I was there. No, I was actually there when the Berlin wall fell. The most embarrassing thing is that at the time, and for a long time after, had no idea what it was about. To me it was a wall, something to do with the Russians and James Bond. The point of the wall had been long since forgotten and so when it came down, the momentousness of it was completely lost on me – but for those who had lived through everything it stood for, for 40 years it was just that; momentous.

Like many things that have just ‘been there’, we forget the deep seated political and commercial reasons for their existence and like the Berlin wall that for so many years was ‘just there’ so TV is an institution that fundamentally has not altered for over 50 years. Sure the programmes are more fantastic and we now have Dave! and 100 other channels of drivel.  Essentially you have a box in the corner that receives signals carrying television programmes which you pay for… either by paying your licence fee or by being subjected to hard sell advertising for nappies, insurance and mobile phones.  But like the Berlin Wall, this institution is set for huge change and eventual collapse. I am of course rather dramatically talking about ‘connected TV’.

IPTV or connected TV has been talked about for some time.  I visited Amsterdam this year.  I’m not talking about the late night bars and so called cafés. I visited IBC – one of the world’s largest conferences and exhibitions dedicated to ‘everything’ TV. And it was amazing!

I have been in ‘tech’ for more than 15 years and I thought that was pretty switched on, until I saw some of the technology and commercial tie-ups between the network operators, infrastructure companies, media and content owners and hardware manufacturers.  Oh and of course, browser companies and O/S companies, because connected TVs will all have a browser and an operating system, just like a PC, tablet or smartphone.

If you thought that the iPhone changed history, connected TV will almost certainly have as big an impact if not greater.  Quite how is frankly yet to be seen or realised, but the foundations have been laid, albeit there are some blocks on the runway. Interestingly, it’s not the technology that’s the inhibitor nor consumer appetite, it’s the stakeholders of an industry that on the surface are embracing the brave new world but behind closed doors (and let it be noted in some of those bars I mentioned) are resisting hard, as it will mean completely new revenue models will emerge and the collapse of many of the current ones that have long been institutions – like the Berlin wall.

But the wall will fall, and when it does, anyone working in the creative, advertising and digital space will need to be ready.  Which is why we have invested in technology that will allow our clients to exploit many of the opportunities that connected TV will present.

Apps are quite simply the coolest thing to happen in mobile for 10 years.  Sure SMS has been big, but never in my 20 years of being in the mobile world have I seen a phenomenon the like apps have caused.  But one thing is certain and has never been any different, technology, especially in mobile, driven by the voracious appetite of consumers, never stops evolving. So whilst apps have had their place and will continue to be a massive growth area and of vital importance to any brand or enterprise’s marketing and engagement mix, an app on its own is only a small part of the puzzle.

2011 has been branded ‘the year of the mobile’ and this is probably true – it is estimated that mobile browsing will exceed PC browsing globally in 2011.  On that basis I think it’s safe to say that mobiles are now a fully integrated part of our lives and will increasingly form a key component in marketing, advertising and engagement.  Giving brands the ability to reach right into the heart of a consumer’s most personal space and form a one-on-one relationship.

Apps, like music downloads, will score highly for short periods and as quickly as they rise, they will fall to obscurity with only a very few gaining the accolade of a classic and remaining embedded in our everyday lives.  Any mobile strategy has to be built around a number of technologies and access points.  Having a really cool app that links to a standard PC website is always going to disappoint so spending huge sums just to ‘get on the band wagon’ is potentially wasted.  What you need is a cohesive, well thought through mix of an app.  Supported by a well-designed mobile website to give the customer a really good experience – fast, effective and relevant to a ‘mobile’ browsing experience, not a cut down version of a PC site that was originally designed for broadband speeds, a big screen, mouse, keyboard, a chair and probably a cup of coffee!

Once engaged, you can offer customers more targeted functionality.  For retailers this is going to be especially important.  Offering an augmented shopping experience is paramount.  Let’s face it, if you don’t, your customers will do it for themselves.  Using the web on their mobile to get the best prices and your store to look, touch and compare.

HP and Walmart launched a fantastic mobile shopping experience designed to enhance the retail environment.  Having researched their consumers, they found that on average shoppers would come into the store up to three times before purchasing.  They concluded that people were going home to compare products and prices before finally coming in to buy.  By implementing a product comparison service delivered to the mobile browser they have increased sales of peripherals by 11.2%.  And this is just the first step – local WiFi will allow customers to browse the web for free while they’re in store which means more data capture.

So it’s no longer app versus mobile web, it is simply ‘mobile engagement’, using all the tools available and carefully weaving them into your sales and marketing strategy.

I have been in mobile for years.  It’s in my DNA.  I was there when Vodafone connected its 20,000^th customer.  And we thought this was big.  It’s hard to believe now when you realise that there are billions of mobile devices connected across the globe! 

I can safely say that mobile is MY business, I love it and it is important to me that I keep up to date with the trends, and advancements, technology, and adoption.  Not only are these metrics of interest to me, they are core to my business success. 

So it is odd to me to suddenly see big articles in ‘marketing’ and ‘retail’ press about mobile handset penetration.  I mean, while I might take notice of a retail brand doing well on the high street, I am not at all interested in getting down and dirty with their specific numbers, and if I did, it would have no effect on helping me run my business!  So why is anyone other than in the mobile industry interested in getting the full low-down on iOS, Google Android, RIM and Symbian and how they are doing, country by country?  What relevance does it have to a Fashion Retailer for example or a marketing agency?

I guess it must be because it’s important to them.  Important to know where to put all their web ‘eggs’ i.e. what platform to host an App on in order to get best penetration, or which device to target their mobile website at.

What a nightmare!  These figures are changing almost by the minute.  Last month iOS was top of the pile.  Now all of a sudden it’s Android, who knows who will be at the top in a few months?  Windows perhaps?  Or will Apple release some new phone on a ridiculous tariff with one of the operators in order to gain back some market share?  Whatever the landscape will be, one thing is for certain; none of us have any control over it – so in my view it’s futile trying to predict or manage campaigns based on mobile penetration.  No one would run a campaign or write a website based on which PC manufacturer is number one.  Or run a TV ad campaign aimed at LG TVs because they are the top selling brand.  Why?  Because it doesn’t matter!

So how cool would it be then, if mobile handset or operating system figures were of no relevance?  What if they could just do ‘mobile’ – all devices, tablets, smartphones…everything!  Then it really wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference which mobile OS or handset model had biggest penetration!

Well they can.  The problem is, they are so focused on someone else’s business, that they are not looking at the bigger picture.  And that’s getting the right technology in place that will make them agnostic to all the variances across the mobile landscape.

So I would urge, if you find yourself poring over mobile figures (and mobile is not your core business) then stop. You are wasting your time!  It will be far better spent implementing a single cross platform web and app development tool that handles all devices for you.

Then you can get back to the things that really matter to your business.

I am the Alpha Male! For my whole life I have got up at 6am, gone out into the big wide world and toiled hard to bring home a living for my family! At weekends I cut the grass with large machinery and use an array of complicated power tools to do DIY around the house. When I am done from all this masculine activity I sit in my chair, drink beer and watch sport i.e. other manly men exerting energy and generally being aggressive with each other.  Yes…I wear the trousers in my house …the ones that my wife has chosen for me that is!

And this got me thinking, how much control Senior Executives actually have over their businesses? Especially when it comes to IT!  For at least 5 years, things in the IT world have been pretty benign, technology has not really altered much, sure desktops, and some software has improved and there has been the usual software upgrades from the usual suspects and decisions surrounding these issues has been either operational or financial so no great shakes or big decisions to be made.

So it’s been a long time since we have seen business impact decisions that need to be made, decisions that affect every part of an organisation right through to the foundations of its business model, including the delivery of its products or services to its customers. I am of course talking about mobile! 

Currently like other “big” decisions, like “going green” we are in the information gathering stage – what is it? How will it affect us?  What is the competition doing? And so on, the big difference with mobile is that it’s moving so fast many companies are already so far behind the curve,  their business models so out-dated and cash so depleted they will not survive.  Their fastest remedy is to follow those that are embracing online shopping, mobile commerce and engaging directly with customers on a one-to-one basis.  But this strategy is also fraught with danger mainly, how to tell the difference between those with the “right” methodology and technology.

In this new landscape of mobile marketing and mobile commerce, we are seeing the “wash” marketers jumping on the wagon in order to try and gain some competitive advantage. The trouble with ‘wash’ is that eventually people find out!   Like ‘green wash’, ‘mobile wash’ is rife!  Mobile apps, and poorly delivered mobile websites that deliver poor customer experiences, simply to get column inches, are fast losing pace and with it, customer interest!    Many of the so called early adopters or industry leaders are just papering over the cracks, those that know it will be fine, and those however that believe that their “app” constitutes a mobile strategy are almost in the same boat as the enterprises that have done nothing at all. 

But who’s making the decisions?  The Senior Teams must be sitting in their glass and steel offices pouring over endless figures, trying to figure out how to move into the new digital and mobile economy.  So naturally they are looking to their current web providers and internal teams expecting them to have the answers – unfortunately these teams have no reference points, no mobile experience and certainly few have the technical expertise to be able to make valued and informed decisions.  And so will fumble their way into mobile.

Those businesses that understand that their existing IT teams have not been exposed to mobile are busy recruiting from the mobile industry, and using vendors that have mobile pedigrees. They understand that they need to look to technical and commercial experts who have grown up with mobile over a period of ten or more years, have been close to the action, understand the opportunities and challenges ahead and have a far better chance of getting it right. 

So who is the boss?  If the senior team has reviewed the skills and expertise of their technical teams and vendors and secured the services of mobile experts then they are certainly in control.  If however companies’ Boards are simply relying on the advice of technical teams that have no specific mobile knowledge then they are not in control of some of the most important decisions their businesses will ever have to make.

In my house, while I am happy to let my wife choose my trousers, I can genuinely say that she is the best person to do it! 

If you’d like our expert opinion on your mobile web strategy and the technology available to you… we’re here to assist!

The last time I looked, I was not a girl, but for some reason I seem to know far too much about clothes shopping, I guess being dragged around shopping malls by various girlfriends over the years on pain of death, or worse, a hissy fit for the rest of the week, which could mean going without a number of pleasures, not least of which is a night out with the lads, which would be unimaginable!  So instead of incurring the wrath of almighty hell, I have developed an understanding and even a feint interest in women’s clothes! Well this is my excuse anyway! 

But quite why women seem to genuinely enjoy the pursuit of going from shop to shop, battling through the crowds of other women doing the same thing, I have no Idea – especially when retailers seem to find it impossible to fulfil one of the most fundamental and simplest of things, stock control! What is so hard about getting to grips with the fact that most women are between a size 10 and 12 (well in my world anyway)?? And why can’t they keep an abundance of these most popular sizes – if for no other reason please spare a thought for us poor males and the impact on the rest of our weekend and potentially rest of our week…you have no idea the sinking feeling I get as “she” flicks her adept fingers through the rail looking for her size “size 8, size 8, size 8,…size 24” she mutters. “I knew it!”  She moans – queue Kermit style pursed lips and much hurrumphing… and so the Saturday shopping spree ends in a Starbucks with a pep talk from me explaining that placing an order and waiting until it comes in will be worth the wait – I am of course lying through my teeth.  I too feel her frustration, albeit from a different perspective…

But this issue is not isolated to the stock on the shelves.  It seems to be inherent in many other areas too, take mobile marketing, especially the latest in a string of campaigns aimed at smart phone users – well actually not all smartphone users, just those that the brands can actually be bothered to support. 

“Dear Barclaycard Customer” the e-mail opened – sent to me as a great marketing campaign “you will be pleased to see that you can now check your balance and pay bills using your mobile phone” Great I thought.  “bla, bla…bills bla bla…security, bla, bla “we support most phones but not Blackberry”

Blackberry it seems is the size 12 of the mobile world!  The fact that it is the best-selling handset in the UK at the moment seems to have missed the notice of many of the brands and retailers. Or has it? Perhaps it’s the agencies and web developers who are flummoxed by the technology! The days of supporting a few browsers are over! The longer it takes agencies and web developers to get out of out-dated methods and taking a DIY approach,  the longer it will be before we are able to engage with all our customers regardless of their mobile device.  The fact is, solutions do exist; new elegant delivery platforms that are built for the next generation of web.

Don’t allow your media & agency channels to tell you that it’s not possible to deliver your content seamlessly across ALL mobile devices, push back on them to open their eyes to new platforms that work. And make them use them. Or pick up the phone and we’ll point you in the direction of the agencies that have adopted new technology and can get it right for you.

I seem to start all my blogs with some reference to the past…when I was little I can remember my Granddad used to start every sentence with “When I were a lad” or “in my day…” the past to me seemed a lifetime ago, I had no connection with what had gone before, in fact nothing seemed to be connected to the past, take technology, my granddad told me of times when there was no TV! No TV! This seemed inconceivable, but in physical terms this was only a period of thirty or so years! And now there was a TV in every room. 

I never thought I would ever start a sentence with “when I were a lad…” but I am now finding myself doing it more and more! And as technology becomes cheaper and more accessible and more disposable, the pace of change is so intense, trends can change in months rather than years now.  The list of things that I can remember did not exist at some point in my past seems to be getting longer and longer, on the flip side however there is also a growing list of things that have been “deleted” and confined to the history books.

Clayton Christensen, the inventor of  the theory of ‘disruption technology’  used fruit flies as the basis of his theory, because their full lifecycle from birth, reproduction and death is 24 hours, scientists studying evolution and genetics also use similar benchmarks , Christenson then applied this technique to the IT industry and used the “fruit fly” of the IT world – storage (hard drives) which in each release became half the price, half the size but twice the capacity and would be out of date almost before it was taken out of the box.

Technology seems to be beating even the fruit fly now! Every day we hear of a new device, or enhancement, version, or style!  I so often see people hiding their iPhone3 or trying to use it under the table or partially obscured by their handbag in case someone sees them with this “old” technology!  I mean, how very yesterday!  Sadly most of this has nothing to do with technology – ‘disruption’ or otherwise, it’s all to do with the ‘money’ and extracting as much revenue as is physically possible from a product.  A consumer actually gains no real value from upgrading to the latest version of a particular piece of technology other than kudos!  And so the marketers and commercial whiz-kids find more and more ways of re-boxing and drip feeding new enhancements, to make us BUY!

I think that perhaps the fruit fly should be used to benchmark us as consumers, stupid, and with very short memories.  Technology is actually not moving any faster than it ever has, it is just what we chose to believe.  An iPad is not new technology at all, depending how you look at it; it’s either a big phone or a small PC, it doesn’t do anything new – surf the web, make a call, play a game, all things we have been able to do for the last 20 years! So what’s innovative or new?   The way that it has been sold to us, packaged, and marketed to us fruit fly brained consumers. And I have to take my hat off to the marketers for their ability to sell millions of under spec’d PC’s for 3 times the price of anything else on the market! Technology is a lifestyle choice now, it seems that the clever marketers can re-box and re-invent anything and we’ll “buy it”!

I saw a fantastic new tasty snack this week in a local convenience store, full of energy, low calorie and high in fibre, it has convenient hygienic breathable packaging, that enables it to last for days without going off and can be eaten anywhere, on the go, in the car, on the train, it’s great for breakfast or as a desert and even better, it contains high amounts Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin B and vitamin C!   This new snack is so versatile, convenient and healthy, I thought – and all for just £1.50. If my fruit fly brain had continued to rule my actions I would have bought the most expensive banana in the world!

And this brings me neatly on to the repackaging masterpiece of the moment – Software! How do we take software programmes, that we have had for years, that once upon a time and not so long ago, we would buy from the local PC World in a huge box with snazzy exciting pictures on the outside, which when you got home, you would take off the cellophane and look inside to find a small disc, which you would pop into the disc drive and install?

Simple!

Give it a new name and sell it in an online store! And while we are at it re-invent all the programmes that we’ve had for years but with less functionality, less power, and fewer features!

I give you the App!  If you don’t believe me, take a look at Intel’s AppUp store! Full of software programmes that you can download to your netbook, PC or tablet. If you see anything new other than the name, then you too have the brain of a fruit fly!