Category Archives: Marketing

The Team Behind the Launch

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If you’ve ever launched something, be it a product or a campaign or a website, you know these things:

  1. It’s a lot of hard work, emphasis on hard
  2. It never goes as planned, regardless of good or bad planning
  3. It takes a team and on that team must be a leader and a quarterback, not necessarily the same person
  4. It’s a grind

 

All of this work, leading up to the launch, is hardly glorious and most of the times, filled with challenges and problems to solve. It is typically the hardest work you’ll ever do when you’re in the business of making stuff.

It’s never easy.

So, what can you do? Breathe. Relax. Focus. Think clearly. Support one another.

Assuming you have a team who wants it just as badly as you do, everyone understands the urgency and the stakes.

Have each others’ backs. You’re all a team. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be stressful times and perhaps a fight or two. But in the end, there’s no one to fight harder for than your team.

Awareness Only Spaces for Interactive Everything Potential?

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Maybe one of the problems with all spaces and things becoming interactive is the fact that the actual spaces and things are not set up to be interactive. That is, there are many accessibility issues that need to considered and worked through. As an example, this was an ad hanging above an escalator.

Non-accessible QR Code

The only access to the ad and the code was riding the escalator. And even though escalators escalate at a nice, slow pace, they’re moving way too fast to take an action like scanning a QR code. It was a mad scramble to do what I could to take a picture of this, much less launch an app and then scan the code.

I understand that many times, decisions for any OOH campaign at scale can’t alleviate all accessibility issues. This ad might be hanging in an extremely appropriate and accessible place in another environment. When dealing with environments and buying ad space in those varied environments, I imagine there’s a percentage of “dead” ads because of all of the spaces that they’re going to be put in. For every bad placement (one that is not accessible), perhaps there are ten good placements (with no accessibility issues.) As someone who is responsible for budgets, however, that sort of thing makes my head want to explode. I want all of them to be accessible. That’s what I’m paying for.

This is one of the challenges of all things having the ability to become interactive. This problem of accessibility is of no concern if this is a standard ad. Or a standard digital screen. Or a standard billboard. Anything that is just push messaging – it’s all about eyeballs and an ad hanging right above an escalator generates a lot of eyeballs.

But when you try to make that placement work for interactivity, it fails miserably.

So, I guess what I would say is this – if you’re going to spend money to create an interactive “thing,” be it a print ad or a digital screen or a kiosk, do a little bit of digging into the entire media buy. Do what you can to really understand all of the placements. Making something interactive nowadays can’t just be, “let’s plop a code on this or a touchscreen on this and make it interactive.” The spaces that you’re buying could be great for eyeballs, but for anything beyond that, for any action, they’re no good.

It becomes a waste of money and expectations. No way people are going to scan the QR code in this particular ad. If that is a key metric, this advertiser will have a hard time believing in this particular form of interactive, enabling technology, despite its potential. They’ll just go back to the boring ol’ awareness-only, push-messaging, let’s-get-as-many-eyeballs-on-this-as-possible mentality.

And that is not the future.

The Time and Technology Conundrum

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11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

Time is a funny thing. It keeps going. Regardless of how much value you place in it. Personally, I didn’t really learn the value of time until later in my life. Perhaps some people are instinctually tuned into how valuable their time is. Not me. I like to do many things, help many people, say yes, make time, make stuff. I think there comes a point in your life when you actually start to put a premium on time and therefore prioritize, consciously or unconsciously, all of the things you find yourself faced with.

Technology has a funny effect on time, the thing that keeps going. It seems to make it go by faster. Consumption via all these screens fast-forwards our lives in drastic proportions. Just by the shear rate of life, who has time for what content?

Ah, this pesky, key ingredient – content. What we consume and engage with on a daily basis. What we give our attention to, be it for connection or entertainment or education. TV shows, websites, blogs, videos, pictures, news feeds, texts – the sea of content is deep and easily time-suckable. How do we prioritize what content we give our time to? I think that decision is based on any of these three factors:

  1. We like the subject matter
  2. We like who makes it
  3. We have nothing else to do or have time to spare (this is hardly sticky but it is a reason to consume, to give your time to it.)

 

These factors are much easier to control on our personal screen. Not so much on a public one. That begs the question – what is the role of digital signage, these public screens?

And what can we expect them to really do?

How Coke Keeps it (Real) Personal…Again

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It’s no surprise to find Coke doing something else to engage people on a deep and meaningful level. This time, it’s with personalized Coke bottles, complete with a personalized song. And when I’m talking personalized, I’m talking about down to your name.

Michael's Personalized Coke

They have printed 150 different names on Coke bottles on sale across Australia and for those who have a more unique name, one that falls outside of the 150, there is an opportunity for them to create their own label, in-store. They’ve extended this initiative to their social channels (Facebook page):

Coke Australia Facebook Page

And broadcast advertising:

It sure is easy to get caught up in all this technology swirling around us, in and outside of our homes, but the simple truth of the matter is that people want personal. If you want to create engagement with people, start there, at that one simple truth. Forget about mobile, social, digital signage, tablet, yadda, yadda, yadda. And simply think about what drives people.

“Personal” will probably rise to the top every single time.

What the Average Consumer Taught Me About Technology

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11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

I was hanging out with my step-dad this morning and he shed a little light on the “average” person’s familiarity and expectations with new technology, specifically with mobile technology. He’s a new owner of an iPhone, thanks to AT&T’s $49 deal that came out a few months ago and his computer usage is really centered around email, Facebook, and surfing to camping or backpacking sites via Google. He doesn’t know a lot, but he knows enough to get the information he needs on these devices. The iPhone and its power make him want to explore and expand the way he uses it, but he needs a little bit of guidance. Without that guidance, he falls into what I call, “overload paralysis.” There’s just too much out there, too much to process, to0 much to decide between, too much to search, too much to find out – it’s easy to just shut down and become paralyzed when faced with too much. I feel like this is a common state for the average consumer, and my step-dad reaffirmed my belief.

These types of consumers have different expectations from technology than those of us who are immersed in it day in and day out. And this is what my conversation really shed some light on.

Here’s how our conversation went:

Step-dad (SD): Mike, I’d like to pick your brain a little bit about what apps to download.

Mike: OK, what do you want to do, from the apps?

SD: Well, I just downloaded Pandora the other day and I really enjoy it.

Mike: So, you want music and movies, multimedia-stuff like that?

SD: No, not really. I don’t need to watch movies. But I’d love to know what good apps are out there.

Mike: Are you looking for games? Or productivity things? Like scheduling, notes, reminders – things like that?

SD: That might be interesting.

Mike: What about your bank? Do you have your bank’s app?

SD: Oh, that would be good.

Mike: Facebook?

SD: Yeah, that would be good, too. What about that Twitter? How does that work?

I’ll spare you the conversation there. It picked up a little bit later….

SD: I just downloaded a barcode scanner and I love that.

Mike: What do you scan?

SD: There are these square codes in my camping magazines that I scan.

Mike: You actually scan them?

SD: Yeah.

Mike: What does it take you to?

SD: Like this one here (pointing out one regarding a GPS), it takes me to a website where I get to see more information about this GPS unit.

And then, I let him show me the experience. He knew what to do and actually thought he was really cool, doing this high-tech thing on his iPhone.

I was enlightened. From this one encounter, I learned:

1. There is an awareness of QR codes and what they do, to the average consumer. My step-dad was genuinely interested in them and used them.

2. The expectation that the average consumer has about the content behind a QR code is not in line with mine. My step-dad was fine that he was simply directed to a website (non-mobile-optimized at that). He was able to learn more about this GPS system that he wasn’t able to from an ad in the magazine.

3. A mobile-optimized website was of no concern to him. He knows that he can expand any part of the mobile screen with his two fingers so it doesn’t annoy him that there aren’t any special versions of links or simplification of the experience. In fact, he was able to manipulate the screen – expand and scroll – with (relative) speed and precision.

Overall, there is a belief out there that in this little grey computer box and the little phone in your pocket, there is a treasure to be unlocked. The average consumer just doesn’t know how to unlock it. They’re less concerned about instructions and context and optimization. They’re more concerned about having what everyone else has.

To me, that’s a far different problem to solve than perfecting the experience.

Apple’s Influence on Digital/Interactive Out-of-Home

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Pirate Apple

Apple has and will continue to singlehandedly shape the future of digital (and interactive) out-of-home.

  • They have redefined mobility.
  • They have created devices that take the intimidation out of touch and gesture. And made them accessible to the average consumer.
  • They have enabled thousands of independent developers to create content for native mobile devices.
  • They have created a personal expectation that we can have what we want when we want it.
  • They have made little bitty boxes that run powerful programs on most any display.
  • They have set the standard in interface design and functionality.
  • And now, they’re introducing the idea of always-accessible voice recognition and memory.

 

They have fundamentally changed the way that people interact with content and technology, the two core components of digital/interactive out-of-home.

So, if you’re a creative, a technologist, a developer, a strategist, a network operator – whatever you are – and you’re trying to figure out this or that for your digital/interactive screen, look no further than the phone in your pocket or the tablet in your bag or the computer on your desk.

 

Photo credit: UsingMac.com

Dealing with Unruly People, Oh Joy.

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11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

One part of social media is dealing with unruly people. Actually, let me restate that – a large part of social media is dealing with unruly people. The open web has enabled everyone’s voice to be heard and many times, those voices are voices who are reactionary, irrational, and/or both. This is all just part of it. You have to be prepared for uncontrolled, unhappy people who engage with your brand. I’ve found a couple of things to be extremely helpful when dealing with these people and subsequently, the issue that they may spark:

  1. Don’t overreact – breathe. I’ll say it again, breathe. Step back from the situation and get your wits about you. The worst thing you can do, as someone who engages with your community, is to let your emotions respond to the situation. Your brain should respond to the situation in most all cases.
  2. Put things into perspective – often, especially in times of crisis, it’s hard for those closest to the community – that is the social media team or the community managers – to gain the proper sense of perspective. It’s easy to think if one or two people are causing a ruckus, then the same feeling reverberates across everyone in the community. And a response is needed immediately. This is not the case. As much as you can, look at the community as a whole compared to the unruly people at any given time.
  3. Understand who is talking – this is extremely important. Everyone behaves differently in social channels. Some people talk. Some people only share. And some people are just passive observers. Before responding in any way, understand who that person is, who they influence, how active they are in the social channels, and even more, what their personality is in those channels. If they’re constantly snarky and antagonistic, then it should be of no surprise when they are that way with your community. When thinking about how/if to respond to someone like this, detail these things out for the team. All of this context is important to help dictate the proper course of action.

 

There is a sense of immediacy that comes along with social media. In fact, responding/engaging in a timely manner is actually a responsibility. But this does not mean that the urgency should dictate the level of thinking, researching, and communicating needed to properly address the circumstance.

Now, with social media, anyone can create content and more, technology has enabled it to be shown anywhere, on any screen. The less controlled the content is and the more channels it is distributed on, the greater attention we all need to place on the finer points of relationships and communication.

Years ago, my old boss and mentor told me, “be the voice of sanity.”

Always be the voice of sanity.

Simple enough, right?

Hardly.

Especially with unruly people.

3 Simple Lessons for any Interactive (Out-of-Home) Experience

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I was in Seattle last week and walked into a restaurant and saw this:

Butterfly QR Code

It was large and in-charge, the only thing to look at in the bar area. The piece, as a whole, is striking with that blue butterfly.

Then, you see the big QR code.

I was the only one in the restaurant at the time so I didn’t feel awkward standing in front of the image, pointing my phone at the QR code and taking a picture of it.

Problem was, the QR code would not register with my reader (and I have a very sensitive reader).  It didn’t work. After repeated attempts.

Lesson #1 for any interactive (especially “Out-of-Home”) experience – make sure it works.

Lesson #2 – if you put something up that looks actionable, make it so.

Lesson #3 – compelling visuals (in this case, the butterfly) makes for a compelling experience. I really wanted to see what was behind the code because I was so captivated by the butterfly.

In this case, the creative drew me in, made me stop, and took my attention. I was willing to engage with it. But it. just. didn’t. work.

Where is the Good Digital Signage “Packaging?”

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DART map

Look around you. Design is all around. In the past five minutes, I’ve noticed the poster at the train station, the map on the train, heck, even the train itself. I’m having one of those moments where I think a little bit too deeply about normal things. But, if you think about it, there is so much thought put into how things look. Those things that you and I might take for granted – someone labored away and made choices that resulted in what we see everyday. Now, granted it’s not all good, but that’s for another time. The point is, time, energy, thought, and skill went into packaging these things.

Recently, I was reading through Communication Arts. I love this publication. I see it as a showcase of the best-of-the-best creative work in our industry. This particular edition was the Design Annual, where all sorts of design – print, digital, experiential – from the past year were lauded. One of the categories that they highlight is packaging. Everything from beer to a bag of chips to an iron box.

Monteith's Beer

Safeway Potato Chip Bag

Bajaj Majesty Iron Box

All of these examples elicited an emotion from me. I was curious about all of them and told myself to look for them the next time I was in whatever store might sell them. And maybe, just maybe, if I was so inclined, I would buy them. All just by the way they looked, the way they were packaged. This is what design is supposed to do. Create an emotional response to drive action.

This got me thinking about digital signage and the way that I normally see signs out and about. This is pretty standard fare:

11th Screen | The Interactive Out-of-Home Blog

Sure does seem like these signs could benefit from some good packaging. I’ve often wondered if everyday people were blind to digital signs, particularly because of the noise that they generally broadcast. Signs are all around so unless there’s something extremely compelling and relevant on the screen, how many people actually watch them? Enough to consume the content that brands want them to consume?

What if these signs were packaged a little bit better? Would it make me stop and notice them? Would it elicit the same emotions the iron box does?

I hear so much talk in the digital signage industry about content, content, content. What’s on the screen. True, that is critical. But I’ve never heard anything about how the screen actually looks out in public. How it’s packaged. Seems like that’s a critical component, too.

But who wants to spend money on fabricating this or that so screens can go in them? Especially, an entire network of screens? Well, businesses have been created for just that thanks to the introduction of the iEverythings:

iPad Dockintosh

Book Book iPad Case

Maybe that’s too much to realistically expect out of network providers and/or venues. Seems like a pretty daunting task to me. But in a world where the most preferred screen is in our pockets, packaged to our own likings, why would we want to give attention to anything else, especially when it’s just plopped onto a metal stand or hung on a wall?

Design changes things. Design makes us stop. Design makes us consider. Design makes us feel something.

When’s the last time you were out & about and saw a digital sign and actually felt something?

 

Photo credits: (beer): mmminimal.com, (chips): theimpulsivebuy’sphotostream, (iron box): commarts.com, (dockintosh): techmoan.wordpress.com, (book case): twelvesouth.com

Friday’s 4-1-1, What I Learned From Getting Hacked Style

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This is what I feel like has happened to my blog over the past month or so.

Getting hacked is not something that they warn you about before blogging. Despite coming from a web dev background, it was nowhere on my radar. Certainly not to the extent of the headache that it caused. One little piece of code can have such deep and damaging ramifications.

This was one was good. I’ve got to hand it to the creator. But, now, everything is all cleaned up and we’re rid of it.

I thought it was most appropriate to dedicate today’s Friday 4-1-1 to some of the things getting hacked taught me.

  1. Blogging is much more than just writing blog posts – everywhere you look about tips for blogging, one of the first things you see is how much dedication it takes. Most of the time, “dedication” is tied to posting regularly and getting engaged with your audience. But getting hacked takes “dedication” to the next level. Posting and getting engaged is central to the success of your blog. But you’ve got to be prepared to trouble shoot technical issues and ultimately fix them. You’ve got to think about SEO and creating the proper tags on your pages. Titles. Site map. You’ve got to make sure everything is good with your analytics. For me, right now, posting is the least of my concerns. Making sure that the integrity of the site – security and optimization – is in order is the thing that keeps me up at night.
  2. If you’re not familiar with code, learn it or hire someone you trust who does – I am not a coder. I don’t want to look at code and decipher what needs to be done. I get so impatient with it. And this hack job was no little thing. So, there’s finding rogue code and trouble shooting that goes along with working your way out of something like this. If you’re not prepared to do this, make friends with someone who can and will. Or it could just be the end of your blog.
  3. Even though you can’t blog, continue communicating with your community – admittedly, I have not done a great job of this over the past few weeks. But that’s the beautiful thing about all of the social channels that we have now. You don’t have to be tied to one to engage with your community. In fact, it could open up other opportunities that you might not have had on your blog. I have to keep trying this daily. It’s hard.
  4. Inspiration is all around, don’t close yourself off – I might have not been able to post anything to my blog for the past few weeks, but that didn’t stop me from searching, being open to inspiration, and jotting down ideas for posts. Often times, I think us bloggers get so attached to our blog that when something like this happens and it’s closed off, it stifles permission to be inspired and documenting it. Yes, we do have other channels to engage with, but the act of curiosity shouldn’t be tied to the state of your blog.

“Duh” – I’m using this as an opportunity to re-launch the look and feel of this blog. This notebook theme is perfect for the spirit of this blog, which is really based on exploration and journey. I am informal with varying levels of thought. I’m exploratory and open for not having the answer. I’m still making some design changes (coming in the next few days), but for now, I’m going with this simplistic approach. What do you think?

“Uh-huh” – there have been quite a few people who have helped me out in this time, who quite honestly, absorbed a lot of the headache for me. Ian and his team, Ryan, Christian, and Dave – thank you all. I really, really appreciate the work, the advice, and just the moral support that you gave me.

Here’s to a non-malwared, scary-message, hack-free site for the (hopefully) long-term.