The Virtual Autopsy Table from NorrköpingsVisualiseringscenter on Vimeo.
There’s no doubt about it: Microsoft Surface-type computing interfaces are compelling. The idea of taking graphics and data and then moving them, bumping them, merging them — it’s a way of interacting with computers that we have only been able to picture in movies.
But so far, we’ve mostly [...]

There is never a lack of interesting information and opinions on the Web. Some of it is even useful. While link posts might be considered the last refuge of scoundrel bloggers, the links below have been cultivated, nay, curated, to strike a balance between intriguing and applicable. Enjoy!
Experiate Blog: How to make the store employee [...]

Another gem from the good folks at the NYT Freakanomics blog:
“According to the FBI’s recently released second quarter Bank Crime statistics, bank robbers are most likely to rob a bank between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Friday…”
Which has us thinking about potential deterrents and wondering whether it would be effective to run digital messaging [...]

Via the NYT Freakonomics blog, we’ve stumbled onto a video by  that attempts to answer the question: “why do people use check cashing places, instead of banks?” Be forewarned, this video has some colorful language. But it is highly entertaining and actually provides a brief glimpse into the reality of the so-called “unbanked.”

Jeffry Pilcher, editor of The Financial Brand, an online journal that covers financial services branding and marketing topics, recently interviewed John Ryan President Nancy Radermecher about the role of digital signage in bank marketing.
Read the interview

If you’re new to The Financial Brand, here are some recent articles that give you a sense for the depth [...]

Behold, the lowly workhorse of the banking system, as it appears in numerous countries and environments across the globe. For a huge number of customers, this is as close to a bank as they’ll ever get. Hence, the efforts by banks to brand their ATMs. (The Wachovia ATMs below go beyond branding and take on [...]

São Paulo, Brazil
Creative commons photo credit: EduardoZ

New York
Creative commons photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

Singapore
Creative commons photo credit: HongKong dear Edward

London (formerly Midland Bank, now an art gallery)
Creative commons photo credit: stevecadman

Valencia, Spain
Creative commons photo credit: Toni Rodrigo

Ise, Mie, Japan
Creative commons photo credit: pelican

Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. (recently converted to a hotel)
Creative [...]

Food and wine as collateral for bank loans – There’s no arguing that a good Barolo or proscuiuto is valuable. So, why not use it as collateral? That’s what some Italian bankers are proposing.

Agricultural lenders see opportunities in the local foods movement – Today’s boutique and specialty growers may be big business tomorrow.

Apple’s cool matrix-style [...]

NYT has an amazing interactive graphic showing the results of the American Time Use Survey. The good news for bank marketers is that you can see the ebbs and flows of how customers spend their time.
The bad news: Americans spend on average no more than 6 minutes per day doing “assorted services,” a category that [...]

While many of our European readers bask in the Mediterranean sun, we offer this collection of links directly and not-so-directly related to the world of banking and retail. Enjoy.

How tech is changing banks – Depositing checks using an iPhone? Making mobile-to-mobile money transfers? It’s all coming your way and bound to have an impact on [...]