Emerging mobile marketing formulas

Richard Robbins is the director of media innovation at AT&T, the blessed mobile carrier partnered with Apple to serve packets to it's iPhone from tomorrow. On imedia connection he's quoted as giving this little gem in response to the question of "what advice he would give to creatively market on the mobile platform?":

• Keep yourself in the mind of the consumer


• Figure out ways to leverage the benefits for the channel.


• Incorporate your mobile campaigns into your other campaigns.

Part of the challenge is said to be getting people to use their phones to interact when there are other options. Like what I wonder? In terms of enterainment on mobiles, "it must be good and it must be simple to use, it can't just be novel or too clever". We don't want to desensitise people to mobile content now, do we. There must be a compelling reason to add a mobile campaign to a marketing plan: "When it's done right and there is a good reason, mobile is incredibly powerful".

Done right, with a good reason. Well, that's easy then.

Telstra technology chief - old and stupid

What's Telstra's technology chief Greg Winn getting paid? I don't want to know. Earlier in the year he had this to say about the iPhone:

"There's an old saying -- stick to your knitting -- and Apple is not a mobile phone manufacturer, that's not their knitting."

From apcmag.com

Not their knitting? Must be an old saying. Yeah, Apple's not a mobile phone manufacturer, just like a few years ago they weren't a portable music player manufacturer, and until recently they weren't a digital movie retailer... arse!

Suddenly Telstra has "softened it's iPhone criticism". It's threat level has been downgraded to that of "please, please consider us as your iPhone carrier, the other networks are old and slow but we're oh so modern and quick", you know, like Greg Winn.

How to repell a youthfull audience

Screw them over with crazy mobile pricing plans

A Dr Nina Weerakoddy, a communications lecturer at Deakin University, at Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, reports via news.com.au that it's not unusual for teenagers in Australia to rack up bills of $100 a month. Way to go.

So typical of the mentality down here - slow down progress as much as possible to squeeze out every last cent without giving in to innovation.

I was really impressed by the 3 network's x-series pricing plan (that I needed Google to find, tsk tsk) which can provide 2Gb of packets a month for $40. Then the iPhone rocks along and offers unlimited packets for $US60 a month.

That's how to grow a loyal user base.

Survey shows 26% favourable response to sponsored text links in mobile searches

I've long suspected the most valuable feature of a mobile device is locating businesses and services while on the move. The much hyped and anticipated iPhone will give us it's take on how mobile search should be done in a few days. Didn't notice much advertising going on there, but a recent survey shows that might change.

A pay-per call ad provider called Ingenio is putting out stats through ClickZ News that One in Five Users Gives Mobile Search and Audio Ads Thumbs Up. Think AdSense links next to search results, fair enough.

So long as the carriers get their fair(?) share of the action, that could work.

Paying mobile users to receive ads

Not as crazy as it sounds?

Some mobile marketing companies are experimenting with various models, including discounting mobile user's monthly fees for each text ad they opt-in to receive according to their interests. No-one wants spam in their phones, but lots of people would want to receive notifications of discounts and special offers for goods and services they're interested in. Is this a viable solution?

I'd like to know how "HooHaa" as they're called sign up new subscribers and harvest their demographic data, and the same for how they sign up advertisers and label and categorise them. Seems to me their success hinges on their execution of matching mobile users interests with advertisers. An arena an established advertising company like Google could trounce with their AdSense network should they decide to go mobile.

Text marketing enters the fray, from nzherald.co.nz