(FORGET DIGITAL…)

FUTURE OF MEDIAIS IN THE

“INTERNET OF THINGS”

Forget Digital… The Future of Media is in the “Internet of Things”

Author: Avinash Jhangiani | Blog: http://youarenew.blogspot.com | Twitter: @goodthing

The foundation of the new digital economy is built on the changed

behaviors and attitudes of people who increasingly rely on digital

technologies - primarily enabled by the internet. But the Internet is

continuing to evolve. Initially it was the static Web, and now it is social,

mobile, cloud computing and wireless networks. However beyond the

technology (open, simple and distributed), the Internet's culture of

collaborative innovation keeps having a transformative impact on

companies, communities and institutions.

In 2008, the number of devices connected to the Internet exceeded

the number of people on Earth. And these devices are not just

smartphones and tablets. They are everything around us - from smart

televisions to interactive coke machines, from motivated running shoes

to the interconnected cows, bananas and more.

While social networks (network of connected people) is reaching

saturation, the 'internet of things' (network of connected things, as well

as things and people) is gaining traction. By 2020, there will be 50 billion

things connected to the internet! Every person, animal, and thing could

be connected.

Here's a realistic scenario from Cisco's blog:

When billions of things are connected, talking and learning from

each other, imagine what this means for the future of Brands and

the Media industry.

In this growing trend of hyper-connectivity between person-with-

machine and machine-with-machine, potentially everything could

become media. In other words, it will be possible to create a media

channel of (pretty much) any thing, thereby allowing brands to

communicate by owning or paying for these new media touchpoints.

Let’s see how this could become possible.

How Every Thing can (potentially) become Media

Firstly let's take a step back and understand that by definition, 

Media is anything that can carry a message or be a means of

communications. 

As we know, digital devices and technologies (powered by the internet)

enable consumers to connect, engage, consume and experience

brands; but as non-digital, physical objects begin to embed digital

technologies or become digitally-enabled, any “thing” around us can

become media that can be either owned, earned or paid for.

To transform any “thing” into media that can be consumed or

experienced, brands will need to digitize it in a way so that brands are

able to have a conversation with the consumer or interact effectively for

a desired outcome that can be measured and analyzed. With digital

media, this kind of an experience comes with the medium, however for

non-digital media and traditional media, digital technology will need to

be embedded to provide brand engagement. 

With Augmented Reality, NFC, RFID, wireless sensors and

other pervasive or ubiquitous technologies starting to bring traction to

the 'internet of things', the vision of transforming any thing into media for

brand connect is becoming a reality. Here are sightings of some

impressive campaigns and more here that leverage the 'internet of

things'. Seems like the Minority Report vision of digital shop assistants

will finally be realized!

Bottom-line: Brands need to stop developing isolated channel

strategies, and need to begin tracking and analyzing the underlying

behavioral changes as the internet continues to evolve. Today there is a

smartphone and tablet explosion. What companies need to understand

is that it's not about "mobile", it's about "mobility".

A mobile marketing strategy is not going to cut it! A more holistic,

behavioral approach to address the future of media is needed.

Tomorrow there will be many more devices connected and the 'internet

of things' to deal with. While there will be a plethora of touchpoints for

brands to connect with their consumers, brands will need to use the

right technologies to leverage changing consumer behaviors and

attitudes for brand connect and engagement.

Here are some key questions for media gurus, media owners, brands,

publishers, agencies, advertisers and other constituents of the current

media ecosystem:

Will the new brand tree be able to withstand the coming explosion

of interconnected things?

As media becomes ubiquitous and interconnected, how should

media strategies be shaped?

As every thing starts to become media, how will the growing

universe of media channels and platforms be addressed? Will the

media universe be simplified?

How will this growing trend impact the future of media planning

and buying?

How will the distribution of ad spends be affected when every

thing becomes media?

Will brands need to break departmental silos?

Will agencies and platform vendors partner with each other to

help brands address this trend?

How will ad networks need to shape up?

Will this transformation bring about changes in media

measurement and analytics? How?

Irrespective of how the media industry addresses the changing

landscape, one thing for sure is that finally consumers will truly

become the center of all decisions. And it is only a matter of time that

brands will have to adopt a consumer-centric strategy and change their

structure, culture and processes to prosper in the age of digital

consumerism.

Author: Avinash Jhangiani

Blog: Digital Déjà Vu at http://youarenew.blogspot.com

Twitter: @goodthing

About me: http://about.me/avi