In my opinion, this is very disruptive news. You see who wins and who loses?
From WashingtonPost.com Cable Companies Don't Need To Share Lines .
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that cable companies may keep rival Internet providers from using their lines, a decision that will limit competition and consumers' choices.
The 6-3 decision is a victory for the Bush administration, which sought exclusive control to promote broadband investment from deep-pocketed cable companies
At issue is whether cable Internet access is a "telecommunications service" under federal law that makes it subject to strict FCC rules requiring companies to provide access to independent providers.
Cable companies have invested billions to set up broadband networks and are now reaping the benefits
Left unregulated, cable companies will monopolize the market, with unfettered ability to raise prices and restrict content for their business advantage, they said.
Monday, June 27, 2005
MobileReact Gets SMS Marketing
A company that truly gets mobile marketing in many ways MobileReact
I can't help think that if this company was in Europe or in the States, they would be making advertising headlines daily.
This is how you make the mobile phone an effective tool in various advertising campaigns.
M&M's has a promotional campaign that involves using the wrapper and an SMS code to win prizes. Running from 1st of May for 6 months in Thailand, customers send text to 4863003 and include the code on the wrapper to see if they have won.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a broader scale, Mobile React offers their Engage service.
ENGAGE is a simple to use for both consumers and advertisers.
1. Consumer sees an ad which contains a call to action.
Ex: “For more information SMS PSP to 4863333 and we'll call you back”
2. Consumer sends the SMS and based receives an instant customized response via SMS
EX: “Thank you for your interest in PSP. Our sales agent will call you back shortly.”
3. ENGAGE stores the incoming SMS from the consumer in the system log and immediately triggers an alert on the advertiser's PC with a pop up message containing the consumer's mobile number and timestamp.
4. Advertiser's sales agent calls back the consumer.
EX: Hello, I'm calling you about your interest in PSP. May I help you?
This isn't direct connect, but it allows brands a number of exciting ways to make their physical products interactive.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want to check on airfare from Nok Air? (any airline could offer this)
Simply type your city of origin, leave a space and then your destination city. Within seconds, the reply message will list all available flights and fares for the date requested.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heineken Taps Mobile Marketing
Specially designed 6-pack of Heineken beer cans contained an embedded scratch-off code inside. Consumers must SMS the code to a dedicated number and receive automatic replies with points they have obtained, for first time participants and with the current balance for repeat consumers. Codes provided 1, 2 or 5 points and consumers could keep track of their points via SMS, through Heineken’s website or via an 24-hour automated interactive voice response (IVR) system. Redemption for giveaways began with 5 points.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To see a list of all of their Case Studies and the list of their services
One of the concepts they are incorporating is interacting using SMS in a TV program. This goes way beyond voting for the next American Idol and this is a great idea that should be adopted here in the States.
Keep an eye on these guys, something tells me their ideas and services will get noticed by the bigger players soon.
I can't help think that if this company was in Europe or in the States, they would be making advertising headlines daily.
This is how you make the mobile phone an effective tool in various advertising campaigns.
M&M's has a promotional campaign that involves using the wrapper and an SMS code to win prizes. Running from 1st of May for 6 months in Thailand, customers send text to 4863003 and include the code on the wrapper to see if they have won.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a broader scale, Mobile React offers their Engage service.
ENGAGE is a simple to use for both consumers and advertisers.
1. Consumer sees an ad which contains a call to action.
Ex: “For more information SMS PSP to 4863333 and we'll call you back”
2. Consumer sends the SMS and based receives an instant customized response via SMS
EX: “Thank you for your interest in PSP. Our sales agent will call you back shortly.”
3. ENGAGE stores the incoming SMS from the consumer in the system log and immediately triggers an alert on the advertiser's PC with a pop up message containing the consumer's mobile number and timestamp.
4. Advertiser's sales agent calls back the consumer.
EX: Hello, I'm calling you about your interest in PSP. May I help you?
This isn't direct connect, but it allows brands a number of exciting ways to make their physical products interactive.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want to check on airfare from Nok Air? (any airline could offer this)
Simply type your city of origin, leave a space and then your destination city. Within seconds, the reply message will list all available flights and fares for the date requested.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heineken Taps Mobile Marketing
Specially designed 6-pack of Heineken beer cans contained an embedded scratch-off code inside. Consumers must SMS the code to a dedicated number and receive automatic replies with points they have obtained, for first time participants and with the current balance for repeat consumers. Codes provided 1, 2 or 5 points and consumers could keep track of their points via SMS, through Heineken’s website or via an 24-hour automated interactive voice response (IVR) system. Redemption for giveaways began with 5 points.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To see a list of all of their Case Studies and the list of their services
One of the concepts they are incorporating is interacting using SMS in a TV program. This goes way beyond voting for the next American Idol and this is a great idea that should be adopted here in the States.
Keep an eye on these guys, something tells me their ideas and services will get noticed by the bigger players soon.
Snickers Goes "Under Cover" With Their Marketing Campaign
If you open any one of 150 million Snickers bars, you'll find a website (URL) and a special code. Go to the Special Site and enter your code.
Register to win lots of prizes.
Great idea, bad execution.
Instead of making people stuff the wrapper in the pocket until they get to a PC, use a SMS short code, so people can send a text to "SNIKR" and include code as subject to see if they are a winner.
Something that was done involving an SMS was done with M&M's and MobileReact where with unqiue codes printed on the inside wrapper of M&Ms packs in Thailand, consumers can SMS the code to win either instant prizes or get points.
Try it yourself
I will be covering these guys in greater detail shortly.
I heard THESE GUYS are working on a mobile campaign that offers a direct connect feature.
What I'm trying to figure out is how a guy like Scoble discovered this new marketing technique. Could he be seeing how the physical world is creating advertising opportunites not seen before, or could he just like chocolate?
Scoble did call something similar a Killer App .
Robert, on that wrapper you will find a barcode. See the possibilities now?
Register to win lots of prizes.
Great idea, bad execution.
Instead of making people stuff the wrapper in the pocket until they get to a PC, use a SMS short code, so people can send a text to "SNIKR" and include code as subject to see if they are a winner.
Something that was done involving an SMS was done with M&M's and MobileReact where with unqiue codes printed on the inside wrapper of M&Ms packs in Thailand, consumers can SMS the code to win either instant prizes or get points.
Try it yourself
I will be covering these guys in greater detail shortly.
I heard THESE GUYS are working on a mobile campaign that offers a direct connect feature.
What I'm trying to figure out is how a guy like Scoble discovered this new marketing technique. Could he be seeing how the physical world is creating advertising opportunites not seen before, or could he just like chocolate?
Scoble did call something similar a Killer App .
Robert, on that wrapper you will find a barcode. See the possibilities now?
War Of The Worlds Has A Different Meaning
From TheCourier-Mail.com It's world war free on your mobile
I would rather call this "When the digital and physical worlds collide".
DATING Katie Holmes is not the only revolutionary technique being used to promote Tom Cruise's new film War of the Worlds.
Hi-tech posters for the film will allow mobile phone users to download free ringtones and wallpapers in Queensland later this month. It will be the first time Hypertag technology has been used in the southern hemisphere.
AURA Digital Communications sales and marketing director Adam Dunne said consumers who had a mobile phone with an infrared connection could download free movie content directly from the posters, thanks to Hypertags concealed beneath the surface.
"The consumer walks up, activates infrared on their phone and then is able to download all sorts of different content, in this case ringtones, wallpapers and a calendar reminder set to go off the morning the film is released," Mr Dunne said.
I've talked about Hypertag before Here ,here and here .
I'm curious do you think Ritalin will be a sponsor for this?....I just had to do it.
I would rather call this "When the digital and physical worlds collide".
DATING Katie Holmes is not the only revolutionary technique being used to promote Tom Cruise's new film War of the Worlds.
Hi-tech posters for the film will allow mobile phone users to download free ringtones and wallpapers in Queensland later this month. It will be the first time Hypertag technology has been used in the southern hemisphere.
AURA Digital Communications sales and marketing director Adam Dunne said consumers who had a mobile phone with an infrared connection could download free movie content directly from the posters, thanks to Hypertags concealed beneath the surface.
"The consumer walks up, activates infrared on their phone and then is able to download all sorts of different content, in this case ringtones, wallpapers and a calendar reminder set to go off the morning the film is released," Mr Dunne said.
I've talked about Hypertag before Here ,here and here .
I'm curious do you think Ritalin will be a sponsor for this?....I just had to do it.
Greater London Authority Starts SMS Service
From RevolutionMagazine.com Greater London Authority launches SMS service
LONDON - The Greater London Authority has launched a new SMS service to promote events such as the Mayor's State of London conference.
The services are supplied by mobile marketing company, Incentivated
The initiative kicked off by encouraging the public to text a short code for tickets and a map to the annual conference, where Londoners can mingle with the capital's decision makers.
The event is the first to be promoted though the GLA's new Ticket Request by SMS service. Future efforts will support GLA ad campaigns and include the launch of a "find my nearest" service based on users' postcodes.
LONDON - The Greater London Authority has launched a new SMS service to promote events such as the Mayor's State of London conference.
The services are supplied by mobile marketing company, Incentivated
The initiative kicked off by encouraging the public to text a short code for tickets and a map to the annual conference, where Londoners can mingle with the capital's decision makers.
The event is the first to be promoted though the GLA's new Ticket Request by SMS service. Future efforts will support GLA ad campaigns and include the launch of a "find my nearest" service based on users' postcodes.
Yellow Pages SMS Service
I wonder when we get this service here in the States. My thinking is that it will be a hit when it does.
Yell.com offers a Yellow Pages SMS service.
If you're out and about and need a cab, you've lost your keys, or maybe you're just hungry at the end of the night, get the numbers you want from Yell.com text.
Here's how:
Choose one of the classifications served by Yell.com text (mobile);
Text it with your location*, separated by a space (eg. TAXI SOHO), to
80 248;
They will text you back with the results.
Now here's what I would do with this service to make it THE MOBILE SEARCH KILLER APP
Yell.com offers a Yellow Pages SMS service.
If you're out and about and need a cab, you've lost your keys, or maybe you're just hungry at the end of the night, get the numbers you want from Yell.com text.
Here's how:
Choose one of the classifications served by Yell.com text (mobile);
Text it with your location*, separated by a space (eg. TAXI SOHO), to
80 248;
They will text you back with the results.
Now here's what I would do with this service to make it THE MOBILE SEARCH KILLER APP
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Tell A Marketing Techniques
Not only is it becoming another media, it's disrupting measurement stats for the other forms of media.
From Media Post.com Arbitron: Younger People Cut The Cord, Become Cell Phone-Only Users
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO use cell phones as their exclusive or primary telecommunications device is growing rapidly, and this raises important questions about their media consumption patterns
Many believe that cell phone-only individuals are growing rapidly--and their behavior is beginning to influence how they use other media, as well as how marketing and media researchers measure them
So how will their habits/consumption patterns be quantified?
Will mobile analytics replace telemarketing?
Every SMS text request, or barcode scanned, or picture taken via cell phone gives marketing companies more info that any annoying call at dinner time can get.
The time, location(GPS), product and a direct way to interact (cellphone screen) are all provided when the physical world is connected. As a telemarketer, why do I need to harass you at dinner time when I can monitor all of your clicking,scanning and texting.
The database/server that holds this info will be bigger than Arbitron in my opinion.
From Media Post.com Arbitron: Younger People Cut The Cord, Become Cell Phone-Only Users
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO use cell phones as their exclusive or primary telecommunications device is growing rapidly, and this raises important questions about their media consumption patterns
Many believe that cell phone-only individuals are growing rapidly--and their behavior is beginning to influence how they use other media, as well as how marketing and media researchers measure them
So how will their habits/consumption patterns be quantified?
Will mobile analytics replace telemarketing?
Every SMS text request, or barcode scanned, or picture taken via cell phone gives marketing companies more info that any annoying call at dinner time can get.
The time, location(GPS), product and a direct way to interact (cellphone screen) are all provided when the physical world is connected. As a telemarketer, why do I need to harass you at dinner time when I can monitor all of your clicking,scanning and texting.
The database/server that holds this info will be bigger than Arbitron in my opinion.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Mobile Coupons
Your ad could be here.
3United
8Coupons
Active Media
Airtel
Announce Mobile
Aura Digital Communications
bawarao.com
bCode
Cellfire
Convergelabs
CouponZap
emobiad
Enpocket
Flytxt
M Channel
Gamut
M-bar-go
M Dialog
mFusion
Mobile2Win
Mobile365
Mobiqa
MobileReact
MobilRelay
mobiSign
Moffers
MoQpon
MoVoxx
Mozat
mQube
Mvive
MyMobileCast.com
MyThum Interactive
NetInformer
Outermesh
Ping Mobile
PlusOne
Regisoft
Redeemit
RocketBux
SMS Barcode
Smart
SwiftPass
Texting Now
Ticket Text
TopSolutions
Ticketrends
UpCode USA
Vivotech
XSmart(German) XSmart(English)
Zibadoo
I may have missed a few, if so , please email me and I will include.
Wouldn't your ad look good here?
Qualcomm Talks About Mobile Future
Advertisers target the younger generation for their new campaigns, so maybe having a younger Jacob's mind at the helm of Qualcomm will allow more applications to come from their CDMA technology.
From BusinessWeek.com Paul Jabobs: "Answer by Execution"
On July 1, Paul E. Jacobs will take over as CEO at wireless pioneer Qualcomm (QCOM ) from his father and company founder, Irwin Jacobs. Irwin essentially willed the company into being as a champion of the wireless technology CDMA as superior for voice during the changeover in the 1990s from analog to digital systems
The industry is going through a change where voice has essentially been commoditized, and the operators are looking for how they can generate additional revenues through data services
Now, Qualcomm is pushing into more multimedia services, for instance, with its MediaFLO service that will launch late next year with wireless carriers to provide video to the phone.
The mobile phone has advantages over the PC because it's something that you always have with you. And you can do certain things better on the phone. So when you say it's going into a new area, it is and it isn't
From BusinessWeek.com Paul Jabobs: "Answer by Execution"
On July 1, Paul E. Jacobs will take over as CEO at wireless pioneer Qualcomm (QCOM ) from his father and company founder, Irwin Jacobs. Irwin essentially willed the company into being as a champion of the wireless technology CDMA as superior for voice during the changeover in the 1990s from analog to digital systems
The industry is going through a change where voice has essentially been commoditized, and the operators are looking for how they can generate additional revenues through data services
Now, Qualcomm is pushing into more multimedia services, for instance, with its MediaFLO service that will launch late next year with wireless carriers to provide video to the phone.
The mobile phone has advantages over the PC because it's something that you always have with you. And you can do certain things better on the phone. So when you say it's going into a new area, it is and it isn't
Mobile Coupons Not Just A Fad
From DM News.com Mobile Coupons' Redeeming Qualities
Mobile coupons are emerging as a popular alternative to traditional direct marketing strategies. Why? No paper, no inventory, no mess. More importantly, coupons can be targeted to individual preferences and physical location, and users can opt in to receive discounts on items of interest
Companies have created mobile couponing services that let consumers receive unique barcodes on their cellular phones. Coupons with these special offers then can be redeemed at the retailer by scanning the barcode right from the phone screen. The benefits are immediate, targeted and impactful
Some of the world’s largest brands have embraced the move toward SMS technology. Nokia and Coca-Cola have tested mobile coupon marketing, followed by McDonald’s and Warner Bros
Figures such as these suggest mobile marketing campaigns using SMS short-code technology are hardly a passing fad.
The emergence of cell phones as the new mobile media could explain why mobile coupons have higher redemption rates than their paper counterparts
Some of the companies I've identfied in this space.
Flytxt
Gavitec
M-bar-go
Mobile2Win
Mobile365
Mobiqa
Moffers
Mozat
mQube
MyMobileCast.com
MyThum Interactive
NetInformer
Smart
SwiftPass
Vivotech
I may have missed a few, if so , please email me and I will include.
Mobile coupons are emerging as a popular alternative to traditional direct marketing strategies. Why? No paper, no inventory, no mess. More importantly, coupons can be targeted to individual preferences and physical location, and users can opt in to receive discounts on items of interest
Companies have created mobile couponing services that let consumers receive unique barcodes on their cellular phones. Coupons with these special offers then can be redeemed at the retailer by scanning the barcode right from the phone screen. The benefits are immediate, targeted and impactful
Some of the world’s largest brands have embraced the move toward SMS technology. Nokia and Coca-Cola have tested mobile coupon marketing, followed by McDonald’s and Warner Bros
Figures such as these suggest mobile marketing campaigns using SMS short-code technology are hardly a passing fad.
The emergence of cell phones as the new mobile media could explain why mobile coupons have higher redemption rates than their paper counterparts
Some of the companies I've identfied in this space.
Flytxt
Gavitec
M-bar-go
Mobile2Win
Mobile365
Mobiqa
Moffers
Mozat
mQube
MyMobileCast.com
MyThum Interactive
NetInformer
Smart
SwiftPass
Vivotech
I may have missed a few, if so , please email me and I will include.
Customized TV Ads
From BusinessWeek.com Cable's Big Bet On Hyper-Targeting
Time Warner will test new software that sends different ads to different viewers
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWX ) will soon begin testing a system designed by software firm Invidi Technologies Inc. that uses the digital set-top cable box to track what each TV in any house has on. It's expected to go into a household test by yearend, with other cable companies following in 2006.
By analyzing where a viewer channel surfs, Invidi says the system can figure out the age, gender, and probable interests of the viewer. Most important, the system then matches TV ads to the consumer based on what might actually interest them.
If a 50-year-old father and his 14-year-old daughter each tuned into a Seinfeld rerun on different TV sets, for example, Invidi's system would send each a different ad during the same commercial break. The father might see a pitch for after-shave lotion while his daughter would see one for acne medicine. If this experiment in hyper-targeting works, it could spread fast
This is how the system works: Invidi's software allows the cable company to constantly and anonymously monitor viewers and their channel surfing to build a database of digital profiles
Time Warner will test new software that sends different ads to different viewers
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWX ) will soon begin testing a system designed by software firm Invidi Technologies Inc. that uses the digital set-top cable box to track what each TV in any house has on. It's expected to go into a household test by yearend, with other cable companies following in 2006.
By analyzing where a viewer channel surfs, Invidi says the system can figure out the age, gender, and probable interests of the viewer. Most important, the system then matches TV ads to the consumer based on what might actually interest them.
If a 50-year-old father and his 14-year-old daughter each tuned into a Seinfeld rerun on different TV sets, for example, Invidi's system would send each a different ad during the same commercial break. The father might see a pitch for after-shave lotion while his daughter would see one for acne medicine. If this experiment in hyper-targeting works, it could spread fast
This is how the system works: Invidi's software allows the cable company to constantly and anonymously monitor viewers and their channel surfing to build a database of digital profiles
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Wal-Mart Gets Busted For Using "Their" Mobile Froogle
From PromoMagazine.com Grocer Sues Wal-Mart Over Price Scanning .
I'm curious as to what data they were able to retrieve from scanning the barcodes.
Oklahoma grocer Super H filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores for using a scanner to collect barcode data from products on Super H's shelves.
The suit, filed in Osage County District Court on June 13, alleges that Wal-Mart sent workers into Super H to check prices as Wal-Mart readies to open a supercenter nearby in August.
Super H isn't worried about the price information; its real concern is other data the scanner may have captured, such as inventory and wholesale price. "We're trying to get [the scanner] back and find out what's in there," said Super H manager Greg McNeil
What happens when scanning a barcode offers more than just prodcut info from a closed network? Wal-Mart spies will soon be getting coupons, ringtones and video clips when they do their undercover work.
I'm curious as to what data they were able to retrieve from scanning the barcodes.
Oklahoma grocer Super H filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores for using a scanner to collect barcode data from products on Super H's shelves.
The suit, filed in Osage County District Court on June 13, alleges that Wal-Mart sent workers into Super H to check prices as Wal-Mart readies to open a supercenter nearby in August.
Super H isn't worried about the price information; its real concern is other data the scanner may have captured, such as inventory and wholesale price. "We're trying to get [the scanner] back and find out what's in there," said Super H manager Greg McNeil
What happens when scanning a barcode offers more than just prodcut info from a closed network? Wal-Mart spies will soon be getting coupons, ringtones and video clips when they do their undercover work.
Product-Placement Nielsen Service
From AdAge.com TNS Launches Product-Placement Monitoring System
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -– In the latest effort to establish an accurate method for measuring the impact of product placements in TV and film, TNS Media Intelligence launched the Branded Entertainment Reporting Service earlier this month
A client using the service to access information on the WB program One Tree Hill, for example, would see that Cingular has several product placements and mentions within the show, but would also see on the database that other wireless carriers have commercials within the program
What a client does is they can look either by category or by brand at what they’re doing within regular advertising -- TV, magazines -- and now add in the branded-entertainment slice
Working with Nielsen’s other rating services, the product-placement service also reports how many viewers were watching the program at the time of the product mention
You have multitasking, channel surfing. ... It’s becoming more and more important to the advertisers and networks, quite frankly, to understand who’s actually paying attention at the moment
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -– In the latest effort to establish an accurate method for measuring the impact of product placements in TV and film, TNS Media Intelligence launched the Branded Entertainment Reporting Service earlier this month
A client using the service to access information on the WB program One Tree Hill, for example, would see that Cingular has several product placements and mentions within the show, but would also see on the database that other wireless carriers have commercials within the program
What a client does is they can look either by category or by brand at what they’re doing within regular advertising -- TV, magazines -- and now add in the branded-entertainment slice
Working with Nielsen’s other rating services, the product-placement service also reports how many viewers were watching the program at the time of the product mention
You have multitasking, channel surfing. ... It’s becoming more and more important to the advertisers and networks, quite frankly, to understand who’s actually paying attention at the moment
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
The Fifth Wave
My favorite magazine came in yesterday. I think it's probably the most underrated publication on the street. So many articles of interest.
Here's one I found loads of ideas on. Visionary Om Malik contributed to the article.
Cheap computing, infinite bandwidth, and open standards are powering an epic technological transformation that will churn up huge new opportunities -- and perils for those who can't adapt
Wireless technologies, chiefly 3G (third-generation) and Wi-Fi, are expanding rapidly, making the Internet ubiquitous.
There's another singular aspect of what's happening now, one that by itself creates enormous opportunities. A hallmark of the previous four waves was the almost direct correlation between hardware and software.
If Intel (INTC) made a new chip, Microsoft came up with a new operating system that could make use of the extra oomph. The platform and how it could be used basically moved in predictable lockstep. This time, however, the platform -- broadband networks and the Internet -- is already in place, waiting for applications to catch up.
WIRELESS MARKETING
Most modern cell phones ship with location-based services. Leveraging them to do something other than simple route finding is a no-brainer. For instance, a company could marry the ability to pinpoint a person's physical location with new information distribution technologies like RSS. Users might be alerted to coupons or deals as they walk down an aisle in the grocery store or past a particular store. Merchants could experiment with dynamic pricing to move inventory on slow days or to increase foot traffic.
Here's one I found loads of ideas on. Visionary Om Malik contributed to the article.
Cheap computing, infinite bandwidth, and open standards are powering an epic technological transformation that will churn up huge new opportunities -- and perils for those who can't adapt
Wireless technologies, chiefly 3G (third-generation) and Wi-Fi, are expanding rapidly, making the Internet ubiquitous.
There's another singular aspect of what's happening now, one that by itself creates enormous opportunities. A hallmark of the previous four waves was the almost direct correlation between hardware and software.
If Intel (INTC) made a new chip, Microsoft came up with a new operating system that could make use of the extra oomph. The platform and how it could be used basically moved in predictable lockstep. This time, however, the platform -- broadband networks and the Internet -- is already in place, waiting for applications to catch up.
WIRELESS MARKETING
Most modern cell phones ship with location-based services. Leveraging them to do something other than simple route finding is a no-brainer. For instance, a company could marry the ability to pinpoint a person's physical location with new information distribution technologies like RSS. Users might be alerted to coupons or deals as they walk down an aisle in the grocery store or past a particular store. Merchants could experiment with dynamic pricing to move inventory on slow days or to increase foot traffic.
the Waiting Is The Hardest Part
From Revolution Magazine.com 3G Marketing: Brands wait for 3G opportunity
The next big thing in mobile services is just around the corner, but how prepared are the operators and brand marketers?
Over the past year, 3G services have brought the promise that brand marketing can reach mobile users in style. While marketing in this space is still reasonably scarce, the richness of the content being downloaded by early subscribers is painting an intriguing picture.
Following the, so far, relative disappointment of MMS, 3G hopes to give brands access to elusive customers through interactive propositions built with high-quality video and audio, with more accurately targeted messages. So says the mobile industry.
"3G will mean richer, higher quality applications, as well as video, and that will make mobile a stronger marketing medium," says Dan Parker, chief operating officer at mobile marketing agency Sponge
For the first time in a long time, there is going to be a new visual medium," says Graeme Oxby, marketing director at 3
Marketing is starting to shape itself to the possibilities of 3G in the increased use of shortcodes to guide offline consumers to mobile sites
See where this is going?
The next big thing in mobile services is just around the corner, but how prepared are the operators and brand marketers?
Over the past year, 3G services have brought the promise that brand marketing can reach mobile users in style. While marketing in this space is still reasonably scarce, the richness of the content being downloaded by early subscribers is painting an intriguing picture.
Following the, so far, relative disappointment of MMS, 3G hopes to give brands access to elusive customers through interactive propositions built with high-quality video and audio, with more accurately targeted messages. So says the mobile industry.
"3G will mean richer, higher quality applications, as well as video, and that will make mobile a stronger marketing medium," says Dan Parker, chief operating officer at mobile marketing agency Sponge
For the first time in a long time, there is going to be a new visual medium," says Graeme Oxby, marketing director at 3
Marketing is starting to shape itself to the possibilities of 3G in the increased use of shortcodes to guide offline consumers to mobile sites
See where this is going?
The BoneHead Move By BlockBuster
From MSNBC.com Rewinding A Video Giant
Blockbuster is under attack from all sides. Online competition and video-on-demand threaten a well-known brand. They are being attacked by their own dumb marketing.
In its most controversial (dumb) move, in January Blockbuster stopped charging customers late fees. Well, sort of. Customers can keep a movie without penalty for more than a week—more than twice the old rental period. But after that, Blockbuster's new system assumes they've decided to buy it and automatically debits their account for the purchase price minus the rental fee. (Customers who balk can still return the DVD within 30 days for full credit, less a $1.25 restocking fee.)
For a few weeks ago I tried renting Meet The Fockers to no avail. Every time I went in to a BoneHead Video store they were out of the movie.
I then realized why. With their new rental policy I can pickup any movie(providing it's available), pay the rental charge, keep it for a month and be charged an extra $1.25.
They have reduced turnover for that movie, allowed me to let a few of my friends borrow it and watch it for a month, and made sure all first run movies are never available.
Who was the brainchild behind this campaign?
It did do one good thing though. BoneHead Video forced me to use my Adelphia DVR. So for 3.95 I saw Meet The Fockers and didn't have to return it.
Some businesses never adapt and die. Some use bad business decisions to speed the process up.
Blockbuster is under attack from all sides. Online competition and video-on-demand threaten a well-known brand. They are being attacked by their own dumb marketing.
In its most controversial (dumb) move, in January Blockbuster stopped charging customers late fees. Well, sort of. Customers can keep a movie without penalty for more than a week—more than twice the old rental period. But after that, Blockbuster's new system assumes they've decided to buy it and automatically debits their account for the purchase price minus the rental fee. (Customers who balk can still return the DVD within 30 days for full credit, less a $1.25 restocking fee.)
For a few weeks ago I tried renting Meet The Fockers to no avail. Every time I went in to a BoneHead Video store they were out of the movie.
I then realized why. With their new rental policy I can pickup any movie(providing it's available), pay the rental charge, keep it for a month and be charged an extra $1.25.
They have reduced turnover for that movie, allowed me to let a few of my friends borrow it and watch it for a month, and made sure all first run movies are never available.
Who was the brainchild behind this campaign?
It did do one good thing though. BoneHead Video forced me to use my Adelphia DVR. So for 3.95 I saw Meet The Fockers and didn't have to return it.
Some businesses never adapt and die. Some use bad business decisions to speed the process up.
Microsoft Threatens The Cellcos
From eWeek.com Microsoft, Aruba start work on massive Wi-Fi
Microsoft Corp. is replacing its massive corporate wireless LAN with equipment from Aruba Wireless Networks.
The WLAN will include some 5,000 centrally managed access points as well as an undisclosed number of WLAN switches covering 277 buildings on the Redmond, Wash., campus and branch offices in more than 60 countries.
Spanning more than 17 million square feet and serving up to 25,000 sessions at once, it will be among the world's biggest corporate Wi-Fi networks. The installation already has begun, said officials at Aruba, in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Does anyone see what I am starting to see?
Service providers should be worried, very worried.
David Haskin at Mobilepipeline sees it and Why wireless carriers need a clue--soon
Microsoft Corp. is replacing its massive corporate wireless LAN with equipment from Aruba Wireless Networks.
The WLAN will include some 5,000 centrally managed access points as well as an undisclosed number of WLAN switches covering 277 buildings on the Redmond, Wash., campus and branch offices in more than 60 countries.
Spanning more than 17 million square feet and serving up to 25,000 sessions at once, it will be among the world's biggest corporate Wi-Fi networks. The installation already has begun, said officials at Aruba, in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Does anyone see what I am starting to see?
Service providers should be worried, very worried.
David Haskin at Mobilepipeline sees it and Why wireless carriers need a clue--soon
Top Internet Trends
From Piper Jaffray's first Global Internet Summit and Rajesh Jain's Weblog
From an email newsletter by Safa Rashtchy - the top 10 takeaways from the first Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit:
1) Online Advertising - The Big Winner
2) Changing Traditional Media and Telecom Models
3) Emergence of Mobile Media as the Next Big Opportunity
4) Google's Brand Strength and Dominance in Search
5) Uncertain Future for Music Industry
6) Development of New Web Communities
7) Consolidation Environment with Increasing M&A Activities
8) Limited Upside Potential for Pure eCommerce Players
9) Vertical Search Gaining
10) Spyware, Viruses Could Slow Ad Spending
Those are two areas I have been covering and agree that they will be big trends going forward.
From an email newsletter by Safa Rashtchy - the top 10 takeaways from the first Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit:
1) Online Advertising - The Big Winner
2) Changing Traditional Media and Telecom Models
3) Emergence of Mobile Media as the Next Big Opportunity
4) Google's Brand Strength and Dominance in Search
5) Uncertain Future for Music Industry
6) Development of New Web Communities
7) Consolidation Environment with Increasing M&A Activities
8) Limited Upside Potential for Pure eCommerce Players
9) Vertical Search Gaining
10) Spyware, Viruses Could Slow Ad Spending
Those are two areas I have been covering and agree that they will be big trends going forward.
Making The Most Out Of 60 Seconds
From San Antonio Business Journal.com Clear Channel Television strikes new 'e-coupon' advertising agreement
I like how old media is using new technology in order to leverage their advertising.
Clear Channel Television Interactive entered into a new partnership with Coupons Inc. that will give television advertisers the option of having printable coupons placed on station Web sites.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Coupons Inc. is a privately held technology company that allows consumer-products firms to create, distribute, track and report electronic coupons. These are coupons that can be printed out and redeemed in grocery stores.
I like how old media is using new technology in order to leverage their advertising.
Clear Channel Television Interactive entered into a new partnership with Coupons Inc. that will give television advertisers the option of having printable coupons placed on station Web sites.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Coupons Inc. is a privately held technology company that allows consumer-products firms to create, distribute, track and report electronic coupons. These are coupons that can be printed out and redeemed in grocery stores.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
2.3 Billion By 2009
From ZDNetblogs 2.3billion wireless subscribers by 2009
Worldwide, wireless subscriber growth is experiencing robust expansion after several years of slower growth due to the economic downturn of the last few years, reports In-Stat. By 2009, the research firm forecasts the worldwide wireless market will grow to more than 2.3 bln subscribers.
That's 2.3 billion TV sets, PC monitors, billboards, radios, magazines. Maybe advertisers need to think of it in those terms in order to realize how big mobile advertising will be.
If you asked ANY brand manager, "would you like to advertise to 2.3 billion screens?", what do you think the response would be.
Worldwide, wireless subscriber growth is experiencing robust expansion after several years of slower growth due to the economic downturn of the last few years, reports In-Stat. By 2009, the research firm forecasts the worldwide wireless market will grow to more than 2.3 bln subscribers.
That's 2.3 billion TV sets, PC monitors, billboards, radios, magazines. Maybe advertisers need to think of it in those terms in order to realize how big mobile advertising will be.
If you asked ANY brand manager, "would you like to advertise to 2.3 billion screens?", what do you think the response would be.
Wi-Fi For Location Based Services
From MobilePipeLine.com Positioning system uses Wi-Fi, not satellites
Skyhook Wireless Monday launched a positioning service that uses Wi-Fi instead of satellites, which it claims will be simpler and less expensive in many environments
The company said that the old GPS systems required separate hardware and line-of-site access to satellites. Such systems also are unreliable in some urban aras, according to Skyhook. The WLAN-based location system eliminates those problems
"With the market set to explode, the applications for Wi-Fi positioning software are endless including search and recovery, E911, proximity advertising, and fleet management,". Skyhook's CEO Ted Morgan said in a statement.
Skyhook Wireless Monday launched a positioning service that uses Wi-Fi instead of satellites, which it claims will be simpler and less expensive in many environments
The company said that the old GPS systems required separate hardware and line-of-site access to satellites. Such systems also are unreliable in some urban aras, according to Skyhook. The WLAN-based location system eliminates those problems
"With the market set to explode, the applications for Wi-Fi positioning software are endless including search and recovery, E911, proximity advertising, and fleet management,". Skyhook's CEO Ted Morgan said in a statement.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Advertisers Need To Think Inside The Box, The Four Square Inched One
A couple major heavyweights have made shifts in their advertising budgets in the last week. Procter/Gamble announced they are cutting back on their TV advertising and tonight the Wall Street journal is reporting that GE is cutting their TV advertising by 30%
The disruption is taking place.
From USA Today.com Advertisers forced to think way outside the box
Consumers such as Fetchik pose an increasing challenge for the advertising industry as it competes for consumers' attention and time. Technology — from wireless devices to iPods to digital video recorders (DVRs), have given time-pressed consumers more choices and control over what they tune in or tune out — and also split the audience into narrower slices
Faith Popcorn, CEO of ad consultancy BrainReserve, also thinks the days are numbered for TV ads' dominance. But she says many marketers remain reluctant to look at new media alternatives, in part because they don't know how to use them: "They don't know what to replace (TV) with."
Oh come on, what is the one screen EVERYBODY carries with them all day long?
You want to know where the next land grab will be for advertising is?
The disruption is taking place.
From USA Today.com Advertisers forced to think way outside the box
Consumers such as Fetchik pose an increasing challenge for the advertising industry as it competes for consumers' attention and time. Technology — from wireless devices to iPods to digital video recorders (DVRs), have given time-pressed consumers more choices and control over what they tune in or tune out — and also split the audience into narrower slices
Faith Popcorn, CEO of ad consultancy BrainReserve, also thinks the days are numbered for TV ads' dominance. But she says many marketers remain reluctant to look at new media alternatives, in part because they don't know how to use them: "They don't know what to replace (TV) with."
Oh come on, what is the one screen EVERYBODY carries with them all day long?
You want to know where the next land grab will be for advertising is?
BusinessWeek Covers New Media Changes
From BusinessWeek.com Change: A User's Guide
It's nice to see old media make strides to adapt to the new media offerings. Nice going Business Week.
Change Hurts. But it's also exciting, refreshing, challenging -- even therapeutic.
It's no secret that rapid changes are occurring in media, marketing, and advertising and that these shifts dramatically affect people who market products and services, as well as those of us in information businesses.
In this issue, we launch "Media Centric," a weekly column by Jon Fine that will chronicle these changes and help readers react quickly and intelligently to the new realities.
If you're a newspaper, magazine, television, radio, or online-media executive, how do you compete in this confusing, fast-moving environment? How can you maintain old revenue streams while investing in new ones?
Who's figuring this stuff out fastest, and what can we all learn from them? Who's getting left behind, and why?
It's nice to see old media make strides to adapt to the new media offerings. Nice going Business Week.
Change Hurts. But it's also exciting, refreshing, challenging -- even therapeutic.
It's no secret that rapid changes are occurring in media, marketing, and advertising and that these shifts dramatically affect people who market products and services, as well as those of us in information businesses.
In this issue, we launch "Media Centric," a weekly column by Jon Fine that will chronicle these changes and help readers react quickly and intelligently to the new realities.
If you're a newspaper, magazine, television, radio, or online-media executive, how do you compete in this confusing, fast-moving environment? How can you maintain old revenue streams while investing in new ones?
Who's figuring this stuff out fastest, and what can we all learn from them? Who's getting left behind, and why?
Physical Media Teams Up With Digital
From DailyTelegraph.com Optis,Packer in web alliance
OPTUS clients will be able to use PBL's online portal NineMSN to get e-mails, online content and NineMSN's Messenger on their phones and PCs after a deal between the media and telecommunications giants.
Optus customers will have access to online content from PBL's stable of magazines and to PBL's television broadcaster Channel Nine.
Now let's see. Are there any other MAJOR media companies that could leverage their digital connection?
I'm thinking of an OBVIOUS ONE
OPTUS clients will be able to use PBL's online portal NineMSN to get e-mails, online content and NineMSN's Messenger on their phones and PCs after a deal between the media and telecommunications giants.
Optus customers will have access to online content from PBL's stable of magazines and to PBL's television broadcaster Channel Nine.
Now let's see. Are there any other MAJOR media companies that could leverage their digital connection?
I'm thinking of an OBVIOUS ONE
Play Monopoly Live Game Via SMS
From NetImperative.com Monopoly board game comes to life in online promo
Advertising agencies DDB London and Tribal DDB have created a real-life Monopoly game that invites consumers to play live via the Web and SMS, to promote the updated version of the popular board game.
The game will be played out for real on the streets of London, using taxis as playing pieces via GPS technology.
To see the Monopoly Live Game
Each taxi is Monopoly-branded and fitted with a GPS transmitter, using security technology, so that its location is known at all times.
Advertising agencies DDB London and Tribal DDB have created a real-life Monopoly game that invites consumers to play live via the Web and SMS, to promote the updated version of the popular board game.
The game will be played out for real on the streets of London, using taxis as playing pieces via GPS technology.
To see the Monopoly Live Game
Each taxi is Monopoly-branded and fitted with a GPS transmitter, using security technology, so that its location is known at all times.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Coming Soon
Coming Soon,
I have identified hundreds of companies and have categorized them accordingly.
Physical World Connection
Mobile Search
GPS-LBS
SMS
M-Commerce
Mobile Advertising
I have identified hundreds of companies and have categorized them accordingly.
Physical World Connection
Mobile Search
GPS-LBS
SMS
M-Commerce
Mobile Advertising
Friday, June 17, 2005
Winners And Losers From Internet Revolution
From RealMoney.com (subscription required) Losers of the Internet revolution
The Internet revolution can't be stopped, and it really is disrupting just about every media and telecom company on the planet. I've spent a lot of time looking at the probable winners, but there are also going to be some ugly losers along the way.
Clearly, the Internet's impact isn't and won't be a zero-sum game, but we're already seeing the demise of some heretofore great growth companies that have been positioned incorrectly and now can't afford to shift.
Cody focuses on how the Internet is affecting the telcos,newspapers, music, radio, advertising and video. A good read.
I wrote a piece of how advertising has changed, and will change over the years entitled We Interrupt This Broadcast
The trick is to find out where the puck WILL BE, not where it is now, and find all the companies that will play a role.
This is something I have tried to do with the Pondering Primate.
The Internet revolution can't be stopped, and it really is disrupting just about every media and telecom company on the planet. I've spent a lot of time looking at the probable winners, but there are also going to be some ugly losers along the way.
Clearly, the Internet's impact isn't and won't be a zero-sum game, but we're already seeing the demise of some heretofore great growth companies that have been positioned incorrectly and now can't afford to shift.
Cody focuses on how the Internet is affecting the telcos,newspapers, music, radio, advertising and video. A good read.
I wrote a piece of how advertising has changed, and will change over the years entitled We Interrupt This Broadcast
The trick is to find out where the puck WILL BE, not where it is now, and find all the companies that will play a role.
This is something I have tried to do with the Pondering Primate.
Ingenius Website Advertising
I saw this the other day and was waiting for someone in the search world to pick it up and comment.
From MediaWeek.com Activ8now sues Conde Nast
Online technology firm Activ8now , and its operating company, Active8media, filed a suit in United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation against Advance Publications
Activ8now owns several patents for producing interactive electronic versions of magazine advertisements. According to the suit, Condé Nast entered into a license agreement with Activ8now to use the company's technology for the September 2004 issue of Vogue
The suit isn't the key point, it's what Activ8now's technology does. Activ8now technology should be used for EVERY advertising website. It's ingenius.
This technology will also be coming to TV soon too.
See how it works for yourself
From MediaWeek.com Activ8now sues Conde Nast
Online technology firm Activ8now , and its operating company, Active8media, filed a suit in United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation against Advance Publications
Activ8now owns several patents for producing interactive electronic versions of magazine advertisements. According to the suit, Condé Nast entered into a license agreement with Activ8now to use the company's technology for the September 2004 issue of Vogue
The suit isn't the key point, it's what Activ8now's technology does. Activ8now technology should be used for EVERY advertising website. It's ingenius.
This technology will also be coming to TV soon too.
See how it works for yourself
Wallet Phone
From Business Week.com Will that be cash, credit or cell?
For years, techies and wireless phone companies have coveted a dream: turning the ubiquitous cell phone into a virtual wallet. In the late 1990s everyone from Nokia Corp. (NOK ) to Visa was plotting to roll out services in the U.S. that would let people use their cell phones to buy everything from soft drinks to cars
C-SAM Inc., a tiny, privately owned software developer in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., is expected to announce plans on June 20 to roll out a service early next year that will allow people to use their phones as credit cards.
Some require buyers to dial a phone number to authorize payment. C-SAM, on the other hand, lets users navigate through a cell phone menu
What will really work is waving your cell and the credit card chip inside will be recognized. I explain HERE
For years, techies and wireless phone companies have coveted a dream: turning the ubiquitous cell phone into a virtual wallet. In the late 1990s everyone from Nokia Corp. (NOK ) to Visa was plotting to roll out services in the U.S. that would let people use their cell phones to buy everything from soft drinks to cars
C-SAM Inc., a tiny, privately owned software developer in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., is expected to announce plans on June 20 to roll out a service early next year that will allow people to use their phones as credit cards.
Some require buyers to dial a phone number to authorize payment. C-SAM, on the other hand, lets users navigate through a cell phone menu
What will really work is waving your cell and the credit card chip inside will be recognized. I explain HERE
Product Placement Should Be Product Interaction
From BusinessWeek.com An onslaught of hidden ads
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM ) has asked at least three major magazine companies to explore product integration -- that's product placement to you and me -- of its cars into magazine editorial pages. Say hello to another indicator of changing media mores
Ad-page volume at magazines last year came in below that of 1998 -- meaning the medium's recent advertising wipeout erased the gains of the dot-com boom and then some. Advertisers point to reality TV and say, hey, why not? And they're not terribly interested in print's traditional ad-edit divide.
Last weeks issue of Business Week magazine had 170 pages. Sixty of those pages were full page ads. I'm not sure what Business Week charges for a full page ad, but I bet it's pretty steep.
What if Business Week said to each advertiser, "we can make your full page ad interactive, would you like more details?" What brand manager would say No to that?
Instead of changing the actual medium, change what the medium can do.
What to know how? An exciting advertising strategy is coming.
Stay tuned.
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM ) has asked at least three major magazine companies to explore product integration -- that's product placement to you and me -- of its cars into magazine editorial pages. Say hello to another indicator of changing media mores
Ad-page volume at magazines last year came in below that of 1998 -- meaning the medium's recent advertising wipeout erased the gains of the dot-com boom and then some. Advertisers point to reality TV and say, hey, why not? And they're not terribly interested in print's traditional ad-edit divide.
Last weeks issue of Business Week magazine had 170 pages. Sixty of those pages were full page ads. I'm not sure what Business Week charges for a full page ad, but I bet it's pretty steep.
What if Business Week said to each advertiser, "we can make your full page ad interactive, would you like more details?" What brand manager would say No to that?
Instead of changing the actual medium, change what the medium can do.
What to know how? An exciting advertising strategy is coming.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Treo Users Can Now Scan Barcodes
I'm a Treo owner and can't wait to try this out.
From MyTreo.net New Product by JFMw: Barcode
mytreo.net Star Developer JFMw has released a remarkable new program that utilizes your Treo 600 or Treo 650 camera to read bar codes.
Like the author's incredibly popular program Brightcam, which has been downloaded from mytreo.net more than 17 thousand times, Barcode is donationware and can be used without purchasing a license
Barcode/13 is a full software barcode scanner for palmOne Treo600 and palmOne Treo650. Barcode/13 uses the Treo camera to scan ISBN, UPC-A and EAN-13 barcodes and exports the decoded value to the system clipboard. Barcode/13 can be launched within any application, and the returned value can be retrieve from the clipboard to make use of it into the initial application.
Barcode/13 is a free alternative to expensive hardware solutions. Barcode/13 can't be seen as a business solution, but it is definitely the cheapest solution for non-business use, like cave, books, CDs or DVDs inventories.
Barcode/13 recognizes EAN-13 and UPC-A subset of EAN-13 with a leading 0, but if you have some difficulties with a barcode you can tell Barcode/13 the first digit: if your barcode is a UPC-A barcode (US barcodes, 12 digits, x xxxxx xxxxx x) you can start the scanner pressing the "0" key.
If your EAN-13 barcode (european barcodes, 13 digits, x xxxxxx xxxxxx) begins with a 3, you can press the "3" key, and so on. I recommend using this feature only if automatic recognition fails: usually, I press the digit keys only if Barcode/13 fails twice to read a barcode (this happens more frequently when scanning bottles, you should not need this for standard barcodes in normal lighting conditions). Only for palmOne Treo650: space key can zoom/unzoom, but you should use this only with very small barcodes.
When running Barcode/13, you can see a red target with 2 widths and a green line. Green line is the position that will be used to analyse the barcode, the four vertical lines are recommended sizes for large and small barcodes. Recent barcodes are often large barcodes, but some products have smaller barcodes. If you have a large barcode, point your Treo to fill the large target with your barcode (keep the barcode inside, don't oversize it). If you have a small barcode, the small target will be a better idea. If your barcode is medium size, something between the 2 targets will be fine
Click HERE to download the program
I think this is my weekend project. I will report my results..
From MyTreo.net New Product by JFMw: Barcode
mytreo.net Star Developer JFMw has released a remarkable new program that utilizes your Treo 600 or Treo 650 camera to read bar codes.
Like the author's incredibly popular program Brightcam, which has been downloaded from mytreo.net more than 17 thousand times, Barcode is donationware and can be used without purchasing a license
Barcode/13 is a full software barcode scanner for palmOne Treo600 and palmOne Treo650. Barcode/13 uses the Treo camera to scan ISBN, UPC-A and EAN-13 barcodes and exports the decoded value to the system clipboard. Barcode/13 can be launched within any application, and the returned value can be retrieve from the clipboard to make use of it into the initial application.
Barcode/13 is a free alternative to expensive hardware solutions. Barcode/13 can't be seen as a business solution, but it is definitely the cheapest solution for non-business use, like cave, books, CDs or DVDs inventories.
Barcode/13 recognizes EAN-13 and UPC-A subset of EAN-13 with a leading 0, but if you have some difficulties with a barcode you can tell Barcode/13 the first digit: if your barcode is a UPC-A barcode (US barcodes, 12 digits, x xxxxx xxxxx x) you can start the scanner pressing the "0" key.
If your EAN-13 barcode (european barcodes, 13 digits, x xxxxxx xxxxxx) begins with a 3, you can press the "3" key, and so on. I recommend using this feature only if automatic recognition fails: usually, I press the digit keys only if Barcode/13 fails twice to read a barcode (this happens more frequently when scanning bottles, you should not need this for standard barcodes in normal lighting conditions). Only for palmOne Treo650: space key can zoom/unzoom, but you should use this only with very small barcodes.
When running Barcode/13, you can see a red target with 2 widths and a green line. Green line is the position that will be used to analyse the barcode, the four vertical lines are recommended sizes for large and small barcodes. Recent barcodes are often large barcodes, but some products have smaller barcodes. If you have a large barcode, point your Treo to fill the large target with your barcode (keep the barcode inside, don't oversize it). If you have a small barcode, the small target will be a better idea. If your barcode is medium size, something between the 2 targets will be fine
Click HERE to download the program
I think this is my weekend project. I will report my results..
Motorola Buys Messaging Infrastructure Anam Mobile
From Wireless Week.com Motorola invests in wireless
Motorola's investment arm continues its flurry of activity, with an investment in Anam Mobile, a messaging infrastructure products developer
Anam , which develops next-generation SMS and MMS delivery platforms under the Smart Services brand, plans to leverage the investment to expand its global reach and enhance its product portfolio
Motorola's investment arm continues its flurry of activity, with an investment in Anam Mobile, a messaging infrastructure products developer
Anam , which develops next-generation SMS and MMS delivery platforms under the Smart Services brand, plans to leverage the investment to expand its global reach and enhance its product portfolio
ipsh! Teams Up With Oxygen And Fabio
From BusinessWire.com ipsh! and Oxygen team up for Fabio text campaign .
Women want a little text with their romance -- at least that's what Oxygen and ipsh! discovered with the results from their most recent mobile marketing campaign for The Oxygen Network's premiere of Mr. Romance, a "romance academy/reality series" hosted by Harlequin novel hunk, Fabio
the campaign is being hailed as one of the first successful non-teen mobile campaigns to generate close to 2X the conversion rate of traditional teen mobile campaigns handled by ipsh using data of over 300 campaigns conducted in the U.S. since 2001.
To see ipsh!'s EZTXTMSG model click Here
In addition, the integrated campaign featured on-air promotion of a shortcode (you guessed it, "FABIO") where audiences could, in American Idol like fashion, cast their votes for show contestants in real-time. Online, banners allowed audiences to send Fabio's Valentine's Day greetings to friends and interact directly with the show's content as well as download free mobile wallpapers of Fabio and contestants
Women want a little text with their romance -- at least that's what Oxygen and ipsh! discovered with the results from their most recent mobile marketing campaign for The Oxygen Network's premiere of Mr. Romance, a "romance academy/reality series" hosted by Harlequin novel hunk, Fabio
the campaign is being hailed as one of the first successful non-teen mobile campaigns to generate close to 2X the conversion rate of traditional teen mobile campaigns handled by ipsh using data of over 300 campaigns conducted in the U.S. since 2001.
To see ipsh!'s EZTXTMSG model click Here
In addition, the integrated campaign featured on-air promotion of a shortcode (you guessed it, "FABIO") where audiences could, in American Idol like fashion, cast their votes for show contestants in real-time. Online, banners allowed audiences to send Fabio's Valentine's Day greetings to friends and interact directly with the show's content as well as download free mobile wallpapers of Fabio and contestants
Bango, Simpay..How Do We Pay?
Mike Masnick over at The Feature.com discusses how T-Mobile looks to be quitting Simpay .
Simpay offers merchants and content providers a single common solution, which will allow them access to the customers of all participating operators, without having to worry about different mobile technologies and networks
Almost exactly two years ago, European operators Orange, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and Vodafone decided that their mobile payments consortium.
Last week another mobile billing company Bango decided to go public
Bango enables firms to cash in on selling content via mobile phones and includes The Sun, Camelot, Maxim magazine and Channel 4 among its list of punters.
By paying Bango a monthly fee, end users can then pay for content through their mobile phone bills or credit/debit cards.
Now here's what I'm thinking. What happens when you're able to text to pay or scan your phone to pay for a service/item? Soon there will be a service (introduced by service providers) that will allow you to send a text to a specific number and include the code for payment.
Not long after that, you will be able to wave your cell phone and pay with your credit card that is "built in" already.
Simpay offers merchants and content providers a single common solution, which will allow them access to the customers of all participating operators, without having to worry about different mobile technologies and networks
Almost exactly two years ago, European operators Orange, Telefonica Moviles, T-Mobile and Vodafone decided that their mobile payments consortium.
Last week another mobile billing company Bango decided to go public
Bango enables firms to cash in on selling content via mobile phones and includes The Sun, Camelot, Maxim magazine and Channel 4 among its list of punters.
By paying Bango a monthly fee, end users can then pay for content through their mobile phone bills or credit/debit cards.
Now here's what I'm thinking. What happens when you're able to text to pay or scan your phone to pay for a service/item? Soon there will be a service (introduced by service providers) that will allow you to send a text to a specific number and include the code for payment.
Not long after that, you will be able to wave your cell phone and pay with your credit card that is "built in" already.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Mobile Payment For Parking Meters
From Sun Sentinel.com Coral Gables tries pay-by-cell parking technology .
Drivers lacking coins now may use cell phones to feed parking meters in Coral Gables, purportedly the first city in the country to offer such a service.
The automated system allows drivers who subscribe to simply dial in from their cell phone, punch in the number assigned to their parking spot, and the required costs plus a 25-cent usage fee will be billed to their credit card. When leaving, subscribers call back and end the billing cycle.
PayMint, the Toronto-based company that offers the service, e-mails users copies of their transactions, plus allows subscribers to track their usage online
Drivers lacking coins now may use cell phones to feed parking meters in Coral Gables, purportedly the first city in the country to offer such a service.
The automated system allows drivers who subscribe to simply dial in from their cell phone, punch in the number assigned to their parking spot, and the required costs plus a 25-cent usage fee will be billed to their credit card. When leaving, subscribers call back and end the billing cycle.
PayMint, the Toronto-based company that offers the service, e-mails users copies of their transactions, plus allows subscribers to track their usage online
Maybelline's Uses SMS For Lipstick Campaign
From PromoMagazine.com Maybelline uses cells and e-mail to distribute lipstick samples .
Maybelline NY is using text messaging and e-mail to reach its young female target with thousands of lipstick samples, all the while building its opt-in databases.
Players in the Txt 2 Shine sweeps giveaway must complete a two-step process to compete.
A pre-registration period, which ends June 20, asks for name, address, email, birth date and whether the player would like to be contacted for this giveaway via text message or email.
On June 24, a text message goes out to those who requested information via cell, alerting the participant that they will receive a "Text to Win" message three days later to which they must reply to be entered in the sweeps.
Maybelline is ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile marketing. I discussed how back HERE
Maybelline NY is using text messaging and e-mail to reach its young female target with thousands of lipstick samples, all the while building its opt-in databases.
Players in the Txt 2 Shine sweeps giveaway must complete a two-step process to compete.
A pre-registration period, which ends June 20, asks for name, address, email, birth date and whether the player would like to be contacted for this giveaway via text message or email.
On June 24, a text message goes out to those who requested information via cell, alerting the participant that they will receive a "Text to Win" message three days later to which they must reply to be entered in the sweeps.
Maybelline is ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile marketing. I discussed how back HERE
The Microsoft RFID Browser
I have received a number of emails on my Microsoft RFID browser post and felt I better explain my thoughts/reasoning. I could be way off base, but this is what I see happening.
Don’t be afraid to tell me if you think I’m full of bunk.
There are a few things you have to accept to come to my conclusion.
Every RFID tag will have its own URL (website) some day.
Symbol Technologies is THE pioneer of scanning the current dominant machine readable identifier (barcode).
Microsoft wants to dominate the mobile device and search space.
When Microsoft announced they were teaming up with Symbol Technologies for RFID, I immediately saw a mobile device with MSFT OS that would be able to scan an RFID tag.
Every physical object will now be interactive. Think about that for a second. Every physical object is a website, what will it tell you?
I saw the mobile phone side of this venture. There will be plenty of supply-chain applications, but my thinking is consumer/advertising and the effects it has with a cell phone.
What makes Google so successful? They offer an easy way to search a huge database. One site offers info from many. The Google site is the focal point that allows info retrieval from a vast database. Advertisers have recognized this and are spending their dollars accordingly.
What happens when you turn the equation around?
Replace Google’s database of websites with physical products and replace one site on your PC (Google) with your mobile phone. Not only do the results change, but they grow exponentially.
Take the physical world (enormous) , add 180 million browsers (cell phone users) and add the mobile variability and you have one mind boggling industry taking shape .
Where Google was your search engine for the digital world, a mobile phone w/ the ability to read an RFID tag becomes your search engine for the physical world. The same thing works if a cell phone can read a barcode. An RFID tag, a barcode will really be just physical world URLs soon. How will Google penetrate the physical world database then?
So what I see is Microsoft providing a “browser” for the mobile phone that can read an RFID tag and direct the user to the corresponding site. THAT, is what will get the advertising dollar. When every can of Coke, CD, bottle of Tylenol is Internet accessable by their identifier (barcode, RFID tag), that is when Microsoft owns mobile search by being able to "turn on and browse" every physical world object.
Don’t be afraid to tell me if you think I’m full of bunk.
There are a few things you have to accept to come to my conclusion.
Every RFID tag will have its own URL (website) some day.
Symbol Technologies is THE pioneer of scanning the current dominant machine readable identifier (barcode).
Microsoft wants to dominate the mobile device and search space.
When Microsoft announced they were teaming up with Symbol Technologies for RFID, I immediately saw a mobile device with MSFT OS that would be able to scan an RFID tag.
Every physical object will now be interactive. Think about that for a second. Every physical object is a website, what will it tell you?
I saw the mobile phone side of this venture. There will be plenty of supply-chain applications, but my thinking is consumer/advertising and the effects it has with a cell phone.
What makes Google so successful? They offer an easy way to search a huge database. One site offers info from many. The Google site is the focal point that allows info retrieval from a vast database. Advertisers have recognized this and are spending their dollars accordingly.
What happens when you turn the equation around?
Replace Google’s database of websites with physical products and replace one site on your PC (Google) with your mobile phone. Not only do the results change, but they grow exponentially.
Take the physical world (enormous) , add 180 million browsers (cell phone users) and add the mobile variability and you have one mind boggling industry taking shape .
Where Google was your search engine for the digital world, a mobile phone w/ the ability to read an RFID tag becomes your search engine for the physical world. The same thing works if a cell phone can read a barcode. An RFID tag, a barcode will really be just physical world URLs soon. How will Google penetrate the physical world database then?
So what I see is Microsoft providing a “browser” for the mobile phone that can read an RFID tag and direct the user to the corresponding site. THAT, is what will get the advertising dollar. When every can of Coke, CD, bottle of Tylenol is Internet accessable by their identifier (barcode, RFID tag), that is when Microsoft owns mobile search by being able to "turn on and browse" every physical world object.
Yahoo Gets In VOIP With DialPad Buy
Yahoo! buys Internet phone provider .
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) said Tuesday it had acquired DialPad Communications Inc., a 6-year-old company whose software lets people to place calls over the Internet for a fraction of the cost of regular telephone service.
AOL has their 20m plus users connect via Instant Messenger. AOL has made new technologies associated with the Internet easy to use. They should try to tap into their existing subs and offer this to PC users as well as mobile users.
I'm waiting for Google to get into this space. Just think, Web, Images, Groups, News, Froogle, Local and Phone
I think it will be awfully hard to compete against the cable cos and telcos in this space though..
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) said Tuesday it had acquired DialPad Communications Inc., a 6-year-old company whose software lets people to place calls over the Internet for a fraction of the cost of regular telephone service.
AOL has their 20m plus users connect via Instant Messenger. AOL has made new technologies associated with the Internet easy to use. They should try to tap into their existing subs and offer this to PC users as well as mobile users.
I'm waiting for Google to get into this space. Just think, Web, Images, Groups, News, Froogle, Local and Phone
I think it will be awfully hard to compete against the cable cos and telcos in this space though..
Vivid Entertainment Licenses Xobile's Barcode Scanning Technology
This gives physical world connection a different meaning.
From BusinessWire.com Vivid Entertainment licences Xobile's Leapscan barcode scanning technology
June 14, 2005--Vivid Entertainment Group, the world's leading adult film company, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Xobile a subsidiary of for advanced Leapscan(TM) technology that will enable cellphone users to preview films while they shop in adult video stores.
The system utilizes proprietary Leapscan barcode scanning technology that allows cell phone users to stream videos such as trailers of videos onto camera-equipped mobile devices as they hold them in their hands
All consumers need to do is point their camera phone at the barcode of our DVD box. The Leapscan software in the cellphone interprets the barcode, accesses the Web browser on the phone, then either downloads or streams a video trailer from a Xobile server to the customer's wireless device. It takes a matter of seconds and the viewers will be able to tell immediately if they want to purchase a specific video
The software can be downloaded by SMS from a friend or from and other designated websites
From BusinessWire.com Vivid Entertainment licences Xobile's Leapscan barcode scanning technology
June 14, 2005--Vivid Entertainment Group, the world's leading adult film company, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Xobile a subsidiary of for advanced Leapscan(TM) technology that will enable cellphone users to preview films while they shop in adult video stores.
The system utilizes proprietary Leapscan barcode scanning technology that allows cell phone users to stream videos such as trailers of videos onto camera-equipped mobile devices as they hold them in their hands
All consumers need to do is point their camera phone at the barcode of our DVD box. The Leapscan software in the cellphone interprets the barcode, accesses the Web browser on the phone, then either downloads or streams a video trailer from a Xobile server to the customer's wireless device. It takes a matter of seconds and the viewers will be able to tell immediately if they want to purchase a specific video
The software can be downloaded by SMS from a friend or from and other designated websites
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Wi-Fi Provides LBS For Local Search
From DirectionsMag.com Wi-Fi aids location determination for local search and asset tracking .
If GPS or assisted-GPS can not accurately meet the requirements for the FCC's E911 mandates, then Wi-Fi may be the next technology embedded into cell phones and other mobile devices.
No less surprising is the potential for Wi-Fi to assist local search. With all of the interest by Microsoft, Google, MapQuest and Yahoo to compete for advertising dollars and use local search to squeeze more from local market retailers and others, Wi-Fi is an obvious catalyst.
Skyhook now has a database of Wi-Fi hotspots in 25 major cities and hope to hit 100 cities by year end. They employ a proprietary scanning technology to "sniff" for Wi-Fi access points and retrieve the base station's name and unique identifier.
Skyhook is in a pilot phase with another company to build a broker layer between A-GPS and Wi-Fi to make the hand off to get a more precise location if either A-GPS or GPS fails to do so. So, the possibility exists that future handsets will employ GPS and Wi-Fi chipsets to aid location determination
If GPS or assisted-GPS can not accurately meet the requirements for the FCC's E911 mandates, then Wi-Fi may be the next technology embedded into cell phones and other mobile devices.
No less surprising is the potential for Wi-Fi to assist local search. With all of the interest by Microsoft, Google, MapQuest and Yahoo to compete for advertising dollars and use local search to squeeze more from local market retailers and others, Wi-Fi is an obvious catalyst.
Skyhook now has a database of Wi-Fi hotspots in 25 major cities and hope to hit 100 cities by year end. They employ a proprietary scanning technology to "sniff" for Wi-Fi access points and retrieve the base station's name and unique identifier.
Skyhook is in a pilot phase with another company to build a broker layer between A-GPS and Wi-Fi to make the hand off to get a more precise location if either A-GPS or GPS fails to do so. So, the possibility exists that future handsets will employ GPS and Wi-Fi chipsets to aid location determination
Qualcomm Buys Vesuvius IP For Wireless Advertising
From RCR News.com Qualcomm buys 10 patents for wireless broadcast
Qualcomm Inc. acquired 10 patents covering a wireless broadcasting technology that allows operators to send bursts of content to select groups of subscribers
Qualcomm scored the patents through an acquisition of the assets of Vail, Colo.-based Vesuvius Inc
The company owned 10 patents covering what it called narrowcasting/multicasting technology.
The company's technology would allow wireless carriers to broadcast content to a select group of subscribers based on demographics or geography. For example, he said, carriers could target residents of Chinatown in San Francisco or Harley Davidson enthusiasts and send them content including alerts or streaming video
Qualcomm Inc. acquired 10 patents covering a wireless broadcasting technology that allows operators to send bursts of content to select groups of subscribers
Qualcomm scored the patents through an acquisition of the assets of Vail, Colo.-based Vesuvius Inc
The company owned 10 patents covering what it called narrowcasting/multicasting technology.
The company's technology would allow wireless carriers to broadcast content to a select group of subscribers based on demographics or geography. For example, he said, carriers could target residents of Chinatown in San Francisco or Harley Davidson enthusiasts and send them content including alerts or streaming video
The Tipping Point For Digital Brands
From Revolution Magazine.com Apple tops the list of fastest growing brands as digital overtakes traditional .
LONDON - Apple, creator of the iPod, is the fastest growing brand in the world, with internet brands Google, Amazon, Yahoo! and eBay following close behind, pushing notoriously powerful brands like Coca-Cola off the list.
Handheld email and phone device Blackberry and internet search engine Google tied in second place with 36% growth, putting websites Amazon and Yahoo! in fourth and fifth place respectively with 35% and 33%.
Power brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald's, which typically spend the most on advertising, did not even make it into the top 20.
Just spending money on advertising isn't cutting it anymore.
Two things I find of interest.
1. Some of the top brands don't have a "physical product" but provide a service (Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Ebay).
2. Google and Amazon don't even spend money on TV advertising (or other mediums for that matter) and they carry that much brand awareness.
The ways to market a product/service are changing. Who adapts?
LONDON - Apple, creator of the iPod, is the fastest growing brand in the world, with internet brands Google, Amazon, Yahoo! and eBay following close behind, pushing notoriously powerful brands like Coca-Cola off the list.
Handheld email and phone device Blackberry and internet search engine Google tied in second place with 36% growth, putting websites Amazon and Yahoo! in fourth and fifth place respectively with 35% and 33%.
Power brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald's, which typically spend the most on advertising, did not even make it into the top 20.
Just spending money on advertising isn't cutting it anymore.
Two things I find of interest.
1. Some of the top brands don't have a "physical product" but provide a service (Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Ebay).
2. Google and Amazon don't even spend money on TV advertising (or other mediums for that matter) and they carry that much brand awareness.
The ways to market a product/service are changing. Who adapts?
MSN Partners With PriceGrabber
From LostRemote.com MSN Shopping partners with PriceGrabber
According to a partnership signed earlier this month, the shopping site's comparative listings and review database will be integrated into the MSN shopping vertical.
Anyone noticing a trend here? and C/Net Offers Mobile Shopper.
With pioneers Amazon and ebay leading the way, portals and big media are appreciating the long tail approach to e-commerce in order to reach hard-to-get local advertisers.
What price compaarison shopping sites are still single?
According to a partnership signed earlier this month, the shopping site's comparative listings and review database will be integrated into the MSN shopping vertical.
Anyone noticing a trend here? and C/Net Offers Mobile Shopper.
With pioneers Amazon and ebay leading the way, portals and big media are appreciating the long tail approach to e-commerce in order to reach hard-to-get local advertisers.
What price compaarison shopping sites are still single?
Wireless Marketing Is Like The Internet In 1994
A great read on mobile advertising.
From CMO Magazine.com Goin Mobile
Nike is doing it. So are Volvo and Allstate. Hyatt tried it. "It" is mobile marketing—a direct, personalized channel of communication with the power to touch people anytime, anywhere via their mobile phones and other wireless devices.
Consider the possibilities:
There are some 184 million U.S. cell phone subscribers, collectively sending billions of text messages a year to one another, according to JupiterResearch. That's 184 million potential customers, each one carrying a perfect little message-delivery system.
Imagine telling Google they could tap into another 184 million PC's every day, would they want to get into this market? How would they do it?
It would be the equivalent to Google registering their domain in the better part of Europe. 184 Million potential screens to sell advertising on.
You can reach your customer where that customer is at any time, connect individually and develop an interaction.
I love this quote..
Mobile is hot right now, almost as hot as another market boom we all remember fondly: the Internet. "There's a direct parallel between where we are in 2005 with wireless marketing and where we were in 1994 with the Internet," says Bill Carmody, CMO at Seismicom, a brand promotion agency.
You can reach your customer where that customer is at any time, connect individually and develop an interaction.
If this medium is so personal, don't you think advertisers will pay up to get access to the next medium
From CMO Magazine.com Goin Mobile
Nike is doing it. So are Volvo and Allstate. Hyatt tried it. "It" is mobile marketing—a direct, personalized channel of communication with the power to touch people anytime, anywhere via their mobile phones and other wireless devices.
Consider the possibilities:
There are some 184 million U.S. cell phone subscribers, collectively sending billions of text messages a year to one another, according to JupiterResearch. That's 184 million potential customers, each one carrying a perfect little message-delivery system.
Imagine telling Google they could tap into another 184 million PC's every day, would they want to get into this market? How would they do it?
It would be the equivalent to Google registering their domain in the better part of Europe. 184 Million potential screens to sell advertising on.
You can reach your customer where that customer is at any time, connect individually and develop an interaction.
I love this quote..
Mobile is hot right now, almost as hot as another market boom we all remember fondly: the Internet. "There's a direct parallel between where we are in 2005 with wireless marketing and where we were in 1994 with the Internet," says Bill Carmody, CMO at Seismicom, a brand promotion agency.
You can reach your customer where that customer is at any time, connect individually and develop an interaction.
If this medium is so personal, don't you think advertisers will pay up to get access to the next medium
Cell Phone Becoming The New Walkman
From Yahoo News Sirius, Sprint reach deal on music channels .
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio on Tuesday said it reached a deal with Sprint to supply music channels nationwide to the telecommunications company.
I'm wondering what this does to XM Satellite Radio's MyFi Portable model?
I have been waiting for satellite radio to be available on my cell phone. I'm not a big commuter, so it's not worth the expense to buy the service, but this might fit the bill.
Now if we can just get the service providers to do their main task..give me a clear signal without dropped calls.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio on Tuesday said it reached a deal with Sprint to supply music channels nationwide to the telecommunications company.
I'm wondering what this does to XM Satellite Radio's MyFi Portable model?
I have been waiting for satellite radio to be available on my cell phone. I'm not a big commuter, so it's not worth the expense to buy the service, but this might fit the bill.
Now if we can just get the service providers to do their main task..give me a clear signal without dropped calls.
Microsoft's Wireless Mesh
From Mobilepipeline.com Microsoft gets into wireless mesh
People living in remote areas and small businesses operating in rural neighborhoods complain that they've missed out on the Internet revolution because service providers won't run high-speed links to their locations.
Microsoft Research is working to develop technology that will make it easier and cheaper to provide those users with faster Internet connections. Last week, Microsoft unveiled partnerships with seven universities to develop Mesh Connectivity Layer technology
The goal is to create a wireless mesh network among users who can then share a single, high-speed Net connection
Mesh Connectivity Layer is a loadable Microsoft Windows driver that lets computers communicate via a wireless mesh network using Wi-Fi or WiMax services, tricking the computer into thinking it's directly connected to an Internet connection
People living in remote areas and small businesses operating in rural neighborhoods complain that they've missed out on the Internet revolution because service providers won't run high-speed links to their locations.
Microsoft Research is working to develop technology that will make it easier and cheaper to provide those users with faster Internet connections. Last week, Microsoft unveiled partnerships with seven universities to develop Mesh Connectivity Layer technology
The goal is to create a wireless mesh network among users who can then share a single, high-speed Net connection
Mesh Connectivity Layer is a loadable Microsoft Windows driver that lets computers communicate via a wireless mesh network using Wi-Fi or WiMax services, tricking the computer into thinking it's directly connected to an Internet connection
Monday, June 13, 2005
C/Net Has A Mobile Froogle?
From DailyWireless.org C/Net Introduces Mobile Shopper
C/NET today announced CNET Mobile a free service for shoppers on-the-go. CNET Mobile helps people make smart decisions on tech gadgets as they shop, with unbiased reviews, ratings, user opinions, and price comparisons on more than a million high-tech products such as MP3 players, cell phone and flat-screen TVs, all accessible through any Internet-enabled cell phone or PDA.
Just enter m.cnet.com in your mobile browser to see the service or just click HERE
C/NET today announced CNET Mobile a free service for shoppers on-the-go. CNET Mobile helps people make smart decisions on tech gadgets as they shop, with unbiased reviews, ratings, user opinions, and price comparisons on more than a million high-tech products such as MP3 players, cell phone and flat-screen TVs, all accessible through any Internet-enabled cell phone or PDA.
Just enter m.cnet.com in your mobile browser to see the service or just click HERE
INFONXX Provides LBS For Sprint's 411
From BusinessWire.com Never Lost Anywhere: INFONXX provides directory assistance services for Sprint's new 411 LBS .
INFONXX announced that it is providing directory assistance services for the new 411 location-based services offered by Sprint
The new services will enable most Sprint customers to receive driving directions, traffic information, and more through a simple wireless voice call when the caller provides permission to locate.
INFONXX will provide the new services to Sprint customers dialing 411 from any Sprint PCS phone. With these location-enabled services, customers calling 411 will be able to obtain up-to-date traffic information, directions, or even weather reports.
INFONXX announced that it is providing directory assistance services for the new 411 location-based services offered by Sprint
The new services will enable most Sprint customers to receive driving directions, traffic information, and more through a simple wireless voice call when the caller provides permission to locate.
INFONXX will provide the new services to Sprint customers dialing 411 from any Sprint PCS phone. With these location-enabled services, customers calling 411 will be able to obtain up-to-date traffic information, directions, or even weather reports.
Friday, June 10, 2005
SMS Is "The" Mobile Search
From Business 2.0 Mobile Search: The Battle Begins .
The world's largest search engines are battling for control of your cell phone.
It's easy to see why: With the worldwide installed base of mobile-phone owners expected to exceed 2 billion people this year, and with most new phones doubling as portable Internet terminals, it's a huge opportunity.
That means localized, timely information, like the address of the nearest pizza joint or driving directions to the airport. But there'll be more to success than helping people figure out where to buy a slice.
Advertising on a 2-inch screen is a huge challenge, so Yahoo (YHOO), Google (GOOG), and their competitors will need to devise new revenue streams, such as bundling search with other subscription services like e-mail or music
While any phone with a browser can access its Web search tool, all local search queries are handled by a text-message-based system
That is key. Mobile search is really SMS. It's too hard to type in www.google.com on your cell phone and wait a minute for the site to come up. When it does, the 10,000 hits Google gives you for your search query are useless. An SMS search done by 4INFO is so much faster and more accurate than Google's SMS.
Send a query to 44636 (4INFO) and see what I mean. Then try 46645 (GOOGL). Not only will you find 4INFO's results faster, but more relevant.
There are others UP SNAP, SYNFONIC , SMS LOCAL to name a few.
Not every phone is web-enabled (and even if it is, the speed is ridiculous). Almost every phone is text enabled. So SMS seems like the clear path to mobile search.
According to the Pierz Group, Americans spent nearly $2 billion on directory assistance from their mobile phones last year -- at an average of $1.25 a call -- which suggests a healthy demand for information on the go.
Imagine if you spent $1.25 on every SMS search. Or everytime you did an SMS for the score of the Yankees game. Howabout for every quote on a stock?
That is why the YellowPages needs to offer a SMS function.
Now think to the database of keywords that is generated from these SMS queries. Think the search engines could sell more advertising from it?
The world's largest search engines are battling for control of your cell phone.
It's easy to see why: With the worldwide installed base of mobile-phone owners expected to exceed 2 billion people this year, and with most new phones doubling as portable Internet terminals, it's a huge opportunity.
That means localized, timely information, like the address of the nearest pizza joint or driving directions to the airport. But there'll be more to success than helping people figure out where to buy a slice.
Advertising on a 2-inch screen is a huge challenge, so Yahoo (YHOO), Google (GOOG), and their competitors will need to devise new revenue streams, such as bundling search with other subscription services like e-mail or music
While any phone with a browser can access its Web search tool, all local search queries are handled by a text-message-based system
That is key. Mobile search is really SMS. It's too hard to type in www.google.com on your cell phone and wait a minute for the site to come up. When it does, the 10,000 hits Google gives you for your search query are useless. An SMS search done by 4INFO is so much faster and more accurate than Google's SMS.
Send a query to 44636 (4INFO) and see what I mean. Then try 46645 (GOOGL). Not only will you find 4INFO's results faster, but more relevant.
There are others UP SNAP, SYNFONIC , SMS LOCAL to name a few.
Not every phone is web-enabled (and even if it is, the speed is ridiculous). Almost every phone is text enabled. So SMS seems like the clear path to mobile search.
According to the Pierz Group, Americans spent nearly $2 billion on directory assistance from their mobile phones last year -- at an average of $1.25 a call -- which suggests a healthy demand for information on the go.
Imagine if you spent $1.25 on every SMS search. Or everytime you did an SMS for the score of the Yankees game. Howabout for every quote on a stock?
That is why the YellowPages needs to offer a SMS function.
Now think to the database of keywords that is generated from these SMS queries. Think the search engines could sell more advertising from it?
Local Search...It's Getting Hot In Here
From Yahoo Biz.com Interchange acquires local-search technology .
June 10, 2005--Interchange Corp. a leading provider of local and national paid-search services in the United States and Europe, today announced the acquisition of patent-pending local-search technology assets.
Under the terms of the agreement Interchange paid $500,000 in cash plus 104,311 unregistered shares of common stock. An additional 104,311 shares of common stock will be payable upon issuance of the pending patent.
Interchange offers a unique Keyword DNA technology.
Keyword DNA technology enables local searchers to utilize natural language search to receive structured search results, such as traditional IYP (Internet Yellow Pages) business listings
The focus lately in search has been more about intellectual property than applications. Is there a search IP land rush going on?
I will try to find out what these patent search assets Interchange aquired are.
In the mean time, Interchange also offers SMS Local search.
To see HOW IT WORKS .
June 10, 2005--Interchange Corp. a leading provider of local and national paid-search services in the United States and Europe, today announced the acquisition of patent-pending local-search technology assets.
Under the terms of the agreement Interchange paid $500,000 in cash plus 104,311 unregistered shares of common stock. An additional 104,311 shares of common stock will be payable upon issuance of the pending patent.
Interchange offers a unique Keyword DNA technology.
Keyword DNA technology enables local searchers to utilize natural language search to receive structured search results, such as traditional IYP (Internet Yellow Pages) business listings
The focus lately in search has been more about intellectual property than applications. Is there a search IP land rush going on?
I will try to find out what these patent search assets Interchange aquired are.
In the mean time, Interchange also offers SMS Local search.
To see HOW IT WORKS .
YellowPages.Com Takes On Google
From BusinessWeek.com's THE FUTURE OF TECH Let your fingers do the clicking
With Web giants Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. storming into the local advertising market, the telephone companies can't afford to sit still. For decades their Yellow Pages books have dominated the ad game for small businesses, and they simply have too much money at stake.
They ALREADY have the small business as a client, just leverage that by offering a website/webhosting service. When that is introduced, a true database of local merchants is available and local search is complete.
Two Bells decided that if anyone was going to take the Yellow Pages online, it had better be them. They pooled their Yellow Pages sites in a joint venture, bought rights to the YellowPages.com name, and tapped 32-year-old BellSouth exec Charles Stubbs as CEO of the Pasadena (Calif.) venture.
What the phone companies do have in their favor is feet on the street. Their thousands of sales reps pound the pavement in towns where Google and Yahoo merely float in the ether. The reps have such deep relationships with their clients that the renewal rate for Yellow Pages' advertisers is more than 90%
The pitch to local customers these days is straightforward: Keep it simple and buy all your advertising, online or off, from us. The salespeople can bundle ads in the printed book with ads on the YellowPages.com site.
Google is big because they took a tool that is used everyday on the PC and advertisers paid big bucks for the search query words (keywords). Mobile search will be a tool used everyday, and as soon as advertisers find a way to monetize what the search words are....there's your next Google.
This is how Google dominates local search
With Web giants Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. storming into the local advertising market, the telephone companies can't afford to sit still. For decades their Yellow Pages books have dominated the ad game for small businesses, and they simply have too much money at stake.
They ALREADY have the small business as a client, just leverage that by offering a website/webhosting service. When that is introduced, a true database of local merchants is available and local search is complete.
Two Bells decided that if anyone was going to take the Yellow Pages online, it had better be them. They pooled their Yellow Pages sites in a joint venture, bought rights to the YellowPages.com name, and tapped 32-year-old BellSouth exec Charles Stubbs as CEO of the Pasadena (Calif.) venture.
What the phone companies do have in their favor is feet on the street. Their thousands of sales reps pound the pavement in towns where Google and Yahoo merely float in the ether. The reps have such deep relationships with their clients that the renewal rate for Yellow Pages' advertisers is more than 90%
The pitch to local customers these days is straightforward: Keep it simple and buy all your advertising, online or off, from us. The salespeople can bundle ads in the printed book with ads on the YellowPages.com site.
Google is big because they took a tool that is used everyday on the PC and advertisers paid big bucks for the search query words (keywords). Mobile search will be a tool used everyday, and as soon as advertisers find a way to monetize what the search words are....there's your next Google.
This is how Google dominates local search
SMS Texting To Magazines
I have discussed at length the idea of making print advertising (magazines,newspapers, business cards) and billboards interactive, but the method has to be different than this.
From Yahoo News.com New services link mobile users to online magazines .
Norwegian publisher Fast Forward Media Group and Belgian technology company Allisblue -- presented their new ways of connecting consumers to publications on Thursday at a conference of European publishers.
Consumners on the go will be able to send keywords to a short telephone number from their handsets, after which they will be sent emails with links to magazines they have requested.
It's a start, but you will get more response if you can send a keyword from magazine to a short code and get back a link to site.
Let's say Calvin Klein comes out with a new fragrance and they put full page ads in all of the appropriate magazines. CK could also put at the bottom of the ad "send the word PASSION to XXXX and include your address for free sample".
General Mills says "send the word LUVFBR to XXXX and receive a coupon on your next purchase" on an ad.
You see where this is going? The next two "land grabs" will be registering short codes ,and the keywords that will be used. NeuStar will hand regsiter the short codes.
The keywords, that's another story. There are few ways that a keyword can gain even more value and Google should think about this .
To really make a product interactive who needs to send a text. Why not just click on a barcode, or an image and be DIRECTLY CONNECTED to the website. Not all phones are camera enabled, and the technology isn't quite there yet.
We here in the States are just mastering how to send a text to vote for the next Idol.
There are many ways to make ads interactive, the brand managers will have a ball thinking of them.
Want to know what you can do to make YOUR AD interactive?
If you want some ideas how to make your product interactive and get consumers to respond, send me an email at VANGORILLA AT AOL DOT COM with your company and the product you are launching.
From Yahoo News.com New services link mobile users to online magazines .
Norwegian publisher Fast Forward Media Group and Belgian technology company Allisblue -- presented their new ways of connecting consumers to publications on Thursday at a conference of European publishers.
Consumners on the go will be able to send keywords to a short telephone number from their handsets, after which they will be sent emails with links to magazines they have requested.
It's a start, but you will get more response if you can send a keyword from magazine to a short code and get back a link to site.
Let's say Calvin Klein comes out with a new fragrance and they put full page ads in all of the appropriate magazines. CK could also put at the bottom of the ad "send the word PASSION to XXXX and include your address for free sample".
General Mills says "send the word LUVFBR to XXXX and receive a coupon on your next purchase" on an ad.
You see where this is going? The next two "land grabs" will be registering short codes ,and the keywords that will be used. NeuStar will hand regsiter the short codes.
The keywords, that's another story. There are few ways that a keyword can gain even more value and Google should think about this .
To really make a product interactive who needs to send a text. Why not just click on a barcode, or an image and be DIRECTLY CONNECTED to the website. Not all phones are camera enabled, and the technology isn't quite there yet.
We here in the States are just mastering how to send a text to vote for the next Idol.
There are many ways to make ads interactive, the brand managers will have a ball thinking of them.
Want to know what you can do to make YOUR AD interactive?
If you want some ideas how to make your product interactive and get consumers to respond, send me an email at VANGORILLA AT AOL DOT COM with your company and the product you are launching.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Could Microsoft Be Developing An RFID Browser?
The more I think about this, the bigger this gets. Anita Campbell writes Microsoft's push into RFID .
I've mentioned before (and I know this is nothing you all don't know) that when Microsoft makes a play in a market, it's clear and convincing evidence that the market is valid. Microsoft's already made moves in radio-frequency identification technology, and now, it's pushing even harder.
I discussed what the story about Microsoft teaming up with Symbol means HERE .
A couple things to remember about RFID. One day, every RFID tag will have its own web address (URL) assigned to it. Verisign will be in charge of issuing those URL's for now. Symbol Technologies is the pioneer of barcode reading technology. From your supermarket to retail store, there's a good chance Symbol is involved.
So now that products with RFID tags will be internet accessable, and there will be billions of these, does that mean Microsoft will have created the RFID browser?
With Microsoft teaming up with Symbol, does this create a portable RFID scanning device with a Microsoft browser included?
How many web pages are currently in use now? How many will there be once RFID tags are assigned a URL?
If a can of Coke has an RFID tag and it is scanned by using a Windows CE browser, will Coke be in charge of where the scanner goes?
Will this be a new advertising method?
Just something to ponder. Hey Google, you want to know how you can stop Microsoft from owning the mobile search search space once this happens?
I've mentioned before (and I know this is nothing you all don't know) that when Microsoft makes a play in a market, it's clear and convincing evidence that the market is valid. Microsoft's already made moves in radio-frequency identification technology, and now, it's pushing even harder.
I discussed what the story about Microsoft teaming up with Symbol means HERE .
A couple things to remember about RFID. One day, every RFID tag will have its own web address (URL) assigned to it. Verisign will be in charge of issuing those URL's for now. Symbol Technologies is the pioneer of barcode reading technology. From your supermarket to retail store, there's a good chance Symbol is involved.
So now that products with RFID tags will be internet accessable, and there will be billions of these, does that mean Microsoft will have created the RFID browser?
With Microsoft teaming up with Symbol, does this create a portable RFID scanning device with a Microsoft browser included?
How many web pages are currently in use now? How many will there be once RFID tags are assigned a URL?
If a can of Coke has an RFID tag and it is scanned by using a Windows CE browser, will Coke be in charge of where the scanner goes?
Will this be a new advertising method?
Just something to ponder. Hey Google, you want to know how you can stop Microsoft from owning the mobile search search space once this happens?
Making Mobile Surfing Easier
From Business 2.0's Matthew Maier Making the mobile web easy .
This may be the best most useful mobile application I've seen. Whether you use your Treo (or any smartphone) to check sports scores, read news, view stock tickers, or whatever, you'll want to visit Skweezer.net
Skweezer is a special browser designed specifically to make it easy to view webpages from your phone or PDA. What that means is that you can load webpages in the fraction of the time it typically takes, and the browser will ensure that all images and text are rendered properly, meaning it will look decent on your 2-inch screen. Best of all its free
To see how It Works
This may be the best most useful mobile application I've seen. Whether you use your Treo (or any smartphone) to check sports scores, read news, view stock tickers, or whatever, you'll want to visit Skweezer.net
Skweezer is a special browser designed specifically to make it easy to view webpages from your phone or PDA. What that means is that you can load webpages in the fraction of the time it typically takes, and the browser will ensure that all images and text are rendered properly, meaning it will look decent on your 2-inch screen. Best of all its free
To see how It Works
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Are The Google Shorts Right THIS time?
What happens when the commodity your whole business is based on, declines in price.
From Webpronews.com Keyword ad prices take a nosedive.
The Fathom Online Keyword Price Index, the best indicator of earnings trends in the search ad industry, dropped 15% in May, almost entirely on a massive correction in inflated mortgage keyword prices.
Google might be able to increase the prices of those keywords if they offered advertisers other abilities with them. What if Google started selling keywords for the mobile?
What if sending a text to Google's SMS with a keyword took you to a specific site or gave you specific info? Stay tuned, this space is just starting.
Mortgage keywords lost almost the entire cost of a subway fare, dropping 30% to $4.52 from $6.49. It was a bad month across the board, with seven out of eight categories seeing drops.
What do these figures have in common? 125%, 105%, 101%, and 93% growth.
They are Google's revenue growth quarter over quarter. Granted it's impressive, but it's slowing.
From Webpronews.com Keyword ad prices take a nosedive.
The Fathom Online Keyword Price Index, the best indicator of earnings trends in the search ad industry, dropped 15% in May, almost entirely on a massive correction in inflated mortgage keyword prices.
Google might be able to increase the prices of those keywords if they offered advertisers other abilities with them. What if Google started selling keywords for the mobile?
What if sending a text to Google's SMS with a keyword took you to a specific site or gave you specific info? Stay tuned, this space is just starting.
Mortgage keywords lost almost the entire cost of a subway fare, dropping 30% to $4.52 from $6.49. It was a bad month across the board, with seven out of eight categories seeing drops.
What do these figures have in common? 125%, 105%, 101%, and 93% growth.
They are Google's revenue growth quarter over quarter. Granted it's impressive, but it's slowing.
The New Local Gold Mine
From the Lost Remote Blog The new local gold mine .
A new report by Borrell Associates urges local media sites to tap into a new revenue stream by building websites for small businesses. "Some local site operators might view design and maintenance as being outside their core competency, but a new crop of service providers offers turnkey programs that not only build a simple, attractive site, but also combine online advertising for it," reads the report.
In my opinion, the Yellow Pages should ask every one of the subscribers if they have a website. If not, there's another revenue stream for them. Only then will local search be complete.
A new report by Borrell Associates urges local media sites to tap into a new revenue stream by building websites for small businesses. "Some local site operators might view design and maintenance as being outside their core competency, but a new crop of service providers offers turnkey programs that not only build a simple, attractive site, but also combine online advertising for it," reads the report.
In my opinion, the Yellow Pages should ask every one of the subscribers if they have a website. If not, there's another revenue stream for them. Only then will local search be complete.
Channel 55 Where Are You??
From BroadcastingCable.com Qualcomm wants to turn off analog TV's .
To speed the rollout of its MediaFLO cellphone TV service, Qualcomm has begun striking deals with TV stations occupying channel 55 in order to get them to vacate the frequency as soon as possible.
To speed the rollout of its MediaFLO cellphone TV service, Qualcomm has begun striking deals with TV stations occupying channel 55 in order to get them to vacate the frequency as soon as possible.
OP3 Delivers ShotCodes
Tip of the hat to Russell and The Mobile Technology Weblog for spotting this.
One of the physical world connection companies I have interviewed OP3 has officially released a way to make your Shotcode (2d barcode for camera phone).
ShotCode.com , the first website in the world to offer mobile barcode reading solutions to everyone, has launched today!
All you need to do is download the ShotCode reader software, assign your ShotCodes and run your own direct connect ShotCode campaign.
To download the ShotCode reader just click HERE
ShotCodes are a circular sequence of black and white blocks represents a url, any url you want, for example to your products website or a point of sale. The ShotCode reader understands this code and connects the end users mobile phone to your location in three clicks or less! Billions of ShotCodes can be created, enough for all your campaigns and them some!
Here's my interview with OP3 and what SpotCodes can do
One of the physical world connection companies I have interviewed OP3 has officially released a way to make your Shotcode (2d barcode for camera phone).
ShotCode.com , the first website in the world to offer mobile barcode reading solutions to everyone, has launched today!
All you need to do is download the ShotCode reader software, assign your ShotCodes and run your own direct connect ShotCode campaign.
To download the ShotCode reader just click HERE
ShotCodes are a circular sequence of black and white blocks represents a url, any url you want, for example to your products website or a point of sale. The ShotCode reader understands this code and connects the end users mobile phone to your location in three clicks or less! Billions of ShotCodes can be created, enough for all your campaigns and them some!
Here's my interview with OP3 and what SpotCodes can do
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Sem@Code Founder Behind Apple Intel Project
Congrats Simon.
A physical world connection player that I follow and interviewed on my blog, reveals today on his blog that he was a key player in Apple's OS X on Intel Project.
Simon explains why he had to keep a period in his life secret when referring to Mr Marklar .
The Apple, Intel announcement HERE .
A physical world connection player that I follow and interviewed on my blog, reveals today on his blog that he was a key player in Apple's OS X on Intel Project.
Simon explains why he had to keep a period in his life secret when referring to Mr Marklar .
The Apple, Intel announcement HERE .
Visual Search Engine
From BusinessWire.com Neven Vision Founder to present at Visual Mobile Search Summit .
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2005--Neven Vision , the industry leader in mobile machine vision technology, announced today that Dr. Hartmut Neven, the company's CEO, will be speaking on Tuesday, June 7 in Amsterdam, Netherlands at the Mobile Imaging Summit Europe
Dr. Neven will showcase visual mobile search technology based on the company's patented Mobile-i(TM) recognition engines. The technology enables mobile camera phones to intelligently search the internet or information databases by simply snapping photos.
The company's visual mobile search effectively extends the footprint of merchants, advertisers, and internet content providers, allowing users to capture pictures of products, places, and logos, etc., and within seconds, receive relevant content to their phone.
Used to find movie times, buy tickets, lookup restaurant reviews, or download coupons, visual mobile search is the next vehicle for consumer wireless searching.
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2005--Neven Vision , the industry leader in mobile machine vision technology, announced today that Dr. Hartmut Neven, the company's CEO, will be speaking on Tuesday, June 7 in Amsterdam, Netherlands at the Mobile Imaging Summit Europe
Dr. Neven will showcase visual mobile search technology based on the company's patented Mobile-i(TM) recognition engines. The technology enables mobile camera phones to intelligently search the internet or information databases by simply snapping photos.
The company's visual mobile search effectively extends the footprint of merchants, advertisers, and internet content providers, allowing users to capture pictures of products, places, and logos, etc., and within seconds, receive relevant content to their phone.
Used to find movie times, buy tickets, lookup restaurant reviews, or download coupons, visual mobile search is the next vehicle for consumer wireless searching.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Microsoft and Symbol Team Up on RFID
From Forbes.com Symbol, Microsoft team up on RFID .
In my opinion this is probably the biggest news to come out of the RFID space so far.
I explained what I thought would happen with Symbol and the RFID industry HERE .
NEW YORK - Microsoft asked. Symbol delivered.
On Monday, Symbol Technologies (nyse: SBL - news - people ), will unveil the first radio-frequency identification reader that supports Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Windows CE. The move should reassert Symbol's market dominance in RFID and give Microsoft a foothold in the small but growing market.
Symbol, which made its name as a maker of bar-code readers, has pegged its growth on RFID technology, from its acquisition of Matrics a year ago to its latest deals with the U.S. Department of Defense and Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) in the past month.
Symbol said it chose to support Windows CE instead of Palm OS because most of their partners and customers are already familiar with Windows and can quickly develop applications for the platform
So does this mean Mister Softee and Symbol will dominate the next generation scanning device market??
Does this mean Microsoft will be able to connect to any RFID tag and directly connect to the assigned website?
I see big things with this alliance. I see Google's wet nose pressed against the window looking in. Google it might be time to start looking at how you can penetrate this market.
Want to know how? I have been telling you on my blog for the past six months. It might be time to step it up a notch. The advertising dollar will eventually flow to the cell phone and you might want to have a position there.
In my opinion this is probably the biggest news to come out of the RFID space so far.
I explained what I thought would happen with Symbol and the RFID industry HERE .
NEW YORK - Microsoft asked. Symbol delivered.
On Monday, Symbol Technologies (nyse: SBL - news - people ), will unveil the first radio-frequency identification reader that supports Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Windows CE. The move should reassert Symbol's market dominance in RFID and give Microsoft a foothold in the small but growing market.
Symbol, which made its name as a maker of bar-code readers, has pegged its growth on RFID technology, from its acquisition of Matrics a year ago to its latest deals with the U.S. Department of Defense and Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) in the past month.
Symbol said it chose to support Windows CE instead of Palm OS because most of their partners and customers are already familiar with Windows and can quickly develop applications for the platform
So does this mean Mister Softee and Symbol will dominate the next generation scanning device market??
Does this mean Microsoft will be able to connect to any RFID tag and directly connect to the assigned website?
I see big things with this alliance. I see Google's wet nose pressed against the window looking in. Google it might be time to start looking at how you can penetrate this market.
Want to know how? I have been telling you on my blog for the past six months. It might be time to step it up a notch. The advertising dollar will eventually flow to the cell phone and you might want to have a position there.
"Invertising"..Advertising's Future
From Online Media Daily Invertising: When consumers control the media .
THE LATIN ROOT OF "ADVERTISE"--ADVERTERE--LITERALLY means "to turn towards." It is the same root for the word "adversary." This sense of confrontation at the essence of advertising may be what undergoes the most radical change in the next decade of marketing sponsorship.
Contrary to popular wisdom, consumers do not hate advertising per se. People continue to buy through catalogs that arrive in their mailboxes; search advertising is booming because people click ads targeted to their queries; and we can all hum a dozen favorite TV jingles.
The popularity of consumer-controlled media arguably has more to do with consumers' desire for the exact media they want when they want it than it has to do with ad avoidance. Nonetheless, the same tools that enable consumers to skip ads if they want to, raise the bar considerably for advertisers.
Procter & Gamble Chief Marketing Officer Jim Stengel "All marketing should be permission marketing. All marketing should be so appealing that consumers want us in their lives."
"Permission marketing" may not be the best phrase to describe the new era of marketing that is already beginning to take shape. "Service marketing" may be closer to the idea.
THE LATIN ROOT OF "ADVERTISE"--ADVERTERE--LITERALLY means "to turn towards." It is the same root for the word "adversary." This sense of confrontation at the essence of advertising may be what undergoes the most radical change in the next decade of marketing sponsorship.
Contrary to popular wisdom, consumers do not hate advertising per se. People continue to buy through catalogs that arrive in their mailboxes; search advertising is booming because people click ads targeted to their queries; and we can all hum a dozen favorite TV jingles.
The popularity of consumer-controlled media arguably has more to do with consumers' desire for the exact media they want when they want it than it has to do with ad avoidance. Nonetheless, the same tools that enable consumers to skip ads if they want to, raise the bar considerably for advertisers.
Procter & Gamble Chief Marketing Officer Jim Stengel "All marketing should be permission marketing. All marketing should be so appealing that consumers want us in their lives."
"Permission marketing" may not be the best phrase to describe the new era of marketing that is already beginning to take shape. "Service marketing" may be closer to the idea.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Wanna See The New "My Microsoft" Home Page?
Everybody wants to be your home page. Now Microsft has their new version. Founder and CEO of Findory , Greg Linden gets the SCOOP .
Microsoft asks a series of questions that will give you each letter of the URL of the page. Don't tell anybody, but I used Google to find the answers.
To see what it looks like and take the quiz click HERE .
I can't decide if this is a good or bad marketing trick. Mister Softee makes it even harder to find this website. Ask 10 people on the street how to get to Microsoft's search page, and then ask those same people how to get to Google.
I think that's one of the problems right from the start.
Here's an idea Microsoft, register the site www.softee.com (or something catchy) so people associate doing a search with thst verb. "Do a Google", or "Do a Softee".
It's the same number of letters to remember and its a heckuva lot easier than this "http://www.imagine-msn.com/search/tour/moreprecise.aspx", don't ya think?
If you're "search impaired" and can't find the answers to Microsoft's questions, just click HERE .
Playing around with it though, I like it. I like the menu bar that allows "My Feeds" to be shown or hidden. The stock quotes is easy to use, but I don't know if it includes asterisks for news stories alerts like Yahoo has( that's the only thing keeping my home page set to Yahoo).
The My Feeds ( I still don't know if it alerts when new post has been entered yet_ could pose a big threat to BlogLines.
Microsoft asks a series of questions that will give you each letter of the URL of the page. Don't tell anybody, but I used Google to find the answers.
To see what it looks like and take the quiz click HERE .
I can't decide if this is a good or bad marketing trick. Mister Softee makes it even harder to find this website. Ask 10 people on the street how to get to Microsoft's search page, and then ask those same people how to get to Google.
I think that's one of the problems right from the start.
Here's an idea Microsoft, register the site www.softee.com (or something catchy) so people associate doing a search with thst verb. "Do a Google", or "Do a Softee".
It's the same number of letters to remember and its a heckuva lot easier than this "http://www.imagine-msn.com/search/tour/moreprecise.aspx", don't ya think?
If you're "search impaired" and can't find the answers to Microsoft's questions, just click HERE .
Playing around with it though, I like it. I like the menu bar that allows "My Feeds" to be shown or hidden. The stock quotes is easy to use, but I don't know if it includes asterisks for news stories alerts like Yahoo has( that's the only thing keeping my home page set to Yahoo).
The My Feeds ( I still don't know if it alerts when new post has been entered yet_ could pose a big threat to BlogLines.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Germany's Buddy Alert Thru GPS
Similar to AOL's "Find Me", Germany's Mobilco offers their Buddy Alert .
German developer Mobiloco, an Ericsson Mobility World business partner, recently launched a location-based service called Buddy Alert, which easily locates your friends. It could be handy if you are downtown and feel like some company over a coffee.
MOBILOCO’s Buddy Alert offers it’s users the opportunity to locate their friends via mobile phones. Just one SMS or two clicks on their WAP-Browser and users know, which of their friends are nearby. Both friends will instantly be notified and can get in touch with each other easily via call, SMS or mail
German developer Mobiloco, an Ericsson Mobility World business partner, recently launched a location-based service called Buddy Alert, which easily locates your friends. It could be handy if you are downtown and feel like some company over a coffee.
MOBILOCO’s Buddy Alert offers it’s users the opportunity to locate their friends via mobile phones. Just one SMS or two clicks on their WAP-Browser and users know, which of their friends are nearby. Both friends will instantly be notified and can get in touch with each other easily via call, SMS or mail
Friday, June 03, 2005
Mobile WiMax Threatens Cellcos
From Monsters And Critics.com New-gen wireless technology could shake up cell-phone services .
UPI) -- A new generation of wireless technology could shake up cell-phone services.
The ink is barely dry on the official WiMAX specification for high-speed wireless Internet service, yet several manufacturers are already looking ahead to rolling out the next generation in wireless broadband service: Mobile WiMAX.
Also known as 802.16e, Mobile WiMAX would allow consumers to roam between wireless hot spots without interruption, just as mobile-phone users travel between cells without dropping calls
Roaming WiMAX could threaten established cellular services in the U.S., however, since the capability exists to offer VoIP services over the same wireless connections in the future.
UPI) -- A new generation of wireless technology could shake up cell-phone services.
The ink is barely dry on the official WiMAX specification for high-speed wireless Internet service, yet several manufacturers are already looking ahead to rolling out the next generation in wireless broadband service: Mobile WiMAX.
Also known as 802.16e, Mobile WiMAX would allow consumers to roam between wireless hot spots without interruption, just as mobile-phone users travel between cells without dropping calls
Roaming WiMAX could threaten established cellular services in the U.S., however, since the capability exists to offer VoIP services over the same wireless connections in the future.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Comcast High Hopes Not High Enough
From Om Maliks Broadband Blog Comcast says VoIP will grow us .
Comcast is betting that VoIP phones, which it describes as digital phone service is going to become its next profitable business venture. The company promises to be in 20 markets by end of 2005, and offer this service in all of its markets by 2006.
The company hopes to get 8 million fresh phone subscribers by the end of the decade, a 20% penetration rate. Now that’s not good news for the phone companies.
Comcast needs to look at the bigger picture. They are sitting on a goldmine and could do so much more with this.
Washington Post Full story .
Comcast is betting that VoIP phones, which it describes as digital phone service is going to become its next profitable business venture. The company promises to be in 20 markets by end of 2005, and offer this service in all of its markets by 2006.
The company hopes to get 8 million fresh phone subscribers by the end of the decade, a 20% penetration rate. Now that’s not good news for the phone companies.
Comcast needs to look at the bigger picture. They are sitting on a goldmine and could do so much more with this.
Washington Post Full story .
Can You PAY Me Now?
We are seeing some interesting transformations affecting a couple major industries in the last few years. What is happening also, is the rate of change is occurring at an even faster rate.
The biggest change intially was the landline being replaces by the cell. The telcos are struggling to stay in the race with the cellcos. Just when you think the race will be won by cellcos, their business model is jeopardized.
From IBD Investors.com Carriers' data revenue may be on hold .
A few sentences I found of great interest.
The carriers' power to control wireless data "is diminishing," said American Technology Research analyst Albert Lin. "The economics of the business will get worse."
But some technologies threaten the data revenue stream.
Then there's the Wi-Fi wireless technology, which is being integrated into phones. With it, phones can access the Internet directly from Wi-Fi hot spots, many of which are free.
Customers "won't have to rely on carriers for data with Wi-Fi-equipped phones," Lin said.
Who wins, who loses?
The biggest change intially was the landline being replaces by the cell. The telcos are struggling to stay in the race with the cellcos. Just when you think the race will be won by cellcos, their business model is jeopardized.
From IBD Investors.com Carriers' data revenue may be on hold .
A few sentences I found of great interest.
The carriers' power to control wireless data "is diminishing," said American Technology Research analyst Albert Lin. "The economics of the business will get worse."
But some technologies threaten the data revenue stream.
Then there's the Wi-Fi wireless technology, which is being integrated into phones. With it, phones can access the Internet directly from Wi-Fi hot spots, many of which are free.
Customers "won't have to rely on carriers for data with Wi-Fi-equipped phones," Lin said.
Who wins, who loses?
Physical World Analytics
From MSNBC.MSN.com Newsweek Is the 30-second commercial finally becoming obsolete?
There's lots of hand-wringing on Madison Avenue these days. Companies like Virgin Atlantic are concluding that advertising on TV is too pricey and the effects too difficult to measure.
They're also eying the inexorable advance of technology with trepidation. Digital video recorders, video-on-demand services and Internet broadband allow consumers to skip the hallowed 30-second spot like a crack in the sidewalk.
Accordingly, top advertisers are slowly scaling back TV spending in their ad budgets
Reality TV is now clogged with product placements. Marketing dollars are slowly fleeing from TV to outdoor ads and into the rising online ad networks of Google and Yahoo.
Most companies will soon target multiple, smaller pools of consumers—on TV, on the Web, over cell phones and, yes, even in hotel rooms. The key will be finding audiences that are interested in the product to begin with.
How is this done? How does a brand know when a consumer is showing interest in an ad? Is there a way to measure this? Yes.
It will be known as physical world analytics. Just like there are companies that measure web traffic, and TV viewing volume, there will be an industry that measures the "traffic" physical world ads generate.
Unlike web analytic companies that can decipher what IP address and zipcode a user is from when visiting a site, this physical world analytic company will be able to provide the cell phone number and location of user.
How valuable will this be to an advertiser? Will this have more value than a "click" from a search engine query? I think so.
What key element does this provide over a "click" on a search query. It provides a direct way to interact with interested audience, and isn't that the goal for every advertiser?
How does this start? What technology will allow this?..Stay tuned.
There's lots of hand-wringing on Madison Avenue these days. Companies like Virgin Atlantic are concluding that advertising on TV is too pricey and the effects too difficult to measure.
They're also eying the inexorable advance of technology with trepidation. Digital video recorders, video-on-demand services and Internet broadband allow consumers to skip the hallowed 30-second spot like a crack in the sidewalk.
Accordingly, top advertisers are slowly scaling back TV spending in their ad budgets
Reality TV is now clogged with product placements. Marketing dollars are slowly fleeing from TV to outdoor ads and into the rising online ad networks of Google and Yahoo.
Most companies will soon target multiple, smaller pools of consumers—on TV, on the Web, over cell phones and, yes, even in hotel rooms. The key will be finding audiences that are interested in the product to begin with.
How is this done? How does a brand know when a consumer is showing interest in an ad? Is there a way to measure this? Yes.
It will be known as physical world analytics. Just like there are companies that measure web traffic, and TV viewing volume, there will be an industry that measures the "traffic" physical world ads generate.
Unlike web analytic companies that can decipher what IP address and zipcode a user is from when visiting a site, this physical world analytic company will be able to provide the cell phone number and location of user.
How valuable will this be to an advertiser? Will this have more value than a "click" from a search engine query? I think so.
What key element does this provide over a "click" on a search query. It provides a direct way to interact with interested audience, and isn't that the goal for every advertiser?
How does this start? What technology will allow this?..Stay tuned.
Advertising Dollars ..What He Giveth He Taketh
From MarketingVox.com Study: Google and Yahoo revenue comes at publishers' expense .
The remarkable revenue growth registered by Google and Yahoo is coming at the expense of the 10 largest information companies in what is a $263 billion industry
InformationWeek reports. "Google and Yahoo are clearly diverting advertising revenue" from established information companies; "they're literally sucking the financial air out of the room,"
Part of the reason for the shift may be that marketers are paying too much for print ads or too little for online ones, according to Outsell. Or they don't have any other options....yet.
When the industry realizes they can have direct access to their targeted audience through physical advertising, the dollars will shift to ANOTHER medium. The reason the Google/Yahoo's are getting so many advertising dollars is because advertisers haven't been exposed to anything else.
When advertisers are able to directly interact with the consumer via every print ad and packaged good, watch what happens to shift in advertising dollars. It will be the first place advertisers turn to.
That's your "next Google".
The remarkable revenue growth registered by Google and Yahoo is coming at the expense of the 10 largest information companies in what is a $263 billion industry
InformationWeek reports. "Google and Yahoo are clearly diverting advertising revenue" from established information companies; "they're literally sucking the financial air out of the room,"
Part of the reason for the shift may be that marketers are paying too much for print ads or too little for online ones, according to Outsell. Or they don't have any other options....yet.
When the industry realizes they can have direct access to their targeted audience through physical advertising, the dollars will shift to ANOTHER medium. The reason the Google/Yahoo's are getting so many advertising dollars is because advertisers haven't been exposed to anything else.
When advertisers are able to directly interact with the consumer via every print ad and packaged good, watch what happens to shift in advertising dollars. It will be the first place advertisers turn to.
That's your "next Google".
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
ASK And Ye Shall Receive
A PP reader Jochen, sent me a site that is described as a SMS mobile search engine. Let's call it more of a mobile trivia engine through SMS.
It's only available in Europe, so I haven't had a chance to play with it and see its function.
The service is called MyNuggets .
Did you ever have the answer to a question on the tip of your tongue and nobody around you knew either? Now you can ask your mobile phone.
Simply send an SMS containing the word ASK followed by your question to Nuggets and get back results likely to contain the answer from the Internet for free.
Here's how it works.
Q: So how does it work again?
A: 1. Create a new text message (SMS) and type ask. 2. Enter your question. 3. Send as a text message to 88600. After a few seconds, you get a reply with information nuggets dug up from the Web based on your questions
Let me know if you've tried it and what you think.
It's only available in Europe, so I haven't had a chance to play with it and see its function.
The service is called MyNuggets .
Did you ever have the answer to a question on the tip of your tongue and nobody around you knew either? Now you can ask your mobile phone.
Simply send an SMS containing the word ASK followed by your question to Nuggets and get back results likely to contain the answer from the Internet for free.
Here's how it works.
Q: So how does it work again?
A: 1. Create a new text message (SMS) and type ask. 2. Enter your question. 3. Send as a text message to 88600. After a few seconds, you get a reply with information nuggets dug up from the Web based on your questions
Let me know if you've tried it and what you think.
RFID And The Cell Phone
From Moneycentral/MSN.com The rising stars in RFID technology .
While radio-frequency identification has moved into the mainstream, shares in companies liked Unova, Gillette and Samsys have soared. Here's where the chip-based technology is taking us now.
The coolest new mainstream use of RFID might be in MasterCard’s new PayPass debit cards.
These cards have a super-thin RFID antenna built into them in addition to the usual magnetic strip. To pay, a cardholder simply taps a PayPass-enabled MasterCard on a special terminal rather than handing the card to a store employee. In a couple of seconds, the cardholder’s account info is transmitted through the MasterCard network for verification, clearing and settlement.
If the payment is for less than $25, the customer does not need to sign a receipt or enter a personal identification number.
RFID is also cropping up in mobile phones. Cellular giant Motorola has joined forces with MasterCard to field-test phones equipped with “near field communication” systems that will enable the handheld device to act much like a PayPass card for low-value payments.
Meanwhile, Nokia has pushed a little farther out in front by building RFID antennas into the press-on “skins” of one line of phones.
While radio-frequency identification has moved into the mainstream, shares in companies liked Unova, Gillette and Samsys have soared. Here's where the chip-based technology is taking us now.
The coolest new mainstream use of RFID might be in MasterCard’s new PayPass debit cards.
These cards have a super-thin RFID antenna built into them in addition to the usual magnetic strip. To pay, a cardholder simply taps a PayPass-enabled MasterCard on a special terminal rather than handing the card to a store employee. In a couple of seconds, the cardholder’s account info is transmitted through the MasterCard network for verification, clearing and settlement.
If the payment is for less than $25, the customer does not need to sign a receipt or enter a personal identification number.
RFID is also cropping up in mobile phones. Cellular giant Motorola has joined forces with MasterCard to field-test phones equipped with “near field communication” systems that will enable the handheld device to act much like a PayPass card for low-value payments.
Meanwhile, Nokia has pushed a little farther out in front by building RFID antennas into the press-on “skins” of one line of phones.
UpSnap Offers The 411
I started to use this and found it gave pretty quick info. Just send text to 27627 with a zipcode and subject and watch what happens.
What I see happening here is the speed of the response via SMS, eliminates the need to use the web for mobile search.
From RedHerring.com Mobile startups struggle .
San Francisco-based UpSnap ,turn a user’s costly 411 directory-assistance call into a free service that is paid for by the merchant. Local merchants are so eager to get on the radar of the cell phone caller that the merchant is willing to pay a premium rate to land on the top of UpSnap’s search engine.
UpSnap is only a year old but has partnered with directory listing company LookSmart and already offers its directory search service with Cingular. The company says deals with the other carriers, including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile, will follow in the next few weeks.
The company offers LookSmart’s search service via SMS, or short message service. If the user types in “Flowers 415” and then chooses the “free call connect” option, the local flower company that has paid for the top spot on the service will automatically receive the call.
UpSnap CEO Tony Philipp said that “merchants are willing to pay 10 times higher for cell phone-search access than web-search access.” At the same time, consumers in the age group of 18 to 30 are unwilling to spend the up-to-$2 expense of a 411 call over cellular.
Imagine the consequences if search engines charged $2 for every search done on a PC.
What I see happening here is the speed of the response via SMS, eliminates the need to use the web for mobile search.
From RedHerring.com Mobile startups struggle .
San Francisco-based UpSnap ,turn a user’s costly 411 directory-assistance call into a free service that is paid for by the merchant. Local merchants are so eager to get on the radar of the cell phone caller that the merchant is willing to pay a premium rate to land on the top of UpSnap’s search engine.
UpSnap is only a year old but has partnered with directory listing company LookSmart and already offers its directory search service with Cingular. The company says deals with the other carriers, including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile, will follow in the next few weeks.
The company offers LookSmart’s search service via SMS, or short message service. If the user types in “Flowers 415” and then chooses the “free call connect” option, the local flower company that has paid for the top spot on the service will automatically receive the call.
UpSnap CEO Tony Philipp said that “merchants are willing to pay 10 times higher for cell phone-search access than web-search access.” At the same time, consumers in the age group of 18 to 30 are unwilling to spend the up-to-$2 expense of a 411 call over cellular.
Imagine the consequences if search engines charged $2 for every search done on a PC.
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