Editor’s Note: With all the buzz surrounding the Google TV announcement, here’s a great primer on what you can expect.
May 21, 2010: summarized from Business Insider -- Google's newest product is Google TV, which is a marriage of the web and traditional cable television. Google CEO Eric Schmidt calls Google TV the biggest revolution in television since color sets replaced black and white. That's Steve Jobs-sized hyperbole! Curious to find out what the heck he's talking about?
Read more at: http://bit.ly/brQWhc
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
E-Books Rewrite Bookselling
Editor’s Note: A great case study in the making. The music industry lost out in that industry’s migration to digital because the major players were late to embrace. The publishing is trying to get out in front of the wave as print moves towards digital. How will the U.S. gaming industry adjust when digital comes our way?
May 21, 2010: summarized from the Wall Street Journal -- Nowhere is the e-book tidal wave hitting harder than at bricks-and-mortar book retailers. The competitive advantage Barnes & Noble spent decades amassing—offering an enormous selection of more than 150,000 books under one roof—was already under pressure from online booksellers.
It evaporated with the recent advent of e-bookstores, where readers can access millions of titles for e-reader devices.
Even more problematic for brick-and-mortar retailers is the math if sales of physical books rapidly decrease: Because e-books don't require paper, printing presses, storage space or delivery trucks, they typically sell for less than half the price of a hardcover book. If physical book sales decline precipitously, chain retailers won't have enough revenue to support all their stores.
Some question whether book stores will go the way of music stores, which closed en masse once consumers could sample and download music digitally. Blockbuster Inc., the video rental giant, is struggling to reshape its business at a time when movies can be downloaded directly to digital devices.
Unlike music, the book industry didn't suffer dramatically from digital theft and, for years, couldn't figure out how to make money from e-books. There was no sense of urgency.
"It's fair to say that the leadership folks at the major trade publishers didn't believe until very recently that e-books had any economic life in them," says Arthur Klebanoff, chief executive of New York-based RosettaBooks LLC, an e-book publisher.
The success of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-reader recently changed all that, proving to publishers that the e-books market was real.
But it wasn't until the arrival of Apple Inc.'s iPad last month—with its promise of one day tapping more than 125 million iTunes customers—that the true potential of the e-book market became apparent.
Read more at: http://bit.ly/bSeFe8
May 21, 2010: summarized from the Wall Street Journal -- Nowhere is the e-book tidal wave hitting harder than at bricks-and-mortar book retailers. The competitive advantage Barnes & Noble spent decades amassing—offering an enormous selection of more than 150,000 books under one roof—was already under pressure from online booksellers.
It evaporated with the recent advent of e-bookstores, where readers can access millions of titles for e-reader devices.
Even more problematic for brick-and-mortar retailers is the math if sales of physical books rapidly decrease: Because e-books don't require paper, printing presses, storage space or delivery trucks, they typically sell for less than half the price of a hardcover book. If physical book sales decline precipitously, chain retailers won't have enough revenue to support all their stores.
Some question whether book stores will go the way of music stores, which closed en masse once consumers could sample and download music digitally. Blockbuster Inc., the video rental giant, is struggling to reshape its business at a time when movies can be downloaded directly to digital devices.
Unlike music, the book industry didn't suffer dramatically from digital theft and, for years, couldn't figure out how to make money from e-books. There was no sense of urgency.
"It's fair to say that the leadership folks at the major trade publishers didn't believe until very recently that e-books had any economic life in them," says Arthur Klebanoff, chief executive of New York-based RosettaBooks LLC, an e-book publisher.
The success of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-reader recently changed all that, proving to publishers that the e-books market was real.
But it wasn't until the arrival of Apple Inc.'s iPad last month—with its promise of one day tapping more than 125 million iTunes customers—that the true potential of the e-book market became apparent.
Read more at: http://bit.ly/bSeFe8
Facebook's New Functions (and How to Leverage Them)
May 17, 2010: summarized from iMedia Connection -- With its recent F8 announcements, Facebook has again one-upped the world as we thought we knew it. Brand marketers need to start looking at Facebook as a much deeper and broader solution than one that purely amasses a fan base. As Facebook rolls out new functionality, brands have the opportunity to act immediately in a variety of ways. In addition, it's important for brand managers to re-imagine their brands by leveraging social enhancements.
Brands need to be able to take immediate advantage of features such as the "like" functionality, but they also need to be visionary in how they can build their brands for the future and become truly social. While I encourage brands to take part in these new advancements, we also need to make sure that we keep an eye on the Facebook future and build with this future in mind.
So, in the quest to make your brand truly social, uproot your assets and think of new ways to infuse them through Facebook integration and by adding key social layers to the brand experience. Look toward the future and start evaluating the role that Facebook can play at retail, on the ground, and across every channel your brand touches. Not all opportunities will be a fit, but one thing is for sure: If you only look at Facebook as a place to have a fan page, you are missing the greater offering and will likely be sitting on the sidelines when the future arrives.
Let's take a look at some of Facebook's new and evolving functionalities, as well as what they mean for your marketing efforts.
Read more at: http://bit.ly/aD2Qp3
Brands need to be able to take immediate advantage of features such as the "like" functionality, but they also need to be visionary in how they can build their brands for the future and become truly social. While I encourage brands to take part in these new advancements, we also need to make sure that we keep an eye on the Facebook future and build with this future in mind.
So, in the quest to make your brand truly social, uproot your assets and think of new ways to infuse them through Facebook integration and by adding key social layers to the brand experience. Look toward the future and start evaluating the role that Facebook can play at retail, on the ground, and across every channel your brand touches. Not all opportunities will be a fit, but one thing is for sure: If you only look at Facebook as a place to have a fan page, you are missing the greater offering and will likely be sitting on the sidelines when the future arrives.
Let's take a look at some of Facebook's new and evolving functionalities, as well as what they mean for your marketing efforts.
Read more at: http://bit.ly/aD2Qp3
25 Awesome Charts On The State Of The Wireless Industry
Editor’s Note: A great summary for everyone who sees mobile marketing in their future.
May 21, 2010: summarized from Business Insider -- The Federal Communications Commission just released its latest massive report on the state of the U.S. wireless industry. The basic story: Smartphone penetration is getting huge, teens are texting up a storm, voice usage is going down, and data revenue -- while growing -- isn't making up for the decline in voice revenue.
As FBR Capital Markets analysts David Dixon and Dutch Fox note today, it's the first time the FCC did NOT conclude that the wireless industry is "competitive," despite no material changes in the industry over the past year.
The analysts' conclusion: The FCC may put restrictions on Verizon and AT&T during the next spectrum auction to slow their dominance, giving Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile a boost.
View charts at: http://bit.ly/dzAX0V
May 21, 2010: summarized from Business Insider -- The Federal Communications Commission just released its latest massive report on the state of the U.S. wireless industry. The basic story: Smartphone penetration is getting huge, teens are texting up a storm, voice usage is going down, and data revenue -- while growing -- isn't making up for the decline in voice revenue.
As FBR Capital Markets analysts David Dixon and Dutch Fox note today, it's the first time the FCC did NOT conclude that the wireless industry is "competitive," despite no material changes in the industry over the past year.
The analysts' conclusion: The FCC may put restrictions on Verizon and AT&T during the next spectrum auction to slow their dominance, giving Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile a boost.
View charts at: http://bit.ly/dzAX0V
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Most Powerful Force in the Universe? Games.
May 7, 2010: summarized from the Huffington Post -- If someone asked me what the most powerful forces in the universe were, I would answer gravity, love and chocolate. Not necessarily in that order. But according to Gabe Zichermann, author of the new book Game-Based Marketing I'm totally wrong. Games are the most powerful force in the universe. Sounds incredulous right? I mean if you put 1,000 people in front of Mario Bros. or a chocolate covered cannoli I'm guessing 90% are heading for the cannoli.
But as Zichermann explains, "Games make people act against their best interests, predictably and without force." Well when you put it like that...
The book introduces marketers to the concept of "funware," the art and science of turning your customers' everyday interactions into "games" that serve your business purposes. Many brands are already using the funware concept to market their products. Airline Frequent Flier programs are the granddaddy of game-based marketing, but companies like Chase and McDonalds have also used the concept with great success.
When I asked Zichermann how he came up with the concept I figured I would hear some jargon about university studies and psychologists. Instead I got a story about a Grande Non-Fat Latte. Zichermann was on his daily Starbucks run and instead of waiting in line to order, the baristas knew his drink and would start preparing it the second he walked in the door. Doesn't sound very impressive - until he realized that this one small move was saving him 50 hours per year. "OMG," he thought, "I just leveled up at Starbucks."
"Leveling up" and "Starbucks" shouldn't normally go together, which is precisely the point. Games are all around us, whether we realize it or not. Many of our daily decisions, whether they be which airline to choose for our next flight, or which credit card to use when paying for lunch, are fueled by the games that marketers are playing with us. These marketing tactics can be explained by the common terminology used by video game designers, which is precisely what Game-Based Marketing attempts to do.
"Game mechanics work in so many spheres, from Casinos, to sales teams," the author explains. "When you apply game mechanics such as loyalty, status and upgrades to tasks that are not normally fun, I don't know that it will always work, but I know that it can't hurt." I agree. After all, who couldn't use a little more fun in their life?
Read more at: http://huff.to/9UqOPm
But as Zichermann explains, "Games make people act against their best interests, predictably and without force." Well when you put it like that...
The book introduces marketers to the concept of "funware," the art and science of turning your customers' everyday interactions into "games" that serve your business purposes. Many brands are already using the funware concept to market their products. Airline Frequent Flier programs are the granddaddy of game-based marketing, but companies like Chase and McDonalds have also used the concept with great success.
When I asked Zichermann how he came up with the concept I figured I would hear some jargon about university studies and psychologists. Instead I got a story about a Grande Non-Fat Latte. Zichermann was on his daily Starbucks run and instead of waiting in line to order, the baristas knew his drink and would start preparing it the second he walked in the door. Doesn't sound very impressive - until he realized that this one small move was saving him 50 hours per year. "OMG," he thought, "I just leveled up at Starbucks."
"Leveling up" and "Starbucks" shouldn't normally go together, which is precisely the point. Games are all around us, whether we realize it or not. Many of our daily decisions, whether they be which airline to choose for our next flight, or which credit card to use when paying for lunch, are fueled by the games that marketers are playing with us. These marketing tactics can be explained by the common terminology used by video game designers, which is precisely what Game-Based Marketing attempts to do.
"Game mechanics work in so many spheres, from Casinos, to sales teams," the author explains. "When you apply game mechanics such as loyalty, status and upgrades to tasks that are not normally fun, I don't know that it will always work, but I know that it can't hurt." I agree. After all, who couldn't use a little more fun in their life?
Read more at: http://huff.to/9UqOPm
PlayAway on Facebook Wins Place Among Casino Journal’s Top 20 Most Innovative Products
May 6, 2010: summarized from Casino Journal Magazine -- If there’s a thread that pulls together Casino Journal’s Top 20 Most Innovative Gaming Technology Products Awards for 2009, it’s that the future really is now. The products that made the grade represent forward-thinking, novel concepts designed to take casinos to the next level.
With more than 350 million users on Facebook it’s no secret that casinos have been eager to capitalize on the social media phenomenon. GameLogic’s PlayAway on Facebook is designed to get them there.
With PlayAway, for the fi rst time, casinos can directly leverage Facebook’s most popular activity, games, by running free-to-play games such as slots, poker and bingo tournaments directly inside the Facebook world.
PlayAway also is viral in its design, which helps to harness the real power of social media. GameLogic brings its Software as a Service (SaaS) approach to interactive marketing to deliver a rich social media tool set in a way that is easy to implement and cost-effective to operate. Further, PlayAway supports connectivity among all major casino management systems. And of course it also conforms to all Facebook protocols and APIs.
Judges were enthusiastic. “Can’t wait to use it,” said one.
Another called PlayAway “a great addition to a property’s marketing arsenal.”
“Social media marketing is becoming increasingly important for the casino industry,” he noted. “This product would add interactivity to a casino’s Facebook marketing in a way that would increase customer loyalty and provide additional opportunities for implementation in a SBG ‘Service Window’ application.”
Read more at: http://bit.ly/c3gWJl
With more than 350 million users on Facebook it’s no secret that casinos have been eager to capitalize on the social media phenomenon. GameLogic’s PlayAway on Facebook is designed to get them there.
With PlayAway, for the fi rst time, casinos can directly leverage Facebook’s most popular activity, games, by running free-to-play games such as slots, poker and bingo tournaments directly inside the Facebook world.
PlayAway also is viral in its design, which helps to harness the real power of social media. GameLogic brings its Software as a Service (SaaS) approach to interactive marketing to deliver a rich social media tool set in a way that is easy to implement and cost-effective to operate. Further, PlayAway supports connectivity among all major casino management systems. And of course it also conforms to all Facebook protocols and APIs.
Judges were enthusiastic. “Can’t wait to use it,” said one.
Another called PlayAway “a great addition to a property’s marketing arsenal.”
“Social media marketing is becoming increasingly important for the casino industry,” he noted. “This product would add interactivity to a casino’s Facebook marketing in a way that would increase customer loyalty and provide additional opportunities for implementation in a SBG ‘Service Window’ application.”
Read more at: http://bit.ly/c3gWJl
Why You Need to Own Your Community
April 28, 2010: summarized from Chief Marketer -- As you’ve probably seen, Ning recently upset thousands of its users by announcing that it would no longer offer a free version of its online community platform.
Understandably, many people were not happy that they would have to start paying to keep their community on Ning. This also raised another issue: If you wanted to move your community off Ning, how would you do it?
The good news is that a few smaller open-source platforms stepped up and said they’d help people migrate their community from Ning to their solution.
While this Ning situation was unfortunate for community owners, it brings to light an interesting issue: the importance of owning your community data and platform.
For companies that are serious about building a community that fits with their business goals, owning the data from that community is a must—for a variety of reasons.
First and most important, you need to have access to the data for marketing purposes so that you can measure everything that’s going on in the community. What kind of content is effective? What are community members sharing and discussing? What are they buying? Which community members are the most active? Which are the most likely to invite friends?
Owning this data so you can study them and compare the value of community members to noncommunity members is essential to measuring return on investment and determining the success of your community. Ideally you’d have a platform that integrates with your overall database so that you could learn how your community members are different from your general customers.
Read more at: http://bit.ly/cRyo3Q
Understandably, many people were not happy that they would have to start paying to keep their community on Ning. This also raised another issue: If you wanted to move your community off Ning, how would you do it?
The good news is that a few smaller open-source platforms stepped up and said they’d help people migrate their community from Ning to their solution.
While this Ning situation was unfortunate for community owners, it brings to light an interesting issue: the importance of owning your community data and platform.
For companies that are serious about building a community that fits with their business goals, owning the data from that community is a must—for a variety of reasons.
First and most important, you need to have access to the data for marketing purposes so that you can measure everything that’s going on in the community. What kind of content is effective? What are community members sharing and discussing? What are they buying? Which community members are the most active? Which are the most likely to invite friends?
Owning this data so you can study them and compare the value of community members to noncommunity members is essential to measuring return on investment and determining the success of your community. Ideally you’d have a platform that integrates with your overall database so that you could learn how your community members are different from your general customers.
Read more at: http://bit.ly/cRyo3Q
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