Is mobile the future extension of print (and TV)?

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I have always quoted that there is a future for print. In trains, in planes and on quiet places where you will always be on your own… However print might need some partner media: mobiles… to becomes 3-D reality in combination with them.

The Commonwealth Bank used a Sydney computer graphics firm called Explore Engage and let them create a 3-D mobile extension. The print ad uses a smartphone’s camera to connect the print creative (launched in Melbourne’s mX commuter daily newspaper last week) with the 3-D reader software in the phone. The smartphone then opens a virtual town on the phone’s screen in which a virtual sales person introduces some of the Commonwealth Bank real estate properties.

The smartphone all of a sudden makes print (ads) attractive again. Augmented reality (AR) extends the opportunities of the static print value into a new engaging mobile world. Just think about the opportunities… Wallpapers could be scanned and then virtual promotions or commercials could appear on mobile screens on-the-go selling new products and services. Previews of movies could be taken from print ads instantly. The future of print seems to be mobile…

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PS: Although it might be a bit challenging for some people, TV has also new opportunities to extend their offering. Just watch the latest KIA Optima advertising idea which also used AR technology to get people engaged in advertising…

5 stairways to "Why should we use Twitter…?"

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Rainer Sturm / pixelio.de

This is one of the question, I still get asked frequently by many friends, fans and business decision makers in webinars or seminars: “Why should I (or we) use Twitter?”

The answer is so simple, so obvious, so broad. Just as broad as the opportunities and chances that are opening up when people listen to Twitter.

Twitter is like a stairway to a modern social personality which is self-defining, enlightening and inspirational…

I listen so we are…
I follow so we can rate and like…
I get followed so we show interest in lives…
I learn so we see peoples’ latest thoughts, visions and ideas…
I share so we keep people connected as a never running dry fountain of inspiration…

This is why I use Twitter and why you, your company and your employees might do so as well. And why I manage my Twitter account myself, and don’t let anyone else manage it – no matter if private or business. Or as Twitter says in their new video… “Follow Your Interests. Discover Your World. Twitter”.

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The Social Media Effect (Infographic)

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At the moment, it is cool for companies to create their own infographic. Every day, there are many of those in my timeline and becomes harder to track what is good and what is for the bin. This visualization from InfographicWorld explains nice and easy the process of sharing that pushes people to a snowball effect and makes them spread your piece of content.

News Update – Best of the Day

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A good explanation why Apple often wins against competitors. Just see how they behave. Sure, no one of their competitors will comment here…

A nice copy of the Facebook referential advertising idea? Google +1 comes in late but follows the line of an old guest post I wrote a while ago on Mediamind blog (formerly Eyeblaster)…

A great commercial idea from Mercedes. The Sprinter applies for a job…

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My quote of the year 2011

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Every year, you create a quote that you use either to explain your business, to justify what you are doing or to establish some kind of heritage for those that you think are interested in what you are saying.

Last year my quote was “Talking is online, silence is print!”. Although, I have had many tweets and many likes on this, there was also some critics coming with it… which is good. It shows that people think about the value and impact of the quote… and they start conversations. That’s what we want to initiate in business… not only with our social media activity.

For this year the quote will be about social media strategy…

“Community Strategy and Social Media is NOT a discipline. It IS an attitude to strategy in business.”

And before you start asking… By “discipline” I mean departments (like marketing, sales, customer service, HR, or other) that are responsible for using, handling, organizing and planning the business tactics around the brand, product line or service offering of business relevance.

… and now start discussing!

News Update – Best of the Day

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In the US, almost 80% of children between the ages of 0 and 5 use the Internet on (at least) a weekly basis. This is the results from a report by Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop. The report, assembling data of seven studies, also illustrates the increasing parallel consumption of different formats of media at the same time. Some key findings: 60% of kids under the age three watch video online, 47% is the amount television accounts for those using all formats of media and 36% of kids between 2 and 11 use internet and TV simultaneously. It is also interesting to see how the use of mobile phones is on the rise in the young age target group. Of children ages 6 to 11, 20% own cell phones,
compared with less than 12% five years ago.

Stop talking to your mobile, talk to me! This could be the message that arises from a post that Rohit Bargava posted under the title “Overtweeting: Are We Becoming Socially Antisocial?”. And I think this is a valid question to ask ourselves these days: Is social media becoming a conversation killer and going against the odds of the Cluetrain Manifesto? I would say: No! It will just take some time to find the right balance. Let the hype period move on. Let people understand that the world is changing. Then we are becoming Socially Social. It is just a matter of accepting that the world is changing, that technology will become our bred and butter, and that we see how much more we could participate in information around people we know. Agree?

Old school versus new school. This was the motto when Mike Ferry met Matthew Ferrara at the Coldwell Banker Generation Blue Conference where they had an intense debate if “social media is stupid”…

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Cebit Interview – Über die Zukunft der Arbeitswelt

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Die Arbeitswelt verändert sich. Die Menschheit fägt sich, ob Social Software, Social Media, Social Networking oder Web 2.0 harte Arbeit ist, oder die Produktivität der Businesswelt an den Abgrund treibt. Geht es nur um die Erhöhung des persönliche Reputationsindex, des Personal Scoring Index, oder ergibt sich nachhaltige Lead Generierung -erst kürzlich als Salestainability umschrieben- und neues Business einfach selbstständig aus Gesprächen?

Wenn man zum Interview auf der Cebit von IBM eingeladen wird, kann man in ein paar Minuten nicht alles sagen, was man gerne sagen würde. Man kann auch keine 3-Säulen-Strategie im Detail erläutern, die man in der Zukunft als essentiell für den erfolgreichen Einsatz des Social Web für die Webstrategie eines Unternehmens ansieht.

Ich wollte im Interview so verständlich wie nur möglich auf die wichtigen Trends und erfolgversprechenden Taktiken eingehen, die sich abzeichnen und teilweise heute schon gelebt werden in der Businesswelt. Hoffen wir, mir ist es gelungen…

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Die Idee der Visualisierung meiner Gedanken von Anna Lena Schiller während des Interviews finde ich sehr gelungen. Sie greifen den Gedanken des Personal Web Managers auf (links oben), sowie die zukünftige zentrale Herausforderung für den Einzelnen, einen 24 Stunden Tag so effizient mittels Social Software zu nutzen wie einen 36 Stunden Tag.

Der IBM Social Business Channel gibt im übrigen noch weitere Einsichten diverser Vordenker im Social Web. Ich empfehle sich auch die Meinungen mal anzuhören bzw. anzusehen.

Nun interessiert mich eure Sichtweise der Zukunft der Arbeitswelt. Wie stellt ihr euch den Arbeitstag von morgen vor? Was fehlt euch heute, was wünscht ihr euch morgen? Bin gespannt, auf eure Gedanken…

Study: Search and Social amplify purchase decisions

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One thing leads to another. Today we could transfer this quote to: One search leads to another social activity, and vice versa. And this interconnection of web-strategy tactics amplifies the user’s purchase decisions.

A new study from GroupM and comScore states that 40% of consumers who search for products to purchase are taking a social activity as a next step to finalize their buying decision. And the activity can be seen from the other direction as well: 46% of consumers who use social media are searching for products to expand the basis on a product range to take a decision.

58% of users begin their journey to purchase with search. Company websites come in at 24% and social media by 18%. The opinion of “friends” on the purchase decision is highly rated in social networks and cannot be underestimated these days from brands and retailers any longer.

The study reveals interesting insights in the time period that make the essential change in the buying decision process. The “late kick” comes 30 days prior to purchase when brands and companies have to engage with their audience – and can leave search tactics behind. A difficult topic to handle in the B2C industry but for B2B very helpful.

“There are still many brands who haven’t figured out why they’re in social media. We still talk to brands that are trying to determine if they should be in social media. The data suggests the two most important subsets in social are user reviews and category blogs, rather than sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.” Chris Copeland, CEO, GroupM Search

Some important findings on how social and search are linked together…
– 86% see search engines important in buying decisions – Consumers use search in buying cycle as a pricing tool (research products and select purchase location)
– 45% use search throughout the buying cycle
– 26% use search at the beginning of their research and shopping process
– Social is essential in the consideration process
– 30% use social media to create a shopping short-list
– 28% say social media has a valuable impact in creating awareness for brands and products

Spot On!
The study shows the impact that the combination of social and search have on the purchase decision. The challenge for companies will be to understand in which way to balance their tactics between search and social in reference to seasonal sales timing, marketing opportunities while not destroying maximum margin, and customer loyalty programs to amplify brand buzz. Another study by econsultancy also illustrates how undervalued social media and search are from a sales perspective. The study says that Social Media “gets eight times less credit for its direct contribution to sales than it should” and “Generic SEO gets credited for 14 times less sales than it deserves”.

What comes first when you take buying decisions? Search or Social? And how does it amplify your buying process? Interested in your thoughts…

News Update – Best of the Day

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Wait or step ahead? It is a question of long-term strategy versus short-term tactics and planless activities most often in companies. Corporate sustainability is it’s new term. That difficult management question was put in front of 3000 executives who gave feedback. The results now can be seen in the study called “Sustainability: The ‘Embracers’ Seize Advantage”.

Some of the key findings…
– General benefit: 70% of the ‘Embracers’ see their sustainability initiative helps outperform competitors, compared to the 53% of the cautious adopters who thought the same way
– Revenue benefit: 66% of the ‘Embracers’ indicate that sustainability has added to their profit, compared to 23% of cautious adopters
– Management guideline: 52% of respondents say sustainability is a “permanent” part of their corporate management agenda
The message of the study is: move early, communicate sustainability, let everyone make it happen, measure it and communicate expectations.

Chris Brogan shares some interesting insights in the future of the marketplace. He sees them distributed, mobile, integrated, subscription-based, weblocal, and “global for the little guy”.

It is funny to see how companies use “speed” as a unique selling point… Coke & Mentos guys have harnessed the explosive power of these geysers: What happens when you combine 108 bottles of Coke Zero and 648 Mentos mints can be viewed in this video…

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Flip Phone – Is this the future of smart phones?

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Sometimes I am thinking smart phones have more or less come to an end in their potential for innovation. And I always have to admit: No, there is still room for inventions…

Just some week ago, I came across the flashy Motorola Flipout. An Android phone with 7 x 7cm touchscreen display while also offering an intelligent Qwertz typepad. It fits into every trouser pocket.

Yesterday, I found one of these latest smartphone visions. It’s called Flip phone and it looks really cool. The phone has three flexible AMOLED touchscreens and a keyboard on the reverse. The Flip phone is based on a concept concieved during a 6 week long workshop done by Kristian Ulrich Larsen, Ewa Sendecka, Jeppe Vestergård and Victoria Kusk. It was then developed further for a semester by Kristian Ulrich Larsen as part of his MA program at Kolding school of design.

This is how Yankodesign describes the Flip phone: “a smart triangular piece held together with soft steel mesh hinges, hosting a custom flavor of Android. The boundaries of a PC and phone have smudged-up big time and this is a sample of what that future looks like”.

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Personally, I like the Flip phone idea. Especially if people can watch different videos on different screens at the same time. And you? What do you think about it? Is this something that catches your attention, a product you would buy in the future?