#SELFIE #NOFILTERby Constance DeCherney, VP, Strategic Partnerships, The iCrossing Collaboratory

As visual recognition technology enables more brands to harness the consumer trend of "the selfie"

for engagement, influence and visibility, iCrossing’s Collaboratory evaluates how Stipple, Blippar,

Ditto Labs and Curalate can help.

A VISUAL SEARCH AND LISTENING POV

With 750 million images shared on social networks daily, it’s clear that consumers embrace social networks as visual networks. The

visual landscape is creative, burgeoning, innovative and increasingly competitive. 2013 was a benchmark year for visual brands:

+ Hampton Inn used visual technology for an integrated campaign.

+ Google Glass launched and Glass Explorers now roam the earth.

+ Nordstrom is using visual listening to close the feedback loop and drive the connectedness between physical stores and

digital shopping.

+ Visual platforms like Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest have given rise to search engines, annotation technology and

analytic start-ups that continue to trickle onto the scene.

To connect with consumers in today’s perpetually connected world, brands must embrace visual recognition technology to harness

the trend of “the selfie” for engagement, visibility and loyalty. Visual recognition technology is the progression of social listening and

brand management, and has the potential to inform the decision-making process, spanning from awareness to influencer outreach

to media planning.

(cc) mollybob / via Flickr

2© ICROSSING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

MARCH 2014#SELFIE #NOFILTER: A VISUAL SEARCH AND LISTENING POV

Visual recognition labs Stipple, Blippar, Ditto Labs and Curalate are among a handful of venture capital funded startups working to

solve a critical piece of the digitally visual experience. As a marketer do you find yourself asking, “How can we harness the power

of the selfie?” It may seem silly, but we think it’s a critical question to ask. Below, we evaluate these visual recognition labs and

how they can collaborate with you to leverage digital visual recognition and connect with consumers.

DITTO LABSBuilt by MIT-trained vision scientists, Ditto Labs is a visual

recognition engine that searches photos on social networks

like Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr to identify brand logos. As a

Software as a service (SaaS) company, Ditto Labs extracts real-

time learning and stats that show how consumers interact with

brands — including sentiment, affinities, engagement and other

trends. Lastly, Ditto Labs can be used for CPC activation by

turning static photos into dynamic peer-to-peer endorsements

and media buying opportunities.

STIPPLEStipple lets you embed content into photos related to your brand,

product or service. It also enables photo-based ecommerce

anywhere online and provides real-time analytics. By “stippling”

images, brands can convert a product catalog into a storefront

that is easily tagged and managed. With Stipple Shopping,

customers can purchase a product directly from within the

image. Stipple’s affiliate media program is based on performance

so brands only pay when a sale is generated through a Stippled

image. Stipple’s real-time analytics gives brands a unique look

into consumer behavior, such as where and how often your

product shots are being viewed across the web. The beauty of

Stipple is not just the technology, it’s also the ability to manage

images in an organized ecommerce system.

BLIPPARBlippar is a platform that gives consumers a digitally annotated

experience in the physical world. By holding a phone up to visual

‘markers’ in traditional print media, outdoor ads, billboards,

etc., objects can be recognized and instantly jump to life with

exclusive content and interactive opportunities. Users can

literally ‘pull’ information, entertainment, offers and augmented

reality 3D experiences out of the world around them, just

by holding their phone up to a marker. Creative campaigns

that merge the physical and digital world are innovative and

engaging; however, the cost of scale should be weighed against

the brand opportunity.

3© ICROSSING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

MARCH 2014#SELFIE #NOFILTER: A VISUAL SEARCH AND LISTENING POV

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CURALATECuralate is a visual content platform that allows brands to

incorporate user-generated images, provides a visual media

monitoring/ management portal, and delivers real-time analytics.

Curalate is useful for brands that want consumers to share their

images and measure the network effect of that sharing.

It’s clear that the web is visually social, and brands should harness the visual network effect for engagement, visibility and

loyalty. To visually amplify brand moments across the web, the iCrossing Collaboratory recommends exploring visual recognition

technology holistically through a Collaboratory Exploration Summit to determine how best to leverage digital visual recognition

and connect with consumers.

The iCrossing Collaboratory is designed to foster and facilitate innovation with the world’s most disruptive technologies. By

bringing together visual recognition technologists, iCrossing and brands, we will explore, create and scale innovate ideas that

have never before been possible.

For more on the Collaboratory visit: www.icrossing.com/collaboration

WHAT’S NEXT?