A few weeks ago, we announced our participation in the Board of Innovation’s 24 Hours of Innovation event. The idea behind “My Half Time Pep Talk for 2009″ is to discuss anything innovation-related from the first half of 2009. We decided to talk about innovation in the communications industry, specifically digital communications. Because innovation and digital communications are ever-evolving, we’ve provided a peek into the not-too-distant future of digital.
As public relations (PR) practitioners and designers, it’s our job at Fleishman-Hillard to tell our clients’ stories in meaningful ways that inspire their audiences to act in some manner. For years we shared stories through creative and differentiating media pitches, marketing campaigns and events. Then came the Internet, which allowed people across the world to create, share and access information at the touch of a button. The Internet became a valuable storytelling tool for PR practitioners wishing to reach both larger and more segmented audiences. And the advent of social media made connecting with target audiences even more personal and meaningful.
According to a recent post on Mashable, social media “is undeniably changing the way that content and information work … this has transformed the way that consumers relate to brands and the way that brands should be operate, driving direct interaction, transparency and a more consultative approach.”
So what are some of the digital tools that have been creating the most value in the communications industry?
Of course we all know about Twitter and its ability to, as PR Week said, “make each interaction meaningful.” According to the article, it’s a great way to: seek and create media opportunities, stay on top of customer service, engage potential customers, and communicate with large groups of people.
Today there are many valuable applications available to help people search for and track chatter about their brands and find new Tweeps to strategically follow.
And we know about Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Del.icio.us, Digg and LinkedIn. All are valuable ways to share information, discuss relevant topics and generally connect with loyal followers of your brand and to target potential customers and consumers. All PR practitioners ought to explore ways their clients can benefit from these networks.
But, as we all know, digital communications is rapidly evolving. So I reached out to some colleagues who specialize in digital communications to get a glimpse into the future of digital storytelling.
Vijoy Rao, FH St. Louis, said, “the trend seems as if it’s going from mass social interaction to 1-on-1 offline interaction – at least from a brand customer service perspective.”
Liz Skeens, also FH St. Louis, said, “the future of digital communication is mobile. Anything and everything mobile/wireless.”
Matt Dickman, FH Cleveland, agreed. Through the use of augmented reality (AR), “digital communications is allowing business to use digital to make physical connections.”
According to Dickman’s blog, techno//marketer, AR “is relatively new though it’s been experimented with for a couple of years at least. In short, AR is the combination of objects in the real world being combined with virtual objects using a Webcam and some programming.”
To experience AR, first you print a symbol on an ordinary piece of paper from a site with AR (some corporate sites with AR include GE, Toyota and Jack Link’s Beef Jerky). Then you face the symbol to your Web camera. The site then picks up the symbol from the camera and renders a 3D animation onto the piece of paper you’re holding.
According to Educause.edu, “augmented reality adds information and meaning to a real object or place.” Educause recommends it as a tool to deepen students’ understanding of contextual data. We recommend it as a way to use digital to make a physical connection with customers. Fleishman-Hillard is working to pioneer AR in the communications world.
Additionally, Dickman, like Skeens, said the future of digital lives in mobile innovations with its ability to physically connects people. “Tweens live their lives 100 percent mobile through texting and social networking.”
Although some might say these digital tools are “cold,” they allow people to meet up with others who have similar interests.
Finally, Dickman said that in the future, all our social and traditional media channels will be more integrated. The Web “shows us you can publish from anywhere and see it anywhere you want,” he said.
Soon we’ll be able to watch TV wherever we want and chat with friends while watching that show. Sure, now we watch TV and discuss it with friends over instant messenger, but soon we’ll be able to experience all forms of digital communications over TVs, Web and independent devices that don’t exist now.
The value these innovative, new digital tools will add to the work of a PR practitioner is unimaginable. For, as my colleague David Wickenden said in this blog recently, “one could argue, as of course many have, that the Internet and ’social media’ will prove to be the most significant human invention, not just since the invention of the printing press, but in all of recorded history.”
I look forward to exploring their uses in the near future … maybe even this year!
– Kathie
Kathie, thanks for sharing your pep talk! I especially look forward to new augmented reality applications the next years.
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