Mobile phones are already well on their way to replacing cameras, cash, maps, remote controls, handheld gaming systems, boarding passes, tickets, cash registers, calculators, notepads, and much more. And they’re becoming globally ubiquitous: 1.6 billion phones were shipped last year; and by the end of this year, 1.4 billion smartphones will be in use. So the question is not so much what smartphones can do, it’s what can’t they do. And the strategic imperative for organizations is to understand how they are going to meet the challenge of that change.
A good way for that is trying to understand the strategic implications. I would like to remark the following, included in the report of Forrester analyst Thomas Husson:
1) Marketers will realize that mobile requires a total shift in marketing approach. This is one of the reasons Google baked mobile into AdWords by default, one of the biggest changes in AdWords in five years.
2) Tablets will be the biggest short-term disruptors. Advertisers like marketing on iPhones and Android smartphones, but Tablets ads command the biggest premium.
3) Mobile platforms will catalyze next-generation connected experiences.
4) We’ll see more technologies like fitness trackers that know what you’re doing without you having to tell them, or a smartphone app that lets you control your home from Tokyo.
5) Smart apps powered by big data and sophisticated analytics will help us complete tasks.
6) Mobile will play a leading role in engaging consumers in emerging markets. 75 percent of all new phones are being sold in Asia and Africa. T
7) Mobile will require more formal organization, processes, governance. BYOD rocks, but IT is getting fed up of supporting what it cannot manage.
8) Leading marketers will take back ownership of mobile from agencies and vendors. You can’t outsource core, and mobile is becoming core. So you’ve got to learn from the best and bring at least some expertise in-house. Then, the role of mobile marketing manager will emerge and finding the right strategic mix of staff will rise in importance, becouse even more than in other areas, you need the right blend of business, marketing, design, and technology expertise to succeed in mobile.
9) Spending will increase to enable mobile services. Mobile marketing has been a bit of a bargain, but as it’s become core, that’s changing. Technology and staffing costs are going up.
But there are also another trends to be considered:
a) Near Field Communication (NFC)
The simplest usage of NFC is to read smart tags embedded in posters, luggage labels or other devices. A lot more devices now have NFC and Nokia and Sony showed off pairing phone to speakers or docking stations. While you still need to have your phone switched on and unlocked, tapping to trigger an application on your phone is much more simple and satisfying than trying to photograph a QR code. The real benefits of NFC for travel – ‘tap and go’ access throughout an airport, without pre-launching an app on your phone, or even having your phone on is still complicated. There is not yet a generalized solution that works out of the box for the travel industry. SITA Lab continues to focus on the standards and services needed to enable deployment. Much progress is being made, but 2013 will not see widespread adoption of NFC in travel.
b) Machine to machine (M2M)
Aka Internet of Everything. This was big – machines communicating with each other to self-organize and machines communicating with us (through a phone/tablet) to instruct and influence. While all the showcase examples tended to solve first world problems (a connected wine bottle that messages a sommelier to recommend it) it is easy to imagine the many uses of M2M in the travel industry. M2M enables a future where smart bag tags talk to aircraft, staff wearable devices collectively decide in real time where to allocate resources and infrastructure. At the airport wifi networks could direct staff to hotspots requiring attention and passengers to the quickest routes. Our phones could automatically manage a disruption event for us. One future example will be London City Airport. Security lines would be able to communicate with each other, and then ping travelers’ devices with waiting times. Limo drivers would know the moment their customers are making the way through the terminal. Food and beverage outlets could offer pre-orders for customers, and automatically begin preparing food as the customer clears security. Auto-rebookings could be enabled for travelers unable to make flights, as determined through their GPS-enabled device. Marketing opportunities are also very lucrative. Travelers can be tracked according to their behavior, allowing retailers to discover what displays are most effective and how passengers interact with the commercial offerings that have proliferated in modern airports. The possibilities are endless – and endlessly controversial. Privacy advocate and the big-brother averse take umbrage with the invasive nature of this sort of IoT application.
A grant will allow London City Airport to develop a first-in-class test deployment of the network needed to connect the various machine elements. The network will consist of interconnected sensors and other deployments that allow ready communication across areas that heretofore have been isolated within their own technological confines. Items that the airport plans to include in the IoT application are: managing passenger movements, measuring journey times, implementing customer loyalty programs and delivering location-specific services such as gate reminders, finding missing passengers and bags, and locating travelers in emergencies. Technology company Living PlanIt and experiential retail developer Milligan are spearheading the initiative. The company points to the inherent benefits for travelers, especially frequent flyers, as one of the drivers of the deployment. Other technology partners include Hitachi, IBM and Philips, with the integration due to be completed in March of 2014.
