Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Case Study - Enpocket Powers On-Pack Mobile Promotion for Pepsi

Background:
In April 2006 Pepsi launched one of the most high profile text-2-win campaigns to date in the UK - the "What's In Your Locker?" Xbox 360 promotion. The on-pack promotion, backed by a major TV campaign featuring England soccer stars old and new, gave customers the chance to win an Xbox 360 every 90 minutes of every day over a two month period leading up to and during World Cup.

Objectives:
  • Drive sales of Pepsi Max, Pepsi Max Twist, Pepsi Regular and Diet Pepsi (across all pack sizes)
  • Tap into Pepsi's association with soccer figureheads like David Beckham and Ronaldinho, and leverage the hype created by the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany
Solution:
Unique codes were printed on approximately 95 million units of Pepsi Max, Pepsi Max Twist, Pepsi Regular, Diet Pepsi across 7 different pack variants. The promotional packs invited consumers to take part in the competition to win one of a thousand Xbox 360s that were up for grabs.

With a draw every 90 minutes consumers simply had to text their unique code from the packaging to short code 60360. Savvy entrants referred to the graph on the Pepsi website measuring the number of entries for each 90 minute period, so they could calculate the best drawing to enter. Thousands texted in their codes in the middle of the night to maximize their chances of winning!

The Enpocket Marketing Engine ensured each code was entered into the correct draw depending on the time the text message was received and then informed the winner of the Xbox 360 by text. All entrants were also sent a return site where they could download free soccer content for their phones.

The campaign was supported through the line with TV advertising and with a major presence at point of sale across a range of retail outlets.

Results:
  • There were almost a million entries in the first phase of the competition
  • The campaign highlighted Pepsi's affiliation with soccer during a key period - the World Cup
  • A soccer promotion via mobile enabled Pepsi to connect with their key youth demographics
  • The text 2 win promotion brought customers closer to the brand, and by driving customers to the Pepsi mobile internet site it established an even deeper dialogue
Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Read study here

The Real Thing in Mobile Marketing

Coca-Cola announced in 2006 that it was working towards allocating over 50% of its marketing budget to mobile marketing. On Friday, 22 June 2007, we will see the launch in the US of its first mobile digital community linked to the Sprite brand, called Sprite Yard. What is the marketing model and is it relevant to the South African market?

The launch of Sprite Yard is aimed at being a real time “on the go” community. It will allow its members to network with each other and to download various types of content 24/7. In order to register to join Yard, users simply SMS the keyword “Yard” to a short code. They will then be linked to the Yard portal and will be able to download a browser application on their mobile phones.

The Yard user is registered with a tag name and password, has the ability to select various preferences relating to content and can invite friends to join their community. In short, the Yard is a classic mobile digital community with the significant difference that it is consumer-brand driven.

Changing dynamics

Up to now we have seen web-based digital communities such as Myspace, Facebook and mobile digital communities such as Mxit in SA. They have dominated the market based on first entry. I foresee that vertical social network services offered by consumer brands will drastically change the dynamics in digital communities. There is a new game coming to town.

What, from a technical point of view, is Sprite Yard offering its consumers in its mobile digital community?
  • A tag name and password for access giving a form of security
  • The ability to create your own community by inviting others to join
  • Photo sharing
  • A message board for sending messages to individuals or groups
  • Showcasing a snapshot of your activities
  • Digital downloads of content for free
  • Exclusive content such as visitones (music with ringtones) and mobisodes (animated shorts) linked to PIN activation under a Sprite bottle cap.
Linking mobile content to product sales will become the new marketing dynamite of the next five years.

The mobile marketing perspective

Taken from a mobile marketing perspective, Sprite Yard is an example of a brand combining with technology to communicate with its consumers in the most personal way via their mobile phones. As I have mentioned before, the mobile is personal, portable and pedestrian. It is also offers the most complete way in which to communicate a message to someone since Eve offered the apple of temptation to Adam.

“We know that when it comes to reaching teens, mobile is the medium. This program will enable us to connect with teens by putting Sprite both in their hand and in their phone,” says Denis Sison, Sprite global brand director.

The mobile imperative for teens

Looking at recent global research by Mobilitec (www.mobilitec.com/) on Mobile Marketing and Teens, the principal points are confirmed once again. These are that
  • teens are highly responsive to mobile marketing techniques and mobile branding
  • this group anticipates receiving advertising and special offers on their mobile phones telling them about new products and good deals.
This is hardly surprising when you think about it. This group is probably the most connected to the world wide web where they are constantly exposed to similar offers.

A similar research project, conducted by Q Research, amongst the 11 – 20 age group in the UK, has come up with results that rank their preferences when receiving mobile marketing communications as follows:
  • 32% – willing to receive “general” ads to mobile
  • 71% – willing to receive ads only on things I am interested in
  • 76% – willing to receive ads in exchange for discounts/ special offers
  • 82% – willing to receive ads in exchange for top-up credit
The research further showed that young people preferred picture advertising messages to video and text/sms ads. This is probably due to the current cost of downloading video in the UK. As SA presently has amongst the cheapest rates in the world it would not surprise me to find that SA teens would be quite prepared to download video ads on their mobiles.

Mind the gap

But what of the generation gap and the old timers in SA? Anything from 35 years and up could be considered “old” in the mobile digital age. Will they use their mobile phones to join communities and to access information? What of the digital divide in this country?

One has to spend only 30 minutes in the company of Brian Richardson of Wizzit Bank to realize that when one offers a valued service on a mobile phone, no matter what the age, gender or ethnic group, the user will learn to use and adopt that service. In the case of Wizzit, this is a banking product that has been enthusiastically adopted by the previously unbanked population sector of SA.

Bite the apple

There are two things that you can do about this opportunity that is being offered to you:
  • You can relax, soak up the sun and have it pass you by. At least, make it a conscious decision to ignore the proferred ‘apple' without testing the fruit.
  • You can decide to investigate it and determine whether or not a mobile digital community suits your brand strategy. At least then you will test the fruit and decide whether or not to take a bite of the apple.
And by the way, do it in 2007, because in 2008 you will be banished from the Garden of Eden.

Source: Biz Community

Read article here

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Case Study - Stolichnaya

Goals:
Reinforce brand loyalty by engaging Stolichnaya enthusiasts. Generate awareness of new products and promotions using cross-mobile media. Leverage SMS and PDA to connect with qualified consumers at key lifestyle moments

Solution:
Zingy launched the "Stoli Insider" SMS program, with a Zingy-hosted opt-in on Stoli.com and via the shortcode STOLI. The nearly year-long program offered consumers new product updates like the launch of AStoli Blueberi, timely alerts such as July 4th party recipes and raised awareness of promotions like the "Create your own signature cocktail" contest.

Zingy launched the "Genuine Russian Vodka" brand campaign by incorporating Stoli as exclusive sponsor of the Vindigo City Guide on PDAs for the month of July. Stoli 'owned' the PDA city guide, with no other brand appearing, and used this format to reach 21+ influential lifestyle enthusiasts at point of purchase. The sponsorship served as a key point-of-sale brand reminder, while also promoting the SMS program. Email and calendar opt-ins further engaged consumers by enabling them to sign up for exclusive brand info.

Results:
The "Stoli Insider" SMS program has generated a higher than expected number of opt-ins. Another clear indicator of success is the extremely low opt-out rate throughout the 9 month program. Consumers found value in being a brand "Insider" and want to continue to receive text messages from Stoli.

The Vindigo City Guide sponsorship generated strong interest in the Stoli brand, with tap-through rates as high as 1.60% and consistently high email opt-in rates, which generated valuable leads.

According to Adam Rosen, Senior Brand Manager, Stolichnaya Vodka, at Pernod Ricard USA, "Mobile presents for us the unique opportunity to effectively reach our consumers at appropriate times, which is key. This was our first mobile initiative and, as a brand that's about being genuine and authentic, it was critical to partner with a company with a lot of integrity and insight. Zingy delivered a successful program; they made it easy and turnkey, guiding us throughout the process."

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Read full study here

Mobile Content: Keeping a Wireless Industry Growth Engine On Track

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, with consumer-facing content driving the growth of non-voice wireless services. When CTIA took over the management of the Wireless Data Forum in 1998, the expectation of the wireless community was that enterprise applications would drive market adoption of data products and services. Even the name of the organization was IT oriented.

Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the development of the enterprise market: ringtones… along with a cascade of other non-productivity, consumer-oriented… stuff. Stuff that could no longer be stuffily called “wireless data,” but acquired the more user-friendly term of “mobile content.”

Today, non-voice services are the fastest growing segment of the wireless industry, comprising 13.5% of total ARPU as of December 2006, according to the latest figures from CTIA’s semi-annual wireless industry survey, or $15.2 billion in dollar terms, up 77% from the year earlier. Of that total amount, CTIA estimates that “mobile content” (including downloadable and streaming content, as well as information services) accounts for approximately two-thirds, with messaging services making up the remainder. By any and all measures, mobile content is making a substantial and growing contribution to wireless service providers’ bottom lines.

But at times it seems as if mobile content is succeeding in spite of the industry’s efforts, not because of them. Many of the problems associated with market adoption of mobile content are related to the limitations associated with the platform itself: a device with limited screen space, operating in an often harsh environment and expected to perform as if it were on a desk in a living room connected to a fat pipe. Other issues seem self-inflicted: When a representative of one of the first major carriers to roll out ringtones bragged of the service, a group of us handed him a phone and told him to download one from his Web site. Thirty-one clicks later, having not yet succeeded, he gave up. Things have improved significantly since then, but a number of issues still remain.

One of the issues that has plagued content providers from the beginning has been the discoverability of mobile content. In the beginning especially, content providers that were not at the top of the carrier decks were often doomed to product oblivion, no matter how good the content. The fact of the matter is that not being at the top of the deck means that content is buried just too deep for a normal consumer (someone who must find something in four or five clicks, maximum) to locate it. In order to address that problem, and unlock the potential of mobile content to add to their bottom lines, the carriers (begrudgingly in some cases) came to realize that they would have to allow more distribution channels than just their decks and Web sites. In the last year and a half, carriers have been providing billing-on-behalf-of services to an ever-growing universe of content providers who assume responsibility for marketing and delivering the content to subscribers. Among carriers, the willingness to facilitate these providers has been based on the belief that a rising tide will lift all boats, albeit with a healthy concern that their customer-service departments would be on the hook for providers that failed to live up to their claims, from delivering the right content type and to living up to the terms of service.

Not long after significantly increasing the number of third-party content providers that it would bill-on-behalf-of, a representative of one of the major carriers who had responsibility for developing their consumer products approached CTIA with a problem. While he was convinced of the value of allowing third-party providers onto his network, he was concerned that the actions of some of them could potentially set the industry back to the time when content was available only via the carrier deck (or for purchase via credit card… and we all know how unsuccessful that approach is in getting the consumer to complete the transaction). He was getting complaints from subscribers about getting content that was not ordered, was ordered and not delivered, that was charged for when it was supposed to be free, etc. In response to customer complaints, the carrier was simply refunding the subscriber, often after paying the content provider, resulting in a substantial leak of revenues. Not to mention that he had been called into the offices of several states’ attorneys general who were contemplating class-action lawsuits against his company (thank goodness Elliott Spitzer got a new job). His complaints were echoed by his counterpart at another major carrier who was going much more slowly in allowing third parties on their network, but who had grown so frustrated he told me he was about to “pull the plug on the whole thing.”

To be sure, the industry has developed best practices around much of this content, which mostly comprises premium-priced, short code-based subscription services, and the industry is doing its best to educate content providers and consumers about those best practices. However, the competitive pressures among providers to get their content noticed is growing unabated, and a number of providers are turning to anonymous affinity marketing groups, who are incented only to get click-throughs, and so are sometimes less concerned about the problems caused by failing to follow the industry guidelines.

To help the industry address this problem, CTIA has launched an Off Portal Content Monitoring initiative, and has hired the telecommunications research firm Telephia to help implement the program. Since January, Telephia has been testing each of the applications registered in the Common Short Code registry for adherence to the industry best-practices guidelines. The results have been mixed. While most programs are in some form of violation of the guidelines, many of the violations are technical in nature and say as much about detailed nature of the guidelines as they do about the overall compliance of the industry. (For example, applications that drop the dollar sign from the message stating the terms of the service are in technical violation, even when they meet the rest of the requirement for clearly stating service terms.) Some of the violations, however, are egregious and are of the type sure to generate calls to carrier customer-service departments, a significant cost to the carrier (e.g. not stopping the service despite repeated attempts to get the service stopped).

At this point in time, we are just starting to report our findings to the carriers, and they are beginning to assess how best to deal with the results. As we get out the word to the providers of the importance of adhering to the guidelines, and present them with evidence of where they are not in compliance, we expect better and better performance, which should lead to more opportunity for them with the carriers. This is a distribution channel of enormous potential for the carriers and of enormous importance for the content providers. But for it to be successful, all members of the value chain are going to have to meet their responsibilities and adhere to the industry’s voluntary code of best practices. If not, the industry will put itself in the position of having legislators and regulators, not to mention state attorneys general, impose responsibility on us.

Source: RCR News

Read article here

Monday, June 18, 2007

Case Study - Dove

Objective:
Dove wanted to introduce an interactive mobile element to their traditional marketing effort when they launched the "Campaign for Real Beauty."

Overview:
In Fall 2004, OgilvyOne teamed with Mobile 365 to offer the first-ever outdoor mobile marketing campaign in the U.S. to promote the Dove "Campaign for Real Beauty." Dove wanted to extend their traditional marketing mix to include an interactive mobile element, while encouraging consumers to think about what "real beauty" means to them.

Mobile 365 provided two short codes (across all major U.S. carriers) to enable consumers to participate in the campaign by voting on individual graphics on mobile billboards being driven throughout New York City and Los Angeles.

Mobile 365 tabulated and transmitted live bicoastal voting results to a large stationary billboard (with an LED display) located in Times Square in New York City. After casting his or her vote for a particular image, a participant received an acknowledgement on his/her mobile phone. The message provided real-time voting results, and encouraged the participant to visit the campaign Website to engage in discussion groups on the topic of real beauty.

The live voting results billboard is the first fully-interactive billboard in Times Square, and the campaign was the first-ever outdoor mobile marketing event in the U.S. The OgilvyOne campaign extended Dove's traditional marketing mix to include an interactive mobile element, enabling the brand to easily interact with mobile subscribers at the consumer's choice.

We believe that "invitational mobile marketing" is the next wave for brands to reach target audiences. With this mobile messaging component; we have been able to add a real-time, interactive element to the Campaign for Real Beauty. - Gary Towning, Senior Partner, OgilvyOne.

Results:
The "Campaign for Real Beauty" garnered extensive media coverage for the Times Square and Los Angeles billboards and the accompanying interactive mobile element.

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Read study here

It's Getting Easier to Access E-Mail on your Mobile Phone

Consumers' obsession with sending and receiving e-mail is quickly migrating onto mobile phones.

Numerous companies are making it easier for anyone to send and receive e-mail on their cell phones without splurging on a high-end device or a premium data plan. While the services are generally less sophisticated than the wireless e-mail services offered by BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and other wireless e-mail providers, they are starting to appeal to those who use e-mail more for fun than business.

Consilient Technologies Corp. has begun selling mobile software that allows users to send and receive mail from multiple personal e-mail accounts on some 400 different cell phones. The software communicates with the Consilient server, which is checking a user's e-mail account for them. When it receives notice that users have received mail at their personal account, it pulls the messages and delivers them to the user's phone.

Emoze Ltd., owned by Emblaze Ltd., launched an e-mail service that will configure a user's phone to receive mail it routes from personal and work e-mail accounts. The software, which can be downloaded to most cell phones, is currently free and will deliver e-mails to the inbox built in on the device, eliminating the need for users to open a separate application every time they want to check e-mail.

Teleflip Inc. is taking a different approach with its flipMail service, which allows cell-phone users to read and reply to e-mails they receive from users they have in their address book. The service reformats users' e-mails so they can be sent over the operator's text-messaging channel but show up on the device resembling regular mail. FlipMail is now free but will soon begin to include advertisements in addition to offering a premium version for a few dollars a month.

The services are starting to catch on among users interested in staying on top of their e-mail on the go. While checking his e-mail via Teleflip on his phone, Paul Brown, a 34-year-old software engineer, received a message from a friend telling him that NBA playoff tickets had just gone on sale. He called to purchase some instantly.

"It's nice to get your e-mails right when they come up," says Brown, of Austin, Texas. He says he doesn't want to pay for an additional data plan since he is usually near his computer.

Others have begun using them in lieu of higher-priced services geared toward professionals. Paul Adams, a 35-year-old manager for a rock band who lives in New York City, recently bought a BlackJack smart phone from AT&T but chose not to pay for the wireless e-mail service that would have cost him an additional $60 a month. Instead he uses Consilient for $60 a year along with a data plan that's about $30 a month. He says the service stalls every few months or so and forces him to reboot, but he doesn't mind the glitch.

"That probably doesn't happen with a BlackBerry," says Adams. "But I don't care."

Leading Web-mail companies are also improving the mobile mail experience. Yahoo Inc. has been expanding the availability of its Yahoo Go mobile service that allows users to receive Yahoo mail in real time on their phones instead of logging into a mobile Web site. Late last year, Google Inc. launched a mobile Gmail application that is faster and easier to use than logging into its mobile Web site, and it says it might develop technology that would tell users they have received mail without having to refresh their inbox.

The new services are aiming for a piece of the mobile e-mail market that is dominated by corporate users. But that is forecast to change as handsets improve, the price of data plans drops and younger consumers rely on their phones as multipurpose communications hubs. The number of U.S. consumers who access personal e-mail accounts on a mobile device is forecast to rise 55 percent to 17.4 million in 2007, up from 11.2 million in 2006, according to Strategy Analytics Inc., a market-research firm.

"There is some latent demand on the part of consumers to get e-mail on their phones," says Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester Research, whose surveys show that only 11 percent of adults with cell phones use mobile e-mail. "There is room for more players."

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Friday, June 15, 2007

Case Study - ANWB

Goals:
Mobile ticketing improves customer service and helps to generate new revenue streams through new and existing customers.

Idea:
ANWB, the tourist organization for drivers, bicyclists and walkers/hikers in the Netherlands, implemented the VS2300M reading solution to control admission to the Efteling amusement park. In summer 2003, the tourist organization ANWB started a mobile ticketing pilot project on behalf of the Efteling recreation and Adventure Park in Holland. Instead of buying entrance tickets at the counter, customers could purchase them online from the ANWB website and get a discount when using their mobile phone as the entrance ticket. Once the tickets were ordered from the ANWB website and payment completed, the customer was sent a text message containing a two-dimensional code (Data Matrix) to his mobile phone.

Results:
At the Efteling park entrance, the customer needed only to present his mobile phone with the Data Matrix entry code displayed to the VS2300M scanners that were in place at some control points. The VS2300M reading systems first decoded the Data Matrix code, checked it for validity against the ANWB databse via a GPRS connection and then granted entrance to the park.

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Social Networking Conference - Courtyard Marriott Downtown

This event will focus solely on mobile markets for the Social Networking business. Many have suggested that the mobile usage of the internet will eclipse computers and laptop usage. For the social networking and online personals industry, this technology represents the road to the future. Mobile social networking and mobile personals is strongest in Europe and is growing significantly in the Far East. North American mobile usage of web-based applications has grown significantly over the last 12 to 18 months.

Description: Many have suggested that the mobile usage of the internet will eclipse computers and laptop useage. For the social networking and online personals industry, this technology represents the road to the future. Mobile social networking and mobile personals is strongest in Europe and is growing significantly in the Far East. North American mobile useage of web-based applications has grown significantly over the last 12 to 18 months.

This event will focus solely on mobile markets for the Social Networking business. It is for dating/social networking executives that have an interest in learning about new technologies, marketing strategies, business management, networks and mobile telecom. Attending will be:

# Social networking business executives
# Online personals industry business executives
# Software & mobile technology executives
# Venture Capitalists
# Mobile device and PDA manifacturers
# Mobile telecommunication executives
# Mobile/Wireless marketing executives
# Media executives
# Mobile payment processing executives
# Affiliate managers
# Affiliates and portal webmasters of social networking related sites.

Experts in management, mobile technology and marketing for social networking with experience with the mobile/wireless market will present. For example, we plan on having a 90 minute workshop covering business models for mobile. Also we will have a workshop on the latest software for mobile devices for the social networking and online personals marketplace: How to plan and implement software, which types of software (ex: WAP, JAVA) to use, how to install and distribute for various wireless phones. We will also cover the mobile dating market in specific regions and countries as well.

Source: Social Computing Magazine

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Case Study - Snapple (WAP Development)

Goals:
1) Increase campaign awareness of Snapple's SNAFFLE promotion

2) Keep Snapple on consumer's mind during peak purchase hours

3) Gather market intelligence and build mobile database for future re-marketing efforts

Solution:
Snapple's mobile marketing program was built around "Snaffle", Snapple's main promotion for the critical summer months. Snapple printed numbers on 225 million bottle caps that the public could then match with winning Snaffle numbers. The winning Snaffle numbers were announced on TV, on the web and delivered via text message (SMS), and allowed participants to win prizes. Throughout the summer, twelve drawings were held and three prizes were offered at each drawing. SMS alerts with the winning Snaffle numbers were sent out during lunchtime and peak purchase times of the day - maximizing on the strength of mobile communication.

Results:
Ninety three percent of all consumers who received the SMS alerts read them, and 24% were more positive about Snapple as a result of receiving the messages. 33% of those who participated bought additional Snapple products as a result.

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

The ABC's of Mobile Marketing (WAP Development)

If you're unfamiliar with the mobile space's players and ecosystem, selecting the ideal mobile partner can be daunting. This column will explain the mobile value chain and provides some questions for you -- the brand or agency -- to ask your prospective mobile partners, prior to making any selection decisions.

Although many players in the space are integrating across the value chain, there are four main elements:

* Products and services. Includes brands, agencies, and third-party content providers. These are the companies seeking collaboration and partnership with others within the value chain. We also see the emergence of mobile agencies and the creation of mobile divisions within larger agencies, which help with the end-to-end decisions around the mobile campaign. Depending on your needs, the mobile agencies may be what you're looking for.

* Mobile ASPs (define). Includes application and technology providers, along with the MASP. The MASP is the mobile partner that can provide a complete, one-stop solution for a mobile campaign, including mobile storefronts, campaign planning, and connectivity.

* Connection. Includes aggregators and wireless operators. Many players in the mobile space are focused on connection only. Many MASPs are partnered with these companies, and thus connection players don't need to be contacted directly (although, again, it depends on your needs).

* Media and retail. Includes brick-and-mortar, e-tail, and so on.

Many brands are baffled. With so many companies to choose from and so many differences between the companies, how can you possibly find the right partner? It's best to first determine the capabilities you're looking for, then develop a checklist so you can narrow the selections and determine the partner that's right for you. According to Nihal Mehta, CEO of ipsh!, finding the right partner is one of the most important decisions you can make when choosing to integrate mobile into your cross media campaign. "Finding the right partner in the mobile marketing space makes the difference between a successful campaign and a complete flop," says Nihal.

Develop a checklist that includes the elements important to you and your company. Also ensure you include the following:

* How many campaigns has your mobile company launched? With which companies and brands? The number of campaigns and the size of the brands a company's worked with helps you understand its level of expertise. A partner should provide you with a list of contact companies and brands it's worked with, along with references.

* What are your company's customer care resources? Do I receive a dedicated account manager or support person? This should include number of support individuals, response times, levels of care (SLAs), and so forth. For those who appreciate personalized service, understanding if the same individual will be involved throughout your campaign may be important.

* Does your company provide proactive monitoring and reporting on my campaign? For example, does the company provide statistics and information throughout the campaign, or only at the end? Is this information available via a client extranet or must you depend on the agency to supply this data? Answers to these questions are important as ongoing feedback will help you understand and tweak the campaign throughout (iterative feedback and refinement).

* To what extent is the mobile company focused on your particular niche? If you're a player in the business-to-business (B2B) space, does the mobile partner understand how you do business? If you're a nonprofit, does your mobile partner understand the intricate nature of grassroots fundraising and donor management? If you're a large brand marketer, does your mobile partner understand all the channels you speak through and can it help augment them with a mobile program that works in concert?

* What types of services are offered? Is the partner company a mobile agency, an aggregator, other? Can you provide Web-related development that brings a mobile program to life or help to guide this process? How does its services match to your specific needs? For example, will you look to the partner company to execute creative and strategic direction in addition to connectivity?

In this case, developing a needs checklist is important in assessing a potential partner company. Be honest about which services you need and which you don't. If you're looking for creative input, ensure you pick a company that values creativity and personalization.

* Can the mobile partner help determine the campaign objectives through an ROI (define) calculation or other quantitative or qualitative means? This will help you determine if your mobile partner understands what your needs and priorities are prior to the campaign launch. Some mobile companies specialize in certain vertical segments. If you're looking for expertise for your vertical, ask around.

* What wireless carriers do you have direct or indirect connectivity to? Depending on your campaign, this is an important question if you're planning to launch nationwide or global campaigns across all carriers, or only with one carrier, standard or premium rate.

* How stable is the partner company? What are the funding and employee count, and how long has the company been in operation? What's its core focus and competencies (e.g., aggregation, licensing, creative, etc.)? If you're considering a long-term partnership for your mobile initiatives, these are important questions to ask. There are a large number of both established and new entrants in the space.

Source: ClickZ

Read article here

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Case Study - Sprite 3G Mobile Content Downloads (WAP Development)

Goals:
Increase brand awareness for 'a new member of the Sprite family...'

Idea:
Sponge were requested by UK interactive agency, Weapon 7, to fulfill the mobile part of their interactive TV campaign for Sprite 3G. The TV advertisement featured an elf-like creature alongside a can of Sprite 3G offering viewers to get 'both sprites for free.'

The can of Sprite 3G was made available to viewers pressing their blue button via interactive TV, to order a postal coupon to redeem their free can of drink.

Viewers texting in the SPRITE keyword to the 5-digit shortcode promoted during the TV ad received a video download of a dancing elf-like 'sprite 3G' to their mobile by wap push.

The elf-like Sprite 3G arrived as a video download of the dancing creature, delivered to viewer's mobile phones by wap push as a result of the viewer texting in the SPRITE keyword to the shortcode promoted during the TV advertisement.

Sponge worked with Weapon 7 to ensure the content was of highest quality and compatible with a maximum number of mobile handsets, and managed the content delivery.

Results:
Higher than expected response rate: "we've almost surpassed our target number of interactions for the whole campaign with a week still to go...!" - Joanna Moynihan, 'Sprite' Brand Manager, UK

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Read article here

Speed Dialing WAP

I’m finding myself scurrying just to keep up with the wave of recent research and metrics regarding mobile usage. As long as I’ve been covering the mobile field, I have had trouble getting a handle on how much and how often U.S. mobilistas fire up the data channel on their phones. For activities like gaming and mobile search, I have seen wildly inflated figures passed around -- 30% to 40% penetration rates that don’t even pass a simple eyeball check on the street.

Unscientific as the sample might be, I spend a lot of time in airports, on lines, and in waiting rooms checking out the mobile activity around me, and the share of people peering into their phones to do more than speed-dial a friend remains visibly small. Shifting my location reorients my sample, so sitting in Starbucks at the local university reveals what some college-based mobile marketers have been telling me for months: the 18-to-24 demo is now starting to use their phones as portable PCs. You really do see a lot of these kids peering into their flip phones and two-thumb keyboarding.

I learned to trust my gut on these eyeball checks a few years ago when covering the gaming industry. Being a parent of a ten-year-old brought me into the living rooms of a lot of houses with kids, and invariably the main TV was running a video game, not TV programming. When the metrics companies finally caught up, they formalized what any parent already knew: the game console was eroding TV’s time share.

For the upcoming OMMA Mobile conference on June 29 in New York, we have asked some of the leading keepers of the numbers to come in and report more scientifically on our current knowledge of mobile metrics. I already anticipate hearing about a spike in mobile Web usage this year. Again, I use the subjective measure of my own patterns. In just the last six months, while at conferences, on commutes, etc., I have come to identify the phone as a medium. I have amassed a reliable collection of media alerts, feeds, and WAP bookmarks that I now consult habitually in a few spare moments.

M:Metrics reports that about 9.6% of mobile users accessed news or information on phones in March, which is not much different from the 10% they reported about the same activity in March 2006. On the other hand, content provider and m-commerce enabler Bango says it saw a threefold increase in mobile Web traffic coming from the U.S. So I still have no idea how much more WAP usage is going on, but my gut tells me that if I am doing more of it, then others are, too. In almost every case, however, it is a third-party publisher pulling me into the data channel, not the deck itself.

Now, more than ever, I have come to see that it is the third-party content providers that will be the real change agents in the mobile eco-system. They are the ones who will dial up mobile content for their users, not the carriers. As I talk to more and more content providers, the story is the same. The users of their WAP sites, wallpapers, ringtones, etc. all tell them that they are relatively new to using phones in these ways. “We didn’t know we could do this with our phones,” customers tell the publishers again and again. They are being drawn to the new platform by the third-party channel, not the carriers.

Once again, the carriers seem to be out of the media loop they themselves are building. They are terrible educators. At the sales level, they are not showing customers what they can do with their phone, and on the merchandising level, they are not teasing the user with enough demos, pre-loaded applications and bookmarks, to encourage using the data channel. And on the partnership level, they are not working with many publishers to encourage general use of the phone as an everyday media platform.

OMMA Mobile’s Short Code Theater

The one metric no one seems to question is the use of SMS messaging. Well over a third of mobile users sent a text message in March -- almost 70 million, according to M:Metrics. By any measure, that is a critical mass. And here is another example of a phone habit proliferating because of users, not the carriers. Apparently, the teens who first embraced SMS actually taught their parents how to use it by texting them. Again, I go to personal metrics. I know I can more effectively communicate with my 15-year-old daughter when she is out and about via SMS than by voice.

As a marketing channel, SMS has become much more reliable in just the last year. I test just about every short code a marketer tosses at me, just to see where they lead, and just six months ago I was appalled at the failure rate. So many short code queries went unanswered I started asking around about failure rate metrics in the industry. No one had any to share. This year, again using my gut metrics, the SMS situation seems much improved. And at OMMA Mobile we hope to show off just how well SMS marketing is doing.

We invite mobile marketers and brands to submit entries in our own OMMA Mobile Short Code Theater. Submit to us your best campaign that is initiated by a short code. It can be any mobile marketing campaign (video, WAP push, etc) so long as the consumer initiates the exchange with an SMS code. We will ask all entrants to put their prompt and a visual explanation for the campaign on a single PowerPoint slide that attendees can view and activate for themselves on their own phones during the show. Attendees will be able to vote on their favorite campaign via our own SMS voting system at OMMA Mobile.

Source: Media Post

Read article here

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Case Study - Pepsi Super Bowl

Background:
In the run up to the 2007 Super Bowl, Pepsi unveiled 15 new can designs and created a range of promotions as part of a major new branding initiative. Its Super Can contest gave fans the chance to win Super Bowl tickets for life and a jewel-encrusted can valued at $100,000. Alongside traditional and online promotions, Pepsi also became the latest brand to deploy a mobile advertising program on the Sprint Mobile Media Network, and one of the first to incorporate video into its campaign.

Objectives:
  • Expand the promotion of its Super Can contest
  • Increase awareness of the 15 new Pepsi can designs
  • Drive traffic to its mobile web site
  • Increase video and wallpaper downloads
Solution:
Sprint Nextel has been defining a highly sophisticated new advertising channel on its mobile web browsing pages through the Sprint Mobile Media Network. It offers brands a direct, powerful and interactive way to reach mobile consumers. Pepsi was able to cut through the noise around the Super Bowl as the exclusive advertiser on the Sprint Mobile Media Network's homepage in the days leading up to the big game. And, as a result, drove consumers from four different banner display ads to Pepsi's branded mobile web site, where consumers engaged in a variety of actions.

Pepsi enabled users to download a custom wallpaper of the "blinged-out" Pepsi can, click to see the video spots featuring the new Pepsi can designs, and click through to Sprint Power View -- the only made-for-mobile video programming network in the United States with original sports and entertainment shows -- where they could view live Super Bowl video clips sponsored by Pepsi.

Sprint's mobile web ad serving vendor, Enpocket, and Sprint Power View delivery partner, IMG, assisted in the execution of this multi-faceted campaign.

Results
  • 9 million impressions
  • An average click through rate of 4.5 percent, with the most popular creative achieving an 11.5 percent average
  • 175,000 Pepsi wallpaper downloads
The program was one of the first to integrate several engagement mechanics, including content downloads, click-to-view a video ad, and click to see a live TV broadcast. At a time when advertisers are vying for consumers' attention across multiple media channels, Pepsi built awareness and engagement for a major marketing initiative using the Sprint Mobile Media Network - leaving a lasting impression with the 175,000 people that now see the Pepsi wallpaper every time they look at their Sprint mobile phone.

Study published on May 30, 2007

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Read study here

The Agility of Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is having a profound impact on the way in which companies think about, approach and implement marketing campaigns.

The immediacy in generating the content and the personal attachment people have with their phones facilitates fast moving, high impact campaigns.

Consider the time it takes to generate a TV or print campaign. First one needs an agency to create the campaign; then there is the conceptual work, the creation of the specific content and the booking of airtime, or space in print/online publications. The process of start to finish can take anything from weeks to months. Furthermore, the company has to align its business with the campaign, particularly for retail companies who use their marketing to move stock.

However, mobile marketing is far more direct and agile because a company communicates with consumers through their cellphone.

So for example, if a retailer at the start of a week wanted to have a sale that Saturday, using broadcasting or print mediums to publicise the sale would be impossible. Online advertising could be a possibility but high volume Sites would most likely have already sold their advertising space for that week.

However, the same experience as a TV, radio or print campaign could be created using MMS. In contrast to other mediums, an interactive MMS campaign with voice over, graphics and text can be created within two working days. Distribution to a base of say 200,000 MMS enabled handsets (registered handsets are verified first) could be done in a further two days and by the weekend over 90 percent of the base would most likely have been exposed to the campaign with an added knock-on effect given the viral nature of mobile marketing.

Mobile marketing can therefore be used to have a direct, immediate impact whereas other mediums need time for the message to get out into the market given people's intermittent use of those media types.

In addition, unlike other forms of marketing, a medium like MMS gives power to both the sender and receiver. Advertisers can deliver a content rich message including video, sounds, pictures and text to specific consumers, while the consumer has the choice of whether to accept or reject an incoming MMS and should be able to unsubscribe from the service at any time.

And because mobile marketing is measurable, companies can see real time reporting including when the MMS are delivered, who opens them, which numbers fail to receive the MMS and which recipients reject the message.

Along with looking at mobile marketing's ability to deliver content quickly, companies need to take cognisance of the number of phones in the market. It is difficult to say how many people have cellphones, but the three cellphone networks together claim to have a combined base of over 36-million subscribers in 2007.

Compare that to TV and radio audiences. According to the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF), its 2006 AMPS (All Media and Products Survey) estimated there to be over 24.5-million adult viewers, while there were over 28.5-million radio listeners. Importantly, these figures represent people who watched TV or listened to the radio once in the space of a week. Running campaigns to this group of people takes time for the message to saturate the market.

Mobile is more direct because you're going straight to the person. Given that there are likely more cellphone users than adult TV viewers, the strength of mobile channel to deliver marketing is becoming significant. Globally cellphones clearly have the greatest penetration of devices. There are close to 2.5-billion active cellphones, compared to an estimated 900-million internet users and a billion television sets.

Mobile marketing is therefore poised to become the most powerful marketing medium in the world. It is therefore vital that companies begin to think about mobile marketing as a means of reaching out to their target market.

Source: Marketing Web

Full article here

Monday, June 11, 2007

Case Study - Chinese New Year Campaign

Date: March 19th, 2007

Company: Madhouse

Client: PepsiCo China

Background:
Pepsi is always looking for innovative ways to not just reach out to but interact with their target audience. Thus, for Pepsi's Chinese New Year campaign featuring the ever popular pop star Jolin Tsai, Pepsi turned to Madhouse to reach the young demographic which consumes more and more mobile media everyday.

Goals:
1) Drive the greatese viewership of the CNY TVC Nationwide

2) Reach China's young mobile user base who spends more of their time consuming new versus traditional media

3) Users on the move can experience Pepsi's digital content and share with friends anytime anywhere

Solution:
In cooperation with Pepsi, Madhouse built the Pepsi CNY WAP campaign site hosting downloadable content such as the Chinese New Year TV commercial and many behind-the-scenes videos

To ensure the premium presentation of content and delivering the best brand image possible, Madhouse automatically tailors content for each of the 1000's of handset models in China

Capitalizing on the customary practice of sending greetings for CNY, Pepsi CNY mobile greeting cards increased the viral effectiveness of the campaign

To drive traffic to the site, ads were served by Madhouse across a breadth of large protal and entertainment sites on Madhouse's ad network, MadNetwork

Result:
During the 2 weeks of mobile media promotion, the ads served by MadServing achieved over 8,000,000 total impressions resulting in over 3.6% click-through rate generating over 140,000 unique visitors to the Pepsi CNY WAP site

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Full study here

Mobile Web Growth

Bango published statistics which confirm that the United States is at the forefront of a mobile web growth with a three fold increase in usage over the last year. This rapid rise, taking the US to second position behind the UK, is being fuelled by the increasing popularity of mobile search as a way of finding new content and services. By working as a “global exchange” for the mobile web, Bango is able to provide a unique insight into where users are coming from world-wide and what handsets they are using. The top five countries accessing the mobile web via Bango* in April 2007 were the UK at 27%, the US at 21%, South Africa at 11%, India at 9% and Indonesia at 3%. In total, Bango detects mobile web users from over 190 countries.

Source: Lets Go Mobile

Read article here

Mobile Marketing's Day has Come

Mobile marketing may have come of age, if last week’s Mobile Marketing Forum 2007 was any indication. Organized by the Mobile Marketing Association, the New York show is said to have attracted more than 650 delegates from the marketer and vendor sides. Compare that to 400 attendees last year, 200 in 2005 and a mere 20 in 2004. Take the potential of this medium seriously.

The sheer ubiquity of mobile usage makes this market unavoidable. The GSM Association claims there are 2.4 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide, way more than landline users. The Yankee Group estimates that more than 350 billion text messages are exchanged monthly across the world’s mobile networks. More than 15 percent of these messages are classified as marketing or commercial communications.

Expectations are that mobile marketing will this year become a $1 billion industry, according to Laura Marriott, president of the MMA. The market for premium mobile content alone is estimated at $274 million for the first quarter.

The mobile channel, like the Internet, has several applications: communications, marketing, organizing, recording and commerce. The communications, organizing and recording aspects are in full use by consumers. It is marketing and commerce where advertisers and retailers need to put their shoulders to the wheel.

The mobile handset is the most personal electronic gadget a consumer has. To change that equation requires much convincing. Mobile has begun to catch on in the entertainment industry. Text messaging has played a critical role in the success of television shows such as “American Idol” and “Deal or No Deal.” The consumer felt sufficiently engaged in the process to text in votes or choices. The value proposition was simple: you engage with the brand or show and, in return, you influence the outcome of that effort. The consumer feels in charge and the brand gets the feedback desired.

The Mobile Marketing Forum last week attracted executives from organizations such as Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, ABC News, Major League Baseball, Clear Channel, Columbia Records, The Weather Channel, Hearst Magazines, Hachette Filipacchi, Procter & Gamble and The Associated Press. They presented case studies, ideas and tips and even announced new marketing campaigns to an audience hungry for a roadmap to effective execution.

What was heartening was that these major corporations didn’t hesitate to share knowledge. They sent their top mobile marketing, content and commerce executives. The MMA is also doing its bit. The Denver, CO-based organization will collaborate with the GSM Association to distribute a set of standards, guidelines, formats, inventory types and commercial and measurement models for mobile advertising and marketing. A new participation TV committee has been formed to create guidelines and best practices for all aspects of the interactive TV supply chain.

In terms of education, the association released an invaluable glossary of industry terms.

While there are plenty of opportunities for direct and interactive marketers to include mobile in their marketing plans, they must be fully aware of the challenges. Familiarity with technical jargon is by no means universal.

Consumers may balk at texting charges. They may also resent marketing messages on their phones. The clutter, when it eventually occurs, may not help an advertising brand's cause unless the value proposition is clear.

On the equipment side, issues like screen size and resolution and battery power need to be addressed. Pricing packages, fixed or a la carte, may be prohibitive. Lack of standard mobile advertising and measurement guidelines may slow advertiser adoption. Also, the CPMs are way too high at the moment, -- $80, by some estimates. And don’t forget the doorkeeper. No matter what the mobile marketer and vendor do, it won’t matter if there’s no signoff from the big four carriers: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint.

Still, make the right call. Include mobile marketing in your plans.

Source: DM News

Read article here

Way2SMS Starts Off New Era in Mobile Advertising Through Mobitisements

India's Largest Mobile Data Solutions Company Through its Unlimited Free SMS exchange platform "Way2SMS.COM" now Brings Unique and innovative Mobile advertising and branding Opportunities in the form of “Mobitisements".

Way2SMS.com provides its users text messaging absolutely free of cost. The text messages are appended with ads which can be geo-targeted. Users get this free text messaging service in exchange for opting in to have targeted ads appended to their message.

Out of the 160 characters of a standard SMS, Way2SMS offers only 92 characters to the User to send out their personal SMS. The rest of the characters are reserved for geo-targeted advertisement or Mobitisement. The smaller the users sends the message the larger the ads content will be pushed with it. Way2SMS Dynamic Ad platform allows advertisers to insert ads in 120,85 and 55 characters depending on the users personal message length.

Mr. Raju, CEO Way2SMS.com says “Mobile is the last remaining medium in which the user bears the full weight of payment – a situation that will ultimately stifle growth. Ad-funding SMS has the potential to create new measurable advertising channel for brands and provide mobile users the ability to communicate more for nothing”. Also Mr. Raju adds “For advertisers this could be the smart way to reach out to a large audience without the hassle of sending out unsolicited SMS or having to worry about mobile number database. Because, each User acts as a brand ambassador for advertisers”.

Currently, Way2SMS has nearly half million users and is expected to grow up to 1 million in next 3 months.Way2SMS intends to reach out every mobile subscriber at least once in a month. Thus Building a strong Platform for both Way2SMS users and advertisers, through an innovative concept “Mobitisements- ad supported messages”

Source: Newswire

Read article here


Friday, June 8, 2007

Case Study - Hennes & Mauritz Mobile Couponing

Campaign - Hennes & Mauritz Mobile Couponing

Company - Gavitec

Goals:
The campaign focused on mobile couponing and the interaction between the targeted audience and the brand H&M with the use of mobile phones.

Idea:
Initiated by YOC AG, one of the leading suppliers of mobile marketing and e-mail services in Europe, the campaign focused on mobile couponing and the interaction between the targeted audience and the brand H&M with the use of mobile phones. 120,000 registered members of the YOC.de community received a mobile coupon as one picture message (SMS) with a 2D code (Data Matrix) to their mobile phone, offering them a free H&M T-shirt upon presentation of the code to the EXIO scanner at the new H&M shops in Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne.

Using Smart Messaging (i.e. Nokia Picture), MMS or EMS technology, the mobile coupons were sent as a unique and encrypted 2D code (Data Matrix) on the user's mobile phone. Information like store name, opening date and coupon value were not only encrypted in the Data Matrix code but also displayed on the mobile phone screen as information for the mobile phone's user. To support this special time-limited marketing campaign, the 2D code also contained an expiry date.

At the cashiers of the new H&M shop in Berlin, customers presented their mobile coupon to the EXIO scanner. Connected to the YOC database via GPRS communication, the Gavitec solution decoded the mobile coupon and checked its validity. Once the code was validated, EXIO printed out a voucher permitting customers to receive their free T-shirt.

Results:
Within 48 hours, for example, 78% of the addressed members reacted to the sent push-SMS. More than 100 customers were queuing in front of the store before operating. Two hours after the shop opened, all 2,000 T-shirts had been given away.

Study was published on October 20, 2006

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Read study here

Moosejaw Mountaineering takes on new mobile adventure

NEW YORK — Moosejaw Mountaineering, the irreverant outdoor gear and apparel retailer, recently launched a mobile-shopping site that lets customers browse, price compare and shop for their favorite gear using any mobile phone or device.

A representative from Madison Heights, MI-based Moosejaw offered this information at the 2007 Mobile Marketing Forum here at the Marriott Marquis.

The MMF is sponsored by the Boulder, CO-based Mobile Marketing Association, whose members include agencies, advertisers, hand-held device manufacturers, wireless operators and service providers, retailers and any company focused on the potential of marketing through the mobile channel.

Moosejaw operates six locations in Michigan and Illinois and several Web sites, which are responsible for 60 percent of total sales, according to Indy Bishop, director of marketing at Moosejaw. The company also has a catalog. Its Web sites include TheJaw.com, ThaLowdown.com, MoosejawRewards.com, AdventureWatches.com and CampMoosejaw.com.

The company was formed in 1992 and has grown 50 percent to 70 percent every year since, Mr. Bishop said.

To fulfill its m-commerce technology needs, Moosejaw selected Seattle-based mPoria Inc.'s GoMobile solution. Designed specifically for the retail industry, GoMobile is a cost-effective service that lets merchants establish their own mobile-shopping site without the need for in-house development resources.

The site, which went live April 11, offers more than 40,000 outdoor gear and apparel products.

To make a purchase, consumers simply enter www.Moosejaw.mobi in their mobile Web browser to get immediate access to the company's product catalog. With mPoria's technology, mobile-shopping sites including Moosejaw's offer convenient browsing and product search. Once consumers are ready to make a purchase, they simply enter their credit card information into mPoria's secure platform, choose a preferred method of delivery and place their order.

“The site complements our existing marketing strategy — not just being multichannel but being cross-channel within a multichannel marketing strategy," Mr. Wohlfeill said. "For example, we can push our catalog on the mobile phone or push testing through our e-mail blasts and on the Web site.”

For example, the company recently sent out an e-mail to its opt-in list that asked recipients to text them back about their least favorite movie, and then Moosejaw texted them back with a 20-percent-off coupon code on merchandise.

“We got a really good response on it," Mr. Wohlfeill said.

Mr. Wohlfeill admitted that a key reason Moosejaw is focusing on mobile marketing is that the company is already reaching the right demographic for mobile applications —people age 18 to 34 who regularly use mobile devices and text messaging.

“We are really excited about [our mobile marketing initiatives] and we think it is going to expand and become a really important part of what we do in our marketing in the future," Mr. Wohfeill said.

The GoMobile platform also allows retailers to expand sales and marketing efforts like SMS campaigns and special promotions to their mobile customers.

Also during the session, Mark Kaplan, founder and chief marketing officer of ShopText Inc., a New York-based mobile-commerce and promotions company, explained his company’s service and offered some examples.

To use the service, a consumer must first place a phone call to ShopText to set up an account, specifying a shipping address and card account.

Then, when these consumers see the ShopText logo in their favorite magazines, newspapers, concerts, posters or on TV, they can shop, sample or donate from their mobile phones. When ShopText receives text messages about donations or products, it charges the credit card it has on file for the buyer. Then it sends the product from one of its warehouses around the country to the consumer.

Mr. Kaplan said a New York City nightclub, the Knitting Factory, is currently selling tickets through text messages. Here, an ad appearing in The Village Voice newspaper currently includes a keyword that consumers can text in and purchase a ticket. The ticket shows up at the "Will Call" window and purchasers can pick up the ticket there as if they purchased it online.

The Knitting Factory is also looking at other ways to use the feature, like encouraging audience members to text-message to join an online discussion about the concert that night.

Source: DM News

Read article here

Live from the Mobile Marketing Forum: Consumer Engagement is Key

Mobile marketing is hot. And more and more brands are leveraging the technology through promotions to stay relevant and hip with their audience.

Take NBC’s popular game show “Deal or No Deal.” Viewers can play a text messaging game for a chance to win $10,000 each night the show airs. Consumers choose the case they believe contains the cash prize and text it to short code 59595.

“We felt confident that Americans would want to participate,” said Jon Vlassopulos, vice president, business development, digital media & strategic planning, Endemol USA, the company handling the campaign. “They like to participate in a program in an interactive way.”

During the second season of the show, the promotion received 130,000 interacts via text messages and online entries, Vlassopulos said.

Why is mobile marketing so popular? One of its benefits is instant action, panelists said.

“You can offer immediate gratification and get an immediate response you otherwise won’t get,” Robert Thurner, commercial director, Incentivate, said.

AKQA Mobile, for example, ran a mobile campaign in the U.K. for Coca-Cola during the Christmas holidays in which consumers sent Coke-branded m-cards to their friends and family. People could customize the card by choosing a design and adding a personalized message.

The campaign was an instant hit. A total of 120,000 m-cards were sent out, with the average user sending 1.7 cards.

The key to any mobile campaign is to make it special, panelists said.

“Mobile has to be unique,” Thurner said.

While the popularity of mobile marketing is growing, challenges still abound. Every carrier has different rules and regulations to follow.

“The time is now,” said Trish Halamandaris, vice president, marketing & Carrier sales, mDisney and Starwave Mobile, Walt Disney Internet Group. “The opportunity is here. But understanding how to execute [a campaign]…is key.”

“We are just at the tip of the iceberg for how we work with brand partners,” Vlassosulos added. “It’s a good time to get involved.”

Sessions at the Mobile Marketing Forum continue through today at the Marriott Marquis in New York. Attendance at the event has more than doubled over last year to about 600 people.

Source: Promo Magazine

Read article here

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Case Study - McDonald's RUMAC

One of the biggest opportunities for mobile marketing is consumer packaged goods. ipsh has pioneered such campaigns with a few major brands in the summer of 2005 but none had the metrics to really influence Madison Avenue like McDonald's House of Blues promotion.

ipsh interactive was used for this House of Blues McDonald's sweepstakes with unique "Mac" codes printed on 50 million BigMac boxes nationwide. Users texted in to the shortcode RUMAC to win. They also had the option to sign up online at www.playatMcD.com

This campaign was a great experiment in showing how there is an increasing number of users who, given a chance, will interact with an advertising campaign on the spot, via their handsets.

We didn't anticipate such a great response but we saw 40% of entries were made through the shortcode vs. the web demonstrating that people want to interact on the go.

Supporting material - Vital Stats
50 million boxes
3% increase in sales of Big Macs
13.41% sms to opt-in
40% of entries via txt

Takeaways
McDonalds and ipsh was cited in Advertising Age based on the remarkable results. Reps from McDonalds credit this House of Blues mobile campaign with 3% increases in sales of Big Mac sandwiches. This is a tremendous ROI in the world of consumer goods. Also, 40% of the entries were made via text message, twice the figures McDonald expected. Conversion rates for SMS to opt-in is over 13%. This helps to build a solid opt-in list of users for future McDonald promotions.

Study was published on March 22, 2006

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

Full study here

UK Mobile Content Market Worth $1.3 Billion in 2006

The UK mobile content and services market is on the verge of becoming a multi-billion dollar industry provided the sector can tap into an addressable market approaching 50% of UK mobile users, a report shows this week.

Results from the Survey reveal that the UK mobile content market was worth £661 million (US$1.3 billion) in 2006, with 50% of revenues coming from the "mobile cash rich" 25-34 year olds. Those revenues look set to skyrocket should the wireless industry generate a more consistent spending behaviour.

"Today, the regular buyers of mobile content, those who purchase a minimum of one item of content every three months, represent one-fifth of mobile users," said Nick Lane, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, and author of the report. "However, the survey uncovers a further 30 percent of occasional consumers that will purchase at least one item of content per year. If the wireless industry can encourage these occasional spenders to regularly consume content, the addressable mobile-content-market spend over a three-month period will expand by 150%."

While 50% of respondents said mobile content prices were too high, the survey revealed £5 (US$9.50) as the optimum figure consumers are willing to spend per month on top of their voice and messaging fees. Services and content priced above the £5 monthly threshold will appeal to less than 5% of UK mobile users.

"This is presenting the industry with a dilemma: as premium rate pricing for services such as mobile TV could potentially cannibalise revenues from other services within the mobile content ecosystem," says Lane. "The door is now wide open for mobile advertising to subsidise mobile content and inflate the mobile content user base."

However, one key trend to emerge from the Survey results is that of User-Adapted Content.

"By side-loading songs from their PC on to their mobile and using as a ringtone, or taking a picture on the device and using as wallpaper, users are repurposing existing forms of content to perform numerous tasks on their mobile," says Lane. "There are no confusing rights issues to negotiate and no costs, so it's highly appealing to the consumer."

But while much is being made of content available on mobile phones, the UK consumers are using existing services and demanding more practical services. While 35% of respondents claim to have used the mobile Internet (including WAP browsing) - location-based services and mobile banking topped the poll asking respondents to outline the service they would most like to see on their mobile phone.

Gavin Forth, Head of Entertainment at Orange UK, said: "Over the last few years, the mobile Internet has grown from a slow and clumsy monochrome experience into an essential consumer and business tool for news, entertainment and other services on the move. As an industry we now need to eliminate the barriers still facing our customers to ensure the mobile internet eco-system thrives by driving smart pricing, innovative partnerships and allowing the phone to become an extension of our customers own personalities."

The study analyzes the results of a survey by Informa Telecoms & Media ? in association with Orange UK and fieldwork partner Starcom Mediavest exploring mobile content behaviour in which almost 2,000 mobile subscribers in the UK participated.

Source: Cellular-News

Read article here

Folk Rocker Goes Straight To Mobile

Up And Coming Artist Launches New WAP Site

Funk folk rocker, Julia Harris, is one of the first artists in the UK to take her marketing campaigns straight to mobile, with the support of interactive mobile specialist, Dialogue Communications.

Dialogue worked with creative agency Sonaa, providing them with a toolset to create a mobile content site for the up and coming artist from Cardiff, as she looks to build her fan base and promote her latest single through the mobile medium. The new mobile site went live last week before a gig in Cardiff and Dialogue is also looking to launch other marketing campaigns later in the year, as Julia tours the UK.

Paul Griffiths, Dialogue's MD explains why Julia's approach to marketing is a good one and how Dialogue is supporting her marketing strategy: "Julia has recognised the growing mobile market as the primary means to reach her fans; this is an area that many artists initially overlook, but Julia wanted to do something different to raise her profile. We have created and host her mobile site and by utilizing our Text 2 Browse service through our Mobile Applications Portal (MAP), users are driven to the site through an advertised short code by texting "Julia" to 80010. We are also providing a database builder, so that Julia can communicate with her fan base, promoting relevant information and content."

Julia has had an incredible start to her career, supporting artists such as Damien Rice, receiving rave reviews and regular airplay. The Welsh singer/songwriter is now looking to increase her profile further through mobile campaigns. Dialogue has designed a site for the artist where fans can buy wallpapers, read the latest news from Julia and download her newest music tracks.

Bal Takhar, Development Director at Sonaa explains: "Our company has the creative skills to develop the look and feel of the site and Dialogue's platform makes it's easy for us to deliver premium mobile content and other text marketing campaigns to the customer."

The growing mobile market is becoming a popular channel for many artists looking to raise awareness of their music, along with providing a platform to generate extra revenues through premium downloads. As with most up and coming artists, Julia also has a MySpace site but over the coming months is focusing her marketing efforts on mobile campaigns.

Julia Harris explains why she has taken the mobile route to market: "The entertainment market is growing way beyond fans just buying CD's and the mobile market is now a key growth area. Fans want to buy ringtones and photos and interact with their favorite artists. Dialogue has provided me with different avenues to reach my fan base and help raise my profile and awareness of my songs.

"I'm really excited about being able to interact with those who're interested in me and what I do. I think mobile sites will open a whole new world for artists like me who want to interact with their fans"

Later in the year, Julia is hoping to expand her mobile campaigns with the help of Dialogue and offer her fans Text to Screen services at gigs and user generated content features so fans can share their content on Julia's WAP site.

Source: Search by Headlines

Read article here

China's mobile content market to top $21 billion by 2012, says Juniper Research

Findings from a new study by Juniper Research reveal that the Chinese market for Wireless Value Added Services (W-VAS) will expand from $15bn in 2008 to $21bn in 2012 boosted by the launch of 3G Services. Currently W-VAS revenues in China are primarily being generated from SMS and ring-back tone services operating on 2G and 2.5G platforms, but the forthcoming launch of 3G will see new areas of growth with particular emphasis on music, games and streamed video.

The report also suggests that by 2012 3G will account for some 19% of total W-VAS services.

This emerging sector offers both new and existing players with a significant opportunity and an eventual large pool of potential users. However, identifying where these opportunities actually exist in the value chain and how to access them is vitally important. Foreign participants need to know the best routes to market including who to partner and which portals to use as well as the appropriate business models to deploy. The fundamentals of Intellectual Property protection are also key, as well as an understanding of the various processes and procedures necessary to navigate through the regulatory system.

The report author, sector analyst Dr. Elisa Kuang, said that "Providers of 3G applications and content have a unique opportunity to tap into this vast new market but are advised to carefully craft coherent market entry and development strategies -- ones that appreciate China’s unique economic culture and business systems, an emerging economy in transition."

About this study

The Juniper Research study, "China 3G: Mobile Content Strategies and Forecasts, 2007-2012", offers market sizing and forecasts, targeted advice and guidance for those with interests in the sector.

Source: Tekrati

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InsightExpress Launches Mobile AdInsights; Ad Infuse First to Provide New Standardized Media Measurement Offering to Mobile Industry

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InsightExpress, a leading online market research firm, and Ad Infuse, a leader in enabling personalized mobile advertising, announced today that InsightExpress will provide access to its new mobile media measurement solution, Mobile AdInsights, to Ad Infuses client base. This groundbreaking offer marks a new and much-needed movement towards standardization of mobile media measurement.

The burgeoning mobile advertising market is expected to explode over the next five years. eMarketer estimates that worldwide spending on mobile advertising will jump from $1.5 billion in 2006 to $13.9 billion in 2011. In the US alone, spending is expected to grow from $421 million to $4.8 billion during this time.1

By providing the mobile industry with access to Mobile AdInsights, a best-in-class research solution, Ad Infuse and InsightExpress will help advertisers, publishers and carriers determine essential success metrics for their advertising campaigns. This innovative approach will allow industry players to better measure and understand ROI, resulting in more powerful and effective campaigns and the smarter allocation of advertising dollars.

Building upon its powerful online media measurement methodology, Mobile AdInsights offers a recruitment technique for the mobile device which provides clean control/unexposed and test/exposed groups for measurement. Both the control and test groups are delivered a brief questionnaire on their mobile device and responses are gathered and processed via the InsightExpress research platform. Weighting the data ensures that the control and test groups are identical, thus attributing any differences between the two groups as a direct correlation to the advertising experience.

Mobile AdInsights allows companies to truly understand the impact and potential of their mobile campaigns, and will provide the industry with much-needed benchmarking, said Drew Lipner, VP, Group Director, Online Media Measurement at InsightExpress. The mobile space is obviously one of the most exciting places in the advertising world right now, and we expect demand for Mobile AdInsights to reflect this momentum. We are happy to be working with such a dynamic company as Ad Infuse in bringing Mobile AdInsights to market.

We all know the potential of mobile advertising, said Brian Cowley, CEO and President of Ad Infuse, but the truth is that in an era of digital media measurement, advertisers and agencies must be able to see the impact and value of their mobile test campaigns before we start seeing major shifts in the media mix.

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Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Case Study - Heineken (Mobile Dreams Factory)

Company - Mobile Dreams Factory

Client - Heineken

Background:
Heineken is one of the most sold beer companies in Spain. Champions league is the European soccer championship.

Goals:
Heineken is one of the official sponsors of the Champions League. For that reason they wanted to tie their brand with the championship.

Objectives:
1) Associate Heineken brand with the "Soccer's Champions League."

2) Reward consumers' loyalty instantly

Idea:
Heineken distributed scratch-cards to bar customers. All the scratch-cards have a code that needs to be sent by text message. Each code participates in a draw to win different prizes. No matter if the customer won or not, he/she will receive a WAP push instantly with Heineken mobile agenda.

The mobile agenda is based in Mobile Dreams' proprietary technology called-Microeditions. With this microedition the user can browse off-line Champions league's agenda.

Also the user can ask the agenda via Heineken's web page.

Results:
The Campaign is not over since the soccer season is not over. The last 2 months redemption rate of the agenda were 68% of the participations.

Study was published November 18, 2006.

Source: Mobile Marketing Association

See study here

‘Sprite Yard’ now part of mobile marketing playground

NEW YORK—Coca-Cola Co. is moving aggressively onto the mobile marketing playground with a kind of mobile MySpace centered on the company’s Sprite brand.

The soft drink titan plans to launch a worldwide community allowing users to create profiles and exchange photos and messages, executive Mark Greatrex said during the keynote address at the Mobile Marketing Forum in New York. The free downloadable application, dubbed “Sprite Yard,” will be available via a short code and also offer wallpapers, games and video clips.

The effort launched in China last week and is set to launch in the United States beginning June 22. To access the application, U.S. consumers can text “YARD” to 59666 and receive a reply with a WAP link to access the Sprite Yard for the fist time.

Coca-Cola hopes to offer the application in “many more countries” next year, Greatrex said.

“Sprite will be our pioneer in the fast-moving world of mobile marketing,” Greatrex told the audience. “We believe Sprite Yard is the most comprehensive mobile marketing effort on the planet.”

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MMA Updates Mobile Ad Guidelines

IN ADVANCE OF TODAY'S START of the Mobile Marketing Forum in New York, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has released an update to its Mobile Advertising Guidelines.

Much like the Interactive Advertising Bureau's universally recognized ad formats, the Mobile Advertising Guidelines provide advertisers with technical specifications and standard WAP ad units (such as banners). Marketers also get detailed explanations of various click-through capabilities, including email opt-in and click-to-call, as well as specific best practices with regard to ad content.

This fourth version of the guidelines includes provisions for mobile Web and downloadable content (such as ring tones and ad-based games), as well as an overview of multimedia messaging services.

Wireless carriers, tech firms, agencies, and content providers comprise the MMA's Mobile Advertising Committee, and they collaborate on the guidelines as a source of standardization in the rapidly growing industry.

"The guidelines are an example of how the MMA leads the worldwide mobile marketing industry by bringing all players in the ecosystem together," said Pete Distler, general manager, Sprint Mobile Media Network.

Later this year, the MMA will deploy a usability lab to evaluate the efficacy of the guidelines, and update them again if necessary. The organization has been working toward developing industry best practices, innovation, and standardization since 2000.

Mobile Marketing

Mobile Marketing Association Announces Formation of Participation TV Committee

MMA Will Focus Key TV and Mobile Media Membership to Ensure Best Practices Continue to “Uphold Public Trust and Positive Consumer Experience”

New York (June 6, 2007) - The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), which represents more than 400 companies across the mobile ecosystem, today announced the formation of the first industry-wide committee to focus on the growth of TV’s mobile participation. The MMA, which launched the first version of its interactive TV guidelines in June 2005, appointed a committee, represented by all key industry sectors, that will enable U.S. TV viewers to engage with their favorite shows in a consistent manner. The Participation TV (PTV) Committee includes TV broadcasters, producers, mobile operators, mobile gateway providers and application specialists.

The MMA PTV Committee will continue to develop industry guidelines that protect the long-term viability of the industry by setting standards across all key elements of the interactive TV supply chain. The guidelines will be integrated into the MMA’s Consumer Best Practices guidelines
(www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf ) and reinforces the MMA’s commitment to the development of the mobile content industry. The Committee will be co-chaired by Telescope, Inc. and Granada USA. The MMA continues to demonstrate its leadership in the field of participation TV, which delivers a specific experience for TV viewers, enabling them to vote, integrate play-at-home versions into TV formats, and enable home viewers to appear on their favorite TV game shows through their mobile devices.

“The formation of the Participation TV Interest Group occurs at a key juncture in the history of consumer-TV interaction, given the numerous and growing successes of reality, text-to-vote and mobile TV programming across the industry,” said Troy Sample, chief executive officer of Telescope and chairman of the MMA PTV Group. “The MMA is taking the leadership reins in its development of common guidelines upon which the entire industry can build their campaigns. The MMA has helped galvanize the mobile marketing industry in a way that few self-governing industry organizations have done. The formation of the Participation TV Interest Group will help fuel the growth of what is already an exciting market sector.”

“MMA members include the leaders in developing consumer programming across all marketing channels, including broadcast, broadband internet and mobile TV, and this new committee is a natural fit for the association,” said Cyriac Roeding, executive vice president, CBS Mobile and MMA’s Global and North American chairman. “The Participation TV Interest Group will enable all players in the mobile marketing ecosystem to speed delivery of interactive or participation campaigns centered on the growing demands of today’s highly mobile consumer.”

Committee membership is open to all active MMA members.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the mobile channel for use by brands and content providers. The 400+ global member companies include agencies, advertisers, hand held device manufacturers, wireless operators, aggregators, technology enablers, market research firms and all companies focused on marketing via the mobile channel. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com.

Cell Phones Emerge as New Advertising Medium

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Advertising is a highly competitive market with corporations constantly searching for an edge. As a result, select firms are now trying to reach customers via a new medium: cell phones. "Companies are using text messages to notify customers of special deals and banner ads to sponsor items, such as ring tone downloads," noted Julie Ask, research director at Jupiter Research.

A few factors are driving the interest. Increasingly, cell phones are becoming more data oriented and PC-like. Consequently, there is now space that advertiser can use for marketing. "Cell phone screen size is certainly not optimal but it does provide companies with room to advertise their wares," said David Chamberlain, senior analyst at market research firm In-Stat.

In addition, cell phones are quite popular among a prime advertising Email Marketing Software - Free Demo demographic: youth, including college and high school students. Many college students have abandoned wired connections for wireless ones, and a survey by The American Advertising Federation (AAF) found that 69 percent of high school teens own cell phones. The youth market tends to be quite interested in products with short life cycles, such as music and movies. These products generate a lot of advertising because companies need to quickly create a buzz as new products arrive.

Good News, Bad News

Yet advertising can be a two-edged sword. While it can create interest in a product, it can also generate a negative message. Pop-up advertisements represent one area where companies found the medium hurt rather than helped brands. Because little is known about the impact of cell phone advertising, vendors are moving cautiously. To date, the market is sending a mixed message.

At least initially, only a few consumers are embracing the idea of cell phone advertising: an In-Stat survey found that four out of every five users opposed the idea. The group supporting cell phone advertising seemed open to letting advertisers subsidize the cost of premium services, such as directory assistance, ringtones and messaging. High prices are often a reason why users do not rely on these premium services, so having advertisers partly underwrite the cost would seem to benefit users and advertisers alike.

With the market beginning to evolve, companies are searching for the most effective advertising vehicle. Banner advertisements are one possibility. "I don't think banner ads will be too effective because of the cell phone's small screen size," said Bob Egan, service director, emerging technologies at market research firm The Tower Group Inc.

Location-based advertising is another area that may have to struggle for acceptance. Here, carriers couple Geographic Positioning Systems with cell phones, so cellular networks can track user movement. As consumers pass various locations, they receive unsolicited advertisements, for instance, a local restaurant could send potential customers text, graphic, or video messages about a daily special as the users passed by.

Sign Me Up

Opt-in advertising services, where consumers sign up for advertising about items that interest them, seems likely to gain traction. "Customers do seem open to receiving mailings about a band's album or next concert," In-Stat's Chamberlain told TechNewsWorld. Sports and celebrity news are other areas where such advertising seems acceptable.

Past experiences may be one reason why users are leery of cellular advertising. Along with useful advertisements, for instance, have come boatloads of spam. "Many users are concerned about how many spam messages will make their way to their cell phones," The Tower Group's Egan told TechNewsWorld.

Spam may be even more unwelcome in cellular networks than it is in data networks. Depending on users' calling plans, they may have to pay a few cents whenever they read such messages.

Spam Filtering Needed

As a result, cellular providers may need to put anti-spam measures in place like those that Internet Service Providers use for data services. "Cellular carriers may find that users will be canceling their contracts and moving to other services if they can not control cellular spam," noted In-Stat's Chamberlain.

Spam overruns are a future rather than a present concern; currently, most of the cellular advertising campaigns are at a nascent stage. "We've seen a few interesting pilot programs and special promotions but no advertiser has yet allocated a lot of money to cell phone advertising," Jupiter Research's Ask told TechNewsWorld. There is interest in such possibilities, and companies, such as Enpocket, Martix Mobile Marketing, M-Qube Inc., and Texting Now are focused on helping companies deliver their marketing messages via cell phones.

These firms have generated some promising early results. Enpocket claims that 15 percent of users respond when they get text-message ads, and that number is twice the level of direct mail advertising.

The high response rate coupled with the significant research required because cell phone advertising is so new has resulted in expensive rates, at least initially. Marketing companies are charging between 10 and 35 cents each to send text messages to cell phone users, a rate 25 to 50 percent higher than billboard, radio, and television advertising.

Some companies are willingly paying the extra fees. The medium has been more popular abroad than in the U.S. In Europe, text messaging has been quite popular for a number of years. In Asia, especially Korea and Japan, cell phones are commonly used to complete mobile commerce transactions.

How big the cell phone advertising market will become in the U.S. is unclear. Andrew Robertson, CEO of BBDO ad agency, the third-largest in the world, expects cell phones to become larger than television advertising, but not everyone agrees with that statement. "Television advertising still accounts for 85 percent of advertising dollars spent in the U.S.," concluded In-Stat's Ask. "Even if cellular advertising is quite successful, it will take many years for it to approach the volume of revenue that television advertising generates."