#MMLife – At Home with Mobile

  • Thursday, November 27th, 2014
  • Author: Tim Maytom
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MM lifeOur flagship event Mobile Marketing Life got off to a great start with the At Home stream, examining mobiles growing influence in consumers homes and how technology is adapting and changing to reflect our growing connected nature.

As our senior reporter Kirsty Styles noted, our phones have become the first thing we check when we wake up, and the last thing we look at before we go to sleep, second only to a roof over our heads in what we require to survive in modern society.

First off, Eric Kruse and Jan Hederén of Ericsson examined how connectivity is appearing in every aspect of our life now. As mobile technology crosses the inflection point, moving from installation to transformation, were seeing more and more technologies emerge that take advantage of the opportunities mobile creates.

In France, Tranquillen can use big data to estimate how crowded a train headed to Paris will be, a fortnight before it runs, while Glowcaps are using connected containers for Alzheimers medication that remind patients to take medicine and notify pharmacies when people are running low.

Jan also wowed attendees with a demonstration of Ericssons Connected Paper product, that integrates tiny chips and antennas into packaging and posters, and uses the human bodys conductivity to send a signal from the product to a users device when they pick it up, providing them with information from allergy warnings to video content.

Tom Guy, product and commercial director of British Gas Hive unit, walked us through how in 15 months the company has moved from conception to one of the UKs biggest providers of IoT devices, with over 100,000 units in peoples homes.

By listening to the needs of customers, Hive have built a product that focuses on seamless interaction rather than automation. Tom noted that consumers dont want a product that takes control away from them, they want to feel more informed and empowered, especially when it comes to their homes.

Just Eat TweetMatt Hobbs from Just Eat talked about how in developing its app, the company was aiming to give customers a superpower – the ability to have their food appear with as little effort as possible. Thanks to the growth of connected appliances, within a year or two your phone will be able to inform your house youre on the way home, check if your fridge has any food, preheat your over, unlock your doors and switch your lights on.

He also examined how the quantified self and Internet of Things were creating a “nudgeable culture”, with more and more personalised information to inform our choices and help improve our lifestyle and our comfort.

home panelThe section ended with a panel discussion looking at how consumers multi-screen habits are affecting attribution, and what opportunities this offers smart marketers. Stephen Jenkins from Millennial Media, Tej Rekhi of Sizmek and David Barker of Amobee joined Kirsty Styles in talking about how multi-screen has become one of the hot topics of the mobile marketing world.

Tej noted that “we dont even consider what type of screen a message is going to anymore – its about getting the right message to the right person”, while David detailed stats that 37 per cent of consumers who look at a product on mobile will go on to buy on a desktop computer, so being able to track the consumers journey across devices is increasingly important when it comes to retargeting.

Well be bringing you more of the events highlights as the day goes on, plus you can follow what people are saying about the conference on Twitter by looking for the #MMLife hashtag.