Mindshare: When Burritos Fly

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is teaming up with Chipotle on the Virginia Tech campus to drop off food to students.

Though this sounds like a simple task, extensive permission and testing is required to meet the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority rules and regulations. Up until June of this year, unmanned aerial delivery devices were not permitted by the FAA to take flight. Even now that they’ve given these drones the green light, it might still be a while before companies such as Amazon and Walmart earn their wings.

This is a great example of Outsourcing Control, a trend that illustrates how our culture is growing more reliant on technology to make everyday activities a little easier. But, has tech has gained too much control over our lives?

Apparently not. In fact, consumers actively look to brands to help complete chores, run errands and more. A key takeaway for marketers? Consumers want to trust companies and companies want to earn their trust.

Now, with the increasing integration of A.I. and robots into society, we’re putting our daily tasks on autopilot and in turn relying on brands we find reputable. In the past year alone, we’ve seen a robot that fights parking tickets in the US and the UK, a liquor store that delivers booze by the box in Canada, and voice assistants like Siri and Alexa that answer all our questions -- and even preheat our ovens.

The real question here is: Will guac still cost extra? It’s up in the air.

For more information visit mindshareintheloop.com.

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