1. Mobile Ideation
(for Human Beings)
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2. What’s coming up
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How brands use mobile
Things to think about
If you only remember one thing…

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How brands use mobile

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To access website content
 Brands want users to access their content on the go
 Rise of responsive design: One website that works across devices

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A marketing channel
 Advertising that mixes offline and
online (AXA print ad + mobile)
 Location-based mobile marketing
like Foursquare check in deals
 Quick Response (QR) codes for in
store sales promotions
 Banner ads that offer rich media
content
 Mobile commerce lets users buy
things anywhere. M-commerce is
expected to be worth $31 billion by
2016 (Forrester)

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Offer utility
 Mobile applications may not be
marketing oriented
 This borough council app from
Norway lets users of a local
community access news, jobs,
weather information, traffic cams, etc
 Another app by the British Library
lets users discover historical
manuscripts

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Quick recap
Common uses of mobile by
brands:
Website access
Marketing
Utility

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Quick recap
All well and good but how do we
actually come up with ideas for
mobile?!
I need
an idea!

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Here are some things to think about
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People are lazy
 Your app user might be half asleep,
distracted or even drunk
 The app needs the simplicity of
consumer electronics: micro-waves
and washing machines
 Think simple. Think OBVIOUS

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We love shortcuts
 Cut out steps
 The more steps a customer has to
go through, the lower the chance of a
sale
 Amazon has one-click purchasing
 Simplify your process

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Think indoors
 ‘Mobile’ does not mean users are
outside all time
 People use their mobiles at home
while doing something else such as
watching TV, cooking, taking a
dump, etc
 What can you do with mobiles in a
home context?

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The power of small
 ‘Paper Toss’ is a game that lets
you toss crumpled paper into a bin
 Angry birds is not as elaborate as
Modern Warfare
 Ideas don’t have to be big (or cost
the earth) to be a bit hit

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Start with problems
 The photo printing industry was
surprised that people kept and
viewed photos on Facebook and
Flickr
 People are unhappy with search
engines not because they don’t know
how to search. They are unhappy
because they don’t know what they
want
 Is there a problem that needs
fixing?

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People are sheep
 Traffic jams are caused by large
numbers of people following GPS
instructions blindly
 Expect people to blindly follow
instructions on mobiles
 Be careful of what you ask people
to do – they may well do it! So think
through your process or user journey

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Introduce complexity s.l.o.w.l.y.
 Wii Sports Resort game doesn’t let
you play 100 pin bowling until you
master 10 pin bowling
 Apple doesn’t release all their new
features at once. They release
functions incrementally
 Avoid overloading your user;
introduce complexity slowly

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The most important thing…

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“Two things are
infinite: the
universe and
human stupidity;
and I'm not sure
about the
universe.”
A clever fellow once observed

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In other words:
Technology
changes.
Human
nature does
not.
But seriously

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In other words:
Technology
changes.
Human
nature does
not.
But seriously

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Human Beings: Feel the <3
 We want to love. We want to be
loved
 Grindr is an app that helps bring
men together. Quite literally

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Human Beings: have egos
 Here’s the most expensive app
ever sold: ‘I Am Rich’ app sold on
iTunes for $999.99
 Clicking on the app icon would fill
the screen with a large, ruby red gem
on a red and black background
 Eight people actually bought the
app until it was pulled from the App
Store

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Human Beings: are competitive
 Involve a whole city in gianourmous
game of tag
 Click to watch video
http://vimeo.com/jungvonmattsthlm/
mini-getaway

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Human Beings: like to share the things they like
 Merely rating things is so 2010
 Be a greedy pig with OINK:
Discover + add location + shoot +
rate + share

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Human Beings: want to avoid pain
 A community of real time traffic
reporters
 Never be stuck in traffic again.
That’s the idea, anyway
 Click to watch video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qQux6-
Cqig&feature=player_embedded

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Human Beings: have a funny bone
 Apple claims ‘there’s an app for
everything’. It’s true. There’s even
an iFart
 Click to watch video
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=6OXONkzmIfE

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Human Beings: like to discover new things
 Nike True City. Rediscover your
city with real insider knowledge
 Click to watch video
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=Qet4NGswKfA&feature=rel
ated

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Human Beings: have doubts
 Will the red armchair look bad
against my teal-coloured wall? See it
virtually with your mobile
 Click to watch video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=tqeLNxoBtjM&feature=player
_embedded#!

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Human Beings: love to play
 It takes a brave client to launch a
new car through an iPhone game.
The results will make your heart race
 Click to watch video
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=wdpO_Any1as&feature=pl
ayer_embedded

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Go forth and ideate for human beings!

31. Contact us
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7173 2810
Reading Room
65-66 Frith Street
London
W1D 3JR
www.readingroom.com

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References
 Collection of responsive websites
www.mediaqueri.es
 Mobile Mania by Simon Silvester
 And the stuff in Joel’s head