Interactive digital momentum

From gimmick to engagement:

As new technologies emerged in the 1990’s and started playing important roles in our daily lives outside work. Content became digitized, therefore mobilizing audiences to online environments.

Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulated, networkable, dense, compressible, interactive and impartial. Many producers of new media are regular citizens that push content online through social media: People control the web and empower content.

Intertwined with how we consume media, we can state that the divide between old and new media is closing in. Considering old media as content and new media as the channel, we can now understand media as public and accessible. Web 2.0 greatly open the spectrum to the masses and new media exploded into main-street. Now, credibility is for grabs and not granted as all the players in the web arena are seeking clicks, attention, conversion, monetization and web status, a screen away from a brand-saction.

1. Interactive digital media:

Technology enabled CGI(Computer-generated imagery) that changed how we experience media and gave entertainment a whole new meaning. Also, other screens started populating our lives, like: Mobile phones, Computers(desktops and laptops), digital readers(PDA’s), Music players and game consoles. We are no longer chained to TV, radio, magazines, newspapers or even billboards to have access to information or pop culture guidelines. We are again in the cross roads of content and media, but now in our own terms and when we want....

We own and control channels like: Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and even the father of them all: Myspace. Here is where new media lives and spreads. Here is where the voice of people is stated and is vital for the value proposition of its credibility.

Augmented Reality

A live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery - creating a mixed reality.

Over imposing images as a result of a marker triggered interaction through a web-cam, or by image recognition and geo-location on a mobile phone.

At a glance it gives the impression of being a high-end gadgety tactic that brings a screen out of the screen. In reality it’s nothing but enhancing the online experience or real experience for that matter. Consisting of engaging users on a story-line crafted on or of-line as part of a brand message.

For the purpose of explaining a brand is anything or everything. The AR experience is only part of an integrated experience intended to communicate. Considering that principle, every AR experience should embed a story or be part of one, as it is such a compelling element that it has to have relevance and a clear reason why.

A successful use of computer web-cam AR is that in which it’s intent is to bridge the gap between traditional mediums (TV, Radio, Print) and online. Marketers and media invest effort and resources in being an active to their audience, many are present in traditional mediums, exclusively in print or in the virtual online space. But like in social media, the message has to pull people in not push the message into them. By creating real interactions with AR, we generate a physical action that translates into engagement with a message and an immersive interaction with the brand. Once AR connects the dots, your message stands the test with the audience and the brand starts establishing relationships with relevant stakeholders: Consumers.

On a mobil device, AR has a deeper connection with the audience under the premise of being mobile and personal. Usually mobile AR is part of an application downloaded from an app store, therefore setting themselves up for engagement. Wether it’s for play, fun or information, the dynamic and functionality of AR will make people aware of the experience and download the app. As a result and triggered by many factors like geo-location, user settings, profile and functionality, the AR app launches a world of possibilities for brands to engage with their story.

Although AR will not stand alone and deliver a whole brand experience, don’t underestimate the power of giving your audience control and the possibility of experiencing your brand in their own terms, by augmenting reality!

Experience redefined!

The next generation in urban mobility:

At the pinnacle of our civilized existence we are noticing all of a sudden that we’ve been hiding a lot of dirt under the carpet. Far beyond politics and green fanaticism, we have been killing our planet through CO2 emissions due to irresponsible use, conception and terrifying relationship with automobiles.

Since the use of electricity went mainstream, people have thought of bringing electric vehicles to mass production and use. Most of those initiatives have not been welcome by governments and have found huge resistance from petroleum producing countries as well as car manufacturing economies like US and Canada. But at this time and age it is a definite alternative, considering petroleum is scarce, prices are out of control and we have to stop polluting the world we live in...

The way we think about CARS is so wrong that the new car is going to be REVOLUTIONARY. How??????? You are not the owner of the vehicle which allows you to be worry free about old boring things like: Maintenance, parking, insurance, CAA, winter tires, car wash, gasoline and oil change, to name a few. So, companies that act just like cell phone operators have lincences to operate electric vehicles in certain areas. Just like with a mobile phone plan, you are a subscriber and you pay a monthly fee based on a plan + additional consumption and add ons, or you pay as you go... But you get so much more than a car: You get the car of your choice within the electric line that ranges from sports like the Tesla, big berliner like the Volt, compact like the Renault Clio or a family car like the Bluestar. You can choose to drive it yourself or have it with a driver/Chauffeur for your convenience. Every car is fully charged and has a real-time systems monitor that keeps you informed of overall performance and estimates your power consumption for the next re-charge..... For example, here is how it would work:

I access my user interface online, where I have my account status, service preferences: Vehicle preference/availability, locations, common destination/service options, as well as GPS-location based news alerts, traffic news, alternative routes, charging stations and reserved parking. This interface can be accessed through the internet, a mobile app or the integrated control screen on the cars dashboard.

Last night I reserved a ride share from home on Richmond Hill just outside Toronto. A few of my neighbors work in the financial district, so every day we take a car for us 4. We use to get a different car avery time just to check them all out, but we decided to stick to the Chevrolet Volt since it’s powerful and has great interior space. We all use the free wi-max capability inside the car(except the driver of course) and have independent bluetooth alert for call management on the control screen. We could use the car speakers if it’s a friend of ours or each can use their own bluetooth device with out even touching the phone. Since we are driving a fully electric car and we are car pooling we have exclusive use of the speed lane down the highway and since we have a GPS navigator we know where traffic clogs and were it floes, to make our ride fast, safe and CLEAN!!!!

We all go into the parking lot around the financial district, where there is a EV valet lane and the car is received by the usual concierge: He greets us all by name and wishes us all a great day. As I walk towards the elevator, Mike (the EV concierge) asks me if I left an umbrella in the sports car I used the day before. I nodded, so he says: “I’ll prep it up for your lunch meeting and put an umbrella just in case”. Good day, again!!!!

We part ways and agree to meet at a certain time for golf after work.... Once in the main floor, I have to cross the street to go to my office building, while I do that I check my balance on my smart phone.......

Soon, on a corner near you: Smart urban mobility solutions with "zero" emissions!

Fragment

People own the media: Experiential marketing is four-dimensional.

A while ago we started to get over saturated and quite frankly, a little tired by commercial messaging. Aside from the regular tooth paste and cereal marketing, we started getting sales pitches from every single good and service there is in the market place. Regardless of our needs for information or our unwillingness to listen, we’re being INTERRUPTED by commercial messages as we try to go about our lives.

No luck dodging since we get bombarded/attacked through TV, Radio, Fridge door, Home door, Newspaper, Magazines, Mail-Box, In-box, Internet, Transit shelters, Metro Stations, Buses inside and out, Metro trains inside and out, BillBoards, Posters, Sidewalks, Highways, Streets, Malls, Office buildings, Hallways, Trucks, Elevators, Pharmacies, Parking lots, Gyms, Yoga & Dance Studios. Recreations centers, Libraries, Community centers, Movie theaters and Movie times, Retail windows, Public bathrooms, University campuses, Restaurants, Bars, Dental and Medical offices, Airports, Train stations, Movie rentals,,,,,, Uffff! And also at every other sporting, cultural or public event.

The most important and definitely the most significant change in recent history is the power the internet gave us people. In the huge collection of tools there are a few worth highlighting as they created a new form of media/communications. "UGC: User-generated content UGC, also known as consumer-generated media CGM or user-created content UCC, refers to various kinds of media content, publicly available, that are produced by end-users. All digital media technologies are included, such as question-answer databases, digital video, blogging, podcasting, mobile phone photography and wikis. In addition to these technologies, user generated content may also employ a combination of open source, free software, and flexible licensing or related agreements to further reduce the barriers to collaboration, skill-building and discovery."

Since marketers blurred the line between being engaging and being invasive, people rather consume content from credible sources such as other people.

What's next? 3D and AR....

experiential marketing prose

WIND MOBILE: The new frontier in Canadian wireless.

Summer’s gone, kids are back in school and companies are back in full swing. Though, this years summer was wet and rather cold, we are off to a warm and sunny start of the fall season!

Canadian wireless communications companies have been working hard for the past 6 months as a result of new licensees coming to the marketplace to share the airwave spectrum. The OLD guys (Bell, Rogers and Telus) are scared and full of reasons to be so. After a long profitable oligopoly, real competition is coming to town and in full throttle like Globalive and it’s brand Wind Mobile.

From reference

From every aspect, this is the most exciting time in canadian business and not just for them but for the market, networks, marketing and advertising, device manufacturers, resellers and most importantly: Wireless users ( you and me). This is nothing but the perfect storm and a lot of heads are going to roll, while the worthy are going to rise.

Having experienced wireless companies in other markets both as a user and as a marketer, I can attest that canadian wireless offering is primitive due to a poor user experience, scarce product offering, low market penetration and most importantly because it’s lagging in customer service/experience. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that WIND MOBILE is aligning a fierce stance where there is so much to be done.

From reference

Haven’t we all experienced pains with the current service? Pricing? Devices? Contracts? and most definitely with customer service?? I’m sure thats a unison YES!! So, in the best of intentions Mr. Tony Lacavera, a young communications and technology mogul, decides to ride the wave of opportunity and starts leading the NEW experience in Canadian Wireless. Based on the very basic premise of positive customer experience and a fair return on engagement, he is putting together what promises to be a revolutionary brand with which Canadians are going to finally experience fulfillment in wireless services.

Just now, before any disclosure of plans, pricing, devices or even being officially launched, WIND MOBILE is shaking it’s competitors. They are desperately acquiring more and more customers, tying users to extended contracts and even dropping the unpopular system access fee, while shifting to a more personal tone in their marketing message.

From reference

I am a very unhappy customer and I’m sure many other canadians share my discomfort with the wireless rip-off we EXPERIENCE in the middle of the tech age living in a developed country like Canada. This is how I envision my ideal experience with wireless: “Maybe out of a sci-fi movie or from the Jetsons”

From reference

- Choice is the norm: To have enough devices to choose from... Small is good for some if they just want a phone, since not everybody wants a mediocre tech gadget that has bad resolution camera feature, a terrible audio player, bad games and a majestic screen when the phone is the size and weight of a brick. I would like to see Inspector Gadget type of devices the size of lip-balm or a key chain and are GSM tri-band; still being just a phone. Right on the other display, I want to see the regular tier 2 phones that offer mid range applications like built in camera, WAP and even a decent music player... and yes, they also have the phone feature. On an opposite display I want to see the full range of tier 1 devices in the leagues of Blackberry, Iphone, HTC Dash, Samsung Jack, Palm Pre, LG Incite, Motorola Q, Sony Ericsson Experia and what ever relevant device appears in the market. On center stage and as the key VALUE PROPOSITION I see the customer experience INTERFACE aka customer service. Here things are simple, communication is clear with no tech buzz-words and paper work has no confusing fine print. People are fun, engaging and just like at the Apple Store, they are cool geniuses that facilitate humans life through technology. The atmosphere is inviting, inspiring, joyous, RELEVANT and enables a genuine brand experience... It’s not a store nor a complaint center, it is the HUB for the ULTIMATE WIRELESS EXPERIENCE.

From reference

On air: I get the sound quality expected from 3G standards, world wide coverage, integrated online/on-air account services that I control, all the basics that I have to pay for with my current carrier are included (voice mail, call ID and text msg.) and no waiting time when prompting customer service. Additionally, I have awesome bandwidth to run all my data applications which enables me to work and play hard anywhere! All this for a ridiculously fair price, where I get no surprises in my invoice and have no pressure from a contract. My mobile interface is so cool that I can manage my settings from my virtual (online/On-air) desk: Here I can set up preferences like electric car setup, favorite destinations, traffic and news alerts, sync calendars and contact lists, control blue tooth devices and enable my credit card for transactions with my phone.

While this may be a futile futuristic wish, I believe that WIND MOBILE is doing the right thing. They are pushing the right buttons and pulling the right strings. They are listening before speaking, and putting together an offer based on real needs from a growing number of unsatisfied mobile users. They believe, from their statement on their website, that: Conversations make things better. They are going to go further and break through by doing something simple: Everything that no one else has ever done!!! Like using our help, feedback and opinions to shape a mobile EXPERIENCE like no other.

From reference

I want to be a WIND MOBILE customer, advocate, ambassador and disciple. Where is the line????

Prelude

An old marketing adage states: “Repetition makes the message stick”. Today, past the midpoint in the digital revolution and hopefully past the dip of the economic reset, marketing communications powerhouses on both the client and the agency sides are still strategizing around old ways (models). For the agency is a fair deal since their business is media placement and repetition brings more revenue even with a good media package. But, they CLAIM they are about partnering with their long time clients, they are about long term strategy and the health of the brand.....

From reference

But, where is the flaw??? Why many of the old time power houses like GM, Nestle, J&J, and Pepsi are loosing market share while their profits decline??? Why are their integrated marketing communications agencies/strategic brand partners not foreseeing the shift in the market place? Are the big guys slower to react to market behavior? Or is Alvin Tofflers predictions a reality we haven’t yet realized....

From reference

For the past 10 years the market has matured in such a way that there are now fewer and less effective ways to CONNECT with audiences. Well beyond having a selective attitude, target markets are now micro-segmented, in constant transition, variable and incredibly resistant to marketing: They SEEK real value for their money and meaning. Ah??? Meaning in marketing? Not just that, but meaning in the relationship they have with brands, how they communicate with them and WHY as people, couples or families should they care..... about the message.

From reference

Some pundits and marketing heretics are considered lunatics, even today! In the age of music sharing, community based shopping, Iphone and SEM, these minds get it right and succeed at what they do by taking their clients through the right path. And I'm not referring exclusively to those who embrace new technologies, but all those who adapt and adopt change.

From reference

Our challenge as marketers today is to learn how to surf, read the tides and have fun in the water. There are no ocean cruisers anymore and the Titanic sunk! We communicate to engage, but forget to understand who and why we are talking.

From reference

In marketing, small and smart marketers will prevail if they understand experiential marketing methodologies, lest our big brothers step on us.