Making mobile 'impact'

AMA : Digital Marketing Day. 30th November 2010

Making ‘mobile’ impact…
Loïc Tallon.
Director, Pocket-Proof.
30th November 2010.
Arts Marketing Association Conference.

i. the mobile context
ii. developing effective mobile tools.

Mobile is BIGnews…
To start with the apparently ‘obvious’.

Some mind-numbing statistics…
In 2009, there were 4.6 billion mobile phones in the world.
In the UK alone, there are 48.5M mobile phone users.
Of those 48.5M:
• 28% have smartphones,
• 31% use apps. (compared to 21.5% a year earlier),
• 37% surf the internet via their mobile phone
Stats from June 2010, see http://bit.ly/9JOPWg

More mind-numbing statistics…
(The App Market)
• 35m iPad applications were downloaded in the ﬁrst 65 days of
its release.
• 16.7m apps are downloaded a day from Apple iTunes
• And in particular, smartphones users aged between 16-24 use
10 applications a day on average. (Compared with ﬁve for
entire population).
http://bit.ly/asjt0v

So there is an audience… (if done ‘right’).
But that is all I’m doing in terms of stats : am assuming the above
is as a given.
This presentation more interested in exploring how to mobile
experiences that work, that make an impact…

Mobile in museums is not new …
… and it pre-dated mobile phones

Philips Radio Tour – Stedelijk Museum, Holland, 1952.

And the effect of digital on Museums cannot be
underestimated.
1995 Time
What can be
achieved
The Museum’s
Objectives for Mobile
Interpretation
Technology

So…
… if ‘everything’ is possible, how does an
institution decide what of this ‘everything’
will ‘work’ at their site?

Regarding ‘what to do’ there is so much to
choose from…
many different examples available.

Making ‘traditional’ content accessible on
more personal platforms…

… making ‘standard content accessible on
more personal platforms…

… enabling appropriation of content …

… re-thinking an old-formula and creating
an interactive souvenir …
MoMA AB EX NY

… offering a museum experience outside of
the museum …
Museum of London : StreetMuseum

… multimedia contents …
Mercedes-Benz Classic,
Mercedes Benz Museum

… or multiplayer games and new
interactions …

… or multiplayer games and new
interactions …
MEanderthal,
Smithsonian Institute.

… and creating new interactions.
Please Touch the Exhibits, Melbourne Museum

There are no hard & fast rule for a
technology or functionality that always
‘works’ …
What works with one audience, may ﬂop with another.
… so how to deliver a mobile project that
‘works’ in world of inﬁnite possibilities?

… its about the
Project Approach
& Management

… ‘guidelines’ for the approach and
management of mobile experiences.
And I welcome your comments on these.

1. Its not about the
technology : its about
the experience

Function &
Design, followed
by Technology.

Forget the technology hype.
Focus on the ‘effective’.

What excites you about mobile experiences
for museums? (tag cloud of 2010 Survey responses)

2. Deﬁne the
Objectives and
Audience

Look at mobile from the user’s perspective.

What is the user thinking:
“Why in the devil have they made a mobile app, and why
should I take it?”
(especially if I have to pay for it…)

Museums’ Challenges with mobile tools

Institutions rarely fully consider why they are using mobile.
They are using they because they feel that they should be. Mobile = Cool
… and Users don’t know why they should take them?
Experience is linked to a public.
My opinion…

A mobile experience CANNOT be all things
to all people.
Define what the experience will be.
Define who the audience.
And please find better than a gizmo for the tech savvy. Think of
motivations… “Everyone (with that motivation).”
And then run a focus group with the target audience : see if the
objectives meet their preferences of your target audience.

Objectives + Audience = Design Brief
The Design Brief is a set of objectives, and the reference
document for the subsequent design, development and
delivery of the mobile experience.
• What does (& doesn’t) the mobile experience do? (objectives)
• Who is the target audience? (audience)
And then steal a moment and consider if an iPad App. is the best
way of achieving the design brief…
Decisions made at this phase have disproportionate effect on
success of the project.

3. Focus on the
strengths and unique
qualities of mobile.

Lonely Planet Example

Museums’ Objectives with mobile tools

Personal
Digital
Connected
Mobile
Interactive (but keep it simple)

Remember what makes a mobile
experience unique.
Think back to earlier case studies, their strength is that by their
nature, the experience they provided could not have been
replicated on a different platform.
They made a new experience possible that was reliant on the
unique characteristics of mobile technologies and a mobile
experience.
Mobile design is a specialist skill : work with creative teams that
have experience in it.

4. Manage
Expectations.

4. Manage Expectations
Just because it could be the new online booking system, does
not mean it has to be: manage against scope shift.
Run workshops with project stakeholders analysing existing
mobile experiences in order to grow your shared knowledge.
Set achievable success criteria.
And me mindful of your ambitions…

Back to the casestudies : they have strong
mobile history…
Tate & MoMA vs. SI & MoL

Be mindful of your institution’s technical
experience.
Many of these institutions have been doing digital, and often
mobile, for a number of ‘years’.
Has your institution?
Choose appropriate technology level

5. K.I.S.S.
(Keep it simple, stupid!)

Institutions will implement in next 2 years...

Chose appropriate technology level
The more technically complex, the tougher it is to achieve.
Choose a technology level / complexity appropriate to the
experience and infrastructure of the institution.
Not easy to create a great visitor experience : give yourself
ﬁghting-chance to succeed.

… remember these?
Even the iPhone has a Motorola ROKR E1 in its closet.
And I think GoogleWave is ﬁnding a closet shelf too…

Keep it Simple.
Again, the mobile experience cannot be all things to all people :
stay faithful to the Design Brief.
Doing two new things well is already an achievement: you can
always add functionality in the next version.
Remember SI example.

6. Don’t Underestimate
Content Creation.

Challenges : A Comparison

Content is ‘Everything’
Content is key to your institution
Content is key to the mobile experience
Ensure sufﬁcient time and attention is given to this.
Develop achievable content production programme, with sign-offs
at all phases.

7. Plan sustainability
from the out-set.

Elements will require up-dating.
Content, the Brand, the Experience : these might all evolveover
mobile product’s life-cycle: plan for this:
“When you decide to develop new version, what can be re-
purposed?”
How is the brand up-dated?
How is new version made available to visitors?
How is new content up-loaded?
How can you migrate the experience to a new platform?

Next 2 years of mobile at your institution.

Project Launch is not the ﬁnish line.
There will be bugs : take them in your stride. (And make sure
you’ve kept your development team onboard & on-side in
order to be able to deal with them).
Consider Project Launch as just another phase. Plan for what
comes next. (And at a minimum evaluation comes next).

8. Test & Evaluate
throughout development
and implementation.

Only by testing can you measure the impact
of the mobile tool.
Project started with focus group to test the concept on the public.
Don’t underestimate the development work between the Beta-
Version and the ﬁnal version.
You don’t want to discover that the interaction you’ve designed
does not interest anyone after it has been launched.

And what to evaluate against:
Consider some of the earlier guidelines:
• About Experience not Technology
• Deﬁne Objectives & Audience
• Manage Expectations
• Keep it Simple, Stupid
• Plan Sustainability from the outset
• Evaluate throughout
These all help in the measuring of Success of the project…

In summary / to re-emphasise…
1. Its not about the technology : its about the experience
2. Deﬁne the Objectives and Audience
3. Focus on the strengths and unique qualities of mobile.
4. Manage Expectations.
5. K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid!)
6. Don’t Underestimate Content Creation.
7. Plan sustainability from the out-set.
8. Test & Evaluate throughout development and implementation.

I believe:
…its not the design features that are
the commonality between mobile
projects that make an impact, it is
the way the project was
approached, managed and
delivered.

Thank you.
loic@pocket-proof.com

Making mobile 'impact'

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