Have you ever thought our new aged gadgets weren’t
mean to last? Ask yourself, how often do you upgrade your cell phone? We live
in a culture where we love change, we love our upgrades, but most of all we
love having the newest cellular device.
Apple Inc. is known for their innovation and simplicity.
They are also known for the very popular iPhone. There have been six generations
of the iPhone, since its debut in 2007. Apple introduces a new iPhone once a
year on average. As of 2013, they have already debuted two new editions: the 5s
and the 5c.
The fact is, we can’t stop. Whether you are a part
of team iPhone or team android, it is highly probable that you don’t last very
long with your smartphone.
Whether it is our culture or our favorite brands
purposely manufacturing our cell phones to last for only 2 years, there is a
problem with electronic waste worldwide. Phonebloks, is an up and coming brand
that promotes keeping your phone and updating it, rather than purchasing new
upgrades of the same phone. In specific, the idea is based off of the fact that
when a phone stops working it is because of one part alone. This idea is said
to dramatically help reduce the electronic waste world wide by making this
phone, “a phone worth keeping”. Through the blokstore, one can purchase
different bloks that upgrade/alter different parts of the phone. Within the
video above, it describes customizing your phone by adding bloks to better your
needs and wants.
Personally, I love the idea. I think it is
innovative and unique. This brand’s identity is based solely on the idea of
being socially responsible. But, as great as the idea is, I don’t find it very
realistic. The business plan is based off of getting different companies to collaborate
to make this phone. I’m not even sure what that really means to be honest.
I am also concerned with how they are going to
market this product. The product has the ability to fit many people’s needs and
wants, but it is too board. People love their brands and the identity that
comes with it. What is the identity that is associated with Phonebloks? Maybe
it is too early to tell.
The concept of this phone reminds me of the Pandora bracelets.
If you didn’t’ know, Pandora is a jewelry
company that sells a variety of products, but they are mostly known for their
bracelets. Usually, when you buy a piece of jewelry it stays the same, right?
With these bracelets, one can continue to change it as time progresses with adding
charms to the bracelet. Pandora sells charms of all different types . You can
buy a charm that looks like a car to celebrate getting your first car or purchase
a charm that looks like a stack of books to congratulate your friend on graduating
from college.
The concepts are kind of similar, right?
I think a
good advertising tactic for Phonebloks would be to have a lifeline type of commercial.
The commercial can show parents giving their son the Phoneblok as a gift as
they drop him off for college. Then, the commercial can transition into showing
the character exchanging his bloks as he goes through college. It can also
include clips of his girlfriend buying a blok for his phone for their anniversary.
The commercial can even transition all
the way up to the character’s life as a career man and a dad. It can also feature
changing bloks to better suit his life as he changes as it changes. An example
would be switching out a blok affecting the music to a better camera, so he
take pictures of his first born. Or, switching his blok affecting the speaker
to a blok with more memory so he can download documents for his internships. I
think people would get really excited about a commercial like this.
All in all, I’m excited to see this product on the
market and to see how the brand will market toward their chosen target audiences.
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