Search | New Brand Experience

The Versatility of Video

Video is on the rise.

As Cisco predicted in its Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast, online video traffic in 2010 surpassed peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing in terms of total network usage. Currently at 26% of traffic, it’s expected to double by 2015, making up more than half of all Internet traffic. Of course, technology plays a role in this growth, as it becomes easier to share, stream, and play large video files, but there’s more to it than that.

Workplace norms around the use of video have quickly shifted. In contrast to just a few years ago, it’s now quite common to find organizations utilizing on-demand streaming video as a medium for training, HR, marketing, and executive communication purposes.

Alcatel-Lucent and Bell Labs are blazing a path towards what they call "Immersive Communications.” Their new development uses “mixed reality,” integrating video feeds of real people into customizable artificial environments. Multiparty calls become more natural, as participants are “placed” in a common virtual space, instead of each person appearing in a separate window on participants’ screens.

Type:
Blog entry

Experiencing Nintendo's 3DS

Love it or hate it, the recent resurgence of 3D movies has been enthusiastically welcomed by technology manufacturers, providing them with the latest way to get the public to upgrade their TV’s, smartphones, and portable gaming consoles.

While 3D TV sales have suffered from a rocky start due to limited content options and the often mocked glasses, analysts are projecting much higher growth in the coming year due to lower retail prices and stepped up marketing efforts. While the transition to high definition technologies felt natural to manufacturers and consumers alike, 3D has yet to prove its worth. Whether it’s peoples’ inability to actually perceive 3D content, or issues related to cinematography and content, 3D has been a divisive issue when it comes to the movie going experience.

Personally, I have quite enjoyed the movies that lend themselves naturally to being filmed by 3D cameras (primarily action and animated movies), but upon trying out a Samsung TV set at the Samsung Experience Store I swore off the technology because of the immediate eye strain I experienced. At this point, the only 3D content I can imagine myself getting excited over are video games.  This is where Nintendo’s new portable gaming console comes into play. The recently unveiled 3DS is the 3D successor to Nintendo’s lucrative DS portable gaming system. The 3DS promises a 3D gaming experience without the need for glasses. But in the face of all the criticism 3D is facing, how does a company like Nintendo convince the consumer that its new 3D system isn’t just a gimmick? Good old hands-on demonstrations of course. Besides demos at over 40 retail locations nationwide, Nintendo has opted to extend the experience in four major cities with the use of “Demo Pods”.

Type:
Blog entry

Client Quotes

  • “futurethink's research and 'how-to' tools have been essential to building our innovation program.”
    Cindy Morgan, Innovation Manager, New England Federal Credit Union New England Federal Credit Union
  • “We need to look beyond our organization's walls to innovate.”
    Mehmoon Khan, Global Leader, Innovation Process Development, Unilever Unilever
  • “futurethink is the innovation expert. They fine-tune their training to our clients' needs. I'm constantly looking for new opportunities to engage them in our work.”
    Brian Weberg, Director, National Conference of State Legislatures
  • “futurethink is always thinking ahead about learning and 'innovate' it before we ask! Their programs have been a huge success with our teams.”
    Director of Learning & Development, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Sonovian Pharmaceuticals
  • “The futurethink team did an outstanding job in designing and facilitating an innovation event for our senior leaders, many of who regarded this as the best innovation workshop that they had ever been a part of. I would recommend futurethink to any organization that is looking for clear and actionable pathways to Innovation.”
    Wayne Pethrick, Director, Marketing and Consumer Insights, Pitney Bowes Pitney Bowes
  • “Any innovative company must develop processes for understanding and responding to consumer needs in a very focused way. Otherwise, they're just inventors, they're not necessarily innovators.”
    Tony Tomazic, Director of Consumer Innovations, Humana Humana
  • “Innovation is deliberate, if done well. There is a science and process to it. futurethink has done their homework to provide a wealth of practical knowledge to their customers.”
    Senior Vice President of Innovation, Wells Fargo Wells Fargo
  • “The futurethink workshop not only provided an incredible jolt of energy to our collective innovation efforts and established the common understanding of innovation concepts, but it was also a wonderful team-building event. I don’t think it could have been organized and conducted any better.”
    Michael Ripa, Manager, FRI Infomatics
  • “futurethink made my leadership team think in new ways and helped us develop winning business ideas right in the room. My team now embraces innovation rather than fearing it.”
    Mary Fennoglio, Managing Director, Citigroup Corporate Investment Bank Citigroup
  • “If you don't innovate, be creative and look to the future and the possibilities of what will evolve over time, you will cease to be relevant.”
    Randy Voss, Senior Manager, Global Strategy & Business Development, Whirlpool Whirlpool
  • “futurethink's sessions included excellent examples and energizing exercises that brought innovation to life. They got us to look at our business with new eyes.”
    Joan P. Lawrence-Ross, Chief Learning Officer, AXA
  • “futurethink's proven methodology, research, and tools help ensure we're always ready to meet the evolving public service challenges of tomorrow.”
    Sandy Stosz, Rear Admiral, United States Coast Guard United States Coast Guard
  • “futurethink is enabling us to build critical innovation skills and share best practices across our global organization.”
    Jeff Honious, Vice President of Innovation, Reed Elsevier Reed Elsevier
  • “futurethink made the topic of innovation, which means different things to different people, real, meaningful, and actionable.”
    Steven Rubinow, Chief Information Officer, NYSE Euronext NYSE Euronext Logo
  • “Working with futurethink was a very rewarding experience for our team. They brought a great combination of provocative outside ideas, market perspective and a program design that challenged us to think of our own business in more innovative ways.”
    Jim Daly, Vice President of Human Resources, Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's
  • “If you don't make innovation a strategic part of your business plan and you don't drive that into the culture, I don't think you'll have a strong innovation pipeline.”
    Mark Hausfeld, Innovation Manager, Global Business Services, Procter & Gamble Procter & Gamble