MLOVE PODCAST: Using the Phone To Promote Brand & Commerce; Sagem Wireless Reveals Puma Phone » mobilegroove

In brief: What’s the next big thing? This interview with Jerome Nadel, Executive Vice President of Marketing & User Experience at Sagem Wireless, gives us some answers. His radical and revolutionary thinking about devices, services and the role of the brand in the scheme of things points to a mega-opportunity in mobile brands really shouldn’t miss. All the more reason for you to take advantage of the 20 percent discount NOW and register for MLOVE (Berlin, June 23-25).

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]

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 18th, 2010 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Events, Mobile Marketing, Personalization, Podcasts. 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.