Category Archives: Tech News

Post-PC Era

Tech News, ,

Consequences for the Marketing World

If it is indeed true that we are entering the “post-PC era,” according to a recent article in ABC News, then we will be witnessing significant changes in marketing approaches and techniques vis-à-vis computers and other technical products now available.  Apparently though, while this is news now, a bunch of other tekkies were using the term somewhat prematurely for at least ten years; in other words, it wasn’t exactly the case that the PC was in a “post-era” way back when.

Now is the time though.  According to a Forrester Research analyst who has been investigating consumer technology evolution, Sarah Rotman Epps, “this is a time of intense change.  New competition for PC manufacturers makes it just really, really hard to make a profit.”  So, in order to make this profit, manufacturers of PCs are looking at other, new markets.  Sales need to be made, and if it means moving away from the traditional PC, then that is what will be done.

Intel’s Investors’ Conference

Recently, Intel held an investors’ conference.  There, Paul Otellini, CEO of the company, presented a map to everyone which outlined where expansion in the PC market is expected in the near future.  Europe and America weren’t exactly forefront in the picture.  Instead, it was countries like Brazil, China, India and Russia (BRIC countries) along with the Czech Republic, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey and Venezuela.  It is anticipated that all of these countries will go witness a “double-digit percentage growth.”

Marketing Abroad

What does this mean in practice?  According to ABC News, it indicates that “the world’s leading computer chip-maker and its industry allies have no choice but to launch a marketing attack on foreign shores.”  The question on everyone’s lips though still remains, why are sales of PCs diminishing so much in countries like America?  Apparently it is because “the same technological advances that fueled the PC industry’s rise — faster processors and lower costs every couple of years — are now benefiting the devices that are usurping it.”  These days there are smaller gadgets available to do the same things only PCs could do some years ago, so why not purchase those instead?

PC Push?

Tech News, ,

Is the Personal Computer Being Pushed Out?

It seems like the PC is getting a bad rep and the once must-have asset is no longer.  Well, it’s not so black and white but things for sure are not looking great for PCs; at least, not like they were.  According to an article in ABC News, the entire PC industry may be “counting on a rescue from emerging markets and a late-to-the-party push into tablet computers.”

Both European and American PC markets are feeling the squeeze since people are making budget cuts and PCs maybe the first to go.  As well, since there seems to be new and more exciting (similar) gadgets on the market such as the iPad, which is another reason the PCs are going down the pan as it were.

PC Plus

Despite all this news, it’s not quite time to bury the PC in shame.  The bottom line is that it is still up there in the digital world, “powering e-commerce, social networking and more.”  Very few homes or offices these days are without one.  Indeed, sales of PCs are

Banking: UK Goes Mobile

Tech News, ,

In a further effort to help people save more time, the UK is enabling banking customers to deal with their banking through their mobile phones.  According to a recent article in Mobile Marketing Watch, anyone who owns a smartphone now has the option of mobile financial management.

Time Saving Opportunity

Through the phone, customers are able to enjoy services like balancing their account and reviewing transactions – anything that they might ordinarily have had to gone into the bank for previously.  This of course makes things much easier and less time consuming.  And since time is money, it has to be good for the economy too.

According to a new survey conducted through Antenna, approximately 1 out of 4 UK smartphone owners “now utilize their phone for mobile banking – which is broadly defined as an array of services spanning account balance inquiries to transaction reviews.”  Indeed, Him Hemmer, the company’s Chief Executive, told Reuters, “consumers, particularly younger ones, had little loyalty for which bank they used and therefore the banks could attract more customers if they improved their offerings.”

Increased Accessibility

These days, technology and accessibility is constantly increasing.  Through this, there will be an escalation in mobile banking users.  More and more people will start relying exclusively on this type of banking.  As Hemmer told Reuters, “mobile banking has now taken hold.  People want to take care of their banking when it makes sense to them and not when a branch is open. So banks have to rethink their model. There is not as much brand loyalty as there used to be and so they really have to think about the service they offer.”

 

 

When Z Comes Before G: Zuckerberg Trumps Gates

Consumerism, Economy, Tech News, , , , , ,

Online Advertising Analysis

When looking at the world of online advertising, it seems it’s out with the old and in with the new. According to an article in Forbes, it’s Facebook that is now in the lead, rendering Microsoft somewhat a thing of the past. Out of the $31.3bn marketing, a staggering two-thirds is now taken up by: Google, Yahoo, AOL, Facebook and Microsoft, but it is Facebook that’s really in the lead, putting Microsoft on a lower rung of the lander.

Look No Further Than Google

When it comes to website searching, it is clear that Google is the name, enjoying three-quarters of the entire market, and, according to eMarketer research, claiming 40.8 percent “all ad dollars spent in the US.

Facebook Fortune

But of course, when looking at the real big money earners, it’s Facebook again, still increasing its profits, “substantially faster than Microsoft.” Over 600 million people are now using Facebook and while in 2009 it had 2.4 percent share in the market, by the end of this year that figure is set to rise to 7 percent, rendering it “the third largest ad-selling company in the US.”

Microsoft Momentum

But it’s not all doom and gloom for Microsoft which has definitely been responding to market changes, having “revamped its online strategy with Bing and a partnership with Yahoo!” The company now enjoys a good search position too. Its revenue growth has been pretty consistent too, “up 18.3% in 2009, 22.9% in 2010, and expected to surge 38.9% this year and 48% next year.” According to a principal analyst at eMarketer, David Hallerman this is due to Bing’s overall capacity to “deliver relevant results to searchers, as well as the company’s marketing of Bing to encourage more usage.” As well, Hallerman noted that Google is kept “on top” due to the “network effect.” In layman’s terms this means that the more people who use the search engine, the more advertisers it gets “which in turn can attract more users and so on.” Still, despite Google’s continuing success, this should not take away from Microsoft which is “gaining both search query and market share.” Ultimately, the four largest search engines have claimed a staggering 93.6 percent of the entire $14.38bn market.

B2B Brand Boost in SMM

Tech News, , , , ,

It seems that business-to-business brands are jumping on the social media marketing bandwagon according to a BtoB magazine study that found 93 percent of B2B marketers working in this field. This is especially apparent with LinkedIn, its 100 million members and a major increase in B2B sign-ins. BtoB is the magazine for “marketing strategists,” being the “only publication dedicated to all disciplines of business-to-business marketing.” For anyone looking for new trends in marketing or winning strategies, this is the magazine.

SMM Great Marketing Tool

Clearly LinkedIn is finding that SMM is a great marketing tool as it is opening it up to more such channels like blogging which 19 percent of respondents claimed were “the most beneficial social outreach,” in the BtoB magazine survey.

BtoB Awards

It’s a real honor for a company to be recognized by BtoB’s Social Media Marketing Awards program and 16 companies out of 120 entries made the grade. Some of the higher entries include: Cisco Systems, Sybase and Mongoose Metrics. The magazine’s editor, John Obrecht commented, “it’s clear that marketing in the social Web has come of age in B-to-B marketing.” As well, there has been a substantial increase in the social side of technology marketing campaigns.

So for B2B brands wanting to pump up the marketing volume, social media marketing seems to be the way forward. With some encouragement from BtoB’s magazine and awards system, they can be well on their way to mega-sales.