For the first time at a speaking event, I was encouraged to get out and use my cell phone (as opposed to silencing it immediately, or turning it off all together). Perhaps this is an indicator of the progress of mobile marketing.
Last Wednesday’s Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA) event was a packed house, full of folks wondering “is mobile marketing poised to deliver?” The panel was moderated by Louis Gump, VP of Mobile at The Weather Channel Interactive, and consisted of four mobile experts and realistic discerners of mobile marketing:
• Bill Jones, President & CMO at Air2Web
• Brent Gaskamp, Sr. Director Business Development of Mobile at Yahoo!
• Andrew Dod, SVP of Marketing at Xosphere
• Deepak Anand, Mobile Marketing Manager at Google
All panelists cautioned that mobile marketing is not always applicable, bigger is not better, and that for now keeping it simple is the safest way to go.
Andrew Dod set the current climate of the mobile environment by comparing it to where the Internet was in 1994 - that is, ready to explode. He continued by explaining that because our phones are a direct and personal link to us – they are also becoming a portal of connectivity for marketers to reach us. He forecasted an increasing amount of rich media, but thought it was unrealistic at the present time.
Dod’s advice is to target a specific audience, at a specific time and location, in order to build a specific experience. Ultimately, this develops stronger connections between a brand and its audience. He went on to applaud the Jameson Whiskey mobile marketing campaign (a St. Patrick’s Day campaign) as an outstanding execution of these qualities. The campaign had people text in a code they got off a coaster, to which they received a reply of a traditional Irish toast.
All panelist were quick to mention that while ownership of PDAs is low, sales are out of sight - with Apples’ iPhone leading the pack. Obviously, they all agreed that design for the Web and design for Mobile are very different - with mobile presenting it’s own limitations. For this reason, it is imperative to design mobile sites as simplistically as possible.
Google’s Depak Anand plugged some of their own unarguably cool PDA applications; namely, mobile mapping, Street View, and Android, the new open source mobile operating system. Anand continued by supporting Dod’s advice: a specific audience (business class travelers, for example) at the specific time (airline check-in) is served extremely well by a deeper PDA application, as observed by Delta’s mobile check-in, a fantastic application for the business traveler, who typically sports the latest PDA and is on-the-go. Yet, while the possibilities are huge with these mobile applications, they are still widely unmarketable to the general masses who are still texting by means of “three button push.”
Classic themes in search marketing emerged with both Google and Yahoo. Each was quick to advise keeping search and phraseology short and direct. Yahoo’s Brent Gaskemp suggested buying certain typos as ad words to account for mistakes made in typing, which can occur much more frequently when using small mobile keypads.
However, neither of the search giants had amazing things to say about measurability and tracking. In fact, all panelists had to confess to limitations in this area – one that is critical for decision makers, particularly given circumstances where budgets are constrained.
MY CLOSING THOUGHTS
I must confess that while I work for a digital marketing agency, I’m probably one of the least techno-savvy people among my esteemed colleagues. Don’t get me wrong. I have heard the whimsical call of the Siren iPhone …only to be hit upside the head by my wallet when I get too close.
Even so, I admit to my increased use of texting and the excitement that rushes to me when I see I’ve received a new text message. This comes from a guy that has primarily used his cell phone as a watch and a way to check in with the wife. This all has got me thinking of our Behavioral Research department, and how useful mobile devices could be in surveying, polling and testing. People fiddle with their phone during free/ boredom time. What if we could engage them mobily and gather their thoughts “on the move?” Maybe it’s a near term possibility, maybe not.
The discussion was so prolific we didn’t get time to address other topics, such as legalities, privacy laws and, unfortunately, health concerns. One thing I know for certain is that the potential is incredible. I combine that with the fact that teenagers today rely heavily on their cell phones as a means of communicating with their friends and family, as well as expressing themselves. Catalyze that with how fast technology is advancing and possibilities are endless.
I was checking out Geek Sugar last night and came across an interesting video posting about the iPhone. The point of the post was that the iPhone interface is so simple that anyone can easily figure out how to use it — even a two year old toddler.
In searching YouTube, I came across quite a few videos (see a couple below). The interesting part is that there are no videos of any baby boomers using it. Hmm … I guess that it’s not that interesting to see a 44-year-old using their iPhone. Heheh.
Everyone involved in digital marketing is well aware that every year — since, what, 2000? — has been named “The Year of Mobile.”
Without surprise, yet another year is coming up short.
AdAge came out with an interesting article (Why ‘08 Isn’t Mobile’s Year — Again [requires subscription to read]) that tackles the reasons why we have been prematurely forecasting every new year as THE year, along with fixes that make 2009 more probable.
AdAge’s outlined mobile’s challenges as:
CHALLENGE NO. 1: REACH (OR LACK THEREOF)
CHALLENGE NO. 2: MEASUREMENT
CHALLENGE NO. 3: COMPLEXITY
CHALLENGE NO. 4: THE MISNOMER OF MOBILE AS AD MEDIUM
CHALLENGE NO 5: THERE’S BEEN NO HALLELUJAH MOMENT
I think Ad Age did a really decent job of identifying the pieces of the puzzle that must fit together before THE year can happen. The biggest point is that the technology need to reach the masses is still not widely adopted.
“Of the 219 million U.S. wireless subscribers, just over 30 million are on data plans, according to M:Metrics. That means more than 86.1% still use mobile devices primarily for talk, which isn’t optimal for mobile marketing.”
Clearly, there is progress that needs to be made before mobile takes off. As AdAge suggests, beginning to define the elements that will create success now will serve us well when the audience is ready for it.
I am a fan of biking, just ask any of my coworkers who have had the pleasure of seeing me haul into the office after a nice jaunt. I am also a application developer and web addict. Given the ubiquity of cheap wi-fi, the pleasure of not having to park or follow most traffic laws, and an investment in a laptop which weighs 3 pounds and has a 5 hour battery life, I tend to do a lot of work on the trail.
This has lead to an interesting problem. Most of my job is creating web applications which fail when you do not have any internet access. Now not being able to check my email when I am on the side of Stone Mountain may not be a problem, but not being able to update my spreadsheets, compose mail, or save my changes to the next great American novel is.
Many sites do not see the need for dealing with intermittent connectivity and instead take an all or nothing approach. Things are changing, needs are changing, and this attitude should change. Over the past few years there have been several technologies developed and proposed which mitigate these issues.
One that I have worked with is the Dojo Storage API. This API is a part of the Dojo project, an open source Javascript library. It provides wrappers for Adobe Flash’s shared object functionality which means that I can write Javascript code which will call Flash and save data to the user’s machine even if I am not online.
There are a few downsides to using the Dojo Storage API. First, a user must have Flash installed and must not have disabled shared objects. This is not a very large concern because of the large userbase of flash, however; Apple’s iPhone does not have a version of Flash and is not capable of using this API. Secondly, this API is part of the Dojo Offline SDK which has not had a stable release.
Of course this is still a far cry from an official, supported, implemented standard such as ones being proposed by the W3C (and subsequently ignored by Microsoft, Apple, Opera, Mozilla or bascially whoever DIDN’T propose the standard), but it offers a general step in the right direction.
So maybe it’s just our definition of expectations that needs alignment. It certainly isn’t distribution - a recent annoucement that 1 of every 2 humans in the world now carries a cell phone surely resonates.
Going mobile? Smart decision. Analysts keep saying that companies expect a huge increase in mobile interactions with their customers over the next few years. But designing for mobile isn’t like designing for today’s website. Here are just a few tips to save your on-the-go users endless downloads, needless frustration–and to keep them coming back for more.
Think Simple Yet Engaging I mean, really simple. Remember your users are dealing with those confounded mobile device interfaces on top of your mobile website interface. Most devices can’t handle large downloads, either. So use simple layouts with very concise yet very clear navigation, optimized images and video, brief text, and limited options.
Choose & Prioritize Your Content Wisely
You can’t gear all of your content for mobile, so select your mobile content strategically. Google categorizes mobile users into three behavior types:
Repetitive now (e.g. checking stock quotes, sports scores, etc. regularly)
Urgent now (e.g. looking up directions to an airport)
Bored now (e.g. playing games or reading entertainment headlines to kill time).
Identifying content that supports those three behaviors is a good start toward a mobile communication and content strategy.
Keep Consistency with Your Regular Website Even tiny mobile screens have room for look and feel. Tie in the look and feel of your main website with your mobile site so users know they’re in the right place and attribute their positive mobile experience to your brand.
Redirect Mobile Traffic to Your Mobile Site & Promote Your Mobile Site Unfortunately, you probably won’t work out a deal with wireless carriers such as Verizon and AT&T to include your link as a default destination in their mobile web browsers. So your users will use their mobile device to visit your main website (the one they see on their PC). Fortunately, you can save them the pain of downloading your huge home page to their tiny screen. Technology can detect whether users are visiting your main website through a mobile device and automatically send them to your mobile site.
To draw in users who are unaware you have a mobile presence, promote your mobile site vigorously, especially on your regular website. Some nice examples include CNN.com and Delta.com.
If your cell phone surprisingly disappears, this video may explain where it went. Our Behavioral Research Department just loves conducting user experience tests on cell phones, PDAs, and touch screen iPhones. Check it out!
P.S. We promise to take good care of your devices! =)
Okay, maybe communication never truly left … but our awareness of it has grown keen as we shape effective customer experiences in interactive media. Recently, Donovan (Director of User Experience) gave a presentation about web 2.0’s impact on the landscape of user (customer) experience. He convincingly described how web 2.0 capabilities evolved as a response to user needs and allow the web to become, among other things, the communication medium people envisioned 10 years ago.
In this changed landscape of customer experience, what is communication exactly? How do we ensure customers not only get our messages but also find them relevant and convincing? How do we coordinate messages across multiple channels to deepen our relationships with customers?
As a start toward answering such questions, I just published “Rediscovering Communication“ for the online magazine UXmatters. Please add your insights as we journey through this exciting landscape together.
I read this on Slashdot this morning because I don’t read the NY Times …
“The NYTimes is running a story about an iPhone flaw that has been found and documented by researchers from Independent Security Evaluators. Attackers were able to gain full control of the iPhone either through WiFi or by visiting a website with malicious code. The exploit will be demonstrated at BlackHat on Aug. 2nd at 4:45pm. Until then, ‘details on the vulnerability, but not a step-by-step guide to hacking the phone, can be found at www.exploitingiphone.com, which the researchers said would be unveiled today.’”
Anyone hacked an iPhone lately? If so, what did you do with it? I would spam people with SMS and call my friend in Thailand for free.
Design and usability are to many “form and function” - the chocolate and peanut butter, and also the difference between an amazing product and a soon to be forgotten one.
I would like this blog post to be Round 1 of the debate over the design interface, the overall product design and its usability among the public. What this is not is a place to complain about Apples’ battery life issues from previous technologies or how Apple will be creating yet another design movement that will effect everything from toasters to toilets. (see iMac)
(Enter and exit Ring Girls and the sound of the bell)
At Spunlogic, we have a lot of great experience and unique ideas to share. From work with clients to new approaches and trends, in this award winning blog you'll find Spunlogic experts sharing their opinions and ideas on all aspects of interactive marketing.
