Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/439817
C o n s u m e r E l e c t ro n i c s D a i l y N e ws Tu e s d a y, J a n u a r y 6 , 2 0 1 5 1 2 SIMPLE LIVING TECHNOLOGY BUILDING BRAND RELATIONSHIPS An interview with Ryan Williams and Ashley Taylor, Creative Team, Simple Living Technology. CEDN: Simple Living Technology (SLT) is undergoing a major brand over- haul. What led to this decision? AT: Until this point, Simple Living Technology has been a product power- house, but held no identity. It's been a faceless company with nothing more than a logo slapped on some amazing products, backed by a team of passionate people using ingenious ways of getting the word out. There was a lot of manpow- er involved, but so much was getting lost in translation. As a team, we realized that we needed to let SLT's personality come out and develop organically. CEDN: How important is brand consis- tency for SLT? RW: Brand consistency is vital, if not the most important trait in a company. Maintaining excellent brand consistency exponentially increases our brand equity. SLT emphasizes innovation and simplic- ity from manufacturing to the consumer usage. We encourage our customers to provide feedback to us so we can con- stantly strive for success. AT: A consistent brand executed well is the difference between simply purchasing a product or having an experience and relationship with a company. Businesses sell products, brands build relationships. CEDN: What personality does the brand SLT possess? RW: SLT is an artist. Not necessarily in the sense that they're a sculptor or painter, but in the sense that they have a vision for their life and how they want to live it. They do everything with a sense of purpose and artistry. From the food they cook, to the way they commute, to how they spend their weekends – it's all done in a way to express who they are creatively. CEDN: How do you tell the story of a company that's only one year old? AT: Just because a company is young doesn't mean there's not a story to tell. With SLT, we've real- ly enjoyed digging into the deep layers of the company's story which is something you can't do with larger companies whose sto- ries span back decades, simply because there's not enough time to do so. CEDN: What challenges have you faced in the rebranding process? AT: The biggest challenge has been in creating our story to bring in new mar- kets while still appealing to our current audience; there's a pretty decent age dif- ferences between the two. To meet the needs of both, we dug deeper than age and developed our image based on the freedom in human spirit, which is a uni- versal language to all. CEDN: How is SLT different than anoth- er tech start-up? AT: For starters, we're not based in Silicon Valley. RW: But on a more serious note, we have a combined experience of 30-plus years in the consumer electronics industry. We've restructured the brand to connect with consumers and convey a cohesive, exciting experience that's less of a brand and more of a relationship. Visit Simple Living Technology at booth #35423. For more information, go to www.simplelivingtech.com, call 561-575- 9999 or email info@simplelivingtech.com. SUNFRIEND MONITORS UV RADIATION EXPOSURE FROM THE SUN The UVA+B SunFriend device is wear- able technology that monitors the sun exposure of the wearer, so that they know when it's time to cover up or seek shelter. SunFriend, the startup company behind the product, launched it on the company's website earlier this year and is bringing it to International CES ® for the first time. The product is the brainchild of a NASA scientist with expertise in sensor devices and the idea that the sensors that he was using for space exploration could also help people combating serious health issues such as skin cancer and vitamin D deficiency get a healthier amount of sunshine. He partnered up with branding and business expert Karin Edgett, now the company's CEO, and together with the help of their electronics partner CoolCAD and many others, brought the UVA+B SunFriend to market earlier this year. At the 2015 International CES ® , the company is debuting a proto- type for the next evolution of the device, the SunFriend Bluetooth, which will expand the capabilities of the technology even further. The UVA+B SunFriend is being lauded by consumer electronics editors and the Vitamin D Council, which has hailed it as an effective device for healthy sun management. Exposure to sunshine is the major source of Vitamin D for most humans, and health researchers have identified Vitamin D deficiency as a factor in high blood pressure as well as musculoskeletal and other disor- ders. Optimized Vitamin D levels have even been linked to a decrease in risks for breast cancer. Inadequate expo- sure to the sun has also been implicated in Seasonal Affective Disorder, depres- sion and dementia. "With the UVA+B SunFriend, you personalize your skin sensitivity level and then just wear it throughout the day. LED lights show you how your sun exposure is progressing and lets you know when you've reached your maxi- mum daily dose of sunshine. You just strap it around your wrist, and a tiny sensor constantly reads the actual UV exposure you are getting and adjusts for brighter sun, reflective UV, clouds, indoor/outdoor activ- ity and more. It's waterproof, so you can even wear it out by the pool or at the beach," Edgett said. "All you have to do is check from time to time to see how you are pro- gressing! When the indicator lights show you that you've reached your limit of healthier sunshine, then it's time to cover up or go indoors." The device comes in five colors: Orange Citrus, Grey Mist, Blue Ocean, Green Spring and Black/Grey, and retails for $49.99. For further information, visit SunFriend in booth #75542 in Eureka Park. After the show, email safer@sunfriend.com or visit www.sunfriend.com. NEW FITNESS NETWORK UA RECORD OFFERED BY UNDER ARMOUR Making its International CES ® debut, Under Armour is launching UA RECORD, a new digital fitness network designed to give athletes of all levels a more intimate and personalized connec- tion to their health and fitness. UA Record is about community, but at its core it will deepen your connection to your health and fitness. Keeping track of your physical activity and unifying it with your digital community while oper- ating on an open platform, you'll be able to track your body's information 24/7. Data features include GPS activity tracking from mobile sensors and third party devices, analysis from individual workouts and a total snapshot of your progress – including steps, sleep, caloric burn, heart rate, BMI and weight. Members can invite up to 19 friends within their network to compete in cus- tomized health and fitness challenges centered on specific goals. Challenges are based on workout count, total dis- tance, total steps and calories burned. These daily, weekly or monthly competi- tions provide real-time updates, leaderboard progress and an open conversation forum for group participants. The ability to share con- tent, such as videos, photo and workout stories is built into the app along with access to original content on nutri- tion, training methodologies, injury pre- vention and more from directly from leading health and fitness experts. Employing the open Under Armour Connected Fitness API/SDK platform ensures that a wide range of devices and apps will directly sync with RECORD including Armour39 ® and MapMyFitness. Not only does it allow users the ability to sync to an existing device, it dedupli- cates data. If you wear multi- ple tracking devices at the same time it will automatical- ly deduplicate this data, so your information is accurate and comprehensive. Product updates are planned throughout the year. Each new feature will further enhance the plat- form's personalization and connectivity. Coming soon, members will have the ability to incorporate customized feed- back and use personal in-app health assessments. Visit Under Armour at booth 73915.