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13 startups that wowed us 0

I think we can all agree that the world needs another startup competition. There are, by my count, just 37 currently, and 38 is clearly the magic number. With that in mind, I offer this short list of companies that appear to have the stuff to move the needle for marketers.

Mobile

offers a unique premise on the mobile experience for sporting events. Fans in the stands can check out more than a dozen up-close video streams of the game action on their smartphones. In addition, they can access a treasure trove of information about teams and players. They offer nifty integrated mobile marketing experiences encompassing video, display, LBS, sponsored content, and more. Very cool — even if they are Penguin fans.

is a combination location-based casual game AR experience that has to be seen to be believed. Imagine consumers interacting with your brand in real-world environments using their smartphones. With MotiveCast, users interact in engaging and attractive gaming experiences that blur the line between real and virtual — no need to imagine anymore.

Social

is a fan amplification service that identifies your superfans and asks them to help you out by publishing reviews and spreading the word about your brand. You’re not paying them to do it — they do it because they have demonstrated real affinity for your brand.

enables you to offer virtual badges when consumers take desired actions on your site. For example, when a consumer writes a review of a book you are selling, he is rewarded with a badge. I love the concept of recognizing your loyal site visitors!

Targeting

I also love , which incorporates a new data set into the ad targeting sphere — it analyzes the content you cut and paste from web pages. Apparently it’s the most common way that we socialize content to one another, and it reveals a whole bunch of about who we are and what we care about. Fresh content-rich data set — the taste your whole family will love!

lets consumers upload special online deals and discounts onto their credit cards. When they check out using that card, their accounts are credited with the savings.

Shopper Marketing

enables consumers to pay for products using their smartphones — without going to the check-out. It also distributes offers and product information for consumers who want to learn more and save.

offers an in-store smartphone-based service that provides “turn by turn” directions to get people from where they are standing to any item they covet. NearBuy can get a person to within 4 feet of any item in addition to featuring a way for stores to offer information to consumers when they have questions.

Video

offers a way to make your brand videos interactive by asking consumers to answer questions about your messages as they play. Think transformation. Your videos go from ad to game and from interruption to activity.

identifies people who are interested in watching your video marketing messages and rewards them when they do so. Instead of interrupting users as they try to watch content, this service goes deep with the people that care about your brand and category.

Wild cards

makes it easier for brands and pubs to manage the process of soliciting, accepting, managing, and publishing content. Instead of an endless tide of emails, content solicitors get a simple, clean, feature-rich collaboration platform. Use it for sweeps, articles, contests, UGC videos, etc.

is a crowd-sourced SEM solution for small and medium-sized businesses that leverages the knowledge of multiple search experts through a CPA model. A brand posts a CPA offer, and Trada community members hit the search engines, developing search programs that they hope yield a nice spread between their costs and the bounty.

In the “I don’t get it but I am watching” category, is a standout. It’s a service that enables consumers to save and refer back to banner ads. I don’t fathom why a consumer would want to save a banner, but I’ve been wrong before, and these folks have the resources to make a go of it if there is a “there” there.

Small business drives innovation in every business, and digital marketing is no exception. I think these companies have the stuff to make them worth a look.

Thanks to iMedia Connection for publishing this first!

Posted on: 08-2-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

COD: MotiveCast – cool, compelling, location based, mobile AR games 0

Thanks to for publishing this first!

Is there an appealing adjective NOT in that headline? The first time I saw , I knew what it meant to have bladder control issues. It was that exciting.

Here’s the deal. Imagine addicting mobile casual and crossover casual/core games. Lovely animation, telegraphic gameplay that requires no directions, and connected leaderboards. Nice, hunh? Well, now add in some AR. Because MotiveCast uses your phone’s camera and hyperlocal triggers to spawn games and game play based upon where you are. So, as a hypothetical example, imagine you’re standing in line at Piggly Wiggly, and to kill time you point your camera at the candy rack. As one does…

And all of a sudden little packs of gum start flying off the rack and moving toward you mock menacingly. You begin to fire shots at the gum from Hell, and rack up points while the 12 people in front of you check out. But, wait! It’s not 12 people anymore! Because you’ve just spent 6 minutes shooting at the gum packets. It felt like no time at all. And as your reward, you get a coupon for 50 cents off a real Plen-T-Pak. You have a better shopping experience, Wrigley’s sells some DoubleMint. Win win.

Right right, and the conservative marketers among you are saying, “I don’t want people shooting at my product.” Fine, MotiveCast can conceive and execute a game that will make you happy, either in conjunction with an agency or on its own.

One of the examples THEY use is the idea that you could enter a Disney Store and see Tinkerbell flying around. And even interact with her. This experience would ONLY be available in those store locations. So it gives you and the kids another excellent reason to make the trip. And while you are there, purchase $80 worth of plush toys. Natch.

The possibilities are endless, and it’s not all that hard to see that this kind of technology could be relevant in many categories. Even, dare I say, B2B. Though of course it really is B2C primary.

For retailers in particular, however, I think this technology has even greater appeal. Retailers are going to have to be exploring shoppertainment as a way of differentiating themselves in our overstored country. MotiveCast uses an example of being at a Target and having actual targets drop from the ceiling throughout the store.

Now, imagine CPG. Mom gives the kid the phone to entertain them as they navigate Safeway aisles. In dairy, Yoplait flowers grow from the floor. In cereal, gigantic Cheerios pop off the shelf and roll toward the child like the Indiana Jones rock. Can you imagine the giggles?

Moving on to Macy’s. What if you walked into the Polo shop and could see animated runway models sporting the fashions?

MotiveCast makes its own unsponsored games, but a core part of their business is developing interactivities for brands. Go to to see a couple of their games, including a sizzle vid of three concept games they made for the Pepsico10 competition.

Or check out this interview conducted by On Digital Media from the floor of ad:tech NY:

Me likey. Actually, me likey likey likey.

Posted on: 02-3-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

COD: Words can’t describe the wonder that is Quest Visual’s WordLens 0

Nothing I can say about this unbelievably unbelievable app will have 1/10 of the value of just showing you what it is. Watch and believe that there is a God. And apparently he works at .

I don’t care if you have any Spanish to translate. Buy the damned app as a means of showing your love for the remarkably remarkable. Oh. My. God!

iPhone only thus far, but they are hinting about Android, WinPhone7, Palm, and Blackberry.

Thus far I have seen three AR applications that are more than just silly gimmicks. The real estate dealy. The (which, OK, is sort of a gimmick, but it was still an awesome product.) And this, the eighth wonder of the world.

Posted on: 01-28-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer

COD: Toozla – an audio guide to the world 0

I love seeing all of the innovation going on in the travel and tourism sector. On my most recent trip to Australia, for example, I used iPad based city guides instead of books, and was delighted with the convenience.

Well, a Russian start-up called has an even more fascinating and intriguing way to learn and explore new places. The Toozla platforms uses geolocation to pair wikipedia, tourist book, expert, and user generated entries to specific GPS locations. If you’re standing outside the Hermitage, for example, you can start your Toozla mobile app and get a narration of the history and facts of this important landmark.

But it’s not just Russian landmarks, not by a longshot. Toozla’s reach is international with more and more cities getting online. And the breadth of information sources that power Toozla provides huge opportunities for exploration of eateries, restaurants, out of the way spots etc. With the delightful to Toozla benefit of geo-loco ads. Here’s a vid from their website that simulates the experience:

to give you a sense of the range of info Toozla has or is planning to include in its mobile travel service, take a look at this list from their web site:

•National ministries of tourism.
•Local tourist boards.
•City tourist information centers.
•Individuals, companies and organisations who have professional content that they want to share with a wide audience.
•Producers of audio guides.
•Publishers of hard and soft-copy guides.
•Travel websites.
•Internet booking agencies.
•Tour operators (both incoming and outgoing).
•Travel agencies.
•All travellers worldwide.
•Museums.
•Restaurants.
•Hotels and other accommodation.
•Shops.
•Any business/service with local operations.
•Big FMCG brands.
•International hotel chains.
•Car rental companies.
•Travel equipment companies.
•Mobile operators.

How cool is that. I’d liken it to an approachable AR layer on major markets around the world.

Want restaurant tips for the immediate area you find yourself in? Toozla can do it. Want to know who that statue represents, but see only a Cyrillic plaque? Toozla will tell you.

I love this concept. The key challenge will be to make this potentially enormous amount of information useful but not overwhelming. No one wants a pop up 10% off from every patisserie in Vienna. No one wants a 10% off coupon from every tea shop in the lake District. But when you want one, you definitely want one. Toozla’s approach to this challenge is to organize the bits of info into topical channels that help the user get to the sort of information they want — historical or commercial, for example — more quickly.

The use of Wikipedia combined with the private sources of information I think is great because it means that lots of destinations that may be off the beaten path will also be powered by Toozla independent travel experience.

A great concept and I wish them all the luck in th world.

Posted on: 01-5-2011
Posted in: Oldest Living Digital Marketer