Tablets are not a new concept, as they have been around for years. "The spiritual pioneer of tablets can be considered Alan Key's Dynabook, invented in 1968," Chiang said. Less than a decade later, the Apple graphics tablet in 1979 surfaced, followed by the Gridpad in 1989, the Newton in 1993, the Fujitsu 2300 pen computer in 1998, the Compaq tablet in 2006, and the Apple iPad in 2010.
Tablets have prepped consumers for a richer content experience, as well as additional bells and whistles that applications offer, Chiang said. Smartphone TV apps from GetGlue, Miso and WiO, for example, enable viewers to chat about shows in progress and feed an insatiable appetitie for content, all driven by their social sharing mechanics.
Tablet apps may be a "fantastic extension of the web", but Chiang cautioned that an app is not in itself a mobile marketing strategy, but a tool for that.
The tablet industry is continuously molding the way people consume and communicate. "Because of tablets, consumers are now accustomed to portable technology and addicted to content, so to speak," Chiang commented. "Tablets are funky, amazing, and very intuitive even for 2-year-olds."
Gartner's April findings pointed to the coaxing nature of tablets: 43 per cent of people are spending more time on their tablets than on their laptops, desktops, and even televisions.
In China particularly, 60 million tablets are expected to be sold by 2015, up from 6.9 million in 2010. By 2014, the country will own 58 per cent of the global tablet market.
Chiang detailed some ways brands can take advantage of these trends. "They’re another mobile device, but they’re not just another device, and certainly they should not be considered in a silo, but as part of the overall marketing-communications strategy".
Tablets are moving to dominate the 5- to 15-inch screen spectrum battleground—a category that sits perfectly between remotes, phones, GPS, notebooks, desktops and televisions, but its relatively small screen size limits brand canvasses, he remarked.
That means brands should "think beautiful, not just big", he said. Also, "make enhanced functionality your friend; take advantage of the integration of video, sound, and text into an interactive touchscreen-based platform."
In his presentation, he also stated how Nielsen China's ‘Three Screen Report’ in 2010 showed that among Shanghai households, nearly half (44 per cent) engaged in ‘simultaneous viewing’, with levels slightly higher during the week than on weekends.
The impact of this on advertising, Chiang said, is to ditch the 30-second TVC model and create content that is more immersive and rich. "It is critical that brands and agencies alike better understand how and why more and more content are consumed via multiple platforms at the same time, in order to market more effectively," he concluded.
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