Polkadot JAM Slides - Token2049 - By Dr. Gavin Wood
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NfC News and Views
1. NFC
News and Views
Researching consumer perceptions towards NFC
R e c e n t r e s e a r ch f r o m
Posterscope UK and USA has
found that there is every sign
that Near-Field Communication
(NFC), a wireless technology that
allows you to make transactions,
exchange digital content
or connect with other NFC
electronic devices by touching
them together, will become
commonplace in the future as
it is incorporated into more
mobile devices than ever before,
and is increasingly adopted for
everyday usage.
Previous research studies around
NFC and mobile payments e.g.
Google Wallets have focused on
the low awareness and usage
of the technology. With very few an ideal opportunity to understand NFC technology per se was higher. âeasy access to web contentâ and
mobile phones currently being perceptions of the mobile advertising After being given a description of âcomparing pricesâ. Obviously there
NFC enabled (roughly 5-10%) this interaction experience. what NFC technology was, 60% were some smartphone owners
is hardly surprising. A lot of mobile technologies/ of smartphone owners said they (although only 30%) who told us
So to find out more about the applications are described using had heard of it. Similarly, when the that they were unlikely to use NFC
future potential for NFC, as well complex terminology or definitions NFC technology was demonstrated posters in the future - so we asked
as other mobile technologies, and (e.g. NFC, Augmented Reality) through an OOH video, the number them why? It was pleasing to see
the opportunities they provide for which, whilst may be familiar of respondentsâ who stated that that security/viruses were not
Out-of-Home media, Posterscope terms within the media world, are it was important to have NFC perceived to be as much of a barrier
partnered with Clear Channel and not necessarily in the real world. functionality on their next phone as could have been expected. The
commissioned an indepth research To overcome this, the survey doubled from 36% to 70%. main reason given was that it was
study into the perception and contained detailed descriptions, Smartphone owners also a gimmick, but in the future when
future adoption of NFC. The study, images and videos about the perceived that various NFC consumers have become educated
conducted in Feb 2012 in both the various mobile technologies. This technologies were useful, in on the benefits of Interacting with
UK and USA, consisted of 1,000 lead to greater levels of awareness particular ticketing e.g. Oyster Card OOH posters hopefully this barrier
online interviews. However, unlike amongst our audience, who we (74%) along with mobile phone can be easily overcome.
other research, it ensured that all termed âSmartphone Real World contactless payments (71%). And finally as we look ahead, 57%
the respondents were smartphone Interactorsâ, and as the research Encouragingly for OOH, over half of respondentsâ also stated that if
owners who had used at least one of results will demonstrate, a more (54%) perceived that using NFC they saw an OOH advertisement
the following seven technologies on positive view of the technologies technology to interact with posters that interested them, they would
their devices: Quick Response (QR) and their future potential. would be useful - this applied to be likely to purchase directly from it
codes, Mobile Bluetooth, Barcode So what insight did we gain posters in multiple OOH locations using NFC. This applied to multiple
Scanner, Augmented Reality, Visual from the research? Firstly, that providing opportunities for all OOH product categories and provides
Search, NFC and Mobile Payments. an education job is required. The media owners and formats. The the ultimate opportunity for brands
In addition half of the respondents research demonstrated that 60% top reasons given for interaction in the future.
had to have used at least one of smartphone owners were unsure with NFC-enabled posters were To access the full research
of the technologies to interact whether their phones were NFC âdownloading vouchers/special findings go to http://wp.me/
directly with advertising, providing enabled. However, awareness of offersâ, âgetting local informationâ, pyB4y-lg
2. NFC: What Lies Ahead?
âHero ideas create a virtuous circle of increased
We canvas industry opinion
interest, investment and engagementâ
We increasingly talk about the
connected consumer, and of
convergence. One of the key
drivers of this convergence â
and one of the technologies that
will make consumers even more
connected â is NFC.
Weâre familiar with the many
benefits that NFC contactless
technology is already bringing to the
consumer, propelled in the main by
its integration into smartphones. And
for the advertiser, NFC allows quick,
simple, scalable and affordable
interaction between mobiles, poster
site and ultimately their brand - lots
of boxes ticked.
NFC goes far beyond simply
serving as a proxy wallet. We can
think of it as a gateway to a whole
host of rich mobile content and new
experiences, itself the springboard
to new levels of consumer
engagement.
To us this suggests that NFC
stands a good chance of emerging
as the dominant technology in
the mobile area, but itâs important
to consider both the barriers
and drivers which will ultimately
determine its success.
Itâs a theme that Posterscope Wi-Fi facility without the pain of very different in two yearsâ time. I iWallet (barcode and QR codes
explored recently at the SXSW having to enter IDs and passwords, think there will be lots of posturing based now, but NFC based in the
festival in Texas and here we canvas or pay for your parking by tapping from the likes of Google and future) and the banks are launching
opinion from industry leaders. a poster, connected to a payment many network operators â these NFC prototypes today. The market
Miles Quitmann, Managing card, or even book a hotel room businesses have made it clear they will be fragmented in the short
Director Proxama is keen to over the internet and use your are keen to be seen as the new term, but expect to see much
underline the variety of potential NFC enabled phone as the access wallet owners. The banks seem to consolidation in the longer term.â
uses for the technology: âNFC has control/room key.â be relaxed about being a standalone Michael Nicholas, Chief Strategy
so many potential applications; However, Quitmann also warns that application or forming part of a third Officer Isobar, suggests that we
voucher and coupon distribution for âUnappealing content could slow the party wallet. It is quite possible that need to think very carefully about
brands and retailers is an obvious growth of NFC as an engagement the largest retailers will decide to the consumer benefit. âThe question
one. Picking up a voucher in store, technology. NFC should be magical, move into the wallet-owning space I always ask is: do we really have a
or, for example, at a bus shelter more than an updated version of â a Tesco or Sainsburyâs Wallet? - credit card problem? Are they too
for redemption in a local store, cumbersome QR codes. A single tap these giants might well think that heavy? Do they take up too much
drives footfall and sales.â Quittman should send the consumer directly now is the time to move into the space? Do people sit around and
believes that NFC for brands and to the most engaging content and payment space more vigorously think âcash is such a difficult thing
retailers needs to be transactional enable them to keep the content or by launching their own closed-loop to useâ? I donât think that they do.
â an opportunity to drive sales - and voucher for later use.â payment platforms and capitalise on To top it off there is a lot of data
cites the following examples; When questioned ab out the current poor bank PR. pointing toward people not trusting
âEnter a coffee shop, tap a poster âownershipâ of NFC technology, The obstacles are beginning to mobile payments just yet. This is
to immediately connect to the local Quittman adds âThings may look be dismantled â Apple is launching horse-before-cart in my opinion; we
3. âWe need to embrace the real benefits of âwhat you
touch is what you getâ.â
need to embrace the real benefits of âwhat you
touch is what you getâ in a low-risk way to ease a
transition and lower the barrier of adoption. Right
now this wallet push by banks and carriers seems
to be more about them than about consumers.â
In order for NFC to be adopted into the
mainstream, Nicholas believes that âNFC
interaction should be made fun and informal
first and foremost - thatâs why gaming and
entertainment are such nice fits. They help
people to understand the âmetaphorâ so that they
ask themselves âWouldnât it be great if I could
do this with everything?â And when they start
thinking this way, there are few limitations to what
the consumer will then grant us permission to do
with NFC.
Furthermore our goal shouldnât simply be
to move everyone towards NFC as quickly as
possible â rather it should be to deliver awesome
brand experiences to people.
But ultimately itâs the tangibility of an NFC
interaction that will prove one of its most
compelling benefits â unlike QR codes, itâs a very
natural interaction, very easy to understand, with
a very low learning curveâ suggests Nicholas.
Stephen Bedggood, NFC Product Manager
O2 stresses the versatility of NFC. âEveryone are forcing those parties involved to address consumer adoption.
talks about NFC being used for contactless some serious questions; âThere are ongoing When asked the question about the educational
payments, but it is far more than that. NFC has discussions regarding the battle for ownership â challenge for NFC, Edwards responds âLike all
been used for Transit for many years now and some healthier than others. The healthy battles innovation it will spread through the network of
this is probably the number one use case in are driving serious consideration as regards potential users. Initially we need to look after
nearly all developed countries. Here in the UK, customer servicing, liability and best practice for the innovators, the first 3% who will buy just
the most well known deployment is the Oyster consumer choice. If it were a free-for-all with because it is new; we need to deliver messages
Card which sees over 2 million journeys made open access to the secure keys, who would be for appropriate brands in appropriate contexts. IT
each week using the card. liable for a fraudulent transaction if something trade fairs will attract early adopters who will have
NFC is also used in museums and at tourist went wrong? Who would they call - the internet differing needs and interests - the brands and
attractions, allowing people to further interact giants, their bank, their mobile operator or the contexts should evolve with them. Hero ideas that
with the world around them, for example, finding handset manufacturer? Can the internet giants create real value are critical to create a virtuous
out more about an object in a museum or perhaps provide the UK call centres to support customers circle of increased interest driving increased
viewing video content about that object.â in the same way that operators can? What investment driving increased engagement.â
Bedggood also emphasises the need for happens if we end up with a different wallet app So, despite some common concerns, our
content to be appealing; âSimply linking to for every bank and every loyalty card we have contributors appear unanimous in their view of
a companyâs promotion on a website is not today? No consumer would want to use it as the positive potential of NFC, a view that we share
engaging and not providing that consumer they would have to switch between this app here at Posterscope. There are undoubtedly
with a memorable experience. An example of a and that app to use this loyalty card with that some sizeable obstacles ahead which the market
positive experience might be turning the SMS- payment card. In the end, collaboration between must overcome in order to offer the consumer
based parking experience into one where I tap a operators and between banks is healthy as it the most user-friendly NFC experience, be they
sticker which launches a location-based parking drives the answer to these questions and offers content, ownership or logistics-related. But with
app, knows my registration and payment details the consumer choice.â so many stake-holders with their eyes on the
and allows me to enter how long I want to stay. Jean-Paul Edwards, Executive Director, NFC prize we are confident that there is sufficient
Or, alternatively, being able to tap a wine bottle Futures Manning Gottlieb OMD takes the view momentum to drive this through successfully, and
in a shop to access recommendations of which that unappealing content could seriously slow the where the curious and contented consumer goes
food it best accompanies, provide other drinkersâ growth of NFC. âAll media runs this risk but NFC the smart advertiser soon follows. Interest in NFC
reviews and allowing me to review the bottle. will need some hero ideas to gain traction for is growing fast for all of these reasons and given
These could be delivered via QR codes too, but the channel and to illustrate techniques and value the technologyâs natural synergy with Out-of-
so far it hasnât been done successfully.â that would not have been possible previously.â He Home we are hopeful that the new opportunities
Bedggood believes that the debate surrounding also states that âNFC needs to be open-source they collectively represent will encourage new
ownership has an upside in so much as they with non-interoperable systems likely to stifle investment in the medium.