dx3 in review: The start of something incredible

Two days, 3,469 Canadian Marketers and one remarkable event. That was this year’s Dx3. On January 25 and 26, the Toronto Metro Convention Centre was filled with tonnes of engaging conversations around Canada’s digital advertising, marketing and retail landscape.

Plastic Mobile was very proud to be a participant in the inaugural forum for Canadian digital innovation.

For me, some of the highlights included, Visa’s touchless payment transaction ice cream exhibit, which not only kept my team full of delicious ice cream, but also demonstrated to attendees the future of NFCs. Visa’s Derek Colfer gave a session on the future of NFC in the Canadian mobile industry, saying that it’s still going to take awhile for things to get going. He cautioned his audience to consider that it took nearly a decade to get the credit card chip and PIN rolled out in Canada, so we shouldn’t expect to see mobile payments rolling out in 2012. Nevertheless, the Visa booth allowed visitors to practice using NFC technology to get some ice cream. Pretty awesome.

Also, Doug Stephens, President of Retail Prophet Consulting, and Candice Faktor of ShopCatch began the second day of Dx3 with an interesting keynote on the retail space. Stephens was a man of the future, looking ahead into retail 20 years from now, whereas Faktor focused on present-day retail. Both speakers concurred that mobile has shaken up the retail industry unlike anything ever before seen.

Another exciting event was the startup “pitch-off” at the Intertainment Media Incubation Zone. Five contestants were given five minutes each to pitch their plan. The winner was the Toronto-based startup, Stylsize, who showcased their very cool online retail mobile solution with its advanced apparel-fitting technology.

Two interesting mobile-related myths that were actively debunked at the show were about group buying and broadcasting apps. There was a charge to make attendees better understand that the emphasis for group buying is not about “will I make a profit?”, rather customer acquisition. And that broadcasters are missing the mark by creating apps that just copy their TV experiences without adding value and making them “Mobile friendly.”

And of course Plastic Mobile was there, bringing the mobile-retail relationship to life with our interactive candy shop, which was the talk of the Dx3 highlight list.

After such a great forum this year, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2013.

The inaugural Dx3 was a huge success! A pat on the back to the team that worked so hard to bring this digital forum together for the very  first time.

Also a resounding success at Dx3 was our Plastic Mobile Candy Shop, a creative exhibit illustrating the growing relationship between mobile and retail and the future of m-commerce. Our candy shop was the talk of the show (not to brag) and so much fun for our whole team – possibly because they sailed through the whole forum on a serious sugar high!

As well, a shout out to bNotions, who’s team of developers stayed corralled in a boxing ring for 48 hours until they completed a program. Whoa. That’s digital determination. We like to think our candy helped them get through the crunch, but whatever stimulants they  used to complete the job, amazing work!

Plastic Mobile’s CEO and COO, Sep Seyedi and Melody Adhami, had a great time speaking and being interviewed about their thoughts on the future of mobile and commerce and their team’s awesome booth. Plastic Mobile can’t wait for next year’s Dx3 – who knows what we’ll come up with next?!

Shame on you if you missed the first-ever Dx3, but check out this video of our slightly silly, totally interactive and undeniably adorable mobile candy buying experience.

This week RIM announced that CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis will step down from their positions, though they will maintain majority of their shares and stay on as board members.

Thorsten Heins will take on the daunting role as RIM’s new CEO. In spite of seriously declining share prices, Heins has signalled that he will largely stay the course set by Balsillie and Lazaridis.

In a Star interview, Heins notes that RIM is still a solid financial performer and that it is the number one smartphone in many countries outside of the US. He goes on to say the their problem isn’t technology, it is in their communications and that is where they need to focus their efforts. “The perception just doesn’t match the reality,” Heins told the Star. “We’ve got $1.5 billion in the bank, and virtually no debt. We’ve also got a 75 million subscriber base.”

Regardless of this assurance, shares dropped even further after the announcement of the RIM pioneers’ resignation. Ugh. Sorry RIM, we can’t help but think the future looks grim.

What do you think? Will Heins be able to pull RIM out of its US despair? Tweet us with your thoughts @plasticmobile.

…as well as about 750 other execs, media personnel and tech enthusiasts, but, whatever.

At 7:30 this morning, this odd pastiche of professionals piled into the SONY Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, ON, to hear Duncan Stewart, Director of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, entertain and educate about Deloitt’e annual #TMTPredictions.

The tech arm of the professional services giant put together some very interesting facts and advice on what’s in store for our evolving industry in 2012. Among the most interesting prophecies were:

• continued growth of the ever-surprising TV
• the advent of data caps in many leading countries (i.e. the death of unlimited ISP deals. Le sigh.)
• the metamorphosis of our smartphones and tablets to “little PVRs”; and
• the immediate future of NFCs (hint: it’s not what you think).

One mobile prediction that really stood out was the hypothesis that the purchase of tablets would continue to increase, but that it would be less by new buyers and more concentrated by a secondary tablet in the home – apparently we’re not very good at sharing with our families.

Likewise, while the creation of apps continues to surge, Duncan Stewart pointed out that a great number of them are not unique - meaning that, while a number of new apps are being developed, so are existing apps being expanded to cover other operating systems. So, an app that was made last year for iOS, may this year be added to the Android and Microsoft markets.

According to Duncan Stewart, developing a mandate (like we have here at Plastic, not to brag, but we’re just saying) to develop cross-platform apps as often as possible, or as often as makes sense for our partners, will be crucial to increasing efficiencies in the future, and staying competitive in the mobile game.

The Plastic Mobile elves are working hard to create a real treat for anyone attending Dx3′s showroom floor. The Plastic Mobile booth is shaping up to be a one-stop-shop for a peak into how mobile really works – more specifically, how it can work for brands in the rapidly evolving world of commerce.

While we are certainly not about to divulge our top-secret booth plan (that’s classified intel), we are happy to give you a little something to nibble on while you wait in bated-breath suspense for January 25th and 26th to arrive so you can burst through the doors of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and hurry to see what Plastic’s got in store. The tidbit? Don’t sugar coat your mobile initiatives – quality is key to ensuring the best user experience and repeat usage. Stay tuned for more info on Plastic’s presence at Dx3. Are you getting excited? Tweet us @plasticmobile and tell us what you’re most looking forward to.

Also, take advantage of our exclusive Plastic Mobile Dx3 giveaway!

Every Friday, Plastic Mobile brings you a video blog that answers some of the burning questions surrounding mobile, e-commerce, the future of retail and other exciting mobile topics. Watch the “Queen of Apps,” Melody Adhami, and other industry experts, squeeze their answers into “60 Mobile Seconds” (or, close enough, anyway).

Mobile has been under the thumb of skeptics ever since it arrived on the scene. It’s been a long time coming, but we think Mobile Marketing is finally being taking seriously. Consider these top three examples that support our hypothesis:

1. Brands bringing mobile in house – According to an article in Mobile Marketer, Walmart and e-bay, are following in Amazon’s footsteps and bringing their mobile markting development and management in house. This major move indicates they are ready to take the mobile space seriously: “These acquisitions are a welcome validation that competent mobile executions are critical to a healthy marketing program, and that expertise is in short supply,” said Brennan Hayden, vice president of WDA, East Lansing, MI.

While other big-name brands, like Lexus, who are outsourcing to agencies are still doing it right, these stores are being super-savvy in preventing their competitors from using the same tools. This bodes well for the future of mobile, but has the potential to be bad for business. Thankfully, we know that our quality work validates itself.

2. Brands that aren’t, are going down – Those big names that are not taking steps to incorporate mobile into their marketing plans seem to be feeling the effects of their negligence. For instance, we recently blogged about how e- and m-commerce were partially to blame for the demise of a number of Sears and K-Mart stores after grimm holiday figures.

Furthermore, in 2008, Kate Spade New York was a strugglin,’ but, when Craig Leavitt came on board as CEO, he woke up a sleeping giant and changed its outlook on online marketing. The result? Kate Spade is now one of the strongest brands supporting m- and e-commerce.

3. Facebook hearts mobile – The social networking behemoth was one of the first companies to jump on board the mobile train. They continue to bolster their mobile platform at ever chance they get, and are careful to always listen to their users. Thus, Facebook recently announced a new Comments Box plugin for mobile websites – a feature in high demand by business owners and website proprietors. The new plugin will make it simpler for websites to engage consumers regardless of where they are. Essentially, if the Book is doing it, you probably should be too.

There are countless other examples of how Mobile Marketing has finally grabbed everyone’s attention, but the bottom line is, if you’re not going mobile, you really should be. What do you think? Is it mobile’s time to shine?

2011 was a big year for mobile and it seems 2012 is set to maintain the same momentum and push mobile even further. Let’s start 2012 by looking at two companies that are finding unique ways to provide added value and convenience to their customers. First we have Lexus – the luxury division of automotive giant Toyota – who has introduced myLFS, an iPhone and iPod touch application that allows Lexus customers to pay their bills online.

Building on the personal nature of mobile devices, Lexus has also found a great way for its brand to constantly stay in direct contact with its end consumers, providing them with company news and current specials. Although mobile payments are still some time from mass adoption, and there have been studies showing consumers are mainly hesitant due to security reasons, this hasn’t deterred Lexus. Instead, they have paid attention to consumer needs and tackled the problem head on by enhancing security measures incorporated in the app, and promising their customers that their personal information will be safe and sound.

Next, we have American Airlines. This organization is utilizing the mobile platform in their new ad campaign to allow consumers book and change flights. The ads run on TV Guide’s mobile app, and upon clicking the ad the consumer is redirected to a mobile landing page where they can enter their account credentials in order to book flights, change dates, check in or simply view their mobile boarding pass. With traditional media advertising costs so high, and the financial turmoil most airlines face these days, mobile advertising can be a great economical way to reach consumers, especially since more and more consumers are using their mobiles and their primary means of going online.

Both these companies have found different ways to harness the power of mobile and strive toward essentially the same goal. By providing their consumers with great service they are incubating brand affinity and increasing loyalty, allowing them to get closer to their customer’s true lifetime value.

Spending money on lavish items is fine, if you have the money. However, there is a limit to everything, and we say a $50,000 featurephone has definitely exceeded that limit! Pricey luxury items should at least try and justify why they are pricier – unfortunately, the Gresso Grand Premier does no such thing. Yes, there is about 150 grams of gold and 138.5 carats of sapphire crystals in each handset, but if that is what you are looking for, why not just buy some serious jewellery?

What really gets to me is the fact that this bedazzled phone isn’t even SMART (meaning, it’s not of the smartphone variety)! In a time where everything is moving towards mobile – from the way we communicate to the way we shop or entertain ourselves – Gresso has the audacity to design a phone with an ancient S40 UI and charge $50,000 for it! Who is exactly the target market here? We ask you.

Maybe it’s just me, but even if I had the cash, I would rather buy an iPhone and use the rest of the money to purchase a YAMAHA Disklavier Piano, a beautiful Arkiane Kephren fireplace and a 16 year old bottle of Lagavulin scotch. That way I could stare at my stunning fireplace and sip on my scotch while I ask SIRI to play me some Wagner on my Disklavier Piano.