It’s about this time of year that clients start asking us for our predictions as to what is going to be ‘big’ in the forthcoming year. I’m usually pretty reticent to do this but thought that this year, I’d make an exception. Here’s my starter for ten as to what’s going to be big in 2012:
1. Augmented Reality (AR). With over 5.3billion mobile subscribers in the world, mobile penetration in the UK currently standing at 122%, and the proliferation of smartphones due to increase over the festive period, mobile areas like AR will need to be paid serious consideration as an activation and engagement mechanic in 2011.
We have seen basic AR usage in brochures though platforms like Aurasma but feel there is plenty of opportunity to use AR throughout the HR lifecycle in ways that are engaging, fun and truly stand out from the crowd.
2. User Generated Content (UGC). This is an interesting arena that most HR organisations have really struggled to get to grips with, but which can drive the best value and the best results. I guess the issue is around ceding control to the crowd, which is something HR teams tend to be very reticent to do.
If you are looking into talking about ‘crowd’ involvement, then this is a useful article. Not only does it provide some nice examples, it also gives some solid recommendations. Obviously the best, and most recent example of UGC video is Life In A Day. I recently wrote a long post about it on the Holodeck.
3. Geo-targetting. The ability to deliver highly targeted information based on a candidates physical location requires a very careful degree of planning and is tied to developments in the mobile web. However, given the local requirements of many large companies, I’m surprised that this hasn’t really been paid much attention. When you have the mechanic set up, then you can start outputting the content as an app – the big thing here is overcoming the ATS issue (otherwise, you’re simply offering frivolity.) And attempting to take on an ATS sends shivers of fear down the spines of the most hardened HRDs…
4. Social Media Marketing. It may not be sexy, but it works. Incredibly effectively. A project I recently undertook for Hodes on Barclays Graduates that integrated social media inside a careers site (rather than operating each touchpoint as a separate entity) has been incredibly effective and IMHO is something that should be rolled out across the whole of the company. No organisation has yet done this on such a scale and it would say so much about the organisation. But it ties in to my earlier point about ceding control.
5. Mobile Job Apps. TotalJobs is already seeing 20% of their jobs being viewed on mobile devices and 5% of applications coming through mobile channels. And the figures are only going to increase. I know that the next version of many site are going to be mobile-enabled, but what I’m talking about requires much more than simply mobile-enabling content. How about taking the front-foot for once and developing a truly mobile offering?
6. Onboarding. I have pitched numerous ideas for onboarding that are simply sitting in the ether and its killing me. Given all the recent research around Gen R (the Financial Times article is worth a peek, too) my concern is that there is a vast pool of talent that is ready to leave. So little thought is given to onboarding, it is laughable, but if the onboarding experience is positive enough to delay an employee’s departure by just half a year, think about how much money could be saved?
7. Alumni management. As with Onboarding, this is an area that doesn’t get much attention, as the results tend to show over a long-term basis. However, as companies like IBM have showed, developing and managing an effective alumni strategy can be incredibly effective in a number of ways, including ideation and ironically, retention.
8. Digital Out of Home (DOOH, or Digital Signage). The Marketing community has started to grasp the potential for digital OOH advertising and there are some great examples for engagement, attraction and involvement. Tie this in with location-based advertising and you would have something pretty powerful. Again, this tends to be far too big for most recruiters, but I’m sure that the operators like JC Decaux would love to work with some big clients.
9. Projection Mapping. I just adore this. Much more in the area of ambient stunts, but I would love to see a company take over an entire city with a series of ambient Projection Mapping stunts. No one has ever attempted something on that scale. Imagine the Barclayys waterslide, for example, weaving in and out of buildings across Northampton. Just brilliant (look how engaged the audience is) and the sort of thing that would be talked about for ages. Mouth-wateringly fun and what better a way to engage with a local community? Examples include: Samsung; Vienna Tourism Board; Hot Wheels; ACDC and Iron Man2; the Kharkov State Building.
10. Enterprise 2.0 systems. Bring social media inside organisations. At a recent Hodes conference, Tom Barton (Head of PR at Cap Gemini) showed how incredibly effective socialising internal mechanics can be. He also showed how is was personal, rather than cost or operational issues that often gets in the way.
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