Online Poker – Staggering Numbers

Poker fascinates me. I’ve watched poker tournaments on television and, every now and then, I’ll play a couple hands for free online. A while ago, and after kicking some serious tail on the free tables, I was certain to make a killing on the money tables. My $200 investment was destined to become a new boat, the motorcycle I’ve been eyeing, and the home in the Caribbean. I was out in 45 minutes on a $10 table. It was my one, and only, adventure with online gambling.

A couple years ago, the advent of the “hole card” camera turned a shady, backroom pastime into prime time viewing. Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Doyle Brunson suddenly became famous and the audience had a bird’s eye view on how the big dogs play. These are guys that have invested considerable amounts of time sitting and playing one hand at a time to learn their craft. The online arena has spawned a whack of “20-somethings” that fearlessly toss $10,000 chips around and because they play 8 (or more) games online at the same time, they have amassed a tremendous amount of knowledge in a very short period of time.

To offer an idea of what’s happening right now in the land of virtual poker, take a glance at PokerListings.com. You’ll see a kid named Tom Dwan is the career money leader with just under $1.4 million. With a little snooping around, you’ll find that he played a game on May 30th with Phil Ivey and lost half a million bucks…online…one hand...one mouse click. We also see that Patrik Antonius has lost almost $600,000 (my $200 hit doesn’t feel so bad).

The numbers that really caught my eye are the ones that show the utility on the different sites. Right now, there are about 70,000 people playing a cash game online; 30,000 of those are at PokerStars.

The American Gaming Association provides the following online wager benchmarks:
1995 – First online gambling site is launched.
2003 – $11 million wagered online.
2008 – $21 billion worldwide (6 billion US).

Two things happened to spur the growth: education and access. First the poker world taught people to play (the hole cam and free play sites). A solid number of people (once educated) were converted from the play sites to the pay sites. It’s the same reason Home Depot does DIY clinics to share knowledge, create familiarity…and then build preferences and habits.

What expertise do you have that you can freely provide a potential customer?

Twitter – Facebook – MySpace

All are wildly popular.
One is profitable.
Two are not.

Twitter received a fair amount of press this week when Twitter CEO, Evan Williams offered, "There will be a moment when you can fill out a form or something and give us money" (Fox). Twitter isn’t profitable as it could be and the owners are scratching their heads on ways to monetize their popularity without poisoning the traffic. "If you pay attention to it (the hype) too much, you can run yourself off the rails," Biz Stone (Twitter co-founder) said. He added, "Pretty soon, everybody's going to hate us."

Ditto for Facebook. Facebook expects to expand its use of “virtual money” (real money is exchanged for token dollars that are then used to buy gifts, send cards, etc.). Lifting a page from Apple, it’s expected that Facebook will charge for different applications (CNN). Imagine if a dating app could be hardwired to Facebook?

MySpace is popular and profitable. They’ve found a balance between user needs and commercially provided content. Last year, MySpace revenues reached $550 million; powered largely by an interesting partnership with Google search. MySpace TV is second only to YouTube in video usage and, not surprisingly, other Fox sites are brought along for the ride (Wall Street Journal, for example).

For broadcasters, finding the balance between content and commercials is nothing new. The difference here is that the content is user provided and with that comes a sense of entitlement. As radio stations are on the hook to pay artists and publishers for creating revenue from recorded music, should the content providers for Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, etc. see a royalty for content created and provided? With Facebook, any content you provide on your profile becomes the property of Facebook. I imagine harsh words would be spoken if getting a song played on a radio station meant transfer of ownership.

A little perspective on this…Twitter has 43 employees and 12 million registered users (18 million by 2010). What if every 100th message received was an ad? What if you could pay to create messages with more than 140 characters? Reports suggest Dell made $1 million using Twitter, so it’s likely there will be a premium charged for a corporate account. No doubt they’ll figure it out and, in the meantime, nobody is starving. Twitter turned down $500 million from Facebook last year (uh...TwitFace?) and rumours are flying that both Apple and Google are interested.

20 million registered consumers...nice problem to have.

Leveraging Relationships - Crime Stoppers

First shown at 3 Wins Consulting.

On May 20th, I posted a few thoughts about Crime Stoppers USA and Non-Profit Revenue / Branding. Angie Meeker left a request asking if I could “…talk a little more about a specific example of how an individual Crime Stopper program can develop the relationships with their existing sponsors into something more valuable for each?” I’m more than happy to share a few ideas that might help the local Crime Stoppers group, but first, the obligatory preamble.

I draw a hard line between fundraisers and promotions. I tend to shy away from “fundraising” as it connotes a very one-sided relationship that is relevant only to the body needing to raise the funds. A “promotion”, however, can invoke emotion and, by definition, invites participation. Promotions create opportunities for others to share in the benefit. Fundraisers invite others to share in the cost.

In no particular order, and without knowing much about the specific local group, here are a few examples of how I might look to engage others with a Crime Stoppers program:

• With the proliferation of drugs in schools, I would look for ways to engage the students beyond showing up and explaining the Crime Stoppers program and the consequences of drug use. I’d look to the army of sports teams, band students, and extracurricular groups and give them ways to earn money for their programs…as well as Crime Stoppers (coupons, calendars, etc using both school colors and CS logos). Award the money earned with an appropriately large press conference and presentation and follow up with a full press release.


• I would engage some obvious sponsors (insurance agents, security companies, police, etc.) to provide a service to other businesses in areas of target hardening and reduce theft and break-ins. Crime Stoppers, in return for a fixed donation, could provide a security audit of a home or business and provide information (including local resources, a discount on insurance premiums, special pricing on monitoring, etc.) to the owner on how to rectify any shortcomings.


• At your next festival/fair/homecoming (anything else where a crowd will already exist), the following are worth consideration: Belt sander racing, Hometown Record for Frisbee Toss, Portable Hole In One Contest, Team Cheeseburger Eating Contest.

There you have a couple quick strategies to engage a number of sponsors simultaneously and four promotions that just scream for client participation. There are some obvious choices for partners in the last few items and a few that are a little off the radar. If you need more details, or help crafting a plan for your group….just let me know. We work with groups of different sizes, with varying inherent resources and thoroughly unique “wants” and “needs”. With the end in sight, we work backwards from what needs to occur (i.e. raise $300,000) and select a series of events and tactics to meet those goals. Along the way, we look for the opportunities to adapt our offer to create benefits for sponsors and partners. If we all play…we all win.

I hope that helps.

Great Print Ads!!!

A friend of mine sent these along knowing that I gather and collect great commercial pieces. Aside from mentioning you can pause the slideshow when you mouse over the box, there really isn't much need for a running commentary. Here's the pics from http://www.flurkey.com/:




Feel free to send me the ads you find interesting...print, radio, video, online...anything!

Thanks to everyone who took a few minutes to leave a comment!

The Homogenization of Content

The television in our house is fed by a subscribed satellite feed; it offers us almost 250 channels of programming. We watch the news, Criminal Minds and, of course, we are required (by law, I believe) to watch one of the 17 versions of CSI. The company that provides the service gives us access to the same show at different times (as the originating stations are in different time zones) and sell it as a feature under the guise of “time shifting”. As a result, Tuesday morning at 7:30 is the only time through the week that we are unable to watch one of the 17 versions of CSI. My provider has apologized for the oversight and is working to correct the problem.

This happens because creating novel content is expensive, time consuming…and risky. It’s far cheaper, faster, and safer to let someone else go up front and take the hit. If the venture works, it’s copied. If it doesn’t fly, the critics are obliged to point to the status quo and dismiss the effort. Occasionally, one gets through and it’s applauded and the leaders are regaled: Boston Legal and The Sopranos were bright, compelling stories. Both shows ended at a point when the content was about to lose it’s franchise.

For your friendly neighbourhood television station, this means they are tied to an affiliate agreement that mandates they air content that is exactly the same as 9 other stations I receive. To hit a viewer with a message becomes an interesting lottery for the station (and advertiser). First, the viewer has to actually watch television, and then choose the content that the station is airing…and then select a specific station among the 9 airing the same show. This gets more interesting as my $100/month television content subscription is being measured against the amount of video available online and viewable whenever I want…wherever I want.

There’s a bright spot for CSI, though. I suggest making everything local. Your town could have its own version of CSI. Characters would be shot against a green screen and inserted into images of your town. In northern Ontario, there’s a small town called Ignace (population 1500) and I’m sure you would win the Ignace ratings war with CSI Ignace. In the pilot, Horatio is in the backyard barbecuing when Jerry (who owns the Subway restaurant that used to be the bank that used to be a dry cleaner) approaches and tells Horatio that his 14 foot Lund has been stolen. Horatio makes some odd remark about “…whatever floats your boat” and a “Who” song fires up. The case is solved when Horatio puts down the tongs, leans over the fence and yells at the neighbour kid to give Jerry his boat back.

Radio Creative - Mercury Awards

In the ongoing discussion about "who's yer favorite media?"...radio continues to take it on the ear (pun entirely intended). Advertisers continue to cover their assets through the current economic situation and every single dollar spent requires a return on the investment. Even if the organization's circumstance hasn't been affected by the downturn, chances are the economy is being used as an excuse to re-evaluate strategies, campaigns, promotions...everything.

In spite of the obvious attraction to invest in mobile, online and Web 2.0...there are some new (old?) alternatives worth exploring. Given the amount of "per inquiry" ads (think ShamWow, the Craftmatic ajustable bed, etc. that pay the station a commission of sales instead of a flat rate) running on local television stations, I have a hunch your local TV affiliate would be interested in scheduling premium time at a wildly discounted rate. Key points to make in the negotiation include: creative supplied, best available time, 8 week flight, minimum 21 occasions per week.

Like television, radio is scrapping for every dime right now. But unlike television, radio actually improves when there's less commercial inventory (television must fill commercial time...radio plays more music). Knowing there's less commercials on the air creates a terrific situation for the advertiser as the rates are terrific and your message is unlikely to compete against other spots in a jammed commercial cluster. In return for a booking through time, a station may provide you with reduced rates, premium placement in the cluster (first), and bonus occasions through the evening/weekend/all night.

As a reminder to how compelling a radio ad can be...I point you to the Radio Mercury Awards. Some past spots from the Mercury Awards include:

GO TO THE TRACK:


TEACHER:


INSTANT DEATH:


LIP RING:



The 2009 Mercury Award finalists are HERE and the spots are streamed on site. Don't miss the commercials named "Physical" and "Henry" and I'm a huge fan of the Motel 6 ads featuring Tom Bodett.

If you're looking at options on how to image your business, I'd be happy to help. Just drop a quick email to doug@3winsconsulting.com. Another great option is to visit MoodSwingMedia.

Here's one that came out of our group for a Telecom in Canada:

Leveraging an Idea

On a bet, a buddy asked me if I was able to craft a revenue strategy for a web application of his choosing. In order, these were the next steps:

• I accepted his challenge.
• He sent me RunPee.com.
• Coffee came out my nose.

Synopsis: RunPee provides you the best time to leave a movie to visit the rain closet.
It’s simple…and clever.

Here’s a couple paths that may be worth exploring:

• Offer the application as a white label product that could be branded locally. This would be perfect for radio stations looking for ways to bolster online utility.
• Tap a third party developer to create mobile applications for the iPhone and Blackberry.
• Give the applications away (with a caveat to include ads).
• Invite participation from sponsors (NetFlix, Apple TV, Real.com, etc.).
• Carve out a revenue share model with the publisher (web).

I think we’ve answered all the pertinent points? To attain reach, we need adoption (free should do it?). To develop revenue, we need reach. And to attract viable partners there has to be benefit in participating (pay them). With greater reach comes the ability to engage the user to provide their own preferred times to hit the head; thereby increasing content and utility.

The stakes are golf and dinner.

Non-Profit Revenue / Branding

I’ve been asked to speak about branding, revenue and leveraging relationships at the Crime Stoppers USA Annual General Meeting in August. Over the last several years, my interests have shifted from traditional media (largely radio) to providing broadcasters with online strategies that make sense…to providing non-profit groups with some tools and resources inherent in larger organizations.

Crime Stoppers is a remarkable organization. The concept began with a single person deciding to ask for help…nothing more. Since that point, they’ve amassed an amazing, successful and progressive record of solving crime using the public’s help. Now here’s the problem: they haven’t really adjusted the model since the program’s incarnation. Yes, most have an online presence and many are using a great application called TipSoft to manage incoming communications and a few groups are using SMS to collect information. But the nuts and bolts that connect the 1200 groups and the ways they engage donors/sponsors/partners hasn’t really moved beyond a reliance on local business contributions.

Not long ago, a business supported charities because the business believed the expense was part of being a good corporate citizen. It was also understood that people would commit their time to philanthropic causes for similar reasons. That was then. When households are holding down two or three jobs (or none) and business has been tightening to weather the current economic “adjustment”, time and money are precious commodities. Maybe for the first time, businesses and individuals are looking beyond the “warm fuzzies” and measuring their commitment of time/money against the return.

It means the non-profits have to become unique and compete. They need to develop relationships with their sponsors and volunteers and build rewards for everyone in the relationship. Paramount in the success of those relationships is the ability to compete for a share of the public’s attention; let’s face it, we’re hit with an amazing array of offers that will cost us either time and money (or both). The non-profit, in a broad sense, has to be in the entertainment business. The public should, for their investment of time or money, be engaged (with relevant information, relevant offers, contests, etc.) beyond what they perceive as a fair return. Volunteers, too, are attracted to viable, engaging ways to spend their time.

The real trick is providing the public the content desired, leveraging that relationship with viable partners…and doing it on a diminishing budget built on an expired revenue model.

The meeting is on a cruise ship which I believe is a terrific way to say “thanks!” to the volunteers…and save the organization some dough (the cruise is far less expensive than hotels, meals and conference rooms).

If you’re attending the AGM, or have questions concerning your own causes, let me know if there’s topics you’d like to see covered? Just leave a comment or send a quick email (doug@3winsconsulting.com).

If you have time...Flurkey: Non-Profit Charity Case

Cool Stuff / Promotional Products

One terrific advantage about having both “X” and “Y” chromosomes is never having to explain a fascination with gadgets, toys, gizmos, and geeky little contraptions. I haunt websites like Trend Hunter and Trend Watching to find the quirky little items that feed my habit.

For your consideration, I offer a couple that caught my eye.

First, a toaster that shoots toast to you (at you?) when it’s done. This was clearly devised by a fellow Saturday morning cartoon addict; specifically, the one where the wolf on Bugs Bunny is getting ready to go to work and the whole process of waking up is automated. For the uninitiated, it can be found here.

The second provides a solution to a personal pet peeve. I live with three individuals (one wife and two kids) who have an aversion to tightening the screw tops on soft drink bottles and the drinks lose their “fizz”. This contraption attaches to the bottle and creates a spout…very clever.

At first glance, the LushLife looks like a pretty simple apple corer but the hole it creates is larger. It turns apples and pears into shot glasses. I think it could also be used to craft a pretty interesting dessert? I’m thinking about cutting a hole in a pear, stuffing it with cream cheese and baking it.

And FINALLY, someone has had the foresight to move beyond the plastic “spork” (combination fork and spoon that shows up in fast food take out bags). This one combines a fork and a knife and they’re selling it as the “KNORK”. Very handy! One side of the fork has a sharpened tine…so only one side of your mouth gets cut up?

For businesses looking to throw their logo on products given away to clients, consider what kind of “buzz” you might create? While pens, key chains and coffee mugs are appreciated…they usually end up in a cupboard or drawer. I try to steer clients toward products that are always visible, usually functional…and ones that come with a story. To promote a cottage listening/camp cleanup promotion, we convinced a radio station into giving away toilet brushes with the station logo on them (years later, I still see them). Another radio promotion brought a frozen juice company together with a station to brand out a very large juice jug (who doesn’t want to stretch a can of frozen concentrate?).

If you need some ideas…send me a quick note and I’ll happily share my thoughts.

When Should You Buy A New Car?

If you’ve been putting it off, when should you pull the trigger on the purchase of a new vehicle?

Well…right about now.

The plight of the auto industry has occupied a good amount of page one inventory, of late. Past stories of government bailouts, corporate mergers and the elimination of entire brands were the consequences of the bizarre mortgage situation and sharp increases at the pumps. The new headlines include Chrysler cutting 800 dealerships, Toyota adjusting its head office by 40% of its senior managers and GM Oshawa building its last Sierra truck. A Reuter’s story suggests that GM, like Chrysler, will close dealerships as part of its strategy to remain viable. Chrysler points to performance figures that suggest 90% of their unit sales arrive from half of their current dealerships and that becomes a partial justification to move from 3200 dealerships to 2400 (Toyota has 1200).

So, what does this culling of the herd mean?

It means fewer dealerships, decreased inventory, smaller parts stores and the low prices we currently see for new vehicles will end. Economics 101 suggests that the price of an item can be determined where supply meets demand. It follows that a reduction in supply of a product can influence both demand and the price people are willing to pay for it. Less production (1) shortens supply (2), leading to an increase in demand which produces a rise in prices (3). I should also expect that the programs and incentives we’ve come to know and love will disappear. Not discussed are the implications for people who already own these brands; fewer dealerships means less service bays and, obviously, fewer factory endorsed mechanics.

For us it means the price of new vehicles will be at historic lows…until demand on inventory surpasses supply. When you’re wheeling and dealing, perhaps it’s better to negotiate a longer warranty instead of the heated leather seats…knowing the shop rate will likely increase as the supply of service bays drops?

On a related note, the Oshawa plant has churned out more than 10 million vehicles over the last 44 years. The last GMC Sierra was driven off the line by a 45 year GM employee and given away in a raffle among staff.

What’s In A Name?

I don’t have a particularly unique name. In the US, “Anderson” is the 12th most common surname and among Canadians the moniker ranks 18th; it’s not hard to imagine there might be a few “Dougs” in the mix. That said, the name has served me well and it has been, for the most part, functional. When I’m in a room, and someone says, “Hello, Doug Anderson”, I can be reasonably certain that I should say probably say something.

In the past, I’ve lived close enough to another Doug Anderson that our mail would be delivered to the wrong Doug Anderson. We would get together once a month and trade the errant messages. One time, knowing the other Doug Anderson was on holidays, I received a bill for his son’s guitar lessons…and paid it for him. Doug was predictably appreciative (we’re like that).

A quick search for “Doug Anderson” produces a wild collection of people from just about every corner of the planet. A quick scan of the websites attached to Doug Anderson (and the respective occupations) show that all of the following statements could be true:
-Doug Anderson is a terrific author.
-I was glad Doug Anderson performed the operation, it saved my life.
-I enjoyed my classes at Doug Anderson.
-Doug Anderson has a helluva jump shot.
-Doug Anderson is a remarkable baritone.
-There’s police tape around Doug Anderson’s house...again.

Certain names for businesses became common and this arrived out of necessity; take, for example, A1 “insert business type” in “any town”. The name “A1” became preferred because people used the phone book and being listed first had its advantages. Today the advantage lies with a memorable domain that performs well on search engines. In the course of a week, 80% of us will use Google to search for a product or service…and we need to be where our customers are looking for us (at a minimum, your business should be listed on Google Maps). If you’re looking to start a business, a terrific place to start is Go Daddy to find a domain that is memorable and relevant.

While I’m usually comfortable being one of a number of “Doug Andersons”, I have entertained changing my name to something more unique (especially when I was on radio). The change has worked well for Gordon Sumner (Sting), Cherilyn Sarkisian (Cher), William Blythe (Bill Clinton), Thomas Mapother (Tom Cruise) and Oprah’s real name is Orpah. The name “Robert Loblaw” always fascinated me as I liked the idea of introducing myself as Bob Loblaw. And, if your name happens to be "Jesus Murphy", I’ve changed my mind and I’m selling the domain.

Seth Godin on Tribes

From February of this year, Seth Godin defines tribes...and the people who lead them.

A remarkable discussion about how we organize ourselves and the catalysts that move the organizations.

For non-profits, you already have a group of like-minded individuals and the next questions asked should be:
"What are you doing to engage them...lead them?"
"What are you doing to challenge the status quo...and upset things?"
"Can you create a movement?"

Let me know?
Let me know how I can help?

Mobile vs. Landline?

I have a phone. My house has a phone. My business has a phone. My business is in my house. I pay for all three in the hopes that I’m easier to reach but, in reality, people looking to contact me have a 1 in 3 chance. Does this make sense to you? Me neither.

A recent article shown on the MercuryNews site refers to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows, for the first time, the number of people who have only cell phones has surpassed the number of people who have only traditional wired telephones. So, when you look at it, one in five homes doesn’t have a phone hanging on the wall…and the number is growing. Is anyone really surprised?

The traditional telephone is connected to our homes by a fairly robust network cable that’s capable of carrying more than just a conversation (DSL). Why, then, is our home phone…just a phone? Why doesn’t my home phone:

• play music?
• synch to a database of contacts?
• receive email?
• send and receive text?
• take a picture?
• use the same number as my cell phone?
• have an FM tuner?
• connect to the internet?

As mobile networks become faster and faster, and the devices have become these amazing little electronic versions of the Swiss Army knife, how do I justify making people play roulette to talk with me? With the advent of 3G, it became possible to use VoIP on a cell phone that was internet capable. So, it’s entirely possible to have a cell phone provided by a telephone company that gives you an internet plan so you don’t need the telephone company. Instead, I choose to pay for two land lines, one cell phone plan and at least a couple ways to get online.

While I’m scratching my head about why I have so many numbers, the research also shows 2% of the surveyed home-owners had neither a cell phone nor wired phone. The lives of these people must be fascinating and it would be great fun to see how they live. They would have to drive to get a taxi and how would you get a pizza to show up at your house? On the upside, they never interrupt a conversation with, “Hang on…I need to take this.”

Non-Profit Charity Case

For years businesses and individuals would support a non-profit, charity, or community group simply because money was good, the business felt obligated and the expense could be justified. When the real estate market hit the sewer and the stock market “adjusted” itself, the traditional revenue streams dried up...and the cost could no longer be rationalized. While every good company understands it has a role to play in being a solid, supportive community partner, the economic realities have shown tremendous changes in the amounts anyone can afford to commit to charity.

For the organizations that provide the charitable services, this means that individuals just don’t have the money they once did and larger organizations that might have committed to a few dozen charities have become very discerning about where they place any donations. Even the trusts and foundations that may have supported dozens of projects over the course of a year, may only consider a fraction of those endeavours to keep their respective organization’s viable. For the first time, charities have to compete.

Is it different? Yes.
Is it difficult? Not necessarily.
Is it new? Not at all.

Understand it’s only a shift in priorities and the quickest way to ensure your non-profit’s future is by becoming a priority to the people you’re trying to engage. The non-profit has to understand that the business/individual will still support you if the trade of value is perceived to be advantageous to the donor. Now, more than ever, businesses want to know how their situation will improve by supporting your initiatives.

A business will adapt to include another business as a partner if it means the shared resources can work to benefit both entities. The same is true for non-profits. If the non-profit can demonstrate to the business that a partnership will create more customers and benefit everyone in the relationship, the non-profit is no longer perceived as a cost. If the non-profit can show an investment in the well-being of the business, the business will reciprocate.

Consider what would happen if the charity asked the business what challenges it’s facing and crafting a solution that benefits both. Imagine how the relationship would look between a half dozen business partners where everyone benefits and the non-profit is the catalyst that brought it all together. Would it allow that non-profit to be seen as something other than a charity case?

Effective Ads...

I love advertising. Wait...let's clarify. I love good advertising.

The first time anyone saw an ad on television was in 1959 when the Bulova watch company aired a 20 second message. They paid WNBC 9 dollars to air the message before a Dodgers game. And now, as I look around my office, everything has a logo on it. City works departments are even selling brands on pothole repairs to offset the costs of maintenance (a terrific idea, by the way). After working in the media for some time, I really have to search for a shirt that doesn’t have a client name on it and, at the moment, I’m nattily attired in a Callaway hat and a moth-eaten NYR sweatshirt (and, yes, I know). Ads are everywhere and we’re at a point where people expect to see them. That means getting them to “notice” them can be difficult.

A good ad works backwards from the end user and draws an emotional connection between people and products (services). In the grand scheme of things, the advertiser has to compete with a myriad of messages out there and has micro-seconds to make an impression. I tend to gravitate toward the funny and clever but am just as fascinated by the bold and unnerving.

That said, there are some large businesses that might consider explaining a tangible benefit to the consumer instead of hammering on the points important to the Sales Manager or technical staff. For the average Joe, is there a difference between an internet connection that offers 3MB/sec downloads and a premium option that offers 7MB/sec downloads? Would the message cut through better (or worse) if the message was simply, “Videos don’t buffer when you use (InternetCo).”?

Seth Godin speaks to becoming “remarkable” and, at first blush, it can be a rather daunting challenge given the competition. The first step is creating a message your customer wants (needs) instead of providing a catalogue of features important to you. Finding concepts to adapt can be as easy as searching for “great ads”. Depending on the message, the target and the emotion or action you need to elicit, there's ample opportunity to be noteworthy…maybe it’s just a matter of giving yourself permission to hit ‘em over the head?

iPhone / Blackberry Apps

It used to be we used a phone in our house that was connected to another house to talk with another person. With the proliferation of mobile, we connect with people and not locations. As the small devices became more intelligent, we were able to write, photograph, email, and map wherever we found ourselves. The hardware and the networks that support them have become incredibly efficient and the mobile phone has turned entire industries on their respective ears...with more ear-turning on the way.

Record labels and broadcast outlets have been replaced as the obvious choice to explore and acquire new music. With apps like iTunes and Pandora (though not available in Canada), mobile users can download music easily and explore entire streamed radio stations built to their specific preferences. The phone can become a musical instrument using the microphone as the mouthpiece (search Ocarina apps). The “Instapaper” app is a newsreader that gathers headlines and stories (from multiple devices) based on your preferences. The ability to record quality audio is simple (iTalk) and because your recorder is connected, the file is easily and quickly distributed. With a great data plan and a VoIP app (like Skype), its unlikely there would ever be another roaming charge on your monthly invoice (as long as you can get a signal).

So, when we’re looking ahead, the only real obstacle in developing bigger and richer applications…is bandwidth. The compression technologies and codecs in play right now make viewing live television on a cell phone a reality. It’ll get very interesting when we start seeing a phone that connects wirelessly to a 42” screen and offers a 1080 picture that makes the experience shareable. From being able to communicate without access to a wired home…to being able to connect and be entertained (individually or as a group), the amount of time being shifted away from traditional media sources, distribution channels and appliances…is astounding.

The priority to charge for access (your cell plan) will be lessened by a need to gather/retain audience so inclusion will become almost assumed. To offset this, mobile subscription packages could be tailored to match personal preferences and be based on whether, or not, you wish to receive ads on your phone/mail/radio/television. For the advertiser, because the device is tracked by location and certain database information is included in your plan, targeting consumers becomes very, very precise.

Even with access to the myriad of applications available, my world hasn’t noticeably changed...yet. Perhaps, my priorities haven’t aligned with the offers? That, of course, would change when the “Lawnmower App” is launched. And bundling “Lawnmower App” with “Laundry App” would be a slamdunk.