In Jan 2008, I went to Tokyo (the new New - York apparently) "on research" to see what's what over in Asia when it comes to mobile and what is now leading the industry for them. I took some snaps and I met with Ogilvy digital (Tokyo).
Tokyo is just a mad place and, eventually, I was dying to go home when faceed with all the media clutter and advertiser presence. In spite of this, it is the real vision of an "always on", digitally mobile and connected society where, if you do manage to intercept a Japanese consumer you have to make it count!
They do this by putting a mobile response number/url/QR code/ or search box on their advertising. This allows consumers to act on the advertising there and then, reducing OTS, and maximising advertising effectiveness (Plus it's relevant and cool etc..)
Here are some snaps of mobile enabled advertising (from Japan!) If you are interested in seeing a full presentation download slides below! (Just scroll to end - past all the pictures)
Donald
Guinness Drip mat pub locator - you snap the QR matrix and it takes to you mobile website.
Mobile response QR code on McDonalds POS, Leads to mobile website where information on menu and nutritional value can be found.
Mobile Search box on advertising
Coca Cola Ambient advertising - snap image and be brought to "coke side of life" mobile website.
PRESENTATION!
Toky'o'Mobile_Return2Sender.ppt (4.92 mb)
Posted by donald | Comments (2)
Tags: donald douglas, mobile marketing japan
Nielsen Mobile have released new stats that indicate the adoption of mobile web has reached a critical mass and can now support large scale marketing efforts.
The news comes in the same week as Admob announced that, as far as they're concerned the mobile web has grown 104% over the past 12 months with the US an UK growing substantially faster.
According to Nielsen 15.6% of mobile users regularly access mobile internet from their handsets which equates to some 40 million consumers.
(All in all, 95% million US subscribers access mobile internet, only 40 million do so on a regular basis however)
The UK and Italy followed the US, with 12.9 percent and 11.9 percent respectively, of subscribers going online from a mobile device.
The Nielsen report shows that the top things to do on mobile include - visiting music portals, email access, weather reports, news/politics, search, city maps and sports.
Surprising how search feature far down on the list when key industry voices are maintaining that the evolution of search over mobile will be the single most influencing factor in its growth.
Top 5 handsets used to access internet over mobile, according to Admob, are; Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Apple featuring at no.9 which is impressive considering that the iPhone hasn't been on the market a wet weekend!
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)
Tags: mobile internet, statistics, admob, nielsen mobile
The results of a new study were released this week which claim that mobile devices are becoming the dominant marketer - consumer touchpoint.
The study was commissioned by mobile search and advertising solutions provider Jumptap and carried out by Research and alalysis of Media (RAM).
RAM conducted their research with a sample group of 200 Swedish Telia Surfport users to measure recall, purchase intent and quality on mobile.
When compared with online ads it was found that Jumptap's mobile ads had on average a 20% greater recall rate. Further to this users caid that they would be much more likely to seek further information after seeing a mobile ad - 10% of 16 - 24 year olds and 28% of 45 - 79 year olds.
Women are especially more inclined to follow up with a purchase (15%) upon seeing a mobile ad.
Gartner group predict the worth of mobile advertising to reach €1.7 billion in 2008.
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)
Tags: mobile internet, statistics, jumptap, ram, research
Results of a new study on mobile internet browsing have found that men outnumber women 9 to 1.
According to Opera Telecom 88% of mobile web surfers worldwide are male. Additionally, the majority of consumers accessing mobile internet via Opera's mini browser application are between the ages of 18 and 27.
This disputes Return2Sender research that clearly shows there are no real gender differences when it comes to mobile use and attitudes. In fact we found that women are more inclined to download ringtones and wallpapers than their male counterparts.
To request a copy of the Return2Sender lansdowne market research please click here
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)
Tags: mobile internet, statistics, oprera telecom, reeturn2sender market research
With thanks to 3G technology and higher end phones being more accessible to consumers usage of mobile internet across Europe is experiencing massive growth according to a research report commissioned by the mobile operator body - GSM Association (GSMA).
The EU's mobile data market grew by 40% last year and to €7 Billion, with 3G users doubling to 112 million in the year to April 2008.
The GSMA attributed falling costs of 3G services, handsets and 3G enabled laptops to driving the market. Costs are perhaps the most important factor to uptake of next generation services as more and more operators introduce bundled data packages and flat rate deals the association also claim that competition from WIFI is helping to keep prices down.
Tom Phillips, chief government and regulatory affairs officer of the GSMA, has said of the rising use of mobile internet "We expect prices to continue to fall as operators further innovate around tariffs and more and more Europeans use these services as a part of their everyday lives."
According to the research, the average retail price of data roaming in the EU fell by 25 percent in the year to April 2008, andthe cost of text message roaming services dropped 18 percent in the same period. Finally, data roaming traffic in the EU grew by 75 percent in the same period.
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)
Tags: gsma, mobile internet, mobile data pricing
Although Ireland have no place in the European finals this time around we must soldier on and continue to join in the fun!
And so brings us to Carlsberg's latest campaign that hopes to help us do just that!
Return2Sender is deee-lighted to announce it's involvement in Carlsberg's "Live It" campaign which has just gone live in the past few weeks. "Live It" is primarily executed online and over mobile. The brand is advertising through all traditional channels (On - Pack, TV, Outdoor, DM etc..), banner ads online and mobile advertising.
The main objective for the activity is to get consumers signing up to the promotion to receive their free Carlsberg supporters pack through the post.
Consumers can sign up by visiting the liveit.ie website or by texting LIVEIT to the shortcode provided.
Once registered consumers are given exclusive access to the Live It supporters area where they can catch latest news updates and fixtures, take the footbal quiz, watch videos (incl. retro football moments),upload their own videos of classic footballl moments and downlaod screensavers and wallpapers. A support WAP site for the campaign has also been built and will also provide latest news, fixtures & results, TV listings, retro video vault and free mobile content. The mobile site will also be advertising on 02 active using banner ads.
If you would like to sign up text LIVEIT to 51725! Or visit www.liveit.ie
Posted by lisa | Comments (3)
Tags: carlsberg, euro 2008, new campaign, return2sender
With the imminent release of Madonna's big comeback album "Hard Candy" and Justin collaboration "4 minutes (to save the world)" the pop Queen is pushing promotion through alternative media channels. Firstly Madonna debuted the single in a Unilever ad (US) for Sunsilk and now she is attacking mobile with gusto!
This time Madonnna will be releasing the new album (7 tracks) exclusively to 250million Vodafone customers worldwide before the album hits the shelves.
The tracks will be available from the 21st of April and will be released at the rate of "one a day" for the week leading up to general sale. Each track will remain live for 24 hours and then replaced with the next one. The exclusive will be advertised on the Vodafone portal and a support site will also feature associated mobile content including ringtones, ringback tones and SMS tones.
John Reid, vice chairman of Warner Music, said: "This is an innovative way to reach millions of Madonna fans around the world, building anticipation and excitement around this landmark release and helping to create a real event for Vodafone customers."
Vodafone is the number one digital music service provider in the mobile industry in Europe and number two digital music service provider overall.
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)
Tags: madonna, hard candy, mobile music, mobile content, vodafone
In association with Dublin's WHPR we have just launched Mr.T on your mobile! Mr.T and Snickers are back on TV this month after huge success late last year and a WAP site full of Mr.T content is being made available in support of the campaign re - launch. The campaign has become iconic for it's advertising and associations with Mr.T. The ads have been downloaded over 800,000 times on Youtube already.
The WAP site features a whole host of content for free download including - ringtones/Mr.T sound bites, wallpapers, the ad itself, the Snickers "Get some nuts challenge" and there's also a competition offering a chance to win an Nintendo Wii.
The full content mobile internet site has been live for over a week now and is being promoted on the Vodafone LIVE portal. Animated banner ads have been up on various areas of the portal as of last Monday (18th Feb) and results are proving that there is real cut - through to be had for early movers in this environment.
Mobile internet runs on a cost per impression model as opposed to internet banner ads, which are charged per click.
Not only are mobile users responding to the ads but activity on the site itself has far exceeded expectations. Visitors in their thousands are downloading content, watching the video ad on their handsets and forwarding the site on to friends. The result now is that thousands of people out there have the Snickers/ Mr.T content on their phones and are free to pass it along to friends via bluetooth and MMS. So now the brand lives in their phones, their most personal device .
To view the banner ads please visit Vodafone LIVE or to be sent a WAP link leading to the site text the word SNICKERS to the shortcode 51727. (Std text rates apply, ROI only)
If not in Ireland you can access the site by typing in the following URL www.r2s.ie/snickers
You can also give us a call on 01 679 0640 if you would like to discuss the campaign further, find out more about mobile internet sites and also mobile advertising! Get Some Nuts!!! Grrrr....
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)
Tags: mr.t, snickers, mobile internet, mobile advertising, return2sender, mobile content
The mobile phone has become integral to the concert experience as now equipped with Camera’s and Bluetooth on their mobiles, concert - goers regularly record their memories by sending pictures to loved ones, film a band singing their favorite songs and after the event, post it all on YouTube. Bands and popular music acts are embracing the behaviour rather than admonshing it by integrating mobile marketing into the concert program. At recent Gwen Stefani concerts, as many as 20% of the audience entered a text to win competition and agreed to pay 99c per text to be in with the chance of winning better seats. Matthew Knowles, Beyonce's father and manager, said that he intends to use the thousands of numbers collected on her recent tour to pitch a variety of products, including a Beyonce phone!
We haven't had a great summer of it but it has to be said that in Ireland the popularity of festivals and big outdoor gigs is growing massively and providing the perfect opportunity for brands to enhance the experiences of revellers.Bacardi do this with their hugely popular “Live” tent and Budweiser do it twice a year with it’s BusRising series. Having everyone in one place is a great way to really reach your audience whether a band or a marketer. Mobile offers endless opportunities for advertisers to communicate with crowds of this nature and this is why experts predict a growing mobile presence of brands at concerts and festivals over the coming years.
We were helping out at BudRising this year and by using mobile the brand enhanced the consumer experience by adding new levels of interactivity. Pictures taken by promotional staff were sent to the Big Screen, numbers were simulateously gathered and the activity was followed up by sending consumers out branded print outs of their concert pictures; A Mobile Internet site was developed where people could download videos and ringtones from their favorite bands. They could access stage times and download a map of marlay park; Finally, a text and win promotion on the day, linked to purchase of Budweiser gave away 100 pairs of pit passes via SMS, which we authenticated with PDAs.
The opportunity is there at these massive events to target specific audiences and capture their mobile number for possible future communications either during the festival/night itself or in the weeks and months that follow, creating the ultimate in brand experience that speaks with consumers; making them feel welcome.
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)
New_statistics_were_released this week and have injected fresh excitement into the the mobile world.
Firstly, big news this week that the mobile internet is already 1/5 the size of the Internet! At 19% mobile search and web services are revving up for a period of strong growth. According to the new stats presented by Telphia and ComScore, in the UK, 67% of mobile web users are under 35, with the equivalent figure for PC web being 39%. Check out full details at MobHappy.
Also this week, Yell.com released the results of their own study of 1,042 mobile internet users and found that middle aged, british men are the early adopters for mobile internet and mobile internet services. The report researched mobile search usage, top turn ons to mobile internet and turn offs. According to the results published in a 6 page document, contextual content is king as 40% of those asked use mobile internet to save time, and maps, shop directions and directories were listed as being pivotal drivers of value for mobile internet usage. So important are the services that 72% said that they would choose to use the mobile web for practical services such as those already mentioned over entertainment ones.
Looking behind the stats for a second its fair to say that the reason more of the "oldies" or 34 - 44 yr olds are adopting to mobile services than the younger segments can be attributed to the fact that they are the ones who can afford the high data charges. And so it stands to reason then that they would have less interest in using mobile web for entertainment. I'm sure that as soon as more and more operators introduce flat rate data pricing the consumption of mobile entertainment will increase as the early adopters become younger.
Other points of interest include 31% of mobile phone users have searched the mobile web in the past month and top "turn - offs" to using the mobile web are dating services and social networking.
Posted by lisa | Comments (0)