Integrating online and offline
Everyone we talk with is focused on reducing the gap between the online element of their business and the offline. And recognition of the ability of mobile to be the missing link between the offline world and online world is growing.
We talked about real time visual translation app Wordlens last week and this weeks piece of magic comes from Google with new capabilities for Goggles – including the ability to solve a Sudoku puzzle – it does need to be seen to be believed.
Combining the mobile phone eyeswith the cloud brainis going to dramatically change behaviours and we think an early sign of this will be QR codes and tagging finally going mainstream in the west – albeit some time after markets like Japan and Korea embraced them.
Our friends at PSFK have an excellent new report out looking at how these technologies can be used and this article looks at how codes (barcodes, QR or tags) can be integrated with shopping. Checking in at Places, mobile vouchers driven by location and the emerging behaviours around using mobile for price comparisons and researching product specifications, reviews and provenance are all part of the rich melange of tactics available. You just need a strategy to seize the opportunity.
Questionable tactics seem to be behind a new fashion to include QR codes in TV ads in the UK – just how many people can leap out of their seats and get their phone against the screen inside 30 seconds?
But checking in on TV is growing and we see this as complimentary to the growing two screen world of TV. This is a good summary of the key US players like GetGlue, Miso and Philo – but misses the hot new player Starling.
The round up of checking in with locations, content and brands we mentioned last week is definitely worth reading if you are interested in this area.
As is this TechCrunch piece on how the data opportunity of Groupon persuaded VCs to invest almost a billion dollars. Whilst Groupon is focused on SMEs we wonder which big brands will recognise the opportunity to leverage their customer base by delivering targeted deals – again it’s just Sales Promotion reinvented, but with the ability to earn significant revenues and make your customer base more valuable as you learn more about them.
Retailers with a smart mobile strategy will gain competitive advantage over those who sit and watch these new tools and new players reengineer retailing. Or those who just launch an iPhone app and stop there.
Facebook – Bigger and Bigger
Two of our good friends have just started working at Facebook as they rapidly grow their team and we are reminded just how big FB is;
This infographic looks at how obsessed people are with Facebook.
And this video looks at what happens on Facebook every minute.
What are they going to do with all that Goldman Sachs money?
Video
One area where Facebook is moving very quickly is video and this infographic shows just how popular video is – and it will only grow now most smartphones will take decent quality video.
If you haven’t already seen it is well worth taking 20 minutes to watch Chris Anderson talk on Ted about how web video powers global innovation.
And on the subject of video we’re fascinated to see Google throw a bit of spanner in the works with their new version of Chrome – which won’t support the most widely used video format after flash – H264. Google are supporting a new format call WebM.
We suspect this is another move in the chess game being played by the platforms to disadvantage the competition and we’ll expect to see more moves in response. But anything that makes it harder to curateexisting content seems a backwards step. The ability of brands to demonstrate a connection with their customers through the curation of relevant content has huge potential – especially with video.
Quick reads
Getting good research on mobile habits is still too hard – but this new UK study from Kantar should help.
The highly successful Guardian app moves to its next stage any day now and our friends there are really excited. We can’t wait to try it. Wouldn’t it be fun if it launched on the 19th? – the same day Murdoch launches his new iPad only title.
AR and mobile are a really hyped combination but this Japanese campaign shows it can be interesting.
The iPhone is finally going to be available on the major US network Verizon and this will drive lots of additional sales. But we’re sceptical over claims this will slow Android growth in the US. In many European markets the iPhone is very widely available and still we see Android growing very fast.
Mobile search still seems to lack the attention it deserves. Volumes are growing exponentially ( up 130% on Google in Q3) but few campaigns seem to really take advantage of the possibilities. This new tool from Google will help the smart people who are using mobile search properly – and might bring some more into the fold. It allows you to look at how keywords perform on mobile devices – from WAP through to iPhones. Really useful.
Finally
Agencies can sometime forget about real people when they are planning campaign so this is a useful reminder – things real people don’t say about advertising. Its reminiscent of this too.
addictive! is a full service mobile agency focused on helping brands profit from mobile. We produce Mobile Fix each week to drive understanding of the huge potential of mobile. If you need help making the most of this opportunity, we’d love to talk.
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