Read About: digital

Is the future of education free?

Two Stanford professors innovate the field

Stanford University has often played a significant role in crafting the technological landscape of the 21st century.  With alumni founding companies such as Google, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Netflix, seeing innovative ideas coming from within the 121-year-old university is nothing new. Yet, perhaps most innovative is the role they’re playing in changing the face of education itself.

Two Stanford computer scientists have initiated a seismic shift in traditional higher education through the creation of Coursera, “a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free.” Coursera offers massive open online courses, or MOOCs. This kind of free education may sound like a dream to many, especially those in places where it is difficult to gain access to advanced learning. But the dream is being realized, and in a big way. …Continue reading

To sell or not to sell…

The all-digital marketplace ReDigi has launched a “cyber version of a used record store,” allowing users to sell the songs from their hard drive they no longer wish to own and listen to. The service has insured against authenticity issues of its merchandise through validation software that dissects songs to uncover their originating location, transfers the music without making an illegal copy and flags users who fail to delete their own file after sale.

Despite its offer of an alternative to illegal downloading, ReDigi’s service model opens up a debate about ownership vs. licensing when selling goods. As more and more of our content moves to a digital format – music, movies, books and more – can the concept of resale that’s worked so well in physical storefronts be effectively replicated and adopted online? Why shouldn’t I be able to receive some money back when selling a copy of a book I read on my iPad? Just as Amazon and eBay were game-changers for marketplace transactions of physical goods, it will be interesting to track how these secondary digital storefronts will evolve and change our expectations around the way we purchase and consume digital, as well as how companies restructure their offers to keep us locked-in.

Is Your Brand Strapped for Social “Cash”?

 

Believe it or not, a successful bank robber might have more in common with your company’s social media strategy than you think. Both are fabled to result in fast gains that will set you apart from your competitors – But without a long term plan, you’re probably not walking away with much.

Significance, the magazine published by The Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association published a study after leading economists gained rare access to data provided by the British Bankers’ Association. With this unique opportunity, the scientists investigated an oft-unexplored economic phenomenon: The robbery of English banks. Their findings revealed some very interesting discoveries; chief amongst them was the mediocre gains achieved by successful bank robbers.

According to the study, the average take in a British heist per person, per robbery was only £12,706.60, or the equivalent to six months average wage in the UK.

Taking several factors into consideration – the number of robbers, the presence of weaponry in the crime, the total amount lost by the bank – the study was conclusive in its findings: Robbing banks in England is a pretty poor career move.

These findings fly in the face of the smash and grab, get-rich-quick perception that has long been attached to bank heists. Perhaps it’s the cultural allure of crime; that unfamiliar, exotic, larger than life feeling that convince us the gains are worth the risk. Perhaps it’s the romanticizing of Dillinger or Hollywood’s Clive Owen. Either way, criminals are working very hard for very little.

So why should you care? Because your company might be doing the exact same thing.

…Continue reading

Getting Apps Right: How Domino’s is Beating the Odds

For a few years now, the shiniest new toy in the digital marketplace has been the mobile app.

The proliferation has been amazing: The 1-millionth app went live as 2011 came to a close, and the pace has continued through 2012. The trend, Mobilewalla told the New York Times, has been 15,000 mobile app releases per week.

Everyone wants to get a piece of this pie. And why not? How can you argue with the huge consumer franchise Zynga has created with its With Friends games (Words, Scramble, Hanging, etc.)? Or Rovio’s Angry Birds? Or the way Flipboard has revolutionized mobile publishing? …Continue reading

Don’t Just Do it – Do It Right

image via The Boston Celtics Instagram

It is no big news: Social networking is anywhere and everywhere, and brands are all about being on top of their game when it comes to using digital touchpoints to connect with consumers. But while the hype used to be about Facebook “likes” and Twitter “followers,” the trend is now skewing toward launching mobile apps and using existing ones to create impactful touchpoints.

Business Insider has published a list of nice examples of how some brands are using the super popular photo app Instagram. My favorites are the Boston Bruins & Celtics – for using the app to create a personal connection and for the app’s accessibility. The Tiffany & Co. example also feels on brand, but slightly copied from Burberry’s “The Art of Trench” campaign.

“Marketing” Makes Apps

 

image via Flickr user AxsDeny

This is an interesting article discussing marketing needs behind launching new apps. While distribution (as in “P”-place) is part of marketing, this really seems like it’s a heavy distribution strategy devoid of any customer-based marketing. I suppose it’s hard to build a brand for each of these apps.

It strikes me as a potential opportunity to draw on lessons from The Coca-Cola Company, which was long-heralded as a great marketing company. In actuality, they really had a strong distribution system to leverage. Now that the company has evolved to understand their customers and their consumers, Coca-Cola truly is more of a marketing-driven organization.

Location, Location, Location

 Getting QR codes right (or wrong)

Peapod, the online grocery shopping and delivery company, is testing a QR code enabled shopping experience in Chicago. This image was taken at a CTA Red Line stop.

Location. Location. Location.

In theory I think this is a good idea; however, they completely messed up the location. This spot here is a narrow hallway leading down to some steps where you eventually get to the trains. Anyone with sense knows that between 4:30-6pm (when the ads say you should be shopping “on your way home”) this hallway is a madhouse, and it takes everything in your power to not get trampled! What makes them think people are going to stop in the middle of a stampede to try and snap a code for Huggies?

A much better idea would have been setting this up on the train platform, when you actually have some idle time to breathe/think/buy.

A co-branded touchpoint, with a twist

While visiting my local Walmart, I noticed this (yet-to-be-activated) touchpoint, co-branded for P&G and Walmart, with Facebook activation. Basically, the consumer will “check in” at “Freebie at Walmart” on Facebook and receive a free sample of a P&G product.

It’s an interesting way to get product samples out, track who is actually taking them, encourage people to check-in at Walmart, and continue to link Facebook to the physical world.

Of course, if information is a currency of sorts, the sample isn’t really “free”…

Tumblin’ and Telling Stories

image via TechCrunch

Microblogging platform Tumblr has a unique spin on advertising that may incentivize brand participation without disrupting existing user experiences. Founder David Karp envisions Tumblr as a place for brands to “tell stories that create intent on the part of consumers” – rather than placing a branded advertisement within the user’s content, companies have the opportunity to differentiate their brand through telling more meaningful, relevant stories in the blog space and engaging with consumers in a less distracting way.

Taking this idea of consumer empowerment to the next level, there is even room for brand advocates to relay these stories and help others learn more about the company, its products and services, and its brand ideals. This idea is definitely the opposite approach of AmEx’s successful Twitter Sync campaign, but an interesting exploration of another facet of digital user behavior and engagement in a content-creation platform.

For more on Karp’s vision for Tumblr, click here.