Tag Archives: commerce

MultiScreen not Omniscreens or Second-Screen

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I strongly believe that the space between the screens that allows the brand to connect their consumer experience is critical. I call this “digital Velcro”.  Connecting your consumer screens seamlessly throughout their day is one of the most important challenges we face.

Additionally, one media experience plus other media screen experience equals a multiple of value to the brand: “1+1=3”  This is not a second screen debate. It is a consumer journey challenge that impacts all brands and retailers in their media buying and engaging. That is why we focus on the MultiScreen not the Omniscreens or Second-Screen discussion.

Next week on Tuesday and Wednesday in NYC I will be hosting the MultiScreen Summit. We incubated this event concept in Los Angeles, last year and have expanded the MultiScreen Summit to include Abu Dhabi and Berlin (which will be held in October). Our goal is to establish a global platform to address the growing needs of business to create a seamless digital experiences across their customers, fans, audiences, shoppers . . . screens.

So who owns this? CIO, CMO and CDO? CIO needs to get together with the CMO and the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) needs to become the Chief Disruptive Office (CDO) making backend process screens work with marketing engagement on the consumer screens.

Data has always been important. In a connect device world with location and behavioral
MultiScreen economy and media strategy will become the most important element tying a brands strategy in place.

The question is: How can buyers think horizontally across their consumer screens and add value to their vertical investments? We need to buy media both vertically and horizontally. Small screen buys need to have native mobile strategy attached that go beyond CPMs and drive mobile conversion goal into the cloud and into the mall.data, this consumer journey is more complex than we had assumed. We now know that we need to work harder to drive real shopper insights and shopper marketing goals. Data tools we can use now include location, screen insights and digital relationship building.

As the MultiScreen Summit Chair, I am so grateful to have such an remarkable group of media thought leaders onstage next week at the MultiScreen Summit, June 11th and 12th.  www.thescreensummit.com.

SCREEN WARS (Digital Media Forum Keynote 2013)

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In Dubai talking to agencies and brands about “digital velcro”. How linking content seamlessly between one screen plus other consumer screen equals a multiple of value for a brand.  20  mins – view here.

Mobile Wallet Wars: Winner is the “Final Foot”

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As VISA launches the digital wallet V.me, a “digital wallet” in a bid to be relevant in the proliferation of cloud payment credentials, VISA and other incumbent payment providers should be concerned that in a cloud-based economy, it may lose its position in the market.

Presently VISA owns the lion’s share of credit and debit/prepaid plastic in circulation globally. (VISA 2,400MM vs. MasterCard 1,000MM)

Up-starts such as Square and digital innovators such as Paypal are trying to challenge the status quo and change the way people pay with plastic. Google and Apple continue to disintermediate the card vendors by aggregating large volumes of transactions and pass them back to the banks as “prepaid”  with low interchange fees. All in all, new payment players are looking at the old business hegemony of VISA and MasterCard and going OTT (over-the-top).

It is not about eliminating plastic. And it is not really an issue of whether these plastic holders are going the way of vinyl; but more importantly an issue of the business model behind these card and card credentials. Roles are being commoditized.

Cards are simply a way to store and relay banking credentials to the POS in the store and the POS in the cloud. In the US this is no more than a number that is stored on a magnetic swipe and embossed in the plastic. In the rest of the world this number is housed more securely in a chip. A chip that can be emulated securely in the phone chip (or SIM).

It is unlikely that the costly backend systems in the US and Europe that deal with fraud and regulatory issues will be displaced. And that the 2,400MM VISA cards and the 1,000MM MasterCard that use these systems will disappear. (*)

However, as VISA and MasterCard continue to be the trusted brands on every online and physical store they may find that their margins dipping. As banks try to revamp their mobile banking applications and ATMs to be more relevant to their peripatetic customer, fewer value added fees and services will impact their margins.

The question to ask is who owns the customers relationship because it is ultimately this relationship (the final foot) that they can monetize. The emergence of mobile and card-linked offers is making the point-of-sale systems in the cloud and eventually in the store, the new promotional depots for digital deals and coupons. So called “big data” and value added services will ultimately yield the most profit.

*(In emerging markets, where there little infrastructure, companies like M-Pesa service the unbanked via their mobile phone account. VISA has entered these emerging markets through acquisition of Fundamo and MasterCard through a partnership with Telefónica. Similar to the US, these companies are vying for the last-mile relationship.)

10 mobile predictions for 2013 in under 75 words

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1.      Substitute “Mobile” for more inclusive term “CONNECTED SCREENS”
2.      Geo-LOCATION crucial to social strategy
3.      NFC continues to be far field
4.      For RETAIL: space between bricks and clicks most valuable
5.      For everyone: space CONNECTING screens most valuable
6.      Mobile viruses push SECURITY agenda
7.      More PRIVACY transgressions, More PRIVACY protection
8.      ANDROID increase the lead in a 3 horse race
9.      Operator CAPACITY drives new business models
10.  Through-The-Middle (TTM) services counter OTT

Why Square’s Giftcards are essential for its wallet strategy

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Square’s business model is successful but needs accelerated growth in 2013. If Mr. Dorsey can shake the trees in the prepaid world, he can expand his business significantly.

Prepaid gift cards are a valuable strategy for Square for two key reasons:

  • One is growth – a digital gift card is viral and thus expands Square’s influence horizontally. And Square wants more users. Now a viral nudge will lead a friend to download a free Square Wallet from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
  • Secondly, is margin – Square plans to disrupt the incumbent gift card issuing fees with a low 2.75 percent charge. Given there is no high bank interchange on prepaid, Square can reap a healthy margin.

Key to adoption on the small screen will be the user experience – especially with a viral gift product. As Jack Dorsey says, “This is a product where the experience really matters.”

A Square user can search for nearby businesses, click to buy a gift card and enter the recipient’s email address. The recipient (benefactor) can download the Square Wallet app (Square’s preferred outcome) or save Square gift cards to Apple’s new Passbook app.

The success of the gift card strategy may be dependent on Square being able to sign up additional big name merchants such as Starbucks, which began accepting payments via Square Wallet this fall. But Square will have a hard time finding another commerce partner like Starbucks. As I like to say you can successfully sell an addictive substance – coffee – on every street corner in America.

It is harder for other retailers. With a close-loop gift card you need partners with scale.

 

Why Apple’s New Patents are Commerce Game Changers?

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This week Apple added a new patent (US 8,321,294) to its war chest.  The EasyPay patent is worth a closer look. The commerce patent allows mobile shoppers to activate and buy items from physical stores via the Internet connection on their device.

While this seems pretty clear and reflects Apple’s EasyPay trials:  it is far more profound. Combined with Apple’s earlier patent (US 8,290,513) in October using magnetic fields (as a substitute to NFC) this is clearly is Apple’s showrooming and mobile commerce positioning statement.

Why are these two patents so interesting? One, while the EasyPay trail used QR codes, the new patent definition of shopper is far broader:

“Techniques for improved interaction between online retailers and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers that provide patron-accessible networks are disclosed. The location and/or the fact that any given purchase was made from a particular retailer’s patron-accessible network can be tracked for a variety of purposes. The invention can facilitate partnering between online retailers (i.e. online stores) and traditional ‘brick-and-mortar’ business establishments. As an example, the invention can be used to track and give credit for online purchases at an online retailer that are facilitated by a brick-and-mortar retailer.”

Now combine the two patents. The earlier Apple patent in October was for a Method and Apparatus for Triggering Network Device Discovery. This was Apple way of side stepping NFC and using the phones’ compass output patterns (magnetic field signatures).

EasyPay can be expanded to leverage any network device discovery.  This allows any store shelf or walk-by media to be activated via a magnetic field tap and jump into an EasyPay checkout process. Path-to-purchase becomes “PURCHASE”.

Mobile, Dating & George Costanza in 100-degree NYC

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Gary Schwartz, author of The Impulse Economy and the upcoming book: FAST SHOPPER . SLOW STORE, braved the 100-degree New York weather to speak about the origins and future of impulse purchases and how mobile feeds into it.

The crowd – who found out about the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) FlashCon through Twitter and Facebook – were entertained and educated by tales of dating, gumball machines, and George Costanza! Here is some of the street fair: The full versions of both this FlashCon and Gary’s interview back at DMA HQ with Paul McDonnough are now available on the DMA’s YouTube channel.

Privacy vs. Data: How to build consumer trust?

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By Gary Schwartz

The way we define the term privacy is subjective. In the United States, we police privacy based on a very broad definition under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.” The devil is in the policy details.

If the news headlines over the past few months are any indication, we are mighty confused with what to call private and what to call public, what to sanction and what not to sanction. How can we start to solve small-screen privacy when we have not solved our digital angst on the desktop?

Jules Polonetsky, director of the Future of Privacy Forum, says that when the browser invariably crashes it pops up a commiserating dialogue box asking you permission to send the diagnostic report to the browser company anonymously to help them fix bugs and build a better browser.

Faced with this privacy brief, only 3 percent of users click “Yes.”

Digital natives

Is it because we are digital immigrates? Our children happily offer data everyday about personal activity without hesitation.

Is the challenge simplifying the legal narrative to allow consumers to make an informed decision without interrupting their next click on the small screen? It seems an improbable feat.

In March, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report on best practices for businesses collecting personal data called “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers.”

The FTC, which is taking a proactive lead on privacy in the beltway, seems cognizant that it needs to create a flexible framework to best interpret what is unfair or deceptive in Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

CONTINUE TO READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Dealing with Mobile Consumer Trust on April 24th

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We are all excited about the potential for mobile wallets in the store and the cloud. The consumer can click permission for mobile services to track their location and scrape their social graph. These services allow for shopping and social convenience.  They allow for seamless, frictionless, realtime interaction with brands and retailers.

There however is an unwritten balance between convenience and trust. When does an location-based application like Highlight move from helping to spooking the would-be social consumer?

On April 24th in DC, join me to discuss how to build a consumer friendly ecosystem that is not dictated by legislation but rather by best practices, transparency and user-friendly signs for the consumer of the services.

There are high stakes. If the industry is not proactive in addressing this crucial issue, the fallout will be costly. Juniper Research recently stated that over $74 billion worth of contactless transactions will occur in three years and the privacy and security issues could cost billions.

Top high-level executives from leading online/mobile companies, content players, ad agencies and governmental agencies will gather to discuss the pressing privacy and security issues facing M-commerce and M-content.

MEF’s Mobile Commerce and Content Privacy Summit

When: April 24, 2012 from 2pm to 6pm, with a reception following
Where: SNR Denton’s DC Offices – Penthouse Suite 1301 K St NW Washington, D.C

For more information or to RSVP, please contact: Marjorie DeHey, GM MEF – North America 

SXSW roundup interview on BNN (Adult Spring Break)

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It was “adult springbreak”. Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, ACL, Venture Classmates, these are the names Gary Schwartz, President & CEO of Impact Mobile has been discussing in meetings at The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference in Austin.

Watch interview here