It's a fact of life for those working in digital advertising that new technologies, new platforms, and new tools appear with almost stupefying regularity. It is innovation at its best, and it's what drives the industry forward. But how do you know what is still mostly hype and what's worth directing budget toward?
After all, if you're an ad agency or a brand client, you only want to be on the cutting edge of what's ready to really take off. And that's the rub, as they say. Because today's can't-miss star could end up being tomorrow's obsolete technology -- and that platform you've never heard of might just be the No. 1 item on your budget the next year.
In other words, you just don't know.
Join the club.
Well, there's wisdom in talking to your peers, especially when you're trying to determine which technologies you should invest serious time, money, and effort to understand and use today, and which ones you should keep a close eye on. That's why we asked experts from several leading digital agencies to tell us which emerging platforms and technologies they believe offer a lot of promise, but aren't quite ready for primetime just yet.
Facial recognition technology
It all sounds very much like "The Matrix," but facial recognition technology is a lot further along than you think, says Dimitry Ioffe, CEO and co-founder of The Visionaire Group.
At least, it's far enough along that Ioffe and his team are keeping tabs on it.
Here's why.
"We are looking to this emerging technology to push the boundaries of engaging interaction with the users when they are in front of the ads," Ioffe says.
While Ioffe primarily sees those boundaries being broken in the in-store and outdoor digital display market, he also notes that computers are increasingly coming equipped with built-in cameras, meaning that the same technology could eventually be applied to a web-based experience.
Sooner than you think, Ioffe predicts, advertisers will want to think literally about the face of their customers. But for now, Ioffe says, the technology just isn't "sophisticated enough" to support a campaign.
Takeaway: It's something you'll want to see in action on someone else's dime before you direct your advertising budget toward facial recognition.
Google Wave
Everything Google touches turns to gold, right? Not really. In fact, there are hundreds of Google products that really only reach a fraction of users and don't offer much value at all to advertisers. According to Dallas Lawrence, chair of the digital and social media practice group at Levick Strategic Communications, Google Wave, the search giant's real-time communication and collaboration tool, is likely one of those products that got a lot of undeserved buzz in the advertising world.
"While the platform presents innovative features that could revolutionize the way we communicate online, I don't see this technology taking off from an advertising standpoint in 2010," Lawrence says. "The rate of adoption will likely be slow since the service is invite-only and many users have expressed confusion about using the platform. With this in mind, it will be difficult for companies to engage consumers and grow viral campaigns."
Takeaway: Whether or not Wave eventually takes off with users, it likely won't be a hit with advertisers anytime soon. But, if your office prides itself on living and working on the cutting edge of digital, you'd be hard-pressed not to at least ask each team member to spend a few hours educating themselves on how to best ride the Wave.
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