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Mobile Marketing

PLICK HERE!

December 5, 2008

By Sixto Arias, Managing Director, Mobext

In the early Internet times, no banner could appear without inviting to click on it. Due to the inexperience of the users, most of the banners asked the users for their valuable clicks.

As we didn’t know that by clicking we could discover new characteristics, hot deals, more info or personalized offers, advertisers and agencies were forced to invite to click with expressions such as, click here, make click please, click for more info and so on.

Do We Really Need a Mobile Web Site?

October 27, 2008
Do We Really Need a Mobile Web Site?
Per Holmkvist, Managing Director, Mobiento
 
The simple answer to the above question is yes. Most of your customers have a mobile phone, right? If you want to control how your brand appears in there, you must take action. There are several reasons. Of course the layout adaption to all mobile phone models is an important aspect, but it is equally important to offer a user friendly mobile site that is fast and inexpensive to load. The most important aspect however is the content and how it is presented. The needs and behaviour of a mobile surfer differs greatly from an Internet surfer.
 
Your web site is your Supermarket, and your mobile site is your 7-Eleven
 
The most important and most sustainable reason for maintaining a mobile web site is that it plays a different role in your communication than does the traditional web. According to Nielsen Net Ratings the average Internet session in 2007 lasted for 56 minutes. The average mobile surf session is less than five minutes. The mobile surfer is seldom just ‘surfing around’, he has a specific goal with his visit; to find a piece of information, to download a mobile service, or maybe visit his favourite brand.   
 
Hence the mobile web site must cut to the chase, and must only present content that is relevant for the mobile surfer. Part of that content may be the same as for the web, but parts are mobile specific. The contents must also be presented in the right order for a mobile surfer. Information that is on level three in an Internet web tree, may be on level one in the mobile.
 
We see the Internet site much like a supermarket. There are many different ways to go from the entry to the cashier, and the range of goods is wide. There are several brands of shampoo, and they come in different types, prices and sizes. The mobile site on the other hand, is like a 7-Eleven. There is pretty much only one way between entry and exit, and most choices are already made for you. And there is often only one shampoo brand.
 
Show the right stuff in the right order
 
Another reason for having a mobile web site is that the content presentation itself should be mobile adapted. We believe in a less-is-more design philosophy for mobile web sites. Single out the three most important reasons to visit your mobile site, and make them visible at entry, without any down-scrolling. A small screen does not mean design is not important, on the contrary interaction and graphic design for mobile is the ultimate test for a designer.
 
Also, a good mobile site requires no side-scrolling, and hence it is always read top-down, as opposed to Internet sites where eye-movement studies show that the eye moves freely over the screen. This should dictate the mobile layout. Some texts may be the same as for the Internet, but again a mobile surf session is short, so distilled shorter texts are often better. See them as a teaser, for those who want to read more can later sit down by their computer and read the long version.
 
Images may also need to be mobile specific. We are not talking about the image sizes - that is a technical issue - but image motives. What works well on a pc screen does not necessarily look good in a mobile. A landscape photo with a car in a distance is just a landscape photo in the mobile. No one will ever see the car.
 
Re-using Internet texts and images for your mobile web may be a temporary solution, but when doing so it is easy to forget features that are not on your web site. Mobile specific texts, features, and )maybe most importantly) mobile revenue possibilities.
 
There are thousands of mobile phone models
 
Finally, there is of course a technical argument for a mobile web site. A common question when discussing mobile web sites is “Won’t fixed and mobile internet converge?” Yes, we can already browse the traditional web using an iPhone or other smart phone )although Flash based sites still do not work). And yes, mobile and fixed Internet will converge eventually, but still - not everyone will have iPhones and its likes. Many people go for small simple phones, and will continue to do so.
 
The problem is that consumers will be looking for your brand in their mobile, regardless if you have a mobile web site or not. In the best case it looks awful, and the customer has a flat fee data plan so he doesn’t have to pay a lot to load the site. Worst case, your brand is perceived as disregarding its customers.
 
What does this mean? You should adapt your web site for these phones. Hundreds of phones of different brands and models. This requires a phone recognition software, which automatically creates the mobile web site layout and contents depending on which phone the visitor has.
 
The “weight” of the web page is also an important part of the adaptation. Opening a traditional web site in a mobile phone can be painfully slow, and may cost several Euros in data traffic fees. A first page on any web site may weigh one thousand kilobytes. A first page on a mobile web site should weigh less than a tenth of that.
 
What if we still do not want a mobile web site?
 
The important thing is to know what you are saying no to. If your customer opens your web site in a mobile browser he gets the wrong content, presented in the wrong order, with a slow and costly download, and with an unadapted layout. In a world where most everyone owns a mobile phone and brand perception and brand liking is everything, this could be a problem.
 

Did Someone Say Mobile Has Arrived?

October 27, 2008
Did Someone Say Mobile Has Arrived?
Tonia Meyer, Director, Industry Initiatives, Mobile Marketing Association
 
 
Brands and agencies around the world are wrapping up their advertising budgets for 2009 and one thing is for certain, now is the time to put mobile in the mix!  At least that’s what folks were saying at the MMA’s Mobile Marketing Forum )MMF) in Budapest, Hungary two weeks ago.  The two-day event provided an opportunity for delegates around the world to discuss the trends, developments and successes in mobile marketing.
 
There were a number of unique messages sharing best practice insights and critical success factors but across presentations; I heard one consistent piece of advice, integrate mobile into your cross media campaigns on day one of planning.  But why? Let me share with you some of the compelling statistics and lessons learned that reminded me why I’m still in mobile:
 
The Stats
On the first morning Arda Kurtmelioglu, Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer for Mobilera in Turkey offered up some mesmerizing results for a pre-paid CRM campaign launched in the Republic of Moldova that targeted 55k subscribers on their mobile and achieved 63% penetration in six weeks.  So, 35k consumers saw value in a applicable and targeted message and acted on it.  That’s the instantaneous impact of effective mobile marketing!
 
Jumping to a different approach and aspect of mobile marketing, Magnus Jern, CEO and Founder for Golden Gekko of Sweden shared a unique challenge to replicate Arla’s online cookbook to the mobile. Their launch incorporated several elements of mobile marketing including the mobile web, short codes, mobile web advertising banners and a viral ‘tell a friend’ solution.  The successful launch has resulted in 2-5k monthly downloads and the average customer has shared the service with 3.5 other people.   A brilliant example of a simple and relevant product offering leading to unstoppable viral results.
 
Joanne Scholtz, Director of GroupM Interaction for South Africa delivered some fascinating insights into mobile penetration and the huge growth of mobile marketing for South Africa. She shared inspiring case studies of social community campaigns such as SocialTxt’s pilot project with Vodacom and the National AIDS helpline.  This program, leveraging “Please Call Me” messages, provides free counseling and referral services for people with HIV and AIDS, offering thousands in the South African community hope for the future.
 
Stephen Upstone, Managing Director of European Development for AdInfuse, Inc. highlighted a fascinating case study on mobile advertising results achieved on the iPhone versus other mobile devices. The campaign showed iPhone users 70 times more likely than others to download content. Do the math on that one!  Russell Buckley, Global Chair of the MMA and Managing Director of Europe for AdMob Inc. wrapped up day one by stating, “This is the year of the iPhone”.
 
The Necessities
So you’re convinced that mobile is changing the behavior of our consumers and the results are impressive; well, before you run to the drawing board too quickly, let me share with you some tips I have learned to be simple and basic but necessary in executing an effective and successful mobile campaign:
 
Stacy Fassberg, VP of Marketing for Celltick presented five critical success factors focused on targeting and relevance that are key in driving success: 
 
1.     Ensure it’s response-based
2.     Make it location-based
3.     Is it time sensitive?
4.     Utilize demographic information
5.     Respect the consumer’s privacy concerns
 
At the end of the day, consumer’s privacy and preference concerns outweigh all other considerations.  Ensuring consumers are receiving mobile marketing communication where they want it and when they want it will impact the success and results of any mobile campaign.  For more information, check out the MMA’s Global Code of Conduct for industry acknowledged privacy principles:  http://www.mmaglobal.com/codeofconduct.pdf.
 
The MMA’s Mobile Marketing Forum series continues to develop mobile marketing learnings and present new perspectives to best practice and successes in the mobile channel.

The next MMA Mobile Marketing Forum will be held November 13th in San Diego and incorporates the MMA’s Annual Global Awards Ceremony.  For the agenda and other information, visit www.mobilemarketingforum.com.">www.mobilemarketingforum.com.
 

Mobile Personal Touchpoints

August 25, 2008
Mobile Personal Touchpoints
John A. Bunyan, Chief Marketing Officer, Comverse
 
Advertising is evolving, becoming more personal and the mobile phone is the latest and hottest development in the evolutionary process.
 
Mobile advertising is drawing intense interest due to its uniqueness as an intelligent medium that can incorporate time, context, socio-demographical data and user location that leverages an intimate and trusted one-on-one relationship with the user. It is also unique in its ability to meet the user in more than one place.
 
Cashing In on Multiple Touchpoints
 
Part of the uniqueness of the mobile device as an advertising medium is that it offers so many ways to interact with the user and elicit impulse responses.
  • SMS: Advertising can utilize SMS space for targeted ads that reward users with discounted or free messaging.
  • MMS / Instant SMS: Multimedia makes possible colorful banner ads and video clips.
  • Ringback Tones: Users can earn “ad for cash” credits.
  • Bill Statements: Excellent touch opportunity to leverage SMS and billing relationship for impulse purchases.
Advantages like these have made mobile advertising one of the industry’s hottest new growth areas. The $1.5 billion that advertisers currently spend about annually on mobile media is expected to increase almost 10-fold to $14 billion by 2011.
 
Subscriber Relationship: Unique and Precious Asset
 
To an ad network or a mobile Web portal, each consumer is just one set of eyeballs among millions in a market. To the carrier, however, every subscriber is a precious asset.
 
Operators can capitalize on this relationship and the wealth of subscriber data they possess. Advertisements must be highly relevant, non-intrusive, and opt-in to leverage yet safeguard the trusted subscriber relationship.
 
Successful New Revenue Model
 
Newspapers and magazines are “mixed” media models, generating revenue partly from users and partly from advertisers. Both revenue streams make the media model work.
 
Operators are applying this mixed model to the mobile world. Ad messages inserted in SMS messages, for example, can reduce consumer charges for SMS messages and/or bundles. Similar blends provide compelling business models for voicemail/  MMS messages, ringback tones, etc.
 
Getting It Right: The Right Message to the Right Person via the Right Touchpoint
 
A highly relevant message for one consumer can be spam for another. Guiding an advertising message to the consumer depends on the optimal use of knowledge about consumer preferences, needs and behavior – all handled with the utmost respect for consumer privacy.
 
Beyond a consumer’s opt-in for a particular content type, there are other key factors to consider in serving ads. Some users access the Web, others do not; some users prefer SMS, others Mobile IM. Even handset types dictate the appropriate delivery approach.
 
Operators hold the key knowledge assets for these decisions. At stake is the effectiveness of the campaign and protection of the operator's relationship with the subscriber.
 
Putting the Operator in Control
 
A mobile advertising solution needs to put the operator in control to leverage all appropriate consumer information. The right ad to the right person via the right touchpoint makes for the right business case.  
 

The Power of the 4th Screen Downunder

August 25, 2008
The Power of the 4th Screen Downunder
By Cameron Wall *, Technical Director, G-nius Mobile Intelligence Pty Ltd
 
Finally the 4th screen is in the hand of almost every Australian over the age of 12 years. It is a screen that is viewed by more people then cinema, TV and the Internet put together each day - and it’s very personal.
 
In a recent US survey 63% of people said they would give up their wallet before their mobile phone if mugged. The mobile phone is the fastest growing tech device known to man with 6 million new services coming ‘on-air’ each month in India alone.
 
If an advertising agent had of said to one of their client brands several years ago that they were going to build a device that each consumer would carry with them, was always switched on, could communicate two-way and measure what products they liked, they would have been laughed out of the meeting.
 
The Australian mobile ecosystem is one of the most advanced in the world with 3G penetration reaching near 50% of subscribers compared to the US market where they are just opening 3G networks and China which is planning them. Therefore mobile advertising in Australia is very advanced in contrast to the world market due to market size, high GDP, advanced networks and marketing players, and of course an innovative subscriber market.
 
It took the traditional Internet 10 years to get where mobile Internet went in two years but the mobile industry is suffering from the same mistakes. Many carriers are operating a closed walled garden approach, similar to AOL in the mid 90’s when the web was a closed portal environment.
 
Carriers are, as were publishers in the 90’s, worried about losing revenue per user on traditional voice and messaging, which is saturated in the current market. How does a carrier reap revenue from an open Internet environment on the 4th screen? Most carriers in Australia do not still advertise their mobile Internet rates to the public, 1Mb of data on the 4th screen is about .5c today.
 
There are two main mobile advertising delivery methods in play today, ‘push’ and ‘pull’. Push is likened to the way most Email marketing is carried out where content is pushed out to a list of mobile numbers in a sometime scattergun approach, where pull is where the handset subscriber reacts to a call-to-action. Push requires the user to be opted-in and should be able to opt-out at anytime.
 
There are many mobile technologies in the market today such as SMS, MMS, Bluetooth, Mobile Internet, Content Beaming, WiFi etc. It is very important that brands and advertising agencies understand the technology and the carrier business models before trying to integrate their creative around them.
 
Mobile Advertising Guidelines have been carefully put together by industry bodies both locally and overseas and should always be consulted.
 
The largest demographic for mobile advertising is the ‘Tween’ market )12-29 year olds). They are mainly Gen Y and have been bought up with technology and know how to use it, interrogate it and break it. The Tween’s have quite a high disposable income due to living at home and typically early adopters of new technology.
 
Software is already in use that allows phone users to take a photo of a logo to get an instant discount.  Pizza Hut and a range of premier brands in Asia are enjoying this level of interaction with their target markets.
The 4th screen is being taken very seriously by advertisers and content owners worldwide, with over 3 billion mobile phone users compared with 1.4 billion television, 350 million fixed broadband and 137,000 cinemas. 
It is important to point out that mobile advertising at this point in time should not be seen as a new media on its own. Mobile can work with all traditional media and mobile should be an overlay not separate spend.
 
Mobile advertising is here and is about to explode. It will be seen as non-intrusive by most as it has the power to be both personal and relevant.  And for advertisers eager for targeted channels that can also deliver response data, this is gold.
 
 
* Cameron Wall is the director of a number of mobile media companies.  He has spent 20 years in ICT and established Australia’s first Internet café.
 
Cameron Wall – © Copyright 2008
 

Educating your Clients on Mobile

August 25, 2008
Educating your Clients on Mobile
By Michael Foschetti, Managing Director, Mobisix
 
Executives at mobile marketing firms know the intricacies and possibilities that exist within the industry, because it’s what they live and breathe every day. However, their clients and prospective clients are not nearly as knowledgeable about the opportunity because they are still tied to more traditional media and marketing.
 
As a result, players in the mobile marketing industry must realize their obligation to provide education to those key influencers and decision makers.
 
The starting point is to convey the five mobile mechanisms available to connect the brand’s message and identity with the engaged consumer. The five mechanisms are very simply: messaging )SMS/MMS), WAP, video, downloads, and voice. Each presents a distinct advantage in terms of penetration rates, customer experiences and targeted audiences. Identifying your target and their needs first helps choose the best mechanism. For example, the entertainment and gaming industries could benefit most from mobile video and downloads. But if you’re a large CPG company selling dry dog food for the last 85 years, a simpler SMS might be the best place to start.
 
A campaign based around one or all five mobile mechanisms should be built upon six opportunity criteria: simple, relevant, integrated, viral, scalable, and measurable.
 
First and foremost, mobile campaigns need to be simple. You have already connected with the consumer through their most personal avenue; don’t make it any more complicated than it needs to be.
 
Mobile content must also be relevant. Without relevancy, there is no engagement, and with no engagement, there is no customer experience and no response. Mobile works best when it is fully integrated, because it has the ability to highlight and boost every element in a full-service marketing campaign.
 
Mobile communication, especially messaging, is a peer-to-peer proposition. The viral element must be considered and accounted for to optimize your mobile campaign. Scalable fundamentals must exist to be successful, whether you are targeting one or 1 million customers. Finally, although measurability is still evolving in this space, becoming more refined and sophisticated every day, engagement and other goals are highly measurable given the direct response nature of this medium.
 
The next phase of client education, and perhaps the most important, is establishing marketing objectives and an ideal customer experience. Any mobile campaign can be deemed a failure if you do not have specific and quantifiable objectives for both you and your client to measure against. For instance, measuring the number of click-thrus or percentage of coupons redeemed. Since mobile is the most intimate way to communicate with your customer, a valuable customer experience must be delivered. Every mobile interaction has to deliver something of value, or you run the risk of alienating your customers by interrupting them with just another message.
 
Mobile may be the most effective way to deliver offers, increase awareness, produce the “hip” factor, capture attention, start a dialogue, and engage consumers on the go. Educating our clients on the power this medium holds will benefit them, their customers, and the industry as a whole.     
 

Print to Mobile Coupons: Why Sunday’s Newspaper Coupons Will Soon Be Obsolete

July 29, 2008
Print to Mobile Coupons: Why Sunday’s Newspaper Coupons Will Soon Be Obsolete
By Dan Roselli, CEO, Mobisix
 
With cell phones quickly becoming the preferred- and often primary-means of communication, global communication has gone mobile. With GPS navigation, instant messaging, true internet web browsing, and full email services available on our mobile handsets, why shouldn’t relevant coupons that fit our interests be accessible and redeemable on our phones as well?
 
The technology required to launch a mobile couponing campaign with successful coupon redemption is here.
 
Though the U.S. lags more sophisticated mobile markets, there are a handful of companies, such as McDonald’s, Chase, Visa, Subway, Valvoline, and Hollywood Video, that provide us with small scale detailed examples of mobile marketing campaigns used to drive awareness in the U.S., increase sales, and promote customer loyalty.
 
In 2007, over 350 billion text messages were sent in the U.S. Though certainly popular with the demo, text messaging is not just limited to teenage mobile users; nearly half of all active SMS users are over the age of 35. The mobile audience is a broad and diverse one that reads 94% of all text messages. A recent report by ABI research states that 63 percent of consumers feel a coupon is the most valuable form of mobile marketing.
 
The case for mobile marketing in general has already been widely proven, but data and statistics point to a strong present and an even brighter future for mobile coupons. JupiterResearch estimates that by 2011, over 87 billion dollars in sales will be generated by 3 billion mobile coupons.
 
A range of possible redemption options is available to retailers and customers. A simple text message containing a coupon code or keyword can be entered into a website or shown to a check-out cashier. The more advanced and impressive )as well as more secure) option for mobile coupons is an actual barcode that appears on the phone’s screen. This barcode can be read by standard 1D or 2D scanners as if it was a paper coupon.[i] There is no need to alter or add anything to the phone or scanner in order for the coupon to register.[ii]
 
Through opt-in programs, companies can reach interested customers in their target demographics with a valuable coupon. Mobile technology has the ability to increase inventory turnover, revenue, and customer loyalty, and it can do it today. A 20% off coupon for anything in the store that is only valid for the next two hours can have a significant effect on driving traffic into a large retailer on a slow Thursday afternoon. Mobile coupons can not only increase overall store activity, but can also target products for specific demographics.
 
Imagine mobile marketing campaigns that use real time data to fuel their strategies, putting only relevant offers in front of consumers. Imagine no more, mobile coupons have entered the marketplace. Paper is staring at the exit.
 
Mobisix is a full-service mobile marketing agency, focusing on general and Hispanic markets and driven by data and analytics.
 
 
[i] mBlox
[ii] Ibid
 
 

Mobile Marketer’s Intro to the iPhone

July 29, 2008

Mobile Marketer’s Intro to the iPhone
Mark Emery, Senior Director of Agency Relations, Air2Web

Spend much time in the halls of mobile companies these days and you’ll be privy to prolific chatter about the second generation of Apple’s precedent-setting iPhone, scheduled for release on July 11th.  Even before the original iPhone was released, back when there were only whispers, smoke and mirrors about Apple’s plans, industry insiders speculated feverishly about when the juggernaut would awaken from its mobile slumber.

By almost all accounts, Apple’s first pass in the mobile space was an unmitigated success. The device was stunningly beautiful, the touchscreen worked surprisingly well, the accelerometer )the doohickey that changes the screen based on the orientation of the device) was an instant benchmark, and the browser served up rich HTML. Undergirding its incredible functionality was Apple’s utter mastery of UI; the device was simpler to use than a preponderance of lesser devices.

The original iPhone was not without some pretty glaring deficiencies, however. Because Apple wanted to ensure sufficient battery life, the first iPhone shipped with only a 2G chip, which meant the iPhone’s groundbreaking Safari browser effectively had a flat tire in AT&T’s plodding EDGE network. With no native support for Microsoft Exchange, the equally impressive email client proved no match for a BES-connected Blackberry. Also, the device’s embedded battery meant that iPhone users who needed new batteries had to ship the device back to Apple; I don’t know many people who can afford to live without their phones for that kind of timeframe, and I don’t know ANY business people who can.

Third-party application developers weren’t exactly thrilled to discover that Apple offered no accompanying SDK or toolkit to develop apps for the iPhone. Nifty little utilities created for other devices were effectively blocked for the iPhone. In my opinion, the move was fairly reasonable – too much could go wrong with the first-gen device to risk it, the stock functionality of the device was already staggeringly impressive, and it’s reasonable for Apple to want first dibs on aftermarket apps.

Last Fall Apple availed an SDK to hungry developers. For $99 you could create applications for the iPhone. Even that was not without its drawbacks, however, including the fact that the SDK was limited to browser-based applications, which in turn meant that apps could not run concurrently )bad, if you, say, don’t want your email client to crash just because the phone rang). This also affected the creation of apps that could use native device applications )iTunes, calendar, contacts, phone, SMS, etc.) - the cool stuff was Apple only.

The new device boasts MobileMe, Apple’s method for access to Microsoft Exhange’s push email service, which suddenly makes the device a formidable adversary for class-leading RIM. Power innovation has enabled Apple to ship the device with a 3G chip, meaning consumers within range of AT&T’s powerful HSDPA network would have the bandwidth needed to make the browser hum. It looks like an already great device will become even better.

Add a new $199 price point and it’s easy to understand the hysteria surrounding the device.

That hysteria has generated some excellent questions, which deserve attention in a broader format than I have here. That said, here are a few that seem to come up more often than others, and my shot at answers:

1) Does the rich HTML browser mean the end of WAP?

A bunch of people at the MMA show suggested that WAP was dead, and using the term at all is indicative of an antiquated mindset. On one hand, I can see how they’d arrive at that position; HTML is a Web standard, and if a mobile device suddenly supports Web markup languages, your site will already be optimized for mobile…

Wrong

…iPhone users, please browse to apple.com on your iPhone. That text sure is small, eh? Now consider the fact that as of Q1 2008, there were 2.3 million units in the U.S. market. Sounds impressive, until you realize that there are over 250 million U.S. mobile users. For those of you playing the home game, that’s about 1% penetration.

WAP may not be pretty, but it is ubiquitous.

2) Does the iPhone mean I don’t have to create sites specifically for mobile devices?

Sure, if you don’t care about two things:
  1. The fact that the number of rich HTML devices out there is still small )but definitely growing).
  2. The notion that people want different experiences on mobile devices than they do on the traditional Web.

I believe )and I am buoyed by many of my clients) that most people do want something specifically designed for mobile. If you go to Starbucks.com on a computer, there is a broad range of things you can do to interact with the coffee giant - from perusing the menu to reviewing investor information. If you care enough to browse to Starbucks.com on your mobile device, chances are you’re looking for a store. I think remembering that paradigm is critical when you talk about building a mobile web presence.
 
 

 

Latin America – The Next Big Thing or Already Here?!

July 29, 2008
Latin America – The Next Big Thing or Already Here?!
 

Age Appropriate Services: What Does the Future Hold?

June 24, 2008
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Laura Marriott, President, Mobile Marketing Association
 
This article was contributed by RCRWirelessNews and can also be found at HERE.

For those in mobile, the topic that still causes our colleagues to ‘giggle’ is the topic of Adult content.  And in my role as President of the global Mobile Marketing Association )MMA), it is a question I often receive in regards to the role that the MMA will play in defining the rules for adult services.  However, as I have learned, the services that we want to ensure proper protections and controls on are broader than adult-oriented and include a range of services which we will term age appropriate content and contact services.  Some operators and vendors in our ecosystem refer to Age Appropriate content as content and contact services which are not appropriate for persons under the age of 18.  As an industry, determining our rules around not only a consistent definition but a consistent approach will be key to ensuring a common understanding of the age appropriate ‘industry’ globally.