Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Want to create interactive print ads? Checkout Xsights - the new Google for ads


In my previous post I talked on how we can build a unique one to one Cross Media campaign. All the campaigns started with a personal print ad and contained a unique personal website link (PURL) or a barcode.
Now, I am asking myself can we overcome that challenge and let any random customer navigate automatically to the relevant online content without typing any URL? and the answer is YES!, it’s possible now by implementing Xsights new technology.
From Elron website (Xsights Investor): “ XSIGHTS delivers fully integrated solutions to print-media owners and advertisers. The XSIGHTS™ platform enables readers to capture images of any printed matter (e.g. newspaper page, magazines, books, maps, wallposters, etc.) using their mobile camera-phone, and receive back an image enhanced with links to targeted and interactive online content. The XSIGHTS platform thus opens new opportunities for targeted advertising and purchasing, either tied to the multi-media video stream or as new interactive print ads.”
Now Advertisers and Marketers can leverage their existing printed marketing and launch advertising campaigns rich-in-content without adding any irrelevant details such as URLs or barcodes.
Believe it or not this innovation came from a military propose to use a robust image understanding algorithm for guided missiles. Now by leveraging the technology Xsights can capture text and print images even from a very problematic user photo.
How to use the technology?
1. Mark the sentence, picture or word you wish to link and choose the interactive content you wish to connect it with
2. Send the final PDF or JPEG of the page you want to activate
3. The reader/customer will aim his camera phone at the marked item and will receive the right multimedia content
How advertisements will change?
Advertisements will need to generate curiosity by presenting just one piece of the puzzle. The solution can come from the connected online content, for example, a Sony PlayStation billboard camping (like the one in the picture) will apply that “White is coming”. The target audience (teenagers) will be curious to know more so they will take out their mobile phone and generate a picture from this ad. Xsights program will reveal the solution for them: “PlayStation Portable White is coming”.
An optional partnership idea – Facebook

Like: share all taken creative advertisement photos and content with your friends.
Face recognition: same like Photo Finder service in http://face.com/, Xsights can partnership with Facebook to introduce a face recognition application that can find the relevant person profile just by uploading a picture.
Checkout Xsights Beta sites:

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

i-Pad For My Baby?


Sound strange but in 2015 our babies and young children’s will learn and develop their own set of skills in a new designate E-learning multimedia tool.

How?
I am proud to introduce my last development: i-Baby Trainer Screen - a new portable, interactive and easy to use e-learning platform.

Check it out at: http://www.quirky.com/ product number: 0049

Product Overview:
The first three years of a child's life are of special importance. During this time the brain has the greatest potential for learning and developing. The steps parents take to educate their babies are critical to every type of development including physical, cognitive and emotional.

This product will be the first personal baby IQ trainer that interacts directly with your child by a safety multimedia touch screen. No keyboards or other devices are needed. Just enter an i-Baby Trainer DVD or download the latest program from the internet and let your baby start his first personal learning experience.

Where is the added value for the parents?
Working parents are struggling to track their child's learning development. They want to know at a very early stage where the child's difficulties lie and what kind of skills he still need to excel in. The personal baby trainer can monitor the child's progress and present daily performances and IQ rates on each knowledge skill (math, language, music, environmental, puzzles etc.). Babies and young children’s can work at their own pace and use content that is at an appropriate level for their ability.

What other features can be included (in the full version)?

  • i-Baby Trainer Voice – the parent can record his voice for “Yes”, “No”, “Try Again” voice messages
  • i-Baby Trainer Book Reader – read books in different languages
  • i-Baby Trainer Full Test – gather more learning characteristics (like time and coordination) and gives better feedbacks to the parent
  • i-Baby Trainer Listener – voice command model to practice the baby language commands
  • i-Baby Trainer Center – upload test results and child progress to i-Baby Trainer web site and receive real statistics results based on your child’s age
  • i-Baby Trainer API – let web designers, e-learning and educational company’s ability to develop and sell their own unique programs under i-Baby Trainer website
  • More will come…
Where is the business?
  1. The i-Baby Trainer DVD’s can be purchased in any book store or be delivered directly to your home
  2. i-Baby Trainer open architecture will open up new revenue opportunities for software application companies just like we have today for the revolutionary i-Phone product
Price:
Today you can find small portable DVD players that cost around $50 and cheap Laptops for less than 150$. So by the time this product will hit the mass market it won’t be above 150$.

Conclusion:
We may have some difficulties to produce this unbreakable and waterproof product in a reasonable price range but as we see today the technologies are getting chipper and by including a cheap touch screen it can make this product alive.

What other's have said about the i-Baby Trainer:
Jay Sebastian : I believe there is a good market demand signal for this. Brain Training games for older children and adults are everywhere, as well the various baby learning programs for the TV. This would be a portable, easily extendable solution that could adapt and grow with your child. Busy tech-savvy parents would eat this up. I know I would.
The feature that captured my attention the most is something I haven't yet seen in similar products on the market - the ability to record the parents' voices. Brilliant.
Being a software and web developer, I would certainly be interested in ways to customize/develop applications for this platform.”

Gilad Madmoni

LinkedIn Profile: giladmd

Thursday, June 3, 2010

How to build a Flash website in 10 minutes?


FlashFactory.com, moonFRUIT.com and Wix.com are self free Flash website builders that can help you build your own Flash website without any knowledge of Flash.

I personally liked Wix.com better, their drag-and-drop user interface is amazing and very easy to operate.

Just choose a pre defined template (you have many), modify the text and images and publish your new site.

Other non Flash web sites like Weebly.com , Webs.com and Yola.com can be more appropriate for traditional websites and may be chipper for a business propose.

You may take a look on the website that I build under Wix.com for a printing solutions consulting company: PrintProIdea.com

I hoped you enjoyed my post,

Gilad Madmoni

LinkedIn Profile: giladmd



Monday, May 24, 2010

Why One-to-One Cross Media is going to change our future?


Recently, as a web to print expert, I started to investigate the integrated One-to-One Cross Media opportunities and my eyes really opened up.

If you are a Service Provider and your purpose is to become a Marketing Service Provider, One-to-One Cross Media campaigns must be part of your future services.



Why?
First let us talk about our daily mass media options and see where the gaps are:
1. Commercial TV – are not yet personalized or interactive one-on-one advertisements. There are companies like Digital AD that are working very hard to change it, but they are focusing on the entire family.
2. Print – become personalized by Direct Mail campaigns (VDP), but they cannot offer us a way to engage with our customers.
3. Web Pages – fast growing interactive channel that can influence the customer choice, complete an on-line sale, expand brand recognition and receive feedbacks. In 2010, normal internet ads from well defined campaigns still cannot offer personalized messages!

Yes, today website campaigns (not including the online services companies) offer creativity with many fascinating technologies but they are not “speaking” to me and understanding my needs.
An intelligent One-to-One Cross Media campaign that integrates with the client data can overcome the personal and interactive gap, improve the respond rate and even monitor real-time engagements.

Where can we implement our One-to-One Cross Media campaigns?Mainly, in your customer's ongoing post-sale activities.
Try to find new creative ways to expand their client's daily services. It is more profitable to retain existing clients, than it is to acquire new prospects. Existing clients are easier to up-sell and cross-sell to, without using the high pre-sale costs. The one-to-one Cross Media capabilities let any company build client loyalty and create a “wow” affect, by adding non-financial offers that appeal to each client.
Each personal media, that is being used, needs to support the campaign from a different prospective and to target ONE personal message and ONE action.



Here are 2 examples that I have invented, which can demonstrate the use of One-to-One Cross Media campaigns in our daily life:


1. Travel & Hospitality Service:Hilton Hotels are using the latest One-to-One Cross Media technology and global CRM system to influence their guests to return for other enjoyable visits.

Michael Ben is one of their returning customers. He likes visiting Hilton's hotels in the weekends and use their SPA facilities for enjoyable relaxation.

He just finished his stay in Hilton NJ Hotel and went back home to find a Hilton’s “Thank You Card” waiting for him in his mail box. The card included a gift promotion that offered Michael an opportunity to answer a short questionnaire in his personalized URL and receive a nice gift.
When he entered his website: Hilton.michael-ben.com, he saw that the Hotel is asking him some short questions that match his hospitality experience:
1. Would you recommend Mr. Alex (our front desk service manager) services to your friends?
2. Do you like our special meal on Saturday (chicken with noodles)?
3. Did you enjoy your Deep Tissue massage?
4. Please write us any feedback on your room _______________

Michael Ben liked the wording of the questions and answered all of them right away.
When he finished, Hilton automatically sent him a “Thank You” email and sms message.

Inside the email, he was surprised to see a new personalized video clip from Hilton that presented a new opening of a stylish SPA center inside Hilton NY Hotel.

He was even more supersized to receive a 20% discount coupon in the sms that can be used in his next order for his favorite massage in any of Hilton SPA Hotels.



Where do you think he is going to plan his next visit?

2. Retail:John Bill is a member of SHAPE, a famous Health Club in downtown Chicago.
Last Sunday he received a nice one-on-one weekly magazine (brochure) that captured a new program and cooperation with Target grocery stores called: “SHAPE Your Diet”.
The campaign offered him a chance to set his diet profile based on an online questionnaire and receive personal diet tips, vote on product offers and submit suggestions that will affect the upcoming magazines. He also received a personal weekly gift coupon for a new energy mineral water to be received in Target.

When he logged onto his personal website, he filled out a questionnaire that identified his workout targets and his normal diet habits (food, tastes etc.) in order to match him up with the right diet profile.
When he finished filling out all the details, an sms message with the right diet profile number and barcode was sent to his mobile.

When he opened his mailbox, he saw a new email from SHAPE club “introducing TARGET your healthy choices program”.
The email included a funny 3 minutes video clip that elaborate on the importance of following a diet and a new and existing way to find the matching products in Target supermarket stores.

On Thursday, he went to one of Target's supermarket stores near his house and found out that in each section inside the store (dairy, deli, meat, canned goods, etc.) he can find a new interactive LCD display like the one he saw in the clip.
The “TARGET your healthy choices” LCD offered 4 main categories to select from: Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Sugar and “SHAPE Your Diet”.
When he selected the SHAPE category the system requested his profile number, John entered his number (or displayed the barcode) and automatically received the 4 best products in that section that target his diet.

John enjoyed trying new tastes and texture, but he was tired of searching for the right ingredients on each product's label, so he liked Target and SHAPE's easy solution.
On his next visit, he won't miss it again and will be sure to try some other products too.

Conclusions:We saw that both solutions started with color print materials that target the heart of the campaign, moved to a personal website to collect relevant data, included an email with a personal video clip to explain the new service/offering and even opened up new up-sale opportunities by sending a personal sms to the same client.



I anticipate that One-to-One Cross Media will expand and will become a standard strategy in all our post-sale communication efforts.



Here are some examples for the technologies that can be used to support those scenarios:http://www.sundaysky.com/ - the solution can automatically generate current video, on the fly, using an existing personalized web content.


http://www.i-display.com/ - outform retail screens can target the right video clip based on a given barcode or mobile code.


http://www.xmpie.com/ - offers cross-media dynamic publishing software.



I hope you enjoyed my post,
Feel free to send me your comments or other examples.

Gilad Madmoni

LinkedIn Profile: giladmd