Satama operates also another corporate blog: The Conversion Cronicles. It is dedicated into the world of web analytics and search engine marketing.
In his latest article, Senior Analyst Steve Jackson discusses the means to finding and reaching audience utilising web analytics. Read more from here.

Companies increasingly have to deliver holistic customer experiences where the brand is core and products and services are merely a part of an entire network of rapidly changing customer touch points and devices.Successful experience design is defined by context-rich and holistic research and design methods, starting already in the very early phases of the development process. An essential driver within this holistic approach is a good understanding of the overall context of use.

Customer experiences are determined by interactions with the whole brand, not just with a particular product or service. A company can differentiate itself at every point at which it comes in contact with its customers.

This Satama Voice Insight was authored by Satama’s Senior Design Consultant Boyd de Groot and was also published earlier in the July-August issue of Interactions, an international bi-monthly magazine for designers of interactive products published by ACM SIGCHI.

Dowload the Insight from here. (PDF, 250k)

Studies show that consumers have a positive perception of mobile marketing, the new Act on Data Protection in Electronic Communications has clearly defined the rules of play, and innovative campaigns throughout the world work like a charm. Despite this, mobile marketing in Finland is still very much in its baby shoes. The blame for this can be squarely laid at the feet of advertising and media agencies.

The biggest sin committed by mobile marketing in Finland is that it is not designed as a long-term part of other marketing, nor is any thought even given to how it relates to other marketing. Thus, mobile marketing is a separate unit, nothing more than a singularity floating in space – its maximum potential remains unrealized.

Finnish advertising and media agencies are not able or willing to look beyond text message campaigns. Advertising agencies aren’t pitching new, innovative mobile campaigns to their clients and media agencies aren’t making space for these on their palettes. The philosophy is: Stick to the proven formula.

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In this interview Mark Maher continues his series of interviews with Satama professionals and other digital culture leaders. This time, Mark talks with Martijn van Welie about his Mobile TV Insight paper which is available here.

MM: I like that you openly acknowledge mobile TV is a technology people may simply not want. Yet then you advise that we should gear up for the launch. How confident are you in the success of Mobile TV?

MvW: Good question - and a hard one to answer! There are so many factors that play a role in its success. When I tried Mobile TV on a Nokia N92 I immediately thought “This is something that people will want to use”. It was a true case of ’seeing is believing’ for me - as it has been for many others. Compared to the current offerings of Mobile TV over UMTS, I think products such as the N92 are really a step forward in terms of user experience, so I’m quite hopeful. On the other hand, I see the discussion on pricing models, business models, licenses and even technical standardization being ‘worrying’ to say the least. It could be that we are dealing with a technology that people want but which may be commercially difficult to offer. I don’t know if Mobile TV as it is currently depicted will be successful, but I feel quite confident that TV on your mobile, and other small devices, will be a normal thing in the near feature.

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With this interview Mark Maher begins his series of Satama Voice interviews with Satama professionals and other digital culture leaders. Mark chose to talk with Tommi Pelkonen about his Youth Marketing in the Broadband Era Insight paper which is available here.

MM: A central point you make about the future of youth marketing (and marketing generally) is that – if I can paraphrase – we should try to develop “friendships” not just offer “moments”. Do you see marketing as a force that is gradually taking the place of our personal relationships?

TP: People’s relationships with each other will always differ from the ones they have with corporations. Yet companies’ products and services in the post-modern world more and more form the framework within which people find the things and phenomena they would like to associate with. If brands can trigger consumers to “listen” to their statements and feel an emotional bond for one brand over another, they can gain a real advantage.

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Buying a corporate web site must be pretty difficult and a nerve-wrecking experience. Eventually you end up surrounded by a legion of consultants who are asking tough questions about your publication processes and workflows. And they won’t take a no for an answer, a workflow must be defined, a process must be created. Like death or taxes, workflows and processes are compulsory, those cannot be avoided.

The buyer gets confused.

From this confusion spawns a solution: A Content Management System. A huge system that allows everything to be either configurable or extendable, no content publication related problem is small enough to be overlooked by the CMS. The CMS is everywhere, it is required everywhere, and it solves every problem. It’s like snake oil, silver bullet, the holy grail and – unfortunately – the big brother all wrapped-up together. A golden reminiscent from those glorious days when computers were large enough to fill up entire rooms and they were operated by men in white coats performing miracles.

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In the autumn of 2005, Satama set to find out what kinds of goals Finnish companies in eight lines of business have set for sales and self-service in electronic channels. At the same time a survey was carried out about what benefits (such as lower costs or increase of sales) were sought from the use of electronic channels and what obstacles stood in the way of achieving those goals. We are happy to share this opinion with interested companies. Send an invitation to get us to tell you more or ask more information by e-mail helsinki@satama.com or contact Vesa Ilmarinen.

Hip, wired, cool, outgoing, active, insecure, constantly online – is this the image of the youngster or young-minded person marketers are chasing after? Why is this segment so important? What should modern marketers know about the digital channel and how should they use it? How can they reach this important market and how should they communicate with it?

The second Satama Voice Insight discusses these topics and offers ideas on marketing planning for the youth segment, and beyond. Please download the document and feel free to also give input and comments below.

Insight #2: Youth Marketing (PDF, 6.8 MB)

Ever since Real Networks came to marketing in mid 1990s, tech-savvy people have been eagerly exploring the possiblities of streaming media content through the internet. It all started with radio and sports (and adult stuff). Yet over the past year the introduction of media centers and home streamers (e.g. Streamium, Kiss Technology, MS Mediacenters etc.), IPTV and recordable PVR with an internet connection, have changed the situation dramatically. It’s now possible to access streams not only through PC, but also with a modern set-top-box connected to the livingroom telly.

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Having deja-VU like me? Remember the Sony Watchman? When I was still in school it was the hottest thing around, then it quietly disappeared. Mobile TV is the next hot topic in the telecom industry. Nokia is pushing it heavily. Several trials are being held in Finland and the Netherlands and the discussion concerning licences, content providers, broadcasters and new revenue models is heating up! At Satama we think that Mobile TV has a good chance of making it this time - as long as the user experience is good enough. After all, the end-user must like it. The playing field of Mobile TV is quite interesting and involves new players, new business models and new content. Read what we think at Satama about Mobile TV, and how we think the user experience can be improved:

Insight #1: Mobile TV (PDF, 5.6 MB)