Tablets PCs (iPad, Samsung Galaxy, etc.) may well be the future for marketing to consumers. 
An article in USA Today reports that several upscale hotels in major cities are offering tablets to their guests to quickly gain access to services that ordinarily needed a hotel concierge or a call to room service. Several companies (including as Intelity, Ascension Software and Runtriz) have developed the applications designed to assist the traveler. These added-on services also increase the hotel’s revenues (as well as reduce costs of human interaction)
Airlines are also considering distributing tablets in flight. American airlines first class passengers will be receiving Samsung tablets for in-flight entertainment
. Travelers would be able to access shopping and make purchases as well as watching movies.
As tablets expand their presence into more consumers’ lives, they become the access point for information and entertainment virtually anywhere. Tablets will become the new media choice for marketers, replacing television, newspapers and magazines. Consumers will search for information, graze through reading and entertainment choices throughout the day as well as contact friends.
All of this is done through instant access to search as well as proprietary subscription applications. Better still, QSR codes strategically placed along the route of travel or shopping allow for instant targeted access and lookup.
In any given day, consumers may pop into the following queries:
What time is that train coming? Can I get a cab? Can I talk to the designer of that dress in the store window? Where is the nearest hotel? Can I get tickets to a movie tonight (better yet, can I stream it on my tablet)? What is the chef saying about that new dish at my favorite restaurant? What is the latest news? What is my favorite author writing about today?
Smart phones, with similar capabilities, have been around now for several years and consumers have become familiar with the touch based application approach. Consumers are ready to take the next step and it will likely come in a very rapid pace of adoption. Tablets will penetrate the market and become a staple in our lives. Their rich color visuals, readable screen size and thin design will allow consumers to interact more easily and everywhere they go. More importantly, it is a media that allows for awareness, consideration and immediate purchase.
I am calling tablets a huge disruptive trend in consumer media. While tablets have been adopted across consumers in technology, their expansion into the lives of everyday people across all walks of life is right around the corner. Will you be ready to reach your customer in this new media?
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