From MediaPost Media companies gear up for wireless ads.
Two advertising firms recently announced their entrance into the mobile device advertising fray, possibly signaling major growth in that sector as a venue for reaching consumers.
On Friday, Laguna Hills, Calif.-based Interchange Corporation launched its new SMS Local wireless search beta, which lets consumers search for products and services via wireless Internet and returns names of nearby businesses. And Rye, N.Y.-based Lake Group Media announced late last month a partnership with the SMS Media Group to send sponsorship ads to cell phone subscribers who have opted-in to receive alerts on their mobile phones.
Publishers are also increasingly making their content available for mobile Web browsers, Burgess said. "Household names in entertainment, sports, business, are in the process of putting out their mobile content," said Burgess, whose publishing clients include USA Today, MSN, and Weatherbug. "And those are the key categories that advertisers are seeking
Interchange's beta SMS Local service works nationwide with any SMS-enabled mobile phone or device. It allows customers to send search terms to 56225 ("local" on most phones), and messages them with nearby merchants or service providers. SMS Local is powered by Interchange's proprietary Keyword DNA system, which has indexed 10 million businesses nationwide. For the beta, all businesses are included in the listings. When the product goes live, businesses will be able to purchase paid listings that will be displayed first.
Do you see how Google is becoming a non-event in the mobile world?
Monday, January 17, 2005
Hot Technology For 2005
From Vnunet.com Hot technology for 2005.
One of the things that makes writing about technology so interesting for us at Computeractive is the rate at which it changes. Today's cutting-edge device is often tomorrow's commodity item.
Many of the devices we take for granted today, such as handheld computers, digital cameras and colour printers, were once in the realm of science fiction. Indeed, many owe their presence in your pocket to advances made to further medicine and interstellar research
Anna Lagerkvist: Barcode scanners
How many times have you seen a poster advertising an event and wanted more information about it? This ability could soon be in the palm of your hand as emerging mobile phone camera technology makes it possible to access data by scanning a barcode.
The barcodes could be printed at the entrance to a place of interest, or on posters advertising an event. After you scanned the barcode with your camera phone, the data would be transmitted using the phone network to be interpreted. Information about the place or event would then be sent back to your phone within seconds.
Information would always be up to date, unlike posters, which are yesterday's news as soon as they leave the printing press. The codes could also give special offers to customers of specific phone networks. The immediacy of this technology opens many doors of opportunity for consumers.
BT has already shown interest in the technology and we could see the first services emerging in 2005. We may never have to root around for a pen and paper to write down the contact details for an event again.
One of the things that makes writing about technology so interesting for us at Computeractive is the rate at which it changes. Today's cutting-edge device is often tomorrow's commodity item.
Many of the devices we take for granted today, such as handheld computers, digital cameras and colour printers, were once in the realm of science fiction. Indeed, many owe their presence in your pocket to advances made to further medicine and interstellar research
Anna Lagerkvist: Barcode scanners
How many times have you seen a poster advertising an event and wanted more information about it? This ability could soon be in the palm of your hand as emerging mobile phone camera technology makes it possible to access data by scanning a barcode.
The barcodes could be printed at the entrance to a place of interest, or on posters advertising an event. After you scanned the barcode with your camera phone, the data would be transmitted using the phone network to be interpreted. Information about the place or event would then be sent back to your phone within seconds.
Information would always be up to date, unlike posters, which are yesterday's news as soon as they leave the printing press. The codes could also give special offers to customers of specific phone networks. The immediacy of this technology opens many doors of opportunity for consumers.
BT has already shown interest in the technology and we could see the first services emerging in 2005. We may never have to root around for a pen and paper to write down the contact details for an event again.
Friday, January 14, 2005
$50k A Month For Paid Search?
From Internet Retailer Hundreds of retailers spend $50k plus a month on paid search.
Paid search just keeps getting more popular with online marketers. Approximately 350 to 500 U.S. retailers are now each spending $50,000 or more per month on pay-per-click, paid-search programs, in keyword campaigns that represent anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 words each, estimates search engine marketing provider Efficient Frontier Inc.
I wonder how much each retailer pays for THEIR OWN NAME as a keyword.
There has to be a better way of reaching your target audience than by guessing what words he/she will type into a search engine to find you.
I think the advertising industry is getting lazy. Instead of creating a concept, or using new technologies to reach consumers, they are relying on algorithms and the "throw enough crap on the wall and see what sticks" method.
Paid search just keeps getting more popular with online marketers. Approximately 350 to 500 U.S. retailers are now each spending $50,000 or more per month on pay-per-click, paid-search programs, in keyword campaigns that represent anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 words each, estimates search engine marketing provider Efficient Frontier Inc.
I wonder how much each retailer pays for THEIR OWN NAME as a keyword.
There has to be a better way of reaching your target audience than by guessing what words he/she will type into a search engine to find you.
I think the advertising industry is getting lazy. Instead of creating a concept, or using new technologies to reach consumers, they are relying on algorithms and the "throw enough crap on the wall and see what sticks" method.
The Other Way Around..
Lately Ive been reading about search engines and SE marketing cos looking to buy ad agencies to enhance their business but I wondered (until now) if there were any ad agencies that wanted to buy (or own) a search engine/SE marketing co.
From NetImperative WPP rebrands search marketing division.
AdvancePostions.com, the search engine marketing firm owned by advertising giant WPP, has rebranded as mSearch.
The firm say it is able to offer search marketing services for both multinational brands and clients in local markets.
Its services will range from pay-per-click management and bid management to natural search optimisation, as well as offering an SEM consultancy service for its clients.
mSearch will inherit the client portfolio of its previous brand, including IBM, Ford, Sony, Cahoot and Abbey, and will work across 47 countries.
Richard Collins, worldwide CEO of mSearch said: "AdvancePositions.com was a dotcom brand, and we felt it didn't encapsulate the global reach of our specialist SEM business. In recent months there has been a definite consolidation and globalisation of the market, and mSearch is ideally placed to take leadership."
AdvancePositions was founded in the UK in 1998 and was acquired by WPP in February 2000 to form part of OglivyOne. In July 2003, the interactive divisions of Mindshare and OglivyOne combined to become mOne.
mSearch now becomes mOne's specialist search marketing division. Mike Chowney, former MD of AdvancePositions.com, has been appointed head of international at mSearch, and will oversee the company's global expansion and re-branding strategy.
The company has partnerships with software vendors and major search engines, which include Google, Yahoo!, Overture and Espotting.
Never thought of it from this angle. I guess I figured the valuations would be out of wack to buy one. Let me know if I'm off base on this.
From NetImperative WPP rebrands search marketing division.
AdvancePostions.com, the search engine marketing firm owned by advertising giant WPP, has rebranded as mSearch.
The firm say it is able to offer search marketing services for both multinational brands and clients in local markets.
Its services will range from pay-per-click management and bid management to natural search optimisation, as well as offering an SEM consultancy service for its clients.
mSearch will inherit the client portfolio of its previous brand, including IBM, Ford, Sony, Cahoot and Abbey, and will work across 47 countries.
Richard Collins, worldwide CEO of mSearch said: "AdvancePositions.com was a dotcom brand, and we felt it didn't encapsulate the global reach of our specialist SEM business. In recent months there has been a definite consolidation and globalisation of the market, and mSearch is ideally placed to take leadership."
AdvancePositions was founded in the UK in 1998 and was acquired by WPP in February 2000 to form part of OglivyOne. In July 2003, the interactive divisions of Mindshare and OglivyOne combined to become mOne.
mSearch now becomes mOne's specialist search marketing division. Mike Chowney, former MD of AdvancePositions.com, has been appointed head of international at mSearch, and will oversee the company's global expansion and re-branding strategy.
The company has partnerships with software vendors and major search engines, which include Google, Yahoo!, Overture and Espotting.
Never thought of it from this angle. I guess I figured the valuations would be out of wack to buy one. Let me know if I'm off base on this.
Hypertag Takes Mobile, Mobile
From NetImperative Field marketers armed with electronic tags.
Hypertag seems to be making progress in combining the mobility of a phone with identifiers linking to a website, or info.
Mobile marketing company Hypertag has launched a wearable version of the infra-red and bluetooth tags previously used in interactive poster advertising.
The wearable Hypertags will be aimed at field marketers, enabling them to send content direct to consumer's mobile phones from a fully portable interactive tag.
Hypertags are short-range wireless devices, which send information to mobile phones via infra-red or Bluetooth. A user can activate the infra-red or Bluetooth on their phone, hold it up to the Hypertag and receives content such as vouchers, business cards, ringtones or games.
Because Hypertags use short-range wireless technologies, rather than SMS, interactions are free to both brand and consumer.
That should be incentive enough for implementation.
The firm claims the product “open a new communication route between brands and their customers”. For example, brands could send promotional vouchers direct to phones or could distribute the details of a web-based competition.
"Mobile phones are the communication device of choice for a wide demographic and by incorporating them into field marketing communications brands can talk to their consumers in a way that is relevant to them," Harker added.
Dynamic, one-on-one, and anywhere, and inexpensive...the advertisers dream.
Hypertag seems to be making progress in combining the mobility of a phone with identifiers linking to a website, or info.
Mobile marketing company Hypertag has launched a wearable version of the infra-red and bluetooth tags previously used in interactive poster advertising.
The wearable Hypertags will be aimed at field marketers, enabling them to send content direct to consumer's mobile phones from a fully portable interactive tag.
Hypertags are short-range wireless devices, which send information to mobile phones via infra-red or Bluetooth. A user can activate the infra-red or Bluetooth on their phone, hold it up to the Hypertag and receives content such as vouchers, business cards, ringtones or games.
Because Hypertags use short-range wireless technologies, rather than SMS, interactions are free to both brand and consumer.
That should be incentive enough for implementation.
The firm claims the product “open a new communication route between brands and their customers”. For example, brands could send promotional vouchers direct to phones or could distribute the details of a web-based competition.
"Mobile phones are the communication device of choice for a wide demographic and by incorporating them into field marketing communications brands can talk to their consumers in a way that is relevant to them," Harker added.
Dynamic, one-on-one, and anywhere, and inexpensive...the advertisers dream.
VC's Look Into Crystal Ball..What Do They See?...
From Moco News.
Six experts look into crystal ball for 2005.
Steve Arnold, Polaris Venture Partners, Seattle, 54 years old
Favorite sectors: Wireless content and infrastructure, including radio frequency identification (RFID). Internet content and commerce applications, including blogging and multiplayer games.
Comeback company of 2005: Motorola. "I know people have downplayed them a little bit, but I think their new focus on integrated consumer applications and new devices is an indication that they are thinking about things in a good way."
Dying company of 2005: Apple.
Greg Gottesman, Madrona Venture Group, Seattle, 35 years old
Favorite sectors: Mobile applications, data integration and voice/video over IP networks.
Comeback companies of 2005: aQuantive. "I think online advertising will continue to be a compelling, growing market." Krispy Kreme: "The doughnuts are just too good. And I think there will be a backlash against Atkins."
Dying company of 2005: "All of the regional Bells. They are not well positioned for the future."
Len Jordan, Frazier Technology Ventures, Seattle, 38 years old
Favorite sectors: Consumer home control, digital media and computing appliances; Ultra-microcomputing; Voice-over IP infrastructure.
Comeback companies of 2005: Intel, HP and Nokia.
Dying company of 2005: Large enterprise software companies. "The gravy train for big software companies is rapidly slowing down."
Bill McAleer, Voyager Capital, Seattle, 53 years old
Favorite sectors: Digital media and wireless applications.
Comeback company of 2005: Watchguard Technologies.
Jonathan Roberts, Ignition Partners, Bellevue, 41 years old
Favorite sectors: Hosted services and business intelligence.
Dying company of 2005: Siebel Systems. "Siebel comes to mind as a company who lost site of providing customer value and are now working hard to regain that focus."
Melissa Widner, SeaPoint Ventures, Bellevue, 37 years old
Favorite sectors: Wireless applications and security software.
Comeback companies of 2005: Wireless data companies. "We are really going to see them take off this year."
Dying companies of 2005: Wireline phone carriers. "We are seeing more and more people getting rid of their land lines at home and going exclusively to their mobile phones. I really don't know what wireline companies are going to do."
Wireless applications and mobile content seem to be the ones to watch..
Six experts look into crystal ball for 2005.
Steve Arnold, Polaris Venture Partners, Seattle, 54 years old
Favorite sectors: Wireless content and infrastructure, including radio frequency identification (RFID). Internet content and commerce applications, including blogging and multiplayer games.
Comeback company of 2005: Motorola. "I know people have downplayed them a little bit, but I think their new focus on integrated consumer applications and new devices is an indication that they are thinking about things in a good way."
Dying company of 2005: Apple.
Greg Gottesman, Madrona Venture Group, Seattle, 35 years old
Favorite sectors: Mobile applications, data integration and voice/video over IP networks.
Comeback companies of 2005: aQuantive. "I think online advertising will continue to be a compelling, growing market." Krispy Kreme: "The doughnuts are just too good. And I think there will be a backlash against Atkins."
Dying company of 2005: "All of the regional Bells. They are not well positioned for the future."
Len Jordan, Frazier Technology Ventures, Seattle, 38 years old
Favorite sectors: Consumer home control, digital media and computing appliances; Ultra-microcomputing; Voice-over IP infrastructure.
Comeback companies of 2005: Intel, HP and Nokia.
Dying company of 2005: Large enterprise software companies. "The gravy train for big software companies is rapidly slowing down."
Bill McAleer, Voyager Capital, Seattle, 53 years old
Favorite sectors: Digital media and wireless applications.
Comeback company of 2005: Watchguard Technologies.
Jonathan Roberts, Ignition Partners, Bellevue, 41 years old
Favorite sectors: Hosted services and business intelligence.
Dying company of 2005: Siebel Systems. "Siebel comes to mind as a company who lost site of providing customer value and are now working hard to regain that focus."
Melissa Widner, SeaPoint Ventures, Bellevue, 37 years old
Favorite sectors: Wireless applications and security software.
Comeback companies of 2005: Wireless data companies. "We are really going to see them take off this year."
Dying companies of 2005: Wireline phone carriers. "We are seeing more and more people getting rid of their land lines at home and going exclusively to their mobile phones. I really don't know what wireline companies are going to do."
Wireless applications and mobile content seem to be the ones to watch..
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Dont Tell Me, Let Me Guess It
From Trendwatching .com Ready-To-Know and music.
Consumers who hear an unknown song while hanging out in the pub, listening to the radio or sitting in a restaurant, only need call 2580, point their phone to the music source, and London-based Shazam will then send a text message (SMS) reply with the name of the artist and the track.
Shazam is currently active/available in 12 countries around the world. Besides the UK, its home market, Shazam works with MusicFinder in Germany and Austria, and with a host of other partners in Poland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Shazam's mobile user base in the UK counts nearly 600,000 people (the company serves 1 million customers worldwide), who are charged 9p per call and 50p (USD 0.95 / EUR 0.75) per successful tag.
In the US, a similar technology has been developed by Gracenote, in conjunction with Philips Research. The service is called Mobile MusicID, and comes with an impressive database of over 7 million 'waveform fingerprints', growing by 25,000+ each week. The MusicID technology is used by MusicPhone in the US (available on AT&T Wireless, now Cingular). KTF, Korea's largest mobile carrier, launched Gracenote's MusicID in September 2004. Gracenote also has partnerships in Spain, Portugal and The Netherlands, with Japan and Mexico going 'live' soon.
Consumers who hear an unknown song while hanging out in the pub, listening to the radio or sitting in a restaurant, only need call 2580, point their phone to the music source, and London-based Shazam will then send a text message (SMS) reply with the name of the artist and the track.
Shazam is currently active/available in 12 countries around the world. Besides the UK, its home market, Shazam works with MusicFinder in Germany and Austria, and with a host of other partners in Poland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Shazam's mobile user base in the UK counts nearly 600,000 people (the company serves 1 million customers worldwide), who are charged 9p per call and 50p (USD 0.95 / EUR 0.75) per successful tag.
In the US, a similar technology has been developed by Gracenote, in conjunction with Philips Research. The service is called Mobile MusicID, and comes with an impressive database of over 7 million 'waveform fingerprints', growing by 25,000+ each week. The MusicID technology is used by MusicPhone in the US (available on AT&T Wireless, now Cingular). KTF, Korea's largest mobile carrier, launched Gracenote's MusicID in September 2004. Gracenote also has partnerships in Spain, Portugal and The Netherlands, with Japan and Mexico going 'live' soon.
A Convergence Of Sorts
A universal SMS platform for PC's and mobiles?
From TMCnet.com SMS@ctive Technologies announces SMS T-Bar beta test.
VANCOUVER, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mr. Arshad Shah, President and CEO of SMS@ctive Technologies Corp. is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully completed its Beta tests on its latest mobile instant messaging product, the "SMS T-Bar".
The SMS T-Bar is SMS@ctive's newest mobile instant messaging product. It is based on SMS@ctive's patent pending enterprise solution labeled the "Communication Bar" and the Jabber Open Source Instant Messaging Platform.
Short message service (SMS) is a globally accepted wireless service that enables the transmission of alphanumeric messages between mobile subscribers and external systems such as electronic mail, paging, and voice-mail systems. The primary benefits of SMS for subscribers center around convenience, flexibility, and seamless integration of messaging services and data access. The most notable benefit is the ability to use the handset as an extension of the computer
The SMS T-Bar will provide PC users with the ability to send SMS messages from the Microsoft Internet Explorer's menu bar to wireless users anywhere in the world and receive replies directly from the receiving wireless device. The reply will come back directly to the Microsoft Internet Explorer on the PC's desktop. This new SMS messaging platform is scalable to support virtually unlimited numbers of messages on a daily basis.
Arshad Shah, stated "The Company's marketing and sales team have started to introduce the product with the successful testing of the SMS T-Bar. We will now begin to aggressively market the SMS T-Bar in People's Republic of China and North America.
From TMCnet.com SMS@ctive Technologies announces SMS T-Bar beta test.
VANCOUVER, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mr. Arshad Shah, President and CEO of SMS@ctive Technologies Corp. is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully completed its Beta tests on its latest mobile instant messaging product, the "SMS T-Bar".
The SMS T-Bar is SMS@ctive's newest mobile instant messaging product. It is based on SMS@ctive's patent pending enterprise solution labeled the "Communication Bar" and the Jabber Open Source Instant Messaging Platform.
Short message service (SMS) is a globally accepted wireless service that enables the transmission of alphanumeric messages between mobile subscribers and external systems such as electronic mail, paging, and voice-mail systems. The primary benefits of SMS for subscribers center around convenience, flexibility, and seamless integration of messaging services and data access. The most notable benefit is the ability to use the handset as an extension of the computer
The SMS T-Bar will provide PC users with the ability to send SMS messages from the Microsoft Internet Explorer's menu bar to wireless users anywhere in the world and receive replies directly from the receiving wireless device. The reply will come back directly to the Microsoft Internet Explorer on the PC's desktop. This new SMS messaging platform is scalable to support virtually unlimited numbers of messages on a daily basis.
Arshad Shah, stated "The Company's marketing and sales team have started to introduce the product with the successful testing of the SMS T-Bar. We will now begin to aggressively market the SMS T-Bar in People's Republic of China and North America.
M-Commerce Coming..Qpass Shows
From Moco News Qpass customers pass $30m in monthly revenue. .
SEATTLE, Jan. 12, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Qpass(r), the proven and preferred provider of mobile commerce software, announced today the achievement of another major industry and company milestone. During the last month, Qpass customers collectively achieved more than $30 million of premium services revenue through Qpass' Prosperity Series(tm) software. These customers have processed more than 100 million transactions to date using Qpass software.
"We continue to see strong demand from our customers for these types of premium services," said Chase Franklin, Qpass CEO. "This milestone of more than $30 million per month represents significant momentum in our business. The premium services revenue our customers are achieving through Qpass software has grown more than 60 percent in the last 90 days and is solid evidence of accelerating expansion in mobile commerce."
Qpass gives operators control over their mobile commerce business and enables them to offer any type of premium service across any type of network using multiple payment methods. Mobile operators using Qpass' software are on track to exceed $1 billion in aggregate revenue from premium services in 2005, with an average growth rate of 60 percent compound quarterly growth rate over the last year.
SEATTLE, Jan. 12, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Qpass(r), the proven and preferred provider of mobile commerce software, announced today the achievement of another major industry and company milestone. During the last month, Qpass customers collectively achieved more than $30 million of premium services revenue through Qpass' Prosperity Series(tm) software. These customers have processed more than 100 million transactions to date using Qpass software.
"We continue to see strong demand from our customers for these types of premium services," said Chase Franklin, Qpass CEO. "This milestone of more than $30 million per month represents significant momentum in our business. The premium services revenue our customers are achieving through Qpass software has grown more than 60 percent in the last 90 days and is solid evidence of accelerating expansion in mobile commerce."
Qpass gives operators control over their mobile commerce business and enables them to offer any type of premium service across any type of network using multiple payment methods. Mobile operators using Qpass' software are on track to exceed $1 billion in aggregate revenue from premium services in 2005, with an average growth rate of 60 percent compound quarterly growth rate over the last year.
Physical Hyperlinking The World
Good thoughts.
From The Feature Hyperlinking the World.
While most of us snap silly candids with our cameraphones, computer vision researcher Hartmut Neven is leveraging the ubiquity of digital cameras to google the world.
A physical world Google?
I state what a world with physical world hyperlinks would look like here.
For computer vision researcher Hartmut Neven, the proliferation of cameraphones is an opportunity to put his life's work into every consumer's pocket. Neven, the head of the Laboratory for Human-Machine Interfaces at the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute, has developed image-recognition software optimized for mobile phone microprocessors. His technology, sold through start-up Neven Vision, already powers gimmicky MMS services from Vodafone Japan and NTT DoCoMo that automatically overlay special effects like tears or a halo on cameraphone video images.
Neven's eyes are on the future though. His long-term goal is to bring biometrics to the mobile masses and hyperlink the world through a system best described as "a visual Google."
Neven: You take a picture of something, send it to our servers, and we either provide you with more information or link you to the place that will.
I would think the size of that database would be infinite. Why not start with "pictures" that are already in a database? "Pictures" of images that are already considered universal. These can be words, numbers..etc.
Let's say you're standing in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. You take a snapshot with your cameraphone and instantly receive an audio-visual narrative about the painting. Then you step out of the Louvre and see a cafe. Should you go in? Take a shot from the other side of the street and a restaurant guide will appear on your phone. You sit down inside, but perhaps your French is a little rusty. You take a picture of the menu and a dictionary comes up to translate.
There is a huge variety of people in these kinds of situations, from stamp collectors, to people who want to check their skin melanoma, to police officers who need to identify the person in front of them.
TheFeature: But how do you seed such a massive database of objects?
Neven: The key is to start with well-defined segments where the cost and effort of building the database is not that large.
The analogy I would use is a library. You dont go into a library and ask for a book on bugs by author Joe Smith and expect the librarian to find it by scanning all of books in the library. The librarian looks up either the title or author in a database that is universal amongst all libraries. That way the search is quicker and will provide the same results to all.
Another example the phone number. There are thousands of people with the phone number 342-8363, but by adding a prefix of 212, then the country code 1 you have identified the one person in the world with that number. Just apply the same principle to images.
A nice rollout example would be a movie guide. If you see a billboard of a movie on a bus, you take a shot of it and then are routed to a relevant site where you can download a trailer or get show times. All we would need are images of a couple hundred billboards. The same is true with the Louvre example, where a collection of images already exists.
Instead of putting couple hundred billboard images in a database, the data is already on those billboards. Its the words or a UPC code. Soon an rfid tag will put on all of these items and you wont even have to take a picture, just wave your phone near it for identification.
The variable you have to consider, and its a biggie, is the distance from the image the cameraphone takes the picture. That in itself will create many versions of the same thing...an endless database for just one image. Lighting conditions, pixels, weather consitions are others.
Neven: Mobile advertising is a natural place to start this and get the kinks out. You could take a picture of the new BMW and automatically be entered into a sweepstakes. An advertising campaign would create awareness about this technology so people would learn how to use it.
Don't you think BMW would like to know you have interest in their prodcut and be willing to pay for this info too? BMW could directly market to you now. Efficient, dynamic, one-on-one marketing.
IN some ways,it's already being done. Corvette just introduced a way for people to get the new Z06 model pictures to text a number and get images sent back to them.
My thinking is to keep it simple to gain acceptability. I agree though that a server that can resolve images of any kind will be huge going forward.
From The Feature Hyperlinking the World.
While most of us snap silly candids with our cameraphones, computer vision researcher Hartmut Neven is leveraging the ubiquity of digital cameras to google the world.
A physical world Google?
I state what a world with physical world hyperlinks would look like here.
For computer vision researcher Hartmut Neven, the proliferation of cameraphones is an opportunity to put his life's work into every consumer's pocket. Neven, the head of the Laboratory for Human-Machine Interfaces at the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute, has developed image-recognition software optimized for mobile phone microprocessors. His technology, sold through start-up Neven Vision, already powers gimmicky MMS services from Vodafone Japan and NTT DoCoMo that automatically overlay special effects like tears or a halo on cameraphone video images.
Neven's eyes are on the future though. His long-term goal is to bring biometrics to the mobile masses and hyperlink the world through a system best described as "a visual Google."
Neven: You take a picture of something, send it to our servers, and we either provide you with more information or link you to the place that will.
I would think the size of that database would be infinite. Why not start with "pictures" that are already in a database? "Pictures" of images that are already considered universal. These can be words, numbers..etc.
Let's say you're standing in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. You take a snapshot with your cameraphone and instantly receive an audio-visual narrative about the painting. Then you step out of the Louvre and see a cafe. Should you go in? Take a shot from the other side of the street and a restaurant guide will appear on your phone. You sit down inside, but perhaps your French is a little rusty. You take a picture of the menu and a dictionary comes up to translate.
There is a huge variety of people in these kinds of situations, from stamp collectors, to people who want to check their skin melanoma, to police officers who need to identify the person in front of them.
TheFeature: But how do you seed such a massive database of objects?
Neven: The key is to start with well-defined segments where the cost and effort of building the database is not that large.
The analogy I would use is a library. You dont go into a library and ask for a book on bugs by author Joe Smith and expect the librarian to find it by scanning all of books in the library. The librarian looks up either the title or author in a database that is universal amongst all libraries. That way the search is quicker and will provide the same results to all.
Another example the phone number. There are thousands of people with the phone number 342-8363, but by adding a prefix of 212, then the country code 1 you have identified the one person in the world with that number. Just apply the same principle to images.
A nice rollout example would be a movie guide. If you see a billboard of a movie on a bus, you take a shot of it and then are routed to a relevant site where you can download a trailer or get show times. All we would need are images of a couple hundred billboards. The same is true with the Louvre example, where a collection of images already exists.
Instead of putting couple hundred billboard images in a database, the data is already on those billboards. Its the words or a UPC code. Soon an rfid tag will put on all of these items and you wont even have to take a picture, just wave your phone near it for identification.
The variable you have to consider, and its a biggie, is the distance from the image the cameraphone takes the picture. That in itself will create many versions of the same thing...an endless database for just one image. Lighting conditions, pixels, weather consitions are others.
Neven: Mobile advertising is a natural place to start this and get the kinks out. You could take a picture of the new BMW and automatically be entered into a sweepstakes. An advertising campaign would create awareness about this technology so people would learn how to use it.
Don't you think BMW would like to know you have interest in their prodcut and be willing to pay for this info too? BMW could directly market to you now. Efficient, dynamic, one-on-one marketing.
IN some ways,it's already being done. Corvette just introduced a way for people to get the new Z06 model pictures to text a number and get images sent back to them.
My thinking is to keep it simple to gain acceptability. I agree though that a server that can resolve images of any kind will be huge going forward.
The News Knows
From Revolution MAgazine.com Sun goes for youth vote with Page 3 girls for mobiles.
LONDON – News International has launched Sun Mobile selling Sun-branded content for mobile phones, including Page 3 screen savers, games and ringtones.
Sun Mobile will be accessible to users in more than 130 countries, due to News International's partnership with Bango, which manages content delivery and payment. Around half the traffic for The Sun online comes from the US and Canada. Simon Ashley, commercial manager at News Group Digital, said: "It is vitally important that The Sun has a strong presence in all media whether it be print, web or mobile."
According to Ashley, the launch will allow News International to develop a new revenue stream, as well as The Sun's awareness within the youth market. "It's an important step as it allows us to develop a totally new revenue stream, as well as develop the Sun's brand awareness within the youth market, who are comfortable with accessing us via new media," he said. The Sun also has a mobile presence through mobile operators' portals, Vodafone Live! and Orange World.
To see what a Page 3 girl looks like, click here.
I couldnt resist...
LONDON – News International has launched Sun Mobile selling Sun-branded content for mobile phones, including Page 3 screen savers, games and ringtones.
Sun Mobile will be accessible to users in more than 130 countries, due to News International's partnership with Bango, which manages content delivery and payment. Around half the traffic for The Sun online comes from the US and Canada. Simon Ashley, commercial manager at News Group Digital, said: "It is vitally important that The Sun has a strong presence in all media whether it be print, web or mobile."
According to Ashley, the launch will allow News International to develop a new revenue stream, as well as The Sun's awareness within the youth market. "It's an important step as it allows us to develop a totally new revenue stream, as well as develop the Sun's brand awareness within the youth market, who are comfortable with accessing us via new media," he said. The Sun also has a mobile presence through mobile operators' portals, Vodafone Live! and Orange World.
To see what a Page 3 girl looks like, click here.
I couldnt resist...
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
RFID Is A Coming
From C/Net News RFID revenues on upswing.
Global revenue from radio frequency identification tags is poised to grow from $300 million in 2004 to $2.8 billion in 2009, according to a study released Wednesday by market research agency In-Stat.
RFID technology will appear in many industries over the next few years, helping businesses improve process efficiencies, In-Stat said. RFID tags can transmit product information such as origin, time of purchase and expiration date.
Verisign will manage the directory for looking up EPC numbers on the Internet. My question is how will they do this. What will be the device or method. It's not like you can visually see the unique identifer to "tpe it in" to a browser. The key to the RFID supply chain is being able to read the tag anywhere, with any device, in any part of the chain
Ranging in price from about 15 cents to as high as $100, In-Stat said, the tags can help companies manage their supply chains and inventories while reducing thefts and saving labor costs.
RFID tags can be thought of as bar codes on steroids. They contain a tiny transponder that, when it comes within distance of a reader, transmits its unique identifier, which can be matched to a database. EPCglobal envisions a unique EPC stored in an RFID tag attached to every item in a supply chain.
So it all boils down to transmitting the unique identifier from a universal database.
Global revenue from radio frequency identification tags is poised to grow from $300 million in 2004 to $2.8 billion in 2009, according to a study released Wednesday by market research agency In-Stat.
RFID technology will appear in many industries over the next few years, helping businesses improve process efficiencies, In-Stat said. RFID tags can transmit product information such as origin, time of purchase and expiration date.
Verisign will manage the directory for looking up EPC numbers on the Internet. My question is how will they do this. What will be the device or method. It's not like you can visually see the unique identifer to "tpe it in" to a browser. The key to the RFID supply chain is being able to read the tag anywhere, with any device, in any part of the chain
Ranging in price from about 15 cents to as high as $100, In-Stat said, the tags can help companies manage their supply chains and inventories while reducing thefts and saving labor costs.
RFID tags can be thought of as bar codes on steroids. They contain a tiny transponder that, when it comes within distance of a reader, transmits its unique identifier, which can be matched to a database. EPCglobal envisions a unique EPC stored in an RFID tag attached to every item in a supply chain.
So it all boils down to transmitting the unique identifier from a universal database.
Hypertag Uses A Physical World Hyperlink
From Publishing News Online Macmillan Children's goes high-tech.
CLAIMING AN INDUSTRY first, Macmillan Children’s Books is launching an interactive poster campaign for Teen Idol, the new Meg Cabot title. Running from 3-16 January, this innovative promotion, which was planned by Total Media, uses ‘mobile marketing technology’ devised by Hypertag to get the market – in this case 10-14 year olds – to interact with outdoor advertising using their mobile phones.
Six-sheet bus shelter posters, all situated in heavy footfall areas of town centres, will be fitted with infrared Hypertag units which are designed to communicate with infrared-enabled mobiles; once activated, the poster can download vouchers that will instantly tell users if they’ve won prizes which include a shopping spree, lip balms and book samples, or simply give them a consolation Teen Idol screen saver.
This campaign sees us taking the next step in engaging this elusive audience through their mobiles – and the great thing with Hypertag is that the results are instantly rewarding, something teens all want
More info on Hypertag here.
Hypertag's vision is that every physical object will be tagged with a Hypertag that will act as a gateway to relevant information.
You say Hypertag I say physical world hyperlink,lets call the whole thing huge.
CLAIMING AN INDUSTRY first, Macmillan Children’s Books is launching an interactive poster campaign for Teen Idol, the new Meg Cabot title. Running from 3-16 January, this innovative promotion, which was planned by Total Media, uses ‘mobile marketing technology’ devised by Hypertag to get the market – in this case 10-14 year olds – to interact with outdoor advertising using their mobile phones.
Six-sheet bus shelter posters, all situated in heavy footfall areas of town centres, will be fitted with infrared Hypertag units which are designed to communicate with infrared-enabled mobiles; once activated, the poster can download vouchers that will instantly tell users if they’ve won prizes which include a shopping spree, lip balms and book samples, or simply give them a consolation Teen Idol screen saver.
This campaign sees us taking the next step in engaging this elusive audience through their mobiles – and the great thing with Hypertag is that the results are instantly rewarding, something teens all want
More info on Hypertag here.
Hypertag's vision is that every physical object will be tagged with a Hypertag that will act as a gateway to relevant information.
You say Hypertag I say physical world hyperlink,lets call the whole thing huge.
Here's How Microsoft Can Beat Google
How does MS leapfrog Google and dominate search and Phase 2?
Bill Gates had the vision to see every PC would need an operating system and elected to get a piece of every pc sold w/ DOS/windows. Let the Hardware guys decide what else to put on the pc and how to market it. He just wanted the platform that allows it.
Windows and IE was THE platform for the connection to electronic world. It was true visionary thinking and it took many years for the competition to catch up and offer alternatives. MS literally dominated Phase1, the connection of the electronic world.
Phase2 is the mobile PC (cell phone) and the physical world.
Phase 2 is coming and it will take some forward thinking to create the next OS that will be required on every computing device. Phase 2 will be 1000 times larger and more lucrative than Phase 1.
Phase 2 is connecting every physical item to the Internet. People want more, they want interaction, immediate response. Phase 2 will create more killer apps than Phase 1 because you have taken the internet outside the box and have a vast amount of items to search/link. Phase 2 takes the internet in 3-D and creates an infinitesimal amount of data to search/link. But the only way to connect these items is through a unique tollbooth (IP).
Every physical item WILL BE connected to the net. It will be done through a 2d code barcode, an RFID tag, a Zigbee chip, a word, a sound, a fingerprint, a magnetic strip, a phone number.
There is NO DOUBT that every one of these items WILL HAVE an internet address and will be part of numerous killer apps.
Today there are more mobile devices than PC’s connected to the Internet. The Internet is being used by mobile devices in a much different way than the PC. What does mobile mean. It means capable of moving.
The computing device is now portable and platforms on it must accommodate this feature. Search and functions WILL NOT be the same for the mobile as a PC. What the mobile device must do is offer ease of use, AND the ability to interact w/ the physical world.
Now here’s where Microsoft comes in. Will they, or Google ,Symbian or somebody else have the forward thinking to realize that the operating system that offers this, will be the DOS/Windows for Phase 2? Every computing device, not just PC’s WILL HAVE TO HAVE the ability to connect every physical item to the Internet.
How many websites are out there currently? What does Google claim their database size is? Well let’s just take 1 can of Coke. How many cans of Coke are out there? What happens when you “turn on” all of the 12 0z cans of Coke. Every can of Coke will be an interactive website. Do you think the Brand Manager of Coke 12 oz will pay $1000.00 to “turn on” every can of 12 oz Coke in the world? Do you think that gives him endless dynamic marketing opportunities? Do you think a good portion of the $1.4T spent on advertising worldwide will be spent just on turning these physical items?
That will give you a little taste of how enormous the database will be when the physical world gets connected to the Internet. But in order to connect these cans of Coke, you MUST have these cans “turned on”
Phase 2 is different than Phase 1 in many ways. Phase 1 involves surfing the net, sending email, instant messaging. Phase 1 is the communication of computing devices through the Internet. Phase 2 adds an exponential factor. Now take EVERY PHYSICAL ITEM and connect it to the Internet and all of these computing devices. The Internet will now multiply exponentially. The growth curve of data and applications will be hockey stick like.
Who wants to get paid for EVERY DEVICE that will allow this growth to occur?
Who wants to collect the tolls for the traffic that this generates?
This “turn on” IP will be required for the Phase 2 OS . But lets not call it an operating system. Operating system implies software for a specific device, either PC or mobile. That is too narrow. Instead let’s call it a platform. This platform will be necessary for EVERY computing device (PC and Mobile) to connect to this world. This platform is truly a “killer” platform in that EVERY computing device will need it to connect to the physical world. AND it will create ENORMOUS killer apps from it.
How much is this worth? How much do companies spend on buying keywords?
If you can imagine that now EVERY physical item will be connected to the Internet, and then figure the connection must run through a unique “server tollbooth”.
How much is it worth to Microsoft or a Google to have the power to turn on EVERY PHYSICAL item in the world.
It’s not a question of IF now, it’s a question of WHEN every physical item in the world will be connected to the Internet.
Think of the endless applications that will be generated once they are turned on.
Microsoft can go from being attacked from every angle. (Linux, Google, Mozilla) and losing market share in the old Net to completely dominating the next phase of the Internet (Phase 2) which will be infinitesimally larger and create an exponential amount of business applications.
Who wants to have the OS/Windows for Phase 2 of the Internet? Will Bill Gates see this again or will the Brin/Page team discover it?
Hey Bill you have the money to make it happen. What are you waiting for?
Bill Gates had the vision to see every PC would need an operating system and elected to get a piece of every pc sold w/ DOS/windows. Let the Hardware guys decide what else to put on the pc and how to market it. He just wanted the platform that allows it.
Windows and IE was THE platform for the connection to electronic world. It was true visionary thinking and it took many years for the competition to catch up and offer alternatives. MS literally dominated Phase1, the connection of the electronic world.
Phase2 is the mobile PC (cell phone) and the physical world.
Phase 2 is coming and it will take some forward thinking to create the next OS that will be required on every computing device. Phase 2 will be 1000 times larger and more lucrative than Phase 1.
Phase 2 is connecting every physical item to the Internet. People want more, they want interaction, immediate response. Phase 2 will create more killer apps than Phase 1 because you have taken the internet outside the box and have a vast amount of items to search/link. Phase 2 takes the internet in 3-D and creates an infinitesimal amount of data to search/link. But the only way to connect these items is through a unique tollbooth (IP).
Every physical item WILL BE connected to the net. It will be done through a 2d code barcode, an RFID tag, a Zigbee chip, a word, a sound, a fingerprint, a magnetic strip, a phone number.
There is NO DOUBT that every one of these items WILL HAVE an internet address and will be part of numerous killer apps.
Today there are more mobile devices than PC’s connected to the Internet. The Internet is being used by mobile devices in a much different way than the PC. What does mobile mean. It means capable of moving.
The computing device is now portable and platforms on it must accommodate this feature. Search and functions WILL NOT be the same for the mobile as a PC. What the mobile device must do is offer ease of use, AND the ability to interact w/ the physical world.
Now here’s where Microsoft comes in. Will they, or Google ,Symbian or somebody else have the forward thinking to realize that the operating system that offers this, will be the DOS/Windows for Phase 2? Every computing device, not just PC’s WILL HAVE TO HAVE the ability to connect every physical item to the Internet.
How many websites are out there currently? What does Google claim their database size is? Well let’s just take 1 can of Coke. How many cans of Coke are out there? What happens when you “turn on” all of the 12 0z cans of Coke. Every can of Coke will be an interactive website. Do you think the Brand Manager of Coke 12 oz will pay $1000.00 to “turn on” every can of 12 oz Coke in the world? Do you think that gives him endless dynamic marketing opportunities? Do you think a good portion of the $1.4T spent on advertising worldwide will be spent just on turning these physical items?
That will give you a little taste of how enormous the database will be when the physical world gets connected to the Internet. But in order to connect these cans of Coke, you MUST have these cans “turned on”
Phase 2 is different than Phase 1 in many ways. Phase 1 involves surfing the net, sending email, instant messaging. Phase 1 is the communication of computing devices through the Internet. Phase 2 adds an exponential factor. Now take EVERY PHYSICAL ITEM and connect it to the Internet and all of these computing devices. The Internet will now multiply exponentially. The growth curve of data and applications will be hockey stick like.
Who wants to get paid for EVERY DEVICE that will allow this growth to occur?
Who wants to collect the tolls for the traffic that this generates?
This “turn on” IP will be required for the Phase 2 OS . But lets not call it an operating system. Operating system implies software for a specific device, either PC or mobile. That is too narrow. Instead let’s call it a platform. This platform will be necessary for EVERY computing device (PC and Mobile) to connect to this world. This platform is truly a “killer” platform in that EVERY computing device will need it to connect to the physical world. AND it will create ENORMOUS killer apps from it.
How much is this worth? How much do companies spend on buying keywords?
If you can imagine that now EVERY physical item will be connected to the Internet, and then figure the connection must run through a unique “server tollbooth”.
How much is it worth to Microsoft or a Google to have the power to turn on EVERY PHYSICAL item in the world.
It’s not a question of IF now, it’s a question of WHEN every physical item in the world will be connected to the Internet.
Think of the endless applications that will be generated once they are turned on.
Microsoft can go from being attacked from every angle. (Linux, Google, Mozilla) and losing market share in the old Net to completely dominating the next phase of the Internet (Phase 2) which will be infinitesimally larger and create an exponential amount of business applications.
Who wants to have the OS/Windows for Phase 2 of the Internet? Will Bill Gates see this again or will the Brin/Page team discover it?
Hey Bill you have the money to make it happen. What are you waiting for?
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
MLS Going Mobile
I thought this was a great database application that is going mobile.
From mySan.de Int'l Mobile Listing Advantage (TM) Wireless MLS.
SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Retrieval Dynamics Corporation (RDC) today announced that its Mobile Listing Advantage(TM) (MLA) -- wireless Multiple Listing Service (MLS) access -- has been made available for use on select Motorola cell phones from Nextel on its guaranteed all-digital network. The award-winning technology offers Realtors(R) across the country access to MLS data anytime, anywhere on Nextel's network, with instant response to property queries.
With MLA, real estate professionals can search, receive and forward the most current MLS listings with their Nextel wireless cell phone or BlackBerry device anytime, anywhere. The program offers Realtors(R) a tremendous advantage in saving time and money, and being able to instantly respond to their clients needs.
Cathy Nguyen, a Broker Associate in Sarasota, Florida, has been using MLA for the past year. She says it has "changed her business, and her life," by freeing her from the office and allowing her to pick up new MLS information while out in the field with her clients.
"The cost savings in gas alone was well worth the small investment in my monthly subscription to MLA" she stated. "I already had the phone network expense and could easily upgrade my existing cell phone to the Motorola i860 camera phone from Nextel. This gave me a tremendous menu of new features. It has maximized my earlier investment and is helping me make more sales faster".
This is a great app for a realtor, but what about for the buyer? What if every For Sale sign had some identifier that could be clicked or texted and the info came to their cell phone? Then click again to speak to that realtor.
The Internet has changed the compensation model in almost every other profession. Should the real estate business be any different? A commodity is for sale with info from a central database.
From mySan.de Int'l Mobile Listing Advantage (TM) Wireless MLS.
SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Retrieval Dynamics Corporation (RDC) today announced that its Mobile Listing Advantage(TM) (MLA) -- wireless Multiple Listing Service (MLS) access -- has been made available for use on select Motorola cell phones from Nextel on its guaranteed all-digital network. The award-winning technology offers Realtors(R) across the country access to MLS data anytime, anywhere on Nextel's network, with instant response to property queries.
With MLA, real estate professionals can search, receive and forward the most current MLS listings with their Nextel wireless cell phone or BlackBerry device anytime, anywhere. The program offers Realtors(R) a tremendous advantage in saving time and money, and being able to instantly respond to their clients needs.
Cathy Nguyen, a Broker Associate in Sarasota, Florida, has been using MLA for the past year. She says it has "changed her business, and her life," by freeing her from the office and allowing her to pick up new MLS information while out in the field with her clients.
"The cost savings in gas alone was well worth the small investment in my monthly subscription to MLA" she stated. "I already had the phone network expense and could easily upgrade my existing cell phone to the Motorola i860 camera phone from Nextel. This gave me a tremendous menu of new features. It has maximized my earlier investment and is helping me make more sales faster".
This is a great app for a realtor, but what about for the buyer? What if every For Sale sign had some identifier that could be clicked or texted and the info came to their cell phone? Then click again to speak to that realtor.
The Internet has changed the compensation model in almost every other profession. Should the real estate business be any different? A commodity is for sale with info from a central database.
4 Square Inches, The Final Frontier
Advertisings next space to conquer, those four square inches.
As advertisers struggle to recapture the medium of TV, and use the primitive methods of search engines to penetrate the Internet, another media is now available and will be the most effective form of advertising ever.
What media is always turned on, carried with you everywhere, commands your attention when it flashes and has 5 forms of communication? What is the next medium advertiser will conquer?
How many hours a day are you watching TV a day, in front of your PC, listening to the radio, reading the newspaper???
Now how many hours is your cell phone on and with you? Never realized how connected you really are, did you? This device is the most personal to us and is the least untapped by advertisers, until now.
What if an advertisers had the ability to see that you spent 10 minutes looking in their catalog. Would they pay for this info?
What if there was a way a consumer could get immediate info on a product right there in the store, would this lead to more sales, or more trust in a brand? Would brands pay for this?
What if there was a way a consumer could initiate interaction with a brand and get immediate feedback for more info?
What if every “ for more info” email and postcard came back to that company, at the instant it was requested, with a name, location and a cell phone number?
How can brands find out if a consumer is interested in their product? Is there a way they can initiate an interactive “electronic dialog” with a consumer?
Would Sony Records pay to know that you clicked on a Mariah Carey CD to listen to samples of her songs?
Would Campbell Soup pay to know that you bought a recipe book that consisted of all the meals you can make using Campbell Soup?
Can advertisers find infinite ways to advertise to this specific person once they are alerted?
What is this info worth per customer $100, $500, $1000, $10,000…?
Do you think Sony hates knowing Best Buy knows more about their customer than they do?
When that person walks out the door with his brand new DVD player, who utilizes that information? What if there was a way Sony could directly market to that person once he leaves the store? Whose customer is it really? Sony’s or Best Buys?
What if Sony could maintain contact with that customer from the time of purchase till the life of the product?
What if every company had the ability to have their own private search engine?
The SMS text message will be the initial response FROM the brand. But what will initiate their response.
The SMS text message cost is less that one tenth of a stamp. It seems funny that advertisers haven’t realized this enormous cost savings ability yet. Imagine an SMS text is a letter than is opened as soon as it is sent. There’s no waiting for the mail to deliver, or not knowing if the user was watching the program or if the email was blocked by a Spam service. Email can’t guarantee the ability to be delivered anywhere and anytime like a SMS can.
A “letter” that was opened immediately, which gives the advertiser instant feedback for minimal cost.
Those 160 characters, the small band of text will be more effective than the most expensive TV ad or the best keyword.
A SMS text message gets our attention. It can reach us wherever and whenever. You just found your killer app for mobile marketing. The question is how do advertisers get permission to advertise to you through this method?
This will be a private conversation between the advertiser and the cell phone user in ANY environment. This will be a personalized advertisement machine.
This is a personalized, real-time, interaction between a brand and a consumer. Isn’t this the ultimate goal for EVERY advertiser? Now it can be done if brands simply “turn on” their own products.
The cell phone is as personal as an advertiser can get to a potential customer
A cell phone is always with you, not the case with the Internet.
But this time its different, broadcast media has always been one-way, the advertiser to the consumer.
Instead of trying to find your potential consumer (as the case with most advertising) what happens when the consumer tries to get more info about your brand? The shift takes place. With TV ads there’s no interaction. With the Internet there’s limited interaction.
When brands “turn on” their own products with a physical world hyperlink, there will be direct interaction, not just with the company, but also with the specific product.
What will this cost, and what’s it worth?
Ideally you would like the consumer to call up and give you their cell number and say, “advertise to me”. What is the application that combines interest and cell phone number?
The advertiser needs to know four things.
1. Who is my customer (and what are his/her preferences)
2. What product is he/she interested in?
3. How do I reach him, get his attention?
4. How will he buy my product
What if there’s a way an advertiser could get all these answers by doing ONE thing? Would they be interested?
What will be the killer app that initiates the conversation between brand and consumer?
Brands can now “turn on” their product and let the cell phone become the true remote of the physical world.. The brand will speak to the consumer through their most personal device.
How can a brand “turn on “ every product and allow an instant electronic dialog with every potential customer?
What is the one thing almost every product has (and the ones that don’t, can get one) that allows an Internet connection with the targeted destination of the owner of that brand? What is the universal identifier that you see on every product in your cupboard, bookshelf, and desktop? When that universal is clicked on, or typed, or said (soon) will allow a personal bond between the brand and the consumer.
Do you know what happens when that bond gets initiated?
Brands will now be able to advertise/market a way for direct interaction. No more “go to www.anysite.com for more details”. Or “for more info dial 1-800-“. It will now be “click here with your cell phone”.
The middleman (supermarket, record store, electronics store, book store) gets minimized. The brand now has direct contact with his consumer and can advertise accordingly. The consumer is saying “I want more info, does this, can I etc.”. Brands will now use their own products to advertise with.
This is an immediate customer feedback form, with an immediate way to interact. Now that’s powerful.
Will the brand take advantage of this new powerful medium or will they abuse it?
What society (mainly advertisers) needs to accept (and the individual is starting to) is that the cell phone is more like a PC now than a phone. Mobile devices are just portable PC’s with the ability to communicate. The cell phone is becoming the remote control of our everyday life.
The sooner advertisers realize this, the quicker they will tap into this enormous opportunity.
SMS advertising campaigns are receiving incredible response rates (in Japan and Europe), far higher than early Internet ads. And the cost for this is minimal compared to pop-ups, banners too.
What industry will see it first? What service provider will find a way to charge for it? What operating system will incorporate it first? What search engine will recognize this transformation?
What will the vehicle of choice for advertising be on the mobile phone?
What is the killer app that turns every physical product into a real-time, one-on-one, personalized search engine?
As advertisers struggle to recapture the medium of TV, and use the primitive methods of search engines to penetrate the Internet, another media is now available and will be the most effective form of advertising ever.
What media is always turned on, carried with you everywhere, commands your attention when it flashes and has 5 forms of communication? What is the next medium advertiser will conquer?
How many hours a day are you watching TV a day, in front of your PC, listening to the radio, reading the newspaper???
Now how many hours is your cell phone on and with you? Never realized how connected you really are, did you? This device is the most personal to us and is the least untapped by advertisers, until now.
What if an advertisers had the ability to see that you spent 10 minutes looking in their catalog. Would they pay for this info?
What if there was a way a consumer could get immediate info on a product right there in the store, would this lead to more sales, or more trust in a brand? Would brands pay for this?
What if there was a way a consumer could initiate interaction with a brand and get immediate feedback for more info?
What if every “ for more info” email and postcard came back to that company, at the instant it was requested, with a name, location and a cell phone number?
How can brands find out if a consumer is interested in their product? Is there a way they can initiate an interactive “electronic dialog” with a consumer?
Would Sony Records pay to know that you clicked on a Mariah Carey CD to listen to samples of her songs?
Would Campbell Soup pay to know that you bought a recipe book that consisted of all the meals you can make using Campbell Soup?
Can advertisers find infinite ways to advertise to this specific person once they are alerted?
What is this info worth per customer $100, $500, $1000, $10,000…?
Do you think Sony hates knowing Best Buy knows more about their customer than they do?
When that person walks out the door with his brand new DVD player, who utilizes that information? What if there was a way Sony could directly market to that person once he leaves the store? Whose customer is it really? Sony’s or Best Buys?
What if Sony could maintain contact with that customer from the time of purchase till the life of the product?
What if every company had the ability to have their own private search engine?
The SMS text message will be the initial response FROM the brand. But what will initiate their response.
The SMS text message cost is less that one tenth of a stamp. It seems funny that advertisers haven’t realized this enormous cost savings ability yet. Imagine an SMS text is a letter than is opened as soon as it is sent. There’s no waiting for the mail to deliver, or not knowing if the user was watching the program or if the email was blocked by a Spam service. Email can’t guarantee the ability to be delivered anywhere and anytime like a SMS can.
A “letter” that was opened immediately, which gives the advertiser instant feedback for minimal cost.
Those 160 characters, the small band of text will be more effective than the most expensive TV ad or the best keyword.
A SMS text message gets our attention. It can reach us wherever and whenever. You just found your killer app for mobile marketing. The question is how do advertisers get permission to advertise to you through this method?
This will be a private conversation between the advertiser and the cell phone user in ANY environment. This will be a personalized advertisement machine.
This is a personalized, real-time, interaction between a brand and a consumer. Isn’t this the ultimate goal for EVERY advertiser? Now it can be done if brands simply “turn on” their own products.
The cell phone is as personal as an advertiser can get to a potential customer
A cell phone is always with you, not the case with the Internet.
But this time its different, broadcast media has always been one-way, the advertiser to the consumer.
Instead of trying to find your potential consumer (as the case with most advertising) what happens when the consumer tries to get more info about your brand? The shift takes place. With TV ads there’s no interaction. With the Internet there’s limited interaction.
When brands “turn on” their own products with a physical world hyperlink, there will be direct interaction, not just with the company, but also with the specific product.
What will this cost, and what’s it worth?
Ideally you would like the consumer to call up and give you their cell number and say, “advertise to me”. What is the application that combines interest and cell phone number?
The advertiser needs to know four things.
1. Who is my customer (and what are his/her preferences)
2. What product is he/she interested in?
3. How do I reach him, get his attention?
4. How will he buy my product
What if there’s a way an advertiser could get all these answers by doing ONE thing? Would they be interested?
What will be the killer app that initiates the conversation between brand and consumer?
Brands can now “turn on” their product and let the cell phone become the true remote of the physical world.. The brand will speak to the consumer through their most personal device.
How can a brand “turn on “ every product and allow an instant electronic dialog with every potential customer?
What is the one thing almost every product has (and the ones that don’t, can get one) that allows an Internet connection with the targeted destination of the owner of that brand? What is the universal identifier that you see on every product in your cupboard, bookshelf, and desktop? When that universal is clicked on, or typed, or said (soon) will allow a personal bond between the brand and the consumer.
Do you know what happens when that bond gets initiated?
Brands will now be able to advertise/market a way for direct interaction. No more “go to www.anysite.com for more details”. Or “for more info dial 1-800-“. It will now be “click here with your cell phone”.
The middleman (supermarket, record store, electronics store, book store) gets minimized. The brand now has direct contact with his consumer and can advertise accordingly. The consumer is saying “I want more info, does this, can I etc.”. Brands will now use their own products to advertise with.
This is an immediate customer feedback form, with an immediate way to interact. Now that’s powerful.
Will the brand take advantage of this new powerful medium or will they abuse it?
What society (mainly advertisers) needs to accept (and the individual is starting to) is that the cell phone is more like a PC now than a phone. Mobile devices are just portable PC’s with the ability to communicate. The cell phone is becoming the remote control of our everyday life.
The sooner advertisers realize this, the quicker they will tap into this enormous opportunity.
SMS advertising campaigns are receiving incredible response rates (in Japan and Europe), far higher than early Internet ads. And the cost for this is minimal compared to pop-ups, banners too.
What industry will see it first? What service provider will find a way to charge for it? What operating system will incorporate it first? What search engine will recognize this transformation?
What will the vehicle of choice for advertising be on the mobile phone?
What is the killer app that turns every physical product into a real-time, one-on-one, personalized search engine?
Monday, January 10, 2005
The Plot Thickens
From Reiter's Camera Phone Report Verisign to buy LightSurf.
Acquisition Will Add Picture Messaging Suite and Enhanced Multimedia Messaging Capabilities to VeriSign’s Digital Content Services
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — January 10, 2005 — VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Santa Cruz, California-based LightSurf for $270 million in VeriSign stock.
LightSurf is a global leader in multimedia messaging and interoperability solutions for the wireless market. The company’s industry-leading technology platform enables mobile subscribers to exchange pictures, video, and other forms of multimedia content.
LightSurf supports a broad range of mobile devices and wireless networks, and its services are currently being used by millions of subscribers worldwide. Operators and service providers offering the LightSurf solution today include Sprint, Bell Mobility, Kodak, mm02, Rogers Wireless, Microcell, Telecom New Zealand, Iusacell, and Qwest. Additionally, the company works closely with leading handset manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, Motorola, Sanyo, LG International Corp, and Toshiba to develop and deploy easy to use multimedia messaging services.
By adding LightSurf’s capabilities into its existing communication services platforms, VeriSign expects to offer carriers a comprehensive wireless data utility that covers all aspects of the mobile content value chain. Functionality will include picture messaging, multimedia messaging services, and Inter-carrier messaging and interoperability.
About LightSurf
LightSurf is the global leader in Open Standards MMS, Picture and Video Messaging, and Interoperability solutions supporting all mobile devices and wireless networks. LightSurf's open-standards-based services are currently deployed worldwide with partners including Bell Canada, Eastman Kodak, Iusacell, LG International Corp., mmO2 plc, Motorola, Rogers Wireless, Samsung Electronics, Sanyo, Sprint, Telecom New Zealand and Toshiba. Founded in 1998 by Philippe Kahn, LightSurf is a privately-held company headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.
The mobile market getting interesting. Doesn't Versign also provide the registry for RFID tags too? Hmm think of the possibilities.
Acquisition Will Add Picture Messaging Suite and Enhanced Multimedia Messaging Capabilities to VeriSign’s Digital Content Services
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — January 10, 2005 — VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Santa Cruz, California-based LightSurf for $270 million in VeriSign stock.
LightSurf is a global leader in multimedia messaging and interoperability solutions for the wireless market. The company’s industry-leading technology platform enables mobile subscribers to exchange pictures, video, and other forms of multimedia content.
LightSurf supports a broad range of mobile devices and wireless networks, and its services are currently being used by millions of subscribers worldwide. Operators and service providers offering the LightSurf solution today include Sprint, Bell Mobility, Kodak, mm02, Rogers Wireless, Microcell, Telecom New Zealand, Iusacell, and Qwest. Additionally, the company works closely with leading handset manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, Motorola, Sanyo, LG International Corp, and Toshiba to develop and deploy easy to use multimedia messaging services.
By adding LightSurf’s capabilities into its existing communication services platforms, VeriSign expects to offer carriers a comprehensive wireless data utility that covers all aspects of the mobile content value chain. Functionality will include picture messaging, multimedia messaging services, and Inter-carrier messaging and interoperability.
About LightSurf
LightSurf is the global leader in Open Standards MMS, Picture and Video Messaging, and Interoperability solutions supporting all mobile devices and wireless networks. LightSurf's open-standards-based services are currently deployed worldwide with partners including Bell Canada, Eastman Kodak, Iusacell, LG International Corp., mmO2 plc, Motorola, Rogers Wireless, Samsung Electronics, Sanyo, Sprint, Telecom New Zealand and Toshiba. Founded in 1998 by Philippe Kahn, LightSurf is a privately-held company headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.
The mobile market getting interesting. Doesn't Versign also provide the registry for RFID tags too? Hmm think of the possibilities.
Why SMS Will Soon Matter
From AdAge.com Why SMS marketing will soon matter in the US.
The Cellphone Evolves From Voice Device to Popular Multimedia Tool
Back in my native Britain for Christmas -- they don't do that PC "holidays" guff in Blighty -- I was struck by the omnipotence of the mobile phone. There are lots of people here who would tell you their cellphone is
important to them, but in the U.K. the mobile has attained the kind of lifeblood status most of America still reserves for cars and TVs.
Perhaps the difference lies in the breadth of functions for which cellphones are used. In the U.K., radio or TV "call-ins" have been replaced by "text-ins."
Yeah but we have voting by SMS on American Idol..
The corollary of broader use of cellphones in Europe, Asia and the Middle East is that marketers in these regions have paid more attention to the cell as a marketing channel.
Few European and Asian marketers are spending mega-bucks, according to Starcom Senior Vice President Andrew Swinand, who has overseen research in this area. But he notes that most are making cellphones a campaign component, if only because they realize their growing importance as a medium and want to educate themselves. And he feels that U.S. marketers had better start paying attention too.
Portable communications device
"The key thing is how people define the phone and our research shows a big shift," he says. "It's tipped from being seen as a voice-to-voice tool to being a portable communications device." Swinand says that is the "critical first step" towards the type of use seen in the U.K.
When we recognize that the cell phone is really a mobile PC that we can communicate with, is when mobile marketing takes off.
The Cellphone Evolves From Voice Device to Popular Multimedia Tool
Back in my native Britain for Christmas -- they don't do that PC "holidays" guff in Blighty -- I was struck by the omnipotence of the mobile phone. There are lots of people here who would tell you their cellphone is
important to them, but in the U.K. the mobile has attained the kind of lifeblood status most of America still reserves for cars and TVs.
Perhaps the difference lies in the breadth of functions for which cellphones are used. In the U.K., radio or TV "call-ins" have been replaced by "text-ins."
Yeah but we have voting by SMS on American Idol..
The corollary of broader use of cellphones in Europe, Asia and the Middle East is that marketers in these regions have paid more attention to the cell as a marketing channel.
Few European and Asian marketers are spending mega-bucks, according to Starcom Senior Vice President Andrew Swinand, who has overseen research in this area. But he notes that most are making cellphones a campaign component, if only because they realize their growing importance as a medium and want to educate themselves. And he feels that U.S. marketers had better start paying attention too.
Portable communications device
"The key thing is how people define the phone and our research shows a big shift," he says. "It's tipped from being seen as a voice-to-voice tool to being a portable communications device." Swinand says that is the "critical first step" towards the type of use seen in the U.K.
When we recognize that the cell phone is really a mobile PC that we can communicate with, is when mobile marketing takes off.
Future Of Calling
From DailyBreeze Cell phones promise to make life easier by giving consumers a wide-range of possibilities.
Americans racked up 500 billion minutes on their cell phones in the first half of 2004 -- and of their total cell-phone bills, 97 percent of the charges were for time spent talking.
In the not-too-distant future, talking may be the last priority of a cell phone.
Could your phone be your universal remote control?
"Two years from now, I don't think they're even going to be called phones, but I don't know what they're going to be called," said Jeff Belk, senior vice president of marketing for San Diego-based Qualcomm, developer of cell-phone technology and the world's second-largest maker of cell-phone chips.
Glad to see Qualcom gets it.
Already, a small but growing number of U.S. wireless subscribers use their cell phones to play games, e-mail photographs and send text messages. But experts say that within the next few years, an array of new services may revolutionize the way we use our cell phones.
We'll be able to tune in to as many as 100 channels of TV, find the nearest coffee shop, get directions or even pay for purchases.
•Television: Wireless experts predict that the next "killer app" for American cell phones will be television, or at least a small-screen version of it. It won't be TV as we know it
• Music: Tunes on cell phones will go beyond ring tones
• Location services: In the future, your cell phone will know where you are.
• Payment services: Cell phones will double as credit cards and be like "an electronic wallet," Akyuz said.
• Photo and video: The quality of still and video cameras on cell phones will continue to improve.
• Form and features: Cell phones will sport a new look, more memory and more power
Americans racked up 500 billion minutes on their cell phones in the first half of 2004 -- and of their total cell-phone bills, 97 percent of the charges were for time spent talking.
In the not-too-distant future, talking may be the last priority of a cell phone.
Could your phone be your universal remote control?
"Two years from now, I don't think they're even going to be called phones, but I don't know what they're going to be called," said Jeff Belk, senior vice president of marketing for San Diego-based Qualcomm, developer of cell-phone technology and the world's second-largest maker of cell-phone chips.
Glad to see Qualcom gets it.
Already, a small but growing number of U.S. wireless subscribers use their cell phones to play games, e-mail photographs and send text messages. But experts say that within the next few years, an array of new services may revolutionize the way we use our cell phones.
We'll be able to tune in to as many as 100 channels of TV, find the nearest coffee shop, get directions or even pay for purchases.
•Television: Wireless experts predict that the next "killer app" for American cell phones will be television, or at least a small-screen version of it. It won't be TV as we know it
• Music: Tunes on cell phones will go beyond ring tones
• Location services: In the future, your cell phone will know where you are.
• Payment services: Cell phones will double as credit cards and be like "an electronic wallet," Akyuz said.
• Photo and video: The quality of still and video cameras on cell phones will continue to improve.
• Form and features: Cell phones will sport a new look, more memory and more power
How Do You Tivo This?
From BBC News Man auctions ad space on forehead.
A 20-year-old US man is selling advertising space on his forehead to the highest bidder on website eBay.
Andrew Fisher, from Omaha, Nebraska, said he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days.
"The way I see it I'm selling something I already own; after 30 days I get it back," he told the BBC Today programme.
Mr Fisher has received 39 bids so far, with the largest bid currently at more than $322 (£171).
The entrepreneur said his mother was initially surprised by his decision but following all the media attention she felt he was "thinking outside the box".
A 20-year-old US man is selling advertising space on his forehead to the highest bidder on website eBay.
Andrew Fisher, from Omaha, Nebraska, said he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days.
"The way I see it I'm selling something I already own; after 30 days I get it back," he told the BBC Today programme.
Mr Fisher has received 39 bids so far, with the largest bid currently at more than $322 (£171).
The entrepreneur said his mother was initially surprised by his decision but following all the media attention she felt he was "thinking outside the box".
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