Mobile, Tangible Design & the Future of Everything

Mobile, Tangible Design & The Future of Everything

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mobil e

nyc
04. 19.12

Tuesday, April 24, 12

Mobile, Tangible Design & The Future of Everything

HI MICHAEL FROM ISOBAR


Hi. My name is...
Isobar is a global agency...
and i’m here to talk to you about everything...

:30 ME :10 YOU


...in 30 minutes!
so let’s get moving!

GETTING STARTED CONTEXT 2D / QR CODES


Sometimes it helps to set up a little context when talking about something “a bit out there”...
So hope you don’t mind if i anchor this discussion in a bit of talk about everyone’s fav, QR codes...
LOOKING BACKWARD TO SEE FORWARD.

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Secondary title line

5


That said... they seem to be @$#% everywhere...

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6


I guess because there’s lots of folks outside...
and marketeers rightly think this is a huge opportunity!!

INTERESTING EXECUTIONS GETTING CONSUMER’S ATTENTION


and there’s some INTERESTING EXECUTIONS out there...

Title Line One

8


EMBRACING QR CODES AS PART OF THE DESIGN...
Can mean every postcard home is a tourism brochure waiting to happen...

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tesco korean subway

9


Tesco/HomePlus attracted 10,000 new customers with this execution.
UNLOCKING VALUE - UTILITY IS STILL AT THE CORE OF USAGE

MEANWHILE IN AMERICA


Meanwhile, back at home...

Title Line One

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MOVING BEYOND UTILITY - EMBRACING QR CODES CREATIVELY
WE REALLY LIKE OURSELVES A GOOD “REVEAL”

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victoria secret

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KINDOF LIKE “BLACK BARS” WE COULD REMOVE
OURSELVES...

INNOVATION REWRITING THE RULES


U.S. was slower to adopt 2d/3d codes..
...but has recently been innovating at an accelerated rate.

Title Line One

14


My friend Jose... has a restaurant in the North End of Boston...
He started putting QR codes on the food and experimenting...
It’s been a great marketing success for him and very interesting consumer reaction...

N E V E R WA I T I N L I N E AG A I N

15


We have also started using them at the core of some vanguard payment systems.
Everyone is trying to crack pos and get around cc companies...
but to me... not sure QR codes at the core of the idea is the way to go..

16


STARTING TO SEE TAGGING THE REAL WORLD...
Real consumer trend or graffiti for nerds?
Either way i’m in (and i think that’s a matter of long term v short term).

US REALITY CHECK


SO IT’S AN EXCITING TIME FOR MARKETERS...
BUT WHAT’S THE CONSUMER REALITY?

78%
18-44 yrs.
60%

55%
HHI 75K+

18 source: comScore MobiLens


(these numbers a 10 months old - but they are still the most robust out there)
FAIRLY YOUNG.. MOSTLY MALE.
AND GOT SOME CASH TO SPEND...
(looks a bit like the smartphone market of a couple of yrs ago from this angle...)

58%

50%



BUT IT’S CURRENTLY DRIVEN BY PRINT...
AND THEREFORE MOSTLY AT HOME

14.4 Million = >10%



BUT THERE ARE STILL NOT A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE.
I’m looking at this type of thing like brands - as a % of consumers (not smartphone owners).
P&G WANTS SCALABLE BEHAVIOR THEY CAN LEVERAGE (THAT MEANS 115M NOT 15M)

WHY SO SMALL?


why? why? why?!

limited installed base of scan software

scan software still not that good

where are the directions!?!

22


REAL ISSUES STILL EXISTS TO FURTHER ADOPTION
-No robust OS level frameworks
-Apps aren’t great
-Consumer learning curves

BUT THOSE AREN’T THE ONLY REASONS IT’S SO SMALL...


Even if we ﬁx all the basic issues... there’s more here...

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BADVERTISING!!
“WE” (MARKETERS) REALLY WANT TO USE QR CODES... AND WE FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD...
but the majority of brands are not using them in a rewarding way...
(bad service design / UX is punishing early adopters and killing pass along)
and that’s a problem for the future or QR codes - but even this is not the largest problem...

THE REAL PROBLEM BRANDS ARE LIKE PEOPLE... RIGHT?


Brands are like people...
perceptions are based on experience and are constantly changing over time...
and for the most part we perceive them both the same way...


What if i introduced myself today like this?


or let me be twice as clear... like this?

A- Ho le!

YOU WOULD THINK I WAS THIS.
What i am doing is not convenient and...
Making you do all this work for simple information i should already be giving you.

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scanning codes
is not a natural interaction

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SORRY, SCANNING CODES ARE NOT A NATURAL
INTERACTION.

SORRY THERE WILL NEVER BE MASS CONUSMER ADOPTION


Sorry - nope...

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what?

31


WHAT!?!? (marketing gasp)
I didn’t say none... but not mass scalable marketing behavior.

TANGIBLE DESIGN INTANGIBLE DESIGN


HERE’S WHY.... THE IS A LARGER ISSUE - DIGITAL OBLITERATES FORM.
For the past 30 yrs we have been moving away from TANGIBLE DESIGN in the name of efficiency...
..and that’s THE ROOT OF A LOT OF CONSUMER TENSION.

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no directions needed

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TANGIBLE DESIGN - easily understood - purpose is implied.
No need for a code to scan here...
And this is pretty much the way everything was...

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The desktop metaphor at the core of the digital revolution is NOT TANGIBLE.
requires taxonomy’s on top of taxonomy’s be learned...

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ﬁghting our way back ever since

35


HISTORY HAS SHOWN WHEN SOMEONE INJECTS A SMALL AMOUNT OF TANGIBLE TECHNOLOGY INTO LARGER,
EXISTING TECHNOLOGY WE GET MASSIVE DISRUPTION!
..the mouse/pc, the wii controller/consoles...

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36 Source: http://www.apple.com


Multi-touch - Jeff Han brought it to life and Mr Jobs brought it to us...
Not only disrupting MSFT’s ‘booming’ 5yr tablet biz... but more importantly the laptop business.
IT’S ARGUABLY WHY APPLE HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL - TANGIBLE DESIGN IS THEIR RED THREAD! (remember the ipod
scroll wheel?)

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THIS DISRUPTION - CAUSED BY OUR NEED FOR NATURAL INTERACTIONS.

THE RETURN OF TANGIBLE DESIGN


my point is... QR CODES WILL FAIL BECAUSE THEY ARE INTANGIBLE DESIGN...
New tangible design technology will wipe out hope for mass consumer adoption of QR codes w/in the next 24
months...
and it will disrupt a lot of things on scale we cannot even imagine yet.

Title Line One computer / machine
Secondary title line vision

near ﬁeld
communication

2 tangible design technologies

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IMO - a combination of two separate technologies will surpass 2d/3d codes before consumers have a chance to take
them mass.
AND THESE TECHNOLOGIES WILL UNLOCK A LOT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US AS MARKETEERS AND CONSUMERS!

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET


or as think of them as...
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
and
WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET

COMPUTER / MACHINE VISION WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET


Computer or Machine Vision - what you see is what you get

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42 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhgfz0zPmH4


Without going too far into it, you have probably seen it in GOOGLE GOGGLES.
IT ENABLES A MACHINE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT (EVEN IF YOU DON’T)
(and companies like Autonomy‘s Aurasma might be even more powerful than google)

43 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNiyT7qwHGA


NOW MACHINES THAT CAN UNDERSTAND CONTEXT... not just read markers.
IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECOGNIZING A FRIEND & READING A NAME TAG.
(BOTH ARE A WAY OF IDENTIFYING PEOPLE BUT ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT)

44 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnRJaHZH9lo


COMPUTER VISIONS CREATES A MORE TANGIBLE USER EXPERIENCE & NATURAL INTERACTION
‘WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET’
computer vision weather - just point at the sky - it recognizes context and gives you what you want...

45 Source: http://vimeo.com/24428205


computer vision maps - just point at the ground...
THIS DESTROYS A LOT OF OUR CLEVER WORK IN UI THAT IS NO LONGER NEEDED....

Title Line One

creating machines that understands products & brands



BUT IT LET’S CREATE MACHINES THAT CAN UNDERSTAND BRANDS AND PRODUCTS!
we have been working on this a lot at Isobar for a variety of projects.
a retail example - it know by seeing and recognizing the tread (also leverages it for navigation!)
computer vision is more effective & versatile than any code and cheaper than any radio tag.

NFC NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET


NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATIONS
i like to think of it as “WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET”
but what is NFC?



in truth - NFC has a very technical explanation - what it is and is not. how it relates to rﬁd, etc... BUT WHO CARES
ABOUT THAT?
FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS DISCUSSION IT’S SHORT RANGE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, BASED AROUND A COMBINATION
OF RADIOS AND RADIO TAGS, THAT CAN READ AND OR EXCHANGE DATA AT ABOUT 4 INCHES.

Title Line One

it’s not a wallet
or a ﬁnancial transaction

default thinking and legacy vision

“does anyone have
a huge problem with credit-cards!?!”

49


WHAT IT’S NOT. PAYMENTS AND OR WALLETS!! (LIKE SAYING BT IS A WIRELESS HEADSETS)
‘Default Thinking’ & ‘Legacy Vision’ keep us from seeing what's possible.
I’m not convinced transactions and local wallets are what’s going to drive this.
Is anyone sitting here thinking “gee, i have a real credit card problem”

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ISOBAR CREATE48 NFC HACKATHON IN BOSTON DURING FUTUREM WITH GOOGLE & NOKIA.
isobar create32 nfc hackathon in san francisco at appnation w/ google, paypal, nokia & samsung

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NFC IS NOT JUST ABOUT COMMERCE... IT’S READY FOR MARKETING.
and it took 45 kids in a room to tell how stupid we were thinking (or not) about this...
Made very excited and made us RETHINK A LOT OF THINGS... like....

RETHINK NOW


There is a lot of talk about how the tech is not ready...
consumers aren’t ready...
can’t happen now... NOT TRUE.

53


These stickers are currently less than a 40 cents... and dropping.
A lot of the prototypes at IsobarCreate used stickers from a brand/establishment that worked with their mobile app
through the cloud and push alerts...and it works right now - today.
And if you want even more NFC functionality from your current (non-NFC) phone....
you get an iphone case with nfc or an sd card w/ NFC for your adndroid...

RETHINK GAMING


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55 Source: http://rovio.com/


Angry Birds & Fruit Ninja from Rovio have NFC level up now.
unlock it through NFC tags in outdoor posters...or pay levels forward with consumers.
We can imagine a lot of rich media marketing exchanges through this type of interaction.

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Beyond that - OnObject, from MIT MediaLab tangible media group makes anything a Wii controller (just tag and
program from your handset)...
...BUT THE COOLEST PART IS “CUT & PASTE”!!
SAMPLING YOUR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT TO LEVEL-UP IS A HUGE IDEA THAT HAS RAMIFICATIONS BEYOND GAMING!

RETHINK ACCESS


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58 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Oelk6whQ9o


WHO CARES - IT’S A LOCK?
ONE OF THE MOST TRIED AND TRUE MARKETING TOOLS IS ACCESS - the playboy club made it famous, the soho club
keeps it alive and virgin upperclass ﬂiers enjoy it in T3 in heathrow.
NFC enables you to send temporary keys that expire/timebomb, that you can revoke at anytime over the air, to
anyone.

RETHINK ENTERTAINMENT


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60 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtA_k8W-vZU


WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET...
touch something with music, get music - N9 NFC “touch” pairing to headset.
THIS COULD BE HUGE FOR MOBILE RICH MEDIA DIRECTLY SERVED FROM AN PHYSICAL INTERACTION IN OUT OF
HOME, TRANSIT, ETC...
COULD BE HUGE FOR GAMING, MUSIC, MOVIE STUDIOS, MUSIC, ETC!

RETHINK BRAND BENEFIT & LOYALTY


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62 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSPDtxpvQT0


BMW NFC key.
BENEFIT OF BMW OWNERSHIP OUTSIDE THE CAR - MEMBERSHIP HAS IT’S PRIVILEGES
TAP YOUR BMW KEY AT HOTELS, CLUBS, RESTAURANTS, EVENTS, ETC

RETHINK RETAIL


64 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtA_k8W-vZU


Everyone understands cutting out Credit Card Companies for price advantage, etc etc... but lets not talk about that...
Lets talk about LINES! WHO NEEDS EM?
EVERYONE HATES LINES - THEY HAVE EXACTLY NO CONSUMER BENEFIT.
(but all our stores are design around them)

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...but there’s more here than waiting around...
If we can all check ourselves out... We will need less screens, not more..
BRING YOUR OWN SCREEN... OR DON’T EVEN USE ONE...

RETHINK TRAVEL


nfc +

= total footprint

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boarding passes, transit cards, taxi payment, fuel payment
combined with your adidas micoach / nike+ / pedometer
PROVIDE A VERY BROAD AND DEEP PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE.

FUTURE OF EVERYTHING


Title Line One

69 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be0OjAcjx6Q


MAXIMIZE 'RETURN ON EXPERIENCE' BY INJECTING TECHNOLOGICAL BENEFITS INTO EVERYDAY OBJECTS...
THESE INTERACTIONS ARE TANGIBLE AND NATURAL.
(This means packages can tell the microwave how long to cook - what will we do with all the space where the
directions used to be?)

information can be both platonic and particular

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Information is both macro & speciﬁc.
These technologies are great for both, farthing a relationship with a brand AND a relationship w/ an actual product.
- the platonic idea of the product as the brand proxy - know more about it from a macro pov / brochureware (qr
codes can do this)
- particular information about this product in my hand - when was it bought? when does it expire? how much am i
using? etc (qr cannot do this)

Title Line One

personal data & vanity metrics
are seamlessly captured
delivering a new level of transparency

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THIS IS THE BIGGEST DEAL IN MY MIND - WHAT WILL DRIVE THE LARGEST CHANGES...
VERY LOW BARRIERS OF INTERACTION MEANS MORE INTERACTIONS!! MORE INTERACTIONS MEANS MORE DATA...
it’s not communication between devices that is going to change everything...
it’s the collection of these desperate data sets together for the ﬁrst time unlocking new possibilities & understanding.
IT ALSO OPENS UP THE IDEA OF CONTROLLING AND MONETIZING YOUR OWN PERSONAL ‘BIG DATA’ (but that’s
another presentation)

INTANGIBLE TECHNOLOGY TANGIBLE TECHNOLOGY

virtual physical
technical interactions (clicks) natural interactions (taps)
higher barriers of interaction lower barriers of interaction
anonymous experiences personally identiﬁable experiences
more screens and UI fewer screens and UI
platonic communication platonic & particular communication
no simple transactional model everything can be transactional
slow as launching an app fast as a tap
generates fewer data interactions generates more data captures

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To ﬁnish up... lot’s of shifts and markers...
these come to mind to sum this up

OPPORTUNITY CONSUMERS BRANDS ENTREPRENEURS


DELIVERING REAL AND SCALABLE BENEFIT FOR BOTH CONSUMERS AND BRANDS AND ENTREPRENEURS THAT WILL
RADICALLY ALTER THE WORLD AROUND US.

BRINGING PEOPLE AND BRANDS TOGETHER LIKE NEVER BEFORE

@isob ar

isobar.c om

@nicholi57

mi ch ael. nichola s@isobar.c om


end. thanks.
let’s Discuss what you think.

Mobile, Tangible Design & the Future of Everything

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Mobile, Tangible Design & the Future of Everything