It is a scenic shot of Amsterdam. A cycle parked across a canal.
Even if you spent time staring at it, you won't find anything remarkable.
Except that IKEA has sold nearly 500,000 prints of the photo
People across countries seemed drawn to it.
It's displayed on restaurant walls. supermarkets, bars.
And in homes - living rooms, bedrooms, lounges…
So, what makes this photograph magnetic to such a wide cross section of people?
It was not promoted specifically by any of the stores.
The display is prominent because of demand but beyond that, nothing.
Even the person who made the selection for IKEA does not know why this particular image just keeps selling.
Affordability is not the answer because there are several other photos on IKEA's catalog
A wonderful short film has been made on this.
The filmmaker bought the picture from an IKEA store and later began to notice it at several places.
Intrigued, he went further and explored the story behind it. Fascinating.
I won't spoil it for you.
It wasn't even one of the best images on the photographer's portfolio.
Take a look at the film. I assure you it will be time well spent
Name. Email address. Phone Number. Submit.
When was the last time you filled a form on the internet?
Millions are submitted every minute.
Through landing pages. And on websites.
So, how do companies make money on something as mundane as forms?
They simplify the process of creating them and managing data collection
For a majority of organisations, that's too complex to handle.
So, they scout for solutions.
And there are many options. Free, to begin with.
Creating forms online for collecting data is dead simple.
Form creation companies have learned what customers want, where they need help
They also understand the kind of customers who start off with simple requirements and then upgrade to paid plans
Drag and drop and edit text, change colors and a form is ready to go.
As an example, take Jotforms.
A company that's been around since 2006. Never took venture capital.
Now at over $50 million in revenue annually. With 70 employees working remotely, worldwide.
With customers in just about every country on earth
They have over 600 templates - forms for businesses as varied as audits to photography to inventory and trip planning.
There are templates for those precise needs. And more
Forms. One more shovel in the evolving digital goldrush.
Here are the other contenders
Mining your brand on YouTube
500 hours of footage are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
A fraction of this features brands and testimonials from real users.
The problem is finding it. And making an assessment.
Fans upload their own take on brands to attract attention.
A startup is trying to identify them using algorithms.
Machine learning and AI picks brand mentions from text and titles.
Then evaluates if those films are well produced and on message. Or spewing hate.
A third filter is applied to see if the brand values are on track.
All tall orders.
Chances are that well-produced films will be in the minority.
Product shots, narration and composition could vary wildly
Evaluating brand value gets subjective. Another decision point.
That's the problem when brand films are made with creative enthusiasm and little else.
The upside is uncovering an authentic gem hidden somewhere in the video mines.
Vyrill is trying to build a business by mining brand content on YouTube.
Why isn't YouTube already doing it? That's the mystery.
Brand needles in video streams - let's see who gets the gold.
Will YouTube acquire them if they succeed? Or shut down access?
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The mystery of IKEA's bestselling poster