Graduate Trainee Scheme: DIGITAL GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graduate Trainee Scheme: DIGITAL GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graduate Trainee Scheme: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

What Google GLASS could mean for aesthetics of TV.

In recent weeks Google have been out in full force showing off GLASS, their new wearable computing device that looks like a futuristic pair of glasses. The device, which Google hopes might be on sale later this year, has four major elements: (1) a small display which is visible in the corner of the user’s vision, (2) a camera which can record video and take pictures, (3) voice control, and (4) internet connectivity.

The idea is you will be able to access and interact with all kinds of information within your field of vision – that could be basic things like receiving or composing a text message through to getting travel directions or finding relevant restaurant recommendations.

The killer application is the camera, which will be able to record in 720p HD. Rather than framing and taking pictures with a smartphone or digital SLR, GLASS will record video in first person perspective when prompted by the user, capturing the moment just as the user experienced it first hand.

You can see a video here mocking up the experience of wearing GLASS:

You’re probably wondering why this matters for TV, right?

Well I think, if it takes off, GLASS could not only create a new wave of user generated content, but a whole new aesthetic that could easily seep into the way we make and experience television. Just as mobile phone footage and web-cam ‘diary’ footage/video calling have become common narrative tools in TV, GLASS could kick off a new POINT OF VIEW aesthetic that allows us to experience personal journeys through the gaze of the first person. It could become a really powerful way of experiencing the lives of real people in our shows – from profound moments like the birth of child in One Born Every Minute, to the nerve wracking experiences of contestants on shows like The Voice. It’s not that we can’t do this right now with tools like the GoPro, but it’s about the normalisation of this kind of video.

I admit right now watching this kind of footage can make us feel slightly sea-sick, but as this technology becomes better and more common I think it could feel quite normal as well as looking quite beautiful. Look back to the ‘shaky cam’ aesthetic that MTV kickstarted but is now common across all genres or TV and film – that wasn’t so much of a stylistic choice but a result of new portable cameras operated by junior staff who couldn’t hold a shot still – in many ways the aesthetic followed from how ordinary non-professionals were capturing video at home at the time.

I’d argue that in a couple of years if facebook, twitter and youtube is filled with video in first person perspective won’t it be weird experiencing stories in the third person? Maybe that’s a step too far, but the first person could certainly be an exciting new tool for TV professionals.

Of course GLASS is just another evolution in video, and many of the most exciting startups right now are the ones that are using videos in new but simple ways, like vine which is taking ‘quick cutting’ to a whole new level as people create videos that are no more than 6 seconds long (basically twitter for video), or viddy and socialcam which allow people to apply simple filters and graphics (instagram for video).

Whatever happens with these new services and products it’s certain that there is not only to be more content out there to play with, but entirely new aesthetics to reflect people’s lives and enhance our shows.

It’s been 10 crazy weeks to get to this point but we’re pleased to announce our first TV show, 2012:MASHED, will be on air this Friday (28th Dec) at 11:40pm on Channel 4.  The show was jointly commissioned by Channel 4′s head of online Richard Davidson-Houston, alongside commissioning editor for Entertainment, Madeleine Knight.  It’s the first linear TV show to have been commissioned by Channel 4 online.

2012:MASHED is an insane look at the big news events of 2012 through totally original media mash-ups made by the internet’s most famous names including Dan Bull, David Schneider, Cassetteboy and Rob Manuel.  Presented by the Mighty Boosh’s Rich Fulcher, we’ll be taking on stories including Barclays Bank Libor-fixing, the rise of Fifty Shades of Grey, the Queen’s Jubilee, tax avoidance by big corporations, and many more.

If you don’t get to watch the show on Channel 4 then it will be available on 4oD until the end of January.  See more at channel4.com/mashed

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the clips you’ll get to see in the show:

When it comes to marketing, Seth Godin or Richard Branson, I am not.  But I do know that if you’re launching an app it’s hard to come by decent advice or discover other people’s experiences to help inform your decisions on promotion.

Although the team at The Connected Set does not generally offer marketing services as part of our development process, we have been involved in the launch of what have turned out to be notable apps.  Most recently, we launched Tate Britain QuizTrail, which featured on the home page of iTunes and beat it’s annual download targets in the first month.

I can also legitimately claim to have worked on a worldwide number one iPad app featured in the app store just seven months after iPad launched.  However, that was for a Virgin and the aforementioned Richard Branson did put his personal weight behind the launch at a glittering event in New York.

I now know only too well the challenges of launching an app with little or no budget, so I thought I’d share our experiences here in the hope that it will help you launch your app.  In return, I only ask that you drop me a note to let me know how you got on to jake@theconnectedset.com or @jakecassels

Step 1: Naming your app

Step 2: Planning

Step 3: App store promotion

Step 4: Video promotion

Step 5: PR

Step 6: App Review Sites

Step 7: Social Media and Online Buzz

Step 8: Paid promotion: PPC, QR Codes, Posters & Fliers

Step 9: Updates and push notifications

Step 10: Touts, shouts and celebrations

It’s likely to be the first thing you do.  Or, in my experience, it might be the last thing you do, when you discover your excellent name is thrown out by the lawyers because a Bluegrass band has lay claim to it.  And you’re offering couldn’t be more different to theirs.  Here are five quick steps to making sure the name of your app works for you:

1. Carry out searches – don’t just Google your app name to check which other brands are using your nuanced nomenclature, I strongly recommend a quick search on the Intellectual Property Office website.
2. Make it clear – Is the name clear and does it tell you what your app does? An important benefit of clear, understandable names will be search engine and app store visibility.  We hope that with ‘QuizTrail’ we achieved that.  It’s a trail you follow where you answer questions, just in case! Our original name for ‘QuizTrail’ was ‘InQuizitor’, but shortly after we pitched the idea, the domain name was snapped up by a GCSE revision guide series. Perhaps a side point under this heading should be pronounceability.  Your users won’t thank you if they can’t say the name of your app.
3. Be authentic – as tempting as it is to use elements of successful apps in your app name, it’s generally much better to come up with your own name i.e Facepages and Angry Nuns are out.
4. Keep it short – being concise has several benefits.  Chief amongst them is visibility in your selected app store and the ability to fit your name under the app icon.  The label under the icon can only be eleven characters long.
5. Take your time and test – you’ve invested money; more importantly, you’ve invested time.  The name of the app is the key to helping you stand out in the crowd of the literally millions of other apps.

Next: Step 2: Planning your promotional campaign

‘Failing to plan is planning to fail….’ The age old words that ring in the ears of anyone who has lived through a wedding.  They apply just as much with the promotion of your app.  Before we started our plan, we reviewed the strategy for our app by answering these questions:

1. What are the objectives for the app?
   • Promotional or profit based?
   • Engaging, functional or both?
2. What are the app’s unique selling points?
3. Who is the target audience?
   • Where will you find this audience?
   • What benefits does the app provide the audience?
   • What are your desired results, your KPIs?
4. What are your desired results, your KPIs?
   • Sales revenue?
   • Volumes?
   • Quality of audience?
   • Engagement levels?
   • Other achievements – awareness, rankings, coverage?
5. Who are your competitors, or who do you benchmark yourself against
   • Other apps
   • Other websites
   • Other services/products
6. What do your competitors do well and not so well?

With a strategy in place, planning becomes much easier.  We found that the plan should be as detailed as possible, including information about who will be doing what, when and how. We found it useful to include anticipated results.  It’s especially good for when you exceed them – or you can blame bad forecasting when you don’t! It may be useful to do this for each activity and include your desired conversion rates.  Perhaps an e-mail blast to 20,000 contacts would achieve a 2% conversion rate (a typical conversion rate according to the DMA) , which equates to 400 downloads.

The next eight steps I’ve listed are the kinds of activities we found effective to in our promotional campaigns that you might want to include in your plan. I’m sure you’ll have loads more ideas though.

Once you have a detailed plan, summarise it and move on to step 3,which is the next post.

Our experience has found that the most effective channel for promotion was within an App store.  However, this is hard to plan for as there is no guarantee that Apple or Google will promote your app. Here are some tips as to what we believe, but can’t be certain, will help you gain promotion on iTunes or Google Play.

1. Consider your price point – Paid for apps stand a better chance of promotion as Apple and Google retains 30% of revenues from your app.  However, even the lowest price tier is likely to limit download numbers, so you will need to refer to your strategy to inform your decision.
2. What are the USPs of your app and what benefits will it provide the user? Include these details in your submission to the relevant app store.
3. Provide your headline promotional plan including details on reach and any unique and attention grabbing activities e.g celebrity endorsement.
4. Provide artwork from your app and make promotional artwork available.  You can find specs for these at your relevant Apple and Android developer sites.

Find out why video promotion is crucial at step 4

Nothing beats a clear demonstration of how your app works and video is the perfect way to make a compelling case for the download.  It goes without saying that YouTube is a great way to spread the word about your app.  Although, think carefully as to whether you’d like to include comments from viewers on your YouTube channel.

Take a look at an example of the promotional video The Connected Set produced for ‘QuizTrail’.

To read why the PR for your app isn’t like to involve Bolly, move on to step 5.