Surprise Highlights From MMA Forum NYC & 140 Characters Conference
Last week I attended two conferences in New York (the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum and Jeff Pulver’s 140 Characters Conference) that showed how far we’ve come in the mobile industry.
First, my report on the MMA event, which offered the audience of 700+ attendees a mix of introductory content and advanced material. There were many highlights although some sessions covered well-traveled ground and were targeted to those new to mobile. The buzz centered on smartphones, location-based services, privacy, and the spirited and ongoing apps vs. the mobile Web debate.
Some memorable moments:
- Mobile ads are expected to generate around $3.3 billion worldwide this year, according to Gartner.
- Coca-Cola displayed a vending machine that lets us pay using SMS – not money. ”What we’re seeing in a couple of use cases is that this increases purchasing frequency,” a Coke executive told us. “Because the consumer doesn’t have to carry around coinage to purchase, it is easier and faster. We think that it will not cannibalize currency sales in the same machine. Any time you take friction out of the system, you increase frequency.”
- Microsoft reported that consumers engage with mobile 13 hours a week.
- Mobile video usage is on the rise with 20 percent of U.S. users watching a video on their smartphone at least once daily, according to Google
- · Live Nation president Russell Wallach gave data to back up the claim that mobile provides the “perfect storm” for concerts. In his view, mobile is the glue for commerce, content and community at the venue. Do the numbers to back it up? It sure looks like it. Mobile interaction at concerts: 47 percent text or email; 66 percent take photos and 32 percent update Facebook.
- The research from Adobe Omniture that says that 79 percent of iPad owners spend 30 minutes a day or more reading news.
How I See It:
No matter if you’re a newbie or an accomplished mobile marketer, the MMA event provided attendees ample opportunity to learn something new. And that’s always a plus if you consider that this is still new territory for a lot of us. According to a May survey by King Fish Media (and reported by eMarketer) only one-third of marketers have a mobile strategy. What’s more, a quarter of respondents said that mobile advertising wasn’t meeting expectations. Remarkably and regrettably, 34 percent revealed they had not measured a mobile program they had run. (A disconnect that makes you wonder how respondents can know mobile isn’t meeting their expectations if they don’t bother to measure campaign effectiveness.) So that’s where we are in mobile. Some have been involved for a while and achieving positive results that prove the power of this medium. Others are just starting out and taking their first baby steps. And it doesn’t stop there. More marketers will be testing the waters this year – whether they like it or not. The report mentioned above shows that six in 10 North American marketers are gearing up to have a mobile strategy within the next year.
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Jeff Pulver is a real-time Web pioneer and one of the most generous spirits one will ever meet. I spoke at Jeff’s flagship two-day New York City event, a happening that brought together the famous and not so famous –all of whom have been impacted by Twitter and the immediacy of the Internet.
As Peggy reported recently, I used the occasion to release my own data on how shoppers use mobile and social at what I call Moments of Trust.
During the conference there was terrific discussion about how the mobile Internet and social media have impacted our society and paved the way for a people’s revolution in Egypt and Tunisia — and elsewhere.
I will also remember Alon Nir, a funny and caring Israeli who has combined Twitter and tradition. The result is a site where visitors can engage in the old Jewish tradition of placing notes with their prayers in between the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, also known as The Kotel. Alon encourages visitors to tweet their prayers and wishes. The prayers are then printed on real paper, cut down to small notes, and placed in the Wall by Alon and others.
Alon now has an iPhone app as well.
“Who needs a business plan?” Alon asked from the stage. “Just don’t monetize.”
Instead, he said, “create meaning and affect change.”
How I See It: Mobile isn’t just about money. It’s also about connecting to do good. Thankfully, we have lots of examples of this in the mobile space, starting off with folks like Alon and ending with global cause giving campaigns to aid people hit by natural disasters. Even better, the 140 Characters Conference introduced us to more examples of how mobile can be a tool for the common good, inspiring stories that made me proud to be part of the event.
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Foursquare hit a major milestone this week. The location-based social networking service provider announced that it has reached 10 million members. On the official blog, Foursquare shared an interesting infographic that talks about where most people use the service.
A day later, Foursquare introduced an iPhone application that it says provides much faster check-ins and a feature the company described as an improved Explore tab to find specials, among other improvements. Updates for Android and BlackBerry are in the pipeline.
How I See It:
The 10-million user figure is impressive on the surface, but we shouldn’t be blinded by it. After all it’s a worldwide number and represents just a small fraction of the total global mobile subscriber population. (In the U.S. alone, there are more than 300 million people carrying a mobile device.) Foursquare is wise to focus on features to make deals more accessible and prominent. After all, it is the driver to usage. According to a jiWire survey that examines how people use Foursquare, 29 percent check in for deals and promotions. Clearly, with just under one-third using Foursquare for this purpose there’s room for growth, which is probably why they introduced the new Explore tabs in the first place. The survey also tells us that 17 percent use Foursquare to share a location, 14 percent are members because they want to be associated with cool things, and 7 percent use the service to score points.
About Jeff:
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).
