Monday, March 14, 2005

Interactive Magazines

From Boston.com Product lets you call on advertisers.

Mobot Inc., a Lexington start-up whose product lets owners of wireless camera phones use them to respond to magazine ads and special offers, has forged new marketing deals with three magazines: ElleGirl, Vibe, and Vibe Vixen, a quarterly that will be launched next month.

In coming issues, readers who own wireless camera phones and have registered their numbers and addresses at Mobot.com will be able to request information by mail and enter sweepstakes by snapping a cellphone picture of specially designated ads, then e-mailing the pictures from their phone.

Last year, Jane magazine began publishing Mobot-enhanced advertisements.

Mobot next week plans to unveil technology that would let phone owners buy a ''ring tone" by snapping and sending a picture of a compact disc cover.

Two things are wrong with this campaign.
First, people aren't going to go a a 3rd party site and register their cellphone. You just took away all of the spontaneity of the cell phone feature. When you add an additional step to get customers attention, you just lost their attention.

Second, taking a picure of a picture in a magazine? think of something more origianl than that. Howabout send an SMS with the first three words of the article. Or put a code of sorts that people click on. Maybe that barcode that every CD has.

I hope this isn't the idea mobile advertisers have for creativity.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Vangorilla...

You're absolutely right. If that's the best idea they have, it's going to fail or at least take longer before someone gets it right. I know my wife would like to register her cellphone number with the companies she buys makeup and hair products from. Why not give every woman that signs up samples of products they are already using or would like to use. If it's pertinent and personal, my wife enjoys taking the time to express her opinion. She wins by getting products she enjoys using and the brand name wins by keeping customers involved and loyal. -Walden-