Monthly Archives: August 2009
Since Tom Caudell coined the phrase in the early 90s and the first augmented reality-related patent was filed in 1993 (by GeoVector), AR has been an up-and-coming killer technology. Nearly ten years later, augmenting reality required 26 pounds of equipment.
And now, after nearly 20 years of research and development – and with the advent of some serious mobile computing power – we can hold this bit of technical mastery in the palms of our hands. Yet, the highest-profile AR apps involve a hamster game (Kia’s “Go Hamster Go”) and a cardboard box simulator.
In addition, Mattel will soon launch a line of AR toys for Twentieth Century Fox’s movie Avatar. Each action figure will come with a “chip” that elaborates on its story when held up to a webcam, and they’ll even “come alive” and interact with each other onscreen.
Seriously?
I’m a creative in the marketing biz, so it’s a given that I’m a fan of fun experiences (and creating them for others). In my opinion, however, one of the best uses of augmented reality thus far lies in the first-down lines during televised NFL games. Yeah, I know – “yawn” – but let’s put it this way: it satisfies a true need.
Everyone from a casual spectator to an edge-of-the-couch diehard now has a better understanding of their favorite team’s place in their offensive drive.
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The dictionary seems like a good place to start. Merriam-Webster defines extraordinary as 1 a: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary
Google. Nike+. iPhone. Facebook. These things aren’t extraordinary simply because they are “out of the ordinary.” Rather they make life easier. They help us connect. They change the way we behave, think and experience the world.
Every year at Critical Mass, we hold a Summer Event to take a break from our daily routines. In all our offices—from Calgary to Toronto to Chicago and London—we take one day out of the year to set aside briefs, wireframes, storyboards and strategies. [Note to clients: rest assured, many hours were spent slaving away on your accounts before Summer Event so no balls would drop during the festivities!] This is the time that we celebrate company successes, bond with co-workers and look forward to the year ahead.
The theme this year was “Extraordinary Experiences.” If you know anything about our brand, that’s what Critical Mass is all about. Through a multitude of activities: relay races, animated skits, pipe cleaner origami and yes, the inevitable karaoke serenade, we explored ways that we can achieve extraordinary in every aspect of our work. Our ideas, our client interaction, our customer understanding, our relationship with each other.
A few moments captured…
Calgary
London
Chicago
Toronto
The Elements of Extraordinary
During one exercise, each employee was tasked to bring in a specific tangible example of “extraordinary.” (more…)
The first draft of the HTML5 specification was released on January 22, 2008, and though it’s an ongoing work, some parts of it are already being implemented in some browsers, such as Firefox 3.5 and Safari 4. Microsoft has started implementing it in IE8.
In his article “Are You Ready for a Flash-Free Future?” on Advertising Age, Garrick Schmitt gives us some links to HTML5 experiments and discusses if the adoption of this technology will happen only with the final recommendation in 2022 or before, at the final draft stage, in 2012. I personally believe that the industry will push this date to even earlier and we’ll start seeing more and more examples in the following months.
But how is HTML5 going to change the way people interact with websites?
To be honest, I believe that, from a non-technical standpoint, people won’t see much difference. Because we already have a lot of rich interactions happening in our websites today, thanks to the use of Flash, Silverlight and Java, the point is: with HTML5, things we are already building with these technologies will be achieved more easily, with less code and less dependencies. That may mean reduction of time, complexity and cost for projects. Some JavaScript libraries, such as JQuery and Prototype, have been playing the role of making web development easier for some time and with great success, and HTML5 applies some of their principles for the sake of productivity.
These are some cool features of HTML5 that will contribute to building good user experience:
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![252_green_listening_400[1]](http://experiencematters.criticalmass.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/252_green_listening_4001-254x300.jpg "252_green_listening_400[1]")
Abbey Klaassen at Ad Age wrote a great article on June 29, 2009, “Forget Twitter; Your Best Marketing Tool is the Humble Product Review” about how the humble product review is one of your best marketing tools. She distills much of the article into a poignant insight (“marketers are learning to listen”) while also pointing out that some listening channels such as Twitter or Facebook have less structured information and can be difficult for marketers to implement into their processes.
But when it comes to listening (and I mean really listening), there are times (as I believe Abbey would agree) that product reviews may not be enough. We believe MROCs (market research online communities) are able to bridge part of the gap between the richness and depth of qualitative consumer feedback and structured information.
With many of our clients expressing interest in learning more about these private communities, and after my last post, we thought it might be worth a quick discussion. So, we’ve put together this simple checklist to help you determine whether a market research online community is right for you.
1. You want to know all about your target audiences – deeply. Communities are about evolving with your customers rather than doing point-in-time research. They are ideally for clients that are committed to continual learning, or have the desire for it – because consumers don’t wait until your survey or focus group to have great feedback or ideas.
2. You need to control the conversation. Our clients often need customers to focus on their questions, which is much harder to do in public communities. Community clients also rest much easier sharing confidential information or assets when members have at least agreed to non-disclosure legalese.
3. You need to know who’s talking back to you. Community respondents are profiled in depth (demographics, attitudes, behaviours, etc.), so we can look at how comments and discussions may differ among subgroups (gender or generational differences). In public communities, you may know a person’s screen name, country, and maybe age at best.
4. You need decisions faster. One of the most beautiful benefits to private communities is that you can have data coming back in hours instead of the weeks needed to plan and implement traditional research methods. Market researchers, rejoice!
5. You wish your best customers were sitting beside you. The flexibility of communities allows you to ask whatever questions you want, whether large and in depth or quick one-offs that wouldn’t normally justify a traditional research budget. This means you can get meaningful consumer feedback on your specific needs before making important or even not-so-important decisions.
6. You are looking to control costs. For companies that gather the right amount of consumer insight to inform decisions, the cost of building and maintaining communities can often save over a given year compared to traditional methods. Sometimes communities can replace other methods, and sometimes they build in incremental context. But consider a (slightly oversimplified) example of spending $15-$25K in a traditional, 2-hour focus group with 20 people, with the same amount for a month of time with 200 people.
7. You want to look like a star at your company. Trust me, I’m still reaping the benefits at Critical Mass for getting our own (first) community off the ground. But in all honestly, my brilliant team of researchers is entirely responsible for the continual homeruns.
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Previously published at iMedia Connection
“I went out there in search of experience to taste and to touch and to feel as much as a man can…..”
Johnny Cash, The Wanderer
Do you know that song? If you do, you know its more easily digestible than the Old English Poem of the same name. The lyrics are emblematic of the character in the song, a man who searches for something, an experience that he can become intimate with, that he can “…taste, touch and feel”. Ladies and gentleman, meet The Wanderer. You better get to know him. He is your new consumer.
Our industry likes to say the consumer is changing. I like to say that they have already changed, and not in a way that is easy to digest. Read any article put out by eMarketer or any post by your favorite digital guru and you will see the same trends. It isn’t about how brands engage consumers, it’s about how consumers engage brands.
So what does that mean for brands? When you are used to being the bride, its kind of hard to become the bridesmaid, isn’t it? Programs and channels have to be re-evaluated and measured against this new consumer through one element– to what level does this program create an extraordinary experience?
The creation of an experience that engages the consumer is, to a large extent, the only thing that matters. If you believe The Wanderer is indeed the new consumer, than you believe they are in charge. This isn’t news. People have been blogging about how consumers are in charge for a long time. Some of the best insights on this are from Ben and Jackie at Church of the Customer. What has amplified the impact is simple – social media isn’t just something to be blogged about anymore. More on this in later posts, but for now, lets agree that in order to produce an extraordinary experience, you need two elements.
This post was previously posted at iMedia Connection.
Former CMer David Armano wrote a popular post here in early 2008 entitled 10 Ways Digital Can Help You Thrive In A Recession. I encourage you to read it – its lessons remain salient today.
David’s post examined the opportunities offered to brands by a poor economic condition. And some marketers have caught on. But many still believe some common online marketing myths; an especially dangerous practice during a recession.
In the spirit of David’s post, here are 10 marketing myths de-bunked in order to thrive during the recession.
1. Things are stable now – I shouldn’t rock the boat.
The boat is already rocking – you just haven’t noticed yet.
Joseph Jaffe has this to say about marketers and risk:
“Instead of taking bold chances, we have become seduced by the promise of glory and reward that comes from sticking with the status quo. We have failed to manage risk. And in doing so, we have also failed to manage another unavoidable reality of our industry: change.”
Seth Godin adds that managing risk is not only our job as marketers, but part of the natural order of the industry. In his book Tribes, he writes that “[s]tability is an illusion…Today, the market wants change. The market demands change.”
Marketers must expect change – even plan for it. It is often the most exciting part of the job.
2. I’m Afraid.
How is this a marketing myth? Think of everything you hear around the office that translates into “I’m afraid.”
“Has the boss seen this?”
“Nobody’s done that before.”
“It’s risky.”
A lot of businesspeople hunker down during a recession, hoping they can just ride it out without creating too many problems. That’s actually more risky (and scary).
It’s OK to be afraid of new marketing tactics, but it’s not OK to allow that fear to stop you from taking risks. As General Eric Shinseki said: “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”
3. Forget [insert social media initiative] – we just need to sell our client’s stuff.
True, selling is important. It was the focus of my post last week: The Modern Agency Still Sells, Right? But social media marketing can help build trust and gain supporters.
Phil Dunn recommends five ways for you to use social media to increase sales, including prospecting, persuasion, closing, delivering value, and customer service. Keep your focus, but don’t discount the medium’s potential to increase sales, if done correctly.
4. We finished the website – now we’re done.
This is digital – you can go back and make changes. In fact, you should!
Compared to print, digital efforts are astoundingly inexpensive in alter. Armano calls it the Beta Economy (#1 on his list). As a marketer, it’s imperative that you check your web statistics, garner knowledge from them, and make changes based on this data.
Why spend so much on a website and ignore its optimization? We’re always in beta…always.
5. I’d be better off letting my competitors try [insert new marketing initiative] first. Then I can learn from their mistakes.
What you consider mistakes are actually learning opportunities. Sure, some missteps are more seriously, but consider the experience your opponent is gaining while you sit on the digital sidelines.
Expert commentary from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War explains the importance of being ahead of your opponent:
“Once war is declared, [the leader] will not waste precious time…with all great strategists, from Julius Caesar to Napoleon Bonaparte, the value of time – that is, being a little ahead of your opponent – has counted for more than either numerical superiority or the nicest calculations with regard to commissariat.”
Being first allows you to build up what Len Kendall describes as a sort of “giving storehouse.” His “Give/Take Ratio” post illustrates that subsequent market competitors will have to work much, much harder to earn trust than the early adopter.
6. Cutting our marketing and advertising budgets will help us squeak through the recession and end up stronger afterward. [If you're not thinking this, your clients might be.]
Henry Ford said, “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.”
Think things have changed so much since Ford’s time? John A. Quelch, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School concurs:
“This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic time.”
‘Nuff said.
7. Focus groups are expensive, but it’s the only way to get customer information.
A recession is a great time to expand your online customer research because focus groups are simply too expensive. You can often garner just as useful information by observing customers and potential customers online.
David’s post discusses this as #7: Trade focus groups for digital ethnography.
“Social networks and search engines can be rich ethnography tools…before you slash that discovery phase, think about how digital can be used to find things about the behavior of your target.”
I would add web analytics to the mix. One of the best indicators of how your audience will respond to a message is to determine how they’ve responded in the past. Test headlines, ads, designs, and copy variations to determine the most effective tactics.
8. We don’t have anything to share with our customers. Besides, they don’t want to talk to us, anyway.
This is sometimes true. Not many people want to chat up the guy who makes their ball bearings.
But there are a lot more brands people want to interact with that aren’t making an effort yet. So what do you have to offer?
First, you’ve got access. If customers are interested in your product, it’s likely they would want to take a peek behind the curtain.
Second, you’ve got an experienced workforce with highly specialized knowledge. Employees frequently have the potential to be amazing brand representatives, given the proper encouragement.
9. I’m in a highly regulated industry…so I can’t do anything remotely risky.
Pew comes out with reports all the time verifying that Americans interested in their health are online (the latest is here); and heck, my health insurance company has a Twitter account. Chase Bank and others have even developed iPhone apps.
Even the stodgiest, most regulated industries – from health care to insurance to banking – are realizing that their customers are online…and they’d better join them or risk being left in the dust.
10. ROI is the only thing that matters.
ROI or “return on investment” is the ultimate metric. I’m not saying we should trash it.
But ROI is different in a web 2.0 world – especially one in a recession. Unlike direct marketing in days of old, customers take a more round-about path to purchase.
If you’re stuck on ROI, consider this slight twist. David Alston calls it the “return on ignoring“. From the post: “Exploring investment return for social media is valid and necessary within a business framework. But equally important is carefully assessing the price for not being involved.”
Can you afford to ignore channels where your customers are already discussing your product? Not likely.
Economic slowdowns are opportunities
I started thinking about this while writing my e-book: Marketing During A Recession: Economic Slowdowns Are Opportunities. It seems to me that this is the time when marketers should be pushing the envelope; yet, it seems like most aren’t.
Do you agree with the marketing myths listed here? How has your marketing changed during the recession? Click the title of this post to add any comments, we welcome them all.
