Art and Algorithms

Algorithms enhance or erode our creativity?
According to Aeon, we are all centaurs now and our aesthetics continuously enhanced by computation. Every photograph I take on my smartphone is silently improved by algorithms the second after I take it. Every document autocorrected, every digital file optimised. Musicians complain about the death of competence in the wake of Auto-Tune , just as they did in the wake of the synthesiser in the 1970s. It is difficult to think of a medium where creative practice has not been thoroughly transformed by computation and an attendant series of optimisations. The most profound changes have occurred in fields such as photography, where the technical knowledge required to produce competent photographs has been almost entirely eclipsed by creative automation. Even the immediacy of live performance gets bracketed by code through social media and the screens we watch while recording events that transpire right before our eyes. The full piece here .

Strategic International: Leadership through turbulent times

No one needs to be reminded that we live in increasingly turbulent times. New and enduring economic, social and environmental challenges grow more visible and urgent by the day. New ideas and emerging technologies make it possible to do things that weren't possible before. The result is a new hope: opportunities for innovative leaders to develop and achieve breakthrough solutions to significant business, social and public problems. Our mission is to help these leaders to achieve sustainable solutions, by combining a great legacy with the creative forces of innovation, through the value of collaboration :
# Consulting , (Strategic International), drawing on the talents of advising innovative leaders of organizations who have high aspirations for maximizing their impact. (Download brochure in PDF )
# Marketing Communications, (Strategic / Communications) - more than 30 years of experience in using the power of Marketing Communications / PR to boost a company’s performance                            ( Download brochure in PDF)
# Interaction Media Lab (IML) , developing solutions across a range of digital media and creating new, engaging, dynamic forms of experiences (PDF here)
# Think-Tank, ( Costas Kataras Organisation), Cultivating the New, Superior, Brand Species: "Nice Brands" (See more and the latest research in the blog, here.)

10 trends that will shape consumer behavior in 2013 and their implications for MarCom people

JWT recently released the eighth annual forecast of key trends that will shape or significantly impact consumer mindset and behavior in the near future. No need to elaborate why such trends have considerable impact in the MarCom strategy of every company in our times.

In this year’s report, new technology continues to take center stage, as we see major shifts… see more here .

Brands, Stars and Regular Hacks

That’s one of the central questions addressed by Saska Saarikoski in his research paper called Brands, Stars and Regular Hacks – a changing relationship between news institutions and journalists Saska was the Arts and Culture editor for five years at the leading Finnish daily newspaper, the Helsingin Sanomat, and his paper forms part of the focus…. See more here .

Ars Electronica Futurelab’s new art installation at Vienna International Airport

“ZeitRaum” (TimeSpace) is an interactive art installation the Ars Electronica Futurelab designed for the new terminal at Vienna International Airport. It creates real-time interpretations of arriving and departing flights. “ZeitRaum”consists of a series of stations that accompany departing passengers on their way to their gates. The airport authority will also be using the installation for half of the available time as an ad medium.

   At the core of this work is an imaginary space, one at the interface of all the world’s airports. Passengers enter it when they pass through a security checkpoint prior to takeoff, and leave it after touching down at their final destination. This space’s boundaries are constantly shifting in accordance with current air traffic.

The Ars Electronica Futurelab is one of the four divisions of Ars Electronica Linz GmbH. The media art laboratory’s staff includes experts in a wide array of fields. Its style of work is characterized above all by an interdisciplinary approach and international networking. The Futurelab’s broad spectrum of activities includes conceiving and executing exhibition projects, developing artistic installations, and conducting R&D joint ventures with partners in academia and the private sector.

Restoring Confidence in Brands

Long before the crisis, a number of studies showed a growing lack of trust in business and their leaders,. For example, only ¼ of the public trust them. Further on, brand importance goes also steadily down. For example, brand loyalty today is only 9%, from 40% some years ago. The crisis also showed that the notion of “Powerless State” is a myth. Society is now pressing harder for a new “corporate social contract “ and the new issues for the businesses are endless, including: regulation, environment, unions, privacy, safety, off shoring, civil society, governments as owners, consumer activists, NGOs and others. How modern corporations and brands could respond to these strategic and organizational challenges, beyond simplistic CSR, “Green Wash” practices and the recently invented by brands concept of “social missions in the supermarket shelf? See more and contribute to the debate here.

Are You Getting Your Fair Digital Share?

Virtually all marketers are grappling with the question of how much time and effort to invest in digital communications and where those investments should be focused. The competitive landscape is an important aspect of these decisions.
Brands should consider how well they are competing across digital touchpoints, just as they have historically done for other media. However, the multifaceted nature of the digital environment has made it difficult for brands to understand how well their efforts stack up against those of competitors. See more here.

Interactive visitors center in a major bank, uses creative mix of advanced robotics and interactive interface design

“El Faro” Visitors Center, is the gateway to Santander Group’s financial complex on the outskirts of Madrid. The center is a creative mix of advanced robotics, hi-res LED paneled columns and interactive interface design that offer visitors memorable and impactful forms of exploring the group’s history and global presence. Knee-high autonomous robots greet and guide visitors to their destination in the center, a large-scale model of the financial campus uses augmented reality and advanced graphics to explore points of interest, and a 12-meter tactile, interactive wall senses when people approach, triggers eye-catching graphics and lets visitors explore multimedia contents about “Ciudad Group Santander”. The center is a creative mix of advanced robotics, hi-res LED paneled columns and interactive interface design that offer visitors memorable and impactful forms of exploring the group's history and global presence. See video here. 

App helps visitors to enjoy exhibitions in public spaces

Ars Wild Card is a new information system (iPhone App) to enable visitors to enjoy exhibitions in public spaces. Using the app, visitors can capture a QR code beside each work and access a frame that reveals information about the work. Within this frame the visitor can photograph the work, including themselves, friends and family to record their experience of the work. The photos are stored on their iPhone and can be shared to a cloud service and optionally shared via social media networks. Visitors can also use a printing service in the exhibition. Ars Wild Card dynamically generates a photographic archive of visitors’ daily interactions and experiences of the art works. More here.

Davos 2012: Debrief

This year’s theme was The Great Transformation (borrowed from Karl Polanyi’s seminal 1944 book), inspired by the urgent need to explore new models of leadership and value-creation in the wake of a fundamental (identity, confidence, moral?) crisis of capitalism (sovereign debt crisis, lack of trust in business, growing inequality, etc.). See more here.

Top 12 digital predictions for 2012

What trends will take hold in 2012 and radically alter the way in which marketers interact with consumers via digital channels? Millward Brown’s Global Futures Group makes 12 digital predictions.

Increasing our Brainpower: Using Neuroscience Effectively

Will increased understanding of the brain change marketing and the way we measure it? In an excerpt from The Branded Mind, a new book by Erik du Plessis, Graham Page offers assessments of neuroscience techniques and how to get the most out of them.

The Revolution Will Be Mobile

By 2012, 61 percent of the world's population—roughly 4.3 billion people—will rely on some kind of mobile device as an access point for exchanging information and communication. Mobile technology is reshaping almost every aspect of society, from business and playtime to healthcare and education. Mobile is everywhere, and everything is becoming about mobile. See more here.

Visualizing the future of a city

Interactive Institute and Visualization Center C visualizes the future of Gothenburg.

Interactive  Institute and Visualization Center C in Norrköping supplies in the spring of a display table to the city of Gothenburg. The table should be used to plan and communicate the major urban development projects Gothenburg faces.
See more here.

Let’s talk about the Death of the (Arrogant) Brand..

Contrary to what is widely believed, brands are being both forced off the market and out of the hearts and minds of people - firstly in the "wealthy countries"- in our interconnected world, that is characterized by the exponentially accelerating pace of change in Technology, Complexity and Society . What is your personal opinion? Need some ideas before you comment? Read “Nice” Capitalism- A Secret Journey to the Death of the Arrogant Brand by Costas Kataras, the first book that ever challenged the power of global brands with research- based data and revolutionary ideas, before the economic crisis. The book provides new thinking with the latest findings from such diverse cognitive domains as: mathematics, game theory, physics, complexity, chaos theory, statistics, artificial intelligence, psychology, psychoanalysis, neurology and others. Visit www.costaskataras.org  to order from Amazon.com or  to download it for free. 

A CSR Toolbox for European Companies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is of crucial importance for competitiveness in Europe, says the latest European Competitiveness Report published by the European Commission. The annual report analyses productivity and competitiveness issues in the EU. In that context the so called CSR Toolbox was launched. CSR Europe's Toolbox includes information, ideas and advice designed to help companies and their stakeholders address socio-economic and environmental challenges and integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into mainstream business practice. The Toolbox is based on the first results of the CSR Laboratories, cross-sectoral business-stakeholder cooperation projects under the umbrella of the European Alliance for CSR. (Photo:Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission )

The “Nice Way” business advantage, now in a series of lectures

A number of new research findings, recently published bestseller books (ie The Brand Bubble, John Gertzema, Chief Insights Officer, Young & Rubicam / WPP Group, November 2008 and The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, 2009) and the winning business strategies of a new species of Nice Brands / Corporations that is now emerging (ie Patagonia ) as predicted in the book Nice Capitalism by Costas Kataras , are all confirming the advantage of the Nice Way strategy and Costas’ unique foresight ability to foresee the shape of things to come in the new corporate world. The Nice Way initiative of The Costas Kataras Organization includes information, ideas and advice equipping organizations for a competitive advantage in times of turbulence, delivered through a number of tools, including: lectures, presentations, seminars, workshops, strategic foresight, scenario planning, studies, market intelligence, consulting, counselling, networking tools and others, based on Costas Kataras’ fascinating book Nice Capitalism. Lecture topics include: A New Paradigm: The Application of “Chaos Thinking” to Strategy, The European Effect: Is Corporate Europe Beginning to Surpass America? , Restoring Confidence in the Corporation: Rethinking the Business of...Business, The Uncertain Future of Brands: The Next Colossal Corporate Challenge?, The Economics of Happiness: Mastering the New Competitive Advantage ,The Revenge of the Psych: Is Consumers’ Dominance Over Corporations Near?, Rethinking Marketing: Surviving in a New, Polarized, World. More info and a short description of the Nice Way series of lectures, is now availiable.

Leadership through turbulent times-A New Hope

No one needs to be reminded that we live in increasingly turbulent times. New and enduring economic, social and enviromental challenges grow more visible and urgent by the day.New ideas and emerging technologies make it possible to do things that weren't possible before.The result is a new hope: opportunities for innovative leaders to develop and achive breakthrough solutions to significant public problems. Our mission is to help these leaders to achive sustainable solutions to significant social and environmental problems. We do this in two ways:
# We are part consulting firm (Strategic International), drawing on our talents of advising innovative leaders of organizations who have high aspirations for maximazing their impact.
# We are part think tank ( CostasKataras Organization), analyzing and anticipating important shifts in the rapidly changing context that leaders must navigate.

Partnership in practice :Strategic International - About us, at a glance

Our Mission:
To assist our clients choose successful strategic directions and build strategic perceptions in today's turbulent environment.
Our Value Proposition:
Broad Industry View > Strategic Thinking > Ideas Delivered > Shareholder Value > Results Oriented > Collegial Approach
Our History:
Since 1984 we deliver value to our global clients, focusing on quality, customer service, innovation, results and superior project management
Our Clients (Indicative):
Communications:Atlas-Copco, Pfizer, SAS Institute, Yioula || Research:IBM,HP, Microsoft, OTE, Emporiki Bank|| Consulting:Altec,European Commission,Intracom, NATO, GSRT || On-Line: Audi, CYTA, ORACLE, Siemens, Sun || Events: AT&T, Bank of Cyprus, CA, Cisco, SchlumbergerSema
What we Do:
Learn more about our services.Download the two brochures below, in PDF:

# Marketing Communications ( Click here )






# Corporate (Click here)