I believe this new invention—although it’s basically a larger iPod Touch—could revolutionize print advertising as we know it today. Truth be told, when I’m reading news online in a traditional web-browser format, ads are too often easy to ignore. Online, I don’t get the same level of marketing impact as I do when I’m flipping through the pages of the printed form of a magazine, looking at full-page ad after full-page ad. That printed form, however, makes the metrics of my intake of that marketing message tough to measure. How long did I stare at the ad? Did the pages stick together, making me miss it altogether? Did this ad’s call-to-action (visit www.companywebsite.com) prompt me to do something? Wouldn’t marketers like to know!

The middle ground the iPad could occupy between the PDA and the laptop could be just the remedy that publishers and marketers have been waiting for, especially if the technology will allow users to earn their subscriptions by agreeing to view the ads measurably. People want free content. Publishers want to sell ads AND charge for the content. Looks to me like the paradigm could soon shift to an online format where consumers could choose: view ads and let us measure your interaction for free content, or just look at everything at your leisure and pay for all the content. Either way, advertising still drives the financial model. That’s good for ad agencies, and that’s good for the publishers.

Boy, I’d hate to be Kindle right now.

This year is sure to bring lots of fun and innovative things in the marketing and advertising world. As in 2009, the technology and gadgets out there will surely drive the marketing dollars and efforts toward new and unique ways of reaching the masses with our branding messages. In blogs past, we’ve reviewed how Apple is working on a patent for a device/software that forces consumers to interact with ads, but what other unique gadgets and gizmos are on the horizon?

1. L5 Remote – This little device allows the iPhone or iPod Touch to serve as a remote to your television or other electronics.  But what is cool is that by pointing the iPhone or iPod Touch at any remote-controlled device and pushing the right programming code, the iPhone will program itself to correspond with the device. Cool, huh? Now whether this fits into Apple’s master plan of servicing ads to consumers, that’s unknown, but I have an inkling that the two might be connected. For a more detailed look, check out the video below. And please forgive the rambling, but the tech is so new, this is the only one I could find!
   http://bubble-cast.com

   
   
2. eReaders – While everyone and their dog is making an iPod-esque gadget to mimic the Kindle reader, such as Barnes & Noble Nook, Plastic Logic Que, Spring Design Alex, and LG’s solar eReader, I my myself am excited about The Skiff Reader geared toward digital newspaper and magazine. This thing is decidedly larger than the others and is supposed to be under 1 lb, 11.5-inch size, a high 1200 x 1600 pixel screen resolution, and under 1/4-inch thick. But best of all … it’s flexible. That being said, the market for advertising space could be revolutionized, since we all know that mags and newspapers are struggling in print. A surge of easily downloadable info via these babies could serve as a new platform for brands and consumers to interact.
   
3. Boxee Box – This little device is really going to be amazing, if it does what it says it does. So, a little black box smaller than a coke can will serve as a tool to bring all your media together in one place on your television screen. There are multiple inputs that allow you to download pictures, hook up your computer(s), etc. to give you the ultimate media experience. It will even show your Twitter and Facebook feeds with links from your friends. Sounds a lot like just surfing the internet, no? NO. As you can see in the demo below, this gadget does more than just make a pretty face for your media storage. Say you want to watch an episode of your favorite TV show online. All you do is search for the show by name and it provides the feed from anywhere online. So much easier than checking twelve different network websites for all your online viewing pleasure.
   
   http://bubble-cast.com

   
4. Tablets – While ambiguous at best and product development touted by behemouths such as Apple and Google, these things are the talk of the town. Sure to be a new ad platform for marketing-heavy corporation Google, the details on what exactly a tablet will be is elusive. However, Apple claims to have a $1000 price tag, so I’m pretty sure they will be more than the rumored iPhone on crack. Some say they may include free global Wi-Fi, others say there are even cooler traits to this gizmo, especially due to the high price point and secrecy behind both global networks’ production. Say tuned for more …

So, with all these new innovations in using existing technology in new and interesting ways, it isn’t hard to assume that 2010 will be packed with marketers’ and brands’ scrambling to find the new way to reach consumers. And undoubtedly, if you’re the first on the bandwagon, it could be a relatively cost-friendly endeavor. Here’s looking forward to what’s in store for this decade!

These fond memories, however, are just that this year—memories. Because the 2009 holiday season is rife with new and larger opportunities to get the latest on Black Friday deals with minimal effort through my favorite information-sharing platform—Social Media.

From Facebook to Twitter to specialized web sites and splash pages, this thing we lovingly call the “inter-web” has revolutionized even the biggest in-store selling opportunity of the year. Some of my favorite, yet not necessarily new, uses of SM to promote Black Friday sales are below:

• Toys ‘R Us Fan Page – These geniuses have become the fastest-growing brand on Fbook simply by developing a custom Black Friday Preview application which lets Facebook fans find out what deals are available before the rest of the masses.
• Blackfriday.info – This site compiles and organizes all those pesky inserts and mini-catalogs into one place. You can also add items to a customizable list as well as check store open and closing times.
• @blackfriday on Twitter – This user lists deals, stories and tips to get the most out of your Black Friday. My favorite tip is a link to a page where JCPenney-sponsored Cindy Crawford will send you a wake-up call to get up and get shopping!
• BF Deals App – While not technically social media, and not free, this app lets you see a map of other users at stores so you can find a less crowded one, and it sends your deals to your Twitter account – there really is “an app for that,” too.

So, while these developments, and the many others like them, don’t necessarily mean greater sales or margin growth for retailers, they do provide further evidence of the power of real-time and easily accessible information, even when it comes to advertising. Because, let’s face it, Black Friday is the one day a year when people are actually CLAMORING to hear what retailers have to say and now there are a plethora of options and avenues for them to reach that information. And, in a world where the marketing dollar doesn’t quite go as far as we’d like, what could possibly be wrong with that?

Imagine you are watching your favorite program on TV, and, all of the sudden, a large ad appears. And not just any ad, but one that makes you watch its entirety, then quizzes you on the contents of the ad. And no ad-skipping! You must interact with the ad or you cannot proceed in your television viewing pleasure. How annoying is that? And then multiply this across all platforms of media, such as phone use, internet surfing, iPod listening, and it just gets worse.

Many, including The New York Times, are up in arms about how this goes against the culture and branding of Apple, Inc. and, as most critics of theirs do, are completely missing the point. At some point in time, big marketing brands and TV networks are going to either: a) realize that they need to do something similar to survive, or b) pay to use Evil Ad and save some time and money in R&D.

So, whether it seems to fit Apple or not, it is inevitably the new direction of advertising and in his stroke of genius, Steve Jobs, the lead inventor on the patent, has foreseen this need. Face it, traditional ads today are so easy to maneuver around if you really don’t want to pay attention. And don’t tell the big media buyers, but I could name a list of websites where you can watch current TV show episodes without any commercial interruptions at all!

The moral of the story is this: Media is going to have to become more agressive in the demand for attention and placement, or, we can all pack up our dollars and goods now and call it a day. Because unless we are willing to admit that the audience of consumers available is going to greater lengths to avoid traditional advertising, we’ll never be able to turn a decent ROI. Whether we change with the times or stay stagnant, someone is going to make money, and as usual, it looks like it will probably be Apple.