In brief: An exclusive interview with JumpTap CMO Paran Johar connects the dots in this week's announcement to support permission-based advertising with a new feature that lets consumers choose mobile display ads they will accept. PLUS a wider discussion of the value of
Today MSG concludes its three-part series dissecting the mobile developments impacting the mobile industry and our society at all levels, as documented in the Netsize Guide.
The focus is expansion and what it means when Web goes mobile and mobile gets real.
At one end of the spectrum, Web giants such as Facebook, Google and Amazon have advanced into mobile. At the other end, mobile is becoming the remote control of our collective lives, blurring the barriers between our virtual and physical worlds.
Who are the players to watch and what are their strategies? Why is mobile different? And what are the requirements for a good mobile experience in this age of divergence?
This week the Carnival of the Mobilists (COM) brings the best of mobile blogging to Volker Hirsch over at Volker on Mobile. Regular Mobilists - including Russell Buckley from MobHappy, Mark Jaffe from Mobile Mandala, Andy Favell from mobiThinking and WIP Jam -- submitted a thought-provoking selection of posts.
How can/should brands monetize our passion? What happens when cloud computing shifts app development to the Web? Will Amazon have to offer us an in-store experience? And how do the mobile ad networks really stack up? Read on and find out!
Just two weeks after release and my new white paper (Mobile Advertising For The Masses) counts 500+ downloads. (Again, I am honored that Bango (white paper sponsor) refers to me as a "mobile guru.") I always endeavor to communicate complex ideas in a way that everyone will understand, and am told people enjoy my accessible and entertaining writing style. But the real reason behind the popularity of this hands-on analysis of campaigns across three mobile social networks (BuzzCity, itsmy.com,and Peperonity) is timing. Mobile social networks are on the rise (a recent Informa report counted 200+ of them) and open for business.
Where is the money?
I was fortunate to speak at Mobile Advertising & the Rise of Social Networking: What does it mean for Brands, Agencies and Service Providers?, a Knowledge & Networking Seminar organized by AIME (the Association for Interactive Media and Entertainment) last week in London. My session looked at the nuts and bolts of mobile advertising in social networks, and the real results, revenues and strategies first-mover companies such as pioneer mobile flirting service Flirtomatic and brave consumer brands (via full-service mobile marketing agency Inside Mobile), have to share.
As I am currently conducting my own mobile advertising research, I was particularly interested to learn from Eric Mugnier, Inside Mobile Product and Innovation Director, that the agency has also done its homework in the form of an in-depth survey of 80 key decision makers in the global mobile advertising value chain. The report won't be released for a few weeks/months but Eric, who is also interested in my input and ideas, has promised MSG will have it first. (Thanks Eric!)
In his presentation, which included video interview excerpts from a selection of interviews, Eric outlined a few clear trends/requirements for effective mobile advertising in a social network. Mobile advertising must be targeted and relevant; the industry has no shortage of good ideas, but it must address issues around scale; and finally, brands and agencies have built the proper foundations, and now the priority must be to create a toolkit approach that will allow more companies to execute on the lessons they have learned.
"Killer app"
Where are the brands?
Further along than I thought if we consider the example of a major sporting goods and sports apparel company, an Inside Mobile client gearing up to release an iPhone app that combines creativity, communication, and community to deliver a compelling advertising experience that users can make their own.
This white paper from Peggy Anne Salz, chief analyst here at MSearchGroove, helps marketers understand how to effectively market to mobile social community members. “Mobile Advertising for the Masses” highlights that in the personal world of mobile social networks, advertising that encourages two-way interaction between advertisers and consumers will be more successful than conventional “push” style banner ads. The report suggests that virtual gifting is seen by many as the starting point for cultivating this two-way conversation.
It’s available for download at www.bango.com/whitepaper2 and you can see the results of the three ad campaigns featured in the white paper in detail on the accompanying Mobislim blog mobislim.wordpress.com, as measured by the Bango mobile analytics service.
I'll follow up on those conversations next week. For now, all attention is focused on Mobile Advertising For The Masses, my new-release white paper timed to CTIA and an essential read for marketers who want to tap into mobile social networks (and the ad networks they provide) to drive positive results. This time I evaluate the analytics capabilities offered by three ad networks: BuzzCity (BuzzCity), itsmy.com (itsmy.biz), and Peperonity (AdMob). I also compare the depth and breadth of analysis they provide, and examine the need for an additional comprehensive mobile analytics package to connect the dots, fill in the gaps, and give me the big picture view of what my campaigns achieved and how I might use this insight to plan and target future campaigns.
It's among my best work and worth the all-nighters during and since my stay in New York to put in the final finishing touches. I won't go into the details here (for that you'll have to download the free white paper), but I can say BuzzCity came out on top, allowing me to visibility into who my customers are (gender), where they are (location down to the U.S. state level), and handset make and model, for a start.
itsmy.com also allowed me to hone my campaign to target my key demographic, but outdated order and payment systems dampened my enthusiasm. Peperonity also had a few highpoints, but hasn't quite reached its full potential.
BTW: I'm also pleased that I have been invited by Andrew Darling to speak on mobile advertising, social media and my key findings during Mobile Advertising & the Rise of Social Networking: What does it mean for Brands, Agencies and Service Providers?, a Knowledge & Networking Seminar organized by AIME (The Association for Interactive Media and Entertainment) that will take place in London on April 2. 
