IMPACT: Risky App Business; Mobile Barcodes & Why Mobile Marketing Pays » mobilegroove

Apps were the main attraction at the CTIA’s conference in San Francisco, the Mobile Marketing Forum in London and at the American Magazine Conference in Chicago — where Oprah, of all people, weighed in.

Almost five billion apps have been downloaded to mobile devices since Apple’s App Store opened in 2008, according to Borrell . Eighty percent of those have been free, but users have spent $1.5 billion on the rest.

So the big question is: does making apps generate serious money for enough companies to count? Or is it a lottery where only a few can win big?

Panels during CTIA didn’t provide a concrete answer. Some developers are monetizing their apps successfully, but many others have yet to produce meaningful revenue. Nokia tried to get hopes up, positioning app development as a large opportunity. It counts 70 developers who have more than 1 million downloads on the Ovi Store.

Meanwhile, mega-trendsetter Oprah, who was an early iPad user, tipped the scales for several apps when she named her favorites during an appearance at a magazine conference. She likes those from CNN, ABC, Brushes, Sketchbook and Scrabble.

Inclusion in Oprah’s Book Club has made careers, not to mention millions of dollars for authors she has discovered or championed. Will she do the same for apps?

HOW I SEE IT: App developers are seeking to rise above the noise to get our attention (and make money selling apps). And, with Oprah’s new focus on apps, app developers are undoubtedly turning up the pressure on their PR teams to get Oprah to notice. They may as well hope to get their app featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Developers can’t rely on app stores – or Oprah — to create buzz and sales either. It’s all down to business basics. Apps are no different than any other product – so think Retail 101 here. The best will be noticed and rise to the top; the worst will fail. There’s nothing new or wrong with that.

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First-day comments from incoming Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) CEO Greg Stuart told us what he hopes to achieve. But I was struck by his comments that mobile is still in the early days.

He was quoted as saying: “Generally speaking, it’s in its infancy. We’re kind of where we were with the Internet ten years ago. We might have a budget of 1-2 percent, where most of it is a test.”

HOW I SEE IT: I got to know Greg when he was at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and I was at InfoSpace. I thought he was smart. In his new position, it makes sense for Stuart to intentionally draw the parallel to the Internet to show where mobile can go – and how big it is destined to be. But the facts refute his view that we are in the test phase of mobile. Personally, I know of a brand that spent $16 million on a 2010 mobile program. And let’s not forget that many other brands, including Coca-Cola and Nike, get it and are leading with significant, product-selling and loyalty-building programs backed by separate budget line items for mobile. Others are spending – or have spent — $1 million or more on iAd. Connect the dots, and testing for most brands ended in 2009. If you’re still testing in 4Q2010 (and you’re not a small business just getting in on the action), then you are late to the party …

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Finally, barcodes continue to gain serious traction. There was considerable talk at the conferences in London and San Francisco about barcodes, especially in view of all the recent research that underlines their growing importance. After all, over 90 percent of mobile phones today come with a camera, making virtually any mobile device a personal barcode scanner. And a significant survey from Scanbuy reveals mobile barcode scanning has increased 700 percent since the start of 2010.

This week my company, Hipcricket, announced a partnership with Scanbuy, a major provider of barcode solutions where Mike Wehrs (former MMA CEO) is at the helm. The tie-up gives Hipcricket clients enhanced engagement options and the capabilities to deliver mobile users information and rich-media about a product or brand when they scan a barcode with their cameraphone.

HOW I SEE IT: Barcodes alone aren’t a silver-bullet solution. They are an additional way for brands to interact with consumers, providing value through information and offers. Companies seeking to make their signage and point-of-sale(POS) materials interactive and effective are moving full-force to barcodes – and others (such as this luxury jewelry shop in Manhattan) are using barcodes to get in the fast lane faster. Proven effective in bringing the physical and digital together, barcodes will undoubtedly be more visible in holiday season advertising. How they perform will help write the script for 2011.

Peggy adds: I’m just back from the Mobile Marketing Forum in London, an excellent event I tweeted and commented for two days via Twitter. You can catch up on the highlights and key data points at #MMAFLDN. Meantime, look for my analysis early next week on Mobile Marketer, the must-read industry news site. MSG will pick up the MAD Movers series on Monday with an exciting and disruptive mobile ad startup, so stay tuned, or follow us on Twitter!

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A career author and sought-after speaker, Jeff Hasen builds, strengthens and protects brands. Companies benefiting from his talents have landed on Wired’s list of most innovative entities on Earth and been named pioneers and the early leader in the burgeoning mobile marketing category. Jeff co-created the certification program for the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). He is one of only two individuals certified by the MMA to train professionals and students on mobile marketing definitions, techniques and benefits. At Hipcricket, he conceived and led the execution of an accelerated rebranding effort in advance of the mobile marketing software and services company being named “the early leader in the mobile marketing space in the U.S.” by Frost and Sullivan. Hipcricket also won consecutive annual pioneer awards from CTIA — The Wireless Association. Follow Jeff on Twitter (@jeffhasen).

This entry was posted on Friday, October 8th, 2010 at 8:47 am and is filed under Barcodes, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.