Thoughts in Flight

This Week in Digital: w/c January 21st

 
 What’s happened this week:

• Facebook announced Graph Search, a new feature to search within the users’ Social Graph. Another development in the rise of the Interest Graph technologies that advertisers need to understand.
• A little less coverage went to another disruptive Facebook move to deliver free calls to US iPhone users.

 What we have learned:

• There will be 200m 4G mobile subscribers in 2013 according the new Deloitte Global Technology Media Telecoms 2013 report.
• 60% of the UK’s 10m Twitter users watch TV as they tweet, from the Twitter TV book, an in depth study in to this new form of media multitasking.
• 20% of Digital auto sales leads are coming from mobile devices.

Cool Stuff:

• *Wearable Technology is shaping up to become a significant trend in 2013. We can expect to see all sorts of new gadgets measuring what we do, consume and even think.
  • Brands such as Nike are going beyond the hardware and opening up API access to their data to drive the next level of innovation.
  • The proliferation of these sensors may even affect the ways in which we control our lives.
  • ‘Responsive design’ is now expected by consumers. Brands are beginning to understand its benefits in driving cross platform commerce.
  •  McDonalds are to add QR codes to the packaging of all products worldwide.

Where to find more:

• "Search will be included in people's brains" Google founder Larry Page’s vision for the future of search as we begin to get plugged in to the knowledge graph.
• How ‘Big Data’ is set to have a huge impact on global healthcare;
  • The Human Face of Big Data illustrates how the use of Data is changing lives in all sorts of ways. 
  • How UK Businesses are increasingly using Big Data to make empirically based decisions.

- Sam (thanks to JP and the Futures team)

2013 Trends

Happy New Year and welcome to 2013. Our friends across the group and globe have been pulling together a summary of predicted trends for the year ahead.  January always brings a rush of these, but we wanted to share them as there are some good points to kee[p in mind...

For starters one can hardly miss the signs of media convergence today. Mob scenes erupt with each new iPhone launch, sales of tablet devices have skyrocketed, and Twitter hashtags have cropped up with increased frequency on both TV commercials and programming. Second screens became a dominant force in 2012, and will continue to reign in the coming year.

In turn, the culture quake driven by the Millennials, presents a challenge for marketers. These modern marketers must adapt and merge the ads they buy, the content they own and the media coverage they earn into a converged strategy that’s fast and fluid enough to keep up with the multiplatform now.

Here are 10 of the major trends in media and marketing for 2013:

1. Mobile Focus: With the increasing penetration of smartphones in both developed and emerging markets, new users are more likely to first come online via mobile today. Effective marketers will shift their focus from advertising and sponsorships to developing new and interesting tools embedded in the phone (think geo-location and gyroscope) to attract and engage mobile users. Increasingly, brands and agencies will depend on mobile technology experts for multiplatform success.
2. Social TV: The blossoming of the second screen/social TV space will continue to evolve as users discover and interact with their favorite shows and commercials by responding to on-air polls, coupon and contest offers via their handheld devices. Brand marketers will turn to technologies such as Shazam and the newly-launched iSpot.tv to mine second-screen engagement through big screen content.
3. Commercial-tainment: A recent Edelman study found that 80% of Millennials want to be entertained by advertising. Brands like Macy’s, Juicy Couture and ASOS began to merge commercials and entertainment last year with short, engaging shopping videos. This year, expect brands to expand that model to capture even more second-screeners by incorporating contests, sweepstakes, coupons and exclusive content.
4. Viral Strategies: The speed with which information travels via social media presents a high-risk, huge-reward opportunity for brands aiming to become this year’s marketing equivalent of PSY’s “Gangnam Style” or Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 campaign.
5. Visual Interest: One picture is worth a dozen tweets to social media users who went picture crazy in 2012, thanks to visual sharing sites Instagram and Pinterest. Expect major brands to jump heavily onto the visual bandwagon with apps, photo sharing and Pinterest-like mosaic interfaces.
6.  Ad Versioning: Gone are the days when TV advertising involved merely matching the right ads with the right media. In 2013, advertisers will increasingly rely on technology that tweaks both the creative and the copy in real time to “version” it automatically. Expect these “smart” algorithms to also execute version testing and adapt each ad to its environment.
7. TV 2.0: Despite predictions of TV’s imminent demise, the growth of second-screen users has actually bolstered its popularity while at the same time diverting millions of eyes from the big screen. How will advertisers respond? Expect some to experiment this year with the creative use of sound to get their message across in much the same way as radio.
8. Data Planning: Advertisers who were overwhelmed by consumer data last year will reap its benefit this year, now that they’ve identified the sophisticated systems necessary to make sense of the information. Expect more effective multiplatform marketing plans as a result.
9. YouTube: YouTube, with its eclectic mix of DIY and commercial video content, will continue to grow in popularity, especially among Millennials. Advertisers will watch closely for opportunities as YouTube settles into its new Los Angeles production studio this year and forms partnerships to expand its content to movie theaters, home entertainment systems and digital storefronts.
10. Voice Recognition: Granted, Siri and Google Now didn’t catch fire the way some had expected, but the fault lay more in the execution of voice recognition than in the concept. That’s likely to change in 2013 as SRI, the maker of Siri, courts vendors to build on the Siri framework. Expect VR to make your voice heard on the websites in the coming year.

A big thank you to Jen Razor for pulling this together.

- Sam

This Week in Digital: w/c July 2nd : Digital Creativity Special.

What’s happened this week:

• Google’s I/O developer event saw the launch of a new tablet device priced under USD 200, Google Now (a Siri like assistant) and a media streamer.
  • The most spectacular feature of the event was this stunt using Google Glass which creatively illustrates the new perspectives enabled by it.
  • Brightcove have launched AppCloud Core that links mobile devices and the Apple TV. Expect to see new kinds of interaction around TV content.
  • YouTube launched Video Creation Marketplace a platform to connect content creators to brands.

 What we have learned:

• YouTube’s top 5 content partners drive 1.5bn views per month. Web content is really starting to scale.
• Anyone can use technology creatively these Girl Scouts quadrupled cookie sales using mobile credit card readers.
• Consumers have very different relationships with their multiple screens; from the everyman to the sage to the lover. ‘Meet the screens’ from Omnicom and MSN illustrates how we should approach each screen’s creative use.

 Cool stuff

• Chrome web lab is coming to London’s Science Museum it is cutting edge ‘experiential Digital creativity’.
• The most shared advertiser content of recent weeks, very different types of content to traditional advertising.
• This interactive music video by Androp is very clever; in this case the interaction is the message.
• IBM’s view on how Augmented Reality can be used creatively in the retail environment.

 Where to find more:

• On YouTube the amateur is the new pro, many more people are being creative in many new ways.
• ‘We need a fundamentally different way of creating a brand’ this memo from CP+B CEO Andrew Keller sums up the challenges facing brands in a world of infinite Digital content.
• The 100 best slides from Cannes, a little inspiration to create in the much maligned ppt.

- Sam (thanks to JP and the Futures Group) 

In one minute all this happens!

Thanks to Ali for passing on this interesting infographic.

- Sam

Get Bored...

Building on Sam's post, its worth reading this from Martin Lindstrom (author, brand expert and 2009 recipient of TIME Magazine's "World's 100 Most Influential People) in Fast Company. For Martin, boredom is an endangered state due to over-access,infobesity, everyday tech stimulation et al. And for him this is worrying as it is a crucial ingredient of creative problem solving as it promotes what he calls the creative pause, a moment in time to reflect to ponder, time for your mind to drift, shift, open to new ways of seeing.

Interesting stuff and worth a read

John

This Week in Digital: w/c May 14th What’s happened this week:.

What’s happened this week:

• Facebook have begun to test a consumer pay to post scheme as another potential revenue source, if it succeeds it will be another example of the emerging ‘branded consumer’.
• Google+ for iOS re-launched with a very distinctive look and feel.
• Bing has reinvented itself around social search with a specialist set of results.  ‘What your friends may know’ is taken from our ever expanding social graph. 

 What we have learned:

• US consumers now spend more time on Facebook Mobile than on the main website, a sign of the fundamental shift to mobile happening all over the world.
• Smartphones are tracking to be the fastest adopted technology of all time.
• The Mobile industry is set to be worth USD 1.5trn this year over 2% of Global GDP.

 Cool stuff

• A sign of the emerging Internet of things, a milk jug that texts you when you are low on milk.
• Clothes Horse is a new suite of tools to link personal body data to retailer stock and style information to create a more streamlined and curated service.
• New tools to increase Facebook engagement such as the edge rank checker. Increasingly important in the ever growing eco-system of Facebook apps.

 Where to find more:

• The re-invention of TV, NDS have an interesting vision for the future of our TV sets; modular and passively obedient.
• *Angel investor Roger McNamee believes that we are on the verge of a new phase of the Internet disruption where content will be far easier to monetize (primarily due to html5 driving intelligent ad models).
• Susan Greenfield believes that mobile is changing the way that we think as it increasingly becomes the focus of our domestic lives, something akin to the piano in the Victorian era. 

 - Sam (thanks to JP and the Future group)

iPad3, Facebook's timeline for brands, and ever more apps downloaded..

The digital team have since updated 'this week in digital.  Similar to the poste a few below with a couple of notable additions including the iPad 3. Over to them...

Morning everyone, In between Apple, Google, and Facebook, we digital people can be sure to have a constant source of surprises, information, revelations and outcries…. We can be pretty confident to always find some sort inspiration, something new to investigate or get our head around. The biggest news, this week, is without surprise, Apple’s announcement of the much anticipated iPad3, or as the tech world now calls it “the new iPad” or “iPad HD”. Some will be mesmerised, some others will be disappointed, one thing is for sure, it gets people talking... only the future will tell us effects and consequences of this announcement. Stay tuned.

What’s happened this week:

• The Facebook Marketing Conference in New York saw the launch of a number of new marketing products such as Timeline for brand pages, the reach generator and ads on mobile. Do ask if you would like more info on this.

• Apple obviously presented their much anticipated iPad3 or “New iPad” yesterday in California, The link takes you to some expert’s reactions. New features include HD display, 4G, iPhoto and a stronger A6 processor.

• Apple’s market capitalisation crossed half a trillion US dollars, making them the world’s most valued company by over USD 100bn.

• Google revamped their Android app marketplace and named it Google play in a new attempt to take on Apple’s iTunes.

• A Chinese man downloads the 25th billion app on the iTunes store, symbolic on many levels….

• A few more bits on the Mobile World Conference:

• Eric Schmidt’s vision of the future: smart phones for all and 1GB bandwidth delivering everything in more places.
• Facebook’s focus on open standards in mobile and cracking the mobile payment problem.
• Some (other) amazing new mobile technologies, including the 41 megapixel camera phone Nokia announced.

What we have learned:

• 25% of global smart phone users have made a purchase on their handset.

• 4x as many iPlayer shows are delivered to the iPad as all connected TVs combined, despite being in only half as many homes.

• 25bn iOS apps have now been downloaded meaning that the average iOS user has 80 apps and the average app is downloaded 45k times.

Cool stuff:

• ‘Hacking for brands’ OMD in New York brought developers and brands together for a 48 hour “hackathon” creating all sorts of new ideas.

• Cloud computing is an abstract concept, but Apple explain it elegantly in 30s with no words.

• Fantasy Shopper is an interesting British start-up that aims to transform shopping behaviours with game mechanics, The Economist thinks that they are on to something.

Where to find more:

• The Gamification of Business: Games and game theory are being implemented in enterprises around the world.

• ‘I’m being followed’ An interesting in depth look in to ad targeting and why it is a necessary part of the funding ecosystem of web content.

• Consumer 2.0: How brands are adapting to new consumer needs.

Have a great week end!

Kind Regards

The Digital team, M2M

This Week in Digital: w/c March 5th

 
What’s happened this week:

• Mobile World Congress 2012 has passed with : 
  • Eric Schmidt’s vision of the future: smart phones for all and 1GB bandwidth delivering everything in more places.
  • Facebook’s focus on open standards in mobile and cracking the mobile payment problem.
  • Some amazing new mobile technologies.
  • The Facebook Marketing Conference in New York saw the launch of a number of new marketing products such as Timeline for brand pages, the reach generator and ads on mobile.
  • Apple’s market capitalisation crossed half a trillion US dollars, making them the world’s most valued company by over USD 100bn.

 What we have learned:

• 25% of global smart phone users have made a purchase on their handset.
• 4x as many iPlayer shows are delivered to the iPad as all connected TVs combined, despite being in only half as many homes.
• 25bn iOS apps have now been downloaded meaning that the average iOS user has 80 apps and the average app is downloaded 45k times.

 Cool stuff

• ‘Hacking for brands’ OMD in New York brought developers and brands together for a 48 hour hackathon creating all sorts of new ideas.
• Cloud computing is an abstract concept, but Apple explain it elegantly in 30s with no words.
• Fantasy Shopper is an interesting British startup that aims to transform shopping behaviours with game mechanics, The Economist thinks that they are on to something.

 Where to find more:

• The Gamification of Business: Games and game theory are being implemented in enterprises around the world.
• ‘I’m being followed’ An interesting in depth look in to ad targeting and why it is a necessary part of the funding ecosystem of web content. 
• Consumer 2.0: How brands are adapting to new consumer needs.

- Sam (thanks to JP and the Futures group)

 

This Week in Digital: w/c February 13th

 
What’s happened this week:

• Lots of mobile interaction during Super Bowl TV ads, including a dozen which urged users to scan the ad with the Shazam app
• Twitter is very close to announcing 500m users
• Facebook Timeline has led to an increase in many other  third party sites and apps. MySpace (remember them?) is doing particularly well this year

 What we have learned:

• Forrester predicts 1billion Smartphone and tablet users by 2016 – 90% of these will be Apple, Android or Windows, with this chart of US users showing the huge potential in mobile as most devices are not smartphones
• Pinterest is growing in popularity incredibly quickly, with more referral traffic to sites in January than Google+, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn and MySpace all combined
• The new iPad app Wisdom can analyze huge groups of people based on their Facebook behaviours, e.g. Democrats vs. Republicans or Football fans:
• The app economy has created almost 500k jobs since 2007

 Cool stuff

• The latest Spiderman trailer had a hidden link to a great new Alternate Reality Game (ARG) in 6 US cities
• Scientists have discovered an amazing way of using your heartbeat to replace passwords
• A Google Search engineer has left a Radio 1 inspired Easter egg. When users type in “Jason Isaacs”, a special Mark Kermode inspired message appears, as the presenter has said “Hello” to Jason Isaacs in almost every episode of the movie review show for ten years

 Where to find more:

• Are QR codes replacing SMS? We don’t think so just yet… the question is when will augmented reality replace QR?
• Some very useful mobile commerce and consumer behaviour insights
• Interesting view on how Twitter is causing increased demand for breaking news but with varied accuracy.

- Sam (thanks to JP, Mark and the Futures team)

This Week in Digital: w/c January 23th

What’s happened this week:

• *Facebook launched ‘Actions’ expanding the Open Graph with 60 partners, in what is probably the highest profile development to date in consumer facing semantic data services.
•  Wikipedia was one of many sites going dark to protest against proposed US IP regulations (which are now on hold), illustrating how quickly groups can align and scale online.
• The European Union are proposing new data laws which include a right to be forgotten and punitive charges for mishandling data.

What we have learned:

• The Deloitte Technology Media and Telecoms report includes the prediction that online brand advertising will grow by 50% to $20bn in 2012.
• 47% of 380m online Europeans visit newspaper web sites each month.
• Google UK revenues were $1.06B in Q4 2011, around 10% of the global total.

 Cool stuff

• Curate your TV schedule based on your mood, new technology from the BBC.
• The Gamification of Google Maps; expect to see a lot more of this kind of thing this year.
• Nike are tacking the quantified self to the next level with the Fuel Wristband.

 Where to find more:

• How to manage the proliferation of Social Media channels.
• New platforms create opportunities for brands such as Instagram and Pinterest.
• The Accenture Always On Always Connected report illustrates the proliferation of many technologies worldwide.
• Interesting emerging behaviours: US teens share passwords as a symbol of trust

Sam (thanks to JP and the Futures team)