FOR THOMAS “Love is when you meet someone who tells you something new about yourself.” — Andre Breton
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 BACKSTORY 7 CULTURAL RELEVANCE 10 PERSONA 11 AUDIENCE 12 CHALLENGES Tinder OkCupid Competitor Analysis Consumer Benefits Market Matrix
Cost Calculation Projected Revenue Brand Promise Brand Values
16 COMPETITION
24 MARKET SIZE 26 FINANCIAL STORY 30 BRAND PLATFORM 32 VISUAL LANGUAGE 39 PROTOTYPE SKETCHES 48 ANCILLARIES 54 DECK 57 PITCH PLAN 58 PRODUCT ROADMAP 60 BIBLIOGRAPHY 62 HONORS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WE HAVE A THING FOR YOU WHAT O CAN DO FOR YOU
O is a mobile app, introducing a new way of dating AN APP TO FALL solely based on the sound of your voice and who you IN LOVE WITH are, rather than how you look like.
For those who don’t want to dismiss or be dis- VALUE missed only because of a picture, for those who PROPOSITION want to find their soulmate by fate and for those who think that we - at the end of the day - don’t fall in love because of how someone looks or because of an algorithm that matches us, but because of the way someone makes us feel and the way someone makes us laugh.
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BACKSTORY
A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN 6
COMMUNICATION IS EVERYTHING IN A RELATIONSHIP
FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS I HAD NO IDEA HOW MY BOYFRIEND LOOKED LIKE.
Back then we lived in two different cities and met online. Early on we switched from writing to talking on the phone for hours - almost every night - and I fell in love with his unique humor, his voice, his kindness and genuineness. We loved to discuss life through our mutual taste in movies and got to know each other long before we met for the first time. That was in 2006. In 2016 we are still kicking and a happy couple now for almost a decade. We not only met online, but on a whole different level. It was all about who we are, not how we look and at the end of the day, this is what matters. Ask yourself, why you love your partner or what you will still enjoy when you both are old and wrinkly...
New York City, December 2014
CULTURAL RELEVANCE
2
1 http://thoughtcatalog.com/melissa-moeller/2016/04/why-modern-dating-makes-me-want-to-punch-myself-in-the-throat/ http://thoughtcatalog.com/zaron-burnett-iii/2013/03/you-cant-find-real-love-online/
DO YOU COME HERE OFTEN? WHY O IS RELEVANT TO OUR CULTURE
“As a 22-year-old single woman I’m pretty much living in the thickest part of the modern hookup culture – perfecting the art of getting the right guy to buy you a drink at a bar, crafting the perfect response to a text to make you seem just interested enough, taking the proper five seconds to adequately judge a person and determine whether or not to swipe left or right on Tinder. That’s the world I live in now and I have to confess: I hate it with every fiber of my being.” Melissa Moeller writes in an article1 about the mating rituals of the current generation. And she is not alone.
SOME BELIEVE IN FINDING THEIR SOULMATE THROUGH A PICTURE
According to research recently published in the journal “Psychological Science in the Public Interest,” 20% of all relationships begin on the internet2. Stigmas once attached to dating online have disappeared and been replaced with a real appreciation for the effectiveness of finding love digitally. No longer is internet dating an escape for the desperate or the lonely. Nowadays single people all over the world find each other in a vast digital environment of 1’s and 0’s - as easy as finding their way to the next destination in Google Maps.
20% OF ALL RELATIONSHIPS BEGIN ON THE INTERNET
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CULTURAL RELEVANCE
A NEW WAY OF DATING O IS FOR ALL THE HONEST ONES
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The flood of images nowadays is killing our imagination more and more. Accessing the oldest and most primal form of connection - through the sound of our voice - enables our mind to wander again and to re-learn how to imagine. This is also where technology is heading - voice enabled services like Siri and Amazon Echo are used twice a day on average by millennials2. Furthermore 38%1 of our decision of attraction within the first interaction is the tone and speed of the prospect‘s voice. This revelation is natural - as a voice not only carries the information, but creates with its tone a context and a feeling of the person speaking.
1 http://thoughtcatalog.com/melissa-moeller/2016/04/why-modern-dating-makes-me-want-to-punch-myself-in-the-throat/ http://thoughtcatalog.com/zaron-burnett-iii/2013/03/you-cant-find-real-love-online/
CONNECTIONS THROUGH THE VOICE ARE UNIVERSAL
2
If for decades the usual way of meeting a potenWE ARE MORE THAN OUR LOOKS. tial date was by hiring a matchmaker or answering hundreds of questions, then today‘s dating culture has changed a lot. Visual-only driven apps like Tinder enable a fast, but therefore shallow judgment based on a person‘s picture. For this reason we often experience disappointment at the first real date, because online dating offers possibilities to cheat with manipulated or outdated pictures. We tend to present ourselves the best way we can in the virtual world - but lose reality along the way.
CULTURAL RELEVANCE
9 Words are just letters on paper - only when read or spoken out loud, they come alive and create context to better understand the world. We simply perceive information differently when we receive it from a person through their voice, who colors the content with their individual palette. The voice of a person is as unique as their handwriting - and as personal - which makes audio the most intimate medium and making it possible to save our lost urge to fantasize, to dare, to wonder - to listen.
OUR VOICES CARRY MORE THAN JUST WORDS.
Since our childhood we love to get information from a human voice. Most of us experienced a bedtime story read by a loved one and instantly connected deeper with this person. It touches a different part of us, a different level of perception. It lets us feel the story and nurtures our ability to imagine, to connect with a person. We close our eyes and for a while we get lost in fantasy. The connection we feel as soon as a human voice reaches our ears unites generations and classes and makes them irrelevant for the time being. The voice is all that matters in that moment and touches a different part of us more than any other medium can. To listen requires attention and reminds us of one of our most important abilities as humans - being able to imagine the biggest world in the smallest space, and that imagination opens our mind to find new solutions or just see the world from a different angle. The voice of a person also shows their warmth, their genuineness. It tells you if you can trust that person. It carries a person’s desires, dreams and aspirations. You simply get a feeling right away, if you might like this person or if you can imagine to connect to this person. What the person says and how, can change our whole perception of him or her and therefore shouldn’t be disregarded as an important indicator.
WE DON’T FALL IN LOVE BECAUSE OF HOW S.O. LOOKS, BUT BECAUSE OF THE WAY S.O. MAKES US FEEL AND THE WAY S.O. MAKES US LAUGH.
PERSONA
I HAVE A FRIEND... ...WHO IS SINGLE.
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Munich, June 2015
LINDA IS HAPPY, BUT...
She slowly shifts into the age to get serious; to settle down. At 28 years of age, she starts to miss that special someone. Tinder, OkCupid and two other dating sites haven‘t brought her Mister Right, as with each platform she struggles to balance what they offer, with what her own values are. She simply misses a way to meet somebody in a more honest and less disappointing way - somebody who shares her interests, who’s sense of humor she enjoys and simply someone who feels right.
1
ttp://www.statisticbrain.com/online-dating-statistics/
2
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/5-facts-about-online-dating/
3
http://www.statisticbrain.com/dating-relationship-stats/
AUDIENCE
WE HAVE MET BEFORE, HAVEN’T WE? WHO ARE WE DOING THIS FOR
And Linda is not alone. Today online dating is more 49 MILLION accepted than ten years ago, but the success rate is TRIED ONLINE very low. For example, 49 million1 singles in the US DATING IN 2015 tried online dating in 2015 - but within the last five years only 5% of Singles got married or into a committed relationship with someone they met online2.
Nowadays, singles don’t rely anymore on their families or elders to matchmake, nor do they find their soulmate in a bar or events. Most successful matches happen among their circle of friends by being pointed out to somebody in a private rather than public setting. But most singles - especially in the larger cities, complain about the growing isolation in the constantly moving social constellations and work situations.
44% Singles among the adult American population3
With almost every second US American above 21 AUDIENCE being single3, the market is bigger than ever before. CHALLENGES A serious Love seeker like Linda, with a busy lifestyle and an constantly changing circle of friends in the same town has two different kinds of online matchmaking to choose from: (1) Selection based on a questionnaire, analyzed by a machine or (2) a random selection of potential matches, that are represented by a picture and a short text.
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CHALLENGES
MATCH BASED ON ALGORITHM OUR LOVELIFE IN NUMBERS
12 400 Questions1 or more have to be clicked through to categorize our complex self. Algorithm based matchmakers like eHarmony or match.com use machines and math to match us with the perfect counterpart. BUT: MANY BELIEVE Love is not based on math, science or rationality. Those who believe in serendipity have to either use IN FATE one of the more hook-up-focused apps like Tinder or have to go oine, as there is no alternative out there. AND USER GETS NO The user doesn’t know why they are matched, as INSIGHT WHY the answers are not displayed to the match. And the answers you can give are mostly multiple choice MATCHED - to make it easier for the machine to match you which causes no room for individuality and all the special quirks that make us so unique and who we truly are. There is no room for irony and that special note that can make a person interesting or give us a feeling of that person.
86
to
100
Ratio Single men compared to single women in the US https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t27/tables/ tab04.pdf
400 Questions at eHarmony Valentine’s day Facts, Statistic Brain Research Institute, January 2016 1
http://www.statisticbrain.com/valentines-day-statistics/
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64% of US Singles, say: Common interests are most important1 Statistic Brain Research Institute, March 2015 1
www.statisticbrain.com/its-finally-acceptable-touse-online-dating-sites/
CHALLENGES
RANDOM MATCHMAKING SELECT YOUR SOULMATE BY PICTURE
15 Except for two apps, all online or virtual dating is picture based. The first impression is based on one or more photos of the potential partner and we are supposed to choose our soulmate based on a photo. BUT: This superficial approach leads to the reduction of MOSTLY us through our looks. Handsome people addition- HOOKUPS ally get bombarded by user who are clearly more interested in a hook up than a serious relationship. Many of the initial text messages leave no doubt SEXUAL about the unserious intentions of the sender and TEXTS some of them can even be classified as sexual harassment. Text however can give a more indepth impression, MISUNDERbut is only an abstraction of speech and can be mis- STANDINGS understood - especially if the two correspondents don‘t know each other well enough to understand each others irony and humor. Not even mentioning the unoriginality of hun- LAME dreds of lame pickup lines, that a love seeker has PICKUPLINES to endure until one person finally takes the time to actually at least LOOK through the profile to be a bit more creative and personal - and actually find those common interests.
COMPETITION
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THE SIGNIFICANT OTHERS MATH OR SERENDIPITY?
A traditional matchmaker could be hired, if the family is not there to set you up. But over the past 20 years online dating has become more and more accepted and now the user can search on their own. With the explosion of apps, the market picked up the opportunity to help the desperate (and make money with it). O faces two kinds of direct competitors: the traTWO DIFFERENT ditional matchmaker like OkCupid and their app-equivalent and the fast-dating- or hook-upKINDS apps like Tinder. The two named apps are among the top 5 used apps on the market and are perfect representatives for their kind of dating app.
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VS.
TINDER
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Tinder main feed = stack of profiles
Swipe left for NO Swipe right for YES
The new OOPS-Function is only available for PREMIUM user
If both LIKED each other, they get a notification, that they are a match.
2
2
1
www.forbes.com/pictures/mfg45keef/tinder/ http://www.carbonated.tv/lifestyle/a-study-showed-that-almost-half-of-tinder-users-arent-single http://pix11.com/2015/03/04/premium-tinder-app-charging-users-over-30-years-old-more/#
19 “This free app lets users swipe “yes” or “no” on potential matches. If two users swipe “yes” to each other, they are then able to text through Tinder’s interface. Launched in September 2012,Tinder had an estimated 500,000 users in its first six months, with a day-over-day growth rate of 5%. Popular especially with Millennials - it’s average user is 23 - Tinder users have rated each other’s profiles 4.5 billion times, and have been matched up to 50 million times. Tinder works because it takes rejection off the table, and taps into a distinctly millennial activity - texting.” writes the Forbes Magazine 20131.
AVERAGE USER AGE IS 23
But the success is fading, The audience is getting older and searches more and more longterm relationships. New users grow up and into the age for this app, but are flodded with alternatives or scared away by the experience reports of others - Tinder is more and more known as the hook-up-app and some even report professional hookers or scammer to be on Tinder to trick people.
BAD REPUTATION AS HOOKUP APP
Not even the romantic “Tinder Stories” can help with that image as the WHY of the app is already based on the principles of Gaming, not real dating. Half of its users aren’t even single1 and since Tinder decided to charge by age2 (monthly payment for unlimited likes and the go-back-function is categorized by the user’s age - the older the user, the more he or she has to pay), it lost more and more users - leaving a user group, who sees it as a game rather than a real opportunity to find a soulmate.
CHARGE BY AGE
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OkCupid offers many functions for free, but strongly promotes its premium area, the “A-List”, which the user has to pay for. There you can browse anonymously, be displayed more often to others, access more diverse information in profiles and the user is unlimited in their amount of messages and likes.
RANDOM MACHINE QUESTIONS
To support their user with a natural start into a first contact, OkCupid asks a lot of questions after a profile is set up. With each login the user gets new random questions in their feed and can answer them if they want - the similarity to what other another user has answered (if they answered the same question) can be seen while opening the other user’s profile.
USER FEELS LIKE A NUMBER
Compared to other questionnaire based dating apps, OkCupid is known to have the most real users (less fake profiles according to asked active customers), but also for its variety of filters and questions to set up a profile to start with. Overall, testusers reported that the scores and percentages are giving a nice overview about compatibility, but after a couple of messages they realized, that their matches were not a good fit at all.
1
PREMIUM IS STRONGLY PROMOTED
picconn.blogspot.com/2013/.../forbes-5-dating-apps-to-help-you-find.html
The popular free online dating site OkCupid expanded into an app which lets users browse profiles, send messages, and seek blind dates with its “crazy blind date” feature. OkCupid uses algorithms to match users with those of similar interests to serve their around 30 million total users, with over 1 million unique users logging in every day1.
OK CUPID
Questions are send randomly, but don’t have to be answered.
Profile View Basic Information & % Match
Browsing anonymously is only available for A-user.
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ANALYSIS
CONSUMER BENEFITS DIFFERENTIATION
22 NEW APPROACH
O introduces a new way of dating - it is the only dating app solely based on the human voice and what the user has to say, instead of an abstraction of a person (text/picture). Unlike a picture, the voice can’t be masked or enhanced a lot by manipulation or MakeUp etc.
SELECT BY FEELING
O offers a new, more honest way of meeting a person. With the user’s selection process based on them liking a voice and what somebody answers, the chance to find somebody, that FEELS right, is exponentially higher than with only a picture.
O supports a constant (and natural) conversation CONSTANT CONVERSATION between users by allowing them to interact only after listening and answering each other’s questions. The questions themselves are not generated by a machine or preselected by psychologists, they are created by the user him/herself. This way the user can decide what they want to know, what they want to answer and showcase their personality in a more versatile and personal way than by just showing a picture of themselves. They create a collection of recordings that represent them by content, not their ability to take a good picture or write a compelling text. No more lame pickup lines - no more fake profiles.
MATRIX
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS O IS SIMPLY A NEW WAY OF DATING
23 SELECTION BASED ON THE VOICE
SERENDIPITY
QUESTIONNAIRE
SELECTION BASED ON A PICTURE
In comparison to the existing and soon to be launched USP apps and services that aim to target the same user group, O is the only dating app with a non-picture based approach within the whole market.
MARKET SIZE
SIZE DOES MATTER 24
ONLINE DATING IS ONE OF THE MOST LUCRATIVE MARKETS
Annual revenue from the online dating industry1
$1,749,000,000
Accumulated by the 24% of online dating service user, that pay for services.2
http://www.statisticbrain.com/online-dating-statistics/ http://www.globalwebindex.net/blog/what-to-know-about-tinder-in-5-charts
1
2
KPI
25 250,000 frequent user within 1st Year = 1,97 % of US Dater (Planned KPI)
1% = $ 1,749,000 The match group itself accumulates more than one billion of this revenue with their products Tinder, match.com etc. alone.3
= Minimum market share 2016/2017
http://www.statista.com/statistics/449390/quarterly-revenue-match-group/
3
1st YEAR
LET’S SPLIT 26 PROFILE
THE FIRST YEAR IT’S ON US! AND NO, IT WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY EXTEND.
50% displayed more often UNLIMITED LIKES/ MESSAGES
$12.99 / month
UPGRADE
THE BILL
FINANCIAL STORY
FREEMIUM BUSINESS MODEL
27
FREE
PREMIUM
10 LIKES / day 10 MESSAGES / day
Unlimited LIKES MESSAGES User is displayed 50% more often $ 12,99 / month
= $ 155.88 / year
1
http://www.statisticbrain.com/online-dating-statistics/
BUT: $ 243 / year = Average amount spent by dating site customer per year1
To reach our KPI of 250.000 frequent User within 1st YEAR the first year (see market size), we offer the Pre- FREE mium Service as a gift. The user can extend their PREMIUM subscription in the second year.
FINANCIAL STORY
ALLOWABLE COSTS THE ASK
28 Fixed Technology & equipment (apple) Initial server set up Phones (AT&T) Printer Furniture & interior Move in cost Website development (ids GmbH) Initial app Code & Design (wecode) Legal
$2,500 $2,500 $600 $250 $0 $400 $1,200 $120,000 $1,100 Total Fixed Costs
$5,000 $2,500 $1,200 $250 $0 $400 $1,200 $120,000 $1,100 $131,650
Variable Rent (Shared space) Utilities Monthly Phone Plans Hosting & Maintenance
$1,000 $0 $60 $5,000
$12,000 $0 $720 $60,000
Founder Salary & Benefits (until Launch) Full Time Salary & Benefits during Beta v1 + v2 (Coder, 2 x 6 months) Freelancer Design (on demand = 6 months calc.) Travel (2x/year) Legal (5h) Marketing (7 months Social Media) Voices for Audio Spots (25 h) Shipping Misc
$5,000
$60,000
$6,000
$72,000
$500 $3,300 $200 $750 $100 $300 $15,000
$15,000 $6,600 $1,000 $5,250 $2,500 $300 $15,000
Total Variable Costs
$250,370
TOTAL COSTS $382,020
FINANCIAL STORY
PROJECTED REVENUE THE OPPORTUNITY
29 Product
Price/year
Volume
Revenue
1st year no revenue (Premium subscription for free to gain user)
$0
250,000
$0
2nd year
$ 155.88
50,000
$ 7,794,000
(250.000 benchmark ticked = Premium model sold to ca. 20% = 50.000 subscribers) = $ 12.99 / month x 12 months Total Revenue 2nd year
$ 7,794,000
Less taxes
- 40%
- $ 3,117,600
If 20% of the planned KPI (250.000 user by February 2018) extend their free PREMIUM subscription in year two we can gain a revenue of
Total income / profit in 2nd year 2018/2019
$ 4,294,380
11 X ROI
BRAND PLATFORM
BRAND
WE PROMISE YOU THE WHOLE WORLD 30 (AND WE WILL CALL YOU THE NEXT DAY)
BRAND PROMISE
O is for those, who are appalled by the superficiality of the picture-selection-based dating apps, or simply annoyed by all the fake, outdated or manipulated profiles of potential prospects. O oers a match by chance. Serendipity is only limited by the age range, location and seeked gender selection of the user. With the focus on the voice and the exclusion of any pictures or text about the person, O introduces a new way of dating, where the user experiences the real person rather than only a picture or a short text. At O we strongly believe in fate and that the right person will cross your path by chance, not by a result of a machine.
DESIGN
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trustworthy / safe BRAND organized / structured VALUES personal / intimate customized / personalized aural only
personal / intimate DESIGN professional / clear DRIVER organized / simple sensual / deep
NAME
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ORIGIN OF THE NAME
O is a sound in itself and is mostly an expression of surprise. Therefore it is the perfect fit for a platform, that celebrates the variety of voices and what they can inspire. O can be read in every Language around the world, but pronounced completely dierent when spoken out loud. The way it is pronounced gives it the context, as does the voice when speaking.
VISUAL LANGUAGE
THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE HOW WE TRANSLATE AURAL INTO VISUAL
The identification mark of O is inspired by the sym- IDENTIFICATION bol of a ring, an entity, a combination of two halves MARK that form a whole. The twist in it plays on the fact, that in a relationship both partners are different, but together they can form a perfect entity. The upper half is always white to give the illusion of light shining on it.
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VISUAL LANGUAGE
Colors
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COLORS
The background color of a very dark blue is inspired by the night sky. The romantic setting of so many first dates delivers the perfect base for the voice to unfold its charme. Other audio apps like spotify or shazam also play in a darker theme to display the intimacy of audio as medium - from the speaker’s mouth directly to the listeners ears. A complimentary color palette of different shades of rose/red/pink build a contrast and resemble the color of a person’s mouth - the visual language becomes human and warm.
RGB CMYK
21 / 25 / 37 85 / 76 / 57 / 75
255 / 255 / 255 0/0/0/0
RGB CMYK
239 / 115 / 105 0 / 70 / 51 / 0
245 / 147 / 139 0 / 53 / 33 / 0
250 / 203 / 199 0 / 25 / 13 / 0
VISUAL LANGUAGE
NAME
National Bold 21 pt
AGE LOCATION STATE
National Bold 7 pt
TIMER
National Extrabold 7pt
Question
National Medium 13 pt
The font “National” with its various cuts represents TYPOGRAPHY a clear and straight forward counterpart to the organic visual language of the lines.
To visualize the user, O doesn’t offer the possibility PROFILE of a profile picture. Instead it is in the user’s hand to SCORE create a representation with the amount and versatility of recordings (answers). While using the app, the user gets the reward of filling up their personal O-icon next to their name. For each new recording they upload, for each question he or she answers (and to constantly source the urge to „fill“ the visual as representation of oneself) the user’s score gets displayed as follows:
100/100
80/100
60/100
30/100
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VISUAL LANGUAGE
36
IMAGERY Our voice is as unique as our fingerprint. Every re(LOOK&FEEL) cording also entails a unique story - as unique as the person telling it. To transport this, every recording produces - based on generative design code - a unique „drawing“ (visual) that represents that particular recording. During pauses of the voice the lines still float to remind the viewer of waves of the ocean - to keep the attention even in moments of silence.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS/ ICONS
Based on the name “O”, Buttons, Timer and Notifications play with the shape of the letter O (in a bulky version), to compliment the fine lines.
VISUAL LANGUAGE
37 VERONIKA 25 BROOKLYN NY
y
VISUAL LANGUAGE
GENERATIVE DESIGN CODE
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For a unique representation of a recording, we coded in Processing and created a generative design code, that lets the user’s voice “draw” a picture. The code’s mechanism is to have a set of lines as a start, and as far as the recording goes, the amount of lines grows and a gradient of colors is created to simulate the feeling of depth and 3-dimensionality (a voice becomes tangible). The lines thickness varys and is completely random to enhance the one-of-a-kind-effect of the final visual.
PROTOTYPE
LET’S HIT IT OFF. HOW O COULD LOOK LIKE
O is a mobile dating app, solely based on personal PRODUCT DESCRIPTION audio recordings. We offer two Key features: 1. EVERY VOICE IS UNIQUE. EVERY VISUAL IS, TOO. The voice is as unique as a fingerprint and can’t be masked, faked or manipulated, as pictures can be. Additionally every recording is double unique through the content of the answer, which is specific to only this person. To visualize this one-of-a-kind combination, O shows each recording with its own generated visual, created by a code, that acts randomly and reacts to each voice differently. This way the user “draws” with their voice. 2. ASK A QUESTION. START A CONVERSATION. Most dating apps lack in helping users to start a conversation - at O the user can’t get into contact without answering another user’s question. The User’s profile doesn’t contain any text or picture, but showcases all answered questions. With each recording the user’s profile grows, as do the chances to ask or answer a question a prospect likes.
KEY FEATURE ONE
KEY FEATURE TWO
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KEY FEATURE 1
YOU SOUND AMAZING. EVERY VOICE IS UNIQUE. EVERY VISUAL IS, TOO.
40 VERONIKA 25 BROOKLYN NY
Every recording is visualized with generative Design and becomes one-of-a-kind.
y
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PROTOTYPE
HELLO JOHN
Edit the info you provide
email adress, birthday, personal description and location.
O will receive the following info:
You are not John?
27 NYC NY
AN OVERVIEW
THE USERJOURNEY
MAIN FEED
25 BROOKLYN NY
VERONIKA
Main feed shows one profile at a time with the latest rec.
25 BROOKLYN NY
VERONIKA
0:07
Which movie was so bad, that you didn’t finish it?
Tap on the middle circle (timer) = Pause.
25 BROOKLYN NY
VERONIKA QUESTIONS What makes a good girlfriend?
What was the worst pickupline ever thrown at you?
What is your favourite food?
Why was your worst date the worst date ever? What prejudice about you is actually true?
What is your most hated song?
What did you really like in your ex partner?
ANSWERS
Q&A - easy selection per slide and tap.
PROTOTYPE
25 BROOKLYN NY
0:40
What makes a good girlfriend?
ANSWERS
What is you most hated song?
What is your favourite part of New York?
What did you really like in your ex partner?
What is your favourite comedian?
Which movie can you watch again and again?
1:56
VERONIKA
QUESTIONS
2:34
2:30
1:40
0:34
0:05
The ANSWERS are displayed with the length of the recording.
The user’s profile is always divided in QUESTIONS and ANSWERS, which can be browsed with an organic slider.
At QUESTIONS the user can ask what he or she wants to know from a potential partner.
PROFILE OF OTHER USER
After logging in the user can go into the main feed and start listening to recordings - on at a time.
At ANSWERS the user’s recorded answers are displayed. To listen to another answer, the user just has to tap onto the question.
The user can log in with facebook only. This way, we receive information like age, location and name and can preset the user profile.
By tapping on the ring in the middle of the screen, the recording is paused. By tapping on the other user’s name their profile comes up and let the discovery continue.
25 BROOKLYN NY
VERONIKA
0:0:07 0:00
Which movie can you watch again and again?
Start screen of the selected answer-rec.
KEY FEATURE 2
WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? ASK A QUESTION. START A CONVERSATION.
45 VERONIKA 25 BROOKLYN NY
0:07
Which movie was so bad, that you didn’t finish it?
Questions are user-generated and can simply be answered to start a conversation.
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VERONIKA
0:07 0:07
Which movie can you watch again and again?
Pause a rec. to LIKE.
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PROTOTYPE
VERONIKA
OH
0:25
Which movie can you watch again and again?
Swipe right to LIKE a recording = LIKE a user.
25 BROOKLYN NY
25 BROOKLYN NY
OH
VERONIKA VERONIKA
0:15
0:25
Which movie can you watch again and again?
The next recording of that user appears.
If the user likes the voice, he or she can simply swipe LIKE OR DISLIKE, right (this user behavior is already learned from THAT IS THE QUESTION other dating apps like Tinder) to LIKE and open the possibility for a match - and a conversation.
25 BROOKLYN NY
VERONIKA
0:15
SHE LIKES YOU, TOO!
MESSAGE HER
1
If the other user liked one of your recordings before, you are a match and both users receive a note.
PROTOTYPE
to
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VERONIKA
0: 15
FEB 17 1:45 PM
RECORDING NEW MESSAGE
If the other user also swiped right earlier, you get a SHE LIKES YOU, TOO match and both receive a notification.
Both users then have the possibility to message each other - with a simple hello, an answer to one of the questions of this user, or a comment to one the user’s recordings. Either way a natural conversation starts. Messaging is only possible when matched before = both want to.
44
PROTOTYPE
46 SARA
SARA
23 HOBOKEN NY
23 HOBOKEN NY
SARA
LAURA
LAURA
23 HOBOKEN NY
26 LES NY
26 LES NY
NO
0:05
Which movie was so bad, that you didn’t finish it?
0:05
0:43
0:05
Which movie was so bad, Which movie was so bad, movie can you Which that you didn’t finish it? that you didn’t finish it? again and again? watch
Swipe left to DISMISS a recording = DISMISS a user.
SWIPE LEFT FOR NO
NO
If the user dislikes a voice or what someone says, he or she can simply swipe left and dismisses this user forever. The function to go back will be implemented and charged in phase 2. For the start phase of O, swipes will be terminal. The UI is like a stack of cards. If the user dismisses a recording and its user, the next user appears behind it.
0:43
Which movie can you watch again and again?
The next user appears behind (stack of cards system).
PROTOTYPE
47 JOHN
PROFILE
SETTINGS
27 NYC NY
SEEKING men women both
QUESTIONS
MESSAGES 1 MATCHES
1 23
ANSWERS UPGRADE
ANSWERS
27 435
M I L E S
Y E A R S
HELP Edit the info you provide
1
Per tap on the button bottom right, the user accesses his or her own PROFILE.
Three settings can be chosen per finger tip. If a new message arrives, the message button lights up. Tapping on it, leads to the messages menu.
The messages menu can be reached anytime directly by simply tapping on the button in the navigation bar below.
O offers a selection based on fate, not math. And SETTINGS serendipity is only limited by the user’s choice of age range, radius of location and seeked gender.
ANCILLARIES
48
MATING RITUALS HOW TO MAKE YOU LISTEN
EVENTS
To launch O we plan to create a headphone-party – comparable with the silent disco concept - except the singles can record a short pickup line or statement directly at the party and be found. We provide them with the app and match them in real-time for this night only.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We are present at all major social media platforms to create a buzz around O, to inform about O and last but not least run campaigns to find out the user behavior and desires.
@weareotheapp
MARKETING
VERONIKA, 23 NEW YORK CITY Why was your worst date the worst date ever?
0:15
49 We are O. A mobile App, introducing a new way of dating, solely based on your voice, instead of pictures. COMING SOON Leave us your email and we'll let you when we're ready to launch. Or pick a question, record your answer and send it to us to win your voice visualised.
SUBSCRIBE
FOLLOW US
Discover what a picture can’t tell.
Before O will be launched, a website informs brief- WEBSITE ly what O has to offer. To tie potential customers, we ask for the email address in an easy 1-step-done-button. The client gets offered to become an exclusive beta-tester - the customer feels special, O gains valuable feedback.
www.we-are-o.com
CAMPAIGN TWO
WIN YOUR VOICE VISUALIZED CREATING A USERBASE
50 CAMPAIGNS ONE
To introduce and intrigue, we place short 15-sec.episodes, that showcase a tidbit of a story without giving any clue about what the whole story is about or what the question might have been, on social media. Each episode is introduced by the name of the narrator, followed by the display of the hashtag #WHATAPICTURECANT and ending with our Logo and the tagline “Discover what a picture can’t tell.” Only the visualization of the heard voice is showing on screen - we stay true to audio only.
Screenshot campaign one: „... the server came, brought the pizza... and the pizza landed on my date‘s face...“
STORIES WITH „... and then, she chased the bear...“ BEST RESULTS „... I had to run to the corner and hide in the next store...“
CAMPAIGNS TWO
To find out which questions provoke the user to tell their most interesting stories, we also place “Questions” (15 sec. videos) on twitter and facebook - in a second campaign. As a special treat the user, who participate and send in their clues about what question could have been asked or what the story is all about, and also for those who simply answer one of those questions, can win their own voice visualized as a poster. Screenshot campaign two: “What do you think, makes a good boyfriend?”
CAMPAIGN ONE
Poster example.
51
COACH
Image source http://www.amazon.com/Get-Guy-Learn-Secrets-Deserve-ebook/dp/B008CGUFB8
52
Matthew Hussey’s latest book “Get the guy” is on the New York Times Bestseller list. and has over 900 reviews on amazon - the request level is high.
COLLABORATION
COLLABORATE WITH COACHES NATURAL RELATIONSHIPS FOR O
53
To promote O further we collaborate with the people at the source of the User - Relationship coaches, such as Matthew Hussey (see Book cover on the left). He alone gives speeches in front of thousands of women and helped many men for years and years with hands-on-tips for dating. O refers to them, promotes book releases and of- COACH fers them their own channel with weekly podcasts CHANNELS within the app. In exchange they recommend O to the eager daters WIN WIN and use O as another channel for their advise. The FOR ALL coaches get an additional channel for self-promotion directly within their target group and therefore are highly interested in informing their clients about O.
54
MADE FOR E A
DECK, PITCH PLAN & PR
E ACH OTHER?
N & PRODUCT ROADMAP
59
55
DECK
WHY
WHO
We want to help them to find, meet and connect to prospects by how and what they have to say in the first place, not by how they look.
In order to serve those who want to get a feeling and a real impression about a person before meeting them face-to-face, we are building O.
DECK
OFFER
We’ll introduce this service to our users through social media after a beta run in FEBRUARY 2016.
They’ll tell others they love it because next to the aural sensation of a pure, unmasked human voice, they really get to know somebody based on the character, in the most natural form through talking. Every time they tune in, there is the moment of surprise, as they experience new voices, new answers, new questions - and never know who will be in their feed this time.
The reason that people will sign up for our offering is because we offer them the opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level and to find longterm relationships based on content not surface and they can ask and answer questions, they care about, asked by other users before = natural icebreaker and no more lame pickup lines.
POTENTIAL
LAUNCH REVENUE
We’ll get paid, starting in the second year, by the users, who extend the first-year-free Premium subscription. If we reach our KPI of 250.000 users within the first year, we can gain 11 times the ROI.
KEY Our key assumptions are, that people don‘t want to ASSUMPTIONS become an algorithm and answer 400 questions: people are frustrated by being tricked by fake, outdated and manipulated pictures and want an alternative to experience the real person behind a picture: people want a more intimate medium to interact through and get to know others, they want to be admired for who they are, not only their looks and they want to be heard by others who are like minded and equally aroused by sound, TEST
We’ll test these assumptions by running social media campaigns to ask potential users for questions, their answers and let them guess the full stories. This way we can find out what questions work best and implement them into our test in July 2016.
ADVISOR
PITCH PLAN
TO MAKE O HAPPEN AND AS AMAZING AS IT CAN BE, THESE COLLABORATORS AND GATEKEEPER WILL ADVISE UNTIL MAY 2016:
Serifcan Ozcan (Advisor)
Leland Maschmeyer Interaction Design
Pitchbook
February
February 01 - March 6 UI Testing & UI Revision Implementation of Test Outcome Pitchbook Revision Preparation Video Shoot
UI
January
January 25 - 31 Revision Pitchbook Video Outline Start Branding Illustration 1/10
Video
March
March 07 - April 3 Spring Break -> Video Shoot Revision Pitchbook Edit Pitch Video Revision UI Adaption UI to website design, securing domain, code & going live with website (beta) Coordination + Code kickoff
Pitch
April
April 04 - May 1 Coordination + Code simulation for Pitch Thesis Forum SVA Theatre -> Pitch Revision Website
June
Coding v.1
ROADMAP
PR
May
May 02 - 15 Final Pitch Book -> sent out
June 06 - July 1 v 0.1.0 First beta Coding • View notifications and all your activity on your profile page • Stream your favorite recordings, create playlists • Get kinklist to specify content of your feed • Make comments, record clips, and share them to twitter or facebook • Subscribe to your favorite voice-channels
1st Test
July/August
July 2 - August 30 v 0.2.0 revised beta Version • New welcome tutorial • Implement skip-ahead and skip-back 15 seconds buttons • Legal / 18 years - screen • Ability to delete your comments and recordings • Other fixes and improvements • Fix UI flaws • Implement new track progress indicators in episode list • Bug fixes
February
February 2017 Launch
2nd Test
November -
November 1 - February v 0.1.0 Preparation public release app • Fix bugs, reported from User Testing v2 • Add auto-refresh to main feed • Add duration in recording view • Tweak key color algorithm
Coding v.2
September/October
September 2 - November 1 v 0.2.0 Public beta release • Add push notifications for new recordings from favorite voices • UI for choosing which recordings you want notifications for • Show now logged in “tickled ears” • Add Invite friends feature • Add recording description page • Sync recordings & Download-Button • Improvements to streaming and player behavior
Launch LAUNCH
LET’S SET A DATE.
PLANNED PRODUCT LAUNCH: FEBRUARY 2017
58
BIBLIOGRAPHY
60
BIBLIOGRAPHY ACADEMIC PAPER
The ecology of relationships - Meeting locations and cohabitors’ relationship perceptions Sharon Sassler, Amanda Jayne Miller 1Cornell University, USA, 2University of Indianapolis, USA Published online before print March 10, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0265407514525886 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships March 2015 vol. 32 no. 2 141-160 source online: http://spr.sagepub.com/content/32/2/141.abstract Online Dating - A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science Eli J. Finkel, Northwestern University, 2029 Sheridan Road, Swift Hall #102, Evanston, IL 60208-2710 source online: http://psi.sagepub.com/content/13/1/3.full?ijkey=cK9EB6/4zQ0AM&keytype=ref&siteid=sppsi Searching for a Mate - The Rise of the Internet as a Social Intermediary Michael J. Rosenfelda, Reuben J. Thomasb Stanford University, The City College of New York Michael J. Rosenfeld, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Published online before print June 13, 2012, doi: 10.1177/0003122412448050 American Sociological Review August 2012 vol. 77 no. 4 523-547 source: http://asr.sagepub.com/content/77/4/523.abstract
COMPETITORS
http://www.businessofapps.com/tinder-mobile-app-statistics-and-revenue/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/match-groups-upcoming-ipo-fare-better-than-rest-mahesh-vellanki http://www.top10bestdatingsites.com/top10dating?utm_source=taboolaNI&utm_medium=gawkermedia-gizmodo&ts=tabdat&taboola_campaign=230944 http://pix11.com/2015/03/04/premium-tinder-app-charging-users-over-30-years-old-more/# http://www.carbonated.tv/lifestyle/a-study-showed-that-almost-half-of-tinder-users-arent-single http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/tinder-dating-app_n_3044472.html http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/27/new-dating-app-hitch-lets-you-play-matchmaker/ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3091201/Afraid-caught-Nearly-FIVE-men-quit-Hinge-one-week-dating-app-unveiled-new-feature-informs-users-potential-date-relationship.html http://www.forbes.com/pictures/gddi45fg/tinder/ http://www.wired.com/2014/12/hinge-fundraise/ http://nypost.com/2015/02/21/why-are-the-founders-of-dating-apps-grindr-hinge-still-single/ http://www.statista.com/statistics/449390/quarterly-revenue-match-group/ http://nypost.com/2015/12/18/new-dating-app-is-a-less-creepy-version-of-tinder/ http://picconn.blogspot.com/2013/.../forbes-5-dating-apps-to-help-you-find.html http://www.globalwebindex.net/blog/what-to-know-about-tinder-in-5-charts http://www.datingproject.us/2015/03/dating-mobile-app-tinder/ http://topmobiletrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Mobile-Dating-Sept-2015-infographic.jpg
PODCASTS
https://soundcloud.com/nextmarket/rob-walch-of-libsyn-the Rob Walch of Libsyn: The podcasting market by the numbers http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/why-audio-porn-making-comeback/
AUDIO VISUAL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM6M69v6u7o Serial and the Podcast Explosion | February 5, 2015 https://vimeo.com/58659769 http://digg.com/originals/why-audio-never-goes-viral (Is This Thing On? By Stan Alcorn · Jan 15, 2014)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
61 https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t27/tables/tab04.pdf CENSUS year 2000 http://www.statisticbrain.com/valentines-day-statistics/ Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, January 2016 http://www.statisticbrain.com/its-finally-acceptable-to-use-online-dating-sites/ Statistic Brain Research Institute , March 2015 http://www.statisticbrain.com/dating-relationship-stats/ MSNBC Survey, June 2015 http://www.statisticbrain.com/online-dating-statistics/ Reuters, 18th September 2015
STATISTICS
http://mic.com/articles/112062/the-way-most-people-meet-their-significant-others-is-not-what-you-think#.d6KEwbcqu http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/5-facts-about-online-dating/ April 20, 2015 http://thoughtcatalog.com/zaron-burnett-iii/2013/03/you-cant-find-real-love-online/ http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2014/08/28/relationship-quotes/ http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/is-kindness-physically-attractive/ http://www.techinsider.io/how-to-fall-in-love-using-science-2016-2 http://qz.com/645965/there-are-no-laws-of-attraction-but-there-are-some-scientific-principles-to-dating/ http://www.techinsider.io/things-that-happen-to-couples-in-long-term-relationships-2016-2?utm_content=buffer930d9&utm_ medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-ti http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/grading-the-online-dating-industry.html http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/journals/pspi/online-dating.html#comment-7654520
DATING
https://medium.com/@IlyaG/4-reasons-why-developers-should-adopt-voice-enabled-tech-now-15dd08a78f08#.7064b6vz1 https://medium.com/chris-messina/2016-will-be-the-year-of-conversational-commerce-1586e85e3991#.imfzh1ia6 https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/omg-mobile-voice-survey-reveals-teens.html http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/ http://qz.com/640302/why-is-so-much-of-our-new-technology-designed-primarily-for-men/
VOICE SERVICES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_%28podcast%29 https://medium.com/cuepoint/radio-cures-technical-barriers-in-audio-cf98440ee5c4#.fbtrrs2uz http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/serial-mania-says-growing-popularity-podcasts/ http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/20/8076275/one-of-my-favorite-podcast-hosts-died-and-it-feels-like-i-lost-a http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/books/review/erotic-fiction-audiobooks-are-a-booming-business.html?_r=3 http://theamericangenius.com/tech-news/tung-seeks-to-make-podcasts-more-social-and-interactive/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GoneWildAudio/ http://www.soundecology.ca/acoustic-ecology-2/why-there-will-never-be-instagram-for-audio/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/18/the-future-of-podcasting/ http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669740/soundcloud-aims-to-become-the-instagram-of-audio-sharing-after-redesign http://www.vice.com/read/audio-porn-tumblr-lends-mystery-to-masturbation http://www.soundecology.ca/acoustic-ecology-2/why-there-will-never-be-instagram-for-audio/ http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/whats-behind-the-great-podcast-renaissance.html# http://www.slideshare.net/clammrapp/20150617-future-of-podcasting-2015-clammr-v-f http://socialmediadesk.tumblr.com/post/124155671696/testing-out-spoken-the-instagram-for-audio http://www.playboy.com/articles/deep-inside-audio-porn http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2015/12/08/clammr-aims-to-be-an-instagram-for-audio-draw-listeners-to-podcasts/
PODCAST & AUDIO
THANK YOU I COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU.
This project would simply not exist, if it wasn’t for these open-minded people, who not only gave their time, but also their hearts and insight into their personal lives to fuel the concept of O. Thomas Prellwitz Serifcan Ozcan
Michael Stone Fiorella Basso Brian Collins Leland Maschmeyer Sarah DaVanzo Willy Wong Sarah Al-Seikhan Jossue Velasquez Zenzile Sky Lark Anaële Pélisson Sarah Wilson Fernando Capeto Vedanti Sikka
“You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.” — Oscar Wilde