A couple of days ago I came across this little jewel! It's an extensive comparison test between all the mobile browsers of the latest and greatest mobile phones out there today.
I was impressed with the length they have gone to, to test the browsers. It is a very in-depth analysis, and for a pretty wide range of browsers as well, covering Smartphones (Opera Mini) to iPhone and Android devices.
I hope you will agree with me that such tests go way beyond the scope of mobile technology articles, and are directly related to mobile marketing. The results of such tests are essentially what will tell you, as a mobile marketer, what platforms to aim for, and what features you can include in your mobile website design, such that they will be supported by your target audience platform.
We are moving (quickly) beyond limited mobile browsers with minimum CSS + HTML support, JavaScript is becoming more widely supported, and it won't be too long before similar feature sets appear on both mobile and desktop browsers. Of course screen sizes will never match, so you still need different designs! - don't get me wrong. I'm only pointing out how useful it is to know which mobile browser supports what, at a glance, so yo (and I) can make much more informed decisions when planning our mobile marketing campaigns.
In particular, the article compares and analyses all of the below sections:
Page loading speed
Page layout
Flash supoprt
Fullscreen, landscape, auto-rotate
Zooming, panning, kinetic scrolling
JavaScript support
Text size setting and text reflow
Address suggestion, history and cache
Password manager and form auto-filling
Tabs and popup blocking
Downloads
Following this analysis the article then provides an overview of each of the following browsers that were tested individually:
Mobile Safari on iPhone 3GS (and 3G)
MicroB browser on Nokia N900
Opera Mobile 9.7 on HTC HD2
Internet Explorer Mobile 6 on HTC HD2
Opera Mobile 9.5 on Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO
Android Browser on Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10
Dolphin Browser on Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10
WebOS Browser on Palm Pre
S60 Browser on Samsung i8910 Omnia HD
S60 Browser on Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
Opera Mini 4.2 on HTC HD2
Finally, and perhaps more importantly, you can find below their full mobile browser comparison overview chart:
This article has a collection of Tips & Tricks on Interactive SMS Marketing / Text Message Marketing. These are all from my personal experience over the years, during which I have seen countless marketers (or their clients) make the same mistakes over and over again.
Most of these are pretty straightforward to follow, and I have written them (or tried to anyway) in an attempt to show you how you can easily improve on your campaigns, or, if you're just starting out, what to look out for, when buying and setting up such mobile marketing campaigns.
First, some background, for those of you not entirely familiarised with the idea of Interactive SMS Marketing. It's called interactive because consumers are required to initiate the process of participating in the campaign, by sending in an SMS to a short code, or virtual number, starting with a predefined keyword, and usually followed with some other text.
You're seeing loads of examples of this every day, sometimes even without noticing it (or if you're already in our business paying more attention to the mobile marketing ad than the rest of the page content.. ), which are usually of the form 'Text XXX to YYYYY to Win/Vote/etc'.
But let's get to the gist, and on to the actual hints & tips:
Know your audience
This is the single most important factor, and it is the same with any marketing campaign in general. With mobile marketing however, you are targeting people in a much more personal level. Their mobile is their most personal valuable electronic device. Being so personal, people are very (and I do mean VERY) picky about what they see and do on their mobile. It is important you take the time to think about the people in your audience as individuals, not as a mass. If you think it through and plan your campaign well, you will be rewarded!
Pick your rate / tariff
Continuing from the bullet above, your audience usually fits an age range / social class, etc -- but more importantly (for this bullet -- not as a life philosophy) a wallet. Think about how much they would spend. Don't think about how much YOU would spend -- you are not them. This also depends on the value of the 'prize' or the service being offered. It is certainly worth it (if you can afford it) to ask people in your target audience before you start your campaign what they'd be happy paying (then charge a tiny bit more).
Get a good deal
Just because you picked the right tariff doesn't mean you'll be maximising your profit. If you don't own the short code (which is VERY expensive if you're just looking to start an SMS campaign), depending on where you are in the world, you'll be charged setup fees (per short code / keyword / sub-keywords, etc -- this depends) or you'll only receive a share of the revenue generated by the SMS (e.g. for 20% share you'll get 0.2 euro for every 1 euro (+VAT) SMS people send in. Or you might get charged both. Do a little market research cause it can really make a difference.
Choose between short code / virtual number
In short: Short codes are usually 4-5 digits and are easier to remember because they are, well, shorter! :) Virtual Numbers are like mobile phone numbers (i.e. same number of digits, e.g. 10) but they're called virtual because they're not bound to a specific SIM card. Any SMS sent to that number is routed to your software for processing, no SIM needed. Why do you need a virtual number then if it's longer, right? Well, because it supports roaming! People from abroad (e.g. tourists) in your country CANNOT send an SMS to a short code, because it gets routed through the roaming network, to their own home network, and from there to the short code within their country. Your short codes only work in a specific country, virtual numbers work everywhere. Short codes are (much) easier to remember though. Think whether you want roaming support and take your pick!
Pick a good shortcode / virtual number
Ok, now you've got the rate / tariff right, and a good deal, it's time to think about the actual number. Just choose something that's easy to remember, or something that makes some sort of spelling sense. We don't use that type of mnemonic here in Greece, and isn't used much in Europe either, but it's a whole different story in the US. Just a heads up -- you might find that the companies with the best short codes / virtual numbers charge more.. so be prepared to look for alternatives too, if you want to make the most of it.
Pick a good keyword
Your short code's all setup, but you still need a keyword to bind to your service in order to make it all work. A keyword is the first sequence of letters until the first SPACE character. (Note: some SMS marketing platforms (google to find a suitable one) will trim leading spaces (i.e. when the SMS starts with a space), others will treat this as 'no-keyword'). You want your keyword to be i) easy to Remember , ii) easy to Spell, iii) Relevant with your service iv) Short. I use the RSRS shorthand ro remember this.
Also buy/use misspellings of your keyword(s).
I've turned this into a separate bullet because I think there's extra value here. DO NOT just get ONE keyword. People misspell the whole time (and not just bad spellers -- everyone does this). Also get (if you can afford it) every possible misspelling you can think of to maximise participation. For non-English speaking countries (such as Greece) get the same keyword in both languages, and account for spellings of the non-English (e.g. greek) word with latin characters as some mobile phones might not have greek installed or turned on.
ADVERTISE -- publicize call-to-actions!
Now you might be good to go, but you're nowhere near done yet! Now that you've gone into so much effort to design a service specifically for your audience, they will all want to participate! They just don't know about it yet! Now is the time to go out and tell people about your fantastic new service / contest / vote / quiz / etc. Again think of what is the best way to approach YOUR target audience and use the appropriate medium (TV, print, radio, internet, etc) or even better a combination of these with the same call-to-action. The more people find out about your campaign the more will participate!
Show cost, if applicable
If there's a cost for the consumer associated with sending in an SMS (which there most probably is), tell them about it! Don't let them find out on their phone bill -- you will feel their fury, I kid you not! Put it in small letters beneath the call-to-action but NOT tiny - you are not trying to hide it from them, you want them to make an informed decision (that's why their participation is so valuable after all!). You just want them to know what it'll cost them. Only state the cost, don't tell them 'only 1 euro' is little to pay. They might still think it is, but don't be the one to tell them -- let them find out!
Send participation confirmation SMS
Be sure to send back confirmation SMS messages to all incoming SMS. That way people know their message has been received and processed. Otherwise they might end up more than one SMS, which, yes might mean more profit for you, but it also means frustrated participants! And they often go to lengths such as complaints to local telecoms authorities - do you really want that?
Give feedback about incoming SMS
If your SMS marketing campaign is such that you can give direct feedback to your participants about their incoming SMS, do so! If it's a radio or TV show, do comment about people's views and opinions. It will make them feel valued, and they will keep on participating. And you will build your very own audience of followers!
Tools
It will be useful if the software tools you will use to view and manage your incoming SMS automate routine tasks such as exporting to file, reporting, running draws (so that you can give out prizes), sorting and searching through incoming SMS messages, etc. Just making a note of this as another thing to be aware of. Most software/providers offers this sort of functionality, but do tick it off your list before you pick one, or you will regret it!
If you have something you wish to add or any comments you'd like to make please feel free to do so in the comments section. Or contact me directly.
I just found out more information about a previous article I'd written a while back about the bluetooth proximity marketing activity of TGI Friday's, the well-known restaurant chain.
QUESTION : WHAT does one in four diners do when sitting down to eat at a TGI Friday’s restaurant? Answer: They use their mobile phones to browse the internet, with a good proportion of them checking their Facebook and Bebo accounts.
...
It’s certainly good news for Kevin O’Connor, founder of BlueZone, which specialises in Bluetooth proximity marketing and which has just signed a deal to supply free internet access in all four TGI Friday’s restaurants in Dublin and Belfast. “So much of people’s lives are now led online,” says O’Connor. “Being able to browse the net on the go is almost as important as being able to make phone calls on the go. We’ve even had people checking their CAO offers online in TGI Friday’s.”
Wi-Fi hotspots, which allow customers to go online with their laptops, are nothing new, of course. BlueZone’s Bluetooth networks though go one step further, allowing customers with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones to download a customised browser and surf the web for free.
The benefit for companies such as TGI Friday’s is that they get to market special offers not only to their mobile-toting customers but to anyone with a Bluetooth-enabled phone within an 80-metre radius.
O’Connor, a database analyst with a degree in physics, set up BlueZone in May 2008. Among his first clients were the Subway restaurants in Blanchardstown, Wexford and Enniscorthy. “I generally look for customers I can see are already spending money on advertising and marketing, because they’re the ones who’ll be looking for new ways to make an impact.”
O’Connor says people tend to think of Bluetooth messages as “something like text messages”, but he argues that they are much more sophisticated than that.
“Each message can include the company’s logo and the success of simple promotions such as ‘show this message when you pay and get 10 per cent off’ can easily be judged against till receipts,” he says. “The ability to surf the web using BlueZone adds a whole new dimension in terms of marketing the business to customers who want to be able to go online through their mobiles.”
O’Connor is optimistic that a successful rollout at TGI Friday’s will be followed by other restaurants in the EE Group, including Dante Pizza and the Hard Rock Cafe, bringing turnover to more than €150,000 in 2010 and forming the basis for future growth.
He expects this expansion to be boosted by two other aspects of BlueZone’s business: BlueZone OnBoard and BlueZone Weddings.
“BlueZone OnBoard is a Bluetooth system for buses that allows passengers to access the internet on their mobiles in the same way as restaurant customers can,” he says. “Whereas with ordinary Wi-Fi a 50-seater bus tends to have only, perhaps, five people going online with their laptops, with Bluetooth that increases to around 30 going online with their phones.”
The BlueZone OnBoard service recently won O’Connor the prize for innovation at Fleet magazine’s 2010 Bus and Coach Awards.
BlueZone Weddings, meanwhile, involves setting up a Bluetooth network at a wedding venue “so that guests with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones can be sent messages saying, for instance, ‘Welcome to Jack and Jill’s wedding’, or perhaps a little package including pictures of the bride and groom”.
What, ultimately, is O’Connor’s goal? “In a few years’ time I want people to know instinctively when they see a BlueZone logo that they’re in a “blue zone” – a shop or restaurant with Bluetooth internet and special offers,” he says. “For me, that will mean success.”
A very informative interview by Mr. O'Connor... I must say I love the specialised solutions BlueZone has developed, based around bluetooth marketing in specific settings, and would love to see them make it big. It will be a big big step forward for the Bluetooth Marketing business as a whole.
I got an e-mail recently from one of you (thanks Tara), with information about how charities are expoiting mobile marketing, in order to boost donations and also reach different demographics, especially younger audiences.
In the particular scenario, originating from Canada, a mobile barcode payment system is being used (via an iPhone app) to allow people to donate directly to their selected charity.
An example of mobile barcode payment technology advancing the ways people donate to charitable causes is approaching on March 28th during the Ottawa Heart Institute’s annual telethon on CTV. For the first time in history, viewers will be able to use their iPhone and a mobile barcode payment system by Canadian company, MobioID, to make a real-time donation right off of the TV screen.
During the 10-hour telethon, a customized Mobio barcode will be displayed on screen to allow iPhone users to scan and donate instantly.
If donors are unable to watch the telethon, they can visit the Ottawa Hearts or MobioID website and scan the barcode anytime.
Barcodes will be distributed in local publications as well as over Twitter, Facebook and email for “anytime” donations before, during and after the event.
The significance of mobile barcode donation capabilities in the not-for-profit sector includes:
Ability to inject innovation into the widely traditional telethon space.
Ability to target younger audiences and appeal to Gen X and Y.
Increased geographical reach (Mobio barcodes can go viral on Twitter, Facebook, email and phone to phone)
Ongoing donations possible post-event (once a custom barcode is created it can be used indefinitely in print, advertising, TV, T-shirts etc.)
I then came in touch with MobioID, the people behind this idea, to find out more about how their App - and concept -works, and how it's been doing so far.
You can stop reading if you like, cause it gets lengthy, but if you found this interesting so far, there's some pretty interesting info contained in the questions as well.
You mention iPhone, are other mobile phones supported?
Currently we are iPhone only, and we will expand to Blackberry and Android this year. We chose iPhone at launch (q4 2009) because of 2 key factors: 1) according to our research, iPhone users used Apps more than other platforms, and 2) the app store distribution method was available and proven, making it easy to get the app to consumers.
Could you shortly describe how the iPhone App will work? Does it scan the code and go to a website, or does it also support payment through it?
To use the app, a user downloads it from the app store, registers for the Mobio service, and can then scan any Mobio 2d Code they see to connect with a merchant and purchase goods and services or donate to a charity. typical enrolment time is ~2.5 minutes, subsequent transactions are about 10-15 seconds each in duration from scan to delivery of an email receipt.
The in application flow is: 1 -- scan code 2 -- enter amount and CVV/CVN (that funny number on the back of the card) 3 -- tap pay now
and you are done! This entire process happens within the App itself.
Next time you open your mail (i.e. immediately) there is an email transaction confirmation in your inbox
The actual card transaction is handled by a card processor selected by the charity
In the case of Ottawa heart Institute Foundation, they will use the code on the TV screen and in other (mostly web/email) media immediately, expanding to include in posters, postal direct mail, etc. after the telethon event.
Do you have an already existent customer base for your mobile barcode system? If this is an already existing iPhone App, can you provide number of downloads?
I have not checked this week, I think downloads are in the 10's of 1,000s or so
Is the iPhone App free?
Yes, the app is free
What payment methods will you support?
Mobio supports the 'big 5' cards -- Visa, MC, Amex, Discover, and JCB
How can people from abroad donate, given that lots of people seeing this on the Internet are in another country, and they can't necessarily text/call in their donation?
Download and register for Mobio, and scan away! the only issue is if you try to donate to a foreign charity and your underlying credit card is 'blocked' for foreign use by the issuer/bank. While we know this is a possibility, we have not seen this actually happen yet. Mobio is global (note: we do not warranty system performance on the International Space Station due to weak 3G coverage). The short answer is yes - people from any country can scan and donate.
Is this the first time this sort of idea (donation via mobile barcode) is being used?
We have been using the Mobio system with local charities in the vancouver area for months, and have several more in the process of implementing. Habitat for Humanity is one that has been live for a while.
If not, do you have any statistics from past campaigns?
The most interesting feedback we have (anecdotal) is that many of the donors are new to the charities -- this seems to be because the demographic of existing donors and the Mobio donors is somewhat different, with the Mobio donors being on the whole younger than previous donors. charities also like that unlike some mobile methods (e.g. text/sms) Mobio donors can donate substantial amounts.
Interesting stuff, I hope you will all agree. MobioID were kind enough to provide me with my very own barcode, for this blog, so that people who want to do so via this article, can scan the barcode in their iPhone App, and go donate. Or, you can just download the MobioID iPhone app (search for 'mobio' in the app store) and try it out.
As a final bonus, here's a couple of videos that illustrate how the concept works:
Here's another press release I got mid-week, that I only just found the time to process (been a pretty busy week!). It's about the Mobile Retail sector, a section of mobile marketing that's growing rapidly, as the report finds.
I also highlighted in bold the sections I found the most interesting:
Mobile Retail Market to exceed $12 billion by 2014, driven by one-to-one marketing and smartphone adoption, Juniper Report finds
HAMPSHIRE, UK: 9th March 2010 -- A new report from Juniper Research has found that one-to-one marketing allied to the rapid proliferation of smartphones will be among the key drivers of a mobile retail market which is anticipated to exceed $12 billion by 2014.
The mobile marketing and retail strategies report found that the mobile retail sector - defined by Juniper as comprising mobile coupon redemption values, smart poster fees and advertising expenditure – would initially be dominated by coupons. However, it noted that mobile advertising expenditure would exceed coupon redemption values by 2013 as digital adspend is increasingly transferred into the mobile space.
Increasingly the retailing industry and brands are becoming aware of, and implementing the mobile device into, the retail cycle. According to report co-author Howard Wilcox, “Retailers have recognised that, even ahead of their wallets, people will usually make sure they do not leave home without their mobile device. The mobile channel offers merchants the opportunity to differentiate from their competition and acquire customers that become loyal.”
Meanwhile, additional factors such as the growth of the mobile web, the availability of high speed mobile broadband networks, and the ever-growing usage of SMS were offering retailers, brands and merchants new opportunities to communicate with customers and potential customers and to offer the ability for them to shop by mobile.
Paul Berney, MMA Managing Director for EMEA says, “The results of this study are entirely in line with the MMA’s expectations of the mobile retail market based on feedback from our members. There is no doubt that mobile will become a fundamental part of retailers’ communication strategies; providing a key channel for not only the promotion of products and offers to consumers to drive footfall and sales but also to establish a relationship of engagement and interaction with customers both in store and beyond.”
Other findings from the Juniper report include:
· For brands and retailers, mobile offers the ability to change campaigns quickly (for example by time of day), and crucially the ability to track the success and customer acquisition rates.
· Usage of the mobile in a live shopping situation can be particularly effective – for example for product price comparisons
· While the mobile will be an effective channel for younger users who organise their lives around their mobile phones, older demographic groups are likely to be less receptive to using their mobiles in a retail situation.
Juniper Research assesses the current and future status of mobile retail based on interviews, case studies and analysis from representatives of some of the leading organisations in this bleeding edge industry.
Mobile Retail whitepaper and further details of the study ‘Mobile Marketing & Retail Strategies: Advertising, Coupons & Smart Posters 2009-2014’ can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com.
It's good to be seeing Mobile Ad companies contantly receiving funding, and expanding.. It shows you Mobile Marketing & Advertising as an industry is still growing (and that's good for us, right?). Here's their press release:
TODACELL SECURES ADDITIONAL $1 MILLION FUNDING FROM EXISTING INVESTOR AFTERDOX TO EXPAND SALES AND MARKETING EFFORTS
Following the flurry of acquisitions among mobile ad companies, including AdMob, Quattro Wireless and AdMarvel, Todacell raises funding to expand international presence with new offices in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London & Bombay
Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2010 – Todacell, the leading mobile display ad network for optimizing publisher ad performance, today announces an additional $1 million round of funding from existing investor AfterDox. Monies from this round of funding have been earmarked for sales and marketing, with five new sales offices opening in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London and Bombay.
Todacell is a publisher-centric mobile ad network whose proprietary inventory analysis technology examines and maps a publisher’s ad inventory based on user data, location, time, and the performance of ad campaigns on that publisher’s mobile website or application. This process results in a very accurate match between publisher and advertiser, generating better ad performance for advertisers while providing greater ad revenue for publishers.
“Todacell’s technology and analysis of our mobile site and application enables them to deliver effective campaigns that exceed our advertisers’ goals, which in turn generates greater revenue for eBuddy,” said Rogier van den Heuvel, VP World Sales, eBuddy, the world’s leading independent web and mobile instant messaging (IM) service for everyone, everywhere! “Thanks to Todacell, mobile advertising can be a win-win for advertisers and publishers, too.”
Todacell works with a select group of publishers including Fring, MobiLuck, Mocospace and TuneWiki. By limiting the range of publishers that the company works with, they are able to better optimize performance for each publisher. The limited list of publishers also ensures that advertisers know exactly on which publishers their campaigns will appear, bringing complete publisher transparency to the mobile marketing industry.
Beyond advertising on traditional mobile phones, Todacell’s ad network enables advertisers to reach other non-phone mobile devices, including hand-held gaming consoles by Nintendo, Playstation and Sega, and soon Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle.
According to J.P. Morgan industry analyst Imran Kahn from the company’s recently released 328-page 2010 Internet Industry Outlook, mobile display advertising space in which Todacell operates will grow 81% this year from $140 million in 2009 to $253 million in 2010.
To date, Todacell has secured $2 million from AfterDox and others, including $350,000 seed funding from the Fore Group.
“To meet global advertiser demand and publisher interest, Todacell is using this round of funding to open five offices in key US and international markets,” said Moshe Vaknin, Todacell CEO and founder. “After more than a decade of experience in digital marketing, it sure is an exciting time to be in mobile advertising.”
About Todacell
Todacell is a mobile display ad network for advertisers and publisher which facilitates optimizing publisher ad performance. The company’s publisher-centric ad flow management technology analyzes publisher inventory and ad performance, enabling the optimization of their display ad inventory which results in more effective campaign results for the Todacell’s advertisers. For advertisers and agencies, the company is a top-10 mobile ad network according to industry rankings which provides complete transparency and ensures that advertisers and agency planners know exactly where all of their advertising will appear. Publishers gain an ad network partner who takes the time to understand their ad inventory and users in order to run better-targeted campaigns which generate more ad revenue. To learn more about Todacell, please visit us at www.todacell.com.
I've been getting a lot of press releases in my inbox lately, but I don't have the time to review each one individually. I think the best thing to do in the future, is to publish those that sound most interesting directly, and I will obviously be commenting or doing some research as well when I have the time or when it's really worth it.
Today's is an interesting press release about the future plans of the Jumptag mobile ad network.
for mobile APPLICATION DEVELOPERS And publishers who Want to Turn traffic into dollaRS
Quick and Easy Integration into the Jumptap Mobile Ad Network Opens the Door to Hundreds of Leading Advertisers
GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA — March 9, 2010 — Jumptap, the leading mobile advertising solutions provider, today announced a new self-service application for publishers of mobile websites and mobile applications, including iPhone and Android. Publishers can quickly and easily integrate their properties into the Jumptap mobile ad network and gain access to hundreds of leading advertisers looking to reach consumers on mobile sites and in smart phone applications.
Feel the Love
Jumptap is showing its love for new members in the network with a special time limited offer. As one of the first 100 app developers or sites to join our mobile ad network, you will get to keep 100 percent of the ad revenue for the first 100 days. Additional information can be found at www.jumptap.com/feel-the-love or visit us at the Moscone South Hall, Esplanade, exhibit number TT29.
Smarter Network Delivers More Revenue
Jumptap leverages its highly-advanced, sophisticated algorithmic engine and unique intellectual property (IP) portfolio to match the right ad to the right person at the right time. Text, banner and innovative rich media ad units enhance the user experience and engage users more effectively. Reaching mobile audiences with highly relevant and appealing ads drives increased click through rates and higher conversions. Jumptap’s technology ensures the most relevant ads are delivered, and that app developers and publishers realize the highest potential revenue from their mobile properties. Superior performance rates drive increased advertiser spend, which result in high fill rates and the highest effective yield (eCPMs) for publishers.
“Jumptap is committed to continually adding value to our network and this is a great means for app developers and site owners to take advantage of our exciting growth,” said Paran Johar, CMO of Jumptap. “Preliminary data shows in app ads are driving click through rates five times higher than online advertising, increasing demand from our brand and performance advertisers. This presents an enormous opportunity for developers to earn revenue from their applications.”
Simple and Easy to Get Started
Getting started is simple! Just sign up, install the ad code, and start making money. Our console gives you real-time reporting to monitor your revenue and enables you to control the relevance of ads that run on your properties. Get started here.
“Our Intuition: Mom’s Assistant is the top personal assistant app for moms and women on the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms,” said Greg Rose, Sr. Director Business Development at IconApps. “We are focused on bringing the best mom-focused local offers and deals to our users. Jumptap’s proven ability to reach mobile consumers with the most relevant innovative and interactive ads – and the resulting revenue potential for publishers – has made us more than eager to become a part of their mobile ad network.”
###
About Jumptap
Jumptap operates the largest independent premium mobile advertising network in North America and Europe, offering the largest unique user footprint with a penetration of approximately 44 million unique visits a month in the US alone. Jumptap leverages its highly advanced, sophisticated algorithmic engine and unique IP to deliver the best ROI for advertisers and the highest monetization for publishers. The result is a network of mobile websites and applications that combine best-in-class content and services together with highly relevant advertising to create an experience that appeals to the mobile consumer. Flexible solutions offer both fixed CPM and bidded CPC campaigns. In addition, Jumptap's tapLink platform allows mobile operators to manage inventory distribution to third-party ad networks, optimize yield across such networks, and provide the best performance for advertisers. For more information, visit www.jumptap.com or follow us on twitter.com/jumptap.
It's an interesting piece, with some exciting ideas, so I'll quote him directly rather than tell you about it:
Geo-Fencing + Mobile Phones = Powerful Real Estate Marketing What if a buyer looking for a place to live didn’t have to do anything beyond choosing what features they wanted in a home? What if a buyer was automatically alerted to nearby properties that matched their needs?
This is what we’re talking about with the next generation of mobile real estate marketing.
The use of “geo-fences” surrounding properties really drives the location-based marketing engine. A geo-fence is a virtual boundary surrounding a geographic region. When a person with a mobile phone crosses a geo-fence boundary, a notification is automatically issued to that mobile phone. Traditionally, geo-fencing has been used to send alerts when users exit a certain area, instead of entering one.
Geo-fencing has been used in conjunction with GPS technology for a while now and for a variety of uses:
Tracking senior citizens with Alzheimer’s;
Ensuring mobile employees don’t travel outside of certain areas; and,
Monitoring hazardous cargo, to name a few examples.
We’re confident that someday, we’ll be able to add “Market real estate” to that list.
Create geo-fences. Before real estate and property management companies set up their online portals, they’ll need to create geo-fences around all of their properties. This will ensure that if a qualified user crosses the geo-fence with their mobile phone, that user will be notified about that property.
...
Collect buyer needs online. Real estate and property management companies can create online portals on their web sites, where prospective tenants and buyers set up notifications tailored to what they want in a property.
For example, a user could create an alert based on square footage, number of bedrooms, pet friendliness, special amenities, and zip code, to name just a few of the myriad of options available. Once they’ve entered their cell phone number and submitted those housing preferences, all they have to do is carry their phone with them to receive notifications.
...
Let the notifications begin. The notifications are where this entire concept of location-based mobile marketing comes together. The geo-fences have been set up. Users have entered their housing preferences online to receive notifications. All that is left is for the users to go about their normal lives, with their GPS-enabled mobile phones, of course.
When they get close to a property that matches their wants, they’ll be automatically notified on their mobile phone. Property management software can then integrate all of these contact points with customers into their CRM system, to track the effectiveness of the messages and review properties with clients.
House hunting couldn’t get much easier than that, could it?
I like the way Chris has presented the whole concept, and combined with the illustrations he gives in his article, I believe he gives a pretty complete description of it.
If you have any comments or ideas on how mobile marketing can be used in real-estate feel free to post them either here or on Chris' article.
I came across this article during the weekend, while out for coffee in the very windy Heraklion (in Crete) but couldn't blog about it there and then. Still, I thought it was pretty interesting to share with you all so here goes.
According to the article, HitWise, an online traffic analysis company, has confirmed that Facebook has become a bigger driver of traffic, when it comes to online news, than news portals like MyYahoo or Google News.
In continuing to look at this trend, Heather Hopkins, an analyst with the traffic analysis company, dug a little bit deeper into the stats and found that there is a distinct difference between where the social network drives its traffic in comparison to Google News.
According to Hopkins, Facebook sends nearly three times as much of its downstream traffic to broadcast media websites as compared to Google News.
Hopkins breaks down the top 10 news and media websites visited from both Google News and Facebook. The Google News list reads pretty much like a roster of the old guard, leading off with The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Reuters before finally hitting the first broadcast media outlet, CNN.com. Facebook, on the other hand, starts right off with The Weather Channel and CNN.com before getting to Yahoo! News. As a matter of fact, not one of the top 10 media and news outlets on Facebook's list are a traditional print media outlet.
This is one of those articles I like posting because they bring data that confirms general feelings I (and I'm sure many of you also) have been having -- the sort of thing your gut tells you is true already but you're missing time and resources to look into and confirm.
My guess is that as social networks take an ever growing part in our daily lives this is going to be even more and more true. We'll just wait and see...
This has little to do with the marketing side of mobile, but this is a very interesting article a friend pointed me at. It is about how Twitter has revolutionised teaching in lecture halls and boosted participation by students, surpassing the shyness barrier.
Professors who wish to engage students during large lectures face an uphill battle. Not only is it a logistical impossibility for 200+ students to actively participate in a 90 minute lecture, but the downward sloping cone-shape of a lecture hall induces a one-to-many conversation. This problem is compounded by the recent budget cuts that have squeezed ever more students into each room.
Classroom shyness is like a blackhole: Once silence takes over, it never lets go. In my own experience, in a class of hundreds, the fraction of students who speak up is small, and a still tinier fraction contribute regularly.
That’s why, Dr. Monica Rankin of the University of Texas at Dallas was pleasantly surprised when her experiment with Twitter began pulling more students into discussion. “It’s been really exciting because, in classes like this, you’ll have three people who talk about the discussion material, and so to actually have 30 or 40 people at the same time talking about it is really interesting,” said Megan Malone, Teaching Assistant to Dr. Monica Rankin’s United States history course, in the video below.
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In fact, Dr. Rankin’s colleague David Parry, Professor of Emerging Media at the University of Texas, found that Twitter chatter during class spilled over into the students’ free time.
“The first thing I noticed when the class started using Twitter was how conversations continued inside and outside of class,” Parry wrote. “Once students started Twittering I think they developed a sense of each other as people beyond the classroom space, rather than just students they saw twice a week for an hour and a half.” As a result, classroom conversation became more productive as “people were more willing to talk, and [be] more respectful of others.”
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For schools hit hard by the recession, Twitter is an inexpensive solution to the growing problem of increasing class sizes. It is a tried-and-true platform to let conversations flourish. Indeed, Dr. Parry declared that “it was the single thing that changed the classroom dynamics more than anything I’ve ever done teaching.”
It is a well-known fact that there's much less shyness in the online world, and also that students are often shy about participating in large lecture halls, so credit to those lecturers for making the link between the two and introducing Twitter as a teaching aid.
Given the ever-growing ubiquity of internet-enabled mobile phones, I expect this is something that has the potential to explode -- as long as lecturers are willing to make the effort. It's a good thing there's at least a few that are..
The past has shown us that practically every single move that Apple makes is at least well-planned and serves a purpose, though it may not always be so clear at first why.
The same I guess will be the case with this. Apple has decided to ban in-app location-based advertising for its most popular platform, the iPhone/iPod Touch. Given how much of the market the iPhone currently holds, and how much it is set to affect the the market in the future, I'm sure this is a move we will remember. Here's more from the article:
The company announced that it is blocking applications that use location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location. Industry analysts are speculating whether that decision could have something to do with its pending acquisition of mobile ad network Quattro Wireless.
“Apple is acting like they normally do—they want to control the experience and the use of their devices and applications,” said Neil Strother, Kirkland, WA-based practice director at ABI Research. “This a way for them to make sure the end user isn’t getting spam and controlling what goes into iPhone applications.
Here is the 'advice' given to iPhone developers, on the Developer Connection section of its website, regarding location-based advertising in iPhone apps:
The Core Location framework allows you to build applications which know where your users are and can deliver information based on their location, such as local weather, nearby restaurants, ATMs, and other location-based information.
If you build your application with features based on a user's location, make sure these features provide beneficial information.
If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store.
You can learn more about using Core Location by reading the CLLocationManager Class Reference and downloading the LocateMe sample code available in the iPhone OS Reference Library.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out, but I'm sure the Quattro acquisition by Apple has everything to do with this move -- it's pretty evident Apple wants full control over the advertising that goes on in its platform. That's where the big bucks are, and the fact that both Google (who recently bought AdMob) and Apple are so actively looking to take a big piece of the mobile marketing market shows just how true that is.
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I hope you will agree with me that such tests go way beyond the scope of mobile technology articles, and are directly related to mobile marketing. The results of such tests are essentially what will tell you, as a mobile marketer, what platforms to aim for, and what features you can include in your mobile website design, such that they will be supported by your target audience platform. 
I got an e-mail recently from one of you (thanks Tara), with information about how charities are expoiting mobile marketing, in order to boost donations and also reach different demographics, especially younger audiences.
I then came in touch with 
As a final bonus, here's a couple of videos that illustrate how the concept works:
HAMPSHIRE, UK: 9th March 2010 -- A new report from Juniper Research has found that one-to-one marketing allied to the rapid proliferation of smartphones will be among the key drivers of a mobile retail market which is anticipated to exceed $12 billion by 2014.
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location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location. Industry analysts are speculating whether that decision could have something to do with its pending acquisition of mobile ad network Quattro Wireless.
