Yahoo’s Commitment to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile
By Laura Marriott | May 3, 2007

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I generally like to structure these columns around topics I'm asked about most often by either ClickZ readers or the industry at large. One such question centers on mobile spend and whether brands are really committed to the mobile channel.

This week, I had the good fortune to talk to Yahoo, which just launched a new service and marketing initiative that demonstrate its mobile investment.

Yahoo is best known for its e-mail, IM, and search solutions. However, it recently launched a few initiatives focused on its corporate commitment and investment in mobile. This week it introduced a new integrated brand campaign that based on two of its latest services.

One, Yahoo Answers, is a cool service available on the PC that will soon be brought to mobile. The service allows users to ask questions that any user is able to respond to. Questions are then ranked based on user feedback.

The second service, Yahoo oneSearch, is Yahoo's mobile search product that allows consumers to access Yahoo algorithmic search, editorial, and content from their mobile device. This extends the Yahoo desktop experience to mobile.

Yahoo brought these two services together in the launch of its "Be a Bette.." campaign aimed at consumers with print, radio, television, and mobile ads. The cross-media initiative draws on mobile Web advertising on Yahoo and a variety of other mainstream mobile destinations.

One example of marketing the "Be a Better..." is to use innovative TV spots in prime-time programs to inspire consumers to be better husbands, aunts, gardeners -- whatever they aspire to be. According to Michael Bayle, GM of global monetization, connected life, at Yahoo, it's the "first time that we have put our weight behind making mobile work for the consumer."

Yahoo is putting significant weight behind launching its search product and has learned that media integration across multiple channels is key to launch success. It's also the first time Yahoo has focused a major ad campaign on a mobile service and has leveraged the mobile channel to such a significant extent. The utility moves beyond text messaging and ring tones and onto mobile Web.

Another issue for broad mobile adoption is increasing consumer awareness about mobile devices' advanced functionalities. We are driving consumers to learn about the mobile experience through access to information on their online site [and marketed through interactive ads on its own as well as other sites], which enable consumers to access and experiment with the services," Yahoo spokesperson Nicole Leverich said. According to Leverich, Yahoo hopes that by encouraging consumers to learn about their devices and to access Yahoo applications, "all ships will rise" to drive mobile marketing initiatives and consumer adoption across the industry and across the globe.

The "Be a Better…" campaign will run for a few months in the U.S. and target the 13-34 age demographic. However, the campaigns will likely teach older demographics how to access information on the go and show how mobile can help solve everyday problems and enhance opportunities, wherever you are.

Six new global markets will be coming online this week with Yahoo oneSearch. In Canada, the U.K., Spain, France, Italy, and Germany, the service will be beta-launched and include a subset of content delivered in the local languages.

Kudos to Yahoo for its investment in marketing its new mobile services in a way that will help raise awareness for the consumer -- and drive brand investment and commitment to the mobile channel!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

2D Codes: Coming to a Phone Near You
By Laura Marriott | April 19, 2007

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At most every conference I attend, I'm asked when 2D bar codes will come to the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />United States.

Also known as QR codes, these allow consumers to use their wireless devices to interact in a graphical manner with traditional and digital media. The unique, two-dimensional bar codes, which can be placed on any item, allow the consumer to take a picture using their MMS (camera phone functionality) on a mobile device. Then, through bar code reading software, the 2D code is interpreted to provide product information, downloads, and more. 2D codes are a visual system allowing consumers to access relevant information much like short codes, IVR or other mobile media techniques.

In Japan, approximately 40 percent of consumers have used bar codes through their mobile device. Why so many? Japanese operators and handset manufacturers have worked together to ensure devices support visual bar code technology, helping to drive adoption. However, the Japanese business model isn't supported by mobile advertising. instead, consumers are charged standard data rates for accessing information over their mobile devices.

The codes are also utilized in South Korea. There, each operator chose to pursue its own 2D strategy, hindering consumer adoption. There are many 2D codes in Korea, but no ubiquity for brands looking to deploy cross operator campaigns, posing a challenge.

In the Philippines, handset manufacturers sell directly to the consumer. Adoption of 2D codes is having some success. In this ad-supported market, brands are able to secure their own codes and launch to the consumer. Brands pay on a per-campaign basis, but per-click may prove to be the ideal business model.

The Paris transport system launched an interactive campaign using 2D codes with New York-based Scanbuy. The consumer can scan a code and see when the next bus or subway will arrive. There are over 160 bar codes in a single station! Consumers who don't have a bar code scanning tool on their device can access the application to download through SMS or WAP.

I asked Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of Scanbuy, when we might see 2D applications come to the U.S. Obstacles to adoption here include lack of camera phone (MMS) consumer adoption, as well as cost-effective pricing models. A broad effort at educating consumers and advertisers about the technology is needed, as well as point-of-sale integration for applications that use 2D codes for mobile commerce, Bulkeley says. Most promising uses include ticketing, couponing, and product or service information. The key is applications which rely on consumer pull to access the information they seek.

Demand on the advertiser side is huge. Advertisers get it, says Bulkeley. Print publishers are especially interested in 2D campaigns and what the visual opportunity can do for them.

Cosmo Girl launched an application with Mobot last year based on pure image recognition. Cosmo Girl readers were encouraged to take photos with their mobile device of ads or features in the publication and send them to the magazine for a chance to win prizes. The Cosmo Girl application wasn't based on 2D codes, but rather image recognition. Bulkeley says image recognition is the “holy grail, but making it a reality is years away for a number of reasons."

Scanbuy is launching U.S. campaigns targeted towards specific devices and demographics. "People change their behavior based on ubiquity," Bulkeley said. This means 2D applications, on a broad scale in the U.S., are at least 18 to 24 months away.

Scanbuy recently used the technology as part of the U.S. Air Force's "Do Something Amazing" campaign, which will be featured at venues including NASCAR and other sporting events across the country. Consumers will be able to utilize the Scanbuy technology to download videos about Air Force career opportunities. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Targeting a Specific <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile Demographic
By Laura Marriott | April 5, 2007
ClickZ

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Marketing 101 dictates you position your product or service in a manner that attracts or sells to your target consumer.

It's pretty simple. An age-old rule that's been successfully applied by such brand marketers as Unilever, House of Blues, Toyota, and Playboy. This means, of course, you must know your customers. Their age, gender, purchase behavior, what value proposition resonates with each subsegment, and so on. All things we marketers know.

Similarly, mobile and mobile products and services have the same consideration. The old adage holds true: know your customer.

One theme emerging from last week's CTIA show in Orlando was diversity, the differences between ethnic group consumption of mobile products and services, particularly content services. Mobile service providers are tuned in to who's using services and how to effectively market these services to the appropriate consumer segments. In a December 2006 In-Stat study, several areas in which African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics have a powerful effect on carriers are identified, particularly when it comes to adopting value-added services.

In-Stat found ethnic groups provided 20 percent more revenue to carriers for certain applications than general population numbers would suggest. Other points made in the study include:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

• Hispanic respondents have the highest average monthly spending and usage minutes.
• Nonwhite respondents are less loyal to mobile carriers than white respondents and plan to spend more on future handsets and services.
• Asians are most likely to use mobile video applications.

Regarding Ring Tones
Telephia recently released statistics about rap/hip-hop and soul/R&B U.S. ring tones in Q4 06. The largest consumers by revenue are African Americans, at 33 and 32 percent, respectively. U.S. Hispanics are the highest consumers, again by revenue, of alternative/punk at 17 percent and 9 percent.

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) announced the creation of an Urban Special Interest Group (USIG) at CTIA. The group's charter is to foster awareness and adoption of urban-oriented mobile content by creating networking, education, and policy opportunities among urban content owners, mobile service providers, technologists, vendors, and strategic partners.

Chaired by Boost Mobile's Christopher Jones and Real Hip Hop's John Huffman IV, the USIG's initial focus will be to create a collaborative environment where urban content providers, service providers, and brands can find meaningful ways to develop synergistic business and community opportunities. Integral to continued success is broadening catalog diversity for this segment, as well as increasing opportunities for urban artists in the ever-growing mobile content ecosystem.

Jones and Huffman will initially focus on identifying the urban community's needs and the relationship and educational needs of the carrier community and all ecosystem participants in urban development and content opportunities. We expect great things from this team.

FlirtPix
I also came across a fun application at the show that caters to a different segment: the single mobile user. The app is FunMobility's FlirtPix. As CEO Adam Lavine told me, "FlirtPix is designed to be like SMS flirting, except all visual."

Who wouldn't like that? Lavine gave me a demo, showing me how a mobile user can browse pictures individuals send to the service, tagging each as "hot" or "skip." Every hot rating adds to an individual's total hotness factor. The application also allows you to upload photos via MMS and be entered into different categories (Girlfriend Material, Check Me Out, Boyfriend Material, etc). Profiles can anonymously contain such information as age, location, and zodiac sign. When you find someone interesting, you can "wink" at them or send a private message. Sounds a little like the online dating, doesn't it? Definitely one of the most fun applications I saw last week.

Women in Wireless
Finally, though not geared toward a broad consumer audience, this is a callout to female executives in mobile marketing and media. The MMA has launched a new initiative, Women in Wireless, to establish a forum for female industry leaders in the mobile media community. Its mission is to increase industry awareness around the success of female executives in the mobile space. If your company is an MMA member and you're interested in participating in women-focused initiatives, please contact the MMA.

Mobile advertising, but to whom?
By Adrian Kelly, Head of Customer Intelligence Management, LogicaCMG/Acision

The much talked about ad-funded virtual mobile operator, Blyk, launched this month on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Orange’s network in the UK. It is promising to offer UK consumers free or reduced mobile tariffs in exchange for consent for targeted advertising.

Understandably, everyone is getting quite excited at the prospect of this first full market trial of mobile advertising.  However Blyk has two major challenges to overcome, and its success or failure will reflect on advertising funded business strategies as a whole. 

The first challenge is a classic chicken and egg situation. Blyk needs to attract consumers to a free service, but at the same time needs to get advertisers onboard in order to pay for it. But which comes first? Who will fund the consumers until the advertisers start paying and how will Blyk convince brands to spend money until there is an established and sizable audience?

Secondly and more fundamental, as a virtual operator – hiring space on Orange’s network – Blyk is likely to be getting access to only a fraction of the real-time behavioural information that an operator can pull from its systems using powerful customer intelligence. In fact, not even Orange are exploiting the full potential of the available information yet. Consequently, Blyk will have to rely on more traditional CRM and historical activity-based marketing segmentation.

Mobile advertising presents an appealing and unique opportunity for brands to reach potential customers.  The status that the mobile phone has achieved as the ever-present, trusted and most importantly most personal device means that you can’t get much closer to a consumer than appearing on the little screen of their phone.  Additionally, operators can offer something very unique in addition to just the ability to deliver general advertising messages, because by unlocking the true potential of the ‘live’ behavioural information available within their systems, this will uncover more valuable and timely information on consumer habits and behaviours than even the much-heralded Google.

Using the latest generation of Customer Intelligence Management tools operators can know when someone sends an MMS, what type of multimedia it was, who it went to, what application-to-person services are used (horoscopes, TV show information), and what TV shows they interact with through voting and content applications.  With mobile internet becoming an increasingly real phenomena they also have access to much more web browsing information than a search engine can record – wherever the consumer goes online on the mobile, the operator can know about it using web analytics.

This information is an advertisers dream, offering opportunities for precise targeting more akin to those from the media world, where over 100 different customer segments are typical, than the 10 or so demographic based segments that have been the norm in the mobile world up until now.

Launching a serious mobile advertising offering without attempting to take segmentation to this next level, making use of all the information available seems like a waste. 

Blyk is clearly pushing mobile advertising more comprehensively than ever before and all eyes will be eagerly watching. But without the ability to offer intelligent real-time behaviour based segmentation the jury is out on whether Blyk will be able to break out of the standard approach of database marketing and really offer advertisers the full targeting potential of the mobile channel.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Hottest Startups
By Nick Denton

To View Direct Article, Click HERE.

Submitted to the MMA by AdMob

ValleyWag Article (April 9, 2007)

In two threads -- one on Linked In, the other on Venture Beat -- commenters are nominating the hottest startups of Silicon Valley. We totted up the mentions on both threads. Facebook, the college social network, scores highest; with Admob, the mobile ad network, following up. Warning: we ignored obvious self-promotion, but those Valley hustlers are cunning; and we have to doubt the wisdom of any crowd that determines Linden Lab's Second Life to be one of the 10 most promising new ventures. In the comments: what do you think? Which companies least deserve to be thought of as "hot"? (We particularly liked this line from one of the Venture Beat pundits: "Digg is as hot as two pandabear-looking humanoids dryhumping each other in an empty casino in Second Life while chatting on Meebo. Get real.") .<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Mobile Messaging, the next generation

By Jay Seaton
Chief Marketing Officer
Airwide Solutions

Next-generation mobile messaging networks are evolving much as the Internet has already transformed into Web 2.0.

The Internet became a shared user community when faster throughput and broader hardware and software interoperability empowered users so they weren’t just recipients of sometimes static information housed on a Web site. Personal blogs, wikis and podcasts have spawned a new generation of Internet voices accessible to audiences of millions.

This dynamic is similar to mobile messaging’s current transformation. More powerful, protocol agnostic networks with more reliable and advanced hardware and software is creating new revenue opportunities for operators. They can offer new services that give subscribers more control over messaging options.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

What is Bluetooth Marketing?

Zalim Nastaev
TeriMobile, Head of Marketing Department

As another innovative way to complement traditional marketing techniques along came Bluetooth marketing. This new concept has been in practice for not so long, and needs to get more attention from the consumers and marketers to start evolving in more or less significant scales.

We aim in this brief article to disclose the basic features and trends of Bluetooth technology as a marketing communication tool, so the consumers should be made aware of the technology, and improve their thinking of it, or make it even more negative, if you like.

The Rise of Bluetooth

Bluetooth appeared as a result of the work of a development group consisting of the representatives of several telecom giants: Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Toshiba and Nokia. These companies combined their resources to create a unified technology for wireless connection of mobile devices. Some time later the group working on the project (The Bluetooth Special Interest Group – the Bluetooth SIG) expanded, companies like 3COM/Palm, Axis Communication, Motorola, Compaq, Dell, Qualcomm, Lucent Technologies, UK Limited, Xircom entering the group. Today, the group combines the efforts of as many as over 4000 companies working on the development of a free and open specification of Bluetooth. This unified work has created the main advantage for Bluetooth – it is now supported by most of the mobile devices that are produced nowadays. Another advantage when compared to, say, IR signal, is that the users can exchange data through radio waves without setting a direct visible contact.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Today, penetration of Bluetooth into mobile phones in EU, for example, is at a rate of 35% – 42%, while up to 2008 it is expected to rise as high as 80%. 2006 was the year that Bluetooth Penetration reached the One Billion mark. IDC forecasts that by 2007 more than 433 million Bluetooth devices will ship worldwide, which is an estimated market penetration of 74 percent. Bluetooth Location-based media distribution also took a major step forward.

The Rise of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile Marketing

In that early period of initial development of the technology nobody would have thought of using Bluetooth as a marketing tool. Traditional media were striving and dominating the marketing communications, while various viral campaigns were just taking their first steps. However mobile technology was taking a rapid growth and along came agencies offering mobile as an alternative media to TV, radio and print. The growth was so fast that the penetration level of mobile channel has exceeded the Internet. Thus, the advantage that the mobile advertisers could use was the reach to the end consumers. But the major advantage was, of course, the targeting opportunities – the personal nature of the mobile devices became a grand, long-awaited opportunity to develop personalized communication programmes, and the two-way nature of mobile channel gave the opportunity to create the interactive communications, where the response of the communication target is valued even higher than the messages originated by the advertisers.

Some opponents would argue that the mobile marketing is just another threat of spamming – none can be assured that the companies would not start sending out messages of no interest to every single mobile user who has no interest in their services. Do they make sense? On the first glance, this threat is possible. However, let’s look at this problem from a company’s viewpoint. None knows how much time and how many efforts brands allocate to create a positive image with the customers. And everybody knows that this image can be spoilt in just one minute - just a trifle, small mistake, and the rumours go viral. Next day you have to start all over again. The brands do realize the danger of delivering messages to mobile users without any system. The mobile marketing players have learned the lessons of its elder brother – Internet and email. The Mobile Marketing Association and a number of other bodies were established to consolidate the mobile industry players. The latter are in close contact with each other, discussing the issues arising during their activities. This consolidation and collaboration has changed the traditional way we look at the industries: and this way has the name – mobile players are working within the so called ecosystem, where technology and content providers, brands and agencies, aggregators and operators work in close collaboration to stimulate the growth of the industry.

To read the entire article, please click HERE.

Finding Mobile Success
By Dan Flanegan, President, Soapbox <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile

As someone who has been in the mobile marketing space for the past four years and has launched and managed multiple campaigns I am continuously asked "What do you consider a successful campaign?".  In most cases the individual or company posing the question is looking for some hard number, a response rate, a number of sent messages or registered users.  These can all be important metrics, however, success presents itself in the least expected and most interesting of ways.

While working with a high profile client in the hospitality sector this year we experienced one of these success stories that will impact our future mobile campaigns and how we continue to define success.  In short, our goal was to generate response across multiple ad placements in major magazines around the country with a mobile text (sms) based call to action.  The overall results of the campaign were successful but not spectacular.  However, the devil turned out to be in the details.

What was most interesting is where we saw a majority of those responses.  Since we had tagged each magazine with a unique mobile "keyword" call to action, we could track back each response to the exact magazine that had generated it. Looking at that data, we noticed in real-time that across all the placements in the campaign an overwhelming response was coming from in-flight magazines.  Yup, those in flight only publications that tout the best vacation destinations, restaurant reviews, the latest gadgets and a guide to in-flight entertainment seemed to be the right fit for a mobile phone based call to action.

Why?  A number of possibilities ranging from having a captive audience, the ability to author a response while in the air and send it after landing, the tech savvy nature of the airline commuter,  and most importantly a means of response that was immediate and did not require using one's voice, avoiding the cold stare from a flight attendant.

In the end, the client learned something about the effectiveness of mobile and their print ad spend, and we learned that reading and responding to ads while trapped in a crammed 737 might be a perfect fit for the mobile phone as an always on, always connected means of interaction.

Do I consider that a success?  You bet I do!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Getting Started in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile Marketing

By Laura Marriott | March 8, 2007 | ClickZ

To View Direct Article, please click HERE.

The mobile channel is made for consumer engagement. It's immediate, intimate, and everywhere. Although we've already discussed how to get started in mobile, it remains the number one question I'm asked by people looking to add mobile to their marketing initiatives. How do I start? What's the opportunity?

At Mobile Advertising USA conference in New York this week, keynote speaker Tom Daly from Coca-Cola shared case studies from France, Germany, the U.K., and Mexico. He discussed the objectives for each campaign, initial goals and brand relative to the market, and how mobile was leveraged to create an experience for consumers. The ease of interaction with the campaign to drive consumer volume was key to the campaigns' success. As Daly cautioned, what works in one market may not apply to all markets. Objectives, mobile data penetration, and brand goals all vary. The goal is to test, learn, and share best practices across the brand.

Judith Ricker of Harris Interactive suggested that marketers should "use marketing communications to a build bond with consumer integrated across media in order to succeed." The goal is to connect with the consumer cognition, emotionally, inspirationally, and behaviorally.

These are all things we know and have heard before in regard to this channel. How do we get started?

Engage Clients With Mobile

I spent some time with Kristen Fox, formerly of ESPN, now VP of professional services at Soapbox Mobile, to discuss how to engage their clients with the mobile channel. What works? What doesn't? Fox has a particularly interesting perspective, given she's been on both the buy and sell sides of the industry. According to Fox, the steps to engage include:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

1.       Develop strategic goals and objectives for the campaign:

o        What's the target demographic?

o        What's the brand trying to achieve: Target a new market? Product launch? Something else?

o        What are the success metrics?

2.       Once goals are established, determine the creative approach. The key is to first focus on creative, not technology. Allow the creative to guide the technology utilization, not the other way around:

o        The creative approach is driven, in part, by understanding the demographic, objectives, and the brand's voice behind the campaign. As Fox put it, the brand exchange is a community exchange with the consumer.

o        What approach will speak to the consumer?

3.       Apply the platform to the campaign. The next step is to work with your partner to focus on the campaign variables based on customer requests and requirements.

Mobile provides an opportunity for a brand to have a one-to-one conversation with the consumer. It's a live, personal experience. What's the reaction to Soapbox's approach been with marketers? According to Fox, brand response has been positive because the message and approach are familiar to marketers. It doesn't require them to learn mobile technology and terminology right out of the gate. It's an approach that sets the stage for the future.

Let the Client Own the Short Code
Fox says the most interesting change in moving from the buy side to the sell side is a greater understanding of mobile's benefits and more transparency around how it works. She believe it's important for the client to have ownership and control over their short code rather than relinquish it to a mobile marketing partner. A brand builds equity in its short code every time it's utilized. If that brand changes vendors, contractual agreements may cause the short code to be tied to the old vendor for a fixed duration. This could hinder the brand's ability to manage initiatives. This is particularly a cause for concern when it comes to vanity codes.

Courtney Acuff, from Denuo, agrees it's important for the brand team, client, and agency to understand how a short code benefits them, and how it can be integrated, before they can own and control it.

Learning From Coca-Cola
Educating for brand clients is key, says R/GA's Richard Ting. Clients generally come from a base of online expertise that's very different from mobile, and understanding the differences within the process with something as simple as securing a short code or mobile Web site has been a learning process.

Some of Coca-Cola's conclusions from its experiences with the mobile channel:

• Feed lessons into future activities.
• Innovate through approach and execution.
• The message is more important than the medium (relevance).
• Think in an integrated way.
• Concept to a use case.
• Follow the rules!

Remember, there are 2.2 billion mobile users worldwide, twice the number of those using the Internet. According to Harris Interactive's Joseph Porus, mobile is the most personal device in history. Mobile is a reflection of who we are, and handset churn allows a 24-month renewable self-image cycle. Mobile will become the new remote control for our lives.