Last week at the National Retail Federation’s convention, Intel and Adidas unveiled a new in-store interactive display that allows shoppers to browse as many as 8,000 shoes on a large touch screen wall. The interactive experience could land in stores in the U.K. as early as next year.
Check out Fast Company’s article with video for more info.
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So yesterday I posted an blog entry about the growth in mobile consumer engagement. Specifically the positive results from recent studies around mobile browsing and shopping.
In writing that one of course, the 4G topic came up. It would’ve been hard for it not to….. With 4G ads smacking you in the face everywhere from the major carriers, it’s hard to not be both curious and skeptical. At least if you are me.
So, I did a little investigating and came upon an article on Advertising Age about this very topic. In reading it, I couldn’t help but think about the razor blade ‘wars’ a few years back when it seemed like Gillette and Schick just kept trying to one up each other by adding another blade. I think that this skit from MadTV way back in the early mid 90′s actually did a good job taking a jab at the subject. Say hello to the Mach 20:
Okay, so back to the topic of this post…. So, Verizon and AT&T have been fighting it out for the last few years, with rumbles over coverage areas, dropped calls, network reliability, who’s 3G is faster that whose…. It really did get to the point of annoyance a little while back. Now, it looks like it’s going to start all over again with the 4G topic.
Apparently AT&T just jumped onto the 4G wagon at the CES 2011 show (for our thoughts on that, check out Adam Daniel’s post here), but they are a bit late to the game because Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have been at it for what seems like awhile now. The funny thing about 4G though is, there is apparently NO standard for what it means, or is. Yep, you read that right, no standard. So it’s just a term at this point.
The assumption of course is that it means fourth generation mobile internet; implying faster speeds for downloading. The ridiculous thing is that apparently some of the providers claiming 4G are really just using “faster 3G.” So is it really 4G then? Hmm…… Confused? I am.
Now, there are of course a variety of technologies that make up the mobile internet genetic code and I can’t even begin to pretend I know anything about that. But to the average consumer, what does or will that technology actually mean? They just want to know they are getting something better and faster. So that’s what the marketing tells us. But what’s legit and what isn’t is really ambiguous at this point. At least from my perspective.
All this said, the landscape of the 4G, what it is and what it means (and more importantly again, what it will bring to consumers in terms of value in the long run), is most certainly up for debate and speculation at this point. As with all things technology and mobile related, many already are and will be waiting to see how things develop and what comes of the newest mobile provider battle.
I of course, as I’m sure many of you reading this, will be among those waiting and watching.
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So, mobile internet usage only continues to grow, we’ve all heard that pretty much everyday for the past few years. I, for one, feel like I read it all day, every day, in every industry related publication around me. In light of the recent news yesterday that Verizon will start carrying the iPhone next month, breaking AT&T’s exclusive contract, I figured a post on this topic was very fitting.
With carriers offering more and more internet capable devices, at lower start-up costs to consumers and with even better data rates, internet on your phone is more available today than ever before. Also contributing to this is the blow for blow boxing competition between the major carriers, be it through their marketing or their continual race to have the most, the best, the fastest of the newest technology (hello 4G!)). I always have believed that competition breeds good things and in the mobile world, this is no different.
So it’s not surprising that according to a study done the last part of Q4 2010, between November 29 and December 15, a survey of users visiting online retailers over the holiday period (conducted by ForeSee Results) showed that a third of online shoppers also browse on Mobile.
The study (which you can download for free here by providing some info) polled almost 10,000 users who visited one of the top 40 U.S. e-commerce sites during the two week period.
In the study they compare results to the same period in 2009, which found at that time that 24 of online shoppers browse on mobile. They also examined purchase results on mobile devices resulting from browsing. Though only 11 percent of the respondents polled apparently made purchases from their phones after browsing, the bright spot is that data shows that is up 56 percent year over year. (In 2009, only 2 percent of respondents purchased from mobile devices). Of course, none of these numbers are HUGE, but it’s important to consider the value of engaging with these audiences early (and often). What can brands learn from these users? How can they use this period of growth and relative uncertainty to lay the foundation for what the mobile landscape means and is in their business vertical.
Of course, lots of predictions abound in the mobile world from all ends of the spectrum, as to what 2011 and the years to come have in store. No doubt with all the carriers stepping up their 4G game, Android phones continuing to grow in market share, the iPhone hitting Verizon and the continued explosive growth on the app side of things (especially with branded apps), consumers will have more opportunities and better technology to support their desired mobile experiences. What will that mean? More money invested in mobile. More money spent by consumers on their mobile devices. More marketing dollars hitting mobile. Etc., Etc.
On the flip-side, all this offers brands some very unique opportunities to continue engaging new and existing audiences. Still very much uncharted territory in my opinion, the mobile landscape will continue to evolve this year, yielding benefit for everyone, consumers and brands alike. Best thing I can say is ensure you are aware and considering mobile’s impact now (and in the short and long term future) on your brand. For those that get left behind, it’s going to be very hard to catch up…
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This years Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has come and gone and it didn’t disappoint in the least. About a thousand new tablets were announced from big names like Motorola and Research In Motion. Microsoft’s Kinect was a big fan favorite and we got a sneak peak at where gaming could go in the future with the announcement of Avatar Kinect. Apple rolled out their Mac App Store during the show and Motorola announced a dual core smart phone. The talk about 3D still carried over from last year as Sony announced a 3D HD consumer video camera. LG showed off there “smart appliances” and eCoupled showed of a very cool wireless electricity counter top that can charge devices and cook specially designed soup packaging without ever plugging in or starting up a microwave. The one thing I hope never sees the light of day is the glowing cereal boxes also demonstrated by eCoupled. It’s already hard enough to convince my kids to eat healthy. I can’t compete with a flashing Trix box.
Check out the highlights of CES 2011 at Gizmodo.
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I’ve always loved the Holiday season, and the feeling it brings. However, I’m a huge slacker when it comes to shopping for gifts. I usually never make it to the stores to pick up stuff until it’s too late when only Feliz Navidad gift cards are available. But…now, shopping has been made even easier by the Amazon iPhone App.
Now, when I’m waiting at a restaurant for food, or if I’m bored and wasting time on my phone, and I can take care of my Christmas shopping. The app has most of the useful features that the website has, and a few more. To list a few, you can do the following:
The check out process is also really easy and simple, especially if you already have an Amazon.com account with a stored payment method.
This year, my friends and family can thank the Amazon’s Iphone App. No longer will they receive gag gifts, or creative gifts like a Vodka distilling system that consists of Kamchatka Vodka, and a Brita filter.
Enjoy the screen shots below.
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So, I’m by no means a sculptor. I don’t know the first thing about it or how to do it. (Though I do remember sculpting a box in some 9th grade art class. Didn’t turn out well…)
Regardless, I can appreciate how awesome this new iPad app — Beautiful Modeler — is and the potential impacts it might have on sculpting in general in the 21st Century. Plus, it lets you sculpt without ever having touched the clay, thus your hands stay clean. (Bonus!)
So what is it? Well, Beautiful Modeler is an iPad application that allows you to mold virtual clay on your iPad into whatever model you want. There are apparently no limitations (from what I read in the article about it here) as you can stretch the clay, squeeze it, twist it around, etc. Basically, my take is whatever you can do with real clay, you can do with this. Pretty cool. While you are using your iPad to creating your masterpiece, the model you are creating is displayed on your laptop or desktop computer. This allows you to better see what you’re actually sculpting.
From there, once you finish your model, you can actually print it out, export it as an STL file and fabricated it immediately. There is a video that shows the whole process here:
All this was created by the Karl D.D. Willis. More info on him and his work here.
As the article points out, the potential impacts of this tool are pretty huge. For many, using CAD software for 3-D modeling just isn’t an option. Why? Well, apparently it’s pretty hard to learn and sometimes even harder to actually use. For those designers out there that actually want to use it to produce their own stuff, it seems as if it may be more of a hindrance than a help. I’m no pro on this, so don’t quote me. I’m just passing along what I read and hear.
If sculpting is as easy as this video makes it out to be though, I might just need to take it up. A new generation of Michaelangelos may soon be born.
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In all honesty, they may not really be called ‘GardenerBots,’ (GBs for short) but that’s what I’m going to call them for the purpose of this post.
GBs are such close relatives of our friend BirdBot, we felt we should share with all our readers the advancements that they are helping us make in the world of sustainable agriculture.
Farming is no easy task. Farming sustainably is even more complicated. In either case, it’s certainly true that without ever having participating in the act of farming first hand, many of us probably take for granted all the labor and resources that go into growing green peppers or Gala apples, and getting them from field to plate fresh and in good shape.
Well, a crew of students over at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology‘s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratories (CSAIL) obviously have learned that producing fruits and veggies isn’t easy and as such, have sought out to understand how robots could help lessen factors tied to labor and resources, ultimately helping to farm more efficiently and sustainably.
You can check out a whole story on the study that they are doing here. Essentially, they are determining ways for the computerized sensors connected to potted plants can tell robots when they need nutrients and water, (as well as how much) and when fruit is produced and ready to be harvested. Very crude robots designed for the study (yep that’s a Roomba they are built on!) have dexterous arms with an integrated camera that can help them see in order to water plants and pick fruit among other things. (By the way, Roomba’s are pretty funny and this is why. They are more of a toy than a vacuum…)
How this study could potentially affect the future, at least of greenhouse farming, is pretty cool to think about. There really is a level of precision that is evident in what these automatons can offer when it comes to reducing wasted resources and time across the whole agricultural process; from seed, to store, to your belly.
If you are curious and want to see more of these automatons, specifically in action, there is a video below. Probably the funniest thing about this is the what looks to be Dell laptop strapped vertically to their backs. Roomba + Dell = GardenerBot. Who new?
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By using their patented process of device fingerprinting BlueCava, Mark Cuban’s latest venture, is promising better targeted online ads. Should be interesting to see where this goes considering the privacy issues that sites like Facebook are already facing.
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So we unleashed BirdBot on the world earlier this month, letting him fly free so he could take over the interwebs and provide happiness and joy to everyone who is ambitious enough to dress one up themselves over at the BirdBot Factory.
Wait you say, you haven’t designed your own BirdBot yet? You better stop slacking and take your best shot at building a Bot! Everyone’s doing it….
So, if you’re not following us on Twitter yet, you might not know that we actually found out that the kind folks over at Ponoko were nice enough to chat up BirdBot a little bit here and help spread that good word about our little friend. (Thanks again Kristen!)
Now, if you didn’t notice, earlier in the blog we announced the best Bot design from Week 1 and Week 2 of the Factory being up and running. Didn’t like our choice or just think you have what it takes to design the best BirdBot? Well, then make sure you show us what you can do over at the BirdBot Factory.
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Billboard advertising…. some would say I’m not the biggest fan. Despite a move from a purely stagnant structure, to more digitally centric in some respects, it still doesn’t strike any chords with me.
Relative to the highway kind, I just find it hard to believe that anyone really pays attention to these structures that dot our landscape. Heck while driving in the car, some people have a hard enough time paying attention to the signs for exits and the speed limit (hello person in Chicago that cut me off last night as you cut across 4 lanes of traffic to narrowly get to your exit), so is it realistic that people are truly being influenced by your brand and comprehending its message while in their car, playing with their iPod, texting and eating lunch, all while driving 70 mph?
In reference to those that are in place around malls and some cities presently, some big technological advances seem to be coming and they’d be ones that could give billboards the boost they need.
Can you say ‘shopper targeting via facial recognition’ three times fast?
Recently an article in The Guardian reported that at least in Japan, the sci-fi technology that was featured in the film Minority Report where Tom Cruise’s character is marketed Guinness via interactive billboard ad that scanned his iris, is in fact a reality we’ll soon see.
All this is pretty crazy right?
Apparently the first digital billboards that are using this technology and capable of delivering messages are being tested in shopping malls in Japan right now, using technology provided by electronics corporation NEC. As you’ll see from the image below, should you find yourself in Japan and crossing paths with one of these billboards, you’ll be greeted by a virtual mannequin. I know, it looks kinda weird, but hey, all technology is a little rough the first go round.
So at first, the facial recognition technology will use software that can identify a shoppers gender, ethnicity and approximate age. 85-90% accuracy is mentioned as a benchmark. Of course, this will come in handy when advertisers want to market a product in a gender specific manner.
At the end of the day, is this advancement important? In my eyes, yes, it is and it was to be expected. If the technology develops well, it could open up a lot of new and unique doors for engaging with consumers. Say a consumer is intrigued by the message they see or hear, giving them the ability to interact with the ad and the device presenting it (potentially even interfacing with their mobile device) beyond the mere presentation of a product as they walk by, could be a great asset to a brand when reaching consumers on the go. On the other side of the coin however, privacy concerns and just an overall feeling of weirdness surround this, which is inevitabley going to be a touch road block to get past.
Wherever things go from here, it’s certainly interesting to see yet another way that interactive technology is affecting yet another aspect of the marketing landscape.
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