Archive for the ‘Mobile’ Category

Yes, there are still some of them left in the world.   In fact, lots of them.    I estimate that roughly 190 million Facebook users use regular cellphones to connect to Facebook.   How did I get there?

• Facebook has 500 million users worldwide.
• About 40% of Facebook users connect to Facebook thru mobile phones.    That works out to 200 million users.
• About 95% of mobile phone users don’t have a smart phone.   And that’s world- wide.  IDC says that 1 billion of them were sold in 2010. 

Now, that’s a market worth tapping.   And Facebook wants to encourage you to connect via mobile.  Not just to increase traffic.   If you connect through a mobile, they know your location—and can now better serve you up ads.  And, don’t forget, that’s a real revenue stream for them.

Today Facebook announced it was buying Snaptu, which develops apps for those cheaper mobile phones, for a reportedly $60-70 million.   And that should help them reach developing areas where users don’t have PCs or smartphones.    Africa, Antarctica, the Amazon—Facebook marches on.

Yep, it’s here.  More people are playing games on their iPhones and iPads than watch most TV shows.  Ranks close to Sunday Night Football in terms of consumer reach.    And advertisers love it—those gaming ads are targeting, available 24/7, longer use time and repeat viewing.  And, oh, peak usage is in the evening, what we used to call prime time viewing hours. 

And it’s not just primetime.  Last month BrightRoll CEO Tod Sacerdoti pointed out that Zynga has 50 million users, mainly female gamers between 18 and 30.   That used to be the target audience for soap operas, which are fading away (or maybe they just had amnesia, a missing twin, were kidnapped or lost in the jungle for years). 

And I know this first hand.   Logged into YahooGames to see my fave time wasting game had been taken over by Resolve laundry detergent.   The message boards were flaming about it but people were still playing.  Who cares what was happening on network TV?  That’s so 20^th century.

Click here  for full article.

We’ve all been thinking it;

WHEN IS MOBILE GOING TO HIT?!

I’ve gone back and forth on this one for awhile now. My gut instinct was that mobile would never become a strong category because it’s interruption based, and I’d always felt like adverts on my phone were a little bit invasive. But I’ve been seeing some products that have converted my view. Let’s take a look.
Here comes mobile.
They know where you are. Exactly where you are. It’s a scary prospect. And they ping you constantly. Text messages, pre-roll on web pages that already load deathly slow. More text messages. Banner that consumes half the page. More text messages.
BUT, here’s the beauty of mobile; good mobile advertising is permission based. There is enormous power in geo-targeting and it’s clearly beneficial to the consumer. I love walking past a restaurant and having a coupon pop up on my phone. That will drive an acquisition. It’s a strong call to action because you’re at the transaction point and you’ve already opted in. All marketers need to do is tell you.
Which brings me to my first ever company of the week! Every week henceforth I shall nominate a company of the week. All that’s required is an innovative product or funky marketing ploy.

MCLEAN, Va. – Mobile Posse, Inc., a leading provider of content and advertising delivery solutions for mobile, today announced the launch of an innovative sales promotion for agencies and brands looking to extend their advertising campaigns to mobile. Mobile Posse’s “Double-Digits Pledge” allows advertisers to trial idle screen advertising risk-free. Participating advertisers are guaranteed a minimum 10% click-through-rate (CTR) on campaigns delivered via the Mobile Posse platform. Advertising fees for ads that do not generate the promised consumer response will be fully refunded to the advertiser, no strings attached.

Got this from Ad Ops Online
Beautiful.
Mobile Posse gets this weeks nomination because they have an innovative product (idle screen advertising – it means what it sounds like) that both eliminates the interruption factor while maximizing the value of mobile adverts. They also get kudos for a courageous marketing move – letting marketers use the platform free with a 10% CTR guarantee. They’re either nuts, or they’ve got something to offer. Check out www.MobilePosse.com.
I’m taking nominations for next weeks contest now! Drop me a line at sean@aclion.com!

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

MobiTV global TV and digital radio service, recently stated in July 31st press release MobiTV Soars Past Four Million Subscribers it now has 4 million subscribers to its mobile TV and radio services, available in more than 15 carrier networks, including giants AT&T, and Sprint. The Service costs $10 monthly. Their competitors include Verizon, Modeo and Joost and Babelgum (on PCs).
That’s great for them and better for the mobile and online video industry, but According to Silicon Alley Insider article How Big Is The Market For Tiny, Mobile TV Ever Going To Get?

“It’s been more than 9 months since MobiTV announced its 3 millionth subscriber; it only took 8 months to get to 3 million (Oct. 22, ’07) from 2 million (Feb. 28, ’07).”

It looks as if their numbers are slowing in a time where Mobile capabilities are constantly increasing. Still, it’s alarming to see Mobitv.com’s site analytics! Take a look at their Unique Visitors decline over the past year:

That’s a 40% decrease this year, but that could be caused by many different factors and we also have to rely on their subscriber numbers over the visitor numbers any day! We also have to be aware of the fact that the “slow” increase can be blamed on usability level of smart-phones, limited 3G networks, etc? That could directly influence the amount of people willing to pay for mobile TV.
Again, according to the SAI (Silicon Alley Insider) article:

“About 4.8 million Americans — 2.1% of the U.S. mobile market — watched programmed TV/video at least once a month on their phones this spring, according to research firm comScore M:Metrics. Meanwhile, more than twice that — 11.7 million subscribers, or 5.2% of the market — watched free video sent by family or friends.”

But again, this brings us back to recent articles concerning online video metrics. Take a look at http://blog.aclion.com/video/ for more info to bring you up to speed. Other than that, things are looking up for MobiTV now and I’m going to follow their growth to see how it pans out over the next 2 years of which mobile capabilities will play a huge part. Familiarize yourselves with companies like these, because we are beginning to move into a highly-technical advanced MOBILE future where video plays a key role in both news, entertainment and advertising.

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

I recently attended NYTechMeetup and had the pleasure of meeting Mike Davis, co-founder of a rather interesting and noteworthy mobile social network, MeetNowLive. Hands down, one of the coolest and most attractive mobile based social network I’ve seen so far. Leave it to Mike to make something this Hot! Check out their “Free Beer Friday’s” promotions on their site, among some basic about and contact information…but that’s it! They’ll have some account features and bar listings pretty soon, but it’s strictly for mobile devices. “Meet Now Live is a real-time, location based, mobile social network in and around New York City. Our members use their mobile phones to broadcast their current location as they party in the city.” Mike Davis took the time to write up a little blurb about who they are and what they do…read it below. Let us know what you think!

Meet Now Live (MNL) is a pioneering location-based, mobile social-networking service connecting young professional urbanites in their quest for real-time bar, event, and nightlife information in New York City and surrounding areas. Launched in April 2008, the service is available on any cell phone or mobile device with internet access. With 2,000 bars, clubs, lounges, and restaurants in its network, MNL is the only service of its kind to allow users to broadcast their location from their favorite place of interest and invite other users to join. MNL is a free, “device agnostic,” mobile service where users can create profiles, send messages, friend one another, upload pictures, create personalized location-specific events, and plan their night on-the-fly, based on the location of their friends. Now anyone can view real pictures of real people at bars, clubs, lounges, parties, and restaurants without ever stepping foot inside. Beta Launch: During this launch period which lasts until Labor Day weekend, MNL has joined forces with The Town Tavern, Whistling Dixies Texas Tavern, and Porky’s NYC to offer “Free Beer Fridays!”. When users “broadcast” their location from these bars, encouraging friends and other MNL users to join them, the MNL system delivers an on-screen mobile ticket that grants them the right to unlimited free draft beers. Mike Davis | Co-Founder Meet Now Live, Inc. www.MEETNOWLIVE.com