Tag: SXSW 2015

SXSW 2015: Fingerprints and Intimacy

Posted on by Lab Team

As technology becomes more personal, brands are looking for new and smarter ways to connect with consumers. Apple’s new Touch ID is an example: instead of dealing with the highly encrypted and intricate process behind its secure mobile transactions, the consumer sees only a thumbprint enabling a purchase. In fact, the experience goes beyond personal—it’s essentially intimate.

During a short discussion at SXSW, though, Dustin Kirkland from Canonical proposed a new mindset: the fingerprint should not function as a password. It isn’t secret, and if it gets compromised, there’s no changing it. Kirkland thinks since biometrics are fixed, they should function as usernames. In that sense, Apple’s Touch ID is only activated by a thumbprint, not unlocked by it. The real unlocking occurs behind the scenes, and the magic is that there’s no way to tell the difference.

Far from being an arcane security matter, marketers should pay attention because identity is at the root of the consumer experience. Magical experiences only happen when tech is smart enough to get intimate.

SXSW 2015: How Do Brands Stand Out?

Posted on by Lab Team

One of the most pressing concerns at this year’s SXSWi was how brands can distinguish themselves in the mind of the consumer, especially in an increasingly commoditized marketplace. “The retailers in the best position are those that bring values in ways other than just inventory,” Ben Kaufman of Quirky noted. We’ve seen a few predictions at SXSW about how brands will modify their approach:

Personalization “if you’re a vegetarian, we shouldn’t be sending you coupons for a Baconator,” says Wendy’s Brian Kirby. The advantage of mobile payments and digital loyalty programs is better consumer data. The consumer experience can now be scalably personal.

Value At a panel on native advertising, Nikhil Sethi from Adaptly pushed toward a future of “pull.” “There is no ‘native’ anymore,” he says. “It’s about brands building content for consumers.” If the value proposition for a brand experience needs to be established early and often, consumers will seek it out.

Efficiency The panel observed that rather than inventory, the real scarcity was attention. So the challenge isn’t to create more, but rather better, content in order to capture that finite attention. The line between creative agency and publisher is blurring, so each actor needs to take on multiple roles. Maybe, the panel thought, native programmatic could become a reality — though Sethi found that “idealistic.” For now, it’s about efficiency.

 

SXSW 2015: The Consumer Experience 2.0

Posted on by Lab Team

SXSWi 2015 is underway, and the Lab kicked off the conference with panels from sports owners and marketing directors. So far, we’ve noticed the conversation focusing on the consumer experience.  Sports teams and retailers both rely on truly intimate experiences to define both brands and bottom lines. Watching sports on television and buying shoes online are great, but physical presence can truly elevate the experience.

For instance, Major League Soccer is positioning itself as the premier sport for tech-savvy millennials, yet its live attendance far outstrips broadcast audience. Think about that: while NBA and NFL are looking into virtual reality to bring couches into the game, American soccer is pumping up the fans in the stands. Teams are dedicated to tech — not, says Seattle Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer, “just for the sake of investing in tech,” but because the future of the stadium is the future of their businesses. Sporting Kansas City is tech-positive, starting an entire business called Sporting Innovations, which is devoted to connected sports. The team has invested in WiFi throughout the stadium (built in 2011 as a tech-friendly sports venue), has created a real-time mobile engagement platform, and encourages social interaction during the game. And with WiFi comes data. “There’s about a terabyte of info across wifi over 90 minutes,” explained Heineman.”

Meanwhile, retailer Alex and Ani is pursuing its connected strategy with an emphasis on experience. The jewelry brand’s in-store sales volume is massive, but each store has a relatively small footprint, meaning “[their] biggest problem is lines,” noted VP of Digital Ryan Bonafacino. Helping the consumer interact outside of human associates is an ideal way to streamline the in-store experience.

But in-store innovation extends beyond just the consumer: Lowe’s distributes an app for its associates that, in the words of Digital Experience and Omnichannel head Sean Bartlett, “has the same requirements and rigor as the consumer-facing app.” Real-time inventory, ecommerce and consumer engagement are integral parts of the sales environment, and are helping to create a more intimate experience between consumers and their purchases.

SXSW 2015: Value Exchange In A Data-Rich World

Posted on by Lab Team

Data exchange is a necessary part of the consumer experience, and can come with its attendant risks. But some brands don’t consider the proposition an “either/or” when it comes to respecting consumer privacy.

“When it comes to in-store,” says Dan Gutwein, head of the retail analytics department within Intel’s IoT business, “you can get a lot of data without invading privacy.” His data tools track products, not people. A product, he says, “has no privacy issues or rights. If I can track it, I can understand activity in a store without invading personal privacy.”

But at some point, retailers will want extract data from consumers. Ryan Bonafacino, the VP of Digital at Alex and Ani, is adamant about keeping the exchange transparent, consumer-focused, and value-added. The jewelry retailer collects a great deal of consumer data, but separates identifiable information (name, address, and the like) from actionable business data (device IDs, cookies, in-store activity). In fact, at scale, anonymized data is just better for retailers to work with.

Alex and Ani is treating data privacy as a facet of retention. “We’re doing it for the consumer as opposed to running math,” Bonafacino says. The brand understands that supporting its current clientele is more important than maximizing databases—even when the decision is total opt-out.