HTML5: What Marketers Need To Know

HTML5
What marketers need
to know

Credits
Editing
Neil Bhapkar
Writing and Research
Aaliyah Madadi
Graphic Design
Jose Sanchez
Whitepaper: HTML5 - What Marketers Need to Know

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Introduction - What is HTML5?
Features: Cross Platform
Features: Geo-Targeting
Features: Video
Features: Offline Capability
The Future of HTML5
Who’s doing it?
Conclusion
Table of Contents

Introduction
1
There is a lot of buzz
surrounding HTML5 as the
future of web technology, but
what exactly does this mean
for marketers and content
distribution? Technically,
HTML5 is a markup language
that allows developers to freely
create interactive content
without the need for additional
software, such as Flash and
Java browser plug-ins.
Let’s take the example of
Flash -- currently many videos
require Flash players which
What is HTML5?
Source: Lynda.com

2Whitepaper: HTML5 - What Marketers Need to Know
poses a problem for any iOS
owner. HTML5 enables any
video to be viewed through
the browser, without the need
for Flash plug-ins. This creates
more flexibility for both the
end user and developers.
HTML5 is used by almost 50%
of developers and is projected
to increase to 80% by 2015.
But what does all this mean for
marketers? Essentially, behind
these codes and developer-
language is an intuitive medium
that allows marketers to better
communicate and understand
their customers. There is
currently a disconnect between
the pace at which developers
are adopting HTML5 and how
well marketers understand the
implications of HTML5 for their
brand.
Yet the bottom line is
that HTML5 will increase
design flexibility across
devices, improve end-user
experiences, and reduce
costs. This whitepaper
explains the features of
HTML5 that are relevant for
marketers.
HTML5 is used by almost
50% of developers, and
is projected to increase
to 80% within the next 3
years.

Features: Cross Platform
3 Whitepaper: HTML5 - What Marketers Need to Know
HTML5 is a markup language
that is compatible across all
devices. For example, if a
marketer decides to create a
native app that’s compatible
with every device, developers
must create an app using
a programming language
that’s specific for an iPhone,
Android, Blackberry, etc.
Each device has unique
specifications and therefore
requires particular coding
and expertise.
Consider the costs of paying
for specialized developers
to create apps for each
device and operating system.
What about the ongoing
maintenance costs of keeping
apps compatible with new
Percentage of Americans
using HTML5-compatible browsers
2011 2012
Source:
Forrester, 2013
57%
75%

devices and operating
systems? And don’t forget the
initial costs and time it takes
to develop native apps and
place them in corresponding
app stores. Clearly, this
becomes very costly for
marketers and doesn’t
necessarily mean that the
apps will be downloaded and
used.
On the other hand, HTML5
is a single programming
language that is compatible
across devices. Instead of
creating a native app, HTML5
empowers marketers to
create app-like “web-apps”
(i.e. an application that is
accessed over the Internet)
that can be accessed via any
device with a single URL. For
the end user, the experience
will be comparable to a native
app, including features such
as customizable graphics,
videos, and more.
HTML5 is a markup
language that allows
developers to freely
create interactive
content without the need
for additional software,
such as browser plug-ins.

Features: Location-Based Content
Using a variety of location
technologies (i.e. GPS, IP
address, Wi-Fi, cell phone
towers), HTML5 enables
targeted marketing campaigns
based on the customer’s
location (of course, for
privacy reasons users must
approve their geolocation
information to be shared).
While location detection is not
a new technology, HTML5’s
geolocation capabilities are
more reliable and precise than
previous applications. HTML5
technology uses two methods
in determining your location.
First, location can be
determined based on the
specific cell phone towers
you’re connected to through
your carrier. This method
is fast yet less accurate as it
generates a user’s general
proximity. For more accurate
location information, HTML5
uses the GPS hardware in a
user’s device. Although this
method uses more power
and takes longer than the first
method, it provides location
data that is accurate within a
few meters.

Google Maps is an example
of an HTML5 web app that
uses geolocation to find a
users’ coordinates. When
Google Maps first tries to find
your location, it accesses your
device’s cell tower which is
why the initial circle on the
map is big and lacks accuracy.
Simultaneously, Google Maps
is also using your device’s GPS
hardware to find your precise
location and this data appears
when the large blue circle
turns into a small dot.
Ultimately, HTML5 gives
marketers the ability to
determine the degree of
location accuracy their
web app requires and
to consequently create
marketing campaigns that are
geographically-specific for their
users. Consider the possibilities
with this technology:
notifications of deals when
users are in close proximity
to your store, data analysis of
your customers’ geographies,
or location-specific marketing
campaigns that capitalize on
regional differences amongst
target markets.
According to a study
by Verve Mobile,
advertisers saw a
2x increase on click-
through performance
for location-based
mobile campaigns
in 2012.

Features: Video
One of the most exciting
features of HTML5 is its ability
to support video without
requiring third-party plugins
such as Apple QuickTime,
Windows Media Player or
Adobe Flash.
Video adoption is expected
to increase significantly
in the next few years with
mobile video representing
66% of global mobile data
traffic by 2017. According to
eMarketer, 87% of marketers
in the U.S. use video for
content marketing and
video ad spend is expected
to grow to $6.3 billion by
2015. Evidently, videos play a
significant role for marketers
and their importance will
increase in the coming
years.
As this clip describes, videos
previously couldn’t integrate
with HTML so companies
created softwares, such
as QuickTime, Flash, and
Windows Media Player to
enable video viewing. As
such, these external plugins
need to be downloaded and
installed before videos could
be played.
HTML5 enables videos to
be played straight from
the browser, without these
external plugins, thereby
providing consistency across
devices and browsers.
Furthermore, videos can
be aesthetically styled with
customizable elements,
such as setting borders
and background images.

Ultimately, HTML5 provides
marketers with a new avenue
to implement creative and
customized ideas for their
multimedia campaigns.
Video & HTML5
Source: TopicSimple

Features: Offline Capability
Have you ever been
somewhere without WiFi or a
mobile network and wished
you could still access articles
while being offline? HTML5
has made this possible with
its offline web applications
that allow users to continue
using web apps and
documents even when they
can’t access a network.
In technical terms, the new
HTML5 offline capabilities
can save files in cache
and allows users to access
their materials when
they’re offline. Essentially,
all the code that makes
up a website gets saved
when users visit a site,
allowing the content to load
immediately next time users
access it.

For today’s businesses,
content marketing is playing
an increasingly significant
role. Marketers are investing
a lot of time and resources
into creating blogs,
whitepapers, infographics,
and ultimately engaging their
audiences online. With the
growing increase in devices,
it’s common for devices to be
carried with us everywhere
we go, but that doesn’t
necessarily mean that the
Internet is going with us too.
HTML5 allows marketers
to engage their audiences,
regardless of whether
they’re online or offline.
Your audience can have
access to your blog and all
your resources while they’re
on the subway, a plane, or
in a car. Ultimately, HTML5
takes content marketing to
the next level by allowing
your audience to access
content without connectivity
limitations.

for this technology and the
multitude of devices it impacts.
HTML5 will also change the
face of native apps as we
know it as developers begin to
incorporate more HTML5 than
native code into their apps.
Uberflip’s CEO, Yoav Schwartz,
explains that HTML5 will
eventually replace native apps
as the technology’s capabilities
strengthen and as browsers
get stronger and devices get
The Future of HTML5
The current features of
HTML5 show the strength
and capabilities of this new
web technology yet there’s
even more in store for the
future. It’s estimated that
during 2013, there will be
over 1 billion users of HTML5-
enabled browsers worldwide
and that the applications
for these browsers will be
created by over 2 million web
developers that are working to
advance this technology. The
implications of this growth is
significant for marketers since
their audiences will be using
this web technology to access
and engage with content. By
understanding the sweeping
significance of HTML5 and
its dominance in the future,
marketers can prepare their
content such that it’s optimized
HTML5 will eventually
replace native apps
as the technology’s
capabilities
strengthen and as
browsers get stronger
and devices get faster
Yoav Schwartz
CEO @ Uberflip
“
”

faster. The IDC predicts that by
2015, 80% of all mobile apps
will be based wholly or partially
on HTML5. Ultimately, we’re
in the midst of a change in
perspective from a ‘native-app’
dominated mentality to one
where web apps are a practical
and effective alternative.
Schwartz explains that web
apps deliver a compelling
experience that’s similar to
native, but occurs over the
browser -- and the cost savings
for marketers can be big.
HTML5 vs. Native Apps
Interview with Yoav Schwartz

Success Cases
Many brands don’t like
being part of someone
else’s ecosystem because
they might lose control of
pricing and subscribers. The
Financial Times recently
announced “it will shut off its
iPad app completely following
the success of its HTML5 web
site” so that it can have full
control over its applications.
The newspaper’s web-app
was named Best Mobile
Innovation for Publishing
at the 2012 Global Mobile
Awards.
Gallery

Burrows Communications
Agency created the “Ford
Showroom” application for
their client by utilizing HTML5.
Customers can use it to
quickly check inventory and
car features. Burrows states
that “the days of companies
just wanting an iOS based
application are over. Now, it’s
all about cross platform and
how many Android tablets and
iPads you can support. The
cost savings of not developing
twice can add up to the
hundreds of thousands...”.
Gallery

It’s no doubt that HTML5 will quickly become a web standard
within the next few years. Yet the important point for marketers
is that it will improve web design flexibility, enhance end-user
experiences, and reduce costs. In a world that’s increasingly
more dependent on different devices and screen sizes, HTML5 is
exactly the technology that will keep brands competitive.
Conclusion
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Check out our case studies to see how top brands
are using our platform.

HTML5: What Marketers Need To Know

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