BRANDEL, INC.

Will 2010 Be the Year of the Mobile Coupon?

2009-12-29T19:41:00.003-05:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: MobCoupons and our current ComboText are in fact, the same product. Please contact our office if you would like the MobCoupons product. Call Susan at 954-583-9000.

Mobile marketing, and in particular, the mobile coupon, is about to hit its stride. In 2009, we saw large corporations test out mobile marketing campaigns to raise awareness of their brand and products, often giving away discounts and free products to tempt consumers into opting-in to their campaigns.

Looking back at 2009, we can predict how much of an impact mobile marketing will have in 2010. This year, many major players turned to mobile coupons for promotion in test markets, signaling that 2010 is ripe for mobile marketing and mobile coupons to take off.

Starbucks buzzed in on the trend in September, testing out a mobile barcode virtual
giftcard app in Silicon Valley and Seattle. JCPenney turned to Cellfires mobile barcode coupons, also in September, in a trial at 16 JCPenney locations in the Houston area. This month, Wendys is running a mobile promotion campaign with Options Media Group Holdings in the Northeast US, exchanging coupons if customers opt in to their campaign. Also this month, 7-Eleven is running an opt-in mobile barcode coupon campaign in a San Diego-area test offering free drinks.

These are just a few of many test campaigns run in 2009, and while the jury is still out on if any of them proved successful enough to merit follow-up campaigns, the growth of mobile and smart phones particularly will likely fuel the mobile marketing sector. While mobile handset sales have been on the decline throughout most of 2009, Justin reported last month that analysts predict strong Q4 sales. With Google's Android just starting to infiltrate the market, giving non-AT&T customers iPhone comparable devices, sales of mobile barcode-friendly smartphones will rise in 2010, which will all factor into making the start of the new decade the year of the mobile coupon.

Text Message Marketing offers 97% Read Rate

2009-12-28T15:15:00.003-05:00

What is Text Marketing, how does it work and how can I use it to grow my business?

Text message marketing is relatively new in the USA but has been widely used in Europe and Asia over the last 5 or 6 years as a low cost advertising media with instant results. Our first exposure probably started with TV shows like American Idol allowing us to vote for our favorite singers of the week by texting a singer’s code to a short telephone number called a shortcode.

Today even small businesses are taking advantage of this system using a shared shortcode and web based systems to run their own advertising campaigns at a very affordable cost.

The way it works is giving a call to action in all your marketing efforts. These messages prompt mobile phone users to send a text message to your shortcode number to receive something in return like a access to information, a free gift, etc... The text marketing system will auto-respond with a personalized response. You now have a new contact to send proactive outbound marketing messages.

There are two different types of systems available. One is called a "Shared Short code". The other is a "dedicated short code". In order to benefit from this type of system as a network marketer, I recommend the shared short code system mainly because the cost of a dedicated short code is $7,000.00 for setup and $1,000.00 per month vs getting started for less than most auto-responder email systems with the shared short code.

There are two types of campaign options:

Inbound: This campaign is initiated by a mobile phone user to instantly receive information about your products and services. This campaign also saves the person's mobile number in your contact list for future correspondence. With a shared shortcode this type of campaign is run using Keywords.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For example, I use AdKing's Bounce Ad as a business card. I invite people to send a text message to our domain name (optin code) GET411 using the keyword of BRANDEL. The cell phone user would text the word GET411 BRANDEL to a shortcode (short phone number) of DOTORG (368674). The cell phone user would recieve a message back that has been pre-set similar to an email auto-responder, which explains they should contact us for more information about owning their own mobile marketing business.

The major benefit here is that statistics show that 97% of all text messages are read. How does that compare to your email campaigns?

Outbound: You can send text marketing messages to a mobile phone user or list of users once they are opted-in to receive text marketing messages from you. For example send a text message to MSAVE XYZCORP to DOTORG (368674) to optin to and experience a mobile broadcast product.

-Fred Lacey

Global Mobile – Strategies for Growth

2009-12-28T15:02:00.002-05:00

SUMMARY: The mobile media landscape is primed for accelerated growth. Smartphone sales are predicted to lead the way, accounting for nearly half of worldwide sales by 2013. Mobile consumers around the world weigh in on the features, functions and data applications they find most desirable. The key driver of mobile growth is good devices and fast, affordable data. Understand what vehicles are most effective in reaching consumers.

Growing from a niche opportunity for games and ringtones, the mobile media landscape has flourished into a full-blown marketplace for advertising, rich media content, ecommerce and unparalleled utility—bringing about one of the biggest changes in the media and advertising business in a generation.

Mobile media has flourished into a full-blown marketplace…A perfect storm is imminent. The market is primed for accelerated growth well into 2010. What will “phone” mean to the next generation of consumers and what applications, functions and features are the most effective in reaching today’s consumers. A review of these opportunities reveals important insights into what is driving mobile growth in the U.S and abroad.

Apps-titude
Nielsen examined mobile media usage across 14 countries and discovered some interesting patterns. China has the highest penetration of software/application downloaders, ringtone downloaders, and mobile Internet users. At 89% penetration, text messaging is nearly as prevalent as voice services in Mexico, which is also the highest penetration of any media activity in any country analyzed.

Canada ranked first for content uploads and game downloads. The United States clicked into first place for picture messaging/MMS (multimedia message services) and location based/global positioning services.

Cost was the top factor across the board…Purchase criteria
Mobile consumers around the world applied different criteria when deciding what phone to purchase. Cost was the top factor across the board—especially influential among buyers in Turkey, South Africa and India. Brand or previous experience also weighed heavily among shoppers in Italy, Spain, Sweden and Russia. Ease of use was second most important factor for consumers in Germany, the United Kingdom and France. Design and style factored in for mobile users in Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States.

The features most desired by global mobile shoppers on their next purchase will be camera capability (number one in all 13 countries examined), followed by a built-in MP3 player and Bluetooth connectivity.

Growth drivers
In the fast-paced world of mobile media, the U.S. mobile subscriber base grew 7% to 277 million by the second quarter of 2009, which represented 221 million unique users, adjusting for multi-phone holders.

Among the many applications available on mobile devices, the fastest-growing segment in the U.S. was web video, which expanded by 33% to 20 million subscribers/15.2 million unique users, followed by multimedia messaging which jumped 29% representing 174 million subscribers/68 million unique users, and audio/application/game downloads which increased by 25% to 71 million subscribers and 39 million/27 million/23 million unique users per respective download.

Get smart
Perhaps more telling for the future of the industry, was the increase in the number of U.S. smartphone subscribers during the 2008-2009 Q2 period—a jump of 72% to 26.1 million users.

The Gartner Group predicts that smartphone sales will account for 46% of all mobile phone sales worldwide by 2013.

Currently, smartphone penetration varies by country. In Italy and Spain, more than one-quarter of new mobile handsets purchased were smartphones, with 28% and 23% market penetration respectively. The United States followed at 17%, Sweden at 13%, Canada-Germany-United Kingdom at 12% and France at 11%.

The newest generation of smartphones, like the Apple iPhone, the Palm Pre and the Blackberry Storm, combine cellphone connectivity with handheld computer capabilities like email, Internet, ebook readers, QWERTY keyboards, touchscreens, video, cameras and navigation software to name a few popular features and applications.

Dialed in
Smartphone owners in the U.S. tend to be male, younger (between the ages of 18–34), affluent (income of $75k+), and they use the phones for a mix of both personal and business purposes, with more emphasis on business usage. The profile of the iPhone user is similar, but skews even higher for the more affluent (twice as many in the $100k+ income group). A higher percentage of iPhone users also use the device for a mix of personal and business purposes (index of 160 for the iPhone compared to 220 for all smartphones).

iPhone users spend nearly as much on data as they do on voice…One of the most appealing attributes of the U.S. smartphone owner, and particularly the iPhone user, is their appetite for data packages. All mobile subscribers spend $57.04 in billed services, with the monthly voice plan accounting for $35.40 and data extras adding $12.10 to the bill. Blackberry owners typically rack up $88.85 per month in charges, with $45.10 in voice plan costs and $28.20 in data extras. iPhone users spend nearly as much on data ($37.60) as they do on voice ($42.00) and have an average monthly bill of $89.35.

Surf city
Smartphone utilization underscores the point that, if you build a better browser and user experience, they will come. Almost 60% of all software/application downloaders were smartphone owners. More than half (55%) of all streamed music users did so using their smartphones. Smartphone owners also account for half of all active mobile Internet users, 41% of online game players and 38% of mobile instant messagers.

iPhone owners lead the way in media usage…iPhone owners lead the way in media usage when it comes to mobile Internet (89%), text messaging (87%), software/application downloads and location-based services (75%), video/mobile TV (41%) and full track music (38%). The same market-leading usage pattern holds for iPhone’s built-in handset features like camera pictures (87%), Wi-Fi (77%) and speakerphone (72%). The sole exception is Bluetooth connectivity, where other smartphones feature a slightly higher utilization rate at 42% compared to 40% for the iPhone.

Transaction action
SMS (short message services), or text messages, reached 4.2 billion standard rate transactions in the U.S. on AT&T and Verizon in Q2 2009. The clear leader was Twitter with 1.3 billion messages, followed by FOX (due in large part to MySpace) with 740 million texts, Facebook at 465 million, and 4INFO at 257 million transactions. Total traffic was generated by 50 million unique users.

Stateside, social networking drove the growth train for mobile Internet, with a 187% increase in audience for the year ending July 2009. The distribution of 18.3 million unique social network users by the top three sites is Facebook (26% reach), MySpace (13% reach) and Twitter (7% reach).

One-third of all mobile data users were exposed to mobile advertising…Ad exposure
One-third of all mobile data users were exposed to some form of mobile advertising in Q2 2009. SMS and MMS comprised the two most popular forms of mobile advertising response. Roughly 16% of consumers responded to mobile ads most frequently via text message, a picture or MMS message, email or by visiting a designated web site.

Teenagers were the most accepting of mobile advertising—the acceptance rate declines as age increases. Perceptions of mobile ads were highest among all age groups if it lowered their bill. Consumers age 45+ were the least accepting of mobile ads. The Yankee Group forecasts mobile ad revenues could see faster growth than online, predicting a 60% jump in 2009 to $184 million. By 2013, that amount could reach in $566 million range.

Mobile marketing opportunity
Companies looking to drive sales should leverage mobile marketing activities like providing product information, coupons, discounts, event notification and mobile search. Another high-return approach would be to employ mobile’s innate capability to enhance the consumer interaction with a brand, providing information, inspiration or helpful functionality.

Companies who are finding success have developed specialized applications that were either fun or functional, scoring high on consumer engagement. Optimally, marketers will strike a balance between utility and enrichment, marrying the two into a unique, timely mobile consumer experience that makes best use of these dynamic devices.

-Jon Stewart, Research Director, Technology & Search
and Chris Quick, Mobile Media Analyst, The Nielsen Company

Dip in economy drives rise in coupons --- Coupon use rises for first time in 17 years

2009-12-22T18:16:00.005-05:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: Any of Brandel's products can be utilized for coupon use. If you are looking specifically for a coupon-oriented product, call Susan at 954-583-9000 and ask for MOBILE COUPONS.

The coupon is back, thanks to the recession.

After almost two decades of decline, 2009 is on track to mark the first year that coupon use has increased in the U.S. since 1992.

Coupon clipping for the millennium isn't just for detergent and cereal. Retailers of all stripes, from Walgreens to Neiman Marcus, have latched onto the coupon to entice consumers to spend. And the Internet and mobile devices are making coupons more widely available.

"Coupons are just more accessible to more consumers than ever before," said Todd Hale, senior vice president of consumer and shopper insights at Nielsen Co. "Without question, the economy has caused consumers to make pretty significant shifts in where they shop and how they buy and use promotions."

Retail sales this holiday are expected to be no better than 2008, which ranked as the worst season in four decades. The difference this year: Merchants are better prepared to protect profits and have reduced inventories going into November and December.

Sparse shelves mean retailers aren't forced to take the 60 percent and 70 percent markdowns that prevailed last year. That puts the onus on consumers to work harder to find a good deal, leading shoppers in droves to discover coupon sites.

Searches on Google for "printable coupons" and "online printable coupons" more than doubled this year, and Yahoo Inc. reported that "coupons" ranked first on its list of economy-related searches for 2009. Of consumers surveyed by the National Retail Federation, 42 percent said they plan to use a coupon for their holiday shopping.

At Coupons.com, one of the first and largest online coupon sites, consumers printed coupons worth $313 million in 2008. The site surpassed the 2008 annual figure in June 2009 and expects a total of $1 billion in printed coupon savings by the end of the year.

Dozens of websites and blogs have cropped up dedicated to tracking retail and manufacturer coupons, gathering coupon codes for online deals and hosting forums in which shoppers share coupons and analyze the best and worst deals. Deal sites that once relied on members to share coupon finds with each other now have relationships with retailers eager to reach recession-weary consumers.

"It's a great channel for retailers to boost sales, especially as more shoppers move online," said Brian Nickerson, director of shopping for Internet Brands Inc., which operates Bargainist.com.

Asa Candler issued the first known coupon in 1894 when he gave away vouchers for a free Coca-Cola at his new drugstore. The following year, Post Cereal issued a coupon for a penny off a box of Grape Nuts. Coupons went on to gain widespread popularity as Americans scrimped during the Great Depression, and coupons reached their heyday in the advertising boom of the 1950s and '60s.

Coupon use peaked in 1992 with 7.9 billion coupons redeemed, according to Inmar, a coupon processing firm. The practice has declined steadily since to 2.6 billion coupons redeemed in 2006, where it remained until late last year.

As housing prices fell and unemployment rose, consumers searched for ways to save and rediscovered coupons. Redemptions jumped 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and kept rising: 17 percent in the first quarter, 33 percent in the second quarter and 29 percent in the third, according to Inmar.

When 2009 ends, the firm projects coupon redemptions will have gained 20 percent to 3.2 billion and remain strong even as the nation emerges from the recession.

Today, newspaper circulars still dominate, accounting for about 90 percent of the coupons distributed and more than half of those redeemed, but the Internet is rapidly making inroads.

Some stores, including J.C. Penney and Sam's Club, are testing mobile coupons, which allow shoppers to call up a coupon on their mobile phone for the sales clerk to scan.

While mobile coupons represent less than 1 percent of coupons distributed, the redemption rate is high. Shoppers may forget where they put a clipped coupon, but they almost always have their cell phones.

DealTaker.com President Kevin Strawbridge noted shoppers began favoring coupons over other deals earlier this year.

"What's interesting is usually the mix is 50-50 deals and coupons," he said. "This year it is 70 percent coupons and 30 percent deals. A lot more people are checking out coupons."

-As seen on Sun-Sentinel.com, By Sandra M. Jones, Chicago Tribune

Excerpts from “The future of mobile application storefronts”

2009-12-01T14:01:00.004-05:00

Smartphone sales forecast

Wireless Expertise forecasts the number of smartphones sold per annum will increase from around 165.2 million in 2009, to 422.96 million in 2013, with the total number of smartphone users approaching 1.6 billion. This figure indicates smartphone penetration will be approaching approximately 28-30% of the total mobile market in 2013.

Wireless Expertise expects this growth to come from the increasing number of mid to low end mass market smartphones being launched in the market by incumbent handset vendors and new market entrants.

Mobile Application downloads to generate $16.60 billion by 2013

We expect smartphone growth to have a positive impact on the number of application downloads in the short- to mid-term, as operators and handset manufacturers take app stores to the mass market. In 2009 Wireless Expertise forecasts that the global mobile app market – including games – will be worth $4.66 billion in 2009 rising to $16.60 billion in 2013.

The market opportunity

With mobile phones outnumbering PCs around the world by 4:1, mobile applications represent a bigger opportunity for the mobile industry than the fixed-line perceived the Internet a decade ago. With over 4 billion mobile users around the world compared to approximately 1 billion PCs, mobile will become the idealistic channel for businesses to reach their consumers.

Print Publishers Leaping into Mobile, Says Survey

2009-12-01T13:53:00.002-05:00

Print media might be on its way to extinction, but mobile is content's CPR. The digital advertising and publishing market is poised for growth, thanks to new mobile devices and advances in applications and technology.

A new survey from the Audit Bureau of Circulations says that print publishers are focusing on the mobile market as the major opportunity to expand their brands, reach new audiences, and generate additional revenue, all while offering advertisers the chance to reach hyper-targeted audiences.

Although the mobile market is in its early stages, it offers tremendous opportunities for marketers to reach and interact with audiences, said Edward Montes, executive vice president and managing director of Havas Digital North America, in a statement.

With nearly 4,000 members in North America, ABC is a forum of the world's leading magazine and newspaper publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies.

Survey Highlights

More than 80 percent of newspaper and magazine respondents believe people will rely more heavily on mobile devices as a primary information source in the next three years.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents agree that mobile is receiving more attention at their publication this year than last.

Forty-four percent of respondents who track mobile's impact on their Web site traffic said the devices increased visits by up to 10 percent today. Half believe mobile traffic to their Web sites will increase by five to 25 percent in the next two years.

Among senior executive respondents, 56 percent said their publication has plans to develop a smartphone application in the next 24 months, in addition to the 17 percent of respondents who already have an app in production.

Nearly a third believe that mobile will have a significant impact on their publication's revenue in just three years.

Google Wanted AdMobs iPhone User-Data

2009-12-01T10:24:00.003-05:00

There's been a lot of speculation as to what plans Google has for AdMob, and why it spent such a large chunk of change to acquire it. While it's obviously interested in its broad mobile reach in terms of advertising, Google likely had its eye on something else only AdMob has- all that iPhone user-data.

With the onslaught of smartphones in recent years, the complexity has increased dramatically and so has the advertising targeted to them. AdMob spearheaded the movement to focus on creating unique ways to market to smartphone users, and particularly iPhone users one of the most advanced and widely-used smartphones around.

By doing so, the company gained massive ground and quickly become a primary force in iPhone-centric mobile advertising. As the company grew, so did its massive collection of iPhone-specific user-data. This data is very valuable in that it defines how iPhone users interact with various forms of targeted advertising on a very large scale. Since the iPhone represents a new breed of smartphones and mobile devices in general, this data becomes even more valuable as it can be used to define the methods that work best for targeting new-age smartphones.

Both Google and Apple knew what AdMob had in terms of data, and the implications of harnessing that data. Apple is becoming increasingly interested in mobile advertising now that it's a powerful force in the mobile realm, and AdMob could have been a perfect fit, but Google realized the company was even more valuable.

Android is quickly gaining momentum and becoming a well-rounded competitor to the iPhone, and Google can leverage AdMob and its wealth of information regarding iPhone-users to make Android the best it can be. More importantly, Google can leverage the ad-targeting data AdMob collects from iPhone users to determine the best ways to monetize Android in the future- something Apple was interested in too.

AdMob is a big deal in the mobile world, especially a mobile world filled with cutting-edge smartphones that are only getting smarter. It would have been a big deal if Apple had acquired AdMob and the potential possibilities that would have provided, but it's an even bigger deal that Google got them first. It will undoubtedly shape the future of Android.

Applying Email Strategies To Mobile Marketing

2009-11-30T20:47:00.005-05:00

Email marketing has been a useful tool for a long time, and even though mobile is a new-age channel for marketing, the same strategies and optimization used for email campaigns can and should be implemented in mobile campaigns as well.

There was an interesting article on Marketing Vox recently that talked about SMB's increased interest in email marketing, citing several surveys showing that nearly three-fourths of all SMBs plan to implement email marketing due to its high ROI. A recent report from the DMA states the average ROI for email campaigns is $43.62 for every dollar spent, and that it remains a top marketing medium for its low cost and high ROI.

The article also listed several tips for email marketers, including priorities such as targeting and relevance, which seem to mirror the tips and strategies necessary for successful mobile marketing as well. Advertising to email and mobile devices is very similar in nature, especially if you're comparing email and SMS marketing. The years of trial and error and experience in the email marketing industry provide valuable lessons to any mobile marketer.

Here's some strategies that apply to email marketing and how it's beneficial for mobile as well;

Keep it relevant. Relevance is necessary in all forms of marketing, but nowhere is it more important than with email and mobile marketing. Some 40% of all consumers who receive email marketing say the messages are completely irrelevant. With mobile
marketing, relevance can be increased by using mobile features such as location, but it's also vital in growing and maintaining your opt-in database.

Incorporate social media. Social media is increasingly becoming a lifeline for brands to communicate with potential customers. By incorporating it into both email and mobile campaigns, you increase the chance for viral exposure and increased impressions.

Create a landing page for each campaign. Email campaigns in particular can benefit from specific landing pages for each campaign in terms of tracking and optimization. It makes it easier to see who's responding to what particular campaign and which messages and/or keywords are working the best. Same goes for mobile as well. For SMS campaigns, while tracking is somewhat easier than email, it's still important to incorporate fully optimized WAP landing pages for each campaign.

There's several other tips, tricks and best practices that have been applied to email campaigns for years, that are now becoming increasingly relevant for today's mobile marketing campaigns. Email marketers have had several years to optimize their process and find out what works the best, and those venturing into mobile advertising need to take note.

Black Friday Sees Mobile Shopping Explosion

2009-11-30T20:44:00.001-05:00

Looking at the data of Black Friday purchases over mobile phones, one would wonder if we're recovering from a deep recession.

On Black Friday 2009, mobile online payments through PayPal were up nearly 650 percent year-over-year, according to the eBay-owned payment company, in data reviewed by Dow Jones.

The data was compiled from eBays PayPal and TheFind.com, a product search engine. Searches from mobile devices increased from about 5,000 on Black Friday 2008 to about 200,000 this year according to product search engine TheFind.com. Consumers were using mobile phones for comparing prices while inside stores.

According to TheFind, Amazon got the most volume which was roughly six times that of Wal-Mart, and attributing the difference to Amazon’s lower prices and lack of sales tax.

Cyber Monday or Mobile Monday?

2009-11-30T20:41:00.000-05:00

Are you shopping on your mobile phone today for Cyber Monday deals? Mobile phones are predicted to make an impact on retail sales this year. Cyber Monday shoppers are more frequently using their phones to make a purchase.

The rise of Cyber Monday and growth of mobile shopping is significant for mobile marketers. With more consumers turning to online and their mobile devices to shop and purchase items, there is a greater opportunity to target customers with marketing and advertising messages via mobile devices.

About 96.5 million Americans plan to shop online during this year's Cyber Monday, up from 85 million in the prior year, according to Shop.org, the National Retail Federations online division. Of those shoppers, 3.8% will shop from a mobile device such as an iPhone or a Blackberry, according to Shop.org.

A small percentage of shoppers, 1.5% say they will shop from another location such as a coffee shop or a friend's house. The survey, conducted Nov. 26 through 28, 2009 by BIGresearch, suggests that 41.5% of Cyber Monday shoppers plan to hit the Web early in the morning. About 38% expect to shop late morning, 32.9% will shop in the early evening, and 22.7% will shop in the late evening.

Cyber Monday is gaining traction compared to the in-store traditional Black Friday of the week earlier. A recent survey found that 87.1% of retailers will have a special promotion of Cyber Monday, up from 83.7% last year and 72.2% in 2007.

What does Google’s $750M purchase of AdMob mean for mobile advertising?

2009-11-16T19:47:00.005-05:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: This was last week's block-buster news in the Mobile Advertising business. I was tickled when a prospective client called me and asked if we were the company that Google just bought.

Google Inc. has signed a game-changing agreement to acquire mobile ad network AdMob for $750 million in stock in a move that validates mobile advertising as an effective marketing medium.

Google is hoping that this acquisition will enhance its existing expertise and technology in mobile advertising, while also giving advertisers and publishers more choice in this fast-growing area. The deal will help Google in its efforts to develop more effective tools for creating, serving and analyzing emerging mobile ads formats and expand beyond its traditional focus on search advertising.

“We’ve been talking about the awesome opportunity that mobile marketing brings to the world,” said Mike Wehrs, president/CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association, New York. “Some people understand that, and this deal shows that the largest and best-known advertising company—Google—understands the awesomeness of the opportunity, and they understand where this is going.

“If anything, it’s absolutely proof-positive of the value of the mobile channel and it encourages brands to take a very hard look at their priorities,” he said. “If they’re not already increasing their mobile spend, this is a wake-up call.

“It sets to rest any questions as to whether mobile ad networks had a sustainable, profitable business model, and this will cause people to pay attention, wow, there is significant large-player interest, so it spells opportunity.”

Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is a top Web property in all major global markets, albeit largely monetarily successful in its search advertising business. It has recently made mobile an increasing focus of its business.

AdMob, San Mateo, CA, is one of the leading mobile ad networks specializing in banner ads for brands such as adidas, MTV, Land Rover and Toshiba that run on publisher sites such as CBS, AccuWeather, Cellufun, MovieTickets.com, Lonely Planet and Stitcher. These ads run across iPhone sites and applications, as well as those based on Google's Android platform.

Founded in 2006, the 140-employee AdMob won $47 million in funding from investors such as venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners.

Google’s rationale
Mobile advertising is a rapidly growing and competitive space, and Google and AdMob are currently specializing in different areas.

Though Google offers many forms of mobile advertising, its focus to date has been on mobile search ads, while AdMob's focus has been mobile display ads and in-application ads.

Google dubbed AdMob the quintessential Silicon Valley startup and claims that it is generating impressive year-on-year revenue growth.

The company claims that, by improving the performance of mobile advertising, publishers and developers will be able to monetize their content more effectively, which will hopefully have benefits for the wider mobile ecosystem.

Google also claims that users will see more relevant ads and ultimately get access to more free or low-cost ad-supported content and applications, improving their mobile experience.

Industry analysts are buzzing about the news of the acquisition, and many were eager to chime in with their thoughts about the potential impact of the deal.

“This definitely puts Google in a good position—it really helps them with display ads,” said Tole Hart, Philadelphia-based research director of consumer services at Gartner.

Many analysts believe that mobile advertising has nowhere to go but up, so there will be plenty of room for multiple players in the space.

This definitely helps Google position itself well for strategic growth in the ecosystem.

“We think the mobile advertising market is going to grow a lot, and to me it seems like a pretty good deal,” Mr. Hart said. “If it’s going to help you in this market going forward, it’s money well spent—the current revenues aren’t going to add up, but if it gets you going and gives you some assurance that you’ll be a leader, it’s worth it.

“Five years from now, everyone will have a smartphone or a really good feature phone, so there will be a lot of eyeballs and a lot of revenue,” he said.

Gartner projects that the worldwide revenue for mobile advertising will be $13.5 billion in 2013, up from around $500 million in 2008. This includes mobile banner ads, SMS, text links, search and maps, ads in applications and games, ads in videos and TV shown on a mobile phone.

“The potential is rather high to reach more mainstream users, because even mid-tier phones come with browsers and more people are signing up for data plans that come with Web browsing, so they can search and discover things that are entertaining and can have advertising in some way.”

“...this is a big deal, both in deal size and what it could mean for Google,” said Michael Boland, San Francisco-based senior analyst and program director at BIA/Kelsey. “Google is clearly keen on replicating its online dominance to the mobile world as growing smartphone penetration drives the growth of the mobile Web."

[This extensive article can be viewed in its entirety by clicking on the headline above.]

-Dan Butcher

New "txtNpix" Adds A Burst of Color To Your Text Messages

2009-11-09T18:52:00.012-05:00

Plantation, FL -- Enhance your mobile advertising by adding pictures to your text message using a new service from Brandel, Inc.

"txtNpix" is a feature that enables advertisers using Brandel's mobile systems to include a custom image in all their text messages. Brandel's variety of SMS text messaging systems include Text Broadcast, Bounce Ad, ComboText, and the newly-released content delivery system, TextCandy. The "txtNpix" feature can easily increase advertiser interest in any of the Brandel texting products, which in turn allows publishers to command a higher fee for their mobile advertising services.

"txtNpix" boasts multiple applications in that advertisers can use the feature to send their customers an image which will immediately complement as well as add instant inpact to their SMS text message. Advertisers can design their custom image display to suit many applications, including:

• Promotional Coupon
• Featured Real Estate Property
• Simple Display Ad
• Photo of Storefront
• Auto/Boat for Sale
• Restaurant Daily Specials
• Inspirational Image
• Product Shot
• Snapshot (for models, personals, etc.)
• Business Card (ideal for professionals)

"The best feature of the new "txtNpix" is that it can really drive home a point as soon as the consumer sees it," stated Benjamin DeLeon, President of Brandel, Inc. He continues, "The visual impact of an image or a graphic is very memorable and immediately differentiates itself from a standard SMS message. The old adage of 'a thousand words' is true indeed."

"txtNpix" is viewable by consumers using the mobile Web on a smartphone or similar popular handset. Ease of use is a key feature in that to see an image, a smartphone user simply has to click on the link which appears in the advertiser's text message.

When you order "txtNpix" with any of the Brandel Private Label (aka White Label) Mobile Advertising Systems, the image feature is made available througout your entire domain and website. All advertising clients will automatically be able to utilize this hip new feature. The advertiser's back office includes a function that enables them to upload their custom image. If an advertiser turns off this feature, consumers will simply receive the text message without any image link. Those with standard phones still receive the text message. Each advertiser gets one custom image per advertising account, which can be updated at any time.

"txtNpix" differs from the Mobile AdPix System, (another product in the Brandel arsenal) in that AdPix is a mobile Web publishing tool which enables publishers to produce an Advertising Showcase, or any variety of themes, for use by consumers on-the-go. AdPix does NOT support SMS text messaging.

Here are some txtNpix samples to try...

To sample the txtNpix for Broadcast,
text FONEALERTS REALTY to DOTCOM (368266)

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Consumers want more marketing messages

2009-11-07T17:24:00.002-05:00

Growing consumer interest in mobile marketing and customer loyalty programs has created a significant opportunity for brands to connect with customers on their mobile devices.

The second annual HipCricket Mobile Marketing Survey shows that 37 percent of consumers would participate in a mobile customer loyalty program from a brand they trust. However, 83 percent say their favorite brand has yet to market to them via their mobile phone.

“As strange as this might sound, consumers aren’t receiving as many marketing messages as they want,” said Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer of HipCricket, Kirkland, WA. “Mobile marketing programs succeed because, in most cases, the consumer initiates the interaction and is as involved as he or she wants to be.

“It is truly permission-based, all on the mobile subscriber’s terms,” he said. “As a consumer, I might respond to an offer, and then decide to further give you permission to market to me by joining a mobile club.

“Small opt-out rates prove we are giving consumers what they want. Obviously, the portability and personal nature of the mobile device are huge drivers for brands who literally can reach consumers anywhere and at any time.”

The 2009 HipCricket Mobile Marketing Survey is a national survey designed to provide insight into consumer attitudes towards mobile marketing and their mobile behavior.

The survey was conducted in September 2009 via email and is based on 511 respondents.

A key finding of the study is that mobile marketing campaigns are becoming significantly more influential and effective.

HipCricket found that of those consumers who have received mobile marketing offers, 47 percent have brand recall and 94 percent of those remember the specific call to action.

Aside from phone calls, 73 percent of people said they use their mobile device most for texting friends and 34 percent have received a marketing offer on their mobile phone via text message (up from 28 percent in 2008).

The study revealed that the mobile Web continues to be an increasingly important information resource for consumers.

A whopping 85 percent of respondents agree that the mobile Web is a valuable source for information that interests them.

Twenty-one percent of respondents access the mobile Web at least once per day and 37 percent access it at least once per week.

Additionally, 41 percent of respondents have visited a retailer’s Web site from their mobile phone. The most popular reasons include:

• To find store locations – 70 percent
• To find store hours – 51 percent
• To get directions – 39 percent
• To look for coupons/promotions – 29 percent

HipCricket's advice to marketers:

“HipCricket advises clients to think of a mobile pyramid where brands use SMS as a foundation for reach, then build on richer brand experiences through the mobile Web, apps and social networking,” Mr. Hasen said.

-Giselle Tsirulnik

Remy Martin mobile campaign attracts 1,200 SMS opt-ins

2009-11-07T17:18:00.003-05:00

Cognac maker Remy Martin ran an integrated marketing campaign to reintroduce its flagship VSOP label to a new generation of drinkers and was able to drive 1,200 SMS opt-ins.

The campaign targeted consumers ages 21-40. Remy’s digital agency ID Society selected Neighborhood America’s MOVO to tie together all of the elements of the campaign with mobile marketing.

“Mobile was an ideal channel for Remy because they wanted to target customers while out and about,” said David Rippetoe, senior product manager at Neighborhood America. “They used in-venue calls to action to draw people into the campaign promoting special tasting events.

“Mobile offered them high value because of reach and low cost of entry and strengthened brand awareness,” he said. “They used an SMS/WAP campaign as a way to get people to RSVP to the events. During the day of the event, Remy sent out a broadcast SMS to remind people to attend.”

The Remy Chill Zone campaign promoted new ways of enjoying the traditional drink at over 300 tasting events scheduled in six metropolitan areas across the United States, including New York, Newark, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area.

Signage and a virtual display invited consumers to text a keyword to receive a special invitation and be placed on the Remy Chill Zone VIP list at ultra-exclusive nightclubs.

Those who opted-in were given a link to a mobile Web site.

To follow up, RSVP reminders went out to the VIP’s 3-4 days prior to the event, and allowed them to make reservations for up to two people.

In just three months, the campaign was able to drive 1,200 SMS opt-ins from table-top advertising in just a few venue bars.

The tastings in all six metropolitan cities all sold out as a result of the campaign.

The campaign helped Remy build brand loyalty through exclusive offers to the database of consumers, which was built by providing consumers incentives to participate.

“I think the biggest benefit that mobile provides to brands is that the consumer is raising their hand and telling the brand that they want their product or service by opting-in to a campaign whether it is SMS or a mobile banner on a mobile Web site,” Mr. Rippetoe said.

“One of the bigger issues with brands not being successful in mobile is the lack of integrating a visible or interesting call to action in their overall campaign strategy,” he said. “Because Remy is a luxury brand with a dedicated following, the agency did a great job with the creative and giving the feel of exclusivity for the events.”

-Giselle Tsirulnik

Survey: Future Spend For Mobile Marketing

2009-11-07T16:43:00.002-05:00

We hear a lot from so-called industry experts or analysts who make huge claims as to how mobile marketing is going to take off this year, or that this year isnt quite the year for mobile marketing and so on. Most of the time these claims are based purely on opinion and lack any real substance.

A new survey sponsored by a partnership between Millennial Media and DM2PRO decided to go directly to the source meaning major brands and advertisers themselves to see just how mobile marketing is working out for them, and to get an understanding as to how they plan on spending their marketing dollars using the mobile channel in the future.

100 leading agencies were surveyed to compile and in-depth analysis of mobile advertising performance and forecasts of future spending. Dubbed The State of the Industry, the survey compiled data to provide a critical view on where the industry stands today, where the industry is and is not, and why agencies and publishers are planning to buy mobile in the future.

The survey indicated that 60 percent of non-mobile marketers are planning to employ some form of mobile advertising in 2010. Subsequently, the increase in mobile spend was one of the more surprising aspects of the surveys results. Out of those surveyed; 31 percent of agency respondents stated they will invest between $100K and $249K next year, while more than 15 percent stated they plan on investing over $1 million.

More than half of Q4 mobile campaigns will represent between 1 percent and 10 percent of their clients total spending, but for a few, the number could be an impressive 40-50 percent. Overall though, nearly three quarters of the respondents stated that they had developed mobile campaigns for themselves or their clients, while around 28 percent hadn't utilized mobile at all. To me, a leading agency that doesn't utilize the mobile channel for their clients shouldn't be a leading agency at all.

When it comes to how mobile marketing is performing overall, 78 percent of respondents said the medium met their campaign goals, while an additional 9 percent said mobile performed beyond our wildest expectations. Nearly one third of respondents stated that mobile has become an indispensable part of their media mix, while another 67 percent ranked mobile as somewhat valuable and only 2 percent said it wasnt valuable at all.

It's interesting to note that nearly 89 percent of respondents indicated that mobile was only a small part of a much larger multi-platform buy, and that internal resources remains the number one barrier to entry into the mobile channel. More than 80 percent of agency surveyed who have participated in mobile campaigns have hired or developed internal resources to support them.

Still, it's always interesting to get a better understanding of how mobile is being used and what the future plans are for those who are actually involved in mobile marketing.

-Mobile Marketing Watch

Mobile marketing no longer a year away

2009-11-07T15:50:00.007-05:00

NEW YORK – Panelists at ad:tech’s Mobile Mix session made a case for mobile marketing by letting audience members know that it isn’t as hard as everyone thinks it is.

The speakers at “The State of Mobile Marketing: A Must in the Multichannel Mix” panel all agreed the mobile marketing is no longer a year away, it is here now and is being practiced by Fortune 500 companies.

“The most important thing that a lot of people lose sight of is the fact that mobile marketing is easy and much easier than it sounds,” said Marcus Startzel, senior vice president of sales at Millennial Media, Baltimore.

“Mobile outperforms online,” Mr. Startzel said.

SMS is the largest most ubiquitous way to do mobile marketing, according to Matthew Valleskey, head of marketing for mobile services at Neustar, the Sterling, VA-based common short code registry.

Mr. Valleskey said that 1.3 trillion SMS messages were sent in the first half of 2009, just in the United States alone.

“Everyone has a mobile phone and it is always with you and always on,” Mr. Valleskey said. “And almost all of the phones if not all are SMS capable.

“With SMS there is no software to install and no Web needed,” he said. “The last year or so there has been this huge app craze because of the iPhone, but the iPhone only has like 9 percent marketshare.

If you are looking to do a marketing campaign, make sure you are using and integrating SMS marketing into your overall advertising.”

SMS can be used as a call to action to get consumers to let you provide them with content. SMS also gives legs to other media and makes other channels work harder.

There are currently 3,000 short codes in existence, with about 25,000 (give or take) campaigns running on them.

Mr. Keenan also said that Radio Shack is currently pushing an SMS effort in circulars to promote its Black Friday campaign. Consumers sign up to get information on Black Friday merchandise.

Radio Shack is using its existing media and making it work harder through the addition of a mobile component.

Some brands are getting mobile, according to Mr. Startzel.

Millennial Media conducted a survey of 100 advertising agencies. Sixty percent said they were increasing their mobile ad spending in 2010.

“Executing a mobile display campaign is nearly identical to running a digital display ad,” Mr. Startzel said. “The networks have scalability and reach.”

Marc-Henry Magdelenat, director of Microsoft Mobile Advertising, Kirkland, WA, said that the mobile industry is at a point where the major brands and retailers understand that it is essential to include mobile in one’s media mix.

He talked about the Discovery Channel campaign that aimed to promote awareness of the “Deadliest Catch” show.

“Adding mobile to the mix definitely increased the campaign’s results,” Mr. Magdelenat said.

Mr. Startzel also talked about the fact that mobile consumers are different than consumer online.

When it comes to SEO for mobile sites, mobile is different than online. The mobile searcher is searching very differently than then online searcher.

Mobile searchers want instant gratification and online searchers have more time on their hands and are more focused on researching something.

“You have to take into account why the consumer is searching from their mobile phone,” Mr. Valleskey said. “They are most likely not home.”

-Giselle Tsirulnik

RFID Enabled iPhone a Boon to Mobile Marketing?

2009-11-07T14:28:00.003-05:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: Although this is a bit off the beaten track when it comes to Brandel marketing products, it gives us a glimpse of how absolutely vital mobile phones will be for us in the future.

The future of monetizing mobile marketing campaigns will be greatly simplified in tandem with the advent of newer, more convenient payment tools for consumers.

As a result, the mobile marketing community is buzzing this week over the recent speculation by Einar Rosenberg, Chief Technology Officer of Narian Technologies, Apple is currently tinkering with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip for possible inclusion in the next generation iPhone.

Apple's impetus for seeking an RFID enabled iPhone is obvious. For Apple, turning the device into a handy payment tool makes the iPhone a far more convenient device than it already is. For mobile marketers, however, a group that has not yet had widespread opportunities to piggy-pack on such technology, the benefits could be equally bountiful.

Some mobile marketers have been gearing up for this eventuality just as aggressively as the tech world has.

In June, for example, Dairy Queen began testing an RFID-based customer loyalty program in Indiana. Customers who signed up for the program subsequently received coupons on their mobile phones via text message. The coupons were redeemable using RFID labels attached to the phones.

Apple's potential foray into this arena could conceivably change the landscape of mobile technology forever in the US. And the impact on mobile marketing could be just as significant.

-Mobile Marketing Watch

Mobile ad spend expected to increase significantly in 2010

2009-11-03T19:12:00.002-05:00

Mack McKelvey is vice president of marketing at Millennial Media

The consumer-packaged goods, retail, entertainment, travel, and restaurant categories are expected to lead mobile spending in 2010, according a new study by Millennial Media.

The same industry sectors are spending the most in mobile advertising today. The report also found that engagement leads the No. 1 sought return for an investment in mobile marketing, though opt-in, or list building, was cited as the most likely goal for fourth quarter campaigns.

“The significant increase in projected mobile ad spend in 2010 both by agencies and brands signals that they have found mobile to be a highly effective and efficient channel to reach their consumers," said Mack McKelvey, vice president of marketing at Millennial Media, Baltimore. "We anticipate the mobile Web audience will continue to grow at, or faster, than the projections reported by the Kelsey Group and numerous other organizations.

"If this is the case, it is likely that more brands will place even more focus on mobile advertising in the remainder of 2009 and in 2010,” she said.

Nearly 75 percent of the 100 leading agency respondents stated that they have developed mobile campaigns for themselves or a client.

As an average value, brand respondents forecasted at least a 15 percent increase in spend in 2010.

Among those who have executed mobile campaigns, 78 percent said the medium met their campaign goals and an additional 9 percent said mobile performed “beyond our wildest expectations.”

Nearly a third (30 percent) of agency respondents said mobile has become an “indispensable” part of the media mix. Another 67 percent ranked mobile as somewhat valuable.

-Giselle Tsirulnik

Google, Yahoo Q3 results show promise for mobile advertising

2009-11-01T18:24:00.002-05:00

Google and Yahoo exceeding expectations for their third-quarter revenue, buoyed in part by each company’s mobile initiatives, is a sign that the worst of the recession may be over for the advertising market.

Yahoo reported revenues of $1.575 billion for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, a decrease of 12 percent from the third quarter of 2008 and slightly above the second quarter of this year. Google fared better—it reported revenues of $5.94 billion for the third quarter, an increase of 7 percent compared to the third quarter of last year.

“Both companies beat consensus estimates for their third-quarter revenue, which is good and a bit surprising,” said Andrew Frank, New York-based vice president of research at Gartner. “Both companies represented the view that we may be past the worst of the recession as far as advertising goes.

“There are plenty of reasons to be cautious about that assessment, but signs point to the stabilization of the advertising and especially the search market,” he said. “That’s good news for emerging sectors like mobile advertising, since as marketing spending goes up, newer channels like mobile will have an advantage in that people are unlikely to ramp up spending in the same way and with the same ratios as before.

“It tends to favor emerging channels when there’s a slow down and things come back, all promising signs for the mobile advertising sector.”

As has been the historical condition with Google and Yahoo, Google continues to dominate the search market, while Yahoo continues to have a strong presence in display advertising.

While both Google and Yahoo are innovating and have a variety of products and services in the mobile space, there is room for improvement in both cases.

“Mobile is hugely important to both of them, and while to date they have done some interesting things, I don’t think either company has come up with a compelling solution to the mobile advertising experience that seems like it is worthy of the size of the opportunity,” Mr. Frank said. “Both have a ways to go before they catch up to the huge opportunity that mobile offers.

“I’d like to see better integration between the mobile and online experience—both mobile experiences are rather disconnected,” he said. “They don’t seem to be doing a great job of integrating those experiences and integrating advertising opportunities, which a dual-screen environment seems to imply.

“They still see the two channels as somewhat distinct from a user standpoint, and while there are clear differences, I think there needs to be more continuity.”

“We don’t break out mobile revenue, and while it is small as a percentage of the company’s total revenue currently, we expect more usage and monetization to shift to mobile longer term,” said Dana Lengkeek, spokeswoman for Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. “Mobile is a key priority for Yahoo.

“We are well positioned and have increased the reach of our mobile homepage, providing a rich experience across more than 1,900 different mobile devices—a fivefold increase from its April 2009 debut,” she said.

“We’re continuing to be at the forefront of innovating mobile advertising and creating compelling mobile experiences for consumers and marketers.”

“In fact, Google saw over 30 percent growth quarter-over-quarter in mobile search, which is contributing to the emergence of a Web-based mobile ad ecosystem," he said.

-Dan Butcher

Advantages of Mobile Marketing Easy to See

2009-11-01T17:00:00.005-05:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: There are a number of fundamental guidelines listed below in order to run an efficient and user-friendly mobile campaign. All of the AdKing products adhere to these parameters, so you can promote your mobile products with confidence.

It is easy for people who have been in marketing a long time, especially digital marketing, to make claims that mobile marketing is a waste of time. MobileStorm CEO Jared Reitzen put up a passionate post earlier this week confronting the prejudice against mobile marketing among e-mail marketers.

One of the biggest problems with email marketing is the turnover rate of email addresses. Within one year 33% of email addresses in your campaign list are no longer valid. Cell phone numbers have a far lower turnover rate, and most people keep their cell phone number for years. With virtually no delivery issues and 95% of cell phones SMS enabled, getting the message in front of eyeballs is much easier via mobile than an email campaign.

He concludes that the biggest hindrance to mobile marketing is the opposition from e-mail marketers, who are bitter about problems with email marketing and don't understand how mobile marketing differs from email.

I speak with prospects all the time that won't try mobile because they feel their customers will get upset, writes Reitzen. He points out that mobile marketing can equal a horrible user experience if not executed properly.

The if, though, is the key. You do have to be careful because, yes, users can get upset if you are sending them SPAM. But if they have opted in to your campaign and you are sending them useful messages, mobile marketing, especially SMS marketing, can yield great ROI. Much better than email marketing.

Here are some useful tips:

-Your first approach to a mobile strategy should be to offer something only available via the mobile phone.

-The incentive should be good and be the only place your customer can take you up on your offer.

-All mobile clubs should have a double opt in so you cannot sign up anyone but yourself. The subscriber takes the action of responding with a “YES.”

-Make sure when you are opting people in to your database, you not only get them to respond “YES” to join, but you manage their expectations with the types of messages they will get, how often they will get them, and how they can opt out.

-Mobile Marketing Watch

Brave new world of social media

2009-10-31T23:30:00.006-04:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: There are two important factors to take away from this article. One is to realize the importance of the consumer in your media plan - involve them by creating a network for them. Involve your advertiser by creating a social marketing media for them. Consider blending Mobile Broadcast with AdPix, or adding the new txtNpix. See our website for more details.

Social media is a “must” in your marketing plan. The 2010 Media Planning Intelligence Study recently released a report that shows nearly 58% of its respondents ideally plan to include social media in their plans for marketing next year.

Social media is still a developing marketing strategy, and many have been slow to jump on the bandwagon, simply because it has been previously difficult to understand.

Is social media a form of advertising? Oddly enough, the power of social media is, in some corners, being eschewed as something that’s not a form of advertising. Nevertheless, the study from Media Planning Intelligence suggests that not only do many companies consider social media to be a form of advertising, they also consider it to be an essential form of advertising, giving it priority over more traditional channels when they decide how to allocate their advertising budgets.

Though social media was bundled into a category with other “non-traditional” forms in the study, there is a definite trend toward “non-traditional” forms over “traditional” forms. “Non-traditional” includes such advertising strategies as online, mobile and other emerging media platforms, and “traditional” includes TV, radio, print, and out-of-home advertising. In the study, respondents planned to use “non-traditional” advertising over “traditional” advertising 57% to 43%.

So what’s sending everyone online? For one thing, those dwindling media budget dollars stretch a lot further in online media channels than they do in more traditional media advertising. A television spot is still far more expensive than getting an ad for the exact same show on a streaming service like Hulu, and a traditional newspaper ad is still more than the same ad on a newspaper’s website. By finding the correlating advertising opportunity online, buyers are saving themselves precious advertising revenue and sometimes even finding a larger demographic to pitch to.

Social media, on the other hand, is seeing a lot of success for those companies that can manage to figure out the best way to put it to work. Beauty and personal care products are some of the forerunners in this contest, offering a whole range of online and social media resources devoted to allowing their buyers to interact with one another, get answers to their questions from experts, and talk to the sellers of their favorite products. All the while, the company reaps benefits from this seemingly free service, since the goodwill their users feel toward them makes them more inclined to buy their products.

So…what does all this mean for companies who want to do the smart thing with their ad budgets? They need to learn “nontraditional” advertising formats, and fast – because nontraditional is rapidly becoming the norm, and “traditional” may very well be becoming code for “obsolete.”

-Peter Koeppel

Facebook is hot, hot, hot

2009-10-31T23:22:00.007-04:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: Integrate two of Brandel's hottest marketing tools to create your own Social Networking site. Combine Mobile AdPix with ComboText for a total marketing solution. Call Susan for more information at 954-583-9000.

ADOTAS - What’s scorching on the digital front? Mediaweek thinks Facebook is so hot that it’s sizzling — the social media mecca pushed its way to the stop slot of the “Digital Hot List 2009″ after coming in second the year before. The magazine noted that the site has supplanted porn as the Internet’s no. 1 activity — you can hear jaws drop across the nation. Hulu moved up two spots to take the second slot and Twitter joined the list at no. 3. Though fourth hottest is nothing to snicker at, Google has cooled off after taking first place last year.

-Gavin Dunaway

Verizon asks consumers not to text and drive in new campaign

2009-10-31T23:02:00.001-04:00

Verizon Wireless has rolled out an advertising effort called “Don’t Text and Drive,” encouraging people who get into a vehicle’s driver seat to keep their hands on the wheel.

The campaign began this past week with a mix of ads, including television, radio, print, online, billboards and non-traditional media, designed to reach drivers.

“The strategy behind the campaign is to change the behavior of those who text and drive and reinforce the behaviors of those who don’t,” said Jeffrey Nelsen, spokesman at Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, NJ. This is obviously an issue, as driving and texting is dangerous and our campaign is a responsible corporate response to how people use our products and offers”

The TV spots claim that even though Verizon Wireless is all for texting, the carrier is more focused on the safety of subscribers. The spots ask consumers to think twice before they text and drive.

Verizon Wireless has a long history of leadership on the issue of driving while using wireless services.

When Verizon formed Verizon Wireless in 2000, it broke from the rest of the wireless industry by supporting legislation that required people who talked while driving to use hands-free devices.

More recently, as texting has become mainstream, the wireless carrier supports bans on texting while driving and prohibits Verizon Wireless employees from texting while on the job or in a company vehicle.

-Giselle Tsirulnik

Wireless industry strong even in struggling economy

2009-10-31T22:44:00.008-04:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: I always try to provide information in this blog that helps Brandel's Publishers provide a solid case for mobile marketing.

Utilize the 300+ articles in this blog by searching for 'marketing' or 'statistics' in the Google search box to the right. Here is another great example of the overall strength and well-being of the mobile industry.

Even during a recession and with their wireline businesses drying up, AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless both posted strong third-quarter results, proof that the wireless industry as a whole is strong.

AT&T added 2 million new subscribers, while Verizon added 1.2 million subscribers, and both carriers posted revenue increases. That growth was fueled in wireless subscribers increasing appetite for high-end smartphones and a related surge in customers’ data usage.

“We’ve been seeing that AT&T and Verizon have been pulling ahead of the rest of the pack in the mobile carrier space in the U.S.,” said Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA. “While Sprint and T-Mobile USA have not released their third-quarter numbers yet, given AT&T and Verizon’s strong showing in both the revenue and subscriber space, they seem to be pulling even further ahead this quarter.

“Overall these results show that the wireless industry is really strong, even in the face of the down economy, showing that people want to communicate via mobile,” she said. “These top-two carriers are targeting people who want a richer data experience on their device, and they are willing to sign a two-year contract to get a subsidized high-end device.

“Sure, they use their mobile devices for texting and talking, but they’re hooked on the Internet, applications and social networking, so AT&T and Verizon are looking to lock-in these high-value consumers who use a lot of data and want an exciting device.”

“We saw AT&T lead this charge with the iPhone and the App Store, and we continue to see strong growth in that area,” she said. “Verizon announced its partnership with Google, which is its next big move in this area.

For both AT&T and Verizon Wireless, integrated devices—a.k.a. smartphones—are paramount to their overall strategy, because they are going after the most lucrative wireless consumer base.

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless company in the U.S. in terms of total customers and revenues. AT&T is No. 2, followed by Sprint and T-Mobile USA.

During the third quarter, Verizon Wireless customers sent or received more than 153 billion text messages. Customers also sent more than 2.8 billion picture/video messages and completed close to 38 million music and video downloads.

Wireless text messages on the AT&T network exceeded 120 billion, nearly double the total for the year-earlier quarter.

While AT&T and Verizon Wireless have seen competition at the lower end of the market, with bundling of text-messaging and voice into unlimited packages, in the third quarter they solidified their places as the top-two carriers in the U.S.

“They have shown that the economy has not dampened people’s interest in mobile, and in fact the wireless industry has grown and held its own.”

-Dan Butcher

iPhone Key in Mom's Shopping Decisions

2009-10-31T22:34:00.004-04:00

Mobile marketers are focusing more and more on what's become known as the iPhone Mom, and for good reason. A new report from Greystripe highlights that 79% of these iPhone moms rely on their devices for shopping-related tasks, such as locating stores, keeping track of shopping lists, comparision shopping, and downloading coupons.

Greystripe is out to convince everyone from marketers to moms that the iPhone Mom is here to stay. The new study follows up an earlier report in August, when Greystripe claimed that iPhone moms made up 29.5% of all iPhone users. Meanwhile, a study from Scarborough Research in September reported that working moms spend 21% more than the average cell phone user on their cell phone bills.

Moms are often the key decision makers in a household (40% are, reports this study), which makes this group a key target for mobile marketers. Mothers, once a slow-to-adapt segment, are unusually quickly taking to the iPhone. Of course, not all moms are jumping on the smartphone bandwagon, but those that are often power the household spending decisions.

Some other interesting findings

- 96% of iPhone moms are involved in their household purchasing decisions, with 40% being the sole decision maker

- 71% of iPhone Moms have household incomes between $32k and $165k

- 86% of iPhone Moms are between 25 and 54

- 80% of iPhone Moms have attended at least some college, with 4% more receiving a graduate degree than the rest of the iPhone user base

- 59% of iPhone moms let their kids use their phone

- 94% of iPhone moms download games and entertainment apps

- Mobile Marketing Watch