What do you picture when you hear the words “mobile advertising banners”? Probably some 2 or 3 frame, unengaging, pixelated GIF that reminds you of the web in the 1990s. While it’s true they often get a better click through rate than online, this is usually down to the fact that it’s the largest graphical element on the mobile screen.
Mobile banners haven’t really changed much in the last 4 years, however phones have improved beyond recognition with faster processors, 3G capabilities and better screens. However just as important is the improvement in handset targeting by advertising networks, this enables mobile websites to serve ads based on the capabilities of each phone model – so basically serving better ads to better phones.
As you know the mobile landscape is changing, Apple and Google both are now owners of the hardware, software and advertising networks. This means they completely control the mobile advertising eco-system for their handsets, free from the constraints that have handicapped creativity in this part of the industry for so long.
In the future advertising units & banners will have access to features on the phone, either through Flash, Flash Lite or HTML5. We’ve already seen Google’s ‘Near Me Now’ function on its website which directly accesses the phones GPS unit to provide shops and restaurants nearby. I think it’s only a matter of time before we see the accerometer used in the same way.
For those of you who don’t know, the accelerometer is the component in the phone which measures tilt, motion, shaking and swinging. It is responsible for sensing if the handset is portrait or landscape and switches the display accordingly. The iPhone was arguably the first real phone to ultilise it fully within its user interface and applications.
Aaaand did you know that Flash Lite 3.0 already has the power to access to data from the accelerometer on phones such as the Nokia 5800? Flash developers head here and here for example code. Oh and Flash Lite works WITHIN the browser so the following examples can be done today! (I’ll be covering this more in my next post)
Enough talking fool, show me some examples!
So what kind of unique, engaging, mobile-only experiences could you create using this technology?
I’ve written about this before, but last week it resulted in me getting less food for my money – which my friends will tell you makes me very angry, so I’m bringing it up again.
I was meeting a mate after work for something to eat, the plan was to get onto Money Saving Expert and see what was on offer, print out the voucher and go munch. Giraffe had a 2 for 1 on main meals deal which fitted perfectly.
In the rush out of the office I forgot the voucher, because of this I changed my mind and we went next door to Wagamama instead. Why? Because paying full price for something when you know it’s on sale feels like a massive waste of money, you either can’t live with knowing that everyone else around you is probably eating for 50% less or you tell yourself that you’ll return another time with the voucher. Plus I like Wagamama that tiny bit more if paying full price but when it comes down to a good offer like 2-for-1, Giraffe would win every time.
If I could have sent that voucher to my phone rather than to a printer, Giraffe would have had my business. The same has happened in the past with vouchers from Gap, Urban Outfitters and plenty of others. It’s even more of a pain when you don’t have access to a printer.
How many times have you used a mobile SMS voucher compared to lets say, a printed email/pdf voucher? There is no comparison, how can the most commonly used mobile service in the world be overlooked for something you can only do if you have access to a printer? It makes no sense, ask any person who has used a printed voucher if they would rather use a text message instead, what do you think the answer would be?
The question is why hasn’t it happened yet?
“Mobile Guru” Tomi Ahonen gives his speech at the PICNIC 09 – he is a bit mental and makes quite a few points that I don’t agree with. It kinda feels like he is out of touch with what’s going on, it’s the difference between just talking about mobile and actually working in mobile. I think I might start doing these speeches, looks like a good earner, all you need is a few slides with acronyms.
Tomi thinks the next big thing is MMS, not NFC, not Android, not location, not coupons, not ad-funded handsets. This is based on the BMW MMS campaign in Germany which made $45 million in revenue by targeting customers who had purchased a car in the summer, prompting them to buy winter tires. Fantastic campaign but this is the exception rather than the rule, advertisers still aren’t getting involved with MMS. Why? Because operators still charge too much bloody money per message, even at bulk rates, and this scares them off.
According to reports, Google is developing the technology to enable them to start selling advertising space on real life billboards and posters in Street View. Google registered a new patent which describes how it plans to identify buildings, posters, signs and billboards and give advertisers the ability to replace these images with their own ads.
As cool as this is, it raises a number of potential questions which I’m sure will have to be dealt with some point in the near future, especially if this technology can be used for turn-by-turn navigation and Augmented Reality applications. Who actually owns the real life space once it’s online/mobile?
I would say Google own it but no doubt the likes of JCDecaux and advertisers will pipe up and suddenly want their cut. Google will probably play nice and give these sorts of companies revenue share but who knows? Would love to see the outcome of a court case on this one.
This is a really interesting subject and something I think we’ll be hearing much more about in the years to come. What’s your view?
I love reading about mobile crowdsourcing services, it just feels like the two fit perfectly and allows companies to come up with really creative combinations of technology and input from their user base.
Waze is one of those companies that is using people power to build a business in a pretty genius way. It’s a mapping application which users open on their GPS phone as they drive, this feeds the service with real time traffic information by measuring the actual speeds they are travelling across specific routes (if the road has a limit of 70mph and the user is going 20mph, it asks if there is traffic)
What’s even more interesting is that Waze is building up extremely accurate (and valuable) mapping data while the app is open. This means that new roads, route closures and even map inaccuracies can found way ahead of competitors like Google and Ovi Maps.
If I had a iPhone and didn’t think phone covers were a bit silly, this would most definitely be attached to my handset.
The case is made from bamboo and hardwoods, and just so you don’t feel guilty the manufacturer Vers will plant 100 trees for every 1 tree used.
There’s loads of different colours and version for around $39.99 each , head on over to Vers to check them out.
Updated: Wrote this post last year before the iPhone 3GS launch, obviously that version didn’t have video calling or mobile tv as its core features but could that change this year? I was a thinking a bit too far ahead last year but now it seems other blogs are mentioning the same thing.
Rumours (and screenshots) are flying round featuring a front facing iPhone camera…9to5Mac has a post with all the theories. Remember the iPhone can’t save video calling on its own, operators will need to create unlimited bundles with standard tariffs otherwise it’s not going to be able to sustain the initial uplift. Maybe this is the kick start video calling needs to begin lowering prices?
Check out the new image and original post below:
The new iPhone is due to be announced soon and I have the feeling that it’s about to change the way people use (and perceive) Video Calling and mobile TV. The two services desperately need a jump start and have been poorly received by consumers for years.
As a consumer I know that Mobile TV is very appealing, I can’t tell you the amount of times I have been out and wanted to catch the football or a episode of Californication. Even at my desk, I can’t be bothered to keep turning my head to watch the plasma and would gladly have a phone in front of me with the TV on. The proposition isn’t hard for the consumer to understand, it’s TV that you love and know…on your phone. Simple.
However the price has always been far too high , I’ve found that most people don’t know that their operator offers TV and the ones that do think it’s too expensive to take up. Currently the price sits at around £3 per month on Vodafone to £8.99 per month on Orange…That’s 35% of my line rental!
Video Calling is just as expensive, on Orange it costs 50p per minute to call someone on another network. Video Calling is a service I would dip in and out of but why would I ever bother at those prices? I know many things have been listed on why video calling isn’t popular, everything from unflattering camera angles to human nature but lets face it, cost is usually king and if it was free people would use it more.
“People have to feel that they are included in a campaign if they are to share it” said Andreas Englund from DraftFCB, the digital agency behind this campaign.
It’s a no brainer really, personalisation of advertising makes it….well, more personal. We’ve already seen brands utilise Facebook Connect, pulling information from personal profiles to add a extra level of engagement to the experience. Campaigns like Fight Club and Orange Friend-O-Meter were very well received, the same applies to mobile with Vodafone YouRockstar, all getting great response rates and lots of sharing.
So it seems entirely fitting that the first time I’d heard of ‘The Hero’ was when a friend forwarded it to me already personalised with my face (above). Click here to view mine.
The campaign is by Radiotjanst, the organisation behind collecting the license fee for TV and radio in Sweden. In an effort to encourage young metropolitans to pay the fee (where only 6 in 10 do so voluntarily) they came up with this ‘thank you’ video praising you the subscriber.
Head on over to http://en.tackfilm.se/ and make your own now.
I found this old concept while going through some old files, it’s over 4 years old but I thought it would be quite appropriate following this article on how high street estate agents are in decline due to the increase of online property sites. At the time there was no one offering this solution.
[Mock up of MMS enabled print property listings]
Way back in 2006 I was on the hunt for a flat in London, the shit was yet to hit the fan with the economy and house buying was frantic in the city. It was common to be waiting in a queue once you got to a property and some people put offers in without even a single viewing.
Newspapers were saturated with property sections, with estate agents taking out 1 or 2 page spreads which listed either premium or local sellers. Online property sites were popping up all over the place, each claiming better features than the next.
It was all pretty hectic with a ‘if you snooze you lose’ mentally. With all this activity, mobile was barely involved, a few agents started SMS alerts later in the year but mobile was nowhere to be seen.
Nice (but slightly repetitive) predictions for what trends are going to be around in 10 years time.
Oddly no one mentions free ad-funded mobile phones, or manufacturers advertising directly into the core user interface (i.e idle screen etc).
Check it out:
This is SICK.
Check this video out by Keiichi Matsuda and Gen Otsubo as part of a larger project about the social and architectural consequences of new media and augmented reality.
What I like about it is how gritty it is compared to that super glossy Microsoft ‘Vision of 2019‘ – not everyone is going to be living and working in minimalist glass buildings 9 years from now.
I’ve been waiting for someone to make a video like this for ages. Especially with all that talk of augmented reality-enabled contact lenses that display your vital signs. Fits with the video perfectly.
[Image from Flickr]
[Last update 6th Feb 2010 - new stats go on the bottom]
I constantly search around for mobile stats for clients and blog posts, thought it would be handy to have a constantly updated list that myself as well as others could refer to.
Enjoy!
Ps: The stats below are links!
Seriously Now, Where Are These Mobile Vouchers? 
