From IT Facts.com 41% of consumers forget to send in rebates.
Half of consumers never even try to get the rebates. Many forget about them or lose some of the required material. Other times consumers send everything off and never receive a check.
About a third of consumers said they had bought a technology product with a rebate in the last six months, according to an online survey conducted in November by The NPD Group. A fifth of the consumers bought products earlier than they would have otherwise, and one in six spent more money than he or she would have if a rebate hadn't been offered.
Most who missed out on the rebates forgot to redeem them (41%). Others lost the forms, receipts or product bar codes (25%), didn't feel the rebate was worth the effort (20%) or thought the redemption process was too complicated (14%), according to a survey by Leflein Associates Inc.
Simple solution? Sure. Turn on the barcodes from the products. When consumer gets home and opens the package, juct click on the barcode or send SMS with barcode number on the box.
Rebate will get sent, consumer will be registered (for future promotions) and no more letters/envelopes/stamps to deal with.
The beauty with this is, the brand stays in touch with consumer once he leaves the store.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Here I Am!
From The Register Possessions reunited.
Text messaging technology can help find the owners of lost and stolen property. The Possessions Reunited service from UK firm First Point of Contact provides users with stickers, key rings and luggage tags (each containing a unique code) that can be easily attached to high value or sentimental items.
If an item is found, or premise vandalised which contains a firstPOC sticker, members of the public can text a six digit code to First Point of contact (firstPOC). The owner instantly receives a coded text message containing the finder’s mobile number, enabling them to make contact and arrange for the goods to be returned.
Text messaging technology can help find the owners of lost and stolen property. The Possessions Reunited service from UK firm First Point of Contact provides users with stickers, key rings and luggage tags (each containing a unique code) that can be easily attached to high value or sentimental items.
If an item is found, or premise vandalised which contains a firstPOC sticker, members of the public can text a six digit code to First Point of contact (firstPOC). The owner instantly receives a coded text message containing the finder’s mobile number, enabling them to make contact and arrange for the goods to be returned.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
A Bomb Headed For Google??
Talk about pay-per-click fraud that could happen. A weapon of mass deception.
From Silicon Valley Watcher Is this a Google atom bomb?.
For several months now I’ve been troubled by a nagging and unpleasant thought that there is a potentially large vulnerability in Google’s Adwords business model. I mentioned it for the first time the other day to a couple of friends and they urged me that I should publish it and not sit on it because it is better to get it out earlier than later.
If there is a problem with the business model then it can be dealt with while there are still mostly insiders holding the stock rather than Joe Public.
Okay, this is it:
A billionaire has arranged to give $100m to the first person that clicks on a special link that looks like a Google text ad.
Why $100m?..make it $1m a week, or make the dollar amount random.
Yes, Google a great company with a great product, but still a commodity.
The pay per click model is primitive and ripe for distortion, just as this post states.
I would make it a contest. "Find the lucky ad and win $1m". Mix it up and offer the $1m randomly, weekly, monthly, every other Tuesday.
Once the traffic volume becomes random, the value of each keyword is lost. All you need to do to throw off the "value" of each keyword is create erratic patterns. The game accomplishes this. And when you issue the prize at different times, the whole concept is flawed.
So as I have been stating for a while now.
What happens when brands control how users get to their sites? Will keyword still have value??
Will brands be bidding for specific keywords knowing the valuation model can be distorted?
Or will brands look for a way to get users to their websites on their own?
From Silicon Valley Watcher Is this a Google atom bomb?.
For several months now I’ve been troubled by a nagging and unpleasant thought that there is a potentially large vulnerability in Google’s Adwords business model. I mentioned it for the first time the other day to a couple of friends and they urged me that I should publish it and not sit on it because it is better to get it out earlier than later.
If there is a problem with the business model then it can be dealt with while there are still mostly insiders holding the stock rather than Joe Public.
Okay, this is it:
A billionaire has arranged to give $100m to the first person that clicks on a special link that looks like a Google text ad.
Why $100m?..make it $1m a week, or make the dollar amount random.
Yes, Google a great company with a great product, but still a commodity.
The pay per click model is primitive and ripe for distortion, just as this post states.
I would make it a contest. "Find the lucky ad and win $1m". Mix it up and offer the $1m randomly, weekly, monthly, every other Tuesday.
Once the traffic volume becomes random, the value of each keyword is lost. All you need to do to throw off the "value" of each keyword is create erratic patterns. The game accomplishes this. And when you issue the prize at different times, the whole concept is flawed.
So as I have been stating for a while now.
What happens when brands control how users get to their sites? Will keyword still have value??
Will brands be bidding for specific keywords knowing the valuation model can be distorted?
Or will brands look for a way to get users to their websites on their own?
RFID AND Barcode Reading Phone Now Available
From PicturePhoning.com RFID+Barcdoe reader phone now available.
It was December 2003 when YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (UNL) unveiled one of the first mobile phones with integrated RFID and barcode readers. It is called UC-Phone and is PHS-based.
UC-Phone is now available from Personal Media Corp. (this is the page about UC-Phone).
At the moment, UC-Phone handsets are primarily targeted for the use by supply-chain and logistic businesses who plan to test asset tracking and food traceability systems.
It was December 2003 when YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (UNL) unveiled one of the first mobile phones with integrated RFID and barcode readers. It is called UC-Phone and is PHS-based.
UC-Phone is now available from Personal Media Corp. (this is the page about UC-Phone).
At the moment, UC-Phone handsets are primarily targeted for the use by supply-chain and logistic businesses who plan to test asset tracking and food traceability systems.
Rand McNally Goes Mobile
From Mobile Pipeline Rand McNally offers traffic info for mobile phones.
Map publisher Rand McNally has launched a service that provides real-time traffic information for cellular phone users.
Rand McNally Traffic is a downloadable application that's available for Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless and AllTel subscribers. Once installed, the software can receive and display traffic information on accidents, congestion and lane and road closures.
The service, which covers 94 metro areas, also provides regional maps and information on public transit, weather conditions and sporting and concert events.
Rand McNally Traffic costs $3.99 a month on Sprint and Verizon, and is available to AT&T Wireless subscribers through its mMode service. Rand McNally Traffic was "coming soon" to AllTel subscribers.
Map publisher Rand McNally has launched a service that provides real-time traffic information for cellular phone users.
Rand McNally Traffic is a downloadable application that's available for Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless and AllTel subscribers. Once installed, the software can receive and display traffic information on accidents, congestion and lane and road closures.
The service, which covers 94 metro areas, also provides regional maps and information on public transit, weather conditions and sporting and concert events.
Rand McNally Traffic costs $3.99 a month on Sprint and Verizon, and is available to AT&T Wireless subscribers through its mMode service. Rand McNally Traffic was "coming soon" to AllTel subscribers.
Ummm Ummm Good Mobile Campaign
From Business Wire VIRTU MOBILE teams up with Campbell's Soup at Hand with mobile game.
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2005--Young adults have a loyal attachment to mobile phones and a distinct passion for video games. Recognizing that, VIRTU MOBILE has used the Campbell's(R) Soup at Hand(R) 3D Snowboarding game as an innovative way for Campbell Soup Company to promote Campbell's Soup At Hand sippable soup to this elusive market segment.
Customized mobile games like the Soup at Hand 3D Snowboarding, which is licensed from Bonus.com, are the latest marketing trend used by advertisers to deliver mobile messages to a younger adult audience.
This is a demographic group that does not typically make buying decisions based on traditional media like newspapers, TV and radio. The game, which incorporates the use of the product and the brand's logo is downloaded from a Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) server to the mobile phone.
According to Joe Barone, president of VIRTU MOBILE, mobile game growth is growing rapidly and Ziff Davis projects there to be more than 100 million users by 2006. "We are pleased that Campbell's had chosen us to help them target this market in an exciting, innovative fashion," he comments. "We have developed a lively, fun way to send a powerful message about the product while reinforcing brand identity."
To download the Soup At Hand 3D Snowboarding game or for more information about the game, visit Soup At Hand.
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2005--Young adults have a loyal attachment to mobile phones and a distinct passion for video games. Recognizing that, VIRTU MOBILE has used the Campbell's(R) Soup at Hand(R) 3D Snowboarding game as an innovative way for Campbell Soup Company to promote Campbell's Soup At Hand sippable soup to this elusive market segment.
Customized mobile games like the Soup at Hand 3D Snowboarding, which is licensed from Bonus.com, are the latest marketing trend used by advertisers to deliver mobile messages to a younger adult audience.
This is a demographic group that does not typically make buying decisions based on traditional media like newspapers, TV and radio. The game, which incorporates the use of the product and the brand's logo is downloaded from a Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) server to the mobile phone.
According to Joe Barone, president of VIRTU MOBILE, mobile game growth is growing rapidly and Ziff Davis projects there to be more than 100 million users by 2006. "We are pleased that Campbell's had chosen us to help them target this market in an exciting, innovative fashion," he comments. "We have developed a lively, fun way to send a powerful message about the product while reinforcing brand identity."
To download the Soup At Hand 3D Snowboarding game or for more information about the game, visit Soup At Hand.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Mobile Marketing
From eMarketer Where is mobile marketing headed?.
Click on the link..the graphs and figures are impressive.
A new eMarketer report explores three possible scenarios for the growth of wireless advertising and marketing over the next five years.
A recent BusinessWeek article quoted several advertising agencies as saying that 2005 will be the breakout year for mobile marketing, with spending set to spike from "virtually nothing to millions in pilot investments." This may sound suspiciously like the hype bestowed on online advertising in the 1990s. But remember, the Internet has become an integral element in marketing and sales strategies for most companies.
There are technological and privacy hurdles to be surmounted, and mobile marketing is not likely to become the instant cash cow agencies hope, but like online marketing, it is here to stay. Wireless could be the next frontier.
To answer the question of what types of businesses will flourish in this new environment, eMarketer's new report, Mobile Marketing and M-Commerce, puts together three potential scenarios that plot spending growth for wireless advertising and marketing over the next five years. Each starts with the supposition that in percentage terms, wireless advertising is at roughly the same level relative to interactive advertising that online advertising was in relation to traditional ad spending in the mid-to-late 1990s.
In each of the scenarios that eMarketer has constructed, the assumption is that as the buzz surrounding mobile marketing builds to a fever pitch between 2005 and 2006, firms initially will throw money at this new channel, much as many did in the early day of the Internet. Some campaigns will succeed — but the environment will be fairly hit or miss. For this reason, eMarketer predicts a short period of disenchantment with wireless around 2007. Although spending will continue to climb, growth rates will dip briefly before resuming upward momentum as the medium grows to maturity toward the end of the decade.
"Although companies have been burned in the past because they rushed to embrace unproven technologies, the time to start integrating mobile strategies into the marketing mix is now," says Dr. Noah Elkin, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the report. "The day that promotional messages are pushed to a consumer's phone each time he or she approaches a place where a particular good or service is sold may never come, but wireless marketing will be used to effectively reach, acquire and retain customers and ultimately generate sales by way of direct response contests and promotions."
Juniper Research projects that the global mobile commerce market, comprising mobile entertainment downloads, ticket purchases and POS transactions, will grow to $88 billion by 2009, largely on the back of micropayments. The research firm predicts that on average, Western Europeans will conduct around 28 transactions per year using their mobile phones by 2009, with each transaction valued at an average of approximately $3.00.
"Given that mobile phones have the potential to evolve into full-blown digital wallets, using handsets to make purchases must be easy, convenient, cheap and seamless for consumers," says Dr. Elkin. "The 'one-click' purchase model pioneered by Amazon remains the standard to which all should aspire."
One click by a phone, on a universal identifer, will be the killer app for m-commerce.
Click on the link..the graphs and figures are impressive.
A new eMarketer report explores three possible scenarios for the growth of wireless advertising and marketing over the next five years.
A recent BusinessWeek article quoted several advertising agencies as saying that 2005 will be the breakout year for mobile marketing, with spending set to spike from "virtually nothing to millions in pilot investments." This may sound suspiciously like the hype bestowed on online advertising in the 1990s. But remember, the Internet has become an integral element in marketing and sales strategies for most companies.
There are technological and privacy hurdles to be surmounted, and mobile marketing is not likely to become the instant cash cow agencies hope, but like online marketing, it is here to stay. Wireless could be the next frontier.
To answer the question of what types of businesses will flourish in this new environment, eMarketer's new report, Mobile Marketing and M-Commerce, puts together three potential scenarios that plot spending growth for wireless advertising and marketing over the next five years. Each starts with the supposition that in percentage terms, wireless advertising is at roughly the same level relative to interactive advertising that online advertising was in relation to traditional ad spending in the mid-to-late 1990s.
In each of the scenarios that eMarketer has constructed, the assumption is that as the buzz surrounding mobile marketing builds to a fever pitch between 2005 and 2006, firms initially will throw money at this new channel, much as many did in the early day of the Internet. Some campaigns will succeed — but the environment will be fairly hit or miss. For this reason, eMarketer predicts a short period of disenchantment with wireless around 2007. Although spending will continue to climb, growth rates will dip briefly before resuming upward momentum as the medium grows to maturity toward the end of the decade.
"Although companies have been burned in the past because they rushed to embrace unproven technologies, the time to start integrating mobile strategies into the marketing mix is now," says Dr. Noah Elkin, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the report. "The day that promotional messages are pushed to a consumer's phone each time he or she approaches a place where a particular good or service is sold may never come, but wireless marketing will be used to effectively reach, acquire and retain customers and ultimately generate sales by way of direct response contests and promotions."
Juniper Research projects that the global mobile commerce market, comprising mobile entertainment downloads, ticket purchases and POS transactions, will grow to $88 billion by 2009, largely on the back of micropayments. The research firm predicts that on average, Western Europeans will conduct around 28 transactions per year using their mobile phones by 2009, with each transaction valued at an average of approximately $3.00.
"Given that mobile phones have the potential to evolve into full-blown digital wallets, using handsets to make purchases must be easy, convenient, cheap and seamless for consumers," says Dr. Elkin. "The 'one-click' purchase model pioneered by Amazon remains the standard to which all should aspire."
One click by a phone, on a universal identifer, will be the killer app for m-commerce.
Does A Pic Now Equal A Click?..The New Web Analytics Model
Does a Pic now equal a Click?… The New Web Analytics Model
The shift is changing for Internet advertising. Brands buy keywords to get top ranking search engine results. The website remains dormant until someone clicks on through a search engine. Buying the “right” keywords will help drive traffic to their website.
When brands “turn on” their barcodes, get 2d spot-codes, or register a code for SMS messaging, there will be many ways to connect both electronically and physically to the website.
Until now, there is only one way to get to a website, use a browser on a PC or mobile. There has been only one way to value Internet traffic.
That is about to change
An OCR (optical character recognition) device will resolve these identifiers, just like a web browser resolves a web address. When the camera phone acts like a browser in the mobile world will pictures replace hits for Internet traffic analysis?
The physical world objects that have these identifiers are in a sense, keywords. They represent more visibility for a company’s website than keywords that are determined by algorithms.
No longer will brands be saying “for more information go to our website www.xyz.cm”.
Brands will say “click on any can of Coke, send a text to COKE” for more info. So that leads to a new metric model for Internet traffic.
Again, will pictures replace clicks?
Think of what kind of data gets created from a search. A search engine knows the number of queries for a specific word.. ie “nike tennis shoes”. Every time a word, number, phrase is typed into a search engine, data is created. Search engines have become the Arbitron/Nielsen service for Internet advertising. They then analyze this data to determine value for certain keywords. An industry has been created just to analyze this.
When an SMS gets sent, or a barcode gets scanned, data also gets created. It’s the same result (website traffic), but HOW the user got there is completely different. How do you measure HOW the user got to the site?
Sending a text or scanning a picture is different than surfing with a regular browser. The browser on the PC understands what www.xyz.com means and directs to the specific site.
When a barcode is scanned, a registered code is texted, or when an RFID tag is eventually scanned, a different type of browser will be required. It’s a unique browser and all of these actions will have to go through this unique browser to get resolved.
There won’t be many companies that offer this browser. It will be unique. Microsoft won’t be fighting Netscape, or Google for this type of browser. It will not matter if the targeted destination is a (.org,.com,.net,.mobi).
This will have to be resolved by one type of browser.
But the big question that advertisers want to know, how did the user get to my site?
When that gets answered, the advertiser can determine how to advertise to them. This also resolves some of the pay-per-click fraud that is occurring with search engines.
Coke won’t know if their website was via hit via search engine query, or if a can of Coke was scanned by a camera phone. This is a big piece to be missing. Without this information, Coke will not know if a certain campaign is effective.
There will be a server that will differentiate these lookups. That server(s) will be an advertising gold mine.
Would Google like have the data that gets created from EVERY search engine query, from EVERY search engine? Could they create more advertising opportunities?
What do you think?
Who will be the mobile analytics company?
Who wants to oversee all of the Internet traffic that comes from clicking on every physical world hyperlink?
Thoughts comments?
The shift is changing for Internet advertising. Brands buy keywords to get top ranking search engine results. The website remains dormant until someone clicks on through a search engine. Buying the “right” keywords will help drive traffic to their website.
When brands “turn on” their barcodes, get 2d spot-codes, or register a code for SMS messaging, there will be many ways to connect both electronically and physically to the website.
Until now, there is only one way to get to a website, use a browser on a PC or mobile. There has been only one way to value Internet traffic.
That is about to change
An OCR (optical character recognition) device will resolve these identifiers, just like a web browser resolves a web address. When the camera phone acts like a browser in the mobile world will pictures replace hits for Internet traffic analysis?
The physical world objects that have these identifiers are in a sense, keywords. They represent more visibility for a company’s website than keywords that are determined by algorithms.
No longer will brands be saying “for more information go to our website www.xyz.cm”.
Brands will say “click on any can of Coke, send a text to COKE” for more info. So that leads to a new metric model for Internet traffic.
Again, will pictures replace clicks?
Think of what kind of data gets created from a search. A search engine knows the number of queries for a specific word.. ie “nike tennis shoes”. Every time a word, number, phrase is typed into a search engine, data is created. Search engines have become the Arbitron/Nielsen service for Internet advertising. They then analyze this data to determine value for certain keywords. An industry has been created just to analyze this.
When an SMS gets sent, or a barcode gets scanned, data also gets created. It’s the same result (website traffic), but HOW the user got there is completely different. How do you measure HOW the user got to the site?
Sending a text or scanning a picture is different than surfing with a regular browser. The browser on the PC understands what www.xyz.com means and directs to the specific site.
When a barcode is scanned, a registered code is texted, or when an RFID tag is eventually scanned, a different type of browser will be required. It’s a unique browser and all of these actions will have to go through this unique browser to get resolved.
There won’t be many companies that offer this browser. It will be unique. Microsoft won’t be fighting Netscape, or Google for this type of browser. It will not matter if the targeted destination is a (.org,.com,.net,.mobi).
This will have to be resolved by one type of browser.
But the big question that advertisers want to know, how did the user get to my site?
When that gets answered, the advertiser can determine how to advertise to them. This also resolves some of the pay-per-click fraud that is occurring with search engines.
Coke won’t know if their website was via hit via search engine query, or if a can of Coke was scanned by a camera phone. This is a big piece to be missing. Without this information, Coke will not know if a certain campaign is effective.
There will be a server that will differentiate these lookups. That server(s) will be an advertising gold mine.
Would Google like have the data that gets created from EVERY search engine query, from EVERY search engine? Could they create more advertising opportunities?
What do you think?
Who will be the mobile analytics company?
Who wants to oversee all of the Internet traffic that comes from clicking on every physical world hyperlink?
Thoughts comments?
Excellent Analysis On Mobile Marketing
From Mobile Technology Weblog.
Continuing my predictions for the year ahead...
8. Mobile Marketing Explodes
...not this year I'm afraid. The marketing industry still doesn't get it, despite sterling efforts by Vodafone and a handful of passionate advocates to convince them.
The ad industry needs to get to grips with this medium, not the least because the old big media model on which they built their house is crumbling around their ears.
Moving from big media to the highly fragmented niches of mobile and online call for new and complex skills that I simply don't think the agencies currently possess.
But being in denial is not the answer either.
Post Script: Actually, maybe this is a little harsh. I think clients are beginning to "get" mobile and understand that perhaps there's more to it than Yet Another Text 'n Win promotion.
I think what we may see in 2005 is a lot of testing and experimenting before it really starts to happen in 2006/7.
The big agencies still don't get it though. And I don't think there's much of a future for stand-alone outfits like Flytxt (sorry guys - please prove me wrong!).
The big opportunity therefore is a start-up who can do joined up marketing, which incorporates mobile and online into its offering. But the key is to offer creative promotional marketing excellence, together with a deep understanding of mobile. Not mobile marketing nous on its own.
But hopefully more money will start to flow down the mobile stream this year.
At the very least, the ad agencies need to think about using the mobile channel within their advertising.
They finally understood about putting website URL's up there. Why has it taken so long for them to put an SMS short code for customers who want more info?
When advertisers realize they can combine all forms of media by using SMS codes, or physical world hyperlinks, then they will truly become effective.
As soon as you create the interaction through a cell phone, the advertiser then gets a one-on-one relationship with the consumer.
The cell phone allows speech, Internet, text and soon TV. Four methods of interaction.
The advertisers that find a way to interact through this successfully, will be the pioneers and make buying keywords from a search engine seem laughable someday.
Give them time, how long did it take for advertisers to start placing products with the show.
Continuing my predictions for the year ahead...
8. Mobile Marketing Explodes
...not this year I'm afraid. The marketing industry still doesn't get it, despite sterling efforts by Vodafone and a handful of passionate advocates to convince them.
The ad industry needs to get to grips with this medium, not the least because the old big media model on which they built their house is crumbling around their ears.
Moving from big media to the highly fragmented niches of mobile and online call for new and complex skills that I simply don't think the agencies currently possess.
But being in denial is not the answer either.
Post Script: Actually, maybe this is a little harsh. I think clients are beginning to "get" mobile and understand that perhaps there's more to it than Yet Another Text 'n Win promotion.
I think what we may see in 2005 is a lot of testing and experimenting before it really starts to happen in 2006/7.
The big agencies still don't get it though. And I don't think there's much of a future for stand-alone outfits like Flytxt (sorry guys - please prove me wrong!).
The big opportunity therefore is a start-up who can do joined up marketing, which incorporates mobile and online into its offering. But the key is to offer creative promotional marketing excellence, together with a deep understanding of mobile. Not mobile marketing nous on its own.
But hopefully more money will start to flow down the mobile stream this year.
At the very least, the ad agencies need to think about using the mobile channel within their advertising.
They finally understood about putting website URL's up there. Why has it taken so long for them to put an SMS short code for customers who want more info?
When advertisers realize they can combine all forms of media by using SMS codes, or physical world hyperlinks, then they will truly become effective.
As soon as you create the interaction through a cell phone, the advertiser then gets a one-on-one relationship with the consumer.
The cell phone allows speech, Internet, text and soon TV. Four methods of interaction.
The advertisers that find a way to interact through this successfully, will be the pioneers and make buying keywords from a search engine seem laughable someday.
Give them time, how long did it take for advertisers to start placing products with the show.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Procter Gamble Goes Mobile..
From Revolution Magazine P&G launches mobile videogame for Head & Shoulders.
LONDON - FMCG giant Procter & Gamble has launched a mobile video game to back its Head & Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo brand.
The company has hired mobile marketing agency Aerodeon to create an F1-based racing game that is being promoted in the brand's TV ad spots in France.
Users can download the game from the French H&S website and upload their highest scores to win a prize. Players can race against seven other opponents on tracks such as Dubai, Hockenheim or Monaco and can receive bonuses if they catch Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles that are randomly placed on the racetracks. They get penalised if they hit the piles of dandruff.
The game is being promoted in France through a large media plan that involves embedded tags at the end of Head & Shoulders TV advertisements, inviting viewers to download the game by sending a text message to a shortcode.
Also, online banners allow web users to submit their mobile number and receive the game via WAP.
Banners and links on Orange's WAP portal, Orange World, will also promote the game. Antoine Leveque, Aerodeon France managing director, said: "This is a fantastic promotion, which is sure to prove very exciting for consumers. The new capability of mobiles is now opening the way for much more engaging campaigns that will help take mobile marketing to a new level."
Looks like P&G hooked up with an innovative mobile marketing company that thinks outside the box.
LONDON - FMCG giant Procter & Gamble has launched a mobile video game to back its Head & Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo brand.
The company has hired mobile marketing agency Aerodeon to create an F1-based racing game that is being promoted in the brand's TV ad spots in France.
Users can download the game from the French H&S website and upload their highest scores to win a prize. Players can race against seven other opponents on tracks such as Dubai, Hockenheim or Monaco and can receive bonuses if they catch Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles that are randomly placed on the racetracks. They get penalised if they hit the piles of dandruff.
The game is being promoted in France through a large media plan that involves embedded tags at the end of Head & Shoulders TV advertisements, inviting viewers to download the game by sending a text message to a shortcode.
Also, online banners allow web users to submit their mobile number and receive the game via WAP.
Banners and links on Orange's WAP portal, Orange World, will also promote the game. Antoine Leveque, Aerodeon France managing director, said: "This is a fantastic promotion, which is sure to prove very exciting for consumers. The new capability of mobiles is now opening the way for much more engaging campaigns that will help take mobile marketing to a new level."
Looks like P&G hooked up with an innovative mobile marketing company that thinks outside the box.
Google Sells Names..Part 2
The more I think about Google selling domain names, the more powerful this news really is.
There are a number of possibilities I see here.
Early this year a blogger decided to sell advertising space for his blog on eBay. Well register your domain w/ Google and they will provide a revenue generating ad campaign thru their keywords platform.
Google could offer free registration of domain name, providing you put a Google search bar somewhere on your site..the Google dominance would grow exponentially this way.
When you register your domain, Google provides a 2-d code that you can use for all physical documents. This would allow you or the interested party to get a direct link (thru camphone or texting) right to your site ...
A physical world browser.
Hey MSFT you paying attention?
Thats how I see Google could create their own mobile browser.
Maybe those job listings for dark fiber contract guys really means Google wants to create their own internet of sorts.
Not only do you register your domain thru Google, you advertise thru Google, Google can maintain the web analytics side of all of this traffic...AND providing a 2d spot code, they can tap the physical world advertising too.
I see more revenue, more revenue, more revenue.
Throw in the new guys they hired from FireFOx for a Google browser and man the possibilities start to really flow.
Maybe im going out on a limb with these thoughts, but it seems plausible.
Thoughts? Comments?
There are a number of possibilities I see here.
Early this year a blogger decided to sell advertising space for his blog on eBay. Well register your domain w/ Google and they will provide a revenue generating ad campaign thru their keywords platform.
Google could offer free registration of domain name, providing you put a Google search bar somewhere on your site..the Google dominance would grow exponentially this way.
When you register your domain, Google provides a 2-d code that you can use for all physical documents. This would allow you or the interested party to get a direct link (thru camphone or texting) right to your site ...
A physical world browser.
Hey MSFT you paying attention?
Thats how I see Google could create their own mobile browser.
Maybe those job listings for dark fiber contract guys really means Google wants to create their own internet of sorts.
Not only do you register your domain thru Google, you advertise thru Google, Google can maintain the web analytics side of all of this traffic...AND providing a 2d spot code, they can tap the physical world advertising too.
I see more revenue, more revenue, more revenue.
Throw in the new guys they hired from FireFOx for a Google browser and man the possibilities start to really flow.
Maybe im going out on a limb with these thoughts, but it seems plausible.
Thoughts? Comments?
Google's Selling Names
Frpom Beta News Google becomes domain registrar.
Further fueling the flames of speculation that surround Google's future plans, the search giant has recently become an ICANN-accredited domain registrar. Google will be able to directly sell seven top-level domains, but it is currently unclear where the company's specific intentions lie.
Google has yet to make any announcements about becoming domain registrar number 895, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill. Google offers a special AdSense service for domain sellers to make money from unused Web addresses, and the company could also benefit by offering low-cost domain names to its Blogger user base.
I see lots of opportunities here.
When doing a search, if the search term isnt listed as a direct website, offer it as a direct link.
They already offer a free webhosting biz through their Blogger site. They have dozens of options for software to use for a blog. They make so easy to run a blog, that even a technologically challenged guy like me can do it.
They can offer you the ability to host your site AND include advertising without you having to hire a search engine marketing co.
Register your site for x amount (make it free) and we'll provide sponsored links.
This could be their entrance to mobile. I envision the Real Names concept coming back through a Google domain idea.
Whatever they decide to do with this, once again they have stolen MSFT's thunder today with their search engine release.
You can try MSFT's new search engine here.
I tried it. Not being a tech guru, I found many things I didnt like. The search listings are displayed too far to the left, there isnt a border. The results seemd to crowd my screen.
The cached page didnt work like Google's. If I'm searching for a specific word in a query. I like Googles feature of highlighting the word in color.
Ask 10 people on the street what search engine they use, chances are they either say whatever my home page is set to or Google.
Ask those same people how to get to MSFT's search page and I bet you not one says "http/beta.search.msn.com.results.aspx?q=google beats msft again&form=qbrea83"..It just doesnt roll off the tongue like Google.
I did like the images search better than Google's. The pictures delivered were much bigger than the ones Google delivers.
There ARE ways Microsoft can catch Google, but are the guys in Redmond willing to listen?
Further fueling the flames of speculation that surround Google's future plans, the search giant has recently become an ICANN-accredited domain registrar. Google will be able to directly sell seven top-level domains, but it is currently unclear where the company's specific intentions lie.
Google has yet to make any announcements about becoming domain registrar number 895, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill. Google offers a special AdSense service for domain sellers to make money from unused Web addresses, and the company could also benefit by offering low-cost domain names to its Blogger user base.
I see lots of opportunities here.
When doing a search, if the search term isnt listed as a direct website, offer it as a direct link.
They already offer a free webhosting biz through their Blogger site. They have dozens of options for software to use for a blog. They make so easy to run a blog, that even a technologically challenged guy like me can do it.
They can offer you the ability to host your site AND include advertising without you having to hire a search engine marketing co.
Register your site for x amount (make it free) and we'll provide sponsored links.
This could be their entrance to mobile. I envision the Real Names concept coming back through a Google domain idea.
Whatever they decide to do with this, once again they have stolen MSFT's thunder today with their search engine release.
You can try MSFT's new search engine here.
I tried it. Not being a tech guru, I found many things I didnt like. The search listings are displayed too far to the left, there isnt a border. The results seemd to crowd my screen.
The cached page didnt work like Google's. If I'm searching for a specific word in a query. I like Googles feature of highlighting the word in color.
Ask 10 people on the street what search engine they use, chances are they either say whatever my home page is set to or Google.
Ask those same people how to get to MSFT's search page and I bet you not one says "http/beta.search.msn.com.results.aspx?q=google beats msft again&form=qbrea83"..It just doesnt roll off the tongue like Google.
I did like the images search better than Google's. The pictures delivered were much bigger than the ones Google delivers.
There ARE ways Microsoft can catch Google, but are the guys in Redmond willing to listen?
Monday, January 31, 2005
V CAST Starts Tomorrow
From PR Newswire V CAST from Verizon Wireless available tomorrow.
BEDMINSTER, N.J., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- When it launches tomorrow, V CAST from Verizon Wireless will break all preconceived notions about wireless multimedia services. The nation's first 3G wireless broadband multimedia service for consumers, V CAST delivers crystal clear short content on-demand, live-action 3D games, music videos, and much more to wireless phones. The quality of the service is matched only by the popularity of the content being offered: Verizon Wireless is presenting premier news and entertainment sources from the leading content providers in the nation -- and from around the globe -- making V CAST an indispensable new infotainment resource for all types of consumers.
Starting tomorrow, V CAST customers will be able to use new wireless phones for applications only dreamed of a year ago: watch video clips from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"; receive video news updates from NBC News and political analyses from Tim Russert of Meet the Press; view highlights from premiere sporting events like FOX NFL Sunday from Jacksonville; immerse themselves in Spider-Man 2 3D: NY Rooftops, a game inspired from scenes in the Spider-Man 2 motion picture from Sony Pictures; and also download hot music videos from Warner Music Group artists like Simple Plan, My Chemical Romance and The Used.
BEDMINSTER, N.J., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- When it launches tomorrow, V CAST from Verizon Wireless will break all preconceived notions about wireless multimedia services. The nation's first 3G wireless broadband multimedia service for consumers, V CAST delivers crystal clear short content on-demand, live-action 3D games, music videos, and much more to wireless phones. The quality of the service is matched only by the popularity of the content being offered: Verizon Wireless is presenting premier news and entertainment sources from the leading content providers in the nation -- and from around the globe -- making V CAST an indispensable new infotainment resource for all types of consumers.
Starting tomorrow, V CAST customers will be able to use new wireless phones for applications only dreamed of a year ago: watch video clips from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"; receive video news updates from NBC News and political analyses from Tim Russert of Meet the Press; view highlights from premiere sporting events like FOX NFL Sunday from Jacksonville; immerse themselves in Spider-Man 2 3D: NY Rooftops, a game inspired from scenes in the Spider-Man 2 motion picture from Sony Pictures; and also download hot music videos from Warner Music Group artists like Simple Plan, My Chemical Romance and The Used.
MVP Thru SMS
From Dave's Ipaq Are you watching the Super Bowl?.
THQ Wireless Inc., a subsidiary of THQ Inc. announced a new text messaging campaign with the National Football League (NFL) and PLAYERS INC for the most valuable player (MVP) during the Super Bowl XXXIX telecast on Sunday, February 6, 2005 on FOX. The cross-carrier promotion is powered by THQ Wireless' mobile messaging arm, MINICK USA, and allows fans nationwide to cast their vote for the game's MVP via their wireless device. On game day, broadcasters are expected to announce the promotion where fans can text "MVP" to 88288 to receive voting instructions.
"This announcement marks THQ Wireless' second premium messaging campaign with the NFL and PLAYERS INC and speaks to the growing trend of sports leagues utilizing cutting-edge mobile applications to interact with their fans," said Tim Walsh, president of THQ Wireless.
"We are pleased to offer our partners the opportunity to expand their wireless offerings through MINICK with its proven strength and experience hosting large-volume TV voting campaigns." MINICK, who launched its U.S. operations back in August of 2004, is a leading service provider for TV related messaging applications in Europe and its applications and infrastructure are uniquely tailored to support high volumes of messages and billing transactions. MINICK has successfully enabled Premium SMS voting campaigns for high profile TV shows such as Big Brother, Pop Idol and the MTV European Music Awards.
THQ Wireless Inc., a subsidiary of THQ Inc. announced a new text messaging campaign with the National Football League (NFL) and PLAYERS INC for the most valuable player (MVP) during the Super Bowl XXXIX telecast on Sunday, February 6, 2005 on FOX. The cross-carrier promotion is powered by THQ Wireless' mobile messaging arm, MINICK USA, and allows fans nationwide to cast their vote for the game's MVP via their wireless device. On game day, broadcasters are expected to announce the promotion where fans can text "MVP" to 88288 to receive voting instructions.
"This announcement marks THQ Wireless' second premium messaging campaign with the NFL and PLAYERS INC and speaks to the growing trend of sports leagues utilizing cutting-edge mobile applications to interact with their fans," said Tim Walsh, president of THQ Wireless.
"We are pleased to offer our partners the opportunity to expand their wireless offerings through MINICK with its proven strength and experience hosting large-volume TV voting campaigns." MINICK, who launched its U.S. operations back in August of 2004, is a leading service provider for TV related messaging applications in Europe and its applications and infrastructure are uniquely tailored to support high volumes of messages and billing transactions. MINICK has successfully enabled Premium SMS voting campaigns for high profile TV shows such as Big Brother, Pop Idol and the MTV European Music Awards.
Mobile Operator 3 Adds Mobile Content
From NetImperative 3 adds brands to mobile content.
Mobile operator 3 has struck a deal with mobile data firm Netsize to give its UK customers to access a range of branded content services, accessed via SMS shortcodes.
So instead of using a search engine website, you can get the info from a SMS search.
Is an SMS search portal coming?
Text, ringtones, wallpapers and pictures from a range of brands will be available to more than 2.5 million video mobile customers in the UK.
Netsize's portfolio of brands includes BMW, Bosch, Danone, Nestle, Peugeot, HP, Federal Express, Nike, JC Deceaux, L'Oreal, Kellogg's, Pizza Hut and Yamaha.
The deal means 3 customers could potentially access content from all these brands, via the “Today on 3” portal.
Mobile operator 3 has struck a deal with mobile data firm Netsize to give its UK customers to access a range of branded content services, accessed via SMS shortcodes.
So instead of using a search engine website, you can get the info from a SMS search.
Is an SMS search portal coming?
Text, ringtones, wallpapers and pictures from a range of brands will be available to more than 2.5 million video mobile customers in the UK.
Netsize's portfolio of brands includes BMW, Bosch, Danone, Nestle, Peugeot, HP, Federal Express, Nike, JC Deceaux, L'Oreal, Kellogg's, Pizza Hut and Yamaha.
The deal means 3 customers could potentially access content from all these brands, via the “Today on 3” portal.
A Shot Across The Bow Of Microsoft
From Tech Review Project Googlefox.
Project Googlefox
By Eric Hellweg January 31, 2005
As far as rumors go, the one about Google's move into the browser space is heating up. Ever since it was uncovered that the search company registered the URL gbrowser.com last April, Web chatter has been abuzz with the prospect of Google launching a browser to compete with Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
The buzz meter ratcheted up a few ticks last week when Ben Goodger and Darin Fisher, two key players in the development of the Firefox browser, each announced on the MozillaZine blog that they were now employees of Google.
"Another pointer towards a Google browser," someone posted on Googlefan.com. "Ben Goodger was lead engineer on the Firefox project…now he's been hired by Google -- the company that owns gbrowser."
Neither Goodger nor Fisher is commenting on their new roles, and Steve Langdon, a spokesperson for the company, has also maintained a relative silence on the specifics.
"I'm not able to share any information on what Ben's going to work on," Langdon says. "Many of Google's products aim to enhance browser products, and we're interested in exploring interaction between browsers and Google's services."
For the sake of argument, let's assume that Google is in fact building a browser. The company is constantly unveiling new products, from desktop search tools to television video searches. A browser wouldn't be a tremendous departure for the company's famous tinkerers.
But a Google browser would be a major shot across the bow of Microsoft.
Right now, Microsoft doesn't make money on its Internet Explorer, although the product is lumped in with the company's lucrative Operating Systems division. The IE browser, though, plays an important defensive position for the company, a position that's expected to become more offensive when Microsoft's next operating system, Longhorn, is released in 2006.
Analysts believe the browser will feature an integrated search component, similar to a toolbar, which will return users to a Microsoft-produced search results page, with keyword and other advertisements around the search results.
The troublesome area for Microsoft, however, is that it might not maintain its browser dominance until 2006. With the release of Firefox, Microsoft is seeing that latent user frustration molts into defection, given a suitable alternative choice.
According to OneStat.com, IE has lost five percent of its market share directly to Firefox, a product publicized almost exclusively through word of mouth alone. Think about the user reaction -- spurred by perceived virus vulnerabilities and quality concerns -- if Google were to launch a browser and advertise it heavily.
"A Google browser could dramatically change the browser market share," says Mark Mahaney, an analyst with American Technology Research.
Microsoft is downplaying the speculation, and putting a smiling face on the prospect of a new browser war.
"While Internet Explorer is the choice of hundreds of millions because of the unique value it provides, we respect that some customers will choose an alternative," a Microsoft spokesperson says in an email interview.
For now, Microsoft isn't yet in trouble. It still controls over 90 percent of the browser market, and with the Longhorn on the way in less that two years, Google needs to act quickly if it is in fact planning on launching a browser product. A new Internet Explorer with built-in search capabilities could have a devastating effect on Google.
"If there's one thing that has the potential to dramatically switch search share now is an integrated search function in a browser," says Mahaney.
Project Googlefox
By Eric Hellweg January 31, 2005
As far as rumors go, the one about Google's move into the browser space is heating up. Ever since it was uncovered that the search company registered the URL gbrowser.com last April, Web chatter has been abuzz with the prospect of Google launching a browser to compete with Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
The buzz meter ratcheted up a few ticks last week when Ben Goodger and Darin Fisher, two key players in the development of the Firefox browser, each announced on the MozillaZine blog that they were now employees of Google.
"Another pointer towards a Google browser," someone posted on Googlefan.com. "Ben Goodger was lead engineer on the Firefox project…now he's been hired by Google -- the company that owns gbrowser."
Neither Goodger nor Fisher is commenting on their new roles, and Steve Langdon, a spokesperson for the company, has also maintained a relative silence on the specifics.
"I'm not able to share any information on what Ben's going to work on," Langdon says. "Many of Google's products aim to enhance browser products, and we're interested in exploring interaction between browsers and Google's services."
For the sake of argument, let's assume that Google is in fact building a browser. The company is constantly unveiling new products, from desktop search tools to television video searches. A browser wouldn't be a tremendous departure for the company's famous tinkerers.
But a Google browser would be a major shot across the bow of Microsoft.
Right now, Microsoft doesn't make money on its Internet Explorer, although the product is lumped in with the company's lucrative Operating Systems division. The IE browser, though, plays an important defensive position for the company, a position that's expected to become more offensive when Microsoft's next operating system, Longhorn, is released in 2006.
Analysts believe the browser will feature an integrated search component, similar to a toolbar, which will return users to a Microsoft-produced search results page, with keyword and other advertisements around the search results.
The troublesome area for Microsoft, however, is that it might not maintain its browser dominance until 2006. With the release of Firefox, Microsoft is seeing that latent user frustration molts into defection, given a suitable alternative choice.
According to OneStat.com, IE has lost five percent of its market share directly to Firefox, a product publicized almost exclusively through word of mouth alone. Think about the user reaction -- spurred by perceived virus vulnerabilities and quality concerns -- if Google were to launch a browser and advertise it heavily.
"A Google browser could dramatically change the browser market share," says Mark Mahaney, an analyst with American Technology Research.
Microsoft is downplaying the speculation, and putting a smiling face on the prospect of a new browser war.
"While Internet Explorer is the choice of hundreds of millions because of the unique value it provides, we respect that some customers will choose an alternative," a Microsoft spokesperson says in an email interview.
For now, Microsoft isn't yet in trouble. It still controls over 90 percent of the browser market, and with the Longhorn on the way in less that two years, Google needs to act quickly if it is in fact planning on launching a browser product. A new Internet Explorer with built-in search capabilities could have a devastating effect on Google.
"If there's one thing that has the potential to dramatically switch search share now is an integrated search function in a browser," says Mahaney.
Mobile Content Upgrade
From Briefing.com
07:52 VRSN VeriSign upgraded to Strong Buy at Raymond James (25.59 )
Raymond James upgrades VRSN to Strong Buy from Outperform and reiterates their $35 tgt, as they think the pendulum has now swung too far in the negative direction. With wireless data subscriber penetration around 10% worldwide, firm believes that the mkt is in the midst of an inflection point in sub growth and usage levels. Handsets, networks, software, and content are now in place to make data the next growth engine for the wireless industry, and central to that service is content. As such, firm says the time is now for investing in leading mobile content co's.
This is probabaly due to Verisign's acquisition of Jamba!
VeriSign said Jamba! will be integrated into its Communications Services Group, which provides network, database, billing, and content services to wireless and wireline subscribers.
In a statement, VeriSign said: "By adding Jamba!'s capabilities into its existing communication services platforms, VeriSign expects to be able to offer carriers a comprehensive wireless data utility that covers all aspects of the mobile content value chain. Functionality will include content on-boarding, aggregation, formatting, mediation, and a variety of billing and payment services."
I wonder, when cameraphones become ubiquitous, will the screen saver biz then die? Why would you pay for one, when you can take a picture and leave on your screen?
07:52 VRSN VeriSign upgraded to Strong Buy at Raymond James (25.59 )
Raymond James upgrades VRSN to Strong Buy from Outperform and reiterates their $35 tgt, as they think the pendulum has now swung too far in the negative direction. With wireless data subscriber penetration around 10% worldwide, firm believes that the mkt is in the midst of an inflection point in sub growth and usage levels. Handsets, networks, software, and content are now in place to make data the next growth engine for the wireless industry, and central to that service is content. As such, firm says the time is now for investing in leading mobile content co's.
This is probabaly due to Verisign's acquisition of Jamba!
VeriSign said Jamba! will be integrated into its Communications Services Group, which provides network, database, billing, and content services to wireless and wireline subscribers.
In a statement, VeriSign said: "By adding Jamba!'s capabilities into its existing communication services platforms, VeriSign expects to be able to offer carriers a comprehensive wireless data utility that covers all aspects of the mobile content value chain. Functionality will include content on-boarding, aggregation, formatting, mediation, and a variety of billing and payment services."
I wonder, when cameraphones become ubiquitous, will the screen saver biz then die? Why would you pay for one, when you can take a picture and leave on your screen?
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Going For A Run
Friday, January 28, 2005
Great Idea, Bad Execution
Text messaging voting for Super Bowl ads.
From RCR News Cell-phone users to vote for favorite Super Bowl ads .
DULLES, Va.-Football fans can vote for their favorite commercials with their mobile phones with a service announced this week by American Online Inc.
Users can register for the poll by texting the word "vote" to short code 46265 before the game and will receive reminders during the Feb. 6 matchup. Each vote costs users 50 cents, and results will be announced the day after the game.
This could be a great marketing tool for AOL, (and they sure do need one), but they miss the whole point of this.
So I have to pay .50 to vote for an ad? What do I get for this? Gimme a free supply of Doritos, or a free Whopper.
Why should I pay for YOUR work?
How about making a game of texting to guess how many points New England scores each quarter. Number of punts in the first half. Who wins the coin toss.
The winner gets 1 month free AOL service, or a free Whopper..maybe even a signed picture of Janet Jackson. But you have to provide an incentive.
There are endless contests, bets you can make to have a great interactive text messaging campaign. What HAS to happen is for the user to get something for his .50.
Make the texting free for the game just to get people accustomed to using the SMS process. It will be a great investment.
Here's ANOTHER example of how mobile marketing could get started in the US but the marketing guys fail to consider the end users wishes. I hope this isn't a sign of how they will treat the user once they do get permission.
From RCR News Cell-phone users to vote for favorite Super Bowl ads .
DULLES, Va.-Football fans can vote for their favorite commercials with their mobile phones with a service announced this week by American Online Inc.
Users can register for the poll by texting the word "vote" to short code 46265 before the game and will receive reminders during the Feb. 6 matchup. Each vote costs users 50 cents, and results will be announced the day after the game.
This could be a great marketing tool for AOL, (and they sure do need one), but they miss the whole point of this.
So I have to pay .50 to vote for an ad? What do I get for this? Gimme a free supply of Doritos, or a free Whopper.
Why should I pay for YOUR work?
How about making a game of texting to guess how many points New England scores each quarter. Number of punts in the first half. Who wins the coin toss.
The winner gets 1 month free AOL service, or a free Whopper..maybe even a signed picture of Janet Jackson. But you have to provide an incentive.
There are endless contests, bets you can make to have a great interactive text messaging campaign. What HAS to happen is for the user to get something for his .50.
Make the texting free for the game just to get people accustomed to using the SMS process. It will be a great investment.
Here's ANOTHER example of how mobile marketing could get started in the US but the marketing guys fail to consider the end users wishes. I hope this isn't a sign of how they will treat the user once they do get permission.
Yahoo's Local Search..Doesn't Make Sense
From Industry Standard Yahoo links local search with mobile phones.
I guess I dont get it. Or I dont get why you would Yahoo instead of Google. The whole point of mobility is being mobile isnt it?
Yahoo Inc. on Thursday rolled out a new feature in its local search service that lets users send results from their PCs to mobile phones, the company said. At Yahoo Local, which is a directory of business listings, users can search for restaurants in Denver, Colorado, or for dentists in Philadelphia. Now, they can send Yahoo Local results as a text message to their mobile phones directly from their PCs by clicking on a new "send to phone" button that accompanies every listing.
You can see for yourself Yahoo local.
But I would rather send a text to 46645 "GOOGL" and get the same results immediately. This defeats the spontaneity.
With 46645 "GOOGL", I can check prices of goods by inputting a barcode number on a product.
So I guess I dont see the value in Yahoo's new local service.
I guess I dont get it. Or I dont get why you would Yahoo instead of Google. The whole point of mobility is being mobile isnt it?
Yahoo Inc. on Thursday rolled out a new feature in its local search service that lets users send results from their PCs to mobile phones, the company said. At Yahoo Local, which is a directory of business listings, users can search for restaurants in Denver, Colorado, or for dentists in Philadelphia. Now, they can send Yahoo Local results as a text message to their mobile phones directly from their PCs by clicking on a new "send to phone" button that accompanies every listing.
You can see for yourself Yahoo local.
But I would rather send a text to 46645 "GOOGL" and get the same results immediately. This defeats the spontaneity.
With 46645 "GOOGL", I can check prices of goods by inputting a barcode number on a product.
So I guess I dont see the value in Yahoo's new local service.
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