We catch up with Mike to talk about his success brokering profitable business relationships between brands and urban/hip hop artists to deliver a 360 degree entertainment experience combining social media interaction and TV (Social TV) and mobile apps.

We also get an unexpected scoop about Urban World TV, a new mobile TV channel Mike is launching in December to bring us “Pop Culture Redefined.” Look for the youth-focused channel to hit AT&T U-verse, Apple TV and Yahoo Connect TV. The channel purposely allows fans worldwide to connect, rate and rank what they see and share. As Mike puts it: Urban World TV is a “consolidation of cool content, from martial arts films from Hong Kong, to the Brazilian Carnival, to reggae in Germany.” The youth of the world appreciate urban/hip hop music and culture —and Mike’s venture will surely be a trailblazer.

Marketing first

Mike recently spoke at Apps World New York, where he joined in a discussion of how developers can/should build an app business. In his view, app developers have to keep the main thing precisely that: the main thing. This means focusing on the people first and using a deep understanding of the app audience to guide development —and nothing else. Once you know who the audience is (the main thing), then you can put together the marketing (and social) strategy that will grab mindshare and market share.

Listen to artists

Developers and brands would also do well to listen to (translated: let themselves be inspired) by the urban/hip hop artists, not just make entertainment apps. Mike shares the example of Ice Cube, who also branded and promoted a healthcare/fitness app. Games may be number one, but developers shouldn’t ignore the opportunity offered by health and finance apps, apps that are life-simplifying and will predictably command a great deal of our daily attention. There is a great fit between urban artists and fans’ daily routine. Make the effort to find it.

As Mike sees it. “In terms of how artists are using apps, it’s pretty much the wild, wild West.” There is also new territory to navigate such as the way artists can (and should) best connect with their fans and super-fans. Plug location into the equation and there are lots of ways artists can use apps and location to get more mileage out of their tours. “We can re-visit that in 2012 to see what we’ve done,” Mike says. “It’s brand new territory and there’s so much out there, and also so much more to be discovered.”

Advertise, advertise, advertise

How do developers rise above the noise and beat the discovery dilemma? “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise— that’s what it has to be in the app world.” It may sound basic, but Mike believes attention to business basics is what will separate the winners from the also-rans. “It’s now a competitive space, [making and selling apps] is a  very serious business.”

Coupled with that, Mike says, developers and artists have to outreach using social media. Social media and mobile —it’s table stakes.

Urban World TV

Mike filled us in on his new venture: a new first-ever “urban, multi-cultural, tech-savvy channel” going live in December. Urban World TV will feature VOD (video-on-demand), streaming and allow people watching to recommend and rate the shows. As Mike explains: “Our slogan is: ‘Pop culture redefined – we connect the streets.’ There was a need for a channel that covered not just U.S. entertainment content, but the world.”

Apps World

Mike also tells us about his experience speaking and connecting at Apps World, an event he strongly recommends to brands, artists and developers trying to navigate this tough territory. In his view the event was professional as well as personal. “For me, I would say that one of the things that I did like about the event was that it was intimate.” What’s more, attendees were approachable and open to exchanging business cards and ideas. “People were very open; it was very laid back and that was a good thing.”

My personal thanks to Kate Williams and the great folks at Six Degrees, the company that organized the Apps World event,  for introducing me to Mike. If you missed Apps World in New York, then you can catch the show in London on November 29th and 30th. Six Degrees tells me that the event — which uniquely looks at multi platform apps and the ecosystem emerging to take advantage of the significant business opportunity — counts well over 3,000 registrations (!), so click below to register today!

My take:

Mike is a wealth of practical knowledge and know-how, based on his long track record in the industry. Before he started Digital Mind State (whose clients include Flowd, the music lover’s social network) Mike was the driving force behind the brand UrbanWorld Wireless, where he was responsible for planning, business developing, marketing and brokering profitable business relationships with some of the biggest company names in the mobile industry including T-Mobile, Zed, Jamba, Fox Mobile, NBC, Fun Mobility, Nokia, and Microsoft.

But it’s not just his impressive bio that gets high marks. It’s his passion for what he does, and his razor sharp ability to cut through the technology and get to what matters: the experience. He also correctly sees the need of global youth (united by an interest in urban and hip hop that transcends any physical barriers) for a global youth channel. It’s a brilliant move (and hard work!) to create a place where cool content combines with social media to deliver an entirely new kind of interaction. I look forward to connecting with Mike and watching this develop.

Another development to watch: the advance of multiplatform experiences (and the apps to help enhance and deliver them). 2012 is bound to be the year of connected experiences (such as connected TV) and a turning point for developers who are equipped to ride the wave. As my esteemed colleague Chetan Sharma pointed out in his milestone app report (back in March 2010). “Connectivity breeds apps.” Expect a  significant uptick in apps for and avalanche of devices  that entertain us, connect is and lay the groundwork for new experiences.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH MIKE JOHNS HERE. [18:05]

These are some of the observations and opinions voiced by a few of the just over 100 professionals, practitioners and  passionates who made our first Tweetchat an invigorating exchange and a rousing success. Tweetreach, for example, reports we reached nearly 107,000 people via just under 600 tweets to achieve an exposure of a whopping 658,320. All this confirms our conviction that there is a huge requirement for a platform that allows us discuss what really works, and why.

Prompted by the overwhelming positive response to our inaugural Tweetchat, we will continue the conversation with a Tweetchat following the must-attend MMA Forum London (October 4-5). That’s when we will discuss what you told us you wanted most: real-life case studies and key learnings from the brands and agencies that lead by example. Watch MobileGroove and Twitter for details — and chime in!

Connect with me – NOW

Paul Berney, MMA CMO (@paulbmma)

Mobile marketing is similar but different in each country around the world. What is the common denominator? @paulbmma tells us people everywhere have a  growing expectation to engage with brands in real-time. (Spot-on observation and one confirmed by a raft of research including a recent Cone Consumer Media Study that found people develop “positive feelings” towards brands they felt they could interact with on new media channels and reported they felt “better served by a company or a brand if they can have a conversation with them in a new media environment.”)

This is what marketers should understand, but where is the evidence that mobile interaction delivers results. @tomiahonen, joining us live from Hong Kong, pointed out that we are seeing astonishing stats coming from Japan, where McDonalds has signed up 1 in 6 consumers to opt-in for mobile advertising messages, a success that @noahelkin wondered can’t also be replicated elsewhere (a great point we will pick up on in future Tweetchats).

Another data point from @tomiahonen drove home the point that people do indeed want to have interactions with brands: 31 percent of U.S. adults want to be reached by using SMS.

OS or SMS?

@Mobisoul suggested mobile-savvy operating systems (OS) may displace SMS. While several commented that smartphone may well win out in the end, many more argued that SMS has the reach and the all-important personal touch. As @noahelkin pointed out: “SMS remains an effective engagement mechanism, even for those with advanced devices.” @Ew4n agreed, adding that “a perfectly timed SMS can really sway the balance on most any transaction.” (A view that many others also amplified.)

A mobile optimized site can also clinch the deal. @paulbmma shocked us with the data point that few businesses in Europe have mobile web or app presence. In fact, the total is less than 19 percent in France and U.K. This shortchanges merchants and their customer as reports show consumers are ready and waiting to transact on mobile. @tomiahonen underlined this critical point with the case of Tiffany’s jewelers, a company that doubled its sales after launching a mobile-optimized mobile website.

Permission marketing

Interaction is at the heart of mobile marketing, but messaging campaigns should abide by rules and etiquette. @nixxin reminded us that permission marketing is well suited to his native India, where consumer backlash against bulk SMS spam has forced the regulator to step in.

@tomiahonen

Indeed, spam in India and elsewhere makes it clear that “we as an industry need to move very strongly to opt-in,” @tomiahonen observed. (Even during the Tweetchat several participants in the U.K. and Africa complained they had just that moment received spam on their mobile phones.) @LisaCiangiulli brought her own example to strengthen the case for opt-in, revealing that permission marketing allowed mobile operator (and Optism customer) Mobinil to count 1+million opt-ins to its mobile marketing service in just two months. @tomiahonen added that Blyk has announced its client in India counts 1 million opted-in customers.

Others in the chat echoed the requirement for opt-in, agreeing that permission marketing matches with people’s requirement to “be in control” (as @Veluuria put it). The discussion prompted @paulbmma to state that permission marketing is “going to be essential.”

We’ll hear more about the pivotal place of position of permission in marketing at Permission-Based Marketing (October 3, London), organized by mobileSquared and in association with the MMA. The first-ever event will discuss how to build, monetize and grow opt-in customer databases.

Multi-channel, transmedia

We established and agreed that mobile sits at the center of increasingly cross-media campaigns. But what does that mean to marketers?

@paulbmma satisfied our requirement for real-life examples with a nod to Garanti Bank in Turkey, which successfully combines online, email and mobile. He also drew our attention to Mr Price Group in South Africa, which combines “every media channel to sign up new customers.

Connect the dots, as @MsMobileConverg did — and its clear that “transmedia will be tops.” As she put it marketers will finally crack the code when they “understand that each platform has it’s own voice.” SMS, she stressed, ROCKS in getting the message out. Not new, but very effective. @LisaCiangiulli took it a giant step further, picking up on the underlying theme of exchange: when we talk channels and formats we are still talking technology. “Understanding users’ needs and wants [are] often overlooked.”

Meantime, @MikeTV started a separate and stimulating discussion about mobile video. While we didn’t answer his question (will video dominate mobile marketing?) we did agree that video is moving up the agenda as brands use it to impress and engage.

I pointed people to this case study from @millennialmedia explaining how Pantagonia harnessed mobile video to drive app downloads and iTunes sales from the Patagonia Music Collective – a campaign that benefitted a wide range of environmental groups.

What will move video into the mainstream? Beyond issues around pricing and bandwidth @DuncanPringle and @shoobe01 indicated that we need to put people back into the equation, and look for ways to align video with our preference for pull on our mobile devices, not push.

But the lack of pull isn’t stopping us from watching video on our mobile devices. @paulbmma weighed in with a surprise from the joint MMA/Google research. Among the findings, many in Europe are already watching mobile video at high levels. Specifically, 64 percent in the U.K. — stats that spell opportunity for marketers.

QR codes

No surprise that a separate debate also raged around QR codes, one of the formats @paulbmma revealed is hot (along with coupons and search + LBS) in the U.S., Europe and parts of APAC.

@Ew4n, @mobileholly and others wondered if there aren’t easier alternatives than are less hassle. @shoobe01 zeroed in on the key question. Is QR code fragmentation is helping or hurting the industry?

The jury is out on that one. However, no matter the shortcomings around QR codes, @lizkmiller reminded us that there is lots of new investment in QR as a vehicle to “tie traditional spend to digital’s more measureable spend.”

We also heard from @noahelkin that QR codes are gaining traction as a pull mechanism “in-store and across traditional media.” @karimkhalifa told us that QR codes are also widespread in Egypt and the Middle East, where they are used to link physical (cars) with digital (information) at car shows, for example. Finally, I commented that the real impact of QR codes will be in the enterprise. Thinking here of pharmaceuticals and verticals where information about the product and demos (accessible via the linkage QR codes enable) are key.

Strategy trumps technology

But we have to think bigger than QR codes, apps or mobile video.

Marketing is not about technology.

@lizkmiller got us to focus when she commented: “the real issue is how to tie these innovations into a STRATEGY to engage at every stage — too many random acts of mobile marketing!” @mackmckelvey strengthened the argument. “Fundamentals in #mobilead cant be overlooked – get as fancy as u want, but if you haven’t planned right initially – #mobile falls flat.”

However, many campaigns depend on the capability of operators to understand and deliver essential subscriber data. @lizkmiller, who is also VP, Marketing Programs & Operations, CMO Council, quoted findings from a recent CMO Council study showing carriers – not marketers – have to get their head around mobile marketing. The majority (68 percent) of carriers in the study said that the traditional corporate mindset” they have is “out of sync with new forms of service delivery.” A solution to bandwidth issues can be found in truly understanding the customer and “delivering relevance based on data,” she continued. Narrowing down the audience saves on wastage all around.

Contextual relevance

How can the industry deliver relevance? @Veluuria suggests we start with empathy. We must put ourselves in the shoes of people and work with “four mobile mindsets: 1) I’m local. 2) I’m bored. 3) I’m multitasking. 4) I need it NOW.”

Search - us requesting what we want right out – is another way to arrive at more relevant results. In fact, @paulbmma pointed out that search is coming on strong,  increasing 236 percent since 2010 with local search – which also encourages social interaction) leading the growth. Quite correctly, @indigo102 asked why there appears to be a disconnect between the size of search (huge) and the number of mobile solution providers and organizations over looking the opportunity. @somoagency joined the debate, reporting that conversations from mobile search measures on transactional mobile websites are “proving that it is one of the strongest, most relevant channels.”

Inspired by my own interactions with cool startups (such as Primal, Goby, Expertmaker, Hipmunk) that are defining the future of mobile search, I started a discussion about how our requirement for personal relevance in marketing also marks a turning point in mobile search. We want what we want, not what Google’s PageRank says we do.

Prompted by @matthausk, I pointed out that precision and personalization is where the action (and the money) is in mobile search. Think Siri, virtual assistants, smart recommendations, and you know where this is going.

As if @robertphaslam could read my mind, he echoed that “contextual relevance” is where the market is going. “Give me what I want, when I want it, based on where I am.”

Kinda says it all.

More about mobile search megatrends in a review of mobile search I have written to be included in a must-read mobile anthology that GigaOM will publish and distribute during Mobilize (September 26-27, San Francisco).

* * *

Editor’s note: My guests and I were blown away (!) by the positive response to our first Tweetchat, and the string of requests from participants for an encore. We’ll be back with a Tweetchat to discuss some of the key learnings from MMA Forum London. And we’ll use our own learnings from this chat to develop a structure that will allow us to explore single topics (coupons, QR codes, permission marketing, mobile shopping) and speak directly with the brands leading the pack.

Read the complete Tweetchat here (and many thanks to Robert Haslam @ MiLiberty for culling over nearly 600 tweets!)

Grab a pew at the MMA Tweetchat (September 20) and follow the edgy and informative exchange with Paul Berney, MMA CMO, and Tomi Ahonen, independent consultant, influential blogger and seven-time best-selling author.

Knowing Tomi (as we all do!) the discussion will be candid, open and extremely worthwhile.

Tough questions, lively debate

Join us to deep-dive into three key topics:

Q1. Mobile marketing is global, what are the learnings from other markets that matter most?

Q2. Coupons, QR codes, LBS, Augmented Reality, Apps: what are the hot trends in mobile marketing?

Q3. What were the real surprises from the Google and MMA mobile research?

How do I participate?

The Tweetchat will take place in Tuesday, September 20, at 5pm UK, 6:00 pm Johannesburg, 7:00pm Istanbul, (Find your time zone here). Just follow the #mmaf2011 hashtag on Twitter and include it in your tweets during the chat. We recommend using tweetchat.com, which loads tweets faster and enters the hashtag automatically -you can sign in using your Twitter account. I will host this live, online chat on Twitter –  all you have to do is follow the hashtag on Twitter and bring your best questions for our guests.

Google findings

By way of background, the MMA and Google teamed up in 2011 for the MMA Forum New York and MMA Forum London, to collaborate on an ambitious global research study to provide insights into how people are using their mobile devices and the readiness of businesses to engage consumers via mobile.

The research, titled Global Mobile Research: The Smartphone User & The Mobile Marketer, was conducted by Ipsos GmbH and TNS Infratest and based on the results of two surveys: an online survey of thousands of mobile consumers in 30 countries, and a telephone survey of 1,000 marketing decision makers, 200 in five key markets.

Among the key findings (based on a subset of the data which focused on five countries: US, UK, France, Germany and Japan):

• A significant number of smartphone users accessed the Internet via their smartphone every day of the past seven days (U.S.- 58 percent, U.K. – 55 percent, France – 59 percent, Germany – 45 percent, Japan – 78 percent)
• Many users go online via their smartphones multiple times a day (U.S.-53 percent, U.K. – 49 percent, France – 47 percent, Germany – 42 percent, Japan – 68 percent)
• Smartphone users have looked for local information on their mobile devices (U.S.- 90 percent, U.K. – 81 percent, France – 83 percent, Germany – 85 percent, Japan – 90 percent). What’s more, these local information seekers have taken action after looking up local content (U.S.- 87 percent, U.K. – 80 percent, France – 83 percent, Germany – 79 percent, Japan – 80 percent)
• Across the board, consumers are using their smartphone while in a store (U.S.-82 percent, U.K. – 68 percent, France – 82 percent, Germany – 65 percent, Japan – 75 percent). But it’s not just about assistance and information. Consumers are  also making purchases on their mobile device (U.S.- 29 percent, U.K. – 28 percent, France – 17 percent, Germany – 28 percent, Japan – 45 percent)
• Mobile commerce strategies primarily target upper funnel activities, with 65 percent of respondents reporting that their mobile strategy targets the research phase of the shopping process
• Only a fraction of businesses in the five countries report having mobile optimized sites (U.S.- 33 percent, U.K. – 17 percent, France – 12 percent, Germany – 37 percent, Japan – 43 percent)
• Fewer than a third of businesses surveyed have an app (U.S.- 19 percent, U.K. – 15 percent, France – 18 percent, Germany – 26 percent, Japan – 10 percent)

The first set of results can be viewed in a presentation available here.

Spread the word

The MMA project with Google and other research partners is ongoing — and a highlight of next week’s Tweetchat will be a discussion of these findings and a preview of some of the  additional data points that will be unveiled at the MMA Forum in London (October 4-5).

If you want to find out more about how you can harness the mobile channel to drive positive results for your business, brand or organization, then register to attend the MMA Forum London and connect with the leading thought leaders in the mobile marketing world.

***

Tweetchat – be there!

Everyone across the industry is welcome to join in and participate, so please share with anyone who you think might be interested. We’d love for anyone who’s interested to join, and share their thoughts on the subject.

So please, let us know if you’re interested, post any questions or topics you’d like to see discussed, let other people who might be interested know about the chat, and join us:

Event: Tweetchat on hot mobile marketing trends, topics and stats

Where: Twitter

When: Tuesday, September 20, 5pm GMT (Find your time zone here)

How: Follow the  #mmaf2011 hashtag on Twitter – and chime in!

The benefits and the business models around mobile are the topic of Empowering the Charitable Sector with Interactive Technology II (September 15, London). The all-day knowledge seminar organized by AIME (the Association for Interactive media & Entertainment) is already standing room only (!), an unexpectedly high attendance that tells us the topic strikes a chord with charities, advertising & marketing agencies, service providers, broadcasters, industry bodies and mobile operators–all the players that need to come together and work together to maximize the potential for all kinds of charities to use mobile.

The event is a follow up to the tremendously successful inaugural event that took place in May 2010. (You can read the 2010 Empowering the Charitable Sector with Interactive Charities Event overview here.)

Mobile for good

Andrew Darling –esteemed colleague, OpenMarket executive and Chair of the AIME event provides us with an update of the mobile/cross-media campaign by DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) to help the millions of people in the horn of Africa suffering from the worst drought in human history. OpenMarket provides the platform and connectivity for the effort, which uses the company’s payments and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions to improve the outreach by allowing the charity to connect with donors (and ultimately continue the interaction) using text messaging.

DEC kicked off the call for donations on June 7 with a massive media and advertising campaign that promoted the mobile channel for the first time, using ads on posters, TV and elsewhere to promote a shortcode. The cross-media effort paid dividends, allowing DEC to raise over GBP1 million in July alone.

But that is just the start of something bigger: ongoing relationships with donors via mobile.

“We added considerable value through our innovative use of our CRM and content management platform, which we call OpenMarket CMX2.  This is a platform which really handles the interactive messaging and adds some quite critical core intelligence functions, allowing a campaign manager a way of recognizing when a donor had made a GBP5 donation [using mobile] and sending a text message back to them thanking them for their donation and requesting them if they wanted to opt into the UK HMRC tax regulations around Gift Aid to forego the tax relief….Our response mechanism simply asked the donor to text back their full name and their postcode and this guaranteed that an extra 24 percent would be added to their donation.”

Andrew notes that other fundraising channels, including telephone and email, report responses to the Gift Aid opt-in are generally around the “25-30 percent range.” With mobile – and the addition of CRM — charities can “get this up to 60 percent, providing a very significant uplift in funds raised.”

Multi-channel matters

Integration with mobile is just part of the picture. Charities must also be aware of the central role social networks play — both in our behavior as donors and in charities’ campaigns as they embrace interactive technologies. With this in mind, OpenMarket has taken the wraps off of Mobile & Web Checkout, a custom mobile checkout solution that allows charities (and companies and merchants in all verticals to integrate mobile purchasing into a mobile app or website, allowing people to complete a mobile purchase using their web-enabled mobile devices.

“Charities have to understand that the cause is not longer insulated from the donors,” Andrew observes. The opportunity (even the requirement) for people to interact with the causes and organizers that matter to them most, turns up the pressure on charities to use interactive media and take donations via mobile, social and apps – to name a few.

Knowledge & networking Seminar

How do companies drive awareness of their SMS donation channels? How do they integrate with the likes of Facebook? How can mobile drive positive results for time-sensitive campaigns?

MobileGroove is proud to be a media partner with Charitable Sector with Interactive Technology II, and event that will look at what charities need to do and have in place to manage campaigns effectively, across multiple platforms – web, mobile, email, social media, apps.

Speakers include:

• Michael Newsome, Director of Individual Giving, UNICEF
• Tim Longfoot, Managing Director, Open Fundraising
• Richard Dutton, Head of Commercial, Charities Trust
• Angela Morris, Marketing and Commercial Manager, Jamie Oliver Foundation
• Marcus East, CIO, Comic Relief
• Max St John, Lead consultant, Non-profit and Public Sector, NixonMcInnes
• Adrian Cockle, Head of Online, WWF UK
• Linda Minnis, CEO, Charities TrustAndrew Jackson, Director, Cork and Leather
• Oisin Lunny, Senior Market Development Manager, OpenMarket
• Elizabeth Kessick, Head of Insight, JustGiving
• Paul Swaddle, CEO and Founder, Pocket App
• David Erasmus, Founder, Givey
• Andy Burnett, Head of Operations – Interactive and ITL, ITV
• Patrick Nash, Chief Executive, Connect Assist
• Rob Mansell, Finance Director, Retail Trust
• Iain Ainslie, IT Underwriter, ACE Europe
• Paul Whiteing, CEO, PhonepayPlus
• Erica Crump, Solicitor, Bates Wells & Braithwaite
• Damian Collins, MP. Member of Culture, Media, Sport and the Olympics Committee
• Rupert Lowery, CEO, Cardsave Online
• Iain Ainslie, IT Underwriter, ACE Europe
• Jason Cross, Marketing Director, Incentivated
• Gareth Jones, Brand Engagement Director, LBi
• Rosalie Kurton, Business Development Director, LBi

The event is already sold out, but the positive attendee response indicates a high level interest and activity in mobile giving — a topic that we will revisit in follow-up coverage here at MobileGroove and over at the official AIME website. You can follow on-the-spot coverage via Twitter, and the hashtag is #Techgiving. You can (and should!) also follow Andrew Darling (@darlingbuds).

With its industry reach, AIME is well positioned to be the bridge between charities, third sector representative organizations and technology providers, providing information on the value of interactive technology and how companies can move their charities from analog to digital and mobile. For more information, please visit AIME.

Listen to the podcast with Andrew Darling [16:00] here.

Mixi started out in 2004 allowing its users to post photos, share comments and links, and interact on community pages and forums based on themes ranging from recipes to rock-n-roll.

Today Mixi is a full-scale communications platform, with a growing emphasis on mobile and apps. In line with this sharp focus on apps, Mixi enables users to ‘check-in’ via GPS and select from applications around entertainment (games) and communication (tools to enhance the communications experience).

Like most platforms, Mixi is clear about the requirement to actively encourage third-party developers to make apps for its members. In August the company released an Android SDK and has since revealed plans to release an SDK for Apple iOS. (You can find more information by visiting the Mixi Developer Center .)

Mixi by the numbers

With more than 750 active users Facebook may be the leading social network in many countries, but Japan isn’t one of them. That’s a territory that is loyal to Mixi, a fast-growing social network spanning PC and mobile.

According to Tak, Mixi currently counts 24 million registered users and 3 million mobile users, a number that is on the rise.

In fact, Tak reports that “over 70 percent” of total users choose to access Mixi via mobile, reflecting the usage trends we see elsewhere in the world (namely, that social and mobile are morphing).

Little wonder that Mixi is taking steps to encourage third-party development on its platform. Granted, users can access Mixi and the services via the browser (for example, Safari), but the experience offered by a native mobile app (platform-specific) has its advantages.

As Tak puts it: “The situation with the smartphone [is that] the user wants to have high quality in the context of graphics applications which may link to the Android and iOS [platforms.] So we have decided to provide the SDK for Android and iOS [so] application developers can develop games and apps.”

Opportunity for developers

Mixi is one in a long line of companies to release an SDK and encourage developers to get involved. But the big question is: why should developers make apps for Mixi?

Tak took the challenge and offered two answers.

Size: Mixi is hands-down the number one social network in Japan with large and growing base of mobile users.

Monetization: Mixi is Japanese and benefits from the culture (accustomed to paying for goods via mobile) and the infrastructure (designed from the ground up to support and promote operator billing). The pieces come together and allow developers to charge users for apps and implement the models that encourage cross-sell, up-sell and repeat-sell.

Demographics and preferences

Who is the typical Mixi user? Tak says the typical member is young, urban and interested in communicating — non-stop. “We are really strong with the younger generation in their 20s.” In fact, “over 70 percent” of 20-somethings have a Mixi account.

A majority of Mixi users are also young women, between the ages of 20 and 24.

What apps would fly with this demographic? Tak says young women (actually, all Mixi users) would welcome fun games and new ways of communicating. Currently, Tak says, social gaming is the most popular category on Mixi, with users flocking to games around farming, for example.

Another hot area is activities around “check-ins” – particularly since GPS is available and easy for developers to use.

What is on the horizon?

Mixi is eying opportunities in commerce. It’s not a leading category — yet. But it is full of potential.

Tak tells me that Mixi is doing a test pilot now with a convenience store in Japan around coupons. Users receive coupons via Mixi delivered to their mobile phones and can then redeem them at the store. “Online-to-offline is a new category that is very promising on the Mixi platform.”

Listen to the podcast with Mixi’s Tak Miyata [9:13]

Editor’s note: MobileGroove is proud to be a media partner and support Apps World Asia, where you can catch up with Tak (and speakers from companies including Unilever, BBC Worldwide, Singtel. Amdocs, Samsung, Nokia, ShowNearby, buUuk, inMobi, Oxfam and Blackberry).

And, if you can’t make it to show, event organizer Six degrees will bring the show to YOU.  App World is coming to New York (November 1-2) and London (November 29-30). You can follow coverage and comments from the event on Twitter (@Apps_World).

Thanks to Paul Skeldon, who assisted in podcast production. Paul runs Videobaby Media – a one-stop-shop for high-quality, entry-level video and audio recording, editing and production for media companies looking to get a foot on the multimedia ladder. MobileGroove theme music courtesy of the inimitable Dan-O, who offers an awesome selection of free royalty free music for production purposes.

To participate, we recommend using tweetchat.com. Just sign in with your Twitter account at the start of the chat and enter ‘doxchat’. Tweets load quickly, and it will automatically include the hashtag in each of your tweets. You can also participate on your own choice of Twitter app, just make sure to include the #doxchat hashtag in your tweets so that others in the chat will see your tweets.

Check here to see the time zone in your region, and please spread the word!

Questions we’ll discuss during the chat include:

• Q1. For operators, what’s the real business driver for value-added services?
• Q2. Will operators succeed where banks haven’t, making mobile payments succeed?
• Q3. Will operator portals matter a couple of years from now?

So please come join us on the 10th. If you have questions, or if you want us to send you a reminder, just drop us a line at @mobilegroove or @AmdocsInc, or leave a comment below.

In the meantime, I encourage you to download the new report and share your feedback.

From disruptive technologies to new ways to monetize mobile networks, and from connected devices to the dilemma of delivering content and advertising to the 20+ screens that play a role in our daily lives, this high-caliber, thought leadership summit —  organized by consultant and industry authority Chetan Sharma — covers all trends that truly matter.

MobileGroove VIP offer

Mobile Future Forward brings together world-class speakers from across the value chain for a powerful cross-industry networking event.

Attendee Profile:

Speakers: C-Level – 59%, VP/SVP – 41%

Audience: C-Level – 30%, VP/SVP – 32%

As a valued member of the MobileGroove community, we’d like to offer you a limited-time 20% discount when you register with the code MG.

Stellar agenda

MobileGroove is proud to be a media partner and help build awareness of this thought leadership event (now in its second year).

Among the topics and speakers:

• Mobile Future Forward: Connected Universe. Unlimited Opportunities.

The DNA (Devices, Network, and Applications) of the mobile ecosystem is changing. What opportunities will emerge during the course of this decade? Where are the new billion dollar markets?

Steve Mollenkopf, EVP and Group President, Qualcomm

• Disruption is in the Air

Disruption is the fundamental tenet of progress. Whether it is the technologies, the business models, the players or the alliances, disruptive forces are essential in making things better for the consumer and the larger ecosystem. Is 4G a game change? What does the wholesale business model do to the data economics? Is the halving of the device lifecycle good or bad?

Sanjiv Ahuja, CEO, LightSquared

Jason MacKenzie, President, HTC Americas

• Playing in the N-Screen Media World

The number of connected devices per user is steadily increasing. Some users have 10-20 connected screens in the household and the number is only going to increase. How does product and service design leverage this phenomenon? How do monetization strategies change? What are user experience and pricing expectations? How does the value shift between the players?

Paul Palmieri, CEO and Cofounder, Millennial Media

Charlie Herrin, EVP – Technology and Products, Comcast

Jeremiah Zinn, EVP – Digital Products,  MTV Networks

Eric Anderson, VP – Content and Product Solutions, Samsung

Frank Barbieri, SVP – Emerging Platforms, YuMe (moderator)

• Monetizing the Mobile Network

Traditionally, there has been a direct correlation between the mobile network usage and revenue/profits. However, the significant mobile data consumption, lack of adequate spectrum, ecosystem disruption by the Internet players, and the changing of the consumer expectations have provided the opportunity for operators to rethink how they look at their network from a technology perspective but more importantly from a monetization angle. How will operator grow their revenue base beyond measuring the bits and bytes?

Ken Denman, CEO, Openwave (moderator)

Kris Rinne, SVP – Network and Architecture, AT&T Mobility

Janet Schijns, VP – Business Solutions Group, Verizon Wireless

Mathew Oommen, President, Reliance Industries

• Mobile Commerce & Payments

Mobile is fundamentally reshaping how consumers spend. How are the various players preparing for the new world of mobile commerce and payments? NFC has been around for some time but will it really help in moving the money around? Will the killer NFC application be commerce, payments, advertising, loyalty programs, or something else?

David Messenger, EVP and Head of Online/Mobile, American Express Company

Gibu Thomas, EVP – Online/Mobile, WalMart

Dale Nitschke, former President, Target

• Mobile Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition, and Opportunities

Data is everywhere. Mobile Cloud is Booming. Data is driving Knowledge. Having the best knowledge about the user to help drive transaction is simply the most valuable currency of commerce. With so much data being generated, how do we efficiently sift through it and make sense to enable engagement and commerce in a fraction of a millisecond? What is data teaching us about the consumer behavior, future product design, and the competitive landscape?  What are the implications for consumer privacy and data security?

Braxton Woodham, Head of Engineering, AVOS

Joe Megibow, VP and GM – Mobile and Analytics, Expedia

Hank Skorny, Chief Strategy Officer, Real Networks

Jay Emmett, GM, OpenMarket, SVP, Amdocs

Ramneek Bhasin, GM and VP, TheFind

Check out the complete agenda on the Mobile Future Forward website, and follow news and development on the run up to the event by joining Chetan and his team on Facebook. You can also follow Chetan on Twitter (@chetansharma).

Get the inside track by joining MobileGroove and Acquity Group executives this Wednesday (June 22) for Global Insight: European Retail Goes Mobile. The 30-minute online webinar (12-12:30 CST or click here to see the time in your region) will deep dive into the trends and mobile intelligence gleaned from Acquity’s first-ever European Mobile Audit of the top 300 European retail brands.

Webinar panel:

• Tom Nawara, VP, Acquity Group
• Joe Morrow, Manager – Mobile Practice, Acquity Group
• Peggy Anne Salz, Chief Analyst, MobileGroove

Register here for the webinar:
Wednesday, June 22 @ 12:00 – 12:30 CST
or click here to see the time in your region

Mobile Audit findings

By way of background, Acquity Group, a multi-channel commerce and digital marketing company, annually analyzes Internet Retailer’s Top 500 companies for mobile adoption. This webinar covers the top level findings of Acquity’s first-ever European Mobile Audit.

After a thorough evaluation of 300 leading European online retailers, which also included global brands such as Amazon and Apple, Acquity Group found that roughly two-thirds of European retailers have no mobile Web presence.

Interestingly, European retailers have so far focused on developing apps rather than mobile sites. The audit shows that 24.6 percent of the top 300 retailers  have a mobile app. European retailers with a mobile application presence appear to heavily favor Apple’s iOS for application development.

Specifically, a whopping 71 percent of audited retailers had an iPhone app. Android came in a distant second with 12 percent, and 5 percent of retailers had a BlackBerry app.

¹ Acquity Group, Top 500 Retailer Mobile Audit, July 2010
² Acquity Group, Top 300 EU Retailer Mobile Audit, February 2011

Apps dominate Europe (for now)

In general, fewer European retailers have mobile commerce sites, but more of them have mobile applications. Tom Nawara reckons the rise of smartphones over the last year has moved more retailers to focus on launching mobile apps. (And let’s not forget the fast-follower movement sweeping across Europe to close the gap with the U.S., primarily led by tech-savvy CMOs and agency execs, many of whom equate an iPhone app with having a mobile strategy.)

As Nawara put it in a recent press statement: “Smartphone adoption in Europe is up dramatically from just last year, with one in three consumers now owning a smartphone. European retailers appear to be capitalizing on this and, in particular, on the caché of the iPhone, by creating apps to promote brand awareness. U.S. brands, on the other hand, are focusing more on generating mobile-friendly versions of their site and driving transactions.”

However, this could change in the next months as retailers focus on finding a balance between brand awareness (best delivered by apps)  and transactions (best supported by mobile websites). After all, as I have written before, limiting your mobile presence to an iPhone app is like restricting access to your store  according to the make and model cars your customers drive. It makes no business sense.

Who is succeeding with mobile in Europe?

Companies that had a strong mobile presence in Europe were typically large U.S. brands like Amazon, Hewlett-Packard and Apple. On a country-level, Spain and the U.K. appear to be doing the best in terms of mobile adoption by Internet retailers, with 44 percent of audited companies in each country having a mobile presence of some kind. Others coming in near the top include: France (30 percent), Italy (30 percent), Germany (27 percent), Turkey (26 percent), Netherlands (21 percent) and Portugal (21 percent).

The bottom line:

The fragmentation across Europe emphasizes the importance for brands to have a clear approach to their mobile strategy.

* * *

Editor’s note: All of Acquity Group’s findings are published in Internet Retailer’s Europe 300 Guide.

Collectively, Europe is a bigger online retailing market than even the U.S., but most sales are local and consumers prefer shopping online in their home country. To identify the major web retail players in each diverse market and across the continent, Internet Retailer introduces the Top 300 Europe, the first ever comprehensive ranking of the 300 largest European retail web sites. Each listing is packed with financial and operational data.

The deadline for entries was extended to MAY 6 due to popular demand, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to showcase your service and have it viewed by the top journalists and analysts who sit on the judges panel.

If your company is shortlisted, then you can count on being center stage at the annual gala event (and top of mind with the hundreds of leading industry execs and  decision-makers who attend the ceremony each year). TV personality, comedienne and author Ruby Wax will host the 2011 Meffys Gala Awards Dinner (July 7) at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s Covent Garden.

Be there, be noticed

MobileGroove is a media partner and I am honored that the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has asked me to join the panel of judges for the fourth consecutive year.

I am also proud of my collaboration with MEF, which last year resulted in the introduction of the exciting Content Discovery & Personalization category. This year we are encouraged by the number (and caliber) of personalization companies that have submitted entries — proof that this space is where the action is. (After all, the proliferation of app stores and our growing appetite for connected (and relevant) content across devices and platforms turns up the pressure on media companies and mobile operators to deliver us what we want (before we ask for it).

So get working on your entry now

It’s a really simple process – and only costs GBP350 (GBP159 for MEF members). This year, MEF is also offering a special developer rate of GBP75 per entry Just make sure you have a visual demo of your service as the judges will need this in order to understand exactly how it works.

This award highlights the latest tools and techniques helping to drive more personalized mobile content discovery and content sharing based on common interests and profiles. Judges will be looking for entries which make it easy to find, purchase and popularize mobile content, with particular focus on:

• Clear navigation and ease of use
• Innovation – technical, creative or commercial
• Use of mobility
• Usability & interactivity
• UI design & quality of experience
• M-Commerce features
• Quantifiable business benefits
• Proof of driving traffic to destination mobile content sites

Who should enter:  Social networks, app stores, content aggregators, personalization and profiling solutions providers, mobile advertising platforms.

Enter the awards at www.meffys.com

Other Meffys Categories for 2011

• Best Game
• Best Music Service
• Best TV & Video Service
• Best Content
• Best Content Discovery & Personalization Service
• Best Social Media Service
• Best Ad Campaign
• Best Brand on Mobile
• Best Mobile Website
• Best Blockbuster App
• Best Innovative App
• Best Technology Innovation
• Best Innovative Business Model
• Best Innovation in a Mobile First Market
• Best M-Commerce Service
• Best Business Intelligence
• Best Mobile Connected Device
• Outstanding Contribution Award

See the full list of Meffys 2010 winners here.

Hope to see you there there!

The event, organized by 11 Prozent – Communication, expects a whopping 2,100+ attendees, making M-days the largest mobile event in Europe outside the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

A special attraction this year is the Show Your App Award, which recognizes the best and brightest of the 130+ developers who submitted apps over the last weeks.

Six good reasons to attend the 6th M-Days:

• Attendance at the congress and trade fair has more than doubled (122 percent) in the last two years, up from 975 visitors in 2009 to 1,650 visitors in 2010. This year will see +2,100 visitors
• It’s the place to listen and connect with 90  exhibitors (sold out!) and 140 speakers including Nokia, Qualcomm and mobile operator O2
  
• It is a first-rate meeting point for decision-makers across a variety of sectors (not just mobile technology) including publishing, media, advertising and communications
• This year sees a strong emphasis on apps and developers — and offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to show off their apps during MobileMonday DemoNight@M-Days (Thursday, January 27th)
• Other topics include:  tablets & connected devices, mobile marketing & advertising, mobile UI & UX, mobile stats & trends, mobile entertainment & publishing, mobile commerce & payments, mobile cloud computing & LTE, and Augmented Reality (AR)
• Top-name German and international press and publishers are attending — including MobiAdNews, Mobile Marketing Magazine, Mobile Zeitgeist and MobiThinking.

MSearchGroove partners & promotes

For the second consecutive year MSearchGroove is proud to partner with Carsten Szameitat, Managing Director, 11 Prozent – Communication, and his team to promote his event.

We are also working together on a new newsletter publication — cross-pollination that will bring news on European companies and entrepreneurs (with an emphasis on Germany) to a global audience. I’ll have more on that in the next weeks.

I am also looking forward to connecting with European executives and developers during the event. Feel free to contact me directly to catch-up or meet-up. Or just come up to say  “hi” after I wrap up the session I am moderating on Android and app development (Friday, January 28th @14:00-15.30).

Participation is free and open to any startup or developer with a mobile app. You can submit as many apps as you want and you can find more details on how register further down in this post. From news and arts & culture to social change and medical & health, the MPA recognizes the best in mobile apps, so stand up and be counted.

REGISTER HERE BY MIDNIGHT JANUARY 18th

The nominated apps for the Mobile Premier Awards 2011 include the winners of the AppCircus 2010 and a selection of the best apps across the AppCircus Categories.

Be sure to choose the category in which you wish to submit your existing AppCircus app profile. Creating an app profile is easy:  just sign up at appcircus.com!

MSearchGroove joins international jury

All entries will be judged this week and finalists will be announced on January 24th. These lucky entrepreneurs and developers will have the opportunity to showcase their app in a 3-minute pitch during the event in Barcelona in front of investors, operators, media companies, press and influential bloggers.

I am proud to support this (and all upcoming events organized by Rudy DeWaele and his mtrends team) as a premiere media partner. I also appreciate the opportunity to review this excellent selection of exciting (and even disruptive) apps first-hand as a member of the online jury.

The complete jury was announced today and includes:

Alan Moore – Author, innovator, entrepreneur – @alansmlxl
Andreas Constantinou – Founder, VisionMobile – @andreascon
Bryan Rieger - Designer, Yiibu – @bryanrieger
Chetan Sharma – Consultant, Author, Evangelist- @chetansharma
Christian Van Der Henst Solis – Founder Maestros del Web – @cvander
Eduardo Villar – Serial entrepreneur and IT enthusiast – @eduardovilar
Gerd Leonhard – Futurist, Author & Strategist – @gleonhard
Heike Scholz – Publisher, Author, Mobile Technology Enthusiast – @MobileZeitgeist
Hillel Fuld – Tech blogger. Marketing Manager of inneractive – @hilzfuld
Ilja Laurs, Founder and CEO of GetJar, @iljalaurs
Inma Martinez, entrepreneur, investor, strategist, @inma_martinez
James Cameron, Founder, Camerjam, @jamescameron
James Parton – Head of Developer Marketing at Telefonica – @jamesparton
James Pearce – Sr Director, Developer Relations Sencha Inc – @jamespearce
Juan Diego Polo – Founder of Wwwhat’s new? – @juandiegopolo
Mariano Amartino, Founder of Celularis and Managing Director at Hipertextual, @amartino
Ouriel Ohayon – co founder of Appsfire.com and Isai.fr – @ourielohayon
Patrick de Laive – Co-founder of TheNextWeb.com – @patrick
Peggy Anne Salz, Founder & Chief Analyst of MSearchGroove, @peggyanne
Peter Vesterbacka – Mighty Eagle of Angry Birds – @pvesterbacka
Raj Singh, Mobile Enthusiast, @raazzzin
Russell Buckley, AdMob Evangelist at Google, @RusselBuckley
Sanyu Kiruluta – Team Lead, Developer Relations, Research In Motion – @BlackBerryDev
Simon Torrance – Founder Telco 2.0 Initiative – @storrance
Tomi Ahonen – Author and consultant in mobile and media – @tomiahonen
Yuri van Geest, Co-Founder Mobile Monday Amsterdam, Co-Organizer TEDx Amsterdam, @vangeest

Winners circle

Together with Rudy and his team MSearchGroove will showcase a few past MPA winners in a special podcast, so stay tuned.

This is the list of confirmed winners from all the various 2010 AppCircus events around the world includes:

• AppCircus@Augmented Reality Conference Berlin – kooaba Paperboy
• AppCircus@Apps Marathon Brussels – Samsonite Travel Miles
• AppCircus@BDigitalApps Barcelona – 225 Kid Outdoor Games
• AppCircus@Mobilecamp Argentina – Crazy Weather
• AppCircus@Mobile 2.0 Europe – Cardmobili
• AppCircus@MoMo Austria – indoo.rs
• AppCircus@MoMo Belfast – Shhmooze
• AppCircus@MoMo Berlin – WahWah.fm
• AppCircus@MoMo Bologna – Vetrina in Vista Mobi
• AppCircus@MoMo Copenhagen – Endomondo Sport Tracker
• AppCircus@MoMo Croatia – AirRaid
• AppCircus@Droidcon London – Swiftkey
• AppCircus@MoMo Edinburgh – Fikdu
• AppCircus@MoMo Madrid -  Practicopedia
• AppCircus@MoMo Malmo – Snooze with a Hearth
• AppCircus@MoMo Milan – Mover
• AppCircus@MoMo Oslo – Subsonic
• AppCircus@Open Coffee Greece – Terpnon
• AppCircus@MoMo Paris – Wipolo
• AppCircus@MoMo Rome  - iMathematics
• AppCircus@MoMo Romania – TripJournal
• AppCircus@MoMo São Paulo  – Guia Quatro Rodas
• AppCircus@MoMo Stockholm – TrueCaller
• AppCircus@MoMo Slovenia – Odpiralni Časi
• AppCircus@Texas Wireless Summit – Famigo Games

If you did not have an opportunity to present your app at one of the AppCircus events now is your second chance: submit your app to the AppCircus Categories and maybe you will be chosen to pitch at the Mobile Premier Awards.

Submit your app to the AppCircus Categories and get a chance to pitch  at Mobile Premier Awards!

Qualcomm made great strides in AR last year, releasing its AR Software Development Kit (SDK) for Android smartphones in October 2010. Offered through Qualcomm’s online developer network QDevNet, Qualcomm’s SDK enables a new breed of applications that delivers interactive 3D experiences on everyday objects, such as 3D gaming experiences on tabletops and interactive media experiences on product packaging and promotional items.

Jay’s 2011 predictions are:

1. Global brands will drive AR as form of interactive media.  Global consumer brands will incorporate AR functionality into mobile apps, providing consumers with interactive and entertaining experiences that drive measurable brand engagement.

2. AR will enhance the print media experience.  Advertisers and publishers will use AR to make printed pages in magazines and catalogs come alive with interactive content. Consumers will benefit from a more engaging reading and browsing experience when they point their phones at AR-enabled pages.

3. Advances in computer vision technology will drive volume and breadth of AR applications. The majority of today’s AR applications display geo-located data for mapping related applications.  However, the availability of vision-based AR technology will enable richer interactive experiences for a broader set of applications, such as gaming, interactive media, and education.

4. AR will become a smartphone differentiator. AR and related computer vision applications will become key differentiators for smartphone and tablet vendors as AR applications demonstrate completely new ways to use these devices.

5. Hype will remain a challenge for the ecosystem. While we’ll see AR apps that go beyond “novelty-ware” to demonstrate real entertainment and utility value, the sheer excitement around AR will continue to drive expectations that the industry will struggle to deliver.

In Jay’s view 2011 will deliver a second wave of mobile AR applications that make use of computer vision technology to deliver a more compelling user experience for a broader range of applications.  “The key business driver for these applications will be marketers seeking innovative and measurable engagement with consumers.” Additionally, gaming and entertainment companies will use AR to seek new and compelling forms of play.

Editor’s note: I would like this opportunity to thank the other executives and influencers who  provided insights into the drivers and developments that will catapult mobile AR to the top of the business agenda in 2011:

Robert Rice — author, serial entrepreneur, futurist, mobile AR expert/enthusiast and Neogence Enterprises CEO

Lester Madden — hands-on developer and executive whose work (at companies including Microsoft, Symbian and Nokia) has moved mobile AR a giant leap forward.

Martin Herdina – CEO of Mobilizy, a mobile AR pioneer best known for Wikitude Browser and Wikitude Drive

Christine Perey –, an independent consultant and evangelist working within the industry to increase deal flow, validate business models, and promote sanity (not hype) in the nascent mobile AR space.

Check out the complete series here.

My personal thanks to Christine for taking part. I am proud to be a media partner and proactively support her next event: The Mobile AR Marketplace (February 15, Barcelona).

Register for the Mobile AR Marketplace

The aim of this event is to bring together pre-qualified buyers and sellers with a clear position in the mobile AR ecosystem to discuss the deals/models/alliances that will move their projects (and the industry) a significant step forward.

The mobile AR Marketplace welcomes companies focused on AR platforms, professional and infrastructure services, and core technology components. It also seeks to connect with professionals, including advertising agencies and brands interested in harnessing AR, as well as content owners/developers eager to explore how AR can super-charge their offer.

Kudos to Christine and her team for developing this new event format! Look for columns and commentary from more mobile AR pioneers and practitioners in the weeks up to (and following) this exciting event.

Social and mobile

This is just one of the topics heading the agenda at Navigation Strategies USA, a two day conference organized by the Wherebusiness (January 25-26, San Jose). MSearchGroove is proud to be a media sponsor of the event and bring you this event preview looking at the hot issues affecting the navigation ecosystem.

Open source mapping & AOL

Top of the list is open source. As more apps come online – specifically, automotive apps — there is a greater need for quality navigational data. That is where  community-sourced – or open source – mapping can deliver key advantages to the LBS industry. And then there is the business that can be made when you connect hyperlocal mapping data (including location and information about local businesses) with mobile marketing and advertising.

AOL has its eye on the prize, which is why MapQuest (a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL) has sharpened on open source (OpenStreetMap – OMS).

Its goal is to become the first large mapping company to embrace open-source mapping at scale.

To this end AOL MapQuest has struck out in new directions — revamping its UI, spearheading an  aggressive expansion of Patch, the growing hyper-local news and information platform AOL acquired in 2009.

As a result OMS powers the maps behind Patch and allows people to get involved in the process, and include hiking trails, parks and bike paths to improve the overall experience (and quality of the navigation data).

Interview with Randy Meech

Clearly, AOL isn’t the only company in the space – but it is one with the clearest objectives.

I caught up with Randy Meech, AOL Head of Engineering, Local & Mapping, to discuss the value of open source, the role of mobile and get an update on the $1 million fund AOL launched in July to support the growth of open-source mapping. The fund supports projects in specific communities to help expand and enhance the geographic data available to developers, designers and other users. It’s part of AOL’s commitment to open-source technology – and Randy tells me it’s also the source of competitive advantage in a navigation and LBS space where the data is – literally – everything.

Involvement & motivation

Empowering people to participate in the creation of their own maps (and local information) is more than an ideal; it’s an ideal business model. As Randy points out: “It[is] very clear that if we can get those tools right and make it easy for people to go in and edit their local data, it’s going to be much more helpful for everything around mapping, in particular navigation.” But it’s not just about mapping, Randy believes that being a leader in supporting open source “definitely helps to get the best talent.”

Regional differences & Amazing Waze

There are distinct differences in the data and the quality between the regions. The U.K. and Germany have done well, harnessing eager communities to fill in the blanks in their local maps. “The ability to map out your town when there’s nothing there — that’s very motivational and probably helped build the community there.” The challenge in the U.S., on the other hand, is tackling the “sheer size of the geography.”

Granted, mapping can be a monumental task. But the combination of social and mobile can pay huge dividends.

A company that provides a blueprint is Waze, a company that taps into drivers to deliver real-time traffic information and maps. Randy recently saw a demo in Tel Aviv and was notably impressed. “They’ve really hit critical mass of users and that is just a fantastic experience so I expect to see a lot more stuff like that in terms of social map navigation and mobile.”

(Ditto for me. I interviewed Waze recently and concluded that the company, which harnesses our personal mobility and our position as nodes in a larger network, delivers tangible benefits combined with a super-cool user experience.)

Randy tells me we can be sure that 2011 will be the year of social and mobile.

In fact, we can expect some interesting launches from AOL that harness the power of communities. As Randy explained: “I don’t want to go too much into specifics but for people to be able — in an open source shareable way — to give data about businesses in their area is definitely going to be a big area.”

Top of the list is the intersection of social and mobile, which will create new business models and opportunities. “The data that you can leverage when people are using your navigation apps in order to make their routing more powerful for them and more useful is a definitely a big trend.”

To learn the other top trends and Randy’s views on social navigation, listen to the podcast here. [12:31]

Editor’s Note: Randy will be giving the keynote at Navigation Strategies USA. You can still register to hear authorities weigh in on hot topics — including the importance of open source and why it works for the LBS and navigation industries. MSearchGroove is proud to be a media sponsor of this conference — and all conferences — organized by the Wherebusiness.

Next in the series is Enterprise Strategies for Location Intelligence USA 2011 taking place on March 30-31 in  Chicago, so mark your calendars!

More importantly, in-app billing is emerging as the only form of billing that puts developers and publishers in complete control of their app pricing, marketing and distribution. This is because this approach also allows them to circumvent cumbersome default payment systems and market development distribution agreements on many app stores.

The in-app imperative

Reports (and common sense) show that users expect a quick and simple payment experience – and will drop out of the payment flow if it is tedious. As Patrick Mork — CMO of GetJar, the world’s largest, open app store with over one billion downloads to date – stated to Computerworld: “The best purchasing experience is probably the one where you never have to leave the app.”

This dovetails well with a recent report from Netsize, a Gemalto company and enabler of mobile commerce and communications. Specifically, the company’s Application Store Billing report (based on a survey of 1,000+ mobile professionals and practitioners across 67 countries) identifies the business models and billing methods likely to deliver app stores and developers mass-market success.

To achieve optimum results, respondents agree application stores must harness a variety of billing mechanisms. Chief among these is operator billing, indicated by 85 percent of respondents as a key enabler for application store mass market appeal. Respondents also reported a huge opportunity ahead for app store providers that will be driven by freemium-type models. The report concludes that making money in this new ‘Application Economy’ will therefore require providers to employ in-app billing and solutions that allow them to sell content, virtual goods and add-ons from within their app.

How fast are developers/stores taking up in-app billing?

Bango, mobile analytics and payment company, reports on its blog that in-app billing adoption has been slower than predicted. Specifically, only 5 percent of payments billed through its own mobile payments platform were in-app payments. However, this will change dramatically in 2011 when an estimated 30 percent of all apps will use in-app billing as a charging model. This 600 percent growth rate in in-app billing will be driven by the removal of a variety of technical limitations (currently, most app stores simply don’t offer the functionality to enable payments from within the app). BlackBerry has announced it will offer in-app billing support in early 2011, for example.

Vendor spin aside the reports identify a real and lucrative business model likely to impact the app landscape at all levels in 2011.

This also comes through in Mobile Games: App Store Strategies, Business Models & Forecasts 2010-2015, a new report published by Juniper Research. It forecasts that revenues from in-game purchases will overtake the traditional pay-per-download model as the primary source of monetizing mobile games by 2013. With Apple’s in-app billing mechanism showing the way forward, the report reckons that total end-user revenues will surpass $11 billion annually by 2015, nearly double what they were in 2009 ($6 billion).

In-App Billing seminar December 8^th

The explosion of interest in in-app billing (and the positive outlook for its widespread adoption in 2011) makes it an ideal topic for the next Knowledge & Networking seminar, hosted by AIME. MSG is proud to be a media partner with AIME and will continue to support this worthwhile organization in the New Year.

Tomorrow (December 8^th) in London AIME wraps up the conference and event season with In-App Billing 2.0: Taking the Application Billing Core out of Apple. The seminar, which is sponsored by OpenMarket and hosted by AIME, will map the business landscape for in-app billing. In addition, billing providers, brands, MNOs and media agencies will be on hand to discuss their experiences and share case studies.

Issues to be discussed:

• What are the advantages to a brand being able to offer in-app billing in its apps?
• How can digital agencies serve their brand customers better by utilizing in-app billing?
• Direct operator billing, premium SMS and WAP billing options – what’s best for in-app billing?
• Collecting one time payments and recurring subscriptions
• Giving developers and publishers greater control over in-app purchases and content marketing
• Technical integration issues

Speakers:

• Rob Wells, Head of Mobile Products and Services, Virgin Media
• Joe Ranson, Project director, EMEA, TigerSpike
• Rory Maguire, Head of Payments, 3
• Paul Rawlings, CEO, Screen Reach
• Alex Moir, General Manager, Europe, OpenMarket
• Chair: Andrew Darling, AIME

The seminar will include a Q&A debate with between speakers and the audience where you will have the opportunity to ask the panel critical questions about in-app billing and how it affects your business. Following the seminar, please join OpenMarket in the bar for networking over pre-Christmas sponsored drinks.

VENUE: London Grange Fitzrovia Hotel, Portland Suite, 20-28 Bolsover Street | London | W1W 5NB

TIME: Registration opens at 5:30pm, Seminar starts 6pm

The future of in-app billing

No doubt the outlook for in-app billing will be a major topic during the knowledge seminar. It’s a little early to call winning business models and approaches, but this interesting commentary offers us an entirely new perspective on mobile payments.

The scenario offered by the author (Russell Berry is Director of AppCreatives) suggest that the next generation of mobile phones will have specially-made SIM cards that include an app for mobile shopping payments.

“Users follow simple on-screen instructions either to pre-load their mobile with funds, like a pay-as-you-go phone, or link the app directly to a bank account. To purchase something the cashier swipes your mobile over the terminal. A beep registers the sale and users get the message ‘Accepted’ – or ‘Declined’ if the account is already maxed out.”

Exciting stuff indeed –

Editor’s note: MSG explores the future of payment and other megatrends in FUTURE FILE, a special series of guest columns from major players and influencers, including Gemalto, Millennial Media and Yahoo.

Disclaimer: Netsize is an MSG client and supporter; Bango has been an MSG supporter.

One, companies across the emerging mobile marketing ecosystem (brands, agencies, operators, enables – everyone) must structure their strategy around the consumer. It sounds simple – but Stephanie says it requires companies to get away from cool apps and a technology-centric approach and deliver messages to people that are valuable.

What do people appreciate? In a word: relevancy.

Relevancy and context

As Stephanie puts it: people want relevant advertising and messages. Part of this is about delivering the right message at the right time (and under the right circumstances). In fact, Stephanie believes new self-service options and the ability of companies to target according to location will also pave the way for more small brands and businesses to deliver relevant advertising (hence value) to consumers on their mobile phones.

Interestingly, Stephanie’s views on the importance of relevancy dovetail with my own views on context. The pivotal role of context in mobile was also recently picked up by Gartner in its findings and recommendations.

Specifically, Gartner believes that context will be a defining principle of mobile business for the next decade. It will play a key role in many areas of mobile business, especially advertising and marketing.

Verizon milestones

Verizon Wireless, the leading U.S. mobile operator with some 92.1 million users, was a first-mover in mobile advertising, embracing the full range of media and creatives from text and MMS, to barcodes and apps.

An example is Daily Scoop, a free app (advertising supported) that subscribers can download to their mobile phone. The app lets people receive interesting and valuable information and offers from restaurants and retailers in their area. A big part of this is exclusive discounts on products and services – delivered when and where they are most useful to the user. This is a tailored offer (translated: relevant) and local content and context is assured because users start their interaction with the app by inputting their zip code.

Stephanie tells me the app has been a run-away success with a conversion rate on the ads of between 7 and 10 percent.

Likewise, SpendSmart, an app that lets people browse, view, and save coupons on-the-go using their mobile phone shows that mobile marketing is fast becoming the definitive first step in the retail journey.

Taking this a step further, Verizon has also moved full-steam into barcodes (QR codes).

To this end he operator has teamed up with Scanbuy to promote a wide variety of apps available using the Android powered DROID devices.

In one campaign (also detailed in this case study) people who saw the QR codes (part of an integrated marketing campaign that included print ads, in-store displays, direct mail, websites, and even iPad ads) were directed to use ScanLife, the Scanbuy barcode scanning app, that was either preloaded in their device or could be downloaded by texting SCAN to 43588 for “Instant Gratification.”

In just over three months, the campaign saw over 150,000 scans, making it the most successful ScanLife campaigns in North America. The technology has opened up a world of immediate access for DROID customers directly from a wide variety of material.

MobileSQUARED Media partner

Today’s event – and all the events in this series are organized by Camerjam, a U.K.-based mobile events company headed up by my esteemed colleague James Cameron.  Keep in mind that this is an ongoing and global series that kicked off in Europe and then moved to Asia and (today) to North America. Next on the list is South Africa – so keep checking the event website. You can also view a comprehensive list of all industry events here on MSG. The calendar lists 100+ industry events, and we’ll have details on the next MobileSQUARED Roadshow soon.

Listen to the podcast with Verizon’s Stephanie Bauer Marshall here. [9:40]

Editor’s note: My personal thanks to Stephanie for this insightful interview. She has promised to come back with some great case studies, so keep checking back or follow us on Twitter (@msearchgroove & @peggyanne).

The program has a heavy and welcome emphasis on what developers and companies in the Android ecosystem need to turn their ideas into revenues. This objective is a perfect fit with the spread of speakers Droidcon organizers have brought together to advise developers on what it takes to earn a living and monetize apps.

The line-up includes execs from Device Anywhere, inMobi, Google, comScore, Sony-Ericsson, Qualcomm, Orange, Rummble, Mippin, Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola, as well as VCs and companies specialized in design and usability.

MSG Media Partner

In a nutshell, this event in results-oriented and has purposely brought together the full range of companies developers need to connect with to build and market their Android apps. Kudos to Dominic Travers, Kevin McDonagh and the organizers/enthusiasts behind this milestone event. MSearchGroove is proud to be a media partner!

You can still register here – only GBP188.00 to attend!

Tracks cover topics from growing the value of the network (business ecosystem), to creating an excellent user experience, to what it takes to earn a living and monetize apps. There are also sessions on understanding smartphone traffic and – very important (!) understanding what women – a huge and often ignored user segment – really want from Android.

So it’s all about turning good ideas into great apps, and the nuts and bolts of what is really involved to achieve this business executive.

Interview with Novoda

To give us a practical perspective on this event and the challenges and opportunities ahead for developers is my guest today is Kevin McDonagh, the director of Novoda, a software consultancy specializing in the Android platform. Kevin is also an organizer of Droidcon and London Android User group called Londroid.

MAKING MONEY ON APPS: Granted Tomi Ahonen was correct when he told us in an earlier interview that it’s easier to win the lottery than it is to make piles of cash on apps. However, some companies (including Novoda) are making a solid living developing apps. Kevin offers some valuable advice and urges developers to take the rules of retail seriously. Know your customer, delight your customer and accept the fact that you are going to have to spend money and effort to market your apps.

CONNECTED COUNTS: Kevin shares his observations on the advantages of developing for the Android platform. Chief among these is the virtual machine which enables apps to be “handed off” across devices and platforms. Data sharing, which is also enabled through open source and the platform architecture, lays the groundwork for some exciting and connected apps that effectively construct experience environments, rather than single experiences. An app that start on your phone and makes the rounds in your home to your TV or electric clock? Kevin says it’s not far-fetched; it’s quite real and – potentially – quite lucrative.

PARTNERSHIPS: Does the platform with the most developers win? Probably. So how does a company come into the fortunate position of attracting so many developers in the first place? Kevin, a professional and practitioner, has some valuable insights to share. In his view, the key to success is forming the partnerships early on – and with companies at far corners of the ecosystem. In many cases these are companies that might currently be competitors. But that is going to change.

My take: Moving forward, as devices and platforms do indeed interact/interconnect and share apps and data, companies will need partnerships with every company that contributes to the creation of the experience. From developers, to chip makers, to appliance manufacturers – everyone will have to be in on the action. The only way to get there from here is to forge those partnerships now and open as much data as possible to the developers and the players who are architecting our collective future.

Listen to the podcast here. [12:05]

The Mobile Design Conference & Workshop (October 21, Barcelona) is an interactive one-day conference providing a limited number of participants (200 for the conference and 40 for the workshop) a unique opportunity to connect with designers and authorities to understand the ideas and challenges shaping the future of networked urbanism. This event is organized by BCD Barcelona Design Centre (as part of BCN Design Week) in collaboration with Rudy de Waele and the great team at dotopen.

With the vast majority of the European population (80 percent) living in city centers, it is paramount that designers understand the complex relationships between mobile technologies, infrastructure, and the people who require access to communications everywhere. It’s all about urban context, mobile communications and providing stakeholders a meaningful user experience.

Speakers, sessions & workshop

The conference is organized around the theme: Designing the networked city.

Speakers include: Kevin Slavin, Matt Jones, Usman Haque, Blaise Aguera y Arcas

The conference is followed by a workshop led by Liz Sanders, regarded as the pioneer of participatory design. During the break-out sessions, participants will create 2D and 3D visualizations of ideas and challenges around the future of networked urbanism.

MSG media partner

This is a great opportunity to learn from and be inspired by great designers. More importantly, you can actually work with them!

Seats are limited (200 for the conference, 40 for the workshop). There are still some seats available, so register today.

Tickets for the event are €120 for the Mobile Design Conference & €495 for the Mobile Design Conference & Workshop. I have two free morning tickets to give to MSG readers on a first-come-first-serve basis, so email me directly (peggy@msearchgroove.com).

Tomi Ahonen,

No sales pitches here.It’s a gathering sharply focused on solutions and passionate about shaping our collective mobile future.

And, at only GBP 295 for registration, there is no excuse not to join the conversation.

Register here

If you have any questions about this event, or can#t register on the site, please contact the Course Administrator on +44 (0)1865 286958 or email Technology@conted.ox.ac.uk

Forum Oxford UK Conference Oct 15th from Jonathan Marks on Vimeo.

Unfortunately, I won’t be in the U.K. for this event (I just got back from the last one), but MSG friends and contributors including Martin Wilson will be on hand to tweet his observations and connect with attendees. He’s got some great ideas in the pipeline, so take the opportunity to meet-up.

For those of you already registered (and anyone else who would like to join), there will be an informal pre-conference get-together this evening starting from about 20:00 at the Lamb and Flag pub, 12 Saint Giles Oxford OX1 3JS.

Conference Speakers 2010

• James Elles, MEP (Member of the European Parliament)
  Presentation: Global Perspectives: the importance of leadership

• David Marutiak, User Community Ambassador, Vodafone Internet Services
  Presentation: Communities

• Chetan Sharma, Founder and President, Chetan Sharma Consulting
  Presentation: The Next 10 Years: 15 Trends That Matter

• Jeanette Carlsson, Business Strategy and New Media Leader, Communications at IBM Global Business Services
  Presentation: Social Media on the Web

• Jonny Bentwood, Head of Analyst Relations and Strategy, Edelman
  Presentation: The Influencer Tipping Point: How the collision of social media has enabled influencer relations to be a reality.

• Kevin McDonagh, Director at Novoda, Organiser of Droidcon, the UK’s Android conference
  Presentation: Get smart, Android’s not just about phones

• Dan Virtopeanu, General Manager, Voxline Communication
  Presentation: How to develop creative and effective SMS-based mobile games

• Volker Hirsch, Chief Strategy Officer, Scoreloop

• Kris Rockwell, President/CEO, Hybrid Learning Systems, USA
  Presentation: The Challenges of Defining and Delivering Mobile Learning

• Vic Keegan has spent most of his working life on the Guardian writing about business, economics and technology is now a freelance writer, app developer and adviser on mobile strategies.
  Presentation: The Poetry of Location

• Sean Mitchell, CEO, Movidius
  Presentation: Taking mobile entertainment to the next dimension!

• Xi Sizhe, Masters degree student at Vrije Universiteit Brussels and an Entrepreneur from China
  Presentation: Sensors, the ‘Internet of Things’ and opportunities for the manufacturing industry in China
  
  

ForumOxford force

I also encourage you to join the ranks of the people passionate about mobile by joining ForumOxford. (I did.) The web-discussion forum of the Technology Programme at Oxford University was established to bring together the best thinkers in the telecoms industry to enable the sharing of ideas on all aspects of mobile applications with other like-minded members of the community.

ForumOxford has been a huge success and now has over 2,000 members from 87 countries and from six continents. It also enjoys the generous support of companies including Nokia that understand that idea-exchange can drive positive results for us all.

The result is a new requirement for a more intelligent, multi-channel approach to marketing and publishing. This was a key message at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum last week in London, where brands (including EA and BMW) made a strong case for approaches that connect the dots in our experiences across platforms and devices.

Just how many screens we can access as part of our daily routine is mind-boggling. Marc Mielau, BMW Group Head of Digital Media, counted over a dozen and later told me he thought of several more, including ATM terminals and ticket kiosks – to include in future presentations. His point: mobile has a central spot in the marketing mix, but intelligent multi-channel management is a must.

MXM inaugural event

It’s new territory for most, which is why the timing couldn’t be better for MediaCrossMedia (MXM). The inaugural event (October 12-13, New York City) kicks off with a training day/mobile marketing boot camp run by Matthew Snyder – esteemed colleague, research associate and CEO & Founder of ADObjects, a company providing action-oriented guidance to help clients leverage mobile in their cross-media strategies.

The session is designed to arm publishers, agencies, media buyers and marketers with the insight and ideas to add mobile to their existing marketing mix. Participants will learn how to mobilize assets, run a campaign, and make a sexy application to drive brand awareness and engagement.

The conference, organized by ADObjects in cooperation with InternetMarketingConference (IMC), is the first in a series of unique mobile cross-media events that will prepare marketers, agencies and publishers to harnesses mobile and online to architect a converged and effective cross-media strategy.

Over 30 authorities from leading companies including iCrossing, Insight Express, Google, MTV, Strawberry Frog and Tweetdeck will join in a one-day, one-stream event to explore key issues and questions including:

• How can I leverage a mobile strategy efficiently with my existing online resources?
• How can I ensure that users – online and mobile – access and appreciate my website?
• Who are the best online partners to consider?
• How can I evolve my online customer acquisition and retention strategies for mobile?
• How to I manage analytics and social media strategies to include mobile?
• What should I do about transferring my online rich media assets and video to mobile?

MSG media partner

Kudos for recognizing the requirement for a new event that breaks new ground and breaks down the silos in our mobile and online strategies! As Matthew puts it: “There is no such thing as a silo’d mobile audience.  Today it’s all about context and managing a multitude of different device types and screen sizes on the go.” Put another way, it’s not about selling just the mobile channel; it’s about marketers “selling for the context and delivery across all the different channels and screens.”

I’m particularly proud to be a premiere media partner for this event (and all events going forward). I encourage you to register for this intimate and insightful event, and connect with the companies advancing a converged strategy that has mobile at the center.

Learn more about the event at www.mediacrossmedia.com and register HERE.You simply have to enter the code IMCMSE to receive an instant 20% discount with MSG.

If you can’t make it to the event, there will be a live stream of the event via Ustream TV. So, follow the MXM hits and highlights tomorrow (October 13th).

Event agenda:

Speakers and topics include:

A keynote address from Ralph Simon — CEO, Mobilium, and  founding member of the Mobile Entertainment Forum — best known for spearheading the mobile strategies of artists including Lady Gaga and U2.

• Bill Hunt, President, Back Azimuth Consulting, will moderate Search Engine Marketing in a multi-device world, (a panel with Rachel Pasqua, Director Mobile Group, iCrossing; Jordan Kasteler, Managing Partner, BlueGlass Interactive, Inc.; Elliott Nix, Senior Executive, Mobile Ads, Google; and Gillian Muessig, President, SEOmoz)
• Samantha Skey, Chief Revenue Officer, RecycleBank, will moderate Display marketing in a multi-device world, (a panel with Dave Gwozdz, CEO, Mojiva; Patricia Clark, Head of National Sales, North America, InMobi; Marc Theermann , VP Mobile, AdMeld; Jamie Wells, Director, Global Trade Marketing, Microsoft Advertising; and Todd Pasternack, PointRoll)
• Matthew Snyder will moderate Mobile Applications in a Converging world, (a panel with Boris Friedman, CEO, CrispWireless; Andy Miller, CEO, CardStar; Matt Myers, CMO & co-founder, Shooger)
• Social media marketing will be explored in a panel moderated by Evan Neufeld, SVP, Groundtruth, with Justin Seigel, CEO & Co-Founder, MocoSpace; Dan Melinger, CEO & Co-Founder, Socialight; Sam Mandel, EVP of Business Operations, TweetDeck; and Robert Victor, VP of Product, Appssavvy
• Cross-media analytics will be discussed in a panel with Joy Luizzo, Senior Director, Marketing and Mobile Research, InsightExpress; David Harper, CEO & Co-Founder, PercentMobile; Bob Walzcek, CEO, Ringleader Digital; and Chris Quick, Manager, Client Services Mobile Media, The Nielsen Company
• Cross-media video will be the topic of a panel with Michael Hirshoren, VP Sales and Business Development, Rhythm NewMedia; Welby Chen, VP, Client Services &Inventory Management, VEVO; Bill Livek, CEO, Rentrak Corporation; and Ashley King, Gannett Digital Media Network

The conference day ends with a keynote titled Emotional Movement On-the-Go… from Suzana Apelbaum, ECD Strawberry Frog. She will examine the ways companies can move content and marketing across platforms (and deliver experiences that move us as well).

Her speech will be followed by a special preview live performance from artist Miz Metro. She will pre-release a new location-linked iPhone app that brings together on-the-go underground information and music-nearby-you tips. The app also allows fans to add comments to her live music in real-time and based on location.  The audience will have the opportunity to trial the app prior to its official release during the CMJ music festival in New York City next week.

In my book it’s a welcome confirmation that the MMA (and the industry it represents) has moved beyond explaining the opportunities in mobile marketing to executing on them. (You can read more coverage and commentary at #MMAFLDN on Twitter.)

Indeed, it’s exciting times and I look forward to featuring the companies and case studies (BMW, BestBuy, Unilever, Praekelt Consulting) on MSG in the coming weeks.

Mobile Marketer guest column

Meantime, my esteemed friend and colleague David Murphy also attended the event and produced a series of in-depth video interviews for Mobile Marketing Magazine. Speakers include: Jay Altschuler, Unilever Global Communication Planning Director; Paul Berney, MMA CMO & Managing Director EMEA; and Jude Brooks, Jude Brooks, Coca-Cola Europe Interactive Marketing Manager. Some are posted here and a few are still in the pipeline, so I encourage you to check them out here.

I also contributed my own views to Mobile Marketer, a news site I highly respect for its overage of what matters in mobile marketing. My thanks to Mickey Alam Khan for inviting me to contribute this analysis and I look forward to continuing the conversation.

You can read the full post on Mobile Marketer here.

Mobile consumer insights from EA, Buzzcity

I also want to take this opportunity to thank my panel participants (image below) Ralph Risk, Marketing Director EMEA, Lightspeed Research; Jonathan McKay, Creative Director, Praekelt Consulting; Hisham Isa, VP Marketing and CMO, Buzzcity; Elizabeth Harz, Senior VP, Global Media Sales, Electronic Arts (EA).

My personal thanks to Robert Haslam, an account executive at MiLiberty, who was kind enough to record the complete Consumer Insight panel.  I’ll have that video and more analysis later in the week.

A high point of the Insight session was exploring the many ways brands can gain consumer insights and piece together how people behave across platform and devices.

Interestingly, mobile publishers and social networks have the inside track on much of this – data they can gather with little effort and complete accuracy. Elizabeth Harz, for example, reports that some 35 percent of mobile gamers play games every day. As she put it: “There is incredible engagement here worthy of your brands.”

To drive home the new role of EA as a “partner to brands” Elizabeth points out that EA has recently taken the wraps off a “comprehensive insights suite.” The cross-platform tool pulls together campaign performance, brand impact, social buzz, and where available, ROI, across all platforms on the EA network, to provide marketers with actionable consumer data based on their activity in and around EA games.

Likewise Buzzcity, a mobile social network and mobile ad network, is also gleaning valuable information and observations about mobile users. As Hisham puts it: “Our core business is advertising. Our customers [brands and agencies] expect us to know what users are doing, who they are and what campaigns can work.” To this end Buzzcity conducts informal survey and “gathers permission-based responses” from users worldwide.

Mobile Consumer Briefing from Lightspeed

And – in case you missed it – Ralph used the panel session to reveal his company’s latest consumer research findings from the Mobile Consumer Briefing covering the U.K., France and Germany.

• On average, 45 percent of consumers noticed mobile advertising and of these, 29 percent responded to it
• Once people have responded to a mobile advert over a third (39 percent) continued on to make a purchase
• In the UK and France, opted-in SMS advertising proved most effective at soliciting consumer response at 40 percent and 21 percent respectively. In an advert delivered on a website accessed on a mobile device proved to be the most effective, with 27 percent of respondents stating banner adverts as preferable
• Mobile advertising that included time sensitive special offers or discounts was cited as the most important factor leading to a purchase (35 percent UK, 31 percent Germany and 27 percent France).
• Mobile coupons accessible from phones also proved to be highly popular (34 percent UK, 29 percent Germany and 24 percent France)

My take:

The results of the latest research and the mood at the MMAF event in London clearly demonstrate that there is high awareness and efficacy of mobile marketing and advertising. It’s also interesting to note the high marks for opted-in SMS advertising that came from brands (Coca-Cola, for example) and is echoed by Lightspeed findings. The consensus is that effective marketing is a dialog — and that’s just the start of the conversation. As I point out in my column over at Mobile Marketer, the opportunity now is to tie this back in with CRM, mobile commerce and push it (with our permission) across all the screens we interact with everywhere.

Last week the saw the second annual Mobile Web In Africa event take place in Johannesburg. It again sold-out and brought together stakeholders, startups and developers to facilitate learning, relationship building and networking with a purpose. Presentations from top-notch execs and entrepreneurs outlined the ingredients for success in emerging markets and mapped how mobile devices are transforming communication and democratizing the Internet.

If you (like I) weren’t able to attend this excellent event, then check out the global conversation (that happily continues!) at #mwa2010 on Twitter.

You can also download the popular and insightful presentation from my esteemed friend and colleague Rudy de Waele, founder of dotopen and mTrends. His deck on the future of mobile in Africa was just this weekend viewed more than 2,500 times (!) – so I encourage you to check it out. You can also email info@allamber.co.uk for a copy of all speaker presentations from the event.

Regular mobile Africa series

To bring these highlights alive – and prepare us for Mobile Web West Africa 2011 in February (Lagos, Nigeria) – I am joining with Matthew to launch a regular series of interviews and podcasts with the rock stars who spoke at the event.

Top of my list is Marlon Parker, CEO of JamiiX and a leader in social change, social entrepreneurship and social media. His talk bravely explored the issues of gangsterism and drug use in South Africa and how these affect communities and individuals. This inspired him to establish the world’s first mobile counseling service and the tools that are driving the global growth of JamiiX.

By way of background, JamiiX is derived from the Swahili word for Society/ Social/ Community “Jamii” and X stands for the X in “eXchange.” The focus of the service is social exchange and Marlon’s successes delivering life-changing help to people when and where they need it on their mobile phones is moving and motivating. I greatly look forward to meeting Marlon in-person in London this week when he formally launches JamiiX in the U.K.

Mapping our mobile future with Netsize

No doubt my interview with Marlon will also be integrated into the content I create and curate on behalf of Netsize. In the next weeks Netsize will publish a new edition of the Netsize Guide 2010.

The in-depth mobile industry analysis and almanac will include updated country data and be available for download via the Netsize Briefing Room here on MSG and via Mobile Renaissance, the Netsize microsite that features the best of the Netsize Guide.

I am proud to work with Stan Chesnais, Netsize CEO, and Alexander Vlasblom, Netsize Marketing Director, for the fourth consecutive year on this project and look forward to conducting the interviews and creating the content that documents and defines our mobile future.

The Netsize Guide 2010, aptly titled Mobile Renaissance, was a milestone.

It pushed the boundaries to examine the subtle yet seismic shift in the role of mobile in our society.  It also began with the assumption that mobile is no longer about technology. It’s about the means to collaborate, communicate, and connect with diverse networks of people, breaking down the walls between cultures and bringing together the physical and digital worlds.

Transformation chapter download

More importantly, mobile is the catalyst for change and improvement in society, enabling innovation across all industry sectors (healthcare, education, retail) and countries.

The content associated with the Netsize Guide will continue where we left of last year.

I encourage you to download the final, exciting section of the Netsize Guide 2010 for a discussion of mobile and valuable insight into the many ways mobile will impact our lives and our society moving forward.

And please reach out to me directly (peggy@msearchgroove.com)with your ideas and insights for inclusion in this ongoing project. I am particularly interested in learning more about the experiences and business models impacting the lives of people in developing markets.

DOWNLOAD TRANSFORMATION HERE

The event, launched in partnership with influential mobile event organizers and developer communities (such as Mobile Monday), has announced the first dates for its world tour.

Over the next four months, the AppCircus will set up its tents in 40 major cities – including New York, Chicago, Boston, Dublin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Bangalore and Johannesburg — and new locations are added to the list daily.

See the full list here.

Free and open

The AppCircus provides developers a much needed opportunity to showcase their applications. Kudos to Rudy De Waele and his team for kicking off this event and offering it as a platform to organizers worldwide!

As I pointed out in my recent (and sober) analysis of the app landscape for Mobile Marketing Magazine, developers must take marketing and monetization into their own hands. It all starts with generating interest in their apps in the first place.

For this reason, AppCircus is free and open to any developer with an app. Simply sign up here for a chance to present your app for three minutes in front of a high-calibre audience of VCs, tech media, industry peers and potential customers.

AppCircus is an open event format, which means event organizers can set up an AppCircus as part of the program. The procedure: dedicate a slot in your agenda for an AppCircus (consisting of 30 to 45 minutes of app pitches) and then reach out to the AppCircus team for support.

They will create event pages, application signups, and assist with selecting a jury to choose the winner.

If you’re interested to organize an AppCircus at your event, contact info@appcircus.com.

DroidCon & AppCircus

DroidCon 2010, the two-day event taking place in London (October 28-29), will bring together some 600 visitors (developers, designers, manufacturers and media) to discuss topics including business models, SDKs and APIs. The event is also hosting a special Android edition of the AppCircus with prizes to be won.

MSearchGroove is proud to be a media partner for DroidCon. I will also launch a series this month to profile the AppCircus apps and the developers that set the bar, so stay tuned!

For more about the AppCircus and the story behind the nominees and winners check out the official blog.

The AppCircus is not only about events, it’s also a new platform where you can search and browse apps of all kinds across platforms and stores.

For more information, contact Caroline Spek directly at caroline@dotopen.com.

There are 13 categories including B2B, B2C, opt-in, location, barcode and a special Grand Prix award that will be voted on and presented at the Awards Ceremony in December in London.

I am honored to join the judging panel, which includes Jonathan Bass, managing director of Incentivated; Russell Buckley, VP Global alliances at AdMob; Jeremy Copp, VP mobile Europe at comScore; Ben Cusack, creative director at Mobile Interactive Group; mobile specialist Helen Keegan; Nick Lane, CEO of mobileSquared; Alex Meisl, chairman and founder of Sponge; John Mew, head of mobile at the Internet Advertising Bureau; and Bob Wooton, director of media & advertising at the ISBA.

Stand up and be recognized! Entry is free and the closing date is Friday.

REGISTER HERE

And, when you head to the Mobile Marketing Magazine website to register your best campaign(s), be sure to check out the new issue of the online magazine.

This issue includes a cover story on Smaato, an in-depth look at mobile retail and an excellent thought leadership contribution from Sienne Veit, social and mobile commerce development manager at M&S Direct who “gets” the connection between mobile and shopping better than most (!)

I had the pleasure of interviewing her for the Netsize Guide 2010, an in-depth Q&A that includes key learnings and best practice.

Sienne is a brilliant strategist and I look forward to covering developments as her company combines social and mobile to drive interactions and transactions.

(If you are a company that wants to share your mobile journey, then please reach out to me directly (peggy@msearchgroove.com) with your case studies, best practices and personal experiences. I am also open to guest columns and contributions.)

New magazine is out

Speaking of contributions, I am also proud to have contributed an in-depth article to the new issue of Mobile Marketing Magazine drawing from sources including a recent report from Chetan Sharma, a developer survey from VisionMobile and an industry survey from Netsize, as well as interviews with developers (Touchnote) and strategists (Tego Interactive) to define the mobile app landscape.

The takeaway: apps (alone) are not a strategy and companies should ‘think retail’ and take marketing, promotion and payment methods into their own hands.

Check out the new issue of Mobile Marketing Magazine here.

Kudos to my friend and esteemed colleague David Murphy and his team (John Owen) for another excellent issue of the magazine! I look forward to contributing in to future issues.

Congrats to David for also deciding to launch a series of Mobile Masterclasses together with Camerjam, the events company owned by the inimitable James Cameron. The mobile industry can only benefit from education, insight and a clear view to best practice and I am confident this team and their events will deliver.

Disclaimer: Netsize is an MSG supporter, Smaato has been closely aligned with MSG and Tego Interactive is MSG’s chosen partner for all mobile/Web integration and digital strategy.

Tough questions that require brave answers.

I caught up with Freddie Laker – social media marketing authority, Asia trend-watcher and Director of Digital Strategy at SapientNitro an interactive marketing, creative design & technology services consultancy – to explore his views and insights in the run up to Social Media World Forum Asia (September 22-23, Singapore).

This event, organized by Six Degrees, brings together major global brands (Facebook, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, BMW, OgilvyOne, Freemantle Asia) to discuss how they are using social media in their marketing and public relations strategies. Freddie will use the event to debut his take on top trends in a path-breaking presentation called Social Media 2013 that maps out the future of social media and marketing in Asia.

In many ways, the presentation will build on the insights Freddie collected in his first presentation (below), Social Media 2012. It counts almost 14,000 views and describes a future in which it isn’t just about social media. It’s digital, it’s interactive and it’s everywhere (!)

Asia will see a similar transformation.

However, the addition of mobile will have profound consequences.

Register while you still can to attend this high-calibre event — and quote that you’re a reader of MSearchGroove to receive a 15 percent discount.

My take

I won’t say that Freddie has all the answers, but he has identified the key variables brands and agencies should plug into their social media marketing algorithms. Among these: current mobile penetration, the requirement of people in rural areas for low-tech, high-value services, and the percentage of Asians who are engaging in social shopping (and valuing the advice/suggestions of their social networks over anyone else) — into the equation. Indeed, understanding these local developments is mandatory if brands want to remain relevant to their advocates.

Listen to the podcast here. [12:23]

Editor’s note: A personal thanks to Freddie for an invigorating exchange. I am honored that Freddie is not only on my wavelength; he has agreed to return to MSG after the event with an exclusive column outlining his vision of how social media and marketing will likely evolve across Asia’s rural regions. Stay tuned!

The report and its insights will be a big part of the presentation James Lamberti, InMobi’s VP of Research and Marketing, makes to attendees at the mobileSQUARED Roadshow (September 29, London), a one-day, interactive session covering mobile marketing essentials and strategy. A key part of the event gives delegates the opportunity to plan a mobile media campaign and buy appropriate mobile media. Each campaign will be matched against real mobile metrics to give attendees first-hand experience of how different types of mobile media work.

MSG community receives a 25% discount – email jo@mobilesquared.co.uk to receive yours!

MSG is proud to be a media partner for the event, which is organized by Camerjam, a U.K.-based mobile events startup headed by my esteemed friend and colleague James Cameron. Today we have also issued a press release about our collaboration via RealWire, the destination if you want your release to have reach and impact.

The roadshow brings together an exciting line-up of mobile marketing professionals and practitioners including: Adam Smith, Futures Director, Group M; Anna Rafferty, Managing Director, Penguin Digital; Hein Wils, Project Leader AR tours, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Mikko Mattinen, Head of Online & Mobile, Veikkaus (Finnish Lottery); Miguel Tatay, Head of Mobile, ITN; Sarah Evans, Head of Mobile Internet & Portals, O2; Kate Karagholi, Director of Member Marketing, RCI; Ludovic Levy, Group Marketing Director, Orange Advertising Network & Chairman, Mobile Advertising Committee, IAB Europe; Mike Godwin, UK Managing Director, Movenpick; Steffen Krabenhøft, Mobile Director, Mediacom; and Fee Beyer, Product & Innovation, Deutsche Telekom.

InMobi July research report

InMobi’s report – the first in a series — highlights some surprising worldwide trends. Notably, Apple’s may have been able to capture a significant percentage of market share and mindshare in developed markets such as North America, but it will face much stiffer competition from Nokia and Android globally. Translated: In developing markets Apple’s walled garden model and high price points will cost it audience and appeal.

Meantime, Nokia – a company that has new leadership and a laundry list of product and marketing issues – appears to be the reigning (and sleeping) market giant. InMobi reports Nokia accounts for almost half (47 percent) of mobile ad impressions globally.

InMobi also ranked regional mobile markets based on a variety of factors that impact demand for advertising (including billing practices, publishers and inventory, operator data plans and the importance of the mobile channel relative to the other screens. The result: Europe is the healthiest market for mobile advertising – period.

Consumer sentiment

I caught up with James to deep-dive into the published results and discuss the first (yet unreleased) findings of the company’s ambitious consumer sentiment research. Naturally, the “scoops” had to be removed from the podcast recording (below), but I have the green light to share a few of the survey results here. (BTW: Researchers, analysts and thought leaders are encouraged to participate in the crowd-sourced qualitative research by contacting James and his team at research@inmobi.com. )

CALL TO ACTION: A welcome confirmation that an effective call to action is one that is inextricably linked with what we do most with our phones in the first place. “Therefore, a click-to-call action has the broadest appeal.”

MOBILE ADVERTSING ATTITUDES: How comfortable are consumers with advertising on their mobile phone? James reports that some 63 percent have said they are “very” or “somewhat” comfortable with receiving ads on their phone.” Since the research is work-in-progress, James expects that number will likely increase.

VALUE: What do consumers value in their advertising? James expected consumers to stress free content and discounts. However, requirement for personalization and relevancy tops the list.

Podcast with James Lamberti

ANDROID: It’s and never will be Apple vs. iPhone. Android is “set up to dominate in a way that will probably impact Nokia far more than iPhone.” But we shouldn’t lose sight of HTML5. Like many in the industry (including Tim Berners-Lee, who addressed the topic of apps vs. mobile Web at Nokia World), James is bullish about the outlook for the standard. “If it really takes off it could have a really transformative impact on the industry.”

PET PEEVES: The year of mobile advertising (!) Europe is the healthiest market and mobile advertising worldwide has arrived – so we can stop asking he question. “What we can talk about is the timing of the ad dollars… but it’s a foregone conclusion that  where the consumers are, the ad dollars and advertising will go.” James is also tired of comparisons between mobile and the PC that conclude they are both just screens. This is why his presentation at mobileSQUARED will emphasize why and how mobile is unique.

EUROPE: Europe is the place to watch the future of mobile advertising unfold. “For the first time perhaps in the history of media, the U.S. market is not necessarily going to be the innovator when it comes to mobile.” Instead other regions, including Europe, will steal the lead because they have an evolved consumer use of mobile phones.

Listen to the podcast here. [11:07]

Editor’s note: MSG proudly showcases premiere industry events and conferences worldwide. In addition to media sponsorships, MSG produces interviews and podcasts free of charge for select event partners to boost promotion and create buzz. Let’s explore ways we can collaborate to make your event stand out.

Dan — who will be speaking tomorrow at the Location Business Summit USA in San Jose, organized by the wherebusiness .com – gives us the scoop on some company stats, including the number of hyperlocal ads it has served, the number of publishers on board and the overall reach of the WHERE network.

Listen in to the podcast below for the numbers and the trends that WHERE shares with MSG (first!).

LOCAL ADS SERVED

A number that speaks volumes (literally) is the number of hyperlocal ads that WHERE served in the first week of July alone. Dan reports that the network served 30,000 ads in the course of one day in the area of the East Side of New York City (!) Dan is also bullish about the importance of being able to target on the zip code level. I tend to agree. After all, the ability to target on the zip code level allows local businesses and content owners to reach their local audience in ways that mobile apps (alone) can’t.

COMMERCE & CONTEXT

The raft of excellent reporting and case studies over at Mobile Commerce Daily document the trend to mobile shopping, commerce and integration between mobile and the POS (point of sales).

“We look at the activity post click-thru, and we found in the month of August that 11 percent of the click respondents clicked on a click-to-call on the landing page for the local merchant,” Dan says. “So, we believe that we’re truly in a place where we can help understand the context and the intent of the consumer and help drive them into a merchant location.”

LOCAL SEARCH

What’s next for WHERE? Discovery. The next step in the “evolution” is “how do we create a better engine for both the consumer and the merchant to discover each other.” In his view, WHERE has to become the company that “helps you discover other content, other places around you and leverage that ability to help merchants get in front of potential consumers.”

MY TAKE: WHERE has more than the right numbers to provide hyperlocal reach; it also has the correct strategy in place to potentially play a centerpiece role in mobile commerce. This is one to watch…

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. [8:15]

* * *

You can catch up with Dan at The Location Business Summit (September 14-15) in San Jose, California. Alternatively, you can always email Dan at dan@where.com and follow him on Twitter (@dangilmartin). Dan will be back soon to share a new product announcement and some additional stats that reveal the real state of hyperlocal mobile search and advertising.

In brief:

Asia is fast becoming a major focus for social media giants. Indonesia and Japan have risen to become the second and the third largest Tweeting countries; Facebook has opened offices in Asia and forged a partnership with Malaysian based MOL; and a recent milestone report from Nielsen confirms that social media usage has seen unprecedented growth in Asia Pacific in the past year and is now “one of the most critical trends” – period.

Against this backdrop, the region is a perfect test bed for mobile social marketing approaches (what I call the combination of mobile, social media and marketing). Little wonder that major global brands have quietly and cleverly harnessed social media to raise brand awareness and – ultimately – generate sales.

A textbook example of this is Toys “R” Us, one of the companies presenting at Social Media World Forum Asia (September 22-23, Singapore). It has placed social media at the center of a retail strategy sharply aimed at results. Specifically, the company integrates social media with other efforts (loyalty programs and barcode schemes, for example) to make and maintain contact with customers before, during and after their in-store visit.

PODCAST WITH ARGHA SENN

I caught up with Argha Sen, head of marketing and CRM of Toys “R” Us, where he is responsible for managing company programs across 8 countries in the region. He also directs the company’s multi-country loyalty program. We discussed the details of his strategy, the results of his barcode/iPhone launch in Taiwan, and the topics he will discuss during the conference.

The podcast with Argha – chock-filled with fascinating observations and figures – is one of my personal favorites, which is why I couldn’t edit it down beyond 15:45 minutes. I urge you to listen in and hear his pragmatic views on social media, personal mobility and how this all comes together in a shopping experience aimed to blur the boundaries between physical retail (in-store shopping) and virtual interaction (scan a barcode to engage via social media). Very progressive and extremely impressive! I greatly look forward to a follow-up interview when Argha can return to discuss some hard numbers and real results.

Among the highlights:

LOYALTY & RETAIL: As Argha sees it, the number one priority of all his programs is to drive people into the stores to buy toys. The linchpin of this advanced CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategy is the Star Card program, the Toys “R” Us loyalty program that runs across six markets in Asia and counts some 2.3 million members. This program drives “about 50-60, sometimes even 70 percent of sales,” which is why it is crucial to make sure all social media efforts support it. How? Integration. As Argha puts it: “Ultimately, they are connected to each other….The Facebook page takes you to our YouTube channel, or the Facebook page takes you to our store or takes you to our website; the website takes you to our Facebook page and all of them drive you to the store.”

MOBILE: Mobile penetration in Hong Kong (where Argha is based) rates among the highest in the world, so mobile is a big part of the company’s strategy. “There are three things that a consumer in Hong Kong does not leave home without: one is the Hong Kong ID card, which you need to carry around with you all the time; the second is what we call the Octopus card, which is really a transport card that allows you to get onto the subway, the bus, the ferries; and the third thing that a Hong Kong person is never without is his or her mobile phone…. So, that obviously presents huge, huge marketing opportunities provided of course that it is done the right way.”

BARCODES: Unlike the U.S., barcode scanning in Asia is about information first and price comparison second. Apps such as Red Laser have not gained traction – yet. Instead, barcodes are the way to “link the customer to videos and other kinds of elements that we can’t always display in the store.” Barcodes also fill the information gap. “You can’t always get all that information from the store staff, so one of the things we are moving towards is [displaying] a QR code next to the product. The customer simply scans that and it takes him or her to a website or to a landing page or to a video explaining the features of the product.” The barcodes were also featured in the company’s summer catalog, allowing customers to scan the printed page and land at the website (where they can also see the video). “We see a lot of opportunities for us to continuously experiment with the QR codes and build this in-store engagement, and take the customer to information and offers that we normally can’t give in the store.”

POINTS & PAYMENTS: Argha is also interested in exploring CRM and developing more holistic programs incorporating coupons and loyalty cards that can be completely executed on the mobile. “Ultimately, there may even be a situation where the customer also pays with their mobile, like they do in Japan or in Korea.” Until then Argha shares his insights around a new service (available in Taiwan) that allows people with smartphones and to swipe a barcode and collect points. “In the future, instead of swiping the [loyalty] card, the customer will swipe the mobile phone and we’ve already launched this in all our stores in Taiwan. There you can actually scan your iPhone. We give you a barcode, the Star Card is digitized and turned into a barcode, and that barcode is stored in the customer’s iPhone. The cashier simply scans the customer’s iPhone instead of scanning the card, and that links to the database and that gives the customer the points and the rewards and the coupons and all of that.”

MY TAKE:

Toys “R” Us understands the fit between mobile, the fiercely personal devices we carry with us at all times, and CRM, the programs and approaches that treat us as a valued customer and individual. Argha tells me the complete CRM program will be executed over the mobile phone in the next two years. But it’s not just about the mobile; it’s about linking CRM with social media (YouTube videos and the company Facebook page) at the all-important point of purchase. Connect the dots, and the power of mobile in retail is proportionate to the level of integration at the POS (point of sales). Barcodes, coupons, mobile payments – these are all elements of an exceptional shopping experience, but it’s the integration that makes them truly effective. I’ll have more on this in Real Goods, Real Commerce & Real Results: The positive future for mobile operator billing platforms, a soon-to-be released white paper MSG has produced on behalf of Tego Interactive.

In the meantime, allow me to leave you with Argha’s key message to his peers: “Instead of treating this as a completely separate channel and a separate thing that only the marketing guys are involved in, we tend to integrate this with all our other marketing channels and all our other business channels. Now, if we do things here which are not integrated with the business, however cool they are and however award winning they might be, they really have no place here. We’re not here to win awards, we’re not here to get plaudits for our social media work, we are here to run a toy business and to get the customer to the store and to get them to buy toys.”

REGISTER FOR SOCIALMEDIA WORLDFORUM ASIA

You can register for the event here and receive a 15 percent discount – just quote that you’re a reader of MSearchGroove.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. [15:45]

Every two years the World Summit Award (WSA) recognizes the companies and organizations that impact our lives through path-breaking content and innovative applications. Mobile is a huge part of this – particularly since mobile in is the ONLY screen for people living in Africa, Asia and the emerging markets.

WSA-mobile emphasizes cultural diversity and identity, the creation of varied information content and the digitalization of educational, scientific and cultural heritage. It aims to make the benefits of the new Information Society accessible and meaningful for all humanity, and in particular, to raise public awareness and give deserved public recognition to the highest quality e-Content, produced all over the world. As of today, around 160 countries actively participate in the initiative.

National pre-selections for the WSA-mobile run through experts in respective countries. The only way to apply for WSA-mobile is to be nominated by the national expert. My friend and esteemed colleague Michelle Manafy (editor of EContent magazine you can and should follow @MichelleManafy) is the US national expert and she’s seeking nominations right now.

If your company and/or client is US based, submit via Michelle’s wiki (http://wsamobile.pbworks.com/). If not, you’ll need to reach out to the appropriate national expert.(You can find the expert in your country here.)

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT nominations to Michelle is SEPTEMBER 1

She asks that you review the categories and criteria, then visit her nomination wiki here to submit your case studies of mobile content making the world a better place.

The Winners’ Gala will take place in Abu Dhabi in December 2010 in cooperation and along with the UN DESA GAID Global Forum.

Stand up to be considered for this prestigious award. Let’s show the real power of mobile content!

From the evolution of mobile data to content monetization models, to mobile health (mHealth) to mobile cloud computing, Mobile Future Forward is much more than just another mobile industry event. The one-day summit brings together top-notch senior execs and speaker to take the pulse of the mobile industry and ask the brave question: Where do we go from here?

SPECIAL OFFER

MSG is proud to be a media sponsor and help build awareness of this premiere event.

If you follow Chetan’s tweets, then you know that the special discount offer has been extended for another week.

Registration is Open Now. Special offer expires August 6 – Enter MSG to receive your discount rate

And speaking of agendas, here’s a comprehensive list of the event speakers and sessions.

8:30 am
Keynote – Stephen David, former CIO, Procter & Gamble

9:00 am
Keynote – Glenn Lurie, President – Emerging Devices, AT&T

9:30 am
Keynote – Anand Chandrasekher, SVP and GM – Mobile, Intel

10 – 10:30 am
Break

10:30 am
Keynote – Takayuki Hoshuyama, CEO, D2Communications

11:00 am
Taking the pulse and where do we go from here

• Mike Sievert, Chief Commercial Officer, Clearwire
• Dr. Genevieve Bell, Fellow, Intel
• Lirong Shi, President, ZTE
• Subba Rao, CEO, Tata DoCoMo

12 – 1:30 pm
Lunch

1:30 pm
Network and Mobile Data Evolution 2010-2015

• Wims Sweldens, President, Alcatel-Lucent
• Neville Ray, Chief Network Officer, T-Mobile
• Bob Azzi, Senior Vice President, Sprint
• Matt Bross, CTO and Vice Chairman, Huawei
• Sean Cai, Vice President – Advanced Wireless Technology, ZTE
• Ken Denman, CEO, Openwave

Future of Content, Engagement, and Monetization

• Louis Gump, Vice President – Mobile, CNN
• Jack Kennedy, Senior Vice President – Digital, News Corp
• Omar Javaid, Vice President, Converged Media, Motorola
  Paul Palmieri, CEO, Millennial Media
• John Zehr, Senior Vice President, ESPN Digital
• Rob Glaser, Chairman, Real Networks and Partner, Accel

2:30 pm
mHealth – The Impact on Society and Global Health

• Dr. Sailesh Chutani, CEO, Mobisante
• Jon Stross, General Manager and Vice President, Babycenter.com
• Dr. Boris Nikolic, Sr. Program Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Dr. Greg Brandenberg, CEO, Columbia Basin Health Association
• Dr. Suzanne Clough, Chief Medical Officer, Welldoc

The Economics and Politics of Consumer Data

• Krishna Vedati, Senior Vice President, AT&T Interactive
• Chris Murphy, Head of Digital Strategy, adidas

3:30 – 4:00 pm
Break

4:00 pm
Evolution of Communication and Social Interaction

• Christopher Dean, Chief Strategy Officer, Skype
• Mario Quirez, Vice President – Product Management, Google
• David Weiden, General Partner, Khosla Ventures
• Joe Sims, Lead Partner, Booz&Co
• Chamath Palihapitiya, Vice President – Mobile, Growth, Intl, Facebook

Mobile Cloud Computing – At the Tipping Point?

• Hank Skorny, Senior Vice President – Media Cloud Computing, Real Networks
• Brian Shepherd, President – Mobile Services and Marketing, Amdocs
• Abhi Ingle, Vice President – Industry & Mobility Application Solutions, AT&T

5:00 pm
Internet of Things

• Amir Mashkoori, CEO, Kovio
• Tony Lewis, Vice President – Open Development, Verizon
• Danny Bowman, President – Integrated Solutions Group, Sprint
• Mark Selby, Vice President – Industry Collaboration, Nokia

At the Intersection of Gaming, Social, and Commerce

Tim Chang, Partner, NVP
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Adjourn, Reception, and Networking

WHITE PAPER & PODCASTS

And if you want to get to prep for this lively event and debate, then check out Chetan’s new white paper (available for download here/PDF), which provides a comprehensive overview of the topics/issues that will define the business agenda for years to come.

In line with MSG’s special offer (available only to select event organizers), MSG will feature a special podcast interview with Paul Palmieri, Millennial Media CEO. In it we’ll explore some recent company news, the state of mobile advertising and mobile ad networks and take a sneak peek at what he plans to address during the session.

Keep checking back or follow MSG on Twitter (@msearchgroove & @peggyanne) to get the inside track on the speakers and the hot topics they will discuss.

Register today for your special rate – and I hope to see you there!

MSG is on a mission to amplify the voices of individuals we should/must hear and provide a platform to organizers of path-breaking events and happenings. A raft of new partnerships and collaborations with a high-caliber mix of mobile companies and event organizers deliver on both counts, allowing MSG exclusive access to an eclectic mix of industry rock stars and brave individuals at the forefront of mobile innovation that impacts our everyday lives.

My personal thanks to Harald Neidhardt, MLOVE Founder, for forging the ties with the event speakers that will allow me to feature the best and brightest in the upcoming Netsize Guide 2011 and in the Netsize Briefing Room here on MSG.

The MLOVE Confestival 2010 — described as TED for mobile ONLY – was a huge success, and planning has begun for the next MLOVE (at the same German castle) in 2011. The audio interviews I conducted with MLOVE speakers to promote the event (specifically, Google’s Nick Heller and Sagem Wireless’ Jerome Nadel) are among the most popular content ever (!) on MSG.

MOBILE WEB AFRICA

Innovations impacting developing markets will also feature prominently on MSG.

I am proud to collaborate with Matthew Dawes, Managing Director of All Amber, the UK-based conference company behind a series of path-breaking conferences across Africa and an impressive initiative to promote the Mobile Web to everyone, everywhere.

The Mobile Web Africa series of events brings together the leading stakeholders in the mobile ecosystem, as well as the industry’s “rising stars.” To achieve this, the organizers offer subsidized tickets and speaking slots to start-ups and developers. In addition, each of the three conferences (listed below) kicks off with a special session called App factor, allowing local African start-ups and developers to demo their best apps.

Mathew and I are working together to map out our series of content, and the line-up is shaping up nicely. Topics range from mobile for social change (using the example of Frontline SMS) to the unexpected success of mobile novels (m-novels) in South Africa.

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of the developments shaping the African market, then mark these events in your calendar NOW.

• Mobile Web Africa 2010, September 28 – October 1, 2010, Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Mobile Web West Africa 2011, February 2-3, 2011, Lagos, Nigeria
• Mobile Web East Africa 2011, May 25-26, 2011, Nairobi

MSG will be announcing more content partnerships in the next weeks, so stay tuned. You can also follow MSG (@msearchgroove & @peggyanne).

A raft of announcements and events from the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) signals a new level of excitement and activity in the global mobile media industry. From the advance of smartphones and app stores to the widespread recognition that service enablers (offered by mobile operators and handset makers) are essential to the health and wealth of the entire business ecosystem, the industry is in a new phase of development and mindset. As Rimma Perelmuter, MEF Executive Director, puts it: “There’s a real sense in this $36 billion global industry that we are at a new stage of innovation. We’re seeing consumers around the world using their mobile phones as their key point of access to content and media, and the industry is evolving to make that user experience one that is more engaging and more holistic.”

PERSONALIZATION PLAYERS & VODAFONE 360

Against this backdrop, this year’s Meffy award is much more than a recognition of excellence and innovation. It’s a welcome confirmation that the industry is experiencing a true coming of age, striking out in new directions and defining new areas of opportunity around mobile apps, mobile commerce and cross-platform content and technology.

In fact, this year’s awards saw the introduction of seven new categories that reflect key industry trends and point the way to where the action is. A particularly important one this time around was content discovery and personalization, a category I developed together with Kim Arazi, Member Relations Director, and judged as part of my duties for the third consecutive year.

The decision was a tough one as always, and the range and calibre of companies focused on technology to unlock the value in profile data (demographics, browsing patterns, purchases) to generate real revenues was impressive.

One entry that underlines the tangible business value of personalization was Vodafone 360, the Vodafone app store. Here a personalization engine (powered by Xiam, a Qualcomm company), which provides recommendations based on user behavior, was at the center of the mobile operator’s strategy to deliver a richer retailing experience. The impact of personalization was measurable and Vodafone later revealed anayltics to Mobile Entertainment that show four times more customers buy on the basis of recommendation than on promotion.

Other entries included CSL MyNet Personalized Mobile Internet Service (powered by AMDOCS Interactive), another exceptional example of how personalization technologies are allowing operators to offer value in the off-portal space, and Taptu, a mobile search and discovery company making its mark by indexing the Mobile Touch Web to expose touch-friendly content people can enjoy on their touch devices.

MEFFY WINNERS & FANCHARGE

Another category that shows the coming of age of consumer engagement was mobile advertising. I also judged the category and was struck by the shift in mobile marketing approaches away from sales pitches to enhanced experiences. Indeed, agencies and brands are correctly embracing mobile as a mass media and focusing their efforts on innovative ways to place mobile at the center of a 360-degree experience.

An excellent example of this was the winning entry. Go! Go! Lions, an integrated mobile campaign carried out with the Seibu Lions, a Japanese major-league professional baseball team, used the Fancharge platform, an integrated suite of mobile marketing and fan engagement applications for live sports and entertainment, to deliver everything from content to coupons to commerce. (Click on the image below to see this impressive campaign — and thanks to Fancharge for sharing and hosting this video.)

Other Meffy 2010 Winners:

• App Store Blockbuster
  CBS Mobile for ‘NCAA March Madness on Demand’ [Check it out here]
• Business Intelligence
  Motally for ‘Motally’
• Consumer Experience
  FindaProperty.com for FindaProperty
• Content Discovery & Personalization
  Taptu for ‘Touch Search’
• Cross Platform Content
  Zed Group for ‘Planet 51’
• Cross-Platform Technology
  MTS for ‘Omlet.ru’
• Games
  PopCap for ‘Plants vs Zombies’
• Innovative App
  CBS Mobile for ‘CW City-Wize iPhone App’ [Check it out here.]
• Innovative Business Model
  Mob4Hire for ‘Crowd Sourced Mobile Testing’
• M-Commerce
  Wau Movil for ‘First Gateway Service Offer in Latin America’
• Mobile Connected Device
  Novatel Wireless for ‘MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot’
• Mobile First Innovation
  Tata Teleservices for ‘English Seekho’
• Music Service
  Shazam for ‘Shazam Encore’
• Social Media
  Handmade Mobile for ‘Flirtomatic’
• Technology Innovation
  Layar for ‘Layar Reality Browser’
• TV & Video Service
  CBS Mobile for ‘TV.com Android & iPhone Mobile’

The MEF Outstanding Contribution award went this year to Dr. Andrew Hsu, the inventor of modern touchscreen technology for mobile handsets. Thanks to Rimma, Kim and the excellent team at Hotwire PR (especially Morgan Evans) for arranging a briefing with Andrew.

Andrew and I discussed how touchscreen has revolutionized the device landscape and explore progress and learnings around the Fuse, a prototype device that brings together captive touch with tilt-sensing, squeeze-sensing and haptics. An awesome experience and more in the podcast next week!

PODCAST WITH RIMMA PERELMUTER

Meantime, I caught up with Rimma Perelmuter, MEF Executive Director, to connect the dots in a long string of MEF announcements and releases.

While the Meffys are certainly a good way to gauge what’s hot and what’s on the horizon, the Business Confidence Index (BCI), based on survey of MEF members, is an even better measure of revenue and business trends in the now $36 billion mobile media market – up from $32 billion in 2009. Rimma walks through the results and discusses the opportunities for growth around smartphones, apps, payments and commerce. She also discusses the top three challenges: consumer awareness and trust, fragmentation and operating systems.

Based on the survey it’s clear that the industry must collaborate to create the business models that will allow everyone to make money on mobile media. To provide companies a roadmap to navigate this new terrain the MEF released a Smart Enablers Guide that builds on the organization’s existing initiative to show how access to service enablers (such as location information) can provide business benefits.

It’s a meaty document chock full of case studies and member survey results on topics including the role of the mobile operator, the spectrum of smart enablers, and the battle looming ahead in the value chain.

Contributions and columns I will be writing for the MEF publications and newsletters will go into more depth, but Rimma starts us off with a high-level overview of why this initiative deserves the support of all the stakeholders.

And finally, Rimma discusses the global agenda and progress in the MENA region. In mid-June MEF celebrated the co-founding of its first office in the Middle East. The office,  based at the  Qatar Science & Technology Park, an innovation hub, will be responsible for localizing strategic MEF initiatives. The Middle east was identified in surveys as a key growth market for the mobile media sector.

MEF grows its global presence

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST [17:30]

Less than a week to MobileBeat and the program continues to add new speakers and exciting topics. Be sure not to miss out on the chance to hear and connect with a powerful keynote line-up that now includes: John Donovan, CTO of AT&T Operations; Phil McKinney, VP & CTO of HP’s Personal System Groups; Omar Khan, Chief Strategy Officer of Samsung; and Omar Hamoui, AdMob founder and now Google’s VP of Mobile Ads.

Newly added panelists include Christy Wyatt of Motorola Mobile Devices, Pooja Midha of MTV Networks Digital and Ian McKerlich of T-Mobile. They join a stellar array of insiders such as Facebook’s Erick Tseng and Twitter’s Kevin Thau of Twitter.

MSG is proud to be a media sponsor of MobileBeat, an event that has sold out (!) the last two years. Attendance is limited so be sure to register now to avoid missing THE mobile conference of the year!

MSearchGroove readers click here and use promo code MB2010-MSEARCHVIP to get 20% off.

Join 500 mobile industry leaders — from the major U.S and international carriers, to the top device makers, developers, startups, marketers, investors, and press — for two packed days of exciting content, power networking, and deal-making.This year’s new two-day format will explore “The Year of The Superphone and Who Will Profit.”

You’ll also get a peek at 20 of the hottest new start-ups in the applications and infrastructure/services categories showcased in MobileBeat 2010’s Startup Competition.  Help select the ones most likely to shake up the mobile world and who’ll receive the coveted Tesla Award plus accompanying fame and glory.

Agenda highlights:

Move over, Telcos, Here comes Silicon Valley

• Samir Argawal, Nokia, Head of MeeGo software development
• Kevin Thau, director of mobile, Twitter

Mobile Platforms 1: the Future Struggle Among the Titans

• Christy Wyatt, SVP Motorola
• David Ko, Yahoo! SVP, Audience, Mobile and Local, North America
• Alan Brenner, SVP at RIM

Mobile Platforms 2: Who is Winning the Heart of Developers?

• Jason Spero, Director, Mobile, Google
• Ian McKerlich, T-Mobile, Director of Mobile Content
• Oliver Gunasakera, Symbian
• Peter Vesterbacka, Angry Bird

Building a Successful Mousetrap

• Russ McGuire, Sprint, VP of Strategy
• Tyler Lessard VP, Global Alliances and Developer Relations Research In Motion
• Ilja Laurs, founder and CEO, GetJar
• Laura Merling, Alcatel-Lucent, Vice President Developer Platform and Programs

It’s 5pm. Do You Know Where Your Friends Are?

• Othman Laraki, Director Geo, Twitter
• Tasso Roumeliotis, Location Labs, Founder & CEO
• Seth Priebatsch, Chief Ninja, SCVNGR
• Keith Lee, CEO, Booyah (MyTown)

Enabling Mobile Games

• Stewart Putney, Founder and CEO, Moblyng
• Ben Keighran, Chomp, CEO & Co-Founder
• Si Chen, PapayaMobile, CEO

For a complete list of speakers, panels, and breakout sessions, check out the full agenda here.

What are the user experiences and use cases that will drive positive results? What are the challenges and opportunities that face us as we seek answers and solutions? These are just a few of the questions this all-day event will debate and discuss. In fact, this new white paper from Chetan (available for download here/PDF) provides a comprehensive overview of the topics/issues that deserve a top-notch spot on your business agenda.

MSG MEDIA SPONSOR

MSG is extremely proud to be a media sponsor and promote this excellent event. I’m also pleased to report I have lined up the first exclusive pre-event podcast with Paul Palmieri, Millennial Media CEO. Keep checking back or follow MSG on Twitter (@msearchgroove & @peggyanne) to get the inside track on the speakers and the hot topics they will discuss.

Registration is Open Now. Early Bird special rate expires June 30th(!) – Enter MSG to receive your discount rate

Confirmed speakers include:

Glenn Lurie, President, AT&T;Danny Bowman, President, Sprint Nextel; Subba Rao, CEO, TataDoCoMo; Mike Sievert, Chief Commercial Officer, Clearwire; Louis Gump, VP Mobile, CNN; Paul Palmieri, Founder and CEO, Millennial Media; Dr. Sailesh Chutani, CEO, Mobisante; Abhi Ingle, VP, AT&T Wireless; Ken Denman, CEO, Openwave; Amir Mashkoori, CEO, Kovio; Stephen David, Former CIO, Proctor & Gamble; Dr. Genevieve Bell, Intel Fellow, User Experience, Intel; Hank Skorny, SVP, Real Networks; Jon Stross, VP & GM – Babycenter, Johnson & Johnson; Dr. Suzanne Clough, Chief Medical Officer, WellDoc; Dr. Boris Nikolic, Sr. Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Krishna Vedati, SVP & GM – Mobile, AT&T Interactive; Christopher Dean, Chief Strategy Officer, Skype; Russ McGuire, VP, Sprint Nextel; Jack Kennedy, EVP, News Corp; David Weiden, General Partner, Khosla Ventures; Anand Chandrasekhar, SVP and GM, Intel; Chamath Palihapitiya, VP Growth/Mobile, Facebook; Rob Glaser, Chairman, Real Networks; Wim Sweldens, President, Alcatel-Lucent; Takayuki Hoshuyama, CEO, D2 Communications; Neville Ray, SVP, T-Mobile, Bob Azzi, SVP—Networks, Sprint Nextel; Mario Queiroz, VP—Android, Google; Matt Bross, CTO and Vice Chairman, Huawei; and Tony Lewis, VP – Open Development, Verizon.

Topics they will discuss/debate include:

•    Emerging Devices
•    Internet of Things
•    Network Evolution
•    Content, Media, and Entertainment
•    New sources of Revenue and Business Models
•    Evolution of Communication and Interaction
•    Mobile Cloud Computing
•    Globalization and Competition
•    Mobile Anthropology
•    Mobile as a platform
•    The economics and politics of consumer data and privacy
•    Nurturing Developer Ecosystems
•    Shifts in the Ecosystem
•    Mobile Health and Implications
•    Mobile Retail
•    Japanese Mobile Industry
•    Innovations at each level of the value chain
•    Mobile Social and Commerce
•    Managing network growth

Register today for your special rate – and I hope to see you there!

Thanks to Communities Dominate Brands we get a great update on the numbers that play in the zero-sum game involving smartphone makers worldwide. As the inimitable Tomi Ahonen sees it, it’s a bloodbath – and he has the stats to back it up. It’s a meaty, must-read post that recounts shipments and sales by all the major players. It also claims “Apple’s market share has indeed peaked and we’ll see gradual market share decline for this year 2010 compared to 2009.” Is Tomi right? Read on, find out… (and bookmark!)

While Tomi argues with numbers, Ajit Jaokar gives invaluable insights (with a nod to Sun Tzu) in his post into why Apple is no longer the one to watch. Now it’s all about Android. In his view, Apple’s obsessive and un-open approach to mobile has stunted its growth. Android is gaining traction and “it is now a race for Nokia, LiMo and others to compete against the rate of change of Android and that will be hard.” Who will win and why? Read on and find out…

In the run up to an exciting event — Mobile Future Forward (September 8th) — Chetan Sharma’s new post gives us the opportunity to download a worthwhile white paper that outlines the themes/ trends impacting mobile at all levels. It’s a great way to get us all thinking about the big-picture issues that define what mobile is and will likely become. The white paper also gives us a good idea of the topics senior execs from a wide range of top-notch companies will discuss during the path-breaking event. (Shameless plug: MSearchGroove is proud to be the newest media sponsor, so check back here for more content in the run up to the event, including an exclusive podcast (!) with Paul Palmieri, Millennial Media CEO.) What are the trends that matter most? Read on and find out… (Download the PDF here)

Registration for the event is open now. Early Bird expires June 30th 2010.

Mark Bridge over at Fonecast showcases a podcast with Hans Eriksson of mobile video streaming service Bambuser, which lets you share streaming video in real-time and even add chat. Hans tells us about the service and innovative ways people are using it. For one, the service was used to cover Jukka Mutanen’s 1,000 km cross-country drive through Finland. Hans also discusses some of the problems (and solutions) associated with live video streaming. A useful podcast – particularly in view of the traction video is getting on microblogs. How can video amplify your message? Read on and find out…

We know from the Obama campaign that SMS messages encouraging people to vote can have a profound impact on people’s perceptions of candidates and key issues. This post from Alfred DeRose over at Tego Interactive connects the dots in recent research on the topic and walks us through a campaign (combining Web, social media and mobile) his team developed for a Slovakian political party. Why can a well-integrated multi-channel campaign influence voter’s perceptions and participation? Read on and find out…

Participation of another kind is the focus of this post from C. Enrique Ortiz over at About Mobility. He reflects on some of his recent work and insights about the rampant spread of mobile broadband that cause him to wonder if developers (or operators) will have to carry the burden of app support. He asks: Is app-specific support a real issue today or one that is coming? More importantly, can developers even handle the hassle? And he also wants your input on these questions, which is why he asks us all to participate in a simple survey. What are app developer responsibilities and where should we draw the line? Fill out the survey and make your voice heard!

BEST OF THE WEEK

My pick this week: Ajit’s excellent explanation of why Android is pulling ahead of – well – everyone in the smartphone space. His perspective – backed up by multi-disciplinary common sense — is a pleasure to read. And don’t miss his nod to an excellent post from another author on why Apple’s secrecy may also be its undoing.

That’s a wrap until next week – when I hope someone will step up to the plate. At the moment Tomi – always the gentleman – has agreed to be our host. However, I would like to hear from some of you lurkers out there! With over 100 “members” and counting – I sure hope one of you will give a shout….

What’s next in mobile? MLOVE, a multidisciplinary event with a strong emphasis on mobile, promised to give us all a glimpse into the future of mobile and insights into the great ideas and biz models that can bubble up when artists, entrepreneurs, academics and executives brainstorm in a castle near Berlin. TED meets Burning Man? Maybe… But if you want to find out for yourself – then register for MLOVE at MLOVE.com – and take advantage of the 20 percent discount MSearchGroove offers as a media partner for the event.

PODCAST WITH GOOGLE’S NICK HELLER

Moving on to our final podcast in the series to tell you what awaits you at MLOVE – I am extremely to connect with Nick Heller. Nick is responsible for New Business Development across EMEA at Google. He is also sharply focused on new product incubation and exploratory efforts in technology, meta-data licensing, strategic partnerships, special projects, and alternative distribution for existing and new business initiatives.

In addition to a preview of his keynote at the event, Nick gives me his take on a variety of exciting – even controversial topics.

• The role of mobile? In Nick’s view mobile is an “access point” to information. And the device is more about convergent computing than communications.
• The value of location? Predictably, quite central to a quality (and relevant) mobile experience.
• And where is the NEXT Google going to come from? A surprising answer that leads us back to the Web and not mobile…

For the full story listen to the podcast – or register for the event to meet up with Nick in person.

Register at www.mlove.com/register . Enter VIP-MSG to receive an instant 20% discount.

Listen to the podcast here. [10:34]

Mobile isn’t about just mobile anymore! To drive this point home I must borrow an observation from Alan Moore, consultant, pundit, friend, colleague and a brave voice I am proud to showcase on MSG soon. Put simply, mobile has become the “remote control of our lives.” It sits at the center of all we do – and it forces us to start thinking of mobile as much more than just a phone.

It’s time for a revolution and Jerome Nadel, Executive Vice President of Marketing & User Experience at Sagem Wireless, has the fresh mindset to lead it. He understands that mobile is not about technology, it’s about people. But it’s also not about warm and fuzzy ideas about hard-nosed business models and strategies that will help companies stand out by delivering an excellent experience (device AND content) to a sharply targeted customer segment.

That’s where the new Puma phone comes in – a segmented phone that brings together information service, social connectedness and brand pizzazz into a single lifestyle device that sets the bar.

No wonder Jerome is a keynote at MLOVE – the multidisciplinary event that promises to give us all a view of what’s next now. His vision of sharply segmented mobile phones covers the bases to be the next BIG THING in mobile.There are still some places left – so register soon to connect, communicate and brainstorm with 30+ speakers renowned for their original thinking and path-breaking activities across a range of disciplines — from commerce and advertising to fashion and finance.

Register at www.mlove.com/register . You simply have to enter the code:VIP-MSG to receive an instant 20% discount.

Among the podcast highlights

NEW MINDSET: “I’m leading a cultural and organizational revolution: This is a classical shift from the techno-centric to a user-centric or a market-centric approach.  This is a company that historically developed phones and it’s transitioning to a company that’s creating what we refer to as “category breaking devices and services” that – from the user-centric perspective – are built on customer insight, innovation and packaged with impeccable product design.”

USABILITY: In Jerome’s view the experience – specifically, the holistic experience that a branded and brand-linked device can offer – is THE differentiator. “Clearly, there are remarkable trends occurring around what a mobile device is….We see advances in technology where more and more everything is a smart phone, and we shift from a model of…heterogeneous capability to a divergent model …where everything works equally well. [The question is:] How do I differentiate by either brand or lifestyle affinity to connect to this services that are relevant for me?”

BRAND MEETS MOBILE: “The brand of Puma is much more than a reflection of the products that they make and sell. They’ve spanned from retail to e-tail and have really been extremely effective in the digital below-the-line gorilla viral space….They are arguably a veritable content aggregator and distributor. They spend a lot of their almost half a billion euros a year in marketing spend on things that are digital and viral.” But Puma isn’t just launching a branded device. It has focused on “services that connect not only to the rich media content that Puma aggregates and distributes primarily through the Web.” The next step: it could extend its connection by enabling people to download branded applications and even engage in mobile commerce.

PUMA PREVIEW: Jerome will be bringing Puma phones to MLOVE (and giving them away!), so it’s a great opportunity to see this new device and get the inside track on the services it connects to. A highlight is the Puma World Portal. More about that in the podcast…

MY TAKE

This is an interview that should make brands think – hard. I leave you with a key observation from Jerome. For brands the question is: “not only how do I – through targeted affinity – touch more closely my brand advocate; but how do I actually transact and exchange with them? How can I monetize the value of this digital and mobile connection?” This is not a return of the branded devices (remember the Spiderman phone?). This is the start of a new business ecosystem that puts brands at the core of a crusade to deliver new kind of a mobile experience, enhanced by content (from media companies) and connectivity (from mobile operators).

Listen to the podcast here. [15:20]

Tomi Ahonen needs little introduction. His path-breaking ideas on mobile and its centerpiece role in our daily lives have profoundly impacted my work at MSG and elsewhere. His thinking about mobility and his observations that it has indeed become our 7th mass media can be heard in boardrooms and conference rooms around the world. Today Tomi is giving the keynote at the MMA Forum, where his ideas will no doubt resonate with advertisers and brands just beginning to understand why mobile is different.

To recap: Tomi – in his book, Mobile as 7th of the Mass Media: Cellphone, Cameraphone, iPhone, Smartphone — believes mobile is rising to become the “7th of the mass media,” following print from the 1500s, recording from the 1900s, cinema from the 1910s, radio from the 1920s, TV from the 1950s, and Internet from the 1990s.

What makes mobile special? Seven unique benefits:

1. Mobile phones are the first personal mass media channel
2. Mobile phones are permanently carried
3. Mobile phone are always on
4. Only mobile phones provide a built-in payment channel
5. Mobile phones are available at the point of creative impulse, enabling user-generated content
6. Mobile phones are the first media with near perfect audience data
7. Only mobile phones capture the social context of media consumption

It’s an exciting observation, with profound consequences that I will continue to document in contributions and columns here and elsewhere.

It’s also a way of thinking that Tomi and I will explore in our newest collaboration: a no-holds-barred monthly podcast looking at the stats and stories that rocked the industry.

In a nutshell, our podcast consists of three thought-provoking segments: The Numbers Game, a wrap of the month’s reports and stats; The Story, an informed discussion of the companies and technologies highest on investors’ radars; and Wacky Stats, a lighter look at our mobile behavior.

To kick off the series Tomi looks at mobile’s bigger milestone: 4.8 billion total subscribers. What does this number mean? How did we achieve it? And when do we cross the 5 billion mark?

We also talk frankly about location services and where the money is. What did Nokia do right/wrong? And what does its location strategy tell us about the outlook for the sector on the whole? Are investors our time and their money? What is Tomi’s message (as an ex-Nokia, mobile veteran) to analysts and entrepreneurs?

Finally, we wrap up with a ‘wacky stat’ from the U.K. that may surprise you. It’s all about text, drugs, rock-n-roll…

Listen to the podcast here and pass it on! 16:47

Mobile marketing has moved on. It’s all about ways advertisers can deliver brand messages and branded utilities to people in a context that they are sure to appreciate. It’s also about ways advertisers can harness mobile to really reach people and encourage calls to action that deepen the dialogue or inspire that all-important impulse buy.

Indeed, companies across the emerging ecosystem –including companies in financial services, education and healthcare – are all looking at way to make mobile the cornerstone of their marketing, commerce and CRM strategies.

There are no easy answers, but attendees at the MMA Forum next week in New York (June 8-9 – with a pre-event workshop on June 7) will certainly get some valuable ideas from connecting with the experts. This year, the MMA Forum will feature speakers from across the mobile ecosystem, including Alcatel-Lucent, Best Buy, Disney, Google, Kodak, Microsoft, MTV, Openwave and the United Nations Foundation – to name a few.

The MMA’s goals to educate the marketplace and move mobile marketing a giant step forward are perfectly aligned with my own objectives at MSearchGroove. This is why I caught up with Michael Becker, North America Managing Director for the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), to learn more about the hot topics and new features that will make this particular MMA event the most interactive and productive for attendees – ever (!)

Among the highlights:

The Agency, Brand & Retailer Roundtable (sponsored by Neustar and Hipcricket)

The event will be held at Ogivly from 2:00pm to 5:00pm in New York, and will be followed by a cocktail reception from 5:00 pm to 7:00 PM. Qualified agencies, brands & retailers are invited to register by emailing their complete contact info to the MMA at forum@mmaglobal.com. There is no cost for them to attend.

The “Adopt-A-Brand” program

Under this program, agencies, brands and retailers interested in attending the MMA Forum may join the waitlist to be matched and adopted by a vendor, who will pay the reduced event entrance fee of $500 on behalf of the agency, brand or retailer. Alternatively, those agencies, brands and retailers that do not want risk not being adopted or matched once the available event tickets for this program are sold out, can register immediately for the event at the reduced price of $500 by returning the completed adopt-a-brand registration form, which can be download at http://mobilemarketingforum.com/?q=node/1008.

The Mobile Experience Lab

An interactive way for delegates to hear from the industry’s thought leaders, experience successful mobile campaigns firsthand, and interact with brands using mobile as part of their integrated marketing strategy. Each mobile campaign features a booth that provides attendees with an interactive, hands-on opportunity to experience the campaign from an end user’s perspective. From 2D barcodes (via NeoMedia) to interactive mobile movies that encourage commerce through product placement and mobile interaction (via Mozaik), the emphasis is on hands-on experience and cool technologies that allow brands to connect with people on the move.

* * *

Listen to the podcast here [12:59]

In-brief:

Does the iPad represent an opportunity or a threat to content companies? Can print publishing survive? What are the monetization models that will guarantee sustainable mass-market success? These are just a few of the hot topics media companies, analysts and attendees will debate during M-PUBLISHING on June 1 in London.

There are still a few tickets for this event –  which combines an array of formats, sessions and provocative one-on-one debates to identify winning business models and encourage alliances that will deliver positive results. Speakers at M-PUBLISHING include: representatives from leading U.K. daily newspapers (Guardian, Mirror, Evening Standard, Mail, FT), global magazine publishers (IPC Media, Bauer Media, Contagious Magazine), and book publishers (HarperCollins, Ether Books). Digital media experts from Sky, Absolute Radio will also present their key learnings and Teletext Mobile will use the event to demo its new iPad application for the Metro, a free newspaper in the U.K.

OPINION POLLS

To identify industry concerns and gauge interest in issues such as advertising-funded schemes and the rift between mobile applications and mobile websites Camerjam has also conducted an informal online poll of practitioners and professionals. The survey, which is still going on, has provided some interesting initial findings:

• Is there a future for print publishing? Yes 77% (357 votes), No 23% (109 votes)
• Apps vs. mobile websites ? Apps 74% (201 votes), Mobile websites 26% (72 votes)
• Is ad funded or paid content more sustainable? Ad funded 48% (32 votes), Paid 52% (35 votes)

PODCAST WITH PAUL REDDICK, HANDMARK CEO

In the countdown to this high-caliber event Camerjam has teamed with MSG to produce a special podcast interview with Paul Reddick, CEO of Handmark.(press release)  In this exclusive interview Paul urges publishers to acknowledge the impact of device and platform fragmentation on their future business. As he put it:  “Publishers need to be where their customers are. It’s not just the iPhone or the iPad. You [publishers] must build rich applications that take advantage of what all these devices can do….It’s not enough to have a good brand and a great app. Publishers also need to seek partners that actively drive distribution of their apps and monetization of their business.”

Among the highlights:

APPS VS WEBSITES: “You’re going to get far more engaged with the customer with an application versus just providing an optimized global website, and that application needs to be able to cache information, to cover text, pictures, video, and other elements that you want to keep up to date. Then you [really] take advantage of what that specific device can do.” Paul says he is currently seeing a lot of rich apps – and this makes sense because these apps also offer users a richer experience. “These applications allow customers to personalize to some degree the content and the whole viral aspect of being able to share content between these applications is fantastic as well.  I also think the opportunity is to make real money….Media brands are getting to have their day again. To get to customers with an icon and their content –something they seemed to have lost in search on the Web.”

iPAD: For a media company, it’s important to play across all devices. “I think it’s very important to keep the distinction between mobile and portable devices out there and recognize that – while Apple is pioneering – it’s not ploughing new ground alone.  There are others that will be out there soon.”

ADAPT OR DIE?: Publishers “have to adapt to the environment of mobile as that’s where the customers are going to be.  You can’t just write an iPhone or an iPad application and expect to hit the majority of the market. In the U.S. Android and RIM are huge markets publishers will need to address. “In the rest of the world, you definitely want to be on Nokia phones.” So, what should publishers chose? All of the above. “I think it would be ridiculous to say you write or produce a TV show that, for example, only runs on a Samsung TV.  So, it’s important that you’re able to run across all of these devices.

SECRET SAUCE: Handmark works with the existing content management system that the publishers have in place to make it simple to keep up to date with Android, iPhone, Blackberry and Java platforms. “Soon to be some new platforms that we’ll be covering as well.” Paul says getting media partners to market quickly is key. But, increasingly, media companies choose Handmark for assistance in distribution and monetization. In addition, Handmark also connects with publishers’ existing CRM systems, allowing it to recognize if a reader also has a connection to the publication (for example, an online subscription).

MARKET MOVES: “It’s moved much more to an audience building than it has been in the past.  In the past, we built an audience by knowing someone at a carrier or any of the other gatekeepers to those audiences.  Now, media brands have an extraordinary opportunity to put themselves right, front and center with their customers.” Paul likes to compare the pace of change in publishing to Amazon’s rise to the top. “Amazon established buying habits online years ago and it was very hard for existing retailers to come in later and displace the space that Amazon had taken.  We think the same thing can happen in mobile. If existing brands don’t jump in early enough, others will displace them. People are establishing their reading habits now. They’re dating somebody whether you’re there or not, and you need to make sure it’s you and you need to get out there.”

Listen to the podcast here. [14:26]

The Open Mobile Summit is only a day away and – if you can somehow manage a ticket – I suggest you head on over. There are just over 50 seats left and the line-up of a whopping 70 speakers, includes senior execs from major players including Google, Yahoo, Nokia, Spotify, Admob, Ogilvy, AKQA, the BBC, MTV, FT.com, Opera, Vodafone, O2, HTC – and the list goes on. A special highlight: the first public appearance by Alberto Torres, the former McKinsey consultant who has recently been appointed head of Nokia’s MeeGo smartphone operating system.

Kudos to Robin Batt, my esteemed colleague and the executive producer of this conference. Robin fully understands that doing business -and making money- in an Open Mobile world will require new thinking and business models. The caliber -and variety- of speakers from across the mobile business ecosystem that she has brought together for this event will undoubtedly deliver attendees some answers and useful advice. MSG is proud to support Open Mobile Summit as a media sponsor. I won’t be able to attend this event – but I have already booked my flight for the next Open Mobile Summit (San Francisco, November 8-9) and suggest you do the same.

INTERVIEW WITH ALISA BOWEN

To promote this event and give you a preview of the hot topics on the agenda, I caught up with Alisa Bowen, Senior VP consumer publishing at Thomson Reuters, who will speak tomorrow on the future of publishing in a three-screen world. Alisa oversees the sales, marketing, product development and operations for the company’s Web, Mobile and IPTV propositions in 12 languages and 17 markets globally.  From the start mobile has been at the top of her agenda, so I used the opportunity to ask Alisa what makes her so sure mobile is so powerful.

Among the highlights:

CONTEXT MATTERS: Thomson Reuters is sharply focused on the business professional, a customer segment that is increasingly mobile. “We need to do a world class job of providing them with the information they need wherever they are, whatever context they’re operating in and on whatever device is most convenient to them.  Thomson Reuters provides intelligent information which means both information that you can make real business decisions on, but it also means information that it contextually aware.” Moving forward, that means much more intelligence built into the services. “It’s essentially just beginning.  I think contextual awareness we’re seeing begins with location awareness…but I think there is tremendous opportunity in the future for the technology to become so much more sophisticated, to understand what your mobile consumption habits have been, and then customize your applications around that.” Alisa envisions a linkage between technology and context resulting in services that “know” our moods or the appointments in our calendar and then uses this insight to serve up relevant information.

READING & RELATIONSHIPS: “We spent a lot of time last year researching how business professionals were using mobile devices and what we discovered was that there is no generation gap. There’s been a seismic mind shift in terms of people’s adoption of mobile technology.” But it’s more than just information access on the fly; Alisa says mobile also has to help them connect with their peers in new ways. “For many of our professionals, their jobs are now much more about managing relationships.” They need information but they also need to be “a part of a community internally within [their] own organization and externally within [their] own client base.”

MOBILE VS DESKTOP: It’s not a case of “either or” – it’s a matter of creating content that harnesses the best of both. “In previous eras of our mobile strategy, there was a tendency for us to try and cram everything that somebody would use on a desktop onto a smaller screen.  We’ve seen the light, so to speak, and I think we understand much more clearly that the mobile information consumption is not just the same stuff on a smaller screen.” This recognition has prompted Thomson Reuters to “split a desktop companion product from what we call task-oriented, bite-size applications that are very focused on executing a specific task. In the case of consumer media, that’s news awareness, browsing and reading, and so we’ve developed applications that just do that superbly and they don’t try to do everything else.”

APPS & ROADMAP: Alisa is predictable tight-lipped about the details, but hints that apps such as the News Pro for iPad is a prime example of where things are going. Video is another focus, which is why the company’s financial services division recently released Reuters Insider. “It’s an extremely innovative new video platform for financial professionals; it aggregates content from third parties but also showcases Reuters’ world class financial reporting on video.  It has a number of interesting usability features and functions and essentially allows users the ability to create their own channel by dragging and dropping — from their desktop and from their iPad and from their iPhone — different video clips that fit their profile.” In addition, the service provides a transcript of the video content in “almost real-time” and allows users to search those transcripts and jump using touch gestures to the specific place in the video that contains the relevant keywords they’re interested in following.

ADVERTISING & M-COMMERCE: “I think customers have some cultural sensitivity to paying for the content. But they’re not just paying for the content, so my plea to publishers is to understand that balance between content and experience. One without the other is worthless, but both together is extremely powerful….I think it’s up to us as an industry to make of it what we can and I think you will see advertisers follow in and marketers follow in behind that.” But it’s not just about stock-standard banners and ad units we know from the Internet. “I think the [iPad] platform is a canvas for much more creative and rich advertising and marketing experiences [such as video].” So how can publishers make real money? Alisa is bullish about the potential for the iPad, in particular, to drive sales of real stuff.  “I think that we forget sometimes that the iPad platform represents 125 million users with their live credit card details entered into a store, one click away from buying real stuff. I think that is incredibly powerful….I think if publishers can think about how to harness that opportunity around commerce for buying real goods and services, as well as virtual ones, then that’s a pretty interesting space that I don’t think is being well discussed yet.”

My take: Publishers and media companies are well-advised to embrace mobile. But they must also factor our “state” into the equation. Thomson Reuters has created robust services that effectively split the desktop chores from the task we have to perform on the move. Mobile optimizing content is not about whiz-bang stuff; it’s about understanding what we want to do and providing us the tools (information and access to our communities) to do it well. I was also struck by the sharp focus on video moving forward (for both rich advertising and exciting content presentation). Will video be the next big thing? A tough one to call (and fraught with bandwidth issues we also need to consider). Nonetheless, this bodes well for an announcement we can expect soon: the launch of the industry’s first mobile video ad network. I’ve signed up for a pre-briefing and will report back once it’s prime time.

Listen to the podcast here. [15:07]

EDITORS NOTE: MSearchGroove (MSG) – named a top 50 influential technology site by Konector – provides its platform to showcase select events that set the bar. In addition to standard media sponsorships, MSG produces interviews and podcasts free of charge for select event partners to boost promotion and create buzz. Contact me directly (peggy@msearchgroove.com) to explore ways we can collaborate to make your event stand out.

Next in the series: An interview with Paul Reddick, Handmark CEO, in the run up to M-Publishing, the premier mobile publishing event (London, June 1) organized by James Cameron and the team at Camerjam.

First, a round of thanks to all the companies and individuals that have reached out to become part of  The Mobile Movement, a coalition of entrepreneurs, humanitarians, artists, academics and other industry leaders committed to bringing mobile capabilities to non-profits.

In the last weeks since the launch several members of the advisory board (which includes MSG and Laura Marriott, consultant and former global President of the Mobile Marketing Association) got together for the first board meeting in Boston to evaluate and prioritize the flood of requests from non-profits and companies.

It was also an honor for my post on our launch and mission to be chosen “Post Of The Week” by the Carnival Of The Mobilists (and COM host Holly Kolman).

HEALTHCARE IS THE FOCUS

The positive feedback to The Mobile Movement is overwhelming, and we are encouraged by the number of organizations resolved to reach millions more people in need by leveraging mobile devices, networks and innovative applications they will create in partnership with social entrepreneurs.

Healthcare is a prime focus and we have already received several requests from non-profits interested in harnessing mobile to offer early cancer detection services, for example. An interesting application in discussion is a location-linked early detection service that would allow people to input their zip code to find the nearest clinic offering these screening services.

MEDIA SPONSPOR FOR MOBILE CHARITY EVENT

Clearly, mobile is becoming a strategic focus for an increasing number of non-profit organizations and charities.

The timing couldn’t be better for an event exploring how the charitable sector can leverage mobile and this is precisely the focus of Empowering the Charitable Sector with Interactive Technology (May 27, London), an all-day knowledge seminar organized by AIME (the Association for Interactive media & Entertainment).

MSG is proud to be a media partner of this worthwhile event, which will feature presentations, case studies and panel discussions based around an editorial agenda that brings together charities, advertising & marketing agencies, service providers, broadcasters, industry bodies and mobile operators.

Attendees will learn, first hand from established charitable organizations and their supporting partners, how to put together multiple platform solutions which maximize the potential for all kinds of charities to connect with the public and collect donations on a massive scale, while benefiting from lower overheads.

The event will also include a number of networking opportunities throughout, such as coffee and tea breaks, lunch and possibly a small exhibition space for companies to showcase products and services.

It will also bring charities new to using mobile together with experts in an environment to share ideas, contacts and key learnings.

SPEAKERS & TOPICS

In an increasingly ‘connected’ world, interactive platforms such as the web, TV, mobile and social media offer the charitable sector opportunities to drive higher revenue generation and public engagement at lower costs.

This event looks as the key areas that charities should be focusing on in order to maximize their fundraising activities and get the most out of their investment in digital platforms.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Caroline Lien, Head of Interactive, Comic Relief & Sports Relief
• Jim Manis, President, Mobile Giving Foundation
• Chris Ward, Director Join1 Goal Organization
• Daniela Martimo, Director, World Society for the Protection of Animals
• Simone Schmidlkofer, President, Cause2Connect
• Mike Short, Honorary Chairman, Mobile Data Association
• Doug Laughlen, Director, Local Giving Organization
• David Ryder, Director, y6Media Ltd
• Darren Parker, Business Development Director, BT Agile Media
• Robert Thurner, Commercial Director, Inventivated
• Rob Weisz, Commercial Director, Mobile Interactive Technology
• Rory Maguire, Head of Payments, 3
• Roger Craven, Managing Director, Vir2 Ltd
• Paul Swaddle, Marketing Director, WIN PLC

Case studies include:

Comic Relief/Sports Relief
Save the Children
Unicef
Leonard Cheshire Disability Organization
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Just Giving Organization
DEC

Key topics include:

• Text Donations – tax and revenue share implications
• Maximising Direct Response using WAP, SMS, Web and Email marketing to achieve optimum outcomes
• Enabling a standardized charitable giving process across MNO platforms
• Understanding the practicalities of data segmentation
• Text and Email Alerts – CRM and data management
• The role of apps and Social Media Integration
• Online fundraising –key points for success
• Legislation – Opt outs, black and grey listings
• Other platforms available for fundraising – IVR, Red Button
• Driving consumer engagement to support your mobile, online and social media strategies
• What does the future hold?

Pricing: AIME Members & attendees from the charity sector (GBP 75.00), non members (GBP 99.00)

So, register as soon as possible to ensure your place. And here’s a link where you can book your place today.

REGISTER HERE

Disclaimer: Peggy Anne Salz is member of The Mobile Movement advisory board.

UPDATE: Today is the last day to register and get one of my specially discounted VIP passes.

Here’s a link that will take you straight there: https://www.openmobilesummit.com/lon/register/step1.aspx?dc=MSEARCHVIP

* * *

Now in its second year the Open Mobile Summit (May 26-27, London) covers all the bases to again set the bar. I attended and spoke at this exceptional event last June and was struck by to things: the sold-out crowd and the balanced mix of speakers and authorities from companies and organizations across the entire ecosystem.

Doing business (and making money) in an Open Mobile world will require new thinking and business models. The caliber (and variety) speakers my esteemed colleague, Robin Batt, Open Mobile Media Founder & Executive Producer, has brought together for this purpose will undoubtedly deliver the audience some answers.

This is not just another mobile conference; it’s an industry happening – which is why MSG is extremely proud to be a media sponsor. It’s rare to find such an impressive gathering of thought leaders in such an intimate setting, and I look forward to connecting with this year’s speakers (participants include Spotify, Gowalla, Admob, Ogilvy, AKQA, Yahoo, the BBC, Google, BSkyB, MTV, FT.com, Opera, Vodafone, O2, HTC, Nokia and more – and all at the top executive level.

It’s just four weeks away and there are limited seats remaining, so you should register now.

MSG has 5 guest passes at just GBP850 (retail GBP1395). If you’d like one, register here with VIP code MSEARCHVIP . https://www.openmobilesummit.com/lon/register/ (First come, first served.)

WHY ATTEND

Whether you’re a start-up or a media giant, Internet company or mobile operator, ad agency or software company, mobile and Internet convergence presents a huge opportunity. Over two days the Open Mobile Summit provides participants a clear vision of how the industry will evolve in the next 12-18 months, which – in our fast moving space – is invaluable.

At the Open Mobile Summit you can:

• Understand the business drivers of all the players in this fast converging ecosystem – the key to finding a successful business model for your services
• Explore all the hot topics –mobile advertising, the future of search and discovery on mobile, the role location and social, content monetization models and mobile payments, apps in the cloud vs. the mobile Web and the impact of the iPad, to name a few
• Do business with all the influential people –operators, handset manufacturers, Internet and media giants, agencies, software and application start-ups
• Meet with me (a little humor here, of course)

So, register as soon as possible to ensure your place – if you’re quick, you might get one of my specially discounted VIP passes.

Here’s a link that will take you straight there: https://www.openmobilesummit.com/lon/register/step1.aspx?dc=MSEARCHVIP

In brief:

Ever since expanding the focus of the Netsize Guide, an analysis of mobile trends, to include mobility in verticals such as healthcare and education, I have sharpened my own focus on ways companies can combine mobility, creativity and compassion to help organizations reach out to people in need.

A moment of clarity came during my interview with James E. (Jim) Nalley, Co-Founder and CEO, EmFinders.

The U.S.-based technology firm has harnessed mobile to provide new support to caregivers and new freedom to a growing population of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and a range of cognitive and developmental disabilities. The aim is to facilitate the rapid location and recovery of wandering or missing adults and children. EmFinders achieves this through EmSeeQ, which combines a small, watch-like, wireless device without buttons or a screen, and a location service that uses triangulation through the cellular network – and with 911 emergency response systems – to accurately determine a person’s location.

I was struck by Jim’s dedication to his work (more like his mission), stemming no doubt from his own personal experience with his father, who – like some 5.6 million other Americans — had Alzheimer’s disease. His respect for his father’s quality of life and personal freedom inspired him to develop a solution that doesn’t track individuals like a Big Brother (potentially limiting their feeling of autonomy and self-worth). Instead, the EmFinders solution is designed to give some peace of mind to the caregivers and to the families, and ensure that – if the impaired person wanders off – then the service can recover them quickly.

As Jim put it: “It’s about personal mobility and giving these impaired people and their families the freedom they haven’t had before. We’re hearing back from our customers that we’re making it possible for them to go on vacation for the first time in years because now they don’t have to be worried that their mom or dad or child is going to run away and not be able to be found again.” (For the complete interview, download the Netsize Guide 2010 here.)

LEVERAGING MOBILE FOR GOOD

Jim’s service is just one of a new breed of personal mobility services that puts people, not technology, first.

Since then I have examined the needs of non-profits and explored how they might harness mobile to extend their reach and help people everywhere. Fortunately, I was able to connect with other entrepreneurs, academics and humanitarians who share my passion.

The result is the recognition that non-profits need (and are not yet using) mobile messaging solutions to connect people to resources and essential services, and the resolve to change that (literally) for good.

Today I am proud to join with my esteemed colleagues in announcing THE MOBILE MOVEMENT Initiative and serve on the advisory board. Our mission is to support non-profits by bringing mobile capabilities to non-profits, helping them to reach millions more people in need by leveraging mobile devices, networks and innovative applications they will create in partnership with social entrepreneurs.

Carol Glennon, a founding director of The Mobile Movement and founder & CEO of Renu Mobile put it best in this press statement (distributed today via MSG and its partner RealWire): “As we launch this effort we are very fortunate to be supported by a board of advisors with experience in education, non-profit services, finance and mobile applications, as well as the compassionate creativity we’ll need to continually innovate. Together we will build a platform and services by collaborating with our non-profit colleagues enabling them to help more people everywhere mobile devices can be found.”

Members of the advisory board include:

Avis Richards, film maker and philanthropist creating short videos and documentary films for dozens of non-profits – www.birdsnestproductions.com and www.lunchthefilm.com

Cynthia Artin, managing director of Auster Capital Partners, a private equity firm and investor in telecom, software and mobile applications companies

Kevin Patrick, serial social entrepreneur and producer, founder of a new web-based exchange that brings together musicians with the causes they care about

Laura Marriott, global thought leader in the mobile marketing industry, consultant and former global President of the Mobile Marketing Association

Dr. Mary Cronin, Boston College professor of management, consultant and author of mobile and smart product strategy analyses

Simone Schmidlkofer, expert in corporate social responsibility programs, entrepreneur and founder of a Cause2Connect, global strategy and branding agency

MOBILIZING THE MESSAGE

Thousands of non-profits are not yet using mobile messaging to serve their community because they lack the technical expertise and budget. The Mobile Movement fills that gap by connecting non-profits with sponsors and – more importantly – tools (mobile texting, mobile petitioning, mobile barcodes and mobile website creation/design) to achieve amazing results. We’re keeping it simple to scale quickly and have a positive impact on the causes that seek our innovation, support and collaboration.

Thanks to Avis Richards, founding board member, lifelong humanitarian, and Founder and President of Birds Nest Foundation, a non-profit organization that produces short videos and documentaries for a wide range of important causes, we kick-off with our first campaign.

As part of a series of Earth Day events in New York City this week, her company, Birds Nest Productions, in partnership with
Earth Day Network and Earth Day New York is screening LUNCH, a short documentary film investigates the causes and the consequences of “growing up in a junk-food culture.”

Using the platform to promote the documentary, Avis says her organization can “share our stories and services with millions more people.” Moving forward, Avis will take her initiative national (in the U.S.) with the help of the Mobile Movement team.

MORE INFORMATION

The Mobile Movement was created as an organizing force around a force of nature called collective compassion. Now that we have done the hard work of building global connectivity, and are placing communications devices into the hands of billions, we commence the work of finding usefulness and meaning through applications that can help improve, extend and even save lives.

If you manage a non-profit or would like to find out more about how to get involved, then please email me directly (peggy@msearchgroove.com). And please check out our new website. (Thanks again to the phenomenal Lauren Towle!)

Disclaimer: MSG is aligned with the mission and goals of The Mobile Movement and Peggy Anne Salz sits on the Advisory Board. Netsize is an MSG supporter and Peggy Anne Salz is author of the Netsize Guide 2010.

RealWire supports MSG with a global news release distribution service (specializing in the online media and mobile) that consistently delivers reach, audience and exceptional analytics.

If you have an event to share, or a media partnership to discuss, then please contact Peter Salz (peter@msgblog.com). MSG also creates free pre-event content (podcasts, interviews, white papers) for select organizers in return for high-profile promotion and branding, so contact us to find out how we can work together to make your event shine.

One event we are closely aligned with is M-Days, a must-attend mobile industry event (January 28-29 in Munich) organized by 11 Prozent – Communication that counts a whopping 1,400+ attendees, making it the largest mobile event in Europe outside the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

For five years the M-Days event has been synonymous with mobile in continental Europe.

This year MSG is proud to partner with the organizers to bring the event to a global audience. The effort is already paying dividends and Carsten Szameitat, Managing Director, 11 Prozent – Communication, tells me that the exhibition is sold-out (!)

However, some speaking opportunities are still available, so contact me (peggy@msearcchgroove.com) or Carsten (c.szameitat@11prozent.de) directly.

Carsten and I are also joining together to produce a newsletter that combines the best of our news and commentary for a global audience. Our first issue will also feature an exclusive podcast interview with a keynote speaker and list the event highlights. More about in a formal announcement and press release.

To date the impressive line-up of speakers includes: Gian M. Fulgoni, Chairman and Co-Founder, comScore; Rainer Deutschmann, Senior Vice President Mobile Products, Deutsche Telekom; Colm Healy, Vice President (UK), Qualcomm; Joel Berger, Managing Director GSA & Northern Europe, MySpace; Ralf Lauterbach, Head of Consumer Architecture, Vodafone Germany; Jan-Christiaan Koenders, Director Brand Communication, BMW Group; Kerstin Trikalitis, CEO, Out There Media; Christian Lindholm, Partner and Director, Fjordnet Ltd; Ajit Jaokar, futuretext; Lars-Christian Weisswange, Director, HTC; Scott Seaborn, Head of Mobile Technologies (UK), Ogilvy Group; Martin Börner, Director of Telecom Division, Samsung; Marc Mielau, Head of Digital Media, BMW Group; Mark Wächter, “Mr. Mobile” & Member of the Global Board of Directors, Mobile Marketing Association; Daniel Euler, Managing Director, Gettings (E-Plus Gruppe); and the list goes on (!). You can find a complete list of speakers and sessions here.

And speaking of sessions, this year M-Days has doubled the number of sessions to cover an even wider range of topics. A special attraction is the Paid Content panel (how to wring value out of your digital assets).

MSG will be on-location, conducting briefings, connecting with cool companies and filming a limited number of exclusive interviews. In addition, I will moderate the panel on social media with special emphasis on social media marketing. If you want to meet up or catch up, then contact me directly.

M-days also cooperates closely with comScore, a relationship that gives it the inside track on some key data points. Carlo Longino will provide his analysis later in the week.

In the meantime, we learn from a recent press release (to promote the social media panel and sessions during M-Days) that mobile social networking across Europe is up 139 percent compared to last year. In other words, we use the mobile Internet to connect. But we also use it to find information on the fly. comScore reports the number of users browsing and retrieving news and information has increased 44 percent, with the use of news and information apps up a staggering 101 percent.

For the inside track on these trends (Gian M. Fulgoni, Chairman and Co-Founder, comScore, is a keynote speaker) and what it all means for the future of mobile, head on down to Munich for M-Days. As Harald Neidhardt, Co-Founder and CMO of Smaato (and frequent/passionate commentator on all things mobile) put in a recent statement: M-Days is “definitively the best possible start into the mobile year in 2010.”

See you there!

Disclaimer: MSG is an M-Days media partner and has joined with organizers to produce a newsletter tracking developments impacting the mobile industry.

12-14 November 2007 London, UK

Predicted to reach a value of $19 billion by 2011, there is no question that mobile advertising and marketing have vast potential; however, with this lucrative opportunity come many risks and challenges. Advertisers run the risk of annoying end users with irrelevant information, therefore having an adverse affect on their brand, while mobile operators risk alienating consumers and increasing churn. In addition, there are technical issues and handset fragmentation to consider.

Every aspect of the ecosystem’s approach must fall precisely into place if mobile advertising and marketing are to achieve success. As exciting as this opportunity is, operators must learn how to deliver what advertisers want while at the same time keeping churn to a minimum. Advertisers will have to deliver campaigns that maintain the end user’s engagement without being intrusive. On the other hand, initial trials and studies have shown that consumers are just as open to mobile advertising and marketing as advertisers themselves – if it is done right.

Now is the time to put theory into practice. With several campaigns being launched in 2007, this timely marcus evans event will provide a platform where mobile operators, handset manufacturers, agencies and global brands will meet to discuss methods to drive sustainable revenues. We will also address the main barriers and challenges affecting the market. By examining key case studies, we will establish how every player can maximise their position in the value chain. Delegates will walk away with relevant strategies to drive the uptake of mobile advertising and marketing and ultimately increase profitability.

Contact: Miss Sumreen Rizvi
Sumreenr@marcusevansuk.com
+44 (0) 20 3002 3277