THE TRENDS REPORTFebruary 2015

Proudly brought to you by NATIVE VML

A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF TRENDS IN MARKETING, STORYTELLING AND DIGITAL CULTURE LOCALLY AND ABROAD.

AUGMENTATION

Fan engagement of

the future.As devices begin to perceive and process

information like humans, a new world of

possibility opens for brands to engage with

audiences. Robotic and haptic technology

now deliver tactile experiences to connect

people, and brands.

Wearable Tech that bring fans closer to the action.

Foxtel’s ‘Alert Shirt’ uses wearable technology to collect real time data that enables fans to feel what the

players experience during the game.

READ MORE

Re-imagining the

musical experience.The power of virtual reality technology

promises to disrupt various industries. The

ability to enhance the sense of presence

makes it an exciting medium for live action

musical concerts.

Multi-sensory concerts through virtual

reality.

Acclaimed Director, Chris Milk, launched his

latest project - Hello, Again , which uses

Oculus Rift to create one of the most

interactive concert experiences yet. Building a

spherical, rotating stage for musician Beck,

‘Album of the Year’ winner at 2015 Grammy’s,

to perform on. The concert was filmed using a

specialised 360° camera and audio rig for

recording spherical video and binaural audio

from multiple points.

READ MORE

Virtual reality penetrating the mass market.

The Paul McCartney / Google cardboard app,

is a fully immersive virtual reality playback of

the former Beatles' performance of Live and

Let Die. The app allows viewers to watch the

show from various perspectives be it from the

audience, backstage or right next to the artist.

READ MORE

INNOVATION

Healthcare is increasingly moving away from

being reactive and episodic to becoming pre-

emptive and preventative, thereby

empowering consumers to manage and

monitor their own health.

Healthcare in your

hands.

Smart pen checks if you’re getting enough vitamins.

Vitastiq is a handheld device that combines data and the benefits of acupuncture, to allow

anyone to track their bodies’ vitamin and mineral levels.

READ MORE

Beyond monitoring, the future of

wearables.

Thync has positioned itself at the

intersection of neuroscience and consumer

technology. Through neurosignaling the

device allows users to alter their mood.

Solutions like this pave the way for treating

chronic behavioural conditions, including

sleep disorders, stress and depression

without the unwanted side effects of

prescription drugs.

READ MORE

Until now, ecommerce has lacked instant

gratification. The challenge remains to

continually shorten the delivery process. The

future of online retail lies in utilising existing

data to determine future consumer purchases

to appropriately cater to even the most

specific of needs.

Pro-active

ecommerce

experiences.

Having been awarded an anticipatory shipping

patent, Amazon has since launched the Prime

Now app. Customers can make purchases

and complete orders based on an hourly-

based delivery system.

The Confirmed app by Adidas allows sneaker

fans to wait in a virtual line for coveted limited

edition shoes. Users are sent push

notifications of special offers specific to their

geographic zone.

MOBILE, DATA AND SOCIAL

The obsession around the need to measure

and quantify continues to grow. The

functionalities of wearables are allowing

people to tap into their most personal habits,

and potentially transform even the most basic

social interactions.

The quantification of

everything.

Understanding employee activity with real-time data.

The Sociometric Badge is a wearable device capable of measuring the amount of face-to-face interaction,

conversational and physical activity using signals from vocal features & body motion. It allows

organisations to measure individual and collective behaviour patterns.

READ MORE

While mainstream wearables tend to track

and monitor our general health and well-

being, the Pplkpr app quantifies

relationships. Combining the measurements

of a user's biometric data with their social

interactions, the app manages, optimises

and then filters their social relations.

READ MORE

Today’s consumers transact online assuming

a high level of trust and transparency, but

major hacking incidents in 2014, have brought

data security and privacy concerns to the fore.

As consumers demand more personalised

experiences, the current systems are unable

to deliver on their expectations of privacy.

The expectations of

privacy.

Providing peace of mind with a single online verification tool

ThisIsMe helps distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent users. Linking users’ banking and social

accounts, the platform provides a third party validation for all future transactions.

READ MORE

By 2020, the amount of digital information in

existence will have grown from 3.2 zettabytes

today to 40 zettabytes. With every like, click,

photo share, blog post and transaction,

consumers are provided compelling insights

into who they are. Yet despite the intrinsic

value of user-generated content, established

users are not receiving value for what they are

creating.

Examining social

media value.

Connecting content creators with brands.

Consumers, particularly Millennials, are

increasingly starting to think of themselves

as brands, curating their online image and

monetising it through social media and

micro-retail platforms. Tumblr announced the

Creatrs network, which connects artists to

content platforms and advertisers.

READ MORE

MARKETING AT THE SPEED OF CULTURE

In our ever-changing digital culture, there is a

growing demand for brands to be braver.

Integrating low-risk, playful experimentation

and exploration into campaign strategies can

enhance the brand vision, while creating

meaningful and exciting consumer

experiences.

Playful marketing.

The Ice Bucket Challenge inspired people

to raise awareness of ALS by creating

compelling content around a fairly simple

concept; dunking yourself with a bucket of

ice water, then nominating friends and

family via social media to keep the cycle

going.

Combine the thrill of a simple challenge and

the emotional resonance of a deserving

cause and you have a campaign that will be

hard to replicate, proving just how powerful

earned media can be.

READ MORE

IKEA prides itself in being an innovative brand

that is able to identify opportunity in unusual

places. Using Instagram to build their web

based catalogue, IKEA PS 2014, IKEA

created an account that functions much like a

website, using the tagging feature to link

products.

Something

hacking

IKEA

READ MORE

Society is experiencing fundamental cultural

shifts due to the speed of change and

technological innovation. Consumers now

have a growing appetite for new experiences,

not new products. Winning marketing

strategies need to create carefully crafted,

personal and immersive experiences.

Experiences over

products.

Connecting with consumers at the

greatest moment of impact.

Special digital editions of James Patterson’s

novel, Private Vegas gave readers 24 hours

to finish, before it disappeared. Readers

were able to see hours wind down and

simultaneously steal time from other readers

through social media.

Similarly the Magnum Pleasure pop-up

store in Johannesburg and Cape Town

allowed customers to design their own

perfect Magnum ice-cream.

STORYTELLING

Stories are a powerful and dynamic force,

justifying the status quo or acting as a catalyst

for change. For consumers demanding more

honesty from brands, the notion of brand

purpose is hugely important. Brands are

increasingly initiating the hard conversations

about our realities and moving towards

genuine storytelling.

Brand honesty.

With millions of views worldwide, the Like a

Girl video from Always is changing

perceptions of what it means to be a girl.

Further illustrating P&G’s commitment to

female positive brands.

A candid Instagram post of fathers braiding

their children’s hair turned a gay black couple

into an internet sensation and the stars of

Nikon’s IAMGENERATION IMAGE campaign.

And while these campaigns might not be the

most original, they provide a much needed

platform to widen the spectrum of

representation in mainstream media.

Increasingly, all entertainment is becoming

grassroots-led and putting consumers centre

stage. The power of virtual reality allows story

makers and marketers alike, to engage

audiences through captivating, first person

interactions and narratives.

Virtual reality meets

storytelling.

Bridging the gap between art, technology

and storytelling.

Facebook-owned Oculus VR is expanding

beyond gaming and setting up the Studio

Story division, dedicated to virtual reality

filmmaking.

In trying to overcome the problems associated

with oil fields in deep waters, GE (General

Electric) and Oculus Rift partnered to create a

3D virtual exhibit of an oil factory on a seabed.

The headsets mimic GE's subsea oil

technology, that collects and discovers gas

and oil deposits in the ocean.

READ MORE

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