Monthly Archives: April 2010

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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MMA updates guidelines for cross-carrier mobile content

The Mobile Marketing Association updated its United States Consumer Best Practices Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services. The guidelines are the industry standard for cross-carrier mobile services such as text messaging, multimedia messaging, short code programs, interactive voice response and mobile Web. The new 5.0 guidelines outline acceptable and unacceptable practices for all players in the U.S. ecosystem.

Mobile Advertising, SMS Can Achieve “More Than A 100% Response Rate,” Says Expert

Though it may be perceived as a bit over ambitious, mobile advertising is said to be capable of a “more than 100% response rate,” according to one industry expert. Speaking at an Internet trade expo, Marc Hyatt of Txtlocal substantiated his claim by using the example of SMS and the viral effect that marketers can experience using the medium, saying “consumers receiving SMS did much of the marketing work themselves.”

Nearly Half of Mobile Ads Served to Smartphones

Reporting from Millennial Media, a mobile advertising network that reaches 83% of US mobile subscribers, indicates that smartphones account for almost one-half of mobile ad impressions in the country. More subscribers may have feature phones, but they make up only about one-third of mobile ad views, likely because users have less interaction with advanced mobile content.

Mobile advertising bucks the downward spiral evident elsewhere

2009 was a bad year for the “traditional” advertising industry with a significant drop in advertising revenues recorded in TV, radio and the print media. However, in one specific area, mobile advertising, revenues grew by 32 per cent – once again proving that it’s an ill wind that blows nobody good. Martyn Warwick reports. A new survey undertaken by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers also shows that a sea change is underway.

Where’s mobile advertising?

Smart phone usage. All of this comes as Forrester Research estimates that of the some 277 million mobile phones currently in use in the United States, 17 percent are smart phones, defined as “a mobile phone or Internet-connected handheld device that uses a high-level operating system such as iPhone OS, BlackBerry OS, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Web OS, Symbian, and any flavor of Linux including Android.” And the number is growing, with Nielsen reporting that 25 percent of all new cell phones sold are now smart phones.

Mobile email marketing will be driven by increase in commerce

The mobile marketing sector – including SMS and email marketing – will be driven by a growth in consumer spending via the channel, it has been claimed. According to a new study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, total spending via mobile phones increased by 32 per cent last year – reaching £37.6 million. And the organisations believe this trend is set to continue.

Shopping by Mobile Creates an $8bn Opportunity for Mobile Advertising & Coupons, Juniper Report finds

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the mobile marketing and retail sector (comprising mobile advertising, coupons and smart posters) will exceed $8 billion by 2012 globally. The Mobile Marketing and Retail Strategies report found that Retailers were already starting to exploit the mobile channel through advertising campaigns on the handset and by issuing money-off coupons. The market for these two activities alone is forecast grow by half in the next two years.

UK mobile advertising market grows 32% in 2009 to £37.6m

Despite a contraction in the advertising sector in 2009, total spend on mobile phone advertising in 2009 rocketed by 32% year on year to a new high of £37.6m, according to second, annual Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) – the trade body for digital marketing – and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study. While some brands and media owners cut back their investment in mobile advertising, the medium grew at a faster rate than predicted due to its exceptional targeting, immediacy and return on investment.

Why Apple’s tilt toward control over openness may hurt all

It is through this context that I view iPhone 4.0 and iAd as watershed moments for Apple’s mobile platform. If Apple continues to maintain a balance between control and openness, its path to becoming a dominant mobile platform will be unimpeded. However, if the balance it has achieved is disrupted, a rapid decline may be inevitable.

Web sites may be losing affiliate revenue as mobile access increases

Affiliates of networks like LinkShare and Commission Junction are not being properly compensated for traffic they refer when end-users are on mobile devices, according to MobForm. Per mobile publisher network MobForm, brands developing their mobile strategy may not have the full picture with respect to the restrictions that are currently in place preventing mobile affiliates from promoting their offers.

Mobile Entertainment Forum US produces webinar and guidebook to foster better understanding of m-commerce in entertainment sector

Hot on the heals of the Mobile Marketing Association coming over all ‘m-retailing’, the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) North America has set up a Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce) Initiative all of its own, to help brands, content producers and retailers better understand how to leverage the mobile phone to drive customer acquisition, retention, and conversion.

South Africa Biz Market: Mobile Internet to become top earner on firms

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Ghana and Kenya led the top 10 African countries in terms of page-view growth at 4,348.6 % and 615.4 % respectively.

Access to mobile internet is reported to offering a significant revenue opportunity for mobile operators, adding that consumers as well are befitting immensely from the convenience of portable internet, analysts said.  kenya market

In a report from Business Daily Africa, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) revealed an increased statistics of last year’s mobile data subscribers from 1.86 million (third quarter) to 1.98 million (last quarter).

The mobile internet users generate more than $4 billion per year for operators globally, and according to the Opera Software’s snapshot study in the South African countries, Kenya has emerged as a leader in the region in terms of mobile internet usage with each user browsing an average of 525 pages per month.

“When people browse more, it is a win-win situation as operators receive more revenue, users have more incentive to upgrade their data plans, and people get the Web pages they want in an efficient and affordable manner,” Opera Software’s CEO said in an article published on Business Daily Africa.

One factor seen in this increasing penetration of mobile internet usage in the region is the cheaper cost to acquiring and maintaining mobile handsets compared to computers and laptops.

Meanwhile, the Communications Commission of Kenya said that the impressive 50% increase of mobile internet penetration in the region is also influenced by some other factors like the reduction in the cost of mobile handsets and the low value of prepaid calling cards.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) To Audit Newspapers On Mobile

Acknowledging the growing number of readers who interact with newspaper content via mobile devices, the Audit Bureau of Circulations said its interactive unit, ABCi, is set to begin measuring newspapers’ mobile audiences, including readership on e-readers, through mobile Web browsers, and through free and paid apps on smartphones and Apple’s new iPad.

TV Business Market: TV stations online ad revenue to reach $1.4 billion with mobile

“Mobile is a new and upcoming medium, and television has a history of understanding new mediums and going after them,” said Borrell. Local online ad revenue of TV stations is anticipated to reach nearly $1.4 billion this year, according to latest study released by Borrell Associates and the Television Bureau of Advertising published in Broadcasting & Cable.

Singapore Reported to Serve More Than 100 Million Mobile Ads during March

At the Mobile Marketing Association Forum, Asia Pacific event held in Singapore last week, a nerd bumped into Jeff Merkel, Vice-President and Managing Director, APLA, of the world’s biggest mobile advertising network, Admob.

Mobile barcodes hit Entertainment Weekly, from Microsoft Tag

Next Fridays issue of Entertainment Weekly will have something a little different in it. The magazine is publishing 2d barcodes from Microsoft in the magazine, to give movie fans a way to see previews of upcoming movies.

Consumers are ready for mobile marketing – and it all starts with text

With 224 million mobile users engaged in texting, SMS has emerged as “the only form of mobile marketing to reach the entire mobile universe,” says a study into mobile marketing and retail published this week by Placecast, the company behind ShopAlerts.

How online and mobile are sales saviours for hotels

Hotels emerging from the global recession need to cultivate as many viable, sustainable revenue streams as possible. Vanessa Horwell, chief visibility officer, TravelInk’d explains how it can be done…

SMS only reliable communications channel during significant events

Working here gives us a unique perspective into the SMS traffic patterns from around the world – in fact, SMS traffic patterns from and to almost 900 wireless carriers. When some significant event occurs somewhere in the world, regardless of it being a local, regional or global event, it can and does affect text messaging to and from that locale.

Online and mobile advertising gains more clout

Online and mobile advertising is slowly but surely asserting its place in the advertising world forcing the traditional advertising agencies to embrace, otherwise become irrelevant, this new media to address a growing new market that is being created by the changing lifestyle of consumers. With this realization, the IMMAP (Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines) was born.

How retailers are using mobile to drive consumers into physical stores

National Retail Federation RACie Award-winning firm Placecast today announces the release of a report titled “Retail Goes Mobile: Finding New Consumer Connections Through Mobile Devices” by Kathryn Koegel, President of Primary Impact Research.

Mobile media space expected to grow significantly in future: industry observers

SINGAPORE: The global mobile advertising space is set to grow nearly nine-fold in the next three years to as high as US$17 billion. The rapid growth is expected to result in mobile advertising accounting for about three to five per cent of the world advertising spend within five years.

McDonald’s LBS mobile ads achieve 7 percent CTR – Mobile Commerce Daily

McDonald’s participated in a pilot campaign showcasing Navteq’s location-based mobile advertising services and achieved a 7 percent click-through rate, while also driving consumers in-store.

Sony test program sees 36 percent of consumers opt for mobile tickets

Sony Pictures ran a promotion in which it rewarded participants with “Stepfather” and “Zombieland” movie tickets via mobile. Sony partnered with TPG Rewards for the test program that proved successful for both Sony and Regal Theaters, the largest theater chain in the United States.

Nestlé targets Hispanics with Carnation Evaporated Milk mobile site

Nestlé USA’s Carnation Evaporated Milk is giving lovers of Latin cuisine meal preparation help with a new mobile Web site and custom iPhone application targeted at Hispanic consumers.

SMS Marketing Reaches Users of All Ages

Mobile behavior varies dramatically across demographics: 70% of consumers age 18-29 say they send text messages using their mobile phone, compared with 49% of those age 40-49 and 11% of those age 65+, according to a Merkle Inc. study of mobile adoption and use.

Haiti Earthquake Relief Sees Mobile Giving Gaining Ground in Europe

In the wake of the recent Haiti earthquake, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and its research partner, Lightspeed Research, have released the results of the latest Consumer Briefing reports into mobile giving in the UK, French and German markets, demonstrating that people are increasingly turning to mobile as a way of quickly donating to a cause.

2010: Local Mobile Ads Expected To Double

Business spending on mobile-marketing will more than triple this year as the category starts a soaring five-year growth trajectory, per a Borrell Associates. Local is the big news: Local mobile spending will double in 2010 as it begins a similar five-year boom.

TV Business Market: Television’s in good shape to cash in on the mobile advertising, Borrell

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“Mobile is a new and upcoming medium, and television has a history of understanding new mediums and going after them,” said Borrell.

Local online ad revenue of TV stations is anticipated to reach nearly $1.4 billion this year, according to latest study mobile-tvreleased by Borrell Associates and the Television Bureau of Advertising published in Broadcasting & Cable. The report said stations rang up some $1.15 billion in interactive business last year, a 10 percent increase over the year before.

The Borrell Associates said local television is in good shape to cash in on mobile advertising in which people are increasingly consuming on their Smartphones and tablets. As per the latest announcement of a dozen of broadcast groups to embrace into joint mobile TV initiative during the NAB Show, Borrell said “Mobile is a new and upcoming medium, and television has a history of understanding new mediums and going after them”.

The local mobile advertising made an impressive performance of $200 million gain in 2009, Borrell said, and 12% came from the broadcast industry. With mobile dubbed as “a new disruptor”, Borrell gave a brave forecast for mobile advertising medium to “skyrocket into the billions” in two years’ time.  Read more

OUR REACTION:

We agree with Borrell’s statement that television has its history of understanding new mediums and that, it is going after them – that is very true! The presence of mobile offers a perfect partnership with the traditional media  (TV, radio, print, outdoor, etc) to better increase coverage, listenership, or circulation/distribution.

In the marketing and advertising scene, there are plenty of channels to look at, and the mobile, in its business sense, is there to work together through all forms of advertising media and strategic marketing plans/executions.

To sum up, the mobile channel is a very flexible medium to mix with traditional advertising plus the ability to reach a wider local or international mass market in real time.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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New Study Shows the Mobile Web Will Rule by 2015

In a dense, 87-page report, Morgan Stanley analysts have charted the most important online trends and predicted the future of the Internet. In addition to forecasting more online shopping and showing the geographical distribution of Internet users, the study also shows a dramatic shift toward mobile web use. Including devices such as the Kindle, the iPhone, and other smartphones, web-enabled tablets, GPS systems, video games and wireless home appliances, the growth of the mobile web has been exponential — and we’re still just at the beginning of this cycle. Morgan Stanley’s analysts believe that, based on the current rate of change and adoption, the mobile web will be bigger than desktop Internet use by 2015.

After Bruising Ad Battle, AT&T Looks to Rebrand as Lifestyle Company

Telecom to Integrate All Communications Under ‘Rethink Possible’ Theme, Introduce Updated Logo. AT&T is undertaking an ambitious rebranding effort under the banner “Rethink Possible” that includes a redesign that updates its trademark logo. The new theme attempts to position AT&T as a lifestyle company and elevate it from the recent ad sniping with rival Verizon. “Rethink Possible” will inform all advertising from the country’s fourth-largest spender going forward.

Ad Council advocates safe driving via mobile TV campaign

The Ad Council announced at the National Association of Broadcasters Show that the organization will run a new mobile digital television campaign to inform viewers that “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.” The nonprofit organization will run this campaign on mobile devices surrounding the July 4 holiday, when drunk driving fatalities spike. The Ad Council is making an effort to reach the younger demographics and raise public awareness about the issue. “We expect that the results of the showcase and in particular, the results of the Project Roadblock campaign, will provide compelling data that demonstrates the power of mobile DTV to engage with views and mobile DTV advertising to influence behavior,” said Abby Auerbach, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at the Television Bureau of Advertising, New York.

Mobile barcodes and tourism, together at last

3GVision is one of the global players when it comes to mobile barcodes – and it has announced a new service enabling guided phone tours in Glasgow. The trial service allows phone owners to download tours of the city direct to their phones.

McDonald’s pushes breakfast Dollar Menu with mobile campaign

Fast food giant McDonald’s is promoting its new Dollar Menu at breakfast via a rich-media mobile advertising campaign. Expandable banner ads are running within The Weather Channel iPhone application with the tagline, “The Dollar Menu is now at breakfast.”  “Our rich-media expandable ad units offer a breakthrough creative execution,” said Craig Etheridge, vice president of mobile advertising sales at The Weather Channel, Atlanta.

Why mobile is an imperative for brands in Asia: An interview with Gavin Marco, P&G

Procter & Gamble ran its first mobile campaign in Asia in 2002. Eight years on Asia still leads P&G’s mobile strategy. Not only is Asia the world’s most populous region, it’s also one of the most diverse. So while brands use cutting-edge mobile technology to engage with customers in Japan, they are also using basic SMS to connect with consumers in rural Indonesia (people it is almost impossible to reach through other channels).

Healthcare firms urged to use mobile marketing

Mobile marketing has been cited by an industry expert as one of the best ways for healthcare brands to attract more patients to use their services. Although firms in the sector as not as obviously focused on generating new customers as the likes of Apple or Wal-Mart, it is still essential for them to attract patients and retain existing ones, explained medical website design company Aurora. Daniel Gilbert, the company’s chief executive officer, said mobile marketing could be one of the ways that they look to go about doing this. He urged healthcare brands looking to get started in the mobile marketing sector, or wanting to increase their existing activities, to target their spending on “creating user-friendly, informative mobile websites”.

China 3G standard phone sales to surge

Sales of cellphones using China’s own 3G standard (TD-SCDMA) will grow 7-fold this year, boosted by China Mobile’s push of new phones and services, research firm Strategy Analytics said on Monday. The research firm did not unveil total sales estimates, but China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, has said it had 3.4 million clients using its TD-SCDMA network last year when it opened the service. The technology’s teething problems, along with a lack of product offerings, have been major factors inhibiting the development of a national TD-SCDMA network by China Mobile.

How To Keep Customers Loyal With Coupons

In yesterday’s post about how small business owners can learn social media, I noted that webinars gave business owners a great way to learn from experts without forcing them to jet across country to do so. Coincidentally, Anita Campbell was part of a great webinar yesterday afternoon put on by the Verizon Small Business Center that focused on how to use coupons and social media to build customer loyalty.

Search engine mobile marketing ‘makes websites more visible’

Brands have been advised to use search engines in their mobile marketing strategies in order to make their mobile websites easier for consumers to locate. Search engine optimisation of mobile websites has yet to fully catch on with businesses, according to industry analyst Nick Beck, who compared it to the early days of the internet in the 1990s. In a column for Net Imperative, he commented: “Brands are building mobile sites but not considering how people will find them.” As a result, Mr Beck suggested that firms which use search engine mobile marketing techniques on their mobile websites will be able to reap the rewards in terms of having highly-visible pages.

Google CEO keen to start fight against Apple

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has hit back at US regulators saying it should have its AdMob acquisition approved following Apple’s entry into the online advertising market with iAds. On Friday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs launched a new mobile advertising platform that will run on the iphone, iPod Touch and iPad from this summer. The platform, called iAds, will directly compete with Google.

M-retailing market worth US$4.1bn in 2009, with strong growth to come, predicts Juniper Research

The mobile retail market is currently worth US$4.1 billion and is dominated by mobile coupons, finds a new report by Juniper Research, but is set to grow by an astounding 24% a year on average to be worth more than US$12 billion by 2015. But even these suitably buoyant ‘analyst numbers’ might actually be conservative, we at M-Retailing.net believe, because Juniper is only looking at mobile coupons – total redemption value of mobile coupons; mobile smart posters – total fees resulting from smart poster product information downloads and sales; and mobile advertising – total ad spend upon mobile distribution channels. It hasn’t (yet) looked at the revenue that will be generated through using mobile for actual purchases.

Mobile Search Tactics to Boost Your ROI

Mobile search is unique – the sheer size alone of the keyboard on a mobile device results in queries shorter than their online counterparts It’s an industry predicted to reach $3.3 billion in revenue by the year 2013, the reason you chose the bed-and-breakfast over the boutique hotel when your original hotel lost your reservation, and top of mind for marketers looking to capitalize on the growing number of consumers using the mobile web to make decisions on how to spend their money and time. It’s mobile advertising, and its mere existence, along with that of PDAs and smart phones, is changing the way consumers make decisions. As marketers realize the value of mobile advertising to influence brand awareness, word-of-mouth, and offline consumer behavior, many allocate their first mobile spend to paid search, or “pay-per-click” advertising, largely due to its track record as an accountable, highly-targeted way to market online.

Ad Council uses mobile campaign to advocate safe driving in the US region

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The mobile phones recently are proven as the most efficient way of communicating to the mass market in fast, direct, and personalized ways. In the US, Mobile Marketer reported that the Ad Council decided to use the mobile phones to bring out public awareness on the importance of safe driving in the region. head_logo_adcouncil

Drunk driving fatality has been an issue in the region which the Ad Council aimed to minimize, if not to eliminate completely; hence, it has initiated an effort to reach the younger demographics and raise public awareness about the issue via mobile TV campaign. It’s been years that the Ad Council has been partnering with the Television Bureau of Advertising and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on its “Project Roadblock” in an effort to use the power of local broadcast TV to fight drunk driving. Read more

OUR REACTION: This advocacy offers a very creative and sensible approach for Public Service Announcements (PSA) in which other organizing bodies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations can look for consideration. It is true that there are plenty of problems or issues in our society these days that need to be addressed, and can only be solved if we call the public’s attention and cooperation. In this picture, the role of mobile phones is focused not only for business advertising but in PSA as well to help promote and disseminate a program for the general welfare of the people.  Mobile phone has also been proven as effective channel in extending financial aids to the victims of catastrophic disasters: one example is the separate earthquakes that recently hit Chile and Haiti.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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What will AT&T’s $1 billion buy for businesses?

Mobile operator AT&T announced details of a $1 billion investment plan today. This money is going to be put towards improving the services that AT&T offers to its enterprise customers around the world. So what does a billion get you these days? Read on for more detail. AT&T has offered five areas in which it is investing, but it can really be broken down into three: 1) Global 2) Network 3) Applications. Global – AT&T is looking to provide better services for businesses; both at home and abroad. So this won’t just be an America investment. Companies of all sizes, from SMEs in the States to multi-nationals, will be benefiting from this – including plans for additional sub sea cables to provide better service in the Caribbean and South America, and better communication performance from the US to both Asia Pacific and Europe.

Mobile internet usage soars past fixed web in Africa

It’s one of those ideas you hear repeated from all sources: mobile phones are the main way connecting to the internet in Africa. Now there are definite figures to back that claim. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has reported that use of mobile internet surpassed fixed internet in the last quarter of 2009 – and has extended its lead to 300,000 users in Q1 2010. According to the ITU, it wasn’t until the end of 2009 that mobile internet actually overtook fixed usage. African net surfers connecting through mobile phones or portable modems increased to 3.8 million at the end of the year, overtaking fixed by 100,000 people. It now reports that this figure has increased to 4.2 million, putting it 300,000 users ahead of the current 3.9 million fixed subscribers.

Region shifts to online and mobile media for news

Experts call 2010 the year of digital media. In the UAE, 49% of consumers use both the internet and print media .More than half in Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia use online sources. Consumers of digital and mobile media are expected to see growth that will confirm 2010 as the year of the digital, say industry reports. In line with global trends, the region’s news consumption, particularly in Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is shifting towards online and mobile media, as confirmed by experts According to the Arab Media Outlook 2009-2013 report, news consumption in the region is seeing an impressive shift to the usage of online media.

Companies Look to Take Advantage of Mobile Marketing Opportunities

Despite coming out of a recessionary year in which advertising and marketing budgets were slashed, mobile marketing remained steady, and in some cases showed gains. Financial institutions, however, lost ground to wireless operators, ISPs and merchants. SMS text remains the means to reach the greatest number of consumers, but the rapidly rising percentages of smartphone users and the success of the Apple app store has increased the need for developing a greater mobile web and in-application advertising presence. This report covers the mobile marketing and advertising landscape, including consumer likelihood, preferences and adoption of mobile marketing and location-based services, consumer methods of response, and segments to target.

Mobile Marketing Proves Profitable for Sports Franchises

Mobile marketing has proven a slam dunk for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA franchise that dabbled in the mobile space long before most others in the world of professional basketball. Beginning two years ago during the NBA Playoffs, the Cavs teamed with Phizzle to beta test a mobile alerts program that delivered a variety of exclusive downloadable content to basketball fans.  Since then, the initial trial run has evolved to help generate a cool 200k in incremental revenues on an annual basis.

Hotelier’s Web Analytics Action Plan: Turning Knowledge into ROI-Focused, Action-Oriented Results

Hospitality is an information intensive business. Hotel managers are exposed to numerous reports that touch upon practically every aspect of running a hotel. In addition to reports dealing with hotel operations, today’s hotel managers have another category to consider that has become vital to their property’s success—how their hotel website is performing. Forty-five percent of all hotel bookings in the U.S. will be generated via the Web in 2010. At least 62% of those will come from the direct online channel, i.e. the hotel branded website (71% for the top 30 hotel chains); therefore the “health” of the hotel website is vital to the survival of any hospitality company today, affecting E-Commerce Managers, Revenue Managers, Directors of Sales & Marketing, General Managers, owners, reservations departments and front desk clerks.

MABS joins global M-Commerce Summit

MANILA, Philippines – The Microenterprises Access to Banking Services (MABS) program of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) participated in the M-Commerce World Summit 2010 held last month in Singapore. The summit covered mobile money transfer and mobile money remittance, mobile payment and NFC technologies, mobile banking, banking the unbanked and microfinance services, and mobile marketing and advertising.

MABS regional manager for Mindanao Anthony Petalcorin discussed how mobile money worked well with microfinance in the Philippines.

Mobile App or Mobile Website?

Before you invest in mobile marketing consider your audience and the startup costs. NBC reported 58.2 million page views of its Winter Olympics programming on the mobile web and iPhone app through the first 11 days of coverage. If the thought of your prospects fixing their attention on your company anytime and anywhere through their mobile phones sounds appealing, you’ll be happy to know that the options for reaching consumers on mobile devices are growing broader and less expensive.

MMA Highlights Retail Mobile Marketing Growth

During CTIA Wireless 2010, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) today commented on its commitment to advancing sustainable standards and best practices for retail mobile marketing through new member programs and leadership initiatives. “We’re already seeing significant buzz this year in the mobile retail space, with major brands delving into a variety of mobile marketing and commerce opportunities,” said Michael Becker, MMA North American Managing Director.  According to CTIA, more than 20 percent of the show’s attendees come from the retail space. In fact, this year’s event features a new exhibit area, called the Retail Zone, with more than 150 exhibitors.

Strategic tips for brand mobile marketing: CTIA panel

Some of the biggest businesses in the world have embraced mobile marketing to complement traditional forms of advertising and have incorporated it into their brand strategies. In the “Mobile Marketing for 2010 – Successful Brand Strategies” panel at International CTIA Wireless 2010 discussed best practices for mobile marketing for brands. “With mobile, there’s a lot of directions you can go,” said Bryan Seti, vice president of WaterCraft Group at Yamaha Motor Corp. “In our business, most of it is done in a four month window.

Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE regions shift to online and mobile media for news

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Experts call 2010 the year of digital media. In an AFP report, 49% of consumers in UAE use both the internet and print media; and more than half in Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia use online sources.online-news

The industry experts confirmed that news consumption in these regions is increasing rapidly in favor to the digitals – the online and mobile media. According to the Arab Media Outlook 2009-2013 report, more than half of the news consumers in Egypt, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia depend on internet sources while 49% use the internet and print media in UAE.

As industry experts anticipate the online advertising growth in the region in the next three years, they started laying foundation of new business in the domain of digital and online marketing solutions.

In line to this trend, the mobile penetration in the region is extremely high, most especially in UAE and Egypt, according to Anna Gibbons, Business Director of neo@Ogilvy, OgilvyOne Middle East. Hence, the mobile media are also expected to become the new buzz in terms of attracting new consumers and in advertising spend as well. READ MORE