Here is a great example of this, created by Amnesia for Lonely Planet Stores in Australia:

The simplicity of placing a lonely planet book onto a screen to activate and instantly interact with content from the book makes browsing far more engaging. It would certainly make my purchase decision easier, when there is increasingly very little difference between a Lonely Planet Book vs. Rough Planet. So, when thinking about digital you should also extend it away from just online sites, mobile or TV. What are the other touchpoints that could be supercharged to meet your brand’s objectives?

 Posted via email from digispeak’s posterous

I have been meeting a lot of digital creative and media people in London recently and as part of this I have spoken a great deal about digital trends. From real-time advertising to collaboration to how technology impacts on social interaction and of course the usual discussions around 3D TV, e readers and Google in China (as an aside, good news they have lifted censorship!).

However, one thing that hasn’t been talked about much is how technology is being leveraged to bring ‘the masses’ even closer to experiences. Now, this isn’t new in itself, but it is an accelerating trend with significant opportunities for organisations etc.

With recent enhancements in digital tools and application overlays/mash-ups over the last year such as social location based and real time feeds (and ever richer streaming), never before have people been able to feel, hear, listen what it is like to walk alongside a reporter in a disaster area, be with a climber on Everest or ride around the World on a bike for charity.

It is surprising, however, how many company’s still prefer to simply focus on ‘interaction’ when they attempt to bring to life brands or sponsorship online. It’s a rather half-hearted approach and I believe it is the wrong thinking from the start. They should instead be thinking how to bring their target consumers/supporters closer to an experience. By focusing on experience, the brand may then use a different mix or weave of online tools to realise this and with better results. After all, allowing consumers or supporters to experience something can have a much longer lasting resonance than a simple interaction.

To illustrate this point I went in search of some case studies and this is what I found….

Nike was looking for a way for non-runners to really experience what a race feels like, as part of  ’The Human Race’ appeal .

To do this, they recruited five celebrity runners and rigged them up with a mobile phone and an earpiece. By pressing a button, runners were able to share their experiences with the world using a combination of voice data, Twitter and Google Maps in real time. The voice messages were turned into text messages that were automatically published at http://thehumanrace.com.ar/envivo, in their Twitter accounts, banners and digital media. GPS allowed each communication to be geotagged along the track.

The outcome? Well, more than 650,000 people followed the race live and online either at www.NikeCorre.com or other media. Some 15,000 people ran the race in Buenos Aires.

Pretty strong results for any brand. So, next time you are looking to activate a brand campaign online, think  ’experience’ and not simply interaction.

 So, Gmail’s 170million users woke up today with a new social feature from Google; Buzz.

We all knew Google would introduce a new social offering. Orkut, although big in Brazil, hasn’t really had the widescale impact they would of hoped and it’s critical Google gains a slice of the realtime, social data pie. Afterall, if Facebook or Twitter stop sharing their stream for free, Google would be left with a hole and a missed opportunity. 

The approach they have adopted in launching Buzz is interesting. That’s because, introducing a new social platform is no easy task. After all, why should people bother using an unfamiliar interface and go through the time-consuming task of convincing their network to do so too. particularly when platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are so established. Plus, the majority of users are far less likely to rebuild a network on something new, than they were five years ago. irrespective of the new, funky features Buzz delivers (location reporting and strong mobile integration, particularly on android phones)

Google recognises this and cleverly overcome this challenge by integrating Buzz into the highly successful and often used Gmail platform, therefore conveniently removing this barrier. It’s a better approach than creating another standalone offering, as the process of quickly building and connecting is infinitely easier, because the key social ingredients (contacts, interface ease/familiarity and trust/security) are already in place in Gmail.

I also hope this signals  further development in Gmail. It’s a great product, with many people opening and frequently using it throughout the day. However, it is still a little basic and less intuitive than other offerings. So, the introduction of Buzz, which is a rather polished platform, is a welcome addition.

So the Apple iPad has launched.

Some have already lorded it as the second coming, plugging a much needed gap between smartphones and laptops and others are confused about it’s offering and debating it’s size and portability.

The screen size is smaller than 10inch, traditionally anything larger  has had limited success as it is seen as too cumbersome. As expected it leverages the Apples succesful OS and quickly syncs with Apple Mac software and a users existing iPhone apps. It also incorporates iphoto and itunes and introduces ebook functionality, with a number of third party deals with Penguin, Macmillian and Harper Collins.

Apps are being developed by Apple and as per the iphone, the iPad is open to developers to crate and sell apps. It will be interesting to see how  developers make use of the larger screen and power.

But early sentiment  and social buzz, seems to centre around the market gap (or lack of it) the iPad is currently being positioned to fill.  The current perception is there isn’t a large one between a smartphone and laptop.

But, I think it is much too early to call.

We need to understand how it will make consumer’s every day life easier. What does it solve? For that, we need the well oiled Apple comms team to educate us.

Is it a high impact, portable entertainment device; delivering everything from ebooks you can read (as smartphones screens are too small), news and videos you can stream without squinting and high def browsing?  

Following the launch, it feels like we have just finished the first chapter of a book. Will it turn out to be a best selling novel or a waste of time we quickly forget about. We will soon find out…

The first point I make is usually more of a reminder, but I think it’s  necessary. Selecting an area to focus on, whether digital or not,  should really come at the end of a marketing process. It’s an outcome, based on a clear understanding of a brand’s objectives and challenges  and as it is tailored to each brand the area of focus will be  different for each brand. Now, I am really not me trying to be clever,  here! It’s simply an antidote to those ‘ experts’ who love to jump-in  and show off their accumulated knowledge, suggesting AR platforms,  branded content, real time advertising without a second thought about  what the brand is trying to achieve.

The second point, is to take a long hard look at what a brand may  already be doing in the digital space and identify what they can do  better. It is sometimes easier to jump to the bright, new shiny thing,  but by putting on the brakes and looking at how a brand is already interacting with customers or businesses it usually provides a better  indication of gaps or new areas to focus on. For example, many leading  brands can better leverage their existing social influence tools (and it doesn’t have to be a scary or complex process either). There is a  wealth of data here, allowing brands to identify the nature of  conversations about their products/services, sentiment, competition  and industry trends. This leads to a better understanding about their customers and their sector and help identify the emerging channels they should participate in.

This then leads to my final point! A brand should focus on the  emerging trends that allow them to be in the right place, in the right  tone and ready to respond to a target audience’s needs. Whether that’s  in the form of a promotional microsite, an interactive store wall or an AR mobile app. After all, if they aren’t doing this then all the ‘crowd sourcing product development platforms’* in the world won’t make up for the missed opportunity.

*…although, this was always my favourite one ….sorry!

Now we have got over the NY hangover successfully, I thought I would take a look at 2010…and this should be a really interesting year as the spectre of the GFC lifts and confidence returns.

Rather than add to the cacophony surrounding the expected announcement by Apple of their own tablet solution (see my post on Oct 22nd), I thought I would highlight some even more interesting things  I have heard, read or think could well be just around the corner in 2010:

• Stronger competitors start taking greater iphone share; Google’s own android phone (The Nexus One) and Blackberry and SONY Ericsson new product launches. Not sure we will see Nokia fight back with a truly decent product until 2011.
• Keep an eye on the British election and party/politician use of social media platforms to motivate voters (and what party manages this the best and who reaps any fall out)
• Greater integration and distribution of AR platforms 
• Increased consumer/SME understanding and use of the ‘cloud’
• War of Netbooks (highly portable PC’s using Atom processors) vs. smartbooks (larger, more powerful mobile phones using ARM processors)
• Increased talk about 3D TV – will early adopters buy into this with the glasses. Focus should be on getting glassless solutions down to a reasonable cost and deliver a headache free experience!
• Increased video on demand options
• Manufacturers clamour to develop and market the primary in-home entertainment system. SONY Playstation and Xbox beefing up VOD and app store offering and their will be increased web integrated HD TV solutions
• I wonder if Apple itunes are looking to roll out a subscription based content streaming offering, following their purchase of lala.com in US
• Facebook passing half a billion members and further ramping up revenue driving initiatives/inventory. Myspace launching new initiatives to reverse member free fall
• Gear up of 4G mobile services in Europe and US, with downlink data speeds that can hit 100 megabits per second – about ten times quicker than the fastest 3G networks.
• News International roll out ‘Freemium’ model (free content with extra paid for sections) to solve pay for content challenge. A prediction, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
• Social network platforms are better and more seamlessly integrated into brand campaigns
• Google Wave rolled out to wider users and business community
• If Oracle’s acquisition of Sun is finally approved this month, it could lead to some very interesting B2B developments.
• Interesting to see what Skype does over the next year in the mobile to PC voice/data space, following ebay selling a majority stake to the original investors in 2009.
• Increased online brand presence of FMCG companies, to attempt to build stronger loyalty

And some possibly further fetched thoughts; Google buying Twitter and News Int only allow BING to serve it’s news content, blocking Google using it’s content. Not entirely convinced about this, but who knows. We have seen stranger things happen!

What do you think?

I thought I would end the year, covering one of my favourite topics;
social media.

We are all aware of the user growth and engagement figures. But, I
thought I would look at celebrating social network business success to
highlight why it is such a useful business and marketing tool.

Here are my top 10 picks I have used to help convince my clients
social is a viable tool and in turn help them sell it into their own
business;

1. Dell sold $3,000,000 worth of computers on Twitter

2. Recent W/A study found business that were widely/deeply involved in
social media outstripped their competitors in terms of revenue &
profit e.g. company sales with the highest levels of social media
activity grew on average by +18% vs. those with the least amount of
social activity saw decline -6%.

3. Lenovo realised 20% reduction in call centre activity as customers
were redirected to community website for answers

4. Burger King’s Whopper Sacrifice Facebook program incentivised users
to give up ten of their Facebook friends in return for a free Whopper.
The campaign cost c$50,000 and received 32 million media impressions
equating too c$400,000 in press/media value.

5. BlendTec sales increased five fold after running the “Will it
Blend” YouTube segments; blending everything from an iPhone to a
trainer.

6. 25% of Ford’s marketing spend has been shifted to digital/social
media initiatives and here’s why… they realised 37% of GenY audience
awareness through simply giving 100 Ford Fiesta’s to 100 influential
bloggers.

7.  Over five million clicked on an “I voted for Obama” Facebook button and
this resulted in three million online donors contributed $500 million
in fundraising to his election campaign. An astounding 92% of the
donations were in increments of less than $100 (an old one, but a good
one!)

8. eBay found participants in online communities spend 54% more money

9. 71% of companies plan to increase investments in social media by an
average of 40% because: Low Cost Marketing or Getting Traction or We
Have To Do It

10. Finally, a great quote from McDonalds USA; “Our head of Social
Media is the customer”

Have a great Christmas and NY and see you in 2010!