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Future Looks Bright For Mobile Messaging Posted: March 16, 2007 I was browsing the internet the other day, not really looking for anything in particular. Even within the boundaries of such an unfocused search, I came across these facts (courtesy of Cellular News) pertaining to the health and future of mobile messaging both in America and around the world. I think they speak for themselves. 1) The UK’s Mobile Data Association (MDA) has published its firstly monthly report into MMS usage in the UK. During the third quarter of 2006, a total of 88 million picture messages (MMS) were sent throughout the UK - on average, almost 1 million per day throughout July, August and September. October’s total was the highest yet, with 30 million picture messages sent across the networks. 2) The UK text messaging total broke through the 4 billion barrier for the first time during December 2006, according to figures announced today by the Mobile Data Association (MDA). December’s remarkable total of 4.3 billion takes the overall figure for 2006 to 41.8 billion, surpassing the MDA’s prediction of 40 billion and giving a daily average for the year of 114 million. Person-to-person texts sent across the UK GSM network operators throughout the last month of the year show a growth of 38% on the December 2005 figure of 3.1 billion, and represent an average of 138 million messages per day. On Christmas Day this leapt to 205 million texts, an average of 8 million per hour, with the figure for New Year’s Day 2007 even higher reaching a record breaking 214 million, the highest daily total ever recorded by the MDA. When compared to the mere 42 million messages sent per day five years ago throughout December 2001, it becomes clear just how far the nation has come in embracing text messaging technology which has emerged from a popular craze to becoming an essential communication tool, inclusive to all age groups. The MDA has forecast that figures will continue to rise this year to deliver an annual total of 45 billion text messages for 2007, with an average of 3.75 billion messages being sent per month and 123 million messages per day. URUGUAY 1) Ancel, the mobile unit of Uruguayan state-run operator Antel, ended 2006 with a daily average of 6 million SMS sent compared to 2 million in 2005, local newspaper La República reported Antel deputy sales manager Osvaldo Novoa as saying. Novoa also said Ancel ended last year with 950,000 mobile telephone subscribers compared to 568,000 in 2005 and mobile traffic was up 65% year-on-year. CANADA
1) The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association says that mobile phone customers sent more than 4.3 billion person-to-person text messages in 2006, almost triple the 1.5 billion messages sent in 2005. Text message volumes peaked in December 2006 at more than 560 million in that month alone, which represents more than 18 million per day. “Although text messaging volumes have been doubling year-over-year since 2002, the extraordinary surge in 2006 is directly related to Canadians’ continuing adoption of wireless data services,” said Peter Barnes, President and CEO of CWTA. “Canadians continue to be the world’s second largest consumers of wireless voice minutes at an average of 400 minutes per month. However, non-voice services such as text messaging, e-mail, gaming, ringtones, music and video now account for more than $1 billion in yearly service provider revenue.” At the end of 2006, Canadian wireless phone subscribers numbered 18.5 million, representing a national wireless penetration rate of approximately 58%. Recent CWTA research estimates wireless penetration in major urban centres has exceeded 70%, with some greater metropolitan areas approaching the 80% mark. GLOBALLY 1) Sybase 365 (formerly Mobile 365) has said that it delivered a record-breaking number of mobile messages in 2006, successfully sending more than 25 billion domestic and international MMS and SMS messages worldwide-almost twice the number of messages delivered in 2005. “The sheer volume of messages delivered by Sybase 365 in 2006 reflects the remarkable growth of the mobile messaging market” said Marty Beard, president of Sybase 365. Sybase 365 also reported that for calendar year 2006 it delivered 249 million Mobile Originated (MO) MMS messages-more than five times the number delivered in 2005. MMS traffic increased nearly 17 percent from November to December 2006 alone, with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day serving as the heaviest traffic days of the month. 2) The messaging interconnection firm, mBlox has announced a record number of off-portal transactions for 2006, processing over 1.4 billion application-to-person transactions worldwide. 2006 was the fifth consecutive year of high growth for mBlox, with business up 40% over 2005. In the USA, the number of premium SMS transactions mBlox processed increased 100% over 2005, and globally mBlox cleared and settled payments for mobile content transactions worth more than $500 million in street revenue. 3) Thousands of miles, different time zones, even the seas and oceans proved no barrier for friends, family and loved ones this New Year, as the amount of SMS sent globally increased over 30 per cent compared to last year, to reach a staggering 33 billion messages sent worldwide. These statistics are being attributed to increased use of SMS by groups outside of the traditional young user segments. Responsible for handling more than half of all messages sent in the world, LogicaCMG has calculated that its systems processed around 18 billion messages on New Year’s Day, up one-third from the previous year. With around two billion active SMS users worldwide it is by far the largest messaging community in the world, and with mobile penetration on the rise the future looks bright for SMS as the consumers’ choice for mobile communication. Across the globe, record traffic growth in established messaging markets combined with a number of newer emerging SMS markets caused a volume growth of messages far beyond anticipated levels. LogicaCMG, the messaging specialist that serves over one billion subscribers in 135 countries across six continents, saw new traffic records for the last festive season across the majority of the world’s mobile markets including the UK (29 per cent growth), France (28 per cent growth) and Thailand (close to 50 per cent growth). Henk de Boer, senior vice president, messaging, at LogicaCMG said: “The double-digit growth of SMS sent globally proves that its relevance in the lives of people is stronger than ever. Mobile users are able to fully rely on the capability of SMS to guarantee real-time delivery of their personal messages to businesses, friends and family at time critical moments. 4) A new report from Portio Research forecasts a healthy future for SMS, which continues to be the star of the data services show with traffic volumes and revenues that continue to confound predictions. Although the growth of SMS revenues will not be as aggressive as the growth of SMS volumes due to declining prices, by 2012 global SMS revenues are expected to reach US$67 billion, driven by 3.7 trillion messages. If there was one message this report should get across it is this: SMS continues to be a phenomenal success as the cheapest, quickest and easiest to use form of peer-to-peer mobile communication. Markets have continued to grow and greatly exceeded the predictions of similar research carried out in 2005. SMS traffic has not flattened out in mature markets but continued to boom whilst the US market has grown much faster than expected. The SMS market despite declining prices continues to be fuelled by new subscribers. In Asia alone, in the five minutes it takes to read this press release and in every subsequent five minute period for the next six years, 2,267 people will have bought their first ever mobile phone. For the majority, these new handsets will offer little affordable functionality apart from basic voice and SMS services. This translates into an additional 1.4bn new mobile subscribers in Asia alone with a consequent boom in SMS traffic in the region. Text-Messaging Learning From The Mishaps Of Email Posted: March 8, 2007 Wireless carriers are acting quickly and often to make sure text-messaging does not fall prey to the same spamming issues which have plagued e-mail for years. Verizon recently won a legal battle against Specialized Programming and Marketing, who had sent approximately 100,000 unsolicited text messages offering a free cruise to Verizon subscribers. Specialized was ordered to pay Verizon $200,000 in damages and has been blocked from sending any messages to Verizon customers in the future. This is not the first time Verizon has sued over text-messaging spam issues, and by the looks of it, they will have no trepidation doing so again in the future if the need arises. “Text messaging is a great and increasingly popular way to communicate, but unwanted or unsolicited text message spam to our customers’ handsets is unacceptable,” Steve Zipperstein, vice president of legal and external affairs at Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. “We have a long track record of protecting our customers’ privacy, including through lawsuits, and will continue to do so.” The major carriers, especially Verizon, realize how costly spam has been to the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns and are refusing to let text-messaging suffer the same fate. Marguerite Reardon of CNET writes, “Text message spam has been on the rise in the past couple of years. But compared with e-mail spam, it is still a drop in the bucket. Still, wireless operators realize that a severe outbreak of cell phone spam could severely damage their reputations, a key concern as they look to include text-based advertising in their business models.” This is great news for any company looking into the possibility of adding mobile marketing to their advertising portfolio. The major wireless carriers aren’t waiting until spam becomes unmanageable, but are instead attacking the problem before it has even become noticeable to most mobile consumers. This spells trouble for anyone trying to use the wireless platform as a vehicle for spam and is another reason why mobile marketing has a bright future indeed. Mobile Marketing Has Unparalleled Reach and Response Posted: March 6, 2007 Boost Mobile and West Coast Customs, announced the results of a mobile marketing campaign that offered Boost Hookt mobile community members the opportunity to win a pimped-out car. The contest garnered an astounding 1.5 million entries in a 90-day period. This is even more impressive when you realize that Boost Mobile has only 3.8 million subscribers. Thus, the 1.5 million entrants represent roughly 40% of Boost Mobile’s base! Even though the campaign used several different avenues to reach customers, such as retail mail-in, an online signup promoted through MySpace viral referrals, and online signups through the West Coast Customs and Boost Mobile Websites, 98% of the 1.5 million entries were received through mobile phones. “The amount of sheer activity that goes on in a mobile community can be an awesome driver of both reach and frequency. It is like a rapid of people and interactivity sweeping by, that can flood your expectations in an instant if you know how to dip in”, says Steve Smith of Media Post. “Getting 1.5 million entries off of a niche audience on a small carrier in 90 days is a good indication of how powerful the medium can be when marketers really hit their relevancy target.” The above example serves to illustrate Cellit’s contention that no form of advertising has the potential reach and immediacy of mobile marketing. Cell phones are rapidly replacing personal computers as the most ubiquitous communication device in America, and as this contest proves, the trend is even more pronounced in young, urban communities, such as those served by Boost Hookt. Mobile marketing provides advertisers the unique opportunity to instantly reach countless consumers wherever they may be, while simultaneously engaging those consumers in a more interactive and fruitful campaign. Mobile video for the masses Posted: February 28, 2007 Are we really that much smarter than the next guy? A few months ago, I saw a news article somewhere mentioning ABC News Mobile is now distributing video clips to everyday phones. Of course, I tried it out. Did it work on my Motorola V180? No, of course not! Their solution (powered by Verisign), required you to have a smart phone. Why aren’t we seeing other companies doing what we’re doing? Honestly, I don’t think they know how. I’m not saying we’re all geniuses here, but there is something that separates us from the rest of the mobile marketing companies out there: we’re technical. The other mobile marketing firms are run by lazy MBA types, that think they can make a quick buck in mobile. On the other hand, we really know our stuff. Hopefully, our work stands for itself. We hope people will watch our videos on mobile phones and be amazed, and the phone will ring off the hook. Hopefully the techies will win out over the MBAs. After all, we’re all about creating compelling content, and not just making a quick buck. Sprint Introduces GPS-Based Apartment Service; but why? Posted: February 23, 2007 Sprint and Smarter Agent have recently teamed up with Apartments.com to provide rental property information straight to your phone based on its GPS capabilities. Although the service sounds impressive, when compared with Cellit’s House4Cell technology, it leaves something to be desired. 1. To utilize the service, the end user must have Sprint as their carrier and use a GPS enabled phone. House4Cell works on virtually all handsets and with all the major wireless carriers. 2. The end user must pay $2.99 a month , on top of regular text messaging charges, to access the new service. House4Cell is paid for by the realtor and costs the consumer nothing extra. 3. House4Cell is designed to adapt to whatever phone the information is being sent to. The Sprint service requires users to download a mobile application from their website and install it on their device, a process which many users find confusing and frustrating. 4. House4Cell automatically captures information about the prospective renter or buyer, thus creating valuable leads for the Realtor; Sprint’s service does not. While it is exciting to see that interest in mobile realty services has become prevalent enough to intice industry heavyweights such as Sprint and Apartments.com to come aboard, House4Cell remains the superior solution for mobile rental information, both for realtors and consumers. Don’t Shoot the Messenger: Differentiating between the Carrier and the Mobile Content Provider Posted: February 21, 2007 Recently, a Canadian wireless provider, Telus, was forced to halt its delivery of adult content after receiving hundreds of complaints and several service cancellations. Further pressure was applied by high-ranking Catholic officials who encouraged their parishes and schools to cancel their contracts with the provider. The provider had taken steps to ensure this content was not seen by children, including age-verifying and registering those who wished to receive the service, a step that many adult websites have ignored. Furthermore, the service was limited to images of partial or full nudity, and did not include depictions of sex acts. They even took the extra step of actively blocking access to illegal child pornography. These precautions did not sway the protesters though, and the provider decided to stop the service. Although Cellit Mobile Marketing is not engaged in the delivery or distribution of “questionable content”, we believe that the preceding example could set a dangerous precedent for a new type of censorship. The Canadian company was simply providing the conduit through which the content was distributed and was not an active participant in its production or promotion. The actions taken by those who boycotted the provider would be the equivalent of suing your ISP for allowing access to adult websites, or complaining to a credit card company for not denying transactions involving potentially offensive products and services. It is not, and should not be the responsibility of the service provider, be it wireless, internet, or even cable and satellite television, to police the content which may be accessed through their service. Each consumer has the ability and the right to look or not look at any material they please, and it is up to the creators and distributors of this content to make sure that their products have the appropriate safeguards in order to restrict access to only those who are legally allowed and wish to see them. Otherwise, if the providers did take it upon themselves to decide what their customers would be able to access, their actions would be in serious violation of our right to free speech. Furthermore, if these companies could be bullied into changing their policies by religious, political, or other affiliated groups, then consumers would effectively have their morals and values dictated to them by their service providers, and thus the protesting groups, a dangerously inappropriate proposition. Carriers and customers alike need to distinguish between the content and the provider of access. Let’s face it, someone will always be offended by something. It’s up to the consumer to choose not to buy the offensive content, and boycott the content provider, but to boycott the access provider is taking this several steps too far. Mobile Marketing via Bluetooth: Why it won’t work. Posted: Time and time again, we get requests for “Bluetooth blasting”…. you know, the process of sending out messages to everybody in the area inviting them to your store/restaurant/club/whatever. Quite honestly, it’s time to set the record straight: it ain’t gonna work. Sure, it would be great, but carriers, technology, and the public aren’t going to allow it, and here’s why:
In the end, who wants it anyway? Our job at Cellit Mobile Marketing is to provide marketing tools that engage the consumer. We want people to want to receive the message. Everything we do is opt-in. The last thing we want to do is spam your phone with silly Bluetooth blasts. And if you do want that, you’re better off hiring somebody to stand on the corner wearing a banana costume, handing out fliers. After all, who doesn’t like a guy in a banana costume? Get Ready For the “Conversational Marketing Age” Posted: February 14, 2007 In a recent article on the consumer-created Doritos Super Bowl Ads, Advertising Age’s Jonah Bloom declared “we’re entering a new ad era – the conversational marketing age.” This is not an entirely new sentiment, as he admits, but the realization of the potential behind consumer-advertiser partnerships is a more recent phenomenon. Bloom continues, “Of course it is in part about consumers’ access to video-production and -distribution technologies, but it’s also about the increasing sway they hold over any product’s success. It’s about the honest insight and information they offer that can help a company identify problems and opportunities on corporate and brand levels. It’s even about their willingness to co-create with you the products they will later consume.” Consumers are no longer willing to accept whatever products and services are offered to them. They want to be able to provide meaningful feedback and help steer the development of products that more closely fit their needs. Bloom states that the tech industry has been utilizing this relationship for years through beta-testers and other means of involving the consumer in product development, but today the strategy is beginning to be adopted by other industries as well. Bloom continues, “This movement is changing media and the nature of advertising.” John Battelle, who coined the term “conversational marketing”, has “found that advertisers who used their ads ‘as invitations to conversation’ – or even turned live online conversations into ad messages – were outperforming those who viewed ads as unchanging packages to be posted next to content.” Advertisers who talk with their target audience, as opposed to at them, are in a much better position to offer consumers what they really want. We here at Cellit Mobile Marketing could not be more excited by this trend. Cell phones are uniquely suited to this sort of conversational advertising due to their instant access to millions of consumers, as well as their interactive features, which have expanded greatly over the past few years to include voice, text-messaging, photos, videos, and much more. For example, Cellit recently entered into an agreement with a major toothpaste manufacturer to provide support for their new campaign in which they invite consumers to send in pictures of their smiles, which will be posted on a website, for a chance to win $1000 and a digital camera. Mobile technology is the premiere gateway to “conversational marketing”, and it will be those companies which embrace mobile marketing that will thrive in the new interactive marketplace. Text-Messaging Coveted Across All Age Groups Posted: February 13, 2007 A study published in the February 1st edition of Wireless Week Magazine reveals that text-messaging is a one of the features mobile consumers consider most important when choosing a wireless carrier or phone. 57% of respondents aged 18-24, referred to as the “Cellular Generation”, consider text-messaging capabilities of “high importance” when selecting a carrier. While this group is always at the forefront of technology adoption, when it comes to text-messaging, the attraction isn’t dulled by differences in age. Of those respondents aged 25-34 (”Transitioners”), 43% agree with those who value text-messaging as a highly important component in choosing a wireless carrier, while a full 23% of those 35 and older (Adult Adopters”) concur. The numbers become even more impressive when people were asked whether or not text-messaging was of high importance when selecting a specific cell phone. 58% of the Cellular Generation responded yes, while 46% of Transitioners and 30% of Adult Adopters agreed. Text-messaging has become an essential feature for millions of wireless consumers, even across different age groups, making it a powerful and unusually effective way of reaching almost any demographic. Mobile Marketing Participation Increasing Significantly Posted: February 6, 2007 An annual study by the Mobile Marketing Association has revealed a significant increase in consumer participation in mobile marketing campaigns for 2006. Of the 1800 consumers, aged 13 to 65 years old, surveryed, 48% said their wireless phone usage had increased significantly over 2005. The most popular feature by far was text-messaging, still the preferred method of delivery for most mobile marketing strategies, with nearly 70% of those surveyed having used it. Of those responding to mobile marketing campaigns specifically, their participation in voting increased to 29% in 2006 from 8 percent in 2005. The survey also found that downloads, coupons, and alert-based services were among the most highly prized mobile services, all of which are key components in the new wave of mobile marketing campaigns. This trend has shown no signs of slowing down and bodes well for the future of mobile marketing in 2007 and beyond. « Previous Page — Next Page » |
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| Cellit™ is a leading mobile provider of mobile marketing solutions for both large and small companies in North America. Using Cellit's services and platforms, Cellit clients can create compelling mobile content, run exciting contests and polls, and deliver premium downloads. With unique, best-of-breed platforms, including House4Cell and CouponZap, Cellit empowers smaller businesses to harness the power of mobile marketing while generating valuable customer leads. | |||||||