lifestyle brand. The company expanded its Lego theme parks, sold Lego software and created Lego clothing lines. Suddenly parents could send their child to school wearing Lego rain boots and a Lego backpack. Today Lego managers look back on that expansion with a shudder, asking: What were we thinking? (NEWSWEEK)
Read the article

Miles Nadal is at it again, doing what he loves to do best: making deals. But when is enough enough?
Nadal, the chairman and chief executive of MDC Partners, an advertising conglomerate based in Toronto, hopes to get ahead in the intensely competitive advertising industry with a contrarian strategy of almost continuous change.
Nadal has persuaded the owners of well-known agencies like Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Cliff Freeman & Partners and Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners to cast their lot with MDC rather than far bigger competitors like the Omnicom Group, the WPP Group or the Interpublic Group.
But following that philosophy can be fraught with risk, as was demonstrated last week with the unraveling of an acquisition and merger involving two New York agencies, which Nadal orchestrated less than two years ago. (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE)

Like Spotrunner, Spotzer offers ready to air TV spots at a fraction of the price of tailor-made commercials.

Spotzer is currently in ‘alpha’ phase, and busy building a library of pre-produced commercials. The Dutch-American start-up will use a number of methods to keep costs down. It’s using excess capacity at large production studios and creating sets of commercials in one go, using the same amount of resources (actors, locations, travel expenses) that would traditionally be required for a single shoot. Spotzer will also be buying unused footage from ad agencies and marketing and film schools. Television archives form another source: Spotzer has access to the BBC’s archives, a veritable treasure trove for a wide range of moving images, including decades-old material that now looks delightfully retro. Last but not least, Spotzer is working on an online platform to allow freelancers and pro-amateurs to contribute video footage.

All of Spotzer’s spots are suitable for use by a wide variety of companies, who can personalize videos by adding their own message and voice-over. Advertisers don’t get exclusive use of an ad; they licence it for a specific region. Spotzer offers highly targeted media planning, helping advertisers find the right mix, reach and frequency to fit their aims and budgets. Besides regular television advertising, Advertisers can also run internet and mobile video ads, as well as advertising on out-of-home television, such as digital screens in office buildings, airports and restaurants. The beauty of the concept, of course, lies in creating something once, and selling it over and over again. Opportunities? While Spotzer and Spotrunner try to conquer the North-American and European markets, now is the time to launch similar initiatives for the rest of the world.

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