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Disrupting the Disruptors

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By Erfan Djazmi, head of planning and mobile

December 13, 2013 | 5 min read

This is a good time to reflect on the year as we prepare and look forward to 2014.

With the unprecedented pace of change in technology, media, and telecommunications, it’s useful to ponder what these changes mean to our businesses on a day-to-day basis; particularly for those of us operating in the ubiquitously named “digital” industry.

Digital infuses all our lives; certainly consumers don’t expect any difference between touch-points when interacting with brands. Brands even have to accept and respond to consumers commenting on their products, services, and strategies in a public and viral environment. Sectors that aren’t usually known for agility and innovation - like the government and public services - acknowledge digital as the driver for transformation and growth.

The European economy has been under pressure for most of this year. But on a positive note, the IPA/PwC Bellwether Report for Q3 2013 affirmed the continuing shift of UK advertising to digital, particularly online search, as Internet budgets increase by 11.7 per cent. A recent report from eMarketer expects investment in digital advertising to rise steadily in all EU-5 nations through to 2017, and shows mobile internet ad spend is looking particularly strong in the UK and Germany, as it catches up with media consumption. But there is still a big gap between user time spent on mobile vs spend.

We’re seeing big changes for consumers, brands, and advertisers through what new devices and new operating systems, like Apple’s newest iOS7, offer in terms of functionality, speed, and usability. The industry is inventing new ways to connect with consumers; one of those ways is through new formats.

The definition of “mobile” is also challenged. With everyone expecting a new or upgraded tablet and smartphone by the New Year, this relatively young medium is still in the exciting “what next?” phase.

Emerging and potentially disruptive innovations are the most likely to breathe new life into the advertising economy.

Earlier this year, an initiative gave marketers the opportunity to discover fledgling businesses from San Francisco to Shoreditch. A unique introduction scheme involved company founders, journalists, and investors in the global search programme SEEK to help uncover innovators and disruptors. These “new” marketing innovators were given the opportunity to showcase ideas, share experiences, and collaborate with industry leaders; and, in the process, captured the imagination of the audience with their vision for the marketing landscape of tomorrow.

Companies that stood out this year included Drawbridge, a technology capable of bridging over a million customers across devices. Inspiring founder Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan declared that cross-device targeting is the next frontier or even the holy grail of digital advertising.

We’re asked to complete a captcha online verification process 300 million times a day to confirm we’re human and not a bot. Howard Kingston, the CEO and founder of Future Ad Labs introduced PlayCaptcha, approaching a necessary action in a fun, engaging, and entertaining way. After Heinz and Coca-Cola, PlayCaptcha signed Nestlé only this week to engage customers with its KitKat brand.

And if you automatically think of Twitter when you hear a bird reference: new kid on the block Chirp will open your eyes…and ears. Patrick Bergel, founder and CEO, gave a spirited presentation about how audio technology or digital birdsong can transfer data between devices, effectively teaching machines to sing. Topshop “chirped” messages to its customers to reveal secrets in advance of the catwalk show for their SS14 collection at London Fashion Week.

Innovation is not confined to the disruptors coming out of Silicon Valley, Tech City, or the incubator programmes. Potentially transformative tech solutions are emerging globally every day.

Didn’t someone say that the meek (entrepreneur) will inherit the earth…

Erfan Djazmi, is head of mobile, EMEA for Essence, sponsor of the Digital Trading Awards which has been launched to reward clarity, transparency and client service in digital advertising. You can find out more at digitaltradingawards.com, and the deadline for entries is 6 February.

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