The Emerging Times

My Morning Flippaper

My Morning Flippaper
This morning I enjoyed my morning paper via Flipboard™ app on my iPad. It's the new morning paper. Get into it before it's huge(er). Can notice the value it brings? Get Flipboard.

Thinking outside of the category—Netflix

Thinking outside of the category—Netflix

Chances are you're not in charge of running an entertainment brand or service. But if you're a smaller or newer brand to your category then perhaps you want to tune into this one.

I constantly hear Netflix subscribers saying the following words, "I love my Netflix."

Netflix has developed into a real category challenger within the television and entertainment industry. They've succeeded by approaching things in a way that's 'outside of the category' and the normal or typical approach or 'models' within the industry.

Maybe that's why their stock tripled in the last year. They aren't fighting against the typical culture or an older organization nor are they stuck to their own habit. They just go for it. And as a result, we see more potential in what they can achieve.

Being small(er) and more nimble allows you the opportunity to challenge the category by thinking outside of the category. What if you adopted a similar way? What if you tried to 'get there first'? I bet you'll discover some breakthroughs along the way.

Oh, and I too love my Netflix.

 

 

 

Hybrid cars—entering 'the tipping point' ?

Hybrid cars—entering 'the tipping point' ?

Everyone (including myself) is wondering when consumer culture will take a permanent shift towards considering a hybrid car over a gas-powered one. As a marketer, I ask myself, "What would it really take?". Lower hybrid-car prices? Soaring gas prices? Global warming pressure? More tax credits from the government? One can only guess.

These are simply the obvious factors that might impact that 'shift' towards hybrids. Unfortunately these factors are only creating small, incremental shifts. Today, we're constantly reappraising our transportation purchases and options. But unfortunately the 'value' proposition hybrid cars offer today just isn't quite enough to push us over the edge. It just isn't.

But every now and then something big(er) happens and causes an unexpected tipping point—the moment when the lightbulb goes off for ALL of us. And that moment juts might be arriving sooner than most people thought. What if I told you that the next generation of hybrids got 120mpg plus? What would happen then? I think we would all seriously consider buying one.

But seriously, don't laugh—it's really happening.

Invention, innovation and technology are enabling more tipping points to happen more often. And the best part about them is that most of us won't even see them coming. Case in point—i'd like you to meet the future of the hybrid car engine and catch a glimpse of what's to come. It just might be the very invention that tips us all over the edge.

 

*Sorry for any typos. I'm always good for a few...

 

Meet Smutley. Get in touch with great work.

Meet Smutley.
Then get in touch with more great work.

Originaly posted by Amy Corr, a managing editor @ MediaPost:

'Meet Smutley, an alley cat that sleeps with any animal he encounters. Smutley is part of an online campaign for AIDES, a French non-profit that encourages safe sex.' Read more from Amy...

What I think:
The 'best' creative work (in the ad and media business) isn't trying to appeal to everyone. What matters most is having powerful and unexpected creative ideas that resonate with the specific group of people you've set out to connect with. This campaign does that extremely well—so that's why I think it's brilliant.

Watch the Smutley video here. See more of the work here.

Starbucks : Why This Rocks

STARBUCKS : Why this rocks

Scan and pay-the Starbucks new mobile app allows coffee hounds to scan their mobile phone at the register and get on with the day. "We love finding ways to serve you better."

Why this idea rocks:
The simple summary is that it builds brand culture. Here are five reasons how:

1. It's efficient and it saves time.
2. It saves plastic (and the world)
4. It promotes frequency/usage with awards built in. Remember that old retailer punch-card ?
4. It enhances the product at the mobile/digital level of service-adds the extra layer.
5. It's an idea created by a brand that understands their fans-their fans will applaud.

This mobile application is what builds brand culture today. It's hard to stay great at it. So how does Starbucks stay great at it? Perhaps it's because they listen so well to their consumers. Hmm.

Either way, I'm personally more likely to opt. for my favorite local shop.

See the demo here: http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/mobile-apps

The Game Changer—Apple & Mobile Facetime

The Game Changer—Apple & Mobile Facetime

I'm not going to make this long. Apple has introduced (as the leak suggested) 2-way video calling—they call it Facetime. Let me tell you—It's amazing.

See the video here

I can't tell you how excited I am about such a feature and how much mobile in general has booming throughout our industry more than ever. Some of us access the internet more via mobile than we do our computers. Think about it. There's a tipping going on here.

Our mobile joysticks have become keys to our social interaction. They connect us more to each other than anything ever before. I obviously believe in this or else I wouldn't be saying it. But do you? The World Park concept my agency created put this idea to practice by allowing visitors to Central Park to access amazing content and history-right through their mobile device. Take a peek here (you need flash to view the video)

With thought leaders like Apple, the competitive, worldwide mobile community is practically forced to re-adjust their plans, cancel projects and prepare to follow the leader. In this case we definitely know who that is. If I was Windows right now, I would be scared. For as much as I want to bash Apple—this feature is as forward thinking as it can possibly get.

Until the next big thing-let's remember this one.





PS. Sorry for the agency plug-I know it's lame.

Flash Forward

Flash Forward

What makes this work interesting? It's beautiful use of Flash.

I don't agree that Flash should ever be abandoned by devices like Apple's iPad. There's been a lot of chatter about the friction between Apple and Adobe, but at the end of the day, Flash is what has powered the interactive boom since around 1999. Heck, I owe my early career to it. Flash was first to blow people's minds. And with work like this, it deserves to surely stick around. Enjoy it here.

Opportunity in Mobility: Personal Wireless Hot Spots

Opportunity in Mobility: Personal Wireless Hot Spots

Here's what I think the coolest new thing in mobility is—Personal Wireless Hot Spots.

Imagine a time when consumers are able to offer each other personal wifi connections or access hubs. An opportunity for you and your buddies to share a strong wireless signal anywhere you and your friends go. Innovations like this just might be the fuel you need for your next break-through campaign idea.

 It makes mobility fun and personal by creating small digital circles or localized groups.

Apple's 3G won't get us there. But 4G just might do the trick.

The idea is huge, and a lot of you have told me that you have never heard of this. Well, now you have. There is a strong movement and even more support towards cloud based computing—where all your personal accessible data is stored on a virtual server or hard drive. Citrix is making great strides at making this a reality.

With this idea, you'll never be far away from your: music collection, videos, data files, or that latest version of your client presentation you forgot on the company server. Or even imagine a password protected network that moves and can even work as a pirate radio station at your next trade show owners event. That's just an idea...that's very possible. Just a little bit a creative application for you.



Now take the opportunity that the iPad has brought us, and mix it with a more powerful and even more reliable network such as Sprint's 4G, and you have the real iPad and experience and the mobility of the year 2011.

I hope you enjoy the link that immediately forced me to discuss this topic with you. 



Let's do great things today.

The World Park Unveil at New York's Central Park

{Today's story has a little self-promotion in it.}

I wanted to pass along this completely new event in Central Park called The World Park. http://www.centralpark.com/events/show/913/world-park-arbor-day-weekend-2010


The World Park Unveil at New York's 
Central Park on Arbor Day
—a mobile-interactive installation will be on display in Central Park for a 2-day exhibit.

Through interactive mobile technology, The World Park engages, entertains and motivates a deeper park exploration. Unlock Central Park's famous views, stories, movie scenes, archeology and history will be delivered through streaming videos and rich interactive content on visitors' mobile phones. More than 1,800 hours went into creating this one-of-a-kind, mobile-interactive exhibit/event, incorporating historical facts, images and videos. A unique mobile technology, made specifically for this event, was developed to deliver creative content to re-engage visitors to Central Park.


When is this event?
Arbor Day 2010 in Central Park
Friday, April 30, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. &
Saturday May 1, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location: Central Park, Southeastern corner entrance at 59th Street

“We think that the future of interaction is mobility and this experience allows us to engage visitors every step of the way, through rich content and interactive mobile technology," said Michael Ferrare, founder of Agency Magma. “Visitors get to ‘Play the Park’ through the park interaction of tomorrow.”

On the day of the event, park visitors will receive a map then follow along a self-guided tour of New York's Central Park. Visitors will get to play a trivia game with categories related to Central Park’s history, including: Pop Culture, Science, Art and History. Visitors can use the scanning application on their mobile phones to scan small digital trees signage placed at specific, content-related locations. The small digital trees are called 'Parkodes'—a modern evolution of a QR-Code. Each Parkode reveals a question relating to its exact location—similar to picking up a playing card on a board game. Every Parkode scan lets users unlock park secrets, revisit The Gates, watch famous movie scenes, scroll through the 1800's—all right through an iPhone or smartphone."

For event information, updates, and pre-event videos visit theworldpark.com/nyc

Or follow the Central Park animals and The World Park on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/theworldpark

Mobile's Media's New Scene

Pillow fight in Union Square, New York City

Mobile's Media's New Scene

I think what people want tomorrow can perhaps be observed today. Early adopters of technology and teenagers are always a great place to start.

Right now, these two groups are usually the first ones to say:

"I have a super-cool secret I have to tell you. I got it on my mobile, from a txt message, found it on twitter, saw the link on Facebook, on my way to the pillow fight in Union Square, while I was on the go..."

Our mobile phones are gateways for secrets, public discussions, flashmobs, charitable donations, and subversive games that exist in the real world.

For many years now consumers have had instant access to somewhat information. Today with social and mobile media we have have instant access to GPS specific local events and buzz. From pop-up light-saber battles to Pillow Fights across the nation, we don't discover these off-the-grid events in the local city newspaper. Today, events are small local scenes where people meet on a specific, common niche category. They are new tribe of consumer. Tribes only discovered through the social media environment.

In the past you had to know somebody who knew somebody cool in order to get you into that cool party. That's a lot of cool to go through to get to the cool. However, today you can connect to new experiences and tribal events that you would never have had access to before—simply because you knew where to go...virtually speaking. You knew how to hook-it-up in Facebook, which twitter feed to follow, and/or which blog to read. That's how they connect with things today. Well at least the new, new, things—the things the kids are doing—or even grown adults.

Mobile and social media will become the gateway for the next generation of life's interactions essentially. It will drive our social interaction spontaneously via live access to things around your specific location. Is your girlfriend shopping at JCPenny? Now you now, so now you'll change your plans and join her for lunch. Information provides options, and options are opportunities.

Some more examples are hanging out on Facebook while at the supermarket while your waiting for kids at the mall or eating dinner in New York while you instantly locate local events and listings around you, or on a more subversive level, how about a twitter hunt for a secret password that gets you a free beer at that bar. Just enter it on FourSquare when you check in and...bingo.

The best part is that you control the opt-in to the social life—the new scene.

Android, iphones, smartphones, and 4G connections will continue to allow us to have the handware in our pockets to make these interactions possible.


Today's suggestions for tomorrow:

Media Planners: Side-shift your media dollars to mobile. Place a higher value on consistent mobile interaction.
Creative: Find a way to Mobilize your idea or message.

You might also enjoy a previous articl I wrote on Marketing through Social Media Values:
http://www.theemergingtimes.com/2010/01/participation.html