For his latest Programming To Win column, Pollack Media’s Pat Welsh gives a run-down of the latest advances in technology. Are you confused by QR codes, 4G connectivity and Foursquare? Welsh will explain it all for you in his technology update.
Pat Welsh
By Pat Welsh
In addition to working with radio stations and TV networks around the world, I’m fortunate to be able to work with myriad new media, entertainment and technology companies. A couple of months ago in this space I wrote about a number of key trends in the entertainment industry that are having an impact on how your listeners are consuming media. This time I’m covering a few important new or ready-for-prime time technologies that you need to know about. You’ve likely heard of many of them, but I hope to bring a little more clarity to how they’re evolving and what they mean to everyone in the radio, media, advertising and music industries.
Connected Cars
The number of cars with Internet radio in them is tiny now, but the IHS iSuppli Automotive Research Service predicts that there will be 24 million connected cars on the road by 2018, 11 million in the U.S. By the 2012 model year, there will be over 50 models of cars with Internet capability built in. BMW, Ford, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Scion, Buick, Chevrolet and Hyundai are the brands that currently offer Internet capabilities here.
Internet radio is a big driver (pardon the pun) of Internet in cars. A number of the existing systems, such as Ford’s SYNC, highlight the ability to get Pandora, among other services. When BMW launched their BMW Apps system last year, Pandora was the first 3rd party app approved for use. That’s a sign that traditional radio can’t ignore. Pandora pushed hard to get into mobile devices, now they’re trying to gain parity in the original mobile, automobile.
4G
The good news is that it’s here; the bad news is that you probably can’t get it. 4G refers to the 4th generation of cellular service (Remember when cell phones could be “cloned?” Those were analog systems. That was “1G.”).
4G networks will have substantially more bandwidth than existing 3G networks. That’s critical since there are real fears about the growth of mobile bandwidth demand outstripping supply. All of the mobile carriers have launched some form of 4G, but the systems are far from universal. Experts predict that it will take another 3 to 4 years before 4G coverage approaches what we now have with 3G.
Then, there’s the matter of finding 4G phones. While there are numerous Android phones that can connect via 4G, there is no such thing as a 4G iPhone – and it appears that there won’t be for a while. Still, interestingly, many owners of the iPhone 4, according to research, think they have a 4G phone. In fact, research on the concept of 4G shows mass consumer confusion. Most don’t know what it is, what the benefits are, or if they have access to it or not.
NFC and Digital Wallets
NFC no longer refers just to the home of the reigning Super Bowl Champions. In the tech world, NFC stands for Near Field Communications, the technology that (among other things) allows you to pay for stuff with your mobile device. NFC connections are short-distance connections, usually no more than 12-13 feet. In some ways, it’s similar to Blue Tooth technology, except that with NFC, the pairing between the two devices is automatic, not manual as in Blue Tooth.
Various companies are jumping in with their versions. The problem, as often happens with new technologies, is that there isn’t one standard, so the market will have to sort it out. Here are a few of the contenders:
• Google – They recently introduced their Google Wallet initiative. Google is partnering with Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint on the initial launch. The Google Wallet app will allow users to store credit cards, affinity cards, gift cards and more all in one place. Eventually, they plan to add more features such as boarding passes, tickets and keys.
• Visa – Visa’s entry is simply called Digital Wallet. Visa is working with other card companies, banks and credit unions to develop its system, which is slated for a release sometime this fall.
• PayPal – Users of some Android phones will be able to pay each other with PayPal’s new peer-to-peer system using technology from Bump Technologies.
QR: Little, Square, Bar Code-Looking Thingies
Quick Response codes (or QR) are small squares that look a little like barcodes. Instead of a series of vertical bars, QR codes are a tangle of rectangles and squares. These days, they’re popping up everywhere. You’ll find them in magazines, on store displays, on business cards, traffic signs and even on TV commercials. Some companies have gone all in on QR. Best Buy, for example, uses QR codes on virtually everything in the store.
The idea is for consumers to use them to get more information about products and services. Users download a QR reader app on their mobile phones, then, using the app and the device’s camera, they zoom in on the QR code. The app then launches the mobile device’s browser and takes the user to a special website with more information about – or even a coupon for – a product.
Some call this “mobile tagging.” It’s been used in some countries, such as Japan, for years, but its popularity with marketers in the U.S. is growing fast. In fact, you may have held one in your hand without even knowing it. If you’ve downloaded a boarding pass to your mobile phone for a flight, you’ve used QR.
Location-Based or Mobile Check-In Services
This is another technology that’s been around for a while, but it looks like it’s starting to reach critical mass. ComScore and Pew give different figures on the adoption of location-based services, but both have it at well under 10% so far, leaving a lot of upside in the future.
The #1 service is Foursquare which launched about 2 years ago. For a long time, Foursquare, with its system of badges, mayorships and check-ins, was more of a novelty gimmick. More well-known services like Facebook and Yelp have added check-in features, but Foursquare has maintained its early lead. In fact, Facebook just announced that it’s doing away with the “Places” feature on its mobile app.
Since it launched, Foursquare has cut deals with local retailers to make discounts and specials available to users. Over the last few months, the number of those deals has grown rapidly. A couple of months ago Foursquare inked a deal with American Express to give users cash back when they checked in at retailers like Sports Authority and H&M and used their American Express cards to make a purchase.
More recently, Foursquare entered into an agreement with ESPN to integrate check-ins at sporting events with ESPN. Radio stations have been getting in on the act, too. Many stations now have Foursquare accounts, inviting listeners to “friends” them and providing them with a list of things to do. Stations can also do promotional tie-ins to give away free tickets to events on their “To Do” lists.
All of these technologies are available now. Several of them can be views as threats to terrestrial radio, or they can be viewed as opportunities to continue to increase exposure to and interaction with your station.
Pat Welsh, Senior Vice President/Digital Content, Pollack Media Group, can be reached at 310 459-8556, fax: 310-454-5046, or at pat@pollackmedia.com.
