The Future of Advertising is Shakable and Location-Based
Last month, you may remember having heard about a special iPhone ad from Dockers. Its claim to fame was that it was the world's first "shakable" ad. Called "Shakedown to Get Down," the ad prompted users to shake the phone in order to set the on-screen freestyle dancer into motion. The dancer, of course, wore Dockers. It was certainly a clever attention-getter at the time, something that had everyone talking. But this ad wasn't just a one-off experimental project - it was representative of the start of a new trend and one that's going to change advertising as we know it.
The Dockers ad was created by media agency OMD and Medialets, an analytics and advertising agency that specializes in mobile. The ad itself ran within a handful of iPhone applications, including iBowl, SGN Golf, iBasketball, iBaseball, and iTV. The goal of selecting those particular apps to feature this new ad was a desire to tap into the casual consumer market - that is, someone who's using the iPhone to have fun and is already familiar with the phone's accelerometer thanks to the games they've been playing.
The Dockers ad was built using the Medialets platform, a platform that combines real-time analytics and rich media functionality that leverages the iPhone SDK, allowing ads to tap into the phone's GPS, accelerometer, microphone, and other features. It even allows the ads to work when the phone goes offline, too, thanks to pre-caching technology that delivers the ad to the phone in the background so that it's available anytime, signal or no signal.
And while Dockers may have been the first shakable ad, it's not the only one being built using this new technology. Some other examples of ad actions built using the Medialets platform include:
- A soda company creates an interactive bottle of soda that is motion-sensitive. (The user shakes up the bottle and it splashes all over the screen.)
- A car rental company can determine that a user is outside their typical geography and serve a CPA ad for a discounted rate.
- An electronics company showcases a new rebate enticing users to scan a barcode at a nearby store.
- A cruise line offers deals for users in Baltimore and Ft. Lauderdale due to proximity to their ships.
And that's just the beginning. Just around the corner we'll see even bigger and bolder uses of this technology. Think: interactive film trailers tapping into the iPhone accelerometer, YouTube videos playing within the ad unit without leaving the app, ads that target users by geography or even time of day.
This sort of technology is set to revolutionize the nature of advertising. It's innovative and unique... and it's not something that's ever been possible before. (Try shaking your TV set - it's hard!)
The Benefits of the New Mobile Ads
For advertisers, they know they're also getting a more engaged user. Unlike print ads, where there's no tracking available, or TV ads where users often fast forward or leave the room during commercials, a well-placed mobile ad often has a user's undivided attention. Mobile users aren't usually doing anything else when playing with the apps - the device has their complete attention.
And a "well-placed" ad isn't referring to the physical location of the ad on the screen... it basically means the best time to show the ad within an application... a time which, for the record, is not during a pre-roll. People hate pre-rolls, especially when they're itching to start using an app. But give those same users a fun and unique ad in between levels of their game and they're usually happy to watch, shake, or whatever else the advertisers can come up with.
Because the ads can tap into iPhone features like the GPS while still having the power of analytics on the back-end, these new ads are quite different from the TV ads targeted towards a more general public audience. Instead of just hyping the latest movie with a trailer, they could show the trailer and let you check the show times at your local theater. Instead of just talking about the latest sale at a retail outlet, they could give you a mobile coupon to use when there. They could even pinpoint you as a poor college student looking to save money on your next pizza purchase or as a young, married professional looking for new restaurants to try for your Saturday night out. They know you, but in a non-creepy and actually sort of useful way.
No other advertising can apply that level of targeting and personalization... except perhaps online ads. But consumers have become nearly blind to the banners and AdSense sidebars on today's websites... and then, of course, there's the problem of your not being able to shake them.
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I'm pretty surprised that Google didn't jump on the opportunity to use the iPhone's GPS system to serve up ads a lot faster. It seems like an easy, logical extension of their AdSense project.
The one thing that I see as a constant across all these new advertisements and mobile apps is that they create an experience for the user. Smart marketers know that 2-way open dialogue with the consumer is the way they must go. Traditional 1-way marketing (such as current TV ads) and corporate spin and easy recognized and ignored.
Good to see more organizations opening up and recognizing that they must get better to survive.
~Bob
www.onehalfamazing.com
Great read! I'd say the strategy here is spot on for fun and casual flair the Dockers brand was after. However, I'm curious how the plan evolves beyond iPhone specifically. What is being done beyond this device for the audience targeted that have say an LG Vu or other bleeding-edge smartphone? OR, was this a known variable that predominately they were only after iPhone?
I'm with you here for the most part. But while I'm bullish location-based advertising, I'm not convinced they result in the most user engagement. As for myself, I know I'm more distracted from an ad while walking on the street as opposed to sitting in front of the TV. There's too much happening in the great outdoors. Even if I can TiVo an ad. As for the ability to measure...I'm not sure. How do you measure a mobile ad? By an immediate purchase? What if I see the ad now and make a purchase later--without a coupon? How do I measure that? I think there needs to be that sweet spot between immediate response and later response. I know that I'd be more inclined to respond to a mobile ad later...even if I was walking by a Starbucks right when the ad in question popped up.
I also agree with Craig that we need to look beyond the iPhone. Apple may have broke the industry open, but I don't think it will define it for all eternity.
In the end though, targeted mobile ads are.
David Ogilvy said in the 1960's that an Ad should not sell itself. Actually, he also said, that every time when one of it's campaigns won an award he was not happy but worried about. Because it's not about the Ad - it is about the product (or service) for what the ad is for.
The idea is interesting but I don't think it is doing what it should aim to do - getting people out there to go to buy Dockers. Does it?
The second issue is - it is replacable with every other brand. So another guy could shake around with Nike shoes, and an other again with a Lacoste Shirt (or whatever, you get the idea).
To me this Ad says something without the need to look at any numbers and marketing research reports: People are using more and more the mobile device and Advertiser and Companies are worried bacause they don't know how to react.
It is however interesting to follow the trend and to see what "creative brains" will come up with.
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i think you said right.
I'm not convinced they result in the most user engagement. As for myself, I know I'm more distracted from an ad while walking on the street as opposed to sitting in front of the TV...
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Advertising is Shakable and Location-Based.The idea is interesting but I don't think it is doing what it should aim to do...
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The Dockers App was clever. But I can't understand why anyone would download an application that lets a business "determine that a user is outside their typical geography" just so they can receive a coupon. That's advertising run amok IMHO.
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The second issue is - it is replacable with every other brand. So another guy could shake around with Nike shoes, and an other again with a Lacoste Shirt (or whatever, you get the idea).