Meet your customer…of the future!
Here's a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation that's a good introduction to the customer (or general consumer, for that matter) from tomorrow...the kid of today. You know him, or her -- that's the prospect who'll be surveying your category, judging your product line or service offerings, and who you'll need to understand and engaged in dialogue with in order to sell and succeed.
What jumps out?
Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.
"Media-savvy" doesn't do it justice. They're immersed in media, and all those forms are working toward being joined at the byte in ways that will make them all interactive, interrelated, and instantaneous. Social media, mobile media, convergence communication...every interaction, whether you're buying shoes, shopping for groceries, or conducting a vendor call, will be done increasingly through digital channels. Why not? It's what they're already used to.
Digital telepresence, videoconferencing through your iPhone...they'll all lead to a business world where fluidity and rapidity of communication and response will be paramount. The faster you show your smarts, the better you'll fare. Be ready for a world where near-absolute transparency and incredible depth of communication with your customers is a must, because that's the world they're experiencing today.
The iPad DRM strategy, in a nutshell
Here's an incisive analysis of Apple's ultimate iPad strategy by Tom Foremski at his site Silicon Valley Watcher, which is always good for smart, informed information on the tech business.
iPad observations: has Steve Jobs already won the war?

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
I've got serious marketer envy happening here.
There are a lot of people out there doubting Steve Jobs right now, after the debut of the new iPad. They’re trolling everything from its name to its feature set. But the marketing game he and his team are playing on a level that's well above many critics' purview. And that's spoken as a guy who doesn't use Apple hardware, because I've shed too many tears over dead hard drives and idiosyncratic design features.
But they miss the point. Apple has already struck a powerful blow. Gen 1.0 will ship 4-6 million, easily. The big fail in criticisms to date is to be looking at it from the standpoint of a habituated PC user or fanboy geek...and that's not the target; those scores of millions of iPod Touch and iPhone users will snap them up because it's an extension of the UI they know and appreciate. Many of them don't have laptops, even...but when they get one, who'll they buy it from? Two guesses? Why even buy a laptop when they can get an iPad, whether 1.0 or 1.1 or 3.0?
So as for those who call it simply a juiced-up iPhone...well, it's very much supposed to echo the iPhone experience. Jobs and crew said as much during the presentation. In fact, they're counting on it, to leverage their existing loyalists.
They're the classic example of the "lighthouse" brand that deliberately polarizes in order to secure more fervent adherents. Their "enemy" is Everybody Else, and the hyperbole and self-confidence around the iPad launch, or any Apple launch, is part of making the Appleistas feel they're part of a movement that goes beyond hardware or software or even the UI.
Every line of trolling or criticism they're hearing right now is music to their ears, in fact, because it reinforces this strategy. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if somebody piped up with an objection to the much-disparaged "iPad" name in a meeting, and Jobs and his lieutenants laughed themselves silly with delight at the provocation and buzz it generates. Does anybody think any of those 75 million iPhone or iPod Touch users -- the people Apple is after as 1.0 first adopters here -- is going to care about the name?
Others are coming out with tablets. But…Lenovo? HP? Sorry, but I’ll lay odds they'll repeat the same mistake they always make -- delivering products that are laptop/PClike and striving to do too much at once, thinking like engineers and not designers, while using UIs which don't can't hold a candle to Springboard. This device isn't for a person who embraces the PC experience. Does anyone have faith that a Dell or an Asus can successfully deliver a user experience that compares with an Apple? Even if incorporating Android?
The Kindle? Dead. I'd dump mine ASAP for a device that can offer similar functionality and includes Web appliance features. The eBook market isn't saturated – despite what some day -- except among users who have considered or have bought e-ink-style ebooks. There are tens of millions of others who thought e-readers were indulgent devices at the price, would soon be supplanted, and who'll gladly jump on iPad-type devices because they make more sense because of their broader utility.
Besides, the iPad needs to be seen in the greater context of what Apple has been trying to do over the last decade: not deliver a cool gadget, but deliver a transformative tool for living. They know exactly what they’re doing – and who they’re doing it for.
The iPad is just another CONTENT spigot for Apple. No less, no more. Observers and trolls who get hung up on the hardware completely miss the point of what they've been doing over the last decade or so. Hardware is mutable -- becoming a familiar convenience you coexist with almost instinctually is the objective. Steve Jobs has been connecting content with lifestyle appliances in ways heretofore never seen, and so successfully that it's foolish to bet against him with this one.
Innovation is all about attitude.
Here's a great post at the blog of Coast Southwest, one of our clients. It's on the subject of innovation, and how those who see themselves as victims will never invent. That's simply, inarguably right -- successful innovation and growth is as much about attitude and the understanding that there's no such thing as "bad luck" holding you back. That's not just a belief, it's scientifically proven. Do we make our own luck? Yes, in ways we don't even know or understand until they're revealed to us.
Break out of the (in)box: 7 tips for a successful B2B e-blast
If you’re planning a B2B eblast or email program, here’s a list of basics to keep in mind when designing it. Your eblast's RODI (Return On Design Investment) will live or die based on how well you execute these.
An enticing subject line: Keep it short (40-50 characters) but deliver the prospect of surprise! Value! Savings! Intrigue! Information you can’t do without! It’s old hat, but it works. Just don’t overpromise the contents – otherwise they’ll disdain opening your next email, no matter how well-crafted it may be.
It’s from a human being: Make absolutely certain you have this come from a personalized, branded mailbox. Don’t let it look like a mailbot or mass drop – would you rather get an email from john.jones@smithco.com, or from jj2212@smithco.com?
Preview-perfect: It’s got to look good in the preview pane of their mail reader. If you’ve got an offer – make sure it’s visible. Make sure any action button or link is visible. Remember that often they won’t see more than the first few inches of your missive, so you’ve got to engage them immediately.
Hyperlink from the lead line: The first text line of your email should include an embedded link to any offer or value, or to the most important item in your mailing. It should be placed above or immediately below anyheader graphics, as well.
Help their eye along: They’ll spend less time scanning your email than it took you to just read this sentence, so make sure what you want to say jumps out. Break up the content into shot paragraphs, use embedded links, buttons, bolded or highlighted text for key ideas or links.
Graphically gorgeous: Use graphic headers, textures, buttons, et al. Used tastefully, they’ll help readability, but also help circumvent some spam blockers.
Test, test, and test again: Set up inboxes in different email apps as a standard protocol and test your outbound work of genius beforehand to debug.
The best tip of all? Let an accomplished digital agency (like Biersma) do the work, so you can reap the rewards.
Augmented Reality is on its way…but to you or to a competitor first?
This astonishing simulation of what it might be like to live in a world enhanced by Augmented Reality demonstrates a future that's much, much nearer than many of us realize. In a day when A/R apps are commonplace, where as Apple apps or as promotional interactions on cereal boxes, even B2B marketers should look at the possibilities, especially since so much of the software and hardware is economical and off-the-shelf. It's better to get a leg up on implementation of breakthrough tools now, rather than play catch-up later, even if you're simply exploring the option with your digital or design agency to see if it makes sense.
Execution in the real world of marketing and sales has to be affordable, sensible and not just glitz and boilerplate. So any consideration of this kind of technology has to ask the question, does it give me a real competitive edge? Can I do it in a manner that's not perceived as superficial, but provides concrete and rewarding interaction that's meaningful to my category and my customers?
Imagine an A/R business card that's not just entertaining, but unlocks high-value content for your prospects? What about a sell sheet or brochure that activates a 3D product demo? When companies like Boeing (where the term orginated) and others are exploring integration of A/R and virtual reality into their production and maintenance procedures, it's time to speculate about how this technology could help your business present a more dynamic face to the world across its advertising and marketing.