USA Mobile Marketing Economic Impact [Infographic]
The MMA just released a 124 page study on the economic impact that mobile marketing is having on the United States. To save you the effort of reading a 124 page research paper, we gathered important data points and created an infographic–think of it as the ‘Sparknotes’ version.
And yes, we read the entire study!
Click here to view the full-size PDF version – An Infographic about Mobile Marketing Economic Impact
Northwestern University in Doha, Qatar
To conclude their business trip to the Middle East last week, Punchkick Interactive founders Zak Dabbas and Ryan Unger spoke to the Journalism and PR students at Northwestern University in Doha, Qatar about their entrepreneurial and mobile marketing expertise.
Read more about the event: http://qatar-news.northwestern.edu/entrepreneurship-journalism-pr/
About Punchkick Interactive
Punchkick Interactive is a full-service mobile marketing firm that creates industry-leading mobile experiences. Punchkick’s award-winning mobile Web executions, custom multi-platform app development, SMS campaign management, and mobile strategy solutions have strengthened consumer engagement for many of the world’s leading brands including Allstate Insurance Co., Harley-Davidson, Microsoft, Marriott International, UPS, Pearson Education, and more.
Learn more about mobile marketing services from Punchkick.
The 5 Commandments of Mobile Web Design
A one-size-fits-all approach to solving problems rarely seems to work in the real world, and the mobile Web is no different.
Up to this point, most mobile sites have been developed by re-hashing traditional Web content and squeezing it onto the small screen—an unfortunate “Mini-Me” approach to mobile Web design. The result? While the traditional Web becomes more useful and creative every day, the significance of the mobile Web has largely stalled. The mobile Web has yet to realize its awesome potential, and the problem isn’t a technology issue like you may be already thinking. The problem is design, or rather, a lack thereof, within the mobile medium.
1. The Mobile Web is Not the Little Sister of the Traditional Web.
What makes a mobile site so different?
It’s not the screen size—it’s the intent of the user. Very often, traditional Web users browse the Web for entertainment or to kill time. Even when traditional users need to perform work-related tasks, they are easily sidetracked by Twitter, YouTube, or any of the thousands of social networking sites.
Mobile users, on the other hand, typically browse the mobile Web when they are in need of specific information. These experiences tend to be much shorter than they are on the traditional Web, and users rarely browse for entertainment purposes. Let’s just be honest with ourselves—if a user could be in front of a computer, that’s where he or she would be.
Suppose that you were offered a chance to view a new Red Hot Chili Peppers music video on your phone. Would you actually navigate to the video and watch it, when you could just as easily view it on a speedy home computer? Re-purposing traditional Web content and stuffing it into a mobile browser is a recipe for disaster. Instead, it’s time to look at the mobile Web as a uniquely distinctive medium.
2. Give People What They Want, When They Want It.
All mobile Web users across the globe want the same thing: the ability, at any time, to easily access any information.
What this means for mobile Web designers and developers, is that first and foremost, we need to approach mobile Web sites as an information-architecture problem, and NOT as a technology problem. Mobile Web sites should be formatted in a way that allows users to easily navigate and make decisions. Users don’t want to dig through the clutter of a traditional Web site to find the tiny link they were looking for.
Companies that merely ensure their existing Web site is viewable on mobile phones, have, for the most part, wasted their time and money. This is primarily because this type of mobile Web site will likely be hard to navigate through, or be terrible looking. All too often, users get frustrated when they can’t find the content they are looking for. This fact is exactly why wireless carrier “decks” exist.
3. Build Unique Mobile Content, or Don’t Bother Building Anything at All.
Mobile is a unique medium and it should be designed with this idea in mind. If you are not willing to rewrite, modify, or create custom mobile content, then don’t bother creating a mobile site in the first place.
This point is best illustrated by an example:
A university could easily mobilize its existing Web content to create a mobile Web site, but do freshman really need to be able to schedule classes from their phone when they are lost in the Quad? The answer should be, obviously, no.
Wouldn’t the university mobile site be more effective if it was limited to custom information that is relevant for on-the-go students—such as mobile maps, a one-click phone number directory and faculty office hours? The answer is yes.
4. Make It Useable. Make It Useable. Make It Useable.
Mobile Web sites MUST always work on every phone. Period.
What this means is that mobile Web designers need to consider multiple screen sizes, as well as multiple technologies. A mobile Web site should dynamically transcode content such as forms, images, videos, ringtones and layouts, so that any user, with any phone, can enjoy a seamless browsing experience. Users should never have to tell a mobile site what kind of phone they have—it should already know.
Consider that for the traditional Web, designers and developers need to account for differences between Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Opera, screen sizes, color depth, Flash versions, and more. Why would mobile be any different?
5. Don’t Forget About Design. Seriously.
Mobile Web surfers are still consumers, and consumers are deeply impacted by design. Don’t believe this? Allow us to introduce you to a fine company called Apple.
Because the concern at the forefront of people’s minds has been technology, brands and agencies often neglect the importance of design in the mobile space. It is almost assumed that because the mobile Web has to work on every mobile device, it can’t also look great. We couldn’t disagree with this mindset more.
When a mobile marketing firm approaches a mobile Web design project, it should design a series of visual layouts for a client that illustrate how the mobile site will look on a variety of different devices. For example, our firm refines a selected visual design concept into a WML layout (old school WAP 1.0), an XHTML-MP (WAP 2.0) layout at several different screen sizes, and (when possible) an iPhone-specific layout. The goal here is to ensure that no matter what phone is viewing the content, it will look its absolute best.
In Summary:
1. Think about the mobile Web in a new way. Get creative.
2. Clear and concise information-architecture specific to mobile is an absolute must.
3. Create compelling mobile content or don’t bother at all.
4. Mobile sites have to work—always. No ifs, ands, or buts.
5. It’s called mobile Web DESIGN. Not mobile Web cram-it-on-the-screen.
About Punchkick Interactive
Punchkick Interactive is America’s first design firm to focus exclusively on full-service mobile marketing. The firm specializes in creating text-message campaigns, mobile games, Flash Lite content, branded mobile Web sites, custom BREW and Java ME applications, iPhone apps, mobile media distribution systems, Bluetooth proximity marketing campaigns, and more. For additional information about mobile marketing visit http://www.punchkickinteractive.com or call (800) 549-4104.
Very recently, Punchkick Interactive was asked to create a mobile marketing campaign by a client representing Motel 6. The goal of the campaign was to influence the buying behavior of Hispanics who are traveling on spontaneous road trips.
The SMS campaign integrates with traditional radio advertising, and offers travelers a way to sign up for alerts of fun events in their destination city. Travelers who sign up receive three days of event information. Mobile Marketer wrote a great article summarizing the details of this campaign.
Mobile Marketing Statistics Highlight Worldwide Usage
An new Experian study revealed a number of mobile marketing and text messaging statistics that I have not seen before. The short list is outlined below:
- By early 2006, thirty countries had exceeded 100% per capita cell phone usage
- In 2006 there were about 241 million mobile phone users in the United States — or, approximately 80% per capita mobile phone penetration
- According to industry estimates, it won’t be until 2013 that the US will top 100% per capita penetration
- Two thirds of mobile phone users are “active users of SMS text messaging.” What does that translate to? Approximately 1.8 billion people are actively texting today
- Globally, there are twice as many active users of SMS as are active users of email
- In the U.S. alone, roughly 300 billion text messages were sent in 2007
- SMS is typically read within an average of 15 minutes after receipt and responded to within 60 minutes
- While 65% of e-mail is spam, less than 10% of SMS is spam
- 19% of text messagers say they use text messaging as a means of communication between themselves and colleagues
- 62% say they use text messaging to communicate with friends
- 55% say they use it to communicate with their significant others
Source: Mobile Marketing Watch
Additional mobile marketing statistics
50 Useful iPhone Tips for Librarians and Researchers
College@Home created a list of 50 useful iPhone tips for librarians and researchers, and it actually brought up a few points directly related to mobile marketing…
2. Creating a texting service for patron questions. Giving patrons the option of texting in their questions to the library can make it easy for those who prefer to avoid telephone conversations the ability to get quick and easy answers to simple questions, and if librarians within your library are using iPhones they can respond to questions in between checking in or shelving materials and other tasks.
5. Check how your site looks on an iPhone. Many sites don’t quite translate well to mobile devices like the iPhone. Check how your library’s webpage looks by using an online tool like iPhoney or by checking it yourself on an iPhone.
7. Optimize your site for mobile devices. If you’ve checked out how your site looks on an iPhone and the result is not so great, consider creating a special page for mobile users to access your site. Many libraries are already doing so to maximize the usability of their webpages by patrons.
18. Track requests. You can use your iPhone as an easy way to alert patrons that their requests have arrived whether by phone, email or text and you can record and keep track of these requests as well.
23. Create content that’s easy to browse over an iPhone. If you’ve decided to develop a version of your site that’s more easily compatible with mobile phones, consider scaling it down the the basics. Simple search tools and information will be easiest to browse on the go.
Certain SMS Messages Fail on the Palm Treo
This is just a quick note for all you mobile marketers out there. A very specific text string in an SMS message will not work on the Palm Treo—regardless of wireless carrier.
The issue is as follows. Sending a link WITH “http://” but WITHOUT “www” will not work. For instance, “Visit http://groups.google.com” won’t be delivered. However, “Visit http://www.groups.google.com” will be delivered. Very strange, but very fixable.
Adriana Gil Miner created a great video for her blog, Digital Ecologist, outlining today’s issues with SMS spam, privacy, and how mobile marketing law in the United States may be influenced over the next several years by the CAN SPAM Act. This follows up on Pogue’s Post about The Worst Spam Ever.
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s mobile marketing capabilities.
New ‘Google Wake Up Kit!’ Spotted on Google Calendar
While using Google Calendar this morning I noticed a new feature titled, “Google Wake Up Kit!” I clicked on it because I often have trouble waking up. Unfortunately, however, it was just an April Fools Day joke from Google.
In combination with the kit, you can receive a new type of notification from Google Calendar, called the “wake up” notification. This notification is relentless in ensuring your timely awakening from restful slumber.
The “wake up” notification uses several progressively more annoying alerts to wake you up. First it will send an SMS message to your phone. If that fails, more coercive means will be used. The kit includes an industrial-sized bucket and is designed to be connected to your water main for automatic filling. In addition, a bed-flipping device is included for forceful removal from your sleeping quarters. Learn more.
Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s custom mobile software capabilities.
U.S. Mobile Industry is Behind the Times and Other Lies My Mother Told Me
As a resident of the United States, I’ve longed for the latest mobile phones from Japan, Korea, and other more “tech-fortunate” countries throughout APAC and Europe. I live in arguably the most powerful industrialized nation on the planet, and yet I still can’t video chat from mobile to mobile like they do in Japan. My free-phone-with-a-two-year-commitment doesn’t come with a QR Code™ reader pre-installed. And, let’s be honest, most entry level phones in the States don’t even include Bluetooth or a 1.3 megapixel camera. Until recently, I was convinced that the U.S. mobile market is behind the times.
So what gives?
Very recently, a number of studies have surfaced leading me to think that maybe, just maybe, things aren’t so bad on this side of the pond. For example, according to the CTIA in Wireless Wave Fall 2007 – A Continental Idea:
[..] earlier this year Merrill Lynch reported that Europeans still pay an average of 19¢ per minute for an average of 153 minutes a month, compared to 5¢ per minute for 834 minutes a month for customers in the U.S. The U.S. is the leader in offering bucket plans, driven by competitive market forces to offer more minutes at a lower effective rate.
3G penetration stats are looking up, too. According to industry analyst Chetan Sharma, President of Chetan Sharma Consulting, “Because of the heavy penetration of the Internet over the desktop, as well as the late advent of 3G in the market, there was not a big driver for mobile Internet until the last one or two years. As 3G penetration has been increasing[,] now we’re up to 15 to 16 percent penetration (in the U.S.).”
M:Metrics — which conducts an on-going survey of thousands of wireless customers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the U.S. — recently found that a slightly higher percentage of U.S. consumers browse wirelessly for news and information than their European counterparts.
The study also shows that the U.S. is at the top in average number of minutes used per month at 832 (Canada, the number two country, averages 429 minutes). The country with the lowest average revenue per minute — a measure of the effective price per voice minute — is again the U.S. at $0.04 USD (South Korea and Mexico are tied for the number two spot at $0.11 USD). And finally, the number of wireless carriers with over one million subscribers is the largest in the U.S. at 10 companies. The country with the next highest number is the England.
My conclusion? Maybe it’s true that the grass is always greener on the other side.
