SnapTell Blog

Mobile Marketing Around the Web

• Mediabistro.com has launched three new blogs: MobileMarketingToday.Com, MobileDevicesToday.com and MobileAppsToday.com, which join Media Bisto's MobileContentToday.com blog. Mobile Marketing Today looks like it will be a great place to keep up with the good, the bad and the just plain odd in the mobile marketing world.

• We're wondering why Ralph Lauren is making its customers download software and scan barcodes to "quickly" access the brand's new mobile shopping site -- Lauren figures that people will happily "use their phone to scan barcodes on ads in magazines, and even in store windows," according to an article in Pocket Lint. SnapTell's Snap.Send.Get could have effortlessly whisked customers to the Lauren site, all they'd need to do is snap pictures of the products in question. Our solution works on any phone, and requires no software download, no scanning of barcodes, no adding ugly barcodes to ads and window displays.

• AT&T wants mobile app developers in New England to create the Next Great Mobile Application, in what the company is describing as "a high-tech version of 'American Idol. The grand prize winner gets $10,000 in cash and a slot on the AT&T devCentral Web site, plus the application will be promoted in all AT&T-owned stores in New England. National versions of the Fast-Pitch program have resulted in such apps as Ascendo Fitness, My Local TV News Over Wireless and Mobile Comic Books by uclick, this is AT&T's first regional challenge. Better move fast, the contest ends September 30th -- see the entry information here.

 

Mobile Marketing - getting from here to there

RCR Wireless News has an opinion piece by Louis Gump, VP Mobile, The Weather Channel Interactive, on the state of mobile advertising. Gump cites the sort of stats that tend to be front and center in such pieces  -- JupiterResearch report predicted that mobile marketing in the U.S. alone will grow to $2.2 billion in 2012, up from $708 million in 2007 -- but moves quickly to the broader and more interesting question of where exactly the industry is today; how do we get there from here?

 

For some answers to that question Gump turned to INmobile, an online community of mobile executives. Snipped from Gump’s piece:

We posed the question where is mobile advertising on its growth curve? The majority of responses indicate that it is still early, but that the growth has begun to be noticeable. Specifically, 54% of respondents say that mobile marketing is an innovative tactic with occasional business impact. Of the rest, 38% say we are in early experimentation only, while 6% feel that it is now a significant platform for leading marketers and 2% say that it is an established part of the marketing mix.

 

There was a broad recognition that some big brands are using mobile to their advantage. However, the rationale for those who feel that we are in the earlier stages believe that many companies have not yet added a line item for mobile in their marketing budgets; the common definition of mobile advertising is broad; and many people are still hungry for metrics.

 

 

The MMA International Journal of Mobile Marketing

The Mobile Marketing Association has just published the fifth issue of the MMA International Journal of Mobile Marketing (MMA-IJMM), an educational resource created by the MMA Academic Outreach Committee.

Designed to provide information on the mobile channel and its use for marketing, it includes 10 articles from academics, industry experts, thought leaders and global contributors.

This fifth installment of the Journal focuses on the development of a better understanding of the who, how and why of mobile marketing.

Featured articles include:

• A Five Point Measurement Framework for Mobile Advertising Understanding
• Implementing Mobile Social Advertising
• Breaking Free from ‘Dotcom’ Thinking in a Mobile World
• Mobile Marketing: From Marketing Strategy to Mobile Marketing Campaign Implementation
• Mobile Research in Marketing: Design and Implementation Issues

The MMA-IJMM is published twice a year, you can subscribe or purchase single issues through the MMA website.

Best Practices For Mobile Marketing Paper

New Media is offering a free paper (registration required) on Best Practices for Mobile Marketing.

The paper's central idea that “the results of traditional marketing methods are rapidly dwindling” and brand owners need to get into mobile marketing now to keep their message front and center.

"Regardless of whether your audience fits into the B2B or B2C category, or both, we as a global audience are becoming numb to the outpouring of pithy broadcasts, online intrusions, inundation of email spam and barrage of generation-specific print advertising campaigns. It has also become obvious that there is one thing that we all – Baby Boomers, Generation Y, Generation X and Generation Z’ers alike – have in common. We don’t leave home without our mobile phone! It’s become our identity. The type of phone people carry, the carrier they subscribe to and the services they use – reflect who they are.

A 2006 Nielson study showed that over 144 million people in the U.S. (85%) ages 13-54 own cell phones. It’s over 230 million today ... I don’t think there’s any argument that “mobile” has become today’s pervasive form of communications."

The paper explores how mobile marketing can enhance advertising response rates, increase buying traffic and build an opt-in community.

Mobile Marketing Dos and Don'ts

SearchEngineWatch’s Gregg Stewart wrote an outstanding piece on avoiding the potential pitfalls of Mobile Marketing, covering issues such as the importance of giving consumers what they want when they want it and noting that “just because it worked online doesn't mean it will work in mobile.”

Advertisers must understand and respect the similarities as well as the distinct differences between the different kinds of media, Stewart says, and his article provides ways to ensure brands don’t stumble when they make the move to mobile marketing.

For more mobile marketing guidance; New Media is offering a free paper (registration required) on Best Practices for Mobile Marketing, with the central idea that “the results of traditional marketing methods are rapidly dwindling” and brand owners need to get into mobile marketing now to keep their message front and center. The paper explores how mobile marketing can enhance advertising response rates, increase buying traffic and build an opt-in community. 

Keep It Simple

RCR WIreless News has published an interesting column by Laura Marriott, president of the Mobile Marketing Association.

Among the points that Laura makes is a call for mobile marketing solutions providers to keep it simple and provide actionable metrics across the entire mobile marketing industry:

"I heard a great comment from Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman and CEO of Ogilvyone Worldwide, at the CMO Forum at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, who told us that marketing has moved away from the 4 Ps of Product, Price, Promotion and Place and has instead, evolved to the 4 Es including Experience, Everyplace, Exchange and Evangelism. Does this not sound exactly like what mobile can deliver? A dialogue of engagement between brand and consumer?!

So friends, what can we do?! For starters, stop speaking in jargon! Brands don’t care about SMS, EVDO, MMS or 1XRTT. They care about what their brand goals and objectives are and how mobile can solve it for them. Barraging potential clients with a litany of jargon does nothing but create a fear of the complexities of mobile. Let’s keep it simple, let’s drop the terms, drop the jargon!

Metrics! The GSMA Association, working with all operators in the UK, has launched a measurement initiative to determine what data can consistently be derived from operator networks to help metrics and reporting. A great step forward. The Mobile Marketing Association is working on consistency of ad currencies and flows so that we can deliver qualified metrics on the performance of campaigns rather than different data according to vendor or network. These are great collaborative steps to help build consistent, quality metrics and measurement for our global industry."

A Pondering Primate Plug

We’ve been regular readers of Scott Shaffer’s blog The Pondering Primate for a few years now. Scott writes about what he calls "Disruptions" -- new technologies or new ways of using technology -- “because today's disruption could lead to tomorrow's killer application.”

Scott brightened up our day immeasurably when we saw his terrific write-up on our own Snap.Send.Get. mobile marketing solution.

Snipped from Pondering Primate post:

"SnapTell, an image recognition based mobile marketing company, turns any billboard, magazine ad or product packaging into a Physical World Hyperlink.

Consumers get valuable information with a snap of their camera phones and marketers get to create a targeted brand conversation in the process.

It's easy. Take a picture of a DVD cover (or any other image in their database) and send to dvd@snaptell.com.

SnapTell's solution today can hold up to 1 million images in the database for recognition. Soon they expect to be able to handle 10 million or more images.

Keep in mind Google acquired image recognition based company NevenVision recently. Microsoft launched their image recognition application called Lincoln.

I am thinking that if Flickr (owned by Yahoo) wanted to become a player in the image recognition space, SnapTell would be a great fit.

Upload the Flickr image database and offer the SnapTell image recognition solution. Does it make Yahoo a mobile marketing player overnight?

Led by CEO Gautam Bhargava, (his last two ventures were acquired by Cisco and Oracle), is turning an everyday camera phone and SnapTell's innovative image recognition technology, into a powerful mobile marketing solution."

What Does Your Cellphone Say About You?

MSNBC has a fun post about what your cellphone reveals about your personality. That is, assuming your cellphone is one of the four models they chose to highlight.

Apparently if you have a Blackberry, you're a "go-go-go, white-collar executive" who suffers deep angst if your Blackberry doesn't buzz every few minutes with a new message. You're also seriously addicted to your beloved Crackberry, and have at least one sore thumb.

A Treo? You're a "publicist or "an artsy self-starter." You also spent a lot of time debating over whether you should get a Blackberry or a Treo. You're also more organized than the average iPod user.

A Sidekick? You're a social networker, a busy little bee and apparently part of a very large crowd of Sidekickers. The devices are used by “publicists, talent managers, event/party planners and promoters, writers, business moguls, musical artists (who use the Sidekick to write lyrics), DJs, actors, professional athletes, young entrepreneurs, college students.”

An IPhone? These are used by “Apple aficionados and iconoclasts looking for a completely different way of interacting with a smart’ device."

Fun With Phones

The Digital Inspiration blog has an interesting article on creative uses for your mobile phone camera.

Among their suggestions:

Computer Screen Capture - You can use the Mobile Phone cameras for capturing screenshots of error messages that popup while you are reinstalling a copy of Windows or modifying some BIOS settings. In situations like the dreaded Blue Screen, Print-Screen key is useless but any phone-cam will get the job done.

 Car Parking - Most shopping malls here have huge underground parking but there aren’t any signboards so it gets tough to locate the car. So when you park the car, just look towards the escalator (or the exit door) and take a picture or record some video. This will save lot of effort (and time) when you return with all those heavy shopping bags.

 Replace Paper and Pen - Your wife has prepared a long list of items that you are supposed to pick from the grocery story. Why tear down that paper from the diary or put extra pressure on your memory - just click. You can also use the camera phone for capturing information written on whiteboards, subway maps and notice boards.

 As a Mirror - When you are about to reach the party, take a self-picture with your mobile phone to make sure that that makeup and hair style is in perfect condition.

 Security - Before you board a taxi in some unknown place, take a picture of the license plate and driver details that are generally written near the passenger seat. Email the picture to your spouse or friend as a security measure.

And of course the best use of your mobile phone's camera is Snap.Send.Get!

Snap.Send.Get In The News

We've gotten some great press regarding the Wine Enthusiast's use of SnapTell’s Snap.Send.Get mobile marketing solution in its Wall Street Journal ads.

Ryan Kim, who writes the Tech Chronicles blog for SFGate (the San Francisco's Chronicle's web site) wrote:

What's nice about SnapTell's approach to mobile marketing is it doesn't involve any bar codes or special images. And you don't have to download an application for your phone. You just take a picture of the advertisement and picture message it to SnapTell.

This could help really extend mobile coupons to people in a non-intrusive way. You don't have to carry coupons around to take advantage of them. And since you'll be opting in for the coupon, there should be no worries about being inundated with offers.

 Rick Mathieson, author of Branding Unbound, the #1 best selling book on mobile marketing,  posted on his blog:

 Wine Enthusiast magazine is aiming for ads so compelling you'll want to take a picture of it...In what's billed as a first-of-its-kind national promotion from a major retailer, the pub is using new "Snap.Send.Get" technology from image-recognition-based mobile marketing firm SnapTell.

“We are always looking for unique technologies that enhance the shopping experience of our customers,” says Francis M. Juliano, CIO/CMO, Wine Enthusiast, in a statement. “Wine Enthusiast customers tend to be technology savvy and SnapTell’s image recognition-based mobile marketing solution enables Wine Enthusiast to create a long term, interactive brand relationship with our customers.”

And Mobile Marketer.com published an overview of Snap.Send.Get and the Wine Spectator campaign:

The Wine Enthusiast ads prompt the business newspaper’s readers to take a picture of the ad with their camera phone to receive promotional offers from Wine Enthusiast on their mobile phone.

“We are finding that mobile is a new way to market to an older audience,” said Gautam Bhargava, co-founder/CEO of SnapTell. “Consumers are becoming more and more comfortable with receiving information on their phones, as long as it’s relevant.

Since the users are opting in by snapping a picture on their mobile phone, the ads are more relevant, Mr. Bhargava said.

Thanks all, we really appreciate the good words!

For more information about the Wine Enthusiast's Snap.Send.Get campaign click here.