Dual usage // shop while you watch.

In a previous post we had a look at the growing trend of dual usage as investigated in research conducted by Nielsen. This research showed a significant relationship between tablet and smartphone usage while watching TV. In the latest news, new media product development company Shazam has signed a deal with ITV in recognition of this growing trend. Shazam is best-known for its app enabling users to identify catchy tunes they hear by recognising its audio footprint.

As reported in an article on The Independent, ITV viewers will soon be able to engage further with their TV, connecting with extra content and even purchasing through their mobile phones and Shazam-enabled advertisements. Shazam has adapted its audio-recognition technology to enable the quick link to additional content and e-commerce sites simply through the use of an app.

This is not unexpected news by any means, for some time now we have progressively been taking steps towards creating more engaging and interactive TV viewing experiences.

While the theme of the decade appears to be 'innovative and new' this is not necessarily in reaction to business or strategic needs and as such, it will be interesting to see the actual results of such campaigns. Having content available in a new way does not necessarily mean that this will appeal to its audiences. In fact, I would suggest that the harder we try to get advertising messages and commercialised content in front of audiences the more they will move away from these channels.

Presentation // insightful look into mobile retail.

I recently came across this wonderful presentation by Leo Burnett Group company Arc that offers a simple yet insightful analysis of mobile retail and some great case studies that demonstrate the diverse opportunities to be found here. My favourite part is the emphasis on having thorough strategic goals and an understanding of your audience to make a sound investment. It is important to remember that the basic principles of marketing are the same, regardless of the channels chosen, and the motives should be explicitly drawn to clear goals and consumer insights.

Enjoy!

Mobile Retail - Engaging the Customers in your Store

View more presentations from Trace Johnson

QR codes // no quick response here.

What exactly is a QR code anyway? What are they designed for, and how are they relevant to me, in my life? 
  

Worthy questions for this newly embraced advertising technology that continues to perform poorly, according to Kevin Moreland in an article on the B&T website here. QR codes (like the one pictured to the left) appear to be popping up on advertising material everywhere lately. In some instances they are referenced, with a line of text to tell us where they lead, but at other times they just seem to hover awkwardly towards the edge of the page. My prediction, the vast majority of people don't know what they are for or even how to use them. What a lost opportunity.

QR codes have been appearing on all types of advertising material, including press, posters, buses, billboards - the list goes on. Essentially any flat surface you can put advertising material on, advertisers have planted a QR code there. But do they really add any value? This I believe has a lot to do with context and the destination.
  
So where do they lead?
  
A number of possible destinations. The better invested QR codes may lead to an app on your iPhone, or they may lead simply to a website landing page. They can connect you with a social media page (such as Facebook) or a product purchase page. Essentially they are a shortcut that uses your smartphone to connect you straight from this offline advertisement into the online world. Quite a clever idea really, the only problem being that they have been marketed really poorly. While the QR code still feels new the destination must be much the same; an exciting and engaging game app or interactive social media page. Take me simply to your corporate website or a landing page and I will drop off, this I guarantee you will work just as quickly as the QR (quick response) code.
  
Not quite the glorious entrance to the advertising market we were hoping for, but then again QR codes never were intended for a life of glamour. They were invented by a subsidiary of car manufacturer Toyota to track mechanical parts in the production process in the mid 1990s. The code can hold a great deal of information and can be quickly and easily scanned to access this information; a great asset for the manufacturing industry. Since marketers have gotten their hands on them, however, they've became more of a novelty, a joke really.
  
It's time to pick up the game. Like anything in this new media context that is the present day, we need to add value; to be appealing to our audience and encourage them (effectively) to interact with our brand. 
  
QR code, so far you have fallen short, but you can blame advertisers for that.

Context matters // smartphone & tablet usage.

We know that there has been a shift in available media technologies with the growth of tablets and smartphones, broadening our media consumption to a number of different screens. Often these are used simultaneously; it is quite common to use your mobile phone or tablet whilst also watching TV. The growing importance for marketers here is to understand how these devices are being used and where.

Overall smartphone and tablet ownership is fairly low across the country, however, it is important to understand how and where these devices are being used to help predict future trends as ownership levels grow. According to an article that appeared on AdWeek here, writer Lucia Moses suggests that "context is everything."

  

Lucia draws the varied uses of these devices to their technological and functional capabilities, while suggesting marketers need to understand these qualities completely in order to utilise them. Smartphones are identified as being used for more shortened task-related activities (checking emails, going online and sending texts). In this case short and "snackable" types of advertising are most effective, including display ads and text messages. 72% of people also use their smartphones whilst travelling; they are a personal device that accompanies us everywhere.

  

By contrast, the tablet is more likely to be used in the home for longer, deeper experiences. As such, longer form video advertising is more effective than shortened display ads. Tablets are also more likely to be shared throughout the family. 

The diagrams below draw out some of the key trends and factors in tablet and smartphone usage, the consumer motivations and contexts behind these.

Interactivity model // brands must participate.

What's this 'digital shift' all about?

   

In a digital training course held by the wonderfully insightful and charismatic Heather Albrecht in Sydney last year, I enjoyed my first real delve into digital marketing and its driving forces.

The key questions on everyone's lips are where is it going, and how do we participate in a way that is going to drive the success of our business? The "it" here of course refers to broader social and media trends that are driving consumer choices; creating new contexts in which we must interact in order to engage with potential consumers.

Reflecting on previous consumer trends reveals four distinct phases or models of engagement:

1.  Advertising led

2.  Through-the-line integration

3.  Media neutral (big idea)

4.  Participation

It is this most recent 'participation' phase which represents new models of engagement and is largely influenced by the types of devices we are interacting with. Participation branding is defined as: 

   

"How a brand engages and behaves with consumers across channels and over time to earn their attention and participation through motivating experiences.

   

How consumers engage and behave with each other across channels and over time to influence each other and create motivating brand stories."

   

In the training session, Heather identifies four screens; represented by the television, laptop, iPad and iPhone. The specific motivations and uses for each may vary but often media is also consumed across each of these platforms, the new accompanying trend here of course being mobile.
  

  

It is crucial to understand the technological driving forces behind media consumption and shifting consumer habits, however, it is also important to understand the social behavioural trends being formed from these.

Friends first // consumer trust levels and media.

A well-crafted message and insightful creative can provoke thought and reaction from its audience. But what will be the longer term outtake, will you trust our message enough to seek us out or trial us?

Advertising is notorious for creating hyperbole; humour and entertainment are often the key to being likeable and memorable. When it comes down to the sales figures though will it pay off? In Nielsen's recent study into global trust in advertising, personal and informative referrals remain at the top of the list. 92% of those who participated in the online study (a total of 28,000 respondents) trust earned media, such as recommendations from family or friends, over all other types. 

Online consumer reviews are the second most trusted for brand or message advice. Editorial content and branded websites are the next most trusted forms, while consumer trust in online, social and mobile advertising has also grown. Confidence has declined for traditional media with a 20-25% decrease in trust of television, magazine and newspaper ads between 2009 and 2011.

This study confirms a long-standing trend in humanity to trust and believe our friends and family above all else. The high placement of editorial content represents how PR is a big communications threat to the advertising industry. What PR lacks, however, is the creativity we find in advertising that builds a brand identity; creating an intangible asset that has so much value and symbolic association for its supporters. 

News // Facebook makes an emotive purchase.

Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In a recent deal, Facebook has acquired the photo-sharing app Instagram for $1bn - a huge investment and one that has drawn much attention from media experts.

A smart move for Facebook?

According to an article on the GigaOM website here, Instagram was Facebook's biggest competitor, a threat that was growing each day as more and more users discovered this addictive and fun app. Instagram thrives where Facebook lacks, in emotive mobile photo-sharing. Instagram (unlike Facebook) is a mobile-thinking company, which succeeded in creating a social sharing experience, and most importantly, a passionate community. 

Instagram created an emotional social affinity that Facebook lacks and which it so desperately desires as part of its platform. Facebook is essentially built on photo-sharing and Instagram had found a way to do it better, creating a serious threat. And with 15 million users already, Instagram was growing at a rate guaranteed to make Facebook shake in its boots. The solution: a buyout, no matter the cost.

Let's hope Zuckerburg and Facebook hold on their promises, to maintain the integrity of Instagram and the vision behind its creation; to capture the spirit of emotive human sharing through photographic experience that is essentially mobile.