Extending the print media. The New Standard.

It is wonderful to see the Augmented Reality (AR) integration with print media brought about by Times of India and Adstuck Consulting.

What sets this use of AR aside is that it is not designed as an one-off advertisement that has AR integration which are generally viewed as gimmicks, but rather is firmly planted as a standard feature on the morning newspaper on a daily basis and that will ensure its wide-spread adoption and usage in a short time.  

This technology has been around for years as QR code readers, but no newspaper in the world has used it editorially to delight its readers and create a new level of interactivity.

Believe this is how the future of not just newspaper but most print media would look in the era of convergence. The increase in the user base would have a huge and a positive impact on the usage of the technology for advertisers.

Download and test it from here and let me know what you think.

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10 Brand Marketing Trends that Should Dominate 2013

Came across this article in Forbes and I thought it was worth sharing - as these are the brand marketing trends that can open significant opportunities or create big challenges over the next 12 months.

What makes it even more interesting is that 7 of the 10 trends (to a lesser extent the other 3 as well) are significantly dominated by social media. Interesting to see that Susan has given traditional media a skip, other than stores that help create "brand experiences".

Wonder if brand's media marketing spends are going to follow the marketing trends.

Read more here

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A New Era For Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing has been around since the days of the traveling salesman. But with a strong assist from technology, it now it is re-emerging as the backbone of many branding plans.

Came across this wonderful article on CMO and felt it was worth sharing. 

The article captures the key changes and the fact that the empowered consumer has made experiential marketing a necessity in some areas, such as retail and electronics, where showrooming is turning products into commodities. 

And with the rise of online and mobile shopping empowering consumers to commoditize products, a tactile experience becomes a good way to set one product aside from another.

Read the full article here on CMO

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KLM Travelpredictions

Here is another great example of good use of digital by KLM. Using the digital footprints we leave on Facebook, KLM Travelpredictions is able to "predict" a future travel destination based on the interest graph. 

This was created by River. The service is launched in 25 markets and is now earning revenue from actual sales.

Try it here

Online and offline channels converge - 2013 and onwards.

Rebecca Lieb in her recent article titled 7 digital marketing trends to watch in 2013 refers to online and offline channel convergence as one of the big trends to watch out for. 

While she broadly refers to it as media becoming more digital, and that we're seeing digital messages appear in new places. Out-of-home channels such as billboards and digital signage - as well as TV screens - are hosting streaming and social media, I would like to suggest a step further. 

I would suggest the emergence of an increased seamless interoperability between the online and offline media and the blurring of the boundaries of the media formats. For e.g. a QR code on a print ad / OOH media leading the consumer to the website / mobile app with an ability to order the product via an eCommerce site or from a store. 

I had written about how we are enabling "Clicks to Bricks" integration for FMCG brands' digital campaigns.

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