Tag: ipg media lab

Predicting Peak Media

Posted on by Lab Team

At the IPG Media Lab one of the things we track intensely is the ways in which consumers adopt new media technology into their lives.  As consumers have more options to connect with content, we’ve noticed a trend towards fully mediated lives.  Just as the Rotarians eliminated Polio, the engineers of Silicon Valley have seemingly eliminated boredom.  Consumers are filling the dead zones in their lives with content—in the elevator, on the bus, in the bathroom!

There is a concept called “peak oil“  that attempts to predict when oil production will max out. Estimates vary, but it’s predicted that peak oil capacity will happen at some point between 2006 and 2020. These estimates are predicated within the boundaries of known reserves and man’s ability to extract them. Continue reading “Predicting Peak Media”

2011 media and technology trends forecast

Posted on by Lab Team

Each year, the IPG Media Lab issues its trends report. This year, on the heels of the Consumer Electronics Show, we are excited to announce our six big bets for 2011.

From mobile’s rapid transformation from a niche platform to one that is converging with all our online activities, to new technologies that enable brands to interact with consumers in groundbreaking ways, the implications in 2011 for marketers and brands are breathtaking. Twenty years ago, technologist Mark Weiser wrote, “The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.” 2011 is the year our traditional media and consumer tools begin to disappear—2011 is the year loyalty cards, cable boxes, and feature phones jump the shark; at the same time, mobile, gaming, and digital behaviors are now majority activities across all demographics. As these behaviors become ingrained and interdependent literacies, they are changing consumers and brands for good.

The Lab’s 2011 trends examine the changing communications landscape through the prism of technology, industry, and consumer developments. Here are six trends that illustrate the convergence of these parallel forces: Continue reading “2011 media and technology trends forecast”

Reports of CES’ death greatly exaggerated

Posted on by Lab Team

The techie masses at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show seemed burdened by a general sense of disappointment. Minds were not blown. The digital firmament was not torn asunder. Wallets were not gripped tightly in fearful anticipation of the imminent need to drop a paycheck’s worth of earnings on the new must-have, show-stopping electronic object of lust.

Of course, there was still plenty to see and much technical wizardry on display, but we are a furiously jaded audience. The escalating pace of innovation has created an expectation that each new generation of products will create both terrified awe and wondrous delight. For example, it was a few short months ago that Microsoft started promising the future of gestural control via Kinect, a new peripheral for the Xbox 360. A completely new interface went from the pages of sci-fi to the pages of a Toys-R-Us sales circular overnight. Just four months after its release, few people seemed to crowd the Kinect booth. CES attendees don’t want amazing. We want new amazing.

Continue reading “Reports of CES’ death greatly exaggerated”

Lab is a “visible example of Mediabrands’ scientific approach”

Posted on by Lab Team

“MEDIA has selected Interpublic’s Mediabrands as its “agency holding company of the year” – for the second consecutive year – but a more apt honor might be the “anti-holding company of the year.” That’s because, with the exception of certain centralized resources and financial disciplines, Mediabrands hasn’t been operating much like traditional holding company, which typically is all about gaining operating efficiencies while aggregating market share. Yes, Mediabrands does that too, but what differentiates the organization from the rest of Madison Avenue is the entrepreneurial spirit that pervades everything it does. In effect, it operates more like a ventures group responsible for fueling new ideas, businesses and business models. It’s a smart, pragmatic approach, because it recognizes two important realities about the media services marketplace: that there are a diverse array of clients searching for solutions that reflect their specific business needs; and that the marketplace is evolving so rapidly that the kinds of media and marketing services that dominate today may not necessarily be the ones that succeed in the future.”

Read full article including details about the IPG Media Lab’s impact on Mediabrands’ science-based shift here.

“Slow Media” asks quality over quantity

Posted on by Lab Team

I recently attended a client summit in Berlin and had the opportunity to meet renowned European Media Consultant and Researcher, Joerg Blumtritt. With his peers Sabria David and Benedikt Koehler, Joerg developed the Slow Media Manifesto. Taking a page from the Slow Food Movement, Slow Media offers a new take on the ever-more overwhelming media universe we live in; key is quality over quantity in our media production and consumption. I sat down for an email chat with Joerg to find out more about the roots of Slow Media, and what it means for advertisers, brands, and consumers.

Lab: What is slow media and why does it matter now?

JB: Slow Media is about taking care: to carefully spend your time, not to waste it with media consumption that is  not worthwhile, and – even more important – to take responsibility in creating media that gives value to people’s life. Continue reading ““Slow Media” asks quality over quantity”

Net Neutrality and media: Why you should care.

Posted on by Lab Team

I’m often asked: “What exactly is Net Neutrality?” Boiled down, it’s the philosophy that, however we personally use the Internet, it carries no restrictions or tariffs based on the content we access. Essentially is it the principle that carriers (ISPs) are precluded from restricting or prioritizing access to data based on the content that the data comprises.

Think of it as the postal system. The government is not allowed to open and read your mail to see if one letter is more important than another.  As long as the postage is correct for the weight of the envelope, your letter gets delivered.  Priority Mail would be analogous to upgrading your bandwidth.  Like going from Dial-up to Broadband.  But at no point is the content of the envelope considered in how your mail gets sorted or delivered by your mail carrier. Continue reading “Net Neutrality and media: Why you should care.”

Android operating system #1 in U.S. market

Posted on by Lab Team

According to a new report from Canalysis, Google’s Android platform has rocketed to the top spot among U.S. smartphone operating systems with a 43.6% market share. Worldwide, the Android has a staggering 1,309% year over year growth, a 25% market share, and is now on 20 million devices.

Android’s success is rooted in three key advantages. First, the product itself is user-friendly and has been quickly embraced by consumers. Second, Google was able to strike deals for Android with a variety of mobile manufacturers– among them Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony Ericsson. And lastly, Android is available on devices at a variety of price points, making it easily accessible to any smartphone purchaser. Continue reading “Android operating system #1 in U.S. market”