The Carnival of the Mobilists (COM) sets up tents a last time this year here at MobileGroove, marking the end of a great year for the mobile industry and an even better one for the COM.
Indeed, the COM —the destination bringing you the best of mobile blogging from around the Web — has a new look, a new focus and a new schedule. With so much happening, I'd like to start off by running through the significant changes one at a time.
Google may give us a glimpse of the top Internet search terms that defined how the world searched online in 2011, but Mobile Commerce, a U.K.-based provider of optimized mobile search services stands out as the only company offering us insights into how we search using our mobile devices.
Some of the smartest minds in mobile marketing and advertising recently gave their 2012 predictions for mobile during a webinar conducted by Mobile Marketer and sponsored by Hipcricket.
All speakers agreed that mobile plays a more central role in marketing, impacting people and influencing their actions throughout the purchase funnel (from awareness to conversion and commerce). However, there was a lack of consensus when it came to answering THE big question: how will mobile play out in 2012?
As more people purchase smartphones and tablets, increasing their access to the mobile Web and applications, advertisers are clamoring to engage them there. But the bigger challenge is how to deliver people advertising they are likely to appreciate because it ticks all the boxes. Tim Jenkins draws from his company's experience with Hartz, a U.S.-based maker of pet care products, to show how knowing people's offline behavior can vastly improve mobile advertising effectiveness.
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Mobile advertising is set to explode. Market research firm eMarketer predicts that mobile ad spending will increase 48 percent this year from $743.1 million in 2010 to $1.1 billion in 2011. That’s significant growth, but none of this projected spending will be effective if advertisers can’t reach the right people with the right types of ads on the right devices at the right times.
Starbucks has quietly and cleverly executed a mobile strategy that has allowed it to become the largest mobile payment program in the U.S. (with plans to launch in the U.K. in January 2012). But enabling payments is just part of the picture. Lisa Ciangiulli recounts her own journey across Starbucks' customer touch points to reveal the real secret of the company's success: a respect for us (the customer) and a deep understanding of what we need on the move.
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My personal and professional lifestyles — mobile, multi-tasking mom and member of the Mobile Marketing Association Board, North
The last 24 months have seen an avalanche of apps, a rise in mobile video and a myriad of new mobile content consumption patterns. Content and app companies — large and small — are locked in a race to evolve their product sets to keep up with the pace of change. But mobile veteran Dave Moreau believes less is more, and advises app stores and content providers to keep focus and filtering top of mind.
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