Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

The 2009 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is just around the corner. Rumors of new iPhone hardware and software are running rampant. One frequently surfaced request (or more accurately, complaint) is the lack of Flash support on iPhone and iPod touch. While I can see why the general public raises that question, I am perplexed when it comes from technology pundits/bloggers and interaction design professionals. Simply put: Flash is ill suited for the touch interface.

Consider the following issues:

1. Rollover does not compute
On a touch interface, touching is clicking and dragging is scrolling. There is simply no rollover event. Unfortunately, more often than not Flash-based interfaces rely heavily on rollover to trigger control mechanism or content delivery. This problem serious undermines the practicality of Flash implementation.

This is Hulu player with rollover.


 Without rollover, you can't even pause the video.

2. No assisted text input and menu selection
To alleviate the inherent restrictions of small screen (and fat fingers), Apple introduced some UI enhancements to improve the usability of touch interface. Two obvious instances are the text field and menu "picker." Flash programs cannot invoke these assisted UI components, thus making mundane tasks such as menu selection and keyboard control difficult, if not altogether impossible.

 

You won't be able to access input assistance with Flash.

3. Non-standard UI can be non-functional
Flash designers for years have been pushing the envelope of interactivity by breaking UI conventions. Some of them are so out of the norm that they are barely usable on a computer. Now imagine running them on a small touch screen. UI anomalies as benign as scrollbars without up/down arrows will be broken, not to mention more serious offenses.

None of the Favourite Website Awards winners are likely to function flawlessly.

image credit: stonebird

I just came across an interesting digital out-of-home (DOOH) media and mobile story. Through a partnership with Impact Mobile, Adcentricity, an aggregator for over 80 DOOH networks, has just added a mobile component to its offerings.

Just when the Outdoor Advertising Research Group is claiming digital signs aren't distracting, the convergence of DOOH media and mobile now seems to be a developing trend.

Rob Gorrie, CEO of Adcentricity, agrees. According to the article, Gorrie thinks it may even contribute to ROI because it allows customers to "interact with brand messages in a relevant way." Still, there's an active push to ban digital billboards in Los Angeles because some Los Angeleans consider them too distracting.

Personally, there is only one digital billboard I have ever seen that I considered distracting. It's along the highway on the way to Tahoe and is so bright that it gives me "sunspots" on my eyes and, when passing it, I find it hard to see the highway. The funny thing is that it's so distracting that I can't even remember what was advertised - Was it a casino? Alcohol?

Well, there's an important point. No matter what a digital sign is advertising, if it's too bright alongside a dark road and can endanger drivers, it is probably better placed elsewhere or toned down! If an ad is not engaging consumers in a way that leaves them with a positive impression of your brand, then maybe it's better to not waste your marketing investment in that location.

On the other hand, I've seen a cool billboard in West Hollywood where the screen flips every few seconds. The plethora of traffic crossing West Hollywood all hours of every day surely must enable that billboard owner to easily sell multiple ads and guarantee that each driver will see at least 5 or 6 of them -- or possibly 10 or 12 -- during cruising hours! That billboard hosted all sorts of consumer packaged goods ads (like shaving cream and shampoo).

Keep an eye on digital billboards as a tool that allows brands to engage consumers where it's convenient for them, like while sitting in traffic. Using these signs, marketers can tap into their offline work using many of their online tactics, using call-to-action techniques like SMS, polls, votes, contests, promos, and sweepstakes. Typical online content delivery, retail and redemption and mobile application techniques can also be extended by marketers into the digital billboard realm.

Have you seen any digital billboards or other digital ads that you'd like to see adapted for such mobile integration?

Stephanie Jorgl 

(Please note that for this post I only researched accelerometer-based apps on the iPhone; time permitting I'll post again soon on how accelerometers are being used on a wide range of other devices, vehicles and buildings)

The recent "Baby Shaker" iPhone app controversy drew attention not only because it highlighted possible issues with Apple's app approval process, but also because the realistic "shaking" interaction, via the iPhone's accelerometer, produced such a negative and visceral response among an online group far wider than those that purchased it.  It's a good example of how strongly people can react, even if negatively, to motion-based user experiences.

As anyone who has used a Wiimote (also accelerometer-enabled) or an iPhone/Touch knows, being able to make precise, minute motions (tilting, sliding) or more physically immersive, realistic ones (shaking, swinging) can be an extremely engaging interactive experience. 

Could motion-based interaction be a significant trend in user experiences? And if so where do brands fit in?  

With a little research, I found a growing variety of innovative accelerometer-based apps, including some interesting marketing and gaming entries by major brands that indicate this may be so.

Here are some of my best finds, including those apps from brands, but please leave your comments below on other apps you feel have used the accelerometer in interesting ways.

For the past few days, the technology blogosphere has been buzzing about the upcoming Hulu iPhone app. About the same time, there is a widespread rumor proclaiming full HD output and iTunes streaming from next generation iPhone and iPod touch. It is not difficult to put two and two together, and see the enormous market disruption potential in an iPhone centric living room entertainment solution.

If indeed the new iPhone and iPod touch can support full HD and iTunes streaming, many users may be tempted to purchase Apple's video output cable to watch content on their HDTV. Some may also want to watch Hulu, TV.com, Joost, and other video serving apps this way as well. For Apple, iPhone and iPod touch would suddenly transform into a killer media center with a formidable install base. For the consumers, the relatively open platform would ensure that they have access to diverse content from various sources. For content providers, this model affords them a direct channel to media consumers, bypassing carriers, cable operators, and other traditional channels (even iTunes Store).

The last point can be a big boost to organizations, big and small, who don't have direct tie to those media titans. For instance, Big Ten Network could release an app that relays their NCAA games live or on-demand, without involving in protracted negotiations with cable companies. Another example would be performance arts institutions, such as Lincoln Center and Village Vanguard, creating their own apps to broadcast live or recorded performances, rehearsals, and interviews--a new and conceivably substantial revenue stream.

Assuming iPhone/iPod touch is taking over the living room, what would be the raison d'être for AppleTV? The product seems to be a halfhearted effort from Apple, shackled not by technical but copyright and other business considerations. No wonder Gizmodo gleeful declared AppleTV "obsolute" after the iPhone HD rumor surfaced. Let's not write its obituary just yet.

I believe most users would not want to permanently connect their phone to a TV or a dock. If Apple can support video streaming from iPhone/iPod touch to AppleTV, the latter will effectively become a wireless video breakout box for the former. Imagine browsing Hulu videos using iPhone on your comfortable couch, selecting one with a touch of your finger, and then enjoying the video on your big screen TV. Consumers and content providers alike should be thrilled to see a solution like this. Netflix and other video-on-demand services would certainly be interested as well. But would Apple allow it?

Hopefully the Cupertino company will see that by opening up AppleTV platform they may sell more iPhones and many more AppleTVs. This would translate to more iTunes Store users too. Now, if someone can convince them to also release an API for AppleTV...

Barcodes and QR Codes could be a thing of the past. I'm betting Mobile Multi-Colour Composite codes (MMCC) will be the new "barcodes."

The MMCC codes are 2D barcodes that can hold video, pictures, text, ringtones, games or any other multimedia that you might dream up. The embedded clip would play when scanned into a user's phone.

The ability to see a sample of something fast would be a quick sell for me. Maybe a 10 second clip of a music video or a quick trailer for a movie. Or it could be something that has the potential to spread - like a Jeep® "Lost" tie-in a la scavenger hunt style.

With any new technology there is always the fad issue where it's hot one moment and in the bargain, unwanted bin the next. However if there is value behind it, I believe marketers will support this cool technology. The real reason this might stick is that there is an actual use for this technology. Regular barcodes or QR codes are very ambiguous, often lost within our daily routines.

I haven't seen any cool implementation of this...yet. And I've never actually found a QR code in the wild yet either.

What would make this innovation really take off? If you had a product to sell, how would you use an MMCC code?

Jason Law

image credit: afagen

Introducing an interesting out-of-home timewaster from Carnival Cruises (and Arnold Worldwide through Monster Media), popping up in various major cities around the country. Passers-by are first engaged by the motion responsive virtual marine life. Once hooked (sorry, couldn't resist) they learn that they can create a fish of their own by dialing a toll-free number on their phone and following a few steps. For more, watch AdAge's three-minute overview.

My favorite part: you create a fish by making weird noises into your phone. What a simple way to a) avoid klunky menu trees, and b) get people living your brand values right there in the street.

My other favorite part: they used vacant storefronts for their installations. Advertising as entertainment is nothing new, but advertising as beautification? That's a nice thing to see in these times.

Hot on the eve of the South by Southwest conference, Dennis Crowley (founder of the mobile social service "Dodgeball") and Naveen Selvadurai opened the gate to a new new mobile lifestyle application called "foursquare" for the iPhone. Foursquare, introduces a new twist to the burgeoning landscape of mobile social applications. So far, the reviews are promising.

What makes "foursquare" different is it's, well, game play.

Built on a solid location based platform, foursquare makes mobile check-ins seamless (telling the network where you are in the form of a place, not a location, i.e.: "I'm at The Reservoir" not its latitude and longitude and approximate street address). As users check-in, their friends are alerted to their whereabouts along with "shout-out" messages with more details about what they are doing. Foursquare also includes Twitter integration so a user's whereabouts and what they are doing can be pushed directly to their Twitter followers. And yes, all of this can be turned off if you don't want anyone to know that you are with your best friend's girlfriend.

While other applications offer the user the ability to check-in and alert friends, foursquare provides users with an actual social incentive to participate and maintain repeat usage. As foursquare users check-in, they earn points and unlock badges for various achievements. For instance, go out four nights in a row and you'll unlock "bender." When you check-in to the same place more than any other user, you become "the mayor" of that location for everyone to see.

While check-ins and badges appeal to a competitive nature, foursquare also provides user generated lifestyle guides in the form of shared to-do lists. Users can post things "to do" in specific places and share them with friends. As friends complete these "to dos," then can mark them off on their own list.

Foursquare currently supports 12 cities including: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Minn/St. Paul, NYC, Philadelphia (ed. note: boo), Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and DC. More cities will be added over the course of the next few months and as users from these markets adopt foursquare.

While foursquare is best optimized on the iPhone, it's also usable via SMS and most mobile web browsers. More information on foursquare can be found here.

I've been an alpha tester of foursquare for the past few months and have been impressed by the functionality and game play nature of the service. It's the social competition that keeps me coming back and I strongly believe that the competitive nature of the product will lead to the formation of an active user community of socially incentivized users who will "go out and play," as opposed to some of nascent mobile social networks that are out there.

With plane loads of social media and entertainment influencers hitting up Austin this weekend, foursquare is poised to be the talk of South by Southwest and may even be one of the mobile breakout hits of 2009.

Chad Stoller

MIT's Pattie Maes revealed we're quite a bit closer to usable, wearable tech than we realized at the TED conference this past month. Currently named "Sixth Sense," it combines a projected gesture-driven interface with image recognition and a connection to the Internet, or potentially, the semantic web to create an augmented day-to-day experience that brought TED audience members to their feet.

This video provides the best examples of the eye-opening tech, as Pranav Mistry demonstrates how to auto-magically invoke a watch on to his wrist with a circular flick of his finger; get live updates on his plane's status on the way to the airport just by looking at his ticket; take a photo just by framing a scene with his index fingers and thumbs in Spielbergian fashion; or project a web-fed tag cloud of meta data on to someone he is speaking to - directly on to their body.

Currently in the prototype stage, one of the most astonishing facts is that the setup costs less than $350. The pendant projector hangs from the user's neck, a small but significant change from common wearable tech experiments, most of which are attached to a baseball cap or helmet, the head itself or the wrist. This allows the user to use their head and eyes to be unencumbered during pauses between interface tasks. This also places the interface directly between the fingertip gesture controls for obvious benefits.

Maes claims they're "far" from a commercial product. "Who knows," she states, "maybe in another ten years we'll be here with the ultimate 'sixth sense' brain implant."

But game-changing tech has a way of jumping in to our lives very suddenly. Here is 3M's mobile projector that became available a year ago at CES 2008 (with plans for cell phone integration), and Logic Wireless/T-Mobile's launch of the Logic Bolt with of this very technology at CES 2009.

Are we a year away from having a Sixth Sense? I see us jumping ahead, people.

Craig Ritchie

About three years ago, a couple people in our Toronto office shared their cravings for roti. Little did they know it would drive new traditions -- or enlighten those of us who had never heard of the addictive bread. It started as a communal gathering that spawned the need for online ordering (known around the office as Rotitron 3000). The ordering system provides weekly stats on the number of rotis ordered, the type ordered, strength of roti and more. Since November 10, 2006, Organics have spent $9,703 on roti lunches.

Today, we've launched the iPhone app "Rotitron Mobile." No more missed rotis if you can't get to your computer before the Thursday deadline.

Thanks to David Feldt in Toronto for the scoop.

Sarah Jo Sautter