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Personal & Professional Reflections on 2008

Emily — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:15:00 +0000

The new year is a time for looking back at the year that’s been, and forwards at the year to come. I’ve been reading a lot of “Year That Was” and “Hot 2009 Predictions” on various blogs and I thought I should give it a go myself!

Although I started Mobilist in September 2007, 2008 was when the business really got going. It’s been a big year for me professionally. When I started Mobilist it was something of an experiment, a bit like.. “why don’t I create something and see if it takes off… I can always get a real job if it doesn’t”. I was thrilled to discover so much interest in Mobilist’s services and to find that it was indeed the right time & place for a business like Mobilist. Along the way I’ve met some fantastic, passionate & enthusiastic people and am now working with many of them to build our own businesses and develop the industry as a whole.

Mobilist has focussed predominantly on Mobile SEM and I’m happy to say that we’ve had awesome results generating mobile traffic for Australian clients. Late in 2008 we saw renewed interest in mobile strategy – many local businesses are finally taking the mobile channel seriously and calling for help to incorporate mobile into their business, marketing & advertising plans. This is some of my favourite work and I look forward to working with these new clients in 2009.

In 2008 I got involved with Mobile Mondays and it was so satisfying to see the turn-out grow at each monthly event. In 2009 we will be holding MoMo Melbourne on the 3rd Monday of the month, so as not to clash with the other Australian MoMo events. I look forward to meeting you there this year!

I have purposefully kept this blog professionally focussed, rather than on my own personal comings & goings, but it’s worth saying that 2008 was a rollercoaster year that has impacted a little on Mobilist’s growth, and particularly on this blog. Most challenging was my partner’s diagnosis with Hodgkins Lymphoma, and his subsequent treatment with chemotherapy. I’m sorry to say I neglected Mobilista in recent months as we’ve focussed on Scott’s health and keeping ourselves sane and happy through the process. The good news is that his treatment comes to an end in February and the prognosis is excellent.

I am excited that in 2009 I will be able to give my attention fully to covering the Australian mobile industry on Mobilista and building Mobilist up to achieve / exceed it’s potential!!

Here are some of my Mobilist New Year resolutions:

- Build a swanky new corporate site and brand identity for Mobilist

- Introduce Mobilist to mainstream advertisers & businesses who are beginning their mobile journey

- Talk to agencies & advertisers about incorporating mobile earlier in the planning process

- Focus more on mobile SEO as a service to supplement SEM based traffic generation for clients

- Rejuvenate the Mobilista blog with a facelift and a brand new home

- Review http://mobilist.com.au (my mobile site directory) and build a new strategy for 2009 (If you have any thoughts, drop me a line)

- Interview / have coffee with one new person a week who has something to say about the Australian mobile industry

- Work with the MoMo Melbourne team to run 3 Mobile Advertising focussed events in 2009, and invite the best local practicitioners to be involved (contact me if you’re interested)

I’m currently putting together my very own Australian mobile industry ‘Hot Predictions’ for 2009. If you’d like to input, please drop me an email (emily@mobilist.com.au) and watch this space for the post in the coming week.

Finally, thank you for reading in 2008. Even with my limited output, it has been unquestionably rewarding to hear from people who’ve read my blog or articles and have found them useful. I hope to be able to deliver as much and more in 2009.

Mobile happenings

Emily — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:24:00 +0000

It seems keeping up with a blog is way harder than I expected. There’s a whole lotta things going on that I’ve flagged to blog about, but haven’t got there yet.

Here’s a quick snapshot:

Mobile Monday Melbourne

MoMo Melbourne is on tonight. After last month’s big event on Mobile Investment, we’ve gone for a more relaxed theme this month. Drinks & Pizza at Kitten Club (267 Little Collins St, 6pm tonight) and some short 5 minute pitches from MoMo members themselives. We even have some sponsorship from our friends in Hong Kong who are here on a trade mission. We’ll hear from John Chio, organiser of MoMo HK and chairman of HK Wireless Technology Industry Association. We’ll also hear from MoMo members who’ve volunteered to share their ideas, projects and businesses in the mobile space. I’ll be getting up to tell you about Mobilist, as will June Gassin from mLanguage Learning, Jeff Smith from SurfKitchen and media artist David Rose. And… whoever we drag out of the audience on the night! Come along, it’d be great to see you!

Sensis gets into bed with… um.. everyone

Telstra has signed a deal with Yahoo to power the BigPond mobile search service. This means that mobile web results from Sensis’ mobile search engine will now be delivered by Yahoo. In an interesting turn of events, Sensis has ALSO partnered with Google to power Sensis’ ONLINE search results and advertising. In return, Yellow Pages results will now be shown on Google maps. So Sensis mobile is powered by Yahoo and Sensis Search Online is powered by Google – and there’s an entire post in that!

Mobile Feast 08 in Melbourne

Slattery IT are running Mobile Feast in Melbourne next week. Speakers include yours truly, Antony McGregor Dey from QM Codes, Nick Love from My Space, Dr Marisa Maio Mackay from m.Net, Justin Moran from Funkysexycool & Sam Plowman from ANZ

The event is designed to get your headaround the opportunities presented by the mobile web. It’s an evening affair on Wed 19th from 5pm – 8pm. Check the site for details.

QR Codes making Print Interactive

QM Codes have been busy doing deals with Australian publishers to include codes in print publications which link through to interactive mobile content. The first publications to launch with QM codes are Digital Magazine and Australian Anthill. Check out the press release or read Antony’s article on QR Codes in Digital Ministry.

That’s enough for now – more soon!

Lexus goes mobile with codes

Emily — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:47:00 +0000

Lexus recently ran a mobile advertising campaign utilising QR codes, mobile banners & a mobile destination site. Lexus’ agency TMS worked with Sensis to implement the various campaign components. TMS have previously done quite a lot in this space with Toyota, but this is the first time they have trialled QR codes.

Since Telstra installed code readers on a large number of handsets in Australia, there has been a lot of QR buzz about town, and a handful of advertisers are using them in print campaigns to link through to mobile content. In my opinion the implementation often leaves a bit to be desired, and shows a limited understanding of the mobile user and mobile content in general.

The Lexus campaign is better than many, but like all good things, there is always room for improvement! The code was printed in the bottom right of several 1/2 and 1/3 page print ads in the AFR as well as major metro press and regional markets. The small print beneath the code stated “Scan the code with your Telstra Code Reader for more details on L’EXHIBITION”. The reference to Telstra is understandable – the campaign was managed by Sensis. There is reference to ’..particular handsets with appropriate scanning software..’ in the small print’ but it could be made clearer that QR codes can be scanned by any number of free downloadable readers, thus making it possible for anyone (not just Telstra customers) to scan the code.

Scanning the code automatically launches the Lexus campaign ‘adsite’ which was built by Sensis. Sensis build & host template based mobile sites for many of their mobile media clients. The templates are based around simple layouts and functions such as info, click to call, downloads and forms.

The Lexus adsite repeats the information from the print ad and expands on this with links to more detailed product information and images of the various Lexus car models. This is a good use of the mobile channel to deliver more info than can be effectively sqeezed into a print ad. There is also a dealer finder which lets users specify a state to see a list of Lexus dealers and click to call them.

What I didn’t much like was the use of a TV commercial that can be downloaded from the adsite. I know it’s fun to have some moving content and the ad itself worked fine on the small screen. It’s just that in this case it didn’t offer the user anything new. The TV ad repeated the content & imagery from the print ad, which was also repeated on the mobile adsite.

Telstra customers paid nothing to download the ad, which is great. On the other hand there was nothing to alert me to that fact, I just happen to know! Customers of other carriers would have seen the ‘warning’ on possible data charges and if they’d gone ahead, would have incurred data costs of anything up to $5.00 depending on their data plan. Given the limited additional value offered by
the TV ad, I wonder if it was worth risking quite a few unhappy customers just to have it there.

Backing up the print implementation apparently are mobile banners distributed across the BigPond portal. I was unable to view these however, as I’m not in the target audience – too young apparently – damn

Overall this was a nice implementation that showcases some of the possibilities for integrating more traditional media with a mobile component.

Matt Joyce from The Media Store tells me there is more to come in the next few weeks, with an integrated Toyota campaign utilising QR codes as well. According to Matt, TMS are continuing to test mobile and mobile technologies and intend to apply all learnings to an increasing focus and budget toward Mobile. I look forward to seeing more from these guys and congratulate them on being early to market once again in the mobile space.

For an interesting insight into future possibilities for the automotive industry, check out this 2 part interview with Marc Mielau, Innovation Manager for Mobile Marketing at BMW. BMW Driving Mobile Innovation Part 1 and Part 2

Connex Mobile Ad Campaign

Emily — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:26:00 +0000

I grabbed these screenshots a few months ago, from a Connex mobile ad campaign run by Sensis MediaSmart. This campaign is not live anymore but I thought I’d put the screenshots up as an example of how a mobile ad campaign can work.

Banner ads were shown across BigPond & Sensis mobile sites promoting a competition “Win a Yearly Metcard”. It’s a good banner ad – easy to read on a small screen and clearly branded for Connex. The call to action is clearly defined and has a worthwhile benefit to the end user.

Clicking on the banner takes the user to a Connex branded mobile ‘campaign’ site, most likely created & hosted by Sensis (sorry I didn’t check at the time – anyone know differently?)

The mobile site asks users to watch a Connex Commercial and answer a question to go into the draw. The commercial was simply a current TV campaign. Using creative developed for another medium is not something I’d generally recommend for a mobile campaign. If your agency suggested stripping out the audio from your latest TV campaign to use as a radio ad you’d probably fire their lazy asses. Mobile advertising requires specific, targeted creative that is relevant to the mobile channel and its unique usage characteristics.

In this case Connex partially redeems itself by offering a clear benefit for viewing the commercial – watch and win. Users then answer the multiple choice question, enter their mobile number and submit.

I think this was a reasonable implementation that works well in the medium and I look forward to seeing more innovation from Connex in the mobile channel.

An Australian ad-funded mobile service

Emily — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:14:00 +0000

SMSPup has recently launched a new mobile service that they claim to be Australia’s first advertising subsidised mobile phone service.

SMSPup already has a 140,000 strong opt-in online database offering free web to mobile SMS to subscribers who agree to receive ads & online surveys in return.

The new mobile service called SMSPup Mobile offers subscribers $130 worth of call value a month for $10 if they agree to receive SMS & email based advertising offers. The service is provided by Comtel (who operate Reward Mobil e in Australia) an MVNO on the Vodafone network.

Subscribers will receive up to 5 promotional messages a day to get the deal, or $29 if they don’t want the ads. See the SMSPup Mobile FAQ for more info. According to SMSPup Mobile the ads will reflect customers demographic and lifestyle preferences.

Included in the $130 is mobile, landline & international calls, sms, mms, voicemail, and mobile data at a rate of 2 cents ber kb. This is in line with Telstra & Vodafone’s rates for casual mobile internet use (so, if a subsriber was using predominantly data they would use up around $100 of their $130 to get 5MB of data). Given the SMSPup mobile target audience is unlikely to be heavy mobile browsers it’s probably a fair plan.

Another component of the service is a reward system whereby customers can earn points by interacting with or responding to the advertising messages. The reward points can then be redeemed for benefits including movie passes, travel discounts or used in auctions for devices such as handsets on the SMSPup site.

While its great to see this example of an ‘ads for mobile services” model in Australia, I think it would be better to see the plan being truly free to customers, with advertisers covering all of the costs.

Or what about focusing specifically on data browsing – I might agree to receive ads in return for completely no charge data browsing.

What do you think? Will the SMSPup model work? Has anyone signed up for it and checked out the ads you receive?

I am also interested to hear more about the value that Advertisers will receiving from targeting SMSPup Mobile subscribers. My own previous experience with SMSPup’s SMS database showed great CTRs (as recipients earned points for clicking), but ultimately poor conversions. I wonder how the reward scheme will operate under this new service and if it is likely to encourage similar behaviour?

Thanks to Andrew Grill for alerting me to the SMSPup Mobile launch last week. Check out his blog London Calling to see the SMSPup Mobile press release and further comments from Andrew, comparing the service to a similar offering from UK company Blyk.

Guinness St Patrick’s day planner

Emily — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:38:00 +0000

Guinness have launched a pub finder mobile site as a St Patrick’s day planner. Interesting to note they are hosting the campaign site on their own sub-domain at m.guinness.com.au.

Customers enter their birth date (presumably to preclude the under 18s) then choose a location to see a list of irish pubs in the area. They can then select pubs, add them to a planner and send the details to friends.

The site uses Google Maps to show pub locations. This campaign is simple & fun, and the user experience is intuitive. The premise is not only clear & compelling but also useful… I like!

Smirnoff

Emily — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:39:00 +0000

Smirnoff is currently running a festival guide promotion, linked to from Sensis sites and the Telstra BigPond portal. (Banner also spotted on ticket booking site Moshtix)

The Smirnoff Ad-Site is built by Hyro and allows customers to download a City festival application including a venue map, performance schedules and drink locations. Customers enter their date of birth and select a city on the Ad-Site to download the application (only compatible handsets can proceed).

The app crashed and hung my handset while attempting to retrieve festival data from the internet. There was no indication of the size of the data being retrieved, so perhaps it’s just as well!

Location Based Coupons on Whereis

Emily — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:52:00 +0000

Over recent months, Sensis has run a series of location based coupons offers through the Whereis mapping property. Current campaigns can be found by selecting ‘What’s Nearby’ from the main menu of Whereis.

Previous Advertisers include Amex, Pizza Hut & Best Western. Users enter their location details (Telstra users auto-located) and a mobile number on the Ad-site, to receive a coupon via SMS to claim the offer.

HSBC and Juno AdSites by NineMSN

Emily — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:56:00 +0000

Interesting to note NineMSN serving ads for 3rd parties across their suite of mobile sites. Recent HSBC and Juno ad-sites are hosted on a HWW owned domain (msite.com.au) which suggests that HWW/NineMSN plan to roll out a hosted advertising strategy on the msite domain.

The HSBC adsite is very simple, with logo, text & links. It is a functional, template based design with little ‘branding’ other than logo. It’s unusual to see this kind of simplicity clearing the strict marketing controls of a bank, a necessary obstacle when introducing large corporates to the mobile channel.

The site for new Teen movie ‘Juno‘ is more complex, with links to session times, reviews, synopsis, downloads and a competition. The icing on the cake is some really clever integration withe NineMSN’s movie guide content. Session times for Juno are listed for my favourite cinemas (or includes a link for me to add cinemas if it’s not showing at any of my faves) and lets me click straight through to today’s sessions.

NineMSN and Mobilise

Emily — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:42:00 +0000

All of NineMSN’s mobile sites (Mobilise, 9 News, Ralph, Cleo and the Entertainment guides) are rotating simple mobile banners. The entertainment guides are cross promoted using banners, as are Cleo, Ralph & the 9News Site. External advertiser Juno is currently on rotation with previous ads seen from HSBC & Jamster. Also seen are banners promoting internal / partner sites such as Windows Live Messenger & Hotmail.