One of Those '2016 Best Of Lists'

I'm going to focus on the great rather than the controversial (This is LinkedIn not Facebook). It has been an incredible year and one that those 'experts' who were screaming about 'Big Data' never predicted. It's because we're humans, we don't like being predictable and I think the below highlights that. It's been an amazing year in digital (for the want of a better word Tom Goodwin) and here are my top 5 moments of 2016 and I can't wait to see what 2017 brings.

Facebook Live

I've talked about emotion frequently with peers and colleagues. It's all that matters. You must trigger an emotion with what you do or you might as well not bother. Next time you want to do something beige go and play golf for the day with the rest of them. Live can create emotions from FOMO through to excitement and to suspense. Nothing else can do this in an app today.

Many have tried and few have conquered the live space. As Boz said "do it live or don't bother". The authenticity of live content is untouchable and would have been inconceivable 5 years ago. Facebook have delivered something that

• Works across all devices
• Reaches people that care
• Open to everyone

Now, it's not for every brand or every person to create but it is relevant for nearly everyone to consume. Whether it be when I joined my daughters first trip to the beach via Live or my best friends watching me broadcast from a late night taxi ride. The format is fun and engaging and strangely hypnotic. It's a big focus for my team next year and following building two live stream studios (nicknamed the Wendy Houses) we aim to bring this content to life continuously and not as a gimmick to get a mention on a digital marketing blog but because it's something we believe in. The below link directs you through to Boz's talk from Cannes and it's a great view if you get the chance.

A lot of my industry peers are nervous of Live, not sure what to do or scared of the mistakes that are possible. This route to the consumer will lead to the biggest change in the way we create. No longer will lead times be a hamstring, we now have a route to market instantly and no excuses. It will challenge those traditional creatives and the strongest will come out of this becoming skilled live broadcasters whilst using the more complex and longer lead times appropriately as routes to amplify brand tone and message.

If you get Live wrong, just delete it. Get used to it, it's what your customers are doing already and you need to adopt it or reside yourself to the archives.

One to watch in this category is Sport. Facebook are one of the few companies with the cash to pay for sporting rights and to really put the cat amongst the pigeons they could easily make sporting events available globally through their Live offering.

Instagram Stories

Bold, fearless and nobody saw it coming. Yes indeed Snapchat has taken a slice of the younger audience attention but it's a different space to Instagram. The introduction of stories has been incredible and Kevin Systrom and his team have delivered more change in the last 6 months than Instagram delivered in the last two years.

The stories format still remains true to Instagram's aesthetic and the contributors are still curating premium looking content but it appears to be giving them the chance to post more content for the super fans. This has also helped Instagram win back those influencers who got so upset about the introduction of an algorithm to the channels feed (remember seeing those premium brands get desperate with the 'turn on your notifications' posts )

Instagram Stories has so much to give and has discovery on its side and with 'swipe up' functionality for verified accounts it continues to grow on me. I've fallen in love with Instagram again as it lets me post more content daily now and tell a story rather than me having to just curate one image to post every other day which really denies the ability to tell stories.

I think the human need and the gut feeling we have to broadcast and transmit means that we want to post more but are held back by the rules we set ourselves. Stories brings down the walls and enable me to see the real 'behind the scenes' of people I look up to and admire whilst it not being made to be too trivial or novelty.

Snapchat Spectacles Launch

Ignore the product. Forget that. We'll come back to it. I promise.

For years the best experience 'fashion tech' retail has given us is generic pop up stores for beta launches (Glass) or Supreme length lines for accessories that somehow don't feel believable. Snapchat stayed absolutely true to their brand and celebrated scarcity whilst being fun and democratic. 

On the back of melting servers for people trying to buy Yeezys through to crashing websites of AntiSocialSocialClub there is no doubt that people love having something that not many others can, particularly when that price is not insanely high. Snap Inc nailed this idea with Spectacles, their $129 pricing and their launch program.

For those of you who didn't see this wonderful piece of marketing I'll explain. 

Snap Inc (the camera company as it is to be know) confirmed they were building wearables some time ago following the purchase of Indiegogo funded Vergence Labs. Following some silence on the subject Snap Inc then showcased Spectacles in a shoot by Karl Lagerfield (Evan doesn't mess about). Still no sign of a launch though. A lot of people expected 2017 and bets were on for Coachella. Nope. 

On November 10th the world saw Spiegel's team quietly drop a bright yellow SnapBot on Venice Beach which in short was a vending machine that you could buy your Spectacles from. Maximum of two pairs per person and with no ecommerce options. This is real, this is bold and this is right.

As the Spectacles sold out the machine was taken away and a countdown on Spectacles.com hinted to a new location coming. Every few days the machine turned up everywhere from The Grand Canyon to College Campuses. Selling out fast and leading to disappointment it built FOMO to the highest level with zero online availability. People were even hiring helicopters to get to the locations quicker than the crowds!

Shortly after a few of these pop up locations came and went a store appeared near Apple's New York flagship with a SnapBot (there's two there now) and people have been queuing round the clock to get their hands on these.

Interestingly these aren't even easily available to the employees of Snap Inc highlighting how serious the business took launching the product and making them exclusive. The commitment to vertical video format is all over this work from the shape of the Snapbot, the banner outside the store in NY and the rotating screens inside this store.

Snap took something we've seen before and didn't like. They made it accessible, they made it fun (note sunglasses, not glasses), they marketed it to real people and not tech bloggers or influencers and most importantly they made the product look great. It's not fun standing in line for hours for some awful piece of kit but this was delivered in glorious technicolor with a smile and a wink by a bright yellow vending machine covered in balloons.

How could you not love this. If you fancy some more entertainment their Twitter feed is very much DGAF and retweet both the good and the bad which is incredibly entertaining at times.

Snapchat Spectacles

They are incredible. It is evident that Snap Inc is run by someone who respects design, engineering but most of all touch and experience. This isn't a quick and dirty launch, every touch point with this product has been considered, refined and perfected.

The spectacles are heavy, not in a bad way but in a way that it feels like I am putting on a well made pair of sunglasses. They are perfectly balanced and sit well on most shape faces which is an incredible feat. This feels luxury but at $129.

The case that they arrive in is Snap Yellow and it also becomes the charger for the spectacles. Incredible. They snap into place as does the charger without any effort and suddenly magic happens.

Even the charging lead is cute.

The cleaning cloth is the shape of Ghostface Chillah (of course).

And pairing them to your phone couldn't be easier.

The only bug for me is the HD transfer has to be over a wifi network you establish between glasses and phone. It's not terrible but it just jars the experience because everything else is so slick. I anticipate this is due to Apple rather than Snap though so let's forgive this.

If you can get a pair, do it. I love mine and it was well worth the fight to get hold of them.

Giphy

If you follow me on Twitter you know the drill. GIFs create a reaction, an emotion faster than any method. There isn't a single way in which you can repeat a brand message over and over again whilst still being interesting unless you use a GIF.

This year saw "peak boomerang" which is basically a GIF, it saw mass adoption of using it on Messenger and Twitter and now the format is supported by WhatsApp. This format isnt going away. Giphy have raised millions in funding this year and have also made GIF creation tools free to mass market and carried out some great work with brands such as Hunter and Converse. Most importantly they want to work with everyone and not be pigeon holed into a platform or device which gives them the ability to work across all regions and demographics.

I've had the pleasure to meet and work with Giphy a couple of times even if it's not been on a huge scale (yet) and I can honestly say they are fine people and inspirational. Alex Chung, Julie Logan... I take my hat off to you. Keep being amazing and you remain on my speed dial.

https://giphy.com/primark

So that's it...

That's my view on 2016 and it's been exciting for so many reasons. Go and switch off, turn the wifi off, recharge and come back in 2017 with a full battery, new ideas and be fearless.

Onwards...