Hello and welcome to this week’s OMD FWD. It’s a special week for the iPhone as it celebrates its 10th anniversary- Happy Birthday iPhone! On this milestone, here are 10 charts that show how the iPhone changed the world. Facebook is the talk of the town this week, starting with the debut of a new measurement tool to provide more transparency to advertisers in the hope of gaining their trust. The social media giant has also managed to find a way to identify spam and false articles in users’ feeds and will implement a new algorithm to cut them down. With the holiday season also upon us, you can now socialise whilst scuba diving. Royal Caribbean has launched a new snorkelling mask with built-in Snapchat Spectacles. With most people going on holiday to relax and take a break from technology it will be interesting to see if this is truly embraced.
As always, please share anything interesting you see via #OMDFWD.
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
COOL
DEEP READS
Please share anything you find interesting on the hashtag #OMDFWD
Staying on-trend
Aside from struggling with early mornings, wrestling with public transport (or the lack thereof), and re-acquainting yourself with your gym trainers, you may have spent some of your first working week of 2017 skimming through the shiny, new tech trends for the coming year. But
perhaps, like me, you had a slight feeling of déjà vu. Didn’t I read these last year? Virtual Reality; Augmented Reality; artificial intelligence; social video; messaging; a new term for instant gratification; some other new term for streaming content. All in all, all the same.
Well, firstly I commend the experts for sticking to these themes, rather than conjuring up something that isn’t there for the sake of saying something new. Many of these trends are vast in scope and have a long way to go, in terms of both the technology improving and brands
experimenting with them.
Secondly, isn’t it a bit of continuity comforting after a year of unexpected change in 2016? (Of course, the political changes decided upon in 2016 are actually to come in 2017, but let’s suspend disbelief for the sake of a bit of New Year things-have-to-be-better-this-year-just-cos-they-do optimism.)
Some trendsetters have called the coming year one of ‘incremental change’. Others say that it’s the obvious consequence of the Gartner Hype Cycle. Both valid points. To bring back a 2009 phrase (sorry, so passé) – ‘everything’s now in beta’. The world’s biggest tech companies (many
of which are now the world’s biggest companies full-stop) continue to release products into the market that are far from the finished article. Many of them don’t have a ‘killer use case’ (very 2011 that one, sorry again) attached to them. The Apple Watch was infamously meant to be for erm, kinda everything, until based on actual user behaviour of those that had bought one, Apple recognised that fitness was probably the application to shout about.
For technologies like Virtual and Augmented Reality, content is being developed in tandem with, and in response to, the constant improvements to the technology available. We now live in an environment where the tech companies are all looking to lead consumer behaviour rather than respond to it, so it should come as no surprise that the dominant technology trends and platforms aren’t changing each calendar year; consumers are still becoming accustomed to, and providing feedback on, the new possibilities and functionality that the tech companies have been nudging them towards over the last few years.
There is no new ‘smartphone’ on the horizon. I would hazard a guess that there won’t be a new piece of technology at this scale in our lifetime – 2.5 billion smartphones globally now – in particular, if you consider the breadth and depth of its impact on humanity, just 10 years after
the first iPhone was announced. So unfathomably powerful is this device – potentially humanity’s most behaviour-changing product ever – that I believe that any technology that gains the reach of even 10% of the smartphone user base is indeed likely to be an accessory to, or at least powered by, the smartphone itself.
But I’m perfectly happy with ‘incremental change’, even if it doesn’t sound that whizz-bang on face value. I’d argue that the current technology available to us – the hardware, the software, the networks – is more than enough to transform any business or disrupt any sector, and keep us busy for a generation. Or at least the year ahead.
The state of play at the start of 2017
So where are we at with technologies’ prevailing themes as we embark on our next lap of the sun? What’s possible now and where can brands find immediate opportunity to jump on board with the current new technology that I refer to? And what are the challenges and watch-outs?
Dividing this into three broad themes: New Realities, Smart Systems and Connected Objects. Stay tuned for these updates about what to expect in 2017.
Staying on-trend
Aside from struggling with early mornings, wrestling with public transport (or the lack thereof), and re-acquainting yourself with your gym trainers, you may have spent some of your first working week of 2017 skimming through the shiny, new tech trends for the coming year. But
perhaps, like me, you had a slight feeling of déjà vu. Didn’t I read these last year? Virtual Reality; Augmented Reality; artificial intelligence; social video; messaging; a new term for instant gratification; some other new term for streaming content. All in all, all the same.
Well, firstly I commend the experts for sticking to these themes, rather than conjuring up something that isn’t there for the sake of saying something new. Many of these trends are vast in scope and have a long way to go, in terms of both the technology improving and brands
experimenting with them.
Secondly, isn’t it a bit of continuity comforting after a year of unexpected change in 2016? (Of course, the political changes decided upon in 2016 are actually to come in 2017, but let’s suspend disbelief for the sake of a bit of New Year things-have-to-be-better-this-year-just-cos-they-do optimism.)
Some trendsetters have called the coming year one of ‘incremental change’. Others say that it’s the obvious consequence of the Gartner Hype Cycle. Both valid points. To bring back a 2009 phrase (sorry, so passé) – ‘everything’s now in beta’. The world’s biggest tech companies (many
of which are now the world’s biggest companies full-stop) continue to release products into the market that are far from the finished article. Many of them don’t have a ‘killer use case’ (very 2011 that one, sorry again) attached to them. The Apple Watch was infamously meant to be for erm, kinda everything, until based on actual user behaviour of those that had bought one, Apple recognised that fitness was probably the application to shout about.
For technologies like Virtual and Augmented Reality, content is being developed in tandem with, and in response to, the constant improvements to the technology available. We now live in an environment where the tech companies are all looking to lead consumer behaviour rather than respond to it, so it should come as no surprise that the dominant technology trends and platforms aren’t changing each calendar year; consumers are still becoming accustomed to, and providing feedback on, the new possibilities and functionality that the tech companies have been nudging them towards over the last few years.
There is no new ‘smartphone’ on the horizon. I would hazard a guess that there won’t be a new piece of technology at this scale in our lifetime – 2.5 billion smartphones globally now – in particular, if you consider the breadth and depth of its impact on humanity, just 10 years after
the first iPhone was announced. So unfathomably powerful is this device – potentially humanity’s most behaviour-changing product ever – that I believe that any technology that gains the reach of even 10% of the smartphone user base is indeed likely to be an accessory to, or at least powered by, the smartphone itself.
But I’m perfectly happy with ‘incremental change’, even if it doesn’t sound that whizz-bang on face value. I’d argue that the current technology available to us – the hardware, the software, the networks – is more than enough to transform any business or disrupt any sector, and keep us busy for a generation. Or at least the year ahead.
The state of play at the start of 2017
So where are we at with technologies’ prevailing themes as we embark on our next lap of the sun? What’s possible now and where can brands find immediate opportunity to jump on board with the current new technology that I refer to? And what are the challenges and watch-outs?
Dividing this into three broad themes: New Realities, Smart Systems and Connected Objects. Stay tuned for these updates about what to expect in 2017.
Until now Amazon has only sold its voice-controlled devices in the US. However, they have confirmed its virtual assistant Echo speakers are heading to the UK, Germany and Austria. The machines can answer questions, control other internet-connected devices, build shopping lists and link to dozens of third-party services including Spotify and Uber. Experts say they appeal to early adopters’ sense of curiosity but tend to be harder to sell to others, potentially due to the raised concerns about the use of listening technology. With an estimated five million speakers already sold and Google working on their own artificial-intelligence-powered speaker to be launched later this year, it appears the mass market is finally ready to bring such technology into the home. Currently the most common smart home device is the thermostat, so we’re excited to see how this product develops.
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
COOL
DEEP READS
As ever, share what you spot using #OMDFWD
The annual tech and innovation fest, Dmexco gets under way in Cologne this week. This year’s tantalising premise is that, “Digital is everything — not every thing is digital.” Why? Because digital marketing is about to get personal, according to OMD Europe global account director, Steve Blakeman. OMD Germany will be hosting a rather grand presence this year with a stand in the main exhibition area (Hall 7 B-041), which will showcase OMD alongside other OMG agencies. Mainardo de Nardis, our Global OMD CEO, will be taking to the main stage to discuss the changing marketing agency landscape at 11:45 am GMT on September 15th, 2016 which you can livestream. Earlier that morning, Blake Cuthbert will be taking part in the Mediatel breakfast panel where experts will discuss expanding the reach and delivering new customers with digital advertising. Don’t worry if you won’t be able to make it to the event, we will be bringing you live updates across our @OMD_EMEA social accounts.
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
COOL
DEEP READS
As ever, share what you spot using #OMDFWD