Category Archives: Internet

Only the connected thrive

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Need to be socially connected is an age old emotional need.  History of human communication is almost 50,000 year old. It has helped mankind spread from Africa to all over the globe. Possibly the drums were the first machines that humans used for communication. Now from pigeons to horseback carriers to electrically modulated sound waves has transformed into mobile phones.

Today the mobile phone as a category is the fastest growing category in the world. Mobile phones are changing the contours of human communication. Already mobile phones have transcended the barriers of personal space and are creating a new form of global brotherhood. May be it’s the mobile phones that is making the world flat and not the computers.

Clearly the mobile culture is moving from margins to mainstream. The adoption of sms, chats and social networking sites are applications that are finding resonance with consumers. Possibly for the first time in human evolution, adoption of technology is outpacing the evolution of technology

The biggest example of this is the incident where a techie live tweeted the attack on Osama hideout, and then in US the news broke first on Twitter than on either network TV or on news websites. This is giving rise to what can be called as ‘Connection Economy’

The Connection Economy is a powerful new force that will redefine the way brands approach consumers and the way consumers engage with brands. There are two powerful trends that define this new Connection Economy. These are “connected life”, “connected identities” . These two are giving rise to what can only be called as “connected markets”

Connected Life is a function of a unique social space that mobile devices create. The fact is that the old cliché of life in your hands is actually true. Peers, family, friends all live together in a virtual space, where the user defines the rules of engagement. This availability of connections on demand creates a sense of joy and gives a sense of huge excitement. It makes every person in the connected space feel far more potent and powerful.

Connected Identities This trend carries contra behavior trend. It has two opposing patterns that define the connected identities. One is the process of individualizing the connection. This includes what can be called the status messages and even customizing phones. The other pattern is evolving common identities. Through common identity the gangs and groups acquire a powerful meaning. This is where the deepest emotions and drivers come alive

Connected Markets is a powerful new driver of business and brands. The connection impacts how the brands connect with consumers and also how consumers connect with brands. Consider this; the group buying deals that are now popular in the virtual space are connected consumers redefining pricing equations.

Again as it has happened with technology where adoption has beaten technology, the connected economy evolution has outpaced the adoption from brands. Our recent research clearly points the gap that exist between what the connected consumers desires from the disconnected brands.

The funny thing is, by the time the brands learn the tricks, consumers would have moved on to a new space. Today its clear, if the brands have to thrive, they have to connect. That is a true challenge

Published in Pitch Magazine, June 2011

Who let the chickens out?

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Who would have ever thought that a bunch of flightless suicidal birds and fat green grunting pigs would have become such a big rage in 2010! The collision of chicken and bacon is creating new magic

Angry Birds is a smart phone based game that has become the top selling App from iPhone app store in 2010, and is almost equally successful in the Android Market. Together over 40Mn handsets across the world have Angry Birds installed on it. To that extent it’s possibly world’s biggest Mobile Phone based brand.

The game was re-crafted and recreated by a small Finnish based game company after they bought it from the original developers. The game has become such a big global success that EA Games is rumored to have paid $20Mn to buy out the game. The game has among other people British PM David Cameron, Comedian Conan O’Brien and talk show host Jimmy Fallon as its addicts.

The magic of Angry Birds is now going beyond mere smart phone, it’s now available as stuffed toys, as iPhone case, as comic books, there is a movie in the offing and the game is likely to become a multi platform based game. Never has anger been so profitable.

The issue is what is making the game so addictive? Despite an easy interface, and very cute sound effects and almost childlike skill levels, people just can’t get enough of the game? The game is nothing like COD, or even like Tetris.

2009 was the year of Farmville, and the game was built on a very different premise. It made players perform tasks that they could not in real world. The inbuilt reward system of the game allowed players to connect with likeminded people and start a conversation. From audience perspective it mimicked real world and gave an almost real world like conversational experience. Maybe that is why they are called social games. You play alone, but need other players to progress in the game

Angry Birds is the exact opposite of Farmville. It is a singular game, the inbuilt reward system is pedestrian, there are no great skills required and it’s definitely not social in nature. Here are a three possible reasons why it is doing so well

First it surprises the players. What looks like a very simple task is actually not as easy. The game sucks you in with passing level. The figures keep pressing the next level and the game keep the players enthralled. The addiction for the game comes from rock solid build quality of the game

Second it’s like a virus. The game keeps growing on the player. It almost becomes like the ear worm that you can’t get out of your head. It keeps buzzing inside your brain, and makes people hum along

And third is the almost instantaneous visual feedback that the game gives you. The players can make out their mistakes, correct every step and keep at it.

There are some interesting lessons that we can learn from Angry Birds.

First and foremost the small 2X3 touch screens can no longer be ignored.  They will more and more become the ecosystem from where new categories will emerge.

The second, we cannot bunch the potential consumer in fixed baskets and assume a linear growth curve. Social Games did not lead to a spate of social games. The next wave was an individual game. Who knows where the next wave would be?

Third, it does not matter, what platform you use to launch your brand, the brand must intrigue, be solid in its interface and have attributes that consumers can keep discovering.

Angry Birds are making people go crazy with joy. Who would have thought that!

Pitch Magazine, March 2011

Alone and aloof or crowded and connected?

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One of the best status messages I have come cross on Facebook says “the only place where it is cool to talk to a wall.” This reflects the popular predictions that pundits have often made about the generation that loves to be online. They have always argued that the online habits will turn a whole generation into antisocial isolated zombies. And that the Google enabled world will make everyone ‘search’ for bite sized info as the appetite for discovering new things will go down tremendously.

Has it really happened?

Dan Tapscott in his book “Grown Up Digital” has debunked many of these popular predictions. He calls this multi tasking, living in multiple dimension generation as Net Generation. He goes on to explain that in order to understand what the future holds we need to understand the Net Generation. He debunks the theory about short attention spans and zero social skills. He terms the Net Generation as remarkably bright community, which has developed revolutionary new ways of thinking, interacting, working, and socializing.

Popular trend watchers have now started to speak about a new trend of ‘mass mingling’ where the net generation will live simultaneously in real and virtual world and make both the worlds meaningful and engaging.

So is technology making people alone and isolated or is technology enabling them to be connected and engaged?

Technology actually has moved to a new level. Version 2.0 of net is not PC but on the mobile. The very basis of the aloof argument has been turned on its head. So now your friends, connections, appointments, and possibly emotions always travel with you.

The basic insight of people wanting to be connected has not changed. It’s this need for connection that had driven 500 Million people to be on Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Four Square, Google Wave etc. and through the act of status updates, feeds, blogs, pictures and interests they broadcast their desire to find new connections. The invariably find new connections and friends through common interests, hobbies, opinions and practices. It doesn’t stop in virtual space only. Look at your Facebook page and see how many event invites are there. By attending any such event people have proactively connected with a bunch of common interest friends in real world. So instead of making the net generation socially challenged, it made them socially active and eclectic.

This version 2.0 of internet may spark off four dominant trends, here’s a look at all four of them

Go out often: Technology has made finding interesting place around the cities easier than ever. Places can not only be discovered, but also is commented upon. This will encourage people to explore their world more. This means people will eat out more often but at a far larger number of places than ever before.

Get bitten by wanderlust: The constant feed of holiday pictures from a variety of locations will encourage people to pack their bags and discover their world more often. The normal holiday hotspots will make way for newer more exotic destinations. May be tourism boards need to revisit the very motivations of travel

Niche will get powered by mainstream: The niche performers, products, brands, bands will increasingly get access to mainstream audiences as customers will become patrons and interest groups will broadcast their approval to a wider set of audience

The world will become large: the world instead of becoming a global village will actually become a very large thriving vibrant mega polis. This will mean more people to meet, more things to do, more smells to savour, more connections to be made.

This is a very interesting transformation that we will see all around us. A generation that was supposed to be socially challenged will challenge the norms of social connectivity.

Published in 4Ps of Marketing, July 15th 2010 issue