Industry Voices: the rise of 4G

The ease and speed in which brands will be able to upload their own content, and the increase in consumers watching this on the go, will ultimately mean that broadcaster affiliation will not be needed in the way it used to be.

Prime time programming, outside of real time events, will become an out-dated model as video consumption from websites, apps and on-demand TV increases drastically. Brands will begin to own the content that media outlets have overseen for so long, and so 4G will drive brands towards locality and relevance.

Media brands will be able to, and to some extent have to, develop sophisticated ‘social hooks’ to build relationships with consumers in real time. The much mooted notion of native advertising will grow in importance as consumers demand more personalised experiences from brands and media outlets alike.

Equally, these experiences must become relevant to both device and location if brands and media owners are to work together successfully to engage consumers.

4G is undoubtedly brilliant news for consumers. In an age where information simply can’t get here fast enough, another step towards greater connectivity is going to be greeted with open arms; even more so now it’s available to all of the major networks and the mobile marketplace becomes competitive.

Faster data speeds means less time wasted, and subsequently more time to consume further media. But ultimately, 4G means a further transition of control to the consumer. The increase in accessibility with regards to data transfer removes previous barriers to both sharing and creating content. If consumers are increasingly empowered to create and share amongst themselves, then there are immediately fewer opportunities for brands and media owners alike to gain consumer attention, let alone begin to justify the engagement.

The response needed is fairly obvious; for media owners to respond by creating richer, more interactive and more engaging content worthy of consumers’ attention, as attention spans will be shorter than ever.

Handheld devices will naturally become more prevalent in consuming content, therefore content needs to be adapted immediately to meet this evolution. Something as simple as an outdated, ill-formatted website can be an inconvenience that turns a consumer away for an extended period.

What this comes down to is an understanding of the individual consumer and the context that forms their world. Not just their vital statistics, but their needs, desires, motivations and nuances. Are they more likely to browse via a tablet at a particular time of day? Are lengthy blocks of text better suited to one page or several? Is the Smartphone primarily used when walking or sitting still? Are they less likely to watch video content due to being in a public place? All minute details, but all represent possibilities for the marginal improvements that can be the difference between a positive and negative experience.

Media owners need to work hard to understand where and how they fit into their audience’s world, and create engagement based on that knowledge. It’s crucial that interaction comes in the right place, at the right time.

4G will enable improvements towards geo-targeting as more and more users come on board, whilst the increases in data speeds will lift a raft of restrictions on creativity. High quality video, for example, has rarely been perceived as accessible on 3G due to buffering issues and loading times. Now streaming speeds are on the increase, brand ambition can extend higher without fears of hindering the user experience with slow or fractured loading times.

4G is both an opportunity and a wake-up call. It’s a platform for improved engagement, but without insight, it can’t be taken advantage of. Simply put, if the response to the technological evolution is too slow, consumers will no doubt waste no time in looking elsewhere.

4G is another step towards hyper-connectivity, creating an almost seamless online experience for people using digital channels.

As 4G grows and online platforms continue to develop, B2B marketers now have an unprecedented opportunity to share content in a variety of interesting forms and across multiple platforms. With this evolution in online connection, content can be adapted, and, more importantly, received and shared by people on what may have traditionally been seen as ‘leisure’ devices.

For employers, the rise of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) means that they can adapt quickly to 4G and use this technology to benefit their employees by using the prevalence of smart phones and other devices to encourage a ‘switched on’ mentality, subsequently using this as a smarter and more flexible way of working.

In addition, marketers can benefit from 4G and the increasingly blurred nature of work and home life by being able to reach people when they are not specifically in work mode, when they are perhaps more open to receiving brand messages and services.

I am interested to see how this develops, particularly as creating truly omni-channel campaigns can be challenging. With growing connectivity comes greater customer demand for interesting content, and marketers should look at how they can create a consistent customer experience across all channels.

If marketers can combine meaningful content with this technology, it will allow them to build their brand and create a more positive and connected customer experience.

With the rollout of 4G across the UK consumers will be expecting a faster and more refined online experience, more akin to their desktop connection. As the trend for mobile internet access grows this launch makes it all the more pressing for brands to look at their mobile web offering.

Forward-thinking media owners will likely be swift to capitalise on this to build engagement with customers through dynamic content, but for those that have been wary of mobile engagement previously now is the time to really build a raft of absorbing content.

As mobile internet usage increases it is crucial to focus on what this means for the customer experience; mobile content engagement is now more important than ever.