A Century Later, Business Gets Personal…Again
Personal communication technologies such as smartphones are playing a huge role in the end of mass communications. They are often worn on the body. They are highly individualized and they are regarded as extensions of the self. They make us individually addressable, regardless of where we are. Putting this into context, a mobile phone today is in the possession of the average user for 5,840 hours per year. That compares to the 2,920 hours the average user in developed markets spends in front of a PC and the average 1,865 hours spent watching television.
Taking Multi-Dimensional Marketing to Next Level
Looking at a message and trying to achieve the same communication in each object or screen is increasingly myopic. Context is critical because more and more our attention is split between distinct activities in more than one device. It’s about in which object the message is viewed and its timing, because we have different mindsets in different moments. Object goes back to understanding culture, because throughout history the objects we choose have always defined us, while timing relates to utilizing our constantly evolving understanding of the workings of the human brain. In traditional marketing, the belief was that the human brain is only capable of processing so much data and can be overwhelmed when too much information is thrown at it.
Where Influence Measurement Tools are Stymied
Measuring online influence is not an exacting science springing forth from today’s social media vehicles, even though that’s what Klout tells you. They’re using a façade of what’s happening today to cover up the simple fact that influence has existed for centuries and can’t be measured as easily as they state. In fact Klout, Kred and the other tools work very hard to make us believe that the awareness they are measuring is equal to influence.
To The Crowd #crushIQ
There is a fear, in Advertising, that crowdsourcing will eliminate or decrease the need for some services. Why? Embrace it. In the past year I have worked on a dozen campaigns that have incorporated elements of crowd-sourcing. They have consistently doubled or tripled the ROI of a conventional campaign. Make something a strength before it becomes a weakness. Turn heads before they turn to something else.
