Monday, January 16, 2006

Third Screen Marketing


Yes, mobile marketing is coming. Notice the big brands in this article discussing their plans for mobile marketing. You will also see how valuable your location (via GPS) will be for this industry.

From NY Times Marketers want to appear on the small screen

Marketers said they were particularly excited about the prospect of eventually using cellphones, many of which are equipped with global positioning systems, to send ads to consumers based on their location

One idea being floated by carriers and advertisers is to offer consumers incentives, like reduced monthly phone fees, if they agree to receive ads.

Jon Raj, vice president of advertising and emerging media with Visa USA, said he expected to see many new ad formats that could combine the text, video and the location-based nature of the phone.

I have stated a number of times that advertisers will have to give something (info, ringtone etc) in order to get permission to place an ad on your phone. I won't allow indiscriminate ads to pop up on my phone unless there's something in it for me.

Look what Visa is doing. One example of mobile advertising is a brand campaign for Visa USA, begun in September, in which consumers send a five-letter text code to receive weather reports. The reports come back with a banner: sponsored by Visa

You give me weather reports, and I let you put Visa logo on them. It's interesting that Visa uses weather info. Weather is something that is dynamic, and your location is key.

Brands WILL FIND a way to reach consumers, interact directly, and direct them to their website of choice WITHOUT using a search engine. Do you see why Google et al need to act quickly before brands don't need to buy keywords, or buy fewer of them?


Watch and see what the credit card companies do w/ SMS and m-commerce or m-payment applications next.

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