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The New Vision of a Digital Future: Monetizing MobilityThe idea that there is an overabundance of content in today’s digital spectrum is no surprise. In earlier times, newspapers, magazines, and various publications alike made a push once the web turned circles in the early 2000’s and content distributors rushed to get their publications online. This rush has since grown, and seen an extreme swell of content on the web, much of it free, much of it paid – creating the big issue that stands in front of publishers today: how do I further monetize? Digital media might be popular, but from a marketing standpoint, it has not been easy on publications. Ad rates on the web could not match what was being garnered in print, essentially endangering the publications lifespan because of a lack of monetization. What saving-grace could be sitting in the weeds waiting to peek it’s head over – mobile device, and by that, I mean devices that are MOBILE.  As mobile devices increase in use (seen in the eMarketer.com study above), publications are flocking to create applications that can live and function within this new space. Everything from portable phones, to the hot, soon-to-arrive e-readers, tablets and other wireless internet devices; content distributors are seeing these ‘apps’ as the opportunity to both expand their reach and monetize their content at the same time. Mobility In Play Conde’ Naste Publications were one of the first to deliver full magazine issues on apps, staring with GQ’s December issue. By mid-February, according to Advertising Age, it sold nearly 7,000 copies of the December issue app and more than 15,000 copies of the February issue app at $2.99 each. When comparing this to the magazine’s print publication, which averaged nearly 194,000 single-copy sales per issue over the second half of last year, it’s not anything mind-blowing – yet. Conde’ Nast refers to this as a start to something much larger, as they prepare to get in a position to make a major play on the iPad, which is opening many content distributor’s eyes. They have also planned to create digital editions of Wired, Vanity Fair and a number of other titles. When considering the outcome, you have to imagine that a number of people who might download single issues of a publication, could, most likely be, already not a subscriber. And if you charge $3 for that one download, think of 100,00+ people taking that same idea and applying it to their app collection – that will all start to add up. Also, Zinio, which has been selling digitized copies of its magazines for display on computer screens for years, recently created a free iPhone app that optimizes digital editions of its publications for the iPhone. Within the first few weeks of release and 20,000 downloads later, it surpassed the New York Times app as the No. 1 News application. It’s also interesting to see how a number of publishers are not just “unlocking the safe” of web content to a mobile application, but actually releasing specialized apps that draw in related information, but still sell and monetize the brand at the same time. Rodale, best known for its Men’s Health and Women’s Health publications, offer apps that range from 99 cents for a Men’s Health Ultimate Fat Burning app to $4.99 for their Eat This, Not That! Diet app. All of this is not just timely craze being built in branded modules that will live for just a period of time. Advertiser’s see the potential behind these types of apps and the ability to reach more targeted users outside of something like a Facebook or Web widgets were every marketer’s obsession years ago. E-readers & Tablets…And the iPad! This isn’t just all hype – there is something very serious brewing behind the potential of advanced e-readers and tablets, most notably, and always setting off the first alarm when they announce anything new, Apple’s iPad and other similar devices, are going to be a new source of potential income for newspapers, magazines and other print publications looking to make a big push. E-readers and tablets are going to become effective content distributors for content publishers, and in no doubt will grow in terms of advertising revenue and further branded distribution. According to a Mashable article from February 18, Director for Digital Publishing at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, Roger Fidler, said major news companies such as the New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post will be focused on creating customized content standards for e-readers and tablets. He also predicted that within 10 years time, a majority of subscribers to newspapers and magazines will be reading digital editions delivered to mobile reading devices.  As of February 10, there were 99 newspapers from around the world already available on Amazon’s Kindle – and this current Kindle model is subscription-based without advertising. Newspapers get about 30% revenue from having their content on the Kindle, something likely to change because publishers have some leverage because e-reader vendors must have content to succeed and newspapers will have the ability to do more rich presentations – content will evolve in the end game. With that being said, that rushes the issue of staying competitive and enters the first question – “who can hit the ball out of the park to start?,” so to speak. For example, the iPad’s rumored debut turned official last month when Apple announced a March launch date and featured a full-color device with touchscreen; something the Kindle falls well short of at the moment. However, it is being predicted that Amazon will introduce a similar color device before the end of 2010. iPad Will Reign…for now With the pending launch of Apple’s new device, Wired Magazine has been planning, for more than 6 months already, to launch an iPad-only edition of the publication this summer that includes rich media content. Wired’s Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson showcased a demo of the Wired Reader app at TED recently. The publisher of Wired, Conde Nast, also plans on launching iPad versions of GQ and Vanity Fair as well. From a marketing and advertising standpoint, users that gravitate toward the e-reader subscriptions are looking for similar experiences they draw from the print publication. Those who will want to get even more out of that experience will be more attracted to the iPad. That being said, I see more of a harmonious relationship between the two, rather then one trumpeting over another – and this good news based on what experts reveal could be separate advertising models on each device. New Medium = New Content With the advancement of the iPad and many competitive devices, similar in functionality coming soon, media companies won’t simply be able to re-purpose content. According to Alan Mutter, an independent media analyst, who spoke to Mashable.com in a recent article, said content needs to be richer, offer more user control and interaction, and has to let the user manipulate it in a way that it becomes highly individualized. Sport’s Illustrated recently created an iPad demo prototype on how that capability could be leveraged: Mutter said that although he has reasons to be encouraged, it will take time before a mass amount of publishers go running to this new platform and spend a healthy investment to create these new formats. That will not happen until proof is made that they can generate significant revenue and ultimately become a clear marketing and advertising channel. What is success here? Mutter said that when a number of around 100,000 subscribers are reached through e-readers and tablets alone per publication; then media companies will consider them successful tools to gain additional advertising revenue. It’s All Dollars and Cents In the end however, these are all cutting-edge devices that are clearly going to shake the content distribution channels at their very core. The hope is to generate not only additional advertising revenue, but also separate subscriptions, and potential syndication from other websites – all could be included in a new model of “charging for service.” Mutter said, for example, CNN charges $3 for their iPhone app and the New York Times just gives it away for free. A recent report from Gawker.com said that a New York Times source said that an iPad model of the NYT could run a user up to $20-$30 per month. Why such a high price…they are scared! Even more, they are worried that an advanced device like the iPad would have print subscribers cancelling pretty quickly, and running for the hills with their iPads in hand. In the end however, it is about two pieces to this paradigm: The idea of having content optimized for the platform (whether it is an iPad, e-reader, tablet, iPhone, Android, other mobile device, even a gaming device), and then most importantly - coming up with the model that people will pay for. I guess we’ll just close our eyes and see what happens in the next few months… Labels: Advertising, Direct Marketing, e-readers, iPad, Mobile Marketing, Mobility Is Mobile Payment the Next Big Consumer Marketing Tool?Mobile apps have become a staple of the marketing industry. Users are so connected to cell phones, PDAs and smartphones that advertisers have quickly learned that the way to get peoples' attention is inevitably to get into their mobile phone. The newest piece of technology to start gaining traction in the mobile application world is the payment function. Mobile payment allows a cell phone or PDA to essentially replace a credit card; however, unlike the impersonality of a credit card, using a mobile payment option allows marketers to really generate a conversation with their target audiences, by providing promotions, coupons, and a method of payment right within each person's most important and inseparable piece of personal property. Much like online marketing became extremely powerful as computers and laptops became more prominent, mobile marketing is now a fast-growing, effective medium for marketers to utilize to break through the clutter. The technology required to deploy mobile payments involves implanting a chip into phones that contains consumers' credit information. The difficulty and expense of implementing this technology is a major hurdle that needs to be overcome in order for mobile payments to really infiltrate the marketplace. However, according to AdAge, Juniper Research predicts that 123 million NFC-enabled handsets (46% of today's U.S. wireless subscribers), will come online in North America by 2013. Additionally, Dublin-based Research and Markets predicts that global mobile payment transactions are expected to reach $110.1 billion in 2013, at a 105% compound annual growth rate. Mobile payment has been in use in Japan for about 4 years, and is just beginning to enter the U.S. in a few test markets of companies such as McDonalds and Starbucks. The ultimate reason for the growth of this new function in the marketing world is the ability to track customer behavior. According to Drew Sievers, CEO and cofounder of mFoundry, which supplied the technology that powers Starbucks' mobile payment feature, explained to AdAge, "If you've got a real-time device in the users' hands at point of sale, this gives you the opportunity to provide promotions and incentives at the time it matters and influence buyers' behavior." You can check out the full AdAge article about mobile payments at http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=139439 Labels: Application Development, Mobile Marketing Mobile Advertising in Plain English For those unfamiliar with the mobile advertising, the IAB recently released a mobile media buying guide for advertisers and agencies covering topics such as the mobile ecosystem, key mobile ad terms, shortcode campaigns and example of various mobile ad executions. This booklet contains everything one would need to get their first mobile campaign up and running.Mobile advertising is not so new anymore, but advertisers have been slow to adopt mobile as a viable advertising medium. As a recent MediaPost article stated, “An interactive marketing forecast released by Forrester Research projects mobile advertising will increase 70% to $391 million this year and to $1.3 billion by 2014. The firm called mobile one of the "most anticipated, least adopted" interactive channels in the mix.” Advertisers must remember that mobile is not so much different from any other advertising medium. You still need to set performance goals and objectives regardless of the advertising medium. You still need to determine where your target audience resides and you still need to determine how to reach them. In the world of mobile advertising, this may include mobile websites, downloadable applications, mobile messaging and mobile video. Mobile advertising shouldn’t take the place of online or offline, but rather compliment other advertising efforts. For more information on how to get a mobile advertising campaign up and running please refer to the IAB’s Mobile Guide here. Labels: Integration, Mobile Marketing, online marketing A Very Special (K) New Year We all know that one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to lose weight or start dieting, and Special K is here to remind us all of that. According to AdAge, Special K Kicks Off "Wake-Up Call" in Times Square. Just before midnight in Times Square, Kellogg will launch its newest digital and integrated marketing campaign which focuses on consumer's healthy-eating goals. For the whole month of January, Special K will run billboard, mobile and online media campaigns, kicking off with the Nasdaq and Reuters billboards on Times Square just as the ball drops on Newy Year's Eve. Display ads will encourage consumers to share their holidays indulgences and wake-up calls, and there is also a social media mobile component where consumers can text their weight loss goals, as well as 15- and 30-second TV spots. (photo from AdAge) Special K is focused as "a weight-management brand, and [it] always had a marketing presence during resolution season," according to Kellogg spokeswoman Kris Charles. However, the campaign hasn't even started yet and there is already some criticism, with some people accusing Special K of being a party pooper for reminding people of dieting during one of the most festive celebrations. Personally, I think the campaign is a great example of timing, relevancy, and media savvy. Special K is positioning itself to be present at the consumer's critical moment, aka right when most of its target market (women) realize and vow to make dietary changes. Besides, who says you can't celebrate and think of your health at the same time? Maybe I just have a soft spot for Kellogg - after all, this is one of the (smarter) companies whose own New Year's resolution is to spend more money online, forecasting their digital efforts to surpass their broadcast effort's ROI (yay for online!) But in any case, kudos to Special K for reigning in the New Year with an innovative advertising campaign that aims to reach its target consumers in non-traditional, relevant and engaging ways. Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, fantastic 2009 ahead! Cheers! Labels: Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Online Media, POV, Social Media Marketing Google's G1 Phone Launches Today Today Google took one more step towards complete world domination; October 22, 2008 marks the launch of the G1, Google's first foray into the mobile market. Built by HTC and distributed exclusively by T-Mobile, the G1 is the first mobile device to feature Android, Google's open source operating system. Android was developed by Google to be an open source operating system, meaning anyone can download the development kit and create applications that are downloadable through the Android marketplace. Combined with 3G mobile technology - allowing for fast wi-fi speeds - the G1 is set to make mobile internet much more accessible to everyone. So, what does this mean for marketers? Greater exposure across a wider range of media sources. In a March 2008 study by The Nielson Company, twenty-three percent (58 million) of all U.S. mobile subscribers say they were exposed to advertising on their phones in the past 30 days. Of those about half said they responded in some way. With the launch of the G1 and more phones on more providers on the way, it is becoming increasingly easier for users to access the internet via their mobile devices. This means more users online, seeing more ads, with a greater ability to interact with what they see. For more information on the G1, visit T-Mobile - Bill Holmes Labels: Google, Mobile Marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Gaming for PresidentsPresidential campaigning has been taken to a new level. Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts confirmed that Obama’s campaign has paid for advertising in Xbox 360’s Burnout Paradise. In-game advertising has only been around for less than 2 years so this is the first time that a Presidential candidate has paid for in-game advertising. At first I was shocked when I read about this on blog http://www.gigaom.com/, but I’m not surprised. This is not the first time that the Obama camp has embraced new media to reach the younger demographic. A recent blog posting on Driving Forward discussed how Obama is using text messaging and social media to capture the young and tech-savvy voters. As discussed, even though John McCain’s campaign is participating in paid search, he may be missing out on capturing the attention of this demographic once again in the virtual world. In-game advertising presents a huge targeting opportunity as well for the candidates, as ads can be geo-targeted to a user’s location, and to states that are under performing for the candidates. According to Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times in his blog entry from October 14th, Rockwood revealed that both Obama and McCain were approached, but Obama bought a series of ads to run on sports games, including Madden 09, Nascar 09,and Need for Speed Prostreet, in swing states such as Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. The ads, which will run from Oct. 6 through Nov. 3, will appear on games with realistic settings such as billboards on a highway.  Labels: Blog Outreach, Mobile Marketing, Obama Campaign, Paid Search, Social Media Marketing |
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