Last month I was in a bit of a “situation”…Let me explain…

It’s your second week in your new job – you’ve made all the silly mistakes everyone makes in their first week and you’re now in a very modern, glass walled meeting room. You’re learning all about your new role, the people you will be working with, your new clients, and of course you’re about to be tested for drug use.

Are you nervous?

Well you shouldn’t be!*

It’s not actually standard practice. I was simply learning Concateno tests for illicit drug use via a simple oral swab. Concateno is Europe’s biggest drug and alcohol testing provider, and is currently pushing for the widespread adoption of roadside drug testing in the UK.

Concateno has developed a device specifically for mobile drug screening – the Alere DDS2 – which would allow a motorist (such as myself) to be screened simply by rolling a tiny swab stick in my mouth for a minute, and then inserting the swab into the Alere DDS2 device and waiting a couple of minutes for the results – a process similar to the current roadside alcohol test; the breathalyser.

Walking through Concateno’s Oxfordshire laboratories (whilst peeking through laboratory windows to see the scientists at work – I’m a geek at heart) it became clear how serious, and extremely complex the drug testing process is, as well as the energy and determination Concateno has to make our roads a safer place with devices like the Alere DDS2.

All this excitement and learning is what eventually lead me (in true “blissfully unaware” guinea pig style) to the glass room with the little Alere DDS2 drug screening device, and being presented with a swab stick to put in my mouth. As my new team looked on (enjoying the show a little too much I felt),  I gingerly handed the stick back over to the Concateno technician, and waited for what seemed an hour, but was actually just a couple of minutes for the results….

I was clear! All negative. Clean as a whistle. Why are you looking so surprised?

*Unless you’re into drugs. Then you’d have every right to be nervous.

Location-Based Marketing: A Fad or the Future of #SocialMedia Marketing? (Part 1 of 3)

Mo Elnadi, Head of Digital Strategy, The Reptile Group

 

In your opinion Is location-based marketing -mooted as one of 2011′s big trends- a fad or does it have potential to develop into a viable channel for marketers and brands? Is FourSquare already over?

Far from it, location-based marketing is here to stay. What we are witnessing is a paradigm shift both among the marketing community and in consumer behaviour.  Mobile penetration rates and wireless device usage trends mean that sharing your location – whether proactively or not- is inevitable as more GPS-enabled tablets, cameras, laptops and embedded devices are introduced to the market.

As the `check-in` trend becomes more and more mainstream, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg.  There are currently around 5 million users on FourSquare alone worldwide – a figure achieved in less than 2 years.  Such has been FourSquare’s success that  it has  forced Facebook to shut down and re-think its `Facebook Places` check-in proposition and is eating the market share of Google Latitude. It is only a matter of time that this geo-located check-in behaviour will hit critical mass.

One of the most noticeable differences between Social Media platforms and traditional media is the possibility for members to ‘share content’ of different types, including, in this case, their hard-earned FourSquare ‘Mayorship’ status and badges.  They do this in the hope of getting potential discounts and special offers from participating venues and brands. Brands including Starbucks and Dominos Pizza are already offering special discounts to ‘Mayors’ in some participating branches worldwide.

This `Gamification` of real-life actions has proved to be working successfully so far.  What attracts many users is the creation of a fun environment where they can turn their daily routines into a virtual competition and so share their achievements and win rewards.

Follow: @MoElnadi for more Social Media tips

See Also: 

Location-based services: A Fad or the Future of #SocialMedia Marketing? (Part 1 of 3)

What is the future of location-based service? Does it really lie in local search or services? (Part 2 of 3)

2 Location-Based Apps That You Can’t Live Without (Part 3 of 3)

A Marketer’s Guide to Social Pull Marketing  - (Part 1 of 2)

To coincide with London Design Festival 2011, Holition, a creative services agency specialising in emerging technologies, is collaborating with The Future Laboratory and Campaign to create Sweet Shoppe, a highly creative and engaging ‘future of retail’ experience. Guests are taken on a 20-minute journey to source the perfect sweet through a process of exploration and engagement with all five senses.

Immediately I felt like Alice in Wonderland when I was asked to enter the building through a small door within a door and knew that it was going to be a hyper-real adventure. After swallowing a pill that would allow the technicians to monitor my heart rate, pupil dilation and salivation, I was taken through a variety of rooms and gardens with many objects labelled ‘Eat me’ and ‘Read me’. I was asked to make many choices, including what to drink, choosing my favourite objects from a selection of trays and assessed by Sweet Shoppe technicians on what colours, foods and textures I was drawn to.

The final stage of the journey was in a musky open room with a large white projector. On being given my customised Sweet Shoppe goody bag, and with Holition’s creative 3D augmented reality application, the ingredients of my bag came to life on a screen directly in front of me. This was the most interesting part of the journey, as all my decisions had created this conclusion on my personal character, shopping preference and shopping mindset. The technology virtually brought my chosen sweet to life and character assessment adding to the overall hyper-real experience.

It was decided by Sweet Shoppe powers that be I am a chocolate dib dab, my character is social, my mindset is nostalgic and my mindset is indulgent – which I think everyone at Chameleon would say is a more than fair and accurate assessment.

Throughout the experience there were eerie moments where the host, shop assistant and shop keeper seemed to know more about me than I had told them. There were many references to my earlier ambition of wanting to be a Blue Peter presenter, which made me question how much they already knew about me. Through the proliferation of the internet and social media, the world has shared personal details, funny anecdotes and consistent status and location updates – which you wouldn’t necessarily share with a stranger offline. Throughout the futuristic experience, it raised questions over wider privacy issues, acceptable information and security as well as the benefits and personal touches of the staff understanding what I liked and accommodating those needs.

Despite consumer spending woes and economic anxiety, there is a huge increase in online shopping, providing a real opportunity for the retail industry to go back to basics and focus on its customers and personal preferences to encourage them to not only spend money but also return and recommend; developing brand loyalty.

In the famous words of Willy Wonka: “Invention, my dear friends, is 93 per cent perspiration, 6 per cent electricity, 4 per cent evaporation and 2 per cent butterscotch ripple.” If some retailers could create their own recipe of success to understanding its customers, the industry will be able to deliver a customised and engaging experience.