{"id":243111,"date":"2010-01-28T12:20:07","date_gmt":"2010-01-28T17:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"tag:business.theatlantic.com,2010:\/\/3.34451"},"modified":"2010-01-28T11:20:31","modified_gmt":"2010-01-28T16:20:31","slug":"why-apple-ipad-could-be-a-game-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/243111","title":{"rendered":"Why Apple iPad Could Be a Game Changer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Apple iPad is a small sliver of screen that&#8217;s filled with potential. It&#8217;s been described as an e-reader extraordinaire, the perfect entertainment hub, and the missing link between smartphones and laptops. I thought it looked pretty sweet. But I still had questions.<\/p>\n<p>Who is supposed to buy the iPad, anyway? What will it offer customers that our smartphones and Kindles can&#8217;t? And what lucrative opportunities does it offer advertisers and media companies like magazines, newspapers and other websites? To find answers, I spoke with Lincoln Bjorkman, executive vice president and executive creative director of the New York region of Publicis&#8217; Digitas, a digital marketing agency. Here is our exchange:<\/p>\n<p><b>1) The iPad looks awesome, but I doubt I&#8217;ll buy one. Who will?<\/b><br \/>Affluentials. Affluent<br \/>\nkids who just can&#8217;t get enough social communication or media<br \/>\ninteraction and content, and affluent kids who to mix their educational<br \/>\nneeds and requirements with the aforementioned fun stuff. Also, affluent<br \/>\ntravelers. Business people who want connectivity and ease of use and<br \/>\nportability. Anybody who has been stuck on a plane or in an airport in<br \/>\nthe last 2 years. Anybody who has a Mac or iPhone or iTouch because<br \/>\nthey instinctively understand how to use it and what it will unlock. <\/p>\n<p>I<br \/>\nthink Kindle and Nook early adopters and those who have considered it<br \/>\nare going to run to this device. The price point says, why not upgrade<br \/>\nand get more that just an ugly book reader thingy? I think the<br \/>\ncelebrity chic set will be all over it too&#8211;it&#8217;s a great way to consume<br \/>\nwhat they create and interact with their peeps and their fans. If it&#8217;s<br \/>\nout, wouldn&#8217;t you expect to see it in an Oscar goodie bag?<\/p>\n<p><b>2) We know what the iPad looks like. It looks like a big iPhone. The<br \/>\niPhone is amazing, but it&#8217;s not been hailed as a savior of media<br \/>\nadvertising. What makes the iPad different?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The iPad itself<br \/>\nisn&#8217;t the big news (though it&#8217;s very cool and very worthy of some<br \/>\nattention).&nbsp; What&#8217;s different is the signal that technology companies<br \/>\nlike Apple (and Google) continue to send when they create extremely<br \/>\ncompelling devices, applications, browsers and experiences such as the<br \/>\niPad (especially if it&#8217;s successful) that give advertisers and agencies<br \/>\nand agency creatives more and more compelling places to play. This is<br \/>\nyet another harbinger of opportunities that are not yet to come but<br \/>\nthat are here, now, for brands and agencies willing to fluidly<br \/>\ncollaborate.<\/p>\n<p><b>3) At a very broad<br \/>\nlevel, what are all the different ways you can see the iPad giving publishers and<br \/>\ncontent producers an advantage in advertising?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s only one<br \/>\ndevice &#8212; though a very high-profile one to be sure. One advantage the iPad gives publishers and<br \/>\ncontent producers is the sheer size of the iPad audience and those who<br \/>\ncover and market to that audience. There is tremendous opportunity to<br \/>\npartner and show they are highly motivated to serve up their wares &#8212;<br \/>\nhowever and wherever the audience wants it. <br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>Moreover, this is<br \/>\na HUGE learning opportunity. We can track, test and measure response,<br \/>\nbehaviors and trends through the iPad and learn what customers want &#8212;<br \/>\nboth in the form of the technology and in the content they acquire<br \/>\nthere. I, for one, can&#8217;t wait to see how many iPads end up in the hands<br \/>\nof affluent business travelers in lounges and airplanes. Is it really<br \/>\nfast enough and powerful enough for the fat middle of the gaming<br \/>\nmarketplace? Will this be, as I suspect, the beginning of the &#8220;it&#8221;<br \/>\nthing that students really need and want to carry in their backpacks<br \/>\nall the way through to college? Will device proliferation speed up<br \/>\ncloud computing, so I can get my stuff and my programs on any device I<br \/>\ncarry, cheaper and faster?<\/p>\n<p><b>4) I spoke to <a href=\"http:\/\/business.theatlantic.com\/2009\/09\/is_flyp_the_future_of_online_publishing.php\">one publisher who thinks the future of advertising is going to be more interactive.<\/a><br \/>\nAds will look more like mini-sites that we WANT to visit rather than<br \/>\nclick away from. Do you agree, and where does the iPad fit in here?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I<br \/>\nagree. Sites are where the action will be &#8212; more so than apps. It&#8217;s<br \/>\nnot the ads, it&#8217;s the brands that people will want to engage with (or<br \/>\nclick away from). The question then is, how must a brand make its<br \/>\npresence felt on any device or better yet across all them, seamlessly,<br \/>\nso the audience allows them &#8220;in&#8221; to their world: why should I let you<br \/>\nin or care that you are already there? I own the delete button, pal.<br \/>\nProve yourself. The iPad is another door to me.<\/p>\n<p><b>5) Sports Illustrated magazine famously debuted its<br \/>\niPad-compatible living magazine in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk\">YouTube clip<\/a> I saw. Does Apple get<br \/>\na cut of the advertisement associated with that special SI magazine? If<br \/>\nso, does that violate net neutrality? <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Though I&#8217;m not sure<br \/>\nabout the specifics but we must accept that there must be some kind of<br \/>\nexchange of commerce if we want meaningful content on our various<br \/>\nscreens or in our ear buds. Net Neutrality to me is a myth. We pay one<br \/>\nway or another for access (whether via the device, the carriers, cable,<br \/>\netc. or via advertising revenue or both) and content is going to cost<br \/>\nsomething, unless we move into a world of user-generated content and<br \/>\nnothing else. Personally, I want and expect more and am willing to pay.<br \/>\nThe market should and will adjust to demand. <\/p>\n<p><b>6) Let&#8217;s talk books for a second. How could the iPad and similar products<br \/>\nchange or revitalize the book industry in a way the Kindle hasn&#8217;t?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll<br \/>\nbuy the new Twilight book and watch a preview for the next film. I will<br \/>\nFacebook the trailer to my friends and swoon. I will post exclusive<br \/>\nphotos I got from the book purchase to my TUMBLR blog. I will listen to<br \/>\nthe soundtrack endlessly while I read. My friends will tell me that<br \/>\nSohoDolls just released a new track for the next film on their MySpace<br \/>\npage and I will jump to get it before they take it down. I will buy two<br \/>\nmore books based on the recommendation of &#8220;friends&#8221; I&#8217;ve never met but<br \/>\nwho wrote about the book I&#8217;m reading in a way that I understand, in a<br \/>\nvoice that resonates with me. I will recommend all my favorite books to<br \/>\nfriends who can instantly take me up on the advice and who will write<br \/>\nto me &#8220;as they are reading it&#8221; telling me what they think. All of this<br \/>\nwill happen in so fast it hurts. It&#8217;s not just about the book anymore.<\/p>\n<p><b>7) What are you most excited about for the next iPad?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Let<br \/>\nme have my phone there too, but one number so I can pick which one is<br \/>\non. Faster chips and more memory. It still lacks a number of features<br \/>\nthat would let me dump my laptop altogether &#8211; using multiple features<br \/>\nat the same time, Flash capabilities for better games. What about<br \/>\nmedical information to and from my doctor on the tablets? Imagine going<br \/>\nto the doctor and leaving with all my info and CAT scans and<br \/>\nprescriptions and directions and follow up info on the device. SKYPE. A<br \/>\nfront facing camera and SKYPE. That will change the world.<\/p>\n<p><b>8) Could<br \/>\nthe iPad fail? Is it possible that Apple has smelled a space in the<br \/>\nmarket between smartphones and laptops that simply doesn&#8217;t exist &#8212; that<br \/>\nsmartphones are better for mobile browsers and laptops are better for<br \/>\nworkers and the iPad will make something that fails to compete with<br \/>\nboth?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t think you fail if you continue to innovate and<br \/>\nlisten and learn and activate the knowledge gained fast. Newton and<br \/>\nAppleTV didn&#8217;t kill &#8217;em. The iPad won&#8217;t either. And it&#8217;s all leading to<br \/>\nthe Apple iChip they imbed in my arm! This is just a baby step toward<br \/>\nthat.<br \/><br clear=\"both\" style=\"clear: both;\"\/><br \/>\n<br clear=\"both\" style=\"clear: both;\"\/><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:f15496cb8a7126f334e8b4e5952da777:G2f9byuFhyjZuPZwmlwNa8iM5kW0Zl1jF4w%2F3uBdXxirsoEf81EaIYcuPXQsAJM3hpozfpq6eHsi'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/emailthis.png'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:3f70a50455d1e4096f9c77ff08d81310:QDioikb6tay6JnQtHfL6i31cyK0jvezAAGf%2B5PkcvuJPOa66ZgTPhzP%2FYgqzpyutBUStarn9n5f0'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/digg.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:0d7d5f2b6d2739816d097fe0b56187ab:QIc%2F5%2BB399RlHzNwVTWu4Qrua6gP2zuF07XFgUGjTxi1JfVCbCy0rusHPg6%2FzExhyrSrRl0155%2FS'><img border='0' title='Add to Reddit' alt='Add to Reddit' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/reddit.png'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:86cd8a9ce1d513a1be48267f543ed00a:rOItn%2BsKxaE9PPNfwp2r05qe9VUfJ5%2FxbjVhchg3I0ay4VvSosOwkwkIiy5vHYKH%2BWVFgq9kWOGR9Q%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Twitter' alt='Add to Twitter' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/twitter.png'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:011ded96f4440a2fd1522c2bb2f81bd8:VRUeolEHf5PAiDvRmqE%2F17q8u0B22x1km6d5vzMrek9Yg6mbycwmMWq%2Fg%2BIFYplR7lTNzluuqjQY'><img border='0' title='Add to del.icio.us' alt='Add to del.icio.us' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/delicious.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:779beab13257fda6d6677cd52d22188f:aSlnjbgRUfDfg67J9pqmHyoKWd4iKwnUoOiWRmLPDfN4yE03KFZUCh7p%2F2LrH%2FPldTQvHyQHCZ4nZQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to StumbleUpon' alt='Add to StumbleUpon' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/stumbleit.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:dc1c8fd850a2804282b65cbf90b0cdbc:9bW2EFe8pIKBmuvrDOSIeDaSs6tL9dotyvNMOAdboVAg5VMblg5pEvHvXfvc5dYHQx5NjyG6pf44Pw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/facebook.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n<br clear=\"both\" style=\"clear: both;\"\/><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/ads.pheedo.com\/click.phdo?s=a184fdee01a82933c11adb6f232af6a3&#038;p=1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" style=\"border: 0;\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ads.pheedo.com\/img.phdo?s=a184fdee01a82933c11adb6f232af6a3&#038;p=1\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"0\" width=\"0\" border=\"0\" style=\"display:none\" src=\"http:\/\/a.rfihub.com\/eus.gif?eui=2225\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/AtlanticBusinessChannel\/~4\/MP3wuTKkueY\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Apple iPad is a small sliver of screen that&#8217;s filled with potential. It&#8217;s been described as an e-reader extraordinaire, the perfect entertainment hub, and the missing link between smartphones and laptops. I thought it looked pretty sweet. But I still had questions. Who is supposed to buy the iPad, anyway? What will it offer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1534,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1534"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}