text: With most publishers still battling the rise of the smartphone as content distributor, it may seem premature and harsh to heed publishers against the “next big thing”. Yet, warns Piet van Niekerk, if sharing content on wearables is not on your radar, you may have already missed the boat.
  The connected screen will soon be replaced by the connected self. Tech companies have been putting micro chips into the objects we wear for several years now. A tech savvy individual can connect him or herself with a range of smart wearables from a smartwatch to smart wristbands, smart jewellery, smart shoes and smart spectacles, to mention just few.
  Despite this the value of wearables for content distribution has not been taken very seriously by publishers. As recently as two years ago smartwatch and fitness band reviews all claimed interactions with these devices - from a publisher’s point of view - would remain limited to notifying the wearer of content available on mobile or tablet.
  The obvious problem was screen size and for publishers size did matter. Most believed (and many still do) that content cannot be consumed on anything smaller than mobile. Enter Redicle: a display of single words up to 13 characters long, which flash on a small screen word by word. Optimised by Spritz, a digital solution that delivers single word 'spritzed' text, readers can consume books, articles, web pages even more rapidly than reading printed text on a screen the size of a mobile phone SIM card.
  Without getting bogged down in technicalities, the reason 'spritzed’ text can be consumed so rapidly lies in positioning text in the optimal recognition position (ORP), which means the preferred fixation point of each word will appear at the same place on the miniature screen. If the ORP is in the middle a three-letter word, it shifts to the left of centre for longer words. Normally the longer the word, the further to the left of centre your eyes have to move to locate the ORP. In practice 'spritzed' text reduces eye movement caused by your eyes taking a split second to find the proper ORP for a word. With Spritz the text is delivered where you are already looking with no lag time or page scrolling, just fast-streaming text.
  FastFT, a spritzed optimised application used to read Financial Times articles on a Samsung smartwatch, can be set well over 400 words per minute for a Spritz fit reader. That's almost double the speed of reading on print considering that the average person reads between 250 ad 300 words per minute when consuming content in print format.
  This solution turns the consumption of content on its head. It means content can now be streamed and consumed not only on watches, but fitness or payment wristbands, jewellery and other fashion accessories. If publishers have been slow to wake up to the possibilities, content marketers and advertisers have not.
  The range of exciting possibilities tied to wearable distribution on (mini) platforms are seemingly endless. For example, a discount offer which vibrates on your wristband and then is relayed via Spritz content across the screen the moment your wearable is in close proximity to the given retailer or shop; a special re-packaged brand offering an hour or so after your wearable has left any specific store; or information about an important city location as you approach.
  Add to this the immediacy and intimacy associated with wearables, and it would seem publishers have found the ultimate distribution platform. However, the technology is not without its challenges and shortcomings. Apart from safety concerns, privacy issues seem to cause considerable anxiety. The fact that data can be collected through a wearable device, such as an activity tracker, a smartwatch, or a pulse tracker, means that there are risks involved if carelessly stored and shared with third parties. It’s one thing if an advertiser can track your interest in a product by noting an increased heart rate but completely different if an irregular heart rate over a specific period of time is associated with health risks and shared with your health insurer, leading to a policy increase or cancellation. That said, Statista.com reports the global wearables market is expected to reach a value of 19 billion US dollars by 2018. That’s more than ten times its value in 2012.
  Video didn't kill the radio (star) and online certainly didn't kill content but platforms are revolutionising and there's little disputing that the future of publishing will be centred around form, function and fashion.
  With an affluent millennial population, and an existing awareness of Western brands, China represents big business for luxury publishers. Here Yvonne Wang, president of Hearst Media China, introduces us to the Country’s luxury publishing sector and looks at how Hearst is using its premium brands to attract advertisers across the region.
  Barry McGuigan is a former professional boxer and featherweight champion of the world and he is an accomplished and entertaining after dinner speaker and awards host.
  Barry was one of the world’s most talented boxers when he was at his peak and he won numerous titles, his first major win was at the age of seventeen when he won Gold at the Commonwealth Games. Barry went onto win several more national and international championships. In 1985, Barry won the title that made him a boxing legend; he beat Eusebio Pedroza in the fight of the year and became Featherweight Champion of the World.
  After retiring from boxing, Barry continued to be involved with the sport and became a commentator. His commentating career has been very successful and Barry has travelled worldwide to commentate on different championships.
  More recently, Barry launched the ‘Barry McGuigan Boxing Academy’; he takes the main principles used for boxing to teach young people how to perform well academically and in sport. The academy has been a huge success and is used in schools all over the UK.
  Contact us today for further information on our after dinner speakers or to book Barry McGuigan for your event.
  The term single-use is something we’ve been using a lot at Firebrand throughout this year as we push our reusable or eco friendly branded giveaways such as sweets, travel mugs, reusable bottles and tote bags as well as presenting eco-friendly items in our trends updates.
  We’ve also used our marketing communications via email, LinkedIn and our website to deliver lots of eco-friendly ideas all of which revolve around cutting down on the Collins Word of the Year 2018 ‘single-use’.
  To honour the Collins Word of the Year 2018, we’re sharing some of our favourite products that help to cut down on single-use products…
  We created a stir with our clients after sharing our first news post on branded paper straws back in May 2018. After receiving many enquiries and quote requests, it was great to see that so many brands want to swap out single-use plastic straws for paper straws.
  The news post shares many useful statistics from www.choosetogostrawless.com such as, on average, 500,000,000 straws are used each day. That’s enough straws to fill 46,400 large school buses per year!
  Back in October 2018, we selected the renowned ecoffee cup as our product of the month with a fantastic dual-branding opportunity! As you can imagine, this offer went down a treat for many brands.
  The ecoffee cup is made from Bamboo. Bamboo is an excellent material to use in products as it comes from a renewable source and is a biodegradable material. It’s also fully dishwasher safe as well as light and lovely to drink from, making it a user-friendly cup.
  The Vasa Copper Vacuum Insulated Bottle is a stylish and practical solution to cutting out ‘single-use’ plastic bottles. The bottle keeps your drink hot for 12 hours or cold for 48 hours. It is double walled and made from 18/8 grade stainless steel with vacuum insulation and a copper plated inner wall for temperature control. Enjoy up to 500ml of your favourite drink. The bottle is also presented in an Avenue gift box which can be recycled.
  Back in June 2018, we shared an email marketing campaign to our subscribed mailing list. This was regarding the eco-friendly compostable pots; Eco Pots.
  Available in 3 sizes, the eco pots offer many benefits and are an excellent packaging option to cut down on single-use sweet packaging.
  Certified compostable – to be certified as a compostable product, it must break down within 12 weeks in the food waste recycling.
  Widely accepted in food waste recycling – only compostable packaging can be included in food waste recycling. If it’s biodegradable, it may not break down fast enough for food waste.
  Low carbon – as the eco pots are made from plants and not plastic means there is 78% less CO2 from these pots.
  If you’d like to discuss any of these products for your brand and help to cut down on ‘single-use’ products, click here to get in touch.
  With First Tutors: Languages you can contact a Surbiton french teacher offering Surbiton french lessons. French teaching is a great way to increase confidence, challenge yourself and increase your talent.
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  Fred was really helpful in supporting me to prepare for my exam, with targeted and focussed support.
  First Tutors: Languages helps you search for Surbiton french tutors any many others so you can learn a language such as French, German, Spanish or Italian. We can help you find Surbiton french lessons to be ready for holidays and develop your french skills for professional purposes! We list Surbiton french teachers by their hourly teaching prices and distance from your home.
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