One of the conversations that stood out from my visit to the VCU Brandcenter in March was a discussion with two Creative Strategists, Adam Wiese and Melissa Cabral. The two were working on a project where they were examining the impact of “ubiquitous connection” to the Internet.  The result of their work is an article, From 3rd Places to Blurred Spaces, that is featured in Cultural Standpoints, the annual magazine created by second year strategists at the VCU Brandcenter.

The piece is great read and has some interesting implications for a variety of stakeholders ranging from retail establishments city planners to technology providers.  I particularly loved this comment from the paper:

When Internet access is added to a location, it changes the structure and purpose of that physical location.  What happened with coffee shops is a microcosm of what will happen to cities with the proliferation of ubiquitous connectivity.  Ubiquitous connectivity and the resulting increase of blurred spaces would kill any of the last digital barriers between us.

You can download their entire paper through the below link:

From Third Places to Blurred Spaces

If you enjoy the piece as much as I did, be sure to contribute to the discussion on their blog.

If a brand hopes to breakthrough the cluttered marketplace, a sense of authenticity and community needs to be a cornerstone of their brand equity. Consumers want to develop a relationship with a brand and in many cases, they are looking for brands that could become a physical manifestation of a Third Place. The concept of a “Third Place” refers to a place, other than work or home, where a person can go to relax and feel part of the community. I first came across this formal definition while doing a project at P&G’s so-called “Mosh Pit of Creativity”, Clay Street. It was also at Clay Street that I realized Potbelly Sandwich Works is a Third Place for me.

For those of you not familiar with Potbelly, it is a Chicago tradition and one of my favorite brands in the marketplace (you can guarantee I will be visiting one while I am in Chicago this month). The chain was started in 1971 not as a sandwhich shop, but as an antiques shop in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The owners sold sandwiches on the side to draw in shoppers but quickly realized they were selling more sandwiches than antiques. The chain was purchased in the mid-1990’s by a young entrepreneur intent on turning it into something more and it has received VC funding from Howard Schultz’s Maveron. (more…)