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10
Aug
2015

Target tests iBeacons, Absolut Vodka goes IoT, Facebook ‘LIVE’ & Twitter News

Target experiments with Beacons in 50 of it’s stores

Beacons have been bubbling under the surface for the last couple of years now but any real mainstream adoption has yet to materialize. Lots of brands we have come into contact with recently have expressed interest in the technology, but the issue remains that, to utilize Beacons, they already have to have a mobile application that their customers use. It’s really an add-on to an already operational and successful mobile experience and not a standalone technology. Brands can’t simply decide to ‘do’ Beacons without already having a mobile strategy in place.

Another hurdle is the fact that for Beacons to work at all, your customers need to have downloaded your app, have Bluetooth switched on, and have opted-in to receiving push notifications from you. There’s a lot of friction in the way of adoption. In short, your customers really need to want you to target them with Beacons for it to work at all.

US mega-retailer Target is confident though, and is rolling out Beacons in 50 of it’s stores this year, with more scheduled to follow. They will use Beacons to inform customers of personalized deals, something that bargain-hunting loyal Target shoppers would presumably find value in and be incentivized to avail of. Beacons are yet to really take off in retail but if anyone can do it, it should be these huge retailers.

Absolut Vodka wants to get in on the ‘Internet of Things’ action

Relatively speaking,  we are still at a very early stage of the Internet of Things revolution. While there is some crazy potential yet to be realised for connected devices, it’s unclear how many consumer brands might take advantage of this. Here, Markus Wulff, digital creative business developer at Absolut Vodka, discusses how the brand intends to get involved in connected packaging and how other FMCG brands like Heineken have used this in the past. Some of the examples given are a bit gimmicky but it’s food for thought nonetheless.

Facebook launches ‘Live’ video streaming feature

This week Facebook showed their hand in the suddenly overcrowded live social video streaming space. It’s only open to celebrities for the moment but will no doubt be rolled out to the masses over the next few months as users become more familiar with it.

One thing that makes it stand out slightly from the likes of Periscope and Meerkat is the fact that once the video stream has finished, the video then appears on the user’s timeline, ready to view again for those that missed it first time around. This is one of the most frustrating aspects I’ve found of the other platforms. The amount of times I’ve seen “LIVE on #Periscope” links and clicked through only to find that it’s finished. So annoying, and such a barrier to actually experiencing and familiarising yourself with a new service.

Twitter experiments with a ‘News’ tab

During the week Twitter started rolling out a ‘News’ tab in their app to some users in the US, breaking down trending stories into bite-sized chunks and putting them at the centre of the experience. It’s part of the effort to make its best content easier to find and helps new users get more involved with what’s happening. News is at the heart of what Twitter does, so essentially padding out the discovery section so that each topic has a deeper context will only make the experience more valuable for everyone. A great tweak to their mobile experience in my opinion.

Posted by Rob in Beacons, Facebook, Internet of Things, Links of the Week, Twitter
06
Jul
2015

Apple Music, Facebook Video Ads, Airline Co-branding, and Man United Marketing

First impressions of Apple Music look pretty positive

The launch of Apple Music on 30th June was the undoubted tech / media story of the week, and first impressions seemed quite positive across the board. Despite some minor gripes about it being a bloated service with a questionable user interface, people seem to like it. Whether it will be enough to persuade the legion of dedicated Spotify users to switch allegiances, or more importantly, to convince a chunk of the 800 million iTunes users to start paying a monthly subscription fee, only time will tell. Streaming music will likely become somewhat of a commodity product over the next few years, and the fact that Apple Music is baked into every iOS device will likely be their ace-in-the-hole when it comes to whether they come out on top or not.

Facebook is starting to ramp up it’s video ad revenue generation service for publishers

It’s been clear for the last couple of years that video is becoming an increasingly popular medium and that Facebook are keen on stopping YouTube from hogging all the action. Over the last few weeks it seems that they have begun testing in-line autoplay ads on ‘suggested videos’ and in doing so, making it more rewarding for content publishers to push video directly on the platform. YouTube has traditionally been a more valuable platform for content publishers as they can earn money from the ads served before their videos start. While this is harder for Facebook to deliver because the vast majority of video views come from directly in the timeline (i.e. users will likely keep scrolling if an ad plays before a random video in their timeline), playing ads before ‘suggested videos’ that users actively pursue (and might be willing to suffer through an ad for) gives them a way of getting in on the action.

What global brands can learn from Manchester United’s marketing playbook

This is an interesting piece from AdWeek’s current Sports Issue detailing the multiple different ways that Manchester United have blazed a trail when it comes to creating a truly global brand. From being one of the first teams to embark on regular international pre-season tours all over the world, to launching their own television channel (MUTV), bringing out branded credit cards, signing multiple region-specific partnership deals as opposed to finding broad global sponsors, and generally being one of the first global sports teams to truly embrace unique digital content, there’s plenty of lessons to learn for brands in general and not just sports teams.

Co-branding opportunities in the premium airline / travel market

Another great post from Skift, this time discussing the different ways that airlines might be able to add value through premium co-branding initiatives. Air travel is becoming a much contested space, especially at the premium end of the market with the likes of Emirates, Etihad etc. constantly trying to out-do each other in offering the most outlandish experiences in the air (Emirates introduced on-board showers and cocktail bars to their A380s in 2008. Not to be outdone, Etihad answered back with their first class apartment suites last year). With such an onus on airlines wanting to position themselves as premium brands, why is there not more collaboration between airlines and other premium brands that compliment each-other? Bulgari already makes the first-class amenity kits for Emirates, but that is only the tip of the iceberg – “there could be Louis Vuitton First Class suites, … Millennial-focused rows at the back offering free connectivity and music streaming, courtesy of Apple. There could be Happy Meals in the Family cabin for the kiddies. Starbucks could offer everything from Lattes to Teavana, from scones to healthy sandwich options, to those Gen-TREP passengers in a dedicated Connected cabin. Beautyrest could sponsor special bedding and more comfortable seat cushions for a Rest Zone cabin.”

Posted by Rob in Apple, Branding, Facebook, Links of the Week
15
May
2015

Does It Matter Who ‘Owns’ Your Content?

This post originally appeared on the McCollins Media Blog

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years you’ll be aware of the massive push towards Content Marketing these days. Any company looking to compete online will be producing content of some sort; whether on social media, a company blog, email newsletters etc. in the hope of getting some exposure, and that exposure leading to a sale. And while there are many ways to push your content out into the world, owning your own content is the Holy Grail – that is, hosting it on your own site.

How people are directed to your site to view it is a contentious issue in itself, and where social media is concerned, it can be risky relying on Facebook & Co. for your traffic as they are constantly tweaking their algorithm to restrict the reach of posts from businesses, and forcing brands to pay for the privilege. With this in mind, more businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of controlling their own content and the relationships with their followers.

Facebook recently began to roll out a news hosting service that presents content from publishers such as the New York Times, NBC, BuzzFeed and the BBC directly in the Timeline. Basically, this means that Facebook owns that page view rather than the content publisher themselves. In a media landscape that is struggling to find ways to monetize, this is yet further fragmentation of the space.  Tinkering with native content – or as Facebook calls it, Instant Articles – is not much of a surprise for a platform that is so focused on pushing other people’s content, but it’s now clear that they  want a bigger piece of the publishing pie.

What does this mean for brands though? Well, not much just yet unless you are one of the publishers handing over your content to Facebook. But if anything, this has set a precedent with Facebook clearly wanting to get into the content hosting space. Not just sharing links anymore, but presenting the content directly itself. With this in mind, it’s not a stretch to imagine Facebook soon rolling out a company blog-style service similar to LinkedIn Pulse, and trying to move even more of the brand-customer relationship to it’s platform.

I’ve heard some people raise concerns lately over rescinding more control to Facebook when it comes to managing their relationships with customers. But is this really something to be worried about? For your typical SME, I would argue no. Sure, Facebook acting as a gatekeeper to your followers is not ideal, but when it comes to content, the more channels of distribution there are, the more chance of exposure for your brand.

This addresses the age-old challenge of discovery. If you only host your content on your own website, it exists in a vacuum. But if you also put it up on other channels (e.g. LinkedIn Pulse, Medium etc.) and possibly a new Facebook hosting platform, it has more of a chance to gain some traction and have a further reach. Get it out there. This post itself is up on three different platforms. While that might be frowned upon when it comes to SEO, your content shouldn’t be a slave to an algorithm, it should try to make a connection with people.

Brands are understandably sceptical about relinquishing yet more power to Facebook, but when it comes to channels for your content to prosper on – the more the merrier! A successful blogging platform on Facebook could actually encourage a whole new generation of content creators, and revolutionize brand story-telling in the process.

Posted by Rob in Facebook, Media
17
Mar
2015

Facebook to facilitate mobile payments via Messenger app

This has been predicted for a while by some in the know, but it still comes as a bit of a left-field play. Today, Facebook announced that they are to facilitate mobile payments via their Messenger app. The implications here could be massive with it being the first of the big social networks to really make a stab at P2P mobile payments – social payments if you will.

Here’s how it works, the first time you send or receive money in Messenger, you’ll need to add a Visa or MasterCard debit card that’s been issued by a US bank to your account. Once you add a debit card, you can create a PIN to provide additional security the next time you send money. On iOS devices you can also enable Touch ID.

To send money:

  1. Start a message with a friend
  2. Tap the $ icon and enter the amount you want to send
  3. Tap Pay in the top right and add your debit card to send money

To receive money:

  1. Open the conversation from your friend
  2. Tap Add Card in the message and add your debit card to accept money for the first time

For years, there was very little movement in this space, despite the technology being in place (my MSc. thesis from back in 2012 discusses this), but with Apple Pay gaining momentum, Samsung acquiring Loop Pay as a response, and now the social networks getting involved, [whisper it] 2015 could finally be the year that mobile payments start to become common place . The feature will be rolled out over the next couple of months in the US to begin with, but expect it to be launched worldwide in quick succession once people start using it.

Posted by Rob in Facebook, Mobile Payments
11
Mar
2015

The constant struggle for channel-centric creative

With the Dubai Lynx Festival of Creativity over for another year, it gives all of us in attendance an opportunity to sit back and take stock of what it really means to work in advertising / marketing in an ever-changing media landscape. These days, there’s so much talk about smartphones and tablets, the battle between the first and second screen, the many different social networks and messaging apps flooding the scene, and yadda yadda yadda. Basically, the fragmentation of the way that users’ attention is occupied.

Because of this, there’s been a focus in the media and advertising world towards mastering the latest channels, usually through using a novel approach with the aim of grabbbing the viewers attention and being remembered. The problem with this is that, the more the channel takes precedent over the message and creative copy of a campaign, the less likely it is to make a meaningful impact on the audience. At the other end of the scale, some advertisers put minimal effort into differing digital channels and simply regurgitate the same idea across each.  Too often, marketing in the digital age can fall flat. There is a constant struggle to find that balance between utilizing each channel differently and using great creative. But sometimes, there is a perfect harmony.

At the end of the day, whatever channel you use, you need to strike a cord with the viewer as well as taking advantage of that channel’s strengths. With that in mind, here are some of my favourite campaigns discussed at this year’s Dubai Lynx.

A.1. Steak Sauce “New Friend Requests” – Facebook

Facebook’s Fergus O’Hare championed the need to marry an understanding of the channel used with a great idea that not only leaves a lasting impression, but also conveys the message that the brand wants to get across. A.1. Steak Sauce in the US was aiming to create new use cases for it’s product by dropping the term ‘Steak’ from it’s name. Cue this great video that feeds off the channel it was distributed on (i.e. Facebook) to get that message across. This is my personal favourite.

Hewlett Packard “Bend The Rules” – Vine

David Shing (a.k.a. @Shingy, a.k.a the guy with the crazy hair) emphasised the opportunity in taking advantage of the restrictions of certain channels when telling your product’s story. If you can get your message across in only 6 seconds, then why take any longer? This user-generated campaign for HP’s new laptop / tablet hybrid wouldn’t work on any other platform but is great on Vine. It had some pretty hilarious results to boot.

Hunger Games “District Voices” Web Series – YouTube

Another great example of using the specific strengths of a channel was this campaign from YouTube to promote the latest ‘Hunger Games’ film. Google’s Vikram Tank discussed the phenomenon of YouTube celebrities that are actually more endearing to viewers than real celebritites. YouTube plucked them out of real life and dropped them into Panem, the fictional world that The Hunger Games is set in. The YouTube celebs would generate the same style of content they would normally, but this time in the context of the film’s backdrop.

Apple’s iPhone 6 “World Gallery” – Apple.com

With smartphones now completely ubiquitous, nearly everyone these days carries a pretty decent camera around with them 24/7 and we all like to think of ourselves as budding photographers. Rebecca Swift from Getty Images highlighted the recent Apple ‘World Gallery’ campaign that showcases the power of the latest iPhone’s camera by utilising user-generated content on their own site. Most of these shots are stunning.

Posted by Rob in Advertising, Design, Dubai, Facebook