Asian Consumer Intellegence

Nissan will add noise to its new electric car, the Leaf, to make it sound like cars in the cult movie Blade Runner. The sound makes the cars safer, so pedestrians can hear them coming, but will also act as a powerful marketing too, making the vehicles instantly recognizable, even if they are out of sight. i.e “That sounds like a socially responsible, trend-forward driver!”
[pinktext IDEA POTENTIAL:] Nissan has taken what was a dull safety problem and turned it into a fascinating opportunity to brand the leaf as a futuristic vehicle that will garner interest from anyone it passes. A true lesson in sensory marketing.
Nissan Leaf, due for release in Japan/US/Europe in 2010. http://www.nissan-zeroemission.com

Japanese women have been flying to Seoul and bulk-buying cosmetics. But with a less favorable exchange rate, how can South Koreans keep selling?
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Fashion dilemmas aside, face masks present a clear white space to utilize creatively.
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Innovation applies to cities as well as companies. Cities grow and develop: their citizen do too. Which cities are the Apple, Toyota and Google of the future?
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In September, Jinro released Aqua Blue, a new brand in its Seoksu mineral water line. The new products come during a time when mineral water sales are booming in Korea as the sale of bottled tea drinks slip. The move from bottle tea to mineral water might be linked to a recent consumer backlash against genetically modified ingredients, which appear in some tea drinks.
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This year Jinro is celebrating several milestones, with the 10th anniversary of the Chamisul, currently the highest selling variety of soju in Korea, and the launch of a new drink, named simply “J,” which targets young women.
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Seoul Fashion Week begins today, with top Korean designers presenting their Spring/Summer collections over at the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC), Daechi-dong, southern Seoul.
The eight-day event will include two days (October 18-19) of men’s collections from designers such as Chang Kwang-hyo, Park Jong-chul and Song Hye-myung.
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Signs and packages with smatterings of English have long been ubiquitous in Korea. It seems young Koreans no longer find the attraction of English advertising copy, and marketers have been turning to more exotic languages such as French and Italian.
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