Gaming has certainly come a long way over the last 20 years and I had the pleasure last week of meeting with folks from Microsoft about what’s to come with Xbox Live in 2010 -- Enter Project Natal:
My colleague Jamie Scheupreviously blogged about the integration that Xbox Live enables by converging TV, Movies, Social Media, Gaming, and Radio. Project Natal will literally converge aspects of your real life with an augmented virtual reality – the communication, interaction, and marketing implications of this are insanely inspiring. And we don’t even have to wait until the 24th century. Not convinced? Meet Milo.
Those that know me also know that I cannot stand the term “viral video” especially when used to describe an online video concept before it’s even been produced.
[Our goal as marketers should always be to create content that resonates with our audience and inspires pass-along.]
And, while I believe whole heartedly in the research that shows how using paid media to both kickstart and sustain a video campaign can substantially increase views, it HAS to start first with truly stand out content.
So what’s the kind of content that’s prone to spreading? Visible Measures does a terrific job with their leaderboards of online video campaigns. Between this, YouTube stats, and being on the recipient end of a number of shared videos, I’ve taken a somewhat subjective stab at categorizing into four core groups:
In the end, is there a formula that works? It’s tough to say but with 20 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute, those videos that do, indeed, get lots of attention and, dare I say, “go viral” are far and few in between. Marketers need to color outside of the lines if they’re to break through the video clutter.
At the moment we have the newly (and cheaper) priced Amazon Kindle which is now available outside the U.S. But, if rumors are true, it’s looking like 2010 will wow us with a splash of disruptive options.
Microsoft’s not-that-secret anymore Courier project aims to launch in “mid-2010” and takes a bit of a different approach with its dual folding screen design. There was a supposed leaked video of the Courier’s user interface that admittedly made my jaw drop but it has since been removed from the web.
As a result of rapid advances in eReader technology, the real question is what effect with this have on what we’ve traditionally called the “print industry”? A few humble thoughts:
Print is simply a medium to deliver content. This is a great opportunity for publishers to aggressively redefine how they’re delivering their content as technology continues to advance how we consume media.
The potential differences in capabilities between the Kindle and rumored Apple tablet are astounding and begin to open possibilities for how publishers and advertisers produce content from flat magazines and newspapers to portable rich interactive experiences.
As the world continues to become more “green conscious”, eReader adoption may speed up while reaching eco-friendly consumers looking to reduce paper-waste.
In the end, I think we’ll see a whole lot more trees as our reliance on paper for publishing will start to taper as eReaders help give new life and definition to publishing industry.
The next time you’re watching live TV, pay attention to the ending of commercials. What you’ll find are an increasing number of them tagged with a URL, or even better, a URL with voice-over to go online.
There’s a reason for this as smart marketers understand the natural human behavior to go online for more info in response to an offline ad. They also embrace the fact that many people are sitting on their couches watching TV with their laptops in front of them.
One of the most common reasons I’ve heard that brands do not include URLs on their TV spots is:
["We want to drive people in-store. We don’t want to confuse the message by driving them to the web." ]
But how will making it easy for someone with piqued interest to learn more about and engage with your message/brand confuse them? I don’t know of many people upon seeing a TV ad who’ll stop what they’re doing , get right up from their couch, and head into a store/restaurant/business to make a purchase on the spot.
[Instead, why not harness the momentum of their interest, reinforce and build upon your message online to help tip their consideration to act/purchase?]
If that’s not enough, then consider the fact that:
You can only do so much within the constraints of a 30-second TV spot
Driving to the web from TV can only help to reinforce your message and, if done well, marry TV and web in a way that’s greater than the sum of their individual parts. It’s the 1+1=3 effect in action. This is only the beginning as TV and web continue to converge. Just ask TiVo, Verizon Fios, IBM, and Cablevision.
