NBC Makes 'Law & Order' a Mobile Game

Fans of NBC's enduring “Law & Order” series can now assume all the principal roles in the crime drama, investigating, solving and prosecuting a murder case on their mobile phones.
“Law & Order: Celebrity Betrayal” is the latest incarnation of the multi-series franchise, offering mobile game afficianados some 18 hours of play to figure out who killed a Los Angeles nightclub singer. Players examine the evidence at the crime scene, interview witnesses, identify the perpetrator and ultimately take the case to trial. The overall game, developed by LimeLife, includes mini-games that enable the player to sort out the crime and score additional points.
“It's really ripped from the headlines, as a ‘Law & Order’ episode might be. It's very true to the show,” says Jeremy Laws, senior vice president of mobile and broadband for Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group.
NBC has previously aimed at a college-age audience with mobile games created around “The Office,” “Heroes” and, most recently, Bravo's “Top Chef” series, according to Laws. But NBC figures to draw an older, upscale audience skewing female for its crime game, reflecting the show's audience appeal.
Laws says NBC expects to draw loyal fans of the series, as well as the casually curious who may try the game and gravitate to the show. “If the ‘Law & Order’ name is on those phone decks, I think it's great marketing for the show,” he says.
The “L&O” game is already a hit for T-Mobile, where it became one of the top sellers as a one-time download ($6.99) or a monthly subscription ($2.99). It's also available through AT&T, and will eventually be available on all mobile carriers.
Game development took nearly one year, with the cost in the “mid-hundreds of thousands,” according to Laws.

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U.S. Mobile Internet at Critical Mass: Nielsen Mobile

A new study finds that 15.6% of all U.S. mobile users accessed the Web over their cell phones in May, making this country a leader in mobile Internet use.
For the numbers of mobile marketers who are waiting to see the U.S. channel mature into a conduit for engaging content (and ad messages), those findings should be news almost as good as today’s scheduled release of the cheaper, faster Apple iPhone 2.0.
The study, published by Nielsen Mobile, says that with 40 million of the 144 million mobile subscribers accessing data services on their handsets, the U.S. actually leads a pack of 16 countries studied in mobile Web penetration, followed by the U.K. with 12.9% of users and Italy with 11.9%.
“With highly capable devices, improving network speeds and millions of mobile users visiting individual Web sites over their phones, we believe mobile Internet reached a critical mass for mobile marketing this year,” said Nielsen Mobile Director of Insights and report author Nic Covey in a statement. “A confluence of factors will only further ignite this market rapidly this year and into 2009.”
One of those con-flowing factors should be the increasing popularity of all-you-can-eat mobile data plans, the report found. Fourteen percent of U.S. users subscribed to a flat-fee plan in Q1 2008, up from 10% the year before.
Carriers’ efforts to expand their high-speed 3G networks for faster data speeds have also had a growth effect, Nielsen found. Verizon Wireless has the largest 3G network in the U.S., having been building it since 2003. T-Mobile launched its 3G network in New York City last spring. Meanwhile, 28% of U.S. consumers have phones capable of operating at 3G speeds, which make engaging media such as mobile video much more feasible.
As for where those U.S. mobile surfers are going, the top sites last May were the usual suspects: carrier “decks” or portals, e-mail sites such as Yahoo Mail, Gmail or MSN Hotmail, searches such as Google, and news, sports and weather sites. The Weather Channel mobile site had a unique U.S. audience of 8.6 million in May, while ESPN Mobile had 6.5 million unique visitors.
But the Nielsen report forecasts that emerging mobile categories—notably social networking and mobile banking—will continue to draw more U.S. traffic as providers enhance their offerings via cell phone. Both social nets and banking sites had 5 million unique mobile U.S. visitors in May.
As for the devices they’re using, the Motorola RAZR is the most popular product line with U.S. mobile Internet users today, with 10% of the market. Europeans opt first for one of two Nokia models.
But the big game –changer may be the next version of the Apple iPhone, set to roll out today. While only 4% of U.S. mobile Internet users currently use one—making it the second handset choice after the RAZR—the iPhone is chiefly valuable because it has raised the public perception of what’s possible over the mobile Internet.
“We believe the device’s impact is amplified by the increased awareness its marketing campaign and buzz have driven,” the report said. “As a result, demand for advanced data services and more robust mobile media-focused handsets has increased.”

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Hollywood is reaching audiences on their mobile phones

Hollywood is reaching audiences where they live—on their mobile phones

Rich media iPhone ads were a good fit for the “Burn After Reading” audience.
Back in the early '50s, when television was starting to eat Hollywood's lunch in audience numbers, someone thought up the slogan, “Movies are better than ever.”Movies today may be a lot of superlatives — louder? longer? — but one claim is undeniable: They're more mobile than ever. While other categories still treat mobile as an afterthought, mobile marketing is becoming a mainstay of film promotion.
One reason, quite simply, is that the handset does almost everything a PC browser can do — but outdoors. Folks out looking for entertainment can be influenced more directly via mobile than they might be by a TV spot or an online ad back at home. They're a few steps closer to a purchase — literally, since many movie mobile ads include a theater locator or a link to a Web ticket sales agent.
“What the movie marketers want to do is drive people into the theaters,” says Dea Lawrence, vice president of West Coast sales for rich media ad platform PointRoll, which created a mobile campaign for “Burn After Reading,” last year's Coen Brothers film. “If you're already on your phone and interacting with a movie theater ad, you're much more likely to click through to purchase tickets immediately. It's a more direct response.”
But of course, users are looking for more than just movie times and locations from their mobile phones. For their part, studios are as interested in generating pre-release buzz as they are in getting butts into seats once a movie is in theaters.
Last fall, three weeks before the release of its suspense thriller “Eagle Eye,” Paramount Pictures teased the movie with an engaging interactive mobile game. Designed and executed by Millennial Media, the “Eagle Eye Mobile Challenge” campaign used banner ads and a chance to win a $1,000 Circuit City gift card to get users to click through to a mobile landing page.
There, users were asked to enter their mobile phone numbers to enter the sweepstakes (and, incidentally, to opt in to future text messages from Paramount). Just like the movie's hero, they then received a call from a mysterious female saying that their lives were in danger and giving them instructions via text message on how to elude capture — including inputting the phone numbers of up to five friends who could join in the mobile game.
The payoff was a screen that promised that “all will be revealed,” and reminded users of the movie's release date. Users who opted in got one final call from the mystery woman the day before “Eagle Eye” opened reminding them of the movie's release.
Metrics from the campaign included ad clickthroughs, how many users submitted phone numbers to enter, initial call receipts, responses to the mystery caller, total and averages of the friend forwards, and how many of those then opted in to the game.
“We had a lot of data we could capture to show how engaged initial users were and how viral the campaign was,” says Eric Eller, Millennial's marketing senior vice president. While not giving specific metrics, he says that all the results were “very, very strong.”
Movie games like the “Eagle Eye Mobile Challenge” have to be simpler than their Web counterparts; the handset environment — a smaller screen, a keypad rather than a keyboard, the habit of consuming mobile in snack-size bites over time — means trading off some engagement for ease of use.
“The concept we originally proposed had 10 steps, but when we finally went to market it was more like four,” Eller says. “We simplified it so that the majority of users could make it to the end and receive that last message about the opening date.”
That problem may have a solution: the iPhone and its smart counterparts, whose larger screen, better video resolution and downloadable storage promise to open new possibilities for marketing movies on the handset.
Last fall, PointRoll delivered the first rich media iPhone ad, to sell “Burn After Reading.” Rich media allows users to expand an ad, view video or download items such as coupons, all without clicking away from the Web site they were on originally. That makes the ad more alluring for mobile users, who are often time-pressed and reluctant to click away from their destination site.
“The movie had a cast of multiple stars, and the thrust of the ad was to allow you to watch video for each one,” PointRoll's Lawrence says. “The iPhone psychographic was definitely a target for that movie.”

Last year’s “Eagle Eye” campaign used voice and text in a viral campaign linked to the movie’s thriller premise.
Because the iPhone is built with GPS inside, users could go on to look up nearby theater listings.
The iPhone's downloadable applications can also provide ad inventory for marketers. That was the approach taken last December by agency The Hyperfactory in its mobile campaign around “Notorious,” the Fox Searchlight biopic of rapper Biggie Smalls. In its first mobile campaign for a movie, Hyperfactory placed pre-roll video ads for the picture within the iPhone's vSnax app. Users who used the free app to watch short clips from media partners such as VH1, Spike TV and CBS.com saw 15-second video ads for “Notorious” in front of most content skewed to a young or urban audience.
The Hyperfactory also ran mobile banners within the free Pandora music application on iPhone.
“Users have to sign up for Pandora and input their age into a profile,” says Nicole Amodeo, vice president of media for The Hyperfactory. “We were able to target the ad to users ages 18 to 34, as well as to those who were listening to the rap and hip-hop genres. So we could use mobile to extend their view of the video trailer.”
Digital agency Avatar Labs created a free game download for the iPhone to promote the recent Disney animated film “Bolt.” Using the motion sensor in the handset, users can steer Rhino, the hamster sidekick, through several levels of a 3-D city environment. Users can also save their scores and click to view either the TV ad or the movie's theatrical trailer.
“It's the thermonuclear device of mobile movie marketing,” Rex Cook, executive creative director at Avatar, says of the iPhone. By mid-January, the game had 1.1 million downloads from the iPhone App Store.
At press time, Avatar was uploading another movie promotion to the App Store to market an upcoming release in the “Friday the 13th” franchise: one that turns users' iPhones into virtual machetes that play gory sound effects and users' own recorded screams when they “stab” with the handsets.
“It's really simple, but really fun,” Cook says.

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Mobile Marketing Association Names New Head

The Mobile Marketing Association has named wireless executive Michael Wehrs to replace outgoing president and CEO Laura Marriott. Wehrs will move into the post from his current position as vice president of industry affairs and evangelism at Nuance Communications, a speech-recognition platform provider. He has also worked as vice president of product management for Tegic Communications, a predictive text company acquired by Nuance from AOL in 2007, and in the mobile division at Microsoft.
“The mobile channel has been experiencing tremendous growth, and marketers worldwide are embracing mobile marketing as an essential component of their global advertising strategies, capitalizing on its capability to establish a direct link with consumers,” Wehrs said in a statement.
Wehrs brings a range of industry association experience to his new post, having served on boards and executive committees for organizations such as CTIA—the Wireless Association, the Open Mobile alliance, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and the dotMobi Advisory Group.
“The MMA is thriving, representing the entire mobile ecosystem, experiencing a more than 15-fold membership increase and firmly establishing itself as the leading association for the mobile marketing industry worldwide,” said Tom Daly, group manager for The Coca-Cola Co. and MMA North American chairman. “Mike’s record of achievements is impressive.”
On Friday, former MMA CEO and president Laura Marriott was named to the board of directors of NeoMedia Technologies, a provider of 2D barcode scanning solutions using mobile handsets.

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Mobile Promo Helps iPhone Users Get into “The Spirit”

A promotional campaign for the Lionsgate movie “The Spirit” is the latest to field a buzz promo specifically for the iPhone mobile user crowd. In advance of the Christmas Day opening for the movie, a film version of the old ‘40s detective comic strip drawn by Will Eisner, digital media company Big Stage Entertainment is rolling out a mobile app that will let iPhone users upload their photos and substitute their faces in stills and video scenes from the movie, replacing stars such as Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson.
Users download the application free from the iPhone App Store, then snap a picture of themselves with their iPhone and send it to the app. Big Stage’s proprietary software uses this data to create a 3-D avatar clone, male or female, that it calls an “@ctor.” Once that’s done, users either click or just shake the iPhone to insert the avatar into the stills or the clips.
Big Stage has provided six animated video clips and 20 stills for the Spirit iPhone app, which also works with Apple’s iPod Touch.
Users without either device can still get into “The Spirit” by going to the movie’s main Web site and installing the Big Stage media player. Once that’s done, they can create their own @ctor avatar (no PC shaking required) and insert themselves into different, longer video clips from the movie.Although this is the first application it has generated specifically for the iPhone, Big Stage has a registered user list for its “Digital You” avatar-generating platform. In fact the company built attention for the “Spirit” iPhone app and Web site by mentioning them in newsletters directed to that tech-literate group.
Directed by Frank Miller, a graphic artist who made his name by writing and drawing the novels that became the movies “Sin City” and “300”, “The Spirit” is expected to be a strong holiday draw for both comic-book lovers and fans of those earlier highly stylized movies. “Sin City,” for example, was altered to appear largely in black and white with intermittent bursts of color.
The promotional efforts for “The Spirit” have tapped into those two audiences, designers and tech-oriented socializers. In March and April of this year Lionsgate generated buzz with a Spirit widget—a “spidget”—that lets users solve an online murder mystery and view early movie trailers.
Users who put the widget on their social profiles or Web pages also got to enter an online sweepstakes. In exchange for racking up the largest number of trailer views via the widget, one winner was awarded the prize of an expense-paid trip to Comic-Con San Diego in July 2008, to hear Miller address the convention and to see new first-release footage from the movie.
On the design side, Lionsgate announced in early 2008 that it was partnering with nine well-known art schools to produce materials for the movie’s advertising campaigns. The first product of this studio/student collaboration, from the Art Institute of California San Diego, was a set of four drink cups, each with a different color lipstick smudge for the movie’s four female roles, that was used at the Comic-Con concession stands.Other creative executions included “Spirit” Neighborhood Watch signs in San Diego, a “Spirit” tor press kit in San Francisco, “Spirit” Christmas cards and wrapping paper in Boston and Philadelphia, and in September some eye-catching flash mob stunts in New York involving crowds of people wearing black shirts and red ties—the Spirit’s wardrobe signature.

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Keynote adds leading smart phones for testing and monitoring mobile content, applications and services

Keynote Systems, a specialist in on-demand mobile and Internet test & measurement solutions for continuously improving the online experience, has announced the addition of leading smart phones to the company's on-demand global network for testing and monitoring the performance of mobile applications, content and services.
The Apple iPhone, BlackBerry, LG Dare, Samsung Instinct and Nokia N95 have been installed within Keynote's on-demand test and measurement network in London, New York and San Francisco. Additional smart phones will be added to Keynote's global network over time. Currently Keynote has the capability to test and measure the performance of mobile apps, content and services on actual wireless devices across leading carrier networks from 18 cities worldwide.
Keynote is the only company to provide for the on-demand testing and monitoring of mobile content and Web sites using both actual mobile devices and emulated device profiles. Keynote Mobile Device Perspective (MDP) enables companies to test and monitor the true end-to-end subscriber experience of mobile quality service from actual mobile devices. It allows mobile developers to validate service availability, delivery times, throughput, as well as accuracy of content and services. Keynote Mobile Application Perspective (MAP) allows companies to monitor mobile content, applications and services using a library of over 1,600 device profiles.
"Smart phone adoption has grown massively over the last year, especially throughout Europe - by adding the iPhone and others to our infrastructure of real devices, we're able to keep on top of the needs of our customers. As these devices become the norm and more applications are developed for them, ongoing test and measurement will be essential - it's too complicated and too much of a risk to miss out this crucial step," said Manny Gonzalez, senior director of mobile technology at Keynote Systems.
Keynote and its subsidiary Keynote SIGOS provide customers with the ability to test mobile performance on over 200 mobile networks across more than 70 countries. Keynote's global network is comprised of real and simulated devices, user-provided SIMs and wireless modems, providing an unparalleled and customisable view into the performance of mobile content, applications and services.
Companies that have mobile applications, content, and services across the globe can use Keynote to monitor these services to provide a better customer experience to more people. Keynote's on-demand global test and measurement network can be used to monitor the response time, availability, and delivery of content from the subscriber's perspective. Companies also can use their results to benchmark against competitors to understand how to build a more compelling and responsive experience and pinpoint areas to improve and reduce subscriber churn. Keynote believes that optimisation of the user experience is the key to success for any company looking to establish themselves on the Mobile Web.

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NEC and NetCracker announce wireless broadband joint solution at Mobile World Congress 2009

NEC and NetCracker Technology have announced today a joint solution aimed at helping operators streamline their operations and optimize their investments in wireless broadband. This joint solution is said to exemplify the commitment made to the market by the two companies to jointly bring new capabilities that enable service providers to quickly exploit the opportunities offered by the rising demand for wireless broadband. The solution leverages NEC's expertise in the area of Femtocell, WiMAX, and LTE, and NetCracker's next-generation OSS capabilities.
Wireless broadband is the foundation of delivering innovative services such as video streaming, rich media content, and multi-media gaming. With these new opportunities come the challenges of rolling out new infrastructure in the most cost-effective manner, operationalizing it quickly, and managing it optimally. These challenges can only be met when the hardware component of the infrastructure comes well-integrated with the Operations Support Systems (OSS) for service management.
The joint solution is on display this week at the Mobile World Congress.
"Wireless Broadband offers unprecedented opportunities to enter new markets, offer a diversity of services, and meet the bandwidth and quality needs of mobile customers," said Mr. Masanobu Yamaguchi , NEC's Vice President and Executive General Manager
"NEC's cutting-edge Femtocell, WiMAX, and LTE innovations, combined with NetCracker's decade-long experience enabling mobile operators to maximize their return on investment, ensures that wireless broadband can become the foundation for growth for service providers around the world."
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MWC 2009: Mobile internet will grow 'despite economic downturn'

The downturn in the global economy will not negatively affect growth in the mobile internet sector, according to a new study.A poll by the Nielsen Group found that consumers intend to increase their use of mobile data services "dramatically" over the next two years.For example, almost three-quarters of respondents said they expect to use mobile internet technology on a daily basis within this time frame.The study, commissioned by Tellabs for this week's Mobile World Congress (MWC) event , also showed that more than 25 per cent of those who do not currently use mobile data services intend to start using them shortly.Jesse Goranson, spokesperson for the Nielsen Group, commented: "By delving deeper into consumer intent, the Tellabs survey comes just in time as the industry debates demand for services and capital requirements at MWC."The industry event is currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain and will run until February 19th.

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Screen Digest urges Microsoft to expand mobile platform

Media analyst Screen Digest has encouraged Microsoft to be more aggressive in order to compete with names such as Apple and Google.According to the organisation, the two companies represent a "potent challenge" to Microsoft's ambition to expand its mobile technology platform.Therefore, it has urged the computer giant to step up its efforts to compete with its rivals if it wants to gain momentum in the mobile sector.Screen Digest commented: "Microsoft needs mobile to compete with Google on advertising and web services.""However, today's mobile software market is much more competitive."Microsoft was advised to make its synchronisation and back-up services available this year, along with its application store, revamped user interfaces and Windows Mobile 6.5 technology.Screen Digest added that this would allow the company to compete with innovations such as the iPhone and Android handsets.Major players in the mobile phone industry are currently showcasing their latest products at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.

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Mobile Marketer's Mobile Outlook 2008

Please click here to download the PDF file or click on the image below.
Apple, Verizon and Procter & Gamble already know what Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Intel are learning: that 2008 is the year of mobile. No, seriously – reading Mobile Marketer’s Mobile Outlook 2008 will confirm that mobile will play a key supporting role this year in multichannel marketing efforts.
The first guide of its kind for marketers, Mobile Outlook 2008 has insights and analysis on topics such as advertising, banking and payments, search, video, music, gaming, social networks, legal, messaging, email, media, software and technology, CRM, database marketing, ad networks and content.
To put this Classic Guide together, Mobile Marketer’s reporters and editors interviewed key executives at organizations such as the Mobile Marketing Association, Hearst Magazines, Forrester Research, Medio Systems, Thumbplay, Hip Digital Media,TowerGroup and Range Online Media.

Also interviewed were executives from StrongMail Systems, BiggerBoat, Artificial Life, ICE Technologies, eMarketer, Mozes, The Orchard, CPX Interactive, Gold Mobile, Sybase iAnywhere, Rave Wireless and Kroll Direct Marketing.
These executives play a vital role in the mobile marketing ecosystem. We hope their insights and analysis will help you in your marketing efforts this year as you decide mobile’s role in the overall media mix.
Please read Mobile Marketer’s Mobile Outlook 2008 from cover to cover and also circulate the guide to your colleagues, clients and prospects. Please also encourage them to visit http://www.mobilemarketer.com/and sign up for our free newsletters that offer the latest news and analysis on mobile marketing, media and commerce.

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Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising

By Mickey Alam Khan

Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising
Welcome to the first edition of Mobile Marketer’s Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising.
Targeting advertisers, media planners and buyers, agency executives, publishers, teleservices pros, carrier officials and service providers, this guide is chock-full of information on how to conceive, execute and analyze mobile ad campaigns.
Mobile advertising is at a critical juncture in its history. Marketers have expressed interest in reaching consumers on the go through opted-in marketing, advertising and promotions. But not too many know their way around this latest wing of the multichannel marketing industry. This guide aims to solve that problem.
Senior executives from key advertising agencies, service providers, site developers, ad networks, analytics companies, email specialists, search marketing firms and publishers have contributed time and wisdom to put together a how-to guide for seasoned practitioners and first-timers.
The list of contributors to this guide includes representatives from Bango, Limbo, Crisp Wireless, Havas Digital’s Mobext, Enliven Marketing Technologies, AdMob, Telescope, Mobisix, Return Path, 5th Finger, QuickPlay Media, Avot Media, Medio Systems, Pivotal Veracity, Greystripe, Zumobi, Range Online Media and Steak Media.
Also on that list are executives from Quattro Wireless, go2 Media, Omnicom's Prometheus, AdaptiveMobile, Safecount, Dynamic Logic, MRI-The Boston Group, GoTV Network, SiteSpect, Velti, Acision, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.’s Draftfcb and Air2Web.
The articles offer best-practice tips, educational points of view and analysis. The case study on Johnson & Johnson is worth reading, as is the research on measuring ad effectiveness on the mobile Web.
Mobile Marketer’s Giselle Abramovich scored a scoop with her detailed feature on Playboy’s plans for mobile. The publisher offers a decent roadmap for most of its peers, highlighting the potential of leveraging content and advertising across several channels including mobile.
Another outstanding feature is the extensive survey on global mobile marketing trends as seen by key Draftfcb officers worldwide.
Draftfcb is known for its branding and direct marketing expertise. So the agency was well suited to deliver a fairly accurate snapshot of mobile advertising and marketing’s prospects this year and in the future.
It’s no exaggeration to say that mobile advertising is about to revolutionize the way that marketers reach out to consumers for branding or customer acquisition or customer retention purposes.
Of course, it bears keeping in mind that the mobile channel is the most personal of all, so extra caution is advised while devising and deploying mobile ad campaigns. Each ad or campaign must respect the consumer’s privacy, while making sure that the advertiser’s brand experience is not diluted.
But there is no doubt that a well-targeted mobile ad campaign will strengthen bonds between brand and consumer. The ads must lead to information or offers of value to the consumer. Keep them simple, keep them straight and keep them results-oriented.
The authors of the 30-plus articles in this guide play a vital role in the mobile advertising, marketing and media ecosystem. Their insights and analysis will help you in your mobile advertising efforts as you work on your multichannel outreach plans. Reach out to them and those companies featured on every page of this guide.
To Giselle Abramovich, Dan Butcher, Gabby Kalika and Jodie Solomon – many thanks for their help in making Mobile Marketer the preeminent publication covering mobile marketing, media and commerce.
Also, thank you to marketing consultant Rob DiGioia for his art direction on this guide. It is a labor of love that shows in word and image.
Please read Mobile Marketer’s Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising from cover to cover and circulate to colleagues, clients and prospects. Please also visit http://www.mobilemarketer.com/ and sign up for our free newsletters that offer the latest news and analysis on mobile marketing, media and commerce.
We hope you benefit from this guide and look forward to featuring your mobile advertising wisdom and work in the next.

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Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce

By Giselle Abramovich


Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce
Mobile commerce: It’s a reality
Welcome to Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce.
Retail giants Target, Sears and Wal-Mart and fashion houses Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana and Dior all went mobile this year, proving that mobile commerce is here to stay. The launch of the iPhone 3G, BlackBerry Storm and the G1 Android-enabled phone proved that this industry is capable of getting over the smallscreen challenge.
The fact of the matter is that mobile commerce isn’t just something marketers are dabbing their feet into. They are slowly starting to jump in full throttle.
Retailers such as GameStop are using mobile coupons to drive consumers in store. If that’s not mobile commerce, I don’t know what is.
I think for the first time we can proudly say that 2008 was the year for mobile commerce. Yes, the channel still has ways to go. Yes, there are still some consumers who don’t trust mobile. But isn’t that always the case?
Let’s look back to the beginning of the Internet and ecommerce.
Consumers had all the same doubts about ecommerce as they do today with mobile commerce. It was a challenge that the industry faced and ecommerce companies and the software and technology companies that serve them overcame.
The same will be true for mobile commerce because, let’s face it, it is here and it isn’t going away.
It’s no exaggeration when I say that mobile commerce will soon change the shopping habits of consumers just like the Internet already has done.
Remember the mobile channel is more personal than any other and there’s no doubt that well-thought out mobile commerce sites and services will strengthen the bonds between brands and consumers.
However, there are still brands and companies that are newcomers to the mobile commerce space and don’t know where to begin.
This guide aims to help retailers, marketers, advertising agencies, service providers, site developers, ad networks, analytics companies and others find their way around the mobile commerce industry.
The list of contributors to this guide includes representatives from 5th Finger, Bango, Acision, Acuity Mobile, Billing Revolution, ChaCha, Clickatell, Kelle Drye & Warren, Liquid Wireless, MCN, Miller Nash, Mobile Data Systems, Mobile Posse, Mobisix, Money Mailer, MPower Mobile, MTT, on-Idle, Personal Remedies, Siteminis, SiteSpect, Skycore, SmartReply and Sybase 365.
The articles offer best-practice tips, educational points of view and analysis.
The case study on retail giant Sears’ mobile strategy is worth reading.
The authors of the 20-plus articles in this guide play a vital role in the mobile commerce ecosystem. Their insights and analysis will help you in your mobile commerce efforts. We thank these senior executives for their time and hard work.
To editor in chief Mickey Alam Khan, staff reporter Dan Butcher and director of ad sales Jodie Solomon: Thank you for your help and guidance in producing this guide.
A special thanks to Rob DiGioia for his art direction and overall production of this guide.
Please read Mobile Marketer’s Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce from cover to cover and circulate it to your friends, colleagues, clients and prospects.
Also, visit http://www.mobilemarketer.com/ and sign up for our free newsletters that offer the latest news and analysis on mobile marketing, media and commerce.
We hope you benefit from this guide and look forward to featuring your mobile commerce wisdom and work in the next.

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Boost Mobile targets thrifty prepaid subscribers with new campaign

By Mickey Alam Khan
February 17, 2009

A frame from the Boost Mobile TV campaign
Boost Mobile, Sprint’s wholly owned prepaid wireless carrier, has launched a new ad campaign that rails against “abuses” suffered by mobile subscribers even as it moves beyond its urban youth market to price-conscious consumers.
The campaign, from ad agency 180LA, employs humor to reposition Boost as a carrier that has no unpleasant surprises – activation fees, overage charges and voicemail and roaming costs. The multichannel marketing push comes soon after Boost launched its Monthly Unlimited plan for a flat $50.
“We want to position Boost as the solution to all those ills in the wireless space,” said Caralene Robinson, director of marketing services at Boost, Irvine, CA. Titled “Unwronged,” the campaign takes on Boost prepaid rivals MetroPCS and Cricket with ads that highlight their shortcomings and the supposed subsequent negative effect on consumers.
Unlike its competitors, Boost points out in its ads that its customers will not suffer hidden fees, shoddy networks, contracts, mediocre handsets and credit checks.

She's listening ...
The Unwronged theme rings clear throughout, showing all “wrong” situations. For example, one ad shows pigs eating ham.
Boost has taken an ambitious media buy, aided by media shop Mindshare. The plan calls for national and local television commercials, local radio spots, bus shelters, billboards, national print media and online ads.
TV spots began airing yesterday on 10 networks and cable TV stations. The network buy comprised ABC, Fox and NBC. CBS did not offer favorable rates, so it was not chosen.

Caralene Robinson is director of marketing services at Boost Mobile
Talk is cheapBoost has 4 million pay-as-you-go subscribers. The brand typically targeted the younger, urban customer, aligned with hip-hop and extreme sporting events.
Now, thanks to the slow economy, the carrier wants to reach out to value-conscious mobile consumers suffering the pinch.
The Monthly Unlimited plan dovetails with that new focus. The all-inclusive prepaid service comes with two new phones, the Motorola i290 for entry-level customers and the Motorola i9 for high-end subscribers.
In addition, the Monthly Unlimited plan offers unlimited anytime nationwide talk, text and multimedia messaging, mobile Web and Walkie-Talkie services nationwide. Such inclusive packages may seem attractive to consumers worried about their jobs, homes and health.
“From a media and advertising perspective, we’re broadening our audience without alienating our core users,” Ms. Robinson said.
“The combination of the ad campaign plus our Monthly Unlimited offer will no doubt allow us to capture more share in the prepaid category,” she said.
Boost seems to be following parent Sprint’s philosophy in offering a flat-rate plan.
Sprint, which is hemorrhaging subscribers at an alarming rate, offers an all-you-can-eat voice and data plan called Simply Everything for $99.99. Yesterday it introduced a flat-rate service including mobile broadband for laptops for $149.99 – a savings of $599 per year versus comparable AT&T and Verizon Wireless plans.
The Boost makeover is defined by a clear value-proposition message that is as straight-talking in its approach as it is pugnacious.
Ms. Robinson declined to disclose the ad budget for the Unwronged campaign.
But the executive said Boost was spending significant launch dollars as opposed to a media spend dedicated to pushing mere brand extensions, offers or added services.
“For us what it presents is the opportunity to remake the prepaid category and the Boost opportunity within that category,” Ms. Robinson said.
“We saw an opportunity to really capture a broader share in the prepaid space,” she said. --> --

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Content portability, touch screens are buzz at Mobile World Congress

By Mickey Alam Khan
February 17, 2009

Michael Neidhoefer is CEO of Netbiscuits
Mobile World Congress, the world's largest mobile event, has attracted close to 50,000 delegates, down 10 percent from last year. What were they discussing? The economy, mobile's upward trajectory, content portability, new touch screens and applications.
Here are first-hand accounts from four delegates and exhibitors at the GSMA-organized Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Michael Neidhöfer is CEO of NetbiscuitsYes, the economic slowdown has arrived at the Mobile World Congress, too. Here and there, the GSMA has some booth space left and the halls seem to be a little less crowded than the year before. But talking to people tells you that the atmosphere isn’t bad at all.
The business partners I met [Feb. 16] generally welcome the market adjustments that are just going on. These adjustments make sure that only the most efficient and cost-effective solutions for the mobilization of content and services will make it.

Lars Aase is vice president of marketing at Momail
Additionally, in-sourcing seems to become an option for more and more players. Netbiscuits is looking forward to this becoming a trend in 2009.
The publishing industry is keen on mobile. Their losing ground in print continues and mobile is seen as a promising way to open up additional revenue streams.
One of the preferred ways to monetize seems to be the mix of mobile virtual network operator and mobile advertising strategies. Therefore, publishers are forming mobile advertising alliances in various markets.

Jaime Lanchares is CEO of Unkasoft
Regarding devices, the iPhone 3G is still gadget No. 1. It keeps setting the standard which Nokia’s N97 or the Android-enabled G1 are not able to reach.
But Android is generally seen much more positively today. After various handset manufacturers announced they will embrace Android, the content industry is looking forward to a larger set of devices that will enable a great mobile user experience.
Lars Aase is vice president of marketing at Momail, Stockholm, SwedenShort from my first day here at chilly Barcelona, and I don't mean the financial situation, even though it "hurts" the parties here.
For example, there are still tickets for sale for the Mobile World Congress Awards [on Feb. 17]. I will not go, but that's because the category for us is no more.
Most people are quite positive and traffic there is OK with people visiting the stands. Fifty-three percent here say business in telecom will grow this year and 23 percent "only" expect a decline. Don't ask me where I got the figures, but I have seen them in print [on Feb. 15].
Yesterday was my first day looking at hardware that will increase the possibilities for greater user experience for mobile usage and, of course, mobile marketing, or mobile email, if you like.
It's about "TTT" – touch, touch and touch! All major handset vendors launched touch devices.
So here are some highlights:
-- Sony Ericsson Idou, 12 (!) megapixel camera, new touch user interface, transparence and nice connections between phone/TV/stereo/PlayStation.-- Samsung Beat DJ. They are crazy, focusing on everyone wanting to be a "mobile DJ."-- Samsung Omnia HD, already upgraded with high resolution and new user interface -- Nokia E75, the world's "best mobile mail machine ever built" (Research In Motion agree?)-- LG Arena, new "S-class interface" (S stands for Symbian open foundation)-- ZTE and Huawei. The Chinese are getting better and better, but still not on the innovative edge
And here are the lowlights …
-- Motorola. I feel sorry for them, showing five years old "new" and few handsets, and no one with touch!-- Android. Lot of hype before show, nothing at the show (OK, Huawei did launch an Android smartphone)-- Apple and iPhone are not here. Sad they could have “taken” the show!-- Windows Mobile. They are lagging behind. Proof? Vendors are doing a sell on top of the Windows mobile user interface, trying to catch-up with the other OS platforms -- DoCoMo. Fifty phone models – all in pink. Really, are they at the right show?-- Palm Pre. Looks nice, but I was not allowed to visit their stand (invitees only!)
Jaime Lanchares is CEO of UnkasoftOne more year in the fantastic environment and warmth of Barcelona. We have the chance to gather with our partners, clients, operators and, of course, our competitors – always a pleasure.
My first impression of the event is that the economic situation has affected the show and there are less visitors, but there is still a sense of quality surrounding the conference.
Being an emerging company involved in the mobile marketing industry, we were very pleased to see very knowledgeable visitors at our stand.
These attendees know exactly what we offer in the mobile marketing arena, asking for the latest in advergaming and advertising. More mobile marketing agencies came to our stand to see the latest trends.
After a quick walk-around, here are my observations.
Microsoft presented a new great colored QR codes, faster to read than the regular DataMatrix. Really liked them. Back to advertising – brands enjoy more and improved mobile marketing tools.
Also Microsoft unveiled the new version of Windows Mobile 6.5, bringing enhancements like an application store – more new features to strengthen Windows Mobile.
DoCoMo presented a new separable mobile phone. It was a prototype with display and keypad separate from each other for greater functionality.
More devices are improving user experience for games and applications. And Nokia presented the light and powerful N97, fiercely competing with HTC G1, the new generation in mobile technology with access to Android Market.
Mohan Sadashiva is senior vice president of marketing at FusionOneWhile at Mobile World Congress there is buzz in the air – it’s called mobile content portability.
Led by Microsoft, Apple, Google and FusionOne, it is evident that the next wave of software development is creating content security in order to ensure consumers can transfer their content with ease from one mobile device to the other.
Most mobile content portability news came out weeks ago, but [yesterday] FusionOne and Verizon Wireless announced they had teamed up to provide Verizon customers with a multi-service sync technology.
From the show floor Microsoft announced several new products led by its Windows Mobile 6.5 platform.
To complement this news, it unveiled its My Phone service – the beta was called Skybox – which syncs information on your mobile phone to a storage space on a Web site hosted by Microsoft.
If your phone is lost or stolen, or if you upgrade to a new phone, you can easily restore the contacts, calendar appointments, photos and other information that you stored on My Phone to a compatible new or replacement phone.
Most phones that run the Windows Mobile 6 operating system are compatible with My Phone service.Google’s Sync for the iPhone, licensed by Microsoft, is also leading the charge in content portability by syncing up your Google contacts and calendar.
The service allows users to update phone contacts from a Gmail account and download Google calendar items back to your mobile device.
According to Google, Sync uses push technology to ensure your changes made are reflected on the device within minutes.
Apple’s MobileMe has been out for awhile now, but news was announced that users can now make use of their MobileMe iDisk to share larger files simply and easily through the Web. They also have an iPhone or iPod touch component for syncing content as well, and all of this done – automatically – over the air.
Sharing content with security and ease is going to be a trend to keep our eyes on in the coming year. It is relevant for so many facets of the mobile ecosystem, especially for licensed applications.
This will be highly relevant for music, games and any other branded application you want to move from one device to another without losing what was purchased.
As the industry comes to the rescue, it is not about syncing your mobile ringtones and wallpaper, but it’s about ensuring licensed content is secured as well. --> -->

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Accenture debuts global mobility business

By Mickey Alam Khan

Buy ticket now with a single click
Marketers and mobile service providers made major announcements in front of the 50,000 people attending Mobile World Congress that will affect mobile marketing this year. Here are some of them.
Mobile transaction network mBlox sender-pays data trialMobile transaction network mBlox has introduced what it claims is the world’s first mobile cross-carrier sender-pays data trial.
The trial lets content and service providers bundle the associated data costs for the purchase of mobile content on behalf of the consumer. Consumers will be able to buy data-rich content with the data cost included at the point of purchase.
Taking place in Britain, the trial involves most British carriers covering three-fourths of all mobile consumers in that market. It has launched with four content providers comprising the film, music and games, marketing and education sectors.
For example, Fox Mobile Distribution is launching trials offering customers zero-rated games and music services; Shorts TV is delivering mobile video on demand; Incentivated is offering a mobile video drama called “Thmbnls” for the government’s Department of Children, Schools and Families; and local authority Creative North is funding an educational application.

Mobile television on iPhone using PacketVideo technology
Mojiva, Billing Revolution partner on single-click buys from mobile adsMobile advertising platform provider Mojiva has incorporated single-click ability to advertisements running on its ad network.
The new partnership with mobile payments and billing services firm Billing Revolution will let consumers and merchants immediately buy what they see in a mobile ad. The goal is also to cut out steps in the checkout process.
Mojiva’s commerce-enabled ads will let consumers clicking on the advertiser’s ad buy the product even if that company does not have a mobile commerce site.
Using New York-based Mojiva’s self-service dashboard, advertisers can create a mobile landing page for their product or service.
Billing Revolution’s technology will let them create a custom checkout page linked to the mobile ad. Buyers need enter their billing information only once, enabling single-click credit card transactions from any Web-enabled mobile phone. No user name or PIN code is required.
The partnership will also let publishers receive a cut of transactions from such commerce-enabled ads on their mobile sites, in addition to monitoring the performance of campaigns that resemble pay-per-click models.
Accenture debuts global mobility businessManagement consultancy Accenture has created a global mobility business practice targeting wireless carriers and mobile firms.
Called Accenture Mobility Operated Services, the new business will offer a mobile services store that covers the design delivery and management of vertical mobility applications using Accenture’s software plarform.
The ready-to-deploy mobile apps comprise money management, voucher and ticketing, and mobile data collection, among other business- and consumer-focused services. The apps will rely on Accenture’s Service Delivery Platform.
Accenture Mobility Operated Services has already launched in Italy, creating a PosteMobile service for the Italian post office to sell mobile phone services. It will expand to other parts of Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas this year.
The new service will initially target the communications, financial services, resources, automotive, public service and retail sectors. Pricing will be based on transactions or subscriptions, with costs depending on the clients’ business volume, such as the number of subscribers, devices or transactions.
PacketVideo app to enable live TV on iPhonePacketVideo has launched its mobile video application for the Apple iPhone, allowing the delivery of carrier-branded television and video services to the phone.
The application will be sold through the carrier channel. Carriers will offer the new app under their own brand name through the Apple App Store.
This is the first time carrier-branded TV and video services will be viewed on the iPhone, according to PacketVideo, San Diego. A major carrier is expected to launch this application within the next six to eight weeks.
PacketVideo’s first commercial app for the iPhone is supported by its Core software platform that was shipped in more than 320 million mobile phones worldwide.
Jinny Software debuts mobile marketing and advertising serviceJinny Software, a supplier of messaging and media platforms to wireless carriers, debited a fully managed mobile marketing and advertising service.
The new service is designed to offer advertising from ad agencies to the carrier as a managed service and also to share revenue with the carrier. This revenue-share model cuts the need for carriers to spend upfront capital on building and implementing their own service, per Jinny, Dublin, Ireland.
Jinny’s new service will manage all aspects of a mobile ad campaign, from insertion in application-to-person messages to the delivery of online advertising and inbound/outbound campaigns.
Also, Jinny will manage contractual relationships with the ad agencies and brands, invoicing them for campaigns running across the platform.
Adobe Reader Mobile SDK now available for mobile PDF supportAdobe Systems announced the availability of the new Adobe Reader Mobile SDK, a software development kit meant to enable download, management and display of PDF content and ebooks on mobile phones and handheld devices.
The new software engine will support reflowable PDF technology and the Epub file format, which is the XML-based ebook standard for the publishing industry.
Adobe also introduced the Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 Distributable Player, an over-the-air mobile runtime. The player lets developers and content providers create Flash-based apps that target the latest version of the runtime, directly distributing such widgets to millions of open operating system devices.
Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 Distributable Player initially supports the Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile devices. It will let aggregators such as GetJar, Thumbplay and Zed as well as content creators deliver apps to mobile consumers through their Web catalogs.
Meanwhile, Palm has joined the Open Screen Project, an industry effort to allow standalone apps and full Web browsing across television sets, desktop computers and mobile devices using the Adobe Flash Platform. The Adobe Flash Player for smartphones will now be available on the new Palm webOS platform.
Verizon extends mobile content portability relationship with FusionOneVerizon is working with FusionOne to create and offer consumer and business services multi-service sync technology.
Subscribers will later this year be able to sync contacts and address books across Verizon services such as mobile, telecom and FiOS cable. Based on the same technology architecture, the mobile content portability deal comes on the heels of the deployment of FusionOne’s Backup Assistant.
“A consumer can update their information in any one place and this ripples across any multiple services they subscribe to,” said Mohan Sadashiva, senior vice president of marketing for FusionOne, San Jose, CA.
“[Verizon] wants to enable the subscriber to do whatever the subscriber wants to across Facebook, across Picasa,” he said. “It’s very hard for subscribers to download multiple services. They will allow you to upload it once and then share and publish in multiple places.”
Indeed, Basking Ridge, NJ-based Verizon’s goal is to make syncing easier between mobile, landline and broadband connections, thus eliminating the need to enter and re-enter the same names, phone numbers and email addresses. Verizon subscribers essentially need worry about only one set of contacts. -->

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