BRANDING UNBOUND

Google CEO: Mobile Advertising To Generate More Ad Revenue Than Web, 2.0 And Otherwise

Never accuse Google CEO Eric Schmidt of understatement.

TMC is reporting that during the big Android demonstration this week, Schmidt that he's less than impressed with the advertising possibilities for properties like YouTube, and Web 2.0 in general. But mobile, well, that's a different thing.

“Some things work, and others just don’t – but the mobile Internet always works,” he said, adding that that within a few years, mobile advertising would generate more revenue than advertising on today’s Web.

Contrast that with new stats from InformationWeek, which predict mobile ad revenue to top $10 billion by 2013. That's compared to the $80 billion PiperJaffray pegs for web ad spending by 2011.

I'm not betting against Schmidt, even if I do think he's being a tad overoptimistic. Depending on how you define "a few years."

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Business Week: Mobile Becoming 'The Weekend Web'

Speaking of comScore, Businessweek went through stats from comScore's new acquisition, M:Metrics, among others, and found that people use the Web quite differently in the mobile medium than in the wireline one - at least so far.

According to the pub, the number of unique visitors to the mobile Web spikes on Saturdays, according to March figures compiled by M:Metrics. The number surged to 4.17 million on Saturdays, an 8% increase from Fridays and 4% more than on the next busiest day, Monday, according to the study, which tracked behavior by 1,861 U.S. smartphone owners.

Turns out, U.S. cell phone users flock to a different set of sites via cell phone - which is probably to be expected. But some of the findings are interesting:

• Surprisingly, many swarm Craigslist. In March, users spent more time on Craigslist than on any other site. When it comes to sites visited from a PC, Yahoo! properties hold the No. 1 spot, while Craigslist is in ninth place.

• Electronic commerce site eBay is No. 2 in time spent on mobile, while it's only No. 8 on the PC Web, according to comScore.

• The Weather Channel gets the fourth-highest number of unique visits on the mobile Web, but it's way down the rankings at No. 26 on the PC Web. Map provider MapQuest, owned by AOL, is the eighth-most visited mobile site, but ranks 35 on the PC Web.

• During the week, Americans run Google and Yahoo searches at work and compose blogs on MySpace and Facebook. The PC Web's fastest-growing site categories include pharmacies, food, cosmetics, and job search. Not unexpectedly, during weekends, it's strictly about having fun. The fastest-growing mobile-Web categories relate to weather, entertainment, games, and music - a much more intuitive dynamic.

How does this all play out for marketers? Citing Juniper studies, the pub says marketers will send as many as 3 billion mobile coupons to consumers, resulting in $7 billion in discounts.

Ebay, for one, appears to be taking notice.  It's experimenting with enabling people may be able to take a photo of a product's bar code in a brick-and-mortar store, and look up comparable prices on Ebay from their phone.

It also signals that if you're a lifestyle brand, your mobile presence may be more important than your wireline one.

Read more about it, here.

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comScore Acquires M:Metrics; Nielsen's Online Tracking Goes Mobile

Is M:Metrics no more?

Word's out that digital measurement firm comScore has acquired M:Metrics, which has long been a leader in mobile measurement.

The acquisition makes comScore the immediate leader in measuring the mobile Internet market and adds to comScore's leading position in measuring PC-based Internet usage.

The primary benefit is that comScore will be able to offer measurement of combined Internet usage across both PC and mobile-based online access platforms.

"With the substantial growth of 3G devices and Internet friendly handsets, we believe we are now at an inflection point in Internet usage on mobile devices," says Dr. Magid Abraham, comScore's president and chief executive officer, in a statement.

"Our acquisition of M:Metrics makes comScore an immediate market leader in this space and positions comScore to deliver significant shareholder value as wireless carriers, telecom equipment providers, media companies, advertising agencies, online publishers, and marketers extend their reach into the mobile Internet world."

Not that comScore will necessarily have an easy time of it.

The firm has come under scrutiny of late as rival Quantcast has questioned some of its' measurement methodologies in the Internet space. Without resolution, some may wonder about the value of this expanded offering.

Still, this is a significant move, and could result in better visibility for agencies, media players and marketers.

Small wonder then, that Nielsen announced today it's expanding its online audience profiling system into mobile.

Read more about comScore and M:Metrics, here. And more about Nielsen's mobile move, here.
 

 

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Reader Reaction: Kids & Mobile Social Networking

Got a comment & question from Matt in reaction to my post the other day, Study: Kids Seriously Into Mobile Social Networking, in which I write, in part, about possible business models for teen-oriented social networks:

"...instead of advertising, what if these networks, like a growing number of online counterparts, were actually branded destinations v. general, ad-supported destinations?  The right brand, the right experience, and the right audience might make for some powerful opportunities.

To which Matt responds, in part:

To clarify: are you suggesting the rise of a mobile version of the infamous branded profile? or advocating that "the right brand" should step in to create the network and own it outright?

Glad he asked, because that bears some elaboration.

I am not talking about the former - branded profiles. I'm talking about the latter - the branded social network.

Something akin to Coca-Cola's "Sprite Yard" mobile social network, which seems like a good match of brand, audience and medium. I think there could be better opportunities for the MTV's of the world, or more niche oriented efforts like Rebok's GoRunEasy mobile net.

I think niche-oriented efforts could be the more powerful model - a true community of interest v. just a cool mobile social network. But what will really take off remains to be seen.

I just think there are more interesting and powerful ways to use social networks to connect with consumers than standard-issue, ad-supported solutions.

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Cirque du Soleil Mobilizes Highlights

Cirque du Soleil's got a thing for your cell phone.

The world-famous troupe of acrobats is now enabling fans to download show video excerpts, graphics and wallpapers directly onto their mobile devices through the new service being offered through mobile content partner YuuZoo.

According to Ron Creevey, President of YuuZoo: "One major objective we have is to expand beyond traditional mobile offerings by providing our customers with a broad selection of popular, unique subjects. That's one reason we're very proud to be associated with such an innovative, creative world brand as Cirque du Soleil."

What's more, to celebrate this new partnership, a mobile promotion program will be offered that awards 5 winners an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas for them and a friend to see one of the award winning Cirque du Soleil shows known as "KA."

Personally, I'm not that big on the whole snack-size video thing - but I can see where the graphics and wallpapers will be of interest to Soleil heads around the world.

Read more about it, here.

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MasterCard Testing Mobile Payment In Canada

At least one credit card company wants to master the possibilities when it comes to m-commerce.

MasterCard is running a four month pilot to enable users  to pay for purchases at retail locations that accept MasterCard's contactless technology by tapping their handset at specially equipped point-of-sale payment terminals.

In BRANDING UNBOUND the book, I look at several tests run by MasterCard and Visa into the technology, which could bring a whole new level of convenience to consumers. And here in the blog, I've looked at how MasterCard is working aggressively in such fields as Bluetooth marketing, and how Visa is moving into mobile in-store marketing.

According to Finextra, MasterCard is confident that these new Canadian trials will be a success. The card network says a 2007 survey found nearly nine in ten Canadians (88%) are "very interested" in a payment method that would cut the time it takes to complete transactions.

Read more, here.

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Harris Study: Mobile Marketing Key To Reaching On-The-Go Consumers?

A new Harris Interactive study finds that mobile may be the key to reaching on-the-go consumers who, despite high fuel prices and economic turbulence, have money to spend.

According to Harris, the majority (60%) of consumers who will now limit their discretionary spending will curtail going out to restaurants (74%) and limit their purchase of electronics (71%), among other choices like buying fewer clothes and taking fewer vacations.

Alas, 41% say they have no plans to cut back on the purchase of mobile phones.

In Harris's eyes, the trend supports the idea that marketers should leverage mobile advertising as part of an integrated marketing program to promote their brands and sell products and services  - especially during difficult economic times.

"Business may be slowing for many companies but, the fact is, there are a lot of people who are still spending money in this country and even those cutting back still need to buy essentials," Milton Ellis, vice president and senior consultant, Harris Interactive technology group, tells Cellular News. "The key is to reach out to them through innovative marketing - including mobile advertising - and provide the right incentives to capture their business."

Hmmm. This seems like a stretch.

Just because people are using their mobile phones and don't plan to stop using them doesn't in any way mean they're going to respond to mobile ad pitches.

Aside from iPhone users, most people pretty much use their phones to make and receive calls.

Harris's linkage seems tenuous.

But maybe it means as consumers use their mobile phones more often, they slowly begin to use them for other things - like surfing the web or signing on for location aware services.

But by the time they do that, we'll have gone through another business cycle.

Which means I won't be holding the phone for mobile advertising to kick in during this one.

Read more here.

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More Marketers Target iPhone Users

And small wonder. According to iSuppli findings cited by BtoB Magazine, iPhone users spend just 46.5% of their usage time making calls, compared to 71.7% for the typical mobile phone user. The rest of that time is using Google maps, email, browsing the Web and so forth.

According to the pub, that's making marketers specifically target iPhone users.

“[iPhone users] come to the table in a more … purposeful state of mind,” says Justin Talerico, CEO of ion interactive, which creates iPhone optimized mobile sites for companies. “In a way, they’re easier to convert. But you make them harder to convert if you give them an experience that’s subpar.”

Case in point: Land Rover, which I posted about last year. It launched a campaign on the iPhone that enables consumers to quickly connect with the iPhone-exclusive Google Maps page has Rover marketers marveling. The service also worked for BlackBerries and Treos, but the click through rate for the iPhone was .3% higher than the average 22% for the entire cross-platform campaign.

Another example, according to BtoB: Payless Car Rental, which this month unveiled an iPhone-optimized Web site that helps consumers research and reserve rental cars with minimal typing and clicking. The site features buttons for “Reserve a Car,” “View, Modify, or Cancel Reservation” and “Locations.” It also has a “Call to Book” button that connects directly to a call center.

Payless drives traffic to its iPhone site through RSS feeds, publicity and links on www.apple.com and www.paylesscarrental.com. And since its launch, bookings by iPhone users has increased dramatically.

With all this buzz about a 3G-enabled iPhone hitting stores this next month, marketers may become more fanatical than even iPhone users themselves.

Read the BtoB piece, here.

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Video: Evolution of Mobile Phone from 1985 To Tomorrow

A look at the evolution of the mobile phone from 1985, starting with th Motorola DynaTAC and ending with a look at some concept phones of tomorrow. Speaking of that DynaTAC, read my interview with its inventor, Martin Cooper, who carried an early prototype onto a Manhattan street corner and amazed passersby as he made the first mobile phone call from a handheld device, here.

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MMA's Marriott Takes Mobile 'Gut Check'

Good piece from Laura Marriott, head of the Mobile Marketing Association, on the lessons learned so far in mobile marketing, in RCR Magazine.

I can't say I agree with all of these lessons (I'm more bullish on mobile as an "activation" mechanism to advertising in other media than, perhaps, the MMA is).

But Marriott is usually right on the mark, and on balance, these are strong recommendations. My favorite quote from the piece comes from Alexandra Deutsch, Managing Director, Out There Media GmbH. “Mobile is not a small Internet or a small TV...Mobile is mobile and we need to be developing campaigns for mobile.”

Read the article, here.

For my own take on the issue, check out the recent excerpt from BRANDING UNBOUND the book in ADWEEK magazine starting here, and of course, pick up the book wherever books are sold.

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