One to Watch for 2012: The Social TV Convergence
There was a time, a long long time ago before the internet, The X Factor and Pringles existed, when the phase ‘water-cooler moment’ was coined. This was a moment of community and shared experience, where the tele-visual event of last night was watched by the majority so they could be involved in the conversation. Then, as time passed, the number of channels grew and digital recorders such as Sky Plus and online catch-up sites like 4oD and iPlayer evolved, and the relevance of the event diminished to a point where advertisers withdrew and ratings dropped.
Now, however, an online revolution is changing all that, it’s no longer the water cooler but the social media moment, and it happens live, as the programme is broadcast. Suddenly a two screen revolution is under-way as internet access and multi-platform applications such as Twitter and Facebook are used in unison with the television to analyse, discuss and ridicule the exploits of soap characters, reality ‘stars’ and world events. No longer does it take any great effort to access the social media platforms for the average viewer, of a certain demographic, has mobile phones, tablets and laptops at their sides while they watch TV. There are even services like Zeebox springing up that embrace this trend and give users a one stop social media stop.
This is a sign of the future where all forms of media channel (YouTube, ITVPlayer and Sky TV) are viewed within a web environment that is not confined to the window of that company. So what does this mean? Well, for the consumer it means more feedback which could lead to better programming but also more power to those who air their views. For the businesses involved, the broadcasters lose control over image but have more metrics by which to show value to advertisers and these advertisers will no doubt be the target of the social media platforms collecting opinions.
Mobile: the next big thing in Marketing and PR
The number of people accessing the internet via mobile devices may reach 1 billion by 2014, meaning mobile will overtake the PC as the most popular way to get on the Web. At the same time, more users will be consuming mobile apps with the mobile app market reaching $8.3 billion in 2014 compared to $3.8 billion forecast for this year.
This makes thinking about the marketing opportunities of mobile and mobile apps all the more pressing and exciting. Many brands are already incorporating mobile apps into their marketing and PR campaigns. Deodorant brand Lynx has launched a mobile app which encourages consumers to share their party experiences with selected friends by streamlining their social media activity in one place. The application will be promoted through the company Facebook page, YouTube channel and a dedicated website and will act as a media channel for future brand and marketing campaigns.
What’s significant about this example is how it makes the most of how the mobile platform allows marketers and PR professionals to interact with consumers regardless of time and location. The increase in mobile internet usage is a great opportunity for brands to engage consumers through social networks, while using dedicated apps and location-based websites to make their messages relevant to consumers. Additionally, mobile apps can be used to create innovative, interactive and engaging forms of content using specific Smartphone functionalities such as multi-touch navigation, cameras, GPS, etc.
Not surprisingly brands and media companies are focusing significant efforts on tapping into the mobile platform. In the era of mobility and social networking, mobile devices will have a profound impact on how marketers and PR professionals communicate with their target audiences.
Net Neutrality – what it means for PR?
Recently there’s been a wave of stories around the issue of net neutrality and its wider implications. Such as the release of a “joint policy proposal” by Google and Verizon concerning hardline and wireless net neutrality.
This is a concern for many – and especially communications professionals.
Net neutrality keeps the internet fair. It provides a medium through which any of our clients can, with a relatively small amount of capital and the right skills, make their voice heard.
This value is being challenged with some network operators rumoured to be advocating (again) the prioritising of certain types of traffic for a charge. If this happened, a domino effect could ensue with charging creeping into business models across the net. So pay walls could pop up everywhere as big content carriers or blogging platforms seek to claw back network charges. The impact on online media and bloggers could be immense and strike at the heart of why the Internet has flourished as a source of information for all, rather than the few.
Resistance to ending net neutrality is huge. So any shake-ups of this magnitude are going to be difficult to progress. But the issue does keep on returning to the agendas of both network operators and content players. As communication professionals we have interest here too and we need to be vigilant about where this debate is going.
One browser no longer rules them all
Things appear to be looking up for Opera Software since Microsoft began offering a choice of 12 browsers to Windows users on 1 March. They’ve reported significant increases in downloads of its desktop browsers with more than half of all European downloads originating directly from the Choice Screen.
Microsoft agreed to offer browser choice to European users following a 10 year dispute with the European Commission over competition regulation. As well as the ‘better known alternatives like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Internet Explorer and Opera, web users will also be offered lesser known browsers such as Sleipnir, Green Browser, Maxthon, Avant, Flock, K-meleon and Slim.
It will be interesting to see how this will affect the PR and marketing initiatives of these companies, with companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple already possessing mainstream recognition. Over the next few months I fully expect to see the browser wars heating up, similar to that which the search engine industry has seen over the past few weeks, with a flurry of online touch points being saturated with content around speed, customization and of course security.
Rainy Barcelona, but good spirits in MWC itself
So I’ve survived my 7th Mobile World Congress (my first rainy one, oh where was the lovely Barcelona sunshine when I needed it?) and it’s great to hear from many of the exhibitors that they had a much better Congress than last year and many talked of an emergence from the recession.
However, whilst there is some nostalgia over the heady days of the late 80s early 90s when glitz, glamour and entertainment on big ships and yachts were the order of the day, it’s good to know that those days will never come back (And by the way, how refreshing to see only a few stands resorting to scantily clad young girls for overweight middle aged business men old enough to be their fathers to drool over!) Poor girls.
What’s perhaps good about coming out of a boom and almost bust time is that everyone is humbler, less arrogant, more keen to be ‘open’ and work together than before. Ultimately, this has to be good for the customer. More than any other show perhaps, there were more partnerships announced, more talk of openness and the ability to work together.
Two of the biggest pieces of news were around Microsoft and Google. Undoubtedly there was a lot of buzz around Steve Ballmer’s press conference on Windows 7 to be released in time for the Christmas period. His appearance emphasises the importance in this market. Google unveiling its new mantra ‘Mobile First’ also captured the imagination of The Daily who gave it front page news. Companies such as Google are fundamentally changing the mobile business and the established operators and equipment vendors need to understand how to work and more importantly compete with these new players.
Many at the show talked about the fact that with the explosion of mobile broadband, cloud computing and smart-phones, the technology is now fast becoming a reality for consumers to engage with brands, multimedia, social networking sites and applications. Users can now check Facebook, watch YouTube, surf the web, download slide presentations and apps wherever they are, just by pressing a couple of buttons on their handset key pad or touchscreen.
It’s undoubtedly an exciting time in which we live and reminds me of the PC explosion of the early 80s and the internet boom of the early 90s.
SCG
