Augmented Reality and the Selling Cycle: Samsung Series 7 LCD

This week imediaconnection featured the 4 most interesting augmented reality apps. All evoked “neat!” but one is remarkable because it addresses a real consumer barrier in the selling cycle, and should ultimately drive sales.

Ever wandered the LCD aisle wondering “how large a TV do I really need?” and “will this really fit?” To launch the Samsung series 7 LCD TV, Samsung developed an application that allows consumers to visualize the television in the room they plan to place it. Here’s the video on how it works:

Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to find the actual application on the Samsung website or through search! Any information on the developer and location would be greatly appreciated. What do you think the most useful uses of AR are?

Viral Loops: From Tupperware to Ning and Beyond

In early October Adam Penenberg’s new book will be released Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter How Today’s Smartest Businesses Growth Themselves. While I’m a bit envious that he’s published a book on a topic that has been the subject of so many of my conversations with entrepreneurs in the past year, he first covered the topic in April 2008 for Fast Company in an astute article on the growth of Ning.

While I haven’t read an early preview of the book, here’s why I’m excited. In my conversations with CEOs of companies that sell both virtual and physical products, tough times have created a very basic need to get close to their customers, to develop exceptional products that deliver true value, so consumers are willing to part with their declining discretionary income. The exuberance of astronomical valuations is gone, and leaders are more likely to be out in the field building business rather than in the corner office. Build a fantastic product that delights someone, and that person is likely to recommend it to a friend. What is viral, fundamentally? It is something that is passed along, exponentially, so that one person tells two people, who each tell two more, etc. It’s a process as old as fire itself, elegantly accelerated by the internet.

As Marc Andreesen states in Fast Company’s feature on Ning, “a viral loop is something that incorporates virality into the function of the product.” If you haven’t heard of Ning, the most familiar illustrative example today is Facebook, where the product only has value if you invite others to join you, then those who have joined from your invitation create their own networks by inviting more of their friends. A virtuous cycle of growth. Tupperware and Avon are examples in the physical world, where one purchases the products from a friend or acquaintance at an event, yet also has the opportunity to become a rep and sell the items to their own networks.

What’s missing from this discussion of viral loops? While most discussion to date has focused on the growth mechanism of these networks, few have articulated the benefits consumers receive from being part of them. The Tupperware parties of the 60’s and 70’s weren’t just about creating financial independence among housewives, the events built and supported social relationships and connection, and fostered esteem as reps were engaged in new work. All of these psychological benefits are components of happiness and well-being, according to icons like Maslow and respected psychologist Diener. Suddenly passing along Smirnoff’s Tea Party video doesn’t seem so trivial.

How can companies that create physical goods, such as beverages or books, capitalize on the virtuous circle know as viral loops? While I don’t have all the answers, I’ll suggest it’s not just about the utility and connection between a consumer and a product, but the psychological benefits and rewards in sharing insight, expertise, and being connected within their social circle. While a bottle of Bailey’s doesn’t come with a “pass along” button, enabling a night of Bailey’s tasting parties in homes with new cocktail recipes creates an opportunity for connection, sharing, and memories among friends.

What do you think of viral loops?

From the Pages of Fiction: Augmented Reality Hits the Market

In his 2007 novel Spook Country, William Gibson envisioned a word where virtual art installations were suspended in the real world using GPS coordinates, visible only to those wearing special goggles. Massive astral sculptures loomed in warehouses and recreations of celebrity murders stood on the streets of LA. Today augmented reality (AR) for the masses became a reality thanks to the iPhone and the Paris Metro App: check out the Fast Company article here.

Paris Metro Appliation, from Fast Company

For the uninitiated, augmented reality is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a real-world environment whose elements are supplemented with or augmented by computer-generated imagery. The most familiar example for US audiences is the first down symbol that appears in television broadcasts of football (Wikipedia). The new iPhone application allows users to peer through their camera screen at the surrounding neighborhood and directions to the nearest Paris Metro stop hover like beacons over the landscape.

Early adopters of technology include automakers launching new cars and publishers seeking new and better advertising vehicles. The June 2009 issue of Popular Science featured a cover highlighting GE wind technology that became 3-D and animated when held up to a webcam, using software by Metaio. Here’s a quick profile by Mediapost.

What’s next in AR? Surely retail businesses that depend of foot traffic will jump onboard (Find my Starbucks apps? McDonalds?) How long until personal navigators, worn individually, will replace my Garmin GPS? Will visions of my renovated home stand optimistically on the spot of my fixer-upper? The applications seem limitless. How would you augment your reality? Leave a comment below.

If you’re working in augmented reality, drop me a note!

Job Opening or Savvy Marketing Campaign?

Image from The Best Job in the World Campaign

On May 5th, amid a flurry of press coverage a 34 year-old British man won “the best job in the world”: the opportunity to live on a small island off Australia and get paid to feed the fish and blog about the experience. In June the masterminds behind the dream job campaign, Australian agency CumminsNitro, scooped up three Grand Prix Lion awards for direct, PR, and interactive results that drove awareness of the islands off the Great Barrier Reef for the Queensland Tourism Bureau. The stats are quite stunning: 36,600 entries from aspirational experience-seekers around the globe, an estimated $100M in press coverage in 8 target countries, and nearly 7M visits to the website islandreefjob.com.

The campaign kicked off with job listings in print classifieds and on sites such as monster.com and glossy printed and interactive kits to press in the target countries. In a climate of job loss and dire news, the story spread like wildfire among hungry news outlets: “Looking for a job? You may want to consider a move to Australia!” And the imagination of the target audience was piqued, dreaming of a paid year spent on white sandy beaches. While the contest is over, the engagement continues with weekly blog posts by the new “island caretaker” that are punctuated by captivating video and flickr streams. Ultimately the measure of any successful tourism campaign is traffic to the destination, and Fast Company reports that Australian air carrier Virgin Blue launched a new flight to the featured island to keep pace with demand.

This spring a small winery in Sonoma County named Murphy-Goode launched a contest targeted at another genre of dream job seeker: “Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent.” For six months the lucky winner will: “report on the cool lifestyle of Sonoma County Wine Country and, of course, tell people what you’re learning about winemaking” using social media. Like the island campaign, applicants are required to submit a 60 second video application, and entries have flooded the web. In fact, when googling Murphy Goode hundreds of applicant sites appear, including uber-enthusiastic entrants who have purchased url variations of the company’s brand name to host their videos. (A quality problem?) The campaign took off on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter and a winner will be announced on the site areallygoodjob.com on July 21st.

A few thoughts on why these campaigns will ultimately drive revenue:

Customers not just influencers. The concept drove discussion among groups most likely to be prospective customers. Not generic, faceless groups we so often call “bloggers” and “twitterers” to drive coverage (although the target obviously engaged in both) but well-defined groups of prospective island visitors (“global experience seekers”) and wine drinkers/aficianados who are likely to be purchase the products as well as influence friends.
Brand engagement was built into the contest. How many of us wish our customers spent time pouring over our websites and pondering why our brands were perfect for them? Entrants were required to engage with the companies/brands to create video entries. To improve their chances of winning, they researched the island and winery and spent time creating a pitch on why they would be a perfect fit. After entering, they were well-educated consumers who were likely to think positively about the brand they just invested several hours in. The long duration of the contests (3 months) also assured entrants were likely to think about the brand, imagine winning, and tell their friends as they waited for the final result.
The concept struck a powerful chord due to cultural trends. The best marketing campaigns resonate powerfully because they connect with the cultural psyche at a moment in time. During the internet boom of the late 90’s, a job on an island or winery may not have driven incredible press coverage while twenty-somethings became paper millionaires after their companies went public. However in a time of record unemployment and financial uncertainty, a “paid dream job” captured our imagination in a way a “year-long dream vacation” could not.

Come across another job-opening as marketing campaign? Think the trend will continue? Add a comment below.