THEORY IN PRACTICE: A COMPLEMENTARY GOOD

SPOTTED - I’ve always been interested in economic theory, and how it applies to the real world. Sometimes it’s a stretch, sometime it’s a leap of imagination and sometimes it's the easiest thing to spot. I spotted [image above] what might be the most brilliant example of the theory of a ‘Complimentary Good’ at a Walgreens. Wikipedia defines the theory as:

“In economics, a complementary good is a good with a negative cross elasticity of demand, in contrast to a substitute good. This means a good's demand is increased when the price of another good is decreased. Conversely, the demand for a good is decreased when the price of another good is increased. If goods A and B are complements, an increase in the price of A will result in a leftward movement along the demand curve of A and cause the demand curve for B to shift in; less of each good will be demanded. A decrease in price of A will result in a rightward movement along the demand curve of A and cause the demand curve B to shift outward; more of each good will be demanded.”

That all sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo to me, all they’re saying is:

When you buy a computer, you will also need to buy software. Computer hardware and software are therefore complementary goods: two products, for which an increase [or fall] in demand for one leads to an increase [fall] in demand for the other.

It’s great to see that the management at Walgreens has recognized there is a positive correlation between alcohol consumption and the demand for contraceptive goods.

Prof. Khanna

THE UNDERGROUND GOES OVERGROUND

SPOTTED - At the Whitechapel underground/overground station the underground goes overground.

joes[a]fiend

TRUTH + TRANSPARENCY = TRUST

SPOTTED - On a recent trip to the north of England (to teach a group of third year university students) I spotted this poster showing the exact amount of money that had been raised at the train station for The Poppy Appeal.

What struck me was, the person who made the somewhat shoddy poster had a fantastic insight into people:

: The poster extends the relationship with The Poppy Appeal past the initial interaction/donation

: It makes donors feel that their contribution is part of a larger community/group effort

: It offers feedback, we all like to know how we're doing

: It enhances trust, how many times have you dropped your small change into a collection box in exchange for a 'social badge', then never hear anything from the charity again?

: The hand-drawn element adds a human element to the charity. It shows that there is indeed a real person counting the donations, not some automated banking machine

: Most importantly, it thanks donors for their contribution

I personally feel brands/charities need to learn that by being truthful and transparent, they will earn the trust of the people. This poster embodies key elements that brands/charities must embrace to earn the trust of the public.

If you've seen anything similar to this, drop us a message.

joes[a]fiend

ACCIDENTAL? BRILLIANCE? ACCIDENTAL BRILLIANCE?

SPOTTED - Last night I attended the launch of the Hermès pop-up store in the Rochelle School Of Art. The aim of the store is to show people how versatile the iconic Hermès scarves can be. In addition to the pop-up store Hermès has created a Fanzine in collaboration with photographer Matt Irwin. Irwin took four models around the world to capture the ways you can wear the Hermès scarf.

As part of the festivities the incredible LA based band Warpaint played a few songs from their debut LP The Fool [Rough Trade Records].

Before Warpaint came on stage I noticed what must have been a Hermès employee tying a scarf to the bass drum [that's the big one in the middle]. I thought to myself, that's quite subtle, a nice little branded touch. When Warpaint came on to play, this all changed, it soon became a stroke of absolute genius or complete luck. As the drummer [Theresa Wayman] began to beat the bass drum it caused to Hermès scarf to flutter elegantly to the beat, it was mesmerising.

Now, cast your mind back to December 2009, when Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka had an installation in Maison Hermes in Japan. The installation was a window with an image of a woman projected on to a monitor. It would appear from the outside that the projected face was gently blowing a Hermès causing it to flutter in the wind.

Was this tie in a piece of marketing genius, or sheer good luck?

It would make sense for Hermès to create a campaign based on the beauty of the flowing movement of their iconic scarves. Imagine a campaign where you see a close-up of the fluttering scarf which then panned out to an iconic moment. The image that springs to mind when I think of the Hermès scarves is a chic woman driving a 1985 convertible Mercedes SL with the top down, on a hot summer's day in the south of France. Imagine the shot; close up of the scarf flowing in the wind [possibly in slow motion], then a soft zoom out to the striking, powerful woman driving the car. Formidable!

joes[a]fiend

SUPERMARKET FASHION

SPOTTED - The term ‘fast fashion’ has become common in recent times, as of last week it gained a whole new meaning for me. I found myself with half an hour to spare before a meeting near Topshop [Oxford Street, London], so thought why not pop in have a little look around to kill some time?

Whilst loitering in the store, observing what people were picking up and generally being nosy I heard a familiar voice. Not the voice of a friend, family member or celebrity, but the voice of Tesco. When I say this I don’t mean from an advert, I mean the voice that summons you to a vacant cash register to pay for your uninspiring lunchtime sandwich. This provoked a whiplash inducing double take. I moved closer to the till to confirm my initial hunch. To my shock it was the automated voice of lunchtime doom, moonlighting by beckoning the followers of fashion to ‘till number 4’.

In my line of work we talk about the ‘Theatre of Retail’, this includes the level of detail required to ensure the physical retail experience is a memorable one. TopShop offers a great retail experience. They just need to remove the voice of the supermarket from their store. Why not use the voice of an employee? Wouldn’t it be nice to be served by the voice that came over the loudspeaker?

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. XIV]

SPOTTED Whilst is Soho [London] taking a stroll I spotted this amazing Rapunzel like art installation in the Riflemaker Gallery.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. XIII]

SPOTTED - We've all been in that awkward situation: when you're on the tube and you see what you think could be a pregnant woman... then you begin to doubt yourself. You start thinking is she really pregnant? If she isn't pregnant and I offer her my seat will her fist be speeding towards my nose? If I don't offer my seat and she is pregnant, am I a truly vile person with an express ticket to hell?

Let's be honest, these aren't the thoughts anyone wants running through their head in the morning, sat on a sardine tin like tube.

When I was on the tube today I spotted a woman wearing the 'Baby On Board!' badge. For a guy (or girl) that isn't a selfish twat and is more than happy to give up his/her seat on the tube, this badge could help a lot.

If you have a 'bun in the oven' you can get the badge for free by contacting Transport For London [babyonboard@tube.tfl.gov.uk / 0845 330 9880]. If you know someone who is expecting, let them know!

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. XII]

TECHNOLOGY - We have been talking about QR codes for over two years, in that time we have seen them become ubiquitous. This advert was spotted on Broadway Market, London.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. XI]

I spotted this poster for the SVA [School of Visual Arts] whilst waiting for the subway in Brooklyn. We love the simplicity of the poster, and for a reason we don't know or understand design schools have the amazing ability to produce the worst adverts. Yet this is a fantastic example of a strong concept executed perfectly.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE SPOTTED PICTURES ON OUR FLICKR PAGE

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. X]

San Loco in Brooklyn has the best seating in the whole of the New York area, not to mention the amazing Tacos.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL SET OF IMAGES ON OUR FLICKR PAGE

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. IX]

We spotted this amazing toilet cistern in the best pizza place in Brooklyn.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. VII]

No prizes for guessing where this poster was spotted. It's advertising NetVibes, a service that "lets individuals assemble their favorite widgets, websites, blogs, email accounts, social networks, search engines, instant messengers, photos, videos, podcasts, and everything else they enjoy on the web - all in one place".

The most interesting aspect of this poster is that it contains a Data Matrix barcode which is a two-dimensional matrix barcode consisting of black and white square blocks, which can be read by enabled mobile phones and webcams. A Data Matrix barcode can store up to 2,335 alphanumeric characters. In the case of the poster above, when we decoded it on our iPhone it linked to the NetVibes website.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. VI]

This Street 'Art' Valuer was spotted on Scatler Street, London.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. V] RE-WORKED

Some the local residents have re-appropriated the cup graphics from SPOTTED [VOL. V].

[G:LEAVE]

SPOTTED [VOL. V]

Spotted just off Brick Lane, London.

[G:LEAVE]

SPOTTED [VOL. IV]

"Stop looking at my bottom", packaging from Innocent Drinks.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. III]

We spotted this reworking of London’s Oyster card by Neoexternalism in Aldgate East [London].

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. II]

Just somewhere to hang out on Brick Lane [London] on a Sunday, a bench in a skip, with grass, and a tree....

[G:LEAVE]

SPOTTED [VOL. I]

“Don’t look down on me, I’m just a delivery van”

Courier van spotted in East London carrying this ingenious roof text.

joes[a]fiend