In my last post, I said mobile marketing would take on forms that we can't predict. Well, I read about just such a new approach in a Feb. 25 article in The New York Times.

Most of the ideas for location-based marketing are either interruptive (e.g., SMS someone when they walk near your store) or based on old media (e.g., text a request for a coupon based on seeing a printed placard in a store). But now a Chicago-based company, Akoo International, has created something entirely new: a cross between a jukebox and an SMS coupon delivery solution. In a nutshell, the firm places an interactive, large-screen display in a store, bar or other venue. The device allows people nearby to text in requests for videos, music or other short form types of entertainment media. Like a jukebox, it queues up the requests. However, it takes it one step further by using those request interactions to offer coupons, ads and other forms of marketing. The best part is that marketers can now know exactly where a customer is located physically without all the fancy technical challenges of GPS.

I don’t know whether this is the much anticipated killer-app for mobile marketing, but it is most definitely a great example of the next generation of out-of-the-box marketing approaches we'll be seeing in the coming years.

Posted by Bill Nussey at 05:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Does anyone remember back in 2005 and 2006 when mobile marketing was supposed to redefine every aspect of the marketing world? SMS would be delivering all our marketing messages. WAP (mobile-specific pages) would bring interactivity to the wireless phone. We'd be redeeming coupons from in-store banners and swiping our cell phone screens at the cash register. Our phones were supposed to bleep at us when we walked by a store that wanted to hawk us some great sale or new product.

Well, a funny thing happened.

The mobile revolution went ahead and happened, but it apparently didn't pay any attention to all of us marketers predicting its future. Let's look at the revolution as it is playing out now.

SMS did take off. It's used so often now that I wonder how we lived without it. It's become the instant messaging solution for the mobile world, but it's barely budged the needle for marketing messages.

WAP is everywhere, but most people don't seem to care. Dramatically faster networks coupled with increasingly powerful mini-browsers have brought the full Web right onto our little phones. If you haven't tried surfing the Web on an iPhone or an iPod Touch, then you need to rush out and give it a try. WAP didn't change the world; long live the mobile Web browser.

And, while the carriers are trying to figure out how to appropriately make your location data available to marketers, along comes Google. Try downloading the latest Google Maps for your phone. (It works on tons of phones, but best on the iPhone.) Do a map-based search for, say, a sushi restaurant and it'll pop up a list of matching restaurants right near you--all without you even typing in your ZIP code or location. Did I mention Google Maps is free? This is permission-based (implicitly) and non-intrusive, and it completely bypasses the telcos. Who would have predicted that?

So, what has been the biggest impact of the mobile marketing revolution? It's not advertising. It's not even closed-loop, permission marketing. It's branding. Yes, the original stalwart of marketing has taken the early lead on transforming the marketing world onto our phones. Ring tones, wall papers, screen savers, branded games and other applications appear to be dominating the eyeballs and dollars on the mobile marketing front.

This is why I love technology revolutions. They do change everything, but no one (and I mean no one) can ever predict how. I guess that’s why they call them revolutions <grin>. The most exciting news of all is that the mobile revolution is barely underway and, while I have no idea how it will play out, I can absolutely guarantee the most exciting parts are yet to come.

Posted by Bill Nussey at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When asked about mobile marketing, many email marketers immediately jump to the idea of targeted outbound SMS messaging. And, if they think about it for a while, they also mention transactions and alerts (e.g., a notification that your plane's gate has changed while you're at the airport).

The more I learn about mobile marketing, the more I see it as a completely new and unique medium for marketers. Many of the old paradigms just don't apply. It's a bit like email marketers arguing over how different their medium is from direct mail. To get an idea of how differently mobile marketing can be from our traditional notions of marketing, take a look at the mobile site recently set up by Starbucks.

This simple application allows a user to enter a ZIP code and quickly displays a list of nearby Starbucks with each store's services (like Wifi). If the goal of marketing is to draw in attention and drive purchases, then this handy little application meets the definition and then some:

The mobile environment is the most intimate and potentially annoying kind of marketing ever invented. The brands that win are not likely to be the ones that steal your attention, but the ones that aid you in accomplishing your goals while you're on the go.

Disclaimer: The Starbucks application was created by mobile messaging and marketing applications provider Air2Web. I've been a board member of Air2Web for several years, and it has been a great opportunity to see the evolution of mobile applications and mobile marketing.

Posted by Bill Nussey at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The New York Times published a thought-provoking article (requires free log-in) on mobile phone ads. I've shared my thoughts on mobile advertising before, and as the debate rages on, I'm glad to continue to pitch in with my views.

The "new" idea is that consumers will accept ads in return for lower cost or free mobile phone service. Does anyone remember Juno or Cybergold? The problem with these services-for-ads programs is that the people they attract are the least likely to actually respond to the ads.

I know that a lot of people (most of whom are younger than me <grin>) have adapted to a regular stream of inbound SMS text messages from friends. Maybe they've developed the ability to check their phone while at the dentist, movies or business meetings, etc., such that they can readily ignore both personal text messages as well as ads. If this kind of behavior does not become mainstream, I suspect that ads simply will be too intrusive (because they will arrive when you are at the dentist, the movies and business meetings), and that people will take steps to ignore them.

Where I do think mobile marketing will shine is user-driven interactions: responding to billboards, signs, radio ads, TV shows, etc. Of course, this doesn't solve the problem of mobile marketers that keep your telephone number and continue to SMS you every few days, like the one whose message I signed up for a few weeks back. Needless to say, the marketer has provided little information on how to keep from getting its ads (and yes, it has absolutely soured the brand in my mind).

I can't wait to see how mobile marketing plays out. No matter which direction it goes, it'll represent a fundamental change in how people live their lives and how they interact with the companies they depend on. My view is that this kind of change is always good even if there are some stumbles along the way.

Posted by Bill Nussey at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Steve Smith recently wrote an article for MediaPost's Mobile Insider citing recent Nielsen study findings that video makes up less than 1 percent of iPod usage. Wow. That got me thinking. Is video really going to catch on in handheld players and phones, or is it a pipe dream?

As those of us from the email world know, embedded video in email enjoyed a short renaissance back in the late 1990s until Microsoft decided that Java and other plug-ins were deemed too scary. Microsoft disabled those features in email by default and pretty much ended the video email momentum.

But the PC is a different story. Back in Sept. 2000, Microsoft released Windows ME (Media Edition) with the promise that computers would be great platforms for listening to music and watching television. Of course, Microsoft was WAY ahead of its time, but its vision is proving out six years later. More and more Web sites have animation, and even feature video ads all over them. I watch nearly all my TV on my Microsoft Media Center PC attached to my TV at home. And, of course, there is this little site called YouTube...

So what can we take away from this?

Video works.

Of course, not all video works in all situations, but I believe video has no equal when it comes to engaging people. Short-form video seems to be the "killer video app" on computers, at least for the early 21st century. My friends and I were trading our favorite humorous commercials over email before YouTube made it one-click easy. People use computers in an active way and expect fast results. Short videos seem to fit that to a T.

Looping back to the original question: will video on mobile phones, iPods and other tiny screens, truly become a reality? My view (pun intended) is that video will find a way. Short-form video will help bridge the gap (see the Verizon and YouTube deal), but I suspect we'll see entirely new forms of video and video devices emerging as the world's most engaging medium finds its way to the insatiable eyes and ears of consumers.

P.S. I'm headed off for two great weeks of intensive email discussions. This week is the Email Insider Summit in Deer Valley, Utah. And next week is my regular gathering of the top emailers in the country. This second gathering will feature top-notch speakers on social sites, mobile marketing and user generated content. I should definitely have more to talk about on the subject of mobile video after I listen to these folks.

Posted by Bill Nussey at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Amidst a near frenzy of investment and optimism about content and marketing on mobile devices, ESPN quietly announced it is canceling its widely hyped, privately branded mobile phone service.

I applaud ESPN for making such a progressive move by launching the service, and even more for its willingness to accept that it didn't work out.

The moral of the story: not everything mobile will be a huge hit, but you'll never find the huge hits if you don't try new things.

Posted by Bill Nussey at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We've all heard about 3G mobile networks over the last few years, even if most of us don't exactly know what 3G means. In a nutshell, 1G, or first-generation, cellular networks relied on continuous analog signals (think old phonograph records) to bring mobile technology to the world. Second-generation or 2G networks made the leap to digital technology, providing a quantum improvement in the cost, weight, talk time and features of cellular phone technology (think VHS to DVD). We are in the midst of a massive U.S. roll-out of faster 3G, or third-generation networks, as we speak. Sprint led the way with its EVDO network, which allows for quick Internet access and very-high-speed wireless access. With speeds exceeding 1 million bits of information per second, EVDO is much faster than old modem technology and, in many cases, approaches the speed of modern broadband connections. I've been an EVDO user for years and I swear by it.

Now, the world is about to change again. Sprint has once again leapt ahead of the pack with the first 4G network in the U.S. and perhaps the world. This new technology is based on a standard called WiMax, which one could think of as the prodigy child of traditional cellular technology and the Wi-Fi wireless Internet devices we have in our offices and homes.

What does this mean for marketers? I haven't the faintest idea, but I know it's going to be big. Just consider what happened to the online world when we moved from modems to broadband. Now take that sea change and put it in your pocket wherever you go. An entirely new world of opportunities for mobile businesses and savvy marketers is about to unfold, and the possibilities are amazing. What changes do you think wireless megabit speeds might bring? Let me know and I'll post them here. Who knows, you might get credit for seeing the "next big thing."

Posted by Bill Nussey at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I really liked MarketingSherpa's recent article, "Mobile Marketing: Quick Overview of Options" (open access until July 23). This new channel is both exciting and a little frightening to marketers, and it generates a lot of questions.

For most marketers, mobile marketing represents a mix of things: advertising networks, branded downloads such as ring tones, directed communications such as SMS alerts, and interactive branding such as polls and contests.

MarketingSherpa's article focuses on the area most aligned with email marketing: SMS and text messaging. Some great takeaways include:

• Nearly 10 billion text messages are being sent each month.
• Mobile text marketing requires a heavy focus on the limited space and size--messages typically can't be more than 160 text-only characters.
• A great primer on "short codes," and what marketers need to know in order to use these shortened telephone numbers to make it easier for customers to contact them

Posted by Bill Nussey at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The New York Times just published a great article ("With a Cellphone as my Guide," June 28) about a new mobile service being rolled out in Japan. The benefit of this service could be tremendous for marketers as well as consumers.

We've all heard the promise of location-based marketing. For example, a future version of the mobile version of Google Maps could start by using the GPS built into most phones to display an initial map based on where you are standing at the moment. Then, when you search for sushi or an ATM, the search and related maps return hits that are ordered by how far away they happen to be right then.

Well, a new service in Japan takes this one major step forward by adding a compass. Not only will searches (as well as advertisements) appear based on your location, but also based on where you are pointing your cell phone. So, if you are in downtown Tokyo and you point your cell phone at an electronics store across the street, you will be able immediately to get information on the store as well as any coupons or advertising materials that might be relevant.

Now that is cool.

Posted by Bill Nussey at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)