Things are getting real with 5G. It’s not just ‘on the way’ anymore, it’s here. Are you ready for the challenges and opportunities that 5G will bring? Let’s outline the advantages of this new technology, what it means for businesses like yours, and how you can start planning to make the most of it.
What’s the big deal about 5G?
Crucially, 5G is fast. About twenty times faster than 4G, in fact.
5G can handle a whopping 1,000 devices per square metre, which means that no matter how crowded your train, shopping mall or music festival, connectivity won’t grind to a halt anymore. 5G won’t drain your battery like 4G, leading to a host of new opportunities for long-form content. And, perhaps most excitingly, 5G will eliminate 4G’s issues with latency, or the delay in devices communicating with each other, meaning that ‘real-time content’ will truly be experienced in real-time.
What does all this mean for you?
This massive leap in efficiency will bring a wide range of opportunities. Here’s 5 things your business should be considering when it comes to 5G:
5 pointers for 5G
1) Greater expectations
Get ready for a major increase in customer expectations. With the efficiency and speed of 5G, your team really needs to be on the top of its game. There’ll be no more blaming the connection for slow loading, buffering or pixelation. Instead, we see longer-form content streaming becoming the norm.
2) Personalisation as standard
5G will open the door to a world of personalised content experiences, enabling you to create genuinely unique, immersive experiences for your customers. Think Bandersnatch, but on a whole new level.
3) Virtual Reality (VR) in real-time
Look forward to being able to deliver VR experiences that are truly real-time, with ‘rendering lag’ becoming a thing of the past.
4) Augmented experiences
We predict that Augmented reality (AR) will finally be able to take off in the mass market. You’ll be able to personalise AR experiences on the fly and enhance the retail experience as customers walk through your shops.
5) A mobile-first world
As Jade Coppernoll, VP of global marketing at Intel says, “Nothing will be 'mobile' anymore because everything will be mobile.” It’ll be vital to approach all content with mobile in mind.
5G capabilities will also mean that a vast amount of user data will be processed in real-time, adding to the ongoing conversation about ownership and data privacy. It’s even possible that we’ll see a new kind of trading environment, where users give over data in exchange for products and content.
Some ideas for getting started
How can your business start making the most of these remarkable opportunities? Here are some actions we think any content-related business should take:
Think about how and where you could partner with 5G providers to deliver the best 5G experiences for your customers. (And beat the competition to it.)
Invest time into thinking about how you can transform your customer experience in a way that’s engaging, entertaining and adds value. How you can ensure your retail experience is personalised for your customers in real-time?
Have ambitions, but have the capability to match them. Align your strategy with partners and businesses who have a proven track record of innovating. Not only will this ensure innovation, it’ll help you add real value to the customer journey.
Make genuinely mobile-first content. An experience that’s simply been optimised for mobile isn’t going to cut it. Design your content for mobile and you’ll be on the way to taking advantage of 5G’s unique capabilities. (Plus winning the love of your audience.)
It’s an exciting time for businesses that can identify and grab the opportunities of 5G. Like Andrew Sherrard, Chief Marketing Officer at T-Mobile says, “We’re all going to be surprised by it.”
We’re all about mobile-first content at Distillery. If you’re looking for a partner to work with you in a 5G world, let’s chat.