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In part three: Benson's thoughts on Mark Burnett's new Gold Rush initiative – and the power (and dangers of) integrated, multiplatform marketing.</p>Click on the Generation Wow interview, here.
Just wanted to say "thanks" to all the folks at the American Management Association for the invite to speak at "Corporate Branding 2006" yesterday at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. It was a real blast, with a great audience, great venue, and a lot of great presentations. A very well-executed event. My thanks to all involved.
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
Was too busy yesterday to blog. Had a great time at the American Management Association's "Corporate Branding 2006" - really great audience with outstanding questions. And a great event overall.
Soooo: I didn't get the chance to respond here about the collapse of Mobile ESPN. Not a huge surprise, given news of late. But still, a quick post mortem: As a concept, Mobile ESPN was a fantastic: Deliver a branded phone with all the mobile content any self-respecting sports fan would love. Or not.
While it remains to be seen if Disney's other "mobile virtual network operator" (MVNO) – Disney Mobile – offering will fare better, it does have one thing going for it. Parents want mobile phones for their kids, but without worrying what kind of content they may access when away from their watchful eye. And the simplicity of the Disney Mobile phones are nice for kids, too.
But while Mobile ESPN was kind of a "gotta-try-it" proposition, its demise (in this form) probably shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise. Adults want easy access to all the forms of content they want on mobile phones, not an experience necessarily driven by one brand - even if that brand is ESPN. After all, I don't need (or want) a television set and cable service from ESPN. I don't need (or want) a computer and Internet access from ESPN. I want my television and online experience to include all kinds of different content, including - maybe especially - ESPN.
So: I think Mobile ESPN's new direction - trying to forge deals to deliver its content on many carriers' decks (...or in some kind of WAP site format) may work much better.
But in these early days, the smart brands are experimenting like mad to find what works - and what doesn't - in the mobile medium.
Kudos to Disney for giving it a shot.
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
I'll come UNBOUND when I speak at The American Management Association's "Corporate Branding 2006" Conference today in San Francisco. While I'm out, check out part two of my interview with Mike Benson, senior vice president of marketing for ABC Entertainment, on his multiplatform initiative "The Lost Experience." In part two: the genesis of "The Lost Experience," and how ABC got so many key promotional partners to make it a reality. Check it out here.
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
Check out my Generation Wow audio interview with Mike Benson, SVP of Marketing for ABC Entertainment, on "The Lost Experience" - the multiplatform "alternate reality" game that spanned TV, the Web, mobile and more.
Washington, D.C.-based supermarket chain Chevy Chase Supermarket has announced plans to offer patrons rewards and instant savings via mobile phone.
Using a solution from MobileLime, Chevy Chase will offer its shoppers exclusive, real-time alerts and instant savings on items storewide via mobile phones. Shoppers who enroll will be the first to know about special sales, events and more.
As Kevin Kirsch of Chevy Chase Supermarket puts it: "Shoppers can now get instant savings without carrying a card, and receive just-in-time shopping information about new products, events, sales and promotions on their cell phones. And down the road we expect to add mobile payments to the mix as well."
In BRANDING UNBOUND the book, I take an in-depth look at the supermarket of the future, and how mobile and other wireless technologies will soon transform the in-store experience.
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
Amtrak’s going mobile to help people on the move.
Amtrak will launch new capabilities that enable customers to purchase tickets, access real-time train status information, and access account features via mobile phones.
A nice touch: None of this .mobi business. Users just access Amtrak.com from any Web-enabled mobile device, and the multi-modal system will automatically render the site in a mobile device-friendly view.
"With this solution, mobile users get a real-time, specialized view that works on all devices," says Jason Taylor, Director of Mobile Products for mobile partner UsableNet.
Now that's an exciting new train of thought.
In BRANDING UNBOUND the book, I devote an entire chapter to mobile innovations that are redefining the brand experience for a whole new generation of leisure and business travelers.
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
BusinessWeek will be the first magazine to use the new “.mobi” domain.
The venerable business news weekly will launch a new content service designed for mobile phones and other handhelds. BusinessWeek: Mobile Edition, will be 100% ad supported, and free to users.
"BusinessWeek: Mobile Edition presents an ideal platform for providing professionals with timely insight when, where, and how they want it and for our launch sponsor, Windows Mobile, to reach this
'on-the-go' audience," BusinessWeek.com Senior Vice President and General Manager, Roger Neal, says in a statement.
Business Week is the second major U.S. publication to launch a mobile edition in this last month. On August 30, Wired went, well, wireless. But this is the first to use .mobi, which is the mobile equivalent of .com.
Let’s hope its free, ad-supported model translates to more .readers.
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
McDonald’s isn’t clowning around about mobile.
BRANDING UNBOUND the book and blog have long covered McDonald’s use of the mobile medium in promotional efforts. Now, Mickey D’s is looking at enabling customers to order food by cell phone to have it ready by the time they get to the restaurants, with the charge being billed through their mobile phones.
"Text messaging is going to be a big opportunity," Dean Barrett, senior vice president of global marketing, said the Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain, tells the Associated Press. "It not only offers us a fun way to engage consumers and a great way to have a conversation with them, but in the future it represents an opportunity potentially to make the McDonald's process even easier for consumers to use."
I have to get more details on this one. It seems like it would make more sense to just use services like Mobo and mTango, which offer such services to a multitude of fastfood companies. Consumers sign up in once place and order what they want, from wherever they want – which seems much more consumer friendly. The answer may be in fees: participating restaurants pay 10% of the sale to these other services – which adds up to a lot of fries to McDonald’s.
According to AP, McDonald’s restaurants in Schaumburg, Ill., and St. Augustine, FL., this month are also launching in-store entertainment services that are activated by mobile phone. Customers in designated zones can send text messages to order music, music videos and movie previews from Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Sony Pictures.
Here's hoping enough consumers will say "I'm lovin' it."
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
Irvine, CA-based AskMeNow has officially launched its mobile answer service via a bevy of US mobile operators.
For the first time, any person with a mobile phone and text messaging capabilities can access virtually all the information on the Internet by dialing ‘ASKME’ (27563).
In addition to receiving basic searches to 411, weather, directions, travel and trivia information, customers can ask free-form questions on any subject. So, not only can AskMeNow customers get the five-day weather forecast or last night's sports score, they now have the ability to ask, "What is the name of Tom Cruise and Katie Holm’s daughter?" or "Did the Oakland A’s win last night?" and receive fast answers.
"AskMeNow is revolutionizing how businesses and consumers receive answers and share knowledge easily on mobile phones," said AskMeNow CEO Darryl Cohen in a statement announcing the launch. "AskMeNow's unique ability to access a far greater depth of data than ever before provides customers with richer, more compelling answers from more sources on the Internet. The introduction of natural language queries allows customers to bypass cumbersome mobile interfaces to receive accurate answers. Our intelligent mobile answer service is an ideal solution for the 219 million U.S. cell phone subscribers."
For more on BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
For ADWEEK Magazines' recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book, visit:
NEW: See how mobile fits within the broader world of cross-platform marketing at my new blog:
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