Mobile

Hyper Local, Hyper Annoying?

Imagine a future where we are constantly bombarded by notifications as we wander down the road  using our mobiles, innocently passing by shops. Now imagine just how frustrating that could be if not managed carefully. To quote a recent tweet from R/GA, if this is the future of location-relevant advertising, I’ll stick with my trusty Sunday circular, thank you very much.

If not done carefully, these types of things appear more like an attempt to ride the wave of social media than an opportunity to deliver a truly charming customer experience that returns any real long term sales.

At first these ideas seem logical, target people who are already instore with an offer as they are already there in a shopping mindset. However unless executed with care, I feel it will do more to irritate people then actually sell to them.

Advertising is a blunt instrument, we focus on such a granular segmentation at our peril.

There is a fine line between spam & information, we must take take to intelligently use the growing quantity of data we have available on our customers and deliver messages that are relevant and on brand or up comes the spam filter!

The Curated Future Of News Radio

The digital content disruption continues. Whilst print media have been grappling with this for some time and the music industry has also been coming to terms with new forms of content distribution such as Spotify, it appears the next frontier of curation could be news & information content. Whilst this has typically been the domain of public radio, with a combination of location services and curated content from around the world we have started to see a new wave of applications which empower the user to curate their own news rather than rely on local radio to do it for them.

Early examples of this are Agogo and Swell. Recently launched, they pose a new challenge to traditional media outlets by creating new listening experiences for consumers of talk and news. They bring together segments of audio from news sites around the world into customizable and curated streams based around themes such as Business & Finance or Sports. Whilst they can also provide limited local information such as traffic reports based on location services, public radio still has the upper hand in terms of local content creation with the power of their own local journalists and talent. This is something that still gives public radio the upper hand for the moment – somebody needs to create the content in the first place.

However continuing the overarching trend of media money moving into digital, these types of platforms will no doubt over time see more of our traditional media money moved into digital and mobile whether they are independent apps or locally owned by networks, watch this space!

Alex

Mobile & The Automotive Industry

I recently spoke at an IAB NZ Mobile Marketing seminar on our learnings around mobile in the automotive industry and thought I’d write a post on the points I talked to.

Vehicles are a high value purchase and as such the research phase of the purchase is quite drawn out, with people consulting many different sources. Online platforms are becoming a large part of this, whether it’s Google, manufacturers websites or various auction sites, people do their research before stepping onto the dealers lot. These platforms are great as they allow us to serve up a depth of information on the cars in a visual and engaging way and deliver experiences that can’t be had anywhere else.

Now there is no doubt that people are adapting to living in a more connected and mobile world and changing their behaviours as such. The old context of someone leaning forward in front of a computer is changing as the new context sees mobile connectivity and a wide variety of devices allowing people to delve in and out of content when and where they want. This is especially prevelant in the automotive industry, as our brands are omnipresent. People are constantly exposed to vehicles driving by, billboards and our above the line advertising, so for people with a keen interest such as influencers and early adopters, any brand exposure could cause them to want to search for information. The mobile is the only device that will always be with them when this occurs. In short, it’s that theory of always on retail – we want people to have a positive experience of the brand when & where they want it.

As expected we have been seeing a marked increase in traffic to our website via mobile over the last 12 months and it’s important to deliver these people the key information they want in an easy to use way that is optimised for the device they are experiencing it on. Whilst mobile is still a fractured market both in terms of hardware and software, there are clearly two stars at this point in iOS and Android, followed by the rest. In terms of development this means you can narrow your focus for crucial platform support. It will be interesting to see how the market evolves and consolidates over time. Much like when the internet was in it’s infancy, once a few players gain scale it will be easier to manage delivering content.

So once we’d identified we needed to be in the mobile space, we began by looking at what were the most important functions for a potential vehicle buyer whilst on the go and identified:

-model information

-booking a test drive

-finding a dealer

-roadside assist

-special deals

We wanted to ensure we were delivering the most important features whilst maintaining a rich experience & depth of information in a mobile optimised format.

To help with conversion even further we can use them to connect people with Mazda and our dealer networks to drive enquiries and test drives.

The recession has caused an increased trend in price competitiveness through incentivised pricing, which has bred a new value conscious shopper who is careful to compare prices to make sure they are getting the best deal. This has meant that people are increasingly comparing prices at the pointing end of the path to purchase and the mobile is the most convenient and ever present device to do this with. This extends to instore comparisons at a dealer level, people may be checking out a car and want to compare another or simply find out further information on the car they are looking at.

Finally, it’s become clear that using digital and mobile platforms we can extend the content available to people across all our other media for qualified leads.

Alex

City Life – A Digital Transformation?

I recently read an article on the FT by Simon Kupor entitled The App Of Life, which discussed the interesting effect that technology has on urban living. It’s no secret that technology has always affected how we live and the town planning that surrounds it. The industrial revolution led to the creation of densely populated working areas and the mass production of vehicles created greater sprawl, enabling the typical suburbian lifestyle.

When the internet came about and people were able to connect and share information remotely, there was talk of the demise of cities. Why would you want to live in densely populated areas and work in large offices when you can do so from the comfort of your own home in the peaceful surroundings of the countryside? I feel that whilst this sounds good in theory, in practice there is always value in proximity. In a business sense, the internet is no replacement for being around people and bouncing ideas off them in person. For more on the virtue of proximity, see my post The Value Of Proximity.  I don’t think that digital connectivity will see the demise of the city, quite the contrary, I agree with Simon Kupor in that I think it will enable them to be better places to live thereby helping them to grow.

This effect can be seen already, mobile technology and smart phones are a perfect example of this. I’m someone who (through no fault of their own) is severely navigationally impaired, paper bags pose a challenge. This problem has thankfully been completey resolved for me by being able to punch an address into my phone, then get GPS co-ordinates of where I am and where I need to go. This makes navigating the complex road network of any city a breeze, making it more pleasant and efficient to get around. Further to this, if I need to find any kind of service, all I need to do is look it up on my phone and it tells me all the options around me, allowing me to make the most of the cities retail and service offerings. Plugging this in to the social graph means I’m never alone as I can find out where my friends are at any given time.

The next step is people using technology and data to help run their cities. We’ve seen the social graph with Facebook, interest graph with Twitter what could happen if we had an entire city grid open to plug in to? With an open graph style system governments could assist us to manage water, transport, parking or power. Imagine being able to remotely check your water or power consumption from your phone and adjust accordingly. Even just being able to find out where parking spaces were available would be a huge step in efficiency! Interestingly the article points out that Dublin has opened data on everything from water use to transport in the hopes that developers will devise opportunities to use this to improve city design and living.  To quote the article, “We’re starting to see almost an “open-source design” of cities, says Ratti.”

Whilst the lure of the country side and an internet connection still remains, I think digital technology will enable city life to be more efficient and enjoyable then ever before. This will naturally lead to the continuation of their draw for people and their growth. If you need any proof of this just take a look at the ever increasing rate that we are building Skyscrapers (and their burgeoning height). We seem to be building up rather than out, I’m relieved my phone will tell me which floor I’m on.

Alex

Reference:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/36eaf488-b5b4-11e1-ab92-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1xwmYsZWZ

By Simon Kupor

Innovation Ecosystems

Frank Gehry - Disney Concert Hall by Julius Shulman and Juergen Nogai

When Frank Gehry was designing the Disney Concert Hall, he considered how the building would interact with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion adjacent and adjusted the design accordingly. I recently came across a comment in the Financial Times in an article by Ron Adner that cemented the sentiment behind this in my mind. It’s not enough to simply manage your innovation, you must manage your ‘innovation ecosystem’ also. Essentially it’s all to easy to focus on the outcome of what you are trying to produce and forget to consider how it interacts with people and the world around it.

In his book, Ron Adner examines this phenomenon that causes many companies to fail “because they focus too intensely on their own innovations, and then neglect the innovation ecosystems on which their success depends.”  This single minded execution focus is inward looking, involving the standard processes of linking strategy and operations, bringing teams together, looking at competitors and their value propositions. It is seen as good business practice, which it is, however it can create a blind spot that hides key dependencies that are equally important in determining success or failure. As technology causes our world to become increasingly connected and interdependent, this problem becomes exacerbated. For example with much of the marketing content we produce we now need to consider, how will people be viewing the content, where will they be, how will they share it, who will they share it with and most importantly how will they know it is there.

Obviously completing the project is still the core focus however Ron Adner suggests two other areas to consider to help take a broader view of the innovation ecosystem. Firstly, consider who else may need to innovate to activate your product. This has two sides, one the business side, in terms of production and delivery of the product and two, the consumer side in terms of using the product. For example with mobile advertising, to truly make the most of what you are creating you may require significant smart phone penetration or upgrades in mobile phone handsets. Secondly look at who else needs to adopt the product to deliver it to the end user, who do you need to sell it in to and who needs to support it to deliver it to market. This naturally has more of a business focus, however with many digital innovations these days, there is an element of connectivity and sharing, which may mean you require a critical mass of a few key influencers adopting the product before its value is fully realised.

Innovation Ecosystem

It’s easy to fall into the trap of execution focus, especially when we are faced with tight deadlines. However I think the take out here is that, taking a moment to consider a broader view and looking at the entire ecosystem rather than simply what needs to be done to complete the project may change how you approach things. It may change how you choose to bring it to market or what you prioritise in terms of the product features. It may even help you to identify new opportunities or threats and adjust how you measure the success of the project. This isn’t a new idea, but it’s one that’s important to remind ourselves of.

Alex

Reference: The Wide Lens: A New Strategy for Innovation by Ron Adner

CES 2012 Trends & BBDO Digital Labs Round Up

CES is held every year in Las Vegas, where the worlds leading innovators in technology gather to showcase their new products and share their vision for the future. This year was no different and BBDO Digital Labs TV was on hand to report live with key figures in the technology industry. I thought I’d put together a summary of some key trends from the event and round up the Digital Labs TV coverage.

Trends

-Smarter TVs: Simplicity of control was a theme here, with the latest models featuring voice commands, gesture controls and even facial recognition. This is made possible with increased processor power & built in cameras & microphones. These more intuitive gestures make accessing apps & services a much easier prospect.

– Improved Screen Technology: Thinner, larger & with higher detail then ever before. Sony for example, unveiled a Crystal LED display which has 4 times the detail of current HD.

-Ultrabooks: These thin, light & instant on machines were popular among manufacturers. Netbooks on steroids, the standouts were the HP Envy Spectre & the Lenovo Yoga.

-Mobile: A number of smart phones were announced, including Intel’s first foray into the market. Smart phones are clearly a growing area as mobile network speeds continue to increase. Could 2012 be the year of 5G?

-Networking: Wireless technologies & networks were of interest, with some products showing off concepts of islands of 60ghz network connectivity around your TV for example, allowing super fast speeds within that room, then tapering off around the rest of the house.

BBDO Digital Labs TV CES 2012 Coverage Round Up

Newspapers – Product & Positioning

I was recently reading an article in Monocle magazine about a newspaper in Norway, Dagens Naringsliv, http://www.dn.no/ which targets the premium end of the news market with their printed editions with thorough, quality, investigative journalism whilst utilising their website & tablet editions for breaking and up to the minute news & comment. Could this be the future for newspapers? Will printed paper stand for quality like it once did when the internet and digital devices are ubiquitous? In my opinion we are seeing this trend to an extent with magazines already.

It’s no new concept however that in advertising and media we need to look beyond just the product itself as a basis for our strategy. In our over saturated & communicated market, this is no longer enough. Even if we have the best product we now need to look at how the product is positioned in the minds of the receivers/consumers to really find our space in the market. Technology and the internet are forcing newspapers into a transition phase where their old model of being a printed advertising delivery system where journalism takes a back seat is rapidly becoming obsolete. Readership is dropping as people turn to the internet for their daily news rather than the traditional printed edition.

Could a new product & positioning strategy perhaps help to both revive the printed edtions and innovate the business model into the future? With some clever positioning and quality content this could be the case. I’m sure there will always be people willing to pay for quality journalism on a tangible medium such as paper, especially if we can make people feel more sophisticated for doing so. Let’s face it, we by nature are tactile creatures and there is something about the feeling of a good quality paper stock in your hands that no amount of digital technology can replicate.

So how could a newspaper go about doing this? For a starters it would most likely take a refresh of brand design and some self promotion.

For the printed editions the below points could be considered:

• Improve the quality of the content (look at longer form journalism, perhaps investigative content & content with strong editorial influence)
• Improve the quality of the paper stock
• Consider the distribution quantity (perhaps reducing the printed circulation and targeting specific geographic regions to control costs)
• Consider the distribution channels (could the channels be more carefully considered to portray a premium image?)
• Increase the price to reflect a premium pricing strategy

Then, back it up with an “always on” site which can be viewed across multiple devices from laptops to tablets or mobile. Content here could be up to the minute, with far less editorial control & could cover a wider variety of stories & commentary. As you compete on a global scale online, keeping content curated to the region your printed in would most likely serve best against competition from strong international news powerhouses. Paywalls should most likely become the norm for certain content here also.

All this aside, the biggest challenge facing the industry is that with the web it is impossible to monetise to the same extent as print since the advertising space isn’t as valuable. Unfortunately for them, I doubt this hurdle will ever be able to be overcome, they may simply never be as profitable as they once were and the focus must go back to quality content. As it should be.

Alex

Colmar Brunton & Millward Brown’s Digital Predictions For 2012

As we rapidly speed towards the end of the year and scurry to get the last bits of creative out the door before we head off on our Christmas breaks, I took some time today to consider the year ahead after reading Colmar Brunton & Millward Brown’s digital predictions for 2012. Whilst it’s impossible to be truly accurate with these predictions, it’s exciting to think about the trends that will potentially be shaping our projects in the year to come. With technology changing so rapidly, alot can happen in 12 months time! Here’s their list:

#1 Gamification Unlocked: Big Brands become even more playful

This concept has close ties with behavioural economics, applying gaming mechanics to non game situations. The trick is to bake them in and do it in such a way that it doesn’t feel like a game. For example, bonus reward points randomly offered on purchases.

#2 Just Tap It! Wide spread adoption of the mobile wallet

We’ve always got our phones with us, we will start to see its functionality enhanced enabling practicality. It could be used as a payment system, a means of I.D, drivers license or even keys to unlock our car.

#3 Virtual Togetherness: TV & Social Media will fuel an explosion in tools, technologies & platforms for interaction and research

People will be able to engage with shows in new and interesting ways. TV viewing habits are often influenced by our friends so the social graph could be leverage as a program guide. Could have an impact on how we view TV Ratings also.

#4 Online Video: Invades the living room

Google TV & Apple TV have already had a stab at this, but as TVs become internet enabled we will be able to access more and more content from the web with it.

#5 Mobile Marketing: Will become more social & local than ever before

Success in this space will combine relevance, location and timing of the content intertwined with social. Care must be taken about appearing intrusive here as people have very close relationships with their mobile phones and don’t take well to being pushed content they don’t want.

#6 Growth: The only App trend that really matters

Looking beyond Apples app store, we see Android market steadily growing. Apps could be pulled accross multiple devices from mobile to tablet to PC and TVs. In App advertising will grow and morph into richer content and video.

#7 Social CPG e-commerce: Tiptoeing between engagement and marketing leads us back to traditional marketing vehicles

Care must be taken not to turn the social space into just another selling opportunity but it may offer the chance to build awareness, trial, sample and coupon.

#8 The Social Graph will generate meaningful data for brand measurement

The social graph generates an unprecented amount of consumer data that can be used both for consumer insight and a real time barometer of consumer opinion.

#9 Regulators narrow their focus as consumers pay the real price for “free” access

With information sharing essentially being the cost of entry to networks, the financial implications of how information is managed and protected may come in to play.

#10 The arrival of Seamless Sharing

The share button will continue to spread throughout the online space, being able to share a peice of content is just naturally expected. Those who produce the most interesting content will gain the most earned media through this mechanism.

#11 China will see “One Stop Shop” convergence of micro-blogging, social networks & information portals

New forms of micro-blogging which integrate facets of social networks are taking off.

#12 Online Advertising: Real-time decision making takes centre stage

We want data and we want it right away. Successful strategies here will involve being able to adapt efficiently to real time information in combination with insight, analytics and creative execution. As a side note, Google Analytics just launched real time stats for your page.

Colmar Brunton & Millward Brown’s digital predictions for 2012 Report

Here’s to an exciting 2012!

Alex

The Value Of Proximity

Technology is allowing people to become more and more connected via social and mobile networks. These connections span from people in their locality right through to people on the other side of the world. This growing number of connections can create alot of noise and we do start to see marginal disutility within the social network as the connections become less valuable to the person. Traditionally, we were only able to foster connections with those in close physical proximity but what role does proximity now play as the world becomes increasingly open.

As a lens of looking at this issue, I came across the principles of Gestalt psychology. This theory is based around the concept that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analogue, with self-organizing tendencies which affect how we perceive things around us. Proximity is one of the grouping principles that this theory is based on and it occurred to me that it may relate to how we subconsciously self-organise our networks. The principle states that, all other things being equal, we perceive stimuli that are close together as part of the same object, and stimuli that are far apart as two separate objects. This simplifies things in our mind and reduces the number of small stimuli we need to process. Whilst this theory does most typcially apply to visual perception, focusing on the idea of our brain having a tendency towards self-organizing, it may not be too much of a stretch to consider physical proximity to be a grouping factor we use in organising networks to reduce noise.

Therefore as a way of coping with the growing amount of connection noise we experience, we may start to see people subconsiously group those people that are in close physical proximity together. They then may devote more attention to this group, allowing them to cope with the excess of less valuable connections within the network. We would of course be more likely to interact with these people on a regular basis and the effect may be exacerbated by the fact that content is becoming more and more tailored to what we are more likely to engage with (take Facebooks top stories timeline for instance). This would mean that proximity plays a role in the value of a connection as the closer you are to the other person, the more likely this connection will be on your radar. I know I spend alot more time interacting with my friends that I see on a regular basis than any others. So what does this mean for the reality of how much more utility we gain as the world becomes more connected, do we get as much value from the long distance connections as we do the local ones?

It’s not a new concept that proximity fosters valuable relationships among people, especially when considered in the work environment. A recent research paper gave some credence to just how much of an impact it can actually have (see reference link below). An analysis of a decade of Harvard biomedical research collaborations, found that the closer the proximity of the offices of key research partners, the more influential their joint papers were likely to be. It mattered whether collaborators were walking down the same corridors through the office, or eating at the same cafes. It seemed to be that the presence of physical collaboration through closer proximity produced better work from the team, despite on the surface being able to communicate just as efficiently over long distance via technology. The continued importance of location may seem unnecessary with the advent of Skype, smart phones, and other technologies that make it effortless and inexpensive to collaborate with people around the world, but location still seems to matter. Being able to communicate across distances means we can do alot of different things more efficiently but face to face contact and proximity is still important as the noise from our connections increase and it simply can’t replace personal interaction.

Whilst technology is allowing us to become more connected and break down geographic barriers, I believe that proximity may still play a role in how we organise our networks (even if only subconsciously) and can be an indicator of the value that a connection provides.

Alex

Reference

Lee K, Brownstein JS, Mills RG, Kohane IS (2010) Does Collocation Inform the Impact of Collaboration? PLoS ONE 5(12): e14279. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014279

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0014279

Technologies Impact on Creativity

New York by Frank Gehry

The building pictured to the left is a recently opened skyscraper called New York by Frank Gehry. I think it is the perfect real world example of technology meeting creativity, plus I just think it’s beautiful.

I think the definition of what we consider creativity is changing, morphing to include functional aspects. In terms of advertising, how users will interact with a campaign, on which devices, at what time are all just as valid creative aspects as what colour the typeface will be. Many people may see technology as negatively impacting creativity in advertising as the proliferation of people becoming “connected” through PCs, tablets, mobile and social networks drive campaigns that have just as much to do with functionality as they do the big beautiful idea. However, I think it’s actually creating an environment that not only encourages creativity but actually means that it’s more effective.

I believe creative work now more than ever equals effective work. Previously a creative campaign would run it’s course through the paid broadcast media channels and fade away, only leaving word of mouth behind. Now, if people watch something they enjoy on one of their connected devices or with one present, they can then share the experience with their friend network and create discussions around it. Not only that but it lives on as a permanently available record on the internet.

Technology (being connected) & social networks amplify the message of creative campaigns, if people are interested in the content enough to spread it throughout their networks.

Moreover, technology has created an environment which empowers people as content seekers, distributors and creators. We’ll search out and only engage with what we wan’t to, whereas previously we obediantly consumed content that was broadcast to us (because we didn’t have a choice). In this new environment if what we create as advertisors isn’t creative and engaging, more and more we will just get ignored and passed by as people get used to accessing only the content they are after. Television broadcasters are dealing with this issue currently with time shifted viewing, newspapers are being replaced by daily updates on news websites and people are using iPods in the car to listen to music rather than radio. So what do we need to do as advertisors to continue to be relevant to people:

Be Interesting: Lets deliver information and content that is revelant to the person who is experiencing it at the time, whether it’s a price on a product they are seeking out or an amusing video to kill a couple of minutes at the office. Let’s deliver content that is easy and enjoyable to experience for everyone no matter where they want to access it, whether it’s from their mobile, tablet, PC or letterbox.

Do Stuff Rather Than Say Stuff: Look to create things as well as ads. Create utility. Allow people to access the interesting content on their terms.

Experiment: Maybe good enough is good enough. Lets be agile and iterate, operating more like a tech start up than a typical agency. Work together in cross disciplinary teams. Gareth Kay also made the suggestion of putting a percentage of the marketing budget directly towards R&D.

Why can’t the next Facebook/Twitter/Instagram be started within an agency?

Alex