Speaking Engagements: A Preview of Social Media Week’s BankConnect Event

Social Media Week (SMW12) hits Toronto next week and Delvinia President Steve Mast is among the speakers at BankConnect, a panel discussion presented by ING Direct and XConnect (a project of thirdocean), about how banks are using social media, technology and other new media tools to connect with their customers and potential new markets.

The event, which takes place from 6-9 p.m. at the ING Direct Cafe on Wednesday, February 15, will  bring together industry executives to discuss a variety of issues around new media and banking.

Attendees will hear from financial industry insiders about banking in Canada, learn how banks are adjusting to and are impacted by changes caused by technology and industry trends, and have the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback to insiders in the financial industry.

In addition to Steve Mast, the BankConnect panel includes Daniel  Shain, founder of Finizi Corp.; Mark Nicholson, Head of Digital and Interactive at ING Direct; Andrew Jenkins, Head of Social Media Strategy at RBC; Debbie Dimoff, Vice President of Client Services at PwC; and Fahad Kamr, Founder of Stocial.com. The National Post‘s Matt Hartley will moderate the discussion.

In this video, Steve talks to Karim Kanji, co-founder and partner of thirdocean and XConnect, about the power and potential of social media in the banking industry and the challenges banks are facing in the areas of mobile technology and social media.

For more information about the event, or to register, please visit the BankConnect event page on the Social Media Week Toronto website.

Super Bowl Advertisers Look to Score Big with Second Screen Experiences

The Super Bowl is an event that transcends the on-field battle between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Consumer spending on team apparel, food, party supplies and even new TVs alone is expected to reach close to $11 million for this year’s game according to a recent survey conducted for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association.

At the cost of $3.5 million for a 30-second commercial, advertisers are eager to extend the life and impact of their Super Bowl spots to consumers more than ever. In the past few years that meant uploading the commercial to YouTube after the game to take advantage of the buzz.

A 2011 study of mobile users by Yahoo and Razorfish found that 60 per cent of users are multitasking on a mobile device while watching live televised sports, creating the opportunity for an enhanced second screen experience.

This year, advertisers are paying extra attention to second screen experiences before, during and after the game. Most of the ads (or teasers for the ads) that will appear during the game have been posted on YouTube. Honda’s CR-V ad featuring Matthew Broderick reprising his Ferris Bueller role has more than 10 million views in just seven days, while Volkswagen’s “Bark Side” teaser has more than 11 million views and an extended version of the “Dog Strikes Back” ad has 2 million after just a few days. The Acura ad “Transactions” featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno is nearing 11 million views, while other advertisers like Hyundai, First Bank, Kia and Chevrolet are also getting attention with ads posted days before the big game.

Beyond providing access to the ads, other advertisers are providing interactivity and enhanced content on social platforms and mobile devices. Coca Cola is bringing their animated polar bears – wearing a Giants or Patriots scarf – to their Facebook page where they will react to events in the game in real time.

Chevy is rolling out the Game Time mobile app, allowing Android and iPhone/iPad users the chance to win prizes from Papa John’s, Sirius and Bridgestone by answering trivia or participating in polls. App users also have a chance to win one of 20 cars if their app code matches the license plate of the cars in the Chevrolet ads.

Audio recognition app Shazam announced late this week that the entire game, halftime and nearly half the ads would be Shazamable enabling viewers to access live stats, unlock immersive ad experiences or qualify for sweepstakes from advertising partners such as Pepsi, Disney and Anheuser-Busch.

GoDaddy will be featuring (what now seems old fashioned) onscreen QR codes that when scanned will direct mobile users to the GoDaddy site for additional content.

To accompany Toyota’s ad theme of reinvention, the car company is requesting that viewer’s tweet which item they would like to see reinvented with the hashtag #reinvented. The most imaginative ideas will receive a response and illustration of the reinvented item.

Advertisers can no longer rely on the Monday morning water cooler walk. The Internet is providing a parallel, real-time shared experience to broadcast TV programming and live events. The buzz and word-of-mouth is happening through social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook with or without the advertisers. The question is whether viewers will embrace these advertiser-driven enhancements into their TV experience or ignore them and save the second screen for their friends.

Enhancing the Retail Environment with Digital Media

When Ryerson University announced plans to convert Maple Leaf Gardens into a sports and recreation facility, Delvinia helped the institution identify opportunities to incorporate digital media into the physical space.

We also collaborated with Loblaws, a partner in the redevelopment, to suggest a range of ways for the retailer to enhance the customer experience at its new Carlton and Church location, which opened today.

Using our AskingCanadians™ online panel, we examined the shopping behaviours of consumers who will frequent Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens. We asked questions like, who is responsible for shopping? How often do you shop? And, do you use mobile apps to facilitate your grocery shopping?

We discovered that 15 per cent of Canadians already use apps to help them with their shopping and the remaining market is primed to adopt a well-designed mobile app.

In terms of preferences, we found that close to 70 per cent use apps to access coupons, followed by scanning barcodes and sorting the shopping list by aisle.

Given the survey results and our analysis of the types of experiences customers are looking for when shopping, we recommended a number of mobile-friendly apps, including the development of a mobile-friendly site/app with a range of features like a store locator, meal planning ideas/recipes, in-home meal replacement specials, shopping lists with the route mapped out, an aisle locator, digital flyers and coupons, the ability to check parking space availability and a quick link to call a cab.

We also recommended the creation a ‘Going to Loblaws’ app that would enable users to sign-up and invite friends. When the user decided to make a trip to Loblaws, they could send an alert to ‘friends’ within their app network to take orders. Friends could then choose items from the menu, making it more convenient for the runner to pick up groceries.

For the Joe Fresh store, we recommended the installation of a virtual mirror—a touch-screen application with the latest Joe Fresh collection available. The app would enable users to ‘try on’ outfits and send instant pictures to their friends. The application could also increase awareness of the collection and add a fresh and viral element to the retail experience.

Overall, the consultation process achieved the objective of identifying multiple means to enhance the customer experience through the use of digital media.

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