Why Facial Recognition Is the Next Big Thing in Marketing

 

If SnapChat’s new Facial Filters are any indication, facial recognition technology is looking to make a big impact on how consumers view and create content, because lets face It (see what I did there?) who doesn’t want to be able to barf rainbows or face swap with their significant other?

While the Facial Filter feature on “the Snap” is the latest iteration of mainstream facial recognition technology, it could also be looked at as a precursor to how marketers can use the technology to better connect with consumers.

Below are a few examples of how brands have recently used facial recognition technology for their own brand campaigns:

While these campaigns were innovative and effective, they focused more on the side of experiential marketing and seemed to be borderline gimmicky, “one and done” type tactics. What marketers need to begin to look at is how to incorporate this technology into their long-term approach when connecting to the consumer.

Think about it. Every modern computer or smartphone has a built in camera that looks right at you. Combine that with the amount of consumer data collected through third party services and you could create an environment where every digital ad is tailored to an individual consumer based on the unique features of your face, no matter what device you’re using. Cookies and IP addresses would no longer be the sole way to identify a consumer.

If this sounds a bit like that scene in Minority Report, then you’re on the right track.

While facial recognition technology is available for brands looking for a competitive edge, consumer privacy issues have stagnated the growth among mainstream marketing strategies. A First Insight survey found that 75% of consumers would not shop at a store using face recognition technology for marketing purposes. However, that same report found that more than half of consumers would be open to the use of the technology if incentivized properly, such as given a discount or other promotion.

How do you feel about the rise of facial recognition in advertising? Does it feel too “Big Brother” like? Or would you welcome more relevant advertising?

Leave a comment below!

3 New Ways Data Brokers are Making $ Off Your Data

Can anyone name the industry that generated two times the amount of the entire United States intelligence budget in 2012?

If you didn’t guess “Data Brokering”, than you should probably know that almost $200 billion is generated by data brokers who collect, analyze, package and sell some of our most sensitive personal information (usually without us knowing) to all sorts of third-party companies who in turn offer “business insights” from extrapolating this information.

The advancement in mobile technology has undoubtedly been a catalyst in the growth of data brokering, as almost one-fifth of Americans use their device to access online services and information and for staying connected to the world around them.

Of course, all of that online behavior is then collected, tracked and monitored by companies such as Acxiom, LexisNexis and a bunch of other companies with obscure names and discreet practices.

While retailers and data brokers have always used technology to better understand customer behavior, the growth of mobile technology has opened the doors for new and innovative methods to acquire consumer data, with or without consent.

Below are three new ways that data brokers will be able to make profit from your information in 2016:

 

Wearable Tech

Fitbit, Nike Fuelband, and Smartwatches such as the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear are all part of the growing trend of wearable technology. These devices are worn as clothing or as an accessory to track health and fitness data. In fact, 1 out of 10 people now have some form of wearable tech that allows them to quantifiably track the results of their day and that number is set to rise in the New Year.

However, the user isn’t the only one who has access to their “personal” metrics. The companies that sell these products will in turn sell the health-related data they harvest to insurance companies. Why insurance companies? Because they would like to use these wearable devices to track fitness behavior and better determine how to insure you! Companies, such as Nike, could then be incentivized to share the vast amount of data they have access to, while the average consumer is oblivious to the millions of dollars shelled out to learn how many miles you ran this week.

So while these devices may keep you motivated to achieve your fitness goals, keep in mind that your goals and the steps you take to reach them are being tracked, analyzed and sold to the highest bidder.

 

Virtual Reality

This year’s launch of the Samsung Gear VR (virtual reality) marked the dawn of commercially accessible VR experiences.

Consumers can now bring an augmented reality experience with them wherever and whenever they want, which will lead to new and valuable insights for data brokers to bid off. Built-in eye tracking technology of VR products like the Oculus Rift, allow advertisers and data brokers alike to know what consumers are looking at, when they are looking at them and for how long.

This backend data is essentially what most companies wish they could collect for traditional mediums such as billboards and print ads. VR analytics offer a reliable way to track viewability, albeit in a virtual world dictated by ad dollars.

Predictably, this information will be collected and stored by the companies who manage the products and sold through data brokers to various advertisers and marketers. With eye-tracking analysis studies often being expensive to conduct, the commercialization of VR will create a convenient and readily available source for this type of personal information, which will be sure to draw top dollars from data brokers everywhere.

Internet of Things (IoT)

In a previous post I discussed the impact of the IoT, so if you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it’s a good place to start.

Basically the IoT is the interconnectivity between things using wireless communication technology (each with their own unique identifiers) to connect objects, locations, animals, or people to the Internet, thus allowing for the direct transmission of and seamless sharing of data.

In layman’s terms, this means that we could start to see everyday products such as refrigerators, ovens, thermostats, light bulbs, etc. come equipped with wireless sensors that are then able to communicate information to other connected devices.

Access to this type of information could lead to a world with only relevant and timely advertising based on individual consumer wants, needs and habits.

Over the next decade, the IoT market could potentially generate as much as $11 trillion a year with much of that money coming in the form of big data sales. Tech-giant Cisco stated that the rise of IoT could start “a surge in connections of people, process, data and things that could reach 50bn by the end of the decade.”

Nova Spivack, chief executive of big-data mining company Bottlenose, states that “The internet of things represents a major data opportunity” and that “there’s just no other data opportunity that comes close.”

Companies will typically tout that the data obtained from these connected devices will benefit users in the long run. However, it is hard to ignore the intrusive nature of multiple points of data access as fixtures in the confines of your own home.

It begs the question: are these companies really looking to make our lives easier or are they simply trying to make top dollar off of the vast amounts of personal information they can obtain about us?

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Paranoid yet? Or are you looking for a piece of the action? Let me know how you feel about these new ways data brokers are mining data gold from us or if you think there are other ways I may have missed!

 

Top 3 SEO Trends for 2016

Search engine optimizers have seen a lot of changes in 2015.

From Google deeming mobile-optimized sites as equals to their desktop counterparts, to digital assistants changing how consumers search and even social content becoming more valuable to search indexing “spiders,” there are sure to be some big shifts in how companies approach optimizing content for the web in 2016.

With the New Year upon us, here are some trends to look for in the realm of SEM:

Rise in “Natural Language” Search Queries Thanks to Mobile Assistants

Digital assistants such as Google Now, Cortana and Siri are changing the search habits of consumers, shifting towards more of a spoken language query versus a typed query. For example, instead of typing “Tampa mechanic” in a search engine most people will simply say “Ok Google, find me a mechanic in Tampa to help me with my brakes.” Most searches will mimic spoken dialogue and the companies that adopt the “long tail” effect of natural language search queries will see the results as search engines will adopt and rank conversational content higher.

 

Google says Mobile Sites > Desktop Sites

Earlier this year, Google announced a change in its search algorithm, which essentially placed more value on mobile-friendly sites and decreased the visibility of non-mobile-friendly sites. Even John Mueller, a webmaster trends analyst for the company, said you don’t need a desktop website as a mobile-first site will suffice in terms of page rank.

With this change in how sites are indexed, mobile-optimization will become more important than ever, as mobile searches officially surpassed desktops queries this year. Look for companies to place more emphasis on mobile content and promotion of their mobile apps and sites.

Social Content on Equal Footing

Nowadays when you search for news updates, you’ll more than likely see tweets from credible news outlets or reporters pop up first. Thanks to separate deals between Google and social media giants Facebook and Twitter, social content will be on equal footing rank-wise with any independent web page. The trend will continue into 2016 with more platforms joining the page rank competition of relevancy. It will become harder and harder to separate “social content” from “web content” in terms of SEO.

As these trends become more evident in the New Year, what will you do in order to make sure your SEM strategy is ready for 2016?

Digital Storytelling in a ‘Snap’

“Stories are the way humans make sense of the world”

– Cameron Uganec, Director of Marketing at HootSuite

As a marketer it should be common knowledge by now that consumers gravitate towards brands that offer authentic, storytelling experiences rather than those simply spouting off product benefits.

And of course, the major catalyst in the growth of branded storytelling is the rise of social media, since storytelling in itself has always been a socially driven activity.

Most often, companies will play out there branded stories on common social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter or even Instagram; however more and more marketers are turning to Snapchat to produce daily stories that engage and excite audiences.

Here are a couple of reasons why:

• 100 million daily active users
• 71% of users range from 18 to 34 years of age
• 6 billion daily video views
• Reaches 11% of total US digital population

The most exciting tool that Snapchat offers is its “Stories” feature, which is simply a series of snaps that are strung together to create a story (hence the title) available to view for up to 24 hours. The expiration of these messages gives brands the opportunity to tell a new and engaging story each day, whereas TV commercials often become a part of the background noise to most consumers.

Yo Quiero Snapchat

Taco Bell was one of the first brands to use Snapchat as a means to connect with an increasingly digitized, millennial consumer.

In fact, the brand’s first snap on the platform was used to announce the return of the popular Beefy Crunch Burrito

Since then, Taco Bell has become a front-runner when it comes to using the ghost-faced social platform to connect with consumers by using creative and innovative storytelling approaches.

Ever seen a movie, 10 seconds at a time? Taco Bell made a bold move when it chose to announce the flavor of the new Doritos Locos Taco through a branded short film shot entirely on Snapchat.

The short film was the first of its kind and resulted in over 70,000 users adding the brand on Snapchat in a single day, making it the most followed brand on the platform. The campaign also went on to win a social media Webby Award for “Best Use of Video.”

‘Snap’ to it

While most companies do not have the ingenuity or resources to take on such a feat, the main point is that Snapchat is an excellent platform to tell your brand story in an innovative way, while at the same time increasing community engagement.

However, it all starts with baby steps. Here are some quick ways to start incorporating branded storytelling through Snapchat:

Provide Access to Exclusive Events

If your company is a part of a popular yet exclusive event, get your audience excited by making them feel a part of the event by showcasing the occasion through Snapchat. The NBA did exactly that during the 2014 NBA Finals.

Show How Your Product Comes to Life

Snapchat is a great tool to showcase how your product is made from start to finish. This type of sneak peak really allows audiences to appreciate the work that goes into making a quality product. While this video is sourced from Instagram, New Belgium Brewery’s streak plate video shows consumers the science involved in the creation of their favorite beer and would make an excellent snap.

Make the Message Meaningful

The old adage goes that a picture says a thousand words. So make those words meaningful and establish an emotional connection with your Snaps. The World Wildlife Federation did exactly that with their #LastSelfie Snapchat campaign

In the ever-evolving world of social media, you never know when the next game-changing platform will take hold, so ‘Snap’ to it and start telling your brand story!

Use “IoT” to help your ROI

In the (not so distant) Future….

Your smart watch starts to ring and it looks like the company that installed your new dishwasher is calling:

“Hello Mr./Ms. [insert your name here], we received a service request from your dishwashing unit today. We’re calling to let you know we resolved the issue and ran the current load. For any inconvenience, we’ve emailed you a coupon for Cascade Platinum detergent.”

The aforementioned situation takes place in a not so distant future and illustrates a potential tactic that will be possible for marketers through the evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT).

Simply put, IoT is the interconnectivity between things using wireless communication technology (each with their own unique identifiers) to connect objects, locations, animals, or people to the internet, thus allowing for the direct transmission of and seamless sharing of data.

Current consumer-facing examples of IoT technologies include the Apple Watch, Nike Fuelband, Google Glass and Fitbit. These products share the data of consenting consumers with companies that use that data to help identify their target market with greater detail than ever before.

So what does the rise of the IoT mean for marketers? A physically interconnected world translates into endless marketing possibilities, however we’ll just key in on a few here.

Instant Consumer Feedback

 

So you finally launched that product your CEO has been grinding your team over and within a few, short days, he or she is already asking how consumers are reacting to it.

Thankfully, your product was integrated with IoT technology allowing you to receive real time feedback from customers as soon as they begin to use it. Having access to this type of data will allow you to know early on whether or not a product is performing well with consumers almost instantly.

This immediate knowledge can make the difference between holding onto a fledgling product for too long and losing your ROI or seeing the start of a success and shifting resources to help support the product’s growth.

Premeditated Warning

It’s Saturday morning and you hop in your car so you can go and take care of the litany of errands you have on your to-do list. Within minutes, black smoke erupts out of the hood of your car and you find yourself stuck on the side of the road, the whole day shot.

With the help of smart-enabled devices, products that require maintenance, like a car, would be able to self-diagnose themselves with lightning speed and take proactive steps to help remedy any technical issues before breaking down down. For instance, if a part is broken, an IoT connected device could send a signal that orders a replacement from a local vendor and have it shipped to a consumer before even noticing the product was broken, similar to the dishwasher example earlier.

Preventing this downtime would help increase customer satisfaction and allow marketers to gain insights about the problems that may plague their consumers.

Make Irrelevant Advertising, Irrelevant

With over 4.9 billion connected things this year alone (with some predicting that by 2020, the number of Internet-connected things will reach or even exceed 50 billion), it shouldn’t be surprising that everyday items in your home will soon be outfitted with sensors and network accessibility.

Undoubtedly, this type of intimate data collection will lead to personalized and relevant advertising served in very untraditional ways. Similar to the dishwasher scenario outlined in the “not so distant future,” your home will be able to track when an appliance or feature needs repair and only serve you ads relevant to that need. Or say your light bulb goes out all of a sudden; you might receive a digital coupon straight to your smartphone.

IoT will allow marketers to spend thousands of dollars less on irrelevant commercials and banner ads and instead use in depth consumer data to gain a detailed understanding about consumer interests and behaviors in order to serve up efficient and relevant advertising.

With the future upon us, how will you incorporate the Internet of Things in your marketing strategies?

 

Market Stories, Not Facts

Remember that old storybook your mom or dad would read to you at night as a child?

Do you find it strange that even though it has been years since you last even thought about that story, you’re still able to remember bits and pieces of the plot, maybe what the main character wore or at least how the story ended?

Now try to remember those facts and figures you read about in yesterday’s news article or the list of ingredients in that granola bar you tried out. Can’t recall? I’m not surprised.

Many studies over the years have proven that the human brain is inherently wired to be far more engaged by stories than by cold, hard facts. When reading a story, we use the same parts of our brain that would be used if we were actually experiencing what we were reading, almost like a virtual reality role-playing game.

On the other hand, reading straight facts only utilizes the language part of the brain to translate it and then we’re essentially done with the information.

I’m explaining this psychological process in order to illustrate why 92% of consumers want brands to make ads feel like stories. Also consider the fact that our brains process images 60 times faster than words and you can see why more and more marketers are embracing the science of storytelling and producing short films in order to create quality advertising that effectively resonates with consumers.

For example, Chipotle consistently touts how they are “all about simple, fresh food without artificial flavors or fillers” and how the company only uses non-GMO ingredients in their kitchens. Yes, that’s great and all but the average consumer will eventually forget about these spoken/written benefits, lost amongst the 100,000 plus words that the average American consumes in a day.

Now watch the “The Scarecrow” short film that Chipotle created and see which strategy resonates with you more:

 

If you didn’t choose the video, you’re probably not human (just kidding, unless you’re a robot reading this in the future). The short film does the job of an entire campaign in less than five minutes without even having to display a single fact on the screen. Not only does the film establish an emotional connection with the viewer, but you better believe that the images seen in the video will stick in the mind of the consumer much longer than any straight forward fact read on a company website.

The point of this post is simple: consumers do not want to read bulleted lines of why you think your product is great; they want to be immersed in a multifaceted story where they are able to create a memorable experience with your brand.

Storytelling is something that the human mind craves and something that marketers should strive to satisfy.

The End

Why Twitter is Monetizing “Moments”

 

[Image credit: Ad Age]

By now you must have noticed the little lightning bolt symbol in the center of your Twitter dashboard and wondered, “What is that?”

That, my friend, is Project Lightning, a.k.a Twitter Moments a.k.a. the social media company’s answer to Snapchat’s Stories.

In a nut shell, Moments is a tweet aggregator that curates tweets based on the day’s top stories and presents them in a magazine-like view without having to follow a single person.

The product represents Twitter’s strongest push to date to acquire more casual users who may be turned off by the perceived sophistication of the platform.

Essentially, Moments is a Hail Mary pass for the blue bird company, which has seen a drop in its stock price and has maintained subpar user growth.

That is partly the reason why Twitter has wasted no time in monetizing the new feature by offering Promoted Moments as a way to give advertisers the chance to curate tweets, video and other content. This new form of native advertising immerses users in strategically selected content as a way to engage with target audiences without the skepticism that comes with most digital ads.

MGM, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinemas are the first to hop on the Promoted Moments bandwagon with a Moment centered around the new film, Creed, giving users an exclusive first look at the movie.

[Image credit: Twitter]

Twitter plans to eventually have one Promoted Moment each day as part of an effort to combat slowing revenue growth.

Promoted Moments has the potential to be a go-to tool for marketer’s looking to bring out the storytelling aspect of their content. With brands being in control of what content is shared, the possibilities of how the product is used is endless. Retailers can feature real people using their products; brand sponsored events and festivals can create memorable stories from the day; musicians could put together content from their world tour to show everyone what they’re missing.

What do you think about Twitter Moments? Do you think Twitter will be able to get out of it’s financial slump by riding the back of Promoted Moments?

A Date with Design

Typically when you go out on a date with someone for the first time, you want to look your best, right? You want that person to buy into who you are and discover all of the great things you have to offer. Whether that means wearing something trendy or putting on something that accurately presents who you are, in the back of your mind you know that first impressions matter.

The same can be said about visiting a website for the first time. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Consumer Union, 65 percent of U.S. internet users refuse to buy from a poorly designed website! Similar to the dating world, you’ll want to ensure your website or blog is dressed to the nines in order to make a great first impression on the casual visitor.

So in order to help ensure your site is making the best impression it can, take a look at some of the trendy tips outlined below and try incorporating them so you don’t strikeout with your audience.

Hero Images

Ever catch yourself staring at an attractive individual you’ve never seen before? An engaging and high-definition hero image can have the same effect when it comes to websites. While a user may not have come to your site for a particular reason, a strong hero image can stop that person in their tracks to admire whatever imagery you choose to showcase. The Art of Sculpting, a website for trainer Amando Campbell, does a great job of using a striking image that embodies exactly what his service is about.

Motion Animation

Did that subtle flick of the wrist make you notice the watch your date was wearing? That’s exactly the reaction they wanted. Our eyes are naturally drawn to motion, so consider adding some intrigue to your site by incorporating motion animation to your web space. This can come in a simple form of a GIF or, depending on the complexity of your site, a fully animated site that interacts with the movement of your mouse. Check out National Geographic’s website “Eat: The Story of Food” which won a People’s Voice Webby for “Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics” in 2015.

Responsive Design

Hopefully your date looks good in everything he or she wears, not just the outfit they had on for the first date. The same is true for websites; whether they’re seen on a laptop, smartphone or tablet, they should appear well put together and offer a seamless experience no matter what platform. That’s why your site should have responsive design built into its platform. Most blog builder sites, such as WordPress, have been offering responsive templates for years, which is important considering the many different screens your site will be forced to display on.

Change.org does a great job of making sure its site appropriately adjusts to the size and resolution of multiple platforms. This is even more important for an organization that thrives on people craving change at any moment, on any device.

Photo credit: Digital Telepathy

Just like any good relationship, it takes more than a great first impression in order for a bond to thrive and grow. You’ll need to cultivate the relationship you build with your audience through genuine and sincere content as well as listening to what they want from you as a website manager. Although all that is important, just like in the dating scene, it never hurts to have a good-looking appearance.

Making Mobile Marketing Multicultural

Recently I was having a conversation with a Hispanic friend who informed me that other than at work, he hardly ever uses a laptop and doesn’t even own one for personal use. 10 years ago this would have been out of the norm; however with smartphones becoming relatively inexpensive compared to laptops, rates of Internet usage and smartphone ownership have skyrocketed among minority groups.

While he may not know it, my friend is a part of the 18% of Hispanics that do not own a desktop or laptop computer and strictly rely on their smartphone to access the Internet. To marketers, this represents a seismic shift in how to effectively target minority groups online.

African-Americans and Hispanics are also much more likely to make mobile purchases than their white counterparts, which puts even more pressure on marketers to ensure that their e-commerce sites are mobile-friendly and easily accessible to a variety of cultures. That may mean making sure your messaging is available in multiple languages or ensuring that the creative used in your campaign is sensitive to other cultures.

Pepsi learned this lesson the hard way when they realized that their new slogan, “Come Alive With Pepsi” translated to “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave” in Chinese.

As the popularity of mobile marketing increases, professionals should know that they are speaking to an increasingly diverse audience and that the same messaging that was effective before, may not play out as well a few years down the line.

Virtual Reality Advertising Is Virtually A Reality

In the minds of marketers all over the world, digital advertising seems confined to two spaces: desktop and mobile. However, these same marketers realize that more and more consumers are becoming numb to seeing banner ads, annoyed by pop ups and disinterested by video. The same can be said about many of the current advertising mediums that exist. Marketers have long been searching for the next frontier of advertising and may have found it in the form of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).

Last year, Facebook made waves in the advertising world after purchasing VR startup, Oculus, for a cool $2 billion. After the news was official, the floodgates opened and big-hitters such as Google, Apple and Coca-Cola quickly made exploratory investments into VR advertising. These companies realized that VR presented the next level of engaging content by making their messaging fully immersive.

Coca-Cola provided a great example of how branded content can be taken to the next level by implementing VR technology, when they utilized it during the World Cup, with the Coke World Cup Experience.

VR technology provides several real-world advantages for marketers:

Fully engage the target consumer, without having to worry about competing messages

John McCrea, CMO of Media Spike, saw first-hand the potential that lay in VR advertising after doing a demo campaign for “Despicable Me 2” on the Oculus platform.

“Integration of brands into this new medium will create some of the most compelling and effective digital advertising ever, because it will be immersive and experiential,” McCrea wrote on his website after detailing the campaign’s capabilities.

Below are images from the demo that illustrate how brand content can take form in the virtual world, ranging from flat, banner-like ads on “billboards” to video spots shown on the virtual town’s “movie theater” and even an example of a higher-end ad such as the branded blimp.

Message reach can be accurately tracked

Instead of wondering whether consumers are paying any attention to that display ad or if your video ads are greeting distracted viewers, VR allows marketers a sense of relief by knowing that in order for a user to avoid ads, they would physically have to remove the headset and disrupt their whole AR experience.

Next-level consumer data analytics

In virtual world, marketers can track exactly what a user is looking at, where a user is looking and for how long the consumer is looking. Being able to have access to detailed eye tracking data will help in the advancement of virtual advertising and potentially bring valuable insight to other digital advertising platforms

Final Thoughts

The fully immersive nature of VR advertising adds a whole new dimension to digital marketing. Not only will the technology help brands stand out but it will also help advertising shed the “nuisance” tag it sometimes receives by allowing content to feel naturally engaging and emotional. As more and more consumers grow disoriented from normal digital advertising tactics, it would be of no surprise to see brands implement VR software to take their content to the next level.