 Claudia Lieshout
Global Leader CultureScan / Global Leader Trends, Strategic Futures Design Of the many innovations showcased at the recent International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 in Las Vegas, it was interesting to note the rise of products developed to aid ‘preparedness’ − the state of being prepared for specific or unpredictable events or situations.
SpareOne presented a mobile phone that can keep its charge for 15 years by just using a AA battery. The idea is that you can have a phone within easy reach when something happens, whenever it happens. Even without a SIM card, emergency numbers can still be contacted.
Being able to watch live TV on your mobile devices is not necessarily a new idea, but it becomes something different in the context of an emergency. At CES, a pilot Mobile Emergency Alert System project was demonstrated. It uses a special DTV chip to make it possible for governments to alert people even when their device is off or in sleep mode. In this way the government could provide information in the case of emergencies. We’ve also noticed the rise of the radio, again in the context of preparedness.
Observing these innovations on the rise, also using existing technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), it seems we are preparing ourselves for something big. Do we want to protect ourselves now more than ever? The year 2012 has popularly been predicted as the end of times. Even though questionable, we do see an increase in (natural) disasters. And the strong connection between our economical and environmental climate makes us feel very fragile indeed.
The Fukishima disaster caused by the devastating tsunami in March last year led to many initiatives for ‘preparedness’. In their latest campaign ‘Itsumo, Moshimo’ (Whenever, Whatever) Japanese brand MUJI came up with a number of different ’emergency situation kits’ compiled with everything you should need in times of an emergency. They used crowd sourcing to ask people what the content of these kits should be.
Preparedness is strongly linked to the problematic environmental situation we are in, for example the shortages of drinking water, limited fossil fuels, and pollution. People will not only search for primarily sustainable solutions but also to be ‘off the grid’ − no longer dependant on the existing infrastructure, but self sufficient now and in the future. We need to consider what role brands can play in providing people with safety and comfort, but most of all confidence in the (near) future. February 14, 2012 | 
