Week Five: The O2: A Seamless Brand

            

            Most people in our society are fascinated by advertising media whether it is TV, press, radio or digital. Everyone loves experiences and being involved in something - from festivals and gigs through to shopping and community activities. Media convergence has become a necessity for brands if they want to survive in the rapidly ever changing times we live in and recently, we have seen many brands using cleverly targeted new ideas using a combination of all media channels to drive engagement of their audience through giving them 'unique experiences'. Digital has penetrated and changed the lives of the average consumer, giving marketers many opportunities to create emotional connections and relationships with consumers on many levels. It is important that brands realise that if they want to be effective they cannot treat digital as a separate channel to other marketing activities; there is a real need to integrate digital branding strategies into the already established activities to provide positive brand experiences and capture the consumer, building a long term and loyal customer base. Cummings (2011) feels that "the focus should be on delivering a consistent and seamless brand experience across all media including, if relevant, the physical environment" (See article here). Furthermore, he feels that this is becoming ever more important with time, as the digital platforms and indeed the consumers using them are becoming more sophisticated and demanding. By creating exciting and engaging brand experiences, the evolving digital community can be used to create hype and word of mouth, an extremely powerful promotion tool if it can be generated effectively. 

    "Instead of trying to spread inside-out brand-first positioning messages, 

     they search for an outside-in community-first 'social heartbeat' that

     connects the brand values with the passions shared by the community

     members" (Mishra, 2011).

         Mobile technology advances are predicted to create even more seamless brand engagement in the future through convergence. This is why I have chosen to look at O2 as a brand to demonstrate the innovative new ways brands are creating a 'seamless brand experience'.

           O2 as a brand stands out, for me, as a huge innovator and leader in its industry in terms of audience engagement and relationship building through the convergence of existing marketing activities and digital branding strategies. I, myself, am an O2 subscriber so have experienced first hand some of the brand's strategies. I'd also like to share that, in my opinion, they work extremely well especially for creating brand loyalty and when my mobile subscription finishes at the end of the month I can safely say I will be renewing it with them. O2 has been recognised as a leader in 'mobile music and event base mobile interactive services'; with its rewards to customers for brand loyalty, its use of the latest mobile technology and its commitment to music and entertainment. The brand accomplishes this by not only being a mobile network provider, but as we all know, owning the O2 Arena in London and also O2 Academy music venues across the country. I think the biggest use of convergence in terms of brand loyalty for O2 has been the creation of O2 priority ticket services for all O2 venues and premium customer status at the O2 Arena (for me this is the biggest perk for being on O2, being a huge music lover). This service allows all O2 subscribers access to purchase tickets for any events at the venues 48 hours before general release with options only available to them through their O2 network handsets. 

       As an O2 subscriber there are also many other perks when you visit the O2 Arena. Firstly, a promotional code allows you access to the Blueroom (pictured on the right) which is a VIP lounge for O2 users only. I can speak for O2 when I say it really is a huge advantage; it's A LOT quieter and more relaxed than the rest of an arena on an event night, there are no queues at the bars compared to the huge queues you face at the other bars on location and the experience genuinely does make you feel special and a valued customer. You really are rewarded for your loyalty to O2 with the experience. In the VIP bar there is also a Jukebox where users can user their handsets to choose tracks from plasma TVs, where they will receive a text. At the O2 they have created an installation giving customers the chance to create a personalised music video. By using a touch interface visitors can choose the video they want to appear starring in and perform in the green screen booth. The video is then sent to phone or email enabling them to upload this to a social media channel. 

Judges of the Mobile Interactive Group where O2 won 'Best Use of Mobile' in 2007 said "the campaign was ground breaking and encompassed all touch-points to fully engage the audience! and that !it manages more than any other UK mobile campaign to put mobile at the centre of the overall experience" (See article here). 

The O2 has also created interactive installations, alongside interactive agency, New Toy, called 'SnapBooths' in O2 Academy venues across the country. They allow for visitors (O2 and non O2 subscribers) to share their gig experience with their friends and family after the event using experiential, digital, mobile and social networking platforms. The fan is invited to take their photo in a booth with a touch screen interface, where the photo is then sent to a photo wall with a set of digital screens displaying revolving images. It is also sent to their mobile phones and afterwards uploaded to the venues Facebook group so their experience can be shared online using social media. 

Another example of O2's convergence of digital media strategies into their marketing is the sponsorship of the iPhone, Android and Blackberry App, Shazam. It allows O2 to deliver highly targeted ads for its Priority Tickets service to Shazam users by advertising pre-sales based on the music they have tagged through the App. The ads are delivered through a variety of formats including standard banners and integrated links. Shazam is the leading music discovery app, achieving global success with over 50 million users - this made Shazam a natural choice for O2 wishing to engage with their music loving audience.

O2 have managed to create an extremely strong brand position in many markets by convergence, using traditional advertising methods with mobile, digital technologies, experience and have seen the opportunities in creating great customer experiences that will engage consumers who use social media that builds the brand reputation.

The world of advertising and marketing is about to get even more exciting, and with its rapid change and rate of innovation, students like myself as  the future of the industry need to keep learning and stay well informed if we want to be in demand.

Week Four: Mobile Communications, Advertising and Marketing

 AT&T introduced its first network to approximately two thousand customers in 1977 – this was the beginning of mobile phones (Oneupweb, 2005 cited here). According to Reportlinker.com it is estimated that there will be over five billion users subscribed globally by the end of this year, highlighting mobile technology as “an outstanding phenomenon that has forever changed society” (See article here). It is predicted that by 2015, the mobile will replace the PC as the most used method of access to the internet (Findel – Hawkins, www.mobithinking.com).

The ‘Digital Divide’ refers to the huge variation in present adoption levels of technology across countries. The digital divide for mobile technology is defined slightly different to other technological advances...the digital divide in mobile technologies is how advanced one’s technology is rather than does or does not have the technology (Wikipedia.com). Mobiles have an uneven penetration rate across countries and regions; generally the wealthy and powerful countries predominate with low income countries having 4 per cent penetration and high income countries having nearly 77% (Goggin 2006 cited at See journal here).

Statistics on Mobile Subscribers per 100 habitants (ITU Digital Access Index, (See reference here)

Country	Mobile
Sweden	88.9
USA	47.3
Canada	37.7
Australia	64.0
Italy	92.5
Chile	42.8
Brazil	20.1
China	16.1
Egypt	6.7
India	1.2
Vietnam	2.3
Kenya	4.2
Bangladesh	0.8
Nigeria	1.3
Mali	0.5
Niger	0.1

Below, show the overall divide between the Developed and Developing World’s subscriptions to mobile phones.

               

The first generation of mobile phones (1G) was cellular networks, the first being launched in Japan by NTT in 1979. It used multiple cell sites and had the ability to transfer calls from one site to the next as the customer travelled around. The first UK mobile call was made by Vodafone on 1 January 1985. Second generation (2G) brought digital networks in the 1990’s where digital was used rather than analogue and the industry saw a massive explosion on subscriptions. This introduced the new variant of communication, SMS, where people could send text only content. The first full internet service was made possible and introduced in Japan in 1999 and the first downloadable content sold in the form of ringtones. 3G was introduced after mobile phones had become so integrated into people’s everyday lives bringing protocols that made data connection faster. These new high speeds meant it was now possible for media streaming to happen of radio and television to mobile phones. It became clear very quickly that 3G networks would become overwhelmed by the growth of bandwidth intensive applications such as streaming media so in 2009 the industry introduced 4G technology that meant speed improved over ten times from 3G. 4G uses an all-IP network rather than the 3G circuit switching.

                    According to multiple analysts, Mobile Marketing and Advertising will explode from just a couple hundred million dollars in revenues in 2008 to $3 – 5 Billion by 2012 (See article here). Mobile Marketing has many advantages for businesses; the advertising can be targeted extremely effectively and made personal to the mobile user, it is done using the most up to date information and technology, it is easily trackable and an excellent way of reaching consumers as people have their mobile phone with them all the time, anywhere and everywhere they go within their daily lives. However, the concept is still in its infancy. Text messaging marketing has been used for a few years and is a used widely when it comes to mobile marketing. According to a study by Comshore 25% of users participate in at least one (and up to ten) SMS marketing programmes marketing(See article here. This is extremely popular in the fast food joints, clothing stores and the nightclub scene. Texting is also proven to get seven times the response rate of email. Local media is also starting to be offered via text message and producing mobile versions of their content to increase advertising revenue. Retailers are working to enhance the shopping experience with the use of mobile communications. Fast food places such as Burger King, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have introduced mobile sites , texting programmes and apps that allow consumers to order food to pick up. Localised smartphone apps such as FourSquare and Yowza are being experimented with by companies and Starbucks are even testing a Starbucks Card Mobile scheme where customers can pay in the shop for their coffee using their mobile phone. 

Twitter have announced this week that they are concentrating on their growth, especially on mobile. Twitter’s Chief Executive, Dick Costello, has said that the service needs “deeper integration” into smart phones and also to be made more available to basic phones (Wakefield 2010 - See article here). Costello commented that “40% of Tweets now come from mobile platforms” showing the huge potential that mobile communication has in this digital age.  

However, even though there are many opportunities to be exploited for marketers when it comes to mobile marketing, there are also challenges to overcome. Research by Forrester has found that  “Consumers aren’t impressed with apps that provide little utility and only clutter up their phone decks” (Parrish 2011 - See article here). App downloads are also hard to measure as downloads are not a representation of who is using the apps as many are deleted within a short time. Another problem marketers are facing is measuring the ROI of the advertising as there is a lack of advertising standards. Privacy is also a huge issue with consumers when it comes to mobile marketing.

Week Three: 'LOST' & Transmedia Storytelling

        

  This week, I have chosen to do my blog post on Lost, a series on ABC network that tells the story of a group of individuals who experience a plane crash and are marooned on a mysterious tropical island. I, myself, have always been a huge fan, so knowing the story-lines fully understand the search and speculation around the mystery behind the programme.

               Lost is described as ‘interactive television’ as it encourages discussion, rewinding to look for hidden cues and use of the internet. Blattberg and Deighton (1991) defined interactivity as “the facility for individuals and organisations to communicate directly with one another without regard to distance or time”.  Lost uses ‘gradual world progression’ (Smith, 2009) which is the slow addition of more storylines to create more possibilities, to stimulate viewers imagination and encourage interactivity. The key to the success of the interactivity of ‘Losties’ is that ambiguity and mystery in the programme has brought about the ‘power of the question’ that has been slowly eroded due to the internet and its readily available information. The fans have developed a large number of websites, including ‘Lostpedia’ (a spinoff of Wikipedia dedicated to Lost) and forums dedicated to the programme speculating and theorising over the mysteries. There is, of course, Facebook and Twitter accounts as well. In this digital age, consumers now “own the customer and internet would give power to the people” to consume media how they choose to (Deighton and Kornfeld, 2007).

            Transmedia storytelling is "storytelling across multiple forms of media with each element making distinctive contributions to a fan's understanding of the story world. By using different media formats, transmedia creates "entrypoints" through which consumers can become immersed in a story world" (Jenkins).

ABC used cross-media activities, often new media for Lost including:

·         ‘Mobisodes’ called the ‘Lost: Missing Pieces’(mini episodes made for mobile devices)

·          An official magazine online and print

·         An alternate reality game called ‘Lost Experience’ with parallel storylines

·         Official forums sponsored by the creative team (‘The Fuselage’)

·         A weekly video ‘The Lost Initiative’ and Podcasts

·         Tie-in websites as well as the official one

Lost has been used in various popular culture showing its popularity and how it has achieved Word of Mouth, the most powerful of all marketing tools - Will and Grace, Bo Selecta, My Wife and Kids, Chuck, Little Britain, Scrubs, Cougar Town, How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, South Park, The Simpsons, some of the most popular shows ever known – and the list goes on. As well as in comics, songs and video games. Lost has used the internet to extensively expand the background of the story. This is through tie in websites such as the ‘Oceanic Airlines’(where the web address was embedded in the season finale) and interactive stories of the characters in the UK through ‘Lost Untold’ which was a section of Channel 4’s Lost website.

           An article on Business Week online magazine, ‘Network Finds Marketing Paradise with Lost’, discusses that using Lost’s network ABC “is creating a blueprint that other networks are using to think way beyond just TV”. The digital franchise was created before the TV show even aired, with the first fan base www.lost-tv.com being set up. After the first airing, the producers started up the other media platforms commenting that they have ”the perfect demographics – tech-savvy kids, mostly male, 16 to 34” to use transmedia storytelling. Michael Benson, senior vice-president for marketing at ABC Entertainment, says “Lost is like a candy store of marketing” (see article here).

           “Lost has been the poster child of entertainment in the “convergence era” embracing new technologies as tools of discovery rather than threats to intellectual property” (Smith, 2009). By creating an environment that encourages exploration I feel that there are many opportunities in the future for transmedia storytelling and that TV shows will have to adapt to this shift to cross-media platforms to stay popular.

Week Two: The Rise of Digital Media: Good or Bad?

Mary (Drew Barrymore) from 'He's Just Not That Into You' (2009) sums up our digital world of communication today...
            "I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. The whole thing just got out of control & I miss the days when you had one answering machine, and that one answering machine has that one cassette tape, and that one cassette tape either had a message from that guy or it didn't". (See it here). Seeing this film and hearing this quote inspired my blog post for this week...


      The world of digital communication has come a long way since the sending of the first email in 1971 - the first mobile phone call was made, the first Home Entertainment introduced by Nintendo, the creation of the internet and also social networking. For those of us who are under 20, I don't think we realise how accepting we are if the new technologies that enhance our world of digital communication and socialising, not just with our friends but brands and 'lovemarks' (Saatchi & Saatchi). They just 'appear' and become integrated into our everyday lives as if they have always been there, even though they are dramatically changing things for us. But, are all these new ways of digitally communicating really making communication simpler or harder for us? Draw Barrymore thinks it isn't. 

         On one hand, the many alternative forms of communication has provided us with convenience, new industries, increased interactivity, various ways of learning and many ways to socialise. There is now no excuse for lack of contact with others. BUT there are many arguments against the digital age. One being that it has changed the way we interact with each other, our relationships being less intimate. Friedman (2011) believes we are "gradually being drawn away from contact with things of the world" and even though digital has brought us wonders it also means we have lost things and are still losing things right now (article here). Two senior Microsoft researchers have proposed that biological memory will be augmented and replaced by e-memory, being called Total Recall (Harvey,2010). Gordon Bell thinks that "it will change what it means to be human" with everyone recording their lives digitally due to the new digital revolution leaving no need for real memories. (Read the article here). 


         However, it has always been thought that "It is not the strongest of species that survives , nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one most adaptable to change" - Charles Darwin - which suggests we should embrace and adapt to this digital age.


        Feel free to comment and let me know what you think...me? I'm undecided but I do know that the digital revolution is hugely powerful and has a lot more influence over our lives than we initially think which is slightly scary.