As a qual researcher in the tech sector, I’ve travelled the globe to meet consumers and understand how my clients can better address their needs. Reciting my anecdotes to family and friends, with only a soupçon of embellishment, I’m often greeted with the faintly amusing, yet all too familiar retort; ‘you really should write a book!’

Whilst I’m under no illusion that my stories of ‘branding in Brazil’ or ‘innovation in India’ are of even the merest significance to most people, I do believe they provide interesting observations to marketing professionals and tech enthusiasts.

When we watch and listen, we learn; the cultural nuances and socio-economic influences we see can often provide the most revealing insights of all.

The new series of X Factor has just hit our screens and most of us love (even though we may not admit it!) to watch the contestants’ performances every Saturday night. What we don’t see is all the hard work – rehearsing with the musicians, the lighting, the costumes, the camera work – that goes into creating each Saturday night’s performance. The other vital ingredient that makes a successful performance sparkle is the ‘X’ Factor – the intangible quality that some contestants have and others don’t.  This has little to do with technical talent and everything to do with the contestants’ personal story, their experience and their character. As viewers of the show, we are presented with an edited version of each contestant, typically showcased in a two minute song, briefly introduced with their personal story.

NFC technology has the ability to transform smartphones into virtual wallets, where users pay for transactions simply by waving their phone at an appropriate receiver terminal. However, it also has much wider applications, allowing for synchronised content and services across the mobile ecosystem [1]. The reward for owning this relationship in the mobile space is enormous, and as a result everyone, from mobile operators to device manufacturers, is fighting for a share.

The industry message seems clear; mobile payments will be big over the next five years – big news and big profits. The technology has been around in various forms for years and, now that leading names such as Apple, Google and RIM are designing and manufacturing NFC-equipped devices, many commentators predict that mobile payments will skyrocket [2].

However, while this will undoubtedly be a major growth area for the future, such reports seldom address the fact that the journey to full consumer adoption is not without its pitfalls.