Mobile Groove

The holiday numbers are in, the mobile user surveys are done, and the implications for brands, retailers and marketers are profound. Mobile has become an integral part of the shopping routine, with the vast majority of consumers admitting to using their mobile phones to search and purchase gifts. John Stevens examines this mobile megatrend and shares eight tips for creating and executing a successful mobile strategy.

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Shopping will never be the same. A number of reports show that people rely on mobile every step of the consumer journey. Equally mobile search continues to play a huge part in our lives. A recent Performics survey of 502 U.S, residents who use mobile phones to search the web at least once a week revealed that a whopping 75 percent of consumers report mobile search makes their lives easier. Specifically, 63 percent said access to mobile search has changed the way they gather information, and 32 percent said they use search more on their mobile devices than they do on their personal computers.

In this new series we bring you the best and brightest of the executives and contributors making the new International Journal of Mobile Marketing (IJMM) a must-read resource, beginning with Mihai Vlad, Head of Audience Management & Insight at Optism, who provides insights into the very human approaches proven to boost engagement between brands and the people who have opted in to receive their messages.

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People are mobile, and mobile is part of who they are. But mobile is not just a device. It’s our ‘default’ state. In a networked, wired-up world where 5.6 billion people are connected to each other by a mobile device, mobile also allows us

I’m back with Part 2 of my favorite podcast, an interview with Tom Huseby, Managing Partner, SeaPoint Ventures, that also marks the start of MSG’s new series of interviews with VCs and early-stage and emerging startups. In fact, I’m in touch with the great line-up of 20 early-stage and emerging startups presenting at the Mobile Peer Awards (which I also judge) for similar podcasts and hope to circle back with the best and brightest of the pack after the event.

In the meantime, I encourage you to listen in to Tom, who offers entrepreneurs valuable advice and the inside track on the mobile companies and concepts highest on his radar. Some good news in these challenging economic times: There is plenty of money and opportunity, but it’s up to entrepreneurs to structure their good ideas so VCs get it. What pitches are getting the most traction? The Apple App Store and similar schemes from Google (Android), RIM at one end of the spectrum and Qualcomm and Amdocs at the other (check next week for an MSG exclusive on Amdocs app store strategy) have – as Tom put it – “changed the entrepreneurial landscape.” Open systems, open storefronts and open operators. Now all we need is the apps.