MOBIZ

"Almost Nude" Inflight Safety Video

2009-07-11T07:31:00.001+08:00

As a follow-up to their body paint ‘Nothing to Hide’ ad campaign, Air New Zealand has begun showing an inflight safety video with the flight crew wearing nothing except body paint.

The video is only shown on Air New Zealand’s domestic flights within New Zealand and is guaranteed to get passengers to pay more attention to safety.

Free Mobile Advertising Whitepaper from Smaato

2009-07-07T07:28:00.002+08:00

Smaato has published a whitepaper on Mobile Advertising, titled ‘Higher Revenues with Mobile Ad Optimization & Global Ad Network Aggregation’.

The whitepaper outlines the opportunities available to mobile publishers and developers to monetize their inventory worldwide. It explores how different mobile fill rates can be expected from mobile ad networks and what types of pricing tiers there are for mobile inventory. It also explains how ad revenue optimization works, and helps to realize the true potential of mobile inventory.

Publishers of mobile websites and developers of cool mobile apps face the growing challenge of matching their expanding global popularity with the daunting task of filling their ad inventory associated with those very services, says Smaato. The company is capitalizing on the provision of global mobile ad optimization using its SOMA platform.

You can download the whitepaper for free here.

Jul 1, 2009 (2 days ago) IAB Study Finds Mobile Ads Increase Brand Awareness

2009-07-06T07:19:00.000+08:00

A research study from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and research company Brand Driver, in conjunction with Kit Kat, has found that mobile display advertising can increase brand awareness and recognition.

The UK’s first publicly available mobile brand study to cover effectiveness across a range of mobile properties used a sample of 600 mobile Internet users. Respondents were exposed to banner ads for FMCG brand Kit Kat across four major mobile sites – Orange World, O2 Active, Planet 3 and Heatworld - which promoted free downloads or the chance to win an ipod.
Respondents who clicked on the ads were sent to the relevant page within the Kit Kat mobile Internet site, where they could enter the competition or download free mobile games or wallpapers.

The results of the study have formed the basis for a new set of five IAB guidelines, designed to increase the effectiveness of mobile ad campaigns:

1. Use mobile to raise awareness
The mobile ad campaign had a positive impact on raising awareness of the brand, with a 36% increase in spontaneous awareness levels of Kit Kat and 267% increase in first mention - people spontaneously mentioning Kit Kat before any other brands. Furthermore, 76% of those who had clicked on any Kit Kat banner ads said they would be likely to buy the product.

2. Mobile advertising can be effective across all demographics, but especially 18-34s
The campaign resulted in uplifts across all age groups, and for both men and women. The results were most impressive though among 18-34 year olds. Spontaneous awareness increased by 50% compared to a 21% increase for 35-44 year olds.

3. Brands and mobile Internet sites should put the user experience first
The research found that the context of mobile advertising is extremely important. People that enjoyed the site they were surfing were 76% more likely to recognise the ad. Heavy mobile Internet users were also more receptive to the advertising, and were 80% more like to recall the ad..

4. Mobile display advertising needs a clear focus
The mobile campaign improved perceptions of Kit Kat across all statements asked, particularly “is a product perfect for a break” but the uplift amongst some of the other statements was minor. This means with just one banner creative, you are unlikely to change a vast array of brand metrics, therefore the creative needs to be focused and streamlined according to what you want to achieve.

5. Mobile is more effective when something of value offered
One in four people who saw the Kit Kat banner ad clicked through to the mobile site. Of those who clicked through, 43% had done so because of the competition to win a free iPod. 51% of respondents said they were more likely to interact with mobile advertising if something was offered to them. The results also highlighted the need for mobile creative to be eye-catching and engaging: 41% of respondents who clicked through were simply interested in the advertising.

The research also looked at general attitudes and mobile Internet behaviours. In terms of attitudes to mobile Internet advertising, 72% of respondents expect the amount of advertising on mobile sites to increase over the next couple of years, and 53% would be happy to receive advertising in return for free content.

According to the first IAB-PricewaterhouseCoopers study of mobile ad revenues, expenditure on mobile advertising in the UK exceeded market expectation in 2008 to reach a total of £28.6 million. The market doubled in size on a like for like basis in 2008, increasing by 99.2% year on year.

“Mobile advertising is still in its infancy and consumers are yet to be fully sold on it because marketers need to learn the emerging rules of engagement,” says IAB Head of Mobile, Jon Mew. “What the Kit Kat research tells us is that most effective mobile campaigns follow five simple steps, and we hope that publishing these basic guidelines will help accelerate investment in the medium.”

The last glimpse of Michael Jackson

2009-07-05T07:27:00.001+08:00

Michael Jackson’s rehearsal with his dancers on 23rd June, just two days before he died. It would had been a great performance. Tribute to the King of Pop.

Free Mobile Marketing Supplement in The Times

2009-07-04T07:23:00.000+08:00

Check out and enjoy this nice-shiny 16-page supplement on mobile marketing here. It’s been produced by Raconteur Media, and Mobile Marketing Mag Editor David Murphy who has been closely involved as an editorial consultant on the project, writing a couple of pieces, advising on content, and generally trying to make the thing as useful as possible to anyone picking it up who can’t quite get their head around what mobile marketing is.

iPhone takes 11 per cent of 1Q09 smartphone sales

2009-07-03T07:16:00.000+08:00

Apple sold 3.9 million handsets during the quarter to more than double its market share, says Gartner. Smartphone sales hit 36.4 million units in 1Q09, representing a 12.7 per cent increase from 12 months earlier.

In fact, smartphone sales represented 13.5 per cent of all mobile device sales in 1Q09, compared with 11 per cent in 1Q08.

Gartner attributes the trend to good sales at Research In Motion and Apple, with the latter more than doubling its market share from 5.3 per cent to 10.8 per cent.

This means Apple is now the third-ranked smartphone manufacturer by volume.

Nokia continues to boss the market, however, with a 41.2 per cent share from nearly 14 million units sold.

This compares to 14.6 million units and a 45.1 per cent share in 1Q08.

Symbian accounted for 49.3 per cent of worldwide smartphone operating systems (OS) market share in 1Q09, down from 56.9 per cent a year earlier.

The full 1Q09 global smartphone rankings are as follows:

Company, Sales (units 000), Share (%)
Nokia, 14,991.2, 41.2
Research In Motion, 7,233.6, 19.9
Apple, 3,938.8, 10.8
HTC, 1,957.3, 5.4
Fujitsu, 1,387.0, 3.8
Others, 6,896.4, 18.8

Source: Gartner

Dell earns $3m from Twitter

2009-07-02T06:55:00.000+08:00

Computing giant converts tweets into sales at a relatively modest level. The £3 million revenue has been accrued in the two years since Dell began using Twitter, with $1 million of that figure coming in the last six months.

Of course, Twitter is not charging businesses for use of its microblogging network as a sales channel yet, but is expected to do so at some point in the future.

As such, Dell has been tracking the leads it generates from its Twitter posts (six-10 a week to @DellOutlet, half containing exclusive deals) using its own software.

Data now 25 percent of mobile operator revenues

2009-07-01T07:57:00.000+08:00

Close to 40 percent of all worldwide mobile operators saw their revenues fall in the first quarter of 2009, compared to just 16 percent in the same period of 2008, according to a new report released by market research firm Strategy Analytics. In addition, mobile service revenues increased just 3 percent in Q1 2009, compared to 8 percent a year earlier. Strategy Analytics notes that shrinking revenue growth is not a problem limited to mature, saturated markets--25 percent of operators in emerging markets also suffered declining revenue growth in Q1. In the U.S., service revenues grew 3 percent in the first quarter to $163 billion, but service revenues fell 1.3 percent in Western Europe, following a 0.5 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Mobile data revenues increased 17 percent in the first quarter and now represent 25.3 percent of total operator revenues, up 21.9 percent year-over-year and a 24 percent increase over Q4 2008. Data ARPU grew 3.6 percent on a global basis and increased 23 percent in North America but fell 7 percent in the Asia-Pacific region. Based on the limited number of operators reporting detail, Strategy Analytics reports that messaging services declined to 53 percent of data ARPUs in Q1, down from 57 percent in 2008--based on the limited number of operators reporting detail, Strategy Analytics notes that messaging revenues declined to 53 percent of data ARPUs, down from 57 percent in 2008. Non-messaging data ARPUs increased by 11 percent annually.

98 percent of iPhone owners use mobile data

2009-06-30T07:52:00.000+08:00

There are now 6.4 million active iPhone users in the U.S. according to media research firm Nielsen, and 98 percent of them have embraced the Apple smartphone's data features. Nielsen reports that iPhone users in the U.S. totaled 4.3 million in April 2008, and forecasts that the pending release of a $99 8 GB version should negate consumer cost concerns that have limited the overall size of the iPhone audience.

Existing iPhone users are nevertheless highly coveted by mobile marketers. Nielsen notes that 40 percent boast household incomes of $100,000 or more, compared to 19 percent of all U.S. wireless subscribers. In addition, iPhone users are age-diverse, with the 55-and-older segment roughly equal to the 13-to-24 category.

China Mobile targets residential voice with TD-SCDMA

2009-06-29T07:48:00.000+08:00

China Mobile is using its new TD-SCDMA network to offer cut-price fixed-line voice services to residential customers.

The mobile giant, which does not have a wireline business, is undercutting China Telecom and Unicom with its new service in Beijing and Shanghai.

Shanghai Mobile charges a monthly base fee of 16 yuan ($2.34) that includes 50 minutes of local call time, TD fixed-wireless phones use 11-digit phone numbers like mobile numbers with a "188" prefix. For additional use, the carrier charges 0.22 yuan ($0.03) for the first three minutes and 0.11 yuan ($0.02) per minute for extra time. Incoming calls are free of charge.

The phone that looks like a normal wireline phone can be used to send text messages at the cost of 0.10 yuan ($0.01) per message.

Families that sign an 18-month contract and commit to spend at least 88 yuan ($12.88) per month on their wireless phone bills can have the TD fixed-wireless phone free of charge. The phone is not available for sale otherwise.

Beijing Mobile is also selling a TD fixed-wireless phone service, offering 50 minutes of local call time in a monthly base fee of 10 yuan ($1.46) and charges 0.12 yuan ($0.02) per minute for additional use. Subscribers need to pay 20 yuan ($2.93) for the SIM card and can have the first month's base fee waived.

The monthly base fees for both China Telecom's and China Unicom's wireless voice services are higher and do not include any free minutes.

China Telecom, the main fixed-line operator in Shanghai, charges a monthly base fee of 25 yuan while China Unicom charges 21.6 yuan in Beijing. Their standard rate for local calls is 0.22 yuan for the first three minutes and 0.11 yuan for each additional minute.

China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network, the country’s first 3G network, has struggled to find customers since formally launching early this year.

Tribute To Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

2009-06-27T08:09:00.003+08:00

This is an advertisement for Michael Jackson's that many of us had been looking forward. Great tribute to the King of Pop whom I will always remember as the person who had introduced pop music to me and to the world.

His death has shocked the entire world, coming all of sudden without any warning. You can check out on MJ at his YouTube Channel or his life gallery.

The world without MJ will never be the same, no matter how you would had judged or perceived him, he will always be the legendary King of Pop. Here’s his last photo, showing medical officers trying to save him. R.I.P.

Test Your Awareness : Whodunnit?

2009-06-27T07:05:00.000+08:00

iPhone interacting with outdoor media

2009-06-26T06:23:00.000+08:00

CBS Outdoor and Clusta have designed digital billboards which can connect to your iPhone via WiFi or 3G, allowing you to rotate and zoom the products on screen with the touch-screen by using the "pinch" and "stretch" features on your iPhone. It’s the ultimate combination of “connective ubiquitous technology” and “making people stare at pictures of products for even longer”. It’s certainly a great advance in mass-market interactive technology and we’ll have to wait and see if it ever gets used for local news alerts, public information, or anything at all except selling stuff.

The technology can also be developed for other smart phones and can include SMS interactivity to receive more information about the product.

Mossberg on Palm's answer to the iPhone

2009-06-25T08:10:00.000+08:00

Wall Street Journal Technology columnist Walt Mossberg reviews Palm's new smartphone, the new Palm's Pre.

Mossberg's finaly verdict, its an elegantly designed device and certainly will give iPhone a real competition provided if it can attract sufficient developers to its platform.

41 Percent Choosing Smart Phones As Next Device

2009-06-24T06:31:00.000+08:00

Over the next few years, the handset industry will increasingly polarize between low-end feature phones and high-end smartphones, according to two separate reports released today by Yankee Group and Juniper Research.

Yankee Group said that 41 percent of consumers in US are likely to choose a phone with an advanced operating system for their next device. At that pick-up rate, smartphone volumes will make up about 38 percent of all handsets by 2013 in North America. In the U.S., the average consumer has had four phones, which increases their likelihood of wanting to have more sophisticated features for their fifth device.

While the smartphone trend increases in US, Juniper Research is forecasting that developing markets, like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, will increase demand for low-cost handsets, reports cellular-news.com. By 2014, annual sales of low-cost mobile handsets will rise by 22 percent to more than 700 million phones.

Juniper predicts that the worldwide smartphone share will be grow to 27 percent of all mobile devices shipped in 2014 (up from 13 percent in 2008).

Over 1 million iPhone 3G S sold over the First weekend

2009-06-23T07:49:00.000+08:00

Apple announced sales of its new iPhone 3G S topped the 1 million mark on Sunday, the third day the latest edition of the touchscreen device was available at retail. In addition, the computing giant reported that 6 million customers have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 OS software in the first five days since its release on Wednesday.

iPhone gaining business approval

2009-06-22T07:09:00.003+08:00

Apple smartphone seeing increased adoption in the commercial sector. The business world is seeing a steady uptake in adoption of Apple’s iPhone. According to the Channel Insider, the device currently holds around one per cent of the global business market, but this figure is increasing as more people bring their iPhones in to work and a greater volume of business apps are made available.

Apple has reported that the device has been implemented as a business smartphone by Kraft Foods, while Nike and Disney have promised to support the device. Additionally, biotech firm Genentech has said that it will deploy 3,000 iPhones to its employees.

SaaS provider Salesforce.com has also reported 80,000 sales of its customer relations management iPhone app.

Top Airports

2009-06-20T06:11:00.002+08:00

UK-based civil aviation consultant Skytrax just released a 10-month survey of airline passengers who voted in the world's best airports in 2009.

A total of 8.6 million passengers at 190 airports were invited to rate the facilities based on their experiences at check-in, arrival, departures and transfers.

Six Asian airports make the top 10, along with Zurich, Munich, Amsterdam and Auckland.

The top 10 airports, according to the survey, are :

1. Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea
2. Hong Kong International Airport
3. Singapore Changi Airport
4. Zurich Airport, Switzerland
5. Munich Airport, Germany
6. Kansai International Airport, Japan
7. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
8. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the Netherlands
9. Central Japan International Airport Centrair Nagoya, Japan
10. Auckland Airport, New Zealand

Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates is voted the best duty-free shops.

Hong Kong is voted for serving the best food.

Wondering when the Chinese airports will ever make it to the center stage.

iPhone titles currently has 10% of US mobile gaming market

2009-06-19T08:01:00.001+08:00

New platforms such as Apple's iPhone, Nokia's N-Gage and Google's Android will spur the growth of the mobile gaming market, according to media research firm Screen Digest.

Apple alone accounted for $100 million in gaming revenues in the second half of 2008, translating to 10% of the US mobile games segment.

The report contends that new smartphone platforms will pick up the slack, although games for new platforms represented only 15% of mobile games revenues in North America and Europe during 2008.

Screen Digest cites Apple's combination of appealing hardware, large developer community and easy-to-use retail environment as the keys to its lead in the mobile gaming sector.

And for major publishers, the greatest impact of the iPhone and App Store is not the additional revenues generated via game sales but rather the overall effect of the App Store's business model on the wider mobile games market.

Screen Digest credits the App Store for increasing awareness of mobile games and for persuading some network operators to lower their revenue shares and build their own application stores. At the moment Apple is out in front in terms of user experience, range of content and in generating consumer and developer interest in mobile games for its devices. While the market for mobile games on the App Store is strong, iPhone users still only account for a tiny proportion of the market. In Q4 2008, iPhone shipments made up less than 2% of total handset shipments.

It’s no secret that mobile gaming has really been around since applications took off, it’s also no secret that the iPhone revitalised the almost-dead application market. With so many players charging in the new arena, I reckon you can expect to see mobile gaming become a significant percentage of the overall gaming market in the next few years and Apple will certainly be one of the successful player up there.

iPhone 3Gs TV Ad

2009-06-18T07:50:00.001+08:00

Palm Pre Vs. iPhone 3G

2009-06-17T07:40:00.000+08:00

China limiting number of messages to curb with SMS spam messages

2009-06-16T07:39:00.000+08:00

China will limit the number of messages that a mobile number can send per day to battle rampant spam messages clogging cell phones. Spam messages, largely consisting of real estate offers, ads for English lessons, fake tax receipts and other frauds have grown very quickly in China in recent years. It is not unusual to receive dozens of messages a day, including the odd gun ad.

China's three main mobile network operators, China Telecom, China Mobile Ltd and China Unicom have signed onto an agreement to deal with inter-network spam messages. One mobile number cannot send more than 200 messages per hour or 1,000 per day on weekdays, according to the agreement. On holidays, 500 messages per hour and 2,000 per day may originate from one number.

So those one man band compaies who are using individual SIM card to blast will certainly have to think of other alternatives.

The New Nokia E72 promo video

2009-06-15T13:22:00.002+08:00

The E72 comes with S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 (just like our AT&T E71x folks), awesome E75-like Nokia Messaging client (Nokia needs to make this available as a download for ALL E71/E71x owners!), 5 megapixel camera, slightly redesigned keyboard with a smaller space bar, 3.5mm headset jack (finally!), compass, and more improvements. Its a huge upgrade from its predecessor.

LG Viewty Smart Revolutionizes Phone Photography

2009-06-15T07:20:00.000+08:00

The new LG Viewty Smart mobile had a lot of expectations after the original Viewty sold 6.5 million handsets, but this phone blows it out of the water.

The main focus of the Viewty Smart is its impeccable camera. LG went to 14 countries conducting surveys in order to find out what it is that makes camera phones easy, as well as difficult. These surveys must have worked because this camera phone is pumped.

Aside from LG’s S-Class User touchscreen interface (extremely user friendly), it shoots 8mp with a maximum ISO sensitivity of 1600. It’s Intelligent Shot Mode has new features with photo editing possibilities.

This phone could really be confused for a camera. If you are looking for a powerful phone cum camera or vice versa, you will love this device.

Clawing for Boobs!

2009-06-14T08:11:00.000+08:00

Remember the claw machines from the arcades of your youth? For fifty cents a try, you could pick up a cheap stuffed bear or duck or dog. The Japs had just came up with some different this time, how about clawing for some boobs!!