Maxus Mouth

Video of the week #88

4seven

Last week Channel 4 announced it is set to launch its first new channel since ‘More4’ in 2005. This brand new channel, ‘4seven’, will give viewers another opportunity to watch the most ‘talked about’ shows, drawn in from those broadcast on C4, E4 and More4 in the previous seven days.

The leading benefit of this innovative channel to Channel 4 is the opportunity to extend audience coverage for their new content released each week. As people have busier lifestyles and an ever-growing selection of channels and programming to choose from, a large percentage of viewers protest that they miss out on their favourite shows. Channel 4 are employing the new digital world to their advantage, by broadcasting the content that is creating the most noise amongst social media, bloggers, commentators, and fusing this into the look and feel of the channel.

This will assuredly deliver higher audience engagement, but do the ‘noisiest bits’ of TV automatically render to the best bits? We have often seen how social media can lead to the formation of lobby groups, and result in deviation from the expected. For instance X Factor winners were once ‘guaranteed’ the Christmas number one slot, but Joe McElderry was denied this triumph when a social media spectacle pushed ‘Rage Against the Machine’ to the top in his place (not that I was opposed to this). Indeed there is inevitable risk that viewers will respond to 4seven in a similar ‘anti-trend’ manner; collaborating in masses to boycott the system so that the programs broadcast are not actually those deserved of the airtime.

In addition, as a heavy-duty fan of catch-up TV, I question whether there is really a consumer need for this channel, with so many ways to watch repeats already in existence. Not only do we have 4OD and a ‘+1’ network, but with growing popularity of PVR (personal video recorder) services such as Sky+, Freeview+ and Virgin Media TiVo, we have pretty much unlimited scope to record our favourite programming to watch at a later date. But then I don’t think the advantage of this channel lies in the content. In a time when digitisation is rising, by tying in social media, 4seven offers TV a fresh face. TV becomes democratic - empowering the viewer to shape their own supply of entertainment. Even if 4seven doesn’t produce much added value to the C4 network, it is likely to create a much deeper and respected relationship with its audience; or at the very least a talking point.

One final thought – advertising opportunities on 4seven have not yet been defined, but if it chooses to only host ads that are ‘trending’ now, will this open up a whole new TV trading model?

(4seven is expected to release in summer 2012, with the channel set to appear on Sky, Virgin and Freeview)
 

The Third Coming

The third coming of the iPad is upon us. Apple unveiled its most powerful iPad last night sharing details of its new features, from high-definition zoom to access to high-speed 4G wireless networks and the appearance of Siri, iPhone's speaking personal assistant. The iPad3’s ‘retina’ display will have a higher screen resolution than any other mobile device and a sharper screen than most 40-inch sitting room televisions. Apple even boasts that the picture resolution will be so crisp that words will appear sharper than words in print.

Tim Cook, the company’s CEO said the world was now in a ‘post-PC era’ and that ‘Apple is at the forefront of this revolution.’ Last year, Apple sold 172 million of what it described as post-PC devices - iPhones, iPads and touchscreen iPods and with this growing number of tablet computers and smartphones, the humble desktop computer is no longer the centre of our digital world. I’m not a digi whizz kid (but aspire to be!) however I have to voice that perhaps this constant growth of technology is muting our voices more than ever.

Having hailed from a background where we had analogue TV until I was 13 and being a proud child of a father who constantly complains that ‘The Times just reads better when you’re holding the paper’, is there an argument that our opinions now can only be seen and not heard? Don’t get me wrong, I’m fascinated by the evolution of technology but also value the need to physically hear what people feel. My team and I met with a research company last week who track offline word of mouth conversations and it struck a chord with me. According to this media owner, 82% of conversations are face to face and although the social media explosion has given these conversations higher visibility there is masses of insight that social media purely can’t attain. I think about what I put on my Facebook account, I voice the enjoyment of evenings, or how I’m worried for the size of my hips with all these free Kripsy Kremes at work, but I don’t genuinely express concern about things that matter. I go to my friends and family for that. So can we rely on technology to convey our true sentiment behind opinion? Do we just embrace the typing of our feelings? The latter question has to be answered with ‘yes’ but I’m not yet convinced the former question can be. Who knows, perhaps Apple has the answer…

Video of the week #87

Is it a bird, is it a plane.....?

Mobile World Congress

Last week Barcelona played host to the Mobile World Congress, which is essentially a mobile focused version of the Consumer Electronics Show that’s held in Vegas each year.

There were a few highlights that are definitely worth sharing. Nokia launched the 808 Pureview. Exciting because it has a camera with a 41 Megapixel sensor!! Sure it’s a niche product with a pretty high price point (400+ euros) and it runs an out of date OS but it’s designed to be a demonstration of what’s possible rather than a mass market product and the results are pretty phenomenal. At the risk of boring you all to tears it’s not about the number of pixels but how you use them, Nokia is using a system called pixel oversampling and a completely redesigned zoom which means that the image quality does not alter regardless of how far you zoom in. Basically it delivers awesome photos!
 

The other big innovation in the handset space was the Samsung Galaxy Beam. Running Androids’ latest iteration, Ice Cream Sandwich it has a built in projector that projects a 50 inch screen onto any surface! It’s the first real push in the direction of heads-up mobile consumption rather than the traditional heads down model that it inherently anti-social when you’re physically with other people.
 

There is an entire Hall dedicated to services and applications at MWC, and once I’ve had a chance to have a good look at everything that has been announced there may well be some more media relevant stuff to share.
 

In the meantime, whilst monster imaging capabilities are unlikely to change current mobile marketing strategies built in projectors are a different story. If the Beam is the start of a trend that is built upon by the other key handset manufacturers then creative opportunities are going to be huge, it really will take sharing to whole new level!

And finally, the ipad 3 is set for launch tomorrow. The invites got sent out to the tech elite just after Google chief Eric Schmidt took to the stage at MWC…clever, tactical marketing from Apple or unnecessarily disruptive given their dominance?
 

New Girl On The Block

Studying abroad is so exciting when you’re planning, but it gets to be kind of scary and intimidating once you arrive. Not saying that London isn’t lovely, I’ve actually grown to love London and all its crazy little streets and crowds of people. In the 2 months that I’ve been here I’ve met the most delightful people, been complimented on my “British” accent, and travelled to some really amazing places. But whenever you’re away from home for a while you begin to miss things; like iced sweet tea; southern accents; and mac and cheese casserole like grandma makes.

This probably bears some explanation. My name is Madison, but everyone calls me Maddie, and I am student from the United States—Tennessee to be exact (you all may know us for our whiskey). I attend the University of Tennessee and am a part of an honours program within the College of Business called Global Leadership Scholars, which includes a wonderful opportunity to study abroad in London and a chance to intern in your possible major.

This morning I woke up to realize that today was my first day of my internship with Maxus Global. I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t terrified. On my way to work I was listening to music, reminding myself to keep breathing when it hit me just how lucky I am to be here. I mean how many people from Knoxville, Tennessee (not exactly small, but nothing like London), get to not only live in London for a semester, but get a chance to work with a top notch media firm like Maxus?

I concluded not many, so I pulled my head up, slapped on a smile and walked in. Wish me luck!
 

Back to School

Monday the 27th of February saw hundreds of the next advertising generation descend upon Central Hall Westminster, the reason for this was to take the IPA foundation certificate exam.

This was the culmination of months studying the course material, reading through case studies and practicing exam questions, which all led to this one moment.

This journey all began way back in November when several junior members of the Maxus family were asked to take the course as it would “provide a broad framework for understanding communications across a range of disciplines; advertising, production, PR, marketing etc”.

This included 20 hours or so of studying in our own time before a 2 hour exam where if we pass (fingers crossed) we will receive a well-earned certificate, some great knowledge that will help us all in our chosen discipline as well as insight in to how the other side works.

After countless weekends spent reading page after page of notes, watching videos of senior advertising gurus giving their point of view and discussing it with colleagues, some of whom were getting a little bit stressed….(you know you who are) It was finally time to take the exam and put all this new found knowledge in to practice.

As I sat outside waiting for the time to go in, I was surrounded by groups of ad land youth cramming in as much material as they could before we had our notes taken away and had to hope we could remember the right material, I was having Vietnam style flash backs of university all over again! There I was pen in hand ready to go.

2 hours later…..

Like most things we worry about the hype didn’t live up the reality, the most painful thing of the whole experience was every 5 to 10 minutes when my hand began to ache as I hadn’t written essays for such a long time, this seemed to be the case for a lot of others too!

The material we had slaved over was all in the exam and the only thing I would have wanted more of was time as I just kept writing.

Now all there is to do is to wait for the results to come out in the next few months and hope that I did enough to avoid the unfortunate 1% that do not pass.

The year of the mobile, again.....?

Thanks to everyone for putting up with my bombardment of mobile immersion email invites yesterday. If you were lucky enough to attend one of the four sessions, you would have received an interesting insight into the topical and rapidly growing mobile market. 

From the attitude and persuasiveness of each of today’s guests, it was obvious they felt, as many have in the past, that after a few false starts that ‘THIS’ is finally the year of the mobile.

It’s clear from media orientated firm’s business approaches that they too agree with Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt that, “if you don’t have a mobile strategy, you don’t have a future strategy”. The majority of us nowadays are socially integrated and connected courtesy of the revolutionary mobile. 

Facebook is believed to be the catalyst for mobile usage, as our demand to post on walls and ‘poke’ random people on-the-go broke down the fear barrier of accessing mobile internet. This desire for anytime social networking has catapulted mobile advertising and marketing to the front of everyone’s thoughts.

The myth of mobile’s only being used by youth has been dispelled, so much so, that last year, for the first time ever, mobile usage overtook TV usage. Hard to believe, considering that this couch-potato nation spends a whopping 4hours and 18 minutes watching TV on average each day (for adults). 

Not only was today’s immersion insightful, it was a frightening reality check on our mobile dependency. A study of 1000 UK citizens, it was revealed that 66% admitted to having Nomophobia, ( fear of being out of mobile phone contact). 

SecurEnvoy also cited in a recent survey that we check our phones 34 times a day on average. For some, losing their mobile, would make them feel lost, lonely and naked! Let’s say, you misplace it at your brother’s wedding…what happens next? You panic, you lose your bearings, then a slow realisation of knowing you won’t be able to use your Samsung 4.8-inch display, 8 megapixel camera on your sibling’s special day, what a catastrophe….picture that! (Pun intended).

One can only wonder what lies ahead of us during this smartphone revolution. There’s even talk of phones in the years to come having the ability to emit smells! Nothings more appetising than a mouthful of ‘Febreze’ on the phone to your boss. On the upside, we could have a field day with a ‘human body smells’ app on the way to work.

But is this ‘exciting electronics revolution’ actually healthy? Although our mobiles are likely to do everything and anything for us in years to come, and the world will be nothing more than our oyster…How long will it be before phrases like “Let’s have a catch-up” or “fancy a pint down the boozer?” are no longer from your friends but your mobile instead….

Video of the week #86

Cracking idea for getting everyone round for a drink, alternatively the quick route to a reputation as an alcoholic!

Heineken - The Invite from Max Gebhardt on Vimeo.

Google [Squared]

Last week was quite an exciting week for me and whilst most people were buzzing about the Brits on Wednesday, I was buzzing about Squared. Squared is a Google led initiative in partnership with Hyper Island and the IPA helping “turn the graduates of today into the brilliant digital leaders of tomorrow”.

It is a 3 month intensive curriculum led by Google, with representatives from all over the industry raring to teach 100 of the top graduates all they know about the weird and wonderful world of digital. It will be packed full of seminars, workshops and projects all aimed at educating us about the digital landscape, including Search, Display, Social, Video and Mobile.

Whilst I am going to miss seeing the beautiful people of Maxus every day, I am absolutely thrilled to have been offered this amazing opportunity and cannot wait to grab it with both hands. Having only joined the digital realm 2 months ago, this is the next big step for me on my way to becoming a fully-fledged ‘digi kid’. See you on the other side…