BLACK

REP
//
ORT
ISSUE:03

Special Report:

The Wireless Generation

The Rise of the iPad, the decline of the

computer and the dangers of always-on
digital burnout.

Future
News

TRENDS // IDEAS // INNOVATION // INSPIRATION

MONTHLY
REPORT
COVERING
CONSUMER AND
SOCIAL TRENDS,
TRENDS IN
MARKETING
COMMS,
PACKAGING,
PRODUCT
INNOVATION
AND BEYOND...

THE BLACK REPORT IS...

Laura Demasi has been a trends journalist for 15 years, working for the Sydney Morning Herald
and many womens magazines including Vogue. She now works with brands on innovation, trends
and ideation. She has worked with major Australian brands including Red Bull, Fosters and Foxtel.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
HTTP://UNCLUTTEREDWHITESPACES.COM

CREATIVE BY:
WWW.SEEKANDDESIGN.COM.AU

THE FUTURE OF NEWS

Editor & Founder of
uncluttered white spaces
On Twitter @benrennie

Around a decade ago, such an innovation might have

technology, people, travel and the environment at a

taken shape as a large plasma TV in a big office block

faster rate than ever before.

welcoming visitors to the building, or at best, connecting

cities by way of conference calling. Today, this kid,

It begs the question. What is the future of the

one reader at a time, quickly shifts from being a blogger,

newspaper? Will the newspaper live forever?

to having a voice on industry and becoming a leading

activist for new business models all over the world.

What happens once a newspaper or magazine goes

online? It becomes neither a magazine or a newspaper.

In a busy cafe, somewhere on the outskirts

of your City (lets say Detroit for the sake
of this article), sits a young student, typing
away on his laptop. He is writing about the
rise of the Detroit entrepreneurs movement,
a shift from the industrial age focusing
on a new Detroit, with a low point of entry
creating a platform for anybody to start
anything. This kid is reporting on current
trends, news and the future of technology
and he has a world wide audience.

As he types, people walk past, their smart phones in

It becomes just news. We all know the environmental

hand reminding them to stop and drink something,

pluses with decreased burden on paper production

to call John back, to eat some nuts and to get that last

including its attendant use of strong chemicals and

project out the door as yoga is creeping up. All the while

all the carbon footprint implications of distributing

informing us that this weekend is going to be sunny,

physical newspapers around the world. That is

so book that cheap accommodation that just popped up

important. What I am interested in is the change that

on Groupon. All from the palm of their hand or pocket.

is occurring right before us, right now.

This kid in Detroit may not realize it (but I assume he

Who produces the news and at what cost once the

does) but as he types, one word at a time, he is evolving

papers are gone? While most online content is

an industry. At one end of the scale, we have Wiki-leaks,

(currently) free, the New York Times, Murdoch and other

sharing information faster and with arguably more

big hitters have implemented pay-walls for online news,

accuracy (without the bias of any newspaper) and at the

creating paid ipad and iPhone applications.

other end, bloggers continue to report on current affairs,

1
3

IS YOUR CEO READY FOR A SHIFTING FUTURE?

The issue still remains, there will always be news

The online community provides plenty of options with

online and it will always be free, somewhere.

amazing journalism; honest, fast and free reporting

on most things we previously paid good money for.
mind on the matter is a classic example of an

In 2010, Rupert Murdoch, speaking at George

Washington University commented on his admiration

Newspapers will make a shift from the current

industry in crisis, looking to reinvent itself to a fast

for Apples iPad, which he stated is a glimpse of the

model into online communities, either free or paid.

moving C-generation of connected, smart and well

future. Interestingly, he all but called for the end of

Focusing on two-way communication, not broadcast.

educated consumers already ahead of the game.

the physical paper and ink newspaper. Stating, If you

The future is in building and engaging a community

have less newspapers and more of these [iPads]

of interest by encouraging active participation,

I agree with Mr Murdoch, the iPad is a revolutionary

it may be the saving of the newspaper industry.

by allowing community members to actively discuss

innovation that will effect change and speed up

the news, a progression from existing blogs where

the demise of printed media and in particular,

This is an amazing insight into Murdochs thinking.

the community can also connect, in a way that social

the newspaper. That does not bother me. The tablet

He really thinks, like many other commenters, that

networks such as Linkedin and Facebook do but

business is cool, convenient, cost effective and

the iPad [tablets] could save the newspaper industry.

circulating around breaking news, world issues,

accessible. Wouldnt we rather spend our time

Hes not at all afraid of technology, as long as it can

sport and current affairs. Driven by community

and money on people, bloggers and organisations

be bent to his agenda: A paid iPad application with

demand, not the advertising dollar or paid content.

that want to offer smarter, faster, more efficient

(well-edited) content rather than news that feels

subscription access and all the protection of Apples

locked-down iTunes distribution system lines up

Murdoch has completed the erection of paywalls

sweetly with Murdochs vision for the future of news.

around his news content, and has created methods to

squeezed, cheap and funded by corporations?

block or ban companies like Google or Microsoft or

In the race to shift news from print to tablets,

Some news publications are dying fast and others

whoever from taking stories for nothing by forbidding

with generation-c driving the change, connection

need to die out so that people with a passion for the

their web crawler technologies from accessing it.

has become the new c-word!

with a different business model, whose value

Murdochs dig at a competitors efforts at erecting

How are you connecting to your future? Welcome to our

proposition is good enough that people are willing

a paywall, snubbing it as halfhearted and that the

third issue of The Black Report...dedicated to mobile

to pay to participate.

management doesnt seem able to make up its

technologies. Enjoy.

news can look at creating online news communities

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1. IPADS
OUR NEW CONSTANT
COMPANIONS KEEP US
CONNECTED TO WORK.
Smartphones (led by the iPhone) may
have revolutionised not only the way we
communicate with each other but how we
perceive and interact with the world at large
- but the iPad is not far behind. New research
shows that iPads are being used in all manner
of public and private places keeping workers
continuously connected to the office.
Where were using our iPads
An Australian survey reveals:
- 49% of workers used their iPads to send
emails while they were on holidays
- 23% of workers used their iPads to send
emails from bed
- 21% of workers used their iPads to send
emails from restaurants
- 42% of workers had used their iPads to
send emails from an entertainment event

View the Link:

- 19% of workers admitted to using their iPads

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/workers-on-ipads-

from churches and other places of worship

in-bed-church-holiday/story-fn6b3v4f-1226130743852

2. SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS

CUTTING THE
COMPUTER CORD .
A major study The Pew Internet
Project reveals just how great the
proliferation of smartphones has been

- When asked what device they normally

use to access the internet, 25% of
smartphone owners say that they
mostly go online using their phone,
rather than with a computer.

in the USA and how Americans are using

their phones. Conducted by the Pew
Research Center, the study shows there
has been a significant shift towards
smartphones and away from desktop
and laptop computers to access the
internet on a daily basis.
Some of the key findings of the
Pew study:
- 35% - one third of American adults
own a smartphone, and two-thirds of
them sleep with their smartphones
right next to their beds
- 87% of smartphone owners access the
internet or email on their handheld,
including two-thirds (68%) who do so
on a typical day.

View the Link:

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx

SMARTPHONES IN AUSTRALIA
A similar trend is occurring in Australia. A global study by
Google Australia and Ipsos Research reveals how Australians
have embraced the smartphone revolution in comparison to
their international counterparts.

THE RISE OF SMARTPHONES IS

DRAMATICALLY INCREASING THE
USE OF THE INTERNET OVERALL IN
AUSTRALIA. WERE SEEING MOBILE
USAGE AND SMARTPHONE USAGE
STARTING TO APPROACH OR EVEN
MATCH PC USAGE.
RYAN HAYWARD, GOOGLES MOBILE PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER FOR THE
ASIA-PACIFIC REGION.

Some of the Key findings of the Google study:

- 49% of Australians have a smartphone the highest smartphone
penetration in the world.
- 44% of these use their smartphones to do local searches each day
- 1 in 3 mobile searches is local.
- 80% of local information seekers have reached out to a local business
after a mobile search.
- 46% wont leave their house without their smartphone.
- Internet usage could soon eclipse PC internet usage as 36% of respondents
said they expected to use the web more on the smartphone in the future
compared to 28% for the PC.
- 79% of top advertisers do not have a mobile optimized website.

SMARTPHONES GLOBALLY
A global study by IMS research predicts one billion smartphone sales by 2016.
The study predicts that sales of smartphones will exceed 420 million devices in
2011, accounting for nearly 28 percent of the entire global handset market
View the Link:
http://www.techjournalsouth.com/2011/07/smartphone-sales-headedfor-1b-devices-nokia-share-declines-samsung-leading/

SMARTPHONES IN AUSTRALIA CONT.

3. DIGITAL FATIGUE:
IS UBIQUITOUS CONNECTION CAUSING
BURNOUT?
How much connection is too much? Just how information can you
digest? How much of this information is genuinely important and
how much of it is just distraction?
How much time does social networking take you away from real-life
networking and socializing? What is all this instant access doing to our
brains and our ability to focus?
These are just some of the questions being asked by a rising tide of
commentators who say that mobile technology is taking over our lives.
Bestselling books such as Hamlets Blackberry by William Powers
and The Shallows by Nicholas Carr warn against the dangers of being
aways-on and always- connected via our mobile smartphones
and tablets, which include rising stress levels, information overload,
connection addiction, choice fatigue and the death of solitude.

UWS INSIGHT/
Smartphones and tablets have revolutionised the world, changing the
way we communicate and consume. As global smartphone and tablet
penetration continues at break-neck speed mobile marketing will
eclipse all other platforms. Is your business ready? Are you one of the
87% of brands whose website is not optimized for mobile?
While consumers continue to embrace mobile media the anxiety over
digital fatigue and over-connection hangs in the shadows. How will your
brand respond to this important counter-current?

INFO-GRAPHIC: THE STATE OF THE INTERNET RIGHT NOW

Statistics are a moving target,
right? Especially with the internet
where developments occur every
second. This brilliant infograph from
OnlineSchools.org is live, constantly
calculating various statistics
from how many new wesbites have
launched to the fastest rising Google
searches, gender usage for a host
of the worlds biggest sites and how
much time we spend online.

UWS INSIGHT/
Live tools are the future of digital
insight. Tracking a constantly evolving
multifaceted platform like the internet
demands that we are watching every
moment. Live tools like this infograph
provide a powerful window into the
NOW, rather than the yesterday.

INFO-GRAPHIC: THE STATE OF THE INTERNET RIGHT NOW

THE LATEST ON TWITTER

1. THE TWITTER-MOOD-METER
USING TWITTER TO GAUGE OUR MOODS
Twitters potential as a tool for social and consumer research has
reached an entirely new and exciting level now that researchers have
discovered how to use the micro-blogging sites endless data stream
to gauge our moods during different times of day.
Researchers at Cornell University analyzed more than 500 million
tweets from 2.4 million people in 84 countries, and found striking
similarities independent of country, culture or religion.
Cornell sociologists used a text-analysis program to search 509 million
tweets made over a two-year period for words associated with a
positive attitude, such as agree, fantastic and super, as well as for
negative words, such as afraid, mad and panic.
Key finding of the study:
- Positive mood peaked about 8am on weekdays, and again
at the end.

UWS INSIGHT/
Mood is at the core of the psychology of consumption. Reaching
potential consumers when theyre in the right mood can be crucial
to how successfully your message is received. Are you talking to
your consumers at the right time of day?

View the Link:

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6051/1878.abstract

STILL WITH TWITTER

Mashable has released this history-todate infograph on Twitter... whos on it

and who were following.

10

IS FACEBOOK THE NEW GOOGLE?

THE SOCIAL NETWORKS
NEW TIMELINE FEATURE
REDEFINES HOW WE USE
AND EXPERIENCE THE WEB
The days of Facebook primarily being a tool to
connect with friends is over. The social network
has never hidden its ambition to evolve into a
real-time, Google-like search engine, the core
tool in your daily digital life and its newly
announced Timeline feature brings it one
giant step closer to this objective.
As the New York Time puts it, Facebook wants
to be a force that shapes what you watch, hear,
read and buy.

defined by those of your friends as you are

exposed to their consumption habits - be it
movies, shopping, whatever on a minute-tominute basis.
By creating TimeLine, Facebook is in effect, trying
to completely redefine how we search online by
allowing friends to direct friends to content.

UWS INSIGHT/
Timeline is one of the most significant developments
to hit social media. Not only does it have the
potential to redefine how we search for content
and experience the web - transforming it into a
real-time integrated medium it also has the
potential to transform how we consume.
And by allowing Facebook to see our consumption,
the company will be able to mine even more
valuable data than it does now about its users
habits and desires, which in turn can be used to
sell more fine-tuned advertising.

The Timeline feature allows you to see what

your friends are doing in real time Ben is
watching the movie Inception, Jane is
listening to Joss Stone, Kate is shopping at
Gap, Matt is eating at McDonalds.
This massive internal or social web of
information displayed along the real-time
Timeline banner becomes an internet of its
own, where your online choices are increasingly

11

REAL-LIFE TOYS MERGE WITH INTERACTIVE APPS

Disney and Lego pioneer a new category of physical
iPad and iPhone enabled toys to create the ultimate
interactive app and gaming experiences.
Gaming is still the top category when it comes
to Apps - branded and otherwise. The best are
pioneering new applications of technology like these.

DISNEYS APPMATES CARS 2

TOYS FOR THE IPAD CREATES A
WHOLE NEW CATEGORY OF IPAD
ENABLED GAMING TOYS.

The toys trigger various levels, effects, sounds, narration and experiences based
what car is actually placed on the iPad. It works by special sensors that are placed
on the bottom of the cars and when pressed down on the iPad surface, the individual
cars are recognised by the app accordingly.
The brilliant idea hits two birds with one powerful stone not only driving downloads
of the branded app but toy sales in a whole new category of toys as well.
Watch the video demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VaNzbCtxtcY

This new development from Disney is something

a revolution that will bring the play experience
literally to life. The brand has pioneered a system
in which physical toys can be used to interact with
iPad apps and games, transforming the iPad into an
interactive play-mat.
Its called AppMATes and first up is a product for
the movie Cars 2 from Disney/Pixar. Released this
month, consumers can buy the special iPad enabled
toys and then download the app for free.

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REAL-LIFE TOYS MERGE WITH INTERACTIVE APPS CONT

LEGO MEETS AUGMENTED
REALITY GAMING APP
The clever thing about this game is its
simplicity - LEGO have kept the game
accessible to a range of ages.
The app is based around the LEGO character
George who shows you pictures that you have
to recreate from LEGO. Once the picture is
complete in LEGO form, you take a picture of
your object on the Playmat. From this picture,
a brick recognition system from EyeCue
awards you points for speed and accuracy.

Watch the video demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_
embedded&v=1DHZwSOVKBY

UWS INSIGHT/
As apps become more and more prominent in the marketing mix, innovative, ground-breaking
ideas like these will become mandatory in helping brands stand out from an increasingly crowded
space. By linking physical products with apps and games these brands are also directly driving
product sales.

13

INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION
Interactive is the new buzzword in
experiential and installation marketing.
But engaging a cynical consumer by
striking the right balance between
entertainment, amusement, relevance
and usefulness, isnt always easy.
In these recent campaigns brand
juggernauts Nokia, Virgin Mobile and
Powerade get it right.

1.THE NOKIA FOURSQUARE

GIFTING MACHINE
Nokia US picks up on the increasing Random
Acts of Kindness trend with this great
interactive installation vending machine
campaign. Using Foursquare, anyone can
simply check-in to one of the vending
machines, that will then release a canister
containing some sort of surprise, which could
be anything from chocolates to the latest
Nokia handset.

Watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSYqvIw
KBS4&feature=player_embedded

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INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION CONT

2.MOBILE FREEFEST: THE
INTERACTIVE ECHO TEMPLE
Virgin Mobile teamed up with the producers behind
the Kyocera music festival to create The Echo
Temple, a brilliant installation staged at the Virgin

UWS INSIGHT/

Mobile FreeFest, which allowed festival-goers to

play virtual instruments and create music by moving
their body in front of motion-tracking cameras.
Festival-goers could use special fans to help control
the volume, pitch and unique audio effects as the
cameras tracked them.
The Echo Temple included six monolithic speaker
towers for the party goers to play with, all circling
around a huge subwoofer station.
This unique interactive music experience proved
to be a hit at the day-long, 50,000 strong-event,
morphing into its own dance party.
View the Link:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Ufro55cTp7w

3. POWERADE: FOOTBALL
TWITTER CAMPAIGN
Twitter has become a default second screen during most big sporting
events. Leveraging this Powerade Brazil created a live infographic for
every game during the Copa America Argentina 2011, which is the

Interactive Installation is
about creating a unique brand
experience in a space that
consumers are passionate
about be it on a dance
floor or at a football game
or via an unexpected act of
kindness. The best interactive
installations dont impose on
consumers, they add another
positive layer of experience to
something they already enjoy.
Its not about being in your
face, its about being useful,
fun and engaging.

most important football championship in South America.

Twitter aggregated every tweet about every game, and compiled them
into an interactive infographic style interface where you could explore
the social interaction through every minute of the match.
Source: DigitalBuzz

15

DIGITAL REAL MOTION PROJECTION MAPPING

This trend is much like the apps that use
real-life toys that we saw earlier, in that it
allows the real and virtual to seamlessly
interact.
Large scale projection mapping isnt new
but its evolution to include interaction with
real life objects represents an exciting
opportunity to marketers.
These two examples demonstrate how
interactivity brings projection mapping
powerfully to life.

Watch the video:

The Worlds Biggest Space
Invaders Game.
http://vimeo.com/29838859

UWS INSIGHT/
Real Motion projection mapping
demonstrates how crucial it is to keep
evolving platforms and technologies
so that they become more engaging.
For large scale events particularly,
real-life projection mapping represents
an opportunity to create high-impact,
highly interactive and memorable
brand experiences.

Watch the video:

Wasps Rugby fight the Dragons
http://vimeo.com/29840636

16

ZEGNA CREATE THE 3D IPAD APP

IMMERSE YOURSELF WITH THIS
IN-STORE EXPERIENCE
Ermenegildo Zegna, the Italian luxury menswear
house, has launched an iPad application with a 3D

View the Link:

http://www.zegnainstore.com/

immersive digital retail experience. The in-STORE

app is a virtual boutique where customers are
greeted by their own personal shopping guide, the
actress Milla Jovovich.
The virtual environment is filled with clothes
and models. Users can navigate the store
by swiping the screen, and view products by
tapping the items. The application is one of the
first examples of an immersive app that tries to
replicate the in-store experience.

UWS INSIGHT/
This is a unique call to action, creating a new
experience will always draw in customers.
Research is yet to provide feedback on how
the app is performing but it has been instantly
attracting eyeballs. Can Zegna convert those
views into transactions?

17

LAYAR CREATE WORLD FIRST

WELCOME TO THE AUGMENTED
REALITY BROWSER.
Layar is the worlds first augmented reality browser for
mobiles phones, and works by overlaying information
about your surroundings onto your camera phone viewer.
The application, mixing digital information with reality,
currently works on the Android platform. Android has
all the features necessary for an augmented reality
application to work, including GPS, a compass, and a
camera. However, Layar are also building browsers
compatible with the iPhone and other platforms,
including Symbian and Windows.
One application of the browser includes finding houses
for sale, which are displayed using dots on the screen.
The information bar displays the address of houses and the
price. Settings can be changed to allow the user to find exactly
the type of houses they are looking for, and they can also
choose to get additional information from the estate agent.

UWS INSIGHT/
View the Link:
http://layar.eu/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b64_16K2e08

Augmented reality is an exciting new frontier in mobile marketing,

as the ability to fuse digital information with real-life surroundings
provides endless opportunities for marketers. Although the technology
is still very much in its infancy, more exciting new applications are
beginning to come to the forefront.

18

NIKE CHALKBOT TAKES OVER THE TOUR DE FRANCE

The Chalkbot was automatically programmed
to paint personalizes the text and online
messages in yellow chalk around the 2,200
mile route of the Tour de France by Nikes
innovative mobile campaign. Focusing on
printing messages on roads around the
Tour de France route.
As an extension of the Livestrong campaign,
the aim was to provide messages of hope, support,
and perseverance to the cyclists and inspire them
to push themselves that little bit further.
After the Chalkbot prints the message, it takes
a picture of the road, logs the time and GPS
location then sends it back to the user.
The campaign also aimed to generate money for
a charitable cause, as 100% of the profits from
Nikes Livestrong collection go to the Lance
Armstrong Foundation.

View the Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jb-KT4r6NY

UWS INSIGHT/
The campaign was not only innovative,
but also effective in terms of increasing
the bottom line. The campaign coincided
with a 46% jump in sales, generating
$4 million for Lance Armstrongs fight
against cancer.

19

IKEA CREATE A SHOWROOM ON FACEBOOK

Initially using the Facebook profile of store
manager, Gordon Gustavsson, they uploaded
pictures of the stores showrooms to Facebook.
Any friends who tagged the products with their
names then won these items.
This was an effective promotional tool, as the
campaign went viral. This is a good example
of an innovative social media campaign on a
low budget.
This makes it easy for users since they are
already familiar with Facebook tagging.
In addition, using the Facebook platform is
effective because of its inherent viral potential
as user actions are automatically reported in
news feeds.

View the Link:

http://creativity-online.com/news/forsmanand-bodenfors-turns-facebook-tagging-into-apromotional-tool-for-the-opening-of-ikeas-newstore-in-malmo-sweden/140646

UWS INSIGHT/
Whilst this might now comply with Facebook terms of services, which limits the potential for
campaigns like this in the future. The novelty of this campaign as the added incentive of prizes
made this a viral success for Ikea. Make online content remarkable... ie.e, as Seth Godin states,
worth remarking about.

20

CHARTBEAT CREATES REAL-TIME ANALYTICS DASHBOARD

Chartbeat provides real-time analytics for
websites and blogs, allowing site owners to
see what their users are doing right now.
It shows visitors, load times, and referring
sites on a minute-by-minute basis. The service
also provides alerts the second your Website
crashes or slows to a crawl.
Traditional analytics services have focused
on understanding usual behaviour across
persistent content. Real-time analytics can
supplement the insights from traditional web
analytics solutions, as the software focuses on
unusual patterns of user behaviour.
Chartbeat makes data available in real-time,
and also receives constant updates from a sites
users about what they are doing. For example,
Chartbeat can tell the analyst how many
people kept the page open and are on the
page right now, and whether they are actively
interacting with it.

View the Link:

http://chartbeat.com/demo/#

UWS INSIGHT/
Chartbeat also includes alerts via SMS, email or iPhone and this means
site owners get information in real-time such as when traffic spikes, page
load slows, or the site goes down.

21

THE EDITORS CRITICAL LINKS

5 ONLINE RETAILERS
WORTH VISITING OR
PERHAPS, DARE WE
SAY IT... MIMICKING.

1. http://made.com
Made.com is an online furniture retailer that cuts out the middle-man, and connects consumers with furniture makers directly.
The online site cuts out the retailer and the wholesaler, to offer consumers designer furniture at highly discounted prices.
2. http://preorder.it/
Preorder.It is a website that allows customers to pre-order new gadgets and electronic devices before the sale officially starts.
3. http://GoTryItOn.com
GoTryItOn is an online fashion site, where users can upload their own photos in various outfits. The community can then vote to
wear the outfit, or change it, choose between two different outfits.
4. http://martinandosa.com
Martin + Osas US website makes organizing products by type and by outfit. Users then click on each product range and have the
option of buying each item with the outfit.
5. http://pronto.lastminute.com
Lastminute.com has recently launched an innovative new search feature on its website, called Pronto. The search makes it easier
for customers to find what they are looking for as drop-down lists appear for each search item, helping the user to make their
search as precise as possible, by enabling them to specify different attributes of what they are looking for.

22

TRENDS // IDEAS // INNOVATION // INSPIRATION