Editorial Articles

Carl Uminski, Chief Operating Officer at Somo Ltd considers innovation in mobile in 2012

Creating contagious social video content that will be shared across the web is far from easy. Since 2008 when Apple launched the app store on the iPhone, we’ve seen a faster acceleration of mobile usage and innovation than ever before. Consumers have adapted to this more quickly than any device in the past; it’s brands who seriously have to work out their strategy. So how can we understand where the innovation lies? There are five things that I
see emerging in 2012:

Generation retail:
2010 and 2011 were tipped to be the m-commerce Christmases. While we’re seeing fantastic improvements, not all brands have managed to adapt to this huge shift and are lagging behind consumer demand. Through 2012, we will see this change - and it has to change. The customer is there, ready and waiting.

NFC:
It won’t quite be mainstream but we will start to see trials get underway. No doubt there be incredible fragmentation but, either way, this completely disrupts the consumers’ relationship with all types of stores. A mobile phone could interact with a product line directly and influence its price, for example. The Olympics should be a catalyst for huge movements in mobile in 2012, allowing new technologies to be trialled with customers adopting quickly, which will again shape the future of mobile.

Social mobile advertising:
Today over 50 per cent of all mobile traffic is social-related. Much of this is not monetised, but it creates a hug-opportunity to interact and engage with the consumer through social networking sites on their handset.

Screens become viewers:
Augmented reality is emerging as a way to allow consumers to see more through their screen. As most high-end devices have in-built augmented viewing functions, traditional single dimension media will come alive and allow consumers to engage with products on a personal basis.

The iPad:
Where 46 per cent of all iOS browsing sessions happen, this has been a massive growth area and is only tipped to increase. The brands who have cut corners turning their website into a tablet platform will regret it in 2012. The need for a separate site has never been more in demand; your customer is behaving differently. You must adapt now to retain your audience’s loyalty, earn their trust and show them you understand.