Let's Share

I seem to be continually coming back to the thought "what happens as we begin to have less space, objects become more and more expensive and we become increasingly more mobile?" In essence, I keep thinking about how brands are going to evolve to remain relevant as sustainable consumption becomes more important/popular...

If we look at consumer behaviour today, we see more people moving around, which creates the need to carry only what one needs in the moment, in the most consolidated form available.

Take smartphones for example - they are our notebooks, daytimes, address books, maps, email, internet, GPS, flashlight, MP3, etc...oh ya and they're a phone too.  In all honestly, I use the actual calling feature on my phone so little that it takes conscious thought to make a call these days - clearly, I'm using my phone for more than just the phone.  When leaving my flat each day, I know I have everything I could possibly need when I have my iPhone, keys, Oyster card and debit/visa card, which I really wish was built into my phone already.

Mobility isn't just for small items, but for large items too. A previous colleague of mine, who has lived in Washington, London, Calgary and has just recently moved to Montreal, once told me, "I don't see the point in owning anything anymore when I know I'm probably going to move again". The point here is that people are in need of options that allow greater flexibility in their mobile lifestyles.

In addition to mobility, an increasing population is leading to more densely populated urban centres with less space to keep things. There is a desire to buy only what we need to reduce the environmental impact (i.e. reusable shopping bags, canteen water bottles, etc.). And we are more connected than ever before thanks to social networks and mobile phones.

So what does this all mean to brands? To me, it means for brands to remain relevant in the future, they must adapt their offerings to allow for flexible ownership. This means that a consumer may not need your product all the time, and since they don't have the space or desire to keep things around, they may only want to engage with your product or service when most relevant to them.

A few weeks ago I watched a TED talk with Lisa Gansky, who talks about how the future of business is the 'mesh'. She defines the 'mesh' as better things easily shared, which brings together to idea of physical objects, mobile and social. She talks about ZipCar and how we aren't using our cars (usually our second largest purchase to our homes) 90% of the time, so why not share a car and use it only when it's conducive to you.  In fact, it was this TED talk that got me thinking about all this.

Brands need to start innovating to develop products (which are really becoming services) that expand how you can meet consumers' needs to suit their evolving lifestyles and form long-term interconnected relationships with customers, rather than just ad hoc personal purchases.

It seemed like just after seeing this TED talk, BMW launched their own car-share service, DriveNow, which will launch in Munich this month, then globally in the near future.  This demonstrates BMW adapting its business model to meet the changing needs of consumers ensuring long-term brand relevancy.

Another example I saw this morning of products becoming more easily shared was airbnb. This is a  house, boat, hut sharing scheme, which allows people to stay in unique places during their travels to get a more authentic/local experience.  This example got me thinking that there may be an opportunity for home builders to start making homes increasingly more sharable and/or transferable.

The share-ability of a brand's offering is a unique way to start looking at a business and thinking of ways to establish or leverage a network to make products/services more easily accessible to people when they need or want them most.

How can your brand become more shareable to facilitate sustainable consumption?