Back in January, Anthony Pappas’s Washington Business Journal column, “Branding: The Bottom Line,” focused on potential trends in digital for the upcoming year. Now that we are more than halfway through 2011, comment below on what you think will be big in digital for the remainder of the year.
Why 2011 won’t be like 2010
I’m sure you’ve heard the statistics; 1 in every 13 people on earth has a Facebook page, over 70% of the worlds’ population has a mobile phone. Words such as digital, mobile, and social are inescapable in daily life and becoming almost as ubiquitous as their presence in marketing plans. It’s been gradual, but within the last few years, I’ve seen even the most conservative brands and organizations clamoring for a digital strategy or at the very least, a ‘presence’ online.
However, 2011 won’t be about statistics or buzzwords or a ‘presence’ online. What you can expect to encounter in digital in 2011 is the precursor of what will become the norm in 2012. If you can incorporate the tactics of the future into your 2011 marketing, your brand, company, organization will not only be seen as a thought leader, but will directly impact the bottom line. Let’s take a step beyond the next step. Let’s explore some of these trends…
Bits and Pieces
Forget buying the DVD, the best scenes are on YouTube. Who needs an album when you can listen to a thirty-second snippet of the best song? With the increased popularity of e-reading, it’s now possible to buy selected chapters of textbooks, travel guides, anthologies. We used to think that thirty seconds was far too short to drive awareness, an emotional connection or sales. Now, I’m constantly on the pursuit of new ways to develop relationships with customers who’d rather digest content in small bite-size pieces.
The Future of Apps
Apps are overwhelming. There are simply too many and customers need to find a better way to find the right apps for them beyond recommendations and promoted results. Unless apps become richer in content and encourage more reasons to return to them, I see mobile users searching for a more complete online experience, perhaps through more bold mobile sites. There may be an app for everything but what experience is missing from them?
Touch OS to be Second Nature
The relevance of Touch OS, the operating system that powers the iPhone and other touch devices, cannot be overstated. While the technology is being constantly improved, it has been widely accepted by the mainstream. The success of touch computers, smart phones and the tablet has entrenched Touch OS as the way we will interact with all our devices in the near future. Just as important, young consumers don’t see their iPhone or their iPod touch as smart phones and iPod touches. Instead, they are merely phones and iPods. The operating system is the only thing they know.
Pay With Your Phone
Recently, Starbucks announced that they would be rolling out a system that allows mobile payment at their brick and mortar locations. Washington, DC now encourages motorists to pay for parking by adding the amount to their phone bill. Near field communication technology (NFC) is working to turn your device into a wallet, permitting further integration with group buying sites and resulting in a culture of flash sales to drive instant buying. Imagine in-store text messaging and activation from smart tags on merchandise racks. The race to make it mainstream is on.
The Cross Screen Experience
The plethora of operating systems both on computers and on mobile devices has been a boon for differentiation but it is slowing the progress of creating seamless experiences across all mediums. Complete integration should be the goal. Think of watching a show on your television, pausing and continuing the show on your iPad, then picking it up again on your mobile device. The Facebook ‘Like’ button has shown us that cross screen experiences not only work, but also would be embraced. Think about how your customers might interact with brand experiences across all their devices and develop your strategy from there.
Ironically, the most significant trend in digital for 2011 and beyond could be away from our favorite devices altogether. Studies showing the varied benefits of un-plugging and taking time away from the screen are encouraging people to de-tech for hours, even days at a time. I use these opportunities to relieve stress and explore creativity. The brands that discover how to connect these evolutions in digital to the real world will move far beyond the competition. The significance and engagement of real tangible experiences with your brand cannot be replicated. Or can it?