Mobile Marketing Blog by InMovil Media

There is porpular mobile search service, called Google SMS, which lets people find businesses by texting names and locations to a short code: Those who know about it utilize it to its full potential; however users are still a minority among cell phone owners.

The latest search engine reports indicate mobile search is becoming the hot new space–for investors, advertisiers, and consumers alike. It seems everyone likes the idea of mobile search even if they don’t use it much themselves. Altough Google’s service is free and gets the job done, other companies are seeking ways to improve, leverage, and monetize mobile search.

A Forbes report suggests that that the real benefit from the carefully-watched potential Microsoft-Yahoo! merger would be for mobile search.

Microsoft’s Mobile Windows is pre-installed on a vast number of handsets while Yahoo! has worked with providers and carriers to put their mobile search engine and utilities into phone software. Therefore this merger could mean a significant mobile search engine presence for both companies, as Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart told Forbes: “If you’re looking for where a tie-up could occur, that’s one place.”

The incentive for MicroHoo or anyone else to dominate mobile search is high. Most of all, digital marketers are waiting for the technology to reach its full potential. A report from Scarborough Research, conculded that the “Digital Savvy” consumer is an active one who relies on his or her mobile phone for information–and tends to have money to burn. eMarketer predicts that global mobile search revenue will grow to $3.77 billion in 2012 from $83.3 million in 2007. Therefore the race is on to beat Google, altough it will be difficult because with its open Android platform and current mobile search engine, Google seems to be dominating mobile as well.

Contact us to see how we can get your business high up in the mobile search engines.

After having received more and more request from businesses that are interested in mobile 2D barcodes, I have devoted some time to give a practical explanation what 2D barcodes entail for making media interactive by using a mobile device.

To basic thing is to create the data matrix and QR codes (2D mobile barcode) to link print media to the mobile web. What does this mean?

It is now possible to make traditional print media interactive by linking it directly to the mobile web. Our solution generates a unique data matrix code and QR code for each mobile web page created related to the printed information or advertisement. This code can be printed on advertisements, magazine articles, or even posters to provide an immediate call to action. When the 2D mobile barcode is scanned with the camera of a mobile phone it links straight through to the related mobile webpage - where you can; get further information and register interest, to a competition entry, buy concert tickets or other products directly with the mobile phone.

Datamatrix and QR codes are 2D barcodes consisting of a totally unique pattern of black and white squares that act as a quick link through to a specific mobile web page. When using InMovil Media to create and publish QR codes, these codes are automatically generated and can then be printed wherever required. Once the codes are scanned by the mobile device, consumers can quickly and easily access promoted content any time and any where they are. And unlike SMS or MMS triggers it is a free service.

Adding Data matrix or QR codes to print media meets a market demand for offering an easy and effective way to facilitate instant customer interaction with consumers on the move for a truly interactive marketing campaign. For example a consumer, waiting for the bus, a train journey or simply reading a paper or magazine becomes more interesting with the ability to purchase products, respond to articles or enter competitions without having to be back in front of a PC and search again for the product or information. And for your business it does not only provides an immediate call to action but a new and effective way to directly measure the success of print campaigns. Besides print media the codes can also be put on your normal website, if you want that people bookmark you mobile version of the website via this barcode.

Consumers love the opportunity for instant response and discovery of what this new technology can provide. This adds a completely new dimension to print media, which from our experience is good news for marketing campaigns.

Contact us to see how we can help your business use 2D mobile barcodes in an interactive way.

New Research from InsightExpress Identifies Three Mobile Behavioral Profiles. According to new research from InsightExpress, a leading provider of digital marketing research, mobile consumers can be segmented into three new and distinct behavioral profiles: Mobile Pioneers, Mobile Wannabes and Mobile Traditionalists. This research, the third installment from the company’s ongoing mobile research program, indicates that when it comes to usage, two ends of the mobile spectrum exist.

Internet, unique applications, and/or video. The majority of Mobile Pioneers are under 35 years old, one third of them have a smartphone*, and they skew male, single and minority. The Mobile Wannabe (25 percent of the market) has tried some advanced features and would like to use them more. Less than half are under 35, and only 5 percent own a smartphone. The Mobile Traditionalists (60 percent of the market) are content to use their mobiles for phone calls and texting, and two thirds of them are over 35 years old.

Which behaviors separate the Pioneers from the rest of the pack? Almost two thirds (62 percent) had sent a text message to someone in the same room, compared to 39 percent of Wannabes and 26 percent of Traditionalists. A healthy 57 percent of Pioneers had taken a picture of a product using their phone and sent it to someone to get an opinion, compared to 30 percent of Wannabes and 16 percent of Traditionalists.

While the Pioneers set the trends, the Wannabes popularize them, making these individuals particularly interesting to marketers. This group is likely a barometer of future usage trends that will be adopted on a wider scale. For example, while 79 percent of Pioneers had taught someone else how to use their mobile phone features, Wannabes were not far behind with 65 percent having done so.

Staying ahead of the mobile curve can also be dangerous. Mobile Pioneers were most likely to have walked into something or someone while using their device, and most likely to have thrown their mobile phone at someone or something. Luckily, all three profiles stated that they had added ICE (In Case of Emergency) to their phone’s contact list (35 percent of Pioneers, 25 percent of Wannabes and 22 percent of Traditionalists).

Advertisers should be interested in Pioneers and Wannabes because these groups are more likely to agree that:

• Most advertising is relevant to them
• They believe that products that are advertised are a lot better than ones that are not advertised at all
• Advertising keeps them up-to-date on products they would like to have
• They have told someone about an advertisement they liked

“Knowing which type of mobile consumer you are contacting, or want to contact, is a big piece of the mobile marketing puzzle,” said Joy Liuzzo, Director of Mobile Research at InsightExpress. “The Wannabes are especially fascinating since they are eager to learn about and use advanced features. With this research, we continue to drive the conversation about current usage profiles and where mobile behavior is headed.”

About The Research

InsightExpress fielded an online survey to 1,516 mobile device owners age 18+ in January 2008. The survey data has a margin of error of between 3-6 percent, assuming a 95 percent confidence interval.

* Defined as Blackberry or smartphone (iPhone, Treo, etc).

If you want to know how we can help your company to reach for “Mobile Pioneers and Wannabes”, please Contact Us.

Anyone who doubts how important mobile phones are and will become as a platform and marketing medium needs only to look at the latest Pew Internet & American Life report. Cellphones are now more important to US adults than the internet, television, landline phones, and email. In addition, an increasing number of consumers are using their mobile phones for things other than voice communications, including accessing mobile internet content.

Pew conducted a telephone survey of 2,054 US adults in December, 2007 (500 were reached on their cellphones) and found the following:

Pew segments the data by race, age, and, in some cases, income. Among younger uses, as one might expect, the trends become even more pronounced:

18-29 year olds: Ever done (%) Typical day (%)

Send or receive text messages 85 60
Take a picture 82 31
Play a game 47 16
Send or receive email 28 10
Access the internet 31 14
Record a video 34 6
Play music 38 16
Send or receive instant messages 26 9
Get a map or directions to another location 18 6
Watch video 19 6

Just a day earlier, comScore reported that the number of users who access the Internet through mobile broadband connections (predominantly using a PC) had grown by 154 percent in a year. Currently, roughly 1 percent of the US online population uses mobile broadband to get online but those numbers should increase dramatically as the mobile infrastructure continues to develop — and more people use 3G mobile networks on their cellphones for internet access.

Do you want more information about how we can help your company to use mobile marketing  and mobile internet to connect to your customers please contact us.