The Evolution of Consumerism (short but sweet)

Augmented Reality | What's the story? (part 1)

There's a lot chatter about Augmented Reality at the moment. But what exactly is this enchanting new technology, that a recent a Juniper Research report suggested will yield annual revenues of $732million by 2014? 

How does it work? 

Does it have a real future and how can you begin to explore it for your brand? 

Read on…

What is it?

Like all new communication tech platforms, early adopters tend to get carried away and too technical with their lofty descriptions. So for the purpose of clarity,  let's define Augmented Reality simply as: 'the process of overlaying digital content onto a real life, physical environment, when viewed through camera enabled communication devices (CECD) : laptop, tablets and of course, smartphones.

How does it work?

There's 3 basic elements to an AR experience:

1. The Real Life Physical (RPE) environment: This is wherever you're standing in the world, and what ever you are looking at through your CECD. This could be a press or magazine ad, a building, a car, a sign, a person or even just a random 'space'. It doesn't matter, it can all be brought too life.

2. The Trigger: This is the 'agent' that talks to the application software and instructs it to pull the relevant content from the Cloud or Server, and place it over the RPE  in whatever way it has been created. The Trigger traditionally took the form of a Marker; a unique black and white shape that can be easily identified by the camera. However more recently, and more frequently, GPS and GPRS coordinates are being used as The Triggers. This development is behind the AR's quantum leap, from adolescence, to alpha-adult.

3. The Digital Content: This is the content that gets overlaid onto to RPE, and so 'augmenting' it as an experience. This content ranges in complexity from animated text, still photography and video files, through to 3D animated graphics, and interactive 3D content. 

Where is it being used?

The question should perhaps be, 'where isn't it being used?'. Such is its versatility. AR is predominantly a marketing and communications tool; used at POS, direct marketing, collateral, events, exhibitions, presentations and increasingly to add a new level of engagement in advertising. 

Yet with exciting frequency, the technology is now being franchised to improve and solve much more diverse problems such as customer service, out of home sampling (see virtual shopping video), out of store trial, gaming, travel and tourism services (see Olympic navigator video) and perhaps most important of all, medicine and health care. 

The more the businesses and brands start to understand how to use the AR formula, the more we are going to see its presence in all areas of our lives

Why is it being used?

The million dollar question. The why? In it's early days, AR solved the challenge of delivering a fresh and seemingly break thru experience to consumers. It didn't need to be clever or solve a real problem. The magic was in the newness. But as the tech curve starts to flatten out, that space has shrunk, requiring those committed to using AR to adopt a much more creative and strategic approach. 

Having created several AR projects over the last 2 years, I've always worked very closely in the planning stage with my clients to ensure the solution achieves at least one of the following:

1. solves a problem of complexity for the brand or for the consumer: (see the lego video)

2. solves a problem of scale: (see the Alstom video below)

3. Make the impossible, possible: (the Nat Geo video)

4. Stimulates a point of sale motivation in a way that no other media can (see the the Tissot/Selfridges video)

5. Makes a 2D communication experience 'genuinely' more engaging and impactful (see the Audi example)

Not forgetting of course, that any AR solution should always be built around the central themes of your brand, in 'ALL' its aspects. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a clever AR idea that has little relevance to the brand. We call that the jelly at the party syndrome: it might look nice, but no-one ever touches it.

Here's some examples to help illustrate the 5 drivers:

1) Lego: Genius POS application that answers 1, 4 and 5. 

2)  Alstom: Remains one of the most epic examples of AR, especially it's example of smashing through the scale barrier!



3) The famous National Geo. Some might argue that this is not pure AR, but I disagree. It's magical, enchanting, and certainly makes the impossible, possible.



4) Tissot and the virtual sampling window. Add a whole new layer to out of hours shopping and competitor free trial.



5) Always ahead of the game, VW prove how much 'more' a press ad can become with AR. 



6) Calling all retailers...the potential of this needs no explanation!

7) Clever navigation app for the Olympics. For travel and tourism in general, the possibilities are phenomenal




Part 2 coming soon to address:

1) price vs value
2) creative development and planning tips 
3) The future of AR and why you need to be exploring it now 

To make sure you don't miss the follow up article, why not subscribe to our blog now, at the top right hand corner of the page.

C73 provides complimentary AR consultancy and planning sessions. If you'd like to talk to us and a get a more intimate low down of this technology and how it can be applied to your brand, then we're here to help. Contact us here.

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A note on getting back to the basics of Persuasion

The ubiquity of the social web and the transformation of internet access is, and will continue to have an immeasurable impact on the way we live and work. 

Of course, we all know that…

But whilst reflecting over the weekend on how to keep abreast of it all, it occurred to me that while I'm investing all this time in staying on top of the channels and how to use them, am I not overlooking the other, and perhaps more productive aspect of what influences, persuades and motivates us (consumers) all to use these channels in the first place?

As digital marketers, our job is to connect customers and brands, with mutual benefits (broadly speaking). But whether that's through optimizing content for discovery through search, social influence or awareness through media isn't as important anymore, as knowing the difference between the vehicle and the outcome. And the 'why'?  

What brands are in need of most today, is greater understanding of the persuasion and motivations behind social technology adoption, knowledge transfer, community behavior and collaboration. We can be tactical and scientific about SEO signals, social technologies or information distribution platforms but in the end isn't it an understanding of our customers and what influences them that helps most with the process of persuading them to do what we want them to do?

A lot of channel specific marketers over-focus on how communication platforms work vs how customers understand those platforms, or even why they use them. Whether we're reacting to customers, anticipating their needs or leading them - an understanding of what persuades them is essential, to the point of perhaps being more important. Especially today, where choice anxiety and the balance of power makes share of mind, heart and wallet much harder to attain.

So, despite looking for keywords and social platforms being used, shouldn't we also wonder why a customer uses search/social/apps etc..and what influences them to use both and in what situations? And what kind of content is most persuasive and in what contexts?

All these curiosities can be summarized in 2 questions (that I am currently developing a consulting tool around)

1) "How can brands better understand the influences that motivate customers to act in the digital and social space? 

2) "What content and signals of credibility do we need to create, when and why?"

The short hand to this solution is simply to approach each and every digital marketing opportunity, challenge or campaign by asking 6 power questions about the customer groups, (note, any brand communication adventure must fundamentally start with clearly grouping the source of your success…..the customers) within the context of the task.

These questions are:

1) what do they currently belive to be true?

2) what are their objections to doing what you'll be persuading them to do?

3) what/who are their primary influences?

4) what motivates their behavior?

5) what outcomes are most attractive to them?

6) what would limit acceptance of your intended persuasion?

Profiling the information that comes from this, together with creatively translating it into a digital content plan can then be easily transformed into a holistic approach involving a mix of paid, owned, earned and shared media. 

Better still, finding 'stories' that represent examples of your customer segments that have made the transition from the old to the new, desired behaviors and outcomes is a powerful starting point. Making sure the narrative follows the classic sales technique of empathizing with the current situation - or pain points as I like to call them -  reassurance that the new behavior will make things better; provide practical steps to overcoming the pain, as well as clear steps to making the changes. 

Once this type of content and narrative is agreed, the format of the content should then match what media you know the customer is using and wants. In other words, we flip back to what we already do vey well. The 'how' and 'what'. 

Of course then there's the amplification. Whenever there's 'content', there's a need to Optimize and Socialize to facilitate the attraction, engagement and sharing. So make sure you map out how content will move customers through attraction to achieved persuasion via:

discovery

engagement

comprehension

internalization

enhancement

engagement

conclusion

sharing

In summary, there seems to be a big opportunity right now to bring insight and brand story telling into digital and social media marketing.  I believe that by digging more into 'why' customers are motivated and influenced as well as  'why' they use search and social technologies, will significantly help digital marketers and brand owners to better understand how to use content and persuasive storytelling to attract, engage and inspire customers to buy.

For now, be well.

C73 is a brand communication consultancy, specializing at the convergence of traditional and digital media. We make it our business to keep you up to date with the media, content and communication essentials you 'should' be thinking about in todays multi channel world. 

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Dubai 3.0. Inspiring production.

Dubai III timelapse from Richard Bentley on Vimeo.

This Dubai timelapse represents over 20,000 still images taken over 3 weeks at night during May 2012. I wanted to bring things full circle with this 3rd in my 'trilogy' of Dubai.

The music was composed especially for this timelapse by Athar Saeed. Please do him the honour of listening with the sound up on some really good speakers! https://vimeo.com/atharsaeedmusic the music really is half of the story here...

I also owe a great debt of gratitude to Sebastian Opitz, an amazing photographer based in Dubai. He was generous with his time and local knowledge and was able to get me to some really great locations. See his work at: www.ablazewithlight.com

I set myself a challenge with this new timelapse (well, a few actually):

-Build a pc from the ground up to edit it on
-Learn some new software
-Follow a completely RAW workflow
-Upgrade my camera from 7D to 5D mkII

Equipment list:
-Canon 5DmkII
-24mm 1.4LII
-14mm 2.8LII
-Several litres of water walking the streets every night!

Software:
-Adobe Lightroom
-Adobe After Effects
-LRTimelapse
-Avid Symphony
-Adobe Media Encoder

Many thanks for watching,
Richard.

PS. Content is copyright Richard Bentley (this means no re-uploading to youtube etc please).

Innovation | Time to walk the walk #read

These days, every established company is at risk of having its industry--and its own business--disrupted by a start-up. Cognizant of this, companies devote a lot of time to talking about how important it is to innovate. But here’s the truth: most companies can’t innovate because everyone is paid to maintain the status quo.

This is the single biggest reason companies fail to do anything new or exciting. You and everyone else are maxed out making sure your company is doing what it’s supposed to do; innovation is what the weekends are for.

Despite the real risk involved, this actually makes sense. Companies are set up to do one thing very well. That’s the business they’re in. All of the roles in the company are defined and structured to create the best environment for doing that one thing as efficiently as possible. The number of people employed by the company fluctuates with the workload. More work, more people. Too many people and too little work means layoffs or mismanagement. Success is doing the same thing you’ve always done, just a little bit better, achieving just a few more sales or shaving a hair off of costs. Change is discouraged by time constraints and the stifling number of approvals needed. Failure is punishable by pink slip. Every day is the same.

Yet, today, your entire industry can change in the space of a headline. If your business can’t innovate, it won’t survive when the start-up in the garage across town that doesn’t have to answer to your shareholders does all the things legal has been telling you that you can’t do, all the things that you don’t have time for.

It’s never been more urgent to stop talking about innovation and actually start doing things differently. And, with digital, the opportunities have never been greater. Instead of innovating on your weekends, overcome the structural impediments and time constraints to real change by approaching innovation from two directions: outside-in and inside-out.

“Outside-in,” when not based on acquisition, often comes in the form of a 'skunkworks project'. It’s colloquially defined as a start-up funded by the parent company, but kept separate from the dysfunction and sluggishness of the whole, in order to incubate great technological advancements.

Here’s the recipe:

1. Set the right goals. A skunkworks project should be tasked with developing a new, specific tech product or service.
 

2. Give the team freedom to create. Bureaucracy, office politics, and the aforementioned requirement to keep the ship sailing straight ahead all slow down and inhibit big advancements. To succeed, the skunkworks team must be kept free from these deterrents.

3. Appoint separate senior management. Management by committee is not an option. The quickest route to failure is slow decision making. The skunkworks team should report directly to a senior-level executive who is authorized to green-light initiatives that are separate from the company’s main purpose and to implement these new solutions.

4. Choose a separate location. The team should not be housed in the corporate headquarters. Ideally, it should live nearby, but in some cases, it needs to be in a completely different location to be able to access the right talent. When Johnson & Johnson decided to build a unit oriented to design, creativity, and technology, the division planted a flag in an old industrial building in a trendy neighborhood in New York. Its corporate headquarters are in suburban New Jersey.

5. Mix up the staff. The staff should be a healthy hybrid of high-performing internal employees and newbies, so that some participants are familiar with the company’s core business while others have an open mind and fresh ideas.

6. Give it time. Really well-developed products often take a year from the time people start working on them until launch. You can get things done in six to nine months, but it’s unusual, especially if the team refines it with iterative improvements.

7. Bring it back into the fold. Once the project is complete, skunkworks team members should move back in with the parent company. They either become a distinct department or are dispersed throughout the company, in order to effectively run and manage the particular product.

On the other hand, “inside-out” innovation is all about incentivizing existing staff members to be revolutionary within their own jobs. The most important ingredients are largely cultural:
 

1. Freedom to fail. Traditionally, companies are averse to risk, so if you fail at something, it hurts your career. But to innovate, you need to be able to try new things without risking your livelihood. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I've just found ten thousand ways that won't work.”
 

2. Free time. Performance evaluations for managers should include assessment of the volume and quality of new ideas they brought to the table. If the company’s priority is solely productivity, no one will have time to think about creating something new, let alone bring it to life.
 

3. Training. An office that encourages and facilitates education openly admits there’s room to grow and inspires people take that leap. The risk involved in these changes is less than the risk of not making them. Innovation is outside the comfort zones of most businesses.

(The contents of this post are largely borrowed. But I can't find the original source so apologies for not referencing. C73)

Read this article. It'll make you better.

http://the99percent.com/tips/7106/The-Four-Paradoxes-of-Great-Performance

Selling the new cool. Great Article for a little right brain massaging...

Splitscreen. A Love Story. Brilliantly simple.

There is so much more behind the idea to this film,  than I reckon the Director got credit for. Very touching. 

Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.

The Art of Innovation Part 2...

Continued from previous post...Peter Druker inspired tips to keep your creativity flowing in the right direction:


6. Don't be afraid to polarize people: The Holy Grail of ideas, that means great things to all people, simply doesn't exist. And in seeking it you're almost guaranteeing mediocrity. Instead, create great things that make segments of people very happy. And don't worry if those things make others unhappy. Passionate reaction is the barometer of innovative success. Good or bad, the greater the better.


7. Break down barriers: Life isn't fair. Learn it and deal with it. The better your idea is, the more barriers the status quo will erect in your way. So don't get flustered if acceptance and traction comes slow. Embrace it. In fact the best way to break barriers is to get people to use, try and download whatever is you're creating. Listen. Learn. Tweak. Ship. 


8. "Let a hundred flowers blossom": (Stolen from Chairman Mao). Be flexible about how people use your ideas and products. The market may surprise you and find uses you never intended, or even thought about. (Did you know micro-blogging site Tumblr has become one of the largest free porn sites on the internet?) The lesson is to sow fields, not water boxes, and let those hundred flowers blossom.


9. Never ask people to do what you wouldn't do: Massive test for your company. And links back to points and 1 and 2 of Saturday's Part 1. Make it meaningful and practical. You wouldn't jump through hoops so don't expect customers to, either.


10. Don't let Doubters get you down: It's amazing how many people will tell you it's not worth doing, can't be done, shouldn't be done and isn't necessary. Sometimes its losers who are easy to ignore. Worse than that though are family and friends who hold some emotional equity over you. But the most dangerous of all are the rich, famous, and powerful: Because they are so successful, you may think they are right. They're not right. They are just successful on a previous curve so cannot comprehend, much bless embrace, the next curve that you are looking create, or at least redefine.

The Art of Innovation Part 1

...or maybe it's Rules. Either way, as the world economy continues to pull G's like a demented Switch Back, here's some Peter Drucker inspired tips to keep your innovative pursuits focussed and fruitful.


(Because like it or not, innovation creates wealth. Period.)


1. Build something that you want use/buy/have/see in the world: The idea that great innovation is the work of visionary entrepreneurs is, well, rubbish.  A more accurate theory is that people create things that they want to buy or use. It's not about being visionary. So if you want to be innovative, start with creating something you want to use.


2. Make meaning: Great innovations enable people to do old things better; do things they always wanted to do, and do things they never knew they wanted to do. Solve an existing problem, or better still, solve one that no-one knows exists yet. If it means 'something', it's got wings. 


3. Jump the next curve: If you're going up against a busy curve, chances are your enthusiasm, or cash flow, will run out before you see black numbers. True innovation plays out when you jump to the next curve - or better still, invent the next curve and ride it until the line gets to busy. Then jump to the next one. (Here's to my good friends at Virtuzone. They pole vaulted the curve and now lend countenance to countless others trying to do the same. And yes. It worked phenomenally)


4. Don't worry, be LTP: The first version of any new innovation is, by definition, work in progress and should, by unwritten law, have an element of an element of Less Than Perfect about it. If you wait for it to perfect, chances are the market will pass you by. 


5. Ship, evolve, reship: Staying LTP however, isn't cool. "Innovation is not an event, its a process": (Guy Kawasaki). Once you have shelf life; evolve, tweak, improve, update, expand. Welcome complaints and feedback from your stakeholders and customers. Yes,  it's always hard to field low blow's against your new born.  But one of the most powerful lessons for bootstrap innovators is to seek and welcome criticism...it's the fuel that keeps you curve jumping.


Part 2 to come....