Scott Monty

What's in a Name?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/Jobs-iPad-717684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/Jobs-iPad-717683.jpg" width="233" /></a><br />
</div>The iPad. Unless you were in a coma, you probably heard about the launch of Apple's new tablet. A larger version of the iPhone, at 0.5 inches thick, 1.5 pounds, $499 (base model) + a $29.99 unlimited data plan, it's pretty impressive. You can read all about the reveal and product specs over on <a href="http://i.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event/"><b>Engadget</b></a>, who covered it live.<br />
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There's an interesting subplot going on here, though. The hype around the event was palpable - even the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> noted "Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it." Indeed, everyone was speculating about the name of the new netbook from Apple - from the iTablet to iSlate. When it was revealed, it looked like nothing more than an oversize iPhone, but as the presentation went on, the functionality became more apparent.<br />
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Without a doubt, the tech community - which always gets in a tizzy whenever Apple releases a new product (or if Steve Jobs sneezes) - was so prolific in its buzz that it <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/01/27/twitter-apple-tablet/">locked up Twitter</a> for a bit. There's really something to be said about the power of the geeky masses, as words related to the presentation (including Amazon's Kindle, which was mentioned in Job's announcement) accounted for 8 of the 10 trending topics on Twitter at one point.<br />
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<a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/iPad-trend-765910.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/iPad-trend-765909.PNG" /></a>You've got to wonder about the naming decision on this product. It's certainly in line with the "iP" naming convention of the other two wildly successful product lines, the iPod and iPhone. So from a brand extension, it makes sense. But my first inclination was that "iPad" was too close to "iPod." Surely iTablet or iSlate would have worked from a descriptive standpoint. It led me to wonder if there was something more going on here...<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Look carefully at the trending topics for a clue - in addition to phrases like Apple, iBooks, Steve Jobs, Kindle, iPhone, iWork and iSlate, there was as single outlier: <i><b>iTampon</b></i>. Check that again - <b>iPad doesn't even show up on the trending topics</b>!<br />
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</div><blockquote>"What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet."<br />
</blockquote><i>Romeo and Juliet</i> (II, ii, 1-2)<br />
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Did Apple anticipate such a viral phenomenon that they intentionally named the product as they did? Or were they completely naive about the implications? Either way, it's lighting up the web as we speak. And it didn't take long for someone to photoshop it, either:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/itampon-702020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/itampon-702018.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">What do you think? Marketing savvy, stunt or stupidity?<br />
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UPDATE: <a href="http://twitter.com/brennanMKE">@brennanMKE</a> sent me this video - an old iPad commercial:<br />
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<center><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FTzhXMbOWHE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FTzhXMbOWHE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Photo credits: </span></i><a href="http://www.engadget.com/"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Engadget</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size: small;">, </span></i><a href="http://img162.yfrog.com/i/340xe.jpg/"><i><span style="font-size: small;">@Katmanalac</span></i></a><br />
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What's in a Name?

The iPad. Unless you were in a coma, you probably heard about the launch of Apple's new tablet. A larger version of the iPhone, at 0.5 ...

2010 Digital Marketing Outlook

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3212/3125969954_8ecf1226a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3212/3125969954_8ecf1226a2.jpg" width="301" /></a><br />
</div>The <a href="http://sodaspeaks.ning.com/">Society of Digital Agencies</a> - a group that serves as a worldwide voice of digital marketing professionals with a mission to advance the industry through best practices, education, and advocacy - recently sent me the results of a large survey they conducted. SoDA solicited feedback from over 1,000 digital marketing executives from agency and client-side worldwide and captured some solid insights worth sharing here.<br />
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There is no question that digital marketing continues its upward trend. Certainly, when a company like Ford - from the historically lethargic automotive industry - spends 25% of our marketing budget on digital and social media, you know there's a significant movement afoot. And across all industries in 2009, budgets were impacted by the economy, forcing marketers to be more ruthless about seeking efficient results. It should be no surprise to anyone that the rise of digital is a sure thing.<br />
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The <a href="http://sodaspeaks.ning.com/page/digital-marketing-outlook"><b>2010 Digital Marketing Outlook</b></a> contains some 70 pages of particularly poignant facts for the U.S. and abroad (Russia, South America and Mexico), emerging trends, changing platforms, social media and more. Here are some key takeaways worth calling out:<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Online Marketing Spending</b><br />
</div><ul><li>In 2010, two-thirds expect to spend the same or more than in 2009.</li>
<li>Approximately 70% plan to increase (1-30%) or significantly increase (30%+) their unpaid/earned/proprietary media.</li>
<li>The top priorities in 2010 will be social networks/applications and digital infrastructure.</li>
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<b>Emerging Trends</b><br />
<ul><li>Customer experience will be more important than ever.</li>
<li>Storytelling will evolve - location will become a key component; the speed at which stories are developed is crucial; and above all, emotional connections matter.</li>
<li>The beginning of the end of the banner ad.</li>
<li>Branded content syndication will replace some paid media.</li>
<li>40% of opportunity is mobile</li>
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<b>Social Media</b><br />
<ul><li>Social is becoming increasingly mobile.</li>
<li>Measurement will be more important than ever.</li>
<li>Real-time search is inextricably linked to the "statusphere."</li>
<li>Forms of content consumption will continue to be fractured; the nimble marketer will need to be in as many places as possible.</li>
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If you're a regular reader of this blog, I think you'll recognize a number of the themes mentioned in the report. But there's also much more - not to mention really smart - stuff in the entire report. Take a look for yourself.<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/25441346/Two-Thousand-and-Ten-Digital-Marketing-Outlook" style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto; text-decoration: underline;" title="View Two Thousand and Ten Digital Marketing Outlook on Scribd">Two Thousand and Ten Digital Marketing Outlook</a> <object data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" height="600" id="doc_632976633607739" name="doc_632976633607739" style="outline: none;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%">  <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=25441346&access_key=key-26dp4s2digeofw2ulhcg&page=1&viewMode=list"></object></center> <br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">Photo credit: </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/will-lion/3125969954/in/photostream/">Will Lion</a></span></i><br />
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2010 Digital Marketing Outlook

The Society of Digital Agencies - a group that serves as a worldwide voice of digital marketing professionals with a mission to advance th...

Have You Got an App for That?

It seems that app development is where it's at in social. According to <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007473"><b>a recent eMarketer article</b></a>, mobile apps for social networks - in addition to phones - are under consideration by more marketers than ever before. As you can see in the graphic below, the leading platform for an app (unsurprisingly) was Facebook, followed by the iPhone.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/Mobile-Social_apps-721959.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/Mobile-Social_apps-721957.gif" width="343" /></a><br />
</div>Fewer than half invested in mobile or social apps last year, but most plan to create one this year. Lest you think that this is simply marketers chasing the latest shiny object, or the boss claiming G.M.O.O.T. ("get me one of those!"), there's some solid reasoning behind the choice to move more resources to mobile.<br />
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The strategy: create more opportunity for engagement with customers. On social networks, we'll see a greater opportunity for reach, targeting and sharing, but with mobile there's more creative control and the ability to have a message stick with the recipient longer.<br />
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And let's face it: we are increasingly moving to a mobile society. As smartphones - the iPhone, Android, Nexus One and others - become more affordable and widely available, we'll see an explosion in mobile access of the web. And with that, customers will require more custom interaction with the sites and brands they're passionate about - in many cases having news and product information come to them directly.<br />
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Enter the app. Or, more appropriately, the hundreds of thousands of additional apps we're about to see.

Have You Got an App for That?

It seems that app development is where it's at in social. According to a recent eMarketer article , mobile apps for social networks - in...

Social Media Predictions for 2010

<a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/2010-701142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/2010-701120.jpg" width="200" /></a>I'm sure you've seen your fair share of social media predictions for 2010 by now. And while my posting is a little late, I hope I'm note treading too fine a line by waiting until 2010 hits before I make my predictions.<br />
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Before I get into what I think will be worth watching this year, let's see how well I fared with the results from the <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2008/12/i-was-honored-to-receive-email-from.html">predictions I made for 2009</a>. Those included:<br />
<ol><li><i><b>Twitter will continue to achieve legitimacy</b></i>. Check. There's no question that Twitter became mainstream in 2009. I won't rehash all of the examples, but suffice it to say that when your local news outlets are suggesting you follow them on Twitter, it's mainstream.</li>
<li><b><i>Online video will come into its own</i></b>. Check. YouTube has started to show some signs of revenue generation, and Hulu was advertised during the Super Bowl. Video became more and more important in 2009.</li>
<li><b><i>Customers insist on custoMEr service</i></b>. Check. More interaction on Facebook pages, Twitter, Get Satisfaction and similar sites has customers looking for solutions wherever they can find it, not just via 800 numbers.</li>
</ol>Okay, so where does that leave us for 2010? What new trends or changes from last year can we expect?<br />
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<b>There's Power in (Smaller) Numbers</b><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Although this new technology has allowed us to connect more quickly and more transparently across the globe, the collective cacophony is simply too much. It's impossible to actively see what all of your followers are saying on Twitter after you've topped 300 or so.<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In 2010, I believe we'll begin to see a contraction of networked relationships. We saw a forced version of this last year with Burger King's <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/01/09/whopper-sacrifice/">Whopper Sacrifice</a>, but the proliferation of "friends" on various platforms will have people rethinking the true reason they're involved in these places to begin with. So as users reassess who and why they're connecting, what will hold the most interest for them?<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">People still trust people like themselves; but the ones they know best are the ones they're most likely to trust. Therefore, it will be the people in their close networks - particularly from a geographic perspective - that will remain the closest. Brands will also realize that they can't be all things to all people, and will focus on those influencers who are the best fit for them.<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Note I didn't say "those influencers with the most followers or the highest readership." Long ago, <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2008/01/keep-tipping-point.html">I noted the difference between the theories of Malcolm Gladwell and Duncan Watts</a>, the latter of whom notes that it's the network, not the individual influencer, that makes a difference in how ideas are spread. Expect to see a focus on fewer and stronger relationships in our own networks and in influencer/media relations.<br />
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<b>All Social Media is Local</b><br />
This next trend is one that is relative to the above. The former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill once famously said "All politics is local," meaning that ultimately, people care most about what's going on in communities around them. Social media is no different.<br />
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When you follow the recent rise of location-based services like <a href="http://foursquare.com/">Foursquare</a> or <a href="http://www.tripit.com/">Tripit</a>, it's clear that people want to connect with others by location, as well as share experiences and seek recommendations by those who are well informed. And whether that means connecting in the communities in which they live or those to which they travel, people will begin to use more of these kinds of services. As an adjunct to location-based social networks, expect location-based search to blossom as well.<br />
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Related: see Matt Singley's post on <a href="http://mattsingley.com/blog/2009/10/why-foursquare-is-next-social-network/">Why Foursquare is the next Social Network</a>.<br />
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<b>Silent E</b><br />
If you're of a certain generation in America, you may recall <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Letterman"><i>The Adventures of Letterman</i></a>, a varsity-sweater wearing superhero who rescued victims of alphabet assault-and-battery by the Spellbinder. As Letterman appeared, the voice-over noted that he was "Stronger that a silent E..."<br />
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In this case, the E is for email. Yes, email, that seemingly forgotten poor stepchild of social media, that gateway to the online space, that workhorse of digital media. Email is alive and well and living in everyone's inbox. <a href="http://sharethis.com/blog/2009/12/16/the-value-of-sharing-social-engagement/">According to ShareThis</a>, 46% of people share content by email - larger than any other social platform. And <a href="http://www.strongmail.com/resources/whitepapers/wp-influence-benchmark-q309.php">StrongMail's Social Influence Benchmark Report</a> shows nearly 37% share by email, with 21% sharing by embedded badges.<br />
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When you add to this the fact that many in the mainstream still don't know what an RSS feed is or how to use an RSS reader (or that they simply don't use one), it's clear that email subscriptions still rule the roost. Not to mention that email is ubiquitous. It's just generally accepted that everyone has an email address. Despite the hype of social media and social networks as the latest way to connect, every single platform has a common denominator: you need an email address to register.<br />
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Expect to see a renewed effort on email marketing, with a nod toward integrating with social media applications and campaigns. With a good content strategy, email is simply the vehicle best suited to share the content.<br />
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Related: <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007434">Users Still Sharing by E-Mail (eMarketer)</a><br />
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<b>Other Trends</b><br />
While I won't go into as much detail in these, keep your eyes on the mobile space, on fuller integration of PR and marketing, and more focus on quality content in 2010. Overall, the space will begin to show some signs of maturation, and will begin a future trend of being integrated as a part of day-to-day business in many organizations.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Oh, last year I also predicted that social media gurus would continue to self-promote. I see no need to change that this year. ;-)<br />
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</div><div>How about you - any predictions or trends that you'd care to share? Drop a comment in below.<br />
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<b>You might want to check out these related posts as well:</b><br />
Brian Solis says that <a href="http://www.briansolis.com/2009/12/there%E2%80%99s-an-app-for-that-mobile-is-the-next-frontier-for-brand-engagement/">Mobile is the Next Frontier for Brand Engagement</a>.<br />
Pete Cashmore predicts <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/03/cashmore.web.trends.2010/index.html?iref=allsearch">10 Web trends to watch in 2010</a>.<br />
<div>eMarketer <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007408">Weighs in on 2010 Trends</a> and compiles a <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007446">2010 Roundup of Predictions</a><br />
Chris Brogan looks notes that <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/2010-will-see-consolidation-and-foldups/">2010 Will See Consolidations and Fold-ups</a><br />
Forrester predicts <a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2009/12/2010-the-year-marketing-dies.html">2010: The Year Marketing Dies</a><br />
Read Write Web tell us about <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/10_ways_social_media_will_change_in_2010.php">10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2010</a><br />
MediaPost says that <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=119493">2010 Is the Year Social Media Gets Serious</a><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">Photo credit: </span></i><i><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49462908@N00/4233029829/">Stefan</a></span></i><br />
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Social Media Predictions for 2010

I'm sure you've seen your fair share of social media predictions for 2010 by now. And while my posting is a little late, I hope I...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor

What's in a Name?

2010 Digital Marketing Outlook

Have You Got an App for That?

Social Media Predictions for 2010

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