May 28 — What Marketers Need To Know From Today’s Google Event
Google’s 2015 I/O Keynote just finished. Here are the highlights for what’s important to marketers.
Android Pay
Google unveiled it’s answer to Apple Pay. Just like Cupertino’s product you’ll use your existing debit cards, it will be NFC based checkout, and it will have it’s own unique branding and “stickers” at POS. It will also be able to be used as an app plugin. More info here.
How this affects marketers
Mobile Payments are now fully fleshed out on the two major mobile OS’s. It’s now more vital than ever that we start to push our clients to start accepting money in whatever form our customers want to give it to us in. I’ve written about the Mobile Payments Perfect Storm, take a read:
Google Now, Everywhere
Google Now will be be available throughout the Android OS. Using the context of the screen you are on in your phone, they will bring you answers proactively, and help you take actions to get stuff done. With Now On Tap you will tap and hold on the home button in Android and get a Now-like guess using the Google Knowledge Graph (Google’s understanding of the world and how it works) of what you might be looking for more info on your screen. You can also tap on word on screens and get info as well.
How this affects marketers
Google showed off the ability to tap on the name of a restaurant in a text message and get anything for a review to reservations. They said that this Now On Tap integration will be open to developers to help bring relevant info to users when they need it. Marketers should be helping clients build an ecosystem that delivers this on-demand at moment of decision experience. Imagine your phone notifying you that your check engine light is one and recommending a nearby mechanic.
The Internet of Things OS
Google is creating an Internet of Things operating system in partnership with Nest (which they own). It’s called Project Brillo and it’s a lite version Android that runs on a small low powered devices. Weave will be the common language between the devices.
How this affects marketers
Now that both Apple and Google have presented what their visions are for IOT it’s time for brands to start figuring out their integrations into the space. I’ve written about this topic before as well, read it here:
Google Photos
Google has finally spun it’s photo product off of Google+. The new Google Photos offers unlimited hosting of your photos and videos at 16mp and 1080p resolutions. Photos assistant gives suggestions to Auto Awesome your photos.
How this affects marketers
Users now have even more storage and options for hosting their content. Which means there’s an amazing opportunity to connect into the Google Photos API (forthcoming) and pull in users moments to tell a story. Google Photos has always done an amazing job of auto-creating collages and movies, it would be great to see the right brand partner help leverage the platforms capabilities.
The Next Billion Online
Android one makes it easier for the next billion to get online and get info. Google is building a smart mobile OS that will adapt to slower connections in developing countries.
How this affects marketers
The more users that get online, the more people that can see your message. This announcement showed that as the internet moves to other parts of the globes we should adapt our content for different restraints. What would you ad look like on a 56k connection?
A New Google Cardboard
There’s a new Google Cardboard box with only 3 steps to fold and works on more phones. There’s also a new SDK that also works for iOS, and two new products. Expeditions which allows you to bring a group of people along for the same Cardboard experience.
Jump is a camera holder for taking VR footage, a 3D printable rig that that will also be open sourced. They are working on a seamless experience for taking your VR footage and mixing it together and hosting on YouTube.
How this affects marketers
There’s never been such a great platform for creating virtual reality before. Cardboard is cheap and accessible for most. It’s a great time to start thinking up a relevant story that can leverage VR in a big way.
In Review
I/O is pretty developer heavy presentation normally, and this one wasn’t much different. Google is still pushing technology even further with it’s AI learning and user interactions that seem natural. This keynote really showed off that Google is working to be a part of every activity in our life, but it also at times seemed like they were playing catch up with Apple. Either way, I can’t wait to get my hands on the GoPro VR rig.
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