Mojiva Blog

When Should One Use Animation In Mobile Ad Campaigns?

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:37:24 PDT

by Amy Vale

According to our partner, Crisp Media, animated ads are 4.5 times more effective than static banners. A few weeks back, we looked at how gaming has become a highly effective feature in mobile ads. In a similar way, animation helps with keeping consumers engaged for longer periods of time. What we have learned through our partners though, is that animation is best for companies and campaign strategies where the purpose is to keep the user within the ad, rather than to encourage click-throughs.

As an advertiser looking to help a client with mobile advertising, you have lots of options including full screen animation in interstitials or expandables, animated adhesion banners, animated game play, and other forms of custom animation. Recently, there have been some great examples of mobile ad campaigns that have achieved success through the use of animation.

We have discussed this ad before, but it is just so effective, it is worth bringing up again. The campaign for REI's Winter Sale, which ran on The Weather Channel mobile web for iPhone and Android, utilized animation extremely well. The ad began with an animated takeover where the temperature dropped and snow clouds covered the screen of the mobile device. Users were then invited to interact with the ad by swiping away the snow, revealing the option to visit the REI mobile site for winter sales. By using animation in the mobile ad, REI managed to cleverly turn a clothing sale into a fun, dynamic and highly interactive mobile experience. It also linked the idea of weather to the sale of winter clothes. Animation was key here!

In another example, the mobile ad campaign for the new Audi A6 car made it “rain” on the screen. To showcase the improved intelligent capabilities of the new Audi A6, this animated takeover featured a full-screen overlay to a mobile site, beginning with raindrops as the panel faded to black. Then the new A6 ripped through the panel, leaving a wake in the rainwater behind it. The final frame of the video ad is of the new Audi A6, with a “tap to” call to action taking the user to the mobile site to learn more.

Another mobile ad campaign utilizing animation very well is Dr. Pepper. In the ad, imaginary characters, such as the Diet Dr Pepper Guy introduce various calls to action, including inviting users to enter a sweepstakes. The characters were used to help keep users on the page for a longer amount of time than is usually spent within other mobile ads.

According to Crisp Media, who worked with Dr. Pepper on the ad mentioned, employing animation works better for some companies than others, especially when the purpose is to keep the user within the ad, rather than encouraging “click-throughs.” Animation creates an exciting way to utilize rich media and to engage someone within the content experience. “If it’s a fun brand, like soda or candy, you want to potentially entice them to interact, but not to leave,” Mr. Limongello said. “Because there’s no payment for leaving, unless they’re going to buy a Dr Pepper.”

Have you considered making animation a central feature of your mobile ad campaigns?

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Incorporate Gaming Into Your Mobile Advertising Campaigns

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:31:46 PDT

by Amy Vale

While we’ve been looking at recent mobile ads across different industries and verticals the past few months, one of the standout themes which we’ve noticed is the emergence of gaming into the world of mobile advertising. We know by now that the most successful mobile ad campaigns are the ones that connect with the user and create interactive experiences, keeping the consumer occupied in the ad for longer, and thus engaging with the brand. This is why gamification has become so popular in mobile advertising.

McDonalds has effectively incorporated gaming as a central feature of their mobile ad campaign. Their recent 2012 expandable ad for McDonald's Oatmeal featured a Memory Game. Users clicked the tiles to match the ingredients in the quickest amount of time. They could keep playing, find a store or visit the McDonald's mobile website. They also developed an interactive mobile ad in 2011 where users played a memory game to match the McDonald's Wholesome Breakfast items with their calorie count. The ad not only became fun for users but educated consumers about McDonald’s new healthy brand image and encouraged them to go out and purchase a McDonald’s meal.

Daily deal giant, Groupon has also released a mobile ad campaign which focuses on branding, but also has a gaming element in it. Groupon reinforces its message of great deals with a “Whack a Deal” savings game. Users can tap the deals as they “pop” up and see how many deals they whacked and how much they saved. From the game, users could then sign-up to receive emails and download the Groupon app.

And another favorite, AMEX Delta reinforced its message of easier travel through a tricky tile puzzle in their mobile ad. Users shift the tiles around to solve the image of a smart AMEX traveler, or tap the AMEX Delta card for an instant solution. Once the puzzle is resolved, a new panel showcases a few of the benefits of using AMEX to fly with Delta. Users could opt to learn more by tapping on a video or visiting the AMEX mobile website.

Mini-games within a mobile ad campaign can be highly effective. They encourage consumers to spend more time interacting with your brand in the mobile ad. We are seeing things like puzzle tiles; memory tiles; shatter which “breaks” the screen; and pop, which allows consumers to tap on logos, characters or icons to burst or smash them, but these ideas are only limited by your imagination. Gaming might seem just like a bit of fun for a user, but even though users feel like they are just “playing” a game they are actually engaging with the brand and staying longer in the mobile ad. Have you considered ways to incorporate gaming into your mobile ad campaigns?

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Mojiva Wins BMA’s Ace Awards - Best Branding Identity/Logo Design

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:50:17 PDT

by Amy Vale

Last night, I was very proud to accept the award for Mojiva for first place in Best Branding Identity/Logo Design at the Business Marketing Association’s Ace Awards.

The room was filled with some of the best in advertising including Ogilvy and Mather, The Barbarian Group, and Doremus just to name a few.

Held at the Edison Ballroom, this awards ceremony has been around for 30 years and celebrates the best in B2B creative ideas and executions. To find out more about the Business Marketing Association, click here.

Mobile Ad Monetization of Apps Leads to Major Success

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:31:30 PDT

by Amy Vale

We’ve spoken before about the different ways of turning app development into a successful business. There is always the option of developing a mobile app that is pay-to-download, but now the general feeling in the mobile and app development world is that it’s far better to go down the route of developing an app that is made available to the public for free but monetized through mobile advertising. This way, there is ongoing revenue rather than a one-time payment when the app is downloaded. Recently, we witnessed a great example of how a free app which is monetized with mobile ads can have major financial success.
Did you hear the news at the end of March about the app Draw Something? It was developed by OMGPOP in February this year, and quickly became the fastest-growing mobile social gaming sensation ever and was bought by Zynga at the end of March for a reported $180 million. The Pictionary-style game for iOS and Android broke records by obtaining over 20 millions downloads in just five weeks. In just over one month they obtained almost as many followers as Instagram's entire 27 million users, and more than the 15 million Foursquare users, which took over three years to amass. The new game quickly overtook the popular Words With Friends to become the most popular mobile game application. AppData's measure of daily active users logged in with their Facebook accounts puts Draw Something at 12.2 million people. These numbers are staggering considering how new the app is.
Draw Something was originally launched as a free app, monetized with mobile advertising, and they later released an “ad free” version for $0.99. What you can see in this record-breaking case is the sheer power of mobile advertising. The free app which was monetized with mobile ads quickly began bringing in huge revenue. Reports are saying that the app generated daily revenue of six figures!
Whether you are an app developer or an advertising agency, this news story is a big wake up call about the power of mobile advertising. The phenomenal success of this case in the mobile app world has made many people stand up and realize that there are potentially bigger opportunities in developing free apps that are monetized with mobile advertising than any other app model.
The monetized free app version has the benefit of ongoing revenue instead of the one-time fee in a paid app. Another very compelling reason in favor of going down the free app route is that it has the potential for reaching a wider market. Most users who are app browsing naturally prefer free ones and as a result, these receive more views and downloads. This is particularly the case with gaming apps and possibly why Draw Something achieved such major triumph.

Have you considered the route of a free app monetized with mobile advertising?

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The Top 5 Things to Consider When Creating Mobile Ads

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:01:16 PDT

by Amy Vale

We all know by now the great value of mobile advertising to a business and a brand. We don’t need to give you the statistics again. We will remind you though that the prediction is that mobile internet use is going to surpass desktop internet use by 2015. This is especially true of the younger age group. Mobile advertising is 100% the way to go with your business or client. Here are the top 5 things to consider when creating a mobile ad campaign.

1. Start campaigning – The past few weeks we’ve been looking at different industries and comparing some of the best of the most recent mobile ad campaigns in each vertical. As you know, with any advertising it is essential to create a campaign that is creative and contributes to the overall branding. As an example, Crisp Media developed a great mobile advertising campaign for REI's Winter Sale on The Weather Channel mobile web. They cleverly tied in the concept of winter weather and the sale of winter clothes. It began with an animated takeover, in which the temperature dropped and snow clouded the screen. Users were invited to interact with the ad by physically swiping away the snow with their finger, revealing the option to visit the REI microsite for a winter clothing sales.

2. Location, location, location – Now that you have a great campaign you need to think about where you are going to place it. The location of the mobile ad is critical to its success. For example, think about whether it should be within an app or mobile website, and if there is a specific type of app or site which will showcase the ad best. The REI example did this to great success. Another great example of a recent mobile ad which capitalized on its location was The Westin Hotels & Resorts ad. It appeared within the Weather Channel app and let consumers literally wipe away their current (wintry) weather condition, which is dynamically generated based on location, and then browse and book a vacation in the climate of your choice.

3. Get engaged– It’s the same process as traditional advertising, but even more so when it comes to mobile advertising - you want to create interactive ads which will allow users to engage with the brand. In the case of mobile advertising, you want to develop an ad which users want to spend a long period of time ‘in’ so this may mean developing creative ads which incorporate, for example, gaming. A great example of an ad which made use of gaming and interactivity was the mobile ad for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film. The ad allowed users to play an interactive skull crushing game in addition to watching a trailer or purchasing movie tickets.

4. Get rich – Rich Media is essential to creating engaging mobile ad campaigns. Mobile gets more of the person involved and engaging in the ad itself, and this means higher levels of engagement with the ad, and with the brand. With rich media ads you get touch, sound and sight rather than just sound and sight like you do with ads on a desktop. Use audio and video to create engaging, interactive ads.

5. Remember it’s mobile – It sounds obvious, but you aren’t creating or hosting ads on a traditional desktop so you want to capitalize on the fact that people are on the go and using a mobile device. Think about using GPS, localization and real-time to engage users. Check out our post all about Geo-location coming up in a few weeks.

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Father's Day: A Great Opportunity For a Mobile Ad Push

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:07:30 PDT

by Amy Vale

In the history of marketing, special occasions have always played a key role in innovation and the ‘next new thing’. Consumer brands and ad agencies focus on special occasions such as Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas for months leading up as a way of capitalizing from the big event dates. The sales boost from these days is critical to a successful year, as every business knows. Mobile has been playing a significant role for the past few years in helping brands achieve success on these special occasions and this year, we anticipate an explosion of innovation in mobile marketing. With Fathers Day coming up on June 17th, start planning now to work out how your mobile ad campaign fits within your overall marketing strategy.

Last year, we saw the emergence of Foursquare, QR codes, mobile apps and of course mobile ad campaigns in the lead up to Fathers Day. But these were all relatively new. This year we expect to see an explosion of these marketing tools. In addition to pushing these channels, we also expect to see a push to mobile commerce to drive that extra foot traffic and hit those sales targets. Let’s look at some the biggest Fathers Day ‘go to’ brands. America’s oldest clothing retailer, Brooks Brothers, established way back in 1818, has been relying on their mobile-optimized website for a few years now and have already started the dash to Fathers Day. Knowing that there will be those who plan the special gift for dad weeks in advance and those last-minute shoppers, they often release special offer promotions exclusively through their mobile site a few weeks in advance as well as special deals for the late shopper just a few days before the date.

We expect Brooks Brothers, like so many other companies, are also going to be using QR codes this year to bring together print ads and a mobile ad campaign into one overall strategic marketing goal on Father’s Day. Magazines advertising the brand and particular products, for example, a shirt or pants, will feature the codes and when scanned, direct users to the Brooks Brothers mobile landing page, which features that specific item. Then the consumer would be taken to another page to actually buy the product for dad then and there. So, the user is taken on a journey from the print ad to their mobile device all the way to mobile commerce. This goes further to explaining that for a special occasion, such as Father’s Day, employing a marketing strategy which engages a mobile ad campaign within an overall marketing strategy, and which brings together traditional (e.g. print) and innovative marketing techniques is highly effective.

Of course, if this is for Father’s Day, the marketing is not directed to dad’s; they are busy mowing the lawn, making waffles and all that other dad stuff. The ads need to be directed to the moms and the kids. If you’re going to be rolling out mobile banner ads which direct a user to a site to purchase a Father’s Day gift, consider the best spot for those ads to be placed. That is, if you were a young mom buying a present for your child’s father, what mobile sites and apps would you be using which would allow you to see the ad that directs you to the best deal for those socks?

Here are out top 4 tips for planning your mobile ad campaign for Father’s Day:

Make sure there is seamless connectivity between your QR codes and mobile banners ads directly to the e-commerce section of your mobile website.
Ensure mobile campaigns are integrated with the broader brand strategy and bring together print, web and mobile.
Ensure mobile sites are fully optimized, with the site and access to e-commerce functionality right at their fingertips.
Utilize video and HTML 5 graphics to create an engaging experience on their mobile.

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Mobile Industry Review: Banking and Finance

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:58:38 PDT

By Amy Vale

We discussed a few months ago how banking has gone completely mobile. According to The Lafferty Group, a consulting company that does banking research, by the year 2029 most banking transactions are going to be done on a mobile device. What’s more, is that a new survey from ING DIRECT found that nearly half of Canadian and U.S smartphone users (49% to be exact) expect to do banking from their mobile device in the next 12 to 24 months and this number grows to 64% with people aged 18 to 34 years. What we are seeing is that the younger generation is not only leading the way forward with the mobile space in general, but they are also paving the way forward with mobile banking. Naturally then, the banking and finance industry is really taking charge of the way they promote their brands through mobile advertising. Have you noticed any interesting mobile ads for the finance industry recently?

Bank of America is one of the leading retail banks showcasing themselves through mobile advertising. In fact, Celtra has done quite a few great mobile ads for them. Last November, Bank of America ran an expandable ad with advanced rich media for both iPhone and Android devices to promote the bank’s mobile banking app. As part of the ad, users could see an interactive demonstration of how the app works, and showed how users can check account balances, make transfers, pay bills or find an ATM. The ad also provided a direct link to download the app.

Just before the holiday season last year they also unveiled a highly interactive advanced rich media ad, which tied in the season’s music “any time, any where” to banking “any time, any where.” The ad was highly successful because it was truly interactive and engaged in the festive season sentiment, pulling on those holiday heartstrings. From the ad, users could shake their iPad or iPhone and the on-screen “snow globe.” From there, users can add a custom holiday station on Pandora.

Our favorite Bank of America mobile ad cleverly recognizes the fact that users utilize their mobile devices at different times of the day. In this mobile ad, multiple ad units were designed to appear during different times of day - morning, noon and night - to promote the different levels of cash back Bank America card owners can earn. The call to action reads “kick start your morning with cash back” alongside the picture of a takeout coffee cup, and when you tap the ad it tells you what rewards are on offer at that time. A zip code entry also reveals Bank of America locations nearby.

Of course, it’s not just Bank of America doing great mobile advertising in the finance industry. Crisp Media recently ran an ad for State Farm, which starts as an Adhesion expandable banner and features a “tap-to-request” quote using a data collection form. The highly functional ad goes beyond advertising the brand to allowing users to provide information and obtain information from the bank directly.

What we are seeing from these examples is that in this industry, like most of the others, it is important to tie the ads into the real world – the time of year, time of day and user’s locale. It is also important to place the ads in appropriate apps or mobile sites, where users are naturally going to be inclined to seek further information and tap on that ad! For example, a recent successful campaign for the insurance company, Zurich, ran in the Wall Street Journal app for iPad; a perfect place for the mobile ad.

What do you think of the recent work in this industry?

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DR Advertisers Creating Hyperlocal Answers

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:57:08 PDT

by Brian Gulotta, Account Executive, Direct Response

Performance mobile advertising has been fueling mobile strategies since the beginning. These advertisers are savvy and continually in pursuit of a proper return on investment. Whatever the CPA “action” is, an email submission, purchases, app installs, downloads, or click-to-call, advertisers are looking to concisely reach their audience efficiently. Although, big name brands may get most of the attention with their big budgets, Direct Response advertisers will perpetually be satisfying publisher fill rates.

These advertisers are concerned with conversion rates, targeting and any additional data that they can get their hands on. The benefit here is that this propels the mobile industry to push for more means of measuring and relevant targeting standards. An example of this is hyperlocal targeting capabilities. Companies like Groupon are keenly interested in harnessing this capability to market to users that are in search of a deal nearby. The recent acquisition of HyperPublic solidifies Groupon’s approach in trying to bring hyperlocal deals to consumers and vice versa for retailers and eateries.

Activity like this is what drives the industry to create higher standards. When was the last time that you were in a grocery store and couldn’t find the key ingredient to your upcoming meal? More start ups are caching maps and data on a micro scale to alleviate this problem. Companies like Micello and PlaceIQ are pooling together massive amounts of data to solve these small problems.

2012 is the year of mobile…because ‘solutions’ are not enough. Companies are being pushed further to generate ‘answers.’ The more answers that users can gather through their smartphone, the more comfortable they feel. This results in answers for more advertisers jumping into mobile.

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UK mobile advertising spend continues to surge ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:59:10 PDT

2011 IAB figures show 157% growth

The UK continues to cement its position as one of the most exciting markets for mobile advertising. Figures recently released by the IAB show a 157% growth in mobile advertising when comparing 2011 with 2010. This has taken the total value of the market up from £83 million in 2010, to £203.2 million in 2011.

This is genuinely exciting stuff, but what is even more exciting is how small this figure might one day seem to be in comparison with the overall potential for the market. According to the same IAB report, mobile advertising might now be a market worth just over £203 million. However, during the same period UK internet advertising was worth over £4.5 billion. This means that mobile advertising has generated just under 5% of the total UK internet advertising revenue. Even UK direct mail was worth about £1.73 billion or just under 6 times the entire worth of the mobile advertising market.

Mobile phones are among the most personal of personal possessions, allowing users to interact with them with much more engagement than with other mediums such as direct mail or television. No other medium offers a way in which to reach a potential audience in such an intimate fashion. At least not yet!

So while these recent figures may look impressive, if viewed 3 years from now, we might then see these figures as a small fraction of what the market as actually achieved.

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Planning Your Mobile Advertising Calendar: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:30:46 PDT

by Amy Vale

Back in February, we discussed the first half of the year’s major holidays to get you thinking strategically about your annual mobile advertising calendar. Engagement during the major holiday periods opens the door for big marketing and sales opportunities. Happy planning!

Once summer is upon us we will promptly arrive at Independence Day. The fourth of July is the birthday of our nation. It is also a great opportunity to market your business through mobile advertising. Every holiday is an opportunity to sell more products and services. The 4th of July is no different; in fact, it’s one of the better holidays for consumer sales because it has a very specific and emotional theme - patriotism. Think about clever ways of bringing together a sale with an interactive mobile user experience, and tie it into the theme of 4th of July.

Close on the back of Independence Day is another event to tug on the heartstrings of the American spirit – the kick off on July 27th to the Olympics in London. Unlike previous Olympics, this year mobile ads will play a leading role. Consider how your product or service relates to the Olympics viewer, which of course, we know many will be doing so through mobile apps on their tablets and smartphones. We predict that the most successful ads will find a way of tying this big, global event into their marketing plans.

Next up, we have Labor Day on September 3rd. Consider the millions of people that will be using the weekend to get out of the city. A couple of weeks before Labor Day, start capitalizing on the fact that people will be on the lookout for holiday deals. To get you thinking: if you are creating a mobile ad for a car rental business you could take a leaf out of the book of some of the big auto companies, who have developed highly successful mobile ads with truly engaging user experiences. For example, Celtra had a great concept, developing an animated banner ad that expanded to a full screen view for the Chevrolet Volt. A call to action appears for the user to tap the power button to go for a drive. As the user tilts their tablet or smartphone to the left and right, it is as though they are driving the car through various landscapes. Car rental companies could do something similar to promote a Labor Day deal, latching onto the idea of a drive into the countryside or to the beach for a weekend getaway.

By the fall, the 31st of October and Halloween will be rapidly upon us. In the U.S. this means a time for family, pumpkins and dressing up, but it is also a time to pull in consumers as it is one of the most festive times of the year. A Halloween sale lends itself to a festively decorated mobile banner ad or interactive game campaign.

Then before you know it, Thanksgiving and Black Friday will be here. These are two very important retail dates; mark your calendars with the 22nd and 23rd November. If there is ever a time for a massive holiday sale, it is now. Thanksgiving is also one of the longest breaks with consecutive public holidays so many people take a vacation over this time. There have been some great mobile ads from hotel chains encouraging and inspiring people to book a vacation when they most need it. Take this as an example: The Westin Hotels & Resorts had a great mobile ad that appeared within the Weather Channel app that let consumers literally wipe away their current weather condition (which is usually snow, ice or rain) which is dynamically generated based on location, and then browse and book a vacation at a Westin Hotel located in the climate of your choice (that is, a sunny and warm location).

Even before Thanksgiving and Black Friday, everything has started to ramp up for the holiday season. This year on the 9th of December we have the start of Hanukkah, and then on the 25th of December is Christmas. In November last year, Celtra created an ad for Bank of America Bank for mobile banking. They developed a holiday season advanced Rich Media ad, in which users could shake their iPad or iPhone and the on-screen snow globe, to add a custom holiday station on Pandora tying in the season’s music “any time, any where” to banking “any time, any where.”

There are plenty of opportunities for ramping up you mobile marketing campaigns for the second half of 2012. It is all about starting early, planning strategically, and thinking about ways to grab the attention of a mobile user.

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Mobile and TV Watching Set to Change the Landscape of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:33:33 PDT

by Amy Vale

One of the things to look out for this year is mobile advertising integrating with TV. With mobile poised to become a big part of television advertising and programming, brands and publishers should start thinking about new ways to incorporate mobile marketing with the good old television. One of the ways this could manifest is in new technologies such as augmented reality. We might also see more real-time mobile requests for information and interaction, especially during live programming such as sporting events and reality TV.

The sorts of passive to active engaging we expect to see a lot more of in the coming months is designed to drive a consumer to interact with a brand. This could turn television, radio, print and web into powerful engagement and membership-building opportunities. Shazam is a great example of this and you might have come across it during the Super Bowl commercials. The app has partnered with companies to include its logo on TV ads, and once users tried to identify the commercial with the Shazam app, they are able to interact with the brand and learn more about what was being advertised. We saw this new technology played out heavily during the 2012 Super Bowl. Shazam claims that one-third of Super Bowl ads were “Shazamable.” Suddenly, people weren’t just passively watching an ad on TV but engaging with their mobile (which most people are using at the time anyway) and also engaging with the brand.

Another new technology linking TV and mobile is augmented reality. While the concept itself has been around in mobile for a while, it is fairly new in relation to TV broadcasting. It does however have a lot of potential and is a great opportunity for marketers looking to leverage their mobile and overall marketing campaign. While it is not a new concept, companies are jumping onto the augmented reality bandwagon because mobile communications and computing hardware has finally advanced to the point where it’s become a capable platform. Smartphones are ideal for AR because they are portable and include GPS hardware and cameras to combine virtual data into the physical real world. The result is that you can see things, such as the location of Twitter users and local restaurants in the physical world, even if they are miles away. TV can be tricky for augmented reality because it is moving, but there can be some great applications of it. Imagine you could let a user scan their mobile device over the TV screen to get more info about a product, brand, or particular deal.

We know now that people are watching major TV events and just regular broadcasting with their mobile device or tablet in their hands. We’ve seen many times that people are using their mobiles most in the evenings when they are on the relaxing on the couch. Publishers and marketers need to be aware of this behavior and take advantage of it. Mobile ad campaigns in the coming months should really start thinking about how to engage users with TV watching in mind.

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Industry Mobile Review: Clothing

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:30:09 PDT

by Amy Vale

Mobile ad campaigns for clothing stores have been getting increasingly more interactive and engaging for users. As we observe more retail brands finding marketing success in mobile advertising, we can see a number of trends shining through which make a mobile ad campaign for a clothing brand successful.

Crisp Media developed a campaign for REI's Winter Sale. They ran the ads on The Weather Channel mobile web for iPhone and Android, which began with an animated takeover, in which the temperature dropped and snow clouded the screen. Users were invited to interact with the ad by physically swiping away the snow with their finger, revealing the option to visit the REI microsite for a winter clothing sales. This ad was highly effective as it created a truly engaging experience for the user rather than simply directing them to view the retail site and find the sale. The decision to place the ad within The Weather Channel mobile web and tie in the concept of winter weather with the sale of winter clothes was a very successful marketing tactic. Who wouldn’t want to buy cheaper winter clothes when it is snowing outside? The take away is to use interactivity and gaming to engage the user and keep them in the ad longer.

Often we see mobile ads for clothes focusing on sales or discounts to entice users to purchase. The trend we are seeing now is not just advertising the sale, but making the process engaging for the consumer by either utilizing some sort of a game to “win” the discount coupon or simply making it a process for them to get the coupon. A simple example is Famous Footwear, a retailer of casual, dress and athletics footwear. The banner ad “Make Today Famous” has a call to action that reads, “Rollover to find out how to save 20%” Once clicked on, the ad allows the user to print a coupon for a 20% savings.

Old Navy clothing has produced a mobile ad through Pointroll which incorporates video and an interactive gaming element to the acquiring of a coupon. The banner ad reads, “Kids & Baby Sale – Race to the Coupon.” The call to action, “roll over to race” directs the user to the game, which allows them to click on an item of clothing to “race.” A video commences where the kids clothing item you have selected playfully becomes a racing car, and the ad reads “start your savings engine.” A race begins and “you win” with an Old Navy savings coupon of $5 off your next purchase.

Old Navy and REI have created successful mobile ad campaigns by using video and gaming to create highly engaging user experiences. They are maximizing the user’s time on the ad and utilizing a strong call to action. Importantly, we can see that when selling clothing or marketing a fashion brand, it is essential to make use of sound and video as well as Flash and interactive features to advertise a sale or discount coupon.

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And the Mojiva Momentum Continues: 1.1 Billion Unique Devices Reached in Jan 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:34:25 PDT

Back in January, we announced that in December of 2011, our network reached one billion devices globally. Now, that’s a pretty phenomenal number, and no other network had reported that kind of reach before.

With wireless device activations strong over the holiday period, it comes as no surprise that Mojiva’s global unique device reach hit 1.1 billion for January 2012.

If you’re not leveraging the incredible device reach Mojiva has to offer, email hello@mojiva.com to get started. There’s 1.1 Billion reasons you should.

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Social Media and Mobile Advertising - The Missing Link

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:27:25 PDT

by Amy Vale

We all know how much we use our mobile phones to access Facebook and Twitter. I admit it (there I said it) that I am addicted to my social media apps. My friends and I often use the Facebook app more than the web version - it is just so easy to stay connected on the go. The latest news is that the social media giants are reportedly getting ready for their first mobile advertising initiative. Facebook is launching a mobile advertising strategy, hot on the heels of Twitter’s introduction of ads onto its mobile app. “The connection between and mobile, social and advertising will be one of the main areas of mobility in 2012,” said Jason Armitage, senior analyst with Yankee Group.

Did you know that 50% of Twitter use is mobile and Facebook has upward of 800 million users and 350 million mobile users? This means that nearly 44% of Facebook consumers are mobile users! Twitter recently introduced a new site and improvements to its mobile app that include more robust brand pages and ads that run on the app. They have realized that there is huge potential for significant revenue from mobile advertising. Likewise, given the significant size of Facebook’s user base advertising seems like the logical move for the company. The social media giant recently revamped their app for Android to make it quicker and easier to use as it looks to attract more developers.

This means big benefits to advertisers too. So far, relevancy has been one of the missing links in mobile advertising. Social media and mobile advertising could make big changes to that. Facebook has very detailed information on its users – everything from your age, gender, location and so much more that could help advertisers reach their desired audiences. Twitter also has powerful behavioral targeting abilities through its social data, location awareness, and expressed interests and intent from users and their followers. Mobile ads on social media sites open up the possibility for advertisers to reach a very targeted audience with relevant offers in the right context, for example real-time, contextually-relevant, social messages and offers.

Is there a downside? On the whole, people think that this is a space that will be able to support multiple payers for the next few years but another mobile advertising option also makes an already complex ecosystem even more so from a marketer’s point of view. Facebook will also be going into direct competition with Google. According to the Yankee Group, “Marketers and big brand advertisers are already faced with a very complex environment when you look at mobile. There are already lots of players offering different solutions and this causes complexity for advertisers.”

Still, the intersection between social media and mobile advertising is critical, and the ability to create highly relevant, contextual advertising is a powerful step in the right direction for advertisers.

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Industry Mobile Review:Travel

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:34:49 PDT

by Amy Vale

Travelers are inherently mobile, so mobile marketing is a natural fit for the travel industry. Travel planning and booking everything from hotels, car rentals, flights and entertainment are well suited to the mobile user, who is on the go, either while travelling or planning to. This in turn, makes mobile an ideal marketing avenue for travel companies and for others to advertise in this industry. Here are some great examples of what is going on in the travel industry. It just makes me want to go on a vacation!

In the hotel and resort space there are lots of examples of mobilizing. Celtra developed a mobile campaign for Marriott’s Residence Inn, where the mobile ad dynamically encompasses details about the hotel amenities and features, floor plans and you can even watch videos and go on a virtual tour of the hotel. Another resort example doing big mobile stuff is the holiday giant, Club Med. If you go to Club Med’s mobilized website, you will be directed to the Apple Store on your mobile to download their free iPhone or iPad app to start planning your holiday now. The mobile site doesn’t give you the opportunity to explore much on the site without clicking on the link to the app store as it is a dominant feature which ‘covers’ most of the site. It is quite clear that Club Med’s mobile marketing strategy is to promote their iPhone and iPad app to “discover, share and book” vacations over their mobile site.

Tourism departments of various U.S. states are also recognizing the relevance of mobile when marketing their attractions and are rapidly launching into mobile ad campaigns. The Illinois Department of Tourism has developed a mobile site and an app available on the Apple Store and Android Market to assist travelers and increase tourism. When you enter the site, it is quite clear how the tourism department is taking advantage of a mobile ad campaign – there are dynamic, changing mobile banner ads subtly integrated into the site to advertise various things for tourists. For example: skiing activities in the region, an auto show, and ads for bed and breakfasts and hotels. There is also currently a link to ‘spring break deals’ with offers to hotels and other accommodation options. The ads are almost disguised as content and are targeted at the audience of travelers and tourists.

Of course, a lot of major airlines have fully embraced mobile and found ways to roll out mobile ad campaigns to increase sales and revenue. As an example, American Airlines is allowing consumers to book their travels and change flights via a new mobile ad campaign. They are rolling out their mobile ads within TV Guide’s mobile app so users can book trips on the go, from their mobile device. The banner ad reads, “Great Deals. Every Day. On AA.Com. Book Now.” When you click on the ad you’re redirected to a mobile page where you can log into your account, view a reservation, browse flight check-in, and view a mobile boarding pass. This is a great example of using mobile ads to engage users and give the consumer an option to book a flight right in that instance from the mobile device or smartphone instead of just through their computer.

Travel companies and businesses have all recognized that when people are on the go their mobile device is their main method of communication. It is essential for companies in the travel industry to dive right into the mobile space, and to integrate mobile ad campaigns into their marketing strategy to better accommodate today’s travelers and consumers and to increase sales. American Airline’s mobile ad campaign is a great example of this.

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Moving onto Mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:00:00 PDT

Another funny abbreviation: MOM – Moving onto Mobile!

We recently organised our first workshop of the year about moving onto Mobile and we thought about sharing some of what we discussed during the session.

The mobile industry at large
This is the year of the mobile. Yes, seriously it is! If you look at the number of Smartphone handsets and the mobile internet users in UK, Mobile should be definitely in your marketing mix. Figures support the statement: 32 millions Smartphone handsets are estimated by end 2011 and nearly 23 million Britons use mobile internet every month. Interesting, right?

Comscore also gives you even more reasons to think about your mobile strategy. Smartphone penetration reached 42% across the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany (EU5) in October, compared to 39% in the US.

Three things to consider about your mobile strategy
1. Audience Research
2. Define Mobile properties
3. Mobile inventory control = Success!

Many considerations exist. The main one would be to choose whether you develop a new app or a mobile-friendly website. However, before you start to build apps or a mobile-optimised version of your website, it is important to understand your audience. Make sure to research your audience first, looking into smartphone devices used, the time of the day they use it and their needs and expectations.

Depending on the resources and available budgets, there isn’t really one exclusive/best way in regard to the type of mobile property (apps vs sites), although mobile-friendly sites tend to be easier to update and more flexible for ad delivery. Developing a mobile app is ideal if you need to use some functionality of your Smartphone. You will also need to define the ad placement as well as remembering to test your rich media capabilities.

Once you gather all the information about who will be using your mobile app and have defined what your mobile property is, consider how you will control/monitor your mobile inventory (ad-serving, in-house sales or third-party networks).

Key takeaways
The panel of our last workshop explained about the different challenges when deciding to move into the mobile space. To put the discussion in nutshell, this is what needs to be remembered: Mobile is like a big birthday cake at a party with thousand guests. Come early to the party rather than late otherwise you won’t have a piece of that scrumptious cake.

In other words, think about your mobile strategy now otherwise you could miss revenue opportunities. Mobile really creates new and revenue streams so ensure you have a mobile presence where your audience spends their time!

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Industry Mobile Review: Automotive

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:28:12 PDT

by Amy Vale

Starting this week, we are going to be looking into different industries and how they are each using mobile or starting to recognize the advantages of mobile marketing. The best way to do this is by looking at some interesting examples of mobile campaigns that have been done. This week is auto dealerships and car sales. Big players in this industry, globally, have quite fully embraced mobile marketing to its full potential, using highly creative and innovative approaches incorporating both interactive apps and mobile ad campaigns.

A great example is Lexus - In Australia, Lexus rolled out the “Lexus CT City Challenge” app and a mobile ad campaign to generate widespread awareness and to increase purchases of their new CT 200h model. Their app (developed via a custom made 3D engine and featuring realistic physics, animation, sound effects and an original soundtrack, with a look and feel to match the Lexus brand) was a game that challenged players to take the Lexus car for a virtual “spin” on different courses modelled on Australia's capital cities. There was also a powerful incentive - a live playoff at a Motor Show with the winner receiving a brand new car. The app also cleverly incorporated a social media strategy – players could broadcast their scores across sites like Facebook and Twitter, challenging friends to download the game, or beat their scores.

To build awareness of the brand and to encourage people to download the app they also created a mobile ads campaign, which ran for 2-3 months across iPhones, iPads and iPods. Click-to-download banners were displayed on popular mobile apps such as Words With Friends, Angry Birds, WeatherZone, and various mobile Web sites. The Lexus campaign was by all accounts, a highly successful marketing project, and the interactive app generated real engagement with the brand in the younger market.

Lexus is just one example of the automobile industry creating mobile presence.

Other automobile companies are also rolling out mobile campaigns to build brand presence and increase profit. Lincoln ran a holiday campaign, “Get more than you wished for” where consumers could learn more about the new MKZ car. A mobile site incorporated a video section where prospective buyers could watch a clip explaining the car features, and users could also locate nearby dealers by using the device's GPS and then contact those dealers for pricing and availability.

Volvo has also recently rolled out a mobile campaign, titled “Are you naughty?” with the catchy phrase, “There is more to life than playing it safe.” The mobile ad gives drivers and potential purchasers the opportunity to learn more about the all new Naughty Volvo S60. The ad also allows users to register to participate in “special driving events” across the country including a drag race which carries on the theme of “naughty” driving. This campaign is a great example of a mobile campaign fully embracing mobile and rebranding by appealing to a target audience.

As you can see, mobile marketing is a trend that automakers and car dealerships are really getting into. Lexus’ case is a great example of an innovative business that can see the value in moving into mobile. Volvo has also realized that mobile is the way forward for truly engaging consumers with the brand and provides the opportunity for great rebranding. Automobile is now very into mobile!

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Tablets Take Over Business

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:28:47 PDT

by Amy Vale

I was talking to one of my friends the other day and she said that the company she works for is now giving iPads to all the senior managers and they are considering moving to tablets for all employees. Apparently this was cause for much boardroom and lunchroom conversation. This is not the first time I have heard of the move into tablets for businesses. Over the past year there has been a lot of discussion about businesses adopting tablets as a the main device for employees, but what will be the implication for mobile advertising if corporate America takes over the tablet market?

Apple says that more than 80% of Fortune 100 companies have pilot projects involving tablets or have already started deploying it. This is up from 65% in the previous quarter. Some of corporate giants trialling the iPad include banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, health care companies such as Cardinal Health, retailer, Sears, and conglomerates Archer Daniels Midland and DuPont .

Last year, manufacturers shipped 16.7 million tablets worldwide, of which 12.8% were purchased by companies, according to ABI Research. By 2016, they expect to ship 87.8 million tablet computers and forecasters predict businesses will buy 23.5% of them. A The New York Times article quoted Forrester Research’s prediction that tens of millions of tablets would be in use by corporate America by 2015. It said that, “this will be the fastest uptake of any device in the enterprise ever. Faster than PCs, faster than laptops and faster than smartphones.”

It is no coincidence that the corporate world has started looking into tablets. Apple is not only marketing its iPad to businesses, but over the past two years, the company has increased its focus in offering mobile features that will appeal to corporate America. For example, the iPad touts such security features as are common among virtual private networks (VPN’s) as well as full device encryption and pass code support.

So, why tablets? The tablet has not replaced the laptop in all situations. However, it is cheaper, boots up quickly, boasts a longer lasting battery, and is easily transportable making it why so many companies have made a business case for tablets. Here are some scenarios we see it being incredibly useful:

1. Sales people out in the field
2. Executives on an overnight trip – it is great for email, calendar, reviewing documents, and presenting PDF or Keynote decks.
3. Warehouse managers, retail floor staff, medical staff, and anybody else that needs real access to apps while on their feet.

So what does this mean for you? It is clear that there is an expected surge in the tablet audience – corporate America. Advertisers and marketers need to be mindful of this as it will inevitably have a significant impact on mobile marketing strategies. Understanding how businesses are using tablets in the workplace will be essential to any business strategy. Mobile application development will also become increasingly important.

Lunchroom chitchat is more useful that I gave it credit for.

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Planning Your Mobile Advertising Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:35:23 PDT

by Amy Vale

2012 has now well and truly begun and before long it will be half way through the year. With the weeks and months flying past (is it just me, or does it seem like each year gets faster than the one before it?) I thought it might be a good idea to help you plan out the year in line with some of the key dates and events that give our year its unique seasonal cycle. We all love a holiday, and with consumers accessing their mobile devices now more than ever, especially over the holidays, incorporating a mobile component in a retailer’s marketing strategy is a necessity.

Here are a few upcoming dates to keep in mind…

To begin with, the first big holiday coming up around the corner is the big V-Day. February 14th is none other than Valentines Day – a major consumer holiday where lots of love-filled presents are being bought and exchanged across the country. One idea for your mobile campaign to get you thinking might be to give early shoppers a list of present ideas that you can help them with, and then prepare a campaign for the last minute shoppers which gives them a good gift at a discounted price delivered in time for their loved one.

In March on the 17th day is St. Patrick's Day and often a reason for a good sale. Last year we saw huge sales from Expedia, eBooks, eReleases and even the App Store went on sale. Putting apps on sale for holidays seems to be the growing tradition on the App Store - so aligning a campaign with a holiday bargain could be a good option for March. Use banner ads or full-page ads to promote your products.

Mothers Day and Fathers Day fall on May 13th and June 17th respectively. As well as being an important day to thank our wonderful mothers and fathers for all they do for us, these dates are significant in the retail calendar. Companies should take advantage of advertising on a mobile device, especially on holidays such as Mothers and Fathers Day. Mobile applications and optimized-sites present a great opportunity for selling to consumers on these holidays. Last year many retailers aggressively marketed their products for Mother’s Day. As you promote your companies and products via TV, radio, print and online media, consumers can immediately view the special promotions and offers via their smartphone and buy on the spot – exactly what you want.

Before long it will be June 20th, the First Day of Summer, a time when everyone is planning vacations, booking flights, hotels and cars as well as trying to shed those last few pounds before going to the beach or lying by the poolside. A mobile site and application are an ideal canvas for retailers looking to sell their products, including travel products. Just look at the success of the Expedia app!

Companies looking to incorporate mobile advertising into their marketing plan, or to renew their 2012 strategic plan, should get in early. Engagement during the major holiday periods opens the threshold for big marketing opportunities. We’ve seen a continuous increase in retailers utilizing mobile as mobile sites and apps let retailers present their goods and services to the masses on almost any device. It is also important to make sure that your ad runs cross-platform. Happy holidays and happy mobile planning!

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A Mobile Super Bowl!

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:29:25 PDT

by Akeem Caballero

Thanks to the streaming possibilities of mobile devices, sports fans this year can rejoice! Mobile devices are providing sports fans with the opportunity to have access to SuperBowl XLVI through the use of apps and mobile sites. Even social media is getting a larger play this year with “mobile” stations for players to tweet during the game. That’s right! The NFL has allowed players to tweet during the Super Bowl game between the NY Giants and the New England Patriots, at designated stations on each sideline! But what does this mean for advertisers?

I predict that this Super Bowl will foreshadow the way sports fans and athletes interact with each other in the future. A recent study noted that 80% of mobile phone owners multitask on their handset while watching TV. Taking this into consideration, the possibility of record mobile use this Super Bowl is very likely and thus, advertisers should take this opportunity to engage with their consumers, especially since the Super Bowl is expected to attract a whopping 100 million viewers this year.

Candy giant Mars has already begun the hype with their use mobile ads for its M&M brand to launch a new line of candies during the upcoming Super Bowl game. The ads feature the M&M characters with quotes such as “She is so smart it is scary.” Once the series of characters finish running, the banner ad reads, “Meet her during Super Bowl XLVI.” Once here, consumers can tap on the screen where it will direct them to the brand’s social media sites in an effort to spread the word about the new product. Another example of mobile’s Super Bowl presence this year is General Motors. The car makers have released an app for the Super Bowl that gives you chance to win one of 20 Chevy cars among tons of other prizes. All consumers need to do is download the app and play along during the Super Bowl by answering trivia questions based on the game.

Let’s face it; the Super Bowl is one of the biggest marketing events of the year. Aside from the game itself (and the food), families gather in anticipation of the commercials. With the rise of mobile use, it’s a great idea to incorporate mobile calls to actions with these TV ads. A simple “text to enter”, “scan the QR code on the screen” or “call to visit”, call to action is a remarkable way to build that relationship. According to AdAge, “Over the past three years, brands have increasingly used the mobile medium to trigger immediate engagement at the point of exposure. Thanks to mobile devices, brands have a chance to carry the $3 million per 30 seconds further than ever before.”

In the past few years, mobile strategies for the Super Bowl have grown exponentially. Even more so, mobile use will surge this year, especially at the half-time show. It’s going to be exciting to see how some advertisers get creative with their mobile strategies this Super Bowl.

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Luxury Retailers Get Into Mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Dejanelle Bellejambe) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:29:40 PDT

by Amy Vale

I was walking through one of the major departments stores recently and it occurred to me – mobile has even changed the world of luxury retail. Who would have thought? Yes, there will always be the ladies who lunch and spend hours wandering around the floors of high end fashion and luxury boutiques, but now we see people spending hours browsing catalogues and comparing sizes of diamonds on their iPads and smartphones.

Take Saks Fifth Avenue - the department store is fully immersing consumers in the luxury world with a mobile app that acts as a shopping catalog and style authority. It is made for the tablet and allows consumers to shop from its catalogs, look at videos and find a local store. Saks has embraced rich media, with a comprehensive video gallery where customers can watch runway shows and series of how-to videos. Luxury brands such as Burberry, Fendi, Donna Karan and Carolina Herrera all have videos on the Saks’ app. The application also enables consumers to personalize the experience by adding their favorite designers and opting-in to receive promotions.

The difference between this app and other regular shopping apps is that Saks has recognized that there is a market of high-end shoppers, who want a luxury retail experience that is all encompassing through their mobile device.

Tiffany & Co is another great example of a luxury retailer that has recognized the need to go mobile. The high-end jeweller has debuted an iPhone app that merges mobile and interactive shopping for consumers who are shopping for an engagement ring. The app provides an interactive way to browse the Tiffany rings and even features a ring sizing feature which lets users determine their size by placing an actual ring directly on the screen. In addition, the rings are shown true-to-size and each style can by viewed with diamonds of six different carat sizes (yes, those women looking for 6 carat diamonds can check them out on their iphones!) You can make an appointment for a diamond consultation, and the app includes an “Expert Consultation” feature, with the store’s number and the option to schedule a phone consultation.

Through their interactive apps Saks and Tiffany’s (and there are lots of others out there doing this too) have said to luxury retailers that a mobile app is not just about purchasing but also building customer loyalty and giving the consumer the kind of shopping experience they want.

Luxury retailers take heed – it is important to get into mobile, more specifically the tablet user market, as there seems to be a shift happening in the luxury retail world.

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What does 2012 hold for mobile advertising?

noreply@blogger.com (Akeem C) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:29:57 PDT

What does 2012 hold for mobile advertising?

By Amy Vale

Lots of people have been asking us what we predict from 2012. The past year was so exciting with so many developments that no doubt the next year is going to be a great year for mobile advertising. Here is our look into the crystal ball…

We already discussed with you last year the demand for all things tablet. In the coming months we are going to continue to see the rise of the tablet and iPad. By 2016, they expect to sell 87.8 million tablets. We are seeing that advertisers and developers who create ad units built specifically for tablets are experiencing phenomenal user engagement. Developers have really started acknowledging and taking into account the fact that tablet users have a radically different user experience and consume content and media in a very different way compared to other mobile devices such as smartphones.

What’s the lesson for 2012? In the coming months it will be important that advertisers and developers recognize the different strategies and products required for tablets as opposed to other mobile devices, and develop strategies and ads with tablets specifically in mind.

We are also going to be seeing more companies roll out new ideas, new ad units and new executions, all so that advertisers can further differentiate and get the best possible return on investment, whether it be based on brand lift, conversions or any other campaign objective. HTML5 is opening creative floodgates in mobile advertising and we expect 2012 to be the year of HTML5 rich media expandable units.

What is the lesson for us going forward? Mobile web and HTML5 allow advertisers to develop the types of creative executions that can be run across any mobile web device and operating system enabling the focus to be on the campaign objective.

Lastly we predict that bigger and better rich media initiatives will be a major part of every ad buy. Rich media is characterized by the use of sophisticated graphics, animation or streamlining video providing an immersive user experience, enabling advertisers to effectively reach consumers and inspire interaction with the brand. Video is going to continue being a very popular use of rich media, as advertisers can give mobile audiences a TV-like experience on the go and generate the same emotive connection with the user as TV does. Other rich media solutions we predict seeing more of include voting or polling, click-to-call, click-to-buy, click-to-map, click-to-calendar and social media "likes" or "follows."

2012 looks set to be full of more exciting developments in mobile advertising and no doubt lots of new trends and predictions too. What do you think? What are your mobile predictions for the new year?

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The Reality of Augmented Reality (AR)

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:36:02 PDT

by Amy Vale

I’m sitting in a café sipping my latte and checking out the tweets around me through the camera on my mobile. I know that the concept of Augmented Reality has been around for a few years, but it still amazes me. The idea of being able to “see” invisible meta data in the physical real world feels like something out of a sci-fi novel, but with the help of smartphones, apps and more, it is a reality. Now, companies are going further in finding inventive ways to monetize it.

Augmented Reality, or AR, is not a new concept. We have seen it in various forms over the years. So, what’s with all the recent hype? Companies are now jumping on the AR bandwagon because mobile communications and computing hardware has finally advanced to the point where it’s become a capable platform. Smartphones are ideal for AR technology because they are portable and include GPS hardware and cameras. There have been an increasing number of AR smartphone apps and games released over the past few months, and increasingly new ones coming onto the market.

But, what exactly is AR? It is the interaction of superimposed graphics, audio and other sense enhancements over a real-world environment that’s displayed in real-time. It combines virtual data into the physical world by utilizing the smartphone’s compass, camera, and GPS system. The result is that you can see things, such as the location of Twitter users and local restaurants in the physical world, even if they are miles away.

Have you used the app, Layar? It is a great example of an app which has cleverly monetized the concept of AR. It is a Reality Browser, so you can position your mobile camera anywhere, and view “layers” of information on top of real world objects. For example, you can see real estate information, details about bars or stores, or tourist information as you look through the camera. After its original launch, they introduced a content store so that users could purchase additional “layers”. Buying third party created layers in the app itself, via Paypal, and adding additional content enables consumers to build their own personalized AR app. The other benefit is to developers and publishers who use the content store to sell their data layers. For example, if you were selling a layer with information about local restaurants you would take home 60% of the sale proceeds. Publishers looking to profit through AR are only limited by their resourcefulness and ability to develop content that consumers need and want to buy.

Augmented reality has really picked up momentum and this is still only the beginning. The doors are wide open for publishers, developers and advertisers to capitalize on the AR steam train, so look into it. We can only imagine what entrepreneurs will imagine and developers are going to build in the next few years.

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Mobile's Handy for the Holidays pt.2

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:00:21 PDT

When it comes to understanding mobile users and their shopping habits throughout the biggest retail period this year, our most recent Mojiva MAG tells us that many will be turning to their smartphones and tablets. Check out the infographic below to find out what types of holiday items would be purchased from mobile devices and how much respondents would be willing to spend!

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A World Without a Wallet – the Move to the Virtual and Mobile Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Fiesel) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:30:21 PDT

by Amy Vale

A day is going to come, and it is not going to be that far off, where we will only need to leave the house with our smartphones and not much else. Enter the world of the digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet. Have we arrived at the future?

What is a digital wallet?
Think of it as a kind of virtual wallet that stores your payment information securely on your phone and when you check out at a store that accepts it, you can pay and redeem offers quickly by using your phone. Your bank account is usually linked to the digital wallet. It might also have your driver’s license, health insurance card, loyalty cards and other ID documents stored within the virtual wallet.

But you might say “This isn’t that radical.” True, there are computer programs which have existed for a while that can be used to store your personal information, but this new development takes that to a whole new level by bringing mobile into the equation. Because of smartphones and wireless technologies such as near field communication (NFC) we will be able to carry out financial transactions (that is, actually pay for things) with our mobiles, not just store the details in our computers or phones. Our phones have become our wallets.

In the beginning
The Google Wallet was one of the first types of these new digital wallets. The service launched commercially earlier this Fall, but it's still in its early days. It is a mobile app which securely stores your credit cards and loyalty cards as well as providing special offers on your phone. When you check out at a store that accepts Google Wallet, you can pay and redeem these offers quickly just by tapping your phone at a special terminal. A special near NFC chip is needed inside the phone for the service to work. The Google Wallet also has an online service which lets you carry your wallet on the web. It securely stores your credit cards online, and when you checkout at online merchants, you pay by signing in! It sounds so simple and yet going to undeniably change the way we live as consumers.

There are other companies building their own digital wallets. Isis is a joint venture formed by three of the four major U.S. wireless carriers - AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. They are developing their own digital wallet expected to roll out to 220 million customers by mid 2012. Watch out for credit card companies who are hedging their bets by striking deals with the company. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover have all signed on as Isis partners.

Up and coming
News from the grapevine is that Visa is thinking of marketing the digital wallet service through banks. What would this look like? A bank such as Citibank or Bank of America could offer the digital wallet application as part of their online banking service. The online application will allow people to track their spending across all their cards as well as make “one-click” purchases online, eliminating the need to type in credit card information.

The future looks exciting, and surprisingly streamlined. I suspect a day will arrive when smartphone “digital wallets” will completely replace physical wallets, and who knows what else mobile will replace, our house keys perhaps?

For more on this topic, check out Michael Koploy's blog post "Mobile Payments: FAQs for Retailers". Mike works for Software Advice - a free, online company which provides reviews of retail business software.

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