5 Things I Learned at Mobile World Congress
“At #MWC16 we said mobile was everything.
At #MWC17 we discover that it’s so much more…”
The opening title of the Mobile World Congress keynote video said it all. What used to be a trade show for Mobile Operators and Suppliers has evolved to encompass so much more of the Digital Economy. From AI and Automation to Drones and Connected Cars, the breadth of tech on display was overwhelming.
Mobile has changed not only the way we live, work and play but it has driven the transformation of entire industries. It seemed rather apt, then, that the theme of this year’s Mobile World Congress was “The Next Element”. Mobile is seemingly an element of our lives that we cannot live without.
GSMA categorises this “Elemental” view of Mobile into four key areas:
- Next Technology: LTE, 5G, SIM, Identity, Data, IoT, VR, LPWA, Voice, AR, Encryption, Spectrum, SDN, GSM, AI, Smart phones
- Next Economy: GDP, Innovation, Opportunity, Capex, Enterprise, Growth, Subscribers, Employment, Competition, Level playing field, Connections, Revenue, Investment, Consolidation, VC, Incubators
- Next Society: Robots, Good health, Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities, Quality Education, Decent Work, Responsible consumption, No poverty, Gender equality, Infrastructure, Climate Action, Zero hunger, Clean water, Reduced inequality, Life below water, Life on land
- Next Industry: Productivity, Health, Transport, Live Events, Utilities, Logistics, Digitisation, Transportation, Logistics, Wearables, 4th Industrial Revolution, Advertising, Drones, Manufacturing, Ecosystem
So with such a broad mix of exhibits, sessions and keynotes on offer, what did I learn?
- A Sustainability and Community-first mindset is very much alive and kicking
With an entire Keynote dedicated to Sustainable Development as well as the UN’s 17 SDGs being referenced throughout most events, it was clear that a Sustainability Mindset had truly started to sink into the mobile industry.
Interestingly, we heard from Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman & Founder of Econet and renowned philanthropist, on the importance of educating children on the digital skills of the future — an ethos very much in line with Dentsu Aegis Network’s UK school programme “The Code”.
We also saw Drones, which have until recently generally been discussed in the context of gadgetry and photography, now being used for good. While their use in the agricultural industry is clear, what was interesting was to see Drones being designed to support vulnerable communities against climate related issues, such as flooding. We, of course, saw Drone Tech dedicated to gaming and video calls, but I thought it was great to see this tech being designed with community very much front of mind.
One of the Conference Sessions was also around the Sharing Economy, which was not only fascinating in terms of hearing from Airbnb on the extraordinary growth of their business and their pledge to work with governments to allow for the sharing economy to work in a regulated society, but it was clear that having a social value proposition was key to being a relevant business to the consumer of today. User-centricity and giving back to the community was a common purpose across the brands on display. Airbnb’s social value proposition, for example, is to democratise travel. What’s your social value proposition?
2. Live Video & Bots are pushing Social into a new era of conversations
It was great to see Carat Global Strategy Partner, Jerry Daykin, taking part in a highly topical panel on “Live video, bots on more”. With so much change in the Social sphere as well as consumer demand for immediate content putting pressure on brands and publishers alike, it was great to see Live Video & Bots being discussed in the context of what brands should actually focus on and test.
It was clear in the discussion that live video generally drives most results after the broadcast and not during. With only a few thousand live views at time of broadcast, the Chewbacca Mom now sits at 165 million views and counting. According to Jerry, this is due to the naturally attractive appeal of live video which has a vulnerable “behind the scenes” quality. The opportunity to push live video with paid at the time of broadcast would clearly have the ability to seriously boost results.
When it came to Bots, Jerry raised the opportunity for brands to in fact establish more of a utility relationship with consumers, using Carat’s work with the Philadelphia recipe bot as an example. We live in a world where immediacy and real value reign supreme, and we should ensure consumers are supported in a way to make that possible.
3. Brands can no longer afford to ignore Feminism
With GSMA recently launching the Women4Tech programme at Mobile World Congress with a focus on addressing and reducing the gender gap in the mobile industry, it’s clear that equality is also top of the agenda in the industry. Carat Global Strategy Partner, Charlotte White, also hosted a panel on “Gen Feminist: The New Rules for Brand Engagement with Women” at the Mobile Marketing Summit with a few clear messages to take away.
Firstly, feminism is a main stream trend. This means marketers must understand and address this trend in a way that fits their brand, while understanding different consumer journeys and needs. In fact, it was argued that some industries are even more responsible for taking an active stance on connecting with women, for example, the automotive industry.
The rise of social media has also led to a greater need for self-expression, which has in turn led to the redefinition of what it means to be equal in a new wave of feminism. The perception of women in advertising therefore needs to evolve accordingly, shifting from facilitator to empowered decision maker.
If there was one lesson to take away, and one that can apply to not just marketing to women but to all of marketing, it was that: “Being human and authentic is key. If you’re just playing lip service, you’ll get found out.”
4. Going beyond connectivity, and into cognitive technology
While the Internet of Things is nothing new, what was interesting to see was the emergence of personalised, cognitive technology. Beyond pure connectivity, it was about tailoring each experience to the user. SEAT’s stand, for example, was testament to this shift, with technology to create a completely personalised driving experience. Users can create and save personalised settings for different modes on the mobile app, whether they’re commuting or going for a leisurely weekend drive, to ensure they have the lights they want, the dashboard they want, the playlist they want, and the car performance behaving the way they want… Almost like driving a different car depending on what you require.
One of the stars of the entire Mobile World Congress was IBM Watson & Marchesa’s “Cognitive dress”, which was displayed at New York Fashion Week. By simply logging in with your Twitter details, the dress will change colour according to the “mood” of your recent tweets. You can also manually alter the mood via the iPad dashboard. Certainly had the wow factor…
5. Video Content is entering a new chapter in mobile
While this is an obvious one, a topic you simply couldn’t ignore at Mobile World Congress was content. But in particular, video content. The fact that Reed Hastings, CEO & Founder of Netflix, was the Keynote speaker to end the first day goes to show how relevant this new era of content marketing has become in the mobile industry. It’s not about poor quality content, but rather investing in quality content that users want to watch, whether that’s a 15 second social video, a 10 minute mobile episode or an epic Netflix series — an approach very much in line with The StoryLab.
Though not necessarily “new news”, it was refreshing to see this topic being discussed so candidly at the conference. While shifting from broadcast to personal experience was clearly an overarching message, Mark Lavallee, Editor of Interactive News at The New York Times, went even further to claim: “If you’re not Facebook, Google or Snapchat, you’re in the niche advertising industry.”
Video was also highlighted by Deputy Chairman & Rotating CEO of Huawei, Eric Xu, as being the key driver for engagement and loyalty with customers. But as Reed Hastings alluded to, you need to be aware of an increasingly global audience with global, not local, tastes. One of their most popular series, Narcos, for example, is produced by a French person, stars a Brazilian and is based in Colombia, but attracts a global audience. Ultimately, we’re at the cusp of a new era of video content, and as Hastings said: “It’s hard to say where we’ll be in 20 years… We may be entertaining AI rather than humans!”
For more highlights from Mobile World Congress 2017, check out the Global Dentsu Aegis Twitter Moment here.
