By Giselle Tsirulnik
When reviewing the mobile initiatives of Foot Locker, it is safe to say the specialty retailer has quite an aggressive mobile strategy.
Foot Locker offers consumers mobile coupons, text alert services, has a mobile VIP club, a mobile Web site and has done text to win promotions.
"Economic realities have forced retailers to carefully evaluate where they invest and how they interact with consumers,” said Curtis Rapp. “Because of mobile's effectiveness we are seeing increased interest from our retail partners.
“With the mobile channel, retailers are able to provide targeted communications to interested consumers leading to measurable return on investment,” he said.
Foot Locker is a specialty athletic retailer that operates approximately 3,800 stores in 21 countries in North America, Europe and Australia.
Consumers that text in get a coupon texted to their phone for $10 off their next purchase of $50 or more. This coupon can only be redeemed in-store.
“Because of the uptake in newer devices like the iPhone, a lot of retailers are leveraging the mobile platform via mobile optimized site, apps, coupons and SMS,” said Tom Nawara, managing director of digital strategy and design, Aqcuity Group, Chicago.
“This day in age with the economy, retailers are looking to increase revenue and reduce costs and mobile offers this,” he said. “Look at mobile campaigns and sites verses traditional counterparts. Mobile can reduce cost and mobile is a location-aware personal medium.”
The VIP Club’s mobile site gives consumers 24/7 access, since members always have their phone on them.
VIP members also get advanced notice of new product arrivals and get offers and content from Foot Locker partners.
Membership is customizable so users can choose preferences to receive more info about the brand and products they want to hear about.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Popeye's goes mobile -- campaign garners 54 percent opt-in
By Giselle Tsirulnik
Popeye's mobile coupon campaign that promotes the fast food chain's three-piece chicken dinner has achieved a 54 percent double opt-in.
Cox Media is running television spots in Wichita, KS, encouraging consumers to text the keyword POPEYES to short code 74642. Already 750 consumers have texted and more than 50 percent have opted in for future communications from Popeye's.
“This type of mobile advertising campaign was a perfect fit for the Popeye’s stores in Wichita,” said Mike Orr, account executive at Cox Media.
Consumers that texted in received a message that said, “Show this msg at Popeye’s Chicken & get a FREE 2PC DINNER with ur purchase of a 3 pc dinner & medium drink. Hurry into Popeye’s TODAY offer ends 7/31/09.”
Then consumers are asked whether they would like to join to receive future communications from Popeye's.
Consumers that join the Popeye's mobile VIP Club get the following message, “Success! UR in! To quit txt STOP@anytime. Don’t keep the savings to yourself - tell your family and friends to get in on it too by texting POPEYES to 269411!”
“The strategy for this client was to find a unique and fresh way of promoting their three piece dinner- combining a great promotional offer, with a spontaneous and convenient method of redemption,” said Shira Simmonds.
The results of this campaign show how positive an impact mobile marketing has had on the Popeye’s promotion.
Mobile was a perfect tool for the Popeye’s brand because it enabled them to reach out to their target demographic (families) via a medium that is not only accessible to them, but also one that is their most personal and convenient device.
Popeye’s also made sure that the offer was relevant and appealing to the target – a mobile coupon for a discount on dinner provides added-value to families in a time of economic uncertainty.
Popeye's mobile coupon campaign that promotes the fast food chain's three-piece chicken dinner has achieved a 54 percent double opt-in.
Cox Media is running television spots in Wichita, KS, encouraging consumers to text the keyword POPEYES to short code 74642. Already 750 consumers have texted and more than 50 percent have opted in for future communications from Popeye's.
“This type of mobile advertising campaign was a perfect fit for the Popeye’s stores in Wichita,” said Mike Orr, account executive at Cox Media.
Consumers that texted in received a message that said, “Show this msg at Popeye’s Chicken & get a FREE 2PC DINNER with ur purchase of a 3 pc dinner & medium drink. Hurry into Popeye’s TODAY offer ends 7/31/09.”
Then consumers are asked whether they would like to join to receive future communications from Popeye's.
Consumers that join the Popeye's mobile VIP Club get the following message, “Success! UR in! To quit txt STOP@anytime. Don’t keep the savings to yourself - tell your family and friends to get in on it too by texting POPEYES to 269411!”
“The strategy for this client was to find a unique and fresh way of promoting their three piece dinner- combining a great promotional offer, with a spontaneous and convenient method of redemption,” said Shira Simmonds.
The results of this campaign show how positive an impact mobile marketing has had on the Popeye’s promotion.
Mobile was a perfect tool for the Popeye’s brand because it enabled them to reach out to their target demographic (families) via a medium that is not only accessible to them, but also one that is their most personal and convenient device.
Popeye’s also made sure that the offer was relevant and appealing to the target – a mobile coupon for a discount on dinner provides added-value to families in a time of economic uncertainty.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Forecast: Ad-funded MMS Revenues to Hit $87M by 2014
Posted: 29 Jun 2009
A new forecast by Juniper Research suggests that ad-funded MMS revenues will reach $87 million over the next five years, with annual growth rates reaching 94%.
In addition, the forecast also states that SMS and mobile email will continue to dominate the person-to-person (p2p) mobile messaging market during the same time period. The basis for the forecast being that the number of brands using MMS as an advertising medium is still growing rapidly, with push MMS and SMS in particular being employed very effectively in both mature and emerging markets. This alone has enabled network operators to support ad-funded voice and SMS tariffs and combat falling ARPU, while providing brands with new advertising channels along the way.
The findings indicate that the Far East and China will lead the global ad-funded MMS market by a considerable margin, followed by North America and Western Europe respectively. It's nice to see the North American market leading a segment of mobile technology, which doesn't seem to happen very often.
A new forecast by Juniper Research suggests that ad-funded MMS revenues will reach $87 million over the next five years, with annual growth rates reaching 94%.
In addition, the forecast also states that SMS and mobile email will continue to dominate the person-to-person (p2p) mobile messaging market during the same time period. The basis for the forecast being that the number of brands using MMS as an advertising medium is still growing rapidly, with push MMS and SMS in particular being employed very effectively in both mature and emerging markets. This alone has enabled network operators to support ad-funded voice and SMS tariffs and combat falling ARPU, while providing brands with new advertising channels along the way.
The findings indicate that the Far East and China will lead the global ad-funded MMS market by a considerable margin, followed by North America and Western Europe respectively. It's nice to see the North American market leading a segment of mobile technology, which doesn't seem to happen very often.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Economy Boosting Prospects For Mobile Coupons
January 09, 2009 | Rick Mathieson
Juniper Research is reporting that the economy could very well boost use of mobile coupons upwards of 200 million people by 2013, according to RCR.
“We believe that consumers will be attracted to mobile coupons compared to traditional paper, and by the ability to tune the types of coupons received to their personal preferences rather than receiving all types through the vanilla distribution mode that is allowed by paper coupons,” Howard Wilcox of Juniper Research writes in a statement.
“Today, the overwhelming majority of coupons are paper-based, but the mobile phone is the ultimate individual marketing device, and mobile coupon pilots show great increased redemption rates — often double-digit percentages.”
The pub points to Cellfire as a leader in the space. We've covered the San Jose-based firm a lot here at BRANDING UNBOUND. The Kroger Co. trial we posted about saw a 20% redemption rate, which compares favorably to the 2% return typically seen with print coupons.
Why does that matter?
Because a.) the total value of coupons has to be reflected as a liability on balance sheets, regardless of whether they're ever redeemed and b.) most important of all, people spend far more than they otherwise would have when they redeem a coupon - often for a product they wouldn't normally buy, or on additional products when they go to the store.
“The sliver lining of a negative economy for Cellfire … is that consumers’ interest in savings and coupons has gone up considerably,” Cellfire CEO Brent Dusing told the pub last week. “So marketers are viewing coupons as a valuable way to reach customers. We see advertiser promotions budgets remaining relatively stable vis-à-vis other media and advertising.”
Juniper Research is reporting that the economy could very well boost use of mobile coupons upwards of 200 million people by 2013, according to RCR.
“We believe that consumers will be attracted to mobile coupons compared to traditional paper, and by the ability to tune the types of coupons received to their personal preferences rather than receiving all types through the vanilla distribution mode that is allowed by paper coupons,” Howard Wilcox of Juniper Research writes in a statement.
“Today, the overwhelming majority of coupons are paper-based, but the mobile phone is the ultimate individual marketing device, and mobile coupon pilots show great increased redemption rates — often double-digit percentages.”
The pub points to Cellfire as a leader in the space. We've covered the San Jose-based firm a lot here at BRANDING UNBOUND. The Kroger Co. trial we posted about saw a 20% redemption rate, which compares favorably to the 2% return typically seen with print coupons.
Why does that matter?
Because a.) the total value of coupons has to be reflected as a liability on balance sheets, regardless of whether they're ever redeemed and b.) most important of all, people spend far more than they otherwise would have when they redeem a coupon - often for a product they wouldn't normally buy, or on additional products when they go to the store.
“The sliver lining of a negative economy for Cellfire … is that consumers’ interest in savings and coupons has gone up considerably,” Cellfire CEO Brent Dusing told the pub last week. “So marketers are viewing coupons as a valuable way to reach customers. We see advertiser promotions budgets remaining relatively stable vis-à-vis other media and advertising.”
Taco Maker’s text message coupon campaign boosts trial with help from traditional media
By MARK BRANDAU
(June 01, 2009) Jack and Wendy may want to do more interviews. As fellow quick-service mascot Juan Maker, spokesman for The Taco Maker, has shown, new-media marketing can benefit from a complementary push in traditional advertising methods.
The Taco Maker’s recent marketing push includes a text message coupon plan that yielded redemption rates of about 50 percent, according to chain officials.
The Taco Maker put Juan to work in a hybrid marketing campaign, which combined irreverent spots on talk radio with a text message coupon program that yielded redemption rates of about 50 percent and contributed to a 21-percent increase in first-quarter same-store sales, officials said.
The campaign was built around the launch of The Taco Maker’s new flagship product, a 1-pound burrito called “The Maker,” and was crucial to expanding the brand’s base of young customers, said Carlos Budet, president and chief executive of parent company FransGlobal Corp., based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We realize how important it is to tap into a younger, tech-savvy segment of the market for growing our brand,” Budet said. “We’ve seen in just a few months, in fact, the impact this strategy can have on our total revenue gains. In the first quarter alone, over 2,200 customers have responded positively via their mobile phones for our free-burrito promotion.”
This new-media strategy depended on a more traditional advertising method: talk radio. For instance, on the “Obie & Lil Shawn Morning Show” on Orlando, Fla., station WPYO-FM, an actor playing Juan Maker does an unscripted interview with one of the hosts. In a Cheech Marin-style caricature, the Taco Maker spokesman talks up The Maker, throws in a double entendre and implores listeners to text a code to a certain number to receive their coupons.
Gary Bentz, chief creative officer of BxP Marketing, the agency that created the campaign, said market testing showed that radio would be the best way to aggressively roll out the text coupon campaign.
“When we decided what vehicle to use, we knew it was going to be focused on how effectively the medium would get people to text back to us,” Bentz said. “We’re pushing The Maker, but the most important part is the call to action to text. That was the point of the radio buy.
“Once we generated thousands of texts and had people come in and try the product, they saw we were for real. The training of our cashiers and employees in trying to upsell was phenomenal, and the repeat visitors loved our offering.”
The 50-percent redemption rate would have been “unheard of” for old direct-mail offers, Bentz said, which had redemption percentages in the single digits.
The mobile-coupon campaign’s next phase will promote the Juan Peso Value Menu, Budet said. Offers for the value menu will be sent to customers who redeemed coupons for burritos.
“This medium has been cost-effective,” Bentz said. “When people text in, it’s because they’ve listened to our message. But when they come in and come back, that’s the golden ticket right there.”
The Taco Maker has more than 185 stores in the United States, Latin America and Asia
(June 01, 2009) Jack and Wendy may want to do more interviews. As fellow quick-service mascot Juan Maker, spokesman for The Taco Maker, has shown, new-media marketing can benefit from a complementary push in traditional advertising methods.
The Taco Maker’s recent marketing push includes a text message coupon plan that yielded redemption rates of about 50 percent, according to chain officials.
The Taco Maker put Juan to work in a hybrid marketing campaign, which combined irreverent spots on talk radio with a text message coupon program that yielded redemption rates of about 50 percent and contributed to a 21-percent increase in first-quarter same-store sales, officials said.
The campaign was built around the launch of The Taco Maker’s new flagship product, a 1-pound burrito called “The Maker,” and was crucial to expanding the brand’s base of young customers, said Carlos Budet, president and chief executive of parent company FransGlobal Corp., based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We realize how important it is to tap into a younger, tech-savvy segment of the market for growing our brand,” Budet said. “We’ve seen in just a few months, in fact, the impact this strategy can have on our total revenue gains. In the first quarter alone, over 2,200 customers have responded positively via their mobile phones for our free-burrito promotion.”
This new-media strategy depended on a more traditional advertising method: talk radio. For instance, on the “Obie & Lil Shawn Morning Show” on Orlando, Fla., station WPYO-FM, an actor playing Juan Maker does an unscripted interview with one of the hosts. In a Cheech Marin-style caricature, the Taco Maker spokesman talks up The Maker, throws in a double entendre and implores listeners to text a code to a certain number to receive their coupons.
Gary Bentz, chief creative officer of BxP Marketing, the agency that created the campaign, said market testing showed that radio would be the best way to aggressively roll out the text coupon campaign.
“When we decided what vehicle to use, we knew it was going to be focused on how effectively the medium would get people to text back to us,” Bentz said. “We’re pushing The Maker, but the most important part is the call to action to text. That was the point of the radio buy.
“Once we generated thousands of texts and had people come in and try the product, they saw we were for real. The training of our cashiers and employees in trying to upsell was phenomenal, and the repeat visitors loved our offering.”
The 50-percent redemption rate would have been “unheard of” for old direct-mail offers, Bentz said, which had redemption percentages in the single digits.
The mobile-coupon campaign’s next phase will promote the Juan Peso Value Menu, Budet said. Offers for the value menu will be sent to customers who redeemed coupons for burritos.
“This medium has been cost-effective,” Bentz said. “When people text in, it’s because they’ve listened to our message. But when they come in and come back, that’s the golden ticket right there.”
The Taco Maker has more than 185 stores in the United States, Latin America and Asia
Marketers test mobile coupons
by Helen Leggatt | Originally posted March 10, 2008
How many people leave the house without their cell phone? Not many. In fact, a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project survey found that Americans said it would be harder to be without their cell phone than television or a landline.
And how many people clip coupons yet forget to keep them close at hand, or neglect to use them in the timescale required? Quite a few, and coupon clipping has seen a decline over the last few years.
So what better way to ensure coupons and discounts are delivered to the right people at the right time than to distribute them via cell phone?
Many companies are seeing great response rates from mobile coupons. Subway’s recent MySubway Mobile campaign achieved mobile coupon redemption rates of 5% to 6%. The average redemption rate for print coupons is around 2%.
“There’s 240 million phones and text messaging is getting bigger than email,” said Michael Lewkowicz, chairman of the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust and president of Subway franchisee QSR Brands, Buffalo, NY via MobileMarketer.com.
“Our demographic is youth and youth has the phone and we have to get them to email and text. That’s where our youth are. They can type the numbers 1 to 10 better than they can do the ABCs.”
How many people leave the house without their cell phone? Not many. In fact, a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project survey found that Americans said it would be harder to be without their cell phone than television or a landline.
And how many people clip coupons yet forget to keep them close at hand, or neglect to use them in the timescale required? Quite a few, and coupon clipping has seen a decline over the last few years.
So what better way to ensure coupons and discounts are delivered to the right people at the right time than to distribute them via cell phone?
Many companies are seeing great response rates from mobile coupons. Subway’s recent MySubway Mobile campaign achieved mobile coupon redemption rates of 5% to 6%. The average redemption rate for print coupons is around 2%.
“There’s 240 million phones and text messaging is getting bigger than email,” said Michael Lewkowicz, chairman of the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust and president of Subway franchisee QSR Brands, Buffalo, NY via MobileMarketer.com.
“Our demographic is youth and youth has the phone and we have to get them to email and text. That’s where our youth are. They can type the numbers 1 to 10 better than they can do the ABCs.”
Unilever to Measure Mobile Coupon Use and Effectiveness
Originally Posted Monday, June 1st, 2009
In one of the first large-scale tests of its kind, Unilever wants to measure the effectiveness of marrying online coupons to mobile phone redemption. “This has been a Holy Grail thing that people have been trying to figure out,” said Marc Shaw, director of integrated marketing at Unilever, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. If the test proves successful, Unilever stands to learn a valuable lessons, as online coupon redemption rates are typically in the mid-teens, compared to print coupon redemption rates, which typically don’t break one percent. By letting consumers transmit the coupons to their mobile phones, instead of forcing them to print the coupons out, Unilever hopes to give customers an easy, hassle-free way to access the coupons, as these days, mobile phones are fairly ubiquitous. “The cell phone is the thing that when you leave behind at home, you go back and get it. It’s the organizer of our lives,” said Unilever’s Shaw, again as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
In one of the first large-scale tests of its kind, Unilever wants to measure the effectiveness of marrying online coupons to mobile phone redemption. “This has been a Holy Grail thing that people have been trying to figure out,” said Marc Shaw, director of integrated marketing at Unilever, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. If the test proves successful, Unilever stands to learn a valuable lessons, as online coupon redemption rates are typically in the mid-teens, compared to print coupon redemption rates, which typically don’t break one percent. By letting consumers transmit the coupons to their mobile phones, instead of forcing them to print the coupons out, Unilever hopes to give customers an easy, hassle-free way to access the coupons, as these days, mobile phones are fairly ubiquitous. “The cell phone is the thing that when you leave behind at home, you go back and get it. It’s the organizer of our lives,” said Unilever’s Shaw, again as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
Qdoba shows 52% redemption rate from JAGTAG mobile coupons
Originally Posted by Cian on Mar 6, 2009 11:27
Qdoba, a Mexican fast-food chain in the US, recently ran a mobile coupon campaign using the JAGTAG MMS mobile barcode system. JAGTAG has released the results from the campaign, showing an average coupon redemption rate of 52%.
JAGTAG ran the Qdoba program to promote a new restaurant near the University of Michigan campus. JAGTAG 2d barcodes were placed in ads in college newspapers ads and on wildings on campus for six days. People who took a picture of the barcode and texted it to the shortcode provided received a Buy One Burrito, Get One Free coupon via MMS.
400 consumers requested the coupon in six days, representing 1% of all students on campus. Of those who received a coupon, more than half redeemed their coupon in-store over the same six day period.
Qdoba, a Mexican fast-food chain in the US, recently ran a mobile coupon campaign using the JAGTAG MMS mobile barcode system. JAGTAG has released the results from the campaign, showing an average coupon redemption rate of 52%.
JAGTAG ran the Qdoba program to promote a new restaurant near the University of Michigan campus. JAGTAG 2d barcodes were placed in ads in college newspapers ads and on wildings on campus for six days. People who took a picture of the barcode and texted it to the shortcode provided received a Buy One Burrito, Get One Free coupon via MMS.
400 consumers requested the coupon in six days, representing 1% of all students on campus. Of those who received a coupon, more than half redeemed their coupon in-store over the same six day period.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Eyeing the mobile-wallet trend
June 19, 2009 | By Brendan Benzing
You just left the house, and realized you forgot your wallet. Do you go back?
It depends. Sure, you could borrow money or go without lunch today. You may even risk getting pulled over without your driver’s license.
But what if you forgot your mobile phone? Would you go back then?
For many, this has become an even harder decision. You could borrow a phone, but none of the people you call will answer, because they screen calls.
But would it matter, because you probably don’t even know the phone numbers of frequently-called friends anyway?
In addition, the people who want to reach you on-the-go won’t be able to get in touch either. And if you are like most consumers, you are not just making calls on your phone – you are also sending emails, text messages, IMs and social network updates.
The mobile phone has become your unified communication device, 24/7.
The two items that people say they would return home to collect after realizing they forgot them are the mobile phone and the wallet. I would put my money on the mobile phone to surpass the wallet.
The old American Express tag line of “Don’t leave home without it” may soon be more applicable to the mobile phone than the iconic AT&T campaign of “Reach out and touch someone,” which exemplifies the emotional connection of telecommunications.
In most countries, you cannot buy lunch with a mobile phone. But consumers can make purchases using their phones.
For marketers, this trend is important to watch.
Think back to the middle of this decade when abandoned shopping carts were the challenge of every emerging online retailer.
It certainly took some time to get consumers comfortable with the entire online process. But now that their credit card numbers are on file with so many retailers, all they really need to do is sign in, authenticate and purchase.
Today, there are new services that enable you to pay with “cash” via your mobile phone. Near Field Communication (NFC), a technology that enables consumers to merely wave their phones in front of a reader, is emerging as a go-to payment method.
While it still may be a few years before that is commonplace, there are trials going on in Malaysia, Britain and other countries that are proving promising.
In fact, Reuters reports that 50 percent of consumers in Japan have mobile phones that replace the need for a wallet.
For the mobile marketer, now is the time to begin building relationships with its customer through their mobile devices. This certainly is a delicate process given the personal relationship individuals have with their devices.
The mobile device is truly the converged experience that has been promised for over a decade.
In terms of retail, the mobile phone will support transactions and enable consumers to gather product information from retailers, as well as provide a 24/7 customer feedback loop and connection.
Very soon, cashiers around the globe may be asking consumers, “Cash, credit or mobile phone?”
You just left the house, and realized you forgot your wallet. Do you go back?
It depends. Sure, you could borrow money or go without lunch today. You may even risk getting pulled over without your driver’s license.
But what if you forgot your mobile phone? Would you go back then?
For many, this has become an even harder decision. You could borrow a phone, but none of the people you call will answer, because they screen calls.
But would it matter, because you probably don’t even know the phone numbers of frequently-called friends anyway?
In addition, the people who want to reach you on-the-go won’t be able to get in touch either. And if you are like most consumers, you are not just making calls on your phone – you are also sending emails, text messages, IMs and social network updates.
The mobile phone has become your unified communication device, 24/7.
The two items that people say they would return home to collect after realizing they forgot them are the mobile phone and the wallet. I would put my money on the mobile phone to surpass the wallet.
The old American Express tag line of “Don’t leave home without it” may soon be more applicable to the mobile phone than the iconic AT&T campaign of “Reach out and touch someone,” which exemplifies the emotional connection of telecommunications.
In most countries, you cannot buy lunch with a mobile phone. But consumers can make purchases using their phones.
For marketers, this trend is important to watch.
Think back to the middle of this decade when abandoned shopping carts were the challenge of every emerging online retailer.
It certainly took some time to get consumers comfortable with the entire online process. But now that their credit card numbers are on file with so many retailers, all they really need to do is sign in, authenticate and purchase.
Today, there are new services that enable you to pay with “cash” via your mobile phone. Near Field Communication (NFC), a technology that enables consumers to merely wave their phones in front of a reader, is emerging as a go-to payment method.
While it still may be a few years before that is commonplace, there are trials going on in Malaysia, Britain and other countries that are proving promising.
In fact, Reuters reports that 50 percent of consumers in Japan have mobile phones that replace the need for a wallet.
For the mobile marketer, now is the time to begin building relationships with its customer through their mobile devices. This certainly is a delicate process given the personal relationship individuals have with their devices.
The mobile device is truly the converged experience that has been promised for over a decade.
In terms of retail, the mobile phone will support transactions and enable consumers to gather product information from retailers, as well as provide a 24/7 customer feedback loop and connection.
Very soon, cashiers around the globe may be asking consumers, “Cash, credit or mobile phone?”
Mobile AdPix & Mobile Web - A Perfect Pairing
The Mobile Web is growing each and every day. With Apple releasing its new 3Gs version of the iPhone this month, in addition to making the 8GB 3G iPhone available for just $99, more consumers are logging on to the Internet via their phones. Take advantage of this phenomenon and help the local businesses in your area get a mobile presence by offering our Mobile AdPix. Check out our Adking.com website for more information.
Here are some relevant statistics...global sales of smartphones are up 12.7 percent...mobile sites have grown seven-fold in the last 12 months...60 percent of mobile Web traffic worldwide comes from iPhones...an estimated 25 percent of all Canadians have smartphones...so it is not surprising to learn that 4 million Canadians are accessing the Web through their mobile phone...
Six advantages of having a mobile Web site
1. Mobile site can work on 100 percent of devices that have browsers
2. Experience can be optimized to highlight common denominator
3. Brands can publish when they want – no approval from manufacturer app store is necessary
4. IPhone and new BlackBerry, Palm and Android phones have same Safari open source app framework Web kit
5. Easier to drive to mobile Web versus drive to mobile apps from mobile advertising networks
6. Content from mobile Web is searchable and search-friendly
Ten tips for designing a mobile Web site
1. Define specific purpose for experiences
2. Make the most important information instantly findable
3. Ensure that there is relevance to users
4. Don’t try to create wired Web experience
5. Have intuitive navigation
6. Think about leverage location-based services and other social tools in overall experience
7. Avoid frames, Flash, heavy graphics and horizontal tool
8. Leverage free online tools to check for mobile readiness
9. Design for high common denominator
10. Optimize for creative excellence
And the easiest way to get your own Mobile Website? Purchase Adking's Mobile AdPix today for just $195. You will receive both a mobile website AND a marketing site, plus your first ten (10) advertiser accounts! Numerous packages and payment plans are available.
Here are some relevant statistics...global sales of smartphones are up 12.7 percent...mobile sites have grown seven-fold in the last 12 months...60 percent of mobile Web traffic worldwide comes from iPhones...an estimated 25 percent of all Canadians have smartphones...so it is not surprising to learn that 4 million Canadians are accessing the Web through their mobile phone...
Six advantages of having a mobile Web site
1. Mobile site can work on 100 percent of devices that have browsers
2. Experience can be optimized to highlight common denominator
3. Brands can publish when they want – no approval from manufacturer app store is necessary
4. IPhone and new BlackBerry, Palm and Android phones have same Safari open source app framework Web kit
5. Easier to drive to mobile Web versus drive to mobile apps from mobile advertising networks
6. Content from mobile Web is searchable and search-friendly
Ten tips for designing a mobile Web site
1. Define specific purpose for experiences
2. Make the most important information instantly findable
3. Ensure that there is relevance to users
4. Don’t try to create wired Web experience
5. Have intuitive navigation
6. Think about leverage location-based services and other social tools in overall experience
7. Avoid frames, Flash, heavy graphics and horizontal tool
8. Leverage free online tools to check for mobile readiness
9. Design for high common denominator
10. Optimize for creative excellence
And the easiest way to get your own Mobile Website? Purchase Adking's Mobile AdPix today for just $195. You will receive both a mobile website AND a marketing site, plus your first ten (10) advertiser accounts! Numerous packages and payment plans are available.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Text Messaging at Work
By Gary Beach | Originally posted June 11, 2009
CIO - In my latest road speech, "13 Things CIOs Need to Survive This Recession," I make the recommendation to keep your selling shoes on-after all, CEOs are demanding more top-line results from IT investments, according to a recent Forrester Research study.
For over a decade, CIOs have invested in top-line technologies like customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and content management systems. But my conversations with CIOs and chats with friends and family convince me that enterprises are missing out on an effective technology that is beginning to drive top-line results and improve customer satisfaction levels. And what's this technology? Texting!
Texting, or SMS (for short message service) involves messages of 160 characters or less. Twitter (at 140 characters) is the category's poster child, but texting is so much more than often-aimless "tweets." And it is gaining a foothold as a compelling corporate marketing and sales tool.
I attended a Wall Street conference where the presenter showed how an SMS strategy at a major drugstore chain drove customer satisfaction up 10 percentage points. The presentation did not detail top-line gains of the SMS strategy, but most would agree that satisfied customers tend to buy more products than unhappy ones.
In the question and answer portion of the presentation, an analyst asked, "Why didn't the company simply leverage an e-mail strategy to inform customers?" The reply: A constantly changing pricing strategy drove the firm to SMS. It reasoned that customers surely could be reached by e-mail, but there were two problems with it: Spam filters screened out many of the messages and many customers were not online all day.
But those customers did have cell phones that they constantly carried with them-cell phones that were on 24/7...I do recommend setting up a meeting with your key sales and marketing colleagues to frame how your company can reach out to customers with a smart strategy.
Another benefit of embracing text messaging at work? Your kids will think you are really cool! And so will your CEO.
CIO - In my latest road speech, "13 Things CIOs Need to Survive This Recession," I make the recommendation to keep your selling shoes on-after all, CEOs are demanding more top-line results from IT investments, according to a recent Forrester Research study.
For over a decade, CIOs have invested in top-line technologies like customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and content management systems. But my conversations with CIOs and chats with friends and family convince me that enterprises are missing out on an effective technology that is beginning to drive top-line results and improve customer satisfaction levels. And what's this technology? Texting!
Texting, or SMS (for short message service) involves messages of 160 characters or less. Twitter (at 140 characters) is the category's poster child, but texting is so much more than often-aimless "tweets." And it is gaining a foothold as a compelling corporate marketing and sales tool.
I attended a Wall Street conference where the presenter showed how an SMS strategy at a major drugstore chain drove customer satisfaction up 10 percentage points. The presentation did not detail top-line gains of the SMS strategy, but most would agree that satisfied customers tend to buy more products than unhappy ones.
In the question and answer portion of the presentation, an analyst asked, "Why didn't the company simply leverage an e-mail strategy to inform customers?" The reply: A constantly changing pricing strategy drove the firm to SMS. It reasoned that customers surely could be reached by e-mail, but there were two problems with it: Spam filters screened out many of the messages and many customers were not online all day.
But those customers did have cell phones that they constantly carried with them-cell phones that were on 24/7...I do recommend setting up a meeting with your key sales and marketing colleagues to frame how your company can reach out to customers with a smart strategy.
Another benefit of embracing text messaging at work? Your kids will think you are really cool! And so will your CEO.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
2D bar codes integral to mobile campaign
USE THIS 2D BARCODE TO VISIT OUR SITE funguide.mobi
DOWNLOAD THE READER HERE: neoreader.com
Using the reader on your smart phone, take a photo of the 2D code on the left and it will bring you directly to our mobile website. Pretty cool, huh?
By Jordan Crook | June 17, 2009
A new study shows that 2D bar codes are an integral part of a cross-platform mobile campaign.
The study claimed that mobile barcode technology is expected to transform our interactions with the world around us. Any individual with a camera-equipped phone can take a picture of a two-dimensional bar code and they will automatically be sent to a mobile Website, downloadable content or other information.
“2D bar codes offer a very compelling and easy way for people to access more information from a specific location,” said Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of Scanbuy, New York. “Using codes in multiple places and in multiple ways really creates the all encompassing value for the consumer.”
Mobile bar codes were distributed throughout March and April of 2008 through a variety of outdoor media tactics which provided people with local information like restaurant reviews, weather, news, and audio tours in touristy areas, direct via mobile.
“It was interesting to track how the different media performed based on consumer needs around a location,” Mr. Bulkeley said. “As an example, a code linking to top restaurant listings from a bus shelter performed better than a code placed on an actual restaurant store front.
“Like anything else in mobile, value must be generated based on what the consumer needs in each specific context or environment,” he said.
CitySearch’s attempt to turn physical cues into mobile page views was to create physical links from their restaurant vendors to its mobile site.
The outdoor media included 2D barcodes that sent the consumer directly to mobile audio tours for the neighborhood.
Discovery Communications used outdoor media such as bush shelters and kiosks, wild postings, static clings, and street teams who handed out flyers and cards. Hundreds of codes were distributed throughout the city.
The results of this case study found over three thousand people used ScanLife during this six-week campaign.
“This project demonstrated how marketers can provide information from virtually any physical media,” Mr. Bulkeley said. “2D barcodes can give a consumer digital content when they need it most on their phone.
“They can also be used to move traffic from one location to another; in this case outdoor media to retail,” he said. “While this was not tested in the project, all of this digital information can also be share via social networks so that one person’s physical location can be ‘seen’ by many.”
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Will you be Ready for 2012, The Real Year of Mobile?
By Stephen Budd and Vicky Brock
Saturday, 13th June 2009
There's a little tourism/sporting event happening in London in 2012, you may be aware of it and from what I could tell while in Docklands earlier this week, there are certainly lots of cranes and men in hard hats endeavouring to ensure the Olympic Stadium is completed on time.
But there is another 2012 milestone accelerating towards us that will have wider construction implications for travel and tourism businesses. As Greg Dowling, Head of Analysis at Nokia, informed me at eMetrics San Jose a few weeks ago - by 2012 more than half of those accessing the Internet will do so from a mobile device.
As a research geek, I like to know the sources of such eye-popping statistics. I wanted to check for myself that I had understood what he had said correctly and that the amazing numbers I was being told were accurate. And it seems they are.
Leading technology industry analysts, IDC, report in their Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast (June 2008) that:
"Users will access the Internet through more than 1.5 billion devices worldwide in 2008, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2012, the number of devices accessing the Internet will double to more than 3 billion, half of which will be mobile devices."
People will be using devices that are geographically aware. They are looking for downloadable apps they can carry with them. People will expect (because its already do-able) that they can use their mobile devices to locate a nearby restaurant that meets their tastes and that has a table now.
It is not an either/or of course. Mobile is not replacingthe fixed web - it is augmenting it with a time-sensitive, location-sensitive layer - one that is arguably also more flexible for interactivity with both objects and other people.
Travel and tourism is where fixed internet users first experimented and became more confident in researching and communicating online - there is no reason to believe that their mobile internet experience will be any different. Travel, tourism and "familiarisation" applications will lead the way as internet users add another layer of enrichment to their experiences.
So is there a 2012 tourism connection between mobile and the Olympics? There sure is.... Just as the Sydney Olympics were revolutionised by digital photography technologies, distributing images globally in minutes, London 2012 will be the first heavy test of the mobile Internet...London will be the "mobile Olympics of 2012".
As they explain: "As early as 2010, all new mobile phones will be mobile internet and mobile email ready and will have sophisticated camera functionality as standard. Mobile social networking and sharing rich moments with friends and family, will be a commonplace occurrence. Therefore visitors to the 2012 London Olympics will be recording and sharing their own personal memories of the games. This "of the moment" dynamic view will provide a great opportunity to experience the Olympics in a unique way."
"By 2012 we will be using our NFC (Near Field Communications) enabled mobile phones on the underground and public transport systems of London as an Oyster card replacement. There are significant opportunities to combine mobile internet, GPS location and mapping to provide visitors to the games with travel plans (using public transport), avoiding congested areas, making reservation in hotels and restaurants, tickets for the games and real-time security alerts and warnings."
So great, the London Olympics will have even more people glued to their phones and may even edge towards being a "cashless" Olympics if the transactional kinks can be ironed out.
Critical mass - many times we have heard that "this is the year of mobile" only for that promise not to materialise. But now a perfect storm of handset advances, content/application development, increasing wi-fi network availability and a major trigger event such as the Olympics means 2012 is a very realistic horizon for the mobile Internet to become an absolutely mainstream platform in travel.
Mobile phones are beginning to be used "transactionally" - even if not quite yet as the purchase device (booking a table for a nearby restaurant in 15 minutes time is a transaction, even if the purchase is completed in the restaurant). At the moment, phones are typically acting as really smart guide books but this kind of transactional development means that people should start using them to first move closer to the point of purchase, and eventually to keep and spend money.
The combination of User Generated Content, Social Networks, GPRS and Mobiles means that information will be shared among a target group more quickly - this has benefits. So, peer to peer communication, as epitomized say by Trip Advisor, becomes even more rapid, even more geographically sensitive, even more context aware.
Doesn't that have the potential to dramatically increase the power of peer to peer influence and word of mouth? Will you be ready?
Saturday, 13th June 2009
There's a little tourism/sporting event happening in London in 2012, you may be aware of it and from what I could tell while in Docklands earlier this week, there are certainly lots of cranes and men in hard hats endeavouring to ensure the Olympic Stadium is completed on time.
But there is another 2012 milestone accelerating towards us that will have wider construction implications for travel and tourism businesses. As Greg Dowling, Head of Analysis at Nokia, informed me at eMetrics San Jose a few weeks ago - by 2012 more than half of those accessing the Internet will do so from a mobile device.
As a research geek, I like to know the sources of such eye-popping statistics. I wanted to check for myself that I had understood what he had said correctly and that the amazing numbers I was being told were accurate. And it seems they are.
Leading technology industry analysts, IDC, report in their Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast (June 2008) that:
"Users will access the Internet through more than 1.5 billion devices worldwide in 2008, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2012, the number of devices accessing the Internet will double to more than 3 billion, half of which will be mobile devices."
People will be using devices that are geographically aware. They are looking for downloadable apps they can carry with them. People will expect (because its already do-able) that they can use their mobile devices to locate a nearby restaurant that meets their tastes and that has a table now.
It is not an either/or of course. Mobile is not replacingthe fixed web - it is augmenting it with a time-sensitive, location-sensitive layer - one that is arguably also more flexible for interactivity with both objects and other people.
Travel and tourism is where fixed internet users first experimented and became more confident in researching and communicating online - there is no reason to believe that their mobile internet experience will be any different. Travel, tourism and "familiarisation" applications will lead the way as internet users add another layer of enrichment to their experiences.
So is there a 2012 tourism connection between mobile and the Olympics? There sure is.... Just as the Sydney Olympics were revolutionised by digital photography technologies, distributing images globally in minutes, London 2012 will be the first heavy test of the mobile Internet...London will be the "mobile Olympics of 2012".
As they explain: "As early as 2010, all new mobile phones will be mobile internet and mobile email ready and will have sophisticated camera functionality as standard. Mobile social networking and sharing rich moments with friends and family, will be a commonplace occurrence. Therefore visitors to the 2012 London Olympics will be recording and sharing their own personal memories of the games. This "of the moment" dynamic view will provide a great opportunity to experience the Olympics in a unique way."
"By 2012 we will be using our NFC (Near Field Communications) enabled mobile phones on the underground and public transport systems of London as an Oyster card replacement. There are significant opportunities to combine mobile internet, GPS location and mapping to provide visitors to the games with travel plans (using public transport), avoiding congested areas, making reservation in hotels and restaurants, tickets for the games and real-time security alerts and warnings."
So great, the London Olympics will have even more people glued to their phones and may even edge towards being a "cashless" Olympics if the transactional kinks can be ironed out.
Critical mass - many times we have heard that "this is the year of mobile" only for that promise not to materialise. But now a perfect storm of handset advances, content/application development, increasing wi-fi network availability and a major trigger event such as the Olympics means 2012 is a very realistic horizon for the mobile Internet to become an absolutely mainstream platform in travel.
Mobile phones are beginning to be used "transactionally" - even if not quite yet as the purchase device (booking a table for a nearby restaurant in 15 minutes time is a transaction, even if the purchase is completed in the restaurant). At the moment, phones are typically acting as really smart guide books but this kind of transactional development means that people should start using them to first move closer to the point of purchase, and eventually to keep and spend money.
The combination of User Generated Content, Social Networks, GPRS and Mobiles means that information will be shared among a target group more quickly - this has benefits. So, peer to peer communication, as epitomized say by Trip Advisor, becomes even more rapid, even more geographically sensitive, even more context aware.
Doesn't that have the potential to dramatically increase the power of peer to peer influence and word of mouth? Will you be ready?
IKEA mobile campaigns average 5-10 percent response rates
By Giselle Tsirulnik | June 16, 2009
When IKEA Seattle launched a mobile loyalty program in June to build a database of people interested in receiving discounts, the home furnishing retailer never even imagined that 23,000 consumers would sign-up.
The text-to-enter loyalty program is a means for IKEA to start a dialogue with interested consumers...there have been more than 15,000 offer redemptions to date.
“The greatest thing about mobile and retail is the fact that consumers cannot bring their PCs with them everywhere, but they do bring their mobile phones everywhere,” said Michael Mak.
IKEA is one of the largest home furnishings retailers worldwide, with more than 275 stores in 36 countries, including 35 in the United States.
The key demographic of users is female ages 18-49, with a secondary demographic of families.
Sending potential customers coupons via their mobile phone as opposed to printed coupons is eco-friendly.
When IKEA Seattle launched a mobile loyalty program in June to build a database of people interested in receiving discounts, the home furnishing retailer never even imagined that 23,000 consumers would sign-up.
The text-to-enter loyalty program is a means for IKEA to start a dialogue with interested consumers...there have been more than 15,000 offer redemptions to date.
“The greatest thing about mobile and retail is the fact that consumers cannot bring their PCs with them everywhere, but they do bring their mobile phones everywhere,” said Michael Mak.
IKEA is one of the largest home furnishings retailers worldwide, with more than 275 stores in 36 countries, including 35 in the United States.
The key demographic of users is female ages 18-49, with a secondary demographic of families.
Sending potential customers coupons via their mobile phone as opposed to printed coupons is eco-friendly.
Monday, June 15, 2009
MGM Grand reveals mobile strategy
By Giselle Tsirulnik
NEW YORK – MGM Grand Hotel & Casino revealed its mobile strategy to attendees of the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum.
The hotel chain plans to continue to use the mobile channel as a means of data acquisition and to use information collected to expand upon its existing on-property SMS offers. An MGM executive revealed some of the company’s plans and even gave the audience tips in terms of using the mobile channel.
“All the hotels in Las Vegas have some level of mobile marketing programs in place,” said Michael Perhaes, assistant vice president of marketing at MGM, Las Vegas. “Ours is the most robust because we have truly embraced mobile.
“We have recognized the channel’s utility,” he said.
So why is MGM so bullish on mobile?
The mobile channel has helped MGM speak to travelers in its hotels and when they are on the road.
MGM has been running mobile promotions targeting the 25-34 age demographic, as they are 65 percent likely to SMS.
The company has integrated SMS calls to action within its more traditional marketing initiatives: Broadcast, billboards, the sides of trucks, print and email.
MGM has used mobile to get consumers to text in and join its database of mobile users.
Promotions include discounts for rooms, amenities, dining and show tickets.
Living room offers to travelers on their way to Sin City allowed MGM to book an additional 150 room nights.
With the slowing economy, the hotel industry is trying all means to get more “heads in beds” and it seems as though mobile was able to address this challenge for MGM.
Consumers who clicked on banners were taken to a landing page with on-property offers for dining, amenities and discounts.
MGM’s mobile initiatives were not only useful for guests, but it gave the hotel a means of communicating with travelers while they are there.
“It was a great mechanism to keep them on property instead of going to another one of Las Vegas’ hotels and casinos,” Mr. Perhaes said.
NEW YORK – MGM Grand Hotel & Casino revealed its mobile strategy to attendees of the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum.
The hotel chain plans to continue to use the mobile channel as a means of data acquisition and to use information collected to expand upon its existing on-property SMS offers. An MGM executive revealed some of the company’s plans and even gave the audience tips in terms of using the mobile channel.
“All the hotels in Las Vegas have some level of mobile marketing programs in place,” said Michael Perhaes, assistant vice president of marketing at MGM, Las Vegas. “Ours is the most robust because we have truly embraced mobile.
“We have recognized the channel’s utility,” he said.
So why is MGM so bullish on mobile?
The mobile channel has helped MGM speak to travelers in its hotels and when they are on the road.
MGM has been running mobile promotions targeting the 25-34 age demographic, as they are 65 percent likely to SMS.
The company has integrated SMS calls to action within its more traditional marketing initiatives: Broadcast, billboards, the sides of trucks, print and email.
MGM has used mobile to get consumers to text in and join its database of mobile users.
Promotions include discounts for rooms, amenities, dining and show tickets.
Living room offers to travelers on their way to Sin City allowed MGM to book an additional 150 room nights.
With the slowing economy, the hotel industry is trying all means to get more “heads in beds” and it seems as though mobile was able to address this challenge for MGM.
Consumers who clicked on banners were taken to a landing page with on-property offers for dining, amenities and discounts.
MGM’s mobile initiatives were not only useful for guests, but it gave the hotel a means of communicating with travelers while they are there.
“It was a great mechanism to keep them on property instead of going to another one of Las Vegas’ hotels and casinos,” Mr. Perhaes said.
Unilever exec speaks to mobile coupon strategy
By Giselle Tsirulnik | June 12, 2009
Wondering what Unilever’s take on mobile marketing is? Read this interview with a Unilever executive to find out.
The company began a trial test of mobile coupons, which consumers can redeem by having a supermarket cashier scan their phone. The coupons...include discount offers for some of Unilever’s most popular brands such as Breyers Ice Cream, Dove soap, Hellmann's Mayonnaise and Lipton tea.
Mobile Marketer’s Giselle Tsirulnik interviewed Stephanie Kovner-Bryant, senior integrated marketing manager of Unilever, London, to get her take on the mobile coupons program so far and what she thinks of mobile marketing in general. Here is what she had to say:
What is the strategy behind Unilever’s use of mobile coupons?
The reason we wanted to test this it is it is an exciting technology for us. A big part of strategy has to do with providing consumers coupons and we want to be able to do that in whatever way is most convenient for the consumer.
Everyone has a mobile phone these days and providing coupons to a consumer’s handset is a breakthrough.
Why is mobile the channel of choice here?
We tried all types of new technology - everyone has a mobile phone and we want to be where consumers are with our offers.
What benefits do mobile coupons give brands and consumers?
Mobile coupons are good for the environment as there isn’t any paper involved, so there isn’t any recycling.
They are convenient because the consumer has them right on their mobile phone and when they're done with one, it disappears and doesn’t take up space.
How important of a role does mobile play in Unilever’s overall marketing strategy?
Very important, but it depends on the demographic. For many of our brands we use mobile in a multichannel effort to tie all the other mediums in an integrated campaign together.
Also, mobile is becoming increasingly important to consumers and so we want to be there.
As for our mobile strategy going forward, we continue to look at mobile and digital programs and apply them where appropriate.
Wondering what Unilever’s take on mobile marketing is? Read this interview with a Unilever executive to find out.
The company began a trial test of mobile coupons, which consumers can redeem by having a supermarket cashier scan their phone. The coupons...include discount offers for some of Unilever’s most popular brands such as Breyers Ice Cream, Dove soap, Hellmann's Mayonnaise and Lipton tea.
Mobile Marketer’s Giselle Tsirulnik interviewed Stephanie Kovner-Bryant, senior integrated marketing manager of Unilever, London, to get her take on the mobile coupons program so far and what she thinks of mobile marketing in general. Here is what she had to say:
What is the strategy behind Unilever’s use of mobile coupons?
The reason we wanted to test this it is it is an exciting technology for us. A big part of strategy has to do with providing consumers coupons and we want to be able to do that in whatever way is most convenient for the consumer.
Everyone has a mobile phone these days and providing coupons to a consumer’s handset is a breakthrough.
Why is mobile the channel of choice here?
We tried all types of new technology - everyone has a mobile phone and we want to be where consumers are with our offers.
What benefits do mobile coupons give brands and consumers?
Mobile coupons are good for the environment as there isn’t any paper involved, so there isn’t any recycling.
They are convenient because the consumer has them right on their mobile phone and when they're done with one, it disappears and doesn’t take up space.
How important of a role does mobile play in Unilever’s overall marketing strategy?
Very important, but it depends on the demographic. For many of our brands we use mobile in a multichannel effort to tie all the other mediums in an integrated campaign together.
Also, mobile is becoming increasingly important to consumers and so we want to be there.
As for our mobile strategy going forward, we continue to look at mobile and digital programs and apply them where appropriate.
Mobile advertising to grow exponentially
June 15, 2009
By Experian Marketing Services
The mobile advertising industry, while still in its early stages of development, is expected to grow exponentially over the next five years.
While text messaging (SMS) is the dominant form of mobile advertising today, the adoption of smartphones and the implementation of mobile broadband (3G) networks will play a significant role in how marketers approach the channel.
Key findings
• Smartphone usage is quickly on the rise, with 20 percent of consumers now using their phones for email and 19 percent accessing the Internet on-the-go
• Mobile GPS usage among mobile phone owners skews decidedly younger
• More than one-third of consumers who spend an hour or more online per week rate themselves as being interested in receiving ads via their mobile device, provided there is a tangible incentive
State of the mobile industry
Prior to the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the vast majority of mobile phones only supported text messaging, which a large number of mobile users continue to utilize.
Catering to the communication preferences of this SMS-savvy audience, mobile marketing programs such as click-to-call, mobile coupons and sponsored news alerts currently dominate most mobile marketing strategies.
An Experian Simmons New Media Study released in April compares the usage of different mobile functions among consumers in the U.S.
While 59 percent of people who have used a cell phone in the past 30 days have text messaged, less than 2 percent have shopped by mobile and less than 5 percent have used mobile GPS – indicating the relative nascence of both mobile shopping and mobile GPS in terms of becoming ingrained consumer habits.
The emergence of smartphone usage is strongly illustrated by the 20 percent of consumers who used their phones for email and the 19 percent who accessed the Internet.
Takeaway: Mobile advertising, including mobile search, social networks and location-specific services, will become a more viable marketing strategy as consumers continue to adopt smartphone technology.
Trend spotting: The number of mobile handset users in China is expected to rise to 660 million by 2010. It is potentially the biggest 3G mobile market of the world. The United States, Japan, Russia and Brazil’s mobile markets are the largest markets behind China.
Mobile GPS
The use of location-specific mobile services and GPS applications, especially those driven by the Google Maps Application Programming Interface (API), and Flickr’s geo-tagged photo function, has the potential to increase significantly as new technologies proliferate.
The process of geo-tagging photographs, for example — which records the location where a photo was taken and overlays it on services like Google Maps to produce an interactive mixture of map and photo data — can prove highly useful to digital marketers looking to reach mobile-savvy consumers.
Data from the Experian Simmons New Media Study indicates that mobile GPS usage among mobile phone owners skews decidedly younger, although consumers in the 35- to 44-year-old age bracket index slightly above the market average.
Trend spotting: There is a severe drop-off in mobile phone GPS usage for the older age groups, which is expected to remain the case with mobile technologies in general.
Consumer attitudes toward mobile
The utilization of mobile technology, combined with the concurrent expansion of mobile services, creates a powerful new channel through which marketing messages can be delivered effectively to individuals.
In fact, more than one-third of consumers who spend an hour or more online per week rate themselves as being interested in receiving ads via their mobile device, provided there is a tangible incentive.
Takeaway: The most desired incentives are cash, free movie passes, free products and discounts off mobile phone bills.
According to Forrester Research Inc., big brands that have trialed mobile successfully, such as Coca-Cola and Toyota, plan to keep it as a key part of their overall interactive spend in 2009, despite the down economy.
Other marketers, such as retailers looking for a new direct-response vehicle, will respond to growing mobile data usage with trials of message-based promotions and display media on popular mobile content sites.
For example, retail chain Lane Bryant’s pilot mobile campaign generated at least 16,000 subscribers in a test period spanning from July 2008 to October 2008. Today, the ongoing promotion of the program is generating more than 1,000 new mobile subscribers every week.
A sample incentive promotion from Lane Bryant would appear as follows:
LB MSG ME! 15% off ur online purchase 7/23 8/5/08. Enter cde XXXXX at chkout. Exclus apply. C site 4 dets. 2 opt out, rply STOPLB or call 8884796514
By Experian Marketing Services
The mobile advertising industry, while still in its early stages of development, is expected to grow exponentially over the next five years.
While text messaging (SMS) is the dominant form of mobile advertising today, the adoption of smartphones and the implementation of mobile broadband (3G) networks will play a significant role in how marketers approach the channel.
Key findings
• Smartphone usage is quickly on the rise, with 20 percent of consumers now using their phones for email and 19 percent accessing the Internet on-the-go
• Mobile GPS usage among mobile phone owners skews decidedly younger
• More than one-third of consumers who spend an hour or more online per week rate themselves as being interested in receiving ads via their mobile device, provided there is a tangible incentive
State of the mobile industry
Prior to the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the vast majority of mobile phones only supported text messaging, which a large number of mobile users continue to utilize.
Catering to the communication preferences of this SMS-savvy audience, mobile marketing programs such as click-to-call, mobile coupons and sponsored news alerts currently dominate most mobile marketing strategies.
An Experian Simmons New Media Study released in April compares the usage of different mobile functions among consumers in the U.S.
While 59 percent of people who have used a cell phone in the past 30 days have text messaged, less than 2 percent have shopped by mobile and less than 5 percent have used mobile GPS – indicating the relative nascence of both mobile shopping and mobile GPS in terms of becoming ingrained consumer habits.
The emergence of smartphone usage is strongly illustrated by the 20 percent of consumers who used their phones for email and the 19 percent who accessed the Internet.
Takeaway: Mobile advertising, including mobile search, social networks and location-specific services, will become a more viable marketing strategy as consumers continue to adopt smartphone technology.
Trend spotting: The number of mobile handset users in China is expected to rise to 660 million by 2010. It is potentially the biggest 3G mobile market of the world. The United States, Japan, Russia and Brazil’s mobile markets are the largest markets behind China.
Mobile GPS
The use of location-specific mobile services and GPS applications, especially those driven by the Google Maps Application Programming Interface (API), and Flickr’s geo-tagged photo function, has the potential to increase significantly as new technologies proliferate.
The process of geo-tagging photographs, for example — which records the location where a photo was taken and overlays it on services like Google Maps to produce an interactive mixture of map and photo data — can prove highly useful to digital marketers looking to reach mobile-savvy consumers.
Data from the Experian Simmons New Media Study indicates that mobile GPS usage among mobile phone owners skews decidedly younger, although consumers in the 35- to 44-year-old age bracket index slightly above the market average.
Trend spotting: There is a severe drop-off in mobile phone GPS usage for the older age groups, which is expected to remain the case with mobile technologies in general.
Consumer attitudes toward mobile
The utilization of mobile technology, combined with the concurrent expansion of mobile services, creates a powerful new channel through which marketing messages can be delivered effectively to individuals.
In fact, more than one-third of consumers who spend an hour or more online per week rate themselves as being interested in receiving ads via their mobile device, provided there is a tangible incentive.
Takeaway: The most desired incentives are cash, free movie passes, free products and discounts off mobile phone bills.
According to Forrester Research Inc., big brands that have trialed mobile successfully, such as Coca-Cola and Toyota, plan to keep it as a key part of their overall interactive spend in 2009, despite the down economy.
Other marketers, such as retailers looking for a new direct-response vehicle, will respond to growing mobile data usage with trials of message-based promotions and display media on popular mobile content sites.
For example, retail chain Lane Bryant’s pilot mobile campaign generated at least 16,000 subscribers in a test period spanning from July 2008 to October 2008. Today, the ongoing promotion of the program is generating more than 1,000 new mobile subscribers every week.
A sample incentive promotion from Lane Bryant would appear as follows:
LB MSG ME! 15% off ur online purchase 7/23 8/5/08. Enter cde XXXXX at chkout. Exclus apply. C site 4 dets. 2 opt out, rply STOPLB or call 8884796514
HarperCollins brings books to life with mobile campaign
EDITOR'S NOTE: A QUICK LESSON ON QR CODES (from Wikipedia)...A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Moreover, most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera.
TRY IT NOW!
Go to this site to download the reader to your smart phone. Then Snap this QR code with your iPhone to get directed to our website...
By Jordan Crook | June 15, 2009
HarperCollins Publishers and QMcodes, a mobile marketing company, are linking the worlds of print and digital content through a mobile marketing campaign.
The initiative is being piloted with the releases “L.A. Candy” and “The Amanda Project,” along with the paperback release of the best-seller, “Freakonomics.” The product intends to leverage digital channels such as 2D bar codes, mobile sites, social networking features, mobile video and SMS to allow a direct connection between book publishers and on-the-go readers.
Users can download the free application from http://m.harpercollins.com to their smartphone and scan the 2D bar code with the camera in their mobile phone.
The codes can be found on the back of book jackets and on other select marketing materials. They will link the user to a mobile site with exclusive content on the author and the book.
“Mobile as a tool really makes any offline media interactive,” said Antony McGregor Dey, CEO of QMcodes, Melbourne, Australia. “Mobile is the remote control to the world around you and allows you to engage with so many things.
“For marketing in general, mobile will change it completely,” he said. “In the same way that the Internet changed marketing, mobile will change it again at a whole different level simply because it is hyper-personal and hyper-local.”
TRY IT NOW!
Go to this site to download the reader to your smart phone. Then Snap this QR code with your iPhone to get directed to our website...
By Jordan Crook | June 15, 2009
HarperCollins Publishers and QMcodes, a mobile marketing company, are linking the worlds of print and digital content through a mobile marketing campaign.
The initiative is being piloted with the releases “L.A. Candy” and “The Amanda Project,” along with the paperback release of the best-seller, “Freakonomics.” The product intends to leverage digital channels such as 2D bar codes, mobile sites, social networking features, mobile video and SMS to allow a direct connection between book publishers and on-the-go readers.
Users can download the free application from http://m.harpercollins.com to their smartphone and scan the 2D bar code with the camera in their mobile phone.
The codes can be found on the back of book jackets and on other select marketing materials. They will link the user to a mobile site with exclusive content on the author and the book.
“Mobile as a tool really makes any offline media interactive,” said Antony McGregor Dey, CEO of QMcodes, Melbourne, Australia. “Mobile is the remote control to the world around you and allows you to engage with so many things.
“For marketing in general, mobile will change it completely,” he said. “In the same way that the Internet changed marketing, mobile will change it again at a whole different level simply because it is hyper-personal and hyper-local.”
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Home business? Try SMS advertising!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Brandel's Broadcast product and Bounce Ad are both perfect for small and medium-sized businesses. Not only can they be utilized by businesses, but they are the perfect business to start right now! Affordable rates and unlimited messaging make it a 'slam dunk' for the buyer, and private labeling and wholesale prices make it perfect for the publisher. Call our office for details at 954-583-9000 or visit our website today.
Excerpts from article by Maria Patterson
St. Louis Work from Home Examiner - June 10
SMS (Short Message Service) advertising is a simple, targeted, and engaging way to interact directly with the generation that ignores traditional media. Nearly $3 billion will be spent this year on mobile phone advertising. Of teens who have seen SMS ads, 45% say they have responded in some way. The most popular response is through sending another text message. SMS advertising has been estimated to be 10 times more effective than newspaper advertising and 5 times more effective than direct mail.
[Select the Brandel product that best suits your needs. Then] create your SMS advertising campaign. Through demos on your phone or online, you should be able to see the SMS advertising campaign and approve it before it goes live.
Here is a sample of how the Brandel SMS advertising works.
Try it now:
Text ADSAVE SPA and send it to 368638 (DOTNET).
You will receive this response immediately:
DAY SPA -- Save 25% On ALL Services this Tuesday only. Call 954-000-1234 to reserve. Mention Code M25. Feel beautiful everyday at Day Spa.
...Your SMS advertising...will be seen by users who are genuinely interested...The short code(ad) can lead the consumer to visit your website, call the business or visit your store. Now is the right time to jump in and establish an almost unlimited source of substantial long term income.
Excerpts from article by Maria Patterson
St. Louis Work from Home Examiner - June 10
SMS (Short Message Service) advertising is a simple, targeted, and engaging way to interact directly with the generation that ignores traditional media. Nearly $3 billion will be spent this year on mobile phone advertising. Of teens who have seen SMS ads, 45% say they have responded in some way. The most popular response is through sending another text message. SMS advertising has been estimated to be 10 times more effective than newspaper advertising and 5 times more effective than direct mail.
[Select the Brandel product that best suits your needs. Then] create your SMS advertising campaign. Through demos on your phone or online, you should be able to see the SMS advertising campaign and approve it before it goes live.
Here is a sample of how the Brandel SMS advertising works.
Try it now:
Text ADSAVE SPA and send it to 368638 (DOTNET).
You will receive this response immediately:
DAY SPA -- Save 25% On ALL Services this Tuesday only. Call 954-000-1234 to reserve. Mention Code M25. Feel beautiful everyday at Day Spa.
...Your SMS advertising...will be seen by users who are genuinely interested...The short code(ad) can lead the consumer to visit your website, call the business or visit your store. Now is the right time to jump in and establish an almost unlimited source of substantial long term income.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Valentine’s Day was busiest texting day of Q1
By Jordan Crook | June 9, 2009
Valentine’s Day rang in more than 1.06 billion SMS and MMS messages, setting the example for this year’s staggering growth in mobile messaging volumes.
VeriSign announced that in its latest quarterly index, the first quarter of 2009 registered a new high of 84 billion messages. Last year, the company delivered more than 224 billion messages across mobile messaging platforms.
“Mobile messaging continues to play an even greater role in how the world communicates,” said Michael Campbell, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division, Mountain View, CA. “The mobile phone has become the most pervasive, personal communications tool available.
“We hardly ever leave our home without it,” he said. “There are more than 4 billion mobile subscribers across the world today and those users are seeking new ways to save time and money and improve their experience while on the move 24/7/365.”
According to VeriSign, the mobile messaging growth in the U.S. remains a bright horizon in the mobile world.
“SMS is a lowest common denominator technology that is easy to use, appeals to all consumer demographics, and access to it is now 100 percent available on mobile devices in the U.S.,” Mr. Campbell said.
“We have seen that SMS is so pervasive in all facets of life appealing to consumers young and old and integrating into our lives in more and more ways,” he said.
VeriSign expected a great deal of traffic on Valentine’s Day, a typical initiator of high volume messaging as texters type sweet nothings to their sweet hearts.
However, 2009’s Valentine’s Day was the busiest texting day of the quarter and busiest Valentine’s Day on record.
Also in Quarter 1 of 2009, VeriSign’s combined mobile messaging networks facilitated an average of approximately 932 million messages per day. This number is up 18.5% from the previous quarter and a staggering 96 percent from Quarter 1 of 2008.
"These results demonstrate how mobile messaging remains resilient in these challenging economic times,” Mr. Campbell said.
It’s clear in the mobile scene that consumers are texting more and more, but many businesses are turning to the mobile channel as well, to connect with consumers on a personal level.
Valentine’s Day rang in more than 1.06 billion SMS and MMS messages, setting the example for this year’s staggering growth in mobile messaging volumes.
VeriSign announced that in its latest quarterly index, the first quarter of 2009 registered a new high of 84 billion messages. Last year, the company delivered more than 224 billion messages across mobile messaging platforms.
“Mobile messaging continues to play an even greater role in how the world communicates,” said Michael Campbell, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division, Mountain View, CA. “The mobile phone has become the most pervasive, personal communications tool available.
“We hardly ever leave our home without it,” he said. “There are more than 4 billion mobile subscribers across the world today and those users are seeking new ways to save time and money and improve their experience while on the move 24/7/365.”
According to VeriSign, the mobile messaging growth in the U.S. remains a bright horizon in the mobile world.
“SMS is a lowest common denominator technology that is easy to use, appeals to all consumer demographics, and access to it is now 100 percent available on mobile devices in the U.S.,” Mr. Campbell said.
“We have seen that SMS is so pervasive in all facets of life appealing to consumers young and old and integrating into our lives in more and more ways,” he said.
VeriSign expected a great deal of traffic on Valentine’s Day, a typical initiator of high volume messaging as texters type sweet nothings to their sweet hearts.
However, 2009’s Valentine’s Day was the busiest texting day of the quarter and busiest Valentine’s Day on record.
Also in Quarter 1 of 2009, VeriSign’s combined mobile messaging networks facilitated an average of approximately 932 million messages per day. This number is up 18.5% from the previous quarter and a staggering 96 percent from Quarter 1 of 2008.
"These results demonstrate how mobile messaging remains resilient in these challenging economic times,” Mr. Campbell said.
It’s clear in the mobile scene that consumers are texting more and more, but many businesses are turning to the mobile channel as well, to connect with consumers on a personal level.
Monday, June 8, 2009
American Airlines launches mobile boarding passes
By Jordan Crook | June 8, 2009
American Airlines is now extending its mobile boarding pass option to a total of six airports nationwide, with the expectation to include more airports in the near future.
American Airlines customers departing from any one of these six airports can now choose to receive electronic boarding passes on their mobile devices or PDA’s. Customers can elect to use mobile boarding passes on any domestic flight from these airports, including connecting flights through any other participating airport.
“Our customers are mobile by definition,” said Stacey Frantz, spokeswoman at American Airlines, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX. “We know they’re on the go, tech-savvy and are early adopters. We are looking for meaningful ways to make travel on American even more convenient for them.
“Plus, our ultimate goal is to ensure our customers have access to us when they want to through whatever channel is most convenient for them,” she said. “Today, our customers are aggressively adopting mobile applications – from Mobile Boarding to AA.com Mobile.”
The first airports to allow the mobile boarding pass were introduced in late 2008 and include Chicago’s O’Hare International (ORD), Los Angeles International (LAX), and John Wayne Orange County (SNA) airports.
In a partnership with the United States Transportation Security Administration, American Airlines launched these airports and recently added Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS), Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), and Minneapolis—St. Paul International (MSP) airports.
American Airlines claims that mobile phones and PDA’s are ubiquitous among its customers and that the decision to introduce mobile boarding passes leverages the devices to make traveling as simple as possible.
Customers who select the mobile option can go straight to security and then to the gate without any paper, saving time, energy, and in a small way, the environment.
“Mobile optimization is important for all travelers – but especially for business travelers, who, with increased mobility, see increased productivity and flexibility to do all kinds of work from just about anywhere,” Ms. Frantz said.
“The most obvious benefit to mobile boarding is speed and convenience – no stopping to print a boarding pass,” she said.
Requirements for mobile boarding passes include an active email address to which a boarding pass can be sent and a Web-enabled mobile device where a 2-D barcode can be received.
Customers can choose the mobile option by going to the traditional desktop version of http://www.AA.com or by visiting the mobile version.
The bar code can be scanned at TSA security check points and at any American Airlines gate.
By scanning the mobile screen at security and the gate, customers can completely bypass the paper aspect of travel. Proper identification is still required along with the mobile boarding pass.
Customers still have the original options of printing their boarding pass immediately and emailing it to themselves for printing, but with this new mobile arrival, customers can also email boarding passes to themselves for mobile use.
American Airlines is now extending its mobile boarding pass option to a total of six airports nationwide, with the expectation to include more airports in the near future.
American Airlines customers departing from any one of these six airports can now choose to receive electronic boarding passes on their mobile devices or PDA’s. Customers can elect to use mobile boarding passes on any domestic flight from these airports, including connecting flights through any other participating airport.
“Our customers are mobile by definition,” said Stacey Frantz, spokeswoman at American Airlines, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX. “We know they’re on the go, tech-savvy and are early adopters. We are looking for meaningful ways to make travel on American even more convenient for them.
“Plus, our ultimate goal is to ensure our customers have access to us when they want to through whatever channel is most convenient for them,” she said. “Today, our customers are aggressively adopting mobile applications – from Mobile Boarding to AA.com Mobile.”
The first airports to allow the mobile boarding pass were introduced in late 2008 and include Chicago’s O’Hare International (ORD), Los Angeles International (LAX), and John Wayne Orange County (SNA) airports.
In a partnership with the United States Transportation Security Administration, American Airlines launched these airports and recently added Las Vegas McCarran International (LAS), Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), and Minneapolis—St. Paul International (MSP) airports.
American Airlines claims that mobile phones and PDA’s are ubiquitous among its customers and that the decision to introduce mobile boarding passes leverages the devices to make traveling as simple as possible.
Customers who select the mobile option can go straight to security and then to the gate without any paper, saving time, energy, and in a small way, the environment.
“Mobile optimization is important for all travelers – but especially for business travelers, who, with increased mobility, see increased productivity and flexibility to do all kinds of work from just about anywhere,” Ms. Frantz said.
“The most obvious benefit to mobile boarding is speed and convenience – no stopping to print a boarding pass,” she said.
Requirements for mobile boarding passes include an active email address to which a boarding pass can be sent and a Web-enabled mobile device where a 2-D barcode can be received.
Customers can choose the mobile option by going to the traditional desktop version of http://www.AA.com or by visiting the mobile version.
The bar code can be scanned at TSA security check points and at any American Airlines gate.
By scanning the mobile screen at security and the gate, customers can completely bypass the paper aspect of travel. Proper identification is still required along with the mobile boarding pass.
Customers still have the original options of printing their boarding pass immediately and emailing it to themselves for printing, but with this new mobile arrival, customers can also email boarding passes to themselves for mobile use.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Real ROI Will Propel Mobile Ad Spend To $5.7B Within Five Years
Originally Posted: 04 Jun 2009 06:26 PM PDT
Good news for mobile marketing service providers: Spending on mobile advertising will see strong growth even while other channels suffer during the global recession, according to Juniper Research.
Mobile ad spend will grow to $5.7 billion by the year 2014, Juniper forecasts in a report released this week. According to a press release, the firm surmises that according to its research, The need for engagement with the consumer, and a quantifiable ROI, meant that mobile was increasingly being perceived as a key medium through which to pursue this strategy.
Other findings from Juniper's new report:
Mobile Internet will become the most popular mobile delivery channel for advertisers in 2009, and will attract the largest proportion of mobile adspend throughout the forecast period.
Mobile Cost Per Clickthrough (CPC) and Cost Per Mille (CPM) rates have fallen sharply over the past year in large part due the negative impact of the economic downturn.
Mobile advertising response rates remain substantially higher than those in other media.
My takeaway: Juniper's findings underscore the fact that high and highly measurable ROI and improved consumer relations have long been a selling point for mobile marketing. For one thing, a decent message-sending platform will let you see how many people received and acted on a marketing offer. Meanwhile, messages to a consumer's phone such as a text message work to foster a sense of personal relationship between a customer and a business or brand.
Good news for mobile marketing service providers: Spending on mobile advertising will see strong growth even while other channels suffer during the global recession, according to Juniper Research.
Mobile ad spend will grow to $5.7 billion by the year 2014, Juniper forecasts in a report released this week. According to a press release, the firm surmises that according to its research, The need for engagement with the consumer, and a quantifiable ROI, meant that mobile was increasingly being perceived as a key medium through which to pursue this strategy.
Other findings from Juniper's new report:
Mobile Internet will become the most popular mobile delivery channel for advertisers in 2009, and will attract the largest proportion of mobile adspend throughout the forecast period.
Mobile Cost Per Clickthrough (CPC) and Cost Per Mille (CPM) rates have fallen sharply over the past year in large part due the negative impact of the economic downturn.
Mobile advertising response rates remain substantially higher than those in other media.
My takeaway: Juniper's findings underscore the fact that high and highly measurable ROI and improved consumer relations have long been a selling point for mobile marketing. For one thing, a decent message-sending platform will let you see how many people received and acted on a marketing offer. Meanwhile, messages to a consumer's phone such as a text message work to foster a sense of personal relationship between a customer and a business or brand.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Mobile good for content, consumer experience, campaign integration
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article contains some very good statistics.
By Giselle Tsirulnik | June 4, 2009
NEW YORK – Brands and marketers can use the mobile channel to increase their brand affinity, recognition and customer loyalty.
So said Michael Becker, vice president of mobile strategies at iLoop Mobile, San Jose, CA. Mr. Becker conducted a solo panel at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum in the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
“The attraction to mobile is the channel’s ability to acquire new customers, increase customer loyalty, generate brand awareness and affinity, the opportunity to monetize content and the fact that it lets marketers provide convenience to consumers,” Mr. Becker said.
There are approximately 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide and 64 percent of the world’s population has access to a mobile phone.
Mr. Becker said that mobile has propagated faster than any other media channel.
"Mobile is different because it allows marketers to converge all their media,’ Mr. Becker said.
The mobile phone is not one channel but many, with sub channels such as SMS, apps, Web, IVR, email, Bluetooth, MMS and video, to name a few.
Also, consumers get a unique experience via mobile, especially with technologies such as RFID and NFC.
In the United States, mobile access is high, with 86 percent of the population having at least one mobile phone.
It’s no surprise that the industry has seen a 100 percent year-over-year growth in daily users of mobile news information.
What’s interesting is that the channel is changing the way people communicate. More than half of mobile users use SMS as their primary communication channel.
Also, 20-27 percent of consumers use the mobile Web regularly. As smartphones become smarter and unlimited data plans become more popular, this number will increase.
Mr. Becker said that 20 percent of the U.S. population has turned off their landline and just use mobile.
Internet is the second largest activity on mobile. Other major data activities are SMS, app downloads, LBS and full-track music downloads.
With all this reach, it’s no surprise marketers are racing to reach consumers on their mobile phones.
“Before starting a mobile campaign, marketers need to consider who their audience is, what the value proposition is and what the campaign’s objective is,” Mr. Becker said. “Then decide if mobile is the way to go.”
“Consider every stage of the customer’s life-cycle,” he said.
Mr. Becker listed a few things for marketers to consider before creating a mobile campaign:
• What do you want to accomplish and by when?
• Are you building awareness or generating ad hoc transactional business?
• Are you building a permission-based list that you can remarket to in a precise and targetable fashion in the future?
• How will you maintain the dialogue? The conversation?
In terms building relationships via mobile, Mr. Becker suggested that all brands extend their Web sites to mobile, enabling all mobile content delivery including images, music and video.
He also said that companies should include an SMS alert opt-in template, so that consumers can shoes to be even closer to the brand.
But like any marketing channel, mobile too has its challenges.
“Mobile Web implementation can be complex and challenging,” Mr. Becker said.
Interoperability, discovery, user experience and usability, measurement and choosing the right partners are some of the challenges Mr. Becker mentioned.
Mr. Becker gave some examples of companies that really nailed it with their mobile sites.
Victoria’s Secret, L.L. Bean, Barack Obama and Best Buy, were some of the brands he named.
“I think Papa John’s proved that mobile can help companies make money when it launched its Web site last year and sold more than $1 million dollars worth of food via its mobile offering,” Mr. Becker said.
By Giselle Tsirulnik | June 4, 2009
NEW YORK – Brands and marketers can use the mobile channel to increase their brand affinity, recognition and customer loyalty.
So said Michael Becker, vice president of mobile strategies at iLoop Mobile, San Jose, CA. Mr. Becker conducted a solo panel at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum in the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
“The attraction to mobile is the channel’s ability to acquire new customers, increase customer loyalty, generate brand awareness and affinity, the opportunity to monetize content and the fact that it lets marketers provide convenience to consumers,” Mr. Becker said.
There are approximately 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide and 64 percent of the world’s population has access to a mobile phone.
Mr. Becker said that mobile has propagated faster than any other media channel.
"Mobile is different because it allows marketers to converge all their media,’ Mr. Becker said.
The mobile phone is not one channel but many, with sub channels such as SMS, apps, Web, IVR, email, Bluetooth, MMS and video, to name a few.
Also, consumers get a unique experience via mobile, especially with technologies such as RFID and NFC.
In the United States, mobile access is high, with 86 percent of the population having at least one mobile phone.
It’s no surprise that the industry has seen a 100 percent year-over-year growth in daily users of mobile news information.
What’s interesting is that the channel is changing the way people communicate. More than half of mobile users use SMS as their primary communication channel.
Also, 20-27 percent of consumers use the mobile Web regularly. As smartphones become smarter and unlimited data plans become more popular, this number will increase.
Mr. Becker said that 20 percent of the U.S. population has turned off their landline and just use mobile.
Internet is the second largest activity on mobile. Other major data activities are SMS, app downloads, LBS and full-track music downloads.
With all this reach, it’s no surprise marketers are racing to reach consumers on their mobile phones.
“Before starting a mobile campaign, marketers need to consider who their audience is, what the value proposition is and what the campaign’s objective is,” Mr. Becker said. “Then decide if mobile is the way to go.”
“Consider every stage of the customer’s life-cycle,” he said.
Mr. Becker listed a few things for marketers to consider before creating a mobile campaign:
• What do you want to accomplish and by when?
• Are you building awareness or generating ad hoc transactional business?
• Are you building a permission-based list that you can remarket to in a precise and targetable fashion in the future?
• How will you maintain the dialogue? The conversation?
In terms building relationships via mobile, Mr. Becker suggested that all brands extend their Web sites to mobile, enabling all mobile content delivery including images, music and video.
He also said that companies should include an SMS alert opt-in template, so that consumers can shoes to be even closer to the brand.
But like any marketing channel, mobile too has its challenges.
“Mobile Web implementation can be complex and challenging,” Mr. Becker said.
Interoperability, discovery, user experience and usability, measurement and choosing the right partners are some of the challenges Mr. Becker mentioned.
Mr. Becker gave some examples of companies that really nailed it with their mobile sites.
Victoria’s Secret, L.L. Bean, Barack Obama and Best Buy, were some of the brands he named.
“I think Papa John’s proved that mobile can help companies make money when it launched its Web site last year and sold more than $1 million dollars worth of food via its mobile offering,” Mr. Becker said.
Some thoughts on mobile coupons - MMF panel
Excerpts By Giselle Tsirulnik
NEW YORK- “When you give a two-for-one coffee coupon you can up-sell and get the customer to buy a scone to go with the coffee,” he said. “We don’t need for technology to get here as companies like Jiffy Lube and Arby’s have shown [via their SMS coupons].”
In terms of awareness, Ted Fagenson, vice president of Cellfire, said coupons have a steep learning curve and migration will occur quickly via word of mouth and retailer support.
Digital coupons average roughly 13 percent redemption rates. Mobile/Web coupons are averaging 20 percent.
“Consumers are more likely to use digital coupons,” said Sharon Wahrmund, new product development manager at Inmar.
Gary Schwartz, president/CEO of Impact Mobile and panel moderator, said that stories on Mobile Marketer that have the word “coupon” in the headline tend to get the largest opens because marketers are interested in them.
"Coupons are real, they are happening and the numbers justify this,” Mr. Fagenson said.
“Passive advertising and access to customers is rapidly diminishing,” he said. “Don’t depend on discovery. Customers are seeking offers and shoppers can capture and process information in a new manner.”
Mr. Fagenson also said that marketers need to have a multichannel coupon distribution strategy or they will be left behind.
There are more mobile phones than TV sets and PCs combined and 37 percent of consumers have mobile Web access.
Nearly half of all mobile coupon redeemers are 34 or younger.
“Mobile coupons are convenient because consumers are likely not to forget their phones at home and they will spend less time at the cash register line,” Mr. Fagenson said.
“A lot of people are embarrassed to use paper coupons and mobile coupons remove that embarrassment,” he said.
NEW YORK- “When you give a two-for-one coffee coupon you can up-sell and get the customer to buy a scone to go with the coffee,” he said. “We don’t need for technology to get here as companies like Jiffy Lube and Arby’s have shown [via their SMS coupons].”
In terms of awareness, Ted Fagenson, vice president of Cellfire, said coupons have a steep learning curve and migration will occur quickly via word of mouth and retailer support.
Digital coupons average roughly 13 percent redemption rates. Mobile/Web coupons are averaging 20 percent.
“Consumers are more likely to use digital coupons,” said Sharon Wahrmund, new product development manager at Inmar.
Gary Schwartz, president/CEO of Impact Mobile and panel moderator, said that stories on Mobile Marketer that have the word “coupon” in the headline tend to get the largest opens because marketers are interested in them.
"Coupons are real, they are happening and the numbers justify this,” Mr. Fagenson said.
“Passive advertising and access to customers is rapidly diminishing,” he said. “Don’t depend on discovery. Customers are seeking offers and shoppers can capture and process information in a new manner.”
Mr. Fagenson also said that marketers need to have a multichannel coupon distribution strategy or they will be left behind.
There are more mobile phones than TV sets and PCs combined and 37 percent of consumers have mobile Web access.
Nearly half of all mobile coupon redeemers are 34 or younger.
“Mobile coupons are convenient because consumers are likely not to forget their phones at home and they will spend less time at the cash register line,” Mr. Fagenson said.
“A lot of people are embarrassed to use paper coupons and mobile coupons remove that embarrassment,” he said.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Text messages can quench plants' thirst
EDITOR'S NOTE: Although this does not have anything to do with marketing, it really is amazing what this technology can do!!!
Microchip calls cell phone to tell farmer it's time for water
By Eric Bland
Carrots might not scream when pulled from the ground, but new technology is giving vegetables a voice in how they are raised. Microchipped plants can now send text messages to a farmer's cell phone and ask for water.
"It's akin to a clip-on earring, very thin and smaller than a postage stamp, and is affixed to the plant leaf," said Richard Stoner, President of AgriHouse, a company marketing the technology.
"The farmer would just need their regular cell phone service, and the plant would send a text message when it needed water."
For areas that receive regular and plentiful rainfall, such detailed crop monitoring might not be useful or economical. But in the western United States, where much of the water comes from underground aquifers, conserving water, and more importantly, conserving the electricity that pumps it to the surface and across fields, could save farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
The original cell phone for plants was developed years ago by scientists working with NASA on future manned missions to the moon and Mars.
"You need plants on future space missions," said Hans-Dieter Seelig, a scientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder who worked on the original NASA project.
"They take out waste carbon dioxide, produce breathable oxygen, and the astronauts can use them as food," said Seelig.
Sustainability in space might keep astronauts alive, and on Earth it's likely to save farmers time and money.
"We are talking about saving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for farmers," using the existing wired system, Stoner said.
The existing sensors have to be connected to a power source to take readings and transmit them over commercial cell phone towers. Stoner hopes that future sensors can be equipped with batteries, solar panels or even piezoelectric generators to generate the power necessary to run the sensors and transmitters.
Adding more sensors across wider areas will enable more detailed management of farms, saving farmers even more, says Stoner.
Water in the western United States might be relatively cheap, but the electric bills to pump the water from underground aquifers do add up. And there is no guarantee that the water will remain cheap either. Being sustainable could end up being good business.
Microchip calls cell phone to tell farmer it's time for water
By Eric Bland
Carrots might not scream when pulled from the ground, but new technology is giving vegetables a voice in how they are raised. Microchipped plants can now send text messages to a farmer's cell phone and ask for water.
"It's akin to a clip-on earring, very thin and smaller than a postage stamp, and is affixed to the plant leaf," said Richard Stoner, President of AgriHouse, a company marketing the technology.
"The farmer would just need their regular cell phone service, and the plant would send a text message when it needed water."
For areas that receive regular and plentiful rainfall, such detailed crop monitoring might not be useful or economical. But in the western United States, where much of the water comes from underground aquifers, conserving water, and more importantly, conserving the electricity that pumps it to the surface and across fields, could save farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
The original cell phone for plants was developed years ago by scientists working with NASA on future manned missions to the moon and Mars.
"You need plants on future space missions," said Hans-Dieter Seelig, a scientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder who worked on the original NASA project.
"They take out waste carbon dioxide, produce breathable oxygen, and the astronauts can use them as food," said Seelig.
Sustainability in space might keep astronauts alive, and on Earth it's likely to save farmers time and money.
"We are talking about saving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for farmers," using the existing wired system, Stoner said.
The existing sensors have to be connected to a power source to take readings and transmit them over commercial cell phone towers. Stoner hopes that future sensors can be equipped with batteries, solar panels or even piezoelectric generators to generate the power necessary to run the sensors and transmitters.
Adding more sensors across wider areas will enable more detailed management of farms, saving farmers even more, says Stoner.
Water in the western United States might be relatively cheap, but the electric bills to pump the water from underground aquifers do add up. And there is no guarantee that the water will remain cheap either. Being sustainable could end up being good business.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Has the mobile needle moved in the last six months?
By Mickey Alam Khan | June 1, 2009
Right off the bat, it’s easy to conclude that more brands are incorporating mobile into their multichannel marketing plans. Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette brand, for example, has made smart use of mobile in its latest campaign.
Brands’ use of mobile comes in various forms: SMS text message programs, mobile Web sites, mobile applications, mobile coupons, mobile video, mobile search and even mobile shopping.
Much progress has been made since the start of the year with the use of these mobile channels for branding and customer acquisition and retention purposes.
As expected, ad agencies are finally taking to mobile, albeit with due caution.
Add to that PR expectations that the new Apple iPhone upgrade will again be another game-changer. Similar expectations are in place for the new BlackBerry Storm 2 mobile phone.
All said and done, the new phones on the market will change consumer usage of mobile phones. Expect more consumption of news, sports scores, email, music, photographs, business documents, text, video, GPS navigation, search, shopping and, of course, voice.
Linked to the newer smartphones is the biggest incentive of all: affordable data plans.
Not surprisingly, larger carriers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile are under increasing pressure to either lower their prices, match others or offer unlimited data options.
Industry observers may sometimes be frustrated with the pace of mobile marketing growth. But the ecosystem should be marveled for its coalescing of the disparate pieces without any undue hype or excess funding. A lean meal is the perfect diet.
Right off the bat, it’s easy to conclude that more brands are incorporating mobile into their multichannel marketing plans. Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette brand, for example, has made smart use of mobile in its latest campaign.
Brands’ use of mobile comes in various forms: SMS text message programs, mobile Web sites, mobile applications, mobile coupons, mobile video, mobile search and even mobile shopping.
Much progress has been made since the start of the year with the use of these mobile channels for branding and customer acquisition and retention purposes.
As expected, ad agencies are finally taking to mobile, albeit with due caution.
Add to that PR expectations that the new Apple iPhone upgrade will again be another game-changer. Similar expectations are in place for the new BlackBerry Storm 2 mobile phone.
All said and done, the new phones on the market will change consumer usage of mobile phones. Expect more consumption of news, sports scores, email, music, photographs, business documents, text, video, GPS navigation, search, shopping and, of course, voice.
Linked to the newer smartphones is the biggest incentive of all: affordable data plans.
Not surprisingly, larger carriers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile are under increasing pressure to either lower their prices, match others or offer unlimited data options.
Industry observers may sometimes be frustrated with the pace of mobile marketing growth. But the ecosystem should be marveled for its coalescing of the disparate pieces without any undue hype or excess funding. A lean meal is the perfect diet.
SnoCountry resorts ski into mobile to overcome down-sloping economy
By Giselle Tsirulnik | June 1, 2009
Advertiser segments that were traditionally committed to print ads have decided they need to find new ways to reach customers.
That’s the case for SnoCountry, a consortium of New England's leading ski areas, which have embraced a mobile text platform to reward loyal patrons and reach out to new ones. SnoCountry ski/snowboard resorts are depending on mobile to promote incentives, promotions and seasonal offerings to active skiers and snowboarders.
“Now that the papers are losing one percent of their circulation every seven or eight weeks, advertisers who had previously been slow to embrace new media have been forced to consider alternative or supplemental channels in the face of this really harsh economic environment,” said Dave Everett.
“The reality is that, while they have generally been hesitant to experiment with costly ad channels, they are emboldened to try mobile because, if done right, such advertising can have impact, immediacy and most of all, [affordability],” he said.
With the region's notoriously fast-changing weather, it is an economic imperative that the ski areas be able to immediately inform skiers and snowboarders of appealing snow conditions.
The ski areas are now having skiers and snowboarders text in to join a mobile database to receive weather updates and promotions.
SnoCountry ski areas are promoting the calls-to-action on their respective Web sites and in signage throughout the resorts asking consumers to text in for weather alerts and promotions.
The mobile channel has shown New England's most venerable ski/snowboard areas how they can distill their own messaging into a low-cost, high-impact, direct communication channel to their most responsive patrons.
After all, the consumers that are in this database have opted-in to receive current information on snow conditions and to be invited to participate in special incentives and promotions.
Advertiser segments that were traditionally committed to print ads have decided they need to find new ways to reach customers.
That’s the case for SnoCountry, a consortium of New England's leading ski areas, which have embraced a mobile text platform to reward loyal patrons and reach out to new ones. SnoCountry ski/snowboard resorts are depending on mobile to promote incentives, promotions and seasonal offerings to active skiers and snowboarders.
“Now that the papers are losing one percent of their circulation every seven or eight weeks, advertisers who had previously been slow to embrace new media have been forced to consider alternative or supplemental channels in the face of this really harsh economic environment,” said Dave Everett.
“The reality is that, while they have generally been hesitant to experiment with costly ad channels, they are emboldened to try mobile because, if done right, such advertising can have impact, immediacy and most of all, [affordability],” he said.
With the region's notoriously fast-changing weather, it is an economic imperative that the ski areas be able to immediately inform skiers and snowboarders of appealing snow conditions.
The ski areas are now having skiers and snowboarders text in to join a mobile database to receive weather updates and promotions.
SnoCountry ski areas are promoting the calls-to-action on their respective Web sites and in signage throughout the resorts asking consumers to text in for weather alerts and promotions.
The mobile channel has shown New England's most venerable ski/snowboard areas how they can distill their own messaging into a low-cost, high-impact, direct communication channel to their most responsive patrons.
After all, the consumers that are in this database have opted-in to receive current information on snow conditions and to be invited to participate in special incentives and promotions.
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