Mobile Media and The Digital Landscape

Calling All Developers - AppsFuel HTML5 Challenge Now Open

2012-11-09T13:59:00.000+02:00

Round 2 of HTML5 App Challenge is announced.

The overall winning app will participate in the prestigious Mobile Premier Awards, to be held in Barcelona in 2013.

Barcelona, November 07, 2012: The second round of the HTML5 App Challenge has begun. Developers, startups and app businesses can now submit their apps for the next round of the competition. The challenge is open to all developers, professionals or business startups with a functioning HTML5 app optimised for smart phones or tablets.

AppCircus and AppsFuel have launched the HTML5 App Challenge to find the best apps written in HTML5, the programming language that will power many of tomorrow’s mobile web applications.

By submitting their HTML5 app to the competition, developers will have the chance to be among the first to use the AppsFuel Payment API, giving them the ability to start monetising their apps in supported territories, no matter where they are based.

The HTML5 App Challenge is a three-month online competition, ending December 20, with the next deadline for submission being November 26. Each month a winning app will be chosen via online voting. The overall winning app will participate in the prestigious Mobile Premier Awards, to be held in Barcelona in 2013.

To submit apps and find out more about the competition go to HTML5 App Challenge page.

AppCircus is the world’s largest travelling competition for applications. The event serves as a showcase for new app developers to premier their latest creations in front of mobile industry experts, angel investors and other developers. Since it began in 2010, there have been over 100 AppCircus events around the world in over 30 countries, with over 2,500 apps submitted.

For more information, please contact: daniel@dotopen.com

AppsFuel is a new marketplace – device and OS independent – featuring only top quality HTML5 Apps.

With AppsFuel, users will find it easy to browse categories, read reviews, find their favourite apps and share them on social media, knowing all their friends can use them, because AppsFuel apps work on any smartphone.

For developers, AppsFuel is an open and simple platform to use for distribution of mobile web applications and monetisation via carrier billing, an exclusive feature of AppsFuel.

By joining AppsFuel, developers will enjoy an unprecedented direct connection to their customers, always providing them the latest version, as well as the flexible payment options of carrier billing, soon to be available in more than 25 countries. What’s more, the "write once, deploy everywhere" nature of the platform will massively reduce the cost of creating, versioning and maintaining applications.

For more information, please contact: team@appsfuel.com

Subscription Services - Not as easy to be subscribed as some make out.

2012-07-27T15:42:00.000+02:00

There is a lot of pressure on content providers these days, unlike a couple of years ago when a subscriber would simply sms a keyword in order to be subscribed to a club - these days there are a number of hurdles in place that literally should stop any potential subscriber in their tracks.

The regulation, which is very similar in most countries, stipulates that there has to be a double opt in process. What this means is that there has to be an authorization process that verifies and authenticates any potential subscriber before they join a service.

Not only does a company have to abide by the regulatory bodies (i.e. WASPA in South Africa), but they also have the Business rules of the networks to abide by, the consumer protection act, the National Lotteries Act, the advertising standards authority etc.

This makes doing business in this landscape exceptionally difficult as one has to abide by not one set of regulations but many just to get a customer in to your world.

Some companies, like Via Media, Integrat, Bee Mobile, Zed, Strike Media, Sprint Media, Natta and Buongiorno are some examples of companies that are working in this area.

These companies achieve a feat very few others are able to do -and that is survive in an environment that is technically geared to stop them from trading - and yet they still manage to survive.

In my opinion it is the likes of these companies that are the leaders, drivers and innovators of marketing, of acquisition and conversion.

You want to know how to shift your business - look at what these guys are doing - BUT heaven forbid you try to replicate what they do - because you'll have to jump through hoops, walk on coals and swim with piranha - just to get yourself wet. Surviving all that is an entirely different story.

I've included a rough schematic flow of the process an online user has to follow - to join one of these services... below;

Now, you tell me - just how easy is it to join a subscription service?

Mobile Industry is Cooking!

2010-11-24T17:04:00.002+02:00

The Mobile Industry is Cooking! One just has to review any one of the popular blogging forums and you'll see that.

The ad Networks are in a very comfortable space with brand spend increasing rapidly. I've seen increase in brand spend of well over 1000% between 2009 and now which is remarkable.

The only concern I have is with regards to the integrity of data that we are being fed by most of these ad networks. I have have seen targeted South African campaigns delivering users from Kuwait, Vietnam, Kazakstan, Tehran, India and many other countries where the campaign would have little or no reference. This needs to be challenged!

In terms of Brand KPI's it may be easy to overlook these things as the results themselves will blow any other medium well out of the water! Last year we ran a campaign for SA Tourism, our very small budget out performed any other medium significantly. Web brought in about 200,000 users and mobile in excess of 2.2 million visits - within a 4 week period. This is the power of Mobile!

The KPI's were pretty much all based on engagement and number of entrants into a competition which worked exceptionally well however if you are measuring conversion against Cost and Payback periods - well then this area becomes quite interesting as the variances move dramatically based on available inventory, quality of publishers and users browsing those sites.

There are a number of ad networks out there which make it even more of a challenging decision as to where to place your advertising. I personally look at their publishers as this gives one a fair idea of the quality of user engagement one can expect to receive. I think it would be safe to say that Admob/Google and iAds would be your safest bet as they have the cleanest inventory and consistency in output.

Another thing to be aware of is that there are a number of 'ad-networks" that lay claim to millions of publishers, billions of impressions, blah blah blah..... ask them if any of the top ad networks back fill into their platform? Ask them if they use any of the top ad networks to distribute their adverts. 9 out of 10 times you'll find that the Admob/Google's of the world are back filling into these platforms and they 'the media owner' lays claim to their numbers and not the 'Actual' statistics of their property - which should be concerning for large Brand as the integrity of that property should be checked.

At the end of the day its not all bad, as your costs in mobile are relatively low and if you spread your budgets across a couple of networks you'll soon realise which are the ones that perform and which are the ones costing you money. Its a relatively new space, with every Tom Dick and Harry trying to "cash-in" on mobile - what will separate the serious contenders from the inexperienced and or fly by nighters will be the performance of your ad spend which needs to be measured against very specific KPI's.

So be aware - be very aware - ask for examples and case studies prior to jumping into any mobile advertising commitments.

Intermission: Admob Acquires Adwhirl

2009-08-28T15:12:00.005+02:00

Mail I received from Admob today, very interesting;

"Over the past several months we have listened closely to the developer community to better understand the role of mediation in the mobile ecosystem. As a developer myself, I definitely understand how mediation is a valuable tool for developers, and our goal at AdMob is to provide developers with choice and control over their inventory, and help them efficiently maximize their revenue.

We appreciate everyone's patience as we evaluated the mediation options that existed in the market and tried to work through what would be best for the industry. From my perspective as a developer, I realize that the lack of clarity in terms of the direction AdMob would take with mediation was not convenient for you. Unfortunately we could not share many details as we spoke with key mediation players due to the sensitive nature of these conversations. This evaluation process brought us to what I believe will be a key moment in the future of monetization tools for app developers.

I am happy to announce that AdMob has acquired AdWhirl, and in addition to maintaining AdWhirl's current functionality, we will soon offer iPhone application developers a much needed open source mediation solution.

Offering an open source solution will enable us to ensure advertisers and publishers a high quality experience with mobile advertising and publishing, and introduce an open, transparent choice into the market which has not existed to date. The open source solution will be available for all iPhone app developers and advertising networks, whether they currently work with AdMob directly or not.

We will have details regarding our open source solution, including the additional functionality we plan to offer, within the coming weeks. Developers currently using AdWhirl will soon have full support for AdMob ads. Developers with questions or feedback can continue to reach us at appdevfeedback@admob.com.

As always, AdMob's focus is on furthering the growth of the mobile ecosystem, and providing a comprehensive suite of tools for both advertisers and publishers is a critical part of this. This is an important milestone for us that builds on the publisher tools we've given publishers over the last year, such as House Ads, Download Tracking and rich media iPhone ad units. Our hope is that this open source mediation solution will further ensure that developers can easily and effectively promote their apps, monetize their traffic, and overall further the growth of their businesses. For those of you who are current AdMob partners, thank you for your business; and to those of you who will be new to AdMob, we're looking forward to working with you.

Omar"

What is Mobile Marketing - Actually? Part two

2009-08-13T13:25:00.002+02:00

Part TWO

USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data)
Following on from Part ONE and messaging, USSD is a form of messaging that can be utilised across all handsets and is a solid tool for engaging with users. Practical application of utilisation of USSD is topping up of pre-paid airtime, setting up of one’s phone for WAP or Multimedia i.e. *123# (MTN) or *111# (Vodacom) and many other applications. The only problem I have with USSD is that it can be relatively clumsy for the user in the sense that one needs to have a form of reference to remember the USSD string which can be relatively long and if not used regularly by the users it’s sure to be forgotten.

CONTENT
Content has always been at the forefront in the multimedia space with the likes of ringtones, wallpapers and games and is commonly associated with a premium rated SMS SHORT-CODE which is used to manage the authorisation of the premium for the content you wish to download. In the Mobile Marketing space it is crucial to identify what sort of content you are providing i.e. an advert, instructional video, music, music video, wall papers etc.. And then make sure you provide it for free. The content element within mobile marketing generally forms part of the value add to users and with the success of social networks mobile offers a perfect platform to users to submit their own content.

APPLICATIONS
Applications are the talk of the town at the moment particularly with specific regard to the iPhone and Android based phones. There is a debate going round as to whether one should deploy applications or focus on mobile web however I’m not going to enter into that discussion here. Applications provide quick access to the online environment and as examples one can look at Facebook, The Grid, MxIt, FireID, Pocit, Fring, Nimbuzz, Google Maps, Vufone, and Gravity as classic examples. The only comment I have to make about an application is that although it is designed to operate 24/7 they generally use massive battery resource and if you have a couple of them running at the same time you’ll be charging your phone every hour or so. Applications are utilised (in my opinion) as glorified book marks based on what I have just mentioned above and as such ask yourself whether the money you are about to spend on application development, is justified – when in fact you could have a widget which fulfils the same or a similar role.

LOCATION BASED SERVICES
LBS although defined as a product should be viewed more as an extension of a service where location is relevant. I personally believe that this is the future for mobile services particularly in the tourism and events space however there is one complexity that is holding the uptake back a little – and that is the cost of the location look-up. What this translates to is an undefined cost to any brand or service provider... However I do believe that this will change in time to come.

VOUCHERS
Probably one of the most powerful mediums within the mobile marketing space is the ability to deliver a voucher to a user’s handset. A Voucher is a tool that can be used to encouraging users to fulfil a very specific call to action which means that it can be used to help drive impulse buying, and or provide value in the form of discounts. There are various types of Vouchers that can be utilised, SMS, MMS, Bar-Code) however the one element that has been prohibitive in this form of element truly taking wings is the ability of the retail outlet to redeem the voucher – securely without giving any margin for pilferation. I believe if the retail outlets get behind this form of medium and train their staff on the redemption processes we’ll see an upsurge in the utilisation of vouchers.

RESEARCH
This is another fascinating element in the mobile space and exceptionally powerful in that you have the ability to set up panels who in turn have the ability to set up their own networks or user groups. Considering the size of the mobile market it boggles my mind as to why Research companies have not adopted mobile research platforms fully as this environment can yield outstanding results in exceptionally quick periods of time. The mechanisms that can be used in this environment are; Mobile Online, SMS and USSD.

CRM/PROFILING
CRM/Profiling is a tool utilised for effectively engaging with customers and allows the brand to manage and track all levels of engagement. This tool provides for real-time information giving brands the ability to track and manage the success of the campaign. You are able to profile users in the mobile environment and understand their behaviour and trends allowing you to engage in a relevant manner with customers. It is important to note as with SMS that although you are able to profile your user - your level of engagement should always be non intrusive and at the same time relevant.

PORTALS
In this day and age it is hard to believe that there are people out there without a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail address. The portal element is a handy mechanism that facilitates a mobile intranet type of environment allowing business or social groups/committees to communicate directly with each other without any other clutter.

BANNER ADVERTS
Mobile banner ad placement is generally used for acquisition of new customers by placing banner adverts on various platforms such as Admob, Buzz City, Vodafone Live, The Grid, MxIt etc. to encourage users to click through to the Online environment. This is one of the most important elements to any form of mobile marketing as this is the tool that gets users into your online environment. In Part 3 I’ll demonstrate how to effectively use this element within your mobile campaigns but now I am going to point out that not only are banner adverts used for acquisition but also within your own mobile environment if applied effectively they can be used to advertise a competition, highlight a news feed or drive traffic to specific areas within your Mobi-site (in essence becoming your own call to action element).
If you are intent on becoming a publisher and have 50,000 unique visitors a month then the banner advert within your Mobi-site could be used to derive additional revenues for you similarly to the online environment where you become a mobile online publisher. My only word of advice would be if you were to do that, please ensure that the adverts served are relevant to the content within your environment.

As you can see there are a number of elements one can use, either on their own or wrapped up to bolster the mobile campaign. There are a lot more elements and I could go into more detail but my objective is to provide an overview of what I do... and this has to be one of the longest elevator pitches I have ever delivered... look out for Part 3 - wrapping it all up.

What is Mobile Marketing - Actually?

2009-08-06T10:06:00.006+02:00

When asked what I do for a living, and I respond; 'Mobile Media..... Mobile Marketing' which is generally followed by; 'you advertise on trailers? or ah.. bulk sms provider'. Sometimes I dive in headfirst to explain what Mobile is all about and other times I just nod... but today I've decided I'm going to break it down for those that are not in the know.

This piece will be delivered in 3 parts - as the mobile environment is quite complex as one has the ability to engage with over 20 different variables.

I'm going to cover most of the variables that are commercially available and utilised by both users and brands;

Part ONE

Mobile Online
If you have a website and not invested in a Mobi-site I have to ask why not? With the current activity of users in the mobile space it is crucial that you have a mobile version of your online space available to mobile users. The mobile online environment is a little more complex than the traditional online space in that there are 1000's more variances one needs to take into consideration (handset screen size, handset type, operating system, browser type and codec). You also should be aware that because of these variances your provider must be able to demonstrate how they handle device detection, trans-coding and image manipulation – on the fly - which ensures that regardless of who browses your mobile site, everyone will receive the site optimised to the handset with which they are browsing.

You also need to consider what your Mobile environment is going to offer to the user as the browsing habits off a mobile device are very different to those of a traditional online browser.
Keep it succinct and relevant to ensure a quick and easy browsing experience.

Within this environment you can incorporate anything your heart desires; content downloads (video and pictures), competitions, Viral campaigns, SMS (engagement), Mail, Competitions, Research, Vouchers, Portal's, Banner Adverts, Media, applications, CRM, Profiling, Catalogues, Information, and Location Based Services... a mechanism to truly engage with users that at the same time allows you to understand a bit about them.

Your mobile online environment should also be able to plug into your online environment in that if you are facilitating user generated content the mobile and online are asynchronous meaning; that content uploaded on the mobile platform is updated to the online platform and vice versa.

Messaging
There are various types of messaging that are available to be utilised in the mobile marketing space however the key factor here is the relevance of the message.

SMS
SPAM is an absolute no no and I would not recommend trying to use SMS as a medium to advertise with. Utilised effectively SMS is one of the most powerful mechanisms mobile has to offer. I'll give you an example; if you have taken your car in for a service, effective utilisation of this medium would be if you received a message confirming the car will be ready at a specific time together with the cost for the service and who to see when you arrive to pick your vehicle up.
Although there is no advertising per say, this type of engagement enforces a positive experience and indirectly builds brand perception.
SMS can be used to deliver notifications, direct engagement with customers and deliver the URL (link) to your Mobi-site.
Additional commonly utilised applications are premium rated SMS, which are utilised for entry into competitions, participation in events (Idols) for voting, and or contribution/subscription for a specific service.

MMS
This form of media is supposedly superior to SMS however I have my reservations as it is costly by comparison. The medium has the potential to deliver audio, graphics and text which means that you can deliver a high quality, informative bit of media to users. Although we have sent out lots of MMS' for and on behalf of various brands the response is never what we anticipate, the cost is expensive and almost in all cases the MMS is followed up by an SMS. I personally think that more effective utilisation can be delivered by sending the link to your Mobi-site where the user has the choice of engaging and the ability to access far more than an MMS can deliver, at a fraction of the cost. MMS is primarily also user generated so by providing branded MMS type postcards that could be personalised by users would be a relevant way of utilising MMS in the mobile space.

SHORT CODE
The SHORT CODE is an extension of the SMS family and is utilised primarily in the delivery of information as well as for competition participation.
Delivery of information;
By sending a [key word] + [your name] + [your email address] will result in content you wish to receive being delivered to your email address
By sending a [key word] you get access to content i.e. games, ringtones, wall papers etc.
By sending a [key word] you will receive a return SMS which contains a link to a Mobi-site
By sending a [key word] automatically enters the user into a competition

INSTANT MESSAGING
IM is an interesting element as it is relatively difficult to apply in the mobile online environment however if you have experienced Skype, Gtalk, ICQ, Twitter, Facebook etc and have utilised this from your handset you will know it is possible. The most effective mechanism of delivery is currently through running an application and a few that come to mind are The Grid, Nimbuzz, MxIt and Fring however there are a multitude of companies that offer this. Some companies have the ability to build IM into your Mobi-site which eliminates the need for development of an application and then the cost of marketing that application. IM is a great tool if you have a large user base and would like to afford them the opportunity of communicating with each other off your platform. Running applications and your mobile online environment continually eats significantly into battery time, users generally will revert to SMS unless they have scheduled time to meet up online.

PUSH MAIL
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Push Mail has to be Blackberry as they have successfully captured the business market with this service and their devices however this service is not limited to or restricted to Blackberry users. Push mail can be a standalone service one provides to mobile users where you can brand the mail address and synchronise with existing mail addresses.
One can also include this service within your mobile strategy and allow users engaging with the brand to have access to this and other services delivered through the Mobi-site.

In this edition of I've covered the online and messaging components - of which I am convinced you are well aware however at the end of the 3rd part I'll demonstrate how these elements can be utilised either stand alone or packaged together to deliver mobile marketing.

Acquiring a new customer base through the Mobile Medium

2009-08-01T09:06:00.012+02:00

It's been a while since I have posted anything to this blog and the reason for that is pretty cliched in that we have been exceptionally busy rolling out various mobile initiatives. It has been quite an educational process too as the initiatives we have been involved in deploying have varied from a simple sms short code to full blown campaigns integrating television, radio, print, activations, online and mobile.

We have spent the last 18 months evangelising about the benefits of mobile but to actually see the results by comparison to the traditional media spend has been fantastic and a real testimony to what we have been sharing.

I'm going to talk about two campaigns, one is complete the other is still running however the ad spend has been the same and the resluts have been consistently similar.

Campaign A - used a mix of all media components to fulfill 2 objectives;
1) Get users to purchase the product
2) Get users to log on to the mobile environment

The mobile environment had information about the product, free content downloads in the form of video and wall paper, a kick ass competition as well as other elements such as the ability to refer a friend etc. Mobile advertising spend was allocated to 2 renowned networks - Admob and the other which I won't mention for various reasons which I'll get into a bit later suffice it to say has a specific purpose and a younger target market with phenomenal stats.

All traffic was directed to one point which was the mobile online space so from a measurement point of view it was very easy to track the performance of the 2 mediums.

The Ad spend in the Admob space was very small to say the least - in fact it was 30% less than what we would normally recommend and by comparison to the total media spend probably came in at around the 5% mark... so very low but what was fantastic to see was the level of interaction achieved off this one medium.

The number of unique visitors that visited the site as a direct result of this ad spend - 8442
The total number of unique visitors - 14757
The number of visitors that entered the competition - 7726
The number of referrals that were sent out by the unique visitors - 7839
The number of downloads - 5883

The cost of acquisition has come in at a very low cost by comparison to the total media spend.

Campaign B - used a mix of print, mobile and activations to fulfill 2 objectives
1) Get users to purchase the product
2) Get users to log on to the mobile environment which would generate awareness of the new product.

The mobile environment has very little information about the product, a compelling competition as well as other elements such as the ability to refer a friend, links to instant messaging and location based information etc. Mobile advertising spend was allocated to 2 renowned network - Admob and the The Grid.

As with Campaign A all traffic is directed to one point which is the mobile online space so from a measurement point of view it is very easy to track the performance of the 2 mediums.

I am specifically only going to be referencing Admob here as the Admob spend is complete and the engagement on The Grid is still in infancy however I will report on the outcome at the end of the campaign.

The spend in the Admob space has been exactly the same as in Campaign A (although we proposed significant more the client cut budgets drastically) but as you'll see the Admob results are significantly similar;

The number of unique visitors that visited the site as a direct result of this ad spend - 8318
The total number of unique visitors - 14604
The number of visitors that entered the competition - Still ongoing will report back on this at the end of the campaign
The number of referrals sent out to date by the unique visitors - 7709

For 2 completely different products and brands the response for the same amount of ad spend on Admob has been almost exactly the same and the cost of acquisition per customer is encouragingly low. The beauty about mobile is that going forward each of these brands now have close to 8000 new customers with whom they can engage at an absolutely negligible cost.

As a mobile acquisition medium Admob has proved it's metal to us and we will continue to utilise this medium in all acquisition and mobile advertising campaigns we are involved with. If you would like more information on this medium feel free to contact us.

We do hear very good reports on the outcome of Google Ad words and will be incorporating that medium into further campaigns to extend the reach and increase traction for brands.

For most mobile campaigns the question is always how do I attract a base of users or how can I engage with a base of users without spamming them. Each campaign objective and deployment being different;
the strategy applied is crucial to the outcome i.e. a viral campaign is the ultimate where the ad spend is negligible yet the traction huge however these campaigns are very difficult to implement as the uptake can never be guaranteed. It is possible though, to spend a little and include a viral element as a part of the campaign to bolster the acquisition process and reduce your spend.

1. Ensure you mobile online environment is actually a true mobile environment in that the site configures to all handsets. This is your first step.

2. Define the relevance of the mobile online space - without relevance the traction in that environment is going to be poor.

3. Define your acquisition strategy, and ensure you are in a position to manage it.

4. Deploy

5. Engage

Voila!

Powermonkey - eXplorer

2009-06-10T15:23:00.002+02:00

I was given a power monkey – explorer kit a couple of months ago which I was thrilled about receiving. I reckon this is the quintessential tool for any mobile user in Africa as yesterday proved to demonstrate how effective this little device is.

Eskom with their newly renewed vigour to clamp down on outstanding payments decided that being 30 days late on a payment warranted switching off our electricity. This left me stranded for about 4 hours whilst I negotiated, pleaded and explained that the bill had been paid – they had just not accounted for it. Be that as it may in this time my phone and laptop ran dry of battery juice.

Ah ha time to test the new Power monkey I thought to myself ... and to my pleasant surprise it works. Well the battery pack recharged my device and the solar unit – well that was a little ineffective but I’m pegging that as a direct result of the weather which was overcast, wet and cold and on top of that it was late in the afternoon.

I have decided to give the tool a full test this morning and although I cannot use the Solar panel (as a result of the weather) the battery pack has proved to be exceptionally useful.

The pack comes with the following;

A battery pack (powermonkey-eXplorer unit)

Solar panel (slave)

Universal mains charger (which works in over 150 countries and has interchangeable heads for UK, USA, Japan, China, Australia and Europe.

Connecters for Nokia, Mini Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry, iPod, Sony PSP, USB connectivity, mini USB connectivity, female USB connectivity for smartphones, MP3 players, blue tooth headsets and Digital camera’s. Quite significant coverage!

The battery pack and solar power units are water resistant and the battery pack has an LCD display that displays the battery capacity and level of charge in the powermonkey.

It also caters for short circuit protection, over charging protection and over discharging protection.

All of this is packaged very well and can easily fit into my laptop bag... I’m pretty stoked that I have one of these in my arsenal of techno toys.

The good news is that they are pretty well priced so even in this “recession” of ours it’s not going to make too much of a dent.

You can contact Rene Winter or alternatively log on to www.powertraveller.co.za

Indaba 2009

2009-05-08T08:11:00.008+02:00

**Indaba 2009 is happening this weekend**.

SA Tourism will be showcasing their wares and deliver exciting news about what they are doing for their local tourist trade partners. The following can be expected;

* You can participate in product workshops and their local and international exhibitions
* You have the opportunity to network with international tourism companies.
* Through the Sho't Left section on their website you can advertise your packages for free.
* Their annual Welcome and Eteya awards showcase the best that South Africa has to offer. By entering, you'll receive additional local and international exposure.
* In preparation for 2010 they are launching a global marketing campaign, which you will benefit from.

http://www.southafrica.net is packed with valuable information for local, international and business travellers, as well as the trade. It's better designed to help increase your business' exposure.

Here's how:

* They'll market your business through our new website, this gives you global and local exposure at no cost.
* Your biz will be listed in the "Your Concierge" product search, available on +200 pages across the site and will appear in any main site searches that match either your name or service type.
* Relevant products are displayed alongside associated articles.
* Users can add your products to their Trip Planner, your contact details then appear in their Wish list - this is sent to the travel agent to book.

So, now that you know how they're taking your business places, here are some reasons to plan your next trip with southafrica.net:

* Trip Planner recommends best possible experiences in SA, based on your interests.
* National Product Database will help you locate the finest accommodation, activities and restaurants.
* Contact expert travel consultants online to plan your trip.
* Save your Wish list, share it with family and friends and send it to your travel agent for quotes.

So you may be wondering why I'm posting an article about Indaba 2009? Well we have had the pleasure of delivering a couple of elements on the mobile side which all focuses around this event and what you can expect to receive from SA Tourism.

If you cannot make it to the event there are 2 things you can do;

1) sms your name and email address to 34743 to register with the National Tourism Product Database

2) Log in to www.indaba2009.mobi where you can;

View what's on at the event

View the exhibitors at the event

Download the 2010 advert as well as

Experience the diski dance (also a download) and an brilliant concept which has huge potential for user generated content to be added.

In addition Garmin introduces Garmap for Mobile which can be downloaded off the site.

1. Launch your mobile internet browser.

2. Launch the application from the folder that it installed to.

3. Follow the onscreen prompts to start using the application.

Please note that roaming data charges will apply whilst using Garmap for Mobile

*Join the growing network of Indaba delegates on LinkedIn: http://events.linkedin.com/Indaba-2009/pub/34772.

So what are you waiting for.... go, register and check it out.

The Mobile Marketing edition

2009-05-06T21:36:00.006+02:00

I was recently honoured to be asked to participate in the 17th edition of the Digital Edge podcast interviews - which is all about the Mobile Marketing.

"The Digital Edge is a new weekly podcast brought to you by Cambrient which will expose you to the inner workings of digital marketing, and profile some of the biggest stories in the business."

The list of contributors to this edition rank exceptionally high in the SA market space and all from different areas within the mobile marketing arena which makes for an interesting listen with various opinions relative to the spaces being worked in.

Michael Laws:
Michael is a Portfolio Manager for Mobile Marketing at Vodacom. He runs the "Adme" division, another part of the massive Vodacom mobile advertising offering.

Angus Robinson:
Angus is the founder of Brandsh Media -- a specialist mobile and social media agency -- and is closely involved with Cerebra Communications. He is active in the mobile industry and sits on Waspa's management committee, the mobile VAS industry's self-regulation authority. He has been in the mobile, media and internet industries since 1994 with the likes of MTN, MIH/Multichoice, Metropolis, Striata, and most recently iTouch.

Simon Davis:
Simon has a diverse background, including work on pioneering mobile social networks, launching B2B and Consumer e-commerce websites and working on commodity trading systems for a variety of companies including Socialight, AngloGold-Ashanti, MKS Finance and JPMorgan. FMBA Columbia University (USA), BA Philosophy (University Witwatersrand SA).

Jason Xenopoulos:
Jason is a filmmaker and entrepreneur whose media ventures have covered the areas of film, television, music and the Internet. His first feature film as writer-director, Promised Land, was released in January 2003 in Cinema Nouveau and Ster-Kinekor theatres across South Africa.

Saul Kropman and Jarred Cinman have delivered exceptionally well with this initiative and if you are working in the digital space I'd highly recommend subscribing to their feed.

Download the podcast here (view all relative links) and pass on your feedback - it would be great to stimulate more of a discussion around this topic as there are so many various areas of focus with so much scope and not to mention lessons to be learn't.

Vufone - essential and smart application

2009-04-20T15:23:00.005+02:00

I can safely say that I haven't been suffering from writers block despite the fact that I have neglected posting articles for the past 3 months. It's been a chaotic couple of months to say the least and I'm happy to say I'm back - for today anyway.

I've been meaning to do a review on quite a relevent application that I was able to get my grubby paws on - namely Vufone.

The product is in essence an online mobile phone backup tool - on steroids - providing the following features;

Backup
Regular automated backup of your phone
No cables needed, over-the-air backup
Safe copy of your mobile information on a secure server
Contacts, messages, calendar, photos, videos or smartphone documents
Restore to any new phone brand or model

Synchronise
Get your Microsoft Outlook meetings or Google Calendar on your phone
Automatically synchronize Microsoft Outlook contacts or Gmail contacts to your phone
Synchronize your Microsoft Outlook tasks to your phone
Use your phone contacts in Microsoft Outlook or Gmail
Manage your phone contacts and calendar on the web

Upload and Share
Upload your camera phone pictures and videos and view them online
Create online albums and show them to friends and family over the Web
Send your pictures and videos to friends phone
Upload your mobile photos and videos to your favorite social network
Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube
View your photos online in full quality

Additional Features
Upload songs to your phone over the web
MyPersona – make your picture appear on your friends phone when you call them
Turn any web picture into your phone’s wallpaper
Listen to your mobile music online
Send cheap text messages from the web

Pretty neat and relevant as I have about 4 different phones which I can now easily share the same information on - maintaining consistency across all devices. I particularly like the way one can configure what you want synchronised and the ease of use in setting up as a first time user.

What did bug me a bit is that the application connects your phone to the site every day for it's scheduled synchronisation but this is something I can overlook as it's value outweighs the irritation factor.

So if like me you are looking for an application that provides a relevant and much needed service with so much more than just back-up - check out Vufone.

Gets a double thumbs up from me.

Mobile Youth 2009 Report 1 Samples

2009-02-16T14:29:00.001+02:00

I just love what the guys at mobileyouth.org are doing. Some more insightful information on Youth Mobile Trends.

Mobile Youth 2009 Report 1 Samples

View more presentations from joshdhaliwal. (tags: mobile youth)

BMW MMS Campaign

2009-02-11T14:15:00.002+02:00

I am exceptionally fascinated by the mobile device as a marketing tool and am keenly interested in the success of mobile campaigns. When we fist started out evangelising about the possibilities of mobile we had a very strong focus on multi media messaging. The possibilities with MMS are huge and this was our swansong for many months - however with the success of admob, buzz city, mxit and other mechanisms we had to revise our stance on what the Mobile landscape is all about.

After much research, debate and discussion we defined the landscape - which I have to say is exceptionally complex and massive. There are so many components one has to consider when defining a campaign and it's not neccessarily as simple as one would like it to be with complexities such as network operators, integrators, aggregators, handset manufacturers, operating systems, browsers and phone capabilities...

However I am thrilled to see that BMW have implemented and successfully run a multimedia campaign that has generated a WHOPPING $45 MILLION from a spend of approximately $60,000. In my books, that is an incredible success and confirmation that Mobile Media is a viable contender as a marketing mechanism.

The full story courtesy of Tomi T Ahonen can be viewed here.

Mobile Marketing

2009-01-26T17:33:00.006+02:00

Leading on from my last post - the insert of the presentation by Graham Brown and taking the fact that my focus is all about Mobile Media, I have in the past few months been giving a lot of consideration to the mobile marketing arena.

I have seen and toyed with some amazing applications that facilitate marketing to users. I consider some of these mechanisms as pure genius and proposed and used some of them in the strategies we have designed, however after having viewed the presentation below I find myself standing back thinking about the relevance of what we do.

4 words have been resonating through my being - what is the relevance?

I look at Mxit - and immediately can identify that the relevance of the platform, which is to provide a cost effective mechanisms for people to communicate. It's no surprise that the platform has been adopted by the younger generation but what is a surprise is how the platform is evloving to facilitate the corporate world and although I get it I can't see the relevance - the engagement is very one sided and totally foreign to what the platform is all about.

Are the users of the platform actually benefitting from being advertised to...? I used to think so but today I'm not so sure.

I look at Multimedia messaging and again logically can identify why the mechanism is a great one, but find myself asking the question; what is the relevance of distributing multimedia adverts? People use the application to send pictures to and from their friends and even in that relevant space there has not been a massive uptake by phone users.

The success of a GREAT marketing campaign lies in the uptake and engagement with your target audience and as much as I'd like to profess that mobile marketing is THE best mechanism within your marketing campaigning I have to be prudent in advising that successful campaigning includes a mix of relevant platforms. e.g. We ran a campaign for a large Blue Chip recently where the campaign made use of TV, Radio, Print, Online, Mobile banner adverts, Splashscreens within Mxit, Multimedia Messages and SMS. It was interesting to note that radio had a tremendous effect on the outcome of the campaign - as we could see traffic spike on the mobisite after the campaign had been pitched. Likewise with MMS and SMS - after sending out the message we had a tremendous spike in traffic on the Mobi-site. It has been difficult to measure the response from Mxit, TV and Print however with the correct mix of delivery and engagement mechanisms one can very easily measure the success of the campaign.

The most important and crucial element that one needs to consider at all times is; "what is the relevance?" Look at all the mechanisms available to you, identify their purpose and establish whether your objective, within that environment, will have relevance. Plan effectively, ensure that your advisors have your best interests at heart and don't be afraid to test the landscape. This is a new channel of engagement, we are all learning and will continue to do so. i.e. What works well with one brand, may not neccessarily render the same results for another.... Test the relevence, understand the mechanisms and have some fun.

mobileYouth.org I am...not interested in mobile marketing

2009-01-20T14:30:00.001+02:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

mobileYouth.org I am...not interested in mobile marketing

View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: cell student)

2009 - School Fees

2009-01-19T16:11:00.004+02:00

I have reviewed many articles about the trends for 2009 which I have to admit have been really interesting and which I intend to keep as a reference when I review and compare to what has actually transpired at the end of the year, however what I enjoy most about the articles is not what is being said but that there are individuals out there who are prepared to put their "proverbials" on the line in public forums that have massive reach - big Kahuna's.

So I have a question - If these specialists get it wrong - what's the recourse?

I'm assuming there won't be any. The way technology and trends are evolving it's very easy to be a "specialist" - particularly the way things change and so needless to say I'm sure opinions will change with those trends and or technology.

I also think if you follow the online industry trends you will note that the same trends that appeared in 2008 are still hot topics - with some variation here or there... but there's no real earth shattering revelation that is going to blow us away... we will continue to do what we do and that for me is comforting because the online and mobile marketing space - as my preffered choice of expertise, for someone like me is a dynamic and exciting industry to be involved with.

My views for 2009

We understand that Mobile is probably the most powerful media platform we have yet encountered - the 7th Mass Media - the question is how do corporates effectively engage within the mobile space?

Let's start at the beginning:

Defining your Mobile Strategy

It is very difficult to sift through the clutter of which mobile marketing mechanisms are effective, nice to use, or fit's the budget. In my experience of designing campaigns more than often the marketing manager strips and changes the shape of the proposed strategy to fit the budget allocation and in most cases it is generally a process that has not been given much thought and requires immediate implementation.

Athough I find this absolutely frustrating I understand the reasoning behind it however 2009 has to be a year where more thought and effort goes into the marketing strategy.

I believe that if you have an online strategy you HAVE to have a mobile online equivalent - without question. I.e. you need a mobi-site.
This is the 1st port of call and you need to ensure that the mobi-site you have established works across all platforms. The user experience has to be good - so be wary as to who you have design your site.

Once you have your base set you can then define the "mechanisms" you will utilise to engage with people and this should generally form a part of your overall marketing plan as now your customers can choose to either access your online site, Mobi-site or contact you directly.

The mechanisms that are proving to work well are defined according to your objective and target market and therefore require careful planning and consideration prior to utilisation;

Mxit - is a phenomenal platform for enaging with youth however there is no guarantee that the youth you are trying to talk to are interested in your product and it is also exceptionally difficult for Mxit users to engage directly with your brand from the Mxit application. Thus your communication strategy within this environment is key.

Mobile Banner Adverts - also a phenomenal mechanism of communicating with people with currently in excess of 300 million banner adverts being served to SA users per month. This mechanism facilitates pulling people into your environment as they can link directly to your site from the site where the advert is being rendered, however you do not control who engages with you brand

MMS - also very effective as a mechanism as you can differentiate your brand and provide a hyperlink to your mobi-site however I believe this area will become more cluttered with specific players focusing on delivering MMS messages as a primary mechanism of mobile advertising.

SMS - very effective if your client is expecting to hear from you but utterly worthless if you are trying to market a product as there is too much clutter already and people tend to delete this type of marketing without even reading the message.

There are a multitued of other mechanisms but the point I'm making is simple - define your mobile strategy first. Start with your Mobi-site and then work on mechanisms of encouraging interaction with your customers....as you can see there are many mechanisms and each one has a specific place with specific outcomes. Ensure that you understand what those are (before comitting your marketing spend) and you will not be dissapointed.

There you have it - my "proverbials" on the line - no pun intended there either.

Mobile Marketing Campaigns Launched in December

2008-12-19T13:12:00.004+02:00

We had had the priveledge of working with 2 great companies and have launched not 1 but 2 mobile campaigns this week;

In no particular order:

Bolt the Movie

Is a campaign aimed at driving awareness about the launch of the film - which is intially being launched in 3D and later in the month 2D. The Mobisite has been designed to inform people about the film as well as facilitate downloads of content such as Bolt's Superbark, the trailer and some of the characters.

If you're out and about and are keen to check the site on your phone plug in www.boltthemovie.mobi to your browser and enjoy.

Secret Obsession - by Calvin Klein

This campaign is targeted primarily at the adult segment of the market as it is a little Risque with an advert of Eva Mendes being available for download off the Mobisite. The interesting element here is that the advert has been banned in the US because you can see (for a millisecond) Eva's nipple.

We are anticipating quite an uptake with this campaign as not only does it appeal to the men but the women can obtain their free samples from various retail outlets.

Check it out from your mobile - www.secretobsession.mobi.

I'll feedback stats and interesting info once we have let the campaign run it's course. Until then Happy Holidays - be safe and rest well.

Another Successful Mobile Campaign

2008-11-24T09:58:00.004+02:00

This is a post I picked up this morning from Just another Mobile Phone Blog which is one of my favourite streams of current and up-to-date mobile information.

Although the headline will appear below later I wanted to highlight the success of mobile marketing which is clearly indicated here. The 2 companies involved are Nokia and Unilever and why this is such a big deal for me is that many people we talk to about mobile campaining often pass the comment that mobile is not relevant to their product or market segment.

Here is proof that mobile marketing, if designed effectively, does work. The products that were being driven were; Nokia 5200 and a shampoo (Seda Teens Shampoo).

Results: The initial goal of handsets sold for this product was met after only one month. In addition to selling out inventory four times, the campaign generated twice the number of visits to the mobile site than the traditional website and more than 11,000 game downloads. The mobile website averaged a 10 percent click-through rate.

The important elements to note when defining your strategy are;

1) Does the campaign give me REACH,
2) What level of INTERACTION do I have with my customers (am I ready for that interaction?) and
3) Finally the MEASUREMENT is it quantifyable.

There are so many other variables to choose from;

The right technology platform
The right banner advertising platform
The right Mobi-Site development
The right community
The right content
The right landscape

In each of these areas you will find specialists comitted to their alotted business. My advise is to ensure that your marketing people are skilled up to understand the entire landscape in order to define the right strategy. Mobile campaigning can be very effective, use the resources throughout the industry to advise you on the elements available but always use your marketing skills to design and define the campaign.

Using companpies that offer only one dimension and promote only their value proposition as the effective mechanism for mobile marketing - could have a dismal outcome on results of your campaign.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Courtesy of Just Another Mobile Phone Blog.

ESPOO, Finland, -- Nokia took home a Mobile Marketing Association Award for its innovative work on a mobile advertising campaign for Unilever's Seda Teens Shampoo in Brazil. The initial goal of handsets sold for this product launch was met after only one month, prompting four increases in volume to meet retailer demand, still selling out after only two months.

The campaign, which won an award in the Branding Category for Latin America, drew consumers in with a branded mobile device, downloads, a game, a social networking site, and ads that ran on the Nokia Media Network. The Nokia Media Network is a premium, handset-agnostic mobile advertising network comprised of top-tier global publishers, operator partners and Nokia services such as Nokia.mobi.

"We were excited to take part in this new marketing initiative, allowing us to reach the consumers we want on the device they want," said Paula Lopes, marketing manager for Unilever. "This campaign shows how innovative both Nokia and Unilever are when it comes to reaching consumers."

Nokia and F.biz, Unilever's mobile agency, developed the mobile advertising campaign including:

-- A customized device -- the Nokia 5200 Pink packaging came with a Seda Teens-branded sleeve, phone jewelry and a folder presenting the Seda Teens offer;

-- Customized software preloaded with Seda Teens advertisements in the opening and closing screens, four Seda Teens 'themes,' a Seda-branded game and MP3s from a popular Brazilian band;

-- Bookmarks preloaded to the device, pointing to a Seda Teens game named "Dancing Star;"

-- A branded social networking site, accessible on both mobile and the traditional web, that allowed users to browse beauty and health tips, horoscopes and an area called "Experts," where they could submit questions on life; and

-- Banner ads that ran on the Nokia Media Network and decks of all major Brazilian mobile operators, leading to a download page for the game and the community site.

In addition to selling out inventory four times, the campaign generated twice the number of visits to the mobile site than the traditional website and more than 11,000 game downloads. The mobile website averaged a 10 percent click-through rate.

Nokia Interactive Advertising helps brands reach the potential global audience of 3.3 billion consumers with mobile devices. Through the Nokia Media Network and Nokia Interactive Solutions, Nokia Interactive Advertising provides brands with all they need to connect with and engage consumers with mobile advertising.

About Nokia

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

Motorola is on the hunt for South Africa’s next music sensation with the launch of MOTOROKR™ STAR.

2008-11-18T13:08:00.012+02:00

I have had the priveledge of personally being involved in this campaign, where we developed the Mobi-site and mobile Multimedia components. Needless to say I am very proud of what we have accomplished and as such am posting the official press release on my blog.

The campaign is SENSATIONAL with Wyclef Jean and Fergie - teaming up to record and produce the winners track. Motorola have moved into the music scene with their Rokr range of phones as well as the incredible w230, which is a low end phone with multimedia capability and comes with a 2gig memory card - for R566. Mindblowing!

This campaign is well positioned with their strategy and is set to give local talent a step up to the international platform of musical stardom. If only I could sing!

US Superstars Wyclef Jean and Fergie team up with Motorola for SA MOTOROKR™ STAR

Johannesburg, South Africa – 14 November 2008 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced the launch of MOTOROKR STAR, a sensational competition to discover and promote new musical talent.

The competition, which will be judged by music icons and Motorola brand ambassadors Wyclef Jean and Fergie, gives one South African finalist the chance to experience the life of a superstar with an all expenses paid trip to New York. One budding pop star will then be chosen to win an amazing prize, which includes the chance to record a brand new song specially written by Wyclef Jean for the competition, vocal coaching by acclaimed singer Fergie and a recording contract with a major record label.

“We are so excited about the launch of MOTOROKR STAR,” said Andrew Morely, Vice President of Marketing for Mobile Devices EMEA, Motorola. “Our ROKR products give music fans a portable way to enjoy their music; twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This competition is going to be a fantastic way to unleash a new breed of musical talent for consumers to experience.”

The MOTOROKR™ STAR COMPETITION

Entry

Participants can submit entries in three ways:

Mobile Submit a video audition to www.motorokrstar.mobi

Web Submit a video audition to www.motorokrstar.com

Live From 1st Nov 2008, the MOTOROKR Star Audition Booth tour will visit six major shopping centres across the country to allow participants to record and upload their entries in a recording booth.

Voting

Members of the public can log onto www.motorokrstar.com and vote for their favourite entries.

In January 2009, the 100 most popular tracks will be judged by a panel of music industry experts to find the top 10 entries for South Africa.

Finalists

The top ten SA finalists will be announced and the South African winner will be selected by Sony Music and Wyclef. The SA winner will receive an all expenses paid trip to New York to participate in the final leg of the competition and the nine runners ups will each receive a MTN Exploded Management program.

Winner – THE MOTOROKR STAR

An expert judging panel, which will include Wyclef and Fergie, will then choose the ultimate winner. The MOTOROKR STAR will receive:

A recording contract with a major record label*

Vocal coaching by Fergie

A 12 month management deal* with Maximum Artist Management, whose clients include The White Stripes, Eva Longoria and Elisha Cuthbert

The opportunity to record a song specially written by Wyclef Jean for the MOTOROKR STAR competition

Celebrating the ROKR range

The MOTOROKR STAR competition celebrates Motorola’s ROKR™ range of mobile phones.

MOTO W230:

Lose yourself in Music with the MOTO W230’s onboard MP3 player, stereo FM radio and dedicated music keys for quick access to and control of your music. With up to 1GB expandable memory, upgradeable to 2 GB you can store up to 500 songs for your entertainment. RRP R566

MOTOROKR™ E8:

The flagship ROKR product, the E8 uses Modeshift™ technology to seamlessly shift between talk, music and pictures. The haptics keypad technology and the Fastscroll navigation wheel make for the perfect combination of style and function.RRP R2499

MOTO™ EM30:

One moment ROKR EM30 is a mobile phone. The next, it transforms into your favourite music player. It uses Motorola’s innovative ModeShift technology to illuminate the keyboard — red keys illuminate in music mode and a brilliant blue keypad appears in phone mode — to take users from talk to text1 to complete music immersion at the touch of a button. With colourful cues that let users know exactly which mode they are in, the ROKR EM30 connects the sounds that matter most: family, friends and favourite artists. RRP R1999

MOTO™ EM325:

The EM325 offers a genuine music-player experience with immediate access to a stored music library or built-in FM radio with Radio Data System technology. The EM325 includes up to 2GB optional removable microSD storage, which gives users plenty of space for their music. RRP R 999

* Subject to individual contracts being signed

About Motorola

Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications. The company develops technologies, products and services that make mobile experiences possible. Our portfolio includes communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility solutions, digital set-tops, cable modems, mobile devices and Bluetooth accessories. Motorola is committed to delivering next generation communication solutions to people, businesses and governments. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $36.6 billion in 2007. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com.

About MOTOROKR STAR

For terms, conditions and further information, please visit www.motorola.com/motorokrstar or SMS ROKR to 39066.

2008-10-28T08:50:00.001+02:00

According to Opera's latest report, Africa's mobile phone industry is growing at nearly double the global rate whilst at the same time, PC penetration rates remain low as the initial costs are high.

According to the report South Africa and Egypt lead the way for mobile web adoption, followed by Kenya and Nigeria.

Traffic generated through Opera's servers equates to almost 50gb in the last month and interestingly Swaziland leads the top 10 countries in page views.

User growth since January 2008: 92.6%

Page View growth since January 2008: 105.8%

Top 5 sites ranked by unique users

1. Google.com

2. Facebook.com

3. gamejump.com

4. my.opera.com

5. youtube.com

What does this translate to for commerce?

If you DO NOT have a mobile 'online' strategy - the time is NOW.

Mobile strategy considerations:

Who is my Audience?

What is my Message?

What is the Incentive to get them to my site?

Is there a need for an incentive?

If you can effectively answer these you have the basis for establishing your Mobi-site, and your communication to get customers on to your site.

You also need to identify the correct partner for delivery and management as the technology underpinning your Mobi-site and communication with your customers has to ensure that all mobile operating systems, browser platforms and screen resolutions are catered for.

There is nothing like a poor user experience to drive people away from your Mobi-site - that is why it is key that the technology you use facilitates a great user experience. The site should be optimised for the handset logging in to it and it should fit into the screen.

Get your mobile strategy working for you now!

FireFly - Phone for Children

2008-10-22T07:43:00.004+02:00

I came across this phone a couple of months ago and whilst I have not had the pleasure of testing and playing with it I think it's a great idea.

I have 3 children and I can tell you that this is definitely on the cards as it is a simple device that would work well for when I would want to contact them - I just wonder how durable it is as they have a nack for breaking things!

The phone is available through Kalahari.net and has the following functionality;

Parental management of incoming and outgoing calls
Easy activation with nationwide wireless service
Customized ring tones, animations and colours

Product Information:

Works on GSM 900/1800 MHz networks
Internal antenna
Rechargeable, nonremovable lithium ion battery
Up to 6 hours talk time
Up to 205 hours standby time
Dimensions: 8.79 x 4.45" x 2.01 cm
Weight: 60 g
Dual language capabilities: English and Spanish

Fun for Kids:

Firefly Fireworks™ display flashes when making and receiving calls, during standby, and when charging
12 ring tones to choose from
5 animations to choose from
7 LCD screen backlight colors to choose from

No Sweat for Parents:

Speed dial Mom, Dad, and 112 emergency number
PIN-protected Phone Book with up to 20 numbers
Optionally rejects calls from numbers not in Phone Book
Missed call indicator and list

Package Contents:

Firefly Phone, Travel Charger, Backpack Clip
Instructions for getting started

Nokia E71

2008-10-20T12:28:00.005+02:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since I had my new device, although trying to get the device after I upgraded was almost an impossibility. After a week and a half of numerous calls to the upgrade centre I was advised by the call centre agent that if I did not like the "service" I was getting I should consider moving to Nashua Mobile! Fortunately Lizette at Altech Autopage came to my rescue and had it delivered within a day of my call to her. Thank you Lizette!

Putting that all aside I have to say that this is probably the best handset I have ever used! I have had everything from Nokia, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Imate, HTC and in those variants I have had the priveledge of having various models so the base I'm working from is quite solid.

What impressed me initially about the device, is the form factor. It is sleek and sexy, fits into your hand comfortably and just screams capable!

I thought it would take me some time to get used to the menu structure as I have been a loyal Sony Ericsson fan for many years now however to my surprise I had the device configured and working within a very short space of time - with no hiccups.

The software works - I have not experienced any hanging what-so-ever, and literally as you click on an icon the application opens. This for me is a big issue, as I am the most impatient person on this planet - so when something works as I expect it to it's a major thing.

WiFi - is also a really big thing for me. I'm not a techy and with my lack of patience sometimes find myself beating inanimate objects to death when they decide not to cooperate with my expectation. Having experience with WiFi on my PC and believe me it has not all been pleasant - ask Telkom help desk - I was blown away by the simplicity of connecting to my WiFi network. I honestly thought it could not be that easy - either that or my lengthy calls to Telkom have taught me something I may not have realised I knew.

The keys - some people may battle with them at first however coming from the Sony Ericsson M600i which has up to 4 functions per key - I'm finding it an absolute pleasure

The GPS is a bit of a misnomer for me - I use a Garmin Nuvi normally, so this feature is not of primary concern, however it does take a while to access the satellites and I have not quite tested it yet due to the response speed - but still, if you consider what you are getting in the sleek and slim package - it's incredible!

I enjoy the active note application where you can link notes to a call - very clever.

The camera is not great but that's ok because I don't want a camera as a phone.

As far as being able to personalise skins - there is not much to go with although I have not been online to establish whether there are downloads - suffice it to say the standard skins work ok - for now.

Everything works - Email was also a breeze to set up, I mean normally I would have called our IT technicians in to do the job. But in this instance it was as simple as 1,2 3.

In a nutshell this phone is functionally everything I could want for managing a mobile maketing business. It caters for a full multimedia experience, delivers the goods on all fronts and gets a BIG thumbs up from me.

Full specifications can be found here and additional in depth reviews can be found on Paul Jacobsons' site as well as Johnothan Greene's review.

Mobile Marketing!?

2008-09-23T11:29:00.006+02:00

Every day we are seeing more and more company's delve into the world of mobile marketing and I am thrilled to see the transition taking place.

I am however concerned at the number of companies out there that are pushing their value proposition as mobile marketers, when in fact the the truth is they're not!

The use of various elements of mobile media must be viewed in line with an entire strategy and should not neccessarily be used independently - that is not Mobile marketing!

What is Mobile Marketing?

Is it the use of SMS/Text,
Is it the use of MMS,
Is it the use of a Mobi-site,
Is it the use of Banner Ad Placements,
Is it the use of Applications,
Is it the use of Social media.

Running an SMS based campaign works exceptionally well if utilised to inform or solicit participation in competitions. As advertising - it pales into insignificance by comparison to an MMS based campaign - where you have the ability to engage with a user in a very rich, and entertaining basis.
Setting up a Mobi-site gives you a mobile presence however how are you engaging with customers in this space? This is important! This is where your level of engagement needs to tie in with what is transpiring in the social media space. This should form a part of your online strategy. Your Mobi-site is crucial to the success of your Mobile marketing campaign - make sure you think this one through carefully in order to meet your objectives.
Using Content and Applications can form a crucial part of the delivery mechanism but should by no means be the core of your Mobile Campaign. They are an extension to achieve your Reach.
If you review the statistics about social media and understand what social media is all about - you'll understand that there is an inexorable link between the 2 mediums.
People are choosing where they spend their time online and the clutter associated with branding/advertising is filtered out by what they choose to engage in.
The mobile phone is literally the access point to this world of social networking and as a brand, one needs to ensure that you have your strategy geared and optimised to extract and deliver VALUE!
There is a direct correlation between social networking and mobile marketing and there is a huge requirement to facilitate incorporating the mix of mechanisms above to deliver that.

So What is Mobile Marketing?
It is in fact the strategy around engaging a brand with consumers in a mobile environment, to deliver and achieve the desired objectives. Use the medium effectively and you will discover the most powerful media platform - ever!

Motorola Rokr E8

2008-09-05T13:26:00.007+02:00

I have been making a lot of noise about Mobile Media on this blog and yet have not given much consideration to the devices that are the foundation to all that I have presented thus far. So the direction of this blog is changing somewhat but I guess that's what life is about - isn't it...

Everyone is talking about the new 3g Apple Iphone which admittedly is a beautiful piece of engineering.. So I've decided to turn my attention to the new Motorola "Rokr" series instead.

I have to admit I have never been a big fan of Motorola.. Having toyed with the Razr and a couple of earlier 3g editions. I found the whole user experience a bit backward as compared to Sony Ericsson and Nokia. The menu structure and functionality of the phone just never felt right. Sending a text was always a mission for some reason and the quality of the audio was horrible to say the least. Save to say I’ve been pretty loyal to Sony Ericsson – up till now – but that’s an entirely different discussion.

Recently I was handed an EM30 to play with and to my pleasant surprise I have been bowled over by the phone. It's probably one of the sexiest phones on the market - the look and feel is really funky. Although it is designed as a music phone it facilitates all the functionality I required for accessing the web as well as my Gmail account. It is exceptionally easy to use - and it works! The phone has clearly been pitched at a younger market where music, pictures, blogging etc are important as it has all these wonderful features built in. The audio has been improved dramatically with their Crystal talk function which allows you to talk and hear in any environment as Motorola's new technology filters out background noise.

What I did struggle with initially was the setting up of MMS and WAP but after some manual intervention got the phone working. Another small issue for me is the screen size.... great width but a bit short for my liking.

So the question is have they done enough to entice existing users of Sony Ericsson, LG, Samsung and Nokia to make the switch?..... hmmmmm

What you think of the new phone and or your experience with Motorola?

Technical Stats

Obama uses Mobile Media for campaigning

2008-09-01T16:28:00.000+02:00

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