Category: Mobile Technology

Wouldn’t you  know it: The same day of mobileStorm’s free webinar on mobile coupons last week, I saw a Harris Interactive study that emphasized the importance of coupons this holiday season.

The study found that 89 percent  of online adults think coupons are a great way to save money, and that 35 percent of those who will be spending less money on gifts this holiday season will use coupons.

No wonder our web seminar was popular. So popular, in fact, that our CEO, Jared Reitzin, is going to give a repeat performance! The encore presentation, happening 10 a.m. Thursday (Pacific time), is for those who couldn’t make it the first time–as well as for attendees who might have a few questions about what they learned last week.

To register for the webinar, click here.

I’d been expecting it

Ever since I first told wrote about the presidential candidates’ digital promotions campaigns–including the now President-elect Barack Obama’s savvy use of texting–I’ve anticipated increased adoption of digital messaging by consumers and marketers alike. The masses would be encouraged by these leaders’ example, I figured. Call it my own trickle-down theory.

Seems I was right: The aggregator Sybase 365 reports that mobile messaging traffic increased dramatically last Tuesday night, the evening of the election. From 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific time, U.S. subscribers sent more than 1.2 billion messages. Volume tripled between 8 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. Pacific time. Overall, SMS volume that day was 10 percent higher than the previous day.

What better way for people to discuss the newly-elected president than SMS, the platform that he himself chose to use to communicate with supporters. While catering to young voters, Sen. Obama’s campaign certainly encouraged people of all ages to text-message more than ever.

Sadly, email didn’t receive the same PR boost. The campaign neglected to use double opt-in for subscribers, resulting in pranksters signing people up using creative names–so that victims received messages calling them things like “StupidSpamSuckerSlutface.”

At least the faux pas re-emphasized the importance of email best practices. Meanwhile SMS has become less niche and more mainstream. It’s change that all mobile marketers, red or blue, can celebrate.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

Text message marketing in particular, and mobile marketing in general, is making a bigger impact on American consumers.

The Mobile Advertising Report, put out jointly by research agency GfK Technology and mobile social network Limbo yesterday, said that “four out of 10 Americans with a cell phone, 104 million, recall seeing advertising on the device between July and September 2008.” This is the first time that such a group of consumers broke the 100 million mark within a three-month period, the report said.

And it seems that text ads are benefitting the most from this new consumer awareness. The report said that 60 million people remembered seeing an SMS marketing message–which was an increase of 42 percent within nine months.

Moreover, consumers also recalled mobile Web ads–but “only” 31 million. The report concluded that mobile Web ads have half the reach of SMS messages. Marketers, then, shouldn’t have to wait for smart phones to have near-100 percent penetration before embarking on mobile campaigns–thanks to SMS.

And don’t think mobile campaigns only resonate with the young. While 43 percent of those who recalled ads were younger than 34, 52 percent were between ages 35 and 65.

“The U.S. is the world’s dominant advertising market but has traditionally been behind Asian and European markets in terms of consumer use of mobile devices,” said Colin Strong, head of Mobile Communications Research at GfK Technology. “The latest [report] shows that U.S. consumers are accelerating their use of the mobile device and advertisers are hot on their tails, using the new medium to reach consumers in pioneering ways.”

Unless marketers want competitors to gain an advantage, they’d better start incorporating mobile marketing–and especially SMS marketing–campaigns into their overall strategies.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

Advertising Age this week ran a story talking about the major growth spurt that mobile search is set to experience. Nothing disagreeable about that premise, especially among mobile marketing experts.

However, the story takes a very odd frame in that it only touches on the newest and oldest technologies on cell phones: True Internet capability and voice, respectively. The piece starts out discussing the growth of smart phones, which will increase the number of mobile users who can access the Web and all its search options. Then, I can practically hear the phonograph needle jump as the story veers into how you can still dial up “information,” as we used to call it in the old days. You know, directory assistance numbers, which can now can offer answers for categories, not just for specific business names.

The article skips over one important aspect of mobile search: SMS. Nowhere does it talk about Google’s 466453 short code (it spells “Google” on a traditional keypad so it’s easy to remember), one of the first SMS search services to come out. Text a business name and city/zip code–or even a business category and the same location information–and Google will give you a relevant phone number and address. Notable competitors to Google, which has name recognition on its side, include ChaCha and 4Info.

While smart phones are becoming more affordable and are taking more of the handset market, text-capable phones are more dominant, as they encompass devices both with or without Internet access. Indeed, SMS is rather old in terms of “technology years,” so a larger number of people use/are familiar with it than consumers who use/are familiar with the mobile Web.

Hopefully, AdAge readers will be directed to this post from my link to the article–and thus will get the full story on mobile search.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

Conservationists in Kenya are using SMS to save the lives of both pachyderms and humans, and its success could help usher in other services using SMS and location technology.

According to an Associated Press report, a group called Save The Elephants has placed collars with cell phone SIM cards on the necks of two elephants. Using GPS, the collars track the creatures’ locations. If they move to close to, say, a village that has been ravaged by elephants in the past, the collar sends an SMS message to rangers, who then know they must intercept the beasts.

The project is in its infancy, and questions as to the collars’ durability and cost are just some of the challenges it faces. However, villagers and animal advocates are both pleased in the case of one bull named Kimani–and this early success could help pave the way for other applications. It’s just one more example of combining SMS and location technology that marketers might find interesting.

Kimani’s story reminded me about special children’s cell phones in Japan, which also use tracking and text-messaging–but to monitor the whereabouts of a child, not an elephant. One Sanyo model features a “Security Buzzer,” which can be activated by a child during an emergency, or activated remotely by a worried parent. As soon as the buzzer is activated, the phone automatically takes a photo, calls a family member, and sends a parent the photo as well as a URL for tracking the child. The little one’s movements can then be monitored, minute-by-minute, via phone or computer.

The most spoiled Japanese kid doesn’t pose the kind of threat that rogue elephants do (unless you’re a naiive English teacher, haha). But Japanese cell phone technology has long been a “crystal ball” that tells the rest of the world where it will be in roughly 3-5 years, so the Sanyo phone will be extremely interesting to monitor.

Furthermore, what’s happening in Kenya and Japan show two very different ways of how the mashup of SMS and location-based services can be used in emergencies. I can see how, in North America, parents as well as people who live close to threatening wildlife will be most interested, initially. Once these usages are proven to be successful during critical, time-sensitive events, marketers will want to make use of the technology too.

Again, the idea of a coffee shop sending a targeted SMS to opted-in customers who are nearby comes to mind. Clever adaptation of both the elephant and the kid-phone systems mean it could happen soon.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

We’ve blogged several times about Android, Google’s open platform for mobile devices (read here and here and here). Android’s significance: Because it’s open, it will foster the creation of more applications–the best of which will rise to benefit consumers everywhere. This will then create exciting new ways to market to consumers via their cell phones.

Android is all about the big picture, not immediate gratification. But during this week’s debut of T-Mobile’s G1 handset–the first Android phone to go on sale–most people lost the plot. The common phrase is something like, “Well, it’s no iPhone,” Of course it’s not; because the phone isn’t about the hardware, it’s about the software. And what that software will be able to do in the future.

Even the most useful news piece I’ve seen on the G1–PC Magazine’s review of the device–inevitably compares the T-Mobile pseudo-Sidekick to Apple’s phone. While PC Mag’s story mostly points out the G1′s strengths over the iPhone–departing from most other reviewers–I still think it misses the point.

Which is this: The G1′s debut is important because it will get more programmers into the Android game, developing applications and creating improvements to the platform. I never thought the first handset would be much, because it will take at least a year to get out the bugs, soup it up, and present a shiny impressive second-gen handset that deserves praise.

Hey, kinda like the iPhone!

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm
“I’d rather you text me

As of today, there’s less than a week left in September–which has been declared “National Coupon Month” by the Promotion Marketing Association’s Coupon Council. Add to that the Wall Street rollercoaster ride, and there’s no better time than now to try using coupons to boost sales in a slowing.

The PMA’s Coupon Council offeres some interesting stats:
* 89 percent of the overall population reports that they use coupons when shopping.
* Coupon useres report an average of 7 percent savings on their grocery bill with coupons.
*Approximately $2.6 billion is saved annually by consumers using manufacturer’s coupons when shopping for packaged products.

The PMA mentions coupons “on the Internet” in the same breath as “in the newspaper” and “in the mailbox”–indicating that digital coupons are just as important as their paper brethren to consumers wanting to save. By this time next year, I’m betting the Coupon Council will start breaking out digital coupon platforms further.

Of course, we here at mobileStorm have done so already. Our Coupon Management lets users create mobile, email, or RSS coupons–allowing them reach customers the way the most want to be reached. Also, it helps users create coupons, redeem them if they have no POS of their own–and then analyze the success of the coupon campaign.

Those are benefits that even the PMA hadn’t thought of. Yet.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

No man is an island, especially when he attends an event where planners have implemented “text-to-screen” technology. You’ve probably seen this before–perhaps in a bar, or at a sporting event. On a big video screen, there might be a quiz or poll that asks the crowd to vote on a particularly interesting topic (favorite barmaid, most valuable player, best song, etc.). It’s a great way to further engage attendees and make the event even more enjoyable. And if they use the right platform, event marketers can even gather participants’ contact information for use in future campaigns.

mobileStorm is that platform–especially with its new premium offering, Text-To-Screen. mobileStorm Text-To-Screen can be used to add excitement to sports matches, concerts, parties, or even a regular evening at a nightclub or movie theater. Here’s how it works: Marketers put up a poll or quiz on a video screen, and ask people to text their answers to a shortcode. As they vote, the results are presented on the screen in real time–adding excitement to the event since the results will change as more people text in their votes.

And because Text-To-Screen is part of the mobileStorm platform, users can further leverage these types of campaigns. For example, after someone sends an SMS to the short code, marketers can ask if they want to receive future special messages, and then save the consumer’s mobile number as well as ask for more demographic information about him or her.

For more details about mobileStorm Text-To-Screen, go to /text-to-screen/.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”

It is right to say that Google actually owns the Internet. These guys with a fresh vision came out of nowhere, and with the right idea, exactly 10 years ago this week. No one could ever imagine what that startup would become in just a decade. Billions of dollars in income isn’t the most terrifying thing about Google: It’s the power it has over everyone on the web.

The Internet will always be what it is: The world, the web, the network. It will always need some way to be organized; there always will be a need to find stuff in this huge pile of data. And “search” is the only choice. Google has taken search to the next level, and it still is just the beginning.

The Internet will have more access points than today-and the majority of them will move to mobile devices. This is where mobile companies will step into the search game. They will also become significant web browser figures. The Internet will then be a different place, and the current browser leaders like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla’s Firefox, Apple’s Safari, Google’s new Chrome, and Opera will have to arrange deals with mobile device manufacturers like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola, and Samsung.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve attended enough Apple events in my life to know that today’s shindig–truely an accurate term for Cupertino’s PR happenings, considering the heady blind love and live rock/pop music that fills the air–will make headlines even if not warranted. Leather iPod pouches, anyone?

Still, I’m betting had bet that whatever they come came out with will effect mobile marketing–heck, let’s say digital marketing overall. That’s because new versions of the iPod–highly expected as the topic of today’s affair–will undoubtedly be more iTouch than not. You’ll recall the iPod touch came out exactly a year ago, and was kind of like a true pocket computer in that it accessed the Internet via Wi-Fi networks.

If (1) the next-gen “iTouch” offers enough value for the money to become widely adopted, and (2) can take advantage of cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi (thus assuring the gadget can actually connect to the Web “anytime, anywhere”), it could seriously affect the mobile marketing message space.

We’re talking the re-consideration of everything from mobile email messages (they should differ from regular emails) to online ads. Even one’s Web site might have to be modified to accomodate the proliferation of small screens in consumers’ hands.

Uh-oh, seems I got caught up in the moment, just like most other writers covering Apple…

Stay tuned for an update (including pix) as soon as the news comes out!

UPDATE Well, along with software announcements for iTunes and the iPhone, and the Nano, Steve squeezed in a new iTouch. Skinnier, with a speaker and cool gaming features. Alas, no broadband-over-cellular connection, ‘cept for the ability to acess the iPhone App Store. The mobile marketing revolution is not coming today.

Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm

“I’d rather you text me”