Mobile

Trend #4 in a 5 part series following Marketing Goes Real Time, The Web Leans Back and Brands Take User Generated Data Seriously.

4. THE CONVERSATION CHANGES FROM MOBILE TO MOBILITY

2013 will definitely not be the year of mobile, but it might be the year of mobility.

After all the behavioural statistics are compelling with 15% of Australians total media attention spent on their mobile screen.  Yet the medium only commands 0.4% of all advertising investment.¹²  Why?  What is broken?

Consumption and usage certainly isn’t heading backwards.  In fact in the next 5 years mobile data demand will grow 13 times to 11.2 Exabyte’s per month!¹³  Yes, you may be wondering what an Exabyte is.  To try and put that in perspective in 1999 the University of Berkley concluded that every single piece of information ever created in any form by humanity equated to about 12 Exabyte’s.  So soon roughly 2000 years worth of data will be consumed every month just through the mobile screen!¹⁴

Consumers will also increasingly use their smart phone in a lean free way, accessing information on the go and using it to make decisions on the fly (95% of smartphone owners use their device to find local information with 88% taking action on the same day¹⁵).  Brands and agencies alike need to get to grips with this third (location) contextual dimension or risk seeing their upper funnel activity become less effective as customers make more decisions in the moment.

Mobility has also been recognized by one of the established cornerstones of the web.  Google’s recent refresh of AdWords and the roll out of Enhanced Campaigns blends deep contextual insight with the power of search intent to create a hyper relevant screen experience with mobility front and center, and if anyone can make mobility work, its Google.

As a result we will begin to see the conversations we are having evolve;

Brands will begin to embrace the idea of mobility over mobile.  This means moving beyond a device or operating system toward creating a truly location neutral experience that adapts based on the context it is being consumed in.

There will be a significant lift in hyper local marketing, albeit off a low base, as brands (especially retailers) offer solutions to some of the markets bigger problems.  We will see brands successfully and consistently bridge the physical/digital divide, retailers will conquer show rooming, agencies will unlock the power and pathway of mobile analytics delivering increased accountability & insight and we’ll see brands find additional value streams for their customers which can be delivered on the fly.

Sources:

• 12 – Bohemia Attention Study 2012
• 13 – Cisco VNI Global Mobile Traffic Report 2012
• 14 – The University of Berkley, The Data That Defines Us 2003
• 15 – Google, The Mobile Movement 2011

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while at my agency and after seeing this fantastic app by XMGravity in Indonesia I want to do it even more!  Designed to tap into the pulse of the agency the Happiness App allows each employee to quickly and easily log their mood (two unhappy days in a row messages their manager to check in on things), disseminate news, socialfy client campaigns by centralising the most influential staff in one place and act as a company directory ensuring everyone can be contacted in an emergency.

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We map our runs, capture our calories, monitor our heart rates, so why not track our driving?  Well now you can with this awesome little app and dongle combo from Automatic.  Simply plug the dongle into the data port on your car, install the app, synch the two and  watch as your daily drive is scrutinized for driving flaws and then visualized in an easy to understand dashboard.  This isn’t the first time brands or start-up have started fuse driving and data together.  VW recently announced Smilage, their take on what driving a Volkswagen should feel like.  Before that Toyota experimented with a glass of water as an app mechanic to promote better driving.

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This has to be one of my favourite Chrome Experiments to date.  Super Sync Sports is a multiplayer experience where up to 4 friends can compete in running, swimming and cycling on a shared computer screen, using their smartphones or tablets as game controllers.  Well worth checking it out here.

More Google goodness can be found here

I love this idea from Sony, create an entirely new category of headphones, or cans designed and optimised for smartphones.  To launch the kick ass MDR-1′s Sony created a virtual music festival through their proprietary 3D augmented reality technology.  Using the four best selling Japanese rock bands fans and music lovers alike were invited to ‘attend’ the festival via their smartphones at various retail and electronic stores around the country.  At each location punters could view the virtual gig and trial Sony’s new gear.

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Things are heating up. You’re about to get lucky. Then the unthinkable happens. You realize you don’t have a condom! Never fear, Durex have a solution. Or at least they do in the Middle East. #CondomSOS is a location enabled iPhone app that broadcasts a discrete distress signal to Durex HQ and before you know it a ‘delivery driver’ turns ups with your merchandise! A genuinely fantastic idea that does a good deed. Nice work.

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Firstly, there are no such things as appimals, I made that up in the hope I’d get a few curious people drop by.  Sorry.  However, WWF have produced a quite amazing app to help build awareness and educate you and me on the importance of animal conservation.  Built with the utmost care and attention to detail by AKQA the app is full of beautiful photography, facts, interactivity and more.  Well worth checking out if you have a pulse and an iPad.

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How about this.  McDonalds is using technology to tackle one of its biggest problems, the disbelief that its ingredients are fresh, locally sourced and of decent quality.  Now using image recognition, GPS, augmented reality and integration with its supply chain you can get the full story behind the pickle you are about to eat.  Loving the TrackMyMacca’s madness in this one.

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Delta’s new app, Fly Delta for iPad looks pretty darn slick.  Packed full of valuable travel features and content, handy check in and boarding pass functionality, as well as a few surprises like the ‘Glass Bottom Plane’ which lets travellers visualise the journey and access geographically relevant content and commentary through Delta’s onboard wifi.  Props to AKQA and Delta for really going above and beyond with this one.

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I recently bought a Nike+ Fuel Band and am already a massive fan.  In the week or so I’ve been using it, its motivated me to get off the couch and pound the pavement a few times and I even braved the rain on Christmas Day just to hit my NikeFuel goal.  To add even more inspiration, motivation or competition to the concept Nike have now released ‘NikeFuel Missions‘.  A gamified experience built on a series of challenges (missions) that promote movement and exercise.  I’ve signed up and will be looking to crush the first mission, ‘Vortex’ tomorrow morning so if you have a FuelBand sign up here and get involved.

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