Marketing BlackFin360 - Innovation To Reality

August 11, 2015

SXSW 2016 Voting Has Begun!

Now through September 4th, 2015 is the time to vote on panels & presentations for SXSW Interactive 2016. This time around I have submitted two presentations.

The first panel is Unleashing Innovation. This will be a fire side chat format with Jeff Donaldson of the GameStop Technology Institute as we discuss how to integrate innovation into an existing organization.

The second is a solo topic discussing the Uselessness of Data which dives into how data without the right context is essentially useless. By itself data doesn’t move the customer engagement needle. People search out and connect with compelling stories, solutions or insights – that create friction along the path-to-purchase – not raw data or numbers.

I would greatly appreciate your support with a vote. The first step to vote is to create an account at http://panelpicker.sxsw.com

Then you can simply search for Tom Edwards or Epsilon and give thumbs up to submit your vote.

Thank you in advance for your support! It is much appreciated.

Follow Tom Edwards @Blackfin360

August 10, 2015August 10, 2015

Ephemeral Marketing

August 6, 2015August 6, 2015

Media Post IOT Shopping Panel

I had the opportunity to speak on a MediaPost panel this morning discussing end-to-end beacon solutions and how to leverage the data gathered to create authentic and relevant connections with consumers.

It was a lively discussion touching on a number topics. The panel kicked off with a discussion about what the low hanging fruit is for organizations to capitalize on beacon based initiatives. Then we discussed the type of data collected and how to append value. We then outlined challenges around gathering IOT data and more importantly create actionable insights in real time.

We also explored who will own the central repository of data in an IOT world. I outlined that an arms race is currently underway with the likes of Apple, IBM, Facebook and Google vying to convince partners of the value of their platforms.

Finally, we spent a lot of time diving into our approaches to privacy and the role that data scientists will play in the near future.
I will post the stream of the panel once it’s live.

Follow Tom @BlackFin360

August 5, 2015August 10, 2015

Livestreaming Best Practices

July 3, 2015April 10, 2017

PepsiCo’s 50th Anniversary Milestone Strategy

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary about PepsiCo’s 50th anniversary milestone strategy as well as discuss best practices for celebrating milestones both from a corporate and brand perspective.

(Mobile Marketer) Is PepsiCo’s approach to celebrating their 50th anniversary a good way to mark a milestone like this given the potential mobile audience?

Pepsico is using it’s 50th anniversary as a content thematic to further tell the brand story and engage with partners (Omnicom, Oracle, Bristol Motor Speedway, etc…) to create relevant content and conversation (#Pepsico50) around the milestone event.

The key point to consider is since this is a PepsiCo corporate vs. Pepsi brand initiative, the conversation is more closely aligned between partners and employees vs. celebrating directly with consumers and rewarding them. With product milestones, you see a number of brands leveraging the milestone to activate their consumer base.

(Mobile Marketer) What is the right mobile marketing strategy when you commemorate a milestone like this?

Depending if the milestone is tied to the company vs. a product will impact what the end objective may be. Pepsico’s approach is ideal for a corporately led celebration of a milestone.

They were able to create short form content that spoke to different audiences and gained additional earned media equity through partner created content and conversation.

For products celebrating milestones it is an opportunity to activate a consumer base to share in and be a part of a celebration. This can come in many forms, but the ideal is when a brand consumer can convey what the product means to them through user created content that is curated and celebrated by the brand.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

May 20, 2015April 10, 2017

Mobile is the First Screen for Millennial Marketing

I was recently asked to provide commentary about social media usage growing on mobile as well as how this impacts millennial marketing. Below is a recap of the conversation.

With the rise in social media usage on mobile, what is the key takeaway for marketers, particularly in what they should be doing to reach millennial consumers?

(Tom Edwards) We understand that mobile is the first screen and that multi-screening is second nature so we look to create integrated experiences that are clear, consistent and recognizable that is designed to be authentic and relevant and always mobile first.

We also understand that for millennials we have to speak visually. Visual language is supplanting the need for text. Whether it’s photos, stickers, emoji or memes visual is a powerful way to deliver a message as well allow for greater flexibility and ownable identity.

Final approach is to treat them as individuals there are different life stages and behaviors across the age range. It’s important to provide as much customization and personalization at the right time on the right platform.

The Temkin Group released a new Social Media Benchmark Study that examines the impact of social and mobile behaviors on 18-24 and it showed decreases in desktop and increased social consumption via mobile. Why?

(Tom) In a recent Facebook briefing, their insights team shared that 60% of 13-24 year olds would rather give up their television than their mobile phones.

Mobile is the enabler of their lives, connection with friends, family, entertainment and the world. Mobile allows them to quickly amplify their personalities.

To them, all the world is a screen and we have to adapt and treat them as individuals and personalize messaging at the right time on the right mobile platforms in an authentic and relevant way.

How do you interpret only a small increase in daily Facebook access? What are the implications for marketers?

(Tom) Facebook’s approach is to continue to diversify their positioning to reach millennial consumers. As they move towards a family of apps strategy, where each platform has a specific role, instagram = community, whatsapp = simple 1:1 chat, messenger = enhanced messaging and 1:1 commerce.

It is not surprising to see the small increase in daily Facebook access compared to larger growth on other platforms. Facebook is focused on creating relevant avenues for consumers to connect and interact with every facet of their world through applications that meet specific use cases.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

April 30, 2015July 3, 2015

iMedia Agency Summit May 2015 Keynote Panel

Next week, I will be attending the 2015 iMedia Agency Summit and will participate in the Keynote Panel discussing the topic of how to remain agile in the face of change.

Definitely looking forward to discussing shifts in the industry, agency models of the future, cross company collaboration and finding a common vernacular internally between teams and externally from agency to client.

Let me know if you will be in attendance!

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

April 27, 2015April 28, 2015

3 Things to Know after 72 hours with the Apple Watch

After spending 72 hours with the Apple Watch I was recently asked to summarize my thoughts about what I like, what needs work and what marketers should consider when creating an Apple Watch experience.

What Do You Like About the Watch after spending 72 hours with it?

From Apple’s first announcement last September, to receiving the Apple watch on launch day, I have consumed a significant amount of information about what to expect from Apple’s latest tech. All of the research did not prepare me for the full experience.

The watch is beautifully designed and the 42mm face was just the right size. The interface is very smooth and responsive and I am getting a good feel for which elements add the most value for me and how I want to extend my iPhone experience.

Setup was incredibly easy and was primarily facilitated through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone. After language selection and visually pairing the Apple Watch and iPhone I dove into setting up my application preferences.

The key thing to consider if you are looking to invest in an Apple Watch is to understand that it is NOT an iPhone on your wrist, but it is an extension of the iPhone experience. It WILL streamline lightweight tasks such as text, notifications and quickly reviewing e-mail.

I like the flexibility of the interchangeable watch bands and I already see 3rd party band options appearing on eBay. I ordered a second Apple Watch band and it literally takes seconds to completely change the look of the watch.

What Needs Work?

Outside of the passcode keypad, there is not a consistent input mechanism outside of voice. Responding to messages either consists of predetermined phrases, emoji or voice response. This is fine 90% of the time, but for those times when it is not convenient to speak your response it will require you to pull out your iPhone. #FirstWorldProblems

The same goes for making and taking calls on the Apple Watch. Be prepared to look like Dick Tracy when you are speaking into your wrist. Calls are better meant for taking on your actual iPhone.

One surprise was that Facebook was noticeably missing from the Apple Watch app store on launch day. You still receive notification from the apps but there is not a native Facebook Apple Watch experience as of yet.

One additional missing element is a browser experience. There are third party apps that provide an abbreviated browsing experience but there is not an official Apple Watch browser. Siri is voice based and any search query that is not tied to an existing app function is handed off back to the iPhone.

I have experienced accelerated battery drain on both the Apple Watch & paired phone. Also, handoffs between the watch & app can be awkward in some 3rd party apps. Upon initial setup a number of applications have to be pre-configured via the phone prior to just “working” with the paired Apple Watch.

How can marketers benefit from the Apple Watch?

For brands that have a native app in market, the Apple Watch can provide a way to extend the value of the application if marketers focus on creating utility. From a shopper marketing standpoint Target’s focus on list creation is a good example of taking a single element of the app experience and using the Apple Watch to drive a specific user behavior.

Target Apple Watch App initial user experience

Target Example highlighting item location via Apple Watch

For me I have used the Starbucks app extensively over the past 48 hours. From the “glance” which tells me how close I am to a Starbucks location as well as extending their loyalty program, to leveraging passbook to pay quickly for my morning Americano. I have been impressed by the ease of use and value the app is bringing to me through a simple experience.

The key areas of focus for marketers is understanding how to leverage both short & long notifications to influence certain behaviors while also leveraging the most relevant data to visualize via a glance to sustain ongoing wrist engagement.

Example from American Airlines Simplifying the Boarding Experience

By focusing on extending applications through the lens of consumer value and lightweight interaction marketers can capitalize on staying top of mind through a users wrist.

Example of Uber’s Apple Watch experience

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

April 24, 2015April 27, 2015

Apple Watch Arrives Today What Marketers Should Know

Today is the day many of us have been waiting for. Today the Apple Watch will arrive. I was on a flight from NYC yesterday when I received the news that I would in fact receive my Apple Watch on launch day.

After weeks of diving into the WatchKit SDK and watching each new update description and how brands were creating new Apple Watch experiences I went to my local Apple Store for a personal fitting.

This was my first exposure to the hardware

I get very excited on Apple launch days. When an Apple white box arrives on my doorstep I take great care in the unboxing of the product.

Today was no different as it was a very smooth setup process. A review will be forthcoming.

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to outline the opportunity for marketers and the Apple Watch.

(Mobile Marketer) How big is the opportunity for marketers in apps for the Apple Watch?

(Tom) “The Apple Watch provides a great opportunity to extend unique app use cases by leveraging the capabilities of the Apple Watch hardware and the WatchKit SDK. The key to fully unlocking it’s potential will be driven by marketers ability to create optimal user experiences built on relevant behavioral touch points and value connections with consumers.”

(Mobile Marketer) What do marketers need to keep in mind in considering or having apps for the Apple Watch?

(Tom) “One key area to consider are actionable notifications. The Apple watch will support short term and long term notifications. Long term notifications support app-defined actions, so it is feasible to leverage functionality from the app directly from the notification bypassing another step for the consumer.”

(Mobile Marketer) Is an Apple Watch app something every marketer should have?

(Tom) “I would not say that every marketer needs an apple watch, but any marketer that focuses on content creation or distribution should take note of user behavior after launch and fully understand how to create an ideal experience on the platform. “

(Mobile Marketer) What are the hottest topics or category of apps you have seen for the Apple Watch?

(Tom) “Content delivery apps such as Buzzfeed and Flipboard as well as retail apps such as Target and Starbucks are all prepping for the release on the 24th. Buzzfeed is focused on delivering daily polls which may work well as they are short form. Flipboard is focusing on providing summaries of news stories and using the handoff feature to allow for consumption of long form content. Starbucks is porting many of the iPhone app features into the Apple Watch such as store locators and paying with passbook.”

(Mobile Marketer) Are there any examples of Apple Watch apps that seem especially noteworthy?

(Tom) “The Target Apple Watch App looks interesting as not only will it provide list building within the application, it will also provide value while in-store by mapping the location of the items on your list and the glance option will provide simple utility by seeing if the store is open, how many items are on your list, and how many may have deals associated with them.”

I am truly excited to dive into the various use cases that are being deployed today and how we can create new ones for our marketing partners.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

April 23, 2015April 22, 2015

Art + Science = Facebook Anthology Initiative

I recently attended the latest Facebook Openbook event in NYC. The topics included the latest video product updates and the new Anthology initiative was unveiled.

Anthology is a creative brief based program that combines the insights and scale of Facebook with the reach and relevance of large publisher partners.

Facebook is providing access to insights rooted in detailed analysis of target audiences to inform publisher creative. Their goal is to combine art + science to inform the creation of highly relevant & shareable content that drives business.

There are 7 initial partners in the program.

Vox Media – Millennial Focused media entity targeting: Sports (SB Nation), Tech (The Verge), Gaming (Polygon), Real-Estate (Curbed), Food (Eater) & Racked (Retail/Shopping)

Vice Media – Millennial Focused media entity that creates over 6,000 pieces of content daily across 10 primary channels covering news, music, tech, food, sports and fashion, all by young people, for young people.

Oh My Disney – Ability to leverage assets and properties of Disney in short form content that is designed to be shared.

The Onion – satirical news content creator

TasteMade – Mobile centric video network that reaches 25 million people monthly

Funny or die – Original & UGC Comedy & Pop Culture Content creator

Electus Digital – Properties include Collegehumor.com, Dorkly (Geek Culture) and Nuevon (Hispanic)

Each publisher partner created a mock “anthology” based on Facebook insights and a hypothetical brand/agency creative brief. Each anthology program had it’s own unique creative slant based on the insights provided by Facebook and the unique perspective of the publisher.

The publishers produce the content and partner with Facebook to distribute the content both through Facebook’s media network as well as their own distribution properties.

The Anthology program can be beneficial for brands and agencies alike as it is a quick way to collaborate with some of the most relevant millennial focused publishers as well as leverage proprietary user data and insights provided by Facebook.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

April 21, 2015April 21, 2015

Is Today Mobileggedon? 5 Things To Know about Today’s Google Update

Today is the day Google is rolling out a major update to it’s mobile search algorithm. Some are proclaiming this “Mobileggedon” others the “Mobilepocolypse”.

The reality is that this is a major update that will boost the ranking of mobile-friendly pages. There are five things to know about how this update may impact your brand.

1) The Update Only Impacts Mobile Search Results – This is a mobile first update and will only impact results from mobile queries.

2) The update does impact all languages – This is a global roll-out. Those that manage pages across locations should take note.

3) The update apples to individual pages vs entire web sites – This may not be apparent initially, but makes sense as a whole. Google indexes pages and queries map to intent which extends from the relevance of the content on the page.

4) This is one dimension for how Google will rank a mobile search query – This update does raise the importance of a mobile friendly experience, but this is not the only signal being considered.

5) Strong content can overcome… For now – User intent based on the query is still an important factor. If the content on a non-mobile friendly page is considered the most relevant for the query it will still rank high for now.

It is important to take the necessary steps to create an optimal experience not only from a search perspective but also from a user experience standpoint.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

April 15, 2015April 10, 2017

Going Beyond the App with Actionable Notifications

One incredibly useful iOS feature has flown under the radar for most branded applications. With a recent flurry of adoption from brands such as Walgreens, actionable notifications are quickly gaining traction as a mechanism to drive action through iOS notifications without the need to open an app.

The actionable notification API was originally announced at the 2014 Apple world wide developer conference (WWDC) and officially became available with the arrival of iOS8 last September.

Actionable notifications essentially allow a user to take an action directly from a notification. By simply interacting with the notification, the user is then prompted with unique app based actions that can be performed without the need to open an app.

Repost of actionable notification animated example from Nick Jensen

I was recently asked by Mobile Commerce Daily to provide commentary around Walgreens recent deployment of Actionable Notifications. Walgreens is leveraging actionable notifications to provide utility for existing consumers by allowing them to directly refill an Rx directly from the notification.

“Walgreens’ leveraging one of the newer features of iOS8 tied to actionable notifications is a great example of a brand maximizing the impact and flexibility of the operating system to create a seamless experience that does not require the user to open the application,” said Tom Edwards, executive vice president of digital strategy and innovation with The Marketing Arm, Dallas.

“By providing tools that reduce friction and extend beyond simple engagement they are demonstrating the power of mobile to enhance the customers experience.”

Actionable notifications will also be available as a part of the upcoming release of the Apple Watch. After going through one of the “personal fittings” I was impressed by the potential of how notifications can extend through various notification use cases.

After trying on the 42mm pictured above, I was impressed by the size and responsiveness of the interface.

Apple WatchKit will offer two types of notifications short-look & custom long-look notifications. Short look gives attribution to the app, title and app name and is visible only briefly.

With custom long-look we can incorporate up to 4 custom action buttons and custom graphics. Long-look is activated when a user either taps on a short look notification or if their wrist is raised.

Example of Short Term Apple Watch Notification

With custom long-look we can incorporate up to 4 custom action buttons and custom graphics. Long-look is activated when a user either taps on a short look notification or if their wrist is raised.

Example of Long Term Apple Watch Notification

One of the key points to consider is that just because the API exists does not mean that it is ideal for all scenarios. It is important to test the notification threshold of your user base and focus on extending value to existing behaviors vs. simply pushing messaging.

If there is a viable use case to create custom notifications that are simple extensions of your branded application then this API could be a great way to drive a certain behavior without the friction of forcing a user to open the full application.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

April 9, 2015April 8, 2015

10 Learnings from Facebook F8 2015

Today my recap of 10 Learnings from Facebook F8 is the lead cover story for iMedia. Here is a link to the full article and below is a repost of the content.

I recently attended the 2015 Facebook F8 conference. Below is a recap of my top ten takeaways from the annual developer conference. The following outlines the current and future plans of one of the world’s largest tech companies.

Current State – The primary theme of the opening keynote delivered by Mark Zuckerburg was one of “people first”. Facebook is now positioning it’s core offerings as a family of applications that are designed to align with how people are naturally using technology to engage and share.

It was quickly noticeable that each platform now plays a very specific role in the Facebook ecosystem. WhatsApp will continue to be a simple messaging platform, Instagram will maintain a focus on simplicity and creative expression.

Messenger is quickly being positioned as the primary mechanism for 1:1 communication and direct connection with businesses and groups continues to be a go to for 700 million people who want to collaborate around specific topics.

The core Facebook experience is focused on further extending it’s video capabilities while highlighting how they will remain relevant in the future by setting the foundation to support deeply immersive forms of content such as virtual reality.

Enhanced Messaging – One of the highly touted announcements was the expansion of Messenger to a 3rd party development platform. This is an important move for Facebook, especially with WhatsApp confirming during the conference that they will not be providing API’s any time soon on their product roadmap.

3rd parties can now reach and engage over 600 million active users. With the Messenger Platform it is possible to drive discovery, engagement and attribution through images, videos, GIF’s and sound clips.

Applications can either be stand-alone apps designed to enhance conversations, or it is possible for a brand application to create a workflow to share content through messenger and deep link into the messenger optimized experience in their native application.

Facebook also announced the beta launch of Businesses on messenger, which is how Facebook envisions brands and consumers engaging directly through enhanced customer service and value add to the consumer through templates that can showcase product details and enhanced order details.

Embedded Video – Facebook users are viewing over 3 billion videos per day and Facebook took another step towards challenging Google owned YouTube for market share by launching a new embedded video capability.

The new feature supports view count synchronization, full-bleed video and includes social actions in video such as Like and Share. Key points to consider are the desktop version is flash based and mobile is HTML5.

In recent Facebook briefings there have been discussions about Q3 introducing sequential storytelling into the fold. This is one area that the current embedded video option is lacking compared to YouTube. YouTube currently has the ability to create annotations and now “Cards” to create connections between assets.

Importance of Advocacy – With all of the talk about Facebook and brands lack of organic reach, it was confirmed that for users the newsfeed is still mostly deterministic in terms of the content that is served. This confirmed that peer to peer sharing is still the most viable option for content centric brands.

Another central theme was tied to sharing of content and the importance of creating relevant and engaging content that inspires consumers to share. It is also important to create content that is tailored for the audience and then selecting the ideal application from the Facebook family delivery and discovery.

While most social brand personification strategies have taken a back seat now on Facebook’s primary platform due to the shift towards reach and frequency, leveraging consumer and employee advocates as well as groups are still viable means to distribute a message outside of paid advertising.

State of Plug-Ins – Social plug-ins have been a staple of the Facebook ecosystem for years. The Facebook social plug-in’s team outlined their intentions to redefine the experience of many of the standard plug-in’s to create a richer mobile experience.

The first step is to relaunch Facebook moderation tools to allow greater flexibility and an optimized experience for moderation that includes bulk actions, custom lists and is being rewritten from scratch for a better mobile experience.

The team also outlined they are testing a new form of comment mirroring that aggregates comments from external news articles to the Facebook page and vice-versa. This is a key point to consider as this will align different audiences and shift the potential engagement that happens on-page.

Instagram – The Instagram team reiterated their focus on being community first and maintained that simplicity matters above all else when it comes to their product roadmap and the overall experience of the application.

The team confirmed that the Instagram newsfeed is 100% deterministic meaning that the content posted from your followers will appear in your feed. Based on this feedback, potentially adding features like a ReGram is not currently on the roadmap as the goal is to keep the experience simple.

They reiterated that Instagram is not a distribution platform for brands. Likes, follows and comments will not necessarily drive additional visibility within the platform due to the deterministic feed and the lack of any type of ReGram functionality.

For brands, the ideal approach is to curate against existing behaviors and create a relationship with passionate fans to showcase their view of the brand as the core assets to fuel your branded experiences.

Omnichannel – In recent years, Facebook has increased their focus on shopper and direct response capabilities. They stated that they view Omnichannel as the future of commerce and they are positioning their cross-channel approach as the ideal for brands.

Facebook highlighted the size of their network, the persistence of logged-in identity and their cross-platform approach as to why they should be considered as a holistic omnichannel offering.

A key point of discussion was tied to cross-screen attribution without proxies. With their SDK and conversion pixel, they stated that they have the ability to capture accurate measurement tied to their real users.

Future State – The most intriguing aspect of F8 was the insight into the future of Facebook strategy outlined by Facebook’s CTO Mike Schroepfer. In his keynote, he discussed the three core areas of focus for the near future. Those being planetary connectivity, natural interfaces and immersive experiences.

Services that scale and planetary connectivity are key areas of focus in the near future for Facebook. One of the key initiatives is tied to the Aquila unmanned solar drone. The drone is designed to stay aloft for three months at a time to deliver connectivity for remote regions.

Information overload was also an area of discussion for the future of Facebook. The goal is to build contextual systems that deal with information overload. One approach was the use of artificial intelligence built around the concept of convolutional neural nets that essentially create deeper associations between content elements at a faster rate than a simple algorithm.

The last of the three core pillars of the future state of Facebook is tied to the importance of creating and enabling the consumption of immersive content such as virtual reality. One of the key immediate takeaways was the fact that 3d spherical videos will be supported in the Facebook newsfeed. This is setting up for the immersive virtual reality experiences that are to come.

Parse + IOT – Facebook’s Parse was also a primary area of focus. Facebook acquired Parse in 2013. Since then, they are leveraging the platform as a service offering to provide additional rapid development services to mobile app developers such as user management, push notifications and analytics at scale.

Now with over 400,000 apps built on Parse, the Facebook team is now extending Parse to connect Internet of Things experiences. Facebook wants to make it easier for developers to leverage data from connected devices into their applications.

Many other tech heavyweights are investing in IOT data solutions. Apple, Google and recently IBM are all vying to unlock the key to leveraging IOT data.

Facebook’s approach is to connect devices and software that share common elements to increase the probability of systems working together. This could then lead to Facebook being the data aggregator between devices, software and data to create unique experiences across devices.

Virtual Reality – Virtual Reality played a key role throughout F8. Facebook referenced Virtual Reality as the next evolution of content experiences.

They showcased different applications from their teleportation stations that showcased what was happening in Menlo Park to their more immersive Crescent Bay demos that showed off the full capability of the Oculus Rift.

Facebook also spent half of a keynote simply showcasing the physiology associated with virtual reality and how the timing is now right as the cost of technology to create affordable consumer products is feasible, the experience is compelling and there is broad industry participation and a long-term commitment to advance the technology.

Facebook did a great job of balancing the short term vs. the future state while ensuring they are bringing their developer partners along the way. By shifting towards the family of apps strategy as well as building towards connected devices and immersive experiences, Facebook is in a position to remain relevant well beyond whatever happens with the core Facebook platform.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFIn360

March 25, 2015March 26, 2015

Emotive Robots Key to Unlocking IOT Potential

Over the 15 years of my digital career, I have witnessed significant technological innovation and massive shifts in consumer behavior based on the impact of innovation. Highlights include the evolution of the personal computer, the now ubiquitous smartphone, and the explosion of consumer-centric social media.

Looking to the near future, the current rate of exponential technological advancement will continue to accelerate, and we are primed for another significant leap forward; the concept of emotive computing is about to enter the lives of early adopters and has the potential to shift our behaviors once again.

During SXSW 2015, the personal side of robots session presented by Dr. Cynthia Breazeal caught my attention. Her session focused on the potential impact of emotive computing as the next wave of computing innovation.

Emotive computing is based on systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate elements of human behavior. The key to the concept is the alignment of both emotion and cognition as the drivers of adaptive behavior.

I have followed Dr. Breazeal’s work at MIT since the late ’90s when I first heard about the Kismet project. Kismet was designed to be one of the first socio-emotive AI. The core focus was to move past simple cognitive skills and align psychosocial elements into the robot’s ability to understand and treat people as people.

During the session, Dr. Breazeal discussed the evolution of Kismet to the next iteration of the AI, Leonardo, as well as how emotion + cognition should be the basis of intelligence and adaptive behavior – which is key to creating an emotive AI.

The advancements made with Kismet and Leonardo have set the foundation for a new type of consumer device that is focused on delivering multiple levels of utility while also demonstrating adaptive behavior.

Reviewing the current landscape of personal robots, we see mostly single utility or cognitively-driven robots. They enhance our lives by the tasks they complete but are weak in their ability to conceive emotional engagement.

This is where I begin to consider the current product/market fit for socially emotive AI. When you start to consider the Internet of Things or the Internet of Better Things, there are key components missing that would unlock new levels of value, which would lead to mass adoption. Most of the current ecosystem is comprised of single-utility solutions that are neither interconnected nor adaptive.

Initially, my assumption is that the IOT would benefit from a central hub that is built to scale. The basis for the hub has already been approached by Amazon with Echo. But the current technology tied to virtual assistants is built around search and retrieval based entities with limited capabilities to learn.

With the rise of emotive computing, it is feasible that the core hub for the connected home could be an emotive AI. Toward the end of her talk, Dr. Breazeal revealed that her current initiative as founder and Chief Science Officer of Jibo is to deliver such an entity into homes sooner rather than later.

Jibo is being touted as the first “family robot” and positioned as a support and an enhancer to humans. The IndieGoGo crowdfunded robot raised over 2.2 million dollars and the first run is currently in production. Jibo can see, hear, speak, learn, assist, and relate to individuals, and is going to be the first mass-produced emotive AI.

Jibo is also going to be built on a comprehensive developer ecosystem. With toolkits and a full SDK available, the focus is on creating a scalable content delivery platform.

I have talked a lot about how the IOT needs to be navigated with the consumer at the center, and I have shared my view of the #databaseofyou as the key to unlocking marketing value from the IOT, but little did I know that the database would actually reside within an emotive AI.

From a marketing perspective, I am very interested in the adoption and advancement of Jibo. If an emotive AI becomes the primary hub for the connected home, then it also becomes a potential content delivery platform that is the key connection between brands and consumers in the connected home.

By leveraging the full SDK and potentially certifying content, brands could provide contextually valuable experiences delivered through Jibo, or potentially new skills that extend the utility of the robot.

This is obviously speculation on how to potentially leverage emotive computing to create marketing value, but it is important to begin understanding that a significant shift is coming and that it may have just arrived in a small robotic form.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

March 23, 2015April 10, 2017

TechnologyAdvice Expert Interview Series

TA Expert Interview Series featuring Tom Edwards of The Marketing Arm

Tom Edwards, the Executive Vice President of Strategy and Innovation here at The Marketing Arm, was recently invited to be a guest on the TechnologyAdvice Expert Interview Series to share his insight on the digital marketing landscape. The series, which is hosted by TechnologyAdvice’s Clark Buckner, explores a variety of business and technology verticals through conversations with industry leaders.

Edwards joined Buckner to discuss modern day digital, social, and mobile innovations, the importance of bridging technology and marketing, and the four core elements that bring a campaign to life.

Below are a few of the highlights from our conversation:

TA: Tell us about what life is like at TMA and some of the projects you work on everyday.

Tom: At The Marketing Arm, we’re really a consumer engagement agency, so that touches a wide range of project types. Everything from digital, to promotional, to talent, to production, to just a number of different types of projects that come across my desk on any given day.

I’m a part of the digital engagement division and we service about 16 core clients, everything from Exxonmobil, to GameStop, to name just a few organizations. So over the last 15 years, my role within the industry has really shifted from starting more on the technology side, and really kind of incorporated being that bridge between technology and marketing.

As digital continues to progress, we’ve seen it all: the end of the dotcom boom, massive portals, the rise of consumer social. All of these different types of trends we’ve seen definitely had a hand in touching and guiding different project types across multiple platforms and different routes of sale. It’s been a fun, interesting ride and it continues to get better.

TA: What suggestions do you have for a team trying to compare and find the right marketing automation vendors? What should they be looking for?

Tom: Portability. So if I’m able to either leverage a tool that can aggregate content, redistribute, visualize things that can basically whether it’s a seamless flow, whether that’s your API through an SDK or whatever it may be, like that’s what I’m ultimately looking for now.

I’m looking for how can this one piece fit into the larger strategy that I’m trying to deploy and continue to add value without adding additional barriers or additional layers, that’s really the key piece. Because we’re touching so many different channels, everything from top line awareness via digital all the way down to shopper and point of sale.

So making sure that we can have programs that can work in scale. Scale is another key piece for us too and the data considerations depending upon local versus global so there are a lot of different pieces that we look at when we’re evaluating but for me, it’s how can whatever tool that you’re leveraging best provide value for everything as a whole versus just one specific piece or one specific function.

To learn more about The Marketing Arm, visit www.themarketingarm.com. Connect with Tom on Twitter @BlackFin360 and follow his blog at BlackFin360.com/blog. Be sure also follow @TheMarketingArm.

Listen to the entire show above in order to hear our full conversation, or download the show to listen later. You can subscribe to the TA Expert Interview Series via Soundcloud, in order to get alerts about new episodes.

***

This podcast was created and published by TechnologyAdvice. Interview conducted by Clark Buckner.

March 17, 2015July 3, 2015

Virtual Reality A Reality At SXSW 2015

Another year, another SXSW Interactive is in the books. Each year I look to get inspired, reconnect with publishers and 3rd party partners and look for new or incremental innovation that can add value for my clients. This year, one of the areas that caught my attention was the advancement of 3rd party integration and applications tied to virtual reality experiences.

In 2014, one SXSW exhibit in particular received a lot of attention for creating an immersive Virtual Reality Game of Thrones experience courtesy of Oculus Rift. 2015 did have it’s share of branded experiences tied to Oculus, see Samsung below, but a majority of 3rd parties were focused on showcasing how they create value through integrating VR and mobile devices as they prepare to go to market.

Samsung – I had the opportunity to experience the Samsung Gear VR headset while at SXSW. The Samsung Gear VR is powered by an Oculus Rift headset that integrates with the Galaxy Note 4. The approach of serving as an extension of an existing device that can scale through various media and applications is the right approach to allow optimal personalization of experiences through devices and media entities that consumers already consume.

The #GalaxyLife VR exhibit was a rich experience that I definitely enjoyed. My tour featured a Mountain Dew branded snowboarding adventure. There are pros and cons to the experience as it was immersive, although the audio was a bit lacking. If you have not tried the core Oculus Rift experience and this was your first foray into VR it is an impressive experience and for the average consumer, consuming media, be it VR cinema, gaming or 360 degree experiences can all be achieved through the Samsung Gear headset.

This type of VR experience is ideal for branded integrations as the experiences are tied to the mobile device and with the right SDK, it is possible to extend immersive content experiences through the Samsung Gear VR.

Google – One of the more unique takes on a similar premise to the Samsung Gear VR came from Google. Google Cardboard is a simple, inexpensive way to enjoy VR based experiences through either Android or iPhone devices. When the Google team handed me the device, it was about the size of an iPad Mini. After a few minutes of folding I had an instant VR viewer that I could view media from VRSE or other Google Cardboard supported applications.

As with most things Google, there are Android and Unity SDK’s available to easily integrate Cardboard into existing VR applications to ensure that it is supported. The experience is surprising rich and the fact that it is inexpensive and also supports iPhone VR applications is a plus. Google Cardboard is a great tool to introduce younger audiences to enhanced VR experiences. It definitely passed the test with my crew of 12, 10 and 7 years of age. And with the simple design, I am not concerned about how they would handle the device.

Intel and 3rd Parties – The SXSW Gaming Pavilion featured multiple extensions of the Oculus hardware with various groups working to create new integrations that could bridge the gap between traditional gaming and VR. Intel and CybertronPC showcased one of CybertronPC’s gaming rigs that supported an Oculus experience. This experience drew quite a crowd as onlookers wanted to catch a glimpse of PC gaming + Oculus.

Another 3rd party that caught my attention was Sixense’s STEM System. This was a Full-Body Presence VR system vs. just an Oculus Visual experience. The system provides motion controls, haptic feedback and additional spatial awareness in the VR experience to create a full body controlled experience in game. The demo featured a light saber duel, think Microsoft Kinect in terms of open space, body controlled motion but with a fully immersive Oculus Rift visual experience.

We are inching closer to mass consumer availability and I have been impressed how much has been developed within a single year. I still have my doubts as to whether or not Facebook’s Oculus Rift based experiences as they exist today will appeal to the mainstream consumer. We are still at the nascent stage of the technology and I do believe that augmented, virtual reality and digital overlays will become a part of our lives as some point in the next 10 years it just may not be a bulky headset, it may be something as simple as a bionic contact lens.

I definitely enjoyed playing with the new hardware and look forward to what the future may bring at SXSW 2016.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

March 2, 2015April 11, 2017

Integrating Celebrities and Online Influencers

This is the second of three posts taken from my recent interviews with iMedia. This post & video discuss integrating celebrity talent and online influencers.

Millennials love online celebrities, and with the ascendance of the Pluralist generation the importance of integrating influencers will only continue. Both of these groups live and breathe online, and agencies have a huge opportunity to work with social media stars, Vine talent, and popular bloggers to accomplish viral marketing. Brands and publishers don’t have these connections. Agencies are the creative places where online influencers will thrive. The dialogue is more open and the people are more willing to take risks. Smart agencies are remaining relevant by turning into mini-production houses

Tom Edwards is the Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy & Innovation

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February 26, 2015April 11, 2017

Chief Marketer Commentary: App vs. Mobile Web

I was recently asked by Chief Marketer where a mobile budget should be allocated – on an app or mobile web?

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February 23, 2015April 11, 2017

Aligning Social & Mobile Strategy

This is the first of three posts taken from my recent interviews with iMedia. This post & video discuss aligning social and mobile strategy.

To think that your social strategies and mobile campaigns can continue to exist in silos is an antiquated idea. Consumers are as attached to their devices as they are to their social networks and followings. Agencies know that these two worlds must collide for client campaigns to really take off. A campaign on mobile has a lot to compete with on its own, but if you integrate ways to make it easily sharable, likeable, and give it social legs, your chances for engagement are much higher.

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February 11, 2015July 3, 2015

Internet of Things: Beacons Panel

On February 10th I was a part of a Media Post panel discussing the Internet of Things and how beacons can be leveraged by brands to create value.

The discussion focused on going beyond the beacon trigger and creating new models of in-store creative advertising that connect physical to digital. We touched on strategy, creative, technology and best practices.

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Here is a quick breakdown of topics I address:

Introduction – The Marketing Arm – 1:22-1:53
Dealing with complexity of omnichannel – 2:36-3:58
Deeper dive into beacon deployment – 3:58-6:24
Creating something new – 11:07-13:00
Program Case Study – 14:47-17:43
Internal Agency Relationships – 25:38-27:12
Database of You – 32:32-33:25
Content – 36:24-38:22
Future State – 41:14-42:16
Leveraging Data – 49:02-49:41

Here is the formal description of the panel.

Advertising on the relatively small smartphone screen has hardly been a hit to date. Once initiated by a beacon signal, what creative will work best? What is the role of post-beaconing, such as sending ad messaging well after leaving a store? What about using past beaconing knowledge to drive foot traffic back to a store? What are consumer expectations from in-store engagements? What future creative options might be used to catch the shopper’s eye? Three creative minds discuss the best beacon-triggered creative approaches for in-store mobile marketing and mobile advertising.

The panel consisted of:

Ian Beacraft (Moderator), Manager, New and Emerging Technologies, Leo Burnett @ianbcraft

Ben Murphy, Director of Technology, FCB Chicago

Scott Varland, Creative Director, IPG Media Lab @scottiev

Tom Edwards, EVP Digital Strategy & Innovation, The Marketing Arm

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February 2, 2015March 19, 2015

Super Bowl XLIX Advertising Missed Opportunities

With the price of the average Super Bowl ad hovering around $4.5 million for a 30 second spot, you would assume that advertisers would extend the reach of the on-air spot and create comprehensive social and mobile experiences to capitalize on the spend.

For this years game that simply did not happen. SalesForce published a great ad analysis diagram outlining some of the hits and misses.

The big surprise was the amount of spots that simply did not have a single call to action. Awareness is one thing, but leading up to the big game it is incredibly important to maximize the reach and frequency of the spot and kick it over into an earned media strategy that extends the conversation and builds towards greater engagement with the brand.

Even the usage of hashtags was primarily relegated to end cards vs. being present throughout the spots. Having a hashtag is a good start, but it is also important to ensure that the experience both from a keyword and promoted tweet perspective further aligns the call to action with an opportunity to drive deeper engagement or action to a final destination.

The other surprising take away was the non-use of SMS during the course of the spots as well as the limited numbers of drive to native applications. Mobile marketing was almost non-existent and a huge missed opportunity to further drive customer acquisition of a highly engaged audience.

Heading into next years game brand advertisers need to focus on creating a cohesive experience that maximizes their investment to not only create awareness but diving deeper into creating experiences that extend beyond the spot that further fuels the social conversation.

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January 27, 2015July 3, 2015

Internet of Things: Beacons Conference

On February 10th, I will be in Chicago joining a panel discussing beacons at MediaPost’s Internet of Things: Beacons conference. If you are in the area it will be a great day of discussion.

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January 22, 2015April 11, 2017

The Rise Of Dark Social

I recently provided an article to MediaPost’s Social Media Insider, outlining the rise of dark social in 2015. The article outlines existing consumer behaviors tied to sharing, the potential impact of ephemeral social apps and key points to consider moving forward.

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January 21, 2015April 11, 2017

Budweiser Super Bowl Strategy Shifts to Digital

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary and analysis about the recent comments made by Budweiser that highlights their shift towards a more digitally centric Super Bowl strategy.

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January 19, 2015April 11, 2017

5 Reasons for Brands to Try Snapchat in 2015

This is a full repost of my recent iMedia Connection Cover Story.

Each year I like to dive into a specific platform that will make an impact for brands in the coming year. 2014 was the year of Tumblr. This prediction came true as TechCrunch recently released data that shows that Tumblr just overtook Instagram as the fastest-growing social platform.

Heading into 2015, Snapchat is the fastest growing social app. I have received numerous client requests for POV’s on the platform and I was recently briefed by the Snapchat team. What they unveiled takes the platform to the next level for brands interested in reaching the 14-28 year old demo in 2015.

Snapchat is already the fastest growing social app heading into 2015

According to Business Insider, Nearly Half of Americans aged 12 to 24 have used Snapchat

OVERVIEW & STATS

Snapchat launched in 2011 with a heavy emphasis on teen and 20-something users and has quickly gained traction over the past few years. Snapchat’s sweet spot is between 14-28 with a slight female lean. The numbers are impressive, including the fact that almost 50% of US users aged 12-24 have tried Snapchat. They now sit at 100 million active users with 50 million in the US.

When it comes to frequency of use, the platform is even more impressive as 60% of the active users are on the app daily with frequency numbers as high as 22x per day.

For those not familiar with Snapchat, one of the unique elements of the platform is that content “disappears” after a short period of time that is set by the content creator. Users also have the ability to “doodle” directly on the content to quickly personalize the content.

Users can set a timer for when their content will vanish

Users can doodle, add filters and comment on top of content

Here is a Snapchat infographic that our team developed in 2013. You can see the explosive growth since then.

If that was not enough, there are over 700 million snaps sent everyday. One of the key behavioral factors is tied to the fact that there is a sense of urgency with the content as it will eventually disappear.

HOW CAN BRANDS USE SNAPCHAT?

When it comes to the various use cases of Snapchat, users can chat with one-to-one messaging and live video chat, they can consume a feed of directly sent snaps and messages from friends, capture photo and video (filter, doodle, caption) and they can interact with the story feed.

While some brands go the route of directly sending and feeding snaps and messages, one of the key areas of focus recently has been tied to the “story” feed.

Here is an example from Taco Bell showcasing new products directly to their followers.

The My Stories feature was introduced in 2013 and has become one of the most popular features within the app. My Stories allows users to link multiple snaps together over a 24 hour period. This feature alone is driving over 1 billion views a day and has become the go to for brands emphasizing a 1 to many strategy on the platform vs. 1:1 messaging.

Here is an example of McDonald’s using multiple snaps to reveal a new product.

Snapchat and Advertising

When it comes to an approach to advertising, Snapchat is more like buzzfeed than Facebook. They focus on contextual relevance of the content to drive impressions vs. a highly targeted approach. Both have their pros and cons, but Snapchat recommends relevance and authenticity are the keys to success when it comes to advertising within their platform. They have recently introduced the ability to position sponsored content in the friend feed. From a viewability standpoint, they count a view as 2 seconds of consumption.

Here is an example of sponsored content from the recent Ouija movie.

WHAT’S NEW HEADING INTO 2015?

Our Story | One of the latest additions and one of the bigger brand opportunities is tied to the new Our Story offering. Our Story is a location based collaborative story that leverages content from the event and allows others not attending to directly experience the event. A user attending the event has ability to upload a photo or video snap and Snapchat drops a wi-fi geofence around the event. Content is then aggregated and The Our Story content prompt is located in the story feed and is next to friend content.

There is also an opportunity for brands to “sponsor” Our Story events. This comes to life in the form of interstitial content that wraps the user generated content and clearly identifies the sponsor. One key point to consider with this type of offering is to leverage authentic event content vs. pre-produced content. This better aligns the message and makes it more contextually relevant.

Here is an example from Samsung tied to the recent American Music Awards Show

What’s New?

Peer-to-Peer Payments | Recently, Snapchat partnered with Square to release a prototype that allowed users to store their debit card via square and the users could quickly process a payment and send cash to a friend’s bank account simply through the chat feature. Users could type the dollar sign, an amount and hit the green button. It is available in the US to those with a debit care and are 18 or older.

Snapchat Discover | It was recently reported by multiple media outlets that Snapchat is in negotiations with Comedy Central, Spotify, Vice and other media publishers for the upcoming launch of Discover. Discover will most likely serve users articles, music and videos produced by media companies. This will create an additional avenue to drive contextually relevant native advertising to further monetize the platform.

With it’s diversity of use cases, easy of use, sense of urgency and focus on enabling brands and partnerships, Snapchat is primed to have a very big 2015.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

January 14, 2015July 3, 2015

5 Reasons to Consider Snapchat in 2015

This morning my new article “Why Your Brand Will Love Snapchat in 2015” is the cover story for iMedia Connection.

The article outlines usage patterns, brand examples, advertising opportunities, connecting digital and physical and publisher partnerships.

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January 9, 2015February 2, 2015

2015 Will See The Exponential Growth of Dark Social

Maybe it’s the fact that I recently watched Interstellar, or my fascination with physics and space in general, but when I began writing about Dark Social I could not help comparing Dark Social to another dark entity, a Black Hole.

With Black Holes, we understand how they are formed, we debate the existence of a central singularity, crushing everything at the center vs. quantum gravity which removes the idea of the singularity and opens up the possibility of a bridge to another location in the universe. We try to apply logic as to whether information would be lost forever or simply shows up somewhere else in a galaxy far, far away.

Dark social brings forth many of the same underlying principles and misunderstanding among marketers. With the tides shifting towards ephemeral social communication applications as a key driver of sharing, the attribution data of the share and all of the value that comes with it is essentially untapped and in some cases simply unknown. This is similar to the information loss paradox that is commonly associated with black holes.

Taking a step back, Dark social is the sharing activity that is somewhat invisible to traditional analytics. Dark social is the culmination of referrals and sharing of content that originates from instant messages, e-mails containing links, and most recently the rise of ephemeral social communication platforms such as Snapchat, WeChat and WhatsApp.

A majority of focus today is on social broadcast platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. These platforms are similar to the stars we see at night. The data is present, you can easily see patterns like constellations in the conversation and it is easy to attribute the known. We as digital marketers prefer what is known and quantifiable as it is imperative to showcase some form of direct ROI or Return on Ad Spend for most endeavors.

We focus on creating earned media and squeezing every ounce of organic reach out of the social broadcast platforms. But there is an undercurrent of behavior that cannot be ignored and this behavior transcends all age demographics. This is the amount of sharing that goes undetected and the benefits are not attributed to the campaigns or content we so proudly tout. Essentially it is lost in the dark.

According to a recent Radium One study, 59% of all online sharing is via dark social and a whopping 91% of Americans regularly share information via dark social methods, 27% exclusively send via this method. This study also showed that 72% of sharing is simply users copying and pasting long URL’s and either e-mailing, or texting the information.

Facebook represented 31% of social sharing with every other social channel currently representing 10%. There are a significant amount of conversations and more importantly, potential intent from a marketing perspective that is simply being ignored and untapped. Currently, there is an over reliance on re-targeting and dark social could represent an opportunity to bring balance to the equation.

What makes cracking the code with dark social in 2015 even more paramount is the sharp rise in adoption of ephemerally charged, socially centric communication apps such as Snapchat, WhatsApp, WeChat and Kik. The convergence of social and mobile is here and the percentage of content shared through dark social will continue to rise at an exponential rate in 2015.

You can begin to see this coming to fruition for the few pioneering brands that have incorporated sharing functionality with the Facebook owned WhatsApp. WhatsApp has over 400 million users sending 50 billion messages a day. FTW, a USA Today sports site introduced a WhatsApp sharing button to its mobile experience recently and almost immediately saw shares from WhatsApp climb to 18 percent of the site’s overall sharing activity.

Looking at FTW mobile sharing, 53% of shares came from “dark social” vs. 47% through traditional social mechanisms.

SnapChat is another ephemeral application that is the fastest growing social application heading into 2015. According to Business Insider, Nearly half of Americans aged 12 to 24 have used Snapchat. And with a user base 100 million active users, 60% of which engage with the app 22 times per day, Snapchat represents another dark social platform that needs to be considered in 2015, especially with the upcoming strategic partnership model that will incorporate multiple media outlets into the platform, converting the experience to include more content from external networks such as Vice.

Then there is Wechat that has a global audience of 600 million users, 180 million outside of China. It is the 5th most used smartphone app worldwide. All of these essentially represent the next wave of dark social that will quickly take the dark social sharing from 59% even higher in 2015.

Outside of the applications listed above, there are many more that are growing quickly such as Kik and even AirDrop is being used to share images and messages with school aged kids. And there are more on the way that are hybrids of the hybrids like Mark Cuban’s Cyber Dust, which essentially combines elements of WhatsApp and Snapchat, boasting high levels of privacy and security, and as Mark recently commented, “troll proof”.

There are ways to begin to build a dark social strategy moving forward as brands can employ advanced Google Analytics against the long form links in addition to simply relying on URL shortened links. It is also important to consider what integration options are available from the social communication providers themselves when it comes to sharing as well as the type of data and analytics that are available and how that will then be aligned with the existing measurement framework. This will ensure that while you are testing and learning, you can begin to formulate how these platforms will go from experimental to a reliable part of your marketing mix.

The RadiumOne study did show that the chocolate brand Ghirardelli implemented long form tracking and found that 84 percent of all their share was via dark social. The data collected allowed them to better understand their consumer and redefine their approach based on interest and intent.

Heading into 2015, I have talked a lot about the importance of data, content and channels. Dark Social touches all three facets as the intent associated with data, the content that is shared and the mechanisms of consumer integration are all closely linked.

Understanding how content is shared when not immediately visible will be a key metric in 2015. Dark social is on the rise and the more we can harness it’s power, the faster we can build connections beyond awareness and leverage intent to drive conversion.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

January 3, 2015April 11, 2017

Best of iMedia 2014 – Advertising in 2020

I was pleasantly surprised to see that iMedia had selected my Advertising in 2020 cover story as one of the best of 2014. It was reposted on December 31st to close out the year. Thanks again to all of my readers and here’s to a great 2015!

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December 22, 2014September 14, 2020

Connecting Gaming & Brands through Advergaming & Edutainment

Two of my passions are gaming and marketing. Whenever I have the opportunity for the two to intersect I am overjoyed. Previously, I have written on the topic of advergaming (imedia) and brand integrations (IEG). This article will highlight case studies of advergaming as well as introduce edutainment case studies.

Gaming is big business. According to Gartner, the projected worldwide video game market size in 2014 will surpass $100 billion dollars. In 2014, 58% of Americans have played a video game and 68% of gamers are 18 or older. With the fragmentation and shifts in media consumption, gaming provides significant dwell times with a hyper-connected audience. Brands that create authentic and relevant value that empowers gamers will “unlock” value beyond impressions.

Let’s start with a terminology refresher. An Advergame is an electronic game – often low-cost or free – designed to promote a brand or product.

ADVERGAMING – Advergaming is closely associated with above the line, through the line and below the line integration where the advertisements or brand integrations are either explicit and may be an integral part of the game or products are embedded seamlessly into the existing gameplay.

ABOVE THE LINE EXAMPLES

Burger King – Xbox 360 Licensed Games

Coca-Cola – Mini Me

Taco Bell – The Waiting Game

Kellogg’s – Coco Pops

Skittles – Darkened Skye

Key points to consider are ATL executions are normally executed with the brand primarily in creative control of the project. As a start-up or independent developer, this is where there is an opportunity to license your product to be distributed through the brand’s channels. This type of execution would take a brand partner willing to make a significant investment to cover development, distribution, promotional and non-development fees.

THROUGH THE LINE – Through the line examples are more commonly tied to alternate reality games (ARGs). This is when consumers interact with links, websites and promotional material outside the game. I have written about ARG integrations such as the Hanso Foundation ARG tied to the LOST television show. Other examples are:

The Dark Knight ARG

HALO – ilovebees

BELOW THE LINE – Authenticity and relevance are the keys to successfully executing below the line integrations. For additional insight and behind the scenes access to how partnerships are actually executed I turned to the reigning king of below the line integrations, Chris Erb. Formerly of Electronic Arts, Legendary Pictures, and co-founder of the gaming agency TripleClix. Chris and I have served on boards together and have spent time over the years discussing this topic.

Chris is the architect of some of the most successful and authentic below the line integrations over the past few years. His partnerships with Coca-cola and Frito-Lay redefined how brand integrations can not only provide access to new audiences but also drive business results such as aligning traditional CPG products into new areas within the retail setting.

According to Chris, “A number of prominent brands have or want to get into the gaming space. The issue is that publishers and brands don’t always speak the same language. It is less about selling ads in games and more about seamlessly connecting the brand and the game in an authentic way.”

Chris’ statement also aligns with existing consumer behavior. When I recently conducted primary research on motivations tied to consumer pre-order behavior, two key elements were consistent. Gamers want exclusive content or early access. Everything else was of secondary consideration. The goal of brand integration should be to empower gamers.

EA – Coca Cola = FIFA

EA – Doritos = 3D

Rolls Royce – Forza

By empowering gamers and creating opportunities for brands to seamlessly integrate into the gaming experience, brands that choose to implement below the line programs in an authentic way have the opportunity to increase brand perception as well as reach a highly coveted audience.

EDUTAINMENT – Edutainment is any content that is designed to educate as well as entertain. This is an example of consumers playing an ordinary game and product promotions are embedded into the game. There has been a rise of educational content that is also meant to entertain. There is also an opportunity for brands looking to extend the reach of an altruistic cause through education and awareness through the lens of branded entertainment.

Here are examples of edutainment:

Telefonica – A sponsored initiative to boost youth literacy in Brazil

Limbs Alive – 3D game designed to aid recovering stroke victims

SMARTeacher – One of my favorite examples, this is an educational game that uses biofeedback to enhance the experience

Here is a short video outlining the Prodigy Experience

Consumers will continue to seek gaming experiences across devices. There is a significant opportunity to break through to a highly engaged audience. This goes beyond simply running display ads in games. The key is to enhance the experience of the consumers in a very authentic and contextual way. It is also important that the essence of the brand aligns with the potential gaming properties. The brands that can leverage publisher partnerships to truly collaborate on enhancing the experience will reap the rewards of empowering gamers.

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Follow Chris Erb @ChrisErb

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December 18, 2014April 11, 2017

2015 Will Be The Year Of…

I was recently asked by the iMedia team to provide my thoughts on 2015.

Here is a part of the interview covering the topic of content, channels and data.

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November 18, 2014April 11, 2017

ESPN Sportscenter App Rebrand Strategy Analysis

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary and analysis about the recently announced efforts by ESPN to rebrand the SportsCenter app and the potential implications and benefits that this type of rebranding may provide.

(Mobile Marketer) Why is ESPN: SportsCenter app to be renamed “ESPN”?

ESPN is looking to unify all of their digital properties into a single brand. They are looking to unify the website, mobile experience and mobile app and allowing for greater personalization by the consumer.

(MM) To what extent is the rebranding across all these properties an effort to reach consumers across the full range of mobile platforms?

ESPN is taking the next step to provide a unified experience that is designed to be frictionless across devices and ultimately allow the consumer the ability to personalize the experience based on interests and affinity to their favorite sports and teams. This approach can be compelling for fans and consumers as the experience is the same across devices and the more contextually relevant the experience, the greater potential to maintain the interest of the consumer.

(MM) What is the implication for mobile marketing?

By providing a more contextually relevant experience that is unified across platforms, ESPN is setting the stage to maximize their reach with consumers and provide an always on solution that is consistent and personalized.

From a mobile marketing perspective, by offering personalization in exchange for a profile of the individual, they can begin to map multi-channel usage behaviors which can provide insights into how to further connect with their consumers and apply greater relevance to their ad products and partnerships.

(MM) Why is it so important to allow users to select the sports content they want?

Self-selected and curated content is the new normal when it comes to consumer behavior and entertainment. Combine that with a fans affinity for content about their favorite teams and it is important for content providers to allow users to control the experience. This freedom and access can lead to increased frequency and retention if the content is compelling and relevant.

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October 31, 2014April 11, 2017

Do Snack Brands Need Content?

I was recently asked by Mobile Commerce Daily to provide commentary if Snack brands need meaningful content to drive in-store purchases via social. Below are my full responses to the various topics discussed.

(Mobile Commerce Daily) To what extent are food and snacks CPG brands starting to understand and activate social media within the purchase funnel?

Social media has been an integral part of the marketing mix for CPG brands for some time now. CPG social strategy has evolved with the evolution of social platforms and shifting consumer behaviors. Many platforms such as Facebook are shifting away from engagement as a primary metric and focused on reach, resonance and reaction, which aligns social media activation further down the purchase funnel.

(MCD) What are the challenges CPG companies face in leveraging social media to drive purchases?

The snack category is highly dependent on context and timing. With the convergence of social, mobile and digital and the focus shifting to targeted cross screen engagement, there is a renewed interest in aligning digital, physical and data to impact purchase decisions.

(MCD) Besides motivating purchases, what additional benefits/negatives in terms of consumer engagement does a social campaign bring the CPG company?

Social centric campaigns allow brands to deepen their connection with their consumers, empower them to help drive the brand forward (Doritos Legion of the Bold and Do Us A Flavor), impact brand perception and for a number of brands provide impactful reach through social engagement.

(MCD) What are some examples of top food and snacks CPG companies that have effectively leveraged social to drive consumers deeper into the purchase funnel?

Frito-Lay is a company that is continually looking to leverage social as a means to drive consumers further into the purchase funnel. Whether it is a brand campaign that empowers consumers such as Lay’s Do Us a Flavor, or it is creating a community of brand advocates like Doritos Legion of the bold, or connecting in-store elements seamlessly into socially centric campaigns, Frito-Lay is approaching social in a smart and relevant way that connects with consumers and ultimately impacts purchase.

(MCD) What’s your favorite example of a food and snacks CPG social campaign that drove purchases?

My favorite examples are Lay’s Do Us a Flavor and Doritos Crash the Superbowl programs.

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October 20, 2014April 11, 2017

Budweiser Extends Sports Sponsorship with M2M

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary on Budweiser extending sports sponsorships into bars via M2M wireless & social. My commentary highlights Anheuser-Busch’s focus on innovation and their understanding of the need to enhance the on-premise experience in a unique and relevant way.

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October 16, 2014March 25, 2015

Evolution of Social Media Marketing

Here is a preview of my latest take on the evolution of social media marketing.

The presentation starts with a trip down memory lane by reviewing the rise of social media platforms across the globe.

Next is a look at the impact social media trends have had on consumer behavior. Everything from viral videos, #selfies and the rise of YouTube celebrities.

Then focus shifts to the evolution of social marketing globally and the role that content plays in today’s social marketing programs.

The journey wraps with a look at the future state of social marketing.

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September 25, 2014July 3, 2015

The Anti-Facebook? Meet Ello

With the recent shift towards a reach and frequency model and organic reach hovering at 3% (with plans to go lower by the end of the year), Facebook has now created a void in the social networking eco-system.

This is what maturing enterprises do. They refine and evolve and sometimes this change has significant ramifications on existing best practices. Facebook is still an incredibly powerful digital platform. I would no longer classify it as a “social network” at least from a brand marketing perspective. Facebook has moved away from KPI’s such as engagement to focus on becoming a highly effective direct response tool.

We are currently at a significant cross-roads from a social marketing perspective. The mantra of reach through engagement is really only applicable on Tumblr & Instagram (for now). Twitter is shifting towards an algorithm driven approach to showcasing tweets in your feed and organic reach has continued to decline and it will be interesting to see how much of the feed is “real-time” moving forward.

With all of this movement away from what made social… social, you should expect to see new platforms emerge that essentially provide what Facebook used to be, an actual social network.

One such platform that is starting to pick up momentum is Ello.

“Ello is a simple, beautiful, and ad-free social network created by a small group of artists and designers” according to the founders. It is designed to be an ad-free digital zone.

One of the selling propositions to join yet another network is the fact that they state they won’t sell data to 3rd parties.

The core of the experience is similar to what you would expect, it supports GIFs, comments on posts and reply directly to friends. You also have insight into how many people have viewed a post but there is nothing revolutionary with the platform, it simply is what Facebook used to be.

This is still in it’s early stages and is very similar to the early stages of the social networks that came before it so there are still some elements that need to be refined but there is a need for platforms such as Ello that provide an alternative to the increasingly ad driven models and allow for more organic connection and discovery of content.

Be sure to sign up for an invite.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014

Apple’s Big Day & Samsungs Shrewd Move

Yesterday, all eyes & multiple hashtags were set on Cupertino, California for Apple’s seismic announcements. I will admit that I am an Apple apologist and almost all of my hardware has the iconic fruit emblazoned on it. So it was with great anticipation that I watched the keynote unfold yesterday.

I was excited about the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, shared high-fives over the new Apple Pay & Apple Watch and left the keynote feeling good about the direction of the new products.

During all of the excitement and monitoring of the social conversation around #appleevent, #appleliveevent and other Apple centric hashtags I spotted something that seemed amiss.

Note in the Promoted Trend highlighted above, among the various Apple organic trending topics is #GalaxyFamily. For those of you not familiar with executing a promoted trend, this is a calculated, date driven buy with Twitter that requires advanced planning and a decent sized media buy. The fact that the Samsung marketing team was able to secure the date, assuming this was executed after Apple announced the Keynote is impressive.

Here is a full view of Samsung looking to disrupt the action on the #appleevent hashtag yesterday via promoted tweets tied to Twitter search. This was an example of incredibly shrewd marketing on behalf of the Samsung team and an interesting approach to combating the enormous wave of organic conversation being created by the Apple event.

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September 8, 2014July 3, 2015

$500 Million and Destiny

Since the day Destiny hints were first discovered in HALO 3: ODST years ago, then sprinkled throughout numerous Bungie presentations, to the first public leaks in late 2012 I was hooked. The concept of a persistent open-world shooter by the makers of Halo was a dream come true. Having played both the Alpha & Beta versions and on the eve of the official release I wanted to take a look at the marketing efforts leading up to the worldwide release.

Destiny easter egg hidden in Halo 3: ODST highlighting the “traveler”

Certain outlets are claiming there will be up to 10 million players day one and I will definitely be one. Every gamer I have talked to recently knows of the impending release. Over 4.5 million of us played the beta and there have been discussions about which of the 3 character classes they will align with, who has the best pre-order incents (Hint: It’s GameStop) and which gamemodes are going to occupy our time.

One of the key areas of growth in gamer numbers is the fact that Destiny is rated T for Teen vs. M for Mature. This opens up the market and for parents like myself who are hesitant to let their kids play M rated titles, Activision will get double the revenue from my household this time around.

When I fire up my Xbox One I will think back to my beta experience and prepare for what lies ahead across uncharted planets. This is an exciting moment in next gen gaming as not since TitanFall launched in March of this year has there been a true AAA shooter release that was developed specifically to push the next gen hardware.

Ready to take the experience from beta to full release

One of the key elements beyond word of mouth and the reputation of bungie has been the persistent presence of Destiny through the whopping $500 million in marketing spend that Activision had earmarked for the promotion of the game. This rivals the biggest of Hollywood blockbusters as game launches have taken on AAA treatment.

From the “Sharing” spot that launched around the time of the Titanfall launch

To the most recent live-action commercial shot by TRON: Legacy & Oblivion director Joseph Kosinski which has already garnered almost 6 million views at the time of this post.

The game is receiving a boost to attract mainstream and hard core fans alike with traditional and socially centric activations including a first of it’s kind collaboration with Google which allowed for Google Street view maps of the worlds in Destiny.

Destiny has also received a special collectors edition of Newsweek to celebrate the launch

Destiny is already trending on Twitter and tomorrow the hype will turn into action and I am predicting Destiny will break the previous sales records for a new franchise launch. And if any team can pull it off it’s Activision & their partner Step 3 PR.

The last Call of Duty Black hit $1 billion in one day sales and at the time was the largest entertainment launch in history. I fully expect Destiny to break new franchise records ($500 Million) and foresee a healthy return for Activision on their 10 year relationship with Bungie.

Tomorrow it will be time to #Becomelegend. You will find me roaming the Xbox One galaxy as TheBlackFin.

Follow Tom Edwards on Twitter @BlackFin360

September 8, 2014April 11, 2017

The Selfie: Is it here to stay?

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary on whether the selfie is here to stay, or just a fad? The discussion focused on consumer advocacy through UGC as a macro-trend, campaign considerations and hardware being made to better support selfies.

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September 4, 2014

Google + Real-Time = Gifs???

I first saw the Google real-time display offering with their Nike partnership during the 2014 World Cup. The partnership featured the first instance of Google testing their real-time display delivery platform at scale with 8 different real-time activations displayed in 15 different countries recreating key moments through the lens of Nike’s Risk Everything campaign.

Nike athletes were digitized into the Risk Everything creative and fans were able to remix and share key moments. The results were two million fan interactions across 200 countries by the end of the World Cup.

With the kick-off of Football season tonight we are now seeing a collaboration between EA Sports and Google to provide real time animated Gifs that are easily sharable. The catch, this is not happening in a social channel, this is served to fans browsing sports-related sites such as the bleacher report through Google’s ad display network.

The campaign will feature real-life action highlights recreated by Madden players during tonight’s Seattle & Green Bay season opener. The goal is to enable the creation of sharable content at scale.

Users can customize their own gifs on an EA micro-site called the Giferator that is optmized for multi-screen engagement.

Google is partnering to build “affinity segments” to drive additional personalization through fan interaction. In this case the teams that are selected are mapped to the individual for better targeting in the future. This is another example of how Google “gets it” when it comes to reinventing their approach to display as well as maximizing the reach of their ecosystem.

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September 4, 2014July 3, 2015

True Innovation = IKEA BookBook

This morning I received a note about a “seriously fresh” innovation from IKEA. It’s called the BookBook. Prepare to have your mind blown. Definitely take note of the color coding system, sharing and voice activated security.

Get ready to experience the power of a bookbook.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360

August 25, 2014July 3, 2015

New Instagram Business Tools

Instagram recently announced they are taking major steps to enable brands by providing greater insight into the performance of both organic and paid content. These tools are a welcome addition to the highly visual platform and will create tighter alignment with business goals as it pertains to tracking impressions, reach and engagement.

The tools are built around three primary areas of account insights, ad insights and ad staging.

Account Insights – Account insights is the primary dashboard for mapping performance and engagement of organic content. This includes insights around the weekly performance of content, aggregate impressions over time as well as additional insight into the brands audience.

Here is a screenshot from the Instagram Blog highlighting account insights

Ad Insights – Ad Insights is the campaign performance hub for Instagram paid media that houses brand analytics (impressions, reach and frequency). Instagram, similar to parent company Facebook, are heavily focused on reach and frequency vs. engagement as a primary value proposition for brands. The Ad Insights dashboard is a quick and easy reference against the current campaign goals and all of the data can easily be exported for additional client reporting.

Ad Staging – One of the more exciting tools, especially for Social Agencies that partner with Media agencies on behalf of their brands, is the Ad Staging option. This tool will allow cross functional teams to collaborate together to preview, save, and collaborate on ad creative.

These tools will be made available to all Instagram advertisers and will enable tighter campaign integration as well as invaluable data around how the brands target is engaging and interacting with both organic and paid content. Building recommendations on a strong data foundation is a key to maximizing the impact of a visual content strategy.

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August 11, 2014

SXSW 2015 – What Will Advertising Look Like in the Year 2020

Now through September 5th, 2014 is the time to vote on panels & presentations for SXSW Interactive 2015. I have submitted a presentation for consideration and would greatly appreciate your support.

My proposed topic is What Will Advertising Look Like in the Year 2020. This is an in-depth extension of my previously published iMedia article of the same name. Here is a brief outline of the proposed presentation. I will also roll out the new consumer engagement platform called #DatabaseOfYou during this presentation.

Presentation Description

Where should marketers and brands place bets over the next five years? What is hype over substance? Taking all of this into consideration, I interviewed my strategy teams in Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas to map the state of digital marketing in the year 2020. We had fun with discussions of drones, crypto currency, the internet of people, and more. While the team agreed fundamentally about certain platforms making an impact, there were pros and cons to impact and feasibility. The following panel is the consolidated and highly visual vision of the future of advertisting in the year 2020. This presentation will take a look back at transformational media moments that give clues to the future state of advertising. We will then look at the role of integrated mobile, converged media, connected life and the digital ecosystem of the future. Presentation Cameos by Drones, Terminators, the Jetson’s, Marty McFly, Grumpy Cat and more!!!

Questions to be Answered

The presentation will focus on the three predicted core pillars of advertising in 2020 (Content, Data, Channels). The pillars will fuel the discussion and points of connection between where technology is going and how to stay relevant with a information overloaded consumer.

1) How can media of the past predict the future state of advertising?

2) What role will mobile + wearables play in 2020?

3) How can media fragmentation and personalization unlock new opportunities for converged media?

4) What role will the internet of things and connected life play in predictive advertising?

5) Who will be left standing as major players digital ecosystem players in the year 2020?

Here is a preview of some of the initial visuals tied to the presentation.

I would greatly appreciate your support with a vote. You can vote here. In order to vote you must create an account at http://panelpicker.sxsw.com

Then you can simply search for Tom Edwards and give it a thumbs up to submit your vote.

Thank you in advance for your support! It is much appreciated.

Follow Tom Edwards @Blackfin360

August 5, 2014

2014 iMedia Breakthrough Summit

iMedia’s breakthrough summit is one of the key innovation events I attend each year. This year I have the honor to impact programming by serving on the summit advisory board. Definitely attend if you can as this event is focused on creating business value through innovation. There are also speaking opportunities still available.

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July 21, 2014July 21, 2014

Wearables & The Quantified Self Movement

I was recently asked by ADWEEK about opportunities for brands and fitness wearables. The discussion focused on utility and the future of the quantified self movement and whether hardware or software is the way to go. The final portion of the conversation was focused on fashion vs. function and the importance of aesthetics for mass adoption. Below is my full commentary.

Brands and Utility

For the right brand there is a significant opportunity to capitalize on the quantified self movement and create new streams of revenue. Market analysts project significant upside for wearable tech over the next few years.

SOURCE Business Insider

The value for brands comes in the form of ongoing engagement and value to the consumer. By providing active utility the brand is taking something that used to provide a passive function and unlocks behavioral patterns of the consumer, activity and in some cases emotional data and any positive results can be equated with the brand.

The other point to consider is the quantified self data and utility will ultimately be a part of a larger connected ecosystem. In the near future data from a fitness tracker can coincide with smart grid technology to predict your needs. An example would be you just returned from a long run, your tracker communicates with your smart fridge and it prepares to dispense your favorite after work out beverage while ordering more via a real time delivery service such as Amazon Fresh.

Hardware vs. Software

Brands like Nike were at the forefront of the quantified self movement. The Fuel band resonated with innovators and early consumer adopters. With success came competition from device manufacturers that had a longer heritage and provided additional utility. They expanded beyond fitness to include emotional measurement, sleep sensors, etc… which began to move away from the Nike value proposition. The learning from this was the real value was less in the hardware and more in the data collected and the visualization of results.

The industry shift that brands like Nike see on the horizon is the shift from hardware and more around software and data. What this means is that brands like Nike see the day coming soon where it is less about the hardware and more about sharing and visualizing the data that is collected through whatever the device, be it smart clothing, watches, glasses, etc… and making thier API’s available.

Fashion vs. Function

One of the primary barriers associated with wearables has been tied closely to aesthetics. A rubber bracelet that glows is not always the ideal choice for the fashion conscious. And for the early & late majority of consumer adopters, going beyond simple utility will be important for mass adoption.

Recent studies have shown that women outnumber men among prospective buyers of wearable technology devices. What I see happening in the short term are a number of partnerships such as the announced Tory Burch and Fitbit partnership or cross-industry hiring, similar to Apple hiring Burberry’s former CEO to bridge the gap between aesthetic form and function.

Tory Burch & Fitbit Partnership

Here is a link to the ADWEEK commentary

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July 15, 2014

The Guardian & Marketing in 2020

My commentary was recently included in the Are You Ready for Marketing in 2020 article posted by Michael Brenner via The Guardian. The article explains how evolving consumer habits and pressures on marketers will have redefined marketing by 2020.

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July 9, 2014July 9, 2014

UBER rolls out with Optimus Prime

For my family summer brings cookouts, movies & travel. This past weekend I was one of the thousands to see the latest entry in the Transformers movie franchise. I have been a fan of the series since it’s debut in 1984. Seeing the dinobot Grimlock on the big screen was something I was VERY excited to see!

This past week also had my family in NYC for summer vacation. We had decided that each of our children, once they turned 12, could pick any city in the US and we would take a trip with just them. So my oldest son Gavin chose NYC.

Now you might be asking… why are you telling us about what movie you just saw and your recent trip to NYC? Both topics have something in common and that connection is UBER. When I travel to a major city and I need a car service my go to is UBER. This past week in NYC was no exception.

Last year we (The Marketing Arm/Fanscape) partnered with UBER and Callaway Golf to create the #MyCallawayDriver experience. This was tied to last years US Open and was all about providing utility to attendees by providing free UBER service during the event.

UBER and Callaway were great partners and I have since seen other partnerships with UBER. Google, with their recent integration with Google Maps, as well as an OEM relationship with AT&T where UBER and AT&T will partner together by having the UBER app installed on all AT&T Android Phones with AT&T then becoming UBER’s primary wireless provider in their 60 city expansion.

Google and AT&T are great partnerships, but the UBER partnership I was the most excited to see roll through Dallas recently was the Transformers 4 film integration with UBER where you had the opportunity to Roll Out with Optimus Prime.

When you opened the app you were prompted with the intro to the program that details the potential of a 15 minute experience.

A new “Autobots” selection option became available complete with the autobot insignia on the slider.

Then you were able to finalize the location and make the call for Optimus.

Unfortunately all autobots were “on a mission” when I made the call, but here is a shot of Optimus in the wild in downtown Dallas.

When creating partnerships with technology providers and brands I always look for a natural extension of the technology that will create value for all parties. What I like about the recent Transformers 4 integration is the local relevance and attention to detail when integrating the storyline into the application. It was a well executed integration and I look forward to future programs with the UBER team.

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June 25, 2014July 3, 2015

World Cup Real Time Marketing Win = Snickers

Over the past few years the brands that can seamlessly inject themselves into real-time events in a relevant and often funny way are normally the winners of the never ending PR game. The World Cup is no exception. During yesterday’s Uruguay v Italy match, Uruguay’s star Luis Suarez is believed to have bitten an Italian player and this served as the perfect opportunity to have a little fun with a global moment by injecting a bit of the Snickers brand into the conversation.

I am very proud of my TMA/Fanscape social team in NYC. They worked closely with the BBDO & Mars team to inject a little Snickers branded fun into the #LUISSUAREZ conversation. Snickers is all about the fact that you are not you when you are hungry.

This led to pickups in both Mashable & AdWeek (See below). A lot of work goes into the creation of a single real-time message and I am proud of the structure that we have put in place between the TMA/Fanscape team, BBDO and the Mars client.

Mashable

Adweek

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June 19, 2014July 3, 2015

Harley-Davidson Project Livewire

Today marks the reveal of Harley-Davidson’s 1st Electric Motorcycle, Project Livewire. I served as a member of the core The Marketing Arm/Fanscape Harley-Davidson team and very happy to be a part of today’s big reveal.

Here is the Project Livewire teaser video launched on the 19th.

Here is today’s reveal of the Project Livewire electric motorcycle supported by our teams creative, strategy, influencer activation & production.

Join the conversation with #projectlivewire and for more information go to http://www.projectlivewire.com

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June 16, 2014July 3, 2015

Buzzfeed Is Word of Mouth at Scale

One of the more interesting briefings that I have taken part in recently was provided by Buzzfeed. The rise of native advertising publishers has created a lot of excitement with brands. The level of sophistication and scale provided by publishers such as Buzzfeed cannot be understated.

At it’s core Buzzfeed strives to create content that people want to share. With 130+ million monthly uniques & 50% of users coming from mobile, the easily consumable & sharable content makes Buzzfeed a marketing platform that demands attention.

From a native advertising standpoint, Buzzfeed represents a “closed” publisher. Meaning they own their contextual inventory and brands & agencies will need to partner directly with Buzzfeed to execute programming.

Here is an example of a custom execution tied to the launch of Anchorman 2

What is interesting in their approach to empowering brands is how they strive to align their content offerings with the path to purchase, highlighting their focus on impacting opinion, consideration & preference. This is one of the reasons many CPG brands have chosen to partner with Buzzfeed.

Here is an example of a Bud Light integration

With the decrease in organic reach for brands, leveraging the reach of platforms beyond owned properties is becoming increasingly important from a social perspective. The key to navigating social beyond simple reach is to continue to focus on creating engaging & sharable content to generate word-of-mouth. Here is a link to my recent whitepaper outlining the shift.

Even with the recent seismic industry shift, consumer behavior is still true to form, meaning consumers are looking to discover, engage and share content. In the new world of decreased organic brand reach, more emphasis and control resides with the consumer to carry a brand message or association forward.

There has been a heavy focus on content creation over the past two years. One of the key driving factors was Facebook’s shift towards visual storytelling shift with the revised timeline in March of 2012. This led to new theories and approaches (Many that my team and I created for our Fortune 500 client base) followed by various Facebook publishing garages outlining the new best practices to further segment content hierarchies driven by content themes and pillars to create engagement.

Sophisticated efforts were made to maximize the impact of content to drive engagement with participants. Now with the recent shift from engagement to a reach and frequency model has/will impact brands approaches to content themes and strategy.

While brands continue to reduce the number of content themes and shift from “reach through engagement” strategies towards the new normal of paid reach, publishers such as Buzzfeed are still able to capitalize on various content themes to drive a connection with their audience. Be it thematics around Emotional, Identity, Informative, Funny, editorial content is crafted to resonate with various audience segments.

What is very interesting is that Buzzfeed does not target their content, their approach is based on the behavior that consumers will find the content relevant to them. Their mantra is that “Great Content Finds It’s Audience”. This goes directly in the opposite direction of social mega-powers such as Facebook and Twitter where there is an apparent arms race to further target and segment users.

Buzzfeeds approach to advertising is truly an example of contextual native advertising. They are focused on telling a story that is relevant to the audience, involve people emotionally and are not heavy-handed. But one key element to consider is that their content is currently favored within Facebook’s algorithm, even over certain competitors.

Their approach to editorial content creation mirrors that of a hybrid social & creative agency, where they take into consideration the brand voice, evergreen content and brand pillars and then leverage the branded content activation to create word-of-mouth at scale. Buzzfeed is also getting into the video content creation space by creating custom video content on behalf of brands

Purina Cat’s guide to taking care of your human

Luvs – 9 super cool baby tips

From a measurement standpoint, Buzzfeeds approach to supporting brands is a combination of impressions & social lift. Whereby they guarantee x amount of impressions and incremental shares off of that through a combination of Buzzfeed inventory & social seeding.

Buzzfeed is just one example of an extensive list of open & closed publisher networks. Depending on the type of campaign that is being explored, if creating word of mouth at scale is of value then Buzzfeed may be a publisher to consider.

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June 4, 2014July 3, 2015

Digital + Physical = Evernote

One item from SXSW 2014 that has remained relevant for me is a simple package of Post-it notes. These are not just any Post-it’s, they are digitally enabled Post-it’s that integrate seamlessly with Evernote. The simple utility of the integration that allows users to convert physical post-it notes into digital, searchable records inspired me to contact the Evernote team for a briefing to bettter understand how they partner with brands.

During the course of the briefing we touched on many topics such as their current user base of 100M+ as well as their approach to partnerships and how they are working with various device carriers at the OEM level to ensure Evernote is ever present on the latest devices. We also discussed their focus on physical accessories and partnerships with Moleskin & 3M.

Evernote’s approach to creating value is to seamlessly become a part of a users daily routine. An interesting perspective about their user base was tied to the fact that out of 1000 people 999 will use Evernote in a different way. Users leverage Evernote as a way to capture anything important to their life, reuse it or stem off of it. From a brand partnership perspective, the goal is to “engage with customers in the right way”. This means that Evernote does not monetize with an advertising-based model, or data mining.

So if there is not an advertising-based model, or data mining how can a brand partner with Evernote?

The real answer is it depends on the brand. If a brand is looking to buy against the current base with a targeted ad model, that is not feasible. The current partnership focus is tied to the Evernote physical marketplace. This is the core revenue driver for Evernote and fits with their mantra of engaging consumers in the right way and connecting the digital and physical world.

I do see opportunities to align Evernote beyond physical goods as their growing stable of native applications such as Evernote Food create opportunities to further connect directly with consumers. One of the most valuable elements to work through as a marketer, especially one focused on shopper marketing and “getting on the list” is the fact that Evernote represents deliberate intent on behalf of a user. The user is taking a specific action to interact and store content.

Other core benefits of Evernote, if they ever move towards an advertising-based model, would be to leverage their recent addition of location tagging. Location + Tags open up the possibility to better align relevant targeting of consumers. Similar to Pinterest, a user has to take an action in order to maximize Evernote and there is a deliberate nature to the platform vs. search and retrieval. Having the ability to understand what users are interested in combined with other factors such as time & location could open up opportunities to natively connect with consumers with highly relevant and targeted advertising. But that is an assumption that is built on an advertising model which does not exist to date.

When I think of brand categories that may ultimately benefit from an Evernote partnership CPG brands are an obvious choice. From a shopper marketing perspective “getting on the list” is of paramount importance. With Evernotes efforts to seamlessly convert physical notes into digital lists that push reminders to consumers in addition to their focus on specialized app experiences such as Evernote Food there is a great opportunity to maximize a partnership with Evernote.

The key to a partnership with Evernote is ensuring that your brand aligns with the vision of the Evernote team and is not a traditional advertising play. They are looking for partners that can add value to their users lives on a daily basis so careful consideration will need to be made when developing a strategic partnership.

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May 27, 2014July 3, 2015

Advertising in the Year 2020

This morning my new article “what advertising will look like in 2020” is the cover story for iMedia Connection.

The article is a forward looking piece that focuses on integrated mobile, converged media and mass customization, connected life and the role Google will play.

A quick follow-up… I wanted to thank everyone for the great support of this article as it has hit #1.

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May 22, 2014May 22, 2014

Risks and Rewards of User Generated Content Sound Bite

Recently, I participated in a webinar discussing the risks and rewards of user generated content. Below are a few of the sound bites covering topics such as:

1) What role does user generated content (UGC) play in your client’s content strategy?
2) What advice would you give a marketer starting out with UGC?
3) How do you get audiences to submit quality UGC?
4) How has UGC been more successful than brand content?

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May 12, 2014July 3, 2015

Apple + Beats = Smart Headphones?

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary on the acquisition of Beats Electronics by Apple. The discussion focused on the opportunities and challenges that Apple may face as well as addressing if the Beats acquisition is the next step to bring Apple’s recent Smart Headphone patent to life through an existing and established brand. One other point of discussion is tied to Apple potentially integrating the Beats curated playlist model to further build out their streaming capabilities.

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May 5, 2014July 3, 2015

Coca-Cola Smart Fridge Experiment Commentary

I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary about the recent Coca-cola smart fridge experiment. My commentary focuses on both physical on-premise as well as mobile shopper centric solutions.

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April 25, 2014April 25, 2014

Pinterest Guided Search Is Just The Beginning

Pinterest has carved its niche as a social discovery platform. Guided search is the next evolution of the platform that will create more opportunities for users to discover content that is relevant to them, especially via mobile while building a foundation to refine Pinterest’s promoted pin ad product.

75% of Pinterest traffic is mobile and the primary user experience shift will be focused on gesture based elements integrated within the user experience.

One of the bigger shifts is now users can track custom categories of interests vs. just pre-selected categories. From a user perspective this is key as it allows more control to the user to further personalize the experience.

Here is the new user experience. Notice the ability to select a top level category and customize based on different keyword combinations at the top of the ux.

From a brand perspective, the focus on personalization for the user will allow Pinterest to gather additional data that will greatly enhance their targeting capabilities. The new guided search offering is also building towards a more refined discovery engine positioning offering for promoted pins via keywords and new categories where brands can further create new points of discovery with users.

Within the year we should see a more refined Pinterest promoted pin product that is refined based on the new guided search elements that will unlock greater targeting capabilities.

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April 7, 2014July 3, 2015

From Virality to Engagement to Reach & Frequency. Facebook’s Latest Strategy Shift Explained.

Facebook is rolling out major changes to their platform that greatly affect marketers. To help navigate this shift, I have worked closely with the Facebook team to understand the nuances of the shift and created a white paper that should help organizations to understand the shift and what steps to consider next.

The overarching point you need to understand is that organic Facebook reach is being reduced dramatically and it will cost you to reach your own audience. Facebook is now less about brand-published content being the sole driver of engagement. You must pay to amplify your content and you must create multiple variations of your content based on targeting different segments of your audience.

Here is a summary of what you will find in the white paper:

1) Past: Facebook Reach = Earned Media. Present: Facebook Reach = Paid Media

2) Trend of organic reach of content on a brand’s Facebook page:

October 2013 reach = (approx) 12% of followers
February 2014 reach = (approx) 6% of followers
Soon reach = (approx) 1-2% of followers

3) Now, more than ever, brands must pay for reach on the platform

4) Near Term considerations:

Re-evaluation of your creative
Frequency of posting
Personalization
Optimization

5) Defining the “Way Forward”

Reach and Frequency Focus
Engagement Focus
Community Focus

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April 4, 2014July 3, 2015

Tesco & iBeacon

Recently, I was asked by Mobile Commerce Daily to provide commentary about the recent iBeacon pilot by Tesco. What makes this pilot unique is the focus on customer service vs. beacon focused sales.

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March 19, 2014July 3, 2015

SXSW 2014: Grumpy Cat & Thismoment

Yet another SXSW has come and gone. From meeting Grumpy Cat to key meetings with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc… The days in Austin are fast paced and full of inspiration, innovation and solidifying partnerships.

Reviewing pre-release technology is another benefit of SXSW and I had the opportunity to review key updates to the Mass Relevance platform as well as a preview of Thismoment’s Content Cloud solution.

As part of the process I was also interviewed by the Thismoment team discussing content distribution and my initial reactions to their Content Cloud solution.

Here is the video:

Definitely looking forward to another return to Austin in 2015.

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March 18, 2014July 3, 2015

iBeacon & Entertainment

Recently, I was asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary about how iBeacon can add extend the reach of entertainment brands. The discussion also included insight into the current challenge entertainment brands face with iBeacon as well as recommendations to effectively leverage iBeacon technology.

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February 19, 2014February 20, 2014

Is 2014 The Year of Tumblr

In 2013 one platform created more requests for POVs and testing from our Fortune 500 clients than any other. That platform… Tumblr.

What makes Tumblr unique? The platform is a hybrid of social & the web. Tumblr provides a massive (225m monthly uniques) and highly engaged audience as well as complete creative control over the look & feel of the experience. This is a valuable proposition for extending the equity & discoverability of a brand’s digital presence.

Tumblr can serve as a campaign destination or social hub which has become a lost element within the social ecosystem. Most social platforms have moved away from a destination approach and are focused on atomized content engagement. Meaning the emphasis is on making sure your content is engaging enough to capture users attention within a short amount of time.

With Tumblr, brands are not limited to a single media type, there are no design restrictions and no character limits. A brand can create a compelling experience that transcends the social stream and maps to discovery through traditional channels such as search.

Here is an example of THE SIGNAL from Lexus. Note the design freedoms of the platform.

Other key elements to consider: Tumblr blogs can support custom URL’s which are ideal for campaign landing pages. SEO has been a key focus area for Tumblr and the platform is optimized for mobile.

Here is an IFC example of a custom URL solution

Here is the IFC example as the #1 search result for Spoils of Babylon

Regarding engagement, Tumblr content tends to have a longer shelf life compared to some of the other social platforms that integrate time decay of the content into their algorithms. With Tumblr as content is re-blogged it continues to earn impressions over time.

In a recent briefing by the Tumblr team, I was pleasantly surprised by the composition of their audience. Let’s just say that breakdowns are consistent with today’s millennial focused campaigns. And the rate at which Tumblr’s daily users are actively creating original content, re-blogging content and/or “hearting” content is significantly higher than I was expecting. All of this with a very healthy daily growth rate.

A recent Social Media Intelligence Report from Adobe referenced that in Q4 2013 Tumblr’s RPV (Revenue per visit) rose 340% year over year, with a healthy $1.10 revenue per visit. Facebook is currently #1 with a $1.22.

Another shocking revelation was the amount of time spent per visit with an average session of 20 minutes with 66 pages visited per day.

How Brands are using Tumblr

Community Driven – Some brands are relying on their users to power their Tumblr presence. Here are a few standout examples:

Disney The Looking Glass

Samsung Camera

Commerce-Driven – Here a few brands who are extending commerce and maximizing the referral revenue potential of Tumblr

Tumblr now supports a more robust paid amplification offering as well, allowing for targeting that covers both desktop & mobile. At a later date I’ll get further into to paid amplification on Tumblr.

With all of this momentum, in my opinion, Tumblr will be a force to be reckoned with in 2014.

Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFIn360