Smartphone apps – particularly for Android and iPhone – are the darlings of agency and marketer’s interactive marketing initiatives. I won’t go into a long list of why developing only for the Android and iPhone platforms is limiting the reach of your mobile initiative and will just let the graphic below speak for itself. By eyeballing the graphic, Android and iPhone subscribers equate to about 30 million U.S. mobile users. That’s leaving behind 262.8 million U.S. mobile users (approx. 90%) who won’t be able to view your shiny new smartphone app…via Engadget.
From a standpoint on whether providing these DIY application makers work, we would be quick to point out yes, as the FreeTwitterDesigner (FTD) application we launched back in February 2009 still averages about 4,000 unique visitors a day. Most of the users of FTD don’t have graphic design skills, but using the FTD app we created, have created their own Twitter background. So, I do think App Inventor will be quick to catch on and looks fairly user-friendly from video below…
Comments right now are not working on AdAge.com so I wanted to post my reply to this article by Winston Binch from CP+B entitled, “Give Shops More Credit for Work That Bridges Digital Divide.”
Though I disagree with the general approach and intent of ‘full-service, one stop’ agencies, I think Winston articulated a very well thought out viewpoint from the traditional AOR end. There’s definitely arguments to be made for the traditional AOR owning the idea and all integrated efforts. You can read the full article here and I’ve included the main area I disagree with and my response below. (Winston – if you do read this, I’d be pleased to hear your thoughts in the comments section.)
AdAge Article
In the post-digital future, there’s room for a variety of business models. But to be relevant, agencies will need to be able to develop powerful business and strategic insights and tell brand stories. They’ll need to be able to start and curate pop-culture conversations and build scalable digital platforms that allow for long-term engagement and the generation of real-time business results. And of course, they will have to always have technological thinking embedded in their core.
Right now an important step is once and for all ending the conversation about the traditional and digital divide. The best agencies have closed it and now provide one-stop shopping for everything from Super Bowl commercials to digital platforms to mobile apps to social-media conversation management. (Rest of article here)
My Response
Winston,
First off, congratulations on the partner status. It’s well deserved…
Second, while reading your article, I was reminded of a saying, “Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None.” I have to disagree with some of your assumptions and overall thoughts in your AdAge writeup. I think that ‘full service, one stop shops’ will not survive in this new fragmented, digital environment. Though you might have an internal interactive production department, to say that you would be able to handle everything from CRM to social media to interactive video to mobile marketing and so on for a client is not going to be practical or cost effective in this new era. Nor will it be for any agency. Everything is fragmenting too quickly in the interactive ecosystem.
Even if a brand did trust their agency to handle all of these different interactive channels, this will ultimately lead to further outsourcing by an agency. Why should a brand pay a 15-20% fee on top of outsourced services to this one stop agency when they can deal with the specialized agency direct for less cost? We’ve been involved in quite a few collaborative efforts like this as of late and seem to be much preferred from the brand. Needless to say the projects run smoother and we’re still in constant communication with other agencies working on the project. Sure the full service, one stop shops can own the idea and marketing plan but should it own all the interactive components and relationships as well? I definitely think this old school way of thinking flies in the face of the new era of collaboration that agencies will need to adapt to for everybody to survive.
Too often traditional agencies come to interactive agencies or specialized vendors with ideas they’ve gotten buy in from a client on that just aren’t practical or even doable. Then by the time the feasibility of the idea is figured out, the time line for the initiative has been cut in half. Not to mention, what is often communicated from the specialist to the agency is not in turn communicated back to the client which often leads the blame game and further animosity between traditional and digital shops. With open collaboration and clear cut responsibilities spearheaded by the brand, think how more efficient this process can work. I hate to say it, but in most instances, agencies and their ‘one stop shop’ mindset are really, in effect, middle men that need to be cut out.
I do agree with your terminology in regards to ‘marketing agencies’, but I do think that outside of creating the idea and the actual marketing plan, most digital efforts and relationships should be left to the brands and the specialists. At the end of the day, it will save both time and money and help the brand get the best services available for their integrated effort.
Coachella is almost upon us – at least for those of us in the Los Angeles area! This 3-day concert/festival is a huge event out here and it’s always interesting to see how emerging media and technology is used at this forward thinking musical event.
I’m going to test out most of the standard techs while there such as Livestreaming with Qik, Ustream and maybe even Twitcasting. Pretty sure there will also be quite a few campaigns from bands and brands using QR Codes, Stickybits, and other mobile marketing efforts. And of course, I’ll update this post after the fest with any pictures/videos from the event itself.
With all that said, I did want to take a chance to list out many of the ‘new media tools’ you can prepare yourself with before heading to the fest (or to interact with from home):
MOBILE APPS
Pretty standard but always helpful – especially the Interactive Field Map, Band Chooser and Find My Car functionality.
Happy Coachella also has a feed aggregating band tweets here.
VIRTUAL TOUR (360 degree Interactive Panormas)
2010 Virtual Tour is not live yet, but you can view it (and 2009) here.
WIDGET
After the event, I’ll post some of the emerging media and tech from the event in a post-event update. Until then, if you’re heading to the show, hit me up on @kobrakai – you can probably find me wandering about or close to the beer tent
Dear AT&T, Whatever You’re Doing AT SXSW, Do It In San Francisco (I bash AT&T all the time and to give credit where credit is due…SXSW was near flawless…dream was shattered however when I arrived into DC yesterday…wtf is with this network already!)
NPR and WSJ Building iPad-Only Websites (Great…we’re back in 1999 again but now with 5X as many platforms to develop for…can’t we all get along?)
MyBrandz: Finally, You Can Find People Who Love Nike, Apple, And Ferrari As Much As You Do (Maybe it’s just me…but I’m not the type of person that’s going to connect to other people for love of a brand…)
We Are Organized Chaos (WAOC) is Zugara’s (www.zugara.com) interactive marketing and advertising blog where we’ll be featuring some great projects and discussing upcoming trends in the digital world. Work — good and bad — will be critiqued. Hope you’ll enjoy reading our insights and thoughts on interactive.
This 3-day concert/festival is a huge event out here and it’s always interesting to see how emerging media and technology is used at this forward thinking musical event.
