IMMINENT TECHNOLOGY PILOTS THE FUTURE OF CONTENT

AMPING UP BRAND EXPERIENCES

UM Labs is your next thing now…

Our lab is designed to breathe innovation into our brands’ existence and accelerate ideas that bring media-as-innovation to life.

UM Labs is UM MENA’s innovation and strategic technology product, empowered with a research and development engine. We do not pause on catalyzing new

ways of implementing innovation driven solutions to our clients/brands.

Our conviction is leveraging bottom-up, innovation culture and momentum to generating assertions about larger ideas, trends and movements. With our

intelligence-fueling arm we stimulate our clients and ourselves in a landscape of cultural innovation

Everyday, we are in pursuit of ‘APIness’. We believe that the more intimate technology becomes, the greater responsibility we have for how we use it to our

brand’s audience, bringing global formats exclusively to UM MENA’s clients.

We breathe innovation into UM MENA’s DNA, and generate great ideas into the real world for our audiences to see, and our partners to be happy about!

LET’S WELCOME...

& 2017THE NEXTFEW YEARS

CONTENT

THE NEXT YEARS OF

TECHNOLOGY POWERED

TO BE PART OF THE FUTURE OF LOOMING CONTENT?

ARE YOU READY

FOREWORDHello fellow friends, partners, and geeks. Living at the heart of the most dynamic industry, saying that technology has altered the way we devour media would be a huge understatement; technology has revolutionized every way we think of content. iTunes distorted the music industry for a lifetime, Facial recognition, drones, and a galore of technologies overlay a dynamic content mix with reality and video only to enduringly heighten modes of human expression and social interaction, digitally and physically.

Does technology spur the content, or does our appeal to design innovative and personal content push us to hunt for unprecedented technologies that can best relay our experiences to a wide audience?

As video content takes our attention span from written content, we notice a massive change in how we consume media. With the market’s overall hunger for content and services offered via technology steadily increasing, whilst technology and content consumption inarguably go hand in hand, how do we determine what comes first in the thinking process? We owe 2017’s tech awe start to the CES 2017. With the likes of PowerRay the aquatic drone, which dives down to 100 feet under the surface to broadcast live-streaming to your mobile and even VR goggles, Polaroid making a come back with Pop, and 360 video production democratized with the Wink PTU spherical camera, can we finally begin jumping on more agile and innovative means of creating content using technology?

We at UM Labs, alongside TrendWatching have learnt how technology will steer the formation and evolution of content in the next three years. We had our share of fun tracking and unleashing new ways to discover and testing novelty ways of creating dynamic tech fuelled content, all discoverable in this stimulating playbook.

As always, Happy Innovating with UM Labs

RASHA RTEILHead of Innovation @ UM MENA | UM Labs

CREATIVITY GETS AUTOMATEDAI DESIGNED

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DIGITAL EXPERIENCES AND STATUSVIRTUAL REALITY TAKES FLIGHT

THE CURATED SELFLIVESTREAMING, SELFIES AND MORE

INVERTING THE PYRAMID NEW CONTENT INFLUENCERS

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44

50

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THE OFFLINE AND ONLINE WORLDS MERGEAR AND BEYOND

TEAR UP THE RULEBOOKMESSAGING APPS DELIVER

CATERING TO THE INDIVIDUALDATA-SHAPED PERSONALISATION

FLUID IDENTITIES ANONYMITY AND CONTENT CREATION

New technologies are reaching consumers sooner than expected. Recall the autonomous innovations that experts were forecasting for 2020, 2040 and beyond? They’re already here – and they’re already reshaping (and creating) the digital content consumers are interacting with.

In 2017 and beyond, artificially intelligent software won’t just be used to master monotonous or physical tasks or help shoppers find the cheapest deal online. Instead it will step into a sphere previously considered to be a uniquely human trait: creativity. And what’s more, AI will create and curate content more quickly, more efficiently and perhaps more cheaply than before. In a world dominated by concerns about job displacement, the fight between ‘artificial’ and ‘artisanal’, it’s not all bad news….

AI DESIGNED In 2017 and beyond, artificially

intelligent software won’t just be

used to master monotonous or

physical tasks or help shoppers find

the cheapest deal online.

Consumers’ concerns around AI will dissipate once they experience the cheaper/easier/faster benefits it can bring. And once they’ve experienced – or are at least aware of – the delights of AI, they’ll start asking why every brand they interact with isn’t leveraging it.

FEAR FADES

AI (and its key ingredients) is the hot topic for nearly every post-grad, start-up and tech giant. Research departments are partnering with big ecommerce brands to develop voice recognition shopping; Intel Labs and Germany›s Darmstadt University are using Grand Theft Auto to train self-driving software.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

For every public sector institution that stifles new technology to protect jobs there’s a local authority that loosens legislation or provides grants to entice major investment. Set up by the UAE government in 2014, the International Council on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (iCAIR) awards prizes to the best uses of AI in areas including health and social services.

BUREAUCRATS TAKE THE LEAD

WHY HAS AI LEVERAGED CONTENT

AI will create and curate

content more quickly, more

efficiently and perhaps

more cheaply than before.

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CREATIVITY GETS AUTOMATED

The fight between ‘artificial’ and ‘artisanal’.

ASSUMPTIONS OVERTURNED

Initiatives including ING’s The Next Rembrandt and Watson’s Morgan trailer will challenge our notions of originality… but they won’t replace it. There will still be a place for human-developed creativity alongside AI.

IMPROVED EXPERIENCES

IntelligentX Brewing Company combine real human feedback with an automated recipe system to make the perfect brew. Consumers will be willing to interact with a bot for an improved product.

ARTIFICIAL OR ARTISANAL?

The mega-trend towards authentic, small-batch, artisanal products in recent decades has been based largely on the assumption that anything hand-crafted is somehow ‘better’ (coming from the hand of an expert) and therefore worth paying a premium for. AI designed will challenge that assumption and force everyone to up his or her creativity game.

WHO’S GOT AI IN PLACE

AI USED TO CURATE ART FROM GALLERY COLLECTION

CREATIVITY GETS AUTOMATED

Recognition is an artificial intelligence program that won a contest held by UK gallery the Tate and Microsoft. The program matches photos of current events with comparable artworks from the gallery’s extensive collection through a combination of object, facial, pattern and context recognition. The pairs of curated images are visible in a virtual gallery and the Tate’s real-world exhibition that opened in September 2016.

TRAILER FOR SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE EDITED BY IBM WATSON

In August 2016, to promote the new science fiction movie Morgan, 20th Century Fox released a trailer that was compiled by IBM Watson. Utilizing experimental Watson APIs and machine learning techniques, the system analysed hundreds of horror and thriller movie trailers. After learning what keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, the AI system suggested the best moments from the movie to use. A human editor still stepped in to create the final version, however the entire process was completed in 24 hours, versus the typical 10 to 30 days.

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HOW CAN AI BOOST YOUR BRAND’S CONTENT?

In 2017 and beyond,

artificially intelligent

software won’t just be used

to master monotonous

or physical tasks or help

shoppers find the cheapest

deal online.

BEER RECIPES PERFECTED THROUGH ALGORITHM THAT PROCESSES CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

In April 2016, the IntelligentX Brewing Company launched a beer brewed by artificial intelligence. The UK-based company utilizes an Automated Brewing Intelligence algorithm to develop recipes and collects consumer feedback via a Facebook Messenger bot. Data received is then used by IntelligentX to adjust beer recipes and brewing methods.

WORLD’S FIRST AI MUSIC PRODUCER CREATES MUSIC IN REAL TIME

Launched in September 2016, Mubert is a web-based streaming service that uses computer algorithms to produce electronic music in real time. At launch, Mubert could produce music in six different genres and has the ability to generate endless streams of melodies than last as long as the listener wants. Each stream is unique to each listener.

ALGORITHMS GENERATE A COMPLETELY NEW ‘REMBRANDT’ ARTWORK

April 2016 saw ING unveil The Next Rembrandt: a 3D-printed painting created based on big data and generated via computer algorithms. Data scientists, engineers and art historians were involved in the project, which resulted in scanning Rembrandt’s complete body of work to create a painting mimicking the look of an actual new work by the artist. Designed to create a conversation about the relationship between art and technology, the Dutch bank’s portrait consists of over 148 million pixels, based on 168,263 painting fragments.

CREATIVITY GETS AUTOMATED

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No longer a sci-fi dream thanks to cheaper and more widely available headsets, hardware developments and improving consumer understanding, virtual reality is finally arriving for many consumers across MENA. And with it comes the ability to transport users to entirely new worlds – bringing a host of content creation implications that go far beyond the now clichéd ‘immersive experiences’. The key to making VR innovations memorable and engaging once the excitement of a long-hyped new technology wears off? Keep human needs front and centre when developing VR experiences: use the technology to supercharge personal growth and development, build empathy, foster creativity… and much more!

VIRTUAL REALITY TAKES FLIGHT

DIGITAL EXPERIENCES AND STATUS

Supercharging personal

growth and development,

building empathy, and

fostering creativity.

Consumers’ concerns around AI will dissipate once they experience the cheaper/easier/faster benefits it can bring. And once they’ve experienced – or are at least aware of – the delights of AI, they’ll start asking why every brand they interact with isn’t leveraging it.

MASS ADOPTION

Iconic technologist Kevin Kelly says that the maturing of VR (and AR) technologies will force a fundamental shift: from an Internet in which information is the basic unit of currency, to one in which experiences are. And as that happens, digital experiences will come to carry a status-weight equal to ‘real’ experiences.

INTERNET OF EXPERIENCES

For the first time, virtual reality allows consumers to participate in experiences that are universally accessible (and offer a global platform for competition). Yet VR experiences will also provide unique journeys and opportunities for self-expression.

UNIVERSAL YET PERSONAL

WHY SHOULD YOU ACTIVELY CONSIDER VR

Across MENA, the

augmented and virtual

reality markets will grow

from USD 181.5 million in

2016 to more than USD 6

billion in 2020.

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HOW CAN VR AMP UPYOUR STORY

CREATIVITY CACHET

VR experiences can take many forms. So when thinking about content, don’t overlook the importance of individual creativity – see how Google’s Tilt Brush allows users to create and share a new type of digital content.

EMPATHY & EDUCATION

VR promises new frontiers of personal development beyond standard physical and mental health. Expect learning experiences that are more immersive, challenging and powerful. Whilst the 6x9 VR film cultivates empathy, Samsung’s Be Fearless campaign helps users face their phobias.

ENTERTAINMENT VS. EXPERIENCE

Stop thinking about digital experiences as entertainment and start thinking about them as platforms for status-accruing experiences. How can you create virtual experiences that consumers will value – and want to share – more than they do their experiences in the real world? See The Void and Adidas for inspiration.

APP FACILITATES VIRTUAL REALITY PAINTING

May 2016 saw Google launch Tilt Brush: an app for the HTC Vive VR headset. The free app allows people to ‘paint’ in three dimensions, using a simple handheld controller as the ‘brush’. Brushes – including ink, snow and smoke effects – and colours are selected from a virtual palette, and users can share their creations as animated GIFs.IN

VR PLATFORM ALLOWS MOVIE FANS TO EXPLORE NEW CONTENT IN TIMES SQUARE

In July 2016, immersive virtual reality theme park The Void opened a Ghostbusters experience at Madame Tussauds in New York City’s Times Square. Coinciding with the movie reboot, the 12-minute Ghostbusters: Dimension experience saw participants don VR headsets and haptic vests and walk freely around a set to capture virtual ghosts.

WHO HAS THE ELITE VR IN PLACE

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DIGITAL EXPERIENCES AND STATUS

VR HEADSETS HELP PEOPLE FACE THEIR PHOBIAS

Be Fearless – a campaign promoting Samsung’s VR headgear – saw 27 participants face their phobia of heights or public speaking in a virtual setting. Applicants were chosen from countries including Germany, Russia, Romania and the United Arab Emirates and experienced three levels of difficulty over the four-week program via VR headsets before facing their actual phobia. Evaluation of heart rate, eye movement, and self-assessment of anxiety levels were used to measure participants’ progress in the programme.

VR EXPERIENCE EXPLORES THE EFFECTS OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

In April 2016, 6x9, an immersive experience that highlights the effects of solitary confinement, was presented at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The nine-minute presentation was experienced by participants from a booth that became a prison cell when viewed with VR headsets while testimonials from prisoners and recorded prison sounds were played. Directed by Francesca Panetta, 6x9 was part of the Storyscapes project presented by AT&T featuring VR experiences and interactive storytelling.

SPORTSWEAR BRAND INSTALLS VR FITTING ROOM TO PROMOTE OUTDOOR CLOTHING COLLECTION

In November 2016, Adidas installed a virtual reality fitting room in its flagship store in Hong Kong. To simulate training in cold weather conditions, customers who used the fitting room were exposed to weather effects including audio, visual and temperature control, and were challenged to complete a ‘snow run’ game. The aim of the project was to promote the brand’s Climaheat collection.

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DIGITAL EXPERIENCES AND STATUS

From an Internet in which

information is the basic unit

of currency, to one in which

experiences are fundamental.

A diverse range of new digital technologies is driving increasingly innovative and creative forms of user-generated content. Consumers have – and will continue to – embrace a host of apps, platforms, tools and services that allow them to curate a personal brand that aligns with their personal values and tells the world something about themselves.

The deep driver here? The endless quest for status. From profiles to playlists, pictures to gaming livestreams, the online ‘brand’ is now an integral part of each individual’s identity and often a way to accrue status amongst peers. How will you help consumer leverage new digital technologies and tell stories about themselves in 2017 and beyond?

LIVESTREAMING, SELFIES, AND MORE

THE CURATED SELFPh

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90% of MENA Internet users are on social media (Ipsos MENA, November 2016). And whilst the uses for social media vary across the region, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and (amongst millennials) Snapchat, have changed consumers’ relationships with each other – and brands.

PENETRATION

Social media platforms are making photo sharing, livestreaming and location tagging easy and intuitive. At the same time, profiles aimed at different audiences (family, friends business) are, for the user, a seamless life-stream of their online identity.

TAILORED TO FIT

Online profiles are a chance to show-off creativity and share experiences – a source of social status. But many younger users are also using these platforms to find their voices and engage with the world around them. The ways in which digital media is being consumed, information is being searched for and opinions are being formed and shared is changing.

ENGAGEMENT

WHYBROADCASTINGTHE SELF

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48% of Levant

consumers use social media

to express them versus 31%

of GCC consumers.

The endless quest for status;

profiles to playlists, pictures

to gaming livestreams.

HOW CAN SELF CURATION

CASE BY CASE

When thinking about social media, it pays to keep context in mind. In the GCC, users are twice as likely to keep up with international events through social media, but much less likely to use these platforms to express themselves; in comparison to those living in the Levant region (31% of GCC consumers versus 48% of Levant users) (Ipsos MENA, November 2016).

NEW CHANNELS

Can you help users share their online content with as many people as possible? Qantas’ ‘Out Of Office’ reply service is powered by travellers’ own Instagram account – the ultimate holiday brag?

STATUS CACHET

It’s not just about the content users share online. The tools that used to create content can also provide a status hit: see Snapchat’s Spectacles and the Oppo F1s.

GCC users are 2X as likely to

keep up with international events

through social media.

SATISFY YOUR BRAND

SMART SUNGLASSES CREATE VIDEOS AT THE TAP OF A BUTTON

In September 2016, Snap Inc. released Spectacles: sunglasses with an integrated video camera that’s activated by tapping the frame. Capable of making videos lasting up to ten seconds, Spectacles feature a small light to indicate recording, and the results can be transferred to a cellphone via Bluetooth and automatically shared on Snapchat. In October 2016, Snapchat unveiled a series of Snapbot vending machines in Los Angeles, the only outlet where people could purchase Spectacles.

‘SELFIE’ SMARTPHONE HAS THE BETTER OF ITS TWO CAMERAS ON THE FRONT

The Oppo F1s is a smartphone designed for selfies. Launched in India in August 2016, the 5.5-inch cellphone has a 16MP front camera and a 13MP camera to the rear. Typically a smartphone’s front-facing camera is of lower quality than the rear one, but this device is specialized for selfies. The Oppo F1s also features a Beautify 4.0 function, which allows users to airbrush their selfies, as well as voice and palm activation to enable individuals to take selfies easily.

WHO’S SELFIE’LISHLY’ DONE IT

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THE CURATED SELF

The online ‘brand’ is now

a way to accrue status

amongst peers.

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THE CURATED SELF

INSTGRAMMED FOOD PICS DELETED TO HELP THE HUNGRY

In September 2016, US-based agricultural cooperative Land O’Lakes launched a campaign called ‘Delete to Feed’. In partnership with nonprofit Feeding America, the company invited people to delete photos of food from their Instagram accounts. Each time someone deleted an image, Land O’Lakes donated 11 meals to people in need. The initiative was designed to help raise awareness about food poverty in the US.

OUT OF OFFICE’ MESSAGE FEATURES VACATION PHOTOS

September 2016 saw the introduction of Australian airline Qantas’ ‘Out Of Office’ reply powered by travellers’ own photographs. To use the free service, people register their Instagram account and email address on the Qantas Out of Office website; entering the dates they are away, and their destination, and adding a message. Using the hashtag #qantasoutofoffice, further images can then be added; the auto-reply features a link which takes recipients to a webpage collection of Instagrammed vacation photos.

CHAT APP UNVEILS LIVE-STREAMING VIDEO DRONE

October 2016 saw WeChat introduce the Ying drone: a quadcopter dedicated to streaming video footage via the Chinese social media app. The drone has an on-board camera, which can capture 4K video, with footage being streamed at 720HD quality. For portability, Ying weighs less than one pound, and comes with a carrying case.

Across the globe, image and video creation platforms (think YouTube, Periscope and more) have reshaped traditional media models and given power to vloggers and social influencers who are leveraging these digital channels to reach ever-wider audiences.

That, combined with the fractured political environment that marked much of 2016’s discourse, had a direct impact on the English-language web, where the influence of individuals sharing information on social media surpassed that of established media platforms. And whilst trust in the media remains higher than the global average in the UAE – 59% versus 49% respectively (Edelman Trust Barometer 2016) – the importance of social influencers is only set to grow across the region.

The opportunity for brands is dual fold. Working, partnering and empowering with these new influencers ensures digital content reaches highly engaged audiences. But brands will also benefit from the increased impact and improved credibility that comes from aligning themselves with a fresh, unbiased voice.

NEW CONTENT INFLUENCERS

INVERTING THE PYRAMID

59%in the UAE, trusts in the media is at higher than the global average at 49%.

The old pyramid in which authority or elites – both society and the media – held sway over the majority has been disrupted by the epic democratization of creativity, distribution and fame, fuelled by greater digital and cultural (not economic) equality.

CREATIVE DEMOCRACY

Saudi-raised Darin Al Bayed’s YouTube channel AnaWHeya has more than 450,000 subscribers and more than 30 million views. UAE-based Hayla Ghazal, whose YouTube channel Hayla TV has more than 2.4 million subscribers, was appointed as a ‘change ambassadors’ to the UN in March 2016. These women, and many others, are creating unique, entertaining content that speaks to segments of the population often overlooked by traditional media.

DIFFERENT VOICES

New digital tools, including Facebook Live and Snapchat Stories, give new creators more platforms to share content but also offer opportunities to as yet unrecognised talents. Don’t limit your sights to the obvious distribution channels!

ACCESS TO ALL

WHY ARE INFLUENCERS PILOTS

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Don’t limit your

sights to the obvious

distribution channels.

HOW CAN THIS ‘INFLUENCE’ YOUR BRAND

EMPOWER

Facilitate the new content economy with tools that help individuals create – see Blink Inc and YouTube’s incubator space for inspiration. Or help people connect with emerging tastemakers, as the shoppable Project September does.

CROWDSOURCED

Harness the power of your creative consumers and invite them to help create new content, products, services, experiences and more. This has mutual benefits: consumers like being involved, as it builds a sense of community, and if the process is successfully managed, you’ll get a better product.

MAKE IT COUNT

The emerging crop of new content creators has a strong relationship with their followers and subscribers. It’s natural for brands to want to leverage that relationship to connect with new audiences, but the product placement or endorsement should feel natural and align with the creator’s values.

YOUTUBE TO OPEN A STUDIO FOR CONTENT CREATORS IN DUBAI

In December 2016, YouTube and Dubai Studio City announced that they are partnering to launch an incubator space in the city. Talented YouTube creators in the MENA region will have free access to high-end audio, visual and editing equipment as well as training programs, workshops and courses.

DATA ANALYSIS USED TO ENHANCE PUBLISHER’S INFLUENCER MARKETING STRATEGY

built in partnership with IBM’s Watson, Influential provides Condé Nast with the tools to offer more targeted influencer marketing strategies to its clients. Analysis of 20,000 words and emojis provides data from an influencer’s social media feed and identifies key characteristics, which resonate with the target demographic.

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INVERTING THE PYRAMID

WHO’S INFLUENTIALIN THIS UPRISING

SUPERMARKET PACKAGING FEATURES INSTAGRAM PHOTOGRAPHS

A campaign launched by Lidl Denmark in April 2016 used Instagram users’ photographs on food product packaging. The company approached photographers on the platform and offered DKK 500 Lidl gift cards (around USD 77) for each image used. The initiative aimed to involve local customers and their regions.

IMMERSIVE FASHION APP FEATURES SHOPPABLE USER-CREATED IMAGES

Available to download from April 2016, Project September is a mobile app allowing people to shop fashion and beauty products directly from user-generated images. Individuals can scroll through images – often posted by photographers, influencers, fashion bloggers and stylists – and click on shoppable green dots to purchase items featured directly from a brand’s website. Users can also follow their favourite influencers to view their latest updates, with the purchases generating commission of around 8-15%.

LOW-COST SERVICE PROVIDES PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS IN TEN MINUTES

September 2016 saw the launch of US-based instant professional photography company, Blink Inc. The service allows consumers to book shoots, see photos immediately and purchase images there and then. Designed by creative agency Raft Studio, the studio’s interior design features various black and white backgrounds, and angled walls, to ensure the lighting is suitable for the photographs to be developed instantly.

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INVERTING THE PYRAMID

In spite of the controversy that surrounded its launch in the Middle East, it’s safe to say that, in 2016, Pokémon Go bought the excitement – and potential – of AR to a wider consumer base than ever before. At the same time, on-going improvements in audio and visual recognition capabilities are freeing information searches from the constraints of text and type. Smartphone-savvy consumers across MENA have increasing expectations from AR to easily discover and map relevant and tailored digital content onto the real world, to seamlessly merge their online and offline lives.

The implications of AR when it comes to digital content are vast and far-reaching. Sophisticated services and platforms that allow consumers to attach digital, user-generated content to specific physical locations, creating new ways to sort, store, access and share relevant information, are just the beginning. So when thinking about AR and digital content – think creatively!

AR AND BEYOND

THE OFFLINE AND ONLINE WORLDS MERGE

Ever more powerful and ubiquitous smartphones, along with the accompanying apps and software, mean that people can instantly point at, detect or listen to anything they encounter (from birdsong, to maps, to food packaging).

POCKET POWER

Across the Middle East, time spent with family and friends remains an important touchpoint in an increasingly digital world. Digital content shouldn’t get in the way of those relationships, but meaningfully enhance and celebrate moments spent together.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

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WHYGOING

BEYONDOFFLINE

MATTERS

2016 bought the

excitement of AR to a

wider consumer base

than ever before.

Smartphone-savvy consumers

across MENA have increasing

expectations from AR to

seamlessly merge their online

and offline lives.

WHAT’S THE EDGE BEHIND THE MERGER

DIGITAL MEMORIES

Layering digital content onto specific places creates richer and more engaging experiences that last beyond the initial moment of interaction. Don’t overestimate the appeal of surprise that comes with rediscovering digital content or personal memories that have previously been saved to the location in which they occurred. See how Fabric automatically creates personal maps based on Facebook and Instagram accounts.

BRAND FANATICS

Engage brand fanatics with branded messages that demand participation. Could you hide AR enabled digital content or deals in surprising or hard-to-reach locations?

ULTRA-LOCAL RELEVANCE

Where and when are consumers engaging (or looking to engage with) digital content? That content will, more often than not, benefit from the relevance and context that location provides. Covent Garden’s AR app offered access to related discounts.

DUAL CAMERA OFFERS ADVANCED AR POTENTIAL

Apple (following in the footsteps of Huawei and LG, with Samsung not far behind) released the iPhone 7 Plus, its first dual camera smartphone, in September 2016. While the second camera offers better functions in terms of photography, the different lenses will also allow the device to capture depth data in real-time. As the ability to render depth and rapidly triangulate images will boost AR quality and immediacy, the availability of these devices will drive adoption of this trend higher.

INTERACTIVE AMENITY KIT FEATURES AR CONTENT

From June 2016, Emirates Economy Class passengers can access interactive content thanks to the airline’s augmented reality amenity kits. Via AR app Blippar, customers can view immersive content on their mobile devices. Six designs have been created to represent the regions Emirates serves, with kits containing items such as an eye mask, slippers and a toothbrush. Passengers can scan their amenity kit with Blippar, and view content (updated every six months) including activities and health tips.

WHO’S GONE BEYOND THE OFFLINE WORLD

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THE OFFLINE AND ONLINE WORLDS MERGE

In the Middle East, digital

content needs to enhance

and celebrate moments

spent together.

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THE OFFLINE AND ONLINE WORLDS MERGE

DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK CREATED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

August 2016 saw the release of Fabric: an app that creates an automated digital journal of people’s lives. Developed by two ex-Facebook engineers, the free mobile app uses photos from Facebook, Instagram and personal camera rolls to create a time stamped map, similar to the layout of Google Maps. The app offers a breakdown of the user’s movements by city, event, day, or company, as well as tracking time spent with friends.

AR GARDEN EXPLORES THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

The Gardens of the Anthropocene was an October 2016 installation at the Seattle Art Museum’s sculpture park, created by artist Tamiko Thiel. The digital garden showed and explored how Seattle’s ecosystem would change due to climate change. Via a dedicated mobile app, visitors were invited to view the augmented reality experience through their smartphones or tablets to see how the landscape could be altered.

SHOPPING DISTRICT UNVEILS DIGITAL EXPERIENCES VIA AR APP

Ahead of the holiday season, London’s Covent Garden unveiled a partnership with AR app Blippar. Visitors to the shopping district could download Blippar for free to access a variety of AR experiences, such as an interactive map displaying relevant discounts, stickers which could be scanned to unlock discounts and table reservations, plus scavenger hunts across the area. The interactive experiences were available during November and December 2016, involving a wide variety of restaurants, stores and attractions in Covent Garden.

Think consumers across the Middle East are saturated and overwhelmed by their hyper-connected lifestyles? Think again: across the region, technology will only become more ubiquitous, universal, and impossible to live without. Consider that 57% of Middle Eastern consumers report owning a smartphone, compared to a global median of 43% (Pew Research Center, February 2016). Smartphones and other digital devices are already the medium via which consumers across the Middle East view and interact with the world.

So what does this mean for brands and digital content? Consumers will increasingly expect brand’s communications to take place in channels they are already using – most notably messaging apps – and for that content to incorporate the fast, informal digital languages they use to speak to their friends. Because in 2017 and beyond, digital information that can cut through the daily barrage of alerts and notifications will be welcomed – and loved – by consumers across MENA.

MESSAGING APPS DELIVER

TEAR UP THE RULEBOOK

In February 2016, WhatsApp announced that, globally, one billion people were using the messaging app. Across Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, KSA, Tunisia and the UAE, 71% of consumers use WhatsApp daily (Northwestern University in Qatar, May 2016). Now, many across the region seek interactions with brands that are as easy as their conversations with friends and family.

NEW CHANNELS

At the same time, many consumers are losing interest in downloading and understanding new apps. Instead they want to seamlessly incorporate new services into the apps and platforms they’re already using – WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram and more.

APP FATIGUE

Language processing limitations might have slowed the implementation of bots across the Middle East, but consumer expectations don’t stand still. Digitally advanced consumers know that the technology exists – and they’re waiting for brands to leverage new developments (think Facebook’s Quick Reply service) and create new apps and services that suit their needs.

ENTRY BARRIERS

WHY I.M.’S ARE IMP

45

57% of Middle

Eastern consumers report

owning a smartphone,

compared to a global

median of 43%.

71% of MENA

consumers use

WhatsApp daily.

WHAT MESSAGE CAN YOU DELIVER

SEEK THE SOURCE

Think about the apps your customers are already using, and then engage a new audience with a fun campaign. See how the LACMA partnered with Disney and used Snapchat to tell stories about the artwork in the gallery’s collection.

EMOTION MATTERS

Take inspiration from Quartz and leverage more informal channels to play with the tone of your information and make it more effective and compelling. After all, speaking consumer’s language will make you closer.

PERSONIFY

Could your brand be enhanced a persona? Lokai’s Facebook Messenger chatbot helped users see through the eyes of Yeshi, and helped to make the content more relatable. Informal information is as much about the delivery style as the delivery channel.

WHO WALKED THE I.M. TALK

MUSEUM RETELLS FAIRY TALES THROUGH WORKS OF ART AND SNAPCHAT

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has partnered with Disney to launch a Snapchat campaign that retells the entertainment giant’s classic stories through works of art. The @OhMyDisney and @LACMA Snapchat accounts reimagined Beauty and the Beast in October 2016 by coupling paintings and sculptures that fit with the story with hand-drawn Snapchat overlays. The aim of the project is to make classic works of art more accessible to new audiences.

A Facebook Messenger chatbot intended to simulate the long walk some women in Ethiopia must undergo to access clean water. Created in partnership with Charity: Water, the bot simulates a two-and-a-half-hour journey with Yeshi, a young girl. During prompted conversations, Yeshi shares GIFs, videos and maps, as well as discussing her future.

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CHATBOT SIMULATES WALK TO ACCESS CLEAN WATER IN ETHIOPIA IN SEPTEMBER 2016, US-BASED JEWELLERY BRAND LOKAI CREATED WALK WITH YESHI

TEAR UP THE RULEBOOK

MENA consumer will love

you once you cut through

the daily barrage of alerts

and notifications.

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TEAR UP THE RULEBOOK

FLIGHT COMPARISON WEBSITE GENERATES RESULTS BASED ON EMOJIS

Celebrating July 2016’s World Emoji Day, Cheapflights launched a service allowing people to search for flights using emojis. Mobile users globally can insert an emoji into the search box to find flights to that destination, and the UK-based flight comparison website has matched 40 locations with popular emojis. Searching for sushi and a koala generates flight prices and times from Sydney to Japan, for example, while a Union Jack flag and a bicycle results in London to Amsterdam.

APP DELIVERS NEWS VIA CHAT-STYLE INTERFACE

Available to download from February 2016, the free Quartz mobile app delivers news in a chat-style format. The US-developed app offers an informal way to read the news, with users receiving messages, photos, emojis, GIFs and links about current affairs in a similar way to being texted by a friend. The Quartz app is designed to be used for a few minutes at a time, allowing people to catch up on headlines, stay informed and entertained, as if they were chatting.

In the online world, where each individual’s preferences and tastes reign supreme, customized products, services and experiences have evolved from extraordinary to expected. And tailored products and services have a direct correlation to loyalty: 65% of affluent middle-class customers in the UAE feel more loyal towards brands that know who they are and treat them differently (Collinson Group, October 2016).

Amongst younger and affluent Middle Eastern consumers, the online experience has fuelled a new sense of personal identity and facilitated new types of personalization. For these hyper-connected consumers, customization is near effortless; the expression of one’s likes, dislikes (and everything in-between) is easy and constant.

So in 2017 and beyond, consumers of all ages will expect brands (with permission, of course!) to leverage the vast data trails their online activities create to offer unique and tailored digital content, marketing, products and services. What are you waiting for?

DATA-SHAPED PERSONALISATION

CATERING TO THE INDIVIDUAL

65% of affluent middle-

class customers in the UAE feel

more loyal towards brands that

know who they are.

For the hyper-connected

consumers, their need and

demand for customization

from a brand should be near

effortless.

For Middle Eastern consumers who want to tell stories, customised products and services still hold cachet over every-day, mass-produced objects. And consumers’ expectations are increasingly primed by the online space, where the opportunity to personalise is a given.

STATUS HIT

Iconic technologist Kevin Kelly says that the maturing of VR (and AR) technologies will force a fundamental shift: from an Internet in which information is the basic unit of currency, to one in which experiences are. And as that happens, digital experiences will come to carry a status-weight equal to ‘real’ experiences.

THE INDIVIDUAL

For the first time, virtual reality allows consumers to participate in experiences that are universally accessible (and offer a global platform for competition). Yet VR experiences will also provide unique journeys and opportunities for self-expression.

DATA DOMINANT

WHY DATA DOMINATE

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HOW CAN BRAND CONTENT BENENIT

FICTION / REALITY

Developments in facial recognition, biometric sensing, brainwave readers, algorithms and more offer new options for personalization and allow consumers to discover their personal preferences with minimum effort. eBay’s pop-up helped shoppers find the perfect gift.

EXPLORE CONTEXTS

New technologies and more sophisticated data collection allow almost anything to be an actionable context, from emotional state to attention span. See how Netflix served up adverts based on user’s YouTube searches.

KNOW YOU BETTER

Spotify’s data-driven Release Radar was built on the insight that the brand understands users better than anyone. A truly useful recommendation service that allows users to extend their listening circle whilst providing the status hit that comes with discovering ‘new’ can help to overcome any privacy concerns.

SNAP INC. BUYS A PREMIUM PROGRAMMATIC CREATIVE AD PLATFORM

To be fair, the most successful digital ads have to be custom made for the social platform. Snap bought advertising technology Flite —a company that allows brands to adapt ads to multiple platforms. The camera technology company is hopeful this will lead to quicker ways to create custom ads for specific target audiences.

BRAND INTRODUCES PERSONALIZED NEW-RELEASE WEEKLY PLAYLIST

In August 2016, Spotify rolled out Release Radar, offering listeners personalized playlists of brand-new music. Appearing in the New Releases for You section within the Discover section on mobile and desktop, Release Radar curates two hours of new music from favourite artists, along with suggestions based on the user’s recent listening habits. More than half of Discover Weekly’s users save at least one song, listen to at least 10 tracks each week and come back the next week.

WHO’S DEVOURED DATA FOR BETTER CONTENT

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CATERING TO THE INDIVIDUAL

Consumers’ expectations

are increasingly primed by

the online space.

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PERSONALIZED YOUTUBE PRE-ROLL ADS BASED ON USERS’ SEARCHES

In March 2016, Netflix began streaming all ten seasons of Friends. Ahead of the release in France, Netflix showed pre-roll ads of selected scenes from the popular TV series on YouTube. Each scene from the show was related to the individual’s YouTube search. For example, if a user had searched for cat videos, an advert showing a scene from Friends featuring a cat was played before the video they selected.

ETAILER USES FACIAL RECOGNITION TO FIND THE PERFECT GIFTS

The Gardens of the Anthropocene was an October 2016 installation at the Seattle Art Museum’s sculpture park, created by artist Tamiko Thiel. The digital garden showed and explored how Seattle’s ecosystem would change due to climate change. Via a dedicated mobile app, visitors were invited to view the augmented reality experience through their smartphones or tablets to see how the landscape could be altered.

AUTOMAKER’S ‘HYPER-TARGETED’ FACEBOOK ADS KNOW WHAT INTERESTS YOU

January 2016 saw Toyota unveil a personalized ad campaign on Facebook for its US-based users. The automaker’s campaign for the RAV4 vehicle built each ad from a collection of 100 individual clips, with videos created based on Facebook profile data, and designed to suit users’ specific interests. Ads included three different clips each, with a potential 100,000 versions of the campaign possible.

CATERING TO THE INDIVIDUAL

Online, identity is a source of experimentation. Snapchat – popular with youth across the Middle East – includes filters that allow users to overlay special effects to their images and videos. Whilst these filters are primarily fun tools that enhance a user’s profile, they’re creating new expectations around digital personalization and reshaping the ways in which identity can be presented and shared online.

The next evolution of this story? Digital experimentation will combine with the desire to honestly express personal opinions, creating an appetite for new tools, platforms and services that help users to temporarily disguise their true identity to offer new freedoms and perspectives and find a voice that’s uniquely their own.

Just remember: the desire to ‘go incognito’ isn’t driven by a desire to harass or intimidate others. It’s driven by empowerment, and the chance to discover new ideas, opinions and values that an individual might previously have been excluded from based on gender, age or background.

ANONYMITY AND CONTENT CREATION

FLUID IDENTITIES

9.5 M+daily active users in UAE & KSA.

Riyadh & Jeddahhave the highest Snapchat

usage in the world.

From women’s rights to migrant worker treatment; across the region the growing awareness of societal inequality is balanced with a desire to challenge accepted norms. One way to do that? Leveraging new digital tools that mask identity to discuss controversial topics, guarantee equal treatment and more.

EQUALITY ISSUES

Whilst it’s becoming more acceptable to express contentious ideas online – 54% of nationals support the freedom to express ideas online, even if they are unpopular (Northwestern University in Qatar, May 2016) – many lack the ability to do so. Going incognito is one way to make oneself heard.

RULE BREAKERS

Across the region, consumer’s interest in how companies monitor their online activity is on the rise: 42% cited it as a concern in 2016, compared to 33% in 2013 (Northwestern University in Qatar, May 2016). Privacy concerns are prompting many internet users to adapt how they use social media.

PRIVACY CONCERNS

WHY MASKED IDENTITY OVERULES

57

HOW CAN YOU EMBRACE EVERY CONSUMER

THINK: EMPOWERMENT

This trend isn’t about hiding away or accepting prejudice as inevitable. Instead, it’s about empowering consumers to take control of how they express their identity online. Think about circumstances in which that control is most useful: interviewing.io platform applied it to the world of work.

ETHICAL EDUCATORS

Consumers on a quest to become a better person will look to new tools, platforms and experiences that can help them better understand their own privilege or perspective. Antipersona lets users adopt the identity of someone else, and see how the internet looks to them.

IDEAL VS. ACTUAL

Whilst platforms such as Instagram are built around the ‘ideal’ self, anonymous apps allow users to demonstrate their ‘actual’ selves. The trade-off for brands and advertisers? It’s possible to locate and target natural audiences, free from bias or socially-influenced behaviour.

JOB INTERVIEW PLATFORM MASKS VOICES TO AVOID BIAS

Interviewing.io, a platform for engineers to practice technical job interviews, announced a feature that disguises both the interviewer’s and candidate’s voices. Using Twilio’s cloud communications technology and proprietary voice software, the service alters voices to sound androgynous, add synthetic elements or sound like animals to eliminate interview bias. Users can reveal their identities should they want the interview process to continue, the voice masking feature was in private beta as of Q2 2016.

APP ALLOWS USERS TO EXPERIENCE TWITTER FROM ANOTHER VIEWPOINT

In May 2016, Antipersona: an app enabling people to experience Twitter from anyone’s social media perspective, added a 24-hour time limit feature. Users can select any celebrity or Twitter user they would like to simulate and receive the same alerts, retweets, notifications and follows that individual receives. The US-created mobile app is free to download.

WHO DARES TO PUT ANOMYNITY FIRST

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FLUID IDENTITIES

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APP ALLOWS USERS TO LIVESTREAM ANONYMOUSLY

November 2016 saw the launch of US-based Dusk: an app that allows users to live stream video content anonymously. Pixelated screens and voice-changed audio protect the user’s identity. Dusk also moderators, user-facing reporting tools and keyword blocking to prevent abuse; any videos that contain inappropriate content are manually removed.

RADIO SHOW FOR ANONYMOUS STORIES

April 2016 saw US-based non-profit TED announce a new radio show. The ‘Sincerely, X’ show features personal experiences and stories from people with ideas to share; however each participant remains anonymous. TED also invites members of the public to apply and tell their own stories, with the show launching on Audible (the Amazon-owned app for audio books) in Q4 2016.

SOCIAL NETWORK ENCOURAGES USERS TO CREATE MULTIPLE PERSONAS

March 2016 saw photo-sharing network Mobli launch Galaxia: a free mobile app. Acknowledging that people often present themselves differently to different groups of people, the app encourages users to create multiple profiles. People are required to create a main account, before they are able to make several personas and participate in private or public groups. Each persona is kept completely separate from any others.

FLUID IDENTITIES

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We’ve attested how technology and science provide the infrastructure for dynamism and innovation while the arts conceive the content. Both are crucial in creating the digital content weaved everyday into our lives. We give technology authorization to take over our lives much the way that software drives a laptop, to build illusory and even actual experiences from our personal data and stances. But would you be cautious about allowing a person get this close as you’d allow technology? It is hard to imagine a more intimate engagement than the one we have today with our GoPros, IM’s and screen interfaces, ones that allow you to create a song, a movie, dwelling you into the most breath-taking experiences by others while sharing yours, and why not as a brand too. Still, to stand out from the cluttered branded crowd, technology will permanently inspire the making of profound dynamic content. For the content to be pertinent, poignant, and real, it’s essential that the technology be designed to best serve the genuineness of stimulating content, and not the other way around. Happy tech-fueling content.

RASHA RTEILHead of Innovation @ UM MENA | UM Labs

THE FINALE THAT MATTERS!

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Trendwatching is about inspiring meaningful innovation… Powered by a global network of +3,000 trend spotters across MENA and the world, as well as in-house analysts, TrendWatching have delivered unrivalled cross-industry insight into changing consumer behaviour since 2002. Through their Trend Briefings, TW:Premium Service, Trend Events, Keynotes and Workshops, they help future-focused professionals build brands that matter, products that delight and campaigns people can’t stop talking about. Their clients include Accenture, Coca-Cola, Disney, Estée Lauder, Frito-Lay, Givaudan, Google, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, HSBC, Nike, Qantas, Spotify, TBWA, Telefónica, Twitter, Unilever, Visa and many more.

WHY UM LABS PARTNERS WITH TRENDWATCHING

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Fancy absorbing more awesome innovations, or up for a chat? At UM Labs we love talking about how to make the impossible probable. Simply reach out to our Rasha Rteil- Head of Innovation MENA & UM Labs via rrteil@ummena.com

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