AOL Could Be AOK With Third Screen Media Acquisition

AOL is sitting on a gold mine , let's hope Third Screen taps into it.

With Third Screen's help, AOL can be AOK, not DOA

AOL Acquires Third Screen Media

AOL announced today that it has acquired Third Screen Media, the leading mobile advertising network and mobile ad-serving and management platform provider. Third Screen Media will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL’s Advertising.com division.

Dozens of leading brand advertisers, more than a hundred mobile Web publishers, and major wireless carriers participate in the Third Screen Media network.

Here's what Third Screen and AOL should do:

AOL Could dominate mobile search and mobile advertising with their mobile "buddy list" and Find Me application.

By sending an instant message to a special username of AOL, can’t you let them resolve the query? Instead of sending an IM to an AOL member, you’re sending an SMS/search query to an AOL server requesting/doing a search. Instead of typing in 46645 (GOOGL) or 44636 (4INFO), AOL has created the short code for you with a special username.

Let AOL label this username as MOBLSRCH or TOOL, FIND (any word that is easy to remember) in our buddy list. AOL could automatically add this name when you download or reboot. AOL establishes an easy way to start a mobile search when you IM MOBLSRCH TOOL FIND.

The “Find Me” buddy application is the GPS function, and the buddy list with MOBLSRCH creates the search window. They already have their own mobile search application on 20 million plus cell phones. Will they capitalize on this?

Could AOL become a mobile marketing player?

Microsoft Buys Mobile Marketing Company

From Washington Post Microsoft Buys ScreenTonic

Microsoft said on Thursday it agreed to acquire European mobile phone advertising company ScreenTonic to gain a foothold in the rapidly growing business for placing ads on mobile phones.


Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Paris-based ScreenTonic is one of the first companies in Europe to develop a platform to manage and place ads on the mobile Internet.

ScreenTonic also serves as an advertising agency for companies looking to develop marketing campaigns on phones. Investors in the start-up include venture capital firm 3i (III.L) and I-Source Gestion, according to ScreenTonic's Web site.

Their STAMP™ platform manages all the specifics of mobile phones and can target the delivery of the ad in keeping with the technical criteria, such as handset capabilities (particularly audio capacities, video, screen size and Java), the portal formats (WAP, XHTML, video, Java, rich media) and the information sent by the portals (bearer, user information and geolocation). It also incorporates the user targeting constraints: capping (controlling the repetition of ads seen per contact) and user scenarios.

Mobile Marketing Association Discusses 2D Code Adoption

Laura Marriott, the Executive Director of the Mobile Marketing Association, has a nice story at ClickZ on the progress of 2d codes and Physical World Connection (PWC).

Laura talks about how 2d codes are being used in a couple recent mobile marketing campaigns. She also interviews the CEO of Scanbuy for his thoughts on PWC.

Also known as QR codes, these allow consumers to use their wireless devices to interact in a graphical manner with traditional and digital media. The unique, two-dimensional bar codes, which can be placed on any item, allow the consumer to take a picture using their MMS (camera phone functionality) on a mobile device. Then, through bar code reading software, the 2D code is interpreted to provide product information, downloads, and more. 2D codes are a visual system allowing consumers to access relevant information much like short codes, IVR or other mobile media techniques.

The Paris transport system launched an interactive campaign using 2D codes with New York-based Scanbuy. The consumer can scan a code and see when the next bus or subway will arrive. There are over 160 bar codes in a single station!

I asked Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of Scanbuy , when we might see 2D applications come to the U.S. Obstacles to adoption here include lack of camera phone (MMS) consumer adoption, as well as cost-effective pricing models.

Demand on the advertiser side is huge. Advertisers get it , says Bulkeley. Print publishers are especially interested in 2D campaigns and what the visual opportunity can do for them.

Cosmo Girl launched an application with Mobot last year based on pure image recognition. Cosmo Girl readers were encouraged to take photos with their mobile device of ads or features in the publication and send them to the magazine for a chance to win prizes. The Cosmo Girl application wasn't based on 2D codes, but rather image recognition. Bulkeley says image recognition is the “holy grail, but making it a reality is years away for a number of reasons."

Pondering Primate readers might find Jonathan Bulkeley's "brick and mortar to Internet" transition background a bit interesting. He is no stranger to transformation and prior art patent disputes. During his term as CEO of BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com filed a lawsuit against BN.com, claiming BN.com was infringing on their "one click to buy" patent. The updating of US patent law to account for the Internet age started to pick up steam at this time.

The outcome? Let's just say innovation trumped prior art.

Yogi Berra might say "This is like deja vu all over again".

Mobile Marketing Companies

This is a list of the mobile marketing companies I have found. They will be responsible for putting the "permission" in permission marketing. I imagine some of these companies won't be private, or a separate entity, much longer.


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Mobile Marketing Companies

12Snap
21 Communications
199MCode
5th Finger
Add2Phone
Admob
Admoda
Adultmoda
Aerodeon
Amaze
American IDC
ApolloBravo
Aura Digital Communications
Avantgo
AvidMobile
Bango
BeepMarketing
Beyond Interactive
Blast Companies
Bluebook Advertising
Bond Wireless
Brainstorm
Brand2Hand
Broad System
Brandscape
BuzzTone
Carat Interactive
Carbon Partners
Cell Trust
Cellempower
CellIt Marketing
Compeau Fawkes
Convergent Mobile
Digital Innovation/Ogilvy Interactive
Digital Rum
Digital Youth
DWango
Dyma Media
EagleXM
EasyTXTR
End2End
EnMobileMedia
Enpocket
Every Point Inc
FlyerOne
FlyTXT
Gamut
Go Live Mobile
Gold Mobile
GoldPocket Wireless
GoomZee
Graphico
Greystripe
HipCricket
HipnTasty
The HyperFactory
i-POP Networks
iLoopmobile
Impact Mobile
Incentivated
InfoNu
InMovil Media
Interactive Mediums
Interface
ipsh!
iTagg
Javatech
Juice Wireless
Knotice
Legion Interactive
Logica CMG
MAGi7
Mercury Mobile Marketing
MForma
Matrix Mobile
M Channel
M-Qube
MaiaSolutions
Mango Mobile
MarketSuite
Mass1
Mass Media Studios
Mblox
Metaio
MindMatics
Minick
MMS3
MopHap
Mobiento
MobiFusion
MobileLifeNetwork
mobileStorm
Mobile 365
Mobile Dreams Factory
Mobile Media Company
Mobile Transit Authority
Mobile Trend
Mobilestreams
MobiMarketing
Mobivity
Mobliss
Moozey
Mopal
Motricity
Movo Mobile
MSCorp
mSnap Interactive
NetInformer
Netsize
OnPOint
OpenWave
Opera Telecom
PhoneBites
Pocket Reach
POP Solutions
Punchcut
Punchkick Interactive
Qmobile
QTags
Qwasi
ScreenTonic
Seismicom
Simple Wire
SinglePoint
Single Touch Interactive
SmallWorldMobile
SmartReply
SMSShortcodes
SoapBox Mobile
Sponge
StopNText
Syniverse
Tagga
TCS Mobile
Telus
Text Marketer
Texting Now
TextMarks
The Concept Studio
TheLightAgency
Third Screen Media
Tira Wireless
TouchLink Mobile
TXTFO
Upoc Networks
Upstream Systems
Urban Eye
Vesta Mobile
Viachannel
Vibes Media
Vidamo Group
Virtu Mobile
Visage Mobile
Volantis
WaterFall Mobile
WiggleWireless
Xiam
XXTreme Measures
Yavox

If your company is not included, and would like to be email me


WOULDN'T YOUR AD LOOK GOOD HERE?