http://inventivebranding.com Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:20:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A post by SolarFred rang true with me. To the Street, the solar uneducated, a solar panel remains a solar panel. The Street just wants to know how much it costs. It’s always the first question. There will increasingly be the pressure for installers to simply get these consumers that lowest ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/07/solarfred-is-making-sense/ This will complete my summary of how the market for solar energy can be strengthened through demand development. The true source of module pricing pressure is project developers seeking the minimum price that can be paid to maximize internal rate of return. Forcing manufacturers to compete on price and performance will ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/07/strengthening-solar-part-3/ I ran across this cool product.  It is an LED street light, with a wind turbine and solar module, mounted on the same pole, over the light. This product, sized to fit in a residential neighborhood,  is sold by a company called Urban Green Energy.  It generates electricity when the sun ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/07/good-looking-clean-energy/ In part one, I suggested that the solar industry, with such vast upside, has a problem with demand.  There is not enough demand at today’s sustainable price points to consume the rapidly increasing supply.  Price subsidies will help, but to maximize profitable growth, more people need to understand and desire ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/07/strengthening-solar-part-2/ Asking people to use a new OS is like asking them to change how their car works – steer with a joystick instead of a wheel, brake with the right pedal instead of the left.  Not welcome, or easy.  Here are three things you can do to increase probability of ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/07/dear-google-how-to-market-chrome-os/ I’ve been studying clean energy – and solar in particular.  Solar appeals to me for its technical elegance and ability to address a number of challenges we face.  The upside for the category is stunning:  today’s $5B solar sector accounts for only 0.15% of the world’s electrical generating capacity, while ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/07/strengthening-solar-part-1/ Imagine joining a group of new friends over dinner. Listen to understand. Say something genuine, beneficial, and compelling. Quit jabbering. http://inventivebranding.com/2009/05/twitter-marketing-strategy-in-140-characters/ I just heard about WolframAlpha from Steve Graham of the U of Chicago Computation Institute, a smart software guy not easily impressed.  Essentially, he said “you’d better see this.”  So I checked it out.  Here’s my first impression. WolframAlpha presents a Google-like text entry field, wherein one enters subject matter or ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/05/test-drive-of-wolframalpha/ Mike Sievert posted on one of my favorite topics:  brand differentiation and corporate strategy.  I think Mike gives a good round-up of positioning alternatives.  An excerpt below, full text here. I think of differentiation on four dimensions (see illustration). To me, differentiation happens on the four dimensions of Product Offering, Customer Connection, ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/05/differentiation-you-can-feel/ Here is the best banner ad I’ve seen in some time. It ran at breakfast time on Engadget.  I’m thinking the ad network knows I’m male, and maybe even a Lenovo ThinkPad owner (the computer equivalent of bigger, better bacon). The merits:  The category is clear (bacon).  The differentiating benefit is clear ... http://inventivebranding.com/2009/05/better-bacon-banner-ad/