BRANDING UNBOUND

Barcodes Via SMS For In-Store Promotion, Redemption

New text tools may enable new forms of in-store promotion and redemption.

ValueFirst Messaging is an MVNO in India that is launching a service that enables consumers to receive barcoded SMS messages that can be scanned by any barcode reader. The applications could be promising. Imagine contests where the codes are sent to consumers, where they don't know what they've won until they come into the store. Or movie or concert tickets that could be bought via phone or online, with the barcodes sent to the purchaser's handsets for redemption at the theater or concert hall. To find out more, click here.

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Virgin's "Ghost Town" Finally Launches

Back on the 10th, I reported on Virgin Mobile's new mobile novella, "Ghost Town," which will be delivered via text message. The idea: Raise awareness (and hopefully spur action) for homelessness. Yesterday, Smart Mobs reported on it, which would indicate it's now operational. We'll keep our eyes peeled for results.

'Wired' Goes Wireless

Who would have thought the name Wired would become such an anachronism?

It was hard enough that the Internet the publication covers made printed publications seem dated the moment they hit newsstands. Now, being "wired" sounds like a liability rather than an asset in the mobile age.

So small wonder that Wired is going, well, Wireless, according to mobhappy. Its new Wired Mobile service, delivered via SMS (already kind of dated in itself), will send you "exclusive invitations, special offers and editorial features - all delivered to your phone or mobile device." All you have to do is text the word "Wired" to the short cod 94733 (Wired). So far, "offers" include a chance to enter a sweepstakes for gear from Bang & Olufsen.

Let's just hope this isn't just about subscribing to content and ad offers. Let's hope the magazine will use mobile as an interactive channel to its audience, for polling, feedback and more that can add to magazine content, not just replicate it.

New Innovations May Put Mobile Search On The Map

Let’s just say mobile search – searching for location relevant information – is a not-quite-ready-for-primetime player. It’s a pale imitation of a PC application. And carrier interfaces suck.

According to Forrester Research, 80% of marketers use or plan to use Internet search marketing. But only one third of retail marketers, and one-half of consumer product goods marketers expect to use mobile search in their marketing mixes, according to Ad Age. And no wonder: Of the 190 millon cell phone subscribers today, only 5% have ever used their phones for search – less than ½ the number of consumers who buy a ringtone each month.

What’s missing is a medium-optimized interface. What’s missing is voice. I want to say: Where is the nearest Barnes & Noble? Where’s the nearest Peets Coffee? Or where’s the nearest Panda Express. And then I want the phone to show me a map, and give me audio directions to get there.

That kind of scenario is already here. A company called V-Enable offers voice-activated search, where you hold down the send key and speak the request. Ask for a category instead of a specific store – say, pizza parlor or coffee shop – and a banner ad for a local shop may appear. According to Ad Age, V-Enable already has 100 million impressions a month, with a 5% click-through rate on CPMs that run from $35 to $50.

Combine that with GPS technology like that from GPShoopper for truly location-aware listings, and marketers’ search for a killer mobile app may finally be over.

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Texting With ‘The Stars’

The third season of surprise ABC hit “Dancing With The Stars” premieres in September promising a whole new round of SMS-based viewer voting. Not in the US version, but in international editions.

This time out, the U.S. cast of unlikely dancers includes semi-celebrities like talk show host Jerry Springer, NFL star Emmitt Smith; actor Harry Hamlin, actress Vivica A. Fox; talk show host Tucker Carlson (thankfully without the bowtie) and Joey Lawrence. It’s actually hard to tell the difference between Carlson and Lawrence without the bowtie, except that Lawrence is less of a dork.

Right now, voting for the U.S. show is by call-in, either from a landline or mobile, or online. Maybe ABC will catch up with everybody and switch to text votes, too.

Then again, Tom Bergeron of America’s Funniest Home Videos is the producers’ choice of hosts, so I wouldn’t hold your breath.

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What A Relief: Habitat For Humanity Goes Mobile For Katrina Aid

When it comes to Katrina, what a difference a year doesn’t make.

New Orleans is still reeling on this one year anniversary of the devastation. As part of its ongoing “Making Change for Katrina” campaign to raise awareness and funds for the storms victims, Habitat for Humanity is engaging in an innovative mobile marketing campaign.

Working with San Francisco-based mobile firm ipsh, the organization is enabling mobile subscribers to sign up for Katrina-related news alerts, and to send text messages to friends to help raise money for the relief effort.

“Although Katrina was a year ago, there is still a need for funds in the region for housing and other relief,” says Nihal Mehta, CEO of ipsh!, in a statement. “We recognized that Making Change for Katrina is an easy way for people in the U.S. to contribute and make a big difference without having to give a lot. By creating a mobile component to the campaign, people will have even more access to fundraising events and other activities where they can get involved and make donations. We are excited being involved in such a great program.”

This isn’t the first time mobile has been used as a fundraising channel for victims of Katrina. Within days of the storm, Verizon Wireless enabled subscribers to send a text message to the short code 2HELP to automatically donate $5 to the Red Cross, which was charged to subscribers’ phone bills.

This new Katrina effort marks more new twists on mobilizing relief efforts.

For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

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For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

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Mobile Helps Boost Billboard Advertising Spend

Outdoor has come in from the rain.

Billboard advertising, long accounting for the smallest share of media dollars is actually outpacing the growth of television and newspaper advertising in the U.S. and U.K. - up 40% since 2001, to $23 billion a year, according to ZenithOptimedia.

That’s still tiny compared to the $146.8 billion spent on television ads – but it’s ahead of Internet spending, which will hit $18.1 billion this year.

To be clear, it’s not just that marketers have discovered that while it’s easy to fast forward through commercials, it’s hard to ignore the giant billboard in front of you. Instead, new technologies are making billboards more interesting, more interactive, and more measurable.

Last week, I talked about CBS’s new billboards that enable passersby to download TV previews to their mobile phones. Today’s Wall Street Journal feature on outdoor touts mobile as one of the technologies enabling outdoor’s renaissance. And I devote an entire chapter on outdoor in BRANDING UNBOUND the book, including an in-depth look at Bluetooth enabled billboards, new ways Nielsen is using mobile technology to measure the effectiveness of all forms of outdoor advertising, and new digital billboards that detect what you’re watching on your car radio in order to serve up the most appropriate ad for your demographic profile.

There’s just something cool about outdoor – seeing your brand and your message write larger than life on a bustling cityscape. Now more than ever, outdoor is where it’s at – thanks to mobile and other innovative technologies.

For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

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For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

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'Rock Star': Enough Already With Carrier Exclusives

Enough already.

A friend got me started on the Mark Burnett-helmed "Rock Star: Supernova" (I seem to be on a CBS thread this week).

If you haven't seen it, it's American Idol on acid - a reality show cum talent contest, this time with a rocker motif.

To that end, the aesthetic is strictly drag queen Goth. Which means, of course, Dave Navarro's involved.

I'll send a signed copy of the book to anyone who can send me a photo of Navarro without that inch of foundation and tube of eyeliner. Don't get me wrong, I actually think he's really cool. But come on - with that much makeup and jewelry, he makes Gene Simmons look like a model of restraint.

But I digress. The gist of the show: Tommy Lee (the former Mr. Anderson) and his Supernova band mates are auditioning contestants to become their new lead singer.

In a word: It ROCKS. The singing is outstanding and it's all just very cool. And like American Idol, you can text in your votes for the contestants via mobile phone. Which is great except that, like American Idol, that option is only for subscribers of the official show sponsor, in this case Verizon, which seems to have bought every freakin' commercial break to tout its new Chocolate phone.

Granted, I can see why the parties involved would go for exclusivity. CBS makes a truck load of money, and Verizon gets to show off its wares while raking in all the text messaging revenues.

But it's boring for viewers. I don't have Verizon, so I can't vote? What kind of a live-free, screw-authority rocker 'tude is that supposed to cop? Come to think of it, this show seems to be product placement central, which diminishes its rock star street cred.

Word is American Idol is moving away from an exclusive deal with Cingular to enable common short codes, which will allow anyone to text in votes, regardless of carrier. I think that means the show can charge for the call. Which also means it's win-win for everyone - the show and the viewers.

Besides, didn't rock use to be about (the illusion, anyway, of) never selling out?

CBS Offers Video Clips Via Bluetooth Billboards

The Tiffany Network’s going high-tech.

In what is believed to be a first for a major U.S. television network, CBS will offer free clips from its new prime-time lineup directly from outdoor billboards to mobile phones.

The billboards, outside New York’s Grand Central Station will enable passersby to receive the clips via their Bluetooth connection. According to TV Week, clips will include those from new series “Shark,” “Smith,” “Jericho” and “The Class,” as well as returning hit “CSI.” Users can save the clips or pass them on to friends and family. The campaign comes from CBS and partners MobiZone and Kameleon Media.

"The ability to extend a brand's message from the static two-dimensional poster to an audiovisual clip on a cellphone provides endless opportunities for out-of-home advertisers to extend their message," Jodi Senese, executive VP of marketing for CBS Outdoor, says in a release. "CBS's free 'sneak peek' of their fall lineup is a tailor-made application for this technology."

Indeed, as readers of BRANDING UNBOUND the book and blog know, the use of this sort of technology by entertainment brands has been on the rise. Fox and Lowe’s Cinemas have launched FoxBoxes, which enable fans at movie theaters to download movie trailers to their handsets. The music group Coldplay has used Bluetooth enabled billboards outside London railway stations to great effect, enabling passersby to download music videos and ringtones. And London’s Channel 4 has been using this sort of set up to promote its shows.

It’s just about my favorite form factor for mobile advertising. It’s completely opt in, it’s multimedia, and it’s consumer initiated. It’ll be interesting to see how non-entertainment companies pick up the mantle to this particularly powerful form of mobile marketing.

For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

www.BrandingUnbound.com

For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

ADWEEK Excerpt

Lara Croft, Thief And The Hitman Set For New Mobile Games

They’re vermin and she’s a vixen – and they’re all headed for new mobile games.

Always popular Lara Craft will be featured in new mobile games “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Puzzle Paradox” and “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legends,” a 3D game. The Hitman will hit handsets with “Hitman: New York,” and “Hitman: Las Vegas.” And look for “Thief: Episodes 1 & 2.”

They’re all part of a deal between game maker Eidos and InfoSpace to bring popular properties to a bevy of new mobile games in the US and UK.

"We have extended the scope of our partnership with InfoSpace as the company has both the in-house development talent to bring world-class mobile gaming titles to market and the infrastructure and reach to help us distribute to carriers internationally,” Simon Protheroe, New Media and IT Director at Eidos says in a release. "This new title 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Puzzle Paradox' will open up Lara's universe to thousands of mobile gamers on both sides of the Atlantic."

Indeed, Lara’s adventures appear to be evergreen. Since the original “Tomb Raider” game was launched a decade ago, it has sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

Now she and these other titles are ready for 21st century action – all in the palm of your hand.

For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

www.BrandingUnbound.com

For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:

ADWEEK Excerpt