experience matters

Molly Hop & Anna Mer | Critical Mass Chicago

It’s clear consumers are hungry for mobile applications, having downloaded more than 3 billion apps from the Apple app store as of March 2010, according to eMarketer. The growing popularity of this channel has led to an increased desire to find a way to market to our mobile consumers. In response to this, Apple has recently acquired Quattro Wireless (after having AdMob snatched up by Google) to create the iAd advertising platform that will launch with the iPhone 4G this summer. Now the question is, how will iAd change how brands approach marketing within mobile applications?
A common debate among the Critical Mass Experience Distribution team is whether there is a “correct approach” to mobile applications.

When do you recommend creating one?
What value will the mobile application serve vs. that of the mobile website?
How should we market this application?
How much money, time and effort should be put into it?

One might argue that building an application but not putting a marketing effort behind it is similar to the “if a tree falls in the forest but no one is there to hear it” concept. If we determine that we don’t have the money, resources or rationale to build and market our own application, do we sponsor a relevant existing app that another brand hasn’t gotten to first?

The launch of the iAd offers a new option. We will soon have the ability to build an experience as robust as an application and be able to syndicate it out as an ad within the application environment.

Let’s take a deeper look at what makes the iAd platform unique compared to other mobile platforms:

1. Dual Interaction

iAd allows users to interact with the rich media ad without losing the application that they had opened prior to engaging with the ad. This dual action was not possible before the launch of the iPhone 4G. Now consumers can click on ads with the reassurance that they will not lose what they were previously engaging with. This dual involvement will certainly lead to more mobile ad interaction.

2. More Robust

The ads that Apple is building for the mobile platform act more like applications or microsites than standard mobile advertisements. The ads are able to contain videos, games, content, images, etc. Users are able to expand the ads over any application, allowing the ad to take full screen. (Check out Jobs’ demo.)

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By Neil Clemmons | Critical Mass Chicago

There’s a lot being written about the iPad – reviews, new applications, the ongoing debate on Flash, what the device does and what it doesn’t do.

Beyond the device, however, there are some implications and the longer-term impact it will have as we create digital experiences.  New devices and interfaces have a profound impact on consumer expectations, competitive moves, and the evolution of digital interfaces.  The Wii ushered in new interface concepts and ideas.  Same with xBox and xBox Live.  The iPad will do the same in its influence on the conventions and expectations of our industry.

We have several of the Wifi iPads in our offices and have had a number of discussions with our team about its implications.  Some see immediate opportunities for the iPad to ‘fit in’ to their lifestyles.  Others are still debating if it replaces something or is a supplemental access and consumption device.  It’s bigger than a phone with no ability to do more than SKYPE calls.  But it’s not quite a notebook with all the file access and productivity tools – so the iPad makes compromises in both directions.  The limitations will change in time as new applications, new peripherals, an updated OS, and improved connectivity come.

One thing the smartphone and iPad do is to force a focus on ‘what’s important’ versus ‘what’s possible.’  As sites or applications evolve, they become more bloated, more confusing, and lose the punch they can have.  Redesigns of a site or an application can be liberating, in removing the old conventions.  But invariably we worry about ‘moving the cheese’ of the habituated consumer and thus add rather than subtract in making experience design tradeoffs.  This is where Apple and the developers of iPad apps demonstrated tremendous courage in leaving behind the conventional interfaces and tools.  We need more courage to advance the customer experience.

What’s the take away after a week of using the iPad from an experience standpoint?

Here are the 7 Areas of Implications for digital marketers:

#1 – Fragmentation.

Josh Bernoff (Forrester) wrote about the Splinternet earlier this year.  That theme is in full force on the iPad.  Media and content fragmentation continue as new devices enable content consumption in new and different formats.  Information ubiquity that started with the smartphone is further exacerbated with a new form factor.  iPhone apps that are played on the iPad look OK, but you’re much more engaged by an iPad native app.   The need for liquid experiences that adapt to the screen become even more important as we look at alternative form factors.

#2 – Development Challenges.

We have to think differently about how content and experiences are created, disseminated and maintained.  Monolithic frameworks start to break down when there are hundreds of thousands of developers creating new experiences.  And with Apple changing their developer terms and conditions, it looks like Apple will expect you to use their tools and frameworks, rather than many of the cross-platform frameworks.  We have several clients working with Android, iPhone, Blackberry and other instances for applications.  The iPad and follow-on products from other vendors based on Windows 7, Chrome, or Android tablets will further exacerbate the challenge of consistency and maintainability.

#3 – Personalization.

We’re at the early stages of more personal (and relevant) consumption of media – that means the customer is even more in control of the experience.  Most will seek out an application rather than a web browser to consume their content where possible. Android, the iPhone OS, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry are all targeting what Mary Meeker with Morgan Stanley says will be a bigger market than the desktop PC market by 2014.  The browser lives on at the desktop, but many of these new devices will take a very different approach to content and experience access. Remixing content from feeds, apps, alerts, and personalized experiences will become even more important.  Add in the intersection of social to these experiences and you quickly see that use cases with these new devices will become even more personal.

Read on for 4 more Implications of the iPad

Originally posted at Experience Planner blog.

At first glance, the new Apple iPad doesn’t appear to be a game changer. Honestly? What it is, is an upgraded, tricked-out iPod Touch and in typical Apple fashion, they’ve focused on basic functionality the first time out. There is no camera, no HDMI, no USB – not without an adapter, at least – and it lacks multi-tasking.

Apple has created a low-risk product based on their existing technology. So unlike the Apple iPhone, there’s no new real technological or user experience innovation here (i.e., touchscreen tech and an application delivery channel in the form of the Apple App store). I can only assume that Apple created this device at a fraction of what it cost to research, develop and market the technology behind iPhone and iPod Touch.

That being said – I, for one, will be getting in line two months from now to pick up a 16gb Wifi iPad.

Personally, I really enjoy the touchscreen experience. I’ve been an iPhone user for over two years and I’ve craved a larger touchscreen experience for watching films, reading books and playing games while on the go (as I travel for work frequently). I get that now with the iPad and I’ll buy it because of that. Yes – I could have that with a small laptop or netbook, but neither of those device types are built for delivering a portable, high-end media experience.

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Okay, yes, I’m an Apple fanboy. I admit it. How can you not — the Good Ship Apple under the command of Rear Admiral Steve Jobs has done one hell of a good sell job since he stepped back into the company over a decade ago.

We need not go over the history of things that he’s done, but suffice to say Apple has become the darling of the computer industry.

Macworld is the annual drool-fest. What will Apple come up with next?

I’m writing this as the text spool from MacRumorsLive.com spins past on the other monitor. All I know so far is that I want a MacBook Air.

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