Domino's Ordering App

In an attempt to get ahead of competitors on the tech curve, Domino's has recently launched a new app that allows customers to voice order their food, similar to the way Siri functions on the iPhone. The idea behind it is that mobile ordering will soon deviate from having to type orders or navigate a bunch of pull-down menus and voice ordering offers a faster and more direct method of ordering pizza for customers.

Another major factor that went into the development of the app is the trend towards not making customers interact with humans unless it's necessary. A surprising amount of people would rather not have to interact with employees for a variety of reasons, so the app gives them more incentive to order from Domino's than other companies where they would have to either call in or go online to order. In fact, a study by Google determined that 55% of teens and 40% of adults use voice search.

In order to use the app, a customer simply launches it and touches to talk to "Dom" the computerized voice programmed into the app. The app and other forms of marketing, including ads and social media campaigns, has been part of Domino's overall rebranding that started with the recreation of its pizza recipe. With Domino's already holding the position of the top pizza chain, it is likely that tech innovation like the ordering app will help the company maintain its position atop the market.

Smart Watches: The Next Step in Mobile?

Over the past couple years, an interesting new market has been developing in mobile technology: smart watches. What originally seemed like a short-lived gimmick has begun to emerge as a potential substitute and maybe even a replacement for mobile phones down the road. With Apple releasing their own smart watch in the near future, every major phone maker has now jumped on the smart watch bandwagon. Although the watches were originally pretty basic and had limited features and bulky physique, the competition between the various companies has led to a lot of innovation in tech and appearance over the past few months.

The first really popular smart watch to hit the market was the Pebble watch. It had a very basic design and was controlled with a few physical buttons on the side of the watch. Combining an early entry into the market along with a much cheaper price than the other offerings, the Pebble took off quickly. After seeing this success, it didn't take long for other companies to jump into the mix. Now, there is a large assortment of watches that usually are partnered with a certain brand of phone. For example, Apple's watch will pair with iPhones, LG's with the G series phones, and Samsung with its Galaxy phones. These watches all feature touch screens and a variety of apps that let you message, email, call, view calendars, check the weather, and tons of other features. A few of them even feature cameras and IR blasters that allow you to control electronics like your TV from the watch. Additionally, they can be customized so that they appear just as a normal digital or analog watch would, providing style and function to users.

With the market for watches already taking off and the prices becoming more universally affordable, it is only a matter of time before the smart watch app market explodes. With this in mind, it is also likely that this will open the door to mobile advertising on smart watches. I would be surprised if we don't see a similar rush to the smart phone advertising that occurred over the past few years in the smart watch ranks.