The Weather Channel iPhone app, long one of the most popular, has gotten its first redesign since 2009. Nice, but you still can't stop it from raining.

Who is scanning QR codes? Scanbuy says it's 68 percent males.

Eight percent of magazine pages had a mobile bar code during Q1. That’s a move toward the passive becoming interactive.

Coca Cola will use mobile and music in a London Olympics effort to "inspire youth". Included are a wide variety of mobile tactics, including SMS, apps, and more.

Beyond the hardware change, I await a new iPhone most for have-to-have Siri improvement. It’s shocking that Apple heavily advertises such a poor experience.

Speaking of which, there are several “new” reports that Steve Jobs influenced the design of the next iPhone. There is no news here. Product cycles are that far out.

Does size matter (in tablets)? Amazon is looking to turn around its slumping Kindle Fire sales with a screen three inches larger.

T-Mobile makes good points in downplaying shared data plans. Who wants to keep track of the family's consumption?

An Apple board member says an iCar designed by Jobs would've taken 50 percent of auto market. That’s laughable.

American Express’ mobile strategy, like its social efforts, is deeply rooted in measurable sales. Imagine that.

Marketers take note: one tablet generates as many website visits as four smartphones, according to a report.

70 percent of mobile app users pay little or nothing, a study says. It explains how a large number of app makers don't make money.

30 percent of Groupon transactions in North America were completed on mobile devices in Q1. It was 25 percent in December 2011.

Teenagers believe that adults text as much as they do - which means a lot, a survey says. That’s surprising.

Mobile apps or mobile Web? If the goal is to reach as many makes and models of devices, then mobile-optimized websites are a natural first choice. If it’s about building “experiences”, then mobile apps — front and center on our smartphones— may have some advantages. It’s often a confusing decision for marketers to make, and the right choice depends on what brands want. However, new numbers from Nielsen boost the argument that apps are gaining some serious traction (despite an increased focus by brands on the mobile Web and excitement about the improvements promised by HTML5).

Comparing 2012 to 2011, the research company discovered U.S. mobile subscribers are moving to smartphones and downloading more apps.

Among the findings:

• Smartphones are 50 percent of penetration, up 12 percent from the previous year

• The average number of downloaded apps per device has gone from 42 to 51

• 88 percent of iOS and Android users have downloaded an app vs. 74 percent a year ago

• The number of iOS and Android users has risen to 84 million from 38 million

• Time spent on apps is up 10 percent despite the advancement of the mobile Web

• The time spent on the Top 50 apps has gone down from 74 percent to 58 percent

Some things have seen little or no change. The top five apps continue to be Facebook, YouTube, Android Market, Google Search and Gmail. And smartphone owners spend just slightly more time on apps each day (37 minutes a day in 2011 compared to 39 minutes today).

Also, privacy continues to be a concern, with the vast majority of users (70 percent in 2011 and 73 percent in 2012) expressing concern over personal data collection. 

What’s more, 55 percent are wary about sharing information about their location via smartphone apps.

How I See It: There are few absolutes in mobile. I never bought the debate that tried to make us believe that mobile Web and mobile apps was an either/or situation. As marketers, we need to follow the numbers, keep an open mind, and anticipate what’s next. Yes, apps appear to be on the rise. But we have to dig deeper and ask “why”. One driver is the always-on nature of apps across the board. Many apps (like games) can be used even when there is no connectivity. We know that many apps are downloaded —but we also have evidence that many apps lose their appeal quickly and are rarely, if ever, used. In contrast, a mobile website is a more of a necessity than a novelty. People require access to optimized destinations using their mobile devices and they expect brands to provide mobile-friendly experiences once they get there. This — as I learned from ESPN while researching my newly released Mobilized Marketing book — is critical. Mobile users often punish brands that fail to deliver a great mobile experience.

(post also appeared on mobilegroove.com http://www.mobilegroove.com/mobile-usage-hot-trends-mobile-apps-multi-screen-...

I saw where Polaroid eyes mobile for users to experience the "magic of instant in way that only Polaroid can deliver". That makes my spring hype award list.

Pew says that 18 percent of smartphone owners use a geosocial service to check in to certain locations or share their location with friends. That is a meaningful number (around 30 million), but far from the key element in a mobile “reach strategy”. That would be SMS or the mobile web. Preferably both.

I don't buy report that Siri is missing from the iPad because Apple can't make it look good on tablet. I bet that it’s more about an overloaded system just with iPhone 4Ss.

There were ads for pizza and for free obituary searches on Barnes and Noble page of Mobilized Marketing book.

Given the lack of news at CTIA Wireless 2012 (see previous post), do you think that companies are kicking themselves for missing the chance to be one to stand out?

The Angry Birds follow-up is dubbed ‘Amazing Alex’. The word amazing should be reserved for Angry Birds.

Urban Airship’s CEO says that we have years of education ahead of us when it comes to selling in mobile. Hopefully we’re on the other side of the mountain.

It may be that the loyalty play is more meaningful to Google than its new offers showing up on maps, including on mobile. There is lots of money in remarketing and remonetizing.

Blue Droid RAZRs are due in stores. Remember when pink RAZRs were the hot phone? No, I didn't have one, but I could have by accident (I’m colorblind).

Fast Company says that a company turns your Instagram pictures into canvas wall art that anyone can buy. Can buy or will buy?

We’ve all seen this - mobile devices are increasingly being used as a mother’s helper when her kids are bored, according to eMarketer.

Finally some reason - MasterCard says: "No single (mobile) wallet will rule them all".

Six years ago, when I went to my first CTIA Wireless show, the competition for attention was so fierce that those of us introducing products and services needed to decide whether to pre-announce or to spend freely at the event.

At that conference in 2006, when I was with InfoSpace, we lured media and other CTIA attendees to our booth with performances by skateboard legend Tony Hawk. And, even then, we fought hard to get noticed.

By contrast, in the vibrant city of New Orleans, this week’s CTIA show was notable because of the silence.

So, what changed?

For one thing, the race to get mobile offerings into the marketplace is not run on CTIA’s timeline.

The wireless association moved back its spring show about a month to get distance from the Consumer Electronics Show in January – which has more of a mobile focus every year – as well as the global GSMA conference in Barcelona in February. That strategy did not lead to high-profile product launches in New Orleans. Frankly, there were not many – or even any – low-profile launches worth mentioning.

Plus, some of the key players in mobile do not launch hardware or software at the mass conferences – Apple, for one, has its own events and never exhibits with the rest of the ecosystem.

Some of the largest companies did not bring their booths to New Orleans – Samsung, Microsoft and Research In Motion were among those absent, undoubtedly because they are between launch cycles.

What did get done at the Ernest S. Morial Convention Center?

Lots of business development conversations were conducted. Surely, M&A talks were held as well given the increased interest in mobile, especially at scale. There certainly is value there and CTIA should be commended for bringing the people to one place to talk.

I did not meet one brand marketer. Honestly, there was little to see and hear when it came to case studies and real-world lessons.

I am often asked by marketers to identify the top shows to attend.

Mobile Marketer and its sister publication, Mobile Commerce Daily, frequently conduct events – Mobile FirstLook in January, Mcommerce Summit in May: State of Mobile Commerce and Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus in September – that feature rich case studies and top-notch marketers. Mostly brands, retailers, agencies, financial institutions and publishers attend.

Next month, the Mobile Marketing Association holds its Mobile Marketing Forum in New York. About 1,000 are expected with the group mostly made up of brands, agencies and mobile service providers. There are other worthwhile shows for marketers coming up in the summer and fall.

In New Orleans, there was talk of spectrum, security and the connected home, among other subjects. The topics were not new and neither were the comments.

“Wireless service is part of the social fabric of nearly everyone in the country,” is what we heard from the CEO of a major carrier.

Got it. That made neither noise nor news.

(post first appeared on Mobile Marketer)

 

While we're obviously bullish on mobile, one of the tips offered in my Mobilized Marketing book is to not place all your chips on the channel.

That piece of advice is included in a column I wrote for Mobile Marketer that I'm reposting on this site.

The word pioneer is overused, but it is accurate to describe those who were the earliest into mobile marketing. Many of their efforts worked and others fell flat.

I interviewed more than three dozen of these mavericks for my book, “Mobilized Marketing: Driving Sales, Engagement, and Loyalty Through Mobile Devices.” Their experiences – good and bad – provide lessons that potentially could move your business.

Here is advice from some of those who were the first to include mobile in their integrated marketing plans:

Be brave

You will be hard-pressed to find a smarter businessperson than Hank Wasiak, an ad man for more than four decades who has led small firms and global agencies, while always seeking to reach his target audience on a personal level.

“Technology opened the door to what consumers always felt anyway – back in my day when we were doing IR [infrared] scores to gauge television commercials and saying how hard it was to break through, the average recall for a 30-second spot was maybe 25 percent of the people who were forced to look at a commercial would remember it,” Mr. Wasiak said.

“They were telling us then, ‘I want it the way I want it when I want it.’ We just didn’t have the capability to do it. Now we do. Mobile, it gets you connected but it’s part of your life in a functional way, in an emotional way, an entertaining way, in a lifesaving way,” he said.

And Mr. Wasiak, former vice chairman of McCann Erickson WorldGroup who is now a partner at The Concept Farm, says fire sooner rather than later.

“To me, the key thing when looking at something is to be early and fast,” he said. “I’ve been the poster child for this.

“You want to overthink things sometimes. You want to get it perfect but things move so fast. To me in this world, especially in mobile, iteration is more important than innovation. You can find out quickly because you’re in real time in the hip pocket, the breast pocket and in the heart of your consumers.

“You have to put on a flak jacket and get a little more risk averse.”

Use mobile measurement tools even if they are not perfect

Nirvana would include a dashboard that showed marketers all of their initiatives in real time. That would allow for assessment and optimization long before the post mortem when, of course, it is too late to affect a program. Some have refused to spend on mobile until measurement is more advanced.

ESPN’s John Kosner says that a bigger flow of brand dollars to mobile will solve the mobile metrics woes.

“It’s weak now, but in my experience the measurement follows the money,” said ESPN’s general manager of digital and print media. “Everybody complains where it is now. I think we’ll see significant expansion in the measurement in the next 5 to 10 years.

“In the meantime, I think companies like ours – that have great products, demonstrate scale and represent a safe buy – we may benefit disproportionately in a world less measured,” he said.

“I think the lack of strong metrics is a frustration for marketers today, but I think it’s a mistake not to get started and learn this thing. Television has been an inefficient science forever and it is by far the most popular medium. This is going to be a booming business.”

Do not bet it all on mobile

Mikes Orkin eyed wireless interaction as soon as he joined the American Cancer Society in 2002 as National Director of Web and mobile.

His first move was measured, aligning his organization with the Mobile Giving Foundation, a nonprofit group that gave mobile subscribers the ability to donate to nonprofits through a text pledge that would appear on their mobile phone bill.

 “Text-to-give seemed to be a relevant tool for us,” he recalls. “I wouldn’t say that it was a smashing success, but it put mobile in people’s consciousness. Haiti got exposure for text to give [$32 million was raised for the American Red Cross in 2010 after a devastating earthquake with 95 percent of the consumers who texted in to the Haiti campaign being first-time donors to the organization, according to ARC]. We’re never going to be that. Cancer isn’t an earthquake, a fire or a flood. But we thought maybe the phone can help us.

“We ran small pilots only within (ACS) divisions that were interested. We kept the overhead as ridiculously low as possible so we didn’t have to be a massive success. You have to be prepared to set yourself up to fail but do it in a measured way.

“Don’t bet that you will be the next [Facebook founder/CEO] Mark Zuckerberg. If you fail, you will be selling coffee. So we didn’t bet the whole nest egg.”

 

Lots of forecasts are out on what will happen in mobile in 2016 and 2017. Big growth in all, but wide disparity in the numbers. Does anyone know in such a morphing category? For presentations, I’ve been asked to focus only on the next six months. That’s really what matters to marketers.

Missed last week's webinar with the Mobile Marketing Association on my Mobilized Marketing book? You can see it here https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/933811590

Should we take the half full or half empty view on this one? According to Harris, 20 percent of U.S. consumers buy via mobile and 62 percent couldn’t care less. Twenty percent of American mobile subscribers is more than 60 million people. I’ll take the half full position this early in mobile. Why, another report says that mobile commerce accounts for 13.3 percent of all online sales – and that’s growing rapidly.

A report says that 80 percent of app developers don't make enough money to support a business. It has been this way since beginning of apps.

By 2016, tablets will outship netbook PCs, NPD says. Significant but it does not signal the death of the computer – it will be more of a co-existence.

Amazon Kindle Fire reportedly slipped to 4 percent of tablet market shipped last quarter vs. 17 percent the previous quarter. If true, more iPads sold in 5 days than Fire shipped in quarter.

Websites have been found to contain malware targeting Android devices. Having spent time working in the security category, I’ll tell you that it will take a major outbreak for people to care. And, even then, many won’t.

Apple fanboy delight – stat that two-thirds of top U.S. carrier sales in Q1 were iPhones.

The Draw Something app has seen its daily user base drop from 15 million to 10 million. The company drew a blank on an explanation.

Seven of the top ten grossing iOS apps and 6 of the top ten grossing Android apps are integrated with Facebook. Of course, that’s part of the reason that they are top grossing.

I saw that Apple "discussed" putting a keyboard on the iPhone. Is there news here? Would it had launched the product without pondering the possibility?

With billion-dollar and exclusive usage rights in place, the Olympic Games have always been about big money and feverishly policed by lawyers on behalf of brands, content owners and media giants. But the advent of mobile and social — which allow us all to mash up content the way we like and share it with anyone using YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and other properties — make me question whether anyone (even high-powered lawyers) can hold back the tide.

The advance of user-generated content and consumers’ assumption that they are in control of their content and experiences has huge implications for the London Games — and the brands lining up to get mileage out of the event.

Seeking to prevent guerilla tactics from non-Olympic Games’ sponsors, the International Olympic Committee has decided to restrict precisely how athletes can transmit photos and other information to networks and the wider world.

Yes, you read this right.

The IOC has introduced The Olympic Athletes’ Hub, which it says will include the verified social media feeds of more than 1,000 current and former Olympians. According to Mashable, this destination will post content directly from athletes’ Facebook and Twitter accounts, and incorporate a gamification layer incentivizing fans to interact with the site. Users will be able to access exclusive training-tips videos and gain virtual and real-world prizes according to how many athletes they like and follow online.

Significantly, athletes will not be allowed to tweet photos of themselves with products that aren’t those of the official Olympics sponsors. They are also not permitted to share photos or videos from inside the athletes’ village.

Amazingly, the restrictions don’t only apply to the athletes. Fans who are ticketholders are also barred from sharing photos and videos of themselves during Games’ action via Facebook and YouTube.

The crackdown is largely linked to a pair of new and stringent brand-protecting acts passed in the U.K. in preparation for the Games. (By way of background — and via the Guardian — the pieces of legislation are the 2006 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act, and the 1995 Olympic Symbol (Protection) Act.)

I have a long history with the Olympics, first as a reporter (Los Angeles 1984), and later as a brand marketer (Atlanta 1996, Nagano 1998, and Salt Lake City 2002). Traditionally, the national and international Olympic organizations have been aggressive (and successful) in seeking to prevent non-sponsors from associating with the Games. But that was before smartphones and tablets. Will these new measures stem the tide of user-generated content and activity? Don’t bet on it. Instead, expect to see ‘bootleg’ footage and content from people at the Games. And watch the Olympic lawyers come after brands and individuals who violate these new rules.

The upshot? The Olympics aren’t the only games we will be watching this summer. While it might seem easier for companies (and people) to get around large sponsorship fees by harnessing user-generated content and content created by companies that are not official sponsors, be prepared for a tussle as rights owners struggle to lock down content and distribution in an age where mobile has changed the idea of ownership forever.

(post first appeared on mobilegroove.com http://www.mobilegroove.com/london-olympic-games-crack-down-hard-on-social-me...

 

One of the more memorable and decorated campaigns I worked on in 12 years in agencies was the 3:21 Wakeup Call for Tully’s developed by WongDoody.

The challenge for Tully’s was to establish awareness of its blended drinks, especially difficult with the attention given to Starbucks’ Frappuccino.

WongDoody devised a mid-afternoon barrage of outdoor media, high school bands playing Reveille in the streets (and near Starbucks and Tully’s locations) and a sampling. http://www.wdcw.com/work/project/47/tullys_coffee_321_wakeup_call/

Beyond the noise it created, Tully’s blended drink sales increased by 24 percent and unit volume (year over year) increased by 77 percent during the first four weeks of the promotion that ultimately won an Effie for advertising effectiveness.

I thought of the program this week when Mobile Marketer asked me about Starbucks using SMS reminders to push its Frappuccino Happy Hour. Starbucks sent out an email blast to its My Starbucks Rewards consumers, asking them if they would like reminders about the promotion.

As discussed in earlier posts, many stop what they are doing when a text message arrives with a bing or ping.

“(The Starbucks program) plays on the effectiveness of a permission-based SMS that gives a consumer what he or she wants.” I told Mobile Marketer. “Email doesn’t provide such immediacy, so employing SMS in this case is smart.”

Celebrity Cruises is growing its mobile database via SMS and QR codes in print advertisements that offer chances to sign up for weekly emails, talk to a representative and enter a sweepstakes.

Mobile Marketer asked for my take on the program. Here's what I told the publication:

“SMS calls-to-action often lead to an opt-in relationship with a consumer that is a win for the brand and win for the subscriber if it is based on a value exchange. We have seen travel brands use SMS to educate, differentiate their products and services and promote sales, especially in reaction to a competitor’s price movement.

“Since text messages are opened up within minutes, the offer is seen in a timely fashion as opposed to an email that may languish in an email inbox overflowing with spam."

I added:

"Savvy brands are giving mobile users choice. Consumers, especially affluent ones, do not want to be dictated to – give them an ability to interact with your brand on their terms, not the brand’s.

“We have moved into the era of interactivity. Ads without calls-to-action via mobile miss the opportunity that is created when the device is within reach of a consumer all day and all night. Consumers are looking to do something when they read a print publication and brands that do not take this into account are living in a bygone era.”

The full article is here http://www.luxurydaily.com/celebrity-cruises-builds-database-via-mobile-calls...

The first reviews are in for Mobilized Marketing. I'm humbled and grateful.

Thom Kennon

SVP, Director of Strategy

Y&R

“I’ve been lucky enough to have been doing mobile for about as long as it’s been a viable marketing channel and touchpoint.  I was thrilled when I found out Jeff was writing this book since I knew full well the story hadn’t yet been told.  And I also believed there was no one better suited and positioned to tell it than Hasen, looking back and forward from his prime seat at the head of the table at Hipcricket.

“Jeff’s unique role in our industry’s founding origin stories afford him superb and actionable insights about where we’re heading.  Jeff gets that mobile is not one thing – it isn’t just ‘little digital’.  It isn’t just apps or messaging.  And it certainly isn’t just about media.  Jeff gets the big picture -- that what’s really going on is a new era of brand marketing and human behaviors that is best summed up by what some of us call ‘mobilityness’.  Jeff gets that mobilityness matters and this book is about the how and the why.  It is a tale is both instructive and inspirational as it uncovers the key lessons learned over the past 10 years of early mobile and point us towards the opportunities which lie ahead for the future of all marketing, with mobile as its beating heart.”

Michael Becker

Managing Director, North America

Mobile Marketing Association 

“Jeff is a superb storyteller and in this book he takes you through the story of mobile and its place within the marketing mix. At every step along the way, he shares key lessons and insights that will help you ask the right questions and know how to get the right answer.  Jeff will prepare you to embrace mobile in a way that will help you deliver value to your customers, your employer and your career.” 

Miles Orkin

Former National Director, Web and Mobile

American Cancer Society

“Mobile marketing is about giving your customer the right message via the right channel at the right time. When it works well, nothing is more intimate and effective. Jeff knows what works. And the stories from mobile marketing leaders he features in this book add detail and dimension to Jeff's compelling strategic insights. It's a fast, informative, entertaining read, and it will set you up with a clear point of view on the latest mobile thinking. 

“If you want your audience to pick up their phones and engage with your brand, you need to pick up this book!”