JKR

Shown above are a music album and a car tyre. Monday’s Guardian newspaper carried two stories which demonstrate how brands are adapting to the challenges and exploiting the opportunities of online purchasing. Firstly, in a world of declining CD sales artists are having to offer something a bit extra if they are to compete with the intangible world of iTunes and sell (presumably more profitable) physical artefacts. One smart solution comes from Mos Def who sold his recent album “The Ecstatic” as a t-shirt with a code to download the album on the hang tag.

The second story concerned Ethiopian shoe brand soleRebels, which sells funky shoes made from recycled truck tyres and local produced textiles. Distribution via Amazon and suchlike means they can be based in Addis Ababa but “act American”, and profits are such that they are investing in a solar powered factory. The piece concludes “While it will better showcase the company’s eco-friendly methods, that’s not the main reason customers like the shoes” Alema (the founder) says. “People buy soleRebels because they are good, not because they are green or from Ethiopia. Our product speaks for itself”.

Perhaps, but I would suggest both these stories share a common theme – that online marketing is a great platform for limber thinking, and alternative design approaches which appeal because they feel less production line in feel. Doing things differently is engaging for consumers – the challenge for bigger brands will be to match the imagination demanded of smaller players for whom necessity is the mother of invention.