Marketing and Technology: Complementing each other

Being "Agile" is the way to be. No matter if its technology, Project management or be it marketing .

 According to  +Wikipedia  " Agile management or agile project management is an iterative and incremental method of managing the design and build activities for engineering, information technology, and new product or service development projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner, for example agile software development. It requires capable individuals from the relevant business, with supplier and customer input. "

An d with advent +Smartphones , devices and digital media , Marketing is getting more fragmented than ever.

The ecosystem of the entire marketing is changing and technology is one of the main reason behind its. Marketing signifies evolution, continuous change bur today in the digital world, the pace of that change is higher than ever.

And technical specialist and a marketing specialist had to go hand in hand.

Only marketing without innovation does not work and vice versa.

And only innovation also does not make successful product. If it was the case, then Xerox would have been the company to introduce different calligraphy and fonts to the world not Apple.

Xerox invented it, Apple first improvised it to personal computers and Microsoft made it popular.

Today, almost all the renowned brands are bringing in the Digital Marketing in their Marketing Strategy. And to utilize it properly, only investing money is not the case anymore investing wisely in content and technology to promote is useful

It’s all about superior user interface nowadays and the lies in how to detect the sweet spot for your consumers 

Innovation:Keep it fresh!!

We humans sometimes can be so greedy and materialistic -- we want more from life and every aspect of it.

It makes me think does that inbuilt program of "wanting more" is the driving force behind innovation and evolution. I think great philosophers and psychologists must have answer it already if not it's a request to the great and genius mind please do so...

Every time I heard of the marketing jargon "blockbuster product" or "product category smasher" I can see something common in them --- fun, simple and useful.

But what happens when that fun, simplicity and usefulness is not so new and fresh anymore. It's started to stale or we have some nagging feeling in our mind, can't it get better, can't we have something more to make our life easier.

  

Corporations, small businesses and start ups around the world are trying to keep up with the ever changing dynamic business scenario. And these businesses do have their own challenges. +Sony  almost came up with +iPod  like products but could not leverage on it due to their own internal issues and   +Apple Inc.  came up with its iPod.

Innovation is not only the key but the presence of culture in an organization to commercialize it which brings revolution and change and thus "Innovation".

Watch this Carl Brass +TEDx  video ....

Data and Design:Revolution of present and future !!

I made a presentation today in front of my team and all went well and two of my C level executives complemented my presentation by saying you have made look numbers interesting.I actually used +Infographics  for the presentation.

It make me think that I used significant data but also infographics to make it look interesting.So the question which came to my mind is, which impressed my peers the data or the way I presented the data??

Data and design are both complementary according to  me if you ask but sometimes each of them individually also make significant impact.

Take the best example in hand +Google  and  +Apple Inc. .Two tech giants of our time and both of them have revolutionized the tech-scenario of our time and age.

On surface both of them may look similar type of organizations but essentially they are polar opposite. With Apple relying on design and Google worshiping data as their individual building blocks respectively.

Any +Apple iFans  will vouch for its superior design .... Apple products are  synonymous to great design. Whereas Google's every products based on meticulous research of data and that is the differentiating factor for them to it's competitor.Data is truly king of them!

But its hard to tell which is more useful, you just have to come up with the correct mix.Or may be in future +Steve Wozniak (Refer source : http://mashable.com/2013/11/03/steve-wozniak-apple-should-work-with-google-samsung/)wishful thinking of Apple and Google coming together may create a big bang impact.I guess time will tell!!!

+Steve Jobs  and Apple employees expressing their viewpoints on design...

 +Larry Page's inspiring speech on how dare to take risk and data/information resulted in Google's success...

Change is vision or your vision should change !!!

What lies in future none of us know.What will change or how it will change............... but when you look back and think how much had changed and how you are different from before--It's amazing!!

Before +Bill Gates no one in "The silicon Valley" really thought about software, he was the first to really make us understand the meaning of a software company.

And the +Steve Jobs showed computers can be personal and it can be used in a way you like it, rather than being used only by people of Technical company.

And the core to every great innovation lies how you can just envision it..may be crazy it may sound today , but tomorrow it can  be possible.

I know I sound completely old , philosophical and boring but I feel nostalgic that how much technology had advanced in the last decade and more and more all the exclusive technology for multi billion companies and Government experiment becomes available to common people more it will impact and shape our life styles.

For example , Mobile networks had made real time connection or we can say communication real time.And internet with Social Media had taken that real time communication to another level.And +Augmented Reality  technology was used for advanced fighter jets and now with +Google Glass  it can eventually become public. More innovations and making it more available to common mass have become objective of tech giants.

And for that one can refer to the following +YouTube videos :

Future of search and Google's vision

Future is exciting only we need correct vision and judgement to know what correct for us and use it.

Is it possible for Technology and Brands to replace currency !!

Trust: a small word which plays a significant role in our life. And somehow most of our issues in life can get solved if we can start trusting things and have a guarantee that it won't be broken.

+Edelman is coming up with research results which indicates about trust we have on government bodies, media, NGOs and businesses.

And its quiet relevant because the reason behind any brand's success is how much trust their consumers have on them and all the advertising, marketing and digital touch points are created to retain , create and increase those trust factor.

Let take an example:  +Amazon.Com the.Best  gives points to buy things from Amazon, like gifts, mp3, books, etc. It's the trust you have on its business model which is letting you to buy real things on basis of Amazon points you have.The points you are using to buy products are a kind of currency given to you by the business and which you are investing within the business in exchange of goods. No Governments or Central banks are monitoring it.

So  a wishful thinking of a person in this unstable economic condition of our present world that-- can technology with help of business and its trustworthy brands can overcome issues which  banks and governments worldwide are trying desperately to solve.

Can trustworthy  technology really takeover!! Another name which is coming to my mind when discussing currency and technology is  +Bitcoin . Its a peer to peer digital currency since 2008 started by pseudonymous developer  Satoshi Nakamoto.

(For further info, check this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin)

We have seen in n number of sci-fi Hollywood films repercussions of technology taking over human. But if the brainy peoples out there can keep those details in mind and have firewalls and encryption  (  referencing Terminator movies) to prevent them and really let technology to becomes mankind's friend, it will be wonderful .

So I am wishing brands, businesses and technology best of luck!!

Simplicity and Human Touch: Future of Technology !!

I am avid e-book reader since last few years but once upon a time during rainy days I used sit in my room with my favorite novel and a cup of hot coffee with "samosa" and read it.

I feel e-book let me allow read whenever I am free time.And its mobility and availability through help of any smart device make it more preferable to me.

But I crave more human touch in it ....

 I miss the comfort and simplicity of a paperback book, its smell and the experience of laziness and coziness attached to it.

My idol  +Steve Jobs had described iPad as "...strategy is really simple. What we want to do is we want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn how to use in 20 minutes ... And we really want to do it with a radio link in it so you don’t have to hook up to anything and you’re in communication with all of these larger databases and other computers"

But I am waiting for someone taking such user experience to next level.

Where is the next +Apple Inc. ???

It's my request to all the brilliant minds out there to come op with a technology which has a simple usage but also can me make me experience the human touch.

I know I am becoming greedy!! But what can I do I am a spoiled being of this Digital Age who is getting used to innovation of new technologies and their ever decreasing life cycle.

And I guess it’s take a brilliant moment of realization from an inventor's mind to work on already existing technologies and develop something brilliant.

Like fibre optics are existing since 19th century but it was only around 1970's the problem of attenuation (degrading of signal or connectivity over a distance) was given a thought.

 And we all know what it had led to --> The “Internet".

And its the simplicity of thought process and few -- accidentally lucky -- "eureka" moments that had given birth to few of the greatest invention that had changed the world.

For example : Discovery of microwave oven by an engineer  Percy Spencer while US company +Raytheon was carrying out wartime experiment of magnetron tubes used in radar defence.And the lucky incident was that a chocolate in his pocket was melting due to "microwave" and he implemented it into a box and what impact it had on our lifestyle!!

And such examples can go on and on ...

I am sure like lots of you out there I am also waiting for more such magic moment to happen!!!

Taking Marketing to DNA level !!!

We all had heard about  +BigData Planet  and the importance of big data in businesses and how vastly it cam impact our socio-economic system.

But today I came across a really cool idea of "Marketing to the Big Data inside us"

(Check out this source: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/514396/marketing-to-the-big-data-inside-us/)

I mean I really feel that it is cool to take marketing in such a micro level to our very own Deoxyribonucleic acid --our  DNA to be precise.

+Paul Saarinen  and Scoot Fahrenkrug are the founding members of  Miinome Inc, a Minneapolis based start-up.It claims to be the first "member controlled human genetic marketplace"

The concept they want to sell is very similar how marketers use Twitter and Facebook to get personal data and use it for product placement for consumers.so Miinome Inc. will provide the DNA based data so marketers have better understanding og consumers purchasing preferences.

This DNA data based marketing concept is taking it to the next level.

If it can be implemented successfully and Miinome Inc. manage to find takers who can implement it ...I for sure will keep an eye from now on regarding its development.

Certainly an interesting space to watch out for!!

Anybody can be creative:True or False??

"You are a creative person." -- How lovely is to hear something like this?

But we believe everyone cannot be creative.....Wrong!!!

According to me everyone can be creative. It’s a common notion that people with divergent thinking (out of the box thinkers) can only be creative. People with convergent thinking are not creative.

We all are different individuals with unique qualities then how can be our creativity or way of work can be similar?

We all have different styles of creativity or working. It’s up to us that we believe in ourselves whether we can be creative in our life. People with structured thought process can be creative also once they started believing in themselves.

 I mean you can be creative how uniquely you organize your closet or how a mother can pack regular tiff-in for her child just by packing it in a way that will excite the kid to eat it.

Don't we do such staffs, everyday?

It's a common myth that people from arts, music are creative but an engineer, doctor, or scientist --- Come on they certainly don't come under the pile of "Creative " people !!

 Check out the following +Pinterest  page.

http://www.pinterest.com/theaudicoguy/creative-inspiring-technology-ideas/      

          

 Still not convinced, then checkout out the work of a great scientist -- +Leonardo da Vinci 

 http://www.geniusstuff.com//blog/list/10-leonardo-da-vinci-inventions/

And to conclude I will end this post with my favorite +Steve Jobs  quote on creativity.

"Creativity is just connecting things.When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, the just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while" -- Steve Jobs

Happiness is key to business success !!

Well its Monday and after joining your office after a great week long holiday with your family you tend to miss the golden moments of being over-pampered, over-fed , over-slept and totally relaxed.

So I came back home after finishing the piled up piled up work at office and to relax started watching +Tom & Jerry  videos from +YouTube and just after 15 minutes I felt a lot relaxed.

It got me thinking what is it the thing that till today this MGM's studio creation still able to work its magic till today since 1940's. I think it’s just makes you happy and in spite of its comic rivalry plot , it also shows a friendship and genuine care about each other. Sometimes it also shows how they work together to pursue a common goal.

So wrapped in the package of entertainment it also try to educate young minds without getting preachy. 

And I think one of the key reason behind success of marketing whether its digital way or the traditional way is to make people learn something useful and happy.I mean look at successful +Blogger such as +Mashable , +The Verge , +Gizmodo , +TechCrunch , +The Next Web  etc. Each has something interesting but informative as well.

It’s a mix of utility and user orientation which makes any brand successful .And the better you can do it and continuously improve upon it, the better and long lasting will be your customer loyalty.

Marketers can Optimize the Quantum Way !!!

I always used to listen with awe whenever there were news related to +quamtum phisycs  and +quantum computer  as it  used to talk about the future of computers and how it can impact our lives in the process.

Once upon a time being a science and engineering student I used to read about the concepts of it but if anyone had asked me anything regarding the practical implementation of it in daily lives and day to day use of it--I would have faced a very difficult time explaining it to someone.

But guess what +Google  had come across a +YouTube  video which explains it in a very simple way.

Check out this link :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CMdHDHEuOUE

This video tells us how this can solve the queries of human origin and the existence of life in Universe.

But it also shows +Google  step towards future technology managing +bigdata with help of +NASA .

As a consumer of +Google+ Developers  creations it also shows how as search engine users life can be easier because of Quantum physics but in such a simple way that I envied those science kids who will able to answer and discuss +Physics  so easily in their upcoming science classes after watching this video.

The power of  computer processors and the innovative technologies involving it will dictate the terms of future marketers success marketing their products.But the success will go to the ones who will leverage the technology and simplify the usage of it to the end consumers.

In the day and age of  +DigitalMarketing ,  Content marketing and Marketing automation lets see who will be the next  +Apple.inc  for us-- consumers to take computing experience to a new level.

Segmenting Targeting Positioning the Digital Way !!!

A Bengali always searches for a taste of Bengal during Durga Puja if he or she is unfortunate to stay away from Kolkata during Puja and obviously I am one of them for past 3 years. I like so many other Bengalis living outside Kolkata look for a Bengali Puja Association and visit there. (And yes we Bengalis always manage to create a cultural community in whichever part of the world we go).

And there we find the foods and other commodities very much going with the theme of festivities and we sometimes pay for overly priced goods very happily. I guess all the festive time, irrespective of any culture and religion is the best examples to observe segmenting targeting and positioning of products.

It’s  all about when a consumer want something provide it with the way he/she likes it and it will automatically create the correct touch points for marketers.

The coming time will be vastly impacted by +DigitalMarketing as it is redefining the product placement or rather the ubiquitous presence of products. The power is shifting towards consumers and the demand of "Personalization" and "Simplification" of acquiring products.

+Amazon.com , +eBay , +PayPal  had shown us the way and it will only get better few years ago for us -- consumers.

Few years ago +Android  was a unknown name but it had redefined the apps usage for +Smartphones generation.

Soon terms like +Augmented Reality , +SmartShopping  cart, and the likes of mobile loyalty apps such as +Ibotta ,  +JifitiGifts  and +shopkick  concept will be very common.

Life is certainly getting easier for consumers if you can handle the amount of alternatives you can get nowadays and harder for marketers to keep up the pace of rapidly changing technology.

Innovation in mobility sure will define future of our smart devices

India is in peak of its festive season and festivities are so infectious that even in tough economic times could not stop us in splurging money ..........and definitely it do some good to the economy.

And we get to see marketers in all their glory with their best  +advertisement of brands  coming up with new ideas to sell their products.

Being a marketing student I know about the sale techniques and all ......but still it does not help me to control myself from shopping spree.But being a wise shopper I tried to find out the wholesale dealers shops in city markets to get things in best possible price.

So today while trying to reach my destination of joy--- while trying to navigate the city traffic --- my Smart phone started acting not so smart by showing me battery-zapped smug face of it !!!

At that point I was thinking of an article I read on +Kickstarter  page about +Smartphones  charger without any need of out .

(Check this out in the following link: http://mashable.com/2013/10/10/flamestower/)

But I was lucky enough to get into a bag shop where the owner let me charge my phone so that I can +WhatsApp  pictures of bags to my mom to help me choose a bag of her choice.

And while talking about the smart devices and the ease of use I cannot help but share an article I read in   +DisneyResearchHub  about Tactile Rendering of 3D Features on Touch Surfaces.

I personally feel it will be really cool to have it.

Check the following link:

http://www.disneyresearch.com/project/3d-touch-surfaces/

I think lots of people out their faced similar situations and also have the same wishful thinking as mine to have a solution. So all the technical geniuses out there make it happen as soon as possible.

Social Media

Nowadays we read a lot about amazing power of social media as a marketing tool. Every top brands have their social media accounts in social networking sites.

Social networking sites have changed our lifestyle and all the big brands are using it proactively to leverage the riding tides of it. It has become a platform to a sophisticated networks of connection.

And according to my understanding social media  is going through its growth phase of its Life Cycle . For example there are only 74 million internet users in India (as a developing nation it has huge potential of internet users growth).

Through out the 2000's , present and near future social media will witness growth and continue to become integral part of our life (more and more).

But is the future of it lies in another new Facebook or new Twitter. I don't think so.

Energy will be the key to it.

Devices which can provide power supply to numerous wireless devices we are using nowadays .

The screen of the devices we use to communicate and connect are increasing.

It started with Laptops, tablets, mobile smartphones, smart watches and many more to come in next few years.

Energy is the key to future technology. With time there will be various innovative devices and evolution of devices screen space but the main key is to source those devices with sustaining power sources.

Any organization which can optimize not will be able to establish itself as the forerunner in the market, but also will be able to brand itself for what its worth

Brand_Geniuses

Today I was reading an article in AdWeek which was about an annual event for brand geniuses and the first 

name I could recall was David Ogilvy.

We all know that Raymond Rubicam, Leo Burnett, William Bernbach, Ted Bates and David Ogilvy were the

 visionaries who had changed the face of advertising world.Sometimes I wonder what were the things that 

separate brilliant minds from geniuses.

Is it the way they perceive the world or how differently they perceive it...Or is it they had figured out how to 

connect rather communicate better than the rest of the world.

 Leo Burnett’s philosophy, “when you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either.”Is it such a simple statement but how easy it to relate to oneself.Don't we all aspire for something and if we could not have it, go for the best alternative.

Some people might say why not always go for the best or be best--- an outstanding achiever can say that or think like it but a normal average (as per the definition of our society) person does not think like that.

At the same time it also have a sense of hope which make the famous quote feel more real to us.

And if we look around us isn't it all come down to how well you can connect and communicate.I mean look at all the successful brands..look at Facebook...there were so many social networking sites at the time Facebook was launched but it stood apart.

Why? Because it was able to connect and communicate its idea to its consumers with simplicity.It is a simple and fun concept which had penetrated in our mind and life and had changed the definition of social media.

And at the same time its ability to understand what can kill it and change accordingly.

Today I again re-read the success stories of  all those mavericks and feeling inspires.And what is most wonderful is that their visions and understanding of media is still relevant . May be the technology had changed but the way to touch people minds and hearts are still all the same.