Voice assistant speakers from big-hitters like Apple, Sonos, JBL and Google have never been so smart. They know today’s headlines and weather and can answer trivia questions with a simple voice command. These speakers also play your chosen music over Bluetooth or wi-fi, and some can access music streaming services.
We help companies to take their gifting up a notch with branding, packaging and deployment solutions.
Branding: Adding your company logo or design on the product helps with brand recognition and exposure. FUSION OF IDEAS does this through direct color printing, laser etching or StealthArmor, a thin vinyl for a semi-permanent branding solution.
Custom Packaging: Packaging solutions such as a customized device sleeve that fits snuggly over the OEM box and custom gift wrap are also ways to make a gift stand out from others. A personalized insert tag with a note from the company leader or sender is another way to customize your gift and add a personal touch.
Deployment: Whether you need to send a gift to one or multiple recipients, FUSION OF IDEAS has you covered with our white-glove deployment service. We can ship individually to domestic and international locations without you having to touch a single device.
And finally, check out our current favorite smart speakers.
Sonos Roam
Sonos Roam with direct UV color print
Apple HomePod mini
Apple HomePod mini with direct UV color print on clear StealthArmor
Google Nest Audio
Google Nest Audio with direct UV color print and custom device sleeve
Sonos One
Sonos One with StealthArmor, thin, heat-bonded vinyl for a semi-permanent branding solution
With the holiday gifting season on the horizon, FUSION OF IDEAS headed back on the road and recently participated in person at SAAC Expo 2021 in Anaheim, Calif.
SAAC (Speciality Advertising Association of California) holds an annual event that brings together suppliers and distributors in the promotional industry. This year, FUSION OF IDEAS participated as an exhibitor to show the latest and most popular high-tech products that can be customized for the 2021 corporate gifting season.
Attendees were able to see the products up close and speak with our team about their upcoming gifting needs. Check out highlights from the event.
SAAC (Specialty Advertising Association of California) Expo 2021 was held Aug. 5-6 in sunny Southern CaliforniaFUSION OF IDEAS featured the latest high-tech products for the 2021 holiday gifting season.Distributors in the promotional industry get an up-close look at the premium gifting options for their clients.The FUSION OF IDEAS team explains our end-to-end solutions for gifting, including decorating, packaging, kitting and shipping.More than 300 promo industry suppliers exhibited in the regional event this year.
Ahead of a special virtual event for the Golden Key Oxford Saïd 2021 Program, participants received a pleasant surprise at their doorsteps – a pair of customized Apple AirPods Pro.
Meltwater, a global leader in the media and social intelligence market, and Golden Key International Honour Society, a non-profit, international academic honors organization, partnered to deliver custom-branded Apple AirPods Pro to recognize nearly 100 students across 10 states and 17 countries.
“The branding of our event swag built the excitement for the program and made it that much more special,” said Courtney P. at Meltwater. “Participants were more engaged in the program because the experience of receiving the swag paved the way.”
Each set of AirPods Pro was personalized with the Meltwater logo on the device case and earbud stems. Its teal logo was directly printed on the device to create a long-tasting brand experience that is polished yet impactful.
The earbuds are then wrapped in custom packaging that included a custom-designed device sleeve that snugly fits over the OEM box and customized gift wrap with the Meltwater and Golden Key logos. Packages were sent to each domestic and international recipient.
Courtney adds, “We’ve done some great swag throughout the years and this was among the best!”
Thank you, Meltwater and Golden Key, for allowing us to create this brand experience for the Golden Key Oxford Saïd 2021 Program. To learn how FUSION OF IDEAS can create brand experiences for your business or organization, visit fusionofideas.com/getstarted.
Sonos Roam and Apple AirTags. Two completely different products, both completely new and innovative. We took these new hot products through our R&D process and we’re thrilled to show you how we can take them to the next level with our brand experience solutions.
Sonos Roam
The ultra-portable Sonos Roam offers an array of customization options using our proprietary UV direct print technology.
Brand experience solutions:
Full-color direct print on front speaker
Full-color direct print on the backside
Custom device sleeve
Custom gift wrap
Apple AirTag and AirTag Loop
The clean canvas on the revolutionary AirTag offers endless branding opportunities. Securely fasten AirTag to items with AirTag Loop, which can also be branded with custom artwork or a logo.
Brand experience solutions:
Full-color direct print on the blank side of AirTag
Direct print on AirTag Loop
Custom device sleeve
Custom gift wrap
To see what your company brand or logo looks like on these devices, request a complimentary digital rending on www.fusionofideas.com/getstarted.
Would you go on a road trip without clear directions or a plan to get to your destination? Some would, and that’s OK.
The majority would have more confidence when going on a trip with a map and a plan to get to where you want to go. Without a roadmap or planned route, there is a great risk of losing time to get to your destination if you get lost, and losing money on wasted gas.
The same idea applies to any large business investment to be made at a company. It goes unsaid that companies lose time and money when they jump into a large project, such as software investment, without a “roadmap” or plan.
According to Innotas, 55 percent of IT professionals surveyed indicated that they have experienced software project failure. Most of these failures can be traced back to a lack of proper planning.
As companies consider Digital Transformation to plan for new or better software, having a clear plan for a solution can be the difference between business growth and a business failure.
Why software projects fail and how to make them succeed
Problem: Ambiguous business objectives
Less than 20 percent of business executives can clearly describe the requirement process of their business needs. With that statistic, if the company itself is unable to clearly define the requirements of their business needs, how can developers fully understand the specifications of the project? This ambiguity further also leaves the developers unsure of what features are essential. These expectations should be laid out from a very early stage but it is often not the case.
Solution: Engage key stakeholders early in the process
Software projects need to begin with a shared vision between executives, IT and all internal users of the software. Having a shared vision of the business objectives can mitigate confusion of the end goal. Resources like a Strategy Statement and Empathy Maps of your target audience are helpful tools to align this vision.
An Empathy Map defines your audience and helps to understand what drives user behaviorA Strategy Statement is used to define inputs and outputs to measure ROI.
Problem: Unrealistic timelines and budget
One of the most common reasons why software projects fail is because of arbitrary deadlines and plans that are set without sufficient data. In the early phase of a project, time estimation is the best-educated guess because teams are still comprehending the project requirements. When they are not revisited regularly or resourced properly, it can be costly and time-consuming for the business.
Solution: Have a Solutions Plan
Without a clear plan, it is inevitable that developers will need to build and rebuild, which increases the project budget and extends the timeline. Before you begin any project, have a Solutions Plan that outlines the associated fixed costs and estimated timing (with buffers) to complete the project. It is not to say that when you set a timeline upfront, it will be followed to a T. You should revisit your plans and estimates frequently. During development, sprint reviews are set by the developer to review project milestones and check to see if the project is still on track.
A Solutions Plan offers a birds-eye view of the development scope.
Problem: Unclaimed accountability
When determining who is responsible for the software project, the answer should not be “all of us.” There will be many stakeholders and teams involved in the process but with too many cooks in the kitchen, there is confusion around roles and responsibilities. This confusion is often the greatest barrier and source of frustration to delivering successful software.
Solution: Have a dedicated point of contact or team
Have a Dedicated Project Manager who is the go-to contact for the developer. It’s important to not assume that the dedicated contact needs to be in an IT role. Many organizations fall into thinking technology projects are exclusively an IT responsibility. Rather, it’s a joint responsibility between IT, business or sales team, operations and company executives. The dedicated resource manager should be the liaison between all these groups.
Once you determine a dedicated resource, it’s important to align expectations upfront with your development team so the build progresses smoothly toward your anticipated completion date.
A dedicated resource for a development project must have a clear understanding of the business needs and goals.
The software development process begins as early as the initial idea of creating a business software or mobile app. FUSION OF IDEAS’ Solution Mapping is a process to provide clear output so businesses can have a defined plan to participate in a development project or share with stakeholders. It makes for a much smoother and more effective design and evaluation process.
Each set of AirPods Pro was personalized with the Meltwater logo on the device case and earbud stems. Its teal logo was directly printed on the device to create a long-tasting brand experience that is polished yet impactful. 
The earbuds are then wrapped in custom packaging that included a custom-designed device sleeve that snugly fits over the OEM box and customized gift wrap with the Meltwater and Golden Key logos. Packages were sent to each domestic and international recipient.
