Video podcasting

Just weeks after Apple launched the Video iPod, Miami-based Burger King sponsored a series of short comedy videos available for download at Heavy.com. One segment features a man dressed as BK mascot ‘King’ placing an order at a McDonald’s drive-through.

‘Autobytel.com and Burger King were first, but by no means the last.

Expect a lot of marketers to jump on the video podcasting bandwagon with two-minute downloads that tell a compelling story.’ – Michael Tchong, trend watcher, Ubercool (San Francisco).

Hypertag

Reinier Evers, director of London, U.K.-based Trend Watching, says marketers should keep an eye on Hypertag, a Cambridge-based tech company that produces electronic tags – Hypertags – that can be embedded into outdoor ads to allow passersby with Internet-enabled mobile phones to download content like ringtones, photos and messages directly from the tag. Evers says it’s already making waves in the U.K. Clients include P&G, HP and United International Pictures.

M-commerce

In November, Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless and Telus Mobility launched Wireless Payment Services, an m-commerce gateway for wireless payment transactions. So, soon consumers will be able to swipe their mobile phones at the checkout. In Japan, Tokyo payment brand JCB has already launched QUICPay, which allows customers to implant chips into their cellphones that are connected to their bank accounts.

‘While there are challenges in implementing these types of solutions (in particular, overcoming the fragmented nature of retail POS systems), 2006 will see some major advances in this area.’ – Michael Brown, director, marketing & business development, MyThum Interactive (Toronto).