There have been a few false starts in the Mobile Marketing space. These false starts have only confused marketers, businesses and consumers alike. But with the success of Smartphones, such as the iPhone and others, Mobile Marketing has finally got a seat at the Marketing dinner table, albeit a high-chair for now.

Businesses need to understand the key elements or components that are at our disposal in. The diagram below outlines the primary components that make up Mobile Marketing activity today.

Permission Channels

Permission Channels are all of the channels that are available to a marketer to notify consumers about the businesses Mobile Marketing program.

Businesses can use TV to get consumers to opt-in to their Mobile Marketing program or Print Ads that provide directions on how to opt-in to a campaign. A simple example of a Permission Channel is a Flower Shop or Dry Cleaner with a sign or a board at the point-of-sale asking customers to SMS the word “coupon” to a number to receive discounts or deals.

It is these Permission Channels that are the front line for a businesses Mobile Marketing program. It is the use of these traditional channels that will first educate and build a mobile relationship with consumers.

Mobile Messaging

On average mobile phone users send more Mobile Messages, primarily SMS, than they make phone calls. Text messaging (SMS) and multimedia messaging (MMS) is the highest used functionality on a mobile phone today. Mobile Messaging is the first form of communication that occurs in the majority of Mobile Marketing programs that businesses will run.

This Outbound Mobile Marketing activity will provide either the value directly (i.e. Alert,
Coupon Code) or a link to a mobile website to collect the value. In order to manage the delivery of these campaigns and permission database, businesses will need to utilise the services of a Mobile Messaging Platform provider.

These providers give businesses the ability to build opt-in lists, via mobile short codes, send out Mobile Message campaigns and provide automated mobile response communications.

Mobile Websites

Mobile Web access is rising in all major markets worldwide. It is critical that businesses ensure that they have developed a mobile web presence that takes advantage of the ever-increasing Inbound Mobile Marketing activity.

It is critical that mobile users are viewing a mobile version or mobile friendly version of your businesses website. Your existing website has been developed to be viewed on a computer, it has not been optimised for access via a mobile phone.

A mobile version of your website is not about the experience, it is about efficiency. Businesses must provide the most valuable information up front to a mobile web user. Time is the issue. Mobile web users are information commandos and they need to be able to quickly and easily access the most critical pieces of information relevant to your business.

Below are some of the key design principals and tips when planning your Mobile Website:

1. Keep it Simple (employ the KISS principle to everything)
2. Think about the demographics of your customers.
3. Provide the most important (to your audience) content up front.
4. Very flat structure for the navigation.
5. Only up and down scrolling.
6. Large Clickable buttons or navigation areas.
7. Try to limit images.
8. Test your site using online mobile emulators.

Mobile Advertising

apple iAdIn November 2009 Google purchased Admob for $750 million dollars US. In January of 2010 Apple acquired Quattro Wireless and in April Apple launched its iAd Mobile Advertising Platform. These acquisitions and developments are key moments in the evolution of the Mobile Advertising industry. It signalled that Mobile Advertising had become an important channel in the future of Digital Advertising.

There are essentially 2 types of Mobile Advertising:

1. Mobile Web Display Advertising and;
2. Mobile App Display Advertising

Mobile Web Display Advertising involves Ads that are served on Mobile Websites. Mobile App Display Advertising involves Ads that are served within Mobile Applications.

Mobile Apps

Mobile Applications or Mobile App’s consist of software that runs on a mobile device and performs certain tasks for the user of the mobile phone. The tasks are performed within the application that is downloaded on to the Mobile Phone.

Mobile App’s are common on most phones available in the market place today. But it has been the advent of Smartphones, such as the iPhone, that have seen the rapid development of functionality available and the number of Mobile App’s available.

eBay recently revealed that 6 Million + people have downloaded the eBay iPhone App and buyers and sellers have generated $500 Million of transactions via Mobile during 2009.

Mobile App’s provide businesses with the opportunity to increase brand exposure and corner a market for a certain type of interaction or transaction, provided that the App that they develop and release makes completing the task easier.

If the Mobile App has a strong value proposition and solves a problem that exists in a market then the business has a fantastic opportunity to ensure that their brand is front of mind for consumers and the first brand considered in the purchasing process.

Conclusion

Over the next decade Mobile Marketing will be one of the most influential Marketing channels available to businesses. Functionality and capabilities will continue to advance, as will the usage patterns of Mobile Phone owners.

It is critical for businesses that they start to develop their Mobile Marketing strategies now. Starting with building a Permission based Opt-in Mobile database. To accompany this database, businesses must also build a Mobile specific version of their Website.

Steve Jobs announced on Monday that Apple’s yet to be released iAd Network already had more than $60 Million Dollars in advertising commitments for 2010. With some pretty impressive names lined up to be the first to take a lick:

• Nissan
• Citibank
• Unilever
• AT&T
• GE
• Chanel
• Liberty Mutual
• GEICO
• Campbell Soups
• State Farms
• Sears
• JC Penney
• Best Buy
• DirecTV
• Walt Disney

With at least one of those committing $10 Mil to the cause. Whats interesting and probably equally as important is that they cover an excellent cross section of verticals from Insurance, Retail, Finance, Automotive to Entertainment and FMCG.

iAd, which is built into the newly announced iOS 4, lets users stay within their application while engaging with the ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an application or buy iTunes content.

It will be interesting to watch the effect that iAd has on the proliferation of App development and the price of App’s.

The launch of iAd and the new iOS4 and iPhone 4, will see another significant moment in history for Mobile Marketing and Mobile Advertising.

Keyword Spy regularly releases a list of the Top 1000 Paid Search search advertisers.  The breakdown of the Top 10 advertisers is interesting. Four out of the Top 10 are Auto Insurance and 1 is Home Loans. The other 5 are made up of 1 Travel and 2 retailers and 2 marketplaces.

Top 10 Paid Search Advertisers Globally

1. Expedia.com
2. Amazon.com
3. Progressive.com
4. Target.com
5. GEICO.com
6. UnitrinDirect.com
7. eBay.com
8. NexTag.com
9. QuickenLoans.com
10. esurance.com

It comes as no surprise that 5 out of the Top 10 are in the financial industry. All with very clear understanding of the value and in particular the lifetime value of customer. Hence they are able to have a clear understanding of  a Cost versus Conversion analysis and a specific ceiling for pricing.

Similarly, the two retailers will have a clear understanding of the profit and break even numbers for the purchase and conversion numbers, the difference for these advertisers is the diversity of product, price and profit margins.

Probably the most interesting is NexTag, a comparison shopping marketplace. As with eBay they are more of an enabler, but with potentially a less direct model that of eBay.

The day has finally arrived.

The Apple iPad is live in Aust. Not before time mind you. But good things come to those who wait, I guess.

Interesting to see the different pricing models for the iPad.

The WiFi Only Pricing

> 16GB – $629

> 32GB – $759

> 64GB – $879

The WiFi +3G Pricing

> 16GB – $799

> 32GB – $928

> 64GB – $1,049

With the WiFi +3G you will also have the purchase a Data Plan from either:

> Telstra

> Vodafone

> Three

To enable 3G service on your iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G, you need a micro-SIM card and a data plan. A number of carriers offer no-contract data plans for iPad, and you can activate 3G service anytime after installing the micro-SIM card.

So now it is a matter of finding the coin to get one and hope that they are not sold out

Paid search has always been a direct response marketing medium.

But can it be used for brand building and brand awareness campaigns?

It can be if you can come up with great ideas and execution. Just by thinking outside of the box and using all the levers available to you.

Take a look at this fantastic execution for Converse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHtyQJzTy70

Check out the big brain on the Internet!

Like the brain is millions and millions of connected neurons, so to is the Internet with millions and millions of connected computers.

But do the similarities just stop there?

The Internet’s ability to quickly respond to information requests from one source to another is not dis-similar to the brain’s ability to do the same.

Does it mean that the Internet will start to develop self thought and feelings?

Perhaps it is beginning to do that now with explosion of Social Media content.

The way the brain functions and operates is being looked at for how the Internet will be used in the future.

One of the difficult things with Digital Marketing & Digital Media is being able to understand the landscape. Being able to classify all the different elements or categories of elements that are available to us as marketers.

One of most confusing elements is that of  Social Media Marketing. There are so many sub-elements of the Social Media landscape.  Each with their own role or unique function that they play in bringing Social Media to life.

The guys over at The Conversation Prism have created a fantastic Map of the Social Media landscape.

What I like about this is that allows marketers to understand and sort the different forms of conversation or social interactions that can occur online and where they are happening.

Now it does not mean that we have a blueprint for implementation but at least you can find your way around.

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas

In November 2009 Google purchased Admob for $750 million dollars US and in January of 2010 Apple acquired Quattro Wireless. These acquisitions by Google and Apple were key moments in the evolution of the Mobile Advertising industry. It signaled that Mobile Advertising has become an important channel in the future of Digital Advertising. A channel that is expected to be worth $6 Billion by 2014.

There are essentially 2 types of Mobile Advertising.

1. Mobile Web Display Advertising
2. Mobile App Display Advertising

Mobile Web Display Advertising involves Ads that are served on Mobile Websites. Mobile App Display Advertising involves Ads that are served with Mobile Apps.

Mobile Advertising is growing with technical advances allowing for more impacting and creative ads including Video. It is estimated that Mobile Ad Banners are currently achieving 1% Click Thru rates, which is significantly higher than traditional Online Display Advertising.

According to research from Mobile Marketing Magazine 70% of people would put up with Ads in an application if the application were free. This will see an increase in the number of free Mobile App’s that are launched by developers and commercially supported by advertising revenue models.

The following are some of the major Mobile Advertising Networks that provide the ability for marketers to purchase and manage their Mobile Advertising campaigns.

AdMob (www.admob.com)

InMobi (www.inmobi.com)

MobClix (www.mobclix.com)

Quattro Wireless (www.quattrowireless.com)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swv7KUQO5UA

Microsoft has started its foray into the Social Media landscape with the launch of its Social Media aggregation service called Spindex. With the strange domain of Spindex.me. That is Spindex by the way not Spandex.

Basically what it does or suppose to do is manage all your Social Media interactions and communications via one centralised control panel or dashboard if you like.

So it is about simplifying the increasingly onerous task of managing all your different online social interactions, whether it is lifecasting via Twitter or managing all your pics and games on Facebook.

The challenge is going to be whether or not Microsoft can successful insert a layer in to peoples Social Media exchanges. Not sure that it can and if people will take to it. They certainly have the deep pockets to get the message out there.

I just wonder if the real success for a Social Media aggregator would more likely come from a Mobile App than a desktop.

It’s a shame but the release of the Apple iPad in Australia has been delayed again. The current word on the street is that it will be available in “late May” according to Apple. They are rumored to be taking back orders on May 10.

It has mean’t that there are a few people making some good coin from selling iPad’s that they have bought back from a recent trip to the US, on eBay. With one rumored to have been sold for $1500.

There are 3 versions of the iPad at the moment:

- 16GB ($499 USD)
- 32GB ($599 USD)
- 64GB ($699 USD)

Not sure that the 16GB is a wise purchase. I would suggest 32 or 64 would be the way to go.

The good thing with the Australian launch is both WiFi and 3G will be available at the same time.

Till then its either be lucky enough to pick-up one whilst you are O/S or wait patiently.