The editor of Wired magazine, last week at the 4As Transformation 2010 conference, predicted that tablet computers will replace laptops. He also predicted a new era for the print publishing industry. My question, “How might tablets impact new business?”
First, some of his other predictions on how things will change:
- Tablets are going to be very personal devices: you’re going to want to cradle it, lean back and interact with it.
- It’s going to be a rich media device: think of it as a large “app platform”.
- Look to the success of the Kindle as a predictor of the future, with a multiplier effect on usage once full color and connectivity are widely available.
- We will be interacting with applications living in The Cloud, which means we’ll individually need less computing power than we do using laptops today.
For advertisers and ad agencies:
- A higher degree of interactivity with ads than ever before.
- New software will measure everything, making it the most measurable medium available.
- Measurement will be able to take place when users are online and offline.
- The interactive nature of the tablet is going to allow consumers to play, touch and roam through content and ads – seamlessly.
Tablets will become a new presentation platform, offering the attraction of print and digital interactivity and measurement.
So how might tablets impact new business? Here are some wild guesses:
- You may travel with your phone and your tablet, but no laptop.
- You might deliver a presentation on your tablet, in portrait or landscape, or both.
- Presentations might allow prospective or current clients to envision a campaign in a way that current digital capabilities and interactivity don’t.
- Might apps be developed to provide innovative ways for clients to find and experience potential agency partners?
- Your agency’s 360-degree digital presence will become even more important and easily accessible.
I’m sure I haven’t even scratched the surface of the changes that are coming, and would love to hear your thoughts on this new medium. Regardless, I think tablets will offer a host of opportunities for innovation with current clients, as well as in your new business efforts. This should be an exciting couple of years as we all learn about and experiment with this new medium.
