White Paper Wednesdays: Graham Brown’s 50 Youth Marketing Trends for 09

The two decks below, which constitute 2 halves of the promised 50 trends, are really marvelous views of the psyche of youth and its implications for marketing. From Graham Browne of MobileYouth.org. Read them and be moved.

PART 1: 50 Youth Marketing Trends for 2009 by Graham Brown mobileYouth.org

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PART 2: 50 Youth Marketing Trends for 2009 by Graham Brown mobileYouth.org

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: blyk djuice)

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Vuclip Consistently Gets It Right

When people ask me how to offer a broad appeal mobile service, I suggest that they check out Vuclip.

Sure, millions of people use it, so I am not alerting them to some newfangled magic bean app or something. But Vuclips really GET IT -- understand what's necessary to create an enduring leadership brand/business in the mobile space.

If you live even farther under a rock than I do, let me let Vuclip tell you a little bit about themselves:

Vuclip is the most widely-used mobile video search site in the world. We are the only true mobile video search and delivery solution that allows you to access any video on the Internet and watch it on any video-enabled phone. Go ahead and search for an Internet video that you'd like to watch on your mobile phone. Vuclip will find that video, transcode and optimize it "on the fly", and then deliver it to your mobile phone in real-time. Pretty cool, and there's no need to download any application to get it to work. Our service is free, although standard carrier data charges apply.

Vuclip users can also take advantage of numerous personalized services, like creating "Cliplists", receiving alerts about new videos and sharing their favorite videos with friends. With Vuclip's unique and proprietary real-time streaming and personalization technology, you are sure to have a rich and hassle-free mobile video experience:

- Millions of videos delivered to mobile phones every month
- Users in more than 130 countries
- Over 2,000 mobile devices supported

Vuclip also enables online publishers and content owners to mobilize their video content through its Vuclip Video API Program. Vuclip delivers high-quality mobile video streaming with a rich multimedia experience across all wireless networks and handsets. Through a simple API level integration, publishers can quickly and easily bring their video content to consumers on the go. The Vuclip Video API Program provides a variety of different integration options, from something simple like a "Send to Phone" feature widget, to a fully functional white labeled video search and delivery platform, powered by Vuclip.

I'm not going to get into the features and all that because you probably already use Vuclip, as I do.

But let's pause for a moment to think about all the things they do right:

- Massive catalog of virtually every video online
- Delivery system that makes vids viewable on a phone regardless of where they are sitting or what platform they are displayed on
- Massive 2000 handset range
- Global globalness
- Happy viewers
- Opportunity to monetize through ads, pre-roll, whatever

For those in mobile trying to figure out how to crack the nut of having a strong BUSINESS in the space, look no further than Milpitas-CA-based Viclip for a model.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

Rummble: Find Good Folks And Good Places Nearby!

Location based mobile services are going to be an enormous boon to the growth of mobile in the US and abroad. And a UK service called Rummble is being widely lauded as a great platform in this space.

In a nutshell, Rummble uses GPS and a bunch of social media functionality to make it easy to find people and places that you would like:

Here's how they describe what they do:

Rummble is a location based social search and discovery tool, enabling users find recommended content for a location more easily, without a traditional keyword search. Instead, Rummble’s algorithm provides personalised results based upon a trust profile it builds for you and the content in your social network.

We’ve chosen to build our first service around location based content:

- Discover content for any location (e.g. cool bars, local knowledge and the secret hangouts)
- Give friends automatic warning when you will be in their area
- Share location based content - reviews, photos, videos and blogs
- Explore with Rummble on your mobile or on the web
- Meet new people nearby
- Publish your Rummbles and your location to Facebook and other social software
- It works anywhere - you can use it at home or on the move via your mobile.

Rummble works globally and has been in closed Beta since September 2007. In April 2008 the Rummble service went into limited open Beta.

Your Rummble reviews and status updates don't just stay on phones, or indeed within Rummble. In fact, the service is connected to many of the big social nets, including FaceBook, Bebo, Flickr, Twitter, Google Gears, and Fire Eagle. So you can send your info directly to profiles in less time than it takes to say "Buckingham Palace."



As I said at the beginning, many of the loudest and best opinions online have heralded Rummble as a marvelous example of what place based mobile services should be. A friend of mine in the UK is almost ready to jump in front of a bus for the sake of the service 0- that's how strong user love quickly becomes. Now that they are in limited public beta, I would expect that their presence in the US will get big rather rapidly.

The ad opps in place based are enormous -- both for national retailers, service providers, and even local businesses looking for ways to attract new and lapsed users to their doors. That makes the potential revenue and profitability for services like Rummble very promising, indeed.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

Photo Horror

imeem Goes Android! Encore Encore!

Regular readers of this blog know that I like imeem, which is why I am excited to tell you about their new mobile ad platform, which is paired with their Android-based imeem application.. I really like this concept because it combines so many youth-centric things – giving it a great opportunity to attract and hold viewers and advertisers.

Imeem originally launched its Android app about a month ago, and it has already climbed to the top 10 Android apps, and is the number one streaming music app for that fast growing mobile platform.

This is not one of those announcements wherein vaporware is heralded. In fact, imeem already has a major advertiser lined up to market its newest product. Here’s an excerpt from their press release:

Kia Motors America (KMA) is the first brand advertiser to leverage imeem's new platform, using it to promote the Kia Soul, an all-new compact SUV launching next spring in the U.S.

As part of a cross-platform advertising campaign, Kia Soul will have a branded display presence across the imeem for Android user interface, as well as a featured Kia Soul-branded Internet radio station on the application. In addition to its mobile advertising program, Kia Motors will have a presence on the imeem.com service through a profile and display advertising on media streaming pages throughout the site.

“Kia Motors wants to reach its target audience through creative campaigns that complement their style and fast-paced way of life,” said David Schoonover, Customer Relationship Marketing Manager for Kia Motors America. “imeem helps us achieve that goal by connecting our brand with a youthful community and an engaging social music experience that fits the Kia Soul lifestyle.”

“imeem has created a way for advertisers to live at the center of consumers' social music experience,” said Jason Meil, executive vice president and director of Innovations at Initiative, Kia Motors' media, marketing and digital company. “Working with imeem will enable Kia Motors to meaningfully tap into an engaged community where millions of people express themselves with music and media on a daily basis.”

By offering ads in this integrated application, imeem can provide real cross media opps with that highly desirable social media component that more advertisers are seeking out.

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GooJet: First Lady Liberty, Then Pomme Frites, And Now GooJets!

The French -- they give the best gifts!

Well the people at GooJet are dramatically challenging that basic CW assumption by saying, why does it have to be that basic? That suboptimal. Instead, why don't we let the user create a BETTER user experience on the phone? An experience as custom and personal as my handset? Why? Why? WHY?

That's what they're doing, and I love it. The basic idea is to create your own mobile portal completely customized to your content needs and interests. This can include a long list of social media, services, events, news, and other content.



You sign up, then customize your portal by grabbing Goojets (essentially little icons that represent mini or mobile sites for various types of content that interest you. These can be anything from the NYTimes to FaceBook to Twitter to lord knows what else. Click on a Goojet and you get a mobile friendly form of their content.

On an iPhone in particular it makes much more easy and pleasant.

Here's an interview with their marketing guy (in French):



Goojet is a French company, so many of the current available Goojets are Euro-centric. Which means you have one click access to The Sun! Nothing better for Brangelinaphiles!

Seriously, it's an excellent service, and presumably there will be ways to sponsor Goojets and the like in the future. I hope that they get a strong presence going in the US because Goojet is pretty darned cool.

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Comscore: Mobile Video Still Kinda Nichey

The latest data from Comscore indicate that mobile video is still growing fast, but isn't quite what you would call mainstream yet.

6.5 Million Americans access mobile video a month -- nothing to sneeze at but perhaps not something to change your entire TV schedule to the tiny screen yet. Of all of the US carriers, ATT leads the way in terms of mobile vid penetration.



Now why would ATT lead?



And what ARE people watching on them cellys? Well in pro/broadcast content, the leader is music vids, followed by TV shows, movie trailers, and comedy vids.



But actually, amateur vids, especially from YouTube are actually number one on this platform. Just as they (probably) still are on the web.



So, again, the growth is remarkable, but the base is still small. Still, I think we're looking at the inevitable, hunh?

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In A World Anxious to Save Money, Validas Helps Cut Celly Bills

I was intrigued about Validas when I first read about it on ReadWriteWeb. This online service actually analyzes your past and current cell phone bills to help lower your cell phone costs by rightsizing plans, identifying and helping you dispute service errors, even identifying a better carrier for your particular phone usage and usage patterns.

It's not a free service. To which I say, HURRAH! A revenue model I understand! Today is indeed a good day for my noggin. $5 gets you a one time analysis while ongoing service and analysis costs more out of pocket. 12 reports cost $20, and 24 costs $24. But for many people, $24 is a small price to pay for service that can easily cost $1000+ per year. Larger packages let you analyze more phone on your plan.

My second favorite item is that they tell you how to do disputes by email. When I was with the EVIL that is Sprint, I once spent a total of 63 hours on the phone, 61+ on hold, trying to get them to rectify THEIR error of shipping me 4 phones I didn't order. Sumbitches made ME pay to ship them back to them. THEN there was the joy of over 8 more hours getting them to turn off the four phone lines I didn't order.

Now, in fairness to Sprint, all this happened right at the time they were integrating Nextel into their world. I have no doubt that had all this happened at another time, I could have accomplished all this in only 40 hours or so of hold time. ;-O

An email method would have been rather convenient indeed.

To use the service you need to be on electronic billing, which lots of people already are and it's very easy to make the switch.

My favorite feature is their "Worst Cellphone Bill in America" contest. What a great way to get press.

Check them out and see if its for you!

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White Paper Wednesdays: The State of Cellular In Africa

There is a very interesting article on ReadWriteWeb (you can find here) on the state of the mobile business in Africa. While not a white paper per se (and you know I use a VERY loose definition here at White Paper Wednesdays) I think it is worth your time. The state of mobile in Africa may surprise you, and is yet more evidence that the predominant image of Africa in US media (well, there are two: bloated children's bellies and archive footage of PW Botha.)

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

Digital Two-Footed Blended Scotch

Make sure you check out Chris Schwarze's post about the new Johnny Walker mobile app for Singapore. A great analysis of a very intriguing consumer app. It's a tool to help Formula One fans find going out places in Singapore -- places which, I am guessing, often sell Johnny Walker.

As Chris points out, this app has an appealing array of features, while connecting the brand to "the rich man's auto racing" is surely brand enhancing.

Me Likey.

Medialets Goes Android: iTastic!

As you know I have a lot of heart for what the people at Medialets, the iPhone ad network specializing in deeper and more engaging marketing experiences in apps are doing. Well, as you can tell from the headline, it is no longer appropriate to call them an iPhone Ad Network, because they are quickly broadening their offerings. Their announcement last week of a beta test of new Android analytics and ad offerings is big news for both the company and the Android initiative.

I was fortunate enough to meet two of the founders two weeks ago at their offices in NYC. CEO Eric Litman and VP Marketing Rana Sobhany were kind enough to tell me about the short and remarkable history of this outfit, which went from that metaphorical back of a cocktail napkin concept to a broad array of analytics and offerings in about a month. Their passion is infectious, and it was very clear to me that their vision was a lot larger than being one of the six or so ad networks for iPhone apps.



Medialets Chairman and CEO Eric Litman


Medialets VP Marketing Rana Sobhany

The announcement of Android analytics and ad offerings must be welcome news to every carrier but ATT. The iPhone is really a transformative device that positioned ATT at the center of what may well become a revolution in how, when, and why we use phones. It does so, ironically, by essentially allowing developers to sidestep that absurdly draconian development and approval process that has historically limited innovations in cellular. Here's an excerpt from Eric Litman's blog post on this topic:

The world of mobile changed when Apple introduced the App Store. Historically, developers have had to contend with lengthy, often expensive negotiations and certification procedures with carriers to bring their applications to market, and more often than not, the challenges of working in that environment have limited the number and quality of developers willing to undertake the effort. With the App Store, the process has been reduced to a simple submission and review cycle.

Combining that with centralized discovery, distribution and payments for applications has led to a new model for mobile app developers that significantly opens up the possibility of building sustainable - even venture scale - businesses around mobile applications. But the App Store is just the beginning. Google was quick to recognize the power of this distribution model and earlier this year announced their own App Marketplace, which like Apple’s App Store, bypasses carriers and lets developers market directly to consumers through the Marketplace.

Android offers similar opportunities for other carriers. It'll get the carriers out of their own way in the race to drive innovation and differentiation in the category. More from Litman's blog post:

Mobile operators not selling the iPhone today need strong, competitive offerings to convince consumers to buy something other than the iPhone. Much like we’ve seen historically on game consoles, many future mobile phone purchases will likely be influenced by the applications available for the platform. Android and the App Marketplace give carriers a potentially viable alternative to the explosive application market for the iPhone, and with the might of Google behind the platform, we may see development activity that equals or even surpasses that of iPhone developers.

It is naturally welcome news for developers as well, because they will be able to make things for Android, and indeed port their current iPhone offerings to Android. More installs means more use occasions means more money through ad support! Means more development, natch.

I am inspired to see how rapidly this company is making moves and getting things done. We need drivers like Eric and Rany in mobile so that perhaps...just perhaps...we will finally have that year of mobile marketing that the industry has been promising since about the time that the Constitution was signed in 1789.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

Best Buy Purchases Napster...Remember Napster?

So, big box giant buys Napster. Interesting. Napster WAS huge but now, according to ReadWriteWeb, boasts just 700,000 paid subs. A paid sub entitled users to all you can eat music for as long as you were a subscriber. But no ownership.

So 700,000 payers. Nothing to sneeze at, but as I do the math that's $172.85 per subscriber. Not what you'd call a fire sale price.

Recall that millions once used Napster when it was a free way to steal music by the bucketful. But then a little thing called the law shut them down. Napster was resurrected as a paid subscriber service, with a predictably smaller footprint. Because, as I say all too often, if you think the key to business success is giving consumers what they want online, you'll have a problem. because what they WANT is everything, free. Now.

But the current sub base is not actually why BB bought it. They see huge potential for the mobile side of Napster. Given how many phones BB sells, perhaps its a good bet.

Still seems like a lot of green to me.

Says Read Write Web:

It's All About Mobile

Best Buy must think that it can push Napster to be a profitable part of its company, but over the last few years, the company never turned a profit. Best Buy, of course, does have a considerable amount of marketing power both in its ubiquitous big-box stores, as well as through TV and print advertising. Judging from the wording of the press release, it seems Best Buy is mostly interested in Napster's mobile business. In the mobile business, Apple doesn't have the dominant market position it has in the regular MP3 player market, so by positioning Napster there, Best Buy might be able to carve out a lucrative niche for the service.

Bundles

Chances are that Best Buy will start bundling Napster with anything from toaster ovens to overpriced Monster cables in the coming months. The holiday season, after all, is right around the corner and if Best Buy still wants to get some value out of the acquisition this year, they will have to act fast.

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White Paper Thursdays: Mobile Marketing

If you are like a lot of marketers, you may still have a little angst over mobile. It appears to be such an unusual media platform -- how do we make sense of what to do with it?

Well, online marketer Jude Murray has a theory. A theory that mobile ain't really that different funadamentally, and she offers some excellent suggestions on how to approach this vehicle. Review it below:

Jude Murray Mobile Marketing 27july2008

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Mobile Marketing: Text is Best

A recent study by the DMA showed that an impressive 24% of mobile phone users had responded to mobile marketing. Good news for that nascent industry. The study also revealed some interesting info related to what tactics appear to drive the best response rates.

In a word: TEXT

According to this piece on Media Post:

Categories of mobile offers were dominated by entertainment/music/video (44 percent), followed by:

Food/beverage (21 percent)
telecommunications/mobile (21 percent)
Beauty/personal care (15 percent)
Automotive/transportation, business services, consumer electronics, financial services, and vacation/travel (12 percent each)
Healthcare/pharmaceutical and real estate (7 percent each)

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eMarketer: Promising HUGE Mobile Ad Spend Growth

Check out these numbers from eMarketer, showing and expected EXPLOSION of growth in mobiel ad spend. The year of mobile as it were.

Now, where have I heard that before?



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Mobile Is the Net Platform of Choice for Millions

As someone with mediocre eyesight, I am amazed by how many people use their phones as their primary web browsing device. I use mine that way sometimes, but can't imagine it replacing the big screen of my PC. But millions live this life every day. This eMarketer chart of ACNielsen data from the study "Mobile Media Marketplace" shows you how fast this trend has taken off:



I wish I had some sage strategic insight for this, but all I can think to say is "Wow!."

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AKQA/.Mobi Study Provides Additional Insight on the iPhone 3G Phenomenon

Sales of the iPhone 3G have been nothing short of remarkable, and of course the key driver is the ability to access the mobile web – for downloading apps, for acquiring content, and for entertaining oneself.

Whenever I see something take off like this, I like to consider whether the device solved a problem or created a new need. For example, I’d say iPod created a new need (a desire of a musical world on one’s own terms), while Diet Coke solved a problem back when it was launched (until DC, diet colas tasted lousy.)

A recent study jointly produced by AKQA Mobile and dotMOBI seems to indicate that iPhone 3G solves a problem – the need for a more positive mobile web experience. Now, the desire for a better mobile web experience should come as no surprise – it is the logical progression and expression of the consumer desire to get more faster.

But the data from this study point to some areas of dissatisfaction that a great number of consumers were experiencing before iPhone 3G launched. Let’s have a look at some highlights.

The data indicate that while the mobile web is very important to users, especially below 35s, it also says 44% of US users had a very disappointing first experience. The figures were even higher for UK users, which showed a 51% dissatisfaction rate with their first experience.

This is just one of the interesting bits of info in this study. Download it for free today.

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Future Sales Prospects Bleak for Motorola Cellies

According to a recent Changewave study, Motorola is not the phone of choice for future buyers. In fact, the number who are planning to buy a Motorola celly in the next 6 months is down to 7%. A far cry from 34% just two years ago.

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iPhone App Ad Networks: Post 6 AdMob, AdInfuse, Millenial, Ringleader, Quattro, and Third Screen

If you want ads on iPhone apps, you don't have to go to a new provider. The leading ad networks for mobile are also offering to deliver ads on them.

AdMob is offering $1Million in ad credits to developers if they sign up to use the AdMob platform. This clear effort at a landgrab could be higly compelling to a number of players, especially smaller players. The program offers up to 200 developers $5K each in credits. Certainly AdMob has deeper pockets than many of the startups, which could make a difference in the effort to attract the best developers quickly.



I haven't heard of any iPhone App speciifc activity from AdInfuse, but they have been at the forefront of iPhone advertising for awhile so I would imagine something will be publicized in the near future. Similarly, Third Screen has been quiet about their plans as well. Ditto Quattro and Ringleader.

Millenial Media announced an iPhone app ad offering on July 9 -- a bit ahead of some of the others in the space. CHeck out the press release here.

iPhone App Ad Networks: Post 5 PurpleTalk

A very different, developer centric model is PurpleTalk, which offers an ad exchange model. Basically, when apps are launched, splash screens feature a banner ad for another app, encouraging cross trial. Here's how they explain it:

The AdShare program developed by PurpleTalk is the most cost effective way to promote your iPhone Apps. PurpleTalk partners that participate in AdShare will include a small PurpleTalk module into the applications they’ve developed. Then, each time a user launches an application that has this PurpleTalk module, a brief splash screen appears that promotes a different application on an embedded banner. Through these splash screen promotions, users will become aware of many different applications, including yours.

There's very little other info on their site in terms of revenue model. Models like this are fairly common in the blogger world, where apps promote one blog on another, with a ratio of 9 exposures on other blogs for every ten on yours. That enables the company to sell exposures on the remaining inventory. I tried one, and got lots of exposures, though relatively few clicks. But that experience may well be very different because of the more focused viewing area on an iPhone and the fact that the ads appear on a splash screen versus in what (on my blog at least) is a rather busy sidebar. With this model you are certainly reaching an audience predisposed to downlaoding apps. I mean, they already did by definition!

I don't know if that is their model. Their pages explain that developer do not earn money for the ads but rather points that entitle them to ad exposures on other apps.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.