The internet has allowed consumers to get anything and everything they want with the click of a button.  But for some consumers, the one-dimensional way of experiencing brands and products is no longer enough.  People need stimulation by touch, smell, taste and tangible human experience, also known as Multisensory Branding, which unfortunately the online world can’t provide.

Multisensory Branding is beginning to make itself known, specifically in the entertainment industry.  There are new generations of 4-D, 5-D and 6-D cinemas, where in addition to your 3-D glasses, the theater chairs moves and fragrance jets aim to make you feel like you are really part of the action.

For example, at the recently-opened Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, visitors were able to be immersed in a multisensory experience.  They were able to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Ferrari’s Italian heritage, while also experiencing a ride that simulated the G-Force of Formula 1 racing.  While, Nissan is also trying their hand at connecting with consumers via their senses.  The company plans to launch an “in-car aromatherapy forest air conditioning, which will deliver scents that assist in maintaining alertness and deliver vitamin C to help hydrate human skin.”

Food companies are not far behind their entertainment and automotive partners.  There has been a huge trending in sour, spicy, bitter or exotic flavors being preferred by consumers.  So, companies like McCormick and Domino’s are creating products that they know will be hits with the new flavor profile preferences of Americans, i.e. Domino’s “The Revenge” pizza that features jalapeno and mustard. Bartenders are even starting to add ginger and jalapenos to drinks, as they try to push boundaries and give the consumer a new and exciting cocktail to try.

Multisensory branding is something that companies will need to think about incorporating into their consumer experiences, as it is expected to grow over the next few years.  Countless studies show that consumers stay in spaces longer when they are engaged with scents, colors and experiences.  For more information on this growing trend, check out: http://adage.com/globalnews/article?article_id=147222

We are only 2 days away from the biggest shopping day of the year.  Here is our breakdown of the biggest and best deals to be on the lookout for this Friday.

Stores opening on Thanksgiving: For the first time Sears, Kmart and Toys R Us will be opening on Thanksgiving Day.

Online Thanksgiving Deals: WalMart.com, Staples.com, Target.com and JCPenny.com are all offering their customers exclusive online deals, beginning on Thanksgiving.

Social Media Deals: Foursquare, Yelp, SCVNGR, Gowalla and the new Facebook Places are helping consumers out with their own Black Friday deals.  Check out 10 specials and promotions offered exclusively through these social media networks at: http://mashable.com/2010/11/23/black-friday-social-deals/#5645

For all those who have an iPhone or an Android mobile system, The Dealmap has taken on all the work for you and mapped out more than 165,000 Black Friday deals at over 52,000 retail locations across the US.

And finally, a great site for those that want to do some research today to prepare your shopping road map for Friday, check out: http://blackfriday.com/

Oh and if you aren’t feeling brave enough to face the crowds this Thursday or Friday, remember…Cyber Monday is another option!

Coca Cola isn’t going to let the Walmarts and Targets of the world have all the fun this coming Friday.  Coca Cola has decided to use Black Friday as a starting point for their new nationwide location-based rewards initiative.  Coca cola has partnered with Simon Malls and SCVNGR in an effort to target teens with their new Coke Secret Formula campaign.

The Coke Secret Formula campaign will go live on Nov. 26th at 10 different Simon Malls and prompts SCVNGR users to look for hidden Coke challenges, where users can earn points and redeem instant rewards.  Coke will be giving away over $100,000 in rewards, including American Express gift cards and Coke-branded merchandise.

Coke is putting a lot of marketing muscle behind this campaign and will be promoting it via online, print, mall signage and mall street teams.

For more information about the campaign, including a demo on how to use the SCVNGR app, go to: http://popsop.com/40656 and http://mashable.com/2010/11/19/scvngr-coke-rewards/

There have been a lot of rumors about the “Gmail Killer,” ruling the internet lately.  Well this past Monday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, put some of those rumors to rest when he unveiled Facebook’s newest feature Facebook Messages.  The goal of this new messaging system is not to immediately lure Gmail and Yahoo away from their traditional email systems, but to slowly introduce the idea that while you are checking in on your Facebook, you can also see your texts, chats and emails all in one social inbox.  The hope is that maybe one day people won’t need their traditional email accounts any more, but will be able to utilize Facebook to get in touch with all family, friends and colleagues, even if you aren’t “Facebook friends.”

With over 500 million members Facebook was not immediately able to provide everyone with their @Facebook.com email address, but they are testing it out with a couple thousand lucky people and hope to roll it out to all members in a few months.

A few key identifiers of the Facebook Messaging system include:

• A view for messages from Facebook friends and friends of friends. Less-important communications, such as newsletters, are routed to a folder for “other” messages.
• Users can attach files, including photos and videos, without a file size limit.
• Facebook Messages don’t have subject lines.
• Messages can only be sent to one user at a time.
• There is not an option for an “out of office” message.

For more information about Facebook’s new messaging system, check out http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-11-16-facebookmail16_ST_N.htm

And for a great article detailing why this may not be the “email killer” that it has been detailed as, go to: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/82798/20101117/facebook-email-gmail-killer-new-message-service-integrated-communications-youngsters-text-messages-s.htm

Pew just released a new study, Older Adults and Social Media, which details the quick growth of social media usage of the 50+ demographic.  What is even more interesting, other than the 88% growth from 2009 to 2010, is the fact that its the Boomers who are taking care of their parents (all 15.5 million) that are the biggest Boomer users of social media, according to a ComScore study.

These care-giving Boomers are using social media for 150 minutes per month, and are viewing 70% more pages than the average internet user. ComScore details the 3 major reasons why social media is so important to this group:

1. Validate and reinforce their feelings – The internet has given this group an easy way to find communities where people are facing the same fears, problems and have the same questions.  Being able to simply log-on to a computer and get your feelings validated or questions answered with just the click of the mouse is great for care-giving Boomers.
2. Simplify and customize their lives – Social media is a great way for Boomers to keep up with family and friends, as well as keep their lives streamlined.  This is especially relevant when you are taking care of your parent(s) and have that extra responsibility.
3. Information and advice - Although Boomers aren’t fully on board with making a lot of purchases online, they are doing their research there.  Care-giving Boomers are 3x as likely as the average Boomer to research their upcoming purchases with sites like Yelp and Citysearch.

The statistics provided above, along with the 3 key reasons for going online provides marketers with a new niche to target.  Self-care is usually the first thing to be put on the back burner in these multi-generation homes.  Brands that have or specialize in personal care items have an opportunity to present their products to a demographic that doesn’t really have time to think about those products by reaching out to them on the sites they visit most (as shown below).

For more information about the new web-savvy Boomers, go to: http://adage.com/adagestat/post?article_id=147013

Hardees and Carl’s Jr. have created their own mobile app, Happy Star Rewards, which emulates Foursquare by rewarding consumers for “checking in” at any of their 3,000 locations.  This app shares the users location (via Facebook, Twitter and other social networks) in exchange for consumers earning free food and prizes.  Consumers can earn a right to spin “The Wheel of Awesome” after just four visits, although the longer you wait to spin, increases your chances to win bigger prizes such as Blu-ray players and video game consoles.

The chains are hoping that this app will register with the 18 to 24 year old demographic.  This app won’t come out until later this year, but you can watch a demo of the app in action here.

For more information, read about the app at http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=146961

Toys “R” Us is also making waves in the mobile space with their new mobile coupons.  This holiday season, all Toys “R” Us retail outlets will be equip with scanners that can read the coupon bar codes straight from mobile phones.  So once customers join the Toys “R” Us or Babies “R” Us mailing lists, the emails that are sent to their phone won’t require printing (like their eGift cards last year).

The holiday shopping season is here and honestly, Black Friday will be here before we know it.  Retailers are going to be utilizing technology more than ever this retail season, which if done correctly, will be incredibly helpful for consumers.  Here are six tech trends to keep an eye out for this holiday season:

1. Imitation – Consumers should not be surprised if large companies launch holiday promotions that mimic the Gilt Groupe or Groupon flash sale model.  In addition to Walmart’s CrowdSaver application on Facebook, Banana Republic just tested this market with a “three hour lunch break” online flash sale, offering 30% off on select items and free shipping during that 3 hour window.
2. Personalization – Retailers are beginning to get a handle on how to capture and actually use all the information they get from their online shoppers.  Retailers who want to keep their consumers coming back are starting to personalize what they send their consumers.  Sears has started a program called AdYourWay, which provides personalized product recommendations or deals based on previous purchases.  Steve Madden is also utilizing a company to use consumers past purchase history to send them relevant deals via their mobile device.
3. Mobile Shopping Assistants - Retailers are trying to take the hassle out of shopping, by introducing mobile shopping assistants.  Consumers will be able to rely on their phones to get them product details, instead of waiting for a sales associate to answer simple questions like what color does this come in.  Target is planning to launch store maps on its website, which will be available for download on their phones, so that consumers will know where specific items are located.  While, Steve Madden is launching a service where consumers will text short codes and product names in order to get text messages, images and videos for further product information.
4. Nonstop Social Media - Twitter and Facebook are going to be serving as the discount hub for a lot of brands this holiday season.  For those consumers looking for deals, “liking” or “following” these brands on their respective social networking sites will give you the upper hand on exclusive deals and discounts.
5. Breaking Down Barriers – Consumers should be aware that a lot of retailers will be aligning their online and offline presence.  For example, Kohl’s is allowing their customers to redeem Kohl’s Cash ($10 for every $50 spent) online for the first time, while Macy’s is also featuring online and in-store “grab-and-go gift shop” specials for the first time.
6. Location Based Discounts - Facebook has launched a location-based feature, Deals, which allows retailers and businesses to alert shoppers of discounts when they are near a store.  Macy’s and American Eagle Outfitters are already signed up for the Facebook Deals feature, while Best Buy and Sport Authority will be using ShopKick.  Gap has also signed on to Facebook Deal, but they are using it in combination with Foursquare.

For more information, including expert opinion on why all six of these trends will pay off for consumers, check out: http://adage.com/article?article_id=146942

There are few things worse than having to go person-to-person collecting money to contribute to a wedding, baby shower and/or Christmas gift for family, friends or colleagues.  EBay has created a solution that they believe will alleviate this problem, as well as allow groups to give gifts that might be too expensive for one party to fund on their own.

Today, EBay launched an online group gift-buying service called GroupGifts, which allows several people to pitch in, buy and pay for gifts.  Consumers start by going to groupgifts.eBay.com, they choose a gift and then they can invite family members via Facebook or email to contribute if they so choose.  If people don’t contribute enough, the organizer can request more money from their friends or they can choose a less expensive gift.

Watch a video for how this service works here.

For further information, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-11-01-ebay01_ST_N.htm