11th Screen

A couple of days ago, I shared my vision of OOH.  It’s pretty simple.  In my view, OOH is broken down into 3 buckets – categories of displays if you will – billboards, posters & kiosks.  They are separated by 3 differentiating factors – amount of information, length of engagement and potential for human interaction.

This view is important to me because of what happens when you start to add technology onto it.  What exactly does that technology do?  And what is the true impact of technology on this medium?  So, first, to show my view on the most overused moniker in the industry – Digital Out of Home (DOOH):

When you add digital to this model, you get the same exact model with just a little different shading.  It doesn’t change much other than the fact that there is now some sort of technology applied to the medium.  In this case, “digital” is just the addition of display technology.  As I’ve said before, display technologies are a finite list of technologies – LCD, LED, projection.  All it does is enable a static display to become dynamic.  For advertisers, this, of course, has a substantial impact, both with advertising-based displays/networks and non-advertising-based displays/networks.  But the true effect on the consumer’s experience isn’t drastically different.  When you apply a display technology to a billboard, you get a different type of billboard, but by and large, it has the same effect.  Ditto for posters and kiosks.  As a consumer, I’m still getting the same amount of information, I’m still engaging with it the same length of time and the potential for my interaction with it hasn’t changed.  The primary difference is that it now moves.  Is it more effective?  Maybe.  If I respond better to moving images rather than static display.  If the content is compelling.  But I don’t think it moves the needle by itself.  The true magic happens when you make OOH & DOOH interactive, which I’m calling Interactive Out of Home (IOOH).   

Now, not only is the model shaded even more differently, it takes on a completely different form.  Interactive billboards become something closer to posters.  Interactive posters become something closer to kiosks.  And kiosks become something they’ve never been.  Interactivity and the technologies that enable it have a profound impact on OOH & DOOH.  I call these technologies enabling technologies – technologies that enable personalized experiences from each of these displays.  Technologies like touch screens, motion sensors, RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, mobile and its enabling technologies like GPS, 2D/3D barcode scanners and Augmented Reality – the list is certainly larger than the display technology list, but still finite (at least right now.  I have no doubt it will grow with time.)  But they all drastically effect the experience in the same fundamental way – they enable a level of personalization that is deeper than any of these displays provide in their raw, even digital, forms.  This personalization is really the key to effective communication, which is the key to creating and sustaining relationships between brands and their audiences.  This is the special effect that I believe OOH, as a medium, can and will have on marketers and consumers in this new day and age, particularly as newer technologies are introduced.  But it’s all about the interactivity.  A traditional OOH installation can be made interactive, just as a DOOH installation can be made interactive.  In some cases, I believe the technology inherent in DOOH makes it easier to incorporate enabling technologies, but this is not always the case.  It does not need to be “digital” to include interactivity.  A perfect example of this is our QR code initiative at SXSW.  A static (non-digital) QR code was added to a static display (car, which in this case, I would consider a “poster” in my model – not that it includes a wealth of information, but a static car like that, in that type of environment, provides a level of human interaction and length of engagement similar to a traditional poster) and with the use of mobile as the enabling technology, attendees were able to experience a deeper, personal engagement with the brand.  This is why I think it’s critical to make a distinction between “digital” and “interactive” in this way.  Interactivity allows the consumer to experience more information, and engage and interact with it in a deeper way.  It is worlds different than just “digital.” 

This sort of engagement opens up an exciting and scary world of possibilities.  Brands will sooner or later understand that they can (and should) use the spaces and things around us, in our everyday lives, as effective communication tools.  It has a drastic impact on them and their ability to touch their audience anywhere they want/need.  We’re a ways off though, as you’ve heard me say before.  But make no mistake, technology – specifically enabling technologies (not display technologies) – transforms the OOH world into something that has only truly been applied in books and movies.  For now, we keep pushing and experimenting.

I’ve been on vacation the last two days.  To say it’s a vacation is an overstatement, but nonetheless, it has given me an opportunity to step back from work a little bit, recharge and regain my focus.  So it is with this blog, too.  I’ve been going heavy for a short three months and I feel like I need to take a step back and level my focus.  Remember the basics.

This diagram is the foundation for the way that I look at OOH.  DOOH & IOOH are just additions onto this model.  But to me, this is the most basic representation of how I view this world. 

There are  3 buckets that all OOH initiatives fall into:  Billboards, Posters, and Kiosks. 

They are separated by 3 differentiating factors:  amount of Information, length of Engagement, and potential for human Interaction. 

I believe that you can bucket any OOH initiative into one of these 3 buckets by using this guide.  Let’s give it a try:

Advertisement on top of a taxi (or the side of a bus):  I would say that this is a billboard.  These usually have very little information, no potential for human interaction and the length of engagement is very low due to the environment (transit) that they are viewed in.

Advertisement behind home plate in a baseball stadium:  Again, I would say that this is a billboard.  Little information.  No potential for human interaction and while the length of engagement is longer in this setting, the other two factors handicap any “real” engagement.

Movie poster:  Easy enough – poster, but posters are interesting.  By design, they’re effective at including more information than billboards (and less than kiosks).  And because they have more information, people can actually walk up to them, touch them, and “engage”, even if it means absorbing information. 

Mall directory:  I would say that this is a kiosk.  Lots of information.  Designed for human interaction and as a result, enable longer interaction.

All of this becomes clearer when you start adding technology to the mix.  I believe that there are technologies that simply make them “digital” and then other technologies that make them “interactive.”  But we’ll get into those later.

This is important because as a marketer, I feel like this helps hone in what one should be doing in this arena.  I’ve got some marketing-specific additions to the model, too.  But we’ll take it one step at a time.  We’ll get to it.

What examples do you want to put to the test?

I have finally been able to catch my breath from the SXSW trip enough to reflect on everything I observed and share it here.  First of all, my perspective of SXSW is different than any other conference I’ve attended, just from the standpoint of how much work I was doing to make things happen for our client.  It was, by far, the most intense, condensed (if that makes sense) working situation that I’ve been in with an agency.  I liken it to my time working on films – in many respects it felt like film production.  Late nights, early mornings, always on the run (and I emphasize run), going from one thing to the other so quickly that you’re just reacting.  I like that kind of work, that kind of pace, that kind of “doing,” but it’s not something I could sustain at this time in my life.  Short periods? Sure.  Every day?  No way.  Anyway, my involvement at that level ”behind the scenes” prohibited me from experiencing the conference in a way that I am accustom to.  I didn’t go to any panels, I didn’t go to any parties, I didn’t spend time networking at length with people.  It really was strictly business on behalf of FH & Chevy, not Mike or The 11th Screen.  That said, I was involved enough in what was going on, specifically around the convention center, to come away with some good, pretty fair observations.

1.  Value, value, value – it really does work.  Brands can accomplish a lot and shift perceptions by providing value to people.  To me, this is all about relevance.  How are you, as a brand, communicating & engaging with your audience(s)?  Are you engaging in a meaningful way?  Is it mutually beneficial?  Does it provide value?

2.  Don’t talk to, talk with – it’s all about 2-way communication.  Listen first.  Then, talk.  It’s so simple.  It’s what we do in our normal, everyday, real-world lives.  At least what we should be doing.  Effective communication and engagement is not about talking to people, it’s about talking with people.  Try this with your spouse, with your kids, with your co-workers, family members, friends – just talk with them.  It’s a dialogue.  A give and take.  When you do this, you can both have productive, fulfilling conversations.  Brands who do this, particularly in the social space, create advocates and build trust.  Advocacy and trust are sustainable and those types of relationships don’t go away easy.

3.  It’s not what you know, it’s who you know – people are smart.  And people have connections.  In an ideal situation, the best people to know are smart and connected.  I say this because if you talk to the right people (smart + connected) in the right way (2-way communication), they will talk about you.  You as a person and/or you as a brand.  And when they talk, many people listen.  I could rephrase this observation to “it’s not how many people you know, it’s how many right people you know.”

4.  QR codes & LBS are a ways away from mass adoption – I think SXSW majorly failed at their attempt to introduce QR codes to the masses.  They had a prime audience, one who could actually warm to the use of them, yet they failed to educate and create an easy experience with them.  Their codes virtually went unused.  By the time attendees came to our booth, no one knew what QR code reader to load on their phone and/or exactly what to expect from them.  I think QR codes, specifically SXSW’s use of them, was the most overrated technological story that came out of the conference.  Again, this is from my limited point of view.  (I heard that Twitter’s announcement of their @Anywhere feature was less than stellar.)  I just had such high hopes for the QR code story.  But QR codes aren’t the only emerging technology that is still immature over here.  LBS, like Gowalla and/or FourSquare, are used consistently by such a small segment of people.  But there is a huge group who have no idea what “LBS” stands for in this context, much less how to use them on their phone.  There was a vast difference between the interactive attendee usage of Gowalla and the music attendee usage of Gowalla.  I think a lot of this is attributed to the penetration (or lack thereof) of smart phones still in the US.  The opportunity here is to continue to push these types of technologies – because I believe that they still have a life – and experiment with them in various ways.  We’ve really only scratched the surface in how we can use them in relevant, meaningful ways on behalf of brands.

5.  Last but certainly not least, I work with some amazing people.  We were a relatively small team, but we are like family.  Matt, Valerie, Cindy, Jodi, Marc, Herb, Rob, Miker, Jessica, Penny, Sarah B., Sarah F., Lane, Chris, Chrissie, Brad, Warren, Christian, designer Jessica, Matt W – you guys rock.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on SXSW.  Shout back.

Take a picture of it.  Go ahead.  Before you do, though, you’ll need a QR code reader application on your smartphone.  Here are some suggestions:

• iPhone:  I-Nigma
• Android:  Google Zxing Readxer or BeeTagg
• Blackberry:  I-Nigma or BeeTagg
• Windows Mobile:  BeeTagg
• Nokia:  I-Nigma

This allows you to “read” the code – you need this to use it.  And I’ve already “written” the code by inputting my URL into a simple QR code generator (don’t worry about that, it’s just a minor detail). 

So, now that you can actually use it, let me tell you what it is.  It’s a QR (Quick Response) code.  Just like the name implies, it’s used to take you to an online destination “quickly” from your phone.  People – mainly marketers – use them for various things, most notably on print pieces to drive consumers online from the actual print piece.  You can also receive SMS texts and coupons through this code, if it is set up right and if your reader application accepts those forms of data.  There are many other uses, from self-promotion to personal information (business card-like) to rich multimedia content delivery.  They’re really big in Japan/SE Asia, in large part due to the absence of a QWERTY keyboard.  They haven’t really caught on in the U.S.  But it’s a good concept, right?  Take a picture, automatically find more information – all through the snap of a little black and white code.

So now that you know what they are (and how to use them) – and I’m sure someone else might be able to explain it better than me, certainly someone who has a much larger audience – let’s say someone like Facebook, the most popular site in the U.S. – let’s actually do something with them.

First, did you take a photo of mine yet, through your QR code reader application?  If so, you found my Twitter account.  If not, I’ll make it even easier on you – click here.  That was probably much easier than taking out your phone, downloading an application, taking a photo of the code and seeing a mobile version of my Twitter account.  It’s a 4-5 step process vs. 1.  Not really conducive for a good experience in this scenario, snapping this code on a digital screen like a computer, especially when you have a keyboard right in front of you.

But let’s consider this – the power of QR codes really lies in being able to merge the real-world with the digital world.  So, let’s talk through that scenario and leverage it for its strength – out in the real world.  Let’s say you want to print stickers, or a T-shirt, or even a bumper sticker (yes, I heard bumper sticker?!?) with your own personal QR code so when people see you out and about, they can snap a picture of your code and be taken online to your own personal Twitter account.  Or Facebook account.  Even see your FB status.  If you’re still in, here’s what you need to do.

For stickers, make sure that you have the most appropriately sized stickers/labels.  I’ve found Avery 8395 to be the best because of their size (QR codes are square).  They’re a little expensive, though – in fact, all blank labels/stickers are more expensive than you would expect.

You’ll also need to make sure you can format them appropriately – how many rows across, how many columns down?  The Avery stickers are 2 across, 4 down for a total of 8 stickers per sheet.  But, here’s the rub – you can either go through the process of formatting them yourself (which is not an envious task) or buy a software solution that automatically formats them.  This can be had for $20-$40.

Now, make your own stickers.  Rinse and repeat if you want to do T-shirts or bumper stickers.  Or anything else.  Keep in mind the formatting and the actual object you want to print them on.

Whew.  It’s a lot.  But at least now, the world knows who I am wherever they turn.  And as a consumer, all I have to do is wade through all of the black  & white QR codes in the real world to find information on the people/brands that I’m interested in. 

On 2^nd thought, the browser on my phone is really good and pretty darn quick.

And to all the brands out there – I’ve done this before.  I can hook you up.  And we don’t have to wait on FB!

Look – all lightness aside – in terms of raising awareness for this technology, Facebook’s endorsement and accessibility should help immensely (if this is all true).  In terms of actual application and effectiveness, I fear that it could easily cloud realistic, positive use.  This technology can really be effective and provide a lot of value to the brand and to the consumer, if used correctly.  As soon as it becomes an enterprise novelty, though, they might die.  I hope this is not the outcome.

What are your thoughts?

(Full Disclosure – I’ll be at SXSW as part of the Chevrolet SXSW Team.  Chevrolet is an official sponsor this year of SXSW.)

So, the road trip came to an end last night.  All of the teams made it to Austin safe and sound.  They generated tons of great content.  It was fun to watch.  I think the IOOH experiment was successful.  (A few people told me last night that they really enjoyed the interaction.)  I greatly underestimated the logistical component of those clues, though.  We had to ship and coordinate with ~16 different hotels, all different days to be delivered, and different times to check-in.  There were many variables that made this particular component challenging.  That’s to be expected, though, when using a guerilla-like approach.  We couldn’t do much – this isn’t a sophisticated use of OOH – but the point was to try to be as innovative as we could with this element of the experience.

To me, this is an interesting, very realistic way to give people more information/engagement with something as simple and as ubiquitous as post cards.  If I were in charge of a city/state branding initiative, where we were responsible for doing the “standards”, like post cards, I would immediately print the cards with some sort of tags/codes like QR codes/MS tags.  There would be so many opportunities for deeper, more dynamic engagement and content.  You could drive to videos of city/state leaders, citizens, even b-roll-type footage. Even fun facts about the city/state.  Even a website (which I know is not preferred, but could be tailored to the content on the card.) Or if you wanted to get a little more creative, you could drive people from a card of say, The Statue of Liberty, to The Empire State building, just the way we did with the scavenger-hunt post cards.  It could actually add a refreshing element to these otherwise novel (at best) objects.  I suppose in this scenario, these wouldn’t necessarily be true IOOH because the user would, in most cases, end up owning the card, but it’s still a vehicle to enable deeper engagement through an emerging technology.

And yes, I think QR codes are an emerging technology in the US.  I don’t know if they’ll catch on here, but SXSW is doing their part to introduce them to a large, influential audience.  I’ve said it before, but I think one of the top stories coming out of SXSW is going to be QR codes.  They’re on the badges, they’re posted around the convention center, and we’re contributing by using them in various ways.  We’ve placed them on all of the ride & drive Chevy vehicles so that people can learn more about each vehicle that they’re riding in or seeing out in the open spaces around the convention center.  And we’re placing them on a new car – the Cruze – as a way for people to interact with it because here, they can’t drive it or even get inside it.  All of the codes are placed on the car in locations that are specific to the content that they’ll receive.  So, if someone wants to learn about the Cruze’s engine, they’ll take a picture of the code on the hood of the car.

The content behind the codes, though, is really going to be key to make these things compelling and show their potential in how they can benefit the user.  We’re incorporating Chevy-in-pop-culture facts centered around film & music with the ride & drive vehicles, as well as special product content.  With the Cruze, we’re incorporating quizzes and exclusive video content that people can only experience in this way – through these QR codes at SXSW.  The payoff has to equal, or preferably, outweigh the buildup.  Otherwise, it just makes for a bad experience and bad experiences are, well….bad.

I’m confident in ours. Tomorrow, we’ll find out.

Example of our QR codes on the Cruze:

More to come tomorrow, after the booth opens and the Cruze is covered in codes.  Farewell for the night from Austin!

(Full Disclosure – I’ll be at SXSW as part of the Chevrolet SXSW Team.  Chevrolet is an official sponsor this year of SXSW.)

Wow.  I have been buried in work, specifically gearing up for SXSW – the premier interactive, film and music festival in the nation.  Yes, I am a little partial because I’m from Austin (where it’s held) but anyone who’s anyone, particularly in the interactive world, attends.  With its heavy technology focus, “trends” tend to appear here before they go mainstream.

We have spent the last few months planning a huge integrated program for one of our clients, Chevy.  And honestly, I couldn’t be more proud of everything we’ve done and are doing.  Chevy has been great to work with and it is our expectation that we will enhance the SXSW experience for everyone.  I won’t get much into all of our program right now, but suffice it to say, we have developed a heavy social + mobile + OOH program.  Here, it’s the OOH program that I really want to focus on.

Yesterday, 8 teams of roadtrippers from across the nation (influential SM-types) set off, all in Chevy vehicles, en route to Austin, where they will all arrive on Thursday 3/11.  Along the way, they are accomplishing “tasks” (which have been crowdsourced over the past month) and broadcasting them across the world wide web.  In addition, they’re receiving clues that lead them from destination to destination. (It’s like the Amazing Race 2.0.)  This is where we’ve introduced one of the OOH components.  We’ve made postcards with QR Codes and MS Tags that have been/are being delivered to the teams’ various hotels.  When they check-in at their hotels, they receive a package that contains these postcards, and when they interact with the postcards, they receive their next clue. Each team gets 1 QR Code postcard (that leads them to a Twitter account) and 1 MS Tag postcard (that generates an SMS).

Since this is such a technology-rich conference, we really wanted to introduce these roadtrippers to different types of emerging technologies (they also receive a clue via ”checking in” with Gowalla) before they arrived in Austin.  We felt that it was the perfect way to set the stage for everything that they will experience in the days to come.

One of our QR Code post cards: 

One of our MS Tag post cards:

More to come as we get closer to SXSW.  If you’re interested, follow all of the action, from Chevy’s perspective here.

I read many trade magazines.  Wired, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review – these are some of my favorites.  But, my real favorite is Communication Arts.  It’s my favorite because it focuses on the art of communication, which truly is an art.  If you’re not familiar with it, I recommend it.  It features high quality work from all industries, all verticals, in all mediums – print, photography, video, animation, motion graphics.  

My favorite issue every year is their Interactive Annual (they just published the latest one last week).  Here, they award the best interactive experiences executed in the industry over the past year.  Guess how many IOOH initiatives were recognized this year?  6.  Out of 40.  This is good.  It might not seem that high, but it is double the number of IOOH recognitions last year.  To me, this is incredibly encouraging.  Industry experts consider these to be among the best interactive experiences executed, regardless of medium. 

And there were 2 more – very unique – recognized this year that had elements of OOH/digital/interactive, although I don’t know that I would completely consider them IOOH.  The 6 are really nice.  All interactive through touch and gesture, but really nice.  (2 of which I experienced for myself at the Hard Rock Café in Vegas).  However, it’s not these 6 that I want to talk about.  It’s these 2 very-unique experiences that I want to talk about. 

One is from Nike.  Say what you will about Nike, they are great marketers.  Medium agnostic.  Emerging media experimentalists.  I enjoy most everything I see from them.  This example is no different:  Chalkbot.  The concept is simple – let the collective public decorate the roads during the Tour de France (which is a tradition) through the use of various digital media, namely computers and/or mobile phones. 

This experience occurs outside of the home (so it’s partly there through my definition of OOH), but the actual experience does not originate from a device, medium, or platform that the user does not own.  In this case, it originates from a user’s computer or mobile phone (which does not completely fit my definition of OOH).  So, I ask, is this a true OOH initiative?  I believe yes, it is.  As a spectator (and not an enabler/participant), I experience it outside of my home on a device, medium, or platform that I don’t own.  I can’t turn it off.  It might as well be a billboard.  But the real question that I struggle with is, is it an IOOH initiative?  And to me, given my definition of IOOH, it is not.  Here’s the thing – as an enabler/participant, I must control what the chalkbot does on the street through a device that I already own.  Without that device, I wouldn’t have an experience.  So, unlike a traditional billboard, where you would have an experience – you would see the billboard on the side of the road – the road is essentially bare without my interaction.  In this case, I choose to turn everything on.  And I think that’s the biggest difference between the two.  If the chalkbot was a billboard (and already “on”), I would have an easier time accepting that it was an IOOH execution. 

But it’s very interesting for sure.  It turns interacting with the physical spaces around us on its head. 

The other example is just as fascinating, called Thinking Inside the Box.  This is brilliant, really.  Eight “thinkers” locked themselves inside a huge box in the middle of a busy public space in Toronto, solicited creative challenges by the general public, and solved them on the spot.  All of their interactions were filmed and culled down to make a site.  So, let’s go back to whether or not this is IOOH, according to my definition.  I think that we can most certainly say it isn’t.  In fact, it’s much more clear cut than Chalkbot.  But let’s break it down – it occurs outside of the home on a device, medium or platform that you don’t own.  So, OOH?  Yes.  But there is no interactivity through technology.  So, IOOH?  No.   However, they streamed video and Q/As on digital billboards in the square, so DOOH?  Yes, definitely.   And very intriguing DOOH, due to the real-time nature of feeds and the content itself.

Both of these examples truly illustrate the art of communicating – with each other, between brands/consumers, and most exciting – the spaces around us.  I think that it’s encouraging to see so many “untraditional” digital/interactive executions being recognized.  I think we can all learn something very valuable from all of these stories – don’t constrain yourself to the little grey box on your desk.  Think big.  Be smart.  You can do a lot with a thinking mind.  And it doesn’t always break the bank.

So, what do you think of these examples?  Do you agree with my differentiations?  Or do you lump them into all OOH?

Had a work conference call right before this 8:00 session.  All I’m going to say right now is QR codes and cars are keeping me busy.

This session, Creative Tactics for Integrating Digital Signage in Different Environments, has a good panel:

• Steve from Symon – “Visual Communications Solutions” of which digital signage is a part of
• Jeremy from Razorfish – emerging media, enough said
• Bryan from OpenEye – unique experiences through digital media in various environments

I’m going to hear the stories that OVAB mentioned yesterday that we need – the case studies.

Landscape is constantly changing – number of things that are competing for consumer’s attention:  traditional media, new media, social media.  Everywhere an individual turns today, they’re being bombarded by information.  It’s a different world today, more people are gravitating to online media, now mobile elevating in importance, social, too. 

Just having a digital sign on the wall doesn’t mean your message is going to be delivered, seen, absorbed.  You have to do something unique.  If you’re going to keep people from looking at their handsets instead of the digital sign, you have to do something uniquely different.

Bryan (OpenEye) – what do we do with content (non-advertising based content)?  A huge question?  Create identity to help strengthen the brand.  Emphasize the brand values, culture.  Help educate the viewer.  Perception is that content is video – not so – look at other dynamic media formats, for example Flash.  Look at a way of using content to create a very visual, unique experience.  How do we keep the screen fresh?  Keep people from overlooking it?  You have to create a consistent message across other mediums.  There’s a way to pull all that together and put something effective, consistent on digital signage.

(He’s showing examples)

Sovereign Bank example – incorporate media into the environment, not product promotion.  Create unique experience for the customer.  They developed a series of videos/content of people within the bank, also to show local businesses.  All outside of advertising.  Also product promotion, but used it in an educational way.  Approach this as extending the relationship with the customer and the brand.

Smithsonian Institute Museum of Natural History example – problem with foot traffic, trying to get people from one location to another, to other exhibits.  Another challenge – need to incorporate into existing environment, couldn’t move the exhibits.  They looked at the architecture, the area – how do we get screens into the existing environment?  And not oversaturate the environment?  This is a non-advertising based network.  The ROI is how big the person’s smile is when they leave.  (I’m hearing this consistenly here.  Perhaps OK for non-advertising based networks??)

Jeremy (Razorfish) – It’s about understanding the audience that’s going to be there and how to best impact them.  What’s the dwell time?  It’s a delicate balance.  Every time you do one of these, you learn a little bit more.  Test and learn process.  4 examples:

Microsoft example – Windows Phone 7 Series.   Big touch screen that allows people to understand how the phone software looks/functions on a large screen, with the absence of phones themselves.  Only had 6 weeks to do it.  Thought about the content first.  Animation, video.  Instructional.  Experience.  From technology perspective – multi-touch, directional audio, Windows 7 based.  Utilized their Razorfish Touch Framework.  Also had tracking mechanisms built in as well.  Will use the data to evolve the solution.  Design – they worked closely with the MS booth guys.  They really wanted to draw people to the screens.  One of the biggest challenges is to reverse engineer the animations.  Needed to spend a lot of time making sure it was consistent with the animation on the phone.

Retailer example – back-to-school initiative, wanted to drive to denim dept (jeans).  Side by side touchscreens on a vacant storefront.  Covered the storefront in a static wrap.  Full-screen attract loop, made some contextual inferences – Starbucks close by, so mentioned something about the coffee.  Heavy use of interactive video – video based on user’s decisions/interactions.  A lot of that interactive video content was put on the website.  We’re able to get more bang for the buck.  Timeout screen if not interacted with after a period of time.  Technology – rear-projection film.  Their proprietary touch framework and analytics framework.

Audi example – surface experience as part of a tradeshow booth.  Developed a complimentary iPhone application, too.  Car configurator.  Really rich 3-D.  Various POVs.   Audi-branded “puck” (I believe called a “muster” in the surface developer crowds) that brings up additional menus.  Multi-user, multi-touch.  Simple gesture that switches the whole interface around if others are interacting with the same surface.

AT&T example – surface experience in retail store.  Most difficult considerations – do you want people sitting?  Standing?  Elevated?  Fixture around it?  How do you “present” it?  Challenge with managing that number of people around it and the whole experience (like standing).

Questions –

• How do you see these experiences evolving?  A: mobile phones, social networking…digital signage is just a complimentary medium.  It doesn’t stop, it extends. 
• How do you get past the barrier of intimidation, particularly for touch screens?  A: It’s about finding ways to attract people into the experience.  It’s the content.  But then, it’s all about how it looks in the environment.  When it comes to multi-touch, gesture-based, the iPhone has really paved the way.  But it’s a consideration – either visual or text-based, instruction needs to be there.  Also, are there any on-site support (retail store employees, car salesman, etc..) 
• Nationally-known brands – who are the leaders in embracing this technology/experience?  A: From OpenEye’s perspective, there is “private” clothier who is looking to create these types of experience.  Smaller organizations like that seem to embrace this type of technology.  From Razorfish’s perspective, one of the most innovative retailers is Ralph Lauren.  Touch screen windows for years.  QR codes, too.  From both perspective, there’s not a lot of case studies out there, so there is a tremendous amount of educating that comes along with talking to clients.

My thoughts – These guys are marketers, I can relate to everything they’re saying from personal experience.  They’re saying all the right things.  Cool examples, but examples that I read about online or in trades.  1 hour is not enough time for a session like this.  So many questions, primarily around the future.  I wish I would have gotten to hear Steve share some examples, but he just moderated.  Off to coffee with him now.

The mantra for this week (and beyond, really) is BALANCE. It is a constant struggle, keeping balance in my life. Family, wife, kids, work, blog, time for myself, just being. And this week, it is going to be extremely important that I balance everything. Otherwise, I could be completely ineffective. There are many things I’m looking to get out of and give from this conference – content, relationships, technology, insights, information. But there is also a workload to balance, back at work in Dallas. We are gearing up heavy for our support during SXSW, and I am leading many initiatives. That work doesn’t stop while I’m away. So, balance will be extremely important. Isn’t it always, though?

I am reminded, almost every day, of one of the first things my mentor told (and gave) me when I started my career.  His name is John Glenn (not the astronaut) and was/still is very much an old-school advertising guy.  I always thought of him like a football coach who coached back in the day – Tom Landry-type (he looks nothing like Tom Landry or a football coach for that matter) – who believed in fundamentals instead of the “hot” new thing, the sizzle, the passing attack and/or the Wildcat if you will.  I’m so glad he was put in my path to teach me because I believe he taught me the “right” way to do things, certainly the right way to look at things.  I often ask myself in various situations, “what would John do here?”  He has made an indelible impact on me. 

Anyway, early on in my career, he gave me a book by Hank Seiden – Advertising Pure and Simple – and said,  “read it.” 

Then, I read it.

It was a hard read.

When he asked me how I liked it, I gave him a blank look, said, “it was good,” and left it at that.

Then, he gave the book to me.  And said, “look, if there’s one thing that you take out of here, take this” (and I will paraphrase):

When thinking about doing anything in this business, ask yourself these questions, in this order, and you’ll be just fine:

1.  Who are we talking to?

2.  What are we trying to say?

3.  How are we going to say it?

At the time, I didn’t have the capacity to really understand the context to put it in or even what it meant.  But I always thought about it and soon enough, I understood exactly what it meant.  This is what I am reminded of, and more importantly, what I try to remind myself of, on an almost-everyday-basis.  In brainstorms.  Strategizing.  Consulting with clients.  In everything, I try to think about these three questions and apply them to my work.

More often than not, I realize how many people don’t think about these questions, much less the particular order.  I’m surprised at how many jump right to the “How are we going to say it?” part without considering the audience (who) and the message (what).   It’s like they’ve lost all sight of the fundamentals.   

Over and over again, I see examples of going straight for the “hot” new thing. 

Sometimes, after answering the who and the what, the solution is a hot, new thing.  Sometimes it’s not.  But most often, it’s the right thing, or a right thing. 

What fundamentals do you fall back on?  I’d love to hear from you.