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A Dead Web Could Be Good For Advertising

Last summer, Wired wrote a very widely debated article on how the web is dead. It was argued by Chris Anderson, “much as we love freedom and choice, we also love things that just work, reliably and seamlessly.” For instance, “we’ll pay for convenience and reliability, which is why iTunes can sell songs for 99 cents,” as Chris points out, “An entire generation has grown up in front of a browser… We get the web. It’s part of our life.” It’s now that, Chris states, “the shift to the app model on rich media platforms like the iPad” is taking place, and “where limited free content drives subscription revenues.”

If the web is dead, which of late seems to be the direction it might be headed, this is good news for advertising. Appssavvy recently released a report that found in-app ads (apps inside social network apps or mobile apps) perform 11.4 times better than standard banner ads. Recently, a former Magnify Digital team member, Brian Wong launched his latest venture Kiip that gets advertisers and gamers thinking of screen real estate and in-game experience differently. Brian told Mashable that “[He thinks] that we have too long been fixated with screen estate and the attention exchange as being a key part of the advertising equation.”

Although “appvertising” is fairly new, app publishers continue to tweak and adjust their apps as need be to deliver unique and different advertising successes. Yesterday, Mashable discussed the three main types of “appvertising” that seems to be working:

Become Part of the Game

Finding a way to have a brand appear in a way that enhances the game experience. Last year, Appssavvy ran a campaign where they brought Windows Cloud into GodFinder All-Stars game. The user activity itself leveraged what a user was already doing in the game. In this six-week promotion, 10% of game player’s visited the Windows Cloud (6.1 million visits).

Bribery

Instead of blending advertising into the game experience, brands can ask players to sit through an ad in exchange for virtual game currency. Currently, SocialVibe is one of the main companies providing this type of service, but this is also the category where Kiip inserts themselves with a twist on “virtual currency” and instead providing real prizes.

Make Better Ads

Rich media mobile ads invite users to actually engage with the brand and ad itself, where the ad can be turned into an interactive game for users with a brand. For instance, users can swipe or tap on an iPhone that does an action to reveal a brands story.

With Mary Meeker from Business Insider claiming that 2012 will be the inflection point of which mobile devices will see significant growth, mobile advertising is about to take off. The transition from the “stay-at-home” desktop device to the “on-the-go” mobile device is being realized by marketers all over North America, with 75% of marketers planning to add mobile to their marketing mix in 2011 (Forrester Research).

If you’re not thinking mobile yet, you should be. The tipping point is approaching!

Tags: ads, advertising, app, ipad, iPhone, mobile ads

Love it or Hate it – The iPad

By now you have probably heard of a little something called… the iPad.  Up until recently (May 28th to be exact) you weren’t able to buy it in Canada. But now you can.. and you should.

What’s so great about the iPad you ask?  Is it really that sensational or is it just an oversized iTouch / iPhone?

The larger screen size does make it a more practical and comfortable experience when reading longer articles (eg. ebooks, pdfs, etc) or when using the multitude of Apps on the bright, crisp screen.

So what Apps are available? Apple has a featured selection and many other websites have a list of essential or top iPad Apps to download.

If you haven’t got your iPad yet, move fast and see if you can find one at the official Apple store or website. You might also find one at BestBuy, FutureShop or London Drugs. However, chances are you’ll have to wait a bit. With the 2 million iPads sold in less than 60 days since its initial release in the US, stock appears to be running low.

Do you have an iPad? How do you like it?

Victor

Tags: apple, Apps, Canada, ipad

A Vancouver Marketing Strategist’s Day in 20XX?

Photo Credit: skippyjon

7:00am

I woke up to my alarm clock, yawned and wondered what day it was today. Realizing it’s Tuesday, I brushed my teeth, took a shower and got dressed for work.

7:30am

I sat down at the kitchen table to eat my favourite cereal, Honey Nut Cheerios. As I poured out the cereal, a small holographic sticker fell out of the box. Picking it up, I thought, “They still make these?” and had a good chuckle at myself. Stretching out, I reached for my iPad across the table and opened up the Vancouver Sun. The Headline News was “Google Bought Another Country”…go figure. Right beside the headline I saw the Flash video playing an ad for our client. Yes, it was Flash!

8:00am

My iPad suddenly spoke, “It’s now eight o’clock”. I took a quick glance at the clock, hoping my iPad was somehow lying. I jumped off my chair, grabbed my MacBook Pro and darted for my car, knowing how bad the traffic would be in the morning.

8:30am

I slipped into my car, where the fun begins every morning. My Google Android equipped car powered up and gave me a report on any traffic accidents on my route. After that I told Jessie (Yes, I named my car, Jessie) to login to Twitter and read the latest tweets from my Twitter List. Hands-free of course, it’s great how voice-recognition technology has come along.

As always it’s cloudy and raining in Vancouver. Pulling up to a red traffic light I started daydreaming about what it was like back then, driving without a HUD windshield. The windshield is great especially while driving at night or in the rain when visibility isn’t that great…

“The traffic light has turned green”, Jessie spoke.

…or for drivers who are often preoccupied.

I drove past Cambie & Broadway and Jessie prompted me, “Moyra checked in at this Starbucks 15 minutes ago. She recommends the Chai Latte”. Jessie’s hooked up to Foursquare, of course, and all my other social media accounts. Location-based social media marketing at its finest wouldn’t you say? I was tempted to stop by, but I was going to be late for work.

9:00am

I arrived at work. (To be continued…)

Victor Chan
eMarketing Strategist

Tags: foursquare, google android, hud windshield, ipad, marketing, Social Media, starbucks, strategist, technology, Twitter, Vancouver

Technology convergence, what’s next?

7 years ago, I had an iPod to listen to my music, a Nokia to call my friends and a GPS for my car. Then smart phones like the Iphone arrived and changed my habits and created big concerns for companies like Garmin, Sony, etc. Today, I can already tell there is another merge on the way and a big battle is brewing.

In my opinion, the next everyday object to be replaced (and on a massive scale!) will be: the book! Just like music and movies, the whole distribution model will have to evolve, creating a crisis for certain companies and opportunities for others. We may have to wait 10 years for a device that will completely replace my beloved books, but one day, it will come. As most of you probably know, we already have contenders: Kindle, Nook and even the Ipad!

We can buy physical books right now, read them, resell them but it is extremely difficult to reproduce them. The cost of a “real” book is no doubt more expensive than the digital version because of the manufacturing and distribution costs. The eBook, if it follows the same path of most digital mediums, will not be sold like a traditional book.

Most likely, you will be able to “buy a license” rather than own it. The book will be linked to your account or device and won’t be transferable. In other words, you will lose a lot of rights. To convince you to switch, eBooks will have additional features and carry a lower price tag. If the store ever closes, you will most likely lose access to the books you bought legally but the hacker who cracked the system will be safe. You will be able to store thousand of books in a slim device but it will never look as beautiful as a room filled with books (just like my favourite library: the Austrian National Library in Vienna).

What will the device feel like? Look at the upcoming iPad, merge it with a screen as good as the Kindle but in color, vivid as the new oled screens (just like the Nexus One).

Will companies be able to adapt or will they fight against an evolving world by trying to impose their obsolete models? What about schools? Will the students just pirate the most expensive books? What will change for an Internet strategist like me? Will I be able to buy publicity in ebooks that could be targeted to specific readers according to their personal profile? Publicity that will change depending on the time of day and location? That would be amazing! Who could provide such a framework? Could it be you?

There are a lot of great opportunities everywhere. The ebook market will be one of them. So what is your plan to take advantage of it? Now is an excellent time to prepare yourself for the next big revolution!

Taotao
eMarketing Strategist

Tags: apple, ebook, ipad, technology convergence