As we pass the 7th anniversary of Steve Jobs taking the stage to introduce the first iPhone, it is worth reflecting how the world has changed in terms of consumer interaction with mobile devices. Toucan
Our phones have become a way of life in ways that we would never have dreamed of. The quantum leap that mobile computing took that day is even more impressive when you look at what represented a ‘smart phone’ in 2007.Read ON
If you have a spare hour it’s well worth looking at the launch video even if just to watch a master presenter at work. Competitors soon got their R&D departments on the case and Google particularly attracted the Jobs infamous ire for developing the Android OS. Eric Schmidt, the then Google CEO, was particularly vilified as he was also an Apple board member at the time of the iPhone’s development.
Targeted messages to potential consumers
The latest battleground for mobile devices is geolocation. Apple has shied away from NFC (near field communication) technology that you find in Oyster cards and debit cards in favour of Bluetooth Low Energy or BLE. This allows for hyper accurate location data to be transmitted to the phone and allows marketers to deliver incredibly focused and targeted messages to potential consumers. It does require the installation of an iBeacon but the benefits of this route over NFC are many.
In terms of real-world applications, Coca-Cola are planning to implement iBeacon activity around the time of the World Cup in Brazil. It will be interesting to see how it comes together as user experience using other technologies is varied… Cinime andtap4offers being two examples.
Whatever the future holds, you can be sure it will be exciting for brands and consumers alike… just as long as Cyberdyne Systems don’t start developing robots.
Mike Benns
Hello. I’m Mike, a founding director of Toucan and someone who gets worryingly obsessed by things… Apple technologies, Crystal Palace FC, playing table tennis, the San Francisco Giants… I can’t really explain why. As a child of the 70s, I blame it on only having three TV channels and an unhealthy fascination with the trade test card.
At work, my obsession is delivering the best damn creative marketing solutions that surpass our clients’ objectives… Simple as that. Crackerjack!
