Perkolating

by Lance Ulanoff

Number 1 and 2 are what I’ve bet my career on, so this is reassuring to hear from Mr Ulanoff.

1. Second Screen Revolution

Here are some stats for you:

• More than 80% of smartphone and tablet owners use these devices while watching TV.

• At least 25% of U.S. smartphone and tablet users use the devices while watching TV multiple times per day.

• 51% of those who post on social media while watching TV do so to connect with others who might also be watching the same thing.

• 24% of Facebook users report posting about the movie they’re watching (in the theater!).

In other words, the Second Screen has arrived, but the revolution awaits us. In 2013, brands, media companies and marketers are going to get far more aggressive and inventive when it comes to second-screen engagement. During a recent panel I moderated for Viacom’s integrated marketing group, Mondelez’s (a Kraft spinoff) VP of Global Media Bonin Bough reported engagement is far stronger for second-screen integrated marketing programs than for traditional online brand advertising (read “banners”).

Marketers see blood in the water, and in 2013 they will release the sharks.

This is not a bad thing, but the old days of getting the full entertainment experience on screen 1 (TV, movies) is quickly coming to an end. Companies will expect you to watch their shows and see their product pitches with smartphone in hand and tablet (still usually the iPad) on your lap.

Meanwhile, a legion of second-screen engagement enablers like Shazam,Zeebox (both of which were on my panel), Viggle and GetGlue are lining up to help you connect big-screen consumption with small-screen activities.

Their goal will be not only to enrich your viewing experience, but to also extend the consumer connection as you turn off the TV and walk out the door with your smartphone in your pocket. Twenty-four-seven entertainment and branding will be the norm in 2013, though you won’t always be aware the connection between what you saw on your first and second screen at home and what your smartphone is telling you as you pass the local Wal-Mart.

2. Big Data

Part of the solution of that puzzle will be data—whole bunches of it.

Thanks to the Internet and our ubiquitous, always-with-us and always-on smartphones, companies are capturing mountains of data about us. And 2013 is the year they finally figure out what to do with it.

One reason companies and marketers will more readily embrace big data is because they’re finally starting to trust it. The 2012 Presidential Election was a validation of data over guesswork. This may lead people to think that is that somewhat vertical (politics) set of data can be so telling, what can all the socio-demographic-geographic-activity data they’re grabbing now tell them.

In 2013, we’ll see the fruits of that data: targeted information on all channels, new discoveries that impact all walks of life based on deep data dives. We’ll have better products, sharper and more insightful predictions (on future elections, weather; basic needs like food, water, shelter and energy). We’ll also see the rise of the Data Scientist.

At this year’s Technomy in Tucson, Ariz., Annika Jiminez, senior director of Data Science at Greenplum, described the role and requirements for new Data Scientists. She explained that they have to be more than smart statisticians.

“They must have very strong programming skills and foundational statistical chops and communication skills.” That last skill will be critical because for all the support there is for the rise of Big Data, many companies still don’t get it. The Data Scientist has to be the cheerleader.

The best of these scientists will “optimize, predict, score and forecast” and, in the process, change our world.

Click the link at Top for full list. 

via Mashable by 

The ripple effects of this decision will be extremely interesting to follow. 

via Mashable by Lauren Drell

via Mashable by Todd Olmstead

Great in-depth look at the OMAs success by the fine folks at Mashable.

via Mashable by Brian Anthony Hernandez

Great infographic from Bluefin covering September 2011 through May 23 2012. Sports and Special Events dominate.

via Mashable by Brian Anthony Hernandez

Great post featuring discussions with Natan Edelsburg of Lost Remote, TVplus Co-Founder Randy Shiozaki and Scott Ellis, VP of Marketing at Peel.

via Mashable by Sam Laird

JockTalk‘s goal is to enhance the branding leverage social networks have given athletes, and allow them to directly create income for themselves or charities through digital social interaction with fans. The site was co-founded by former Major League Baseball All-Star Shawn Green and entrepreneur Brendon Kensel.

via Mashable and Samantha Murphy

But this isn’t your typical Oprah show. She is incorporating social media and interactivity into every episode across various platforms, from Facebook and Twitter to Skype and Instagram. For example, Oprah encourages viewers at home and in the audience to live tweet responses to the topics mentioned on the show and then discusses them in real-time with her guests.

“We have a team backstage that monitors the tweets that come in, and we push out some for Oprah to see and discuss live on the show,” a spokesperson for the OWN Network told Mashable backstage at a live taping. “We tell the audience and everyone at home to use their phones and interact with the show as it airs, and people couldn’t be more excited to do so.”

via Mashable

The MLB Fan Cave is a shrine to Major League Baseball in downtown New York City, decked out in baseball memorabilia, quirky artwork with high-tech touches, and televisions — lots of televisions. The Fan Cave, and the people in it, are at the very core of Major League Baseball’s social media strategy.

MLB is definitely the social media strategy leader of the three major sports in my opinion.

via Mashable and Joe Chernov

This is a topic that really strikes a cord with me. During my previous three years as a Social Media consultant, I harped on clients to create brand personalities that reflect their company or business. I really like this list by Joe Chernov. 

via Mashable

A Nielsen study shows individuals are loading up their Apple iPads, Amazon Kindle Fires, Android devices and other tablets with paid content.

These consumers devour professional, long-form content such as books, magazine features and movies.

Tablet owners are currently redefining the standard of media consumption — to charge or not to charge.

via Mashable

A mock NCAA Tournament selection committee comprised of social media-savvy college basketball fans correctly picked 66 of the March Madness field’s 68 teams.

The “Super 10” committee, made up of fans who submitted short videos to the official March Madness Facebook Pagethat demonstrated their hoops knowledge and passion, spent last weekend in Atlanta touring Turner Broadcasting’s studios, watching the ACC Tournament, and receiving and in-depth primer on how the brackets are built before making their own selections. They also documented the experience and corresponded with other fans at home using Facebook and Twitter.

via Mashable.

The Peel app is unveiling the next step for social TV this week with the debut of a second-screen engagement platform for the upcoming episodes of American Idol.

The new feature takes social TV beyond checking in to programming by letting users interact with specific shows and other viewers in real time. It’s a significant advance in the emerging space. Peel’s new platform will initially only be available for iOS users and American Idol watchers, but expect Android owners and fans of other shows to be able to get in on the fun before long.

Founded in 2009, Peel is a free app that lets friends share favorite shows and guilty pleasure with one another, and recommends new shows based on what you watch and like. Its investors include big names such as Redpoint Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Many see social apps and second-screen experiences soon coming to dominate the way programming is discovered and enjoyed over the coming years.