I remember when this scene from Minority Report generated some visceral reactions from the marketing commmunity. Some of us thought what a clever idea, why haven't we been able to do that yet? And then, some of us recoiled in horror at the invasion of privacy and realization that maybe consumers might not want brands to be on a first-name basis. However one might feel, the science fiction of the film is fast coming true, right now, with the arrival of the Outernet.
The first real marketing application of the outernet might have been called "proximity marketing". In the early 2000s, it was the localised wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place, commonly through bluetooth-enabled phones. First, it was BIG in Japan, but bluetooth marketing gained steady traction before stalling. Lots of factors stalled proximity marketing, mobile device penetration rates, low Bluetooth adoption, and brands really weren't ready to move budget from national mass marketing to highly-local mobile marketing. Bluetooth marketing is finally doing better in markets where mobile phone penetration is higher than computer penetration, in third-world countries.
Today, however, digital, direct marketing, social media, and mobile marketing are speeding toward convergence. Ushered in by the iPhone, Android, and to a lesser extent Garmin and the automakers, brands now have the ability to know where we are (or at least the early adopters) in order to target us. They know because we tell them whenever we do an online search from our mobile, or ask for directions through our car, or update our location via Tripit, or use an AR app to find the subway. At least, they have the option to know. The interactions we have online identify and in some cases predict what we'll like and buy (Adwords, SEO), based on real-time, real-place data, and perhaps most importantly, who we associate with. Think of it as a multi-dimensional view of you based on the information you provide through your social graph and online activity.
Specifically, the dimensions are:
- Who you are (your social profile)
- What you do (your perceivable actions on a networked device)
- When you do stuff (your schedule, real-time or virtual)
- Where you do stuff (your location, physical or virtual)
- Who you do stuff with (your social graph)
- What you intend to do (your plans, intentional or not)
Not quite an avatar, but maybe a doppleganger or a digital ghost, it is this multi-dimensional view of you that brands will soon be observing, monitoring, analyzing, and designing for, to better be able to influence you. I call this next iteration of proximity marketing, "Proximity Influence."
What is "Proximity Influence"?
Influence is the power to persuade others to think, do or feel something, either intentionally (retweeting), or unintentionally (mob behavior). Therefore, Proximity Influence is the power to persuade based on where you are (both real and virtually). More specifically, Proximity Influencing is the distribution of persuasive content based on making predictions about you from multiple dimensions of activity in a networked world.
Hence, experiences would be designed by predicting based on multiple dimensions of activity (physically and in one's social graph) will move people to act. That act could be a purchase, comment, recommendation, etc. Proximity Influence takes into account that the real channel here isn't the technology, its not the AR or the mobile platform or the rich text banner or even your fanpage--its you. The consumer becomes the channel--moving through the world encountering, absorbing, and projecting influence.
Three major technologies that will drive this new type of influence in the Outernet include optical recognition and networked devices, but also:
1) the evolution of the semantic or predictive web's ability to intuit our intentions through digital interactions (Facebook events, Meetup)
2) the ability of AR to layer information on top of real things and places through GPS-enabled platforms (mobile/outernet devices)
3) real-time intel from our social graphs that will provide relevance and context
We talk about online influence largely in relation to viral video and marketing, social media--the way in which influence spreads through social networks online via tools like status updates, sharing, embedding, inviting, befriending--driven by the human need to connect and cooperate (remember, being social was our strategy to survive as a species--we're hardwired for this). However, its the predictive analysis of one's social graphs combined with AR tools on networked devices that will close the circle on "Proximity Influence" I believe and truly re-invent proximity marketing.
As I begin to explore this new level of influence, I'm aware that it entangles a number of tough issues like, ethics, privacy, measurement, design, and so forth. Yet, surely, I'm not alone in realizing that this is a tremendous opportunity to transform mass market advertising in a real big way. In coming posts, I'll be hypothesizing about how we as marketers, influencers and technologists will tackle the coming age of convergence. I will be sharing observations, cases and examples, and conversations with people in the many fields that concern Proximity Influence and sharing them with you. Most importantly, I'll be thinking about the applications and proposing how we can use Proximity Influence in an effective, yet responsible manner--so we can make the future seem, not so bad.
The first real marketing application of the outernet might have been called "proximity marketing". In the early 2000s, it was the localised wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place, commonly through bluetooth-enabled phones. First, it was BIG in Japan, but bluetooth marketing gained steady traction before stalling. Lots of factors stalled proximity marketing, mobile device penetration rates, low Bluetooth adoption, and brands really weren't ready to move budget from national mass marketing to highly-local mobile marketing. Bluetooth marketing is finally doing better in markets where mobile phone penetration is higher than computer penetration, in third-world countries.
Today, however, digital, direct marketing, social media, and mobile marketing are speeding toward convergence. Ushered in by the iPhone, Android, and to a lesser extent Garmin and the automakers, brands now have the ability to know where we are (or at least the early adopters) in order to target us. They know because we tell them whenever we do an online search from our mobile, or ask for directions through our car, or update our location via Tripit, or use an AR app to find the subway. At least, they have the option to know. The interactions we have online identify and in some cases predict what we'll like and buy (Adwords, SEO), based on real-time, real-place data, and perhaps most importantly, who we associate with. Think of it as a multi-dimensional view of you based on the information you provide through your social graph and online activity.
Specifically, the dimensions are:
- Who you are (your social profile)
- What you do (your perceivable actions on a networked device)
- When you do stuff (your schedule, real-time or virtual)
- Where you do stuff (your location, physical or virtual)
- Who you do stuff with (your social graph)
- What you intend to do (your plans, intentional or not)
Not quite an avatar, but maybe a doppleganger or a digital ghost, it is this multi-dimensional view of you that brands will soon be observing, monitoring, analyzing, and designing for, to better be able to influence you. I call this next iteration of proximity marketing, "Proximity Influence."
What is "Proximity Influence"?
Influence is the power to persuade others to think, do or feel something, either intentionally (retweeting), or unintentionally (mob behavior). Therefore, Proximity Influence is the power to persuade based on where you are (both real and virtually). More specifically, Proximity Influencing is the distribution of persuasive content based on making predictions about you from multiple dimensions of activity in a networked world.
Hence, experiences would be designed by predicting based on multiple dimensions of activity (physically and in one's social graph) will move people to act. That act could be a purchase, comment, recommendation, etc. Proximity Influence takes into account that the real channel here isn't the technology, its not the AR or the mobile platform or the rich text banner or even your fanpage--its you. The consumer becomes the channel--moving through the world encountering, absorbing, and projecting influence.
Three major technologies that will drive this new type of influence in the Outernet include optical recognition and networked devices, but also:
1) the evolution of the semantic or predictive web's ability to intuit our intentions through digital interactions (Facebook events, Meetup)
2) the ability of AR to layer information on top of real things and places through GPS-enabled platforms (mobile/outernet devices)
3) real-time intel from our social graphs that will provide relevance and context
We talk about online influence largely in relation to viral video and marketing, social media--the way in which influence spreads through social networks online via tools like status updates, sharing, embedding, inviting, befriending--driven by the human need to connect and cooperate (remember, being social was our strategy to survive as a species--we're hardwired for this). However, its the predictive analysis of one's social graphs combined with AR tools on networked devices that will close the circle on "Proximity Influence" I believe and truly re-invent proximity marketing.
As I begin to explore this new level of influence, I'm aware that it entangles a number of tough issues like, ethics, privacy, measurement, design, and so forth. Yet, surely, I'm not alone in realizing that this is a tremendous opportunity to transform mass market advertising in a real big way. In coming posts, I'll be hypothesizing about how we as marketers, influencers and technologists will tackle the coming age of convergence. I will be sharing observations, cases and examples, and conversations with people in the many fields that concern Proximity Influence and sharing them with you. Most importantly, I'll be thinking about the applications and proposing how we can use Proximity Influence in an effective, yet responsible manner--so we can make the future seem, not so bad.
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