Mobile applications and browsers are becoming essential sales and marketing tools for retailers, according to a new whitepaper from mobile ad network Millennial Media. Consumers rely on their mobile devices to guide them through every step of the purchase process, from determining if they need a product (52% of respondents), to making a purchase (38%), to evaluating a product post-purchase (12%). Over 13 million consumers accessed retail content on their mobile phone in a given month, with 2.2 million accessing some sort of retail content almost every day. Retail was the top vertical on the Millennial network both globally and in the U.S. From Q1 2010 to Q1 2011, retail spending grew over 1300%.

After a few very persuasive emails to her fellow farmers and friends to gather up last year’s overalls she was able to get a few really good hauls of clothes and other necessities together.

The effort is being supported by UPS with free shipping to aid locations for distribution.

Congratulations and thank you Danielle and all the folks at UPS. Well done.

-Your Farm Family

2)We know the iPad is different - we’re just not sure how
Consistent among tablet discussions at the recent Mobile Upfront is where do they fit in your connected life? Which device does it replace? Or is it yet another brick to carry? The answer is a qualified yes. The tablet clearly has a place as a new device. its portability and size make it far better suited for media consumption and game play when away from a desk (stat: 84% of ipad users have played a game on it. Not a huge surprise…). So it offers mobility out of the house but also inside. The tablet becomes the device you can carry room to room rather than the laptop (ideal for dual screen viewing). Healthcare has been a hot tablet (well - ipad) topic. One panel discussion noted 40% of doctors have them now. 75% will have one in a year. For may part a recent visit to a shoulder specialist ended with an ipad video of the surgery I might need. Gross but helpful (I opted out). And no doubt he played solitaire on it after I left.

3)We must recalibrate ROI for mobile
In some ways this is the same conversation had about digital media in general for years. Is it direct response or a brand awareness tool? Mobile is beset with similar - if not unclear expectations. As is being demonstrated with the emergence of Mcommerce a transaction in the mobile space can be many things short of a sale. Proving value should be a mix of audience quality, engagement and to a lesser extent some data or $$ exchange.

2011 has again been touted as the year of mobile. From our vantage point at The Concept Farm this is the decade of mobility. Smart phone penetration is below 50% (probably below 40%) and new technology including enhanced Bluetooth and mobile payments mean mobile innovation will continue to make news for some time. Continued device penetration, new technology and new consumer habits will open new (and exciting) ways for marketers to market in the coming years.

@plavoukos / matt@conceptfarm.com

Over a dinner of ramen, taco meat and garlic bread our conversation went something like this:

Son: Dad, Sam (the neighbor) has 1,000 views
Me: That’s a lot.
Son: Dad, (he always starts with Dad even if I’m sitting right there) that’s so many
He’s gripping the fork in his ramen. Noodles spooled. He never let’s go.
Me: Spence, please keep eating.
Son: Why can’t I uploooooooad (he has this cute whine. works with any word)
Me: Spence, (I find myself starting every sentence with his name too) its just that its public ya know.
Son: So?
Me: So anyone can see it.
Son: Dad, (this time with that ‘you are such an idiot’ tone) that’s the whole point
Me: Yeah but like anyone even people you don’t want watching
Son: Like who?
Me: Finish your noodles

The first time my dad and I had the talk I was 14. he asked me to go with him to get shaving cream (I know, right?). We took the long way to the pharmacy and he asked me what I knew. Once (finally) there we strolled by the condom aisle. Nightmare. I ended up getting a toothbrush because I didn’t want the trip to be a total loss.

The convergence of technology and humanity happened right under my nose (and roof). Digital things, devices, access to everything everywhere is second nature to my kids. The next TV we get will have google TV and apps and all the web. They won’t even remember basic cable. They give none of this a second thought. This is not an experiment for my boys. It is simply a way of life.

As for that real talk that looms - I know for sure there is a video for that too. Hopefully, when the time comes, they won’t want to make their own.

Remember the talk…

It’s great to see the Concept Farm get the recognition it deserves for being such a unique place that values creativity, collaboration and a sense of humor.

For our clients, this great work environment translates into better ideas, more efficiently executed. No drama. No waste. http://bit.ly/9cS9S2

The Windstream Green Truck

According to Nielsen, TV is still king. But for how long? And how many advertisers can afford a sustained TV effort? Sure viral is a niche, and social media is as well. And display is a lousy creative medium. How many people are actually watching time shifted TV online? Search holds me hostage. None of these issues are that important taken individually. When you put them all together, deal with the problems, and you look at the gross Brand Building potential, Digital becomes your # 1 communications channel. And it must be # 1, because Digital is the preferred way that people choose to consume Brand information today.

At the Concept Farm, Digital and Brand Building are one and the same. We recognize the need (and corresponding expense) for traditional media in many cases, and we do it very well. However, the rise of online video and social media has brought forth the need for Brand Building skills formerly reserved for big traditional media based efforts.

At the heart of our Digital Brand Building is the fact that people gravitate to, and spend more time with the most “likable” brands. Digital gives clients the ability to present the multiple “likable” facets to a brand that traditional advertising does not.

The greatest opportunity online to enhance your brand’s “likability” is through digital video. Online video, more than any other digital medium, creates the need for strong Brand Building strategic skills. Whenever we set out to increase a Brand’s “Likability”, we begin with research that helps us uncover the passions and aspirations at relate purchasing in the category. From these category passions and aspirations, we are able to identify Brand Insights that create differentiation and preference. But only when great creative is applied.

Windstream Communications is a great example of how passions + aspirations + insights + great creative leads to effective Digital Brand Building. Research told us what we already knew. People dislike telecoms and cable companies. Drawing on the inset that people trusted local providers much more than out-of-town carpet baggers, we leveraged the small town roots of the multiple-billion telecom operating in 17 Southern and Midwestern states. As a result, the “Green Truck” was born, providing consumers with all the connectivity to the world that they can imagine. And we’ve won every Time Warner and Cox battle that we’ve waged along the way. All because of the extreme “likability” of the brand we’ve created in a world of Digital shopping (with a hefty but shrinking TV budget).

The surging popularity of a Brand’s use of video ‘BC’ (beyond commercials) has been enabled by technology for sure, but also by the realization that video remains one of – if not the most - engaging media formats (we’ll skip the mention of irony here).

A mistake though is not the desire to do it On the cheap, but accepting poor quality and execution to make it so. Digital video means flexible. It means multi-use. It means portable. It even can mean disposable (perish the thought) but it needn’t mean bad.

A few thousand bucks could get you a good piece of video – but if done wrong you’ll end up with a piece of crap. Below are just a few things brands should remember as they embark on a video project.

See it before you see it

Articulating the vision (everything needs a vision) becomes important in getting it right. Not just the first take but the whole enchilada. Defining the story arc. Setting up key shots. All important. Make yourself a map to follow and you’ll be happy in the end (if you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there). If doing a documentary style shoot or interview you should define the guiding questions. But also knowing when not to be too prescriptive is key. Let the story unfold naturally. Again having a plan and clear vision is critical. Clients should demand this of any agency or individual.

Lights, Cameras, Action

Cameras are evolving. Size isn’t always the innovation. New trends include the new Red camera that is relatively small yet allows for the exchange of multiple lenses that can really approximate a bigger cinematic feel (go to http://www.red.com/shot_on_red/ to see examples). On the flip-side standard SLR cameras like some Canons are used more and more – not only because they are cheap, but for the texture and saturation they add (a non advanced advancement). There are always drawbacks. These can be less stable, they don’t focus with speed and have sub-optimal audio. As a client you should understand your director’s rationale (wait, you don’t have a director?) before ok-ing any approach.

Go Tapeless

HD tape is passé. P2 cards offer flexibilty. Shoot. Preview. Erase. Repeat. Consider the cost, but this does allow more takes and experimentation without needing extra tape. Technology does bring efficiency. Longer form pieces will need plenty of memory but it is worth the investment. Note too that this has spawned a new production role focused solely on digital transfers. You need to know about these things to know if you don’t need them.

Mix before serving

As counterintuitive as it may seem, video for web actually benefits from audio mixing in post production. Inferior speakers on computers and mobile devices are precisely why the better audio mix and testing of sound levels the better the end product will be. Is your ‘video company’ aware of this?

At the Concept Farm we believe every video deserves to be ValuableVideo(tm). We encourage clients and agencies to think before you shoot to ensure every video product you make is worth more than you paid for it.