Red Bull gives wings to online video

Red Bull, Google and Nike have been identified as the brands making the best use of video to engage web users, according to a report by goviral, a seeding firm. They looked at 102 brands and assessed their video content based on key measures such as views and engagement, subscription to channels and also a qualitative score based on in-house analysis.

It’s no surprise to see Red Bull at the top given their innovation in this space, most recently highlighted by the Felix Baumgartner video in which his attempt at a record-breaking skydive saw him reach the speed of sound.

The report was actually compiled before this video was released making the result even more impressive for Red Bull. The record 8 million live-streaming views this event attracted, along with the subsequent sharing and discussion would have single-handedly put Red Bull at the top spot of the list.

View the record breaking Felix Baumgartner video below…

Rounding out the top 5 were Google, Disney, Nike and Samsung, with each of the top 5 gaining over 50 million views.

Completing the list of the top 10 were Old Spice, Procter & Gamble's personal care line for men, Prada, Coca-Cola, and Nintendo. Red Bull, Prada and Google were all able to attribute 1 million likes and comments to their video content across the web.

In other ‘video’ news closer to home, NineMSN has released a new video background ad unit.

To launch the ad unit they have partnered with Universal Music. A 15 second full screen video clip auto-plays in the masthead and side panels. The creative execution features Lana Del Rey’s new album ‘Born to Die: The Paradise Edition’ and the Video Background creative features content from the album’s lead single “Ride”. There is a Buy Now link in the side panels that clicks through to the ad unit.

Whether you like this kind of disruptive unit or not, it clearly gets attention, and perhaps more importantly, is another sign of the continued rise of video in this market. Nielsen has just released its VideoCensus online video measurement tool which will start to provide further insight into the use of video in this country. According to the VideoCensus, three-quarters of online Aussies watched 1.49 billion streams in September, with individuals on average spent almost five and a half hours in the month watching 127 streams.

 Just wait until the NBN rolls out.

The opportunity: Video consumption is already on the rise across multiple devices and it will only inrease exponentially as technology such as the NBN network and 4G make download speeds much faster. Before rushing off into video, we need to recognise there is a risk in investing in and producing a range of video content that no one is interested in. The successful brands have built a content publishing model and develop their video content based on what they know their audience is interested in, what their audience expect from the brand, and aligning that with the messages and perceptions the brand wants to create. The brands in the top 10 have a global audience and therefore budgets that make production of a lot of video content possible. Very few brands in Australia have the scale and therefore budgets to do this well, and there’s an opportunity for us to lead the way.

The mobile wallet isn't waiting on NFC

 

Whilst Apple’s failure to include NFC technology in its recent iPhone updates has put the mobile wallet on hold for most, there are a number of companies intent on pressing on without it. When you consider our willingness to puchase on the Smartphone (with purchases jumping from $155m to $5.6bn in just 2 years) you can understand why!

Whilst there are a number of players in the space, Square and Paypal are two key combatants leading the mobile wallet charge, and doing it well.

Paypal is set to launch new technology at the end of this week at Glue Store's flagship Pitt St Sydney store, after which it will be rolled out across Victoria, NSW and QLD. Whilst being reported in some circles as offering 'facial recognition technology, it doesn't quite go that far. Users simply browse the store until they've found what they want, check in at the store and order on their smartphone. Their photo ID then pops up on the sales assistant's screen to verify its them, the payment is done and the customer is on their way.

According to Paypal, this is the first time consumers have been able to use their digital wallet in physical stores in this country. Sonoma bakery and Guzman Y Gomez mexican restaurants will also be on board within a year.

The holy grail for payment providers such as MasterCard and Visa is to shift our cash spend on small items, such as the daily coffee, to card payments, and whilst contactless payments are currently at work here, the real shift will come when the mobile wallet really takes hold.

So it's not surprising to know that Starbucks has also been trailblazing in this area and has just upped the ante. Keen to be seen as an innovator, Starbucks has announced it is now accepting payments for coffee with Square Wallet at over 7,000 of its outlets in the US. This is big news for Square who has now gone national, after having worked to-date with up to 200,000 smaller, independent, local retailers.

Square Wallet is a mobile payments system that allows you to pay for things at participating retailers with your smartphone. Users simply upload their Debit or Credit card details into their Square Wallet and they can then make purchases at those retailers by phone. Similar to Paypal (who have perhaps copied Square) the users photo and details, such as previous purchase history, favourite order etc, appears on the POS screen every time that user pays with the Square Wallet. It even has a voice activated option so you can pay hands free.

One of the enjoyable user experience aspects of Square is that it allows the user to initiate the purchase by simply opening the app and showing their face to the person behind the counter. While this won’t be available immediately with Starbucks, it will eventually be implemented. At the moment the retailer will scan a barcode on the phone but GPS technology will be implemented shortly to make the experience much more seamless.

Interestingly one of the co-founders of Square was Jack Dorsey, one of the creators of Twitter, after a friend called complaining about a lost sale due to an unavailable payment option.

The Starbucks Square Wallet Ad

 

How Method Juice Cafe uses Square Wallet

 

Just to finish off, still in the space of improving the user purchase experience, Walmart are trialling a pilot program that allows shoppers to scan items as they add them to their shopping basket, without having to re-scan them again at the check-out. The items are immediately added to the POS system at the check-out and all the customer has to do is pay. Whilst this is a great feature in itself, it signals that the days of scanning your items as you shop and for the payment to happen without the need of even going through the check-out, can’t be too far away…

The opportunity: Mobile payments will become the way we pay in the not too distant future. The funnctionality itself will be great for users, but the bigger opportunity is what added value can we provide to our customers at that point. We'll be able to know when they're close to the store, when they enter, how they browse, where they're getting stuck, along with information such as their preferences, previous purchase history, membership of loyalty programs and more. How we use that information to make the shopping experience better and keep them coming back is the critical part.

 



Cutting through the crap to bring the internet to me

 

In a recent post on the launch of Windows 8 and the Surface tablet we talked about the rising popularity of content aggregators, and how they were effectively bringing the internet to us, rather than making us surf and search like in the old days. Microsoft have put a lot of time and effort in to their latest release and whether you're a fan or not the fact that they have gone down this path points to their belief that content aggregation and curation is the way of the future.

Effectively the new evolution of the humble RSS feeds, these apps are sometimes referred to as social magazines, content aggregators or curators. They work in various ways with some pulling content based on an algorithm whilst others use a team of curators. Some have relationships with publishers whilst others have chosen to go it alone. Zite and Flipboard have established themselves in this space, whilst newcomer Rockmelt has emerged as a serious challenger. 











Zite

Flipbook

Rockmelt

I’ve tried a number of them but and they're all good. For no reason other than personal choice, I’ve become a regular user of Flipboard. And I have to admit, it has radically changed my browsing habits; providing the depth of relevant news and information I want on daily basis, whilst opening me up to a range of content that I’d otherwise be missing out on. On top of that pulls in all of my social media feeds.

So now, rather than waking up in the morning and checking out a number of sites (smh, theaustralian, foxsports) and social platforms (Facebook) I simply open up Flipboard on my phone or tablet (depending on which one my kids haven’t gotten to first!). I then literally browse, or flip, through hundreds of pieces of content: Facebook and Twitter feeds, news from Australia and around the world on a range of preferred topics, music, entertainment, tech and digital trends and much more.

 

I can select from Flipboard’s already curated feeds across a range of different categories or browse and choose from a range of media, publishers and brands, and add them to my Flipboard. The design, layout and experience feels fresh, and it is an enjoyable experience with most of the content presented well within the app. In some instances you are taken to the full original article on a site embedded within the app which feels clunky, but these instances are relatively small. Watch a quick example of how Flipboard works below.

 



It leaves me feeling I'm up to date on everything I need to be, but it hs also become my source for randomness in my ‘found time’, when I have five minutes to spare and I’m looking for something to entertain me…there’s never any shortage of interesting things to see.

As the internet continues to be filled with more and more content, much of which isn’t very good, we’re going to rely more heavily on personalised curation (manual or machine) to do the searching for us and provide fast and easy access to what interests us most.

The challenge: Up until now, users have searched the web to find content that they are interested in. As advertisers, we simply found the sites they were finding and put ads there. Users now have the opportunity to avoid wasting on time surfing, and have a middle man that’s helping with that task, pulling all of the content into the user, on whatever device they choose at whatever time. No doubt advertising models will be created within these environments, but they’ll have to fight hard to win attention. The greater opportunity for us is to provide content that the user is interested in so we are being pulled in as desired content, rather than advertising. To do that successfully, we’ll not only have to deliver strong, relevant content, but deliver it regularly, as users become accustomed to expecting a high volume of snackable content coming in frequently.

Changing the way Australians watch TV

 

In what is surely a sign of things to come for TV networks, Foxtel has launched the Foxtel Go tablet app that allows subscribers to view live and on-demand content on their iPad for free. It has been built on the platform that housed their extremely popular London Games app, which allowed people to view live Games content whilst out and about. After being launched only this month, it is already sitting at No. 5 on the Top 10 app downloads in Australia.

Existing Foxtel subscribers are able to watch 21 channels and catch-up content from LifeStyle Channel, A&E, Sky News, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, Disney, Cartoon Network, Channel [V], Cbeebies and a range of sports channels.

Leading the way in this space, Foxtel and MCN seem to clearly understand the way people are expecting to be consuming content across devices, and that viewing video content on particular is a rapidly growing and extremely enjoyable user experience. in addition to Foxtel Go and the London Games app, they've also got a great Fox Sports app that allows you to watch live as well as catch up content, including snippets of niews and views across all of the major sporting codes.

in the app store, Foxtel claim that "Foxtel Go will change the way Australians watch TV forever." They might just be right.

Find it in the app store here...

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/foxtel-go/id569457984?mt=8&v0=WWW-APAU-ITUHOME-NEWAPPLICATIONS&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

The challenge: As more content shifts across devices and gives users greater control with on-demand viewing, our challenge will be to get their attention. It’s debatable whether the old disruptive models of ad-breaks within programs will work as users will flock to environments where they don’t have to put up with this. And pre-rolls will only achieve so much. No doubt rich interactive ad units will be developed, but the real challenge and opportunity for marketers is to develop rich content from a brand, that is true to the brand, but is also engaging in its own right and worthy of sitting alongside the existing content. If we could then add a layer of interactivity to that, the opportunities would open up; imagine users watching our content, engaging with it, clicking to find out more, viewing products and information, and even ordering then and there, right in the middle of the program, and then getting on back to the program.

Three social platforms innovating for their audience

 

It’s good to see our social partners leading the way when it comes to the much talked about ‘make, test, learn, re-iterate’ digital model. A quick look at some recent moves by Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram not only highlights the need for ongoing digital evolution but shows that understanding your audience can help guide the direction of innovation.

Facebook Gifts is a new app offering currently being trialled with a small number of users in the US, after Facebook purchased the company Karma who had developed the functionality. With an eye to leveraging the power and scale of the Friends of Fan network it provides users with gift recommendations for friends with upcoming birthdays. The gifts available to date include vouchers as well as physical gifts like cookies, chocolates, T-shirts, sunglasses and umbrellas.

The obvious opportunity is for gift recommendations, sourced from a range of selected suppliers, to be highly personalised based on the users profile and behaviours.  The gift purchase takes place within Facebook making it an easy way to search, find and purchase a gift for a friend – not to mention a simple way to never forget a birthday again!

Facebook are playing it low key at the moment giving the impression it is just one of many new product tests they do from time to time, and there are no plans to take it outside of the US. However a press event, delayed by Hurricane Sandy, will take place this week, with rumour suggesting it will be to announce new partners.

The latest update from Pinterest is a sign that even people engaged and comfortable using social networks still want a certain level of privacy at times. Responding to one of the most frequently requested features by users, Pinterest has introduced Secret Boards, allowing users to create up to 3 private boards that can only be seen by them and anyone else they choose – they won’t show up anywhere else, including in search results or news feeds.

According to Pinterest Software Engineer Evrhet Milam, “We hope that Secret Boards will make Pinterest even more useful. You can use Secret Boards to keep track of holiday gifts, plan a special event, or work on a project you aren't yet ready to share with the rest of the world. You can keep your Secret Boards to yourself or invite family and friends to pin with you."

The final social move comes from the current shooting star of the social world, photo sharing app Instagram. The mobile only app has attracted over 100 million users in two years with people responding to the simplicity of being able to snap photos with their smartphone and share them, having applied some filters to make them look even better.

 

It has now created a web based version, allowing users to view their Instagram profile on laptop and desktops. Users will be able to view and share their images, but won’t be able to upload to the site. In addition, they’ll be able to view higher res versions of the images (6x6 format), improving the already popular viewing experience.

The profiles will be rolling out over the coming weeks and to see yours, or a friends profile go to To see your profile or to explore a friend's profile, go to Instagram.com/[username].

 

The opportunity: All of the examples highlight the need for us to keep innovating by listening to our users' needs. There’s an opportunity for our group to be the gift supplier should Facebook Gifts find its way to Australia. In the meantime, we should explore ways in which we can provide a similar offering, potentially starting with the EDR database and our Facebook members.Every day we here more talk around ‘big data’ and the Pinterest example highlights the need for us to remain focused on our customers’ expectations when it comes to data. Despite having a high take up of social, Australians as a whole are protective when it comes to our data and we expect a strong value exchange from those companies that we provide our data too.Instagram’s introduction of web profiles would appear to be in response to the constantly evolving and growing multi-screen behaviour of audiences. People are shifting from device to device at various times throughout the day, and it’s not always predictable why. Whilst smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops have their obvious uses, people will often reach out for the device that is most convenient – the device that’s charged, within reach, or not being used by the kids/partner! Media and advertisers need to create content and platforms that can work across all devices, at all times, to meet the audience wherever they are, whenever they are.

 

Interacting with Bond...James Bond

I came across an interesting interactive game as part of the launch of the latest Bond film Skyfall. They have created a driving game in which you have to chase and catch Bond to find out more. The interesting part is that the chase takes place on your computer screen, whilst you use your smartphone as the controller to drive and navigate the chase.

The user experience isn’t perfect and the accuracy of your smartphone as a controller varies. However it is still quite a cool, innovative idea that we will hopefully start to see more of in the future as a tactic to attract short term attention and engagement. You can access the game by clicking the link on the YouTube page below:

http://www.youtube.com/user/sonypicsuk?feature=results_main

 

Have you ever wanted to talk to Google?

Now you can! Google has recently made an update to its iOS app, adding voice recognition to its iPhone and iPad app. Not one to be out-done, the upgrade puts it in direct competition with Apple’s Siri technology, which has had its critics. You simply download the app and then select the mic icon and tell Google what you're looking for. The search results will then appear before your eyes as they do with a typed search query.

Most reviewers are suggesting the Google technology is reliable and accurate, and I’ve found the Google technology provides a pretty cool user experience (slightly better than Siri if I'm honest). It certainly beats banging away with your thumbs trying to punch in a search query!

Voice recognition has long been talked about and it’s good to see the user experience being offered is starting to catch up with expectations. This will become second nature to us all in future and it will be interesting to see how quickly we reach mass uptake, and also if and when this extends into the laptop and desktop environments.

To get started simply download the App from the app store or check out the link below

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-mobile-app/id284815942?mt=8

The Opportunity: As the voice activation user experience becomes seamless and users take it up en masse, it is worth investigating ways in which we could incorporate voice activation into our owned apps and assets (such as searcing for a recipe, products or My Specials in the WW app). It could be a great way to providing an even better user experience.