denuo’s 2009 ces trends
Posted by Benny Torres | January 15, 2009
Curated by: Saneel Radia
So earlier this month, part of the Denuo crew went out to Vegas for CES 2009. There was certainly a lot to take in. From 3D television and cinema (available in abundance, but mostly gimmicky execution) to the glut of TV screens (getting thinner and greener, but not at the same time), CES was a tech geek’s dream. From a marketer’s perspective however, there were specific trends that will inevitably impact what we do in the near future. The purpose of this post is to call out a few of those major initiatives.
Everywhere you looked at CES, you saw touch interfaces: TVs, computer screens, phones, even remote controls. It’s still a highly experimental space. Hardware and software manufacturers are trying to find the right combination of accuracy, responsiveness, and interactivity. Although the experiences are still uneven, it’s only a matter of time before costs come down and this more natural interface becomes the norm. Communicating effectively in a touch-driven world requires some new thinking. There is already a common language developing around touch interfaces and brands need to play close attention so they can enter the space as seamlessly as possible. This jump will potentially be the most drastic brands have had to make in a while, as the completely unique interface means “porting” over assets is literally impossible. If anything is going to force brands to create deeper engagements, it seems appropriate (and late) that touch technology be the catalyst.
With laptops getting smaller and mobile devices becoming more powerful, recent PC thinking is making both more personal. The expectations of this new genre of device are greater than older mobile experiences and very different from traditional screen experiences. People are looking for the means to remotely access information in a rich, interactive way, without compromises. This CES was when hardware manufacturers finally were able to provide a wide variety of solutions for those needs. So while, superficially, the Sony Vaio P and the Palm Pre seem to be VERY different products (OS, form factor, control mechanism, price), both would actually be used for similar tasks on the road.
The way brands approach this new, more capable mobile screen needs to account for the new realities of a non-compromised mobile experience. Communications become less about providing a bite-sized version of the PC, and more about providing mobile utility and entertainment in a way that makes sense. Consumers are accustomed to compromising on the go – this new class of devices mean we no longer have to. Brands who want to stay relevant need to step up to the plate and address these new, higher expectations consumers will have for mobile experiences. Success means taking lessons from the experiences hardware manufacturers have successfully integrated into these devices, while thinking about how brands fit naturally into a new mobile experience without compromises.
Many companies featured “internet capable” TVs, a staple of industry lore for 5+ years. The truth is, much of the functionality that can be included by adding an ethernet port to a TV was already present through the various boxes connected to TVs around the nation. But now that TVs can connect by themselves – companies are starting to explore what content and features are most practical. It’s not about fitting the web into a TV experience (as the old adage went), or about deeply integrating TV content with internet features (as the other old adage went: “you’ll be able to click on Jennifer Aniston’s sweater for purchase!”); instead, it’s about providing connected experiences that makes sense in a “couch” mindset. I believe these experiences fall into two distinct, but important groups of content.
On the one hand the most obvious use is streaming content directly to the TV. From Netflix, to Pandora, to Hulu, to YouTube, the ability to receive content on-demand from the couch without any additional hardware is a game-changer. Appropriate brand use of this new ability requires a bit of looking “back to the future.” The experimenting brands have done in recent years trying to fit TV into the PC (webisodes, user-generated content, long-form internet video) all of a sudden seems to make a LOT more sense. All that content can now be easily streamed on-demand in HD using a standardized interface accessed from the couch. BudTV now becomes Bud… on your TV. That sounds like it makes a much more sense than viewing that content hunched over a laptop screen. Who knows… maybe this marks a renaissance in plain old “entertainment by brands,” with some new internet-enabled wrinkles thrown in the mix. We can only hope.
On the other side of the spectrum we’ve got what people at CES were calling “TV widgets.” The use of simple, single purpose applications on the TV simply makes sense – as long as their function matches the environment. It’s all about recognizing that people in front of their couches are in a very different mindset than people in front of their computer screens. We’ve got large, beautiful HD displays – we don’t want to see the entirety of the ugly, utilitarian parts of the internet on them. Checking stock prices isn’t ideal from the couch, but allowing people to order out, or to control their homes from their remotes might be. Brands need to create portable experiences they can easily package and distribute – rather than self-indulgent digital experiences no one will want to wade through in that mindset. Again – the communication needs to match the environment and the mindset.
All this means brands will have to marry the new school of digital thinking (providing utility for an “active” environment) with the old school of traditional TV marketing (providing entertainment and one-way communications in a “passive” environment). Brands should resist the urge to simply mimic the experiences that resonate with people in the digital space and instead really embrace the “lean back” nature of the TV and the couch.
