mobile & social media - blogradio interview

Michelle Batten from iMediaWorks invited me to chat on her digital and social media podcast this week. 

We discussed the following topics:

- Star Trek

- intersection between social media and mobile and the opportunities for brands

- content consumption habits on the mobile web

- how twitter & facebook have changed mobile

- iPhone apps - MasterCard's Priceless and the KFC Grillz App

- and more

You can tune in via your browser here: iMediaWorks Podcast

or 

access the podcast in iTunes here: iTunes Podcast

Agenda Setting

In Sunday’s New York Times, there is a great article on President Obama’s “political narrative.” While the NYT and others applaud Obama for his dynamism and unique abilities as storyteller, they question his ability to tell so many at one time – that his legislative priorities are spread too broadly. Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal said, “An administration about everything is an administration about nothing.”

The article goes on to call Obama “the nation’s first shuffle president,” so dubbed because he’s telling many stories at once time, and in no specific order. Even more interesting is that his entire agenda is downloadable (literally in some cases).

“If what you care most about is health care, then you can jump right to that. If global warming gets you going, then click over there. It’s not especially realistic to imagine that politics could cling to a linear way of rendering stories while the rest of American culture adapts to a more customized form of consumption. Obama’s ethos may disconcert the older guard in Washington, but it’s probably comforting to a lot of younger voters who could never be expected to listen to successive tracks, in the same order, over and over again.”

This “shuffle” phenomenon has implications on the brand/marketing world as well. Like the President, some brands try to tell many stories at one time. Some do it well, some don’t. It’s why setting a clear agenda for the brand and communications is so critically important. Mel Exon wrote a great piece on BBH Labs’ blog along similar lines – about the importance of the big [strategic] idea.

At the same time, how do we ensure that we give different kinds of consumers relevant entry points that inspire – digital, social, mobile? Tapping into the “shuffle” and delivering on the big idea aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, they’re inextricably linked.

Obama’s brand of storytelling is amazing to watch. We’ll see where it lands him in three years…Will it appeal to only younger generations? Or will it appeal more broadly to voters at large, making way for a new kind of politics in Washington?

Timing is everything

Last year, The New York Times Magazine wrote about Stefano Pilati, Yves Saint Laurent’s genius designer. Over the years, Pilati has reveled in bleeding-edge fashion, introducing innovative designs and collections. The article notes his willingness to take risks and introduce rousing designs…designs that the fashion-elite could appreciate for their precision craftsmanship and innovation. But the appreciation was largely insider. When in came to consumers, Pilati’s designs were often too far ahead.

The Times reports, “When he showed tulip-shaped skirts in 2004, the proportion was still confusing to women, and the collection did not sell well. Now, it is difficult to find a skirt that is not tulip-shaped. When, in 2006, he designed long, narrow tunics over pants, his collection was panned, but the following year, the look became a mainstay of women everywhere. ‘I used to think it was a good thing to be different than the other designers, but no, it’s not. But I can’t always help it. When I was 17, the design director at Nino Cerruti, who was my first mentor, taught me that to be too much ahead is to be behind. The most important thing is to be right on time.’”

Like fashion, new communications planning requires managing trends in technology – understanding when and how to take advantage them. At the end of the day, we have to be aware of more than just the new. We have to be aware of the now. We’ve got to pay attention to what consumers are willing and able to do today. Right now I have many really cool, crazy ideas for brands…but like Pilati’s designs, they could reach ever so slightly over the heads (and devices) of most consumers. So, the challenge is timing campaigns correctly with the technological reality, when consumers are ready and willing to get involved.

Here comes Visa

I have been waiting for the credit card companies to start making strong moves into mobile, specifically mobile payments. There have always been carrier barriers to allowing for credit card payment, but in the recent article in moconews it looks like Visa it taking a big step.

Visa Inks $13 Million Deal With Monitise For Mobile Payments

London-based Monitise, a mobile banking company, said it has signed a five-year deal with Visa worth $13 million. As part of the deal, Visa will take a 14.4 percent stake in the company and have the option of taking a seat on its board, reports the WSJ. In addition to the contract, Visa will pay ongoing license, service and development fees. Release.

Monitise will be responsible for helping Visa build out a suite of mobile services, ranging from payments to money transfer, alerts and mobile marketing. The first products will be available to Visa users by early next year. While Monitise just landed a deal with one of the largest bankers in the world, it said revenues for the year ended June 30 would be slightly lower than forecasts. Still, revenues will jump 80 percent over last year. Analysts estimate Monitise’s revenue to be around GBP3 million or $4.9 million, according to FactSet.

Source