ESSAYS
to work harder?” asks Louis Georgiou, Managing Director at Code Computerlove. “Stores are beginning to trial interactive displays which encourage shoppers to interact with a brand outside shopping hours. Entertainment retailer HMV are even considering live streaming its concerts to its storefronts. There’s a lot of scope here.”
AR: MEET THE NEED There’s no denying the extraordinary recent developments in augmented reality. But while the format has provided the basis for award-winning work in some sectors (it’s served galleries and museums particularly well), there’s been an underlying sense among marketers that it’s a bit, well, gimmicky. That could, however, be about to change. “There aren’t that many instances of
companies doing augmented reality well at the moment,” concedes Trenton Moss at Webcredible. “However, Dulux is a good example of a company bucking the trend. With its Visualizer app you can hold up your iPhone or iPad and with the tap of a button see what your room would look like painted different colours. This app works because it responds to a real customer need.” This, for Moss, is the key to making
the most of emerging technology. “Take the time to understand your customers,” he says. “Then apply new technology to what’s going to solve their problems and fulfil their needs. And do it as part of an overall omnichannel experience.”
NEVER-ENDING STORIES Simon Heyes, Co-founder and Strategy Director at 8 Million Stories, identifies a convergence between storytelling, content and technology and says that far from killing storytelling, new tech is resurrecting the art. The first chapter in a user’s journey might be on one device. The next might be on another. The ending could take place somewhere else again.
“Storytelling is at one with
transmedia,” says Heyes. “Technology is the enabler.” He points to sites like the massively successful BuzzFeed as illustrating the inherent power of story-based content; as BuzzFeed’s own CEO has stressed, every piece of content on the site is designed to evoke an emotional response and to be shared. “The Future of Storytelling Project identified four criteria that digital stories should be judged against,” says Heyes. “How immersive, interactive, integrated and impactful they are. This is a useful approach and it’s certainly true that a digital narrative should allow its audience to dig deeper into a story than other mediums do. Allow your audience to chat with your story’s characters, find out more about its setting and select between multiple endings. For people to engage with a story it’s important they feel part of it.” For more, view futureofstorytellingproject. com.
USE
McCloskey’s takeaways in this field:
remember trust and context. Think about partnering. Consider data carefully – it’s valuable. And don’t be afraid to start small.
TECHNOLOGY TO FULFIL YOUR
UP FOR REVIEW The user review is an established plank in online marketing. Most of us, with any big ticket item, will conduct extensive research online. In a crowded marketplace the review is a key method of establishing not just presence and value, but also difference. “One of the biggest pains with reviews is making the time to actually leave one,” says Rich McCloskey, Account Director at e3. “Currently, reviews reflect polarised opinion. If you hate something you leave a review. If you love something you leave a review. The middle ground is left out. Wearable technology - whether it be Google Glass or another device - will allow people to add reviews in real time. They can note down their thoughts on an experience as it happens and their device will record them.”
31 issue 22 october 2014
CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS”
TOWARDS A MOBILE FUTURE “We all know about convergence,” says Stephen Jenkins, VP Marketing EMEA at Millennial Media. “The qualities and attributes of different devices such as cameras or music players are being added to our mobile phones. But now the focus is on divergence, with mobile operating systems being implanted in household items. That might be a fridge that can order your milk for you or a cooker you can turn on by text message. My favourite connected device is a toaster that scans local weather reports and then prints those onto your toast in the morning.”
With so many marketers
still grappling with the mobile future, Jenkins presents five kick-starters for an effective mobile strategy. Ask who your target audience are and make sure you know what they look like. Be clear on the brand message you want to
communicate. Think about how you can bring that idea to life with your creative content. And remember that mobile is the glue that binds all your consumer touch-points together.
Figaro Digital’s Backing the
Future Seminar was sponsored by Peer 1 Hosting.
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