Mobile has better targeting than early Internet: digiday keynote
Mobile marketing has more momentum and better targeting than the early days of the Internet, according to a member of the digiday: Mobile keynote panel. The panel focused on the state of mobile marketing and featured analysts with data on mobile marketing usage. Panelists discussed response rates, campaign sizes, appropriate approaches to campaign measurement, top spenders now and in the future, SMS versus WAP banners, in-application advertising and emerging ad formats.
Orange Kenya subscriber base hits 1.3 mln
Orange Kenya’s number of mobile subscribers has reached 1.38 million, and the mobile operator expects the number to increase to 2 million by the end of this year. CEO Mickael Ghossein said Telkom has a consolidated subscriber base for its various services of 1.8 million, including fixed lines. Ghossein said Orange Kenya, the country’s third-largest by subscriber base, spent KES 8 billion to expand its network in 2008 and expects to match that amount this year.
Mobile Marketing – Ready for Primetime
The mobile opportunity is tremenous. In Asia Pacific alone, mobile subscribers are forecast to reach three billion in the near future with penetration rates 20 times higher than Internet connectivity in many of these countries. As the penetration of mobile phones continues, brands who want to reach their audience in new and innovative ways are increasingly turning to mobile as a driver of their marketing campaigns.
Mobile: The 7th Mass Media
The mobile phone has emerged as the 7th mass media channel, but it has to be emphasized that it is as different from the internet [6th Mass Media] as TV [5th] is from radio [4th]. Trying to force concepts from the internet, TV, or other previous media would produce a disappointing audience experience on mobile, but understanding the unique power of mobile as the 7th mass media can deliver radical new concepts and new players and winners.
China Mobile half a billion subscribers
China Mobile has become the world’s first mobile operator to pass the half a billion subscriber milestone. In a brief customer data update on its website this morning, the Chinese market-leader said it had reached 503 million customers by the end of August. It said it added 5.3 million customers (net additions) in August to reach the half a billion milestone, which means that the operator has added 45.7 million customers (cumulative net additions) in the year to date.
Mobile’s future is in full media integration: Mobile Ad Summit panel
The future of mobile will consist of integrated media campaigns, augmented reality and rich media mobile Web sites, according to a panel at the Mobile Ad Summit. Representatives from HyperFactory and R/GA were on hand to discuss new mobile innovations such as using HTML to format mobile sites to look like applications and augmented reality promotions. These new trends have already been active in Europe and are poised to sweep the globe.
Smartphones driving growth of mobile advertising: Mobile Ad Summit panel
A trio of CEOs representing heavy-hitting ad agencies agreed that increased smartphone adoption is making mobile a more desirable platform for brand advertisers. These high-powered advertising executives weighed in on the state of the mobile industry during a panel at the Mobile Ad Summit during advertising week in New York. While the panelists admitted that the recession has taken its toll on marketing spend, they were bullish about the prospects for mobile going forward.
Demographics of Facebook growth
Facebook may have started as a site geared toward the college crowd, but as the most popular social network in the US, it has broadened its user base considerably. The Nielsen Company reported that in June 2009 Facebook had a unique US audience of more than 87 million people, compared with fewer than 63 million who visited MySpace that month.
Cost and ROI for mobile campaigns
eMarketer: What do mobile campaigns cost? “An eight-week campaign for mobile media…we’re probably talking about $250,000 to $300,000.” Patrick Moorhead: An eight-week campaign for mobile media—which could be a combination of mobile display and text messaging—we’re probably talking about $250,000 to $300,000.
SMBs More Likely to Use Digital than Traditional Media
Online ad penetration keeps climbing. As of August 2009, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the US are more likely to advertise online than via traditional media. Based on the “Local Commerce Monitor Wave XIII,” from The Kelsey Group and ConStat, 77% of US SMBs used online for advertising in August 2009, compared with just 69% that used traditional media. This is the first time penetration of online advertising surpassed traditional. In an earlier survey from August 2008, 73% advertised online while 74% used traditional media.
Online, Mobile Ad Revenues Set to Climb
Online advertising revenues will creep upward in 2009 only to drop in 2010 before recovering, predicts the Yankee Group in its “2009 Advertising Forecast: Getting the Consumer’s Attention.” The research firm pegs 2009 online ad revenues at $23.63 billion, a 1.8% year-over-year increase. In 2013 revenues will surpass $31 billion.
South Korea Approves Sale of iPhone
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s telecommunications regulator said Wednesday that Apple can sell its hit iPhone in the country — potentially shaking up a cell phone market controlled by domestic manufacturers. The development comes a month after Apple cleared the way to enter China’s massive cell phone market as well. As part of its deal with wireless carrier China Unicom Ltd., Apple is expected to begin selling the phone in China in the fourth quarter.
August 2009 data from CFI Group agrees: Users are happier with the functions of their iPhones than with any other smartphone. Android and Palm Pre took second and third place, respectively. 
