Need a way to nurture collaboration, assure file security and have immediate access to all your digital data? Google Drive may be your answer. Google Drive is an online service that allows users to store and share data through cloud computing technology. Documents, presentations, photos and videos can be synced across all your devices and shared from anywhere via computers, smartphones and tablets. This is a fantastic service for businesses because files can be shared and edited together in the cloud live by multiple users for easy and efficient collaboration. Drive also allows you to back up files from your device in case your computer is lost, your phone is stolen or your tablet breaks. We all know how frustrating that can be!

Have you ever received an email attachment you were unable to open because it was too large or you didn’t have the right software? Google Drive allows you to view large files in any format regardless of what software you have on your computer or device. Competitors like Dropbox — which has been a popular program for data storage and sharing since 2007 — do not have this ability, and it can be very frustrating. Drive outshines Dropbox with its ability to facilitate live collaboration. It also exceeds Dropbox’s capacity to recognize and open application-specific files like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop files on all devices. Unless Dropbox is able to mirror these features, I believe it will not be able to compete with Google Drive in the future.

Cloud computing is the future of business and personal file management. Google Drive is a step in the right direction for making cloud computing a more widely used, user friendly means of file management. Once again, Google invents something revolutionary that affects the way we interact and live.

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When 2-D codes made their way to the U.S., there was an immediate interest. A code you could scan with your smartphone and get information instantly? How could you go wrong? Well, here’s how. By sending people to a website when they can go there on their own. By making people “like” a company on Facebook to get the payoff. Don’t make getting information hard. Make it fun. Make it worth our time. People want to be entertained or given information they can’t find elsewhere. Over time, interest in 2-D codes faded.

But recently I’ve seen some examples that demonstrate how 2-D codes can be a great thing when they’re used well. Here are two applications that are useful and engaging for any customer. And engaging customers is never a bad thing.

Photo credit: annehornyak.com

Home Depot Garden Tags

If you’ve ever shopped for shrubs or plants, you know that there’s a lot of information crammed on those little plant tags. But Home Depot figured out how to add even more information without overwhelming the tags or the gardeners. The tags have the same basic information, but also give you the option to scan a 2-D code to get planting and watering tips and information on companion plants. Now that’s useful.

Photo credit: quietlikehorses.com

Photo credit: quietlikehorses.com

Tesco Subway Grocery Shopping

In South Korea, Tesco covered the wall of a subway stop with a virtual grocery store. While waiting for the train, commuters can scan the 2-D codes of the items they need and order right there for same-day home delivery. Brilliant.

Do What Works

As these examples show, brands can use 2-D codes in inventive ways to help keep loyal customers engaged and attract new fans. Do you know of effective uses of 2-D codes? Share them with us!

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Brand values and brand personality are two components, among many, that are defined within a brand strategy. Oftentimes there is confusion about the differences between them and why a strong brand strategy needs both defined. While on the surface they seem to be very similar, they are actually quite different. The components individually and collectively bring depth to the brand.

Brand values are the core of the belief system that guide the behavior of everyone and everything that is associated with the brand. Brand personality, on the other hand, is the expression of the brand that allows the audience to engage with the brand in a personal way. The personality grows out of the values — from internal attitude to external expression.

We know savvy consumers want to have relationships with brands as they would with a person. The bottom line is that the more the brand is rooted in core beliefs (values) and the more interesting and “uniquely you” it is (personality), the more engagement you can create around your brand.

Here is a comparison between the two that I hope brings clarity:

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