connectme's posterous

Magic of the iPad

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:04:00 -0700

I love how this guy brought the iPad into his magic show. It's a very clever use of mixing the real and online worlds.

We're all exploring how marketers can best use the iPad.

Shiv Singh describes some of the latest findings about how people engage with the iPad in a recent post, "Advertising on the iPad. What to Expect." But just as advertising vs subscriptions may not capture the nuances of the possibilities, the definition of the target market is in play as well.

One of the things I find most remarkable is how it is being used in face-to-face situations. I'm reminded of the early days of the Philips CD-I - magazine salespeople were among the first to use that device to help them sell. Later, the same salespeople would use portable DVD players to help them make the point. People are always sharing ideas, and the iPad is very capable at conveying concepts. It's faster and more natural than the laptop, which wasn't meant to be shared.

The "sales presentation" marketplace isn't new -- years ago, I wrote some software for Media Marketing Materials, now Immediate. The idea was to be able to ask the salesperson questions about a sales prospect, then automate the research and production required to assist in the consultative sale. The iPad is different, though. I think people are looking for ways to leverage the most desirable characteristics of the iPad, specifically:

Fast, intuitive navigation. Flicking, squeezing and pointing are so easy that a baby can do it.
HD-quality web video. People don't want to parse through presentations, they want to select something and lean back.
Bite-sized content. I'm amazed at how few companies have landing pages - and even fewer are equally usable on a desktop computer, iPad and cell phone.
Sharable links. See something interesting? Save a link to a phone, so they can take the experience away with them.

Is your company buying iPads to make presentations? What features are you looking for?

(And in the meantime, I'll be watching this guy's magic show again -- there's a few things I can swipe for future presentations.)

connectme's posterous

Magic of the iPad

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