Mobile

While at the Consumer Electronics Show, I moderated a panel at Digital Hollywood on “Mobile Commerce and Content: The Mobile Web, Texting, Search, and Advertising Options.” As you can see, the panel covered a lot of ground, and I can’t begin to capture it all. But I did take some notes and I’ll share those here.

I need to thank my panelists here for all their insight, and I wish I could have done the session more justice, but look out for any of them at other events as you’re guaranteed to learn a few things.

• Ali Rana, Vice President, Digital Strategy, Dynamic Logic
• Jamie Wells, Director, Global Trade Marketing, Microsoft Mobile Advertising
• Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Americas and Asia Pacific, mBlox
• Thomas Roberts, Chief Product Officer, Digital and Mobile Services, kgb
• Pooj Preena, CEO, Groupe Hi-Media USA;
• Greg Fawcett, co-founder, MobiAd Sales

Read the full article »

Image via The Globe and Mail

While Google didn’t manage to offer too many surprises when it released the Nexus One today, it did deliver another generally well reviewed phone running on the Android operating system. The biggest knock is that many, like Engadget, miss the multi-touch functionality and the physical keyboard.

The long-term effects of Google getting into the hardware business are unclear. Google’s selling the phone directly through google.com/phone, and that may hurt some of its relationships with carriers. But Google’s also selling a phone that requires a pricey data plan that will run a minimum of $70/month, so with more consumers upgrading to phones that cost $1,000 a year or so, that could help smooth things over. And part of Google’s mission is to make phones consumers love – it’s a point of pride for Google to offer the best phone on the market – so the happier consumers are with their devices, the more likely they’ll at least tolerate the service providers.

The short-term effects will be more Android phones on the market, giving Android the potential to continue to eat away at others’ market share. As Silicon Alley Insider reported, interest in Android is coming at the expense of other phones – namely iPhones and those running Windows Mobile and Palm OS. Marketers will inevitably follow market share.

Read the full article »

(Image via Google)

Google announced Monday its plans to acquire mobile display advertising company AdMob for a cool $750 million in company stock. The search giant asserts that “great mobile advertising products can encourage even more growth in the mobile ecosystem” and that together Google and AdMob will work on the future of mobile advertising.

The future looks bright. Mobile phones have rapidly become a main communication channel thanks to enhancements to mobile Internet browsers and the staggering app market boom. Another sign demonstrative of mobile’s emergence is the growth of AdMob itself – in just three years the company has surged to the top of the mobile ad market, serving more than 10 billion monthly impressions across 15,000 sites worldwide.

Here’s what Google says the acquisition will do for the mobile market’s three prime stakeholders:

• For consumers – Expect more mobile content and better, more relevant, mobile ads.
• For publishers (of mobile sites and apps) – The deal will allow for sophisticated products and tools that will lead to more effective monetization solutions.
• For advertisers – Google says marketers will be better equipped to engage consumers in the mobile space by delivering “more relevant ads and greater reach.”

This deal will help propel the mobile industry by encouraging mobile ad spend, which currently pales in comparison to other digital mediums, such as display. Yet given the discrepancies in spend, mobile usage continues to rise to dramatic levels, and advertising must keep pace.

Though the integration between Google and AdMob will not be finalized for a couple of months, the prospective implications of the deal loom large for marketers in the digital space. One thing we know for sure: Google’s status as an industry leader makes the acquisition an effectual vote of confidence for the future of mobile.

It’s an app world, and we’re just living it. Last month, Apple announced its two billionth application download. More proof of the surging interest: Apple doubled its number of downloads in about half the time it took to hit the one billion mark.

Apple’s advertising claims that there’s an app for everything. In fact, the world’s more than 50 million iPhone and iPod Touch users can now choose from more than 85,000 apps available in the App Store. But with such a crowded playing field, it’s hard to stand out. What ultimately determines the success of an app?

To find out, we looked at some of the hottest branded apps – those garnering substantial buzz in terms of downloads, ratings or pure word of mouth hype – and noted some common features that make them so effective.

1. Value – Does it enhance consumer experience with the brand?
2. Innovation – Is it unique in terms of creativity or functionality?
3. Purpose – Does it solve or address a specific challenge? Or, if the objective is to entertain, does it hit the mark?
4. Cool Factor – Would someone tell a friend about it, or tweet about it?

Read the full article »

In the social and mobile space, utility is a magic word. Figuring out how to make your customers’ lives easier – and still remain on brand – is like the holy grail. Zipcar, it seems, may have done just that with their new iPhone application, planned for release later this summer.

The app, developed in conjunction with Apple, lets users choose and reserve a car, then uses GPS and Google Maps to locate it. According to Wired blog Autopia, the app will also sound the car’s alarm if you find yourself stranded in a parking lot full of lookalikes. If, as Wired reports, fully one quarter of Zipcar’s customers are iPhone owners, this application is certainly a tool that will add value to their zipping experience.

Read the full article »

Dunkin Donuts delivers a location-based ad through digital map provider NAVTEQ (via Flickr).

This week, 360i welcomed a panel of guest speakers as part of its Innovation Learning Academy, a series of lectures and training sessions that help educate employees about emerging trends in digital marketing space. David Berkowitz, Director of Emerging Media & Client Strategy, moderated a discussion on location-based advertising – an area that’s poised to be “the next big advertising trend,” according to Mediaweek.

Guest speakers included:

• Scott Dunlap, CEO of NearbyNow
• Shafiq Sharrif, Director of Advertising Products at Whrrl
• Danny Reinert, Director of Interactive Advertising Sales at NAVTEQ
• Mike Burke, Emerging Business Group at Google

Read the full article »

I took a trip to D.C. this past weekend and was looking for some ice cream in Dupont Circle. Instead of doing a mobile search on Google, I turned to ChaCha. Who’s ChaCha? No – it’s not my crazy aunt who lives in D.C. ChaCha is a human-powered mobile search service. Employing more than 55,000 human guides, ChaCha fields millions of questions each month. The service is built on the belief that phones are for conversations and that mobile search is no different.

The service is built on the belief that phones are for conversations and that mobile search is no different. People want questions answered and they turn to ChaCha to get a human answer — not one generated by a search engine. When a user texts a question, they get a text answer in response. Speed varies depending on the question. For instance, my ice cream question took a couple minutes. If I text, “What time is it in Tokyo?” the answer comes back a lot faster.

Read the full article »