What should Google Fear in the New Year?

Turnabout is fair play - With Google jumping into the handset market in 2009 with the Andriod targeting Apple, it only seems just that the one of the first big announcements of 2010 is that Apple is shifting its startegy to jump into the digital media space.

Apple has acquired Quattro Wireless for $275MM to compete with Google and their acquisition of AdMob putting them in the mobile advertising space for the first time. Quattro Wireless is the 5th largest Mobile Ad Network with 7% share.

The acquisition leads to key, intriguing questions for the year ahead:

1. Who's next? With only a few big players left in the Mobile Advertising space left, who will Yahoo and Microsoft Gobble Up?
2. How will Apple navigate new territory?

Its only the first week of the New Year and the Mobile space is setting up for a very interesting year.

The Augmented Reality Train rolls on

By now if you've been following our blog or twitter feed (or seen the latest copy of Esquire magazine here) you know all about this thing called Augmented Reality (A/R) and that we're fans (for the right brand, done the right way of course!). So, with that in mind no one here should be surprised that A/R just keeps rolling on and marketers are trying to find the killer app of this technology.

Enter the latest bid from our friends from Coke Zero and Hollywood with their promotion of the hope-to-be blockbuster "Avatar: The last Air-bender." In a typical Hollywood overstatement of reality (or augmented reality in this case) the Coke spot that promotes this campaign and on product "AVTR" tag certainly makes it look ALOT cooler than it is, but it's still pretty darn cool.

Coupled with a almost unbranded presence on a microsite you can try the A/R at AVTR.com. So, grab a coke and go check it out!

Some interesting credits

For the latest release of Activision Blizzard/Infinity Wards Call Of Duty video game series, Modern Warfare 2 there were some interesting credits in terms of what agencies were recognized to be a part of the largest video game, hence entertainment release of all-time as Infinity Ward stated on it's website. The game, which retails for $59.99, sold 4.7 million units in its first day on sale, taking in $310 million for the game publisher. By comparison, the year’s highest-grossing movie, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” earned more than $200 million domestically by the end of its first weekend as reported by the New York Times.

So, what agencies developed the campaign to promote the game? Well, While TBWA/Chiat is the companies lead agency, it was a compilation of other agencies, and most interestingly retailers that are responsible for the games launch. In reviewing the Article on AdAge take notice that retailers like WalMart (in cooperation with Activision), BestBuy and Gamespot developed and ran creative and components of the campaign for the launch. Further evidence at the importance of the retailers as a central component of manufacturs campaigns rather than just points of distribution.

Read the article here.

Insane, Crazy and flat out cool

So, you know how fast the whole "web" thing is moving but just feel like you haven't had the time to stay on top of the latest, craziest, innovative uses of all the technology and creative thinking out there? Well, Google to the rescue once again!!!

The fine folks in Mountain View have taken the time from the Lab to put together the 87 coolest things that folks have done with access to the latest & greatest API's, clever thinking and flat out smarts to put together. The fact is that at this stage there is almost no limit to what can be done. That's not to say there aren't bad ideas out there... I mean, just because you can do it doesn't make it good, interesting or well, right. However, have no fear with this presentation from Google. After watching several times I'd have to say there is very little here that isn't worth checking out. It just might take you awhile. Oh, and don't forget... there's nothing stopping you (or us!) from being the 88th thing that could get added to the list.

So BE CREATIVE!!!!

Bionic eye

This is amazing stuff . A use for augmented reality that can prove very useful to retailers and brands of all types. (We tweeted about it a while back, but here's the video again.)



http://marketingballista.blogspot.com/

It's Bud Light lime people, everyone settle down.

http://marketingballista.blogspot.com/

Make Phone Calls on Twitter.

Interesting Beta that let's twitter users connect without sharing either parties phone number.   I can't really think of a great use for this, I mean I follow many on twitter, but i don't know if I'd like to talk to most of them.  I don't have time to talk to my actual friends, lol.  This seems to change the Twitter game a bit, but you can decide for yourself though.  Read the full article here.

Shakable Ad, pretty cool.

This is an example of many new ads I've been seeing on the iPhone. I wish i could find the last one i saw, it was an ad that was a game and it was pretty fun. (but unfortunately i can't recall the brand, which is telling.)

here's another example of a ad that entertains as the phone is shaken. Definitely inviting and interactive.

Social media - the newest tool for social change

Non-profits are tackling the social web, but haven't had quite the attention as big businesses and brands. A report issued this summer from Dartmouth indicated the nation’s largest non-profits have outpaced corporations in adopting social media. And the Center for Marketing Research noted (and not a surprise) that the Fortune 500 and the Inc. 500 have increased their social presence but charities are continuing to lead in usage.

Social media is the newest tool in social change. Non-profits have it an efficient way of reaching a large audience of like-minded, cause conscious individuals, vocal individuals.

For companies and brands with strong philanthropic ties, social will prove to be an invaluable vehicle.

The Dartmouth study:
http://sncr.org/2009/06/28/nonprofit-organizations-lead-the-way-in-social-media-adoption-according-to-society-for-new-communications-research-chair-dr-nora-ganim-barnes-and-eric-mattson-of-financial-insite/

From a funnel to a circle???

For a long time marketers have relied on the age-old model of a purchase funnel as the cycle that consumers move through in making purchase decisions. From Awareness, Consideration, Preference to Loyalty. This model made sense when consumers played a more passive role (presumably) where they received messages pushed to them by marketers. For those of us in marketing roles we know that has changed - where consumers are not only actively seeking information but in many cases serving a role to create it and act as influencers. The question now is how to marketers adapt to this change?

In a study published by McKinsley Quarterly in June of this year titled "The consumer decision journey" a new model is proposed suggesting that instead of a funnel where consumers have more brands at the top and slowly narrow their selection - that they now start with a few, then move to active information gathering where they greatly expand the number of brands and then ultimately make their decision at the point of purchase. Essentially moving from a funnel to a circular approach.



What's driven this paradigm shift? The leading cause is technology (dare we say web 2.0 - I swore I wouldn't use that term ever again!). With consumers ability to connect, share and be more vocal to other consumers and brands technology has greatly impacted the way they make purchase decisions. As a result, marketers are trying to figure out how to engage in this new world. Be sure to read more for yourself at www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

Pecha Kucha

Japanese for "Chit-Chat, and pronounced "Pe-CHATCH-ka", Pecha Kucha is a form of PowerPoint or Keynote expressiveness that started in Japan a few years ago. Basically, it involves presentation gatherings where all participants present a slide show on a given or a self-chosen topic. Sounds boring, right? Well, the fun is that Pecha Kucha involves a presenter telling his or her story in exactly 20 slides for exactly 20 seconds each slide. That means 6 minutes and 40 seconds on the nose.

Started by 2 Europeans living in Japan and looking for ways to give young designers a way to meet and share ideas in a structured yet fun manner, Pecha Kucha has taken off, with events being hosted in over 170 cities around the world. You can see examples of this unique form of communication in this smart tutorial, or at the official Pecha Kucha Website to look for an event near you. It's become such an accepted form of focused presentation development that the giant Autodesk corporation required their 2007 sales meeting be made up of only pecha kucha-style presentations. It was a huge hit, since listening to someone droning on about their pet project for only 6:40 doesn't seem so bad.

The last presentation I was witness to had 150 slides with less than 40 images total. Yes, that's right, you can imagine the excitement. Had it instead been made up of 3 or 4 crisp pecha kucha presentation segments with relevant, compelling images as the primary content accompanying the presenter's spoken words, it would have been potentially a bit more compelling.

We're considering trying it for one or two presentations at our next mid-year meeting. You should try it too.

Peer Pressure?

Microsoft will offer it's newest version of it's Office Suite online for free. The columnist's claim that this move was "a stroke of genius" remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, Microsoft's peers are forcing the giant to revamp their business model in ways they'd hope they'd never have to.

Cool 3D work.

This home video takes on a little life of it's own. Enjoy!

Your new iPhone 3GS as a Credit Card?

Well, that time is getting closer and closer. With the continuing evolution of the iPhone, Blackberry and other smart phones coupled with advancements in commerce technology the day where you leave your house with only your car keys and your phone - and no wallet - are just around the corner.

Whether it's your cell number, text messages or custom platform formats, there are a multitude of ways for consumers to start transacting through their mobile phones. At this point it's all about who gets enough VC money and pilot concept out there to validate the concept and start bringing it to scale. If large companies can band together (which is unlikely) to bring some scale a solution could be here before you can say "charge it to my iPhone".

Check out this article in the New York Times to learn more!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/technology/22pay.html

Demo of the sixth sense. TED.

This is amazing, how interactive meets, retail, shopper marketing and the physical world. This demo shows how we may be gathering information, make decisions and interacting in the future, not to mention the it's the tip of the iceberg for usability design. fascinating!

Mobile Couponing Tipping Point?

To date, other than Cellfire, success in Mobile couponing has been somewhat limited due to inability of checkout scanner to read bar codes on phones. The lack of this functionality has put a burden on retail compliance because of complexity created for cashiers, sandwich makers, etc. without a scannable bar code.

A new iPhone App, called Cardstar, may be just be a game changer in mobile couponing – The App is the first we've see where a UPC Code can be created on a phone and scanned at checkout (handheld scanner only) at major retailers.

It is being marketed as a loyalty card manager where you no longer need to carry your grocery loyalty cards with you once you have loaded them to your phone.

We tested it and it worked at a CVS store & Petco, but in reading the reviews there seem to be many instances where it does not. The CardStar App is available at the App store.

Definitely something worth watching!

Zinio - an online library

A former colleague is now at Zinio so I decided to check it out, zinio.com. Basically it's all the magazines I have on my coffee table, online. They even have comic books.

Something cool, you can rip out a page from your favorite digital magazine, and post it. Just go to zinio.com and search for your favorite magazine or book or article, click on “inside” and the magazine or book will open up, find the page you want to rip out. Click on + and select where you want to post the page. Post away.

The Future of Marketing... What is Your Prediction?

An article on the future of marketing was published today on Talent Zoo, written by the head of planning at Modernista!, Gareth Kay. Gareth is well published, and reading up on his opinion is easy (just do a google search and related content goes pages deep). In this article, he predicts that marketing will be headed in the the following direction:

1. Brands will be built on cultural and social missions, not commercial propositions

2. Marketing will be about what you do, not what you say

3. Lots of little ideas, not one big idea

4. People first

But his prediction for the future came up against some criticism.... Take a look for yourself, and post a comment! Would love to know what you think - are you a believer? Or do you have a better crystal ball?

Twitter.com/catapult_mktg

Our foray into social media continues. First, we brought you Marketing Ballista, our very happening blog about all things marketing. Thank you for visiting. :)

Our latest experiment is proving to just as successful, and almost overnight. We have  started a Catapult Marketing “Twitter feed” less than 2 weeks ago, and already we have a nice initial following to our thought leadership, published at least several times a day.

See for yourself at http://www.twitter.com/catapult_mktg, our new home on Twitter.com. Our followers, attracted with no marketing or announcement on our part, includes the Instore Marketing Institute, various thought leaders in the social media space, and several clients

What is Twitter you ask? It’s a “Micro-blogging” service where one can publish their thoughts to anyone who cares to “follow” them, but only in 140 character bursts. You can only publish to your “Feed”, but you can read anyone else’s who you choose to follow or visit. It makes for very compact, easy to digest reading, that’s for sure. Ashton Kutcher twitters, with over 1.5 million followers (The current leader). So does the Whitehouse, Jet Blue, The NY Times, Martha Stewart, Shaquille O’Neil, Miley Cyrus, Anderson Cooper, David Gregory, Oprah, and a press agent posting for Britney Spears, as well as millions of others around the world, both famous, hoping to be famous, corporate/marketers, and mostly, ordinary people like me (twitter.com/hewsonb). For a fun list of interesting folks to follow if you’re just getting started, see http://twitter.com/invitations/suggestions

If you’ve never been to twitter.com and are afraid of getting sucked into some giant ponzi scheme-like vortex, just visit http:www/twitter.com/catapult_mktg to get a gentle introduction in a familiar environment. You don’t need to register or log on to view our feed.

If, when I say “twitter”, you hear the trombone voice of charlie brown’s teacher, but want to start an understanding of this growing phenomenon, please see the link below as a pretty good quick executive summary of who and how twitter is being used most successfully. http://mashable.com/2009/04/20/twitter-strategy/

If you already have a Twitter account and twitter regularly (I know there are more than a few of you out there who do, come on, admit it!), please add “catapult_mktg” to your “Follow” list, and we’ll of course return the favor and retweet you as often as we think you won’t offend our delicate sensibilities. :)  

Twitering

As marketers and brands are still looking for ways to effectively utilize Facebook, another social network is taking hold in a big way. It’s Twitter. You’ve seen it in the newspapers, you’ve heard people talking about it and even the evening news is feeding parts of their discussions by utilizing Twitter.

For a brand it can be a bit overwhelming, Twittering, tweeple, tweets, what is a brand to do? It’s intriguing though; there is a lure here for many marketers and brands alike. Think about how amazing is it for a brand to have all these followers that hang on every word said? How could you go wrong?

Well, the answer is not that black and white. The big question you face is, does your brand need an active and daily dialogue with customers? Does it have enough to say on a regular basis? Can your brand even support that sort of dialogue and is it in your brands nature to do so? Twitter is not the equivalent of a dry corporate website it is VERY different. Twitter has the potential to be a lot more personal if used correctly.

Brands that have spent a lot of time successfully developing their brand personality certainly may have an easier time at it. Look at Jet Blue with 240,000+ followers. This brand dialogue didn’t start on Twitter, Jet blue simply uses Twitter as another natural extension of their brand and customers are eating it up. For the right brand under the right circumstances Twitter is a low cost way to communicate effectively. Indeed, there is massive potential to build brand equity and to keep fans and followers informed, but choose wisely and understand the hills and valleys before you start tweeting.