Planet of the Apps - How messaging apps conquered the world

1PLANET OF THE APPS How messaging apps conquered the world
Planet of
the Apps
How messaging apps
conquered the world

Planet of the Apps
How messaging apps conquered the world
1. Context
2. Do you know who you’re getting close personal with?
Where they’ve texted before?
3. The App-ortunity:
What role do brands play in these hyperpersonal spaces?
4. Alexa, what happens next?
Future opportunities

Context

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PLANET OF THE APPS How messaging apps conquered the world
Vancouver, February, 2016. Joe Gebbia, cofounder of Airbnb is on stage at TED 2016.
Nervous laughs can be heard throughout the auditorium. Seconds earlier Gebbia had
asked the audience to unlock their smartphones and hand them to the person
closest to them. He was trying to make a point. When we’re given the responsibility
of handling someone else’s private device, or in the case of Airbnb, their home, we feel
obligated to take good care of it. This is how Gebbia explained Airbnb’s model for trust.
Over the centuries our most private spaces have evolved; from castle keep to
smartphone. This anecdote illustrates how mobile phones have become the
ultimate receptacle for private information.
It’s not just personal,
it’s Hyperpersonal.
Javier G. Recuenco, CSO Founder of Singular Solving, describes hyperpersonal
spaces as those which involve a number of characteristics, including:
Brands can communicate with users in ways they cannot face to face, based
on user profiling - they have access to information on interests, traffic history,
app usage...etc.
The user builds the environment to reflect their most personal values or identity.
As Javier points out, “A hyperpersonal space is, therefore, a communication space
where you have a basic dual probability to be tremendously relevant or really
annoying, on the fringe of personal injury.”

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Context privacy concern
As technology evolves, resulting in new solutions and methods of interaction, brands
are looking for ways to implement this technology and to connect with an audience
that is always one step ahead and which increasingly demands a more
personal and private space with room only for those companies who provide
real value.

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The ubiquity of smartphones has massively affected our own interpersonal
relationships. We are hyperconnected; we can connect with anyone, anytime,
anywhere. We can reach macro-audiences via social networks, and chat with our
nearest and dearest through private messaging apps.
This is the new digital relationship landscape and it is not showing signs of
slowing down; the amount of time spent on mobile devices increases each year.
We are constantly and intermittently connected, experiencing what Google calls
“Micromoments”. The average smartphone user dedicates roughly 15 to 20% of
their monthly mobile time to chatting.
How is all that screen time used?
We might agree that mobile devices are hyperpersonal, but what role do they really
play in our lives?
We spend most of our time in front of a screen. Research has shown that the
average American now spends half of his or her life looking at a screen, and
most of that time is spent on a mobile device. For some of us, the time we spend
staring at a screen is even greater. What are spending all our time actually doing?
Primarily, messaging others or watching videos.

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In the following graph we can see clearly how apps help blur the lines between public
and private, as the bulk of the time spent interacting with apps is connecting with
others.
Source: Flurry Analytics, 2015–2016 Year-Over-Year Time Spent Growth
Whilst interacting via social networks is still a popular mode of communication, it’s
messaging apps that are taking up most of our time. The most popular messaging
applications have already surpassed the most popular social platforms in terms of
number of active users. They’re also leading in terms of time spent interacting with
the platform.

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Source: Business Insider
Despite increasing screen time, our attention span is more fragmented than ever,
which is only further complicated by a limited amount of space in which to store
apps produced in an already oversaturated market. In summary, time is limited,
phone memory is limited, but what we’re able to offer the consumer is
limitless. People are looking for more direct communication and, at the same time,
they’re exploring new ways of enhancing their social experiences with digital tools.
In August 2015, a study of US Smartphone users revealed that 43% of smartphone
owners used a daily average of 4-6 applications. A recent study by App Annie saw
this number increase to 10 apps per day.

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Source: AppAnnie
What can we say? People have got a
lot to share.
Messaging apps are evolving to incorporate most of the activities that we perform on
mobile, namely - sharing photos, location or watching videos - three activities which
tie in with the top 4 mobile-first activities from this October’s Global Web Indtex
Data. We might not perform the original activity within the messaging app
itself, but we’ll share it there. As chatbots evolve, we’ll begin to see them used more
frequently to consult our bank history or receive shoppable product information.

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Source: Apprival
How do you engage users when there is so much competition for their attention? The
main challenge brands face, in this landscape, is achieving engagement, and then
retaining users. How long till they delete your app?
In 2015, eMarketer revealed how app engagement decreased from the first day of
download; 29% for android and 25.5% for iPhone, decreasing to 11% and 10% respectively
on the seventh day and down to 3% on the 30th day. Other sources claim that 84% of
applications are deleted the same day of download, after only one use.

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Spotlight on: REON Energy
Consumer context: Insights
The unanticipated
Reon were in the process of developing a branded app, to promote events and
group gatherings around the user’s location. Reon came to Good Rebels with the
intention of finding out what their audience might want from the app and what
features they could include to maximise uptake.
We conducted a series of WhatsApp panels. Each participant was given access
to the app and asked a series of questions over the course of a day. Our team
communicated directly with participants. Throughout the project, we collaborated
with the brand team and the app developers to evaluate the responses week
by week and make relevant adjustments.
Our objectives and the nature of our questions evolved during the course of the
project we had to rethink out focus because the initial response to the app was quite
lacklustre. We shaped the remaining waves of questions to focus on a more general
perspective. We then invited the participants to come up with new ideas, developing
the most popular and creative of these into new app concepts to consider.
As a direct result of our findings, Reon made a strategic decision to reconsider their
investment in the app. Whilst this might not have been the expected result at the start of
the project, it proved to be an extremely beneficial one for the client, providing them with
key feedback to help them redefine the project and informing their next steps.
Case study

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In 2016, Deloitte divulged that 80% of apps developed by brands never exceed
1,000 downloads. As the app development market continues to grow at a breakneck
pace, the situation becomes even more daunting.
Looking at the most downloaded apps today we see that messaging apps (and
mobile games) are leading the way. Recurrence of use is higher than average as well.
Source: Emarketer
Source: Statista

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Mark Zuckerberg, 2014
When Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014, Zuckerberg’s vision of the app
landscape clearly reflected our own need to connect with others. Three of the top
four most popular apps now belong to Facebook. They understand how people
communicate and what they are interested in - and rest assured, they will maintain
their dominance in the field of socialisation for some time to come.
For the purposes of this study, let’s review our definition of messaging apps:
Messaging apps are a bidirectional multimedia communication
tool. They are intended to be primarily used on a mobile device
and have strong evolutive capabilities in terms of functionality.
How have messenger apps evolved to become such a great business opportunity?
Because they can provide brands with a measure of relevance that has been so
far unattainable on mobile devices.
What can brands do with
Messaging apps?
Let’s reformulate the question - what are users doing with messaging apps? Who
decides what users can and can’t do using a messaging app? The introduction of
different app functionalities doesn’t revolve around user demand. It is messaging apps
themselves, that enforce the functionality of the app, that educate users on what they
“Messaging is
one of the few
things that people
do more
than social
networking.”

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can expect from a messaging app. In a way similar to Facebook - these messaging
apps make decisions based on convenience, aiming to provide users with what they
did not know they wanted.
Source: Global Web Index
Since several of the most prominent messaging apps (such as Wechat and Facebook
Messenger) have, in recent years, become more like software development platforms,
there is now an opportunity for brands to improve their understanding of and
redefine how users would most like to interact with them via messaging app.
“Talking with a brand on a messaging app feels more
personal and like you are getting a better service...
messaging apps also provide the privacy you need as a
consumer, something which many apps lack.”
Rosie Schofield, survey respondent

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Spotlight on: Domino’s Pizza
Consumer context: Performance
A slice of the Pizza Pie
In 2011, Domino’s saw just 17% of all orders placed via digital channels. In 2015 that
number surpassed 50%, thanks to the introduction of the Domino’s AnyWare
Suite. The AnyWare Suite generated 2.7 Billion total media impressions,
and by “AnyWare” they really do mean anywhere; you can now order Domino’s
pizza through the Domino’s App, via the Domino’s virtual assistant Dom, through
Facebook Messenger, via text, via emoji, via Tweet, from your Smart Watch, from
your car, through voice command, from your Smart TV, through Google Home and
Amazon’s Alexa.
“We’re just constantly looking at how can we improve the experience for somebody
today and make it better than it was a year ago and if we do that we’re going to grow
the business.” Patrick Doyle, Domino’s CEO.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1SrOjuBSEU
Domino’s US same-store sales grew by 12.8% during the second quarter of 2015, and,
according to Andrew Lincoln, VP and Creative Director at Vispin, The Suite has driven
10.5% sales growth, year on year. While some elements of the Domino’s AnyWare
Case study

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Suite may prove less practical over time - as Matt Talbot, VP and Creative Director at
CP+B Boulder explained “Dom...was never going to be the most efficient way to order,”
- Domino’s commitment to convenience and efficiency has put them in the Top 5
Companies with the Most Digital Transactions, just behind Amazon and Apple. More
than 500K orders were placed with Dom during the three month campaign period,
Dom’s launch resulted in a 100% increase in Domino’s mobile app downloads,
and Domino’s Emoji campaign earned them the Titanium Grand Prix at the Cannes
Lion Festival of Creativity in 2015.
The Domino’s experience is now even more accessible, more efficient, more
enjoyable; and, Domino’s itself benefits in terms of reach, revenue and reputation.
No organisation can afford to miss out on the profit potential afforded by the
incorporation of messaging apps and virtual assistants. Additionally, non-profits
and organisations focused on giving back to society in a more concrete way
also benefit from the implementation of messaging app campaigns and
partnerships. Whether they’re looking to raise awareness, raise funds, or provide
vulnerable groups with guidance and support.
We have conducted a deep qualitative study to understand what users currently
expect from messaging apps, so before we delve further into how businesses can
best utilise these constantly evolving tools for communication, let’s take some time to
understand who they are and how they are using this technology. After all, if we, as
brands, want people to commit to a long-term relationship, we’d better make
sure they know who they’re getting intimate with.
Whilst we are following WeChat and other non-european technologies closely, our
focus will be on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Snapchat and Viber - the five
most popular messenger apps in Europe according to data from Global Web Index. In
February 2016, WhatsApp passed 1 Billion monthly active users. In July of the same
year, Facebook Messenger surpassed 1 Billion. We’ve got a lot of people we need to
get to know better.

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Do you know who
you’re getting close
personal with?
(Or where they’ve texted before?)

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Who uses Messaging Apps?
Messaging apps are a global phenomenon, they have become an unavoidable part
a life for millennials. Global Web Index (GWI) data indicates that the majority of users
are between 25 to 34 years old (32.8%), closely followed by 16 to 24 year olds (30.8%).
However, these platforms are popular with companies and consumers alike
across all ages and sectors; messaging apps and virtual assistants are being used
for personal communication, inter-office communication, product research,
purchasing, queries and complaints, campaigns and competitions, tracking and
organisation, and in conjunction with the IoT. Using messenger apps and virtual
assistants brands can anticipate crises, conduct more accurate surveys, increase
reach and make themselves available where it is most convenient to the consumer.
We use Siri to set our morning alarm, Alexa to book ourselves
an Uber, Slack to connect with colleagues, WhatsApp to catch up
with friends and family, and Snapchat to don disguises.
In spite of that, GWI data reveals that just 6% of people look to messaging apps or
live chat services for more information about brands, products or services. A direct
response from a trained professional is surely more appealing than hours of scrolling
through product listings and review sites? People trust their peers the most, and
to a certain extent they trust celebrity/influencer endorsements - but they do not
trust brands. Only 9.4% of consumers surveyed agreed that speaking with a brand
representative via live chat would increase the chance of them buying a product. The
live-chat services and messaging apps developed by brands are most often used
on a needs basis, to resolve specific queries or make complaints - but people are still
unlikely to consider them a part of their daily social structure. Why? Ease of use is one
of the most cited reasons, particularly when it comes to services that are primarily
based on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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Spotlight on: Toyota
Consumer context: Creative campaigns
Cars can pull too
Messaging apps also represent an interesting opportunity for creative campaigns.
The sheer novelty of using messaging apps as a platform for a campaign can
result in higher engagement and participation from the audience, giving your
campaign that added “wow” factor. Short term campaign activations also make for
an ideal testing ground, allowing brands to dip their toe into new platforms without
making any long term investment. An excellent example of this in action was a
strategic campaign we executed for Toyota in Spain, raising awareness of the new
AYGO model among target audiences using WhatsApp.
The campaign was designed with two objectives in mind; firstly, promoting the launch
of the new AYGO and secondly, repositioning the Toyota brand in the eyes of
a new generation of potential car buyers. Our team began by looking at the
behaviours of this audience and were consequently inspired to create an innovative
campaign inviting our audience to flirt with the car via WhatsApp for a chance to win.
Thus, #LigateUnAYGO was born. Users would exchange messages, videos, images
and audio notes with the car’s profile on WhatsApp. If they wooed it successfully, they
would win their very own Toyota AYGO. The car would respond with funny, suggestive
messages and media such as ‘you’ve got me fogging up the windows’ to reward
interactions and encourage further engagement.
As a result of the audience engagement, the campaign generated more than 8,800
pieces of user generated content, exchanging 84,900 WhatsApp messages with 3,300
participants in total. The campaign was successful because it was a strategic,
creative idea executed effectively but the use of WhatsApp was what put it
over the edge, capturing the attention of the elusive target audience.
Video
Case study

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Until AI systems are perfected, do brands risk alienating their audience? Not exactly.
Consumers expect brand access across multiple platforms, and they expect efficiency
and competence too. The question is not should we be investing in messaging
apps and virtual assistants, but how can we simplify, advance and humanise
the process. Currently the 25 to 34 year old age group is most likely to interact with
brands via messaging apps, and they’re also most likely to conduct online product
research in this way - an increase in the incorporation of corporate messaging apps
and virtual assistants, will eventually lead to widespread acceptance and perhaps
even a preference for intelligent, non-human interaction at the initial stage of the
purchasing process.
“All I wanted to do was speak to a real person, instead it
felt like I was talking to a scripted chat bot - and I hate
that!” Andie C. 32
We cannot dismiss Dark Social; Radiumone estimates that 84% of outbound social
sharing now takes place via private Dark Social channels. When surveyed
79.1% of respondents said that they have used a chat or instant messaging service
or app over the past month - and yet these channels are not being used to their
full potential. Marketing and Communications executives are excited about the
opportunities presented by dark social, whilst also challenged to innovate in order to
gain acceptance.
Whilst the sheer ubiquity of such platforms makes defining a dominant user profile for
messenger apps redundant, we can understand a number of near-linear user trends.
The younger you are, the more likely you are to use a messaging app. The better
educated, wealthier or more liberal you are, the higher the chance that these apps
play an important role in your life. But WhatsApp defies these trends as the growth rate
is strong across the board.

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The ubiquity, and simplicity of WhatsApp speaks to our need to communicate in as
easy a way as possible - highly educated and non-educated people use this channel
almost equally. It satisfies a new “basic need” for people.
And we need to tackle the question of whether, as communications professionals,
we might simply be talking to people like ourselves. GWI data on regular messaging
app users under the age of 35 says that this group is 67% more likely than the general
population in the same age category to work in a marketing role, and over-indexes by
54% in the advertising sector. They are more tech-focused across the board, more
brand-centric in their interests and politically more likely to vote for progressive
parties. There is a risk that messaging app campaigns could be designed by
agencies, for agencies.

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The danger of thinking this way, however, is obvious. We also need to realise that
these platforms play an important role in a huge, and growing, proportion of all
lives. Messaging apps are used by members of older demographic groups at an
exponentially-growing rate: nearly half (around 48%) of those surveyed between the
ages of 45 and 64 claim to have used WhatsApp in the last month and around a third
have engaged with Facebook Messenger in this time.
Given that the audience is so diverse, and the user base increases exponentially
both in terms of different age groups and other socio-demographic factors, it is
easy to miss the nuanced trends amongst users. Here are eight trends to help us
understand the messaging app user:

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Qualitative study.
Taking a closer look at how users
really feel about Messaging Apps
Messaging apps are about people-to-people communication, so we conducted an
online panel to investigate how users really feel about brands entering their personal
space.
Our research focuses on the nature of people’s attachment to devices, the intimacy
of sharing in these spaces, and the need to be relevant and personalised, within a
‘platform hopping’ user base.
It’s widely accepted that all messaging apps will soon incorporate some form of
monetization (either for brands or consumers); as such digital marketing has become
a “necessary evil” for most users. On the whole, we can conclude the following:
Although messaging apps usage is growing exponentially, brands must ‘earn’ the
right to engage in these private spaces.
Consumers often ‘platform hop’ to avoid brands when they get too creepy or
crowded.
Acceptance of advertising is directly related to the usefulness of apps or benefits
offered.

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HOW DO PEOPLE REALLY USE MESSAGING APPS?
We asked participants to list the most useful digital tools in their daily life. The table
below demonstrates which, and the second column details why they are useful, both are
listed in order of popularity. Messaging apps were more useful than email making
them more commonly used than both voice calls and emails alike.
Digital tool (or use) Usefulness
WhatsApp
Facebook Messenger
Email apps (e.g. Gmail)
Google docs
YouTube
Maps
Shopping
Microsoft Word
Digital assistants (i.e. Alexa, Siri)
Cortana
Google Home
Spotify
Drop Box
Ease of use
Sharing
Groups/ group chats
Being in touch
Setting reminders
Being at hand
Making plans
Using internet to communicate and
avoiding network charges to message
Banking
News
Weather
How are digital tools useful in your life? Make a list of the examples you can think
of and explain why.
Example response to question:
WhatsApp – Communicating with friends and family, organising meet-
ups and events
GoogleDocs – Organising work for University
Excel – Organising graphs for lab work
Facebook – Keeping in touch with friends and staying up to date on
events and groups I like
YouTube – Entertainment and learning tools.(R4)
With regards to messaging apps, WhatsApp was most popular, followed by
Facebook Messenger, very much in line with recent market research. In this, we
found that 92% of participants (13 out of 14) used messaging apps to keep in touch
with family and friends, 57% (8 out of 14) used them to organise and find out about
events, and 42% (6 out of 14) used them to manage group chats based on their
lifestyles and hobbies. Given the relatively recent adoption of virtual assistants, it is
perhaps unsurprising that just 28% of (4 out of 14) participants mentioned that they
used them (Alexa, Siri, Cortana).

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Participants reported the use of digital tools and messaging apps as
fundamental in their lives. These were used for both life administration
(shopping, work, banking, event management) and in social activities (shared
house chats, musician chat, and Slimming World), which was especially evident in
the desire to share content and stay in touch with friends and family. One respondent
(Jeffrey, 29 years old) explained that he found digital tools to be an essential part of
his modern life requirements:
“Digital tools allow me to stay connected and informed with regards to
the people, news, and events that are most important in my life. With
the touch of a button, I can reconnect with people who I haven’t heard
from or seen in some time, I can keep up to date with the latest news
and facts, and I can map out routes to places I’ve never been before.
In this digital age, everything is quick than ever before in terms of
accessibility - and in our fast-paced society, that is ever important.”
No just one messaging app
People use multiple messaging apps to communicate with each other and sometimes
for different reasons or functions. There is no single most dominant app for all
purposes. People communicated for different reasons on Facebook Messenger than
on WhatsApp for the simple reason that other people used them and so were going
to the platform where their contacts were. Additionally, the simple user experience of
messaging apps is also responsible for their popularity.
One respondent (Daniel S.) suggested that:
“I use Facebook messenger as my primary messaging app as everyone
has it regardless of whether they are on iOS or not (unlike iMessage)
and as pretty everyone has a FB account it’s more convenient than
WhatsApp, it’s generally a better app too. My band and I use Dropbox
and GoogleDrive to share files and store things we need where anyone
can access them. In my workplace nearly everything we do involves
GoogleDrive files”
When the respondent was asked what would stop them from using messaging apps,
he responded that: “I would stop using a messaging app if no one I knew used it enough,
which is why I’ve mostly abandoned FB messenger.”
These elements are clearly defined and detailed in greater depth in one response
when prompted with the question: what would cause you to stop using a digital or
social media platform and why?

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“Usually what determines whether I switch social media platforms is
due to what other people I know are using, as my main reason to use
these is to keep in contact with other people. For example, while I still
use text from time to time, I much more frequently use WhatsApp as,
since arriving at university, it is the method that most of my friends
and colleagues use. As well as this, it is more suitable for group
discussions which I have found more necessary now at university.
Usually I would not completely stop using the other platforms, but they
would become less frequent. An example would be that I mainly use
Facebook for keeping up to date on news from groups I like rather than
the messaging app, which I don’t use as often (I don’t tend to use any
social media to post my status)”
Customer service
One of the most novel and interesting findings from the study related to the experience
participants reported on customer service received through messaging apps. In
particular, the UK organisations, National Savings and Investments (NSI) and Her
Majesties Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are viewed as very traditional bureaucracies
and who’s customer service is not the most appealing brand feature.
On NSI (Beth, age 19):
“Usually I don’t get contacted by brands through something like a
messaging app. There was one time though when I had to contact
NSI over their Twitter direct messages in order to try and get some
bonds sorted out (we’d tried this lots of times over phone before). As
they were unable to give private details needed over the messaging
app for security reasons, the conversation I had was just to sort
out some sort of meeting and who I could contact. Having it on the
messenger was actually pretty helpful as it meant you could constantly
look back at what had been said before and it was easier to keep up
the discussion and understand what was going on. I found that it was
less common for me to just be given the same advice over and over.
Unfortunately, due to the privacy problem a phone call did have to be
organised and the problems continued from there.”
Laura, 26 on HMRC:
“Hey! Oh my gosh! You will never guess who I just spoke to on fb
messenger?! HMRC!!!! Can u believe it! They were great! Quick
response, saves being on hold for an eternity, so helpful! Actually in
shock! I wouldn’t have thought about contacting them or all people
through fb! So great!”

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Oliver shares his experience with a brewery:
“Ey dude, have you used “left hand brewery” messenger on Facebook?
They actually answer! I asked them about that killer nitro chili stout...
they don’t have it anymore, but they gave me pretty good options.
Answering times were very short as well!”
Respondents also suggested that customer service on messaging apps can be
positive, but can also go wrong very easily due to functionality, and the inhuman
nature of the system.
“I once needed to log back into my Xbox Live account but had forgotten
the password to my username but also the email I had registered with
as I hadn’t used it for years, I spoke to a tech support person through
Microsoft’s life chat expecting to not really make much progress but the
person was very responsive and really helped me.
On the other end of the spectrum when having issues using Deliveroo’s
service and trying the get some customer service through their live chat
they are very slow to respond, so much so that they will disconnect
their own support chats due to timeout/inactivity so you have to screen
shot your conversation and start it again with a new person, this
sometimes happens multiple times and is really frustrating.
Both of these experiences felt different using a messaging app as in
the positive scenario I felt like I was conversing with a real person,
but in the negative one the delay made me feel like I may as well have
just sent an email and not bother as there’s no point in an instant
messaging platform if people can’t respond instantly.” (Daniel S.)
The importance of relevance
People like things that are useful to them but hate generic ads that track them (using
re-targeting).
“I find them more useful the more my data is used effectively, I love
seeing adverts geared towards my specific interests based on cookies or
something they’ve collected as it helps me find out about new things I’d
want, but I hate it when I get pushed unskippable or intrusive adverts
for things that are no use to me e.g. cars when I can’t drive or luxury
services I can’t afford, I’d rather give more information about myself to
get better ads since they are inevitable anyway.” (Daniel, 24).

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Advertisements that follow users across platforms are viewed as creepy by 11 out
of 14 respondents with two additional respondents referencing intrusive ads and
one respondent who failed to answer the question. Therefore, the vast majority of
respondents found tracking (re-targeting) to be the largest annoyance and
the creepiest element of using digital tools and messaging apps.
In our creative challenge, we asked participants to write a story for an article entitled
“How I was stalked by digital”, in a gossip magazine, detailing experiences of how digital
marketing and advertising got too much. Below are two illustrative examples of how
digital stalking overwhelmed participants.
Creepy 1: Holyday Stalker
“Planning a holiday turned into an eye-opening experience.
All I did was a search on Skyscanner to get an idea how much a flight
would cost to a certain place.
As if by magic, the whole internet transformed in a second.
Suddenly, wherever I clicked, whichever website I chose, I was looking
at flashing banners occupying half of my screen advertising flights to
the place I looked up.
I know about tracking cookies and stuff so I was not entirely shocked,
however the scale frightened me.
Also, just think a bit advertisers please. If I go to Skyscanner to search
for the cheapest flight ever, then I’m not gonna click on an as that
offers me the same flight twice the price duh...” (Gergõ, 26 years old)
Creepy 2: Amazon déjà vu
“It all started on a Thursday evening as I was browsing through
amazon using the app on my phone. I found a bookcase I really
liked. Then I found another and yet another. I set my phone down to
measure the area where I wanted to put my bookcase (I needed to have
the right dimensions after all). I got my measurements and decided to
continue browsing through amazon. I couldn’t make a decision and I
decided I should browse the shops on Saturday.
The next day I was on my way to work and while sat on the bus
i decided to browse Instagram. A few lovely pictures - friends on
holiday, a friend’s graduation, picture of a baby, a funny meme -
and then I saw it. Hiding amongst the pictures, a bookcase much like

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the one I was looking at the night before. “That’s odd” I thought to
myself, “why is that there?”. I kept on scrolling and a few pictures
later another bookcase! At this point i was starting to question how
Instagram knew I was looking at bookcases. I ignored the thoughts, got
off the bus and went to work.
Friday morning I get an email from amazon: items you may be interested
in. I open the email and there are images of bookcases (most of which I’ve
already seen)! Friday evening lying in bed, I open Instagram to browse. I
get distracted by the bookcase being featured and end up on amazon and
Argos looking at bookcases. I eventually fall asleep.
Saturday morning I wake up and decide to go to the shops. As I wait for
the bus to arrive, I’m on Instagram when what should suddenly appear
on my screen... a bookcase advert!” (Laetitia, 25 years old)
Ad tracking was also reported by a participant (Elizabeth) as
particularly intrusive: “Ads on Google Chrome seemed to work out that
I was transgender before I had said it at all. Just a sudden change in
Ads. It was a bit unsettling seeing as I was in the closet to most people
at the time. I can tailor my ads, but these appeared anyway.”
The reasons to stop using an app or tool were split mostly between two most
important issues. Firstly, the ghost town: when their connections migrate to a different
platform. Secondly, spam central: when a platform is overcome by too much
advertising, fake news and spam.
USER ATTACHMENT, INTIMATE SPACES, AND THE GIVE/RECEIVE BIAS
User satisfaction in relation to our devices (and, in turn, how we communicate within
them) is based on three things according to a study (iii)
• Self-disclosure: an important communication behaviour for establishing and
maintaining human relationships (and with our device)
• Flow: being absorbed in an act, and losing track of time (who hasn’t lost hours
on their device, because they’re enjoying it so much?)
• Social presence: ‘Instant messenger has been verified to facilitate real time
dialogues to provide social presence to users, thus enabling users to forget
about the computer medium and feel as if he or she is actually existing in the
same space as the user’
We are hooked on our devices, such is the extent that another study (vi) found
that 66% of users surveyed either strongly agreed with the statement “I will often
check my phone, even if I have not received a notification”, while 60% of users
said ”I often feel the need to touch or locate my phone (not performing a task).”
They also felt anxiety when separated from their device.

31
• The study found that: “It could be that this increased frequency of smartphone
use allows strong emotional bonds to form between the user and the
smartphone” to the extent to which 80% of participants reported feelings of
distress/anxiety when separated from their phone.
• We are forming emotional bonds, and experiencing satisfaction in our life
through our phones and how we communicate, and this is an extremely
personal space, given how emotional it has become.
There is an evident dichotomy between what consumers wish to ‘share’ with brands
and what they are willing to receive – as another study (iv) detailed: “consumers
show a strong preference for targeted, personalised, in-context information and
services…[the idea is] to encourage dialogue with potential buyers in order to gain
their trust and better understand their needs.”
However, when we get something from the transaction, we are willing to sacrifice
privacy for the incentive.
Avoiding being creepy by: sharing links one-one, or ‘as a referral from a friend’
means ‘you are much more likely to pick it up than if it comes from a brand’ –
therefore ‘sharing via dark social [also] carries more weight as it is normally
done one-one “with family close friends, rather than a blanket approach take by
other social networks.”
MESSAGING APPS: REWARDING ENGAGEMENT
Based on the above findings:
• Create compelling cases to share content
• Exclusivity can make consumers want to join campaigns
• Generate ‘authentic advocacy’ so that people genuinely want to share
• Use incentives that work to reward engagement
• Tailor content to be attractive to people based on insights into their lived
experiences, and empathising with need
Especially interesting was the desire to incorporate customer service into messaging
apps. One DScout applicant suggested that:
“They [messaging apps] enable you to communicate with brands
in an efficient way. Talking with a brand on a messaging app feels
more personal and like you are getting a better service, for example,
it doesn’t feel like good customer service to receive automated replies
instead of personal messages on a messaging app. Messaging apps also
provide the privacy you need as a consumer, something which many
apps lack”

32
METHODOLOGY: ONLINE ETHNOGRAPHY PANEL
Participants were asked 5 questions around the use of digital tools in their life;
interaction with them; experiences of messaging apps including thoughts feelings and
drivers to change behaviour when using them. Respondents answered in free text
boxes, by filming themselves and by creatively responding to challenges. The findings
of this research are detailed below and have been drawn out into themes. The users
are quoted below anonymously throughout.
REFERENCES:
I. Hobbs, T. (2015) ‘Brands are too pre-occupied with Facebook and missing out on dark
social’, Marketing Week.
II. Ibrahim, J., Ros, R.C., Sulaiman, N.F, Nordin, R.C., Yuan, L.Z. (2014) Positive impact
of smartphone application: WhatsApp Facebook for online business’, International
Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4: 12.
III. Park, Cho, Lee (2014) ‘What make smartphone users satisfied with the mobile
instant messenger?: social presence, flow and self-disclosure, International Journal of
Multimedia and ubiquitous Engineering, 9(11), pp. 315-324.
IV. Persaud, A. Axhar, I. (2013) ‘Innovative mobile marketing via smartphones: are
consumers ready?’, Keller Centre Research Report, March, Volume 6:1.
V. Rogers, C. (2016) ‘Using messaging apps without being creepy’, Marketing Week.
VI. Thorsteinsson, G Page, T. (2014) ‘User attachment to smartphones and design
guidelines’, International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 8 (3), pp.
201-215.

33
The App-ortunity:
What role do brands play in these
hyperpersonal spaces?

34
When it comes to user expectations, brands are now challenged with providing an
exceptional experience, while also inviting users to enter into a personal relationship.
There are a number of different reasons why a consumer might interact with a brand;
resolution of queries and complains, entertainment, communication, to make a
purchase...etc. And we associate each of these different user motivations with its own
set of opportunities and risks for brands - as demonstrated in the following table:
User behaviour User expectations Brands opportunity How they can do it
Demand client
service
- Information and
resolution
- Fast and
personalised
Support
- Brand Ambassador
Strategy
- Chatbots
Spend spare
time
Fun: entertainment
and distraction
Encourage content
consumption //
Creating games whose
goal is user research
- Personalization
- Content consumption
- Bots
Communicate
- Trust and connect
with others
- Share
Human voice Brand Ambassador Strategy
Pay complete
transactions
Convenience Enhance experiences
Customer journey redesign
platform integration
Some users first turn to brands on messaging apps for client support but this is only
one of the ways to engage consumers that we’d like to discuss. Brands must consider
user context and expectations more important than ever. When taking on building
relationships via messaging apps, there’s no space for underperformers.

35
Spotlight on: OpenBank
Consumer context: Customer service
Great expectations
Perhaps the most obvious application of messaging apps for brands is customer
service. Just as Twitter and fellow cohorts have already transformed consumers
expectations of digital customer service, it’s likely that messaging apps will have
a similar effect. Does the consumer not deserve the ability to communicate
directly to a brand with the same ease as they communicate with their own
friends and family? Through the same channels?
One of the most basic principles of marketing is to go to the consumer, rather
than expecting them to come to you. This simple concept is especially true for
customer service, where you’ll find that an email address or support links on your own
website no longer suffice. And as the platforms for service change, expectations of
business hours and response times alter alongside.
This creates some interesting implications and challenges for brands. Our clients such
as OpenBank, Inditex and Lexus are all facing these challenges head on and exploring
the opportunities that lie with messaging apps for engaging with their audiences in new
ways, not just with existing but also potential customers and even potential employees.
Messaging apps are redefining the role that brands play in the lives of
consumers, allowing these companies into new and more personal consumer-oriented
spaces. It remains to be seen what the long-term effects of this transition will be and
how long before the presence of brands in these spaces becomes commonplace.
Case study
Designed by Freepik

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If we want to talk business, we must
first talk context.
Let’s own up to how we, as users, understand the mobile experience: it’s private,
delightful, de-stressing and allows organisations to be proactive. Have companies
so far been able to understand the kind of mobile experience users are after? Just
about - by adapting the digital advertising approach borrowed from TV.
Until now, companies have approached messaging apps in a simple way - passive;
more sophisticated but nonetheless equally clumsy, distant, and careless.
Brands can segment users efficiently but they still haven’t been able to fully
understand their context. Or, at least, we have not seen well articulated value
propositions in these hyperpersonal spaces - at least not yet.
But the thing is, the more personal our devices, the more out of context brand
communication becomes. TV advertising still works well because, despite its flaws,
it adapts to the context of the viewer. Advertising via mobile does not. It only
works because the user base is growing.
Brands in hyperpersonal spaces
Source: Good Rebels

37
So here we are. Mobile marketing is doing fine, but we aren’t seeing any fireworks yet.
Meanwhile, users are spending hours on messaging apps, enjoying truly personal
experiences. The power of messaging apps has been demonstrated again and
again. Are brands taking advantage of this? Not really. Is the opportunity there?
Absolutely, but who knows how long it will last.
For some, utilising messaging apps will result in the strongest and greatest
relationship with their audience they’ve ever achieved - if they are able to find
purpose from the insights gained during exploration of this new environment.
“Digital tools allow me to stay connected and informed
with regards to the people, news and events that are
most important in my life. In this digital age, everything
is quicker than ever before in terms of accessibility - and
in our fast-paced society, that is so important.” Jeffrey B.
29 | London, United Kingdom Messaging apps (1041889)
The App-ortunity.
In the face of these changes in consumption, brands are refocusing their efforts on
providing a more wider-reaching presence, making themselves more available to
their audience, and any other potential audience. The effort previously dedicated to
the development of owned applications is now being used to find solutions that add
value to those users exploring a consumer/brand environment previously closed to
anyone but friends and family. What’s the point in creating a great user experience
in an unfamiliar environment, when we could deliver that same experience in an
environment which is not only accessible, but already wildly popular?
These new environments that favour messaging apps not only enable a closer,
personalised and more direct relationship between the brand and its audience, but
also facilitate more natural and fluid communication (which email marketing does not
allow), a greater understanding of context and, as a result, greater user retention and
linkage. Moreover, brands can obtain data direct from the user, which helps them to
better understand their needs and expectations.
Are we forecasting an end to owned apps? Not just yet. Brands that have had the
ability to generate and link up their own communities, dragging them over onto a
brand new platform, have been able to maximise their profits. We see this, for example,
in apps that allow direct purchase- fashion brands often achieve even higher levels

38
of purchase recurrence through owned apps than through their own website. However,
when messaging applications start allowing direct transactions, without the user
having to leave the chat itself, we can expect drastic change. Some companies, such
as Net-A-Porter, are already working to close sales through Whatsapp.
Barring technological difficulties, constructing a brand presence within messaging
apps is a sure bet and, once again, democratises, as in the past with social networks,
the way in which users interact with emerging brands. Companies seeking to increase
their visibility and linkage with users need to remove those barriers to entry and make
themselves available where their consumers are - messaging applications - in the
most creative and attractive way possible.
How are companies using Messaging Apps to
manage their consumer relationships?
As messaging apps increase in popularity, they also prove themselves
more significant opportunities as new marketing channels for brands
and businesses. Facebook and WhatsApp have both recently launched
new tools which make it easier for brands to edge into these spaces.
However, despite limitations in functionality, brands have already
explored a multitude of interesting applications for messaging apps.
There are six main areas of application:
Insights: Messaging apps serve as a solution for many of the platform
challenges encountered by researchers; the setting is convenient and
familiar to the participant, it removes the need for a sign up process and
allows conversation to flow naturally rather than end up feeling forced
or automated. We have conducted a number of insights projects for
our clients using messaging apps in a wide range of sectors including
automotive, education and entertainment.
Creative campaigns: Messaging apps also offer a unique opportunity for
creative campaigns, utilising the novelty of the platform to obtain higher
engagement and participation from elusive younger audience segments.
Short-term campaign activations also provide an ideal testing ground,
allowing brands to dip their toe into new platforms without making any
long-term investment.

39
Customer service: One of the most obvious applications of messaging
apps for brands is customer service. In order to be truly customer-
centric, brands have to engage with customers through their own
preferred channels rather than expecting them to go through their
website, for example. The presence of brands within messaging apps
has significant implications for consumer expectations of customer
service which, in turn, will also affect expectations of business hours and
response times. Our clients, such as OpenBank, Inditex and Lexus, are
facing these challenges head on.
Performance: some messaging apps such as WeChat already enable
users to buy within the platform. Others, such as Facebook Messenger,
are enabling PayPal purchasing functionalities so that users can
complete transactions within the app (this is only available in the USA for
the moment). All signs indicate that WhatsApp will launch WhatsApp
Payments before the year is over. These advances will mark a before and
after in eCommerce. How long till conversational commerce is the norm?
If we take this a step further, we’ll soon be having Siri or Alexa replacing our
worn trainers after we’ve shared our daily run results.
Social Service: social environments are, by nature, meeting points, a
place to mobilise citizens and co-create. We have seen how Facebook
Messenger and WhatsApp have become channels for propaganda in
the cases of the Catalonian Referendum and the Arab Spring, and how
they have become a key element in the mobilisation of and support for
initiatives at Change.org. In extreme cases, such as humanitarian or natural
crises, instant messaging is the main tool used to share information, as we
have seen in the case of the Mexican Earthquake, where WhatsApp was
the main communication platform.
Entertainment: brands are always looking for new ways to create value
and construct the best user experience, namely, by turning the user into
the protagonist of the brand story, so that they really enjoy interacting
with the brand. One example of such an engagement campaign is the
case of Heineken, which has experimented with gamification dynamics on
WhatsApp. They invited users to participate in a digital “pub quiz” to win
points. Clarks has developed an interactive storytelling campaign,
also run through WhatsApp, in which users could speak with historical
figures related to the brand’s history, thereby learning about the brand
through an enjoyable and participatory experience.

40
Consumer Context Strategic Relevance
Insights Drives Innovation consumer data
Creative Campaigns Helps brands build awareness
Customer Service Develop loyalty
Performance Generates conversion
Social Service Encourages Co-Creation
Entertainment (content) Defines brand experience
With messenger apps, convenience is key; and the consumer will reward you for it.
Organisations can increase both brand affinity and reach, by making themselves
available across as many channels as possible.
What impact does a brand’s presence across different messaging applications
have in relation to the development of its own apps? Firstly, the former have
a larger potential audience that can be reached with fewer resources (in terms of
development, download generation and traffic, as well as lower maintenance costs)
coupled with a higher return on investment, as they are geared towards higher
volumes with, a priori, lower acquisition costs.
On the other hand, if, instead of focusing on efficiency, we focus on effectiveness, what
openness/reading rate does Whatsapp generate (e.g.) compared to a newsletter?
There are sources that place this reading rate at around 98%, significantly higher than
the opening rate of SMS marketing. And what of the data gathered?
However, the biggest handicap they face is establishing a model in which
real value is on offer, one which creates a memorable user experience and
helps that organisation to achieve their business objectives. It should also be
borne in mind that, as in any outside environment, you are subject to the conditions
of the application’s owner, who may later on require you to “pay a toll” to continue in
their environment. As demand increases we will keep a watch on the new conditions
imposed on brands entering these hereto private spaces.

41
Many companies are becoming aware of this paradigm shift in the relationship model
between them and their audience, and are articulating new strategies in which they
invite their audiences to interact with them through these new private communication
environments. It is often the user who, proactively, takes the first step in making contact
with the brand.
Let’s think for a moment on what it means for a user to add a brand to their contacts
to reach them via Whatsapp. They are now a part of that same phone book, in
which your nearest nucleus of friends and family, your work contacts wallet and your
emergency telephone numbers are stored...symbolically, will they have crossed the
barrier into the user’s circle of trust?
To achieve this, brands have to guarantee one thing: they will not be intrusive.
It is a striking paradox that, whilst 84% of global sharing happens on dark social
(RadiumOne 2016), 90% of social media budget is dedicated to measurable platforms
(eMarketer 2017).
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram fulfill a different role in the consumer journey
to WhatsApp and Messenger, but it’s obvious that many brands are missing an
opportunity to engage with consumers, on their own terms, and for mutual benefit.
Now is the time for brands to learn (and learn fast!) how to use messaging platforms;
all the data points to the fact that they will soon be more popular than the social
giants that own them. The pupil becomes the master, so to speak.
Sean Parker, founder of Napster
“Today’s creepy
is tomorrow’s
necessity”

42
Alexa, what
happens next?
Future opportunities

43
Human beings have long felt the need to communicate. Throughout history we have
developed a multitude of codes, languages and systems to transmit our thoughts;
from the first epistles in the ancient East, to modern mobile phones, we have sought in
science and technology ways that will allow us to increase the number of channels on
which we can communicate with our fellow human beings.
We can be both more “ourselves” and more like the person we wish to be, thanks to
these new technologies that allow us to share freely our status, location, stories, virtual
experiences and knowledge.
“A walk through communication history”
(Learn more)
Thanks to advances in computing, communication systems have
evolved more throughout the current century than in the past three
put together. To understand why, we must go back to 1923, when the
Swiss Physicist, Walter H. Schottky, published the first theory on the
use of semiconductors in electrical circuits. This discovery allowed us
to a switch from vacuum tubes to semiconductor components such
as diodes and transistors, which are more economical, smaller and
more efficient.

44
Timeline
During the early years, digital communication systems were underpinned
by the same theoretical technical principles. Older models such as the OSI,
were beginning to evolve and take the shape of orders and rules, which
would quickly be adopted globally, and eventually would become the TCP/
IP protocol we know today.
From the 1980’s onwards technology matured quickly and the systems that
were standardised then, are the same systems we still use on a daily basis
in order to send emails or receive texts.
These concepts led to an important change in people’s perception of technology;
computers, seen almost exclusively as work tools up until that time, were now being
used domestically, and occupied a good amount of our leisure time. The evolution
of messaging was not gradual, but each phase has had its own purpose and led
to some kind of breakthrough; the ability to send files, share contacts, links, events,
locations...etc. These elements were adopted over years and what developed was the
modern messaging app we’re familiar with today.

45
Disruption of messaging systems
across devices.
It is difficult to qualify whether the increase in home computer sales during the
1990s was the reason for the proliferation of the first instant messaging systems or
not. At first, Internet connectivity services were costly and slow, but improvements
in infrastructure globally meant lower costs, which greatly boosted the use of these
applications before the turn of the millennium, in many households around the
world. And despite the fact that during that time period, access to the internet was
less common than having a computer, we had already begun to understand that
technology would likely play a big role in our lives, particularly during our free time.
Data from here
Source: Arstechnica Arstechnica

46
With the advent of messaging applications like ICQ, AOL and MSN Messenger, the race
to digitally connect people as many people as possible was won. Before the year 2000
was over, millions of people were already exchanging messages using messaging
applications on their computers or on their Blackberry device. By the start of the
millennium the sector found itself in the middle of a revolution; the unification of email
and instant messaging with office automation tools, had a great impact on all types of
people. This, in turn, led to the appearance of the first flat rate for Internet connection.
Mobile device sales began to dominate the market, thrashing the sales of
computers, between 2007 and 2011, coinciding with the advent of modern mobile
phones or smartphones, which were already beginning to integrate technology that
would allow them to connect to the Internet via WiFi or second- or third-generation
networks (2G-GSM and 3G)...etc. Thus, for the first time we had access to a portable
device which was continually connected to the Internet, unifying SMS with the first
messaging applications.
Today there are a number of messaging applications available on smartphone,
and although the concept is still still pretty similar to how it was 30 years ago, we
cannot say that the experience is the same. Thanks to technological advances,
written communication has already surpassed that of spoken in many
countries and cultures.
Professionally, for example, we depend almost exclusively on digital channels to
communicate with our customers, suppliers and even our colleagues. In our personal
lives, many people already use Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or Skype more than
they make phone calls. In fact, messaging has become so prevalent that our use
of it is greater than the use of VoIP and traditional phone calls combined. This is
not the result of the whims of large corporations, device manufacturers of software
engineers; it is us, the people, who have forced technology to adapt in order to
meet our needs and therefore, we use it to communicate in ways that suits us,
depending on the time or place.
There is an unwritten rule that phoning someone after a certain time of night is
unacceptable; but this rule does not apply to instant messaging. The recipient can
simply choose to ignore the message, or answer it later. This is one direct advantage
messaging apps have over oral conversation; the asynchronicity in communication
results in a calmer, more uncomplicated experience, that means we won’t be forced
to drop what we’re doing at a moment’s notice in order to converse with someone.
We cannot pause a conversation in real life and later continue when we left off, we
don’t have the ability to remember all the conversations we have with the people we
interact with on a day to day basis.

47
We can remember an idea, a feeling, or an association of concepts, depending on the
nature or the transcendence of the information itself, but we cannot pretend that time
hasn’t passed since we last saw and talked to one another. Even if we can remember
the subject of what we discussed, we can not totally recover the conversation.
The simultaneity with which information exchange takes place is what defines the
communication type. In the framework of CMC (computer mediated communication),
it has already been established that communication is synchronous when the
information is exchanged in real time simultaneously, and asynchronous when the
exchange is interleaved not simultaneous.
Technology has made it possible for written communication to be both synchronous
and asynchronous at the same time, thanks to messaging applications.
Another advantage of instant messaging communication is that it allows us to keep
a history of our conversations. It helps us to remember things like where we were
supposed to meet for a birthday party, how much we had to chip in for the gift, or if
our cousin finally managed to RSVP. This way, you don’t need to interact with people
again to gather the same information, your conversation keeps a record that you can
consult whenever you want, instantly.
Messaging apps allow me to chat in live time, add videos
and pictures, see if other people are online, see if they’ve viewed
my message, go back through old chats easily.

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People machines:
lost in translation?
We know that one of the biggest trends in technology for 2020 is Artificial
Intelligence (AI). Forrester has suggested that compared to the previous year,
investment will grow more than 300% before the end of 2017.
The best studies and the most cutting-edge laboratories have long been
developing the systems and algorithms needed to create more “human” machines.
The main stakeholders in this evolution are those who establish direct contact
with their customers or consumers. Because people are already accustomed to
conversation that flows naturally in the form of text, following expressions and
speech patterns used in oral conversation, brand communication is expected
through the same channels, and with the same rules applied. Currently, the
best way to reduce the cost of this kind of service is through the use of virtual bots
or assistants.
While there is still much to be explored in the field of social interactions between
machines and people, it’s clear that we want something that resembles the way
in which we relate to other people in real life. Therefore, we need to understand
how the way we think and the way technology works can be reconciled, in order to
provide solutions that improve our form and quality of life, with as natural a syntax
as possible.

49
How does it work?
To begin with, any application, device or service that establishes
human-machine communication will go through at least one of the
following processes:
1 - Receiving the message
The ASR (automatic speech recognition) technology is responsible for
interpreting voice waves and converting them into text. This field has evolved
a lot in recent years, especially in terms of speech-to-text translation,
although application is still difficult due to implicit problems related to
security (there is no way of differentiating complex patterns in waves so
that we might differentiate between tones), and it is already possible to use
complete systems through the use of wizards with ASR technologies.
There is still one thing that needs real improvement; emotional recognition.
Important advances in the field of medical robotics have already taken place,
but in the future we can expect countless applications capable of judging
emotion and mood. Sometimes we’re just in a need of a pick me up, couldn’t a
computer do that for us if it were programmed to detect differences in mood?
2 - Understand the message
NLP algorithms (natural language processing) are used to convert
natural text messages, either by direct keyboard input or by ASR module,
into information structures that are comprehensible to the systems that
interpret the orders or information entered.
The beginnings of the NLP go back to 1950, when Alan Turing formulated a
theory in his article Computing machinery and intelligence. It wasn’t until a little
later, during the Georgetown experiments of 1956, that IBM and Georgetown
University jointly conducted a demonstration in which a machine was able
to perform a series of translations from English into Russian in real time. At
that time the technology available was able to understand around 60 words;
scientists and engineers thought that mastering this technology would be
easy. They estimated that in five years they would be able to analyse the
human voice and translate the language spoken into any other almost
perfectly. Obviously they were mistaken; it was not until the 1980s, following

50
Moore’s Law, that noteworthy results began to be obtained in terms of
comprehension, analysis and the translation of words.
Most NPL algorithms work by breaking down information into smaller parts:
using basic syntax and morphology rules and an extensive dictionary, it
is able to split sentences into words irreducibly creating a syntactic tree.
Thanks to this tree, computers can more easily interpret the instructions
given to them, analysing who the subject, verb and complements are and
then interpolating that request into a list of programmed instructions. If the
entered instruction exists and is identified, then it will be executed, otherwise
it will return an indication of the impossibility of completing that task.
The phrase “Siri call mom”, for example, would be broken down as follows:
Source: (Online parser)
It is logical to think that the literal comprehension of words does not
involve the same complexity as the semantic analysis of a sentence
and its subsequent interpretation. Models of transformational grammar
designed by famous linguists such as Noam Chomsky, did not solve the
problem of how a machine should analyse a sentence with meaning.
Back in the 1950s, Turing believed that the question was not whether a
machine could think or not, but whether a machine could reproduce the
capabilities that are possible thanks to the ability to think.
It was already known that technological evolution would force us to build
a computational cognitive capacity, capable of memorising concepts,
understanding situations, solving problems, applying analogies...etc., the
problem has always been the technical limitations, which make it very
difficult to apply certain concepts in a functional way.

51
Current status: loading.
To give you an idea, the difficulty of constructing a logical order from natural language
is so great that even the most advanced systems and algorithms nowadays are
unable to process instructions containing a series of concatenations and conditions
that exceed a certain complexity threshold. For example:
“Hi Siri, find a restaurant near me where I haven’t been in the last 2 months that is
available during my free time and has hamburgers on offer and a window table, please.”
Test it out for yourselves. Depending on the assistant and its programming, it will
provide a more or less accurate answer; it will look for a nearby restaurant and
perhaps know if there are hamburgers or not, but problems will arise when it comes
to constructing the conditioning criteria of the request...not because we do not have
the necessary information to complete it, but because of the intrinsic complexity
of evaluating different conditions and applying a unified final answer. Worst-case
scenario, we’ll be rewarded with a nice BBQ meal out.
The following diagram depicts the breakdown of the statement under different
conditions.
Principal idea or instruction:
Find a restaurant: Thanks to word and expression detection, we can link words
and expressions to a specific action or set of actions. For
example in this case, a google search for “restaurant”.
Conditions:
1 - Close
First criterion found; location.
That I haven’t been to in the last 2 months during my free time
2 - Not been to in the last 2 months
If we have a list of restaurants you’ve visited in the last two months, we can filter
the final results so that they don’t show up.
3 - During my free time
A complex condition, since it would affect the first part of the sentence, but if we
know that working time is from 9am to 6pm, we can also filter the results that are
recorded in that range of hours.

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4 - Discount Hamburgers
Another condition, the restaurant must have a discount on hamburgers.
5 - Table with window
Last but not least, the restaurant should have a table next to a window.
By representing the information in this simple way we can draw two important
conclusions:
The more information available, the more accurate the answer.
Such information should be provided by individuals, organisations and
companies alike in order to improve the end user experience.
This means that we will not be able to query personalised information from a
machine if it does not have access to our logs or data history (purchasing, travel,
web traffic, social media activity), just as we cannot ask a travel agent what our ideal
destination would be if they do not know anything about us. The ideal (or logical)
situation would be for us to decide whether or not we want to provide this information.
Therefore, the difference is quite small; the degree of customisation of the services
we receive, both online and offline depends on us.
We therefore understand that the way in which a machine thinks is based, more
or less, on large data sets and a series of predefined logical instructions. Artificial
intelligence, for the moment, is dependant on the human mind or the minds
that conceive of it.
A more recent idea, fostered in part by science fiction, posets that human beings
will come to create self-aware artificial intelligence capable of developing their own
ideas and drawing conclusions independently. In science fiction, these bots are often
a threat to humanity. Well, it’s plausible in theory, but for the time being and without
entering into a philosophical debate, it is people who provide machines with their
“intelligence”, therefore the idea that a machine could develop self-awareness is
one that’s difficult to comprehend. Although they are capable of achieving things
that humans can not, for example two chatbots that were able to develop a more
optimised version of the language for which they had been programmed.
Google has announced that its next product, Google Home Mini, will have a basic
voice command interface, similar to their competitors, like Amazon’s Alexa. The
interesting thing is that this device will centralise the control of other domestic
devices, something like universal voice command. Google has been creating devices
that form part of a home ecosystem for some time now. Smart homes are the next
logical step. The model being followed by the big technology companies invites us to
believe that everyday electronic devices will soon become even more interconnected,

53
collaborating with one another in order to improve the end user experience. You could
use a house phone to talk to someone connected to your computer, or to answer
a call. If you were having trouble locating your smartphone in amongst the sofa
cushions, you could ask your home assistant to make it vibrate or ring. The device in
charge of interpreting your instructions may not be the same device that executes the
command, but all devices are aware of one another and understand which device is
capable of what function; playing music, listening, thinking, storing, heating food...etc.
Horoscope: what the future
of brand communication looks like
for marketers.
The technological frontiers that future providers of services will be forced to confront
will be largely ethical, because they will directly affect privacy as we understand
it today. The understanding that our data is not only being continuously tracked,
monitored and analysed, but also stored, may affect consumer confidence in certain
companies, but inevitably, society will adapt.
We all know someone who compulsively deactivates access to the location of their
mobile phone because they’re afraid somebody else is tracking their movements. Well,
it’s possible in theory (your device may have malware installed), but in practice that
information is simply being used to generate offers personalised to the user.

54
Spotlight on: BBC
Consumer context: Social care
Automation and human centricity
During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the BBC launched a WhatsApp group aimed primarily
at users in West Africa, utilising the region’s most popular messaging app. Those who
joined the group received 1-3 messages a day, and were provided with the latest
public health information, preventative care tips, and alerts. The service was free,
multilingual, and part of a wider campaign that took place via traditional media outlets like
radio and television.
“The BBC is trusted by millions...so we are stepping up our efforts to reach people with
timely information,” Director of the World Service Group, Peter Horrocks.
The BBC was the first media organisation to use WhatsApp to reinforce their journalistic
efforts. During their coverage of the 2014 Indian elections, the BBC encouraged their
subscriber base to react to developments in the election via Emoji. This resulted
in a massive increase in engagement, and the experience helped the BBC to
understand which formats worked most effectively;
“One of the things we learned [from the Indian election WhatsApp campaign] was that short
audio clips worked really effectively,” explained Trushar Barot, apps editor at the BBC World
Service, “as people can download and play them at their leisure and share them easily.”
Users in regions with lower literacy rates and low bandwidth, also benefitted from the
receipt of audio messages. More recently the Delhi Police in India introduced an anti-
corruption WhatsApp number where users could send photographic or video evidence
of policemen acting inappropriately, applying excessive force, failing to do their duty or
taking bribes. Within the first 24 hours they received roughly 23,000 messages,
which led to the booking of six policemen on charges.
Case study

55
It is often the case that when people generalise about a service (more often than
not, a digital service) that service ends up evolving rapidly to meet consumer
demand. Normally change means a reduction in process time, an improvement
on the visual interface, or a change in the way people interact with each other, but
generally speaking the change comes in the form of the experience - an experience
which engages the senses, without detriment to usefulness or practicality.
This is not to say that we should change everything we do - it means that we
will do the same things differently, and quite possibly in a more pleasureable
way. As humans, once our basic needs are met we begin to seek actions that
will stimulate and please our senses. Little by little, technology has made it
possible to automate tedious and costly processes, thereby increasing
efficiency. For a few years on, in addition to efficiency we have begun to
incorporate speed (immediacy or real time) and natural speech patterns into our
interactions within these interfaces. New spaces which are able to stimulate and
be stimulated by all the senses; interconnected ecosystems which are present
in our homes, offices, cities; decentralised services and access to information
and knowledge in a new personalised format. In short, new services will emerge
that we have yet to discover but we are sure that they will not only make our lives
easier, but more enjoyable.
One question you may be asking yourself, do we need to create our own
channel for communication or messaging app? Not necessarily. Instead, we
should develop a model of collaboration between different already established
platforms and applications, like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or WeChat, that
provide us with the most important thing: an audience. Additionally, most platforms
have their own engine or development environment, which facilities the integration
of micro-services performed by third parties. The most common of these types
of application are Bots. Many brands are already tripping over themselves trying
to implement this new technology which, far from a novel concept, has managed
to establish itself as an almost indispensable service for brands in digital
environments. Asking for information, placing an order, management queries - all
from the same application with which you chat with friends or speak with family - it
just makes sense.
It’s clear that the user experience is more important than the channel (or channels)
being used. Messaging apps are massive, and so, we must act now and take
advantage of what is on offer - though we can’t ignore the possible disadvantages
or potential complications, such as sensation intrusion, which becomes even more
invasive within a personal space like a mobile phone, and even easier to avoid when
users can uninstall an application in seconds.

56
Communication strategies involving messaging technologies are responsible for an
evolution in the field of advertising; the customer is no longer merely a spectator, but
an active participant.
A message from a brand, through a messaging app of our choice, personalised
and relevant, is not the same thing as a general email newsletter which, more
often than not, ends up in Spam. Notice that a new book by our favourite author is
on sale, and the ability to buy that book and have it delivered within a few hours
thanks to a fully integrated sales system within the application itself - that’s the
difference.
In both cases, the objective is the same, but both the approach and experience
are totally different. It is also important to make ourselves available across multiple
channels. By doing this, we position ourselves closer to the interests of the individual
consumer, which will ensure our audience feels more comfortable engaging with our
brand. We must understand that, in any case, it is people who decide how we interact
with the digital world, and these people are increasingly interested in accessing
services and customer support in a variety of ways, across a number of different
applications which affect a variety of senses.
If we consider the technological advances made over the last few years, as well as the
way in which we use technology, it becomes easier to understand why it makes so
much sense that all our devices be inter-connected: we have devices that relate
to every sense - hearing, sight, taste, smell and touch. For example, if we want to send
a text we use a keyboard, if we want to record a sound we use a microphone, if we’re
a video gamer we use a controller, and if we want to immerse ourselves in a virtual
reality we use a VR headset.
Messaging applications serve to keep people connected, but they have changed the
way we interact and communicate with brands; everything is now more accessible,
faster and much easier.

57
Spotlight on: Hellmann’s
Consumer context: Entertainment
Ingredients for success
Hellmann’s Mayonnaise wanted to establish a reputation as that ingredient you first reach
for when you’re trying to salvage a meal, or create something out of nothing. To do this,
they created a website where users were invited to register their mobile number, and in
return, receive authentic master classes in cooking, taught by a team of expert chefs,
through WhatsApp. The process was both simple and brilliant; users could take a
photo of the inside of fridge, indicating the number of ingredients they already had access
to, and they were then rewarded with a personalised cooking tutorial that would help
them get the most out of what they had in stock - all centred around an essential
protagonist - Hellmann’s Mayonnaise.
Hellmann’s leveraged every feature available on WhatsApp in order to create a full
and engaging user experience by incorporating the sending of photos, videos and voice
messages into the campaign - generating content in multiple formats and creating true
branded storytelling - conquering the minds and stomachs of their audience.
The campaign, which was originally launched in Brazil in 2014, was replicated in
Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, impacting more than 5 million people.
More than 13,000 people registered (1 out of every 2 visitors to the site registered their
phone number), and 99.5% of users were satisfied with the solution offered by their
chef. The tag indicates that, on average, each user interacted 65 minutes with the tag.
Video
Case study

58
In conclusion.
As we’ve seen, the way users communicate has changed considerably over the
past few years. These more intimate and more complex spaces have been out of
reach for many companies, but with knowledge of new user habits and a new set
of possibilities provided by developers, there are now far more opportunities for
brands to join in.
We can conclude from this study:
Messenger apps are the leading digital platforms for users in terms of time
spent, and they are broadly accepted among all kind of users.
The degree to which users allow brands into their private spaces is dependent on
the value proposition. Generic and intrusive communications are not welcome.
Users are willing to use messenger apps as a platform to receive new services
from brands. Furthermore, they perceive brands that develop new services
through messenger apps as innovative and friendlier.
Messenger apps are an ideal channel in which to develop a new way of
interacting with your customers. Services such as customer support, sales or
commercial information can be delivered in a more user-friendly way and with
immediate advantages in terms of effectiveness and costs.
The success of all these initiatives is conditioned by the policies applied by app
developers, divided between gaining user loyalty and monetisation.
Artificial Intelligence is a big ally for brands as it combines lower operational
costs with the ability to understand and offer users personalised proposals.

59
#REBELTHINKING
We are Good Rebels
We create experiences at the intersection of people, brands and technology.
Our purpose is to improve the companies relationships with their clients, their
employees and society as a whole. We inspire organizations to focus on people,
boosting the short-term results, while we enable them for tomorrow’s disruptive
scenarios.
We believe the most solid organisations are those focused on people. Those who work
their human relationships as an intrinsic part of the business. Those which respond to
the demands of different social actors so as to generate value and transcendence.
We are powered by 130 Rebels working from 6 offices in the UK, Europe and Latin
America. Our work currently spans over 30 clients, across 9 countries and in 15
languages.
REBEL THINKERS
Iñaki Bagazgoitia
Julio Fernández-Sanguino
Judith Garijo
Adam Gill
Pedro Jesús González
Amelia Hernández
Natasha Morrison
Mark Ralphs
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Ellen Thomas
CONTACT
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