Good post today by my buddy, David Weinfeld, about 2-D barcodes, specifically how much they’ve been used this year, even citing a ScanLife report that shows a 700% increase in barcode scanning. It’s a big number, but you must consider that it almost started at 0 in January. The number of people who actually use this technology is still small. What I found more interesting in the report was a) 1/2 of the barcode users were 35-45 skewing more male (I found this a high demo – would have thought it would be younger) and b) the most popular smartphone platform among users was the Google Android platform, followed by BlackBerry, then by iPhone. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen anything led by something non-iPhone, particularly with the use of new technology.
This morning, I came across a Microsoft ad that featured one of their Microsoft Tags.
I had high expectations for this experience, it being a Microsoft Tag on a Microsoft ad about Microsoft Office. (I didn’t quite get the 3-D thing on the text – don’t know if you can see it, but I looked past it). What I got was a nice, easy site with videos. My first impression was that it was good, but really, it just left me feeling like it was any other code/scanning experience that I’ve seen.
Then, I looked closer and went through the experience again. I have to say, it’s well thought-out and includes some little things that really separate it from others that I’ve seen. First, the videos are highly produced and there are lots of them! And they’re all sharable via Facebook and/or Twitter. The social integration is smooth and it pre-polpulates an #Office2010 hashtag. Besides that, it gives you a blank field to draft your own tweet. (Having done this before, I’ve elected to pre-draft the entire tweet for the user, including the hashtag, just for the ease of experience. In the end, people are used to drafting tweets on their phone so I suppose it doesn’t make much of a difference). The most important aspect here is that this feature extends the brand experience beyond this particular “channel.”
They extend channels via another feature, too – an email sign up to “receive details on how to get a free trial of Office 2010.” This not only drives the user deeper into the brand, it drives them one step closer to purchase, which is the end goal, right? Smart.
And on top of it all, navigating this mobile site is like navigating any good website on your computer.
This is what I expect from one of these experiences, particularly from a maker of this type of technology. I’m glad I looked again, because it gave me a chance to notice things I should notice. It doesn’t always have to be unique right off the bat, upon first glance. Often times, regardless of what technology or channel it’s in, the elegance is in the details. As is the case here.
700% shows awareness of this technology. That’s a great indicator of widespread adoption. What’s on the other end of the scan, as David and anyone else who’s dealt with/analyzed these technologies says, is going to be the key to real adoption.
Today marks a milestone of accomplishment here on this blog – for the first time ever, I have blogged every day this week! I hope everyone’s enjoyed the posts. I have my own opinions on blogging and everything behind it and at the end of the day, I’m just another voice in the sea of opinions that now have access to be heard. I don’t really like to write here unless I feel like my perspective is beneficial (and no, I don’t feel like it’s beneficial on everything, and I’m sure I’ve missed the mark here, on a number of occasions) – this week, I saw many different things that I really wanted to write about and share. So, today, I hope to close the week out strong, at least semi-strong.
I’m a huge fan of Fast Company and I’m a little sour to admit that I still don’t have an iPad. I’m kicking it old school with the print magazine – hence, today’s 4-1-1 is inspired by this month’s edition of Fast Company:
1. Ford continues to use enabling technology – still being a print magazine guy, I see MS Tags on most every one of Ford’s print ads, just like this:
The site that it sends you back to is nothing impressive, but it is driving consumers deeper into the brand. And I still maintain that as long as you’re using print, why not include tags like this? It just makes all the sense in the world. I love the fact that they’ve chosen MS Tags, the scanning code/technology that I believe is the easiest, device-agnostic, user-friendly to use.
2. Why Environmental Activists Embrace Social Media – this article specifically talks about PR and social media and BP being caught with their pants down. Obviously very interesting for me to read, being that I work for the largest PR company in the world. Here’s what I say to any company about social media (in addition to the points made in this article that I agree with) – you need to create a baseline of a presence, regardless of the climate of the industry and what your competitors are doing. In other words, start with something – a blog, for instance – that allows you to get your voice out there and establish a baseline of presence and credibility. That way, god forbid something happens and you need to respond to crisis (just as BP did), you’re not forced to go 0-60 in a day. Even now, there are many companies who don’t want to get involved with social media unless they’re “forced” to (ie – when they need to deal with a crisis). It’s hard to react to something critical when you haven’t even defined your presence. And it takes time.
3. The Ultimate Guide to Rapper Names (Infographic) – I’m a visual person. I love infographics. As you can see (follow the link to see infographic), “Lil”, names centered around “Royalty” and “Criminals” are some of the most popular. What a world we live in.
4. Online Retailers’ $44 Billion Customer Experience Problem (Another Infographic) - pretty cool stuff shown here. The point is (aside from poor design/workflow in online shopping experiences) – many people don’t like to bother with going in stores. They’d rather do it online, in the convenience of their own surroundings. I’d love to see something like this showing the impact on digital/interactive Out of Home that allows consumers to shop outside of their home, without going into the store. We’ll get there. Still, the digital shopping experience can’t be ignored. (Images look better on the Fast Company site vs. here, so check it out there).
“Uh-huh” – “Heroes” Creator Tim Kring Looks to the Future – I found this article fascinating. #1 – I like the term “transmedia” which as he puts it, is a “fancy word at this point for a simple concept: telling stories across multiple platforms.” What I always talk about!! And #2 – what I like even more, he follows that up with, “It will be a short-lived word, because it’ll just become the norm – the trans will stop and it’ll just be media”. Wow, this dude is dialed in and he gets it on a level that I believe few people do. His ideas are no doubt cool. And although I didn’t watch every episode of Heroes and follow the different stories across all of the channels, it was a groundbreaking way to extend and evolve a story across multiple platforms. (Just as Lost did as well). #3 – what really got me thinking is, in agencies, particularly new agencies of the future – the gold might be in finding storytellers of the filmmaking nature vs. “creatives” specializing in design or copywriting. Hmm.
“Duh” – Technology Changes the Face of Politicking – I don’t know if this is a “duh,” really. But I don’t know that I really get the level of the true impact that politicians think that geo-location services like Gowalla actually make. I like Gowalla and have worked with them multiple times before, and I’m happy that they’re exploring a new arena, but I don’t know how this is going to be the next social media “game changer.” Seems a little strong to me. Would love to hear your thoughts, though, if you feel differently.
So, there you go. Closing out the week (semi-) strong. Happy weekend, everyone!
Thanks to Honda, Times Square introduced its first 3-D billboard experience today.
Launching a car is near and dear to my heart. I’m currently working on a launch for one of our clients and I can tell you this – there’s nothing more important than getting people to interact with the car. They need to touch it, feel it, and as much as possible, drive it. New York and Times Square isn’t the best place to hold test drives, but it is the best place to create a spectacle. And that’s exactly what Honda did. For having a hoopla in Times Square, they did it up right. There were actual cars for people to see, there were video games (racing games) for people to play, there were models and 3-D magazines, photo booths for people to take the moment with them, N-E-R-D, and of course, the 3-D video, larger than one can imagine, coming at everyone in 3-D. Now, I don’t know that if I would have pushed for the actual execution of many of these pieces, but I am impressed that they went for it on this scale, and it looks like they pulled it off. I am a little disappointed that I didn’t/haven’t seen many social media tie-ins to this event, but maybe they were just thinking that the event itself would create the amount of buzz that satisfied them. I thought it was a missed opportunity. At the very least, throw a #hashtag out there for people to create conversations around.
From an OOH standpoint, they used the real-estate and technology in a way that has never been used before, which you have to give them credit for. Now, guess how many brands are going to do the same thing in the same place. The 3-D glasses are a bit of a drawback, but I’m sure someone will create a mobile app sooner or later so the experience can be had in a less-goofy way.
I appreciate everything that goes into something like this and from my perspective, they were successful. Could they have been more successful? I think the answer to that is most always yes. They utilized various channels, but is their story consistent and evolving over those channels? I honestly don’t know. But here’s the thing – while creating a spectacle in Times Square is nothing new, they pulled off 1 thing that hadn’t ever been done before. So for that, they do get the thumbs up.
I watched a good panel discussion last week from CAT in New York. The panel talked about “Location,” specifically as it relates to mobile geo-location. Members of the panel were from Foursquare, Booyah, and AKQA. Interesting panel make-up, all with good perspectives. The one thing missing from all of them – how mobile, specifically “location-based advertising,” fits into the larger brand marketing ecosystem. The discussion was all around mobile as its own silo. They all talked about how important it is for brands to create deeper, meaningful engagement with vs. “advertising” to their customers, which is definitely hitting on something larger than a single silo. But they really weren’t purposeful about talking how effective their apps (Foursquare and MyTown) could be cross-channel, particularly with OOH (the “new” OOH is much more than a canvas to broadcast messages to masses). All in all, though, it’s good to hear other perspectives and get a glimpse into how companies (providers and agencies) are thinking about location-based/behavioral targeting and advertising. We need one of these on OOH!! (The video is a little long ~20 minutes, but worth a listen!)
First, it was a talking, feeling, thinking bike, now it’s a tree. Thanks to Happiness Brussels, we are now able to hear and see this tree’s thoughts and feelings. Aside from the fact that this is yet another example of how (enabling) technology can turn any real-world object into an engagement mechanism (this is true 11th Screen stuff here), the purpose behind the initiative is meaningful – to create a discussion around climate change. This, just as Nike’s Precious Bike did, illustrates the power of anything and everything “Out of Home” as a conduit to drive consumers deeper into a brand/discussion. As I’ve maintained here, the “new” Out of Home is not Digital Out of Home, it is utilizing the things and spaces around us to engage consumers and drive them deeper into the brand experience. While this execution is technically a “push only” execution on the surface, it is designed to facilitate discussion across multiple social channels, and it is in those channels that 2-way (push/pull) communication occurs. OOH is just one channel in the communication mix. Facebook, Flickr, Vimeo, Soundcloud, and Twitter are other ones. .com is another one. They’re not hard to make work together, it just requires forethought and planning. If you’re able to do that, these are the types of solutions you can make. Complete. Not silo’ed.
Before FH, I worked with a start-up company called Table Top Media as a consultant, of sorts. I was never employed by them, but I had the privilege of working closely with their senior leadership for a few months. Last week, I heard some great news that should help put them on the map and hopefully, get their product in front of people sooner rather than later.
First, just a bit about the company and the product – Table Top Media is a company based here in Dallas that was started by a restaurateur, Jack Baum. They developed a product called the “Ziosk” that was designed to facilitate a more convenient check-out process for patrons in casual dining restaurants. This Ziosk is a small, wireless touchscreen kiosk that sits on each table in the dining room and allows patrons to access their receipt and pay via credit/debit card right there at the table. It’s a smart concept. How many times have you waited at a restaurant for your server to come and swipe your card at the end of your meal? As a father of 3 little ones, when our meal is over, it’s time to leave. Often times, though, we’re held hostage by the restaurant because the server is too busy to get us our check and pay us out IMMEDIATELY after we’ve finished our meal. Ziosk takes that waiting out of the mix.
But the Ziosk goes way beyond this specific utility. The platform, itself, (TTM designs and produces the hardware and software) is flexible enough to be turned into a straight-up utility machine, integrating with the restaurant’s POS, complete with interactive menus, ordering capabilities, timed drink/food requests (based on the original order), and loyalty program tie-ins. Or it can be turned into a more experience-type machine, complete with up-to-date news feeds, sports scores, interactive games and entertainment (especially for kids my little ones’ ages, this feature infinitely improves our dining experience), and social features, be it geo-location integration, Facebook and Twitter feeds, or even cross-store, cross-region gaming and communication. Not to mention unique advertising opportunities, both for the restaurant and other 3rd party advertisers/brands. It’s a very cool product – check it out:
The major barrier they face is obviously an operational one – these casual dining restaurants are being forced to think about their workflow differently and opening up more of a gateway to their infrastructure. It also has server (waiter) implications being that this machine can do many of their functions. Ironically, it can free them (and the restaurant for that matter) up to do what they need to, like make sure food is good and drinks are filled.
Anyway….the good news – this year, PepsiCo launched a program for start-ups called PepsiCo10, a “incubator program that matches technology, media and communications entrepreneurs with PepsiCo brands for pilot programs” – and last week, announced that Table Top Media was one of the 10 chosen start-ups for the program! This is, no doubt, huge for them. They’ve worked long and hard to get traction and this should give them a platform to show the power and potential of their product.
This is a true IOOH solution and really, a device that makes sense. I’ve seen (and reviewed here) many that don’t, but the Ziosk serves a useful purpose and can add to the dining experience. This is something that I would interact with myself and tell other people about. It deserves a chance and now, thanks to all their hard work and perseverance, they might just be getting the “big one” through this program.
Disclaimer – TTM did not ask me to write this and I am not getting paid to do so. I am writing this because I believe in their product and I’m always happy to hear and spread good news.
Happy Friday, everyone. Time for Friday’s 4-1-1. Many of my readers know the guys at The Preset Group. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve gotten to know each of them fairly well. They’ve been very good to me, and all of my experiences with them – collectively and individually – have been more than pleasant. Real good guys. Solid minds, too. This week, I’ve had various interactions with them and they just produce such good content, so I’m going to be an aggregator of sorts.
1. Sixteen:Nine and rAVe Work New Partnership – Two very bright guys in the digital signage/DOOH space have partnered together to essentially bring us double-great thinking in 1 location. I’ve sat in quite a few press “quarters” with Dave and we’ve had some good discussions. I even had the privilege of speaking on a panel with him earlier in the year. He’s probably the most knowledgable person in the space I’ve met. And I’ve seen Gary go through one of his presentations. Dynamic guy. Knowledgable, too. This is a powerhouse of knowledge. I think all who follow each of them just benefited greatly, whether or not they know it right now. Soon, they will.
2. Mark Cuban’s Views on the Fan Experience – David Weinfeld wrote a piece earlier in the week about how Mark Cuban views the importance of creating an “experience” (similar to a wedding) for fans at sporting events (in this case, HIS sporting events). As David points out in this article, digital signage and the physical things around us have great potential in sporting venues. Cuban gets this, too. I think the power of mobile, though, (as David and I discussed) is extending the experience beyond the actual venue. The brand (in this case, let’s say the Mavericks) should recognize that the venue (digital signage or not) and mobile are merely channels to extend their story. The question is not “which technology do I use to create an experience at a particular place?” but really, “how do I tell my brand’s story at a particular place on a particular piece of technology?”
3. What Do You Reach for in the Morning? – Paul does these down-and-dirty surveys on his blog every so often and this week, he wants to find out why people use their mobile phones. If you haven’t taken it, go over there and do it. It will take 1 minute of your time. Literally. Mobile is definitely a gateway between the offline and online worlds that I so often talk about. Next up on the survey list should be, now that we know how you use mobile, do you integrate it with other mediums/channels?
4. The Advertising Slogan Generator – From Paul’s Twitter feed, it is what it says it is (and yes, I know, not the first of its kind). Enter a word, see your advertising slogan. I smell an idea perfect for interactive signage, both at the aforementioned sports venue or in a densely populated environment – transit, wait – whatever. Text your word in, see your slogan on the big screen. Simple idea. Engaging. Multiple extensions, including commerce. How hard was that?
“Uh-huh” – Bad Digital Signage Projects Hurt Us All – Dear All DOOH Decision Makers (Advertisers and Agencies) – Don’t Suck. I say this tongue-in-cheek, but seriously, count the number of DOOH/IOOH installations that have made sense vs. the ones that haven’t. Overwhelmingly weighted on the haven’t-made-sense side.
“Duh” – See above. Case in point for a head scratcher.
I’ve been meaning to get around to this since my vacation in July, but I’m just finding the time. I’m always looking for examples of brands utilizing offline materials (places & things) to drive deeper engagement “online” (not necessarily on a computer). I’m most fascinated when this online experience occurs on something other than a standard computer screen (ie. the places and things around us). Mobile, however, has really changed the game. This offline/online convergence doesn’t always drive experiences back to the world wide web; as mobile shows us, this convergence is often enabled through apps and simple tools like SMS/MMS. So, it was in July, when my wife and I were sitting in a bar in St. Augustine, and I looked down at the coaster sitting on our table.
Mobile promotions like this are standard fare. So standard, in fact, they might be overlooked more often than not. We can debate the effectiveness of coasters like this driving conversions (opt-ins), but here’s the thing – this is such a “no duh” utilization of pieces like this in the brand’s advertising mix. Coors Light is going to print coasters regardless. Why not plan to print something that drives a deeper brand engagement on the coaster vs. just putting a logo and artwork on it? Same thing can be said for posters or magazine ads. How many posters do you see that enable you to have a deeper brand experience beyond the “paper”? Magazine ads? Not many.
I have been surprised at how many magazine ads I’ve seen this year (some featured on this blog) where brands have experimented with things like QR codes/MS Tags, JagTags/etc.. And while I still don’t know how effective they are (I don’t see many brands paying it off that well), I have to give them credit for at least opening up the gate to go deeper into the brand. That’s what I mean by mobile changing the “OOH” game. Brands don’t need a “digital” origination point to drive interactivity. Out of Home initiatives, whether traditional or digital, can always be made interactive, in large part due to mobile capabilities.
In the end, it’s important to understand that all of the “channels” (Out of Home being one of them, coasters being a delivery mechanism for OOH) in a brand’s advertising mix are just part of their ecosystem. The brand’s challenge (and agency’s partnering with them) is to make sure their story is a) consistent and b) evolving across all of the channels and mediums. Often times, initiatives are developed, implemented, and activated in silos – OOH, DOOH falls within their own silo – and regardless of how big or neat or (even) effective they are, if they’re only happening in 1 silo, many opportunities are missed. So, next time you see something as simple as a coaster or a poster or a magazine ad that capitalizes on the opportunity to drive you deeper into the brand, take a minute and go through the experience. Try not to judge the experience, just appreciate the fact that they’re not missing an additional opportunity to take you, as a consumer, deeper into their brand via this standard-fare, see-it-everyday, ho-hum, gotta-advertise-on-it-anyway gateway.
Mark your calendars, if you’re in NYC or not – September 23, Honda plans to launch Times Square’s first 3-D billboard for their new sporty hybrid, the CR-Z. They’re going all out with this campaign, focusing on many emerging technologies, including 3-D, iPad/mobile apps (their interactive brochure that launched last week), a Facebook app that includes a video wall (?), and no telling what else. Be on the lookout!
It’s Friday and time for the 2nd Friday 4-1-1 series. This installation is all about mobile, particularly the specific enabling technologies associated with mobile that have an opportunity to make brand interaction richer & deeper when coupled with OOH/DOOH/IOOH. If you’re a new reader, I think there is a difference between what makes “digital” Out of Home and “interactive” Out of Home – “digital” is made possible through display technology, “interactive” is made possible through enabling technologies. These technologies enable deeper interaction with a brand and its OOH/DOOH installation. You can think of it like this:
Enabling technology (and there are many of them) + OOH/DOOH = IOOH (Interactive Out of Home)
Display technology + OOH = DOOH
My premise is “Digital” Out of Home cannot be made interactive without any of these enabling technologies. So, today, I’ll focus on 3 mobile enabling technologies – augmented reality, geo-location, and of course, QR codes. Here’s the 4-1-1:
1. Facebook Places Propels SCVNGR to 100,000 Downloads in 48 Hours – reality check, first of all – the “general” consumer doesn’t use geo-location apps like FourSquare, much less a new app like SCVNGR. The penetration numbers for “digital” users who use geo-location apps are low (~4% according to Forrester). However, I believe there is loads of potential for geo-location apps like FourSquare, Gowalla, FB Places, and SCVNGR (and the others). These apps really enable a feature that I believe is core to a brand’s success in the new “Out of Home” space – reaching consumers where they are (out of home) and driving deep(er) engagement with the brand. There are few brands who have really figured out how best to do this, but there are many who are experimenting. As far as SCVNGR goes, their platform is really based on the idea of a Scavenger Hunt – users go around to different places (called “Treks”), when there, they have to complete a challenge, get rewarded via points, and then ultimately get rewarded with badges. For brands, this platform is significant because it’s a built-out mobile platform, specifically intended to provide challenge-based scavenger hunt game-play experiences. Yes, you can pretty much do the same thing with FourSquare (you have to work through FourSquare) and Gowalla (users themselves can set up “trips”), but they weren’t built for this very thing (neither of them are based on “challenges”). In my opinion, it’s a better way to reward consumers who are loyal enough to your brand to go through a challenge-based scavenger hunt (again, outside of their home) vs. just checking in repeatedly at a single place.
2. Four Seasons Joins Geo-Social Gold Rush With California Campaign – I’ve put together a number of campaigns with Gowalla – it’s not the Austin-based connection that I am high on with them, it’s really the experience they provide vs. FourSquare. (In fairness, if I could put together any geo-location-based campaign, regardless of budget/time constraints, I would probably look at using both of them, but Gowalla is easier/more accommodating to work with. FourSquare has sheer numbers, Gowalla has a more engaging experience, particularly on the brand side, in my opinion.) So, it was nice to read about a brand like Four Seasons hopping on the geo-location bandwagon. Again, this is yet another example of a brand driving engagement with consumers while they’re out and about, going through their normal day-to-day activities. Who would have ever thought that just by “checking in” some place through your mobile phone, you could get rewarded with a hotel-stay voucher.
3. Toys “R” Us Unveils Multichannel Mobiel CRM Tactics – here’s my QR code example this week. Only problem with this is that it’s launching in Hong Kong only. At least right now. Solid concept though – targeted at their loyalty card holders, those loyal consumers can unlock exclusive content through these “R” (what Toys R Us is calling them) codes and from the sounds of it, with each scan, can earn more “loyalty” points, which is of benefit to them with real-world merchandise. QR codes are commonplace in that part of the world, so I suspect this is going to be widely used. Hopefully, the campaign will make its way here and even more hopefully, US consumers will actually know what to do when they see this weird code in front of them.
4. Augmented Reality Campaign for Lustucru Pasta in 500 Supermarkets – pasta + a martian + tomatoes + Augmented Reality = AWESOME. Forget about checking into places, whoever thought they could play a game with a martian just by purchasing a box of pasta? Augmented Reality has come so far in a few short months. Now, instead of needing a black-bound box that serves as a marker and a webcam, all you need is an AR application on your mobile phone. It’s really unbelievable. For this, though, I guess the question is, “does this drive more sales?” Don’t know. After I play the game, would I want to play it again? Does it build? Is there anything deeper? If so, it could be the reason that I’d want to continue buying this pasta when I need pasta. If not, on the surface, it’s a good engagement, but what does it do to achieve longer-terms goals? It makes me smile, though. Check it out:
“Uh-huh” – Reggie Bush hit the Holy Grail by combining geo-location (FourSquare) with social media (Twitter/Facebook) and the real-world (with StickyBits). This is the perfect combination of driving Reggie Bush-brand engagement through the use of various mediums/channels, including a strong OOH play. Basically, Reggie used FourSquare like a scavenger-hunt service (should have used SCVNGR!) so that fans could find autographed footballs around the city of New Orleans in anticipation of last night’s opening NFL game. They could then attach messages to StickyBits for Reggie. Great cross-channel program.
Before I get into this week’s “Duh,” I’ll say this – I think that “OOH” as a media channel has changed drastically in the past few years. My definition of “OOH” is “anything that the user doesn’t have to own to have an experience with.” In these cases, a user needs a mobile phone, but the point in which that experience originates is always OOH and from something that they don’t need to own – checking in at a location doesn’t require you to own the location, using a QR code doesn’t require you to own the QR code, and even playing a game from a box of pasta doesn’t require you to necessarily own the box of pasta. Lines are certainly more grey than they used to be in terms of “OOH” and it’s in this grey area that I believe lives the 11th Screen.
Now, my “Duh” – it’s not an example this week, it’s a piece of advice based on a few experiences that I’ve had this week. Slow down. Life and work move very fast and most often, we make decisions in split seconds. Those decisions can have a profound impact on other people and your own work (substitute “life” with “work” if you want to). There is nothing wrong with slowing down, taking a deep breath, having a think on it, and then moving forward.
I hope you guys have a great weekend. Would love to hear anything you’ve got to say about any of this. Just shout!
Emerging Technology, Mobile 
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