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TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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What the ad industry learnt from 2011 and how they foresee 2012

Years come and go but each year leaves behind its own learnings. 2011 was no different. Ad industry leaders share the lessons that they learnt and how they foresee the shape of things in 2012. Whenever a year draws to a close, it is not just about a new beginning but also about retrospection. The idea is to assess what could have been done differently, gather one’s forces anew and make a fresh…

How prepared is your advertising agency for 2012?

December has been a month of conversations, trying to make sense of the year ahead for advertising, media, digital and PR agencies. As the stock market gets hammered, as the anti-corruption movement ebbs and flows, and as the government is semi-paralysed, what will 2012 hold for all? In a nutshell, it’s not going to be an easy year – but there are still those who will gain and those who will hold their own. Here’s the year ahead, in

Analytics: The brains behind mobile marketing success

Mobile analytics in action. Look at a retailer such as Dick’s Sporting Goods that wants to drive in-store traffic and promote new merchandise. Knowing that someone works just a few blocks away and is headed out for his lunch break allows a carrier to deliver relevant messaging directly to the device, marrying mobile data that it has with point-of-sale data that the store has on a customer’s brand preferences.

Pre-Roll, Mobile Top Video Ad Formats for 2012

Online video has reached critical mass among US internet viewers. eMarketer predicts 169 million people, or 71% of US internet users, will be watching online video each month by the end of 2012. Such a healthy, sizeable audience can’t help but capture advertiser attention. eMarketer estimates US online video ad spending (not all of which is placed against video) will enjoy an aggressive 40% year-over-year increase from 2011, topping $3.1 billion in 2012.

2012 Forecast: Mobile Marketing

Having been involved in the mobile and advertising industries for over two decades, I can say with confidence that 2011 was a banner year for the discipline. Over the past year, consumers have proven that the mobile phone has become an integral part of the shopping experience. This is creating a number of exciting new opportunities for marketers to reach consumers at multiple touchpoints throughout the buying process.

Advertising legend MAURICE SAATCHI celebrates the joy of simple ideas that changed the world

The ideas that have changed our lives most are often the simplest. Simple ideas enter the brain more quickly and stay there longer.  Winston Churchill was a great believer in simplicity. He liked to quote a letter by French mathematician Blaise Pascal that started: ‘I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.’ He knew that to achieve simplicity is very hard.

Mobile carriers: Five predictions for 2012

The biggest news for 2011 in this sector was AT&T’s $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile. And when the deal was announced in March, AT&T seemed confident it could make it happen. So confident in fact, that it agreed to one of the biggest break-up fees ever. But as we all now know, regulators didn’t like AT&T’s plan and put a kibosh on its plans.

Samsung dominates mobile phone market

Samsung accounted for 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile handsets for three months ending November 11, according to research by ComScore. This translates into a slight market share increase of 0.3 percent. Apple came in fourth place behind LG and Motorola with 11.2 percent market share, though it gained the most market share over the period, increasing by 1.4 percent.

Mobile Marketing’s Crystal Ball: Predicting Trends for 2012

The past year has been a big one for smartphones and other mobile devices. In addition to achieving widespread adoption among U.S. consumers, the tools have transformed the way people shop, get information and interact with friends, family and brands. In a column for Search Engine Land, Matt Lawson predicts that mobile will undergo even more changes and developments in 2012. Mobile marketing is becoming a bigger focus in many ad agencies and is taking up a larger proportion of overall advertising budgets, yet it also creates many challenges for those in the industry, he notes.

ComScore: Android, iOS combine for 75% of U.S. smartphone market

Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android and Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS extended their dominance over the U.S. mobile market in November 2011 and now power a combined 75.6 percent of all smartphones nationwide according to new data published by digital research firm comScore.

Six Steps To Mobile Search Marketing Success

ADOTAS – Tablet and smart phone devices have forever changed the search marketing landscape, as the year of mobile has finally happened. Tablet sales were up 260 percent year-on-year during the first three quarters of 2011, according to PC World magazine, while IDC projected sales of more than 63 million tablets, including the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble’s Nook, in the fourth quarter. This technology shift is altering consumer search behavior and requires a different approach to marketing.

Nigeria to become dominant in Africa’s mobile payment market

With the commencement of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless project, Nigeria is set to become a dominant player in Africa’s emerging mobile payments market, analysts have said. According to the industry analysts, about 20 million Nigerians are expected to be embraced into the formal banking system via mobile money over the next three years. In November, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had disclosed that 40 million mobile money users currently exist in Africa.

Publishers more confident in the mobile market

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The mobile market has gained more confidence from the publishers, according to a survey by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) and ABC Interactive. The survey  titled Going Mobile: How Publishers Are Maturing and Monetizing Their Offerings disclosed that 59% of respondents had a well-developed plan for the mobile market. ABC also noted 67% who found mobile market important to their strategic future in earning from both ads and subscriptions.

Newspapers ranked first (88%) with mobile initiative taking into place; consumer magazines came at second place (83%); and business publications on third with 79%, according to the audit bureau.

Meanwhile, the study showed that publishers had mixed feelings in terms of charging their consumers from their access to content from multiple platforms – 40% said readers shall be charged as one and get an access to all platforms (web, print, and mobile) while 40% said payment shall be made in every access to additional platform.

 

 

Advertising Execs: Mobile advertisers need to embrace better creative approaches

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An interesting topic on the efficiency of mobile in the advertising scene became a hot discussion among advertising executives during the Mobile Media Summit hosted by Advertising Week.

Executives concurred in a panel discussion that mobile advertisers needed to embrace into creativity in marketing via small screens. Executives believed that mobile should manifest an experience that engenders consumers to a brand and affects their purchase decision, that mobile will be more important marketing channel than television in 10 years time, and that CPG and automotive brands would have shown interest in mobile marketing.

Meanwhile, a new study published at Financial Post suggested three important factors for a successful mobile campaign. The study revealed that the location of brand name or logo within a mobile ad matters in which the left-side brand placement is generally most effective and has a strong impact on advertising recall, that clear and persistent branding is important for brand awareness, and that a strong call-to-action encourages interactivity and engagement to help drive purchase intent.

Global Mobile TV Subscribers to grow $792M by 2014

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In the latest report (Global Mobile TB Forecast to 2013) conducted by Market Research, the Mobile TV Subscription is predicted to acquire an increase in the number of mobile TV rollouts in the world. The number of mobile subscribers will grow at a CAGR of roughly 43% between years 2011 and 2014 to reach almost 792.5 million by end of 2014. Report also revealed the streaming technology to dominate the mobile TV subscriber base by the end of year 2014.

Various factors seen to support this anticipated growth include operators’ service pricing models and the availability of handsets that can support good picture quality at high data transfer rate.

The global mobile TV market has been witnessing a significant growth over the years, on the back of its ability to stream the content from the television on the move, according to Market Research.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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The New Rules For Mobile Ads In 2011

2010 was finally the year of mobile advertising. The market has matured to the point where most major brands have embraced the medium, driven by the reach and interactivity of smartphones and their rapidly growing userbase. The mobile market is in a state of hyper growth and is reinventing itself almost every quarter thanks to new innovations, better data, and compelling results based on billions upon billions of ad impressions.

Mobile market growth

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the global mobile phone market grew by an impressive close to 15 percent in the third quarter of 2010 (3Q10).  Driven in part by the fast-growing smartphone category, 3Q10 was the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for the industry.  Sometimes called “converged mobile devices”, smartphones are enjoying a growing popularity with consumers and business people. That is why we now see the appearance of a second smartphone-only vendor (Apple) in the top five ranking. During 3Q10, Apple moved into the number four position worldwide, joining Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the Blackberry, as one of the world’s largest mobile phone suppliers.

Half of country’s mobile customers use internet, data service on phones

NEW DELHI: Nearly half of India’s mobile customers use some form of internet and web related data services on their handsets, offering a huge base for telecom companies to tap as they all launch third generation services in the country. The numbers indicate the data potential that India holds: Customers who access some form of internet service on their handsets has risen 70% over the last 12 months to touch 214 million as of June 10, says telecoms regulator Trai. Analysts say this figure has risen to over 240 million as of September 10. This is more than ten times the number of internet connections on a PC in the country.

ABI Research Says India’s 3G Networks to Bolster Mobile Data Traffic in Asia

ABI Research announced that its latest forecasts showed the Asia-Pacific region is expected to consume 2,400 petabytes of mobile data annually by 2015, an estimated 23 percent of global data traffic, close behind North America with an expected consumption of 3,100 petabytes. According to a release, mobile Internet services are forecast to generate $80 billion in Asia-Pacific, which only accounts for 14.5 percent of global revenue. The disparity between high data consumption and low revenue contribution will largely be attributed to India’s emerging 3G networks, which will be major contributors to Asia-Pacific’s overall mobile traffic.

Mobile media signals change for tourism

MANITOWOC — Mobile marketing relies on the newest technology, but it’s still about connecting with an audience, according to Tim Dillon of a Minneapolis-based marketing firm.  Dillon, account supervisor for Risdall Marketing Group, presented “The Reality of Mobile Marketing” Thursday at the 15th annual Wisconsin Fall Tourism Convention at the Holiday Inn, Manitowoc. Pete Fabian, creative director for Risdall, and Kristen Hartzel, online visitor information specialist for Visit Eau Claire convention and visitors bureau, also presented during the session.

Internet and mobile web use on the increase

THREE in four Australians have the internet at home, with two-thirds connected to broadband, new figures from the media regulator reveal. The Australian Communications and Media Authority says it has seen an explosion in people using the mobile internet, with 2.4 million accessing it in June, up from 1.6 million in 2009. ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said there had been a clear increase in the volume of data people were downloading and the amount of time they were spending online, with 77 per cent of people having an internet connection at home.

Banks set to wrestle market from African mobile financial Ops

As more banks are now suddenly taking a renewed interest in the African Mobile market, Senior Vice President, Fundamo Africa and Middle East, Reg Swart has said that the major problem for mobile operators who have been driving the market, would be how to defend their successful business model, and ultimately their revenues, against the encroachment of banks. Swart also noted, however, that according to the 2009 World bank report, there were still millions of unbanked people with more than 70% of the African population either unbanked or under_banked.He argued that the development was a compelling opportunity for banks to encroach into the market.

Mobile shipments to hit 1.34bn in 2010

SINGAPORE: Total shipments of mobile handsets could reach 1.34 billion by the end of this year and will hit 1.7 billion in 2015, new research from ABI has indicated. According to the firm’s Mobile Device Shipments Market Data, which analyses the key marketing and technical issues facing the mobile handset device market, Asia-Pacific will perform particularly strongly.

Globe leads Philippine BlackBerry sales

Fully-customizable plans from Globe enable Blackberry users to email, send instant messages, and check social networking sites while on the Go Globe Telecom takes the lead in the Philippine deployment of BlackBerry devices, beating key competitors in terms of sales and number of subscribers using the device. As of end-September 2010, the company’s BlackBerry sales were up more than 200% year-on-year, with over 40,000 units sold.

Telkom Kenya raises the bar in mobile banking market

Telkom Kenya on Monday joined the bruising battle for control of mobile money with the launch of a product that will allow users to operate bank accounts in their cell phones – taking on both Safaricom’s M-Pesa service and M-Kesho, the joint initiative of Safaricom and Equity Bank. The new service, which also has Equity Bank as a partner, deepens the shift by telecoms operators away from the voice market that has been the key revenue earner in favour of data services where it faces stiff challenge from Safaricom’s M-Pesa, Zain’s Zap and Essar Telecom’s Yu Cash.

Analysis: China’s Internet industry to see new round of listings

HANGHAI, Nov. 12, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) — China’s Internet industry is expected to keep strong growth in the coming few years when a number of companies in the industry are expected to go public and the climate of some sub-sectors, including mobile Internet, online retail and online advertising, will enter the an upturn period.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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China, India leads global surge in mobile Web usage

Mobile Internet penetration continues to gain foothold as an increasing number of users around the world take to its convenience, despite concerns over privacy and data security, according to a new report by KPMG. The number of survey respondents adopting mobile banking transactions worldwide more than doubled to 46 percent, compared to the previous study conducted 18 months ago in late-2008. Consumers who turned to the Internet to buy goods and services also surged from 10 to 28 percent.

Anger greets Google-Verizon proposal for routing Web traffic

Google on Monday reversed its long-held support for pure “net neutrality” and joined Verizon in calling for new laws that would enable Internet providers to favor some Web services over others. That touched off vehement protests from consumer groups that support network neutrality, the principal of ensuring all people have equal access to all websites. If the Google-Verizon proposal goes through, it would “kill Internet freedom,” says Justin Ruben, director of the advocacy group MoveOn.org.

Singapore-based marketing expert sees rapid growth in RP mobile ads

MANILA, Philippines – A Singapore-based marketing expert said he expects rapid growth in mobile advertising in the Philippines in the next five years as more companies place their advertisements through the emerging medium. Rohit Dadwal, managing director of the Mobile Marketing Association in Asia Pacific, also said the Philippines is among the trend setting countries in terms of implementing an effective approach to improve consumer privacy in the mobile advertising domain. “(Mobile advertising) is 60 percent effective than the traditional media,” Dadwal told The STAR. Asked if the booming industry will affect the advertising revenues of the traditional media such as newspapers, Dadwal said: “Theoretically they will not suffer…even The Philippine STAR, which has its print edition, will get into the mobile industry.”

Mobile commerce market worth $2.5B and growing

The mobile commerce market is worth $2.5 billion today, and will grow four times in the next couple of years, according to a panelist at the eTail 2010 Social media & Mobile Commerce Summit. Retailers should focus on developing mobile commerce services to reach the growing number of smartphone users, because the market for mobile sales will increase dramatically in the next few years, according to panelists.

Email Dominates Mobile Web Time

Email, portals stay ahead of social networking—at least on mobile devices. Social networking has become such a staple of online activity in the US that, according to Nielsen, internet users spent more time on social networking sites and blogs than doing any other activity in June 2010. Games, which came in second, took up less than half as much time. On the mobile internet, however, more traditional activities still reign. Email dominated the mobile picture even more strongly than social networking did the desktop: If all time spent on the mobile web was condensed into a single hour, US internet users would have spent 25 minutes in June checking email. Portals would have received another 7 minutes, with social networks not far behind.

Internet advertising industry cracks $2 billion mark

New figures showing the Australian internet advertising industry has cracked the $2 billion barrier is yet another sign small businesses must pay more attention to online marketing, one industry expert believes. The latest Interactive Advertising Bureau Online Expenditure Report, compiled in tandem with PricewaterhouseCoopers, reveals total online ad expenditure came to $2.04 billion for the year ending June 30, 2010. The figures also show spending came to $552.5 million in the June quarter of this year, representing a 22% year-on-year increase from the same period in 2009. The study shows general display advertising grew by 11%, followed by classifieds at 9% and search and directories at 16%.

Gartner: Worldwide Mobile Device Sales Grew 13.8% in Q2

Worldwide mobile device sales to end users totaled 325.6 million units in the second quarter of 2010, a 13.8% increase from the same period in 2009, according to Gartner. Smartphone sales to end users accounted for 19% of worldwide mobile device sales – or  61.6 million units -  a 50.5% increase from the same period in 2009. Average Selling Price Drop. Although the mobile communication devices market showed double-digit growth this quarter, the study also noted that average selling prices were lower than expected and margins fell. The reasons for this, it concluded, included a stronger dollar, a depreciating euro, and intense competition. Biggest Share. Nokia, Samsung, RIM and Apple held the greatest market share, Gartner found.  For Q2, Nokia’s mobile device sales to end users reached 111.5 million units and a share of 34.2%.

Local Business Search via Mobile Up 14%

Consumers looking for local business information are increasingly turning to their mobile devices: The number of people who accessed Internet business directories on a mobile phone reached 17.3 million in March 2010, up 14% from the same period a year earlier, according to a study by the Yellow Pages Association (YPA).

Online ad spend to exceed P1 billion in 2010

Online advertisement spending is expected to exceed P1 billion in 2010 from 2009′s P500 million. According to Jose Noledo, President of the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP), the lowering costs of Internet connectivity devices and the steady increase in Web users are major factors in the anticipated 100% ad sales increase. In the past, advertisement sales for online media had always taken the smallest pie compared to traditional media options like television and radio. “The biggest driver of connectivity is price in an emerging market like the Philippines. Every year, the cost of connectivity and the devices to connect to the Internet have gone down,” Noledo told host TJ Manotoc on ANC’s “The Rundown.

Mobile Marketing Expected to Surpass Internet Marketing

At the eTail 2010 social media and mobile commerce summit, it was estimated by industry insiders that the mobile commerce market is currently worth approximately $2.5 billion and that number is expected to double each year for the next several years. According to Scott, president of Weblink Marketing, all of the current indicators point to an explosion in the Mobile Marketing world. As Scott said, “When two of the most successful companies in the world are both vying for the same mobile advertising network, you better take notice”

Indian mobile handset sales to reach 138.6 million in 2010, says Gartner

Mobile device sales in India are forecasted to reach 138.6 million in 2010, an increase of 18.5% over 2009 sales of 117 million units, according to Gartner, Inc. The mobile handset market is expected to show steady growth through 2014 when end-user sales are expected to surpass 206 million units. The Indian cellular market is dynamic with new carriers and many new local mobile device manufacturers entering the already crowded mobile device market.

Mobile data traffic almost triples year on year

Global mobile data traffic almost tripled in the past year, growing ten times faster than voice traffic, according to statistics released by Swedish vendor Ericsson on Thursday. The firm said that, based on measurements it has made of real network traffic around the world, global mobile data traffic stands at 225,000 terabytes per month as of the second quarter of 2010. Earlier this year the firm reported that total data traffic exceeded total voice traffic in volume for the first time in December 2009.

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.

TheTMSway Weekly Radar on Mobile Marketing and Business

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Consumers Seek Mobile Promotion Input

Input Makes Mobile Promotions More Acceptable. Marketers who send consumers mobile promotions such as coupons and discounts have a significant amount of built-in resistance to overcome, writes MarketingCharts. The percentage of consumers who say they are fine with getting promotions slightly declined from 13% in December 2008 to 11% in February 2010. However, the percentage of consumers completely opposed to mobile promotions also declined in that time period, from 31% to 26%.

Mobile Marketing Association Launches Canadian Council

During CTIA Wireless 2010 held this week in Las Vegas, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) (www.mmaglobal.com) today announced the formal launch of its MMA Canada Council.  The launch reflects the latest in the MMA’s efforts to establish regional presence with local focus across the globe.  MMA Canada is led by Michael O’Farrell, Country Manager for the MMA, along with Canadian council co-chairs Ross Buchanan, Director, Digital & Relationship Marketing at MolsonCoors and Andrew Osmak, SVP, Business Development & New Ventures at LavaLife.

India & China to lead global telecom sector capex spend to over $ 224 bn by 2015

The demand for mobile services particularly in the developing markets such as Indian and China will fuel the capex of mobile service providers across the globe to scale over $ 224.5 billion by the year 2015, says a new research from market research firm, The Insight Research Corp.

Mobile Increasingly Important for Small Biz

One-fifth of small businesses “could not survive” without mobile. Mobile and wireless technologies such as smartphones, Wi-Fi hotspots and laptop data cards are becoming more important for small-business owners, according to the “Small Business Technology Poll” from AT&T. More than one-fifth of respondents said they could not be in business at all without wireless technologies, and a further 43% claimed it would be a major challenge. That makes mobile and wireless critical for about two-thirds of small businesses.

Travelers Love the Mobile Web, study

Once upon a time, you had to bring travel guides, maps and paper tickets on every trip. Today, you can just take your smartphone and get access to all of this information without having to lug a couple of books and magazines around with you. Today, according to a new study by analytics firm Compete, 38% of smartphone users conduct travel research on their devices and 28% use their phones to book at least some of their trips and travel activities.

Brands urged to spend more on mobile websites

Brands have been urged to invest more of their mobile marketing budgets in creating an internet site designed specifically for handset owners. Although advertisers are frequently becoming happier to spend money on mobile marketing, industry commentator Kunur Patel claimed they are often missing out on potential customers by focusing on creating apps.

BRIC Mobile Giants Begin to Mature

The BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China share large areas and populations, fast-growing economies and rapidly expanding technology markets. Mobile communications have surged in recent years as a cost-effective means of connecting consumers spread across great geographic expanses.

Internet mobile marketing set to boom by 2012

Internet mobile marketing is growing, especially in the platforms of the iPhone and Android platforms. In fact, reports say that the emerging market will account form more than a quarter of revenue from mobile apps by 2012. The report also forecasted that mobile app downloads are set to rise for over 50 billion within the next two years. Revenue from these downloads are forecasted to increase by 62 percent.

AT&T Global Messaging 50 plan drops international SMS costs

Today AT&T announced its new Global Messaging 50 package. The $10 per month subscription lets you send 50 text, IM, picture, or video messages from more than 90 countries. The service, clearly not for messaging addicts, charges $0.40 cents for every sent message past the allocated 50. That’s a $.10 savings over the typical $.50 international message cost, or $1.30 for MMS texts. The service kicks off on March 20th.

Mobile Web users increase to 69.9M: Study

The number of mobile Web users increased by 4 percent to 69.6 million in the United States in January, according to Millennial Media’s SMART report. The increase is up from 67 million users and Millennial Media’s unique audience reach increased by 6.88 percent in January, from 54.3 million to 58.1 million unique users month over month to an 83 percent reach of the mobile Web. In addition, there was a third-party study conducted on the growth of mobile fundraising and its audience’s demographic.

Hong Kong’s 34th international film festival goes mobile with TheTMSway

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The largest and most popular award-giving body for films in ASIA, the Hong Kong International Film Festival is using mobile, in association with TheTMSway, to connect with all the film fanatics across the region as it celebrates this year’s 34th festive recognition of quality films, film makers, and talents.

The 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is partnering with Asia’s leading mobile technology provider, TheTMSway Ltd, in mobilizing the country’s reputable 17-day festival. This mobile service includes the presentation of more than 70 trailers and offers to follow the latest news in real time via the HKIFF Twitter feed.

TheTMSway has built the HKIFF’s official mobile portal aimed to propose various event features filled with informative and non-stop entertainment. The service is accessible by all Mobile users via mobile internet browsers (TMS proposes an automatic content optimization for more than 5000 phone models). Fans can watch on direct streaming and /or download the movie trailers of this year’s film entries and nominated finalists. The mobile portal also features news articles of film screenings and daily activities of the HKIFF in which mobile users can access and read on.

Worldwide Mobile subscribers and movie fans can access to the mobile portal and bookmark it, log on at TMSsearch.com using an Internet mobile phone, and enter the shortcode: HKIFF 2010. Movie goers can also go to the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s website, and click on the mobile portal’s banner to receive the direct link to the HKIFF mobile portal (a service powered by TheTMSway) via a free SMS message alert.

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HK International Film Festival launches mobile portal (by Anita Davis/Media Asia)