Signals of Change

The Contagion Model of Social and Behavioral Dynamics SoC333

Recent research indicates that some social and behavioral dynamics operate in a manner that resembles in some ways the way contagious diseases operate, potentially rendering many traditional theories of sociologists and marketers obsolete. The contagion model of social dynamics apparently applies to phenomena as distinct as smoking cessation, suicide, obesity, and crime.

Virtual Water SoC334

The concept of virtual water is a tool that experts are using to help identify the water costs inherent in various goods and services. It provides a way to quantify the total volume of fresh water necessary to produce particular products. The concept enables a shift in mind-set similar to the shift that the concept of a CO2 footprint has allowed in calculating the environmental and climate-change costs of products.

Health-Care–Data Difficulties SoC335

The collection and the aggregation of massive amounts of data online are creating significant risks for both companies and consumers in the health-care field. In a world in which every aspect of a person's life winds up online, the risks are not limited to medical data.

Leveraging Piracy SoC336

Piracy of intellectual property and counterfeiting of their products are significant problems for many companies. But in the absence of practical or effective deterrents, creatively leveraging or co-opting piracy, rather than fighting it, is turning out to be a practical course of action for many affected companies.

Green Motives SoC337

Until recently, the green-consumer segment consisted largely of people whose primary reason for buying green products was to reduce stress on and destruction of the environment. But consumer reasons for going green are becoming considerably more nuanced and varied than they once were.

Tasteful and Aromatic Advertising SoC338

Martin Lindstrom—author of Brand Sense: Build powerful brands through touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound—argues that "75 percent of all the emotions we generate every day are due to what we smell." Companies are experimenting with new ways to add taste and aroma to their advertising arsenal.

Insights

Rethinking Water Resources D08-2582

Given today's water-consumption patterns, nations, businesses, and consumers are heedlessly and needlessly draining or wasting some of the world's most important water resources. Increasing scarcity coupled with increasing demand makes water an increasingly valuable commodity. Careful management of water around the world is the objective of the concept of virtual water. The concept, along with the associated concept of a water footprint, allows a gradual shift in global mind-set to allow people and businesses to assess the real costs of water use. Virtual-water and water-footprint concepts will operate in a manner similar to how the concepts of carbon labeling or carbon footprint are assisting society in evaluating the effect of products and services on the environment and climate change. As increasing demand, waste, and pollution leave clean water supplies running short, the concepts of virtual water and water footprint potentially hold significant value for businesses and consumers. Author: Aster Peng. 11 pages.

Scan™ Meeting Digest: 17 September 2008 Meeting D08-2583

This document is a digest of the Scan™ abstract clusters that participants in the 17 September 2008 Scan meeting identified. The digest includes a description of the Scan process for people who have never attended a Scan meeting, a list of the clusters that meeting participants identified, and a one-page description of each cluster's premise and supporting abstracts. The document has active links that allow the reader to access the supporting abstracts for each cluster in Scan's online abstract database. The document also has links to previously published Scan documents relating to the particular cluster. Clusters of abstracts for this September meeting include useful waste, nationalism versus globalism, leveraging inconveniences, no need for a car, too much technology, leveraging existing infrastructure, generational health-care–resource competition, exploring cultural differences, cutting against the green, and buildings of the future. Compiler: Kimberly H. Wiesbrock. 35 pages.

Calendar

Scan™ Abstract Meetings

Scan abstract meetings (in which SRIC-BI [now SBI] staff participate in a free-form discussion of current Scan abstracts) are open for client observation/participation on:

• 21 January 2009 at 9:00 am
• 18 March 2009 at 9:00 am
• 20 May 2009 at 9:00 am
• 22 July 2009 at 9:00 am
• 23 September 2009 at 9:00 am
• 21 October 2009 at 9:00 am.

Please contact your SRIC-BI (now SBI) marketing representative to schedule participation in any of the Scan Abstract Meetings.