From Pressi.com Consumers ready for mobile customer relationship management.
PRESSI.COM 02/08/2005) PEAR-research project (Personalized Mobile Advertising Services), coordinated by the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Oulu, Finland, investigated the willingness of Finnish consumers to receive mobile marketing such as discounts coupons and information in the form of text messages (SMS). Based on over 20,000 responses recorded in the research, it can be concluded that consumers are ready to receive mobile marketing: above 80 % of the respondents expressed their acceptance towards mobile marketing.
“Traditionally wireless marketing communications in the form of SMS has been used as a one-off sales promotion method for daily consumer goods", says project manager Matti Leppäniemi from the University of Oulu.
“Having conducted numerous traditional surveys (online and paper surveys) I can argue that on average, responses provided via SMS are more accurate and authentic than responses from internet or paper surveys: there were surprisingly few empty or inadequate responses.
“Gathering a mobile marketing database from scratch requires that the mobile medium is combined with other media. This is evident also in the light of the research results. In the academic world we talk about so called integrated marketing communications or hybrid media, which means particularly in this project the combination of mobile medium with internet and traditional, such as print media.
Combining mobile medium with other media is necessary in order to reach customers and to initiate a dialogue with them. In other words, SMS campaigns must be advertised and marketed in other media. Commonly SMS campaigns have been bound to particular products by printing them for example on soft drink labels and candy bar wrappers.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Mobile Post-It
From Info World Siemens develops mobile post-it application.
By John Blau, IDG News Service
February 07, 2005
Researchers at Siemens (Profile, Products, Articles) are calling new technology "digital graffiti," though it's not really graffiti. It's more like a mobile phone version of the omnipresent Post-it notes.
The application allows mobile phone owners to send a message, similar to an SMS (Short Message Service), to a geographical point where it appears on the screens of other users passing through the defined location. Unlike an SMS, the message is not sent to a person but rather to a location, and can be received by a number of mobile phone users entering the defined radius.
Here's how it works: Users type in messages on a mobile device. The message is sent via a wireless link to a server, which assigns it to a geographical point and holds ready for call-up. The server then transmits the message to people entering the designated zone.
Pictures can be sent in addition to text messages, and all of the information can expire after a set date.
"Imagine a foreman walking through a plant and making notes of things to check for the maintenance crew on the production floor, or a friend who really knows his way around an area leaving tips of places to go for less familiar buddies," the spokesman said.
That's easy to image but so is the potential for spam. A problem? "No, there will be ways to accept and reject messages," the spokesman said.
The technology, developed in cooperation with researchers at the University of Linz in Austria and the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, is about two years from commercial roll-out, according to Siemens.
I have a different idea. How about electronic Post-Its. When I'm shopping and I want to find out more information about a product, I can scan a barcode or RFID tag and extract the info OR send the info to my email/home page/blog to look at later. Many times there are times I would like to see more info about, but Im not going to do a search with my cell phone. So I can Post-It, and review later on my 21" LCD.
Create a section on your blog called "Things Ive Seen". Upload links of any items (through barcodes, RFID tags) so that you, or your friends can review as well.
A mobile wish list. Click on all items in a store, have it designated to your name, and list the items online for friends to have access to.
Lots of possibilites here once those physical world hyperlinks get turned on.
By John Blau, IDG News Service
February 07, 2005
Researchers at Siemens (Profile, Products, Articles) are calling new technology "digital graffiti," though it's not really graffiti. It's more like a mobile phone version of the omnipresent Post-it notes.
The application allows mobile phone owners to send a message, similar to an SMS (Short Message Service), to a geographical point where it appears on the screens of other users passing through the defined location. Unlike an SMS, the message is not sent to a person but rather to a location, and can be received by a number of mobile phone users entering the defined radius.
Here's how it works: Users type in messages on a mobile device. The message is sent via a wireless link to a server, which assigns it to a geographical point and holds ready for call-up. The server then transmits the message to people entering the designated zone.
Pictures can be sent in addition to text messages, and all of the information can expire after a set date.
"Imagine a foreman walking through a plant and making notes of things to check for the maintenance crew on the production floor, or a friend who really knows his way around an area leaving tips of places to go for less familiar buddies," the spokesman said.
That's easy to image but so is the potential for spam. A problem? "No, there will be ways to accept and reject messages," the spokesman said.
The technology, developed in cooperation with researchers at the University of Linz in Austria and the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, is about two years from commercial roll-out, according to Siemens.
I have a different idea. How about electronic Post-Its. When I'm shopping and I want to find out more information about a product, I can scan a barcode or RFID tag and extract the info OR send the info to my email/home page/blog to look at later. Many times there are times I would like to see more info about, but Im not going to do a search with my cell phone. So I can Post-It, and review later on my 21" LCD.
Create a section on your blog called "Things Ive Seen". Upload links of any items (through barcodes, RFID tags) so that you, or your friends can review as well.
A mobile wish list. Click on all items in a store, have it designated to your name, and list the items online for friends to have access to.
Lots of possibilites here once those physical world hyperlinks get turned on.
Monday, February 07, 2005
A Google Bubble?
From Rutland Herald Internet bubble is fluid.
I'm not as pessimistic as Fred Hickey, but I do think people, and analysts should look a couple recents events and reaccess the valuation of Google.
SAN FRANCISCO — Is the Internet bubble half empty or half full?
With Google's stock on a roll, prompting some analysts to predict it will hit $290 or more in the coming months, it can seem like the late 1990s again on Wall Street. Shares in Google have been trading for less than six months, but they have risen 142 percent and the company has a market value of $56.2 billion, equal to that of Starbucks, Nike and Southwest Airlines — combined.
"Of course we're in a bubble again," said Fred Hickey, editor of The High-Tech Strategist newsletter in Nashua, N.H., and a longtime technology stock analyst. But others say that Internet investors have learned to draw distinctions that many failed to make during the dot-com craze.
"The good news here is that investors are certainly proving themselves more selective," said David M. Garrity, an analyst at Caris & Co. in New York. "It's not like we're seeing Internet stocks go up wildly across the board. This isn't the 1990s when all a company had to do is put out a barrage of press releases and see the price go up."
Google is an advertising machine. They get paid from advertisers. Advertising is a cyclical business. There is NO BARRIER to entry for this business. Those are two very big variables to start with.
Pay per click fraud is another variable that is getting more press. Are those clicks really users? Or is there some center that is paid just to click on specific ads.
What happens when brand realize THEY have the power to control their own website traffic. Will there be such a great demand for keywords?
Next, Google just lost their second trademark case. Google's business model will be impacted severely (in my opinion) once we start seeing more trademark owners going after Google. Thats another huge variable that must be considered.
Google's revenue growth (as staggering as it is), is slowing down on a quarterly basis.
What happens when there is more Internet traffic from a mobile than a PC? Will advertisers shift their dollars there? Of course. There will be another Google-like player that provides the method for advertising then.
Find the company that can deliver advertising on a cellphone, theres your next Google.
I'm not as pessimistic as Fred Hickey, but I do think people, and analysts should look a couple recents events and reaccess the valuation of Google.
SAN FRANCISCO — Is the Internet bubble half empty or half full?
With Google's stock on a roll, prompting some analysts to predict it will hit $290 or more in the coming months, it can seem like the late 1990s again on Wall Street. Shares in Google have been trading for less than six months, but they have risen 142 percent and the company has a market value of $56.2 billion, equal to that of Starbucks, Nike and Southwest Airlines — combined.
"Of course we're in a bubble again," said Fred Hickey, editor of The High-Tech Strategist newsletter in Nashua, N.H., and a longtime technology stock analyst. But others say that Internet investors have learned to draw distinctions that many failed to make during the dot-com craze.
"The good news here is that investors are certainly proving themselves more selective," said David M. Garrity, an analyst at Caris & Co. in New York. "It's not like we're seeing Internet stocks go up wildly across the board. This isn't the 1990s when all a company had to do is put out a barrage of press releases and see the price go up."
Google is an advertising machine. They get paid from advertisers. Advertising is a cyclical business. There is NO BARRIER to entry for this business. Those are two very big variables to start with.
Pay per click fraud is another variable that is getting more press. Are those clicks really users? Or is there some center that is paid just to click on specific ads.
What happens when brand realize THEY have the power to control their own website traffic. Will there be such a great demand for keywords?
Next, Google just lost their second trademark case. Google's business model will be impacted severely (in my opinion) once we start seeing more trademark owners going after Google. Thats another huge variable that must be considered.
Google's revenue growth (as staggering as it is), is slowing down on a quarterly basis.
What happens when there is more Internet traffic from a mobile than a PC? Will advertisers shift their dollars there? Of course. There will be another Google-like player that provides the method for advertising then.
Find the company that can deliver advertising on a cellphone, theres your next Google.
WL U MRRY ME ANNA?
From Australian IT Plan to lob messages on court at the tennis.
Too bad they didn't have this available when Amanda Coetzer was playing.
TENNIS fans could send messages to players via screens on court if plans by mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson go ahead.
Last month, the company signed an $US88 million ($113 million) six-year sponsorship deal with the women's game under which the WTA Tour will be renamed the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
It is the largest contract in the history of tennis and women's sport.
"We're looking at being able to send SMS messages to screens on-court," Sony Ericsson president Miles Flint says. "It's also feasible to put tennis games and the promotion of the players into phones."
The deal has been welcomed by top players.
"Women's tennis has grown so much from the late 1990s. People know Serena and Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova and everyone by their first names," world number-one Lindsay Davenport says.
Too bad they didn't have this available when Amanda Coetzer was playing.
TENNIS fans could send messages to players via screens on court if plans by mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson go ahead.
Last month, the company signed an $US88 million ($113 million) six-year sponsorship deal with the women's game under which the WTA Tour will be renamed the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
It is the largest contract in the history of tennis and women's sport.
"We're looking at being able to send SMS messages to screens on-court," Sony Ericsson president Miles Flint says. "It's also feasible to put tennis games and the promotion of the players into phones."
The deal has been welcomed by top players.
"Women's tennis has grown so much from the late 1990s. People know Serena and Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova and everyone by their first names," world number-one Lindsay Davenport says.
Timing Is Everything
Probably the most controversial ad during the Super Bowl was GoDaddy.com's "C-Span" hearing. Yes, I paid closer attention to the "content" of the ad, but was it all for naught?
GoDaddy advertises the ability to provide domain names.
But when the biggest name in media, Google, announces the same thing the week before, doesn't it lose its punch?
They should have saved the money from the overpriced ad time and found better ways to market.
GoDaddy advertises the ability to provide domain names.
But when the biggest name in media, Google, announces the same thing the week before, doesn't it lose its punch?
They should have saved the money from the overpriced ad time and found better ways to market.
RFID Plus Mobile Phone..
From The Korea Herald Forum to develop RFID technologies.
Korean mobile-phone carriers and electronics makers will combine efforts to develop radio-frequency identification technologies for mobile phones, enabling people to receive real-time information on consumer products or services through microchips embedded in their handsets.
Electronics manufacturers Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and mobile-phone operators SK Telecom Co., KT Freetel Co. and LG Telecom Ltd. established the Mobile RFID Forum last week to promote the use of RFID and short-range data transmission between wireless devices such as mobile phones and WiBro portable Internet receivers
"RFID holds an important place in the national info-tech strategy and will change the way people live and do business. The technological level of Korea's RFID industry currently lags behind the United States, Europe and Japan, so integrating RFID with the country's advanced mobile communications environment becomes a natural conclusion in closing the gaps," said Information and Communications University professor Lee Hyuk-jae, who chairs the forum.
Industry watchers are upbeat on the business potential of combining mobile phones with RFID technology to communicate with other electronic devices with smart-card infrastructure, changing the way consumers obtain information and buy products and services. For example, a mobile phone embedded with a RFID microchip could enable the user to make cash-less payment when purchasing an on-shelf product by simply touching the RFID tag on the item.
Cash-less payments will start when barcodes get "turned on" first. NFC Near field communications will allow contactless transactions. Finally cellphones with RFID tag readers will then allow another form.
In order for these services to be viable, the tag, barcode needs to be turned on and recognized.
Korean mobile-phone carriers and electronics makers will combine efforts to develop radio-frequency identification technologies for mobile phones, enabling people to receive real-time information on consumer products or services through microchips embedded in their handsets.
Electronics manufacturers Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and mobile-phone operators SK Telecom Co., KT Freetel Co. and LG Telecom Ltd. established the Mobile RFID Forum last week to promote the use of RFID and short-range data transmission between wireless devices such as mobile phones and WiBro portable Internet receivers
"RFID holds an important place in the national info-tech strategy and will change the way people live and do business. The technological level of Korea's RFID industry currently lags behind the United States, Europe and Japan, so integrating RFID with the country's advanced mobile communications environment becomes a natural conclusion in closing the gaps," said Information and Communications University professor Lee Hyuk-jae, who chairs the forum.
Industry watchers are upbeat on the business potential of combining mobile phones with RFID technology to communicate with other electronic devices with smart-card infrastructure, changing the way consumers obtain information and buy products and services. For example, a mobile phone embedded with a RFID microchip could enable the user to make cash-less payment when purchasing an on-shelf product by simply touching the RFID tag on the item.
Cash-less payments will start when barcodes get "turned on" first. NFC Near field communications will allow contactless transactions. Finally cellphones with RFID tag readers will then allow another form.
In order for these services to be viable, the tag, barcode needs to be turned on and recognized.
Skype Goes To Hong Kong
From Lightreading.com Skype rings on Hong Kong market.
Skype Technologies SA yesterday announced a deal with Hutchison Global Communications Ltd. (HGC) to offer Skype’s Internet Telephony product to the Hong Kong market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (see Skype, Hutch Partner on IP Telephony ).
Through the partnership, HGC and Skype will launch a co-branded Web portal where Hong Kong users can download Skype’s VOIP product and use it to make calls to other Skype users free of charge. They can also make calls worldwide to any fixed or mobile phone through the company’s pre-paid SkypeOut service.
The deal is a major win for Skype, as HGC is the first telecom carrier to partner on offering the Skype service to its users. HGC has built the largest fiber-to-the-building telecommunications network in Hong Kong, and offers its customers services such as Ethernet, corporate data transmission solutions, international private leased circuit services, IP transit services, as well as local and overseas call services. Its network consists of more than 4,600 km of ducting and over 800,000 km of core fiber optic cable.
Skype Technologies SA yesterday announced a deal with Hutchison Global Communications Ltd. (HGC) to offer Skype’s Internet Telephony product to the Hong Kong market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (see Skype, Hutch Partner on IP Telephony ).
Through the partnership, HGC and Skype will launch a co-branded Web portal where Hong Kong users can download Skype’s VOIP product and use it to make calls to other Skype users free of charge. They can also make calls worldwide to any fixed or mobile phone through the company’s pre-paid SkypeOut service.
The deal is a major win for Skype, as HGC is the first telecom carrier to partner on offering the Skype service to its users. HGC has built the largest fiber-to-the-building telecommunications network in Hong Kong, and offers its customers services such as Ethernet, corporate data transmission solutions, international private leased circuit services, IP transit services, as well as local and overseas call services. Its network consists of more than 4,600 km of ducting and over 800,000 km of core fiber optic cable.
Opening Doors?
From Linux Insider Opening doors.
The holy grail for any content owner in the mobile content space is to build a direct relationship with consumers, one enabling them, via a branded piece of real estate on a user's handset, to deliver constantly updated premium content, without having to negotiate with the operators for distribution through their portals.
Mobile Java , or J2ME, is gearing up as the technology that can do just that. Java enables content owners to promote a downloadable "portal," from which consumers can directly access content. It can also be automatically updated whenever they connect via GPRS.
A key reason behind the launches is that brands and content owners are fed up with dancing to the operators' tune when releasing content, especially when it's their brands that have the real emotional connection.
This groundswell of interest from the media community has led to a scramble among mobile technology and services companies, all hungry to provide the underlying infrastructure
The holy grail for any content owner in the mobile content space is to build a direct relationship with consumers, one enabling them, via a branded piece of real estate on a user's handset, to deliver constantly updated premium content, without having to negotiate with the operators for distribution through their portals.
Mobile Java , or J2ME, is gearing up as the technology that can do just that. Java enables content owners to promote a downloadable "portal," from which consumers can directly access content. It can also be automatically updated whenever they connect via GPRS.
A key reason behind the launches is that brands and content owners are fed up with dancing to the operators' tune when releasing content, especially when it's their brands that have the real emotional connection.
This groundswell of interest from the media community has led to a scramble among mobile technology and services companies, all hungry to provide the underlying infrastructure
Great Read About The 2X2 Screen Future
From Direct Marketing news Moving from the computer screen to the third screen.
After years of speculation about mobile marketing as a viable media channel, it finally has arrived thanks to a gaggle of mobile innovations, technology and service providers. Consumer software applications, text messaging, ring tones, games, secure transaction processing and even 3D graphics and streaming video are a reality on cell phones.
The acceptance of mobile phone technology has elevated the cell phone from a voice communication device to a personal information source. The latest technologies render endless possibilities for mobile marketing. The mobile channel represents the birth of the newest advertising medium.
However, mobile marketing did not appear overnight. It has been said the mobile channel is a direct result of the Internet, but they are not the same. Mobile marketers stand on the Internet’s shoulders, but mobile is different and has evolved into a unique marketing channel with differences and advantages over other media channels.
Unlike the early days of the Internet when the only users were early adopters, cell phone adoption is at a mature stage. The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association counts 169 million wireless subscribers from all walks of life.
More U.S. households have access to a cell phone than to the Internet.
Internet connections in the United States have surpassed 100 million, with an estimated 600 million worldwide. By contrast, there are 1.4 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide. The global wireless market is expected to add an average of 186 million new subscribers yearly, according to In-Stat/MDR, topping 2 billion by 2007.
The medium’s growth has spurred many icons of Internet advertising to make the leap to mobile.
These interactive advertising leaders see the same features touted by the Internet at its inception: the digital format, interactivity, pervasiveness and worldwide reach. Mobile is taking interactive to the next level.
The cell phone is direct and pervasive. Though many Internet users have four or five e-mail addresses, most cell phone users have only one phone number. This translates to direct consumer access at any given time.
Two main models exist for marketers to reach consumers through the mobile channel: mobile media buying and Short Message Service, otherwise known as text messaging.
An interactive mobile media buy lets marketers reach consumers while they use their cell phones to access Wireless Application Protocol sites, play games or view video. Beware the seller who offers opt-in SMS lists. Mobile spam will damage a brand’s reputation and turn off an otherwise enjoyable consumer experience.
Successful mobile marketing is achieved by combining the two solutions, mobile media buying with follow-on SMS. Similar to the Internet, marketers can buy targeted interactive inventory in sports, youth, entertainment and business content.
More than 40 percent of the nearly 170 million cell phones in the United States have these capabilities, with tens of millions of impressions in targetable inventory.
Combined with targeting and optimization technologies similar to those of the Internet, and armed with the ability to geo-target to a consumer on the go, marketers can reach an unparalleled level of demographic insight, creating a multitude of options.
As a result of these media buys, the marketer builds its own opt-in list as consumers respond to offers within the mobile content. SMS is the second stage of the overall campaign. As a marketer’s m-opt-in (mobile opt-in) list grows, SMS marketing is the ideal follow-on solution.
Another option for mobile marketing is the use of short codes. These are five-digit codes, approved by all major U.S. wireless carriers, that can be placed in traditional media. They are similar to toll-free numbers and URLs as a direct response tool for consumers. Consumers type the code, along with a keyword identifying the campaign, into their text messaging interface and receive an SMS response. This model can be used for voting and contests, and it offers an interactive solution for offline media such as print, broadcast, radio and outdoor.
Barcodes and registered words will be another option for direct connection with the brand shortly.
Could these codes, registered words, and "turned-on" barcodes be the killer app for m-commerce?
With the broad acceptance of mobile content, short codes and text messaging to the marketplace, mobile is becoming an established marketing avenue. Mobile has the potential to become a vital part of almost all marketing mediums, offering interactivity and tracking capabilities never before available for print, broadcast, radio and outdoor.
With the introduction of mobile ad serving technology, organized mobile content networks and mobile media planning tools, content providers are now prepared to provide marketers with highly targetable and accountable opportunities
After years of speculation about mobile marketing as a viable media channel, it finally has arrived thanks to a gaggle of mobile innovations, technology and service providers. Consumer software applications, text messaging, ring tones, games, secure transaction processing and even 3D graphics and streaming video are a reality on cell phones.
The acceptance of mobile phone technology has elevated the cell phone from a voice communication device to a personal information source. The latest technologies render endless possibilities for mobile marketing. The mobile channel represents the birth of the newest advertising medium.
However, mobile marketing did not appear overnight. It has been said the mobile channel is a direct result of the Internet, but they are not the same. Mobile marketers stand on the Internet’s shoulders, but mobile is different and has evolved into a unique marketing channel with differences and advantages over other media channels.
Unlike the early days of the Internet when the only users were early adopters, cell phone adoption is at a mature stage. The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association counts 169 million wireless subscribers from all walks of life.
More U.S. households have access to a cell phone than to the Internet.
Internet connections in the United States have surpassed 100 million, with an estimated 600 million worldwide. By contrast, there are 1.4 billion cell phone subscribers worldwide. The global wireless market is expected to add an average of 186 million new subscribers yearly, according to In-Stat/MDR, topping 2 billion by 2007.
The medium’s growth has spurred many icons of Internet advertising to make the leap to mobile.
These interactive advertising leaders see the same features touted by the Internet at its inception: the digital format, interactivity, pervasiveness and worldwide reach. Mobile is taking interactive to the next level.
The cell phone is direct and pervasive. Though many Internet users have four or five e-mail addresses, most cell phone users have only one phone number. This translates to direct consumer access at any given time.
Two main models exist for marketers to reach consumers through the mobile channel: mobile media buying and Short Message Service, otherwise known as text messaging.
An interactive mobile media buy lets marketers reach consumers while they use their cell phones to access Wireless Application Protocol sites, play games or view video. Beware the seller who offers opt-in SMS lists. Mobile spam will damage a brand’s reputation and turn off an otherwise enjoyable consumer experience.
Successful mobile marketing is achieved by combining the two solutions, mobile media buying with follow-on SMS. Similar to the Internet, marketers can buy targeted interactive inventory in sports, youth, entertainment and business content.
More than 40 percent of the nearly 170 million cell phones in the United States have these capabilities, with tens of millions of impressions in targetable inventory.
Combined with targeting and optimization technologies similar to those of the Internet, and armed with the ability to geo-target to a consumer on the go, marketers can reach an unparalleled level of demographic insight, creating a multitude of options.
As a result of these media buys, the marketer builds its own opt-in list as consumers respond to offers within the mobile content. SMS is the second stage of the overall campaign. As a marketer’s m-opt-in (mobile opt-in) list grows, SMS marketing is the ideal follow-on solution.
Another option for mobile marketing is the use of short codes. These are five-digit codes, approved by all major U.S. wireless carriers, that can be placed in traditional media. They are similar to toll-free numbers and URLs as a direct response tool for consumers. Consumers type the code, along with a keyword identifying the campaign, into their text messaging interface and receive an SMS response. This model can be used for voting and contests, and it offers an interactive solution for offline media such as print, broadcast, radio and outdoor.
Barcodes and registered words will be another option for direct connection with the brand shortly.
Could these codes, registered words, and "turned-on" barcodes be the killer app for m-commerce?
With the broad acceptance of mobile content, short codes and text messaging to the marketplace, mobile is becoming an established marketing avenue. Mobile has the potential to become a vital part of almost all marketing mediums, offering interactivity and tracking capabilities never before available for print, broadcast, radio and outdoor.
With the introduction of mobile ad serving technology, organized mobile content networks and mobile media planning tools, content providers are now prepared to provide marketers with highly targetable and accountable opportunities
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Oui Oui Est Non Non For Google
I've been saying this could be a big problem for Google.
From Cnet Google loses trademark case in France.
A French court on Friday ruled against Google in a trademark infringement case brought by Louis Vuitton Malletier, in the latest legal setback to the search giant overseas.
The Paris District Court has sanctioned Google and its French subsidiary from selling search-related advertisements against trademarks owned by the luxury fashion designer, which sued the search giant in early 2004. The court charged Google with trademark counterfeiting, unfair competition and misleading advertising. Google was ordered to pay $257,430 (200,000 euros).
The ruling comes on the heels of another French court order against Google, in a case brought by European chain Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts. In that lawsuit, the court said Google infringed on Le Meridien's trademarks by allowing the hotel chain's rivals to bid on keywords of its name and then appear prominently in those related search results.
Both lawsuits have hinged on Google's signature keyword-advertising system, Adwords, which pairs text ads with related search results. For example, a Nike ad appears after a search for running shoes. Through the system, Google allows marketers to bid for such search-related keywords, including common branded and trademarked terms.
The negative rulings could hamper the company's advertising practices--at least in Western Europe, where the courts have been favorable to trademark owners. Google derives the lion's share of its revenue from online advertising.
There's a way brands and trademark owners will be able to control traffic to their site. A way the user can completely bypass a search engine. Will the search engines listen then?
From Cnet Google loses trademark case in France.
A French court on Friday ruled against Google in a trademark infringement case brought by Louis Vuitton Malletier, in the latest legal setback to the search giant overseas.
The Paris District Court has sanctioned Google and its French subsidiary from selling search-related advertisements against trademarks owned by the luxury fashion designer, which sued the search giant in early 2004. The court charged Google with trademark counterfeiting, unfair competition and misleading advertising. Google was ordered to pay $257,430 (200,000 euros).
The ruling comes on the heels of another French court order against Google, in a case brought by European chain Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts. In that lawsuit, the court said Google infringed on Le Meridien's trademarks by allowing the hotel chain's rivals to bid on keywords of its name and then appear prominently in those related search results.
Both lawsuits have hinged on Google's signature keyword-advertising system, Adwords, which pairs text ads with related search results. For example, a Nike ad appears after a search for running shoes. Through the system, Google allows marketers to bid for such search-related keywords, including common branded and trademarked terms.
The negative rulings could hamper the company's advertising practices--at least in Western Europe, where the courts have been favorable to trademark owners. Google derives the lion's share of its revenue from online advertising.
There's a way brands and trademark owners will be able to control traffic to their site. A way the user can completely bypass a search engine. Will the search engines listen then?
Friday, February 04, 2005
Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes?
From Sun Sentinel.com Pregnant belly ad gets $4,000 on eBay.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- A woman selling advertising on her pregnant belly will receive $4,050 from the highest eBay auction bidder, Golden Palace Casino.
Amber Rainey will have the online casino's Web site temporarily tattooed to her stomach Thursday. It will remain until she delivers her first child, due on March 21.
Rainey didn't think her belly would fetch much as advertising space, but the casino has a record of unusual buys in online auctions, including paying $28,000 for a grilled cheese sandwich that bears the image of the Virgin Mary.
Rainey has received national attention as her eBay auction page received more than 50,000 hits. Still, she said she was surprised by the final bid price and other possible perks.
Whats next? Fat people selling advertising on their bloated stomachs in the summertime? Well it looks like the job market might get a big pick up according to the obesity epidemic we have here in the States.
How about selling advertising on the side of your car?
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- A woman selling advertising on her pregnant belly will receive $4,050 from the highest eBay auction bidder, Golden Palace Casino.
Amber Rainey will have the online casino's Web site temporarily tattooed to her stomach Thursday. It will remain until she delivers her first child, due on March 21.
Rainey didn't think her belly would fetch much as advertising space, but the casino has a record of unusual buys in online auctions, including paying $28,000 for a grilled cheese sandwich that bears the image of the Virgin Mary.
Rainey has received national attention as her eBay auction page received more than 50,000 hits. Still, she said she was surprised by the final bid price and other possible perks.
Whats next? Fat people selling advertising on their bloated stomachs in the summertime? Well it looks like the job market might get a big pick up according to the obesity epidemic we have here in the States.
How about selling advertising on the side of your car?
Step Right Up And Get Yer Rebate
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.
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.
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?
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