Monday, December 7, 2009
New Stories on Mobile Marketing
Companies are starting to use mobiles not only as channels of coupon delivery, but also as instruments for building memory and involvement towards product categories and specific brands. On this post please feel free to post new stories related to mobile text campaigns, mobile internet use, couponing, advertising, research, targeted user segments, etc.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/04/square.twitter/index.html
I found this article to be a pretty good look into a possible future for both e-commerce and commerce in general. The article describes a new device called "The Square" that has been introduced and can be used to process credit card payments through a smartphone. The article uses the example of a craigslist sale. With The Square, the purchaser does not have to carry potentially hundreds of dollars of cash to a strangers location to purchase an item. Instead, they are able to bring a credit card, swipe it through the use of The Square, and be on their way. All in all a very interesting piece of new technology that can become extremely popular in the near future.
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/11/with-coupons-on-your-phone-it-doesnt.html
Google offers a service called the Local Business Center, through which companies can be listed and customers can use their mobile phones to find them. Now Google lets those companies include coupons with their listings. Users can redeem the coupons right from their phone when they are shopping, or can print them if they're using the Local Business Center feature on their computer.
http://www.firstdata.com/downloads/thought-leadership/fd_mobilemarketing_whitepaper.pdf
The paper that is found in the link above is a good source of how mobile marketing can be effective but also goes into detail on how mobile marketing could go the way of e-mail spam; unread and deleted. The paper discusses the four key elements that must be present for effective mobile marketing. These are mobile devices must be capable of mobile marketing, there must be software to enable users to enroll in marketing programs, there must be a network for communicating consumer preference information, and an entity that stores information related to advertising enrollment and user preferences. I did find it interesting that, regardless of all the systems and controls in place, it is ultimately the consumer that chooses to participate in mobile marketing. We can choose to opt out of programs since we have the choice. If marketers choose to use typical, broadcast styles marketing techniques, they will, again, be “filtered” just as e-mail spam is.
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/lg-launches-mobile-marketing-campaign-for-avatar-4646/
LG, Lightstorm, and 20th Century Fox are teaming together to promote the new movie Avatar. They figure with all the CGI and technology that went into making the film, they needed something better than traditional marketing. LG is allowing users to use "the advanced projection capabilities of LG eXpo, which allows users to digitally project their own images, videos, and documents – anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.”
http://www.pr-inside.com/kontera-sees-dramatic-surge-in-beauty-r1609796.htm
This article is talking about how the beauty industry has been increasing heavily over the holiday season. Kontera is a mobile advertising group that specializes in relevant in-text advertising.
http://www.christine.net/2006/11/top_mobile_mark.html
Top 10 Mobile Marketing Campaigns
This article was interesting to read because after all we have learned about mobile marketing, now we can take a look at what the top mobile marketing campaigns are doing and how they are marketing their products to us.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/12/3d-maps-camera-phones-put-reality-in-augmented-reality/
This article talks about an emerging technology that works with smartphones to overlay real time information about the surrounding area using the phone's gps and camera. As the technology develops and becomes more refined, this could lead to a whole new way to shop, eat, and find information in real time wherever you are.
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/messaging/1248.html
This article is over a year old but I found it interesting how companies use text campaigns to penetrate target markets. This contest, in particular, was one that Anheuser-Busch was running where they were giving away free gas for a year. Text campaigns are more efficient and reach more consumers. It replaced the paper registration that was previously used. Along those lines, bars and nightclubs utilize the texting technology by allowing consumers to sign up to the businesses to receive promotions and updates related to the clubs. This is particularly effective with the younger, tech-savvy consumers that frequent nightclubs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/business/smallbusiness/24texting.html
This article talked about strategies for using text messaging in a marketing plan. A couple of key takeaways: text messaging must be integrated into a larger marketing plan, not simply seen as its own stand-alone strategy. Also, people are very protective of their cell phone numbers. Companies have to find a a way to get customers thinking that they'll get something special by providing their cell numbers or else customers will just think they're going to be hit with a bunch of advertising messages.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/apr2009/gb20090427_800674.htm
This article, from earlier this spring, talks about mobile marketing in India and why those strategies have been successful. It also discusses how to keep text messages from becoming spam, and how 3G networks have changed mobile marketing.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704398304574598060597361686.html
This article talks about the surge of people downloading shopping apps to phones that help research prices on items while they are in a store. The app mentioned in the article allows users to scan the bar code of the item they are looking at and get pricing from a variety of stores.
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/compete/41839/
This article talks more about predictions for mobile purchasing and sales for 2010 and beyond than a specific app for a phone. Article discusses how smart phone users are getting more comfortable making purchases on their phones, but functionality of mobile site is biggest factor in determining whether users make a purchase or not.
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/editorials/5002.html
This editorial covers some of the potential changes on the horizon with regard to mobile marketing. The author maintains that mobile marketing will soon become as indispensable as Internet marketing; that mobile media will be advertiser-supported as opposed to subscription-based; and that retailers will increasingly count on mobile marketing to get customers to their bricks-and-mortar stores.
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/columns/4968.html
This editorial describes the new technology that has come out for mobile devices and how to tailor your marketing emails to fit the new mobile platforms. An interesting note is how the Google Android platform does not shrink the email to fit the screen size but utilizes a scroll bar at the bottom. One thing to focus on when designing mobile marketing for these devices is to focus to the left side of the screen and to not utilize multiple columns in design layouts so your branding remains visible even if the user does not use the scroll bar.
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/media/4964.html
This article describes Disney’s efforts toward the effective use of mobile marketing and outlines their strategy moving forward. Disney is using mobile marketing to connect and enhance larger campaigns for films and TV shows and is finding that people are seeking out Disney’s mobile content.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0575340.htm
This article talks about a new CRM software that allows stores to send advertisements that are completely tailored to a specific user's smart phone. Also allows for the use of sms coupons and sales brochures, and can even be used to send contest entries to phones that can be scanned in store.
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/movoxx-debuts-location-oriented-geosense-ads-for-mobile-apps-sms-4928/#more-4928
This article describes location-based mobile advertising and how a new mobile advertising company has developed a program that will be able to selectively market to consumers based on their geographic location. The article states that the technology is still in the early stages of development and has a way to go as many core technologies need to mature.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002903459464436.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalTechnology_LEFTTop
This article isn't specifically about mobile marketing, but it discusses a trend that mobile marketers may need to be aware of. The article discusses comments from Verizon about how cell phone companies will have to charge for bandwidth used as more and more people use mobile internet. This could focus mobile marketers on smaller ads that use less bandwidth as people may start avoiding mobile advertising for fears of higher costs.
http://www.mobilematradee.com/
I found this website to be particularly interesting especially after a Saturday night wait of over an hour at a popular Mexican restaurant in Novi. We spent that time clutching on to a square “pager” that was issued upon our arrival at the restaurant. The Mobile Matridee is a pager system for restaurants that uses customer’s personal cell phones as pagers rather than the blinking plastic that is typically found. Restaurants can also use the system to send a text coupons to drive business.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2010/25/c3416.html
Similar article to another one previously posted, this article discusses a Canadian company that designed an app to work with the GPS in some smart phones to find the location of the mobile user and then provide coupons and deals for the store the customers are in.
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/grammys-get-an-app-in-first-mobile-marketing-push-5050/
Short article but it's an interesting break from the usual "Company X comes out with new text coupon campaign". Article talks about how, in an effort to market the grammys, the awards show developed an app for the iPhone that allows users to revisit past grammy memories, participate in trivia, and many other things, all the while promoting the upcoming awards show.
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/user-migratory-habits-data-from-foursquare-gowalla-prove-valuable-5153/
This blog post discusses how mobile marketers now have access to "migratory habits" of consumers using programs like Foursquare and Gowalla. This could be especially helpful for mobile marketers if they wanted to send geographically-based marketing messages to targeted consumer groups.
http://mmaglobal.com/?q=node/11429
The link above connects you to an interesting metrics report for mobile media. The report analyzes the data from every as request, impression, and click. This is a look into the current trends of the mobile marketing world.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/technology/2010/02/mobile_marketing_trends.html
This article summarizes a recent study on the planned use of mobile marketing in 2010. Most companies seem cautious about mobile marketing, rating it "somewhat important" and allocating up to 15% of their marketing budgets to mobile marketing efforts.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10444432-56.html?tag=mncol
This link discusses Microsoft’s reinvention of the bar code. Microsoft Tag is a way for mobile devices to read “bar codes” in any publication. Advertisers can place a bar code in a magazine that, once scanned, will link the user’s device to the application. An example they gave was a golf magazine with a link to YouTube videos that give golf swing advice.
http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100208/FREE/302089970/1445/FREE
Article talks about how analysts are predicting a big year for the advancement of mobile marketing in 2010. While many businesses aren't quite sure how to create successful mobile marketing campaigns, use of smart phones make it a segment that businesses will push into.
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/orange-to-expand-mobile-advertising-services-to-all-of-europe-including-localized-sms-mms-ads-5291/
This link describes Orange’s efforts to expand mobile advertising services to all of Europe including localized SMS and MMS ads. Orange’s strategy is to provide localized mobile marketing based on geographic locations. The company plans to have a presence in all of Europe by the end of this year.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/15/app.store/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Interesting article that talks about how many mobile service providers are banding together to create an open platform app store that anyone from any network could purchase apps from. They said the main competitor is the iTunes store that has hundreds of thousands of apps currently. This could provide a lot of opportunity for new apps from companies that allow for direct marketing, and the demographics from sales alone could give a lot of useful info on the buying habits of the mobile market.
http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/12/five-cant-miss-mobile-marketing-trends-for-2010.html
Published in December 2009, this articles lays out five mobile marketing trends for 2010. They include mainstream text message marketing; texting from local media; more integration with consumers' shopping experiences; smart phone applications, though only for small population segments; and more mobile Web sites.
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/mindfireinc-debuts-qr-barcode-solution-for-direct-mail-5490/
Interesting article that talks about an integration between new and old forms of marketing. Talks about how mass mail marketing is integrating with mobile marketing by providing unique websites for each mail piece sent out to aid in tracking effectiveness of both forms of marketing.
http://mmaglobal.com/files/file/Mobile_Media_12-11aSP%20ONLINE%20VERSION.pdf
This PDF is essentially a guide put together by Eastman Kodak that basically states the reasons of why to get involved in mobile marketing. This guide provides trend analysis in the mobile marketing segments as well as the mobile marketing best practices. They also outline how to get started with mobile marketing and then provide steps to do so. The rest of the PDF shows how Kodak has used mobile marketing within their business units.
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