Just caught up with Sean Rach, Prudential Corporation Asia’s Director of Media & Corporate Events over email (with help and prompted by their PR agency Burson Marsteller)

Discussions started with the fact that Prudential had launched an iPhone application on retirement planning- the first insurance company in Asia to launch a mobile phone application as a marketing platform.

I found the concept interesting- specially with the perspective that it is a first in the industry, though I’d say the real deal will be how the concept is extended and moves forward.  Media is where people attention shifts to- and marketers need to quickly adopt their marketing to fit the new tools.

Alongside, think I need to migrate quickly to the voice/video based Brainstorms as they allow for taking a more conversational approach and a more dialogue based interaction- but here it is- perspectives from Sean on his (and Prudential’s) viewpoint towards Digital Media:

What are the key challenges to the insurance industry today and how can the digital medium help mitigate those challenges?

In keeping with our brand credo – - “Always Listening, Always Understanding” – - we understand that consumers and our customers are using digital media everyday in many ways. We are exploring ways that we can appropriately reach out to prospects, as well as, serve our customers through our digital platforms. As we have a very large agent network, digital media is becoming key in providing our agents with the latest customer information, product details, and training.

Could you elaborate on why and how the idea of the ‘Retirement calculator’ iPhone app was conceived? What exactly are the main points it is trying to address and how has the audience reaction been till now? There are many insurance calculators/retirement planning tools on the internet- could you elaborate what is special about migrating an app like this to the mobile web? (going beyond the fantastic point that it is a first in Asia)

Background and key points

The “What’s Your Number?” Retirement Calculator is an evolution of PCA’s existing – and very successful – “What’s Your Number?” retirement campaign, which was established to address growing retirement protection needs across Asia.  Prudential is committed to helping people understand that careful planning is critical for a carefree retirement – people need to understand what their retirement goal should be and how to get there.

Migration to mobile

Seeking to reach people via mobile is natural given the penetration and usage of mobile phones in Asia – in most markets much more than the penetration of the internet. Mobile marketing via SMS is a very common and effective way of reaching out to prospects, customers and even our agents.

We developed this application as a “branded utility”, which aims to drive greater awareness and understanding about the importance of retirement planning. Taking learnings from our web-based calculators, we have sought to create an intuitive way to determine your “retirement number” – the first step to effective retirement planning.

In testing, we found that by placing this calculator in their hands, we allow users to determine a range of scenarios that they might consider. This is the power of mobile – the most personal form of media.

Audience reaction

As we have recently launched the application, we are receiving comments on a daily basis. Most users find it very user friendly and surprisingly comprehensive. It has been noted that it has started conversations among family members and increased the realization that a retirement plan is needed.

What are some of the other ways in which you are using the digital medium for marketing purposes? (It could be anything related to branding awareness, customer engagement, agent empowerment or closing sales) How do you measure success for these activities?

Prudential has for some time sought to leverage digital media. Whether with consumer websites, extranets, intranet, email newsletter, or sms, we recognize the opportunity to reach out and appropriately communicate using these media.

Measurement is key to any form of marketing, especially digital marketing in the financial services industry. We use a range of web and mobile analytics tools to monitor and optimize the success of our campaigns. Digital media, as the most measurable media platform, provides a valuable listening opportunity for Prudential.

What roles did your various agencies play in developing this app?

To develop this application, we worked with a team from both OgilvyOne and Cherrypicks.- – with OgilvyOne taking the creative lead and Cherrypicks leading the technical implementation.

What role do you think the various ‘types’ of agencies could play in the near future when it comes to digital marketing? Especially with respect to mobile marketing? Which of the existing agency ‘types’ is best suited for leadership in the digital space? (PR/creative/media/digital). Do you think there is a future for digital ‘specialist’ agencies?

This is a rather broad question.

Having led a leading digital and direct marketing agency for several years, I view your question in a slightly different way. Given consumer’s media consumption habits, I feel that the best marketing solutions come from understanding all the possible ways to reach and influence your desired audience. This may be through earned media (PR), paid media (advertising), word of mouth, direct marketing and the list goes on.

A truly integrated solution can be accomplished with one lead agency coordinating partners as there is no “one-stop shop” or with a selection of agency partners coordinated by the client.

Digital specialist agencies do offer a great deal of value in understanding the intricacies of how the various media options work, especially regarding mobile media. As digital is often technical, this understanding of capabilities can mute some of the ability to manage the interplay between media options. Thus, digital specialist agencies run the risk of pursuing ideas that fit their particular media versus ideas that can be integrated and brought to life across various media platforms.

From my point of view- this stands for all types of agencies- digital or non-digital. The non-digital ones have difficulty porting the concept to digital, and in many ways, vice-versa. Though in the not-so-distant future, both will do each other and everyone else’s jobs.

Think About It

Following up on my much earlier post on some practical uses of Augmented Reality for marketing, here is one on what it could look like in the future- have seen many around the same topic, but this one struck- and thought should share. If for nothing else, then for the pure eye candy and the ‘cool’ factor that marketers are mostly after.

The setting could be in your kitchen.

Enjoy.

In past life, I have been a salesperson. As a matter of fact, I still am one. Come to think of it, we all are, in a way.

More so those who have been around in the digital marketing industry (across its various disciplines).

In the founding years of Digital Marketing in Asia (1999-2006), if you had anything to do with digital marketing, you essentially had to sell hard. Everyone loved to listen, but few actually bought what you were selling. Specially ‘digital media’ was an abstract thought in the early days (“it is all a scam”)

So I know what it means to be a sales rep. And just like people from all walks of life, there are some good ones and others who are simply a pain in the butt.

And as a digital marketing consultant and buyer of media and technologies, I deal regularly with publisher representatives/media sales people day in and day out. As someone who has been on both sides of the table, here is what I look for when it comes to setting rules of engagement with salespeople. Applies equally for salespeople across all industries:

1. Bring value to the table- not a hook : The agenda is value- how can you impact my business, my client’s business -and your business in turn. Give me value- not a hook. Better efficiencies? tick. Innovations? tick.  Allowing agency to help media create a better solution? tick. We are all in the business of consulting, innovation and accountability. Even commodities (ad space) can be innovated upon. Lunch/coffee/dinner/beer can wait.
2. Be genuine: Sales is not only about, well, selling. It is about relationships. Work that out- it helps. have genuine relationships. In the Asian context, it works better culturally- and is bound to rub off on the business.
3. Share: Media and agency folks are hungry for knowledge/information. Load them up. White papers, learning sessions, special webinars, the works. Think of a route to share- even if you are in the business of selling ‘general’ content.
4. Don’t (try to) intimidate : Appreciate you are God’s gift to your company. But please. Understand the business you are in. It is not the media business. It is not a ‘sales’ business. It is a business of relationships. It exists due to relationships. So if you have come from a more ‘advanced’ country or represent a big search engine- give me the value- and spare me the attitude.
5. And I should comply because you met the ‘client’?: So you met the client. And are thinking eff the agency. (“We met the client yesterday and they want to go ahead with our solution. Raise the IO”) Guess what? Bad idea. There is a reason Brands trust their agencies. Domain knowledge, accountability, consistency- all the things that an agency brings on the table. Media Strategists meet these ‘James Bonds’ every day. In a B2B2B ecosystem, piss off one party involved in decision making- and say bon-voyage en-route to eternal alienation. Alas, Bond is fiction.
6. Be fast (not furious): Agencies need things fast. ‘As of yesterday’ is more than just a cliche here. Prompt deliveries will ensure that you are top of mind in case of any new business requirement. Fret on deliveries and there is always someone else who is faster and eager to make that sale.
7. Management introduction: Introduce agency partners to your management. It makes you look good and the agency get the bigger picture. Make sure that the conversation is elevated here- and moves beyond nice exchanges. International trends? Bigger partnerships for betterment?

In short, Value, Relationship and Delivery -three key issues to engaging well with your prospective clients (b2b or b2c or b2b2b or b2b2c or whatever….)

That said, not that agencies do everything alright. They have their share of jokers too. More on that later.

Think About It

It’s that time of the year again. Conferences. forums and industry gatherings – some large scale and some niche ones.

ad:tech falls in the former category. For those within the digital marketing industry, it is not just large scale. It is BIG.

I have attended ad:tech events in the past and have shared my experiences. (Can’t believe its been a year since I wrote on this topic). This year, it opened today (in Singapore- 3rd June 2010) and what a bummer- I had to miss the first day.

However thanks to tweets from my group and the update emails from Si Ting Sng from Bite Communications (thanks!), I at least have a flavor of the event.

From one of the email updates- this section summarizes the event proceedings- reproducing verbatim:

ad:tech Singapore 2010 consists of 6 keynotes and 24 breakout sessions with over 30 exhibitors and sponsors including publishers and media owners taking part.  Among them, technologies and solutions from mobile marketing to analytics, e-mail marketing to Search Engine Optimisation will be showcased.

Seem to be everything I spend a regular day on. Hope to visit tomorrow- on the second day of the session and whet my appetite for Digital Marketing information.

What is also interesting is one full stream dedicated to advanced marketing and branding.  ‘Digital’ as a branding medium still has a lot of miles to cover- but really, that is the imminent future. Add to this the fact that leading brand marketers-  alongside consultants/agency representatives are now speaking on this topic- sends the right signals. Measurablity is an inseparable part of digital marketing – but the real power of digital will arrive when it moves towards a balance of brand metrics and hard RoI metrics (both of them dear to  me).

Consider this- the sessions started with this keynote:

• The Future of Brands on the Internet: Alex Hunter, Independent Brand Consultant

and the second day will cover a similar subject, though it seems more specifically in context of a brand

• Driving Marketing Excellence Through Digital – The Kraft Foods Asia-Pacific Journey

Keynote by Shawn Warren, VP Marketing, Asia Pacific, Kraft Foods: who will discuss the important role digital marketing plays in building power brands across Asia Pacific.

Great stuff.

Another thing I missed the first day- keynotes on ‘Digital in South east Asia’. I am a huge ASEAN proponent- and it sucks that I missed the first day keynotes on this topic.

But there’s always tomorrow. Hope to be there. And write about it if I do.

Think(ing) about it.

Shalabh

One of the most misunderstood and favorite punching bag of all. Online Display advertising. Also mistakenly called “Banner advertising”.

Mistakenly because there’s more to display advertising than banner advertising. Why, there is more to Banner advertising than just “banner” advertising-but more on that later.

Display media, as it matures, is undergoing multiple transitions. It still commands majority of media ad dollars though sources claim- at declining growth rates. But this will soon change, as metrics related to brand awareness/positive predisposition attribution, and advertising’s role in defining a holistic web strategy evolves.

Till then, digital display advertising is ridden with demand generation implications. Banners are a commodity- and there is a reason why ad networks are making the hay while the sun shines.

There are undue pressures on Banner advertising, and because it is treated like a commodity, there is always a price ‘push back’ phenomenon- buy cheaper for better conversion attribution and RoI.

And largely because of this, a whole ‘big scale’ cottage industry now thrives to  make Display advertising more accountable for conversions.

The landscape below:

Look at tools that provide ‘Data Optimization’, ‘yield optimization’ and ‘Creative optimization’.
Ad exchanges, networks and performance networks (another variety of ad networks) are thriving and mushrooming- and that is a good thing as well as a not so good thing.

While I discuss that at another time, what is important to note is how the Digital media planner’s skill set changes due to the introduction of these new variables and tools in media planning.

Think about it
Shalabh

Time flies.

Its been about 8 months since I last participated in Social Networking World forum Asia, the Asian chapter of the popular forum from the UK.

A voice over from my last year’s talk on “Video Social Networking” here and a post on it about a year back here

The Social Media World Forum (SMWF) Asia this year is scheduled for the 22/23rd September at Suntec, Singapore (before the F1 Singapore night race). The event will showcase the leading social media trends taking place in Asia through a combined conference and exhibition.

The good folks organizing this conference (Six Degrees events- thanks Ian, Richard and Dee) asked me to chair the second day of the conference – and of course it should be fun doing it.

The agenda of the conference could be found here

I am also on the panel of advisers for the forum and hope to contribute.

This time around, apart from the ‘big’ speakers and participants, we also have on-the-ground managers- people who are in the thick of the things. Expect a little more action.

A promo video to get a ‘feel’ of the event:

Enjoy, participate and contribute. Hope to see you there

Think about it

Shalabh

So you are an advertiser on the digital medium and want to explore mobile advertising opportunities? Lets see what options you have.

Banner advertising.Text links. SMS. Give or take some others. (Call hold messages, ringtones- you know them)

Banner advertising. Either on web pages consumed over the mobile internet or within apps (largely iPhone). While that is not a bad thing necessarily- Banners allow for targeted messaging, interactive environments and connect straight off to something bigger, more interactive or useful for the customer; but on the mobile medium, it does seem a bit limited.

In the videos below- Steve jobs (somewhat rightly) mentions- that advertising on the mobile devices need to be different. People consume content on these devices differently, have different expectations from them and have a different mindset/purpose while using these devices.

So Apple sensed a gap and came up with iAds. I thought the name was a poor joke by someone- but no it IS called iAds. Now hope that Google does not call theirs ‘AdNexus’. But then some people would contest that title is already taken- by the IAB.

Anyways- Apple claims that search as an activity is not happening over the mobile phone and that search is largely a ‘computer’ driven activity. Mobile devices- they are different. Apparently people don’t search on their phones. Interesting.

Apart from this behavior gap, there is scale- even when this is limited to Apple devices. An iPhone user spends about 30 minutes everyday- using apps on the phone. And that merits an opportunity of showing upto a billion ad impressions, hopefully monetizable.

iAds also claim to be having the potential of combining the power of Emotions (TV) and the Interaction (Web) and hence promise to be even more interactive than ads on the web and more emotive than  TV.

Really?

Well the demos are interesting- but to spoil the fun- we’ve seen this before. The only things are – you could use these within an app environment without interrupting the app usage experience. Ability to integrate buying from iTunes is a nice touch.

For developers- it works on HTML 5- and this new ad platform is to be built into the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 release. And like all good ad networks, developers get 60% of revenue. So now everyone could be an adman- and left brain weds right brain in advertising. (Ah! dreams)

Enough said- watch the videos for more details:

PS: Me thinks this is built for the iPAD environment- where it will be awesome from creative execution and user experience standpoint

The second video with more details:
The real cool ways in which this would diferentiate (more than the usability experience of non destructive use experience) is that using iPhone native features this could allow a whole lot of interactivity within apps- geo location identification integration (retail stores), buy now (via iTunes or custom coupons etc), interactive (customize your own stuff) etc

What is not very clear is how will this be sold – considering to make the maximum out of this, advertisers might have to make almost App like ‘ads’

Think about it

Shalabh

Governments are largely reactive in nature. Things move with a heavy foot, there are processes to be followed, and ‘corporatization’ is frowned upon. By ‘corporatization’, I largely mean ‘marketing’.

The fundamentals governing this thought process have ground in the fact that governments need to be largely ‘welfare’ units, ‘not-for-profit’ organizations. Which they should be- but with a broader perspective.

Marketing is so synonymous with greedy profit churning and pushy sales calls, that it is almost a bad word- and because of lack of hard data supporting usefulness of each marketing initiative, governmental organizations find it easy to leave it alone. Not to be touched. From a useful discipline that allows one to make their ideas reach relevant people, it becomes a cryptic, pseudo-relevant science.

There is little specialist talent, therefore, within governmental organizations to proactively take marketing initiatives.

Things, however, are changing. Not only do we see political parties and political candidates using the power of new age marketing techniques and tools, we also see some governments taking a pro active approach towards connecting with their stakeholders.

And from what I have seen in the recent few years, fewer government organizations have used new marketing  opportunities than those within Singapore.

Specifically from the ‘Social Media’/engagement standpoint, there have been some recent successes that I noticed- I will list some of them here- mostly from top of mind recall, but I am sure there are more cases out there.

Like most new things, these initiatives have not been without their share of criticisms (ample to find that in Singapore) and execution hiccups.

But the highlight is not about how great the campaigns were, how flawless the execution was or how measurable were these campaigns.

Many of these campaigns were none of these, and many probably failed miserably at achieving the desired results.

But what is worth highlighting is that they tried. It is BIG DEAL in governments. These are government or quasi government (aided or assisted with government control/stake) organizations. These are not nimble enterprises. The fact that they take this ‘risk’ of venturing into hitherto unknown territory and risk mockery or failure, is HUGE. To me, it is important enough that these campaigns saw the light of the day.

Time does not permit to dissect these campaigns, but I hope to, sometime in future. And also, my point of view on how they could have been better or what could be the next steps following up from where they left it.  As of now, just listing some details on these campaigns.

• Singapore Tourism Board (STB):
  • Aided by their agency partners, STB seems to have undertaken a few non-mainstream initiatives
  • STB Crowdsourcing Ideas from public: Following up on their roadmap to year 2020, STB launched a website asking the common person on their vision of how to improve this sector in 2020.
  • STB blogger connections: STB now has a section on their website featuring Blogger perspectives on Singapore.  Bloggers talk about new stuff, their experiences, and bring in a slightly different side of the life in Singapore- which could be of immense interest to the visitors who want to get the story from individuals not corporations.
• Reach Singapore: The organization entrusted with community development in Singapore, had launched early some basic steps in connecting and reaching out to the community, specially the youth. Setting up the ubiquitous Facebook and Twitter communities were basic attempts, but the fact that some initiatives were as early as 2008, is interesting to note.
• Senior ministers in the government now actively engage digitally- and participate in forums. This is seen even ‘offline’. Last year, at the omy.sg (a bilingual site in mandarin and english) Blogger award night, the Chief Guest was Mr George Yeo- Minister of foreign affairs in the Singapore government. Attending a congregation of largely teens or tweens!
• NTUC Fairprice : Less known as a “trade union corporation”, more as a supermarket chain, their facebook page now boasts more than 26k members. Frankly, it is quite basic, slightly unkempt (“What’s up” section has nothing inside (!)) and seems a lot more could have been done than promoting a contest and their TVCs. But still worth a mention.
• SingPost: This is what happens when an old school service tries to appeal to the new age consumers. Singapore Post or SingPost is essentially a postal service (actually they have a lot more to their repertoire) and here is what they tried:
  • In the wake of Youth Olympics in Singapore, they decided to undertake a stealth marketing campaign.
  • Some graffiti artists were hired and in full public view, were made to paint graffiti on Singpost postboxes. In Singapore, that is BIG DEAL. Any graffiti on public properties is treated as serious vandalization and is punishable by law.
  • The morning after effect assumed was that people would talk about it, it would spread- followed by Singpost admitting it was a publicity stunt -and all will be hunky dory. Only it went the other way- complaints and social media buzz derided the act as distasteful and counter to the values we should impart to the youth.
  • To me, it was Classic germFeed- created an opportunity to talk- bystanders created content- took videos/took snaps, shared it and commented on it.
  • Good or Bad- to get a postal service get talked about by the youth is a huge deal. I am not sure if kids nowadays would think of Post Boxes as something to be like a fire safety poles. If kids were all about sharing and compassion and love and the spirit of games- gaming and cinema would have died long back.
  • Could it have done in a better way? Sure it could have been. Was graffiti necessary? Sure it wasn’t. But the idea of doing a radical exercise- something out of the ordinary- by itself is worth a mention.

What would I have done? Here is what I would have done- stick color codes or Augmented Reality code stickers on all Post boxes- promote it across media channels- encourage people to snap it with their camera phones- wherever they saw the boxes and create engaging content to engage with it. Maybe show the journey of a parcel,maybe show profile of Youth Olympic atheletes- tonnes of things to surprise people with.

Actually, as I said, none of these are examples of ‘great’ initiatives. But if they evolve from hereon- it is what will make the difference. If they continue trying it is then they will make that difference.

They have had their share of criticisms, let us allow them to entertain and engage us.

Think About It

Shalabh

In my about to be launched book- “Think About It”- Ideas shaping digital media and marketing in the new decade, I discuss something that is just one step behind Augmented Reality, and if used correctly, could really boost interactive marketing processes and adoption.

I have also mentioned in the past, that Augmented Reality is cool- though a technoolgy whose time was not there yet. I saw its adoption increasing from mid 2010 onwards- specifically in Asia.

AR is used across touchpoints now- like with printed codes, webcams and computers but to me the real coming of age would be interactive usability via camera enables mobile devices.

However, I see signs of Augmented Reality coming up faster than expected- with usage that is more practical than just ‘cool’.

Though when you see advertisers like Nike and Adidas using this technology, the ‘cool’ automatically associates.

I discuss some good campaigns around AR here:

Nike (via marketing interactive): This one is from Asia- Hong Kong.

Nike launched this programme (mcCann+hyperfactory) to target teenagers- for strengthening its soccer products.

For four weeks, Nike plastered a series of secret codes around Hong Kong, in Nike stores and at the Causeway Bay MTR station.

The codes invite users to download a mobile application that allows them to view its T90 soccer boots and ball in 3D through their mobile screens.

So this is simple- but an early entry into this market- makes it newsworthy and upholds the innovative/cool factor of Nike.

There are some other campaigns as listed bby Devora Rogers on iMediaconnection

Samsung:

This is a simple, yet great use of Augmented reality and we could see more such stuff in the near future.

Samsung’s AR execution, which helps consumers figure out what a TV will look like on the wall, before they hang it. Users print out an image that they then show to their webcam, which faces the wall on which they want to hang the TV. The screen recognizes the AR trigger, and instead of seeing the printout, users see a TV laid over their wall through their screen.

With these examples, this technology seems perfectly well suited for home improvement and decoration industries- but the potential goes much further than that.

Home Depot:

This US retail giant has reinvented the humble gift cards.

Simply put, when you receive a gift card, displaying it in front of a webcam enables users to browse and buy products online or plan for their next project.

Here’s more- in video:

Ray Ban:

Another really cool yet practical usage by Ray Ban.

Rayban Virtual Mirror application demonstration. Using key points on your face the app maps pairs of augmented reality shades onto your face. Then you can click straight through to the store.

Ordinary people:

Well you could use this on your resume or on your business cards. Imagination is the only limitation here. Of course being a bit flamboyant helps

The real coming of age of this technology will be when it is more end user focused rather than being inward focused.

Think About It

Shalabh

“Think About It”- Ideas shaping digital media and marketing in the new decade

The new book will be launched by mid February in both Kindle format and paperback format.

We had seeked your inputs and opinions on which cover design layout did you like the best.

Thanks everyone for not only helping us choose the right cover but also with your critique and suggestions for improvements.

We went through all the suggestions in detail and tried to achieve a balance. And that brought us to the final choice.

And the Winner is- Cover design no. 8

Of course this design will not be used as it is here- but with further changes and more cleaning up. Will keep you posted.

A whole lot of friends commented and decided us to choose the right cover- across platforms- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and emails.

Truely, a cover design chosen by you. Some of the responses here:

Excerpt from Twitter:

Excerpt from Facebook:

Some, like Maria, CEO and co-founder of Linqia from Barcelona- had some gems for all the designs

(We loved it!)- her comment:

=============================================

Dear Shalabh,

Hope my comments help in some way:

• Cover 8: Very clean, illustration offers insight into the theme of the book, great font
• Cover 7: Icons are effective showing humans however overused throughout the industry. Also the font doesn’t work at all.
• Cover 6: Warm design which weakens the overall affect you’re trying to achieve by making the statement ‘Think about it’. It’s also quite busy.
• Cover 5: The lines at the top make the cover too busy and conflict with the colorful people icons. Again – these icons are used heavily throughout the industry which could connote ‘another web 2.0 book’
• Cover 4: Very beautiful design however on first impression the book looks to be about financial matters
• Cover 3: Extremely busy! Too many design elements.
• Cover 2: The wireframe of the man is effective and would work well with typography from cover 8 with no additional graphics.
• Cover 1: Great colours. Strong typography. Lines are also strong in ‘thought’ and ‘landscape’

The 2 that really stand out and project a positive first impression are covers 1 and 8.

Maria

===============================

I can’t put all the comments here- but some friends went to the extent of finding the right font and asking us to use those in the text instead.

It was great. We tried to follow as much as we could (and as much as our Art Director would allow us to)

Now just if the economics could allow us to collectively arrive at the cost of the book too.

Think about it

Shalabh

Twitter- @shalabhpandey

Keep in touch for further updates.

“Think About It”- Ideas shaping digital media and marketing in the new decade

Its love’s labour. Really.

After more than a year of running ChasingTheStorm – with loads of loving time spent- and acquiring loads of loving friend circle, this is it. I put together a book.

“Think About It” is a book inspired by Ideas from this website. With more meat, more thoughts and well, in a different format. The title of the book is actually the signature I use in most articles.

The book covers Digital Media and Marketing trends in the new decade, Mobile Media, new marketing paradigms and Marketing Case studies.

It is written not as a tutorial to digital media platforms or Digital marketing 101. Rather- it attempts to raise a storm on specific Digital media issues. Offering an easy read for the evolved, thinking marketer, it is a book to raise debate- and expects a degree of interest in Digital Media.

I’ll talk more about it later- but since I am quite excited about it, I decided to put up the news anyways.

It’ll go in print soon (and available online and on the Kindle)- but as usual, not without your support in its making. I need you to help pick up the right cover design.

My good friend Ankur Khurana volunteered to get the cover design done- and boy- he did get them designed in two days flat. Many thanks buddy. And many thanks to MG Harti- the Art Director who helped the idea come into reality by doing many iterations.

So here are the designs- (the copy/text and some elements are dummy).

Just from a design layout perspective- let me know which ones do you like the best?

You could comment here, or

Email me: shalabhpandey at gmail dotcom

DM or @ at Twitter : @shalabhpandey

The cover Designs for “Think About It”

GROUP 1:

Cover One

Cover 2

Cover 3

Cover 4

GROUP 2:

Cover 5

Cover 6

Cover 7

Cover 8

Comment here, or

Email me: shalabhpandey at gmail dotcom

DM or @ at Twitter : @shalabhpandey

Think About It

Shalabh

Sharing an excellent talk with Seth Godin from Marketing Over Coffee : covering his thoughts and specially his new book Linchpin.

Conducted by John and Chris (Their LinkedIn profiles added)

Direct Link to File

Show length 23:30

Time Marks/Stams in case you want to skip and skim.

00:52 What’s Linchpin about?

02:30 How do entreprenuerial linchpins fit in to large organizations?

05:40 Who are the artists?

06:55 Can you get beyond Dunbar’s Number? Gary V. is using twitter to add two zeros.

08:10 What is The Resistance? What is Emotional Labor?

11:22 Thrashing – a classic Marketing problem, and yes, Duke Nukem! Real artists ship.

14:16 Is there any future for mass media advertising?

15:30 What’s are the trends in privacy?

17:15 Zen Habits – Read Leo’s Blog

18:40 Making dreams come true and having Super Powers

21:12 Where the books come from

You could Sign up for their Podcast in iTunes

Think about it

Shalabh

Welcome to 2010. The year when Social Networks get into early adulthood- and get married. To whom? The real world. FTW for sure. And sure enough- the best man will be the mobile device.

I don’t say this to promote Augmented reality. That I’ve already discounted. No- not given up (I think it is pretty cool) just time shifted- not for the next 6 months in 2010.

Why do I say so? Listen up:

• Facebook has more than 65 million members accessing it using mobile.
• 20 percent of Twitter streams originate from mobile devices
• In 2009, YouTube video watching through mobiles was up 52 percent-  according to a study published in May by Nielsen.

These three social networks- pretty much rule the web world- and they are slowly but surely being mobility driven. Mobile is the BFF of Social Networking. But there’s one marriage that is long being awaited. That between the real and the virtual world. Tying the knot between real life interaction and virtual (mobile +web) presence.

In late 2007, while being on a panel at GSMA in Macau, one of the things I had felt and brought up was that location awareness could give a great boost to mobile marketing. Though many marketers did not have a great degree of success at the time (with limited bluetooth and SMS campaigns), I always had this hunch that the one obvious advantage of mobile over others is – ahem-mobility. And we finally see it happening now- with the convergence of Social and real life (location) and Mobile.

While Twitter plans to incorporate location based features soon; applications like Google Latitude and Loopt are already in this direction. The ability to connect with ‘friends’ based on location hyper targeting coupled with other triggers is a ‘no- brainer’ path that will be taken soon by many others.

Marketing dollars will aid the growth of such services- we the marketers are hungry for these things. Forever. Ah! The pain of dealing with yet another technology and yet another platform.

See again- I said ‘marketing’ and not just ‘advertising’. Though advertising is the obvious beneficiary as well.

Ad Networks like AdMob are already cashing in to the opportunity (and I don’t mean the Google way) by offering location based ads.

But speaking of marketing, services like Foursquare have been making waves (and I promise you the buzz around this service will almost be as much as Twitter had from 2007-2009 the next year onwards).

Of course you know Foursquare- don’t you? a location-aware app that lets users “check in” at venues in a number of cities. The opportunities for footfalls are immense. You could do coupons (opt-ins of course) to subscribers within a certain radius of a location (say restaurant or boutique); or you could run loyalty rewards for frequent patrons (called Mayors for some funny reason)

Foursquare is not alone. I struggle to find Asian examples (trust me they will pop up within a month or two of this post) but there are other popular ones like Rummble (an interesting story of already brewing competition here) and Gowalla.

Rummble

Gowalla

Update on 7th feb 2010:

Just received a mail from Placepop about their offering too. In case you want to take them for a spin- you could try them free at the iTunes store

This is of course, not all. And there are at least a few solid Asian examples after all.

We saw Friendster acquisition by MoL, a company that will probably use the social network’s remaining audience base to promote m-commerce, micropayment led social gaming and what not.

Alongside, in October 2009, mobile manufacturer Ericsson tied up with Kaixin001. The deal was to incorporate more social activities to the handset and ease of access.

All said and done- Mr Real World- it is time to say “I do” to Lady Social Network. The best man “Mr Mobile” will keep a close watch.

Happy New Year 2010.

The MicroInfluencer (TM) as a concept in pop culture has caught on. When I had first thought about the concept of the MicroInfluencer and published it, I wanted to highlight real life people who had actually achieved some success by exercising their influence over the digital medium. The thought of individuals and everyday people having influence on the internet was not new- but the phrase itself brought clarity to the meaning.

Anyhow, I intend to start a process I’d been thinking of since long now- highlighting MicroInfluencers from time to time – as and when I discover a few- and as and when you lead me to some of them.

Here is one- and quite with times too.

MicroInfluencer(TM): Danny MacAskill a.k.a the urban cycllist

Danny MacAskill- a bicycle mechanic. From Edinburg. Pretty obscure- maybe known in the local circuits. And then one fine day, he and his roommate decide to shoot a video of his ‘stunts’ en route to work.

Dave Sowerby- his roommate picks up a cam and shoots some excellent videos over the next few months. The founder of Inspired Bicycles- Dave Cleavers- (who has a razor sharp marketing brain it seems- following the success of the video- he has come up with new cycles similar to those of MacAskill’s and his bike brand has got some cool buzz going on the net. For his brand, he has started what I call the BuzzLifeCycle and is riding a meme at the right time) then had it put in YouTube. What results thereafter is this:

• More than 13 million views
• Highest viewed sports video on YouTube
• Spread all across the net via blogs and other social networking sites

Danny had made it- and like this article says- his life could now be phased as “Before youTube” and “After YouTube”. The video became a Germfeed Item that spread really quickly and constructively impacted Danny’s life.

This is the video that started it all – in case you don’t happen to have contributed to the 13 million views:

The video caught on like wildfire and soon enough not only Danny gets interview requests but even gigs- like this professionally produced ad for  recruitment company/website.  The story from the sponsors here.

What followed the epic first video was a flurry of interviews/articles and presentations from mainstream media. Worldwide recognition.

This excerpt from the NYT article sums it all:

One day, he was asked to appear in 10 countries. Filmmakers wanted to make documentaries about his life. Advertisers pounced. Big companies, like Red Bull in Britain, lined up to sponsor him. People wanted his autograph. Ellen DeGeneres, who bears a faint resemblance, wanted him to dress up as her and ride around Los Angeles. The Doves, a British rock band, wanted him for a video. Lance Armstrong called MacAskill’s video “a must watch.” A circus in South Korea wanted to hire him to perform stunts.

Danny is from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. Go figure where that is (clue in the beginning of the MicroInfluencer intro topic). From an unheard-of town to worldwide acclaim, being invited across the world for adverts and paid gigs. It’s a long way baby- in a pretty short time. You will soon be a MegaInfluencer.

Think about it

Shalabh

OK. I give in. I succumbed to writing my Digital Marketing predictions for year 2010. The past few years have been spot on and I thought it might be good to pen down some thoughts- and revisit them later next year to get a pervert pleasure of how much and how many of them have been right.

iMediaConnection published the article, but a quick post explaining really what is the next wave for the digital media.

Essentially, my 2010 Digital media predictions are from a grounded and rational perspective. Of course, all of us are like Truffle hunting dogs at this time of the year- hunting for trends instead of truffles- and trusting our noses to get us there. But key is to keep expectations in place and have a more grounded perspective on what is practically achievable in the next 12 months timespan.

I have mentioned a few things- that you can find in another article , but I wanted to highlight one special point.

Of all the prognostications surrounding what the next wave around Digital / Social Media going to be, here is mine.

Translated, it means- The Systematic Web.

This is the next real wave on the internet. Actually, it is already happening in a way.

After Web 2.0, surely there will be no Web 3.0 (as in the term). Web 2.-0 as a term has also been less structured and open to interpretation in a lot of ways.

With Web 2.0 and the conversational wave on the internet, came the unorganized, free-for-all culture. Your digital conversations and footprints became haphazard, cumbersome and clunky.

The new paradigm and the next phase of the internet will focus on organization of this content.

The web 2.0 or conversational space will see a new level of sophistication. There will be better organization of content and more structured creation of content. Simply put, we will see the chaotic and unorganized nature of today’s conversational web become more Systematic.

We will see the emergence of the ‘Systematic Web’ or Web raised to the power of system . The name itself will lead to the meaning unlike ‘Web 1.0’, ‘Web 2.0’ or ‘Web 3.0’- which have been open to interpretation.

We have seen Twitter organization via lists- and Facebook organization with Live Vs News feeds. We have seen more privacy controls and better content organization by platforms themselves.

Not to mention the huge third party ‘organizers’ that have cropped up in the system. We have seen Friendfeed, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck- and so many others. Essentially what do they attempt to do? They organize content in a more meaningful way than the original platform owners. The Systematic Web.

Multiple platform fatigue syndrome? We have Posterous. Problems with finding the right conversations? We have many conversation monitoring services- that could systematize random conversations by various attributes- sentiments/influence/volume/topics- you name it. On the move?  Web 2.0 ratings not enough? Welcome Foursquare, Rummble,  Gowalla and what not.

Need to port your persona? Need one key to many sites? Easier than Feeds and Open ID? No worries. Facebook has Facebook connect, Google has Google Friend connect.

And now Google also has another one- Google Social Search.

Talking about search, It is not just Google- Twitter launched better search options a while ago- and included the ability to add an additional search modifier- location (and even sentiments) to the search (You could search ‘fit’ with a smiley to see positive or happy sentiments about fit and ‘fit’ with a for negative sentiments). Facebook too now allows for searching only your network or across Facebook.

This is not just Web 2.0. Think about it, it is all about Systematizing the present web. It is Web^sys

Systematization implies:

The next wave is already upon us- and it is not Augmented Reality (yet). Not sending ad messages by brain scanning. Not even the semantic web. It is the Systematic Web.

Web^sys

Think about it

Shalabh