Personalisation - Evolution

Preparing a new presentation and updating of previous analysis docs and research...
from 2008 to present to future. We've come a long way in a short time!


More coming soon!

Apple - authentic by design

A nice branding intro animation kicked off the Apple WWDC 2013 tonight. Although the
conference didn't necessarily introduce anything big that we didn't know was coming,  
this statement gets to the roots of the Apple brand and why they do what they do.  
The reinforcement of brand message sets them apart from the others, for me anyway! 


The move from user experience to human experience is something which has been
slowly maturing in the last year or so. We're set to hear a lot more from brands aliening
themselves to the values and interests of people, hopefully!

#TwitterWorks - ROI research from Twitter UK

Beck, David Bowie & Live Music Evolution

Beck has always been a musical cameleon, changing and constantly pushing styles from album to album. 
Bowie the same, it's great to see his new album on the top of the charts globally.
Critics are calling it the best come back of all time, but you don't need a critic to tell you that ;-)

In this experience Beck has teamed up with Chris Milk to pay homage to the Bowie track 'Sound & Vision' 
- and might just have realised an avenue for the music industry at the same time...
sure there is YouTube live events and other filmed music sites, but this is a much richer experience.

When broadband speeds expand could a fan of an artist pay a small fee to see a live gig
from the other side of the world? As the songs are performed live could you purchase them
first from the site, or at the end of the performance? The interaction here, letting the user
choose their own camera view gives a personalised touch and is something Chris Milk is
really getting great at, involving the audience. You can see this in his other projects for Arcade Fire.
You could still do this with many viewers at the same time if launched a little after the
live performance and the broadband was in place, or let people see in a queuing system 
or by a sign-up / notify process. I once worked on a music project called 'Almost Live', 
a collaboration between record labels and cinemas, but it was nothing like this. 

Spotify are currently looking to expand their brand and services as they don't own 
the music you play, they pay the record labels every time you listen to something,
they are rumoured to be getting into TV content, interesting but isn't everyone these days.

IDEA...
So what if Spotify started their own record label with new talent (there is enough out there)...
this would be a perfect platform for them to showcase the best talent on their label and
by creating gigs with bigger artists to headline would create demand and awareness. 
By charging a small fee to view the gig it would create a unique revenue system which
supports the up and coming music ;-)

Anyway...

Check out the experience HERE >>>

WARNING - HD version best viewed with no other applications running etc 
It will take a while to load, so go do something else for a while ;-)

Self Development for Brand Development

A few weeks ago I made a presentation/seminar to a group of 60 people... 
(my biggest audience so far)... it all seemed to go well and there were questions at the 
end about certain topics I covered, which is always a good sign that there is interest 
and impact in what you are talking about.

Below are some of my Keynote slides, not in any order really, but just give a glimpse of
some key topics and title slides to which I built cases, numbers and inspiration around.
It's a little out of context here without my VO (they always are unless recorded) but I'll post
an expanded version to Slideshare at some point hopefully ;-)

Since 2008 I've been doing this type of thing, to small groups, to clients, in-house and even
to individuals sometimes. I don't profess to be a professional speaker or anything like it, 
nor do I wish to be (I think)... it's more a thing I like to do get my research, insights and
analysis out in one go, or out in a bigger way. There is definitely skill to creating flow and
how you join the dotes, the biggest problem I find is what to leave out as my inspiration
presentations are structured in a specific way, designed to help brands and companies 
see the light and the opportunities to relate to people in the new world. That saying though,
it's more about personal development ;-)

How to make a hit music video...

Dreams + storytelling + action (in slo-mo) + fast bikes (in slo-mo) include bike stunts...
add a bit of a love story! And mix together with some slick but raw cinematography ;-)



Birdy Nam Nam - Defiant Order from NicoDVNL

New Google Glass demo video

I'm a big fan of Google Glass! Not for what it is at the moment, but for what it can be,
the potential it holds. Developers are going to do some amazing things with this device,
it will change the mobile industry, photography, video, social, location, navigation and a 
lot more. I'm not talking next year or the year after, 3 or 4 years perhaps. It's going to take 
a long time for people to get their heads around the idea and look. It was the same for
cars, computers and phones. And like most things these days, there is room for other
players to innovate on top and around. I see collaborations with fashion brands
(frame makers) such as CK etc. There are also a lot of smaller tech companies who have
been working on similar devices for years. Will these get bought out (or in rather) by the
other tech and media companies who rule today? 

The digital future is going to look and feel very different from today. How and where we
view and consume information shifts so fast. There is some ironic human evolutions 
going on currently, technology shifts (for humanity) vs money (gain)... I guess this can 
be seen through other similar time periods, such as during industrial revolution... 
but I'm gonna save those thoughts and insights for another blog post. 



AR evolution will play into this product and advances at some point. Imagine blippar tech in 
a pair of glasses, walking through the city looking at logos or advertising, looking through a
magazine or TV, or even looking at a persons face to get information... 
I guess google image search will be in there (formally google googles). 

I love the first person view, the idea of seeing things through others' eyes and increasing 
the experience senses is something I feel has been lacking online and in digital communication 
and advertising lately. Information, collaborations, social spread and video content has
ruled brand engagement...
it's time for more feeling and interaction again. Not that the right content or 
collaborations are wrong, just there needs to be more emotion again. Advertising can
become a wow factor again if it's connected to the right first person AR experience.

The unfortunate downfall for human beings though, is the in real life one. If we are all
watching first person HD videos by our friends in social networks, will we even need to 
experience it, will it take the buzz out of doing it yourself later, will it feel like doing the new
thing again? This has the potential for social bragging. There are a lot of privacy issues 
that need to be ironed out also, as well as attention and over connection flaws. 

But I look forward to seeing the real potential pan out ;-)

CHECK out the nice new site here...

Jonathan Ive on Blue Peter

A humbled Sir Jony Ive receives a well deserved golden Blue Peter badge. 
It's amazing how many years Blue Peter has been going, I wonder how many kids 
have been inspired over the years by the ''makes'' section. I certainly was!



BTW - Where are the Apple factory workers? Is this his own workshop and everything else 
is outsourced to China these days?

This Means This. This Means That.

Within my design education, many years ago now, a topic I always found interesting was
semiotics. I believe it to be of great benefit to any creative or marketing person working
professionally, or student. It often strikes me that more people don't know about semiotics 
and have never heard the term. I'm not saying that you can't be insightful or a good designer
without knowing about the subject (that would be snobby) but it will certainly add to a skill set.

I asked and got this book for xmas, to top up on the subject as there aren't so many books
about the subject. It will form the main chunk of a talk I'm giving next month to 60 people, 
my biggest group so far. I'll be posting any relevant and useful things while reading ;-)

Joining The Dotes, 2013 and beyond! Part 2

continued from the 19th January, 2013.

Personalisation

One of my favourite subjects, mainly due to the positive results it can receive if done properly and something which 

can be achieved through greater analysis of the customer, behaviour, buying history and other individual differentials.

Over the last few years we've seen advances in personalisation and tools to create it, be it online applications that

allow you to design your own sneaker design, wine labels, watches, bikes etc to mobile apps that suggest restaurants based

on your location, a friend, your other check-ins etc… the list is endless. It still surprises me how many companies don't

do anything, they don't even look at their own website analytics to study usage patterns, the tools are there today for free.

They still use models from the last century of ploughing money into a brainwashing formula. I'm not saying that doesn't

work in the short term, it just doesn't have the long term value of building brands and long term relationships that people

are looking for today and the next 30 years of advertising, brand marketing and media is and will be about.

Sure make snappy, disruptive and creative TV spots, but connect it to a bigger brand picture and steer that connection

into something more meaningful, a bigger experience, greater knowledge through interaction etc.

With the increase of personal data flows, tagging, liking and our sharing behaviours the potential for only being targeted
with relevant information, products and services is a must. By tapping into who we are, friends with, what we like, our
behaviours etc I hope that advertising can become more personalised. Facebook has be able of push it's IPO worth
back up recently by putting ads into mobile, tablet and phones. But I've only ever seen one advert that interested me,
why can't they suggest things based on my likes or what my friends like? I guess this is coming very soon. 

Using information to predict things based on you is something Google and other major players will be bringing more
into play and you can see subtle signs of this elsewhere. Prediction communication, advertising and third party tools
that help predict patterns through algorithms are set to become big. But I hope this does not defuse creativity!

A brand I seem to always use in presentations is Nike, but not because they are Nike. Yes sure they have the money to
do things on a large scale, but more importantly they tap into the right things. Over the last 6 years Nike has been able
to slowly bring other products and services into force, digital things that are personalised and take your own personal
content into a more meaningful context. They build experiences and products around people, enforcing a more
people centric model. Nike+, workout with the Xbox, mobile personalised workouts and now a real shift with Nike+ fuelband. 
They weren't the first with this type of health device but it's the potential the device holds to connect the brand to new audiences. 
Healthcare is a big sector which will grow dramatically in years to come. By using personal data to track your own health, 
the positive brand effects this can create within a consumers mind can not be bought. Obviously this feeds back into buying 
sneakers and tracksuits to workout in ;-)

Although I am referencing a large brand and case above which has been scaled over time to create spinoff

products, brands and companies need to start somewhere with personalisation and better digital databases 

to create more personalisation. Start by asking things, so to create more tailored email newsletters, use cookies,

allow users to adjust content positioning on their web experience, the list is endless. The good mobile

application and startup companies have been very good at this, but more importantly it is the behind the

scenes learning, the personal data collected and the usage (what and where they click) that matters. 

More about content to context coming soon!

Data

Data is the new oil (or so they say) and as the internet of things continues to grow pulling ever more data

information and insights, how to use the data for better becomes ever more relevate. On the surface this field

has a lot to do with personalisation (above) how to use data to learn about behaviours or your service, what is

working or not. To adjust quickly, rather than just saying it didn't work, let's never do that again, time to do something else.

On a personal level, I'm not just interested in how we can use data to create better communication, but also
how can we use data to actually improve peoples life and society. As cities become more and more
populated and with the vast increase and population growth of cities in the years to come, how can data
improve the functionality of the city, or road safety or eduction, the environment, energy discovery or healthcare.

The healthcare sector is set to increase dramatically and by combining healthcare with digital tools we'll be
seeing much more personal data via healthcare apps, mobile devices, digital doctors, DIY healthcare and home
hospitals become more mainstream. Predicting illness and disease will disrupt the pharmaceutical companies in
the years to come unless they can react. Illness and death is big business which is set to be vastly disrupted.

Many companies are sitting on data that can actually benefit their business, but few are using it. The ones who
learn how to leverage it will be the winners, it's not about creating fancy info graphics! Create info graphics to
help your customers understand your business, their progress, their account, a topic in big numbers… 
don't do it for the sake of it. But use the knowledge and insights to leverage and improve services or to relay 
a complex communication, learn from the data to create better instructions or UI design, products etc. 

The evolution of personal data is something the masses are becoming more and more aware of due to services
and tools which focus on it and use it as a subtle selling point. It is natural for people to be attracted to this type
of information (if easy to understand) as it gives new insights, understanding and knowledge. Believe it or but
knowledge releases Dopamine, which might explain why people are addicted to social media or the internet or
constant connection, to gain knowledge or to not miss out on something. But that's for another blog post ;-)

Building in digital tools that allow users insight into their own behaviour has a huge benefit to companies 
(in the right areas of course). Sharing content is not going away and we're starting to see apps and products
that will do this automatically. Why? Well it might be various reasons, ego, remembering moments, to lazy to
press buttons, forgets to press buttons.

The term lifelogging has been around for a while, but devices, apps and services will start to ship mainstream,
such as Google Glass, Autographer and Memoto. Obvisiouly this will take time to catch on, but has potentials as
well as downfalls. I will be exploring more about this subject in connection to AR Evolution later. 

Back to TV

As media spend finally starts shifting more towards online and social media (finally) in 2013, the really exciting

place for digital application in the future will be on our TV. Or TV combined with mobile. As more people get

smart TV's and start viewing the web via their TV, the clever companies will be the ones connecting

experiences via your 2nd screen (mobile & tablet). Content will be the most valued commodity, but great UX

and UI design will add another deciding factor. Extensions such as social and interactivity should also come into

play later down the road. It's TV but not as we know it.

The popular shows on TV these days are the live ones and these create the most buzz socially. Building apps
and online (TV) experiences which enhance the entrainment is an exciting media evolution which will turn things
on its head. This will probably be more hyped this year and break into the mainstream in 2014 sometime
hopefully, or whenever Apple is ready to fully get into the game. Cable companies still make huge profits and
retain control on their models, although companies such as Netflix have moved the goal posts. How those
cable companies create new revenue models is set to become an interesting sector over the next few years.

By 2015 I hope there is more experience based communication and interactive programming via our TV. 

Xbox 360 Kinect or another player may be able to jump ahead within these fields and have done already 

to a certain degree. Microsoft on the whole can use the knowledge gained from the Xbox and pump it into more

products, on TV or making desktop interaction more gesture controlled, taking (HX) Human Experience to another level.

In the meantime If you are a brand you should probably start thinking more about your content in TV terms,
making your video content engaging enough to be a TV show etc. Although probably not the master plan from
the beginning, it's been interesting to see the evolution of Vice, from underground raw print magazine, to media
partner for larger brands, to the Vice TV hub, a content supplier to CNN and very soon content supplier to HBO.

Part 3 coming soon, including; AR Evolution, Collaboration and other hopefully interesting things.

Joining The Dotes, 2013 and beyond! Part 1

2013 looks set to be an exciting year and one of constant twists, turns and shifts for brands and agencies to keep on

top of. Due to the never ending and accelerating technological advances, brands and agencies need to plan and focus

on what is coming, rather than just adapting to what is needed or happening today. Having the ability to be agile and

execute fast before others will be based on good R&D, greater knowledge and pre-planning…

with consumer eyes and ROI even more focused on, relevance, innovation and brand betterness.

Below are some topics that I will be exploring more in 2013. Many of the subjects I have been talking about on this
blog before and with clients over the years. The interesting thing is how they have become more revenant today
and are maturing faster than ever, the future is now and how and when brands adapt is the key. 

Mobile is now fully here… there is no should we, but rather… how do we? When it comes to mobile and tablet
development or marketing through the devices, it is not so much about the device themselves, but the power they contain
(such as location tools) and importantly when creating communication or services, relate and design systems around
people's behaviour and lifestyles.

The subjects below are interconnected, so bare with me if the same references or connecting term comes up.

Humanisation

The Internet of things (everything), is a buzz term at the moment and we will be hearing a lot about it in 2013… 
but what about the humanisation of things??? 

As everyone is now using digital and everything becomes digital and connected, how can we humanise technology 
and digital experiences more? It is only natural there will and is a counter culture, perhaps not mass… but niche. 
You can already see signs of companies and brands acting on this, be it the rise of boutique hotels to companies 
that encourage you to disconnect… or companies that create selling points, products and services based on your 
over connection and ability not to handle it. Time is the most valued commodity today!

Building products, services and communicating to people on their terms and around there life is more important than
ever, creating people centric brands and the humanisation of digital is vital to be competitive. To be continued!!!

Authencity also plays a big part of communication to humans. I will be reexamining some cases that handle
these issues well, from brand perspectives through to design aesthetics, semiotics, positioning and message.

Return on Design

Design is back!!! But it never went away I hear you shout! That is true, but there seems to be a greater emphasis
and approach to design which the masses are now aware of and appreciate much more.

The masses and consumers now value and recognise design in other areas than just cars, houses and the everyday
products and household appliances. Obviously this has been fueled by the rise of Apple and it's shift into consumer
products. References can be made to other technology shifts throughout history, such as the car, once a new technology,
just a machine, an engine on wheels that functioned, the form and beauty came later through design and this seems to
be what is happening, especially within electronics, technology, online and digital design at the moment.

One of the most relevant places for this to be seen is within app design and in online generally. Due to the usage
and adoption rates we're seeing UX and UI design become more important to brands, products and services.
Design is being seen as a selling point and a way to build stronger brands and relationships. Companies that offer digital
services have seen their usage rates jump are now building stronger internal teams that constantly improve the experiences.

App development (especially mobile) is seeing fantastic innovation in both function and design, due to the restrictions
in screen size and greater behaviour analysis. App development and UX companies are prototyping, launching, learning
fast and adjusting fast. This model has worked well for Google over the years and is something brands could and should
adopt, instead of redesigning for a year just to find out a rival has got there first or there is a new faster way, technology etc.

Other interesting steps away from pixels in terms of navigation and UX, is gesture control with new products such as
Leap, eye tracking navigation, voice control and something we've been seeing more of in the toy and gaming industry,
brainwave control. We're currently moving into an exciting time where more humanistic approaches are finding there way
into user experience with the use of haptics instead of buttons. Responsive online design will start to become more wide
spread, partly as a way to cope with the never ending devices and systems that are appearing. Digital within the retail
environment also has huge potential. This all adds up to communicating to humans, business to humans and HX...
Human Experience.

To be continued!


Part 2 coming soon, including; Personalisation, Data, AR Evolution, Back to TV, Collaboration
and other hopefully interesting things.