<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile – A channel not a strategy
By Troy Norcross, CEO Founder – Pocket Reach Solutions
http://www.pocketreach.com<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

In the recent article submitted by Mike Grenville on Wed, 13 Jul 2005 18:33, Big Brands Still Won’t Use Mobile it is discussed how many of the UK’s largest brands are unwilling to use mobile as a communication channel in spite of multiple case studies showing the true benefits.  What differentiates those who are reluctant to try from those enjoying success in mobile marketing is a fundamental shift in their traditional marketing paradigm.

The answer is in the objection
The top three reasons given for not taking up mobile as a channel were: 

·          Lack of consumer trust

·          Cost

·          Good-sized database of mobile numbers

To put this another way, “We want to send a message to as many customers as possible but we’re afraid they won’t like it (might think it is SPAM), it costs too much per message and there aren’t very many opt-in lists of numbers to buy.” 

Consumers don’t trust mobile because of they fear the problems of e-mail SPAM will be paralleled on their mobile.  Some early players in the mobile space took advantage of consumers who didn’t read all the fine print and made some of those fears very real.  Even now ICSTIS is investigating complaints about our friend the Crazy Frog. 

For these reasons, consumers are cautious in giving out their valuable opt-in permission. This is especially true consumers give permission to hear from other trusted 3^rd parties. This is how a database of numbers is created that is subsequently rented or sold.  In short, it’s the lack of consumer trust that causes there to be, at present, no good database of mobile numbers.

Many businesses are focused on the mass communications marketing paradigm. i.e. get the message to the biggest number of people possible.  Mass communications is the underlying strategy for most of today’s traditional marketing such as telemarketing, direct-mail, television, radio, print and out-of-home.  A common element of these channels is that each consumer is automatically opt-in unless they take some action to opt-out such as listing themselves with one of the preference services at the DMA.  Each of these mediums can stand alone and have an entire marketing program built around it. 

In contrast, mobile marketing requires permission to be obtained prior to sending the first communication (in the UK and EU – not in the US).  This one key difference applies to both mobile marketing and e-mail marketing and thus makes them poorly suited to standalone mass marketing campaigns.  Fortunately, mobile marketing can be used for more than just mass marketing strategies.

Mobile as part of the communications strategy

While mobile marketing may not be suited for a stand alone mass communications strategy, its role does have significant value.  As Ben King from WIN points out, “Businesses need to look beyond these barriers and really focus on how mobile can work as part of their overall communications strategy.” 

Where mobile has been most successful it has been integrated as part of traditional marketing campaigns.  Using traditional marketing, brands and marketers can communicate directly with the consumer and solicit opt-in permission to use mobile as a channel – and not just as an outbound channel.

Consumer Response Channel

Mobile is an ideal medium for consumer response.  In lieu of traditional post card or response mail, mobile allows a consumer to respond to the campaign instantly from wherever they happen to be.  No more manual data entry.  No more delays from postal mail.  Higher response rates because it is immediate and simple to do.  And with mobile users sending 86.7 Million messages /day and phone penetration rates exceeding 101% (more than 1 phone per person) in the UK it is practically ubiquitous.

With mobile as the response channel, brands can build a relationship with both new consumers and current customers.  Mobile can capture the same types of data as from a post card, from e-mail addresses to post codes.  And mobile can provide consumers instant feedback that their response has been received.  If offering mobile content as an incentive, this can be delivered immediately.  Mobile works as an excellent channel for consumer response.

Personalized dialogue

Developing a relationship with a customer is one of the most valuable – and challenging – tasks around.  Running a television or print media campaign offers only one way communication, whereas mobile offers consumers a means of responding instantly.  Mobile also offers consumers a new way to initiate communication for service, support, comment or other factors.  Messages sent to consumers can be personalized on the fly and communications can easily be directed to either automated or live customer response agents.  For consumers it’s better than waiting on hold and for service centres it is an easier way to manage call volumes.

The overarching theme is that mobile is a channel for personalized dialogue, not just one-way but two-way communication with a single unique consumer.

Timely, Relevant, Valuable and Requested (TRVR)

If a business is going to communicate with a consumer in a non-response way – unscheduled communication or communication not as a result from an inbound SMS from the consumer – there are three key elements to making this communication successful in the eyes of the consumer.  Ensure the content is: 

·          Timely

·          Relevant

·          Valuable

·          Requested

Timely
Make sure that the communication comes at a time when it is of most value to the consumer.  If sending sport updates, they should be during the game.  If sending out real estate information they should go out on Sunday afternoons as that is peak time for the property market.

Relevant
Make sure that the content is relevant to the consumer.  This implies that the business knows more than just the phone number for the message.  It is of little use to send a coupon for an oil change to a consumer who owns only a push bike. 

Valuable

Content can be valuable in the literal sense such as a coupon or digital content that the consumer can use on their phone – or it can be inherent in the fact that it’s information that is already timely and relevant.  Keeping up with your favourite sports team can have significant value.

Requested

It is vital that the campaign adheres to current legislation and regulation regarding opt-in and communications with consumers via their mobile phone.  The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA-UK) has its own code of practice and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA-UK) has a current working group – Mobile Marketing Strategy committee working to outline best practices for mobile marketing.  

The location factor

One further challenge in meeting the Timely, Relevant, Valuable and Requested model is the location factor.  It is of no use to me to know that my tube line is closed for repairs if it is 2:00 AM and I’m in Seattle.  Today, mobile technology will allow for broad based location information such as whether or not the consumer is roaming at the time of attempted delivery.  And more detailed location information can be made available (also permission based) to the point that you could send offers that were unique to a given event, such as free ring tones for everyone attending a concert at Wembley stadium.  Location is a key element to successful mobile marketing programs of the future.

Mobile is a channel, not a strategy

Italians raise €11M in Tsunami aid via SMS Scheme (684M UK Texts)

Live 8 generated 2.8 Million texts in the UK (28 Million globally)

The AA saves £30,000/month using text messaging to help reduce call centre load

Mobile marketing works…

When businesses change the focus from developing a strategy for mobile mass marketing to one of understanding how mobile can enhance existing marketing by adding a dynamic and interactive consumer response mechanism and then continuing the communication offering consumers a personalized dialogue – only then will the objections fall away and businesses start to reap the rewards of mobile marketing. 

Mobile Marketing Entrepreneur

Don Peppers:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

1:1 Marketing Goes <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mobile

As an influential thought-leader whose groundbreaking books include, Enterprise One-to-One: Tools for Competing in the Interactive Age, and Return on Customer: The Revolutionary New Way to Maximize the Value of Your Customers, Don Peppers advises a Who's Who of international marketers – AT&T, Ford and 3M, among others – who count on him for insight on using technology to build unbreakable customer loyalty.

But that proposition is about to become increasingly complex – and powerful – he says, as the convergence of wireless technologies and global positioning systems transform the notion of reaching customers where they live.

Author Rick Mathieson interviewed Peppers as part of a series of exclusive, Q&A-style interviews with some of today’s top marketing and business strategists for the book, BRANDING UNBOUND: The Future of Advertising, Sales, And The Brand Experience In The Wireless Age (AMACOM Books, July 2005). The following is an edited excerpt of that interview.

Rick Mathieson: How will mobility change our idea of what constitutes the “brand experience?”

Don Peppers: The most compelling aspect of mobility is the continuous management of evolving relationships with individual consumers. You can be continuously connected with a customer, not just when he's sitting in front of a computer. You can actually get feedback, and real transactions, on a real-time basis – it’s as if you're tethered to your customer's life. And that means there is tremendous opportunity in using mobility to increase the value of each customer, and your value to him or her.

Today, most of us can barely imagine life without a cell phone. Consumers are getting used to always-on communications, and those communications are gaining utility. As a result, companies that provide services and maintain relationships with customers are going to have to participate in this channel. And yet, companies are going to have to do it in a way that is non-intrusive, because nothing will give a customer a bigger red face with respect to a company than if that company begins to interrupt him or her in order to try to sell them stuff.

Our central mission becomes finding ways to increase short-term profits, while promoting behavior that increases the long-term value of that customer. It happens when we earn the customer’s trust, treat the customer the way they’d like to be treated, and actually act in their best interests in a way that’s mutually beneficial.

For instance, if I'm AmeriTrade, and I have a customer who trades three or four times a day when he's in his office, but he doesn't trade when he's traveling, I'd strongly consider giving him a Black Berry and a wireless trading account. It's win/win for both of us. The customer gets convenience, and the company gains potential new revenues.

RM: Many think mobility will enable further disintermediation of services. But you envision the rise of ‘Digital Aggregation Agents’ that enable companies to deliver 1:1 services based on my needs and location – as long as they play by my rules. What's the business model for these DAAs?

DP: Instead of giving out personal information to every vendor that I might deal with in the mobile medium – my news service, my broker, my concierge, my travel agent – I'm going to want one entity that remembers my preferences and needs, but that provides me anonymity.

One entity that knows my account numbers for all the different companies I deal with, across a lot of different platforms and different mobile media. And that entity is something we call the ‘Data Aggregation Agent.’

The DAA is going to simplify the consumer's life because it will save them a great deal of time and energy. I'm not going to want to fill in my speed dial numbers, my friends’ names and email addresses, my credit card numbers, my social security numbers, my everything, for everybody. The DAA will store all that information for me in one place, and then partition out data to companies as I see fit. It's just a hypothetical, science fiction possibility, of course. But I think it's a compelling new business model for the future, and could have a tremendous impact on the nature of competition in this medium.

RM: You’re talking about some pretty valuable information. Seems like a lot of companies would fight over playing the role of DAA.

DP: You bet they will. Already, there are a lot of infantile battles going on among businesses that all think that they can be Data Aggregation Agents.

But in the end, everybody can't win. The most compelling business model is one where the consumer gets the value. And the value I'm getting if I'm a consumer is convenience, relevance, and not having to fill out the same form or keep track of different account numbers. So there are a lot of reasons why the Data Aggregation Agent model is going to work. That role could be filled by a wireless carrier like Verizon. It could be filled by an airline. It could be AOL or Yahoo. Or it could be filled by completely new

players.

RM: As wireless moves into the in-store experience, what opportunities will there be to maximize the experience for customers?

DP: I think RFID technology, in particular, has a great deal of potential for that. The future of RFID is that I have my credit card in my wallet, I walk into the grocery store, I put a bunch of shopping products in my bags and I walk out the door and take them home, and I’m automatically billed for them. I don’t need to stop at the check out counter, and I don’t have to do anything but walk out with my products. I think that will be highly desirable for consumers. But there is a big-brother aspect to the technology that is awakening some of the Luddites in the business, who say, gee, I don’t know if I want companies tracking every movement that I make, and so forth. But I think on balance, consumer convenience is going to be the trump card. That said, whether it’s in-store, our out in the world via [RFID or] consumer cell phones, companies will have to be very careful about how they apply wireless technologies.

In this medium, you're playing with fire when it comes to privacy. It's impossible to architect the regulatory structure in such a way to ensure that you're not going to get hit with some kind of privacy problem.

The best defense is to adopt a holistic view of your business. In my conception, every business would visualize their service in terms of treating their customers the way you'd want to be treated. The golden rule of marketing, if you will. With that in mind, you simply can't go wrong.

RM: The same applies to 1:1 mobile marketing, no doubt.

DP: If you're driving down the street and an ad comes on because you're a block away from McDonald's, you're going to be extremely irritated.

But unlike a lot of folks, I don't think that means push is going to always be excluded from people's requirements – as long as it's pushed at the customer's initiation and doesn't trespass on the legitimate use of their time.

For instance, if I execute a trade on my cell phone, and you're my online brokerage, I don't mind you piggybacking an ad for an offer I might be interested in at the bottom of an order confirmation. Or if you're Amazon, you might recommend an additional book based on my profile. Or American Airlines might send an email about cheap tickets I can buy because they haven't sold enough seats to the locations on my preferred destination list.

I can see a lot of potential for that kind of push message – as long as the customer say's it's okay to send them. Because whether we're talking about an ad message, a service, or a transaction, it's all about using mobile technologies to add value to our customers' lives based on what they want, where – and when – they want it.

If you get it right, you win big. If you get it wrong, you're history.

For the complete Don Peppers interview, and other exclusive Q&As featuring Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing and All Marketers Are Liars; Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence and The Brand You 50; Christopher Locke, author of The ClueTrain Manifesto, and Gary Hamel, chairman of Strategos and author of Leading The Revolution – as well as the inside scoop on marketing’s new mobile age – pick up BRANDING UNBOUND today. Wherever books are sold. www.BrandingUnbound.com

“BRANDING UNBOUND is an indispensable guide to the emerging opportunities in wireless marketing. Rick Mathieson has given us a forward-looking perspective that succeeds in being both visionary and grounded in reality.”

– Ingrid Bernstein, Senior Vice President, Director of Creative and Strategy, iDeutsch, NY

“The road map to the right now. Provocative. Up to date, to the last nanosecond.”

– Steve Simpson, Partner & Creative Director, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, SF

Available wherever books are sold

www.BrandingUnbound.com

Purchase from Amazon.com here

Adapted from BRANDING UNBOUND: The Future of Advertising, Sales and the Brand Experience in the Wireless Age © 2005 Rick Mathieson, Published by AMACOM Books, a division of American Management Association, New York, NY. Used with permission. All rights reserved. http://www.amacombooks.org.

Mobile marketing in Russia

At present the Russian mobile marketing is on the rise. As compared to 2000, the number of mobile users has increased by more than 10 times. According to iKS Consulting (http://www.iksconsulting.ru), in July 2005 the number of mobile subscribers exceeded 102 mln persons. This upward mobile trend is being maintained: the country penetration level amounts to 70.8%. In May 2005 the RF cellular operators subscribed over 3.95 million persons.

Russia is a country of a vast range of operators where some regions have two or five parallel mobile networks. The mobile penetration is several times deeper than that of the Internet. The most common mobile communications standard in Russia is GSM 900/1800. According to iKS-Consulting, the share of this standard in the general subscriber base totals 98.2%.

SMS is the most commonly used technology used by 70% of mobile phone owners, according to statistics. In Russia MMS is not regarded as a widely used service. However, Promo Interactive Agency proactively cooperates with certain mobile operators and manufacturers to promote this technology. As of now, the Agency and the LG company are conducting the first national mobile photo contest «PhotoWOW» (http://www.fotowow.ru). Another summer 2005 contest called “My moment of fame” was held together with Megafon, one of the «Big Three» largest federal operators (click here).

Apart from typical SMS-solutions Promo Interactive Agency offers unique and popular services: Bluetooth (Bluetooth is used mostly in BTL-campaigns), WAP (the Agency was the first to commence large-scale advertising WAP campaigns in Russia).

Promo Interactive Agency is incorporated into a multi-media holding Next Media Group (http://www.nextmedia.ru); thus, it has a unique opportunity to offer their clients development of brand-name Java-applications and Java-games. The “Dom-2” (produced for the popular Russian TV reality-show) and “Night Watch” (based on a well-known movie and novel) games released by Next Media Group are especially popular in Russia.

Though mobile marketing is relatively new for Russia, it has attracted its own target audience. The first Russian mobile marketing campaign was conducted by Coca-Cola in 2001. Within the following years the different types of mobile marketing have been applied just by the large international brands.

The actual rise of the mobile marketing services was made in 2004 due to tremendous growth of the mobile penetration and the rise of interest on the part of FMCGs (mainly Russian brands). In 2004 the total mobile content market turnover (including a part of the mobile marketing) amounted to USD 310 million.

At present the Russian mobile marketing is booming with 5-6 large market players (apart from providers and aggregators). In general, over 100 companies offer some types of mobile marketing services. The most typical projects are: instant-win (package code registration), SMS-lotteries, SMS-contests, on-line services for the mass media (polls and contests for TV, radio and print press). The main technology applied is SMS.

Promo Interactive Agency forms part of the Next Media Group holding (http://www.nextmedia.ru) that ranks among first five market leaders of content services provided in the Russian Federation 1 . Besides, the Next Media Group operates everywhere in the RF and covers over 98% mobile subscribers.

Besides Promo Interactive innovation marketing agency, the holding includes:

	Technology and connectivity provider of new mobile technologies, covering 95% mobile subscribers.
	Next Media Entertainment – a production center specializing in creation of online projects for TV, radio, printed press and certain events.
	The largest Russian mobile entertainment products retailer (java games and applications, logos and ring tones).
	The leading producer of mobile games and other entertainment content and services.
	First mobile publisher.

iMediaConnection
8 April 2005

Unwired for the Future (Part 2)
By Dawn Anfuso, Editor

Enpocket's president explains the popularity of ring tones, and tells us why mBlogging will gain significance.
Mike Baker is president and COO of Enpocket, a global mobile media company. Baker is responsible for executing Enpocket's day-to-day operations, as well as for creating the strategy that is enabling Enpocket to sustain its rapid growth across the globe. Baker also serves on the company's board of directors. We talked with Baker recently to learn more about where the mobile marketing industry is going this year. Read the first part of the interview here.

iMedia: Where does mobile fit in a brand’s overall marketing strategy?

Mike Baker: Mobile is the most personal and targeted means of reaching the consumer so it’s becoming a more commonly used supplement to traditional marketing campaigns. Forward-thinking marketers are using mobile as a key piece of their entire media mix, as it provides a means of interaction off outdoor, TV and print media, and can drive consumers to out-of-home locations such as stores at designated times of day. However, given the personal nature of the medium, we continue to emphasize in our campaigns consumer control and quality of consumer experience.

iMedia: Do campaigns have to be more sophisticated now that many brands and media companies are embracing the idea?

Baker: Many of today’s most successful mobile campaigns are still very straightforward. As richer multimedia applications come into play, the technology might be more sophisticated but participation should be just as easy. With that said, companies will start to use color and video as part of their messaging and WAP marketing and, if executed correctly, these will deliver richer, more responsive customer experiences. The message should always remain the same though -- sophistication should never impede user experience.

iMedia: How do you measure the effectiveness of a campaign?

Baker: The success of a campaign needs to be judged not only on the response metrics, i.e., how many affirmatively responded to a call to action, but also the impact of the marketing message on those who did not respond. For this reason, we advise advertising clients piloting programs in the medium to conduct research on what I call the qualitative metrics. What percentage of the audience views the brand more favorably? What percentage would be more likely to purchase the product advertised? After individual campaigns, we survey participants to find out what they thought of the campaign and how it has affected their perception of the client. We are an extremely research-oriented marketing company and this information has been invaluable with the growth of our organization and success of our clients’ mobile strategies.

iMedia: What role can mobile content and mobile community applications play in making this an even stronger marketing channel?

Baker: If a brand can really enrich and entertain its consumers, this can create a greater loyalty from the consumer. First-generation mobile marketing was more informative and offer-driven; the next generation will be more about offering branded content and applications that consumers really love to use.

iMedia: Why are ring tones and ring backs so popular?

Baker: Ring tones and ring backs are popular because they help us make our mobile devices more personal and add an element of individuality to our handsets. They draw attention to us on an individual level and let others learn more about us. They really are almost a means of expression. Industry insiders now watch the ring tone charts and not the singles charts to keep track of who the hot artists really are. With full track music downloads on the horizon, ring tones will start to sound even better.

iMedia: Why do you think mobile blogging will share success in the way blogging has on the internet?

Baker: Mobile blogging will add a greater element of immediacy to blogging and will undoubtedly help build user-generated content. MMS picture and video and text messages can be instanteously added to a blog within seconds no matter where a blogger might be. With a high number of camera phones on the market, people are now looking for new ways to share memories and ideas with friends, family and the world at large. The mBlog is opening new opportunities for this to become reality.

iMedia: How are mobile blogs most effectively utilized?

Baker: With the continuing growth of camera phones and the interest in picture mail, mBlogs will be a great place to document and store images. Our research has found that many people take photos with their mobile handsets, but don’t really have a place to put the photos they have taken. Mobile blogs are a great solution to this challenge.

In the months to come, mBlogs will also be built into other applications. So football fans might use an application that sits on their mobile for scores and stats on their favorite team. With an mblogging option they will be able to post images and their opinions on the game, and even subscribe to the mBlog of their favorite player.

iMedia: Is the mobile phone eventually going to replace the PC?

Baker: Whoever predicts exactly how this pans out will be a very rich person. For the foreseeable future, text-heavy tasks will be done on the PC but an increasing number of services will go mobile. With the forthcoming releases of Walkman and iPod mobile phones as a proof point, I feel that a lot more digital entertainment will be consumed over mobile.

Data from the most recent Mobile Media Monitor (one of our research products) shows the three current demand areas in mobile to be picture mail, the ability to send and receive video, and applications that favor listening and downloading music. I’m sure services that fulfill these criteria will gain mass adoption; however, I also think we’ll also see services emerge that consumers didn’t even think they wanted until they actually saw them.

iMedia: What can we expect from Enpocket in 2005?

Baker: Enpocket is investing heavily in the continued development of technology infrastructure for mobile marketing. Shortly, we will be introducing a significantly enhanced version of our core mobile marketing product -- the Enpocket Marketing Engine -- that will allow marketers to execute text-based and mobile internet-based campaigns on a common platform with unified reporting and analytics.

On the content side of our business, we will be introducing new ways for mobile consumers to find people with similar interests (be it for dating or other interests) and to communicate with people not just through texting, but also instant messaging, pictures, voice and video.

We also will be rolling out advertising programs featuring highly targeted mobile internet inventory that essentially is delivered to a consumer in a “push” from within a contextually relevant content activity. Lastly, we will be continuing our pioneering work in connecting communities of consumers across operators, branded services and even countries. We believe that our P2P Mobile Platform will encourage more consumer interaction and drive revenues for our clients.

One overriding theme that you’ll see from our work is that marketing and content needs to go hand-in-hand. If you’ve built an exciting application, mobile marketing is the most logical way to let your audience know about it as a WAP link can drive recipients straight through to the service. Sprint has already shown earlier this year how this can work in action with its successful Valentine’s Day launch of Match.com Mobile, which used our text messaging services to drive consumer registrations for the service.

iMediaConnection 7 April 2005

Unwired for the Future (Part 1)
By Dawn Anfuso, Editor

Enpocket's president provides a glimpse into the future of mobile marketing, and explains the role of a mobile media company. Mike Baker is president and COO of Enpocket, a global mobile media company. Baker is responsible for executing Enpocket's day-to-day operations, as well as for creating the strategy that is enabling Enpocket to sustain its rapid growth across the globe. Baker also serves on the company's board of directors.
We talked with Baker recently to learn more about where the mobile marketing industry is going this year.

iMedia: What can we expect from mobile marketing in 2005?

Mike Baker: The U.S. has definitely been trailing Europe and Asia for the last few years and this all stems from the fact that mobile adoption rates have been slower here. But the U.S. is now one of the real growth stories and with 180 million subscribers we’ve got more than four times as many subscribers as evolved mobile markets like the UK.
Consequently, brands that had just been dipping their toes in the water in 2004 are starting to roll out mobile campaigns that are an integral part of the media mix and not a simple add-on. This year we might see one or two campaigns that use MMS (allowing audio, video and animation in the body of a message) from operators pushing content services, but the main messaging medium will continue to be SMS. The difference is that mobile programs will be better planned and focus on delivering value to the brand and the consumer.

We’ll start to see more innovation conceptually in 2005. The mobile will start to be seen less as an alert or interaction tool and more as a means of entertaining and building ongoing dialogue. Community applications that enable peer-to-peer communications over the mobile internet, such as mobile blogging and dating, are taking off and we are already speaking with companies that recognize the branding opportunities opening up. On the entertainment side, we’re also seeing production companies moving into mobile video content. 2005 promises richer experiences for mobile consumers.

iMedia: Do you expect the U.S. market to mature in the same way as seen in Europe and Asia where mobile usage and technologies are more advanced?

Baker: Because each culture is different, it’s difficult to say that the U.S. market will advance in the same exact ways. For example, WAP usage in the U.S. is much higher than it was in Europe at the same point of innovation. Also, there are some applications like picture mail, mobile dating and games that seem to be catching on faster here than elsewhere.

iMedia: What do marketers need to understand prior to delving into a mobile marketing campaign?

Baker: Getting it right the first time is extremely important. If the user experience does not live up to the hype then your customers might not try the service again for a long time. Marketers need to think about a couple of key questions: How are we inviting consumers into a dialogue with our brand using the mobile channel? And what are we offering the consumer of value? Effective mobile marketing campaigns need to be perceived by consumers as valuable, be it a discount voucher to try a new coffee beverage or the ability to receive a fun bit of branded mobile content like a ring tone. Lastly, advertisers need to integrate mobile marketing into existing campaigns and leverage these existing assets -- using mobile to improve the ROI of their total marketing spend.
iMedia: What exactly is a mobile media company?

Baker: What we do is combine entertainment and marketing for the mobile channel, just as a Yahoo! or MSN might do for a brand on the internet. So we might research a consumer segment for a brand, media company or carrier, decide on how an application should be built for this target audience, build it, deliver it to handsets and ensure that it is marketed effectively.

One customer might choose just to use us to build an mBlogging application, another might license our marketing services and technology -- it really depends on what they want out of the mobile channel. However, the most successful mobile marketers are the brands that integrate mobile campaigns with each other and with their overall marketing vision.

iMedia: What hurdles do marketers face with choosing a mobile marketing partner?

Baker: Marketers need a mobile partner that can deliver a turnkey solution. In our experience, marketers aren’t well served from doing business with just an aggregator or a creative company. Marketers should look for a company that can work with them from concept through implementation. This includes not just the connectivity infrastructure and application development, but also the ideation, creative and campaign management. With rich media this is even more important as creative needs to be adjusted to handset type and delivered in a particular way to different consumers. Because this is such a new space, there are very few companies that can offer a complete mobile solution. 

iMedia: How does Enpocket work with brands and agencies?

Baker: Brands work directly with us on direct-response campaigns. Agencies use our tools and service to fulfill programs that they have pitched into their clients. We have found that the technical constraints of the medium require us to work closely with agency creative personnel. Our clients, both brands and agencies, tell us that they find great value in our knowledge of what has worked in Asia and Europe, as well as our ideation and creative experience in the medium. We look forward to the day when the agencies have developed a better understanding of how to leverage their skills to deliver value to their clients through the mobile medium. We want to help them to do what they do best and let us take care of the technology, production and operations.

iMedia: Which market segments are making the most of the mobile channel? Which others will emerge in 2005?

Baker: Right now, the mobile channel is probably being best utilized by advertising clients who are selling goods and services that can be purchased through the mobile phone -- the mobile operators as well as the media companies, each of which have started to build a knowledge base from running text-participation campaigns. In 2005, we are starting to see more CPG companies using the mobile channel, and using it as a branding tool as well as a direct-response mechanism. We’re also seeing activity from quick serve restaurants, travel, consumer banking/finance and the emerging breed of mobile content providers such as ring tone, Java game and wallpaper companies.

Tomorrow: The popularity of ring tones, and the growth of mBlogging.

MEDIAWEEK 4 April 2005

Video Keeps Going Mobile  By Mike Shields

Video content is popping up left and right on various mobile devices. Just last week, Microsoft launched MSN Videos, which includes content from programmers like MSNBC.com and Fox Sports, primarily for its iPod-esque Personal Media Center devices. Also, hardware manufacturer Viseon, which makes Voice Over Internet Protocol phones, announced plans to distribute TV content to digital telephone users.

What’s interesting about the announcements last week is that companies are rushing to offer content on mobile devices that very few people have. Until recently, mobile content has been moving toward a phone-centric world, with aggregators like Verizon’s VCast, MobiTV, and SmartVideo all gearing up for an explosion in sales of super-sophisticated “3G” phones, which offer crystal-clear TV images.

That is still the direction most observers expect the business to head, as cell phones become more pervasive. (Last week, mobile media company Enpocket released a survey indicating that 65 percent of the population has access to a mobile phone, a larger percentage than those with home Internet access.)

While video content on handheld devices is still in an experimental stage, the bet most providers and content aggregators are making is that video is going to drive mobile content usage. “Carriers think that video is going to be the killer application for users to upgrade,” said Noah Elkin, senior analyst at eMarketer.

But which device will consumers use to view this mobile video content? It’s still far too early to tell, as the options--PDAs, laptops, BlackBerries, iPods, PlayStation Portables, and even Microsoft’s PMCs--continue to multiply. “The industry, in the next couple of years, is anticipating broadband connectivity everywhere,” said Elkin. “A lot remains to be seen.”

For the immediate future, content providers, aggregators and hardware manufacturers will place content everywhere, until users tell them exactly where they want it. That might explain why Microsoft is pushing content to not only its PMCs but other platforms. And, in the current media environment--where phone companies, cable companies, electronics manufacturers and even traditional utilities are able to deliver content to consumers--there is likely to be much trial and error with mobile content distribution.

“Companies that connect are also media companies all of a sudden,” said Joel Lunenfeld, vp of media services at Moxie Interactive. “Along with connectivity comes content.”

Yet in the end, most believe that the phone will win out as that elusive “third screen,” for consumers. “People want to carry one device,” said Lunenfeld, who works with Verizon Wireless. “The phone is always going to win. That’s what you carry with you.”

“Convergence is where we are headed,” agreed eMarketer’s Elkin. “I don’t think the future is that we are all going to be wearing cargo pants with pockets for all of our devices.”

Business 2.0 19 April 2005

WIRELESS REPORT
How Your Cell Phone Will Become an Ad Machine
By Matthew Maier

If you want to get a sense for where marketing is heading, look no further than Teen People. The publication, owned by Business 2.0 parent Time Inc., last week announced that it will integrate mobile phones into its marketing plans. The magazine will send out weekly updates and breaking news -- along with targeted advertisements and promotions -- via SMS to subscribers.

While the Teen People announcement likely flew right under most people's radar, it actually represents one of the largest commitments yet to using mobile phones as a marketing tool. The vaunted "third screen" in consumers' lives (after television and the PC monitor), the cell phone has long been considered a potentially important marketing and advertising tool, if only because it's the one device consumers carry with them throughout the day. But no one has figured out how to get the advertising to the phone without annoying the recipient. Text messaging is the first step because it has become an increasingly important means of communication for young consumers. Driven by shows like American Idol -- which generated nearly 14 million votes from subscribers via SMS this season -- along with SMS campaigns from McDonald's (MCD) and Coca-Cola (KO), short messaging is slowly becoming a more mainstream form of interaction.

Now companies including Flytxt -- the folks running Teen People's mobile marketing campaign -- Enpocket, and m-Qube are helping media firms extend their marketing reach to mobile phones. Even advertising agencies like Foote Cone & Belding and BBDO have recently announced partnerships to help clients develop mobile marketing strategies.

Early evidence suggests that only the savviest of marketers will succeed. A recent study conducted by Ball State University's Center for Media Design found that of the one in four students who reported receiving unsolicited ads via cell phone, the vast majority couldn't recall who sent the message or what product or service was being peddled. Precisely because the phone is such a personal device with a well-defined role, unsolicited ads on a phone are seen as especially obnoxious and immediately discarded. In the Teen People instance, Flytxt hopes to overcome the distaste for unsolicited ads by sending breaking news updates and other content only to consumers who "opted in" and provided their own subscriber info.

It's a critical distinction. Folks who have willfully passed along their contact info are an eager bunch. The very people who salivate at having the latest news at their fingertips correlate strongly with the type of people willing to listen to a targeted marketing message. That could get marketers drooling if they know that the 17-year-old girl who signed up for updates from Teen People is likely to respond well to an advertisement for Seven jeans.
Mobile marketing will require more than repurposing existing content to fit a small screen. Smart marketers who take into account the personal aspect of the mobile handset -- and understand the opportunities and challenges presented by a device that travels with folks anywhere -- will have access to a highly responsive group of consumers. And the final piece of good news is that response rates for mobile subscribers are as high as 70 percent, compared with 10 to 15 percent for traditional marketing campaigns. The opportunity is there. It's up to marketers to figure out how to reach us before we tune them out.

Enpocket Mobile Media Monitor US reveals mobile phone ownership is now greater than home internet penetration

Enpocket, a global mobile media company, has unveiled the latest findings from its flagship survey, the Mobile Media Monitor. This quarterly study helps marketers keep up to speed with the ever-changing patterns of consumer mobile phone usage.

US mobile phone adoption has grown by 25% in the last 9 months, with 65% of the population now ‘mobile’. For the first time this is higher than the number of home internet users (63%).

Although voice communication is the main reason for using the phone, data and multimedia services are capturing the imagination and becoming a key usage driver. For example, almost 40% of mobile owners are now regularly sending and receiving text messages.

But it is with picture messaging / MMS, text messaging’s younger and better-looking brother, where the most interesting movement has occurred over the last quarter. 22% took a photo with their camera phone and 12% sent/received MMS in the same period. This represents an increase of 57% for camera phone use in just 3 months, and 33% increase in MMS use in the same period. This strongly suggests that the 2004-2005 holiday season saw significant purchase and gifting of camera phones.

Amid this market movement, a youth-led trend is emerging. 18-34 year olds are embracing non-voice services more than the whole base – effectively becoming mobile super users.

34% used their camera phone and 21% sent/received an MMS. This segment also shows the greatest desire for enhanced cell phone services, and are most likely to personalize their handsets with ringtone downloads.

While the US market is still playing catch-up with Europe in terms of penetration, it is as ‘market ready’ for next generation enhanced services and applications. Video calling, music downloads, sports highlights, watching movie trailers and, especially picture sharing applications all have broad appeal, and have a natural home on the handset.

Phase 4 of the Mobile Media Monitor analysis was based on 1000 telephone interviews undertaken by NOP World for Enpocket Insight in March 2005, and relates to the period January 2005 – March 2005. The base was representative of US cell phone usage.