(You can read the full version of this article in the latest edition of GfK TechTalk here.)

As consumers, we’re handing over more and more data about ourselves in exchange for products and services we take for granted. It’s this individual-level data that’s likely to provide the next generation of recommendation models, and the user experiences they fortify.

Recently, for the first time in ages, a friend recommended an album to me and I went straight out and bought it. No listening to samples on iTunes, no streaming on Spotify, no whatever it was that we did before these formats existed – just me and my credit card. As it turned out, the album was disappointing. I don’t want to point fingers, and I’m not going to bore you with what it was, but it did spur me on to think about how the role of recommendation is being changed by technology.

(You can read the full version of this article in the latest edition of GfK TechTalk here.)

The importance of the User Experience (UX) is increasingly recognized for the crucial role it has to play in take-up and loyalty of devices & digital services. The consumer devotion to their product eco-system of choice, the way in which users are encouraged to explore and discover new service facets, the ease with which it is possible to execute the actions you want quickly and easily; all these are core drivers of adoption and loyalty driven by the User Experience.

This has not always been the case, with UX historically being considered a discipline that is often separate from overall marketing prerogatives; a stage undertaken as something of a hygiene factor to ensure ‘all is well’ before getting on with the ‘more important parts’ of the marketing cycle.

(You can read the full version of this article in the latest edition of GfK TechTalk here.)

Most of us love getting a link to a piece of internet material which we find amusing and then forward on to our friends. It’s harmless and generally leaves us with a good feeling so it is easy to see why many brands are so keen to get in on the act.  It’s also perhaps not unreasonable to expect digital viral material to potentially work well for technology companies given that the target market is likely to be spending more time online.  Of course some brands do this extremely successfully, but many others try and fail – so what makes some succeed while others get consigned to the outer reaches of YouTube?

To try and answer this, I spoke to Dr Dominic Yeo, an academic at University of East Anglia with a particular expertise on this aspect of consumer behavior about research he had conducted whilst pursuing his PhD at Cambridge.

(You can read the full version of this article in the latest edition of GfK TechTalk here.)

Pleasure for its own sake is becoming as crucial to the effectiveness of digital operating systems as the fundamentals of UX design. We are seeing a new dimension for UX: discoverability – the joy of discovery for its own sake. Discoverability is about three key success factors: personalized discovery; game-like engagement and viral appeal. This new dimension is about understanding how to engage digital consumers – encouraging them in exploring, finding, trying out – ‘experiencing’ new digital stuff.

User Experience – or UX – has historically been the discipline that has kept technology design honest. When all around them are losing their heads about the next shiny new technology feature, the UX experts are there, soberly insisting that any new design must first and foremost be seen from the user’s point of view. Is it usable? Is it useful?

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.

Marketers are increasingly turning to ‘Gamification’ to increase loyalty and change the way in which people interact with their brand. But what exactly is Gamification and how, if at all, should companies be using it?

Kam Star, CEO of PlayGen, has the answers – and one thing’s for sure: a successful Gamification strategy requires a whole lot more than just points and badges.

(You can read the full version of this interview in the latest edition of GfK TechTalk here.)

Laura: So, tell us, what is Gamification?

Kam: Gamification is the application of gaming mechanisms into a real-world process, with the aim of improving the user experience through the notion of playing.

Laura: How is it currently being used in Marketing?

Synopsis:

While austerity measures in the face of economic uncertainty are curtailing IT spending among small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) in the UK and USA, we still see that many are keen to invest in technology to help develop their businesses. Mobile working solutions and social networking are key emerging technology trends for companies of this size – however, it is evident that not all are aware of the IT security risks presented by adopting such practices.

In 2011, the Average I.T. Security Breach Cost Small-to-Medium Businesses 3-4 Days to Rectify. In partnership with a key client, GfK is conducting ongoing research to understand how the Small-to-Medium Business (SMB) markets in the UK and USA are behaving in terms of their usage and needs of technology and Security Software.
Five key highlights have emerged from this research, carried out in 2011.

In the latest edition of The GfK TechTalk magazine, Richard Preedy looks at the issue of switching between smartphones (differentiated by their OS e.g. Android) and why it’s becoming increasingly difficult for consumers. When benchmarked against everyday services and utilities, consumers worry more about having to switch the type of smartphone they own than their insurance, home telephone or pay TV providers.

In this video blog, Richard Preedy explains why simpler, integrated user experiences are playing a huge role in driving this aversion to switching. These user experiences are no longer just device-specific, but relate to the wider ecosystem of digital content and devices.

You can read the full article by visiting the latest GfK TechTalk online magazine here.

Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) will still compete with smartphones for market share in the short-term. However, in the long-term, the increasingly comprehensive functionality of the smartphone, together with its ability to cater to consumers’ needs beyond simply mapping and navigation, is set to overtake PNDs.

In November 2010, GfK carried out some research which revealed that 70% of smartphone owners in the UK, Germany and France preferred to use a dedicated PND for in-car navigation rather than their smartphone. Despite this, smartphones continue to offer increasingly sophisticated mapping, navigation and location-based services – so how has this affected the PND market?

Certainly, the navigation market is not yet saturated. GfK surveyed over 1,800 respondents in the UK and the US in September 2011 and results showed that 37% owned neither a smartphone nor any kind of PND. At the other end of the spectrum, just under a fifth of respondents owned both a portable PND and a smartphone. Interestingly, owning a PND does not reduce the usage of location-based services on smartphones  - of those who own both, 91% use their smartphone for some form of mapping, navigation or location-based service.

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.