A talk I gave at OPS Mobile on April 19, 2012 in NYC. It's continuation and advancement of a talk I gave on 2D/3D Codes & NFC in 2011. A return to tangible design is here and it will radically change the world around us. Digital tangible design is going to affect more than just our mobile devices. It will bypass Shortcodes and QR codes, both of which marketers don’t know how to promote and consumers don’t know how to use. The future lies within the intuitive nature of mobile technologies, such as NFC and Machine Vision. These developments maximize the “Return on Experience” by injecting technological benefits into everyday objects. This session will focus on how to best use these technologies to deliver real and scalable benefit for both consumers and brands through natural interactions.

1. Mobile, Tangible Design & The Future of Everything
ops
mobil e
nyc
04. 19.12
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Mobile, Tangible Design & The Future of Everything

2. HI MICHAEL FROM ISOBAR
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Hi. My name is...
Isobar is a global agency...
and i’m here to talk to you about everything...

3. :30 ME :10 YOU
Tuesday, April 24, 12
...in 30 minutes!
so let’s get moving!

4. GETTING STARTED CONTEXT 2D / QR CODES
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Sometimes it helps to set up a little context when talking about something “a bit out there”...
So hope you don’t mind if i anchor this discussion in a bit of talk about everyone’s fav, QR codes...
LOOKING BACKWARD TO SEE FORWARD.

5. Title Line One
Secondary title line
5
Tuesday, April 24, 12
That said... they seem to be @$#% everywhere...

6. Title Line One
Secondary title line
6
Tuesday, April 24, 12
I guess because there’s lots of folks outside...
and marketeers rightly think this is a huge opportunity!!

7. INTERESTING EXECUTIONS GETTING CONSUMER’S ATTENTION
Tuesday, April 24, 12
and there’s some INTERESTING EXECUTIONS out there...

8. Title Line One
Secondary title line
8
Tuesday, April 24, 12
EMBRACING QR CODES AS PART OF THE DESIGN...
Can mean every postcard home is a tourism brochure waiting to happen...

9. Title Line One
Secondary title line
tesco korean subway
9
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Tesco/HomePlus attracted 10,000 new customers with this execution.
UNLOCKING VALUE - UTILITY IS STILL AT THE CORE OF USAGE

10. MEANWHILE IN AMERICA
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Meanwhile, back at home...

11. Title Line One
Secondary title line
11
Tuesday, April 24, 12
MOVING BEYOND UTILITY - EMBRACING QR CODES CREATIVELY
WE REALLY LIKE OURSELVES A GOOD “REVEAL”

12. Title Line One
Secondary title line
victoria secret
12
Tuesday, April 24, 12
KINDOF LIKE “BLACK BARS” WE COULD REMOVE
OURSELVES...

13. INNOVATION REWRITING THE RULES
Tuesday, April 24, 12
U.S. was slower to adopt 2d/3d codes..
...but has recently been innovating at an accelerated rate.

14. Title Line One
Secondary title line
14
Tuesday, April 24, 12
My friend Jose... has a restaurant in the North End of Boston...
He started putting QR codes on the food and experimenting...
It’s been a great marketing success for him and very interesting consumer reaction...

15. N E V E R WA I T I N L I N E AG A I N
15
Tuesday, April 24, 12
We have also started using them at the core of some vanguard payment systems.
Everyone is trying to crack pos and get around cc companies...
but to me... not sure QR codes at the core of the idea is the way to go..

16. 16
Tuesday, April 24, 12
STARTING TO SEE TAGGING THE REAL WORLD...
Real consumer trend or graffiti for nerds?
Either way i’m in (and i think that’s a matter of long term v short term).

17. US REALITY CHECK
Tuesday, April 24, 12
SO IT’S AN EXCITING TIME FOR MARKETERS...
BUT WHAT’S THE CONSUMER REALITY?

18. 78%
18-44 yrs.
60%
55%
HHI 75K+
18 source: comScore MobiLens
Tuesday, April 24, 12
(these numbers a 10 months old - but they are still the most robust out there)
FAIRLY YOUNG.. MOSTLY MALE.
AND GOT SOME CASH TO SPEND...
(looks a bit like the smartphone market of a couple of yrs ago from this angle...)

19. 58%
50%
19 source: comScore MobiLens
Tuesday, April 24, 12
BUT IT’S CURRENTLY DRIVEN BY PRINT...
AND THEREFORE MOSTLY AT HOME

20. 14.4 Million = >10%
20 source: comScore MobiLens
Tuesday, April 24, 12
BUT THERE ARE STILL NOT A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE.
I’m looking at this type of thing like brands - as a % of consumers (not smartphone owners).
P&G WANTS SCALABLE BEHAVIOR THEY CAN LEVERAGE (THAT MEANS 115M NOT 15M)

21. WHY SO SMALL?
Tuesday, April 24, 12
why? why? why?!

22. limited installed base of scan software
scan software still not that good
where are the directions!?!
22
Tuesday, April 24, 12
REAL ISSUES STILL EXISTS TO FURTHER ADOPTION
-No robust OS level frameworks
-Apps aren’t great
-Consumer learning curves

23. BUT THOSE AREN’T THE ONLY REASONS IT’S SO SMALL...
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Even if we fix all the basic issues... there’s more here...

24. Title Line One
Secondary title line
24
Tuesday, April 24, 12
BADVERTISING!!
“WE” (MARKETERS) REALLY WANT TO USE QR CODES... AND WE FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD...
but the majority of brands are not using them in a rewarding way...
(bad service design / UX is punishing early adopters and killing pass along)
and that’s a problem for the future or QR codes - but even this is not the largest problem...

25. THE REAL PROBLEM BRANDS ARE LIKE PEOPLE... RIGHT?
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Brands are like people...
perceptions are based on experience and are constantly changing over time...
and for the most part we perceive them both the same way...

26. Tuesday, April 24, 12
What if i introduced myself today like this?

27. Tuesday, April 24, 12
or let me be twice as clear... like this?

28. A- Ho le!
Tuesday, April 24, 12
YOU WOULD THINK I WAS THIS.
What i am doing is not convenient and...
Making you do all this work for simple information i should already be giving you.

29. Title Line One
Secondary title line
scanning codes
is not a natural interaction
29
Tuesday, April 24, 12
SORRY, SCANNING CODES ARE NOT A NATURAL
INTERACTION.

30. SORRY THERE WILL NEVER BE MASS CONUSMER ADOPTION
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Sorry - nope...

31. Title Line One
Secondary title line
what?
31
Tuesday, April 24, 12
WHAT!?!? (marketing gasp)
I didn’t say none... but not mass scalable marketing behavior.

32. TANGIBLE DESIGN INTANGIBLE DESIGN
Tuesday, April 24, 12
HERE’S WHY.... THE IS A LARGER ISSUE - DIGITAL OBLITERATES FORM.
For the past 30 yrs we have been moving away from TANGIBLE DESIGN in the name of efficiency...
..and that’s THE ROOT OF A LOT OF CONSUMER TENSION.

33. Title Line One
Secondary title line
no directions needed
33
Tuesday, April 24, 12
TANGIBLE DESIGN - easily understood - purpose is implied.
No need for a code to scan here...
And this is pretty much the way everything was...

34. Title Line One
Secondary title line
34
Tuesday, April 24, 12
The desktop metaphor at the core of the digital revolution is NOT TANGIBLE.
requires taxonomy’s on top of taxonomy’s be learned...

35. Title Line One
Secondary title line
fighting our way back ever since
35
Tuesday, April 24, 12
HISTORY HAS SHOWN WHEN SOMEONE INJECTS A SMALL AMOUNT OF TANGIBLE TECHNOLOGY INTO LARGER,
EXISTING TECHNOLOGY WE GET MASSIVE DISRUPTION!
..the mouse/pc, the wii controller/consoles...

36. Title Line One
Secondary title line
36 Source: http://www.apple.com
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Multi-touch - Jeff Han brought it to life and Mr Jobs brought it to us...
Not only disrupting MSFT’s ‘booming’ 5yr tablet biz... but more importantly the laptop business.
IT’S ARGUABLY WHY APPLE HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL - TANGIBLE DESIGN IS THEIR RED THREAD! (remember the ipod
scroll wheel?)

37. Title Line One
Secondary title line
37
Tuesday, April 24, 12
THIS DISRUPTION - CAUSED BY OUR NEED FOR NATURAL INTERACTIONS.

38. THE RETURN OF TANGIBLE DESIGN
Tuesday, April 24, 12
my point is... QR CODES WILL FAIL BECAUSE THEY ARE INTANGIBLE DESIGN...
New tangible design technology will wipe out hope for mass consumer adoption of QR codes w/in the next 24
months...
and it will disrupt a lot of things on scale we cannot even imagine yet.

39. Title Line One computer / machine
Secondary title line vision
near field
communication
2 tangible design technologies
39
Tuesday, April 24, 12
IMO - a combination of two separate technologies will surpass 2d/3d codes before consumers have a chance to take
them mass.
AND THESE TECHNOLOGIES WILL UNLOCK A LOT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US AS MARKETEERS AND CONSUMERS!

40. WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET
Tuesday, April 24, 12
or as think of them as...
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
and
WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET

41. COMPUTER / MACHINE VISION WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Computer or Machine Vision - what you see is what you get

42. Title Line One
Secondary title line
42 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhgfz0zPmH4
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Without going too far into it, you have probably seen it in GOOGLE GOGGLES.
IT ENABLES A MACHINE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT (EVEN IF YOU DON’T)
(and companies like Autonomy‘s Aurasma might be even more powerful than google)

43. 43 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNiyT7qwHGA
Tuesday, April 24, 12
NOW MACHINES THAT CAN UNDERSTAND CONTEXT... not just read markers.
IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECOGNIZING A FRIEND & READING A NAME TAG.
(BOTH ARE A WAY OF IDENTIFYING PEOPLE BUT ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT)

44. 44 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnRJaHZH9lo
Tuesday, April 24, 12
COMPUTER VISIONS CREATES A MORE TANGIBLE USER EXPERIENCE & NATURAL INTERACTION
‘WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET’
computer vision weather - just point at the sky - it recognizes context and gives you what you want...

45. 45 Source: http://vimeo.com/24428205
Tuesday, April 24, 12
computer vision maps - just point at the ground...
THIS DESTROYS A LOT OF OUR CLEVER WORK IN UI THAT IS NO LONGER NEEDED....

46. Title Line One
Secondary title line
creating machines that understands products & brands
46 Source: http://vimeo.com/23972190
Tuesday, April 24, 12
BUT IT LET’S CREATE MACHINES THAT CAN UNDERSTAND BRANDS AND PRODUCTS!
we have been working on this a lot at Isobar for a variety of projects.
a retail example - it know by seeing and recognizing the tread (also leverages it for navigation!)
computer vision is more effective & versatile than any code and cheaper than any radio tag.

47. NFC NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET
Tuesday, April 24, 12
NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATIONS
i like to think of it as “WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET”
but what is NFC?

48. 48 Source: http://vimeo.com/29686925
Tuesday, April 24, 12
in truth - NFC has a very technical explanation - what it is and is not. how it relates to rfid, etc... BUT WHO CARES
ABOUT THAT?
FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS DISCUSSION IT’S SHORT RANGE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, BASED AROUND A COMBINATION
OF RADIOS AND RADIO TAGS, THAT CAN READ AND OR EXCHANGE DATA AT ABOUT 4 INCHES.

49. Title Line One
Secondary title line
it’s not a wallet
or a financial transaction
default thinking and legacy vision
“does anyone have
a huge problem with credit-cards!?!”
49
Tuesday, April 24, 12
WHAT IT’S NOT. PAYMENTS AND OR WALLETS!! (LIKE SAYING BT IS A WIRELESS HEADSETS)
‘Default Thinking’ & ‘Legacy Vision’ keep us from seeing what's possible.
I’m not convinced transactions and local wallets are what’s going to drive this.
Is anyone sitting here thinking “gee, i have a real credit card problem”

50. Title Line One
Secondary title line
50 Source: http://vimeo.com/29686925
Tuesday, April 24, 12
ISOBAR CREATE48 NFC HACKATHON IN BOSTON DURING FUTUREM WITH GOOGLE & NOKIA.
isobar create32 nfc hackathon in san francisco at appnation w/ google, paypal, nokia & samsung

51. Title Line One
Secondary title line
51
Tuesday, April 24, 12
NFC IS NOT JUST ABOUT COMMERCE... IT’S READY FOR MARKETING.
and it took 45 kids in a room to tell how stupid we were thinking (or not) about this...
Made very excited and made us RETHINK A LOT OF THINGS... like....

52. RETHINK NOW
Tuesday, April 24, 12
There is a lot of talk about how the tech is not ready...
consumers aren’t ready...
can’t happen now... NOT TRUE.

53. 53
Tuesday, April 24, 12
These stickers are currently less than a 40 cents... and dropping.
A lot of the prototypes at IsobarCreate used stickers from a brand/establishment that worked with their mobile app
through the cloud and push alerts...and it works right now - today.
And if you want even more NFC functionality from your current (non-NFC) phone....
you get an iphone case with nfc or an sd card w/ NFC for your adndroid...

54. RETHINK GAMING
Tuesday, April 24, 12

55. Title Line One
Secondary title line
55 Source: http://rovio.com/
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Angry Birds & Fruit Ninja from Rovio have NFC level up now.
unlock it through NFC tags in outdoor posters...or pay levels forward with consumers.
We can imagine a lot of rich media marketing exchanges through this type of interaction.

56. Title Line One
Secondary title line
56 Source: http://vimeo.com/12562881
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Beyond that - OnObject, from MIT MediaLab tangible media group makes anything a Wii controller (just tag and
program from your handset)...
...BUT THE COOLEST PART IS “CUT & PASTE”!!
SAMPLING YOUR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT TO LEVEL-UP IS A HUGE IDEA THAT HAS RAMIFICATIONS BEYOND GAMING!

57. RETHINK ACCESS
Tuesday, April 24, 12

58. Title Line One
Secondary title line
58 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Oelk6whQ9o
Tuesday, April 24, 12
WHO CARES - IT’S A LOCK?
ONE OF THE MOST TRIED AND TRUE MARKETING TOOLS IS ACCESS - the playboy club made it famous, the soho club
keeps it alive and virgin upperclass fliers enjoy it in T3 in heathrow.
NFC enables you to send temporary keys that expire/timebomb, that you can revoke at anytime over the air, to
anyone.

59. RETHINK ENTERTAINMENT
Tuesday, April 24, 12

60. Title Line One
Secondary title line
60 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtA_k8W-vZU
Tuesday, April 24, 12
WHAT YOU TOUCH IS WHAT YOU GET...
touch something with music, get music - N9 NFC “touch” pairing to headset.
THIS COULD BE HUGE FOR MOBILE RICH MEDIA DIRECTLY SERVED FROM AN PHYSICAL INTERACTION IN OUT OF
HOME, TRANSIT, ETC...
COULD BE HUGE FOR GAMING, MUSIC, MOVIE STUDIOS, MUSIC, ETC!

61. RETHINK BRAND BENEFIT & LOYALTY
Tuesday, April 24, 12

62. Title Line One
Secondary title line
62 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSPDtxpvQT0
Tuesday, April 24, 12
BMW NFC key.
BENEFIT OF BMW OWNERSHIP OUTSIDE THE CAR - MEMBERSHIP HAS IT’S PRIVILEGES
TAP YOUR BMW KEY AT HOTELS, CLUBS, RESTAURANTS, EVENTS, ETC

63. RETHINK RETAIL
Tuesday, April 24, 12

64. 64 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtA_k8W-vZU
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Everyone understands cutting out Credit Card Companies for price advantage, etc etc... but lets not talk about that...
Lets talk about LINES! WHO NEEDS EM?
EVERYONE HATES LINES - THEY HAVE EXACTLY NO CONSUMER BENEFIT.
(but all our stores are design around them)

65. Title Line One
Secondary title line
65
Tuesday, April 24, 12
...but there’s more here than waiting around...
If we can all check ourselves out... We will need less screens, not more..
BRING YOUR OWN SCREEN... OR DON’T EVEN USE ONE...

66. RETHINK TRAVEL
Tuesday, April 24, 12

67. nfc +
= total footprint
67
Tuesday, April 24, 12
boarding passes, transit cards, taxi payment, fuel payment
combined with your adidas micoach / nike+ / pedometer
PROVIDE A VERY BROAD AND DEEP PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE.

68. FUTURE OF EVERYTHING
Tuesday, April 24, 12

69. Title Line One
Secondary title line
69 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be0OjAcjx6Q
Tuesday, April 24, 12
MAXIMIZE 'RETURN ON EXPERIENCE' BY INJECTING TECHNOLOGICAL BENEFITS INTO EVERYDAY OBJECTS...
THESE INTERACTIONS ARE TANGIBLE AND NATURAL.
(This means packages can tell the microwave how long to cook - what will we do with all the space where the
directions used to be?)

70. information can be both platonic and particular
70
Tuesday, April 24, 12
Information is both macro & specific.
These technologies are great for both, farthing a relationship with a brand AND a relationship w/ an actual product.
- the platonic idea of the product as the brand proxy - know more about it from a macro pov / brochureware (qr
codes can do this)
- particular information about this product in my hand - when was it bought? when does it expire? how much am i
using? etc (qr cannot do this)

71. Title Line One
Secondary title line
personal data & vanity metrics
are seamlessly captured
delivering a new level of transparency
71
Tuesday, April 24, 12
THIS IS THE BIGGEST DEAL IN MY MIND - WHAT WILL DRIVE THE LARGEST CHANGES...
VERY LOW BARRIERS OF INTERACTION MEANS MORE INTERACTIONS!! MORE INTERACTIONS MEANS MORE DATA...
it’s not communication between devices that is going to change everything...
it’s the collection of these desperate data sets together for the first time unlocking new possibilities & understanding.
IT ALSO OPENS UP THE IDEA OF CONTROLLING AND MONETIZING YOUR OWN PERSONAL ‘BIG DATA’ (but that’s
another presentation)

72. INTANGIBLE TECHNOLOGY TANGIBLE TECHNOLOGY
virtual physical
technical interactions (clicks) natural interactions (taps)
higher barriers of interaction lower barriers of interaction
anonymous experiences personally identifiable experiences
more screens and UI fewer screens and UI
platonic communication platonic & particular communication
no simple transactional model everything can be transactional
slow as launching an app fast as a tap
generates fewer data interactions generates more data captures
72
Tuesday, April 24, 12
To finish up... lot’s of shifts and markers...
these come to mind to sum this up

73. OPPORTUNITY CONSUMERS BRANDS ENTREPRENEURS
Tuesday, April 24, 12
DELIVERING REAL AND SCALABLE BENEFIT FOR BOTH CONSUMERS AND BRANDS AND ENTREPRENEURS THAT WILL
RADICALLY ALTER THE WORLD AROUND US.

74. BRINGING PEOPLE AND BRANDS TOGETHER LIKE NEVER BEFORE
@isob ar
isobar.c om
@nicholi57
mi ch ael. nichola s@isobar.c om
Tuesday, April 24, 12
end. thanks.
let’s Discuss what you think.