Tanla Mobile Marketing

and Advertising Guide

The Tanla Mobile Marketing and Advertising Guide aims to give you a
comprehensive view of the opportunities presented by mobile marketing and
advertising. The report has been compiled by Tanla Mobile, powered by opinion
articles from leading industry thought leaders and edited by mobile marketing
expert Helen Keegan.
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Applications Management Development Payments
Campaign Manager CMS Platforms Project Management Premium SMS Billing
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Video Calling Community Portals Software Development Global Messaging

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Tanla Mobile Marketing
and Advertising Guide

© 2008

www.tanlamobile.com
CONTENTS

The Global Mobile Market:

Gautam Sabharwal, Director, Tanla Mobile 9
2008: The Year of Mobile Marketing and Advertising:
N.V. Subba Rao, CEO, Tanla Mobile Inc 15
Mobile Emerging as 7th Mass Media:
Tomi Ahonen, Author & Consultant 19
A Brief History of the Mobile Phone 27
Developments in Mobile Technologies 28
Why Mobile is Important 29
Mobile Marketing Past, Present and Future:
Russell Buckley, Managing Director Europe, Admob 35
Thoughts For Marketers On The Values Around New Digital Media Opportunities:
Gillian Kennedy, Managing Director, Emerging Media Platforms Ltd 39
Mobile Has Always Been All Inclusive:
Mike Short, Vice President R&D, O2 Europe 43
Mobile Marketing & Advertising 48
What is Mobile Marketing and where does it fit in the Marketing Mix? 48
The 5 Cs of Mobile = Connectedness 48
Creating Mobile Moments 50
The Mobile Marketing Value Chain 51
Different Types of Mobile Marketing Campaigns 52
Text to Win 52
Voting and Participation TV 52
Quizzes 52
Mobile Content [pictures, ringtones, video] 53
Games 53
Applications 54
CRM 54
IVR 54
MMS 54
Direct Response 54
Barcodes and Ticketing 56
WAP Portal or Mobile Internet 57
Java or On Device Portal [ODP] 58
Mobile Marketing Challenges 58
Technology Constraints 58
Marketers and Mobile Marketing 58
What do I Measure 59
Campaign Planning 60
Permission Marketing 60
Running a Successful Campaign 63
Production and Fulfilment 65
Technical Project Management 65
Outbound Campaigns 66

6
From Hand to Eye, Mobile Marketing gets Co-ordinated:
Anuj Khanna, Head of Marketing, Tanla Mobile, UK 69
Mobile Search 71
A Question of Search: Can Web Search Supremacy Translate to Mobile?
Ben Tatton-Brown, Head of Advertising Sales, EMEA, Medio Systems 75
Music and Mobile 80
Podcasting 81
Moblogs 81
RSS 82
Bluetooth/Infra Red 83
Business Models in Mobile 85
Ad-Funded Content 85
Mobile Advertising 86
Sponsored SMS 87
Selling Your List 87
Sponsored Content 88
Off The Page Promotion 88
Subscription Model 88
User Generated Content 88
Wholesale 88
Retail 89
Don’t Have a Business Model 89
Social Networking Will Drive the Next Wave of Mobile Commerce:
Jeff Spirer, Vice President Mobile Internet, Tanla Mobile Inc 91
Mobile TV – Are We Nearly There Yet?
Steve Flaherty, Mobile Consultant, Keitai Culture 95
The Mobile Web, Beyond Best Practices:
Daniel Appelquist, Senior Technology Strategist, Vodafone 99
Limited Use of Mobile Content Provides Advertisers With An Opportunity To Go It Alone:
Jessica Sandin, Head of Mobile & Senior Consultant, Fathom Partners 105
A Brave New Future for Mobile:
Gerry Drew, Chief Operating Officer, Tanla Mobile, UK 109
Appendix 113
Emoticons 113
Glossary of Terms 115
Events and Networking 120
Further Reading 121
Magazines (Print) Covering Mobile Topics 121
Blogs 121
Acknowledgements 123
Sources and References 125

7
The Global Mobile Market:

Gautam Sabharwal
Director
Tanla Mobile

Gautam Sabharwal is responsible for Tanla Mobile’s global business development, sales and marketing.
An expert at market visualisation, approach strategies and sales initiatives, he brings with him in-
depth knowledge of the Telecom Services Industry. His experience includes several years running
successful businesses in the emerging telecom services markets of Europe. His long-term strategy
planning, along with knowledge of Tanla’s core businesses, is instrumental in steering the company
in the right direction.

9
 The Global Mobile Market

New Players Bring Change to the Mobile Sector

Throughout the short history of mobile there have been numerous - too many some will say – innovations,
milestones, developments and advances promising to change the mobile industry for ever.

2008 will see the emergence of the new mobile world-order, namely the influence of ‘traditional’ internet
brands as new and powerful entrants to the mobile sector. They will bring with them established models
and approaches to marketing and advertising, amongst other things, that will change the landscape and
consumer mobile experience for ever.

The impact of developments such as the iPhone is significant and its arrival marks an important turning
point. The iPhone has made the mobile internet become a competitive driver for handset manufacturers
and operators alike, while forcing others to review OS and device simplicity.

The future growth of the mobile marketing sector is dependent upon two traditionally disparate sectors
collaborating, the mobile and the media industry. But the real growth potential for mobile will come as a
result of brands such as Google, Yahoo and MSN securing their place at the new mobile table.

Combine these factors with the fact that operators increasingly offer fixed rate data charges, this all means
the opportunity for mobile marketing is here and now.
Mobile advertising will be constrained unless
Mobile advertising users have unlimited
will be constrained datahave
unless users plans
unlimited data plans.

Strongly disagree
3%
Disagree
Strongly agree 12%
26%

Somewhat agree
34%

Agree
25%

Mobile Content
Source: Industry SurveySource
2Q06 Mobile Content Industry Survey, Mobile Advertising Services Report 2006,
Informa Telecoms & Media

10
The Predictions

Research Film Prediction Comment

eMarketer USA: $421m in 2006 to $4.7bn by 2011 Mobile advertisment only

WW: $11.3bn by 2011

Yankee Group USA: $40m in 2006 to $2bn in 2010 Mobile advertisment only

Ovum USA: $46m this year to $1.3bn in 2010 Accounts for text delivery
advertising only

Strategy Analytics USA: 17% of total online ad spending by 2010, SMS and display advertising
while browser based advertising will claim the
greatest share with 44%

Jupiter Research USA: $2.1bn in 2011

ABI Research WW: $19bn by 2011 Mobile marketing and

advertising combined

Informa Telecoms WW: $1.5bn by the end of 2007 to $11.5bn by Mobile advertisment only
and Media * 2011

Shosteck Group WW: grow to $9.6bn by 2010 Mobile advertisment only

* Correct as at September 2006.

While predictions do vary, the overall message is one of growth for mobile advertising in all key territories.

Mobile Advertising US Spending Projection, 2006-2011 (US$m)

5000
4356
4500

4000

3500 3202
3000

2500 2285

2000
1547
1500
878
1000
410 402
500 213
11 26 55 110
0

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

General Mobile Ad Spending Mobile Multimedia Ad Spending

Source: eMarketer January 2007

11
Which Territories are Seeing the Biggest Growth?
Welcome to the new players in the market. India, China and Asia are amongst the new battle grounds; with
China already having more mobile users than the US. Across these regions there is a common vein, many
consumers own or prefer purchasing a Smartphone over a PC. So the trend toward mobile content is high.

With wealth increasing in these territories, mobile advertising revenue in these emerging markets is
expected to be a major contributor to the overall global market.

An Appetite to Receive
The changes brought about by the new mobile world order will benefit the mobile marketing business case.
The application of knowledge and techniques applied in the internet space will allow brands to opt for and
better measure mobile as a viable channel. Also, consumers will increasingly show a willingness to receive
advertising on the device.

How willing will consumers be to receive advertising

How willing will consumers be to receive advertising in exchange for cheaper mobile content?
in exchange for cheaper mobile content?

50% Not at all willing

Fairly willing
45% Somewhat willing
Willing
40%
Extremely willing
35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Music Games Mobile TV Idle Screen UCG/ SMS/MMS
& Video Communications

Source:2Q06
Source: Mobile Content
Mobile Industry
Content Survey
Industry Informa
Survey, Telecoms
Mobile & Media
Advertising Services Report 2006,
Informa Telecoms & Media

12
Critical success factors
According to Informa’s MOBILE ADVERTISING SERVICES research, there are four factors that will influence
the mobile advertising market.

Regulation - of mobile content, broadcast networks for the delivery of mobile TV, as well as for the advertising
techniques for the mobile channel, such as codes of conduct for SMS messaging.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) - is about the ability to have a clear view of who owns what content and
exactly what can be transferred across a mobile network.

Monitoring and measurement - if mobile advertising is to succeed then the critical element will be the ability
to capture data on mobile campaigns.

Pricing - the chicken and the egg debate. Will consumers pay for network time to receive adverts or will they
receive adverts to get free network air time?

13
2008: The Year of Mobile
Marketing and Advertising:

N.V. Subba Rao, CEO Tanla Mobile Inc

N.V. Subba Rao is the CEO and President for Tanla Mobile Inc (USA) and is also responsible for
expanding business operations for Tanla Mobile across Asia. Subba joined Tanla Mobile in July 2007
from Bharti Airtel Ltd where he last held the position of Chief Operating Officer. He has over 20 years
industry experience, working with blue chip telecommunications and FMCG brands including Bharti
Mobile, Tata Tele, Proctor & Gamble and Agro Tech Foods Ltd.

15
2008: The Year of Mobile Marketing and Advertising

Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves? ............... Nietzsche

If there is one industry that has taken the above quote to heart, it is the mobile marketing industry. It
continues to seek new opportunities and perspectives to better connect with today’s evolving requirements
for technology enabled communication and lifestyle marketing.

Possibly Alexander Graham Bell didn’t imagine beyond traditional voice based communication when he
invented the telephone, yet it was a true ‘Eureka’ moment. From that perspective mobile and converged
communications is a revolution in the making, yet it doesn’t seem to evoke the same ‘Eureka’ feeling. This
is because the mobile phone is no longer ‘outside of us’. It is now very much a part of us - becoming an
expression of freedom, personality, lifestyle and entertainment; as well as a lifeline for enabling faster data
access, cutting across the various enterprise verticals and customer segments. To borrow a Proctor and
Gamble corporate slogan, mobile ‘continues to touch lives and improve life’ possibly more so than any other
product or service before it. You can use a mobile device to reach directly into the mind of the consumer and
subsequently change their behaviour. What could be a more powerful medium in today’s society, for mass,
one-to-one and contextual marketing – the 7th mass media as some pundits describe it!

The industry is on the cusp of a new era of mobile and integrated media consumption, encompassing
a myriad of real and virtual social networks, web sites, devices and products/ services for commercial
consumption, while creating new storefronts defined by the industry domain. New dynamics unfold on the
sector almost every day, be it via announcements from Nokia, Google or Apple or the numerous bodies
across UK, USA, India, S. Africa and Asia who are all working to create platforms that enable easier, faster
and better integration and monetisation of content (almost to Thomas Edison’s logic of “Hell, there are no
rules here – we’re just trying to accomplish something”).

Walls have come down and new windows have come up. Applications, client server models, style sheets,
web sheets, browsers, payment mechanisms, ad serving engines, text advertising, campaigns, contests,
promotions and web stores: these are just the tip of the marketing frenzy to create more direct and personal
connect with customers across all psychographic, socio-economic and business indices.

From a marketing perspective, 2008 will give rise to a number of questions concerning mobile marketing.
Namely, how it will become

- even better at browsing/ search

- a simpler way to make payments/ facilitate commerce
- a more integrated medium for marketing and advertising
- more effective for social networking/communication
- more exciting for integrating new user generated content

16
These, and many other questions related to the mobile ecosystem, will help better define new marketing
and advertising formats and firmly establish the dependencies for those formats. Today, more than ever,
the marketing and advertising industry is witnessing the need for significant change. Traditional marketing
models are often criticised in the boardroom, with questions asked regarding ‘Does your marketing work’,
‘Where is the consumer in all this’, ‘Is brand marketing relevant any more’, etc. The mobile phone represents
one of, if not the, most important marketing opportunities in the last century for two key reasons:

1. The mobile phone is very personal both in terms of how it expresses who we are, but also the
ways in which it is used – who am I ?/ what do I do?/ what can I do?

2. As a result of how its infrastructure has evolved, mobile offers many unique opportunities for
the advertiser. These include accurate and relevant targeting, rich data on usage and
consumer behaviour, higher response rates and flexible, cost effective commercial models.
The net result is a more rewarding and interactive relationship with the customer, and overall
better brand indices.

Thomas Friedman’s powerful metaphor (and book), that the ‘world is flat’ is a truly inspiring way of looking at
the forces that are stitching the present wireless and software enabled world. I trust all mobile enthusiasts
enjoy reading this guide and discover the many benefits mobile marketing and advertising can bring to
both businesses and brands in a ‘flat world’, The new mobile platforms are not just an expansive but also
an inclusive medium, that not only makes marketing and advertising cost effective but also more personal
and relevant. Compared to traditional marketing and advertising, mobile possibly offers ground for more
significant developments for large brands and enterprises to better connect the dots!

Wishing you all a more Mobile 2008!

N.V. Subba Rao

CEO Tanla Mobile Inc

17
Mobile Emerging as
7th Mass Media:

Tomi Ahonen, Author & Consultant

Tomi T Ahonen is a four time best-selling author and strategy consultant who lectures at Oxford
University on digital convergence. Tomi’s reference customer list reads like the who’s who of mobile
telecoms, including Ericsson, Orange, Motorola, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, TeliaSonera and Vodafone as well
as leading media and advertising giants. Tomi’s fourth bestseller “Communies Dominate Brands” was
hailed as a landmark book on old media and interactivity, user-generated content and engagement.
Tomi regularly runs workshops and seminars for leading media customers around the world. He
chaired the world’s first mobile advertising conference in 2001, presented the mobile keynote to the
Periodicals Publishing Association, and to the Media in Motion event in 2004, etc. A founding member
of Engagement Alliance, Forum Oxford, Wireless Watch, and Carnival of the Mobilists, Tomi blogs at
www.communities-dominate.blogs.com. His website is www.tomiahonen.com

19
 Mobile Emerging as 7th Mass Media

The Mobile Phone has emerged as the 7th Mass Media channel. It is as different from the internet [6th Mass
Media] as TV [5th] is from radio [4th]. Trying to force concepts from the internet, TV, or other previous media
will produce a disappointing audience experience on mobile. But understanding the unique power of mobile
as the 7th Mass Media will deliver radical new concepts and new winners.

Most of the media experts, including many even in new media, do not understand mobile. It became a
mass media first in Japan just seven years ago, and until recently was mostly dismissed as a youth text
messaging and viral marketing channel only. Yet the economics of mobile produce enormous opportunities.
Three times as many people have mobile phones than have personal computers. Twice as many people
have a phone subscription than a credit card, more households have mobile phones than TV sets. And
most importantly, the mobile phone can replicate all of the previous mass media with six unique benefits,
which is why already 588 million people consume premium content such as news, TV, entertainment and
games on mobile phones in 2007. During 2008 more people will access internet content on phones than on
the web. This is no mere sci-fi fantasy of technology buffs; it has already happened in Japan, South Korea,
China and Taiwan.

Not the first time there’s been a new mass medium

First Four Mass Media. The traditional mass media are well known and established with known formats.
News and weather work on radio, long-form stories in books and cinema; videogames work well on
recordings etc. Print is the oldest, from the 1500s, it introduced the buy-to-own business model for books
and introduced advertising and subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. Recordings [late 1890s]
introduced performance media separating the creative element [the writer/composer] and the performer
with the global performance celebrity star, such as Edith Piaf, Elvis and the Beatles. It is possible to consume
books and printed content on recordings, yet recordings did not destroy the print industry; rather it built
a whole new parallel media industry worth 30 billion dollars today. Cinema [1900s] turned celebrity into
superstar with the first global icon, Charlie Chaplin.

21
Cinema introduced moving images and multimedia content and the pay-per-view business model, ie you
had to pay every time you viewed a movie. Many thought cinema would kill books; rather Hollywood built
another new industry worth 30 billion dollars at the box office, and another 20 billion in after-sales products
like video rentals, DVD sales etc. Radio [1910s] brought the broadcast model with a ‘streaming’ approach
to content delivery - if you were not there to listen, you missed the content; mass market recording of radio
[the C-Casette] would not appear until 50 years later. Radio was the first pervasive medium meaning it was
omnipresent nationally and if content was broadcast, it was received simultaneously by all.

TV the fifth mass media [1950s]. The most dominant mass media for the past 50 years has been television,
yet TV didn‘t really introduce anything new! While each of the previous four mass media brought innovations,
TV did not, yet in spite of this ‘deficiency’ TV soon dominated all others. We had multimedia in the cinema,
and broadcast in radio, TV only combined those. TV soon took over the news from cinema. It took over much
of the drama series and live sports broadcasts from radio. Where families in the 1930s sat around the
radio set to listen to a soap opera, concert or news broadcast, in the 1960s those families organized their
living rooms to allow good viewing of TV. TV discovered the power of celebrity, and soon shows emerged that
promoted celebrity [eg talk shows] and propelled normal people into temporary celebrity status [eg game
shows, reality TV]. After the advent of MTV, suddenly music videos - no longer radio - became the deciding
factor to a music artist‘s success.

Sixth Mass Media: the Internet. So enter the sixth mass media, the internet, in the 1990s. This is a very
young media not well understood. As a mass media, the internet is the first that is capable of replicating
all of the other five previous media - we can read books, magazines and newspapers online; view movies;
listen to radio; view TV; download recordings eg MP3 files, computer software, videogames etc. That is why
it is a threat to the previous five media. Furthermore, the internet introduced two elements not possible on
previous mass media: interactivity and search. Yes, we could write to the editor of a newspaper, but still,
most of the mass media did not have any realistic mass-market interactivity ability ten years ago; on the
web it is built in. And search? It has become the most used application on the web. Capable of doing what
all other media can do, and adding two powerful new elements, it is no surprise the internet cannibalizes
existing mass media. Not to mention the costs of production on the web are a tiny fraction of those of owning
a printing press, a broadcast license or network for example.

22
Mobile newest, also least understood

So what about the 7th mass media? The mobile phone emerged as a mass media from about the year
2000. The youngest of the seven mass media, it is by far the least understood. Many see similarities to
the internet, thinking that because of the small screen and less convenient keypad, the mobile internet
is somehow ‘simpler’ or ‘dumber’. Similarly many TV execs look at the tiny screen and think TV on mobile
is somehow a ‘reduced’ offering, where viewers will only ‘snack’ at selected highlights. Nothing could be
further from the truth. In fact the mobile phone as the seventh mass media is by far the most powerful. It is
as different to the web as TV is to radio; mobile media‘s influence will be greater than all we‘ve seen so far of
the internet, so much so that mobile to internet will be as dominant in its media audience reach and media
impact on society as TV was to radio in the second half of the last century.

Like the internet before it, today the phone can replicate everything the previous six mass media can do. You
can consume newspapers, read magazine articles, listen to radio and podcasts, buy MP3 songs, watch TV,
even watch whole movies on the phone - Nokia shipped Mission Impossible 3 on a memory card with the
N93 phones [and the 2 hour movie works fine on the high-resolution screen of that phone]. Any web content
can be consumed on the phone, and the phone easily supercedes the interactivity of the web, because e-
mail and IM are already on the phone, but SMS and MMS messaging are unique to mobile. Similarly search
already exists on mobile. Already in 2006 the value of paid content on mobile at 35 B USD is bigger than
on the fixed wireline internet at 25 B USD.

Mobile has 6 unique benefits

The power of the mobile phone as a mass media is due to six elements not available on previous mass
media. [1] The phone is the first truly personal medium. A 2006 survey by Wired revealed that 63% of
the population do not share the phone even with one‘s spouse, it is that personal. [2] The phone is always
carried. A survey in 2005 by BDDO found that 60% of the population sleep with the phone physically in
bed; a Nokia 2006 study found that 72% of us use the phone as our alarm clock. [3] The phone is the first
always-on mass medium, today many media offer alerts via the phone, what is on another real time medium
like TV, such as CNN breaking news alerts via SMS.

Probably the most important, is that [4] the phone has a built-in payment mechanism. No other medium
has a built-in payment mechanism, even on the internet you have to subscribe to PayPal or provide a credit
card, etc. But already today, older media collect payments through the mobile phone. Habbo Hotel the web
online playground collects micropayments through premium SMS. TV shows from Big Brother to American
Idol earn billions via SMS votes. Some gaming and chat cable TV channels in Europe earn 80% of their total
revenues from mobile payments.

Tapping into the social networking and user-generated content phenomenon, is that [5] the phone is a
creative tool available always at the point of creative impulse. For example Time Magazine‘s Person of
the Year 2006 was the ‘You’ of User-Generated Content. Mostly when the photo opportunity emerges, our
digital camera is safely at home in its camera case. But the cameraphone [which is also our video recorder
and podcast recorder] is in our pocket, always at the ready to snap images and clips. User-generated content
is radically altering the media world as seen at YouTube, Ohmy News and SeeMeTV.

23
Lastly but perhaps most relevant to the legacy media, [6] mobile captures the most accurate customer
information in any medium. AMF Ventures measured the relative accuracy of audience measurements
on TV, internet and mobile, in May 2007, finding that on TV only 1% of audience data is captured; on the
Internet about 10% of audience data is collected; but on mobile 90% of audience info can be identified.
Considering media content targeting and advertising, this means that for practical purposes we know the
exact composition of our total audience, individually and exactly - and even where the media is consumed.
Not even on the web do we have this level of precision. CRM will be revolutionized! It is not surprising then
to find that in Japan, 54% of all mobile phone users receive advertising on their phones, and with targeting
and personalization, 44% like the ads so much, they actively click on the ads.

Don‘t focus on the limitations

Of the limitations to consume, the phone has a screen smaller than that of TV or a personal computer, that
is true. That is balanced against it being always with us, often used in parallel when watching TV on a flat
screen - 30% of Japanese TV viewers already do this; 20% of the British vote via mobile in reality TV shows.
The same holds for the keypad. Yes, a laptop has a better keyboard, and writing a book for example is much
easier on a PC than tripple-tapping on a phone keypad. But the phone has the camera [a picture worth a
thousand words], the microphone [podcasts], and now: 2D barcodes, as the quick shorthand of the digital
generation. You don‘t type the name of your colleague from the business card, you zoom to the 2D barcode
[that little square that looks like a fingerprint] and your phone reads the text in it - the phone ‘magically’
replaces the need for any typing at all.

As to content migration, in 2006 already 18% of all music worldwide was sold to mobile phones [mostly
ringtones], as is 14% of video games. TV and advertising has also moved into mobile during 2007. News
and search are showing strong signs of moving that way as well. What is important to note, is that the phone
will not kill other medium; they will all adjust, like radio did to TV. All seven mass media will continue. But
only those who understand the power of mobile will be able to share in its success. Just like those who
understood interactivity and search on the web.

24
 A Brief History of the Mobile Phone

1
The mobile phone was invented in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, a former general manager at Motorola. The
first call was made in April 1973 by Dr Cooper to his rival, Joel Engel who was Head of Research at Bell
Labs, but it was some time before mobile phones were available commercially. Probably our first memories
of mobile phones are from the 1980s when the handsets were large, expensive and typically used by city
high-fliers. Today things are very different: nearly everyone in the UK has a mobile phone, with many people
having one for business and one for personal use. The table below shows how common the mobile phone
has become in a short space of time.

2
The table below shows mobile penetration rates in selected countries.

UK US SPAIN INDIA JAPAN

Total population 59.4m 297m 41.1m 1081m 127.8m

Urban population (per 1000 pop.) 89.2% 80.8% 76.7% 28.7% 65.7%

No. of households 25.3m 110.2m 15.0m 202.9m 48.5m

Average number per household 2.4 2.6 2.7 5.3 2.6

Cost of living December 2005 (New York=100) 125 100 95 47 136

Colour TVs per 100 households 98.2 99.6 98.5 35.1 99.0

Telephone lines per 100 pop. 56.4 60.5 41.5 4.1 46.0
Mobile telephone subscribers per 100 pop. 102.2 62.1 86.5 4.4 71.6

Computers per 100 pop. 60.0 76.2 24.4 1.2 54.2

3
Not only has the mobile phone become synonymous with modern living, so has text messaging. The network
operators never thought text messaging would become a revenue stream for them; it was originally designed
by engineers to check whether or not the line was working. As such, the technology was embedded on all
mobile phones, albeit behind the scenes. However, in the early days of text messaging , few people knew of
4
its existence beyond telecoms engineers.

Just a few years later, customers discovered the messaging tool on their mobile phones and started to use
it to see what would happen. This meant that they sent a text message to a friend and this strange message
appeared on the other person’s phone and in appearing, was how the next customer found out about the
text message facility on their phone. This was true viral marketing.

By 1999 text messaging was proving so popular the networks realised that there was a revenue stream
available to them by promoting it. At this time, we saw the first advertisements including text messaging as
part of the service. Texting took the network operators by surprise at first and they were not geared up for
large volumes of messaging going through their systems.

27
It was also around this time that the first mobile marketing entrepreneurs put their thinking caps on and
worked out that the mobile phone could be an incredibly important advertising communications channel.
Young people were embracing text messaging and in turn, their parents and grandparents were finding out
about text messaging as it was the easiest way to keep in touch with the young people in their lives.

Those first companies to think about commercial text messaging and in particular, using text messaging
for marketing included ZagMe, Flytxt, 12snap and Enpocket. All these companies were VC [Venture Capital]
funded and to a certain extent were creating concepts and rules as mobile marketing simply hadn’t
been invented at this stage. So it was a steep learning curve both from a technology and an operational
perspective.

Eight years on and the market is really finding its feet and the value chain is becoming clearer along with
companies’ roles within that ecosystem. But we are just at the start of the mobile journey when compared
with the previous 6 mass media, as pointed out in Tomi Ahonen’s article ‘Mobile Emerging as 7th Mass
Media’

Developments in Mobile Technologies

5 6
In terms of technology we are now at a combination of 2.5G and 3G and have multi-media messaging
[with pictures, animations, video and sound], Java games, MP3 music files, instant messenger, email and
lots more besides.

Mobile technology can be likened to television. In the early days of television, it was amazing to have moving
pictures in your living room at all even though it was a very small screen; television was not broadcast all
day and viewers were subjected to the test card for long periods of time. Who could have imagined back
in the early days of television how the technology would progress – colour television, over 300 channels,
video, dvd, surround sound, Tivo/Sky Active, interactive television, games to play on your television, digital
television, video on demand etc?

Mobile technology is on a similar roadmap. In the early days, we had small screens with black and white
text, but it was amazing that you could do more than just talk on your phone. We are in the ‘colour television’
age of mobile telephony. Most handsets on the market now have a colour screen and camera as standard
features, and we’re seeing the emergence and acceptance of new technology features such as Bluetooth,
mobile internet, Java, email, television and more. Who knows what will emerge in the years to come as the
cost of the technology reduces and data speeds increase?

So why not have another look at your phone and think about how you use it. Already you may be using it
for talking and text messaging and quite possibly as an alarm clock and calendar as well. Some of you will
have downloaded applications such as Googlemail, Googlemaps or Shozu on to your phone, changed your
ringtone and probably sent and/or received an MMS message to boot. OK, you might not do these things all
the time, but the chances are you’ve done them!

28
Why Mobile is Important
You’re probably reading this guide because you’re already engaged in mobile marketing or advertising
activities or you’re thinking about it. Mobile has already come a long way and this section gives some
statistics and useful information to show how mainstream mobile has become, as well as penetration rates
and usage statistics which will help you gauge how relevant mobile is or isn’t for your particular audience,
product and company.

Did you know

• There is 102.2% mobile penetration in the UK according to the latest operator figures.
[Source: Economist Pocket World in Figures, 2007]

• In the UK, 4,825 billion messages were sent during September 2007, an average of over 1,2 billion
messages every week. This equates to the same number of messages sent during the
whole of 1999.7

• Over 15 million handsets are replaced per annum which is about a third of all handsets. The
typical upgrade time is currently 18 months for a mobile phone but seven years for a landline. The
difference being that a landline is seen as a utility and the mobile phone as an object of desire.
When was the last time you had a debate in the pub over the fact that your landline telephone was
better than your mate’s?

• Global SMS traffic over the 2007/2008 New Year period increased by 30 per cent compared to the
same period last year. Around the world, phone users sent a total of 43 billion text messages to
wish their loved ones a happy New Year.8

• 10% of UK homes only have a mobile [figure rises to 14% in Scotland]. This is particularly prevalent
in lower income households, where the mobile phone is treated as a landline and is often plugged
permanently into the wall. Usually this will be a Pay As You Go phone which means that there are
no monthly rental charges to consider and outgoing calls can only be made when there is enough
credit on the phone, although you can receive calls any time. This is also the case in some high
9
income households, e.g. a businessman constantly on the move with little need for a landline.

• Prepay still makes up 64% of the market. Although this figure has fallen in the last few years from
over 70%, it is still a significant part of the market. If someone doesn’t have credit on their phone,
it does affect their ability to reply to your message at all. Also the networks expire pre-pay numbers
very quickly – sometimes after only a few weeks of non-usage – with those numbers recycled in as
little as 3 months.This is worth bearing in mind when dealing with customer database lists and CRM.
Another point worth noting is that typically, a customer has on average £2 of credit on their phone,
so this is something to remember when asking them to pay for stuff on their phone or access content
where their data rate charges may be expensive e.g. if they are not on a flat rate tariff.

29
• 80% of under 25s more likely to text than talk.10

• 85.8% of UK mobile customers sent a text message in the last month.11

• 25% of under 10s have a mobile phone.12

• 14 million or 30% of UK users browsed WAP in the last month.13

Ofcom recently published their annual communications report which includes a section on mobile telephony.
Their findings are usually more conservative than figures from other research companies, but still the results
are encouraging. 92% of the under 45 UK adult population use a mobile phone, falling to 70% of over 45s.
Usage for the under 45s has changed little between 2005 and 2006 but amongst the over 45 age group it
has increased from 66% to 70%.

• Use of mobile services also varies according to socio-economic group, with 85% of UK ABC1s
using a mobile phone in the last year compared with 76% of C2DEs which is broadly similar to the
previous year. The important thing to note from this is how widespread mobile usage actually is.

• The report shows us the use of online and mobile applications which is interesting to compare and
contrast as mobile services move forward. Today 79% of mobile users use their handset to do more
than make or receive calls, 64% of them are texting and 53% of them are using voicemail. Taking
pictures with your phone is popular with 40% of customers doing this and 25% of customers actually
using MMS, 17% of the UK’s mobile owners have 3G and 3% of all mobile users are using video
calling, although I still haven’t seen anyone use video calling in the wild yet.

• 3G take up is greatest in London at 21% penetration and lowest in the North of England at 14%.
Unsurprisingly Urban take up is slightly higher at 19% than rural at 12%.

Use of Mobile Applications

79%
80%
64%
60% 52%
40%
40%
25%
20% 20%
20% 12% 10% 10% 9% 8% 7% 7%
4% 3%
0%
chat function
Send/recieve
Take photos

Play games
messaging

Messaging

video clips

video clips
Download

Download

Streaming
Voicemail

programs
organiser

FM Radio

Emailing
Personal

Use IMr
Picture

Calling
Video

Video
WAP
Any

Text

Base: All adults 15+ who have a mobile phone

Source: Ofcom research, 2006
Base: All adults 15+ who have a mobile phone
Source: Ofcom, The Communications Market 2007

30
Use of Online Applications by Dial-up & Broadband Internet Users

Any

Sending and recieving email

General surfing/browsing

Purchasing goods/services

Looking for/downloading info for personal use

Banking

Looking for/downloading info for work

DOwnloading music/films/video clips

Looking for/downloading info for college

Instant messaging

Playing games
Realtime gambling/auctions

Other
Broadband
None of these
Narrowband

0% 20% 40% 60& 80% 100%

Base: All adults 15+ who have access to the internet at home
Source: Ofcom
Base: All adultsresearch,
15+ who 2006
have access to the internet at home
Source: Ofcom, The Communications Market 2007

The network operators are gaining ground in different parts of the country with O2 winning the battle,
particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In London, however, T-Mobile has 36% market share.

100%
80%
60%

40%
20%
0%
WM

EA
UK

England

Scotland

Wales

N Ireland

London

SE

SW

EM

Y&H

NE

NW
Vodafone O2 T-Mobile Orange Three BT Mobile Other/Unsure

Base: All SMEs currently using mobiles

Source: Ofcom research, 2006

More detailed information is available from the Ofcom report ‘The Communications Market 2007’ which is
available as a free download from www.ofcom.org.uk

31
1
See Wikipedia for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones

2
Source: The Pocket World in Figures 2007 published by The Economist.

3
A text message is 160 characters long [including spaces) and contains no formatting. It is free to receive standard SMS text messages in the UK, but not in all

countries. In the US, some networks charge for customers to receive each text. Also see Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service.

4
The first SMS [text message) was sent in December 1992 on the Vodafone network in the UK. It was originally created for internal use and it never could have

been predicted it would become so popular.

5
Also known as GPRS [general packet radio switch) or WAP over GPRS. In consumer terms, this allows faster connection to the mobile internet and data transfer.

6
3G is a faster connection to the mobile internet and data transfer thus allowing, in theory, more reliable voice calls and faster data transfers. It is sometimes

dubbed as broadband on your phone, but realistically, 3G speeds are not always so fast or reliable. This will come as the operators roll out 3G to all their

consumers.

7
Source MDA: http://www.text.it

8
Source Acision

9
Source Ofcom 2007

10
Source MDA: http://www.text.it

11
Source: m:metrics Spring 2007

12
Source: MORI

13
Source: m:metrics

32
19
Mobile Marketing Past,
Present and Future:

Russell Buckley,
Managing Director Europe, Admob

Russell is one of the leading experts on mobile marketing in the world, having overseen nearly 2,000
campaigns since 2000. Russell is the co-author of MobHappy, one of the most popular mobile
marketing and mobile technology blogs on the web. Before joining AdMob, Russell spent over 15 years
working in marketing, including advising leading brands such as Coca-Cola, Diageo, Texaco and Mars.
In 2000, he was recruited to be Director of Marketing of UK-based mobile marketing start up, ZagMe,
one of the leading pioneers in mobile advertising. Russell learned about AdMob soon after its launch
and immediately saw the potential. He gave up his consulting practice to join founder Omar and launch
AdMob in the European market.

35
Mobile Marketing Past, Present and Future

For years marketers and mobilists alike have been excited about the prospects for mobile marketing. But
despite their evangelising and the obvious potential of the mobile channel, it seemed to be locked in a
permanent winter. However, 2007 saw a definite thaw as new business models emerged that promise
great things.

The main reason why mobile marketing hasn’t really taken off historically, has been the mixed results that
the various techniques have generated. In the beginning, we had SMS push campaigns, where the user
opted-in to receive alerts from advertisers, or triggered by an event, such as going shopping in the mall.
While this sounds like a great idea for advertisers and customers alike, the reality is that the execution is
fraught with issues.

Firstly it is expensive to send, meaning that many potential advertisers couldn’t justify the return on
investment. Then there was the tricky problem of getting customers to opt-in in the first place. Finally, while
the definition of spam revolves around prior permission, the reality is that it depends on the context of when
the message is received. If the customer gets it at the wrong time, in the wrong mood or even if the content
wasn’t valuable, it’s simply condemned as spam.

SMS is more about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) activity, like airlines sending travel updates
or credit card companies sending transaction details, or for users to “pull” information to their phones from
other media. For instance, someone might send an SMS as a result of seeing a poster campaign to ask for
stockists, or enter a competition they’ve seen on a cereal box.

SMS pull is already a well established technique and is one that will continue to grow. A recent report from M:
Metrics found that 18.5% of UK adults had interacted in this way with a marketing campaign in the previous
month alone. Ultimately, marketing without an SMS short code will look as odd today as marketing material
without a web address. Indeed, it’s possible that phone interaction will supersede the fixed web as the
preferred communication channel, as it encourages immediate interactivity and thus higher responses.

As useful as SMS is, 2007 saw the launch of a new way for marketers to use the mobile channel – Mobile
Web Advertising. And unlike its predecessor, SMS push, it’s proved unequivocally to generate consistently
high results for the early adopters, with many claiming 4 times the ROI that they enjoy using the fixed web,
which in turn is already a highly effective medium.

36
So how does this work? If we take my company, AdMob, as one of the pioneers and success stories, we
partner with mobile web sites that enjoy high traffic and offer to run advertising [text-links and graphical
banners] on a revenue share basis. Then we make this space available to advertisers via our self-serve web
platform. This allows most campaigns to be set up and run in a matter of minutes. Advertisers can target
their campaigns according to the characteristics of mobile handset that the ad appears on, such as location,
make of handset and phone capability.

For mobile content sellers, this has meant that the mobile has been transformed from a distribution channel
into a highly effective marketing medium. All users need to do if they’re interested is click on a link and
they get straight to the information. Compare this to traditional TV ads, as an example, where potential
respondents need to grab their phone, access the mobile web [assuming they know how to and have the
right settings], type in a url and only then connect with the information.

The medium has proven to be so effective that AdMob now runs one billion ads every month, despite
only launching the platform in January 2006. AdMob also has 850 million pages a month available for
advertisers to use and target the 30% of adults who already use the mobile web and this figure is set to rise
dramatically as operators offer flat rate data packages, handsets get better, speeds get faster and as walled
gardens fall down – all these trends are accelerating this year.

Another important trend is that more mainstream brands are looking to establish their footprint on the
mobile by creating their own mobile websites. Clearly, once a mobile website is built, it will need traffic and
the AdMob system is highly effective for doing this. A recent campaign saw AdMob generating 40% of the
traffic, despite only receiving 0.4% share of the overall marketing budget.

2007 saw significant moves in advertising-funded content, games and applications, as marketers grew in
their sophistication in using the mobile medium.

The future for mobile marketing and the mobile web is now looking very exciting for all participants in the
value chain, including for the all-important end user. Not only is mobile web advertising helping them to find
content they’re looking for, but it’ll make products and services available at significantly less than they’re
paying for them now. It’s been a long wait, but mobile marketing has finally arrived.

37
Thoughts for Marketers On The
Values Around New Digital
Media Opportunities:

Gillian Kennedy, Managing Director,

Emerging Media Platforms Ltd

Gillian began her career in media at The Observer, which was followed by 12 years at Emap working
across several markets and media. As Interactive Commercial Development Director at Emap
Advertising Gillian’s responsibilities included commercialising new digital platforms and digital new
product development. Gillian has been an early pioneer of mobile advertising, working in this area
for 6 years. 2007 saw Gillian work as an independent consultant both in UK & Europe. She has now
formed Emerging Media Platforms which focuses on scoping, implementing & communicating new
digital media opportunities for clients.

Gillian is actively involved in growing the new digital markets. A former member of DMA Mobile Council,
Gillian is a member of several digital networking groups and a regular speaker at conferences and
Thought Leadership seminars in the UK & Europe. Last year she took a diverse range of trips to the Far
East & Europe to gain greater insight into the rapidly involving digital world we now live in.

39
Thoughts For Marketers On The Values Around New Digital Media Opportunities

The new converged digital media world frequently represents a dichotomy for those who play a role in the
ever changing value chain. Communication between individuals is a good example of this. Whilst the price
of communication has decreased significantly over the last few decades, the value that consumers place on
communication has increased more than ever so presenting a further challenge to those who market brands
and need to capture associated value.

Along with this comes ‘new’ new media opportunities which are made possible by fast moving new
technologies that allow us to easily interact on a global 24/7 basis whether they be online or mobile. New
content and inventory created by developments in technology present both marketers and media owners
with new opportunities and associated challenges to get it right, or at the very least make fewer mistakes
than your competitors. There is considerable uncharted territory here. With regard to inventory, the new
digital world will accommodate some standardised formats. Take mobile as an example, in Japan NTT
DoCoMo has carried banner advertising for the last five years, a trend that is currently being rolled out with
the UK operators’ advertising inventory. Whilst we can be sure search will play a vital role in this sector, we
have only just started the journey when it comes to integrated advertising formats and data targeting that
will enrich the consumer experience. It gets really exciting and much riskier when we start to think about
user generated advertising though this is probably a little further down the line.

Change, driven by technology and new distribution channels, creates a new set of rules for content owners
and marketers alike which requires some thought for those who venture into this arena. Audiences have
more control than ever before and can decide when and where they want to engage with content and who
they share it with. How audiences choose to receive content i.e. online, mobile, MP3 player and so on,
provides the platform of choice to engage with content and brands, which needs to be created specifically
for that platform. Audiences can now decide who they get content from, which includes brands or friends, as
well as what they want to receive and what they are prepared to pay for.

New media is actively consumed with audiences down-loading, searching or clicking through for more
information that is relevant to their needs. Consumption patterns include during the day in the office,
at home in the evening or when audiences are on the move and vary according to device. This active
media consumption by audiences creates a superb tool for brands to engage with audiences in an
appropriate way.

Think about what the device has to offer the consumer and how easy and useful it is in their own lives. Last
year I spent some time in Japan and was suitably impressed by the end user experience around mobile
TV. Here device features including superb clam shaped screens, ease of use functionality and flat rate
data charging has created a clever consumer centric experience that extends audience consumption time
of this medium. UK operator trials of mobile TV indicate that mobile TV will extend time spent consuming
this medium and 30 minute sessions will become a reality. What a fantastic new canvas for brands to start
enriching and engaging their audience. The new rules around successful marketing within ‘new’ new media
need to put the audience in control. Get this right, and success will follow!

40
23
Mobile Has Always Been
All Inclusive:

Mike Short, Vice President R&D, 02 Europe

Mike’s career spans 32 years in Electronics and Telecommunications, with the last 19 years in Mobile
communications. He was appointed Contracts Director of Cellnet in 1989 with multi-million dollar
infra-structure investments and UK interconnect agreements. In 1993 the focus moved to establishing
Cellnet’s GSM service and he was elected Chairman of the GSM Association for 1995/96 and served
on the Executive Board for 5 years.

Mike’s focus today is on Third Generation cellular, Mobile TV and steering O2’s Group Research and
Development in mobile. He also is a member of the UK Home Office Internet Task Force, OSAB (Ofcom
Spectrum Advisory Board) and has been chairman of the UK Mobile Data Association since September
1998. He was appointed VP Technology for O2 in 2000, Visiting Professor at Surrey University in 2003
and Board Member University of Coventry in 2006. He is a Fellow of BCS/ RGS / CIPS and a member
of IET and the Royal Television Society.

43
Mobile Has Always Been All Inclusive

The obsession with 3G suggests an inexorable quest for speed and a new generation of technology when it
really is about capacity, capability and content. As we move into the broadband world we also must not forget
the 4th C – the Customer. But the capability to meet market needs is also driven by progress on the internet.
Mobile 2.0 will soon be with us opening up a whole new world of content and applications.

Taking recent figures from Insight Research the global telecom revenues in 2006 are expected to grow
annually by 5.91% [CAGR] to 2010, from $1.24 to $1.56 trillion, as the diagrams below illustrate:

$170B $250B

$589B $774B

$443B
$467B

$592B

2006 - $1.24 Trillion 2010- $1.56 Trillion

$16B

CAGR - 2006/10 Narrowband wireless growth is driven by cellular and its share
is anticipated to grow from 47.4% to 49.6% of the global total
Broadband Wired 10.5% revenues. However, it is broadband wired and wireless that show
the fastest growth rates. As also illustrated by this guide this
is driven by a wider demand for Applications than purely voice
Narrowband Wired 1.4 %
services.

Broadband Wireless 51.7% People are spending more of their free time online [as seen in
Figure 2] and broadband adoption including 3G continues
Narrowband Wireless 7.8% to grow.

Fig 2 In terms of internet and comparisons this is not the special

position for Europe alone – over 1 billion new phones or 3000 per
day are being shipped worldwide this year.
People are spending more and more
free time online In Asia, India reached 187 million customers by the end of June
2007, and based on 6 million growth per month it is likely to
Most popular leisure activites amongst Europeans
exceed 200 million during September 2007. According to ‘The
Listening to music 67%
Watching films/DVDs 65% Mobile World’ research, China remains the largest mobile market
Surfing the internet 60% in the world with 484 million customers and with growth currently
Travelling 58% at 7 million per month should exceed 500 million in a similar
restaurants/bars 40% timeframe. By contrast Japan should have reached 100 million,
Walking/rambling 38%
Gardening 36%
but with the majority being 3G for the first time in September
DIY 34% 2007 – and the leading market globally for 3G based on these
customer numbers.
Sources: Fig 2 Forrester
Sources: Fig 2 Fonester

44
The evolution of the internet to Web 2.0 and beyond will have a more profound impact on applications
development. Web based applications will move from ‘consult / surf / search’ to ‘share / collaborate /
exploit’ with Web 2.0 capability and eventually to ‘suggest / happen / discover / provide’, all alongside a
general trend from content ‘pull’ to ‘push’.

Early examples of Web 2.0 we see are My Space, Facebook, 2nd Life, Wikipedia and some enterprise
collaboration tools. When we look to see how Web 2.0 will impact mobile, it not only takes us into a wider
world of partnerships partly based on mobile content but also into the growing market for mobile applications
or Applications, Anywhere, Anytime.

Energy &
Transport Environment
Education
Health
Video/TV

Content / messaging Web 20

wireless Web 10

We already see growing interest in mobile video and TV from the growth in downloads and mobile broadcast
TV trends around the world. We also expect to see all phones sold by 2010 to have mobile email and mobile
internet capabilities – as an industry we need to make these applications as easy to use as they are
to sell.

Other mobile applications will be based on combinations of Web 2.0, and messaging telematics. For
example transport telematics will evolve from navigation to journey management [with congestion alerts,
breakdown and other information services]; parking will get smarter for connected cars; congestion analysis
via wireless will support road resource management and user charging; environmental sensors will offer
pollution control; connected roads will offer more road safety and better informed drivers and passengers.

In education a further phase of connected learning growth is anticipated as mobile access speeds [through
3G and WiFi] extend the research experience from the lecture room to the school classroom. Early examples
of usage will be seen with field trips and geoblogging, supported by mobile cameras. This is likely to be
followed with wider shared learning based on PDA’s becoming EDA’s or Educational Digital Assistants. It is
widely expected that digital homework and Interactive learning will follow.

45
In health we already see examples of ‘wellness’ being tested as part of sports training using mobile devices,
often with GPS and typical sports monitors. This is expected to evolve into wider social and health care as
both low power monitors and short range [Bluetooth/ Wibree] wireless connectivity develops. Social care
in the community will require better mobile alarms and alerts, to compliment developments towards the
digital home of the future.

The further growth in telematics for societal requirements [Transport, Energy and the Enviroment, Education
and Health] will be supported by growing GSM economies of scale and systems integrators. Harbor Research
predict the machine to machine market [M2M] could reach annual revenues of $290 billion by 2011
[$200Bn services / $80 Bn operations / $10 Bn hardware], but this will require applications partnering and
ecosystems to be more fully built.

As we continue to move from a verbal to a visual world, Web 2.0 and beyond will play a much bigger part in
mobile communications. With more [mobile] phones than people in many parts of the world we are now able
to offer a much wider range of applications and solutions – a world of Applications, Anywhere, Anytime.

46
Mobile Marketing & Advertising

Mobile marketing is the ability to connect brands to customers via the mobile phone. In its early days, this
meant SMS, or text, marketing e.g. sending out text alerts – the first being notices for UK clubbers in Ibiza.
This now covers much more as the technology has developed over the last five years. We’ve moved from
simple text messaging, black and white operator logos and mono ringtones to true tones and MP3 [so
it’s the real music on your phone], video clips, streaming video, games, multi-media messaging, instant
messenger and more.

What is Mobile Marketing and where does it fit in the Marketing Mix?

Mobile marketing is about having the ability to connect with consumers via their mobile phone wherever they
happen to be: the office, college or school, the pub, the theatre, out shopping, out playing, walking the dog,
at home watching television, in bed listening to the radio. Wherever you are, with the right permissions, you
can connect customers and clients and vice versa.

Mobile marketing fits across many marketing disciplines including sales promotion, CRM, direct marketing,
above the line, interactive, integrated, loyalty schemes or it can stand alone.

The 5 Cs of mobile = Connectedness

We are now living in a new digital age where the network effect is dominant. With online social networking,
web 2.0 approaches to internet and other businesses and the easy availability and access to information,
entertainment and people 24/7, it really is a connected world. This is never more so than with mobile
phones which increase our accessibility to people and information wherever we, or they, may be.

With reference to articles by authors Paul Golding14 and Tomi Ahonen, there are at least five primary
elements to consider when developing campaigns and applications for the use of mobile phones.

48
1. Communication
The mobile phone is primarily a communications device. It allows one person to talk to another; it allows
one person to send a message to another via SMS, MMS, instant messenger or email. It even allows us to
communicate in pictures, audio and video and multi-player gaming. But it’s fundamentally about allowing
one to one communication. For marketers it’s all about communication and if used wisely the mobile phone
can be as important a part of the marketing mix as direct marketing and email are.

Communication is also evolving into richer forms including emoticons, images, audio and video. This is
obvious if you watch any young person interacting on MSN, Yahoo Messenger or Aim and see how they
personalise the experience beyond normal language. This is also evident on social networking sites like
MySpace where you can personalise your own online presence.

Marketing question: What are we communicating, when, to whom, why and how? How are we going to allow
customers to communicate with us?

2. Consuming
Consumption on mobile takes two forms. We buy things for and with our mobile phones: we may decorate
our phones with phone jewellery or flashing stickers; and we pay for ringtones, images and videos to
personalise them.

In addition, now that we have full multi-media access on our phones, we’re also consuming a wide range
of content from video news clips, casual games like Sudoku and news services. It could be argued that we
‘consume’ messages from loved ones and marketers alike.

Marketing question: What do our customers want to do on their phones? How does that fit in with what we
want to communicate?

3. Communing
The mobile phone allows us to connect with the digital world and have a presence or be ‘always on’. It
means that we have access to information 24/7 and that others can connect to us 24/7. This allows a level
of access we have never had before, even with the advent of broadband on our computers. It means we
can find out anything we want at any time with a device that sits in our pocket and is with us twenty-four
hours a day. It means that we can remain ‘linked’ to people around us without having to be in physical
contact or in the same physical space. We also use mobile phones to find contacts and soul mates as can
be seen with the prevalence of text chat services and the popularity of mobile social networking services
such as Flirtomatic.

Marketing question: How does our marketing effort allow customers to commune or link with us and/or the
outside world?

49
4. Convenience
The mobile phone is a very convenient way to communicate with another person or entity or find something
out by looking it up on the mobile internet or by asking a Texpert15 a question. It’s a tiny device that packs a
powerful punch, some phones have hard drives of 8GB or more and most have cameras, WAP access and
the ability to download applications and games. The mobile phones we have today are more powerful than
the desktop computers we had sitting on our desks less than 10 years ago.

Marketing question: Can we make our campaign or our service more convenient for customers by allowing
mobile interactivity? Is our service or campaign convenient to use?

5. Control
You decide how ‘always on’ you want to be, or not. You can turn your phone off at any time. You can see
who is calling you and decide whether or not you wish to take that call. You can see who is sending you a
text message and you can decide whether or not you wish to reply. What this means for marketers is that
the customer may choose to interact with you via their mobile. They may [or not] give you permission to
talk to them via their mobile phone. But it also means that you need to put the customer in control of that
permission and make it easy to unsubscribe from marketing activities.

Marketing question: Have we got our subscribe/unsubscribe process right?

Creating Mobile Moments

One of the key differences mobile phones and computers, is the way we use them and in particular the types
of things we enjoy doing with them. The chances are if you are interested in computer games you will end up
spending several hours playing the one game. At work, you can spend your whole day glued to your screen,
inputting data, checking email, surfing the internet, preparing documents etc.

However with a mobile phone, although you may have a long telephone conversation with someone, most
activities are short and sweet: ‘Mobile Moments’. Text messaging is a very short form of communication;
mobile games are typically played for 10 to 20 minutes whilst waiting for a bus or commuting on the tube or
train. If you vote in TV shows such as Big Brother or I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, it takes just seconds
and you get a feeling of instant reward. Browsing on WAP sites can still be slow, although it’s getting better
with 3G becoming more mainstream, so you’re unlikely to spend hours doing it [yet]. So when embarking on
a mobile communications strategy, think ‘short and sweet’ and look towards creating that ‘mobile moment’
rather than a mobile half hour or mobile two hours. As consumers, we’re used to instant gratification, and
the mobile phone is an ideal way to feed that addiction.

50
The Mobile Marketing Value Chain

With ABI Research stating the global mobile marketing and advertising sector will be worth US $19 billion
by 2011 and the Internet Advertising Bureau ‘Engage for Mobile’ conference in November 2007 claiming
Mobile Advertising is set to take up more than half of advertisers’ budgets by 2012; things are looking very
positive for the key stakeholders in the mobile marketing value chain.

Brands
Brands have realised it is no longer enough to ‘push’ marketing campaigns at consumers, they need to
involve and engage with them to find new ways to create and retain loyalty. Mobile has given brands a unique
opportunity to do this and create a two-way relationship, ultimately building product awareness, driving sales
and retaining loyalty. By using mobile as part of a marketing campaign brands can reach a specific target
audience, via a time-sensitive, measureable medium.

Marketing / Digital Agencies

Mobile has transformed the media landscape over the past seven years, with many big agencies such as
Ogilvy and Saatchi launching an interactive digital division that includes mobile services. The increasing
sophistication of the handsets themselves, with integrated media players, high resolution imaging and
cameras have in turn given agencies more scope to work with to create interactive, innovative campaigns
that help drive consumer engagement.

Mobile Advertising Networks

Companies such as Admob and Enpocket partner with mobile web sites that enjoy high traffic and offer to
run advertising [text-links and graphical banners] on a revenue share basis. They make this space available
to advertisers via self-serve web platforms. This allows most campaigns to be set up and become operational
in a matter of minutes. Advertisers can target their campaigns according to the characteristics of mobile
handset that the ad appears on, such as location, make of handset and phone capability.

Search Engines
Many customers are accessing the mobile internet through established, web-based vendors such as Yahoo,
Google and MSN, rather than use the network operator’s searching tools, putting the search engines in a
strong position.

Mobile Marketing Service Providers

Service providers, such as Tanla Mobile, are a full service mobile agency, that provide a complete solution
to technically enable mobile marketing and advertising campaigns, working in partnership with the other
players in the mobile marketing value chain.

Network Operators
Network Operators are moving away from the walled garden approach to portals, opening up their network to
third parties, to encourage competition and increase data usage through the provision of new and innovative
content. They have traditionally charged consumers to buy digital content from their mobile portals, and are
now beginning to share demographics and mobile media consumption insights with brands as they move
to advertisers funded models.

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Different Types of Mobile Marketing Campaigns

As mentioned earlier, mobile marketing fits in across a wide variety of marketing disciplines as well as being
a channel in its own right. It was first used most frequently by sales promotion agencies as a very convenient
way to manage a competition – the ubiquitous ‘text and win’ promotion. Now there is no need to deal with
sack loads of mail and the data inputting post-campaign to allow for a follow-up campaign which means that
smart direct marketers can step in and take advantage of the opportunity.

Text to Win
This is a very convenient way to manage a competition or prize draw. A number is published on a pack,
poster, magazine, TV or email and the customer is asked to text in a word, lucky number, answer to a
16
question or their own details for a chance to win a prize to a ‘long’ mobile number or a shortcode17.
It also means that you are able to do a follow up campaign as this is also a convenient way to kick-start
building your own list and you can do reporting and analysis by measuring repeat entries, times and date
of entries etc.

Voting and Participation TV

We are all familiar with text voting on the television for programmes like Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity, Get
Me Out of Here, The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. We’re also seeing polling and voting and ‘ask a
question’ via text message on more serious programmes such as the BBC’s Question Time. In addition,
most national and regional newspapers use text messaging, and in particular voting and polling, as a way to
engage customers in a simple dialogue. Again it is a good way to build a customer database list as well as
encouraging participation. Similar analysis can be done as for a text and win promotion in terms of numbers
of people who participated and when, repeat usage and so on; and in carrying out this analysis you may be
able to pick up on patterns of usage and create cluster groups to help with further relevant marketing and
promotions to those customers.

Some of these initiatives have been tainted recently with the scandals on the Channel 4 programme, Richard
and Judy, ITV’s GMTV and even the BBC’s Blue Peter. The misdemeanours vary but it reiterates the need for
good planning and good customer service. So, be clear with your terms and conditions and check these with
a lawyer, e.g. opening and closing times/dates, how much it costs, the criteria for entry, what money [if any]
is going to charity, any additional network charges that may apply.

Quizzes
Quizzes are eternally popular as seen with the proliferation of quiz formats on television, the popularity of
the pub quiz and ever popular personality profiling. Quizzes work very well on mobile phones using either
text messaging or a Java application. The benefit of using a text messaging format is that everyone can use
that on their mobile phone. But on more sophisticated phones, a Java quiz application can be developed
which allows a deeper level of interactivity than text alone as graphics and sound can be incorporated and
with a link to a Wapsite or website specifically designed for mobile. This means that new questions can be
uploaded on to the phone at the click of a button.

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The typical way to start a quiz is to text in a key word to a central mobile number or shortcode and a question
is sent to you by return. The quiz can be as long or as short as you like. Typically, the questions require an
A, B, or C answer or a single word answer to keep the data handling simple. It is possible to include what’s
called a natural language engine behind the system to analyse customer’s text messages, but this adds cost
to building and managing the application. A natural language engine ‘reads’ the incoming text and attempts
to recognise it and picks up on keywords within the message in order to work out how to respond.

Mobile Content [pictures, ringtones, video]

The mobile content industry is huge and has sprung up from literally nowhere. Many people have changed
their ringtone from the standard ringtone setting and experimented with pictures on their phone to
personalise it. Brands are now capitalising on the popularity of mobile content and are using it as part of
their marketing effort. A picture or ringtone can be a second or third tier prize in a free prize draw or other
competition, the content based around the brand itself. Many brands and companies employ this tactic of
rewarding customers with content for their mobile phones including Honda, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Carling and
Fosters. It’s an easy way to reward customers without dealing with complex handling of sending out small
prizes in their hundreds or thousands.

Games
Mobile games are so popular that they are now an industry in their own right and all the major players in
the games industry have a mobile games division. Nokia produced the N-Gage which is a mobile phone
specifically designed for playing games which competes directly with Nintendo DS and DS Lite and Sony PSP
which have internet, file sharing and multi-player gaming capability.

Adding mobile connectivity to the mobile internet allows customers to engage in multi-player gaming
wherever they are and also allows live updates to the game and the ability to load their score on to a leader-
board. In some cases, gaming can be customised according to location so they can challenge real players
in their vicinity whether that’s using the location service from their network operator, by using a service like
Jaiku18 or Buddyping19 or using Bluetooth at a specific location.

Mobile games are also a popular reward for customers, although more expensive to produce and deliver than
a simple ringtone, picture or even a full audio track. This is because the cost of production is typically about
£20,000 [which is small fry compared with the cost to produce a mainstream Playstation 3 game which
can run into millions]. So you have to balance the budget with the potential for ROI and what other fringe
benefits you may get from going down the games route. As technologies improve, the cost of production will
come down as a large chunk of the cost is down to having to customise and test for a multitude of phones.
Of course savings can be made by ‘reskinning’ an existing mobile game and changing some of the images
and screens in the game to suit your particular needs. Since the game already works across handsets and
operators, your production costs reduce dramatically provided the changes are cosmetic.

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Applications
This is currently still a relatively unexplored area for mobile marketing but has potential. Applications can
be fun or useful and would typically be Java based to reach the mass market, although higher end business
phones such as the Sony Ericsson P800 and P900 range and the Nokia N-Series use Symbian20 which is a
more powerful platform for applications.

The application can be almost anything you want it to be. It can keep you up to date with stocks and shares
if you’re a broker, or it could be a horoscope application that gives you your daily reading in the morning.
Development, distribution, billing [if required] and delivery would be similar to handling a mobile game.

It should be noted that as soon as you start asking customers to download an application to their phone,
that can act as a barrier so it’s not a given that you will get penetration as quickly as you might like it. That
said both Google and Opera have had great success with generating full, successful downloads of their
mobile email, mapping [Google] and browser [Opera] products.

CRM
Text messaging in particular is a really useful element of any CRM or Customer Relationship Management
initiative. It can be used to keep customers up to date with what’s new and offer them last minute or
exclusive offers. Text messaging is more expensive than email for this kind of activity, but is potentially
quicker to run, as you don’t have the creative design and build to consider [unless you’re planning to do
MMS21]. Costs per text will vary depending on the volumes you put through the networks and also the cost
of any application you use may also be included in the per text cost.

IVR
IVR stands for Interactive Voice Response which has typically been used by large corporates to manage
incoming calls e.g. press one for yes and press two for no. It is also used to pay for mobile content and for
premium rate services off the television screen and in the back of magazines.

MMS
Multi-media messaging is becoming more popular and more readily available on handsets. Most new phones
have a camera function as standard and will also have the capability to send and receive multi-media
messages. An MMS message can contain pictures, video or animation, a sound clip [which can be used
as a ringtone] and formatted text [using colour, size and bold]. It could also include a barcode that can be
scanned at point of sale. The typical message size is 30k for outbound campaigns. But the user sending in to
you can have varying size of MMS depending on what their handset and their network operator allows.

Direct Response Campaigns

One of the simplest ways for an advertiser to engage with a customer via mobile is to have them text in
to a shortcode as a method of direct response to an above the line advertisement. We are seeing these
campaigns on posters, in magazines and on the television already. This is also a straightforward way to build
your own mobile mailing list for future text campaigns.

Some media owners are branding their shortcodes and running direct response campaigns for their
advertisers as well as their own promotions and competitions from those numbers. Viewers or listeners
understand that if the message has come from a particular shortcode, it belongs to the radio station or the
TV station and is part of their branding. For example, the shortcode for BBC Radio 2 is 88291 which is the
same as their FM frequency 88 to 91 FM.

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SMS responses to above the line campaigns are increasing in popularity and are generating good response
rates among consumers, as illustrated in the graph below.

Sent 1 or more text messages in response to an off-mobile advert

Sent 1 or more SMS Messages

3

France Germany Italy Spain UK US

33month
monthaverage
average ending
endingJuly 2007.Source:
July2007. Source:m:metrics
m:metrics

The response request may vary in terms of what the advertiser is offering.

Text to wap or mobile web site

Here a customer is encouraged to text in and in return receives a direct link to the advertiser’s mobile web
site whereby they can find out more about the product or service, enter a competition or opt-in to receive
further information. Now the mobile internet experience is improving, more of this activity is occurring. It is
more effective than asking a customer to type in a URL directly into their browser. This is fiddly to do (as we
don’t have a QWERTY keyboard) and the majority of mobile customers are unlikely to know their way round
their browser in order to do this unless they’re a medium to heavy mobile web user.

Text to screen
This describes the ability to text in your comments to a screen – be that the TV screen or a screen in a
shopping mall or nightclub. It uses the same software that drives text chat services and is generally very
popular. It is often a charged-for service (as seen on television where viewers are asked to text in their
comments or questions to TV programmes). Advertisements or sponsored messages can be included in the
replies to customers to confirm that their messages have been received on the system. Intelligent analysis
of this data would also help to find out more about the customer base, when they’re engaged, what they’re
talking about and how frequently they interact with you. All useful information for segmenting and targeting
your customers.

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Text to email
This describes the ability to respond to an advertisement with your email address. Once you’ve sent in
your email address, an email is automatically generated, with full graphics, attached PDF file and is sent
straight to your inbox. This means that you can give a customer more information than you would be able
to in a text message. Arguably, this should be secondary to a text to website service as part of the mobile
marketing USP is the immediacy, as the chances are that someone who interacts via mobile wants instant
gratification. However, there will be times when this is an appropriate mechanism where very visual and
detailed information needs to be distributed, or where the customer wants to bookmark something to check
out later when they have more time.

Text to post
Similar to text to email, you can text in your postcode and your house number and the system uses a
Postcode Address Finder to work out your full address and send whatever it is to your home – be that a
brochure or free product sample. This is typically used by travel companies to send out their brochures and
for sales promotions where sampling is a major part of the campaign.

Text to mobile content

This refers to a customer who sees an advertisement on television, hears it on the radio, or sees it in print
and texts in to receive a piece of content back to their phone such as a ringtone or a money-off coupon. This
is typically received as a wap push link and a SMS message and means that the customer is one click away
from the content rather than having to search a mobile web portal for that piece of content.

Mobile Barcodes
Mobile barcodes have been used in the UK since 2002, with businesses sending ‘paperless tickets’ to mobile
phones which are then redeemed via in-store EPOS systems. They can reduce production and distribution
costs associated with traditional paper-based ticketing channels, overcome security problems associated
with paper tickets such as ticket touts; and increase customer convenience by providing a straightforward,
instantaneous way to buy tickets and eliminate the need for long queues.

A popular example is a concert promotion, where fans see print or online advertisements for the event, text
in to a short code or long number and receive a text or picture message containing a barcode and details
about the concert. They turn up at the event where their text message is scanned and validated by a
member of staff and they are allowed entry to the concert.

Companies such as Mobiqa, Swiftpass and Trinity Mobile have been pioneering mobile barcodes and they
are now widely used in the retail, transport and leisure sectors.

QR Codes
QR Codes (Quick Response Codes) are 2D Barcodes developed by Japanese company Denso and were
released in 1994 with the primary aim of being easily interpreted by scanner equipment in manufacturing,
logistics and sales applications. In comparison with other Barcodes, QR Codes combine several advantages:

• They can hold a very large capacity of numbers or letters in any language
• Their printout size can be very small
• They offer high speed reading
• They can be read from any side (omnidirectional or 360° scan)

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The image below shows an example QR code.

Japan’s highly developed 3G network and high usage of mobile internet prompted the networks (NTT
DoCoMo, J-phone), handset manufacturers (Panasonic, NEC, Sharp) and service providers (Denso,
MediaSeek, 3G Vision) to work together to bring QR code readers to mobile phones. They decided to turn a
camera phone into a barcode scanner that would deliver encoded information, as well as URLs that could
connect directly to the mobile internet.

A user with a camera phone with the correct reader software can scan the QR code image, which can cause
the phone’s browser to launch and redirect to a brand’s mobile internet site. There is no need to text a
shortcode or enter a URL by hand. High spec phones such as the Nokia N95 have QR readers pre-installed,
but QR code-reading software is available to install on camera phones which do not have a reader already
in place.

QR codes are now recognised by over 90% of Japanese mobile phone users, and used by over 50% of them
for quick, easy access to information. In fact more people in Japan surf the web using a mobile phone than
a PC. QR codes are found on magazines, posters, packages and vending machines throughout Japan,
thoroughly assimilated into the marketing and advertising mix.

QR codes have now made their way to the UK. When the DVD of the movie ’28 Weeks Later’ was released in
the UK in September 2007, part of the advertising campaign included a QR code contained in a square box
on the film poster. It held details about the DVD and links to relevant material on the internet. In fact, one
giant poster in Shoreditch, London displayed nothing but a QR code.

This technology has a wide appeal for marketers and public alike – introducing interactivity into what was a
traditionally passive medium. In the housing industry, buyers could walk past a for sale sign, and instantly
scan the barcode to find more information about the property; brand managers in the car industry could
include a barcode on outdoor advertising, enabling car enthusiasts to watch a video clip of the car in action,
etc. Nowadays with most phones having a camera as a standard feature, QR codes could be as popular, and
as widely used by brands and marketing agencies in the UK as they are in Japan.

WAP Portal or Mobile Internet

This phrase describes the mobile version of sites like The Sun or Channel 4; or the network operators own
portals that are often a starting point for someone to browse the Internet. Currently the network operators
have the largest portals in terms of traffic, but media owners are now looking at WAP to extend their reach.

Each network has its own WAP portal – O2 Active, Vodafone Live, Today on 3, Orange World, T-Zones and
Virgin Bites. The network operators are proud of their portals and have invested a lot of money in them,
but as customer acceptance and usage of WAP grows then more players will come into the market to be a
customer’s gateway to the mobile internet.

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Java or On Device Portal [ODP]
Java portals are also growing in acceptance as a gateway to the Internet. The reason being, that Java is
a technology embedded on the majority of mobile handsets already and gives a relatively speedy user
experience – hence its wide usage for mobile games.

The term Java Portal describes a hybrid of WAP and Java. You download an application on your phone, which
is a template that can be updated with news, information and links via WAP. This means that it is not memory
hungry, as it does not keep lots of information stored on your phone. But also, you can keep up to date with
whatever it is you want to know about. An analogy is an empty magazine framework that fills up with the
latest articles when you click a button. The benefit of this is that the user experience for browsing content is
improved, as it’s not solely reliant on WAP and the brand is stored on the phone to be looked at any time.

More people are using Java portals, particularly now that 3G penetration is rising [68% of UK mobile
subscribers to use 3G by 2010. Source: Forrester] and the browsing experience is getting better. The advent
of the iPhone also shifts the focus back to browsing and mobile web; as the only applications allowed
on the iPhone are browser based. Therefore they don’t affect the handset operating system and cannot
inadvertently, damage the phone in any way.

Mobile Marketing Challenges

Technology Constraints
Mobile technology is fast moving. On average customers upgrade their phones every 18 months, whereas
average upgrade time for landlines is every seven years. Nokia, LG, Siemens, Samsung, Sony Ericsson,
Motorola et al introduce new handsets every few months, and each has new features, new operating
systems, different screen sizes and different functionality. Some new handsets have a bigger impact on
the market than others – the Nokia N95 launched with a bang in 2007 and has become very popular very
quickly with 3G and data users. The launch of the iPhone is already causing ripples in the mobile industry
but it is too early to analyse its impact in the price sensitive, competitive UK market.

Cameras and colour screens are now mainstream, as is Java, which is the technology behind most mobile
games and many applications. However, each handset manufacturer handles Java differently so if you
produce a game, for example, you will have to make sure it is compatible across a wide range of handsets
and tailor the application to make sure it is optimised for that handset.

Marketers and Mobile Marketing

The marketing landscape is already complex, without the addition of email and online campaigns, let
alone mobile. Understandably, marketers whose focus has been on a visual brand image were wary about
communicating with their customers via text message. Plain text, limited to 160 characters was not that
exciting when you’re used to seeing your brand in a clever, quirky TV advert. However today’s phones
with colour screens, cameras, internet access and video capability mean there is more scope to run more
interesting, integrated campaigns.

There is still some hesitancy about mobile marketing, and the perception that text messaging equals spam.
There is also a worry about email spam and viruses that make people very wary about allowing access
to their mobile phone number in case the same problems arise. This has been exacerbated by spam
messaging such as ‘You have a hot date waiting for you. Call 0906 XXX XXXX to find out who has left you a
message’ which encourages customers to call a premium rate number and is nothing more than a scam.

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Data Protection regulations in the UK and also the rules surrounding premium rate services are strict in the
UK and breaking those rules can land you with a large fine.

30% of the population are accessing the internet via their mobile phone and it’s the big brands currently who
are winning the race to getting us to look at them on their phone.

The following table shows the rankings of the top mobile web sites among Smartphone users in the United
States and the United Kingdom, for the month of June 2007.22

Top 10 for unique subscribers, UK Top 10 for page views, UK

1 Google Inc 1 Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd

2 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) 2 Google Inc

3 Orange Personal Communications SVC Ltd 3 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

4 Microsoft Corporation 4 Yahoo! Inc

5 Vodafone Group Plc 5 Microsoft Corporation

6 eBay Inc 6 Vodafone Group Plc

7 Telefonica O2 Europe Plc 7 Orange Personal Communications SVC Ltd

8 Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd 8 eBay Inc

9 Yahoo! Inc 9 Deutsche Telecom AG

10 Deutsche Telecom AG 10 Facebook Inc

Top 10 for unique subscribers, US Top 10 for page views, US

1 Google Inc 1 Google Inc

2 Yahoo! Inc 2 Yahoo! Inc

3 Microsoft Corporation 3 News Corporation

4 Time Warner Inc 4 Microsoft Corporation

5 AT&T Inc 5 Craigslist Inc

6 News Corporation 6 The Walt Disney Company

7 eBay Inc 7 Facebook Inc

8 Sprint Nextel 8 AT&T Inc

9 Palm Inc 9 Time Warner Inc

10 Landmark Communications Inc 10 Bank of America Inc

What do I Measure?
Another concern about mobile marketing is ‘How do you measure it?’ The same rules apply to measuring
mobile marketing as other campaigns. There is no guarantee of success just because you use the mobile
channel, it’s how you use it that’s important, and when used well, does deliver a high ROI, and this is
typically higher than direct mail and email. You can measure response rates, for example, how many new
people on the list, how many competition entrants and how many repeat entries. You can also measure
click through rates and unsubscribe rates. The latter being a useful indication of how well your campaign
is being received.

Traditional measurement techniques should also be used – researching customer attitudes for example.
There’s nothing to stop you calling or texting a sample from your customers to find out what they thought of
the campaign. Or indeed soliciting feedback via a simple form on a mobile internet site. There is no magic
formula to measure a mobile campaign and it’s up to the marketer to determine what the criteria for success
will be and work out what you will measure in order to determine that.

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The following table shows response levels to text based mobile advertising.23

SMS
Table 5:Marketing Response
Text-Based Mobile Rates,
Advertising, by May 2007
Country: July 2007

Percent subscribers Percent responding to

Country Received SMS Ad receiving SMS Ad SMS Ad
France 27,743,916 62.3% 7.6%
Germany 15,089,753 32.5% 5.7%
Italy 25,567,895 56.8% 8.0%
Spain 24,122,581 75.4% 6.1%
United Kingdom 18,648,786 41.4% 9.2%
United States 36,671,828 17.2% 12.0%

As you can see from the table, the number of SMS ads is lowest in the US, yet they generate the highest
response rates. Conversely, Spain has the highest number of subscribers, yet the lowest response rates,
suggesting as the novelty factor wears off interaction levels decrease. To get maximum results from text
based advertising (1) have your message come from a trusted name, (2) ensure ads are targeted, (3) cap
frequency of communication.

Campaign Planning

Permission Marketing
Permission is essential for running any kind of mobile marketing campaign. It is often assumed that you
need to work with a pre-existing list of mobile numbers before you can do any kind of mobile marketing but
this simply isn’t the case, particularly now that we are working with richer media on mobile (mobile internet,
music tracks, application downloads etc).However, permission is critical for any campaign involving push
messaging, or any continuing relationship with the customer involving a messaging aspect.

It is always a good idea to get this checked out with your company lawyer as this area is covered by many
rules and regulations including the EU Data Privacy Act and the EU E-Commerce regulations and is a
complex area. If you stick to best practice when it comes to permission marketing, then it is far less likely
that you will become unstuck.

Permission works in several ways. Firstly, you can collect your customer’s data in traditional ways e.g.
by getting them to fill in forms on the internet, complete a postcard, a survey, their mobile number on
an internet site and tick the relevant boxes to explicitly state that they want to receive further marketing
messages from you or carefully selected third parties.

Finally, when a customer texts in, in response to an advert or call to action, for example if they have seen a
poster or are entering a competition on the side of a drink’s can, then you, as a marketer, have permission
to reply to that customer in the context of that particular campaign. Depending on how you’ve structured
your terms and conditions, you may also have an implied opt-in. You can make it explicit and in the process
of replying to the customer, you can ask them if they would like to opt-out by sending STOP. Or you can get
explicit opt-in by asking them to reply YES (or other keyword of your choice) to state that they want to receive
further marketing messages from you.

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Spam is in the Eye of the Beholder.
So that’s the basic stuff. Now let’s look at the customer’s point of view. Very often when we receive a
message we don’t want, whether or not we’ve opted-in to receive it, we call it spam, or in the case of
messages received by post, we call it junk-mail. People very often forget whether or not they have opted in
to receive anything. They can’t remember every little tick box they have checked or unchecked. How many
forms do you routinely fill in on the internet in order to get past a registration page so you can get to the
information you actually want to access? And perhaps, you haven’t received any communication from the
company in several months, and perhaps you’ve simply forgotten about them and who they are. Or maybe
those messages are no longer relevant to you and your life right now. Just because you opted-in to receive
messages about acne cream when you were 17 doesn’t mean you still want to get those when you’re 30.

The implication of this is that if you are going to use text messaging as part of your marketing communication,
you need to remember that this is part of relationship building. A text message once a year is not going to be
effective. If you get customers to sign up to third party campaigns then you need to be a little bit wary of the
kind of messages you send out. If the customer has signed up to a mailing list from ACME Inc, even if they’ve
ticked the box to get third party messages, they don’t suddenly expect to get a text message from ZEN Ltd
who they’ve never had a relationship with before. However, if there is an existing relationship with ACME Inc
and the marketing message sent on behalf of ZEN Ltd comes from ACME Inc, then there is a better chance
of the message being well-received.

But permission on its own isn’t enough to make a campaign successful for any kind of outbound activity. You
need at least one other element:

Time & Location

Firstly, we have time or location sensitivity. You can put a text messaging campaign together relatively quickly
compared to how long it takes to put together a print mailing, or an email push. In terms of delivery, you can
be timely when you send it out as you are not relying on the postal services to deliver your letter, or relying
on someone logging into their email at the right time to take advantage of the offer.

With location, you may know the postcode or area where your customer lives, works or plays, which
means you can localise the offer to their local restaurant, dry-cleaner, and requires explicit agreement and
active look-up.

So if you have a time sensitive offer, say a local theatre has some tickets left for Saturday afternoon’s
performance and they know you’re local to that theatre, you can send a message on Thursday with an offer
for discounted tickets.

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Entertain
Entertainment is a category in itself on mobile with the advent of mobile games and video. But don’t forget
that this is a small screen and people using their phones probably have a limited amount of time as well as
a limited amount of battery life.

So think of entertaining someone for a few minutes, while they’re waiting at the bus stop or at a train station,
between shows on the television, a short distraction during the working day.

What your customer finds entertaining will be very subjective but some examples include branded games,
a wapsite telling you about a new book that’s out (including a synopsis, author biog and some quotes), or
a funny video clip.

Interactive
Let’s not forget that the mobile phone is primarily a communications device and as such it’s a
two-way street.

Long gone are the days when you could send out text messages without a reply path, not least because you
need to allow customers to unsubscribe easily by replying STOP to any text message they receive from you.

Customers enjoy being asked for their feedback, and they do expect to be heard. So with any mobile
messaging communication, you have to allow customers to reply back to you and you need to reply back to
customers promptly, so send that text message link back as quickly as you can!

Relevant
One of the things often forgotten about with a marketing campaign is the actual relevance to the
customers and their daily lives. There is little point sending out any direct messages to a customer,
by SMS, email or post even, unless it is relevant. E.g. don’t send football related messages to a
non-football fan.

Value Add
Overall, you need to add value to the customer. There is little point in sending out a message saying ‘come to
my shop because it’s lovely’. There needs to be a deeper reason why you have sent a message to encourage
them to visit your store. That could be offer based (discount, buy one get one free, gift with purchase) or
event based (sale on this week, product launch, drinks party).

So put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think about how they will feel on receipt of the message. If you
haven’t been able to include some time/location sensitivity, if you haven’t been able to entertain them, if
there’s no interactivity, if there’s no relevance or you haven’t added any value, then you need to rethink your
campaign until you can tick at least one of those boxes.

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Running a Successful Campaign

Rules for Success

In addition to permission, there are 4 elements that differentiate mobile marketing from traditional
marketing. These are also the key success factors for its use. A minimum of two factors are necessary.

When planning your mobile marketing effort, it really is back to marketing basics and lots of common sense.
Don’t get bogged down with the technology, think through your product or service, your audience and what
you want them to experience.

There’s a simple checklist to go through which may help you with this.

1. Segment, Target, Position. What are the customer segments you want to reach? Which of them are
you going to target for this campaign? How are you going to position your product or service with
them, thus affecting brand and key messages?
2. Who is the audience? What do you know about them? Where do they hang out (in this day and
age, you need to go to where customers are rather than ‘build it and they will come’)? Who are they
hanging out with? What are they reading on and offline? What are they looking at on TV, listening to
on the radio, surfing on the internet, using on their phone?
3. What are your key campaign messages? Is it promotionally led (e.g. Special Offer)? Is it ongoing
communication? Is it customer service (thank you messages, requests for feedback)?
4. Why mobile marketing? Mobile marketing isn’t always the right tool for the job so where does mobile
fit in to your customers’ lives and where will it fit in with your campaign? Check the statistics of what
your customers are doing on their phone.

Offer plan
If you’re creating a sales promotion of any description, you need to make sure you have clarity around your
offer or competition, regardless of whether the campaign is using mobile or not.

• What is the definition of your offer, promotion or competition?

• How are you going to communicate – text message, MMS, Wapsite, other media?
• If you are sending any outbound messages, when are you going to send the message? Do think
about what your customers might be doing at the time they receive
the message… do you really want to send an offer out to an 18 year old boy at 8am on a Saturday
morning or target a Mum when she’s busy on the school run?
• Who are you going to send this message to and where are you going to find them? Are they your
customers already or do you need to acquire them?

What’s the call to action?

Think also about exclusivity – if the offer or promotion is exclusive (perhaps for members only, or selected
customers only) then it can have a powerful impact, make customers feel special and therefore increase the
likelihood of a response. SMS is a powerful medium and can cut through other marketing communications
but the messages you send must be worth receiving and add value to the receiver.

63
Targeting and personalisation
The good news about mobile is that it’s relatively straightforward to target, provided you know who your
customers are. This means that you can have the same campaign offer to all your customers but can
differentiate the tone and content for different target groups. So ideally this means changing the message
to suit the recipient. Think about how you might communicate the offer to a teenage music fan versus an
active member of the Caravan Club.

Mobile phones are incredibly personal devices and the messaging that happens on them is no exception so
you can afford to be more personal with your text communication and you can use a less formal language.

Copywriting
You only have a small screen so whatever you do on it needs to reflect that. If you are sending out text
messages, you only have 160 characters so use them wisely! Take care about how you construct the message.
Just because it’s a short message, doesn’t mean it’s easier to write. It’s very easy to make mistakes. There
are many examples of marketing messages from companies who have made very basic mistakes – a film
promotion where they spelt the name of the film incorrectly, a food and drink offer without stating which
restaurant and where that is, a discount coupon with no expiry date, a one day sale but no date.

• When writing your message, write in the same tone and style as your customer but don’t try too hard
and use incomprehensible text speak. Your youth audience will feel patronised by it, because unless
you actually work with teenagers to put that copy together, you’ll no doubt get it wrong. Anyone in an
older demographic won’t understand it anyway.
• Be aware of what appears on the first screen as some customers will never read beyond that unless
there’s a very good reason to. So, like a good press release, all your news needs to be up front and
visible at the start.
• Even with a simple text message based campaign, it is worth testing on different phones to see
where the line breaks occur and what appears on the first screen.
• When writing for a mobile internet site, consideration also needs to be made as to the screen size
and what can easily be read in one screen. Copy should be kept short, simple and to the point.

Measurement
What response rate can you expect from a mobile campaign? The simple truth is, that like any other
marketing effort, it’s not the media you use that dictates your response rate, but how you use it. There is no
such thing as an average response rate and one of the things to keep track of internally over time, is your
own response rates so you can create your own benchmark.

There are things that you can measure:

• Number of replies or entries into a competition.
• Data captured and its quality and volume.
• Wap page impressions.
• Click throughs from messages.
• Number of people who unsubscribed from your list.
• Number of undelivered messages.
• Uplift in sales or traffic to your store, website, event etc.
• Increase in brand awareness and perception.

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Production and Fulfilment

When putting a mobile campaign together the focus is often too much on the technology side and the other
component parts can sometimes be forgotten. Thought needs to given to the technical side, of course – who
is going to produce and manage the campaign for you, who’s going to build the Wapsite and so on. But
thought also needs to go into who’s going to manage any customer service issues, who’s going to manage
any prize fulfilment (and the related collating of address details and customer services around that). A very
large confectionary brand came unstuck a few years back with a major text to win campaign where no-one
had thought through how they were going to collate winners details and so the fulfilment house had to call
winners individually which added a huge amount of cost to the overall campaign.

Technical Project Management

Always allow contingency time and budget for any technical project because once you’ve interacted with a
campaign or mobile service, you’ll probably find that something or other needs tweaking. Or you might find
some glaring hole in the service that needs filling that you simply hadn’t expected.

Also, keep your technical team up to date with your marketing plans – it’s important for them to know when
the campaign is going live (obviously) but also the media plan so they can work out potential peaks and
troughs in activity. This is particularly important if a TV advert is being used so that the team is on-hand for
technical support at peak-time periods.

A quick planning checklist

Draw on best practice direct marketing principles

• Set objectives
• Set a budget
• Identify your target audience/s
• Are you using your own list of customers or do you need access to someone else’s list
• What’s the creative concept
• Outline the campaign activity and describe the different elements be they push, pull, integrated or
standalone
• Think through your production and fulfilment needs (customer service, prizes, sales)
• Testing programme
• Measurement and reporting

65
Outbound Campaigns
Many firms use outbound SMS marketing as part of their marketing effort. It has been around a long time
now and can still be effective, particularly when used around customer service. Everyone from big banks,
supermarkets, music companies to cab firms and hairdressers have used it.

There are pros and cons to building your own list as well as using someone else’s. So why create your own
list? It’s an opportunity to talk to your own customer regularly and get that two-way dialogue going. It helps
you build a greater knowledge of your customers, including buying habits. There’s an opportunity for revenue
generation if that’s your thing. It’s also cheaper to retain a customer than acquire a new one and messaging
is a good way to do that. It’s cheaper to send messages via your own list than buying access to a third party
list and after all, they are your customers, you should know better what they want and therefore generate a
higher response rate. It also allows customers to get in touch with you and to give you their feedback.

If you are building your own list then there are some key points to adhere to (a lot of these are common
sense and won’t be a surprise).

• Define your objectives.

• Is this a single brand list or is it a commercial list.
• Communication – how, when, why, what?
• Think customer (go back to the Rules for Success).
• Clean your data regularly (there’s no excuse for this, it’s a simple enough process to clean your data
against the Telephone Preference Service).
• Adhere to regional regulations, e.g. the Data Protection Act and the EU Electronic
Communication Directive.
• Unsubscribing must be easy – replying STOP to any message should unsubscribe a customer from
the list.
• Customer service – this is a two way street. Make sure your people are briefed and that customer
service processes are in place.
• SMS is not always the best way to collect data so make sure you can collate date from various
places.
• Each campaign you run should build your customer’s profile.

Not everyone has a list to begin with so sometimes you’re going to have to look elsewhere for data. Where
there is a close connection with the list owner, its customers and your product or service, is where you’re
going to get the best results.

When putting together your outbound campaign and thinking about who you might work with (e.g. a radio
station, print media owner, a website owner) then it’s worth planning what it is you are after in some detail.
Wherever possible describe the product or service category that your campaign covers and the type of
campaign you want to run (competition, discount etc). Describe the target audience and how many people
you’d like to reach. A broadcast schedule is useful where you identify time, date and which of your target
groups you want to send a message to. And the more information you have about the kinds of customers
you want to reach, the easier it’s going to be for the list owner to help you by identifying the quality targets
as opposed to just quantity.

66
When working with a list owner, it’s always wise to ask when customers opted in (recency is key) and how
they opted in, and to just double check that the list is TPS (Telephone Preference Service) compliant and that
the list owner is registered with the Information Commissioner (to comply with the data protection act). It’s
also important to think through what your reporting requirements are and of course cost and lead times.

But don’t be scared or put off by the technology. There are plenty people around to help you with that. What’s
important is that mobile marketing has entered the mainstream. We know that customers are happy to
interact via their mobile phone. Mobile marketing can now be used for messaging, brand-building and calls
to action and crosses over into many marketing areas. The rules for success are quite straightforward, it’s
about engaging with appropriate content and messages.

In the wider world of commerce, marketing and media, mobile is the new kid on the block. Even though
mobile marketing has been around for seven years or so, it’s still very new in comparison and we’re still
learning.

14
Paul Golding, author and specialist mobile consultant http://www.paulgolding.com

15
Texperts.com is a service whereby you can ask any question at all and text it in to 66000 and you get an answer back within 10 minutes or so, often less and it

costs £1. If a texpert can’t answer your question, then there is no charge and if you’re not happy with the answer, you’re next question is free.

16
A ‘long’ mobile number is in the same format as a normal mobile number – i.e. 07xx xxx xxxx. The benefit of using a standard long number is that it is usually

cheaper to rent exclusively if it is likely that customers might not remember to text in the keyword, or you want to collect free form data. Golden numbers are

also available which means you can rent a number which will be easier for customers to remember e.g. 07 770 770 770. Also using a long number, provided it

is a UK number rather than originating from the Channel Isles or the Isle of Man, it will be at the users standard rate and is likely to be included in a customer’s

monthly text bundle.

17
A shortcode is a 4 or 5 digit number typically starting with a 6 or 8 e.g. 86500 which allows customers to interact with your system. These numbers are usually

shared and keyword driven so rather than renting the whole number [which can be expensive), you rent the keywords on that number. The benefits of a shortcode

is that they’re easy to remember and quick to key in [which is important if you want a customer to respond to a TV advert or poster). However, if the customer does

not start their message with the keyword, their message will be lost in the system. Also, shortcodes can have a charging mechanism behind them. This means that

if you want to charge a customer to vote, for example, you can set the tariff at anything from 10p through to £5 on top of their standard rate. Shortcodes can also

be set at a user’s standard rate but this will not be included in the customer’s text bundle.

18
Jaiku Mobile is a software application for mobile phones that enables you to post and browse Jaikus, add comments, and share your status and location. For

more information visit www.jaiku.com.

19
Buddyping enables you to pinpoint the location of your mates and invite them to join you if they are nearby. For more information visit www.buddyping.com

20
Symbian is an operating system used on high-end mobile phones and PDAs [personal digital assistants) e.g. Sony Ericsson P900, Nokia 6660 or most

Palm Pilots.

21
MMS – multi media messaging. This includes the ability to add pictures, formatted text, animation, video clips and sound to a message.

22
Source: M:Metrics: www.mmetrics.com

23
Source: www.mmetrics.com Copyright © 2007. Survey of mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 July, 2007, n=

12,728 French, n= 16,127 German, n= 13,696 Italian, n= 12,921 Spanish, n= 15,834 UK, n= 32,824 US.

67
From Hand to Eye, Mobile
Marketing Co-ordinated:

Anuj Khanna, Head of Marketing,

Tanla Mobile

Anuj has been in the wireless industry since 1996 working with global mobile operators, wireless
applications, messaging and billing service providers. Anuj is the Head of Marketing for Tanla Mobile,
a global leader for developing mobile applications and platforms for the Mobile Telecoms, Media and
Digital Communications sector. Anuj also heads the Mobile Media & Marketing Group as board director
for the Mobile Data Association which is the main industry organisation representing mobile operators,
wireless applications, mobile media and content service providers in the UK. Anuj’s expertise lies
in growing technology start ups into the most successful companies and leading players in their
respective fields which has been proven and tested by the companies he has worked for including
Hutchison Telecom, Dialogue Communications, Netsize and Tanla Mobile. He is the author of four
globally published wireless industry reports. Anuj holds an MBA in Marketing from The University of
Sheffield and a BA in Economics from The University of Bombay.

69
From Hand to Eye, Mobile Marketing gets Co-ordinated

For many years radio, television and more recently the internet have provided advertisers with a means of
mass consumer reach. But the days are gone when Coronation Street would attract 29 million viewers; the
channels to reach the consumer today are as fragmented as the brands trying to capture share of mind.

Increasingly mobile marketing is providing brands with a rich and compelling opportunity, one which
combines the once mass consumer reach of television with the precision and impact of one-to-one
marketing and measurability of the Internet.

Mobile marketing campaigns using SMS, and more recently MMS, have already helped to open up the eyes
of the media world to the power of the mobile channel. Interactive TV and radio, product promotions using
coupons and competitions, even charitable donations, have successfully exploited this medium. But things
are set to change as Internet style advertising, in the shape of display advertising (banner ads) and search,
and even TV-style advertising, come to mobile. Consequently, the opportunities for marketers to reach and
engage with consumers through this medium will expand even further.

Mobile marketing and advertising is one of the fastest growing sectors with global brands launching
interactive mobile campaigns and portals to promote products. With the increased penetration of mobile
Internet-enabled phones and major search engines partnering with mobile operators to provide paid for
advertising, this sector is creating new opportunities to transfer the Internet advertising model onto mobile
phones.

Internet and entertainment businesses such as Yahoo, Google and Microsoft are already active in the mobile
advertising and search engine market creating an environment for further growth. User generated content
sites such as MySpace are launching mobile services to add value to their online presence. Niche providers
such as Blyk are targeting the youth market with free mobile services funded entirely by advertising.

However, there is a note of caution! Consumers remain unwilling to pay high data charges to access rich
media services, and content owners don’t want their users to be constantly thinking about bandwith limits
or data charges which are a big distraction to becoming engaged in mobile content services. But market
forces and the competitive landscape are already beginning to deal with this potential stumbling block to
provide customers with the performance they need, coupled with flat rate charges they are prepared to pay.
The market will provide the type of charging structure which will fuel a real boom in mobile advertising, such
as Web’n’Walk from T-Mobile.

Traditional channels for marketing and advertising, like TV, radio and print, are becoming less effective
because consumers now consume information and entertainment very differently than in the past, due
largely to the digitisation of content and the increasing ease of access to the Internet. This is especially true
of the highly coveted “youth” demographic - the 18 to 34 year olds with high disposable income, high brand
awareness, and short attention spans.

Marketers have to proceed with caution and use mobile marketing selectively, respecting consumer’s rights
to privacy to ensure there is no consumer backlash against unwanted mobile marketing campaigns – failure
to do so can destroy a brands reputation. Tanla is well-placed to both consult on and technically enable
mobile marketing and advertising services by providing specialist mobile campaign management, interactive
services and delivery through its existing product suite. We can build mobile portals, deliver advertising
campaigns, enable search engine marketing, manage text competitions and on-pack promotions, letting
content brands focus on the marketing of services while Tanla delivers the complete technical solution.

70
Mobile Search

As customers we are already familiar with search engines on the internet from the likes of Google, ask.
com, Yahoo, Lycos and Microsoft. These search engines help consumers find what they’re looking for in the
most comprehensive way which can lead to many thousands, if not millions, of page references to links to
websites. A sophisticated industry has grown up around these services to offer clients the ability to make
sure their websites come high up in the search engine rankings and also to manipulate for best effect the
paid for advertising and sponsorship services around them.

As we now have mobile internet capability on our phones and access to a multitude of WAP sites, mobile
search is becoming increasingly important. Each of the network operators offers some kind of search facility
to its customers and paid placements to clients, but there are issues that are still to be resolved.

The mobile internet is not like the internet – it’s a very small screen, browsing time is limited [I want the
information right here right now] and data speeds may well be slow. This means that the hundreds, if not
thousands, of results you’d get on a normal internet search engine are just not going to be workable.

We have seen established search brands such as Yahoo, Google and Microsoft entering the mobile search
game, as well as new, mobile-specific services from the likes of Taptu, JumpTap and Medio. Now network
operators are allowing customers to search and find content and information outside of their portal [indeed
some operators are abandoning their portals altogether in favour of the search and find model]. So how
does it work?

Firstly, a customer enters a search term into the dialog box on the search page [very often this box can
be found on the front page of an operator portal, or the customer may go direct to that search engine via
the URL]. Then the search result is displayed – typically the results here produce a page that includes a
sponsored link at the top, then the links to the most relevant mobile sites with another sponsored link
halfway down the page. With some search engines, you may find that near the bottom of the search results
page, you’ll click through to what we call transcoded content. This means that the search engine company
has found a PC website and has amended it [probably by stripping out any large graphics files and any
advertising or widgets] to display it in a mobile friendly format.

From a publisher’s point of view, this is not necessarily an ideal situation as the chances are, they have spent
a great deal of time organising the layout of the pages for the internet, including lucrative advertising deals,
and doesn’t want the likes of Google to transcode them. Time will tell how popular this service becomes with
customers and publishers alike.

But what does this mean for marketers?

The bottom line is that you have to ensure that the mobile search engine crawlers can find your site in
the first place. So it’s back to basics in terms of using well-formed mark-up, using the right DOCTYPE and
Content-Type for the mark-up language you are using and validating your mark-up. Google has quite a bit of
information about how you add your site to the mobile specific directory.

Google’s mobile webmaster guidelines can be found here :

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=40348.
Yahoo offers a similar approach to adding your site for free.

71
But this isn’t the whole story. There’s still paid-for listings to deal with. The basic principles are the same
as for the internet. As a mobile web master, you choose your partner for search marketing [whether that’s
Google, Yahoo!, JumpTap etc] and choose a range of keywords you’d like to use. You’ll need to experiment
around the keywords you’d like to use to see which gets the most traffic and which get the best conversion
rates. Next, you agree the cost per click for your keywords with the search provider.

Then, when a customer reaches your site via one of the search engines, you will hopefully have full tracking
in place so that you can see which country, network operator they’re with and which handset so you can
serve them the right version of the content they have requested. This also means that you can track your
search marketing campaigns in a scientific manner to work out which is the best way to go.

Bear in mind that we are dealing with a small screen here so the ad formats are slightly different than web-
based adverts. The creative is typically limited to just 12 to 18 character for the title and text and just 20
characters for the URL. The length for the title is just 12 characters in Japan and 18 in all other countries.

If you are an existing Google Adwords customer, then you have an option within your dashboard to create
a new Mobile Text Ad. Here you’ll be able to create the advert, edit the text, choose your keywords, set
the maximum cost per click, target specific network operators and mark-up languages as well as
choosing to enable the click to call feature by providing a relevant telephone number [with full country
code remember].

The whole search side of things can be incredibly time-consuming and intricate so you may want to consider
outsourcing this part of your business to a third party specialist in this area. For more information refer to
the following article ‘A Question of Search’ by Ben Tatton-Brown.

72
A Question of Search: Can Web
Search Supremacy Translate
to Mobile?

Ben Tatton-Brown,
Head of Advertising Sales EMEA,
Medio Systems

Ben is responsible for driving advertising and publishing sales for the Medio MobileNow Ad Network
in all European regions. With 10 years search advertising and mobile experience in France and the
UK, Ben has a long track record of success in online advertising and publishing network sales. He has
worked for companies including Pitch Entertainment Group and MIVA Inc., where he managed a highly
successful sales operation and introduced search marketing to both advertiser and publisher clients.

http://www.mediosystems.com

75
 A Question of Search: Can Web Search Supremacy Translate to Mobile?

The dynamics of the mobile market are changing and as the amount of available downloadable content
– music, wallpapers, ringtones and games on mobile – continues to grow so too does the use of mobile data
generally. In fact, the amount of downloadable content has grown ten-fold in the last year alone and this is
now where the majority (66%) of mobile search queries are directed.

Looking forward, we can reasonably expect that the tens of thousands of mobile Web sites in existence today will
become millions or even hundreds of millions in the next few years. To draw a parallel, the state of the mobile Web
today is roughly equal to where we were with the World Wide Web in the early 1990’s. But we should consider
that unlike the history of the Internet, over one hundred million existing PC-optimised sites can easily be ported
to mobile.

When the Internet really took off, it became imperative for people to be able to search the wealth of content
it offered effectively. Realising the opportunity, the three major Internet giants Google, Yahoo and Microsoft,
have all now taken their Internet expertise into the mobile space by launching mobile search and advertising
offerings in advance of exponential mobile Web growth. Google launched mobile Web search two years
ago and has said in the past that mobile search, at least in Europe, is a priority. Google has also recently
announced plans for a new search service for mobile content. In this way, it and the other two big hitters have
recognised that the mobile Web does not have real scope to grow or to be useable until the infrastructure to
find and sieve content is firmly in place.

Mobile Search is not Web Search

Mobile search is the gateway to mobile data and therefore we cannot think of it in the same way as Web
search. In fact, the two represent vastly different experiences and whether Google and others know it or not,
the reality is that there is much more to mobile search than meets the eye. When you consider the different
context in which a consumer conducts a Web search compared with a mobile search, the inadequacy of
the Web search format becomes clear. Mobile users of course don’t have the benefit of a PC monitor or a
workstation at which to sit. Nor do they have the luxury of staying still – the essence of the mobile phone is in
its mobility after all and users will expect mobile search to be every bit as mobile as walking down the street
chatting to a friend. For these reasons, mobile search is best as a made-for-mobile experience which takes
into account the physical constraints of a small screen and slower connection speeds vs. the requirement
for immediate ‘on-the-go’ style information.

All this makes ease-of-use a core challenge for mobile search. Not unreasonably, consumers may be
anticipating a service which merely replicates the online search experience on mobile, but this is not
necessarily going to help them adapt to, or benefit from, mobile content. In order to provide the kind of user
experience the mobile industry is still waiting for, white-label search vendors need to keep the consumer’s
context in mind by offering a fast, relevant, and directed search experience.

In the mobile domain where subscribers need answers not Google-style links, relevancy is the prime
measure of a search engine’s success. Importantly, for the savvy marketer, there is a distinct commercial
opportunity associated with relevance and with a viable search experience. Ad content that is received along
with a response to a search query is actually a very polite form of advertising, not at all like the interruptive,
unavoidable style of advertising that we experience when watching television or that bombards us as we
move around the average cityscape.

77
The last mile opportunity
The amount of marketing value that can be created through building broad adoption of mobile search is
almost without limits. In a mature advertising market, the key measure is the size of the audience. There are
already three times more mobile phones globally than there are PCs and approximately 3.25 billion mobile
phone subscribers around the world, twice as many as use the Internet. This means that the mobile phone
has the greatest potential reach on the planet.

Nearly 17 million users, about 9% of all mobile users across Europe, already access the mobile Internet.
As these people discover mobile search as the most effective and efficient means to locate the information
they need, so the possibility to market directly to them increases. When you combine the potential reach
of mobile with the understanding that it is the first truly personal media, the benefits of a true one to one
marketing channel for advertising is clear.

Survey after survey has shown that people want data on their handsets but that currently the principle
barriers to this are discovery of content and price. The first of these is solved by search, and the second is
solved at least in part by advertising which means that consumers will not need to pay for all the mobile
data they use. Despite these obstacles, 15% of mobile users in the UK are consuming mobile data and in so
doing, are supporting the call for data on the handset.

Interestingly, 70% of all mobile consumers do not actually perceive mobile search ads as content, having
themselves been the initiator of the process. As such, mobile phones represent an unprecedented way
of reaching consumers during the ‘last mile’ phase of the transaction chain when they are on the move,
choosing which store or restaurant to walk into to buy what they are looking for.

Opportunities also exist for big brands, content owners, WAP sites and direct response companies. In the
advertising cycle, search results will return relevant ads, click-throughs (click-to-call, e-mail, WAP sites) will
lead to satisfied advertisers. This in turn increases mobile advertising usage and eventually the relevance
of each ad placement is enhanced.

Calling the shots

The current barrier to mobile search and advertising is adoption. The mobile content industry believes that
consumers are browsing and searching for content much more than they actually are, as proven recently
by concurrent surveys conducted by the Mobile Entertainment Forum among its members. The findings
indicate that many people are not yet using mobile content. As the way that most people discover content in
the online world, search is however becoming a core competency in the mobile world and in addition, people
are using search in a way that can boost service provider revenues.

78
Mobile search is therefore playing a critical dual role in bringing tangible benefits to consumers by helping
them to find the content they desire and in enabling the revenue opportunities that are attached.

When the Web was born, TV, print and other established media expected to extend their dominance into
the online world. Fifteen years later almost without exception, the top ten Web sites (e.g. Google, Yahoo!,
eBay, MySpace, YouTube) started life as Internet startups. It would be a mistake to believe that those who
have become dominant on the Web will automatically transfer this power to the mobile Internet. As a new
medium, mobile too will see new winners emerge.

As the use of mobile content grows, marketers should be aware of this dynamic, bearing in mind that search
solutions and mobile ad networks that offer a way in to the relevance-based advertising channel are likely
to offer the biggest returns.

79
Music and Mobile

Music and mobile is a powerful combination, and the proof is in how much the network operators align
themselves with music – The O2 Dome, the O2 Wireless Festival, T-Mobile Streetgigs and Transmission with
T-Mobile on Channel 4, Virgin and the V Festival. We have already seen the ringtone market appear from
nowhere, as an industry, it didn’t exist ten years ago.

The ringtone market is now levelling off as handsets become more sophisticated and becomes easier to
distribute and to share music in mp3 formats. The ringtone is not dead though, we are still personalising our
phones with ringtones, we’re using ring back tones to personalise the experience for incoming callers.

We are beginning to see some traction in full track music downloads to mobile devices. The majority of this
music being accessed on a mobile phone is being side loaded meaning that the customer is linking their
phone to their music catalogue on their computer or laptop via cable or Bluetooth and copying the files
across. These files are then being used as ringtones. Strangely enough it’s much more difficult to manage
ringtone delivery, due to the multiple formats required on different devices and different networks, than it is
to manage full track download delivery.

There is also the mobile tagging service that is provided by Shazam Entertainment24 which Coca Cola used
for its recent mobile music campaign. When you hear a piece of music and want to know what it is, you
dial 2580 [it is a paid for service and costs around 50p] and hold your phone to the source of music. After
about 15 seconds, the call will be terminated and you will receive a text message back telling you what the
track is and who the artist is. The track will also be ‘tagged’ with your consumer profile so that you can go
online to the Shazam website to check your tags and download the music to your computer or mp3 player
[at a cost].

As such, music already has wide appeal and with access and usage via mobile phones rising in ubiquity, it
is already becoming a useful part of the mobile marketing mix. Alongside this we’ve seen the growth in iPod
and mp3 player usage and the downloading and sharing of digital versions of music. In 2007 the iPhone was
launched in the US, UK and Europe, combining an iPod music player with a web browser and mobile phone.
And as we have more and more devices, putting this all together on one device makes a lot of sense.

So what does this mean for marketers?

Customers are accessing music quite happily on their mobile devices so very simple things like music track
giveaways as part of a sales promotion will always be popular.

Mobile sits well alongside live music events where you can actively encourage people to take photos and
short videos of the event and post them to their own blog or a group blog to share and reminisce about the
experience. Of course this is all branded, sponsored or whatever to strengthen the client proposition.

80
You can encourage music creation, whereby customers can mix their own ringtone or music track, share it
with other people for the potential of winning a prize, or just for the joy of participation. Levi’s Europe did this
very well with their Levi’s Audio MiXer campaign [MAX]. This was in support of the newly launched Twisted
Levi’s and the team behind it at Levi’s and their agency Lateral, came up with what they thought was a
‘twisted’ take on the ringtone and the reverse of the existing trend at the time. So instead of downloading
a free ringtone, they encouraged customers, Europe-wide, to create [via mobile], upload and share their
ringtone creations, get the ringtones judged and the winner’s prize was to get their track released on vinyl.

The campaign worked on many levels. Firstly, the fact that Levi’s was attempting such a campaign combining
web and mobile across Europe to support hundreds of handsets and multiple operators was no mean feat.
It was an interactive campaign which meant that participants as a creator, downloader or both, were highly
engaged, and more inclined to ‘get’ what the whole campaign was about. Finally, they did fantastic PR
around it all, and even if the campaign hadn’t been a success in terms of volume of entries, it was a success
in terms of column inches achieved in the consumer press, reversing Levi’s decline in the youth market.

Podcasting

Podcasting is a relatively new term borne out of the name iPod which is Apple’s hugely popular music player
which we are all familiar with. A podcast is typically a homemade recording which can be anything from a
radio show to describing a walk to work to learning. However, commercial organisations are now beginning
to provide some of their programming in podcast format [BBC, Virgin Radio and Pepsi are all providing
podcasts]. You download the podcast from a website, probably in mp3 format, to listen to you on your mp3
player as and when you want to.

Companies are springing up to offer advertising on podcasts as well as many websites devoted to helping
you choose and download relevant content to your mp3 player. And as mobile phones become mp3 players
with a larger hard drive capacity, we are seeing podcasts available for your mobile and downloadable over
the air as well as being ‘side loadable’. Thus podcasting becomes part of the mobile marketing mix.

Moblogs

The top five handsets globally all have cameras as standard, so it will come as no surprise that there has
been a rise in digital photography. Have you ever been to a gig and spotted the people in the audience
with their phones in the air taking a picture or a video clip that they can share with their friends and family
later on?

The cameraphone is now the entry level camera for digital photography. On the back of that, we have seen an
increase in the use of moblogs [mobile blogs] or photo and video sharing sites. We’re all familiar with YouTube
and Google Video for sharing and viewing video clips. For still images we have Moblog.co.uk and Flickr amongst
others. You can add your photos to these sites via email or on the internet and via your mobile phone using
MMS. In addition to this, we also have nifty services such as Shozu to make the blogging process easier which
give the ability to publish your photo with one click as soon as you have taken it. That’s very fast publishing! All
you have to do is download the Shozu software to your phone for free, tell it which blogging sites you use [e.g.
flickr, Moblog UK or Blogger] and then the next time you take a photograph, it will ask you if you want to publish it
straight away.

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Music artists are also using moblogging to great effect by including moblogs in their sites and publishing
backstage photos and photos of the band on tour. In addition, fans can be encouraged to send in their
pictures of them with the band, at the gig, at the festival etc thus creating a dialogue. Band members are
given phones with the software pre-installed so they can publish with one click which makes the process that
much simpler for them. In this way, it could also be a good promotion for a handset manufacturer.

RSS
This acronym stands for Really Simple Syndication and is the technology behind how many people are
reading blogs. It is often quite cumbersome and time consuming to enter in the URL of a site you want to go
to and wait for it to load. So a very simple technique has been invented for you to keep track of many sites
that you regularly visit. You simply add in the websites you’d like to keep track off in something like Bloglines
[www.bloglines.com] and then you need only click on one page [for example your home page in bloglines or
other blog reader] to see all the blogs you read on the left hand side with a number next to each to identify
how many new entries there have been on that blog since last time you looked. Then you can check out
the article in short format in that page and click through to the blog if you’d like to read more about that
particular item.

RSS is also a mobile friendly technology and we’re beginning to see mobile RSS readers, like Subli.mobi so
that you can read a blog, or indeed any website with an RSS feed, from your mobile phone too.

In reading content through an RSS reader, it is often transcoded which can be contentious. As a publisher,
it might mean that your much needed adverts are stripped out – as described earlier in the mobile search
section. You cannot control how your content looks and feels.

Services are emerging, such as Mippin, where as a publisher, you can both offer a mobile RSS feed and also
control the look and feel of your content to some degree without losing advertising revenue, and hopefully
gaining additional readers and eyeballs because the content is more accessible.

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Bluetooth/infra red
Bluetooth / infrared are wireless technologies that allow mobile phones, computers and other devices to
talk to one another over short distances. Many mobiles already have one or both of these technologies pre-
installed, allowing easy file sharing between devices, e.g. backing up your phone book to your computer, or
use a Bluetooth headset for hands free calling. It also means you can share pictures, video clips and music
tracks from one phone to another without incurring networking charges, as it does not use the network’s
radio spectrum.

Bluetooth can also be used to send out commercial messages, creating new ways for brands to include
mobile in the marketing mix and advertise to consumers via their phones. The content is free to receive and
can be an effective way for marketers to engage with the technically savvy 16-30 age group, whether the aim
is to drive sales, launch a product or service, or acquire / retain customer loyalty.

Messages can be sent to passers by at exhibitions, shopping centres and concerts, and can include text,
images, games or video clips. E.g. if Bluetooth is activated on your phone you could be walking past a
restaurant and receive a message highlighting a 2-for-1 meal deal, be near a travel agents and be sent
details on the latest flight bargains, or attend a concert and get artist tracks and screensavers unique to
the event.

An alternative method of using Bluetooth commercially is to allow customers to interact with a poster or
screen. E.g. a Bluetooth enabled poster advertises the latest movie blockbuster. Passers by see the call to
action, activate Bluetooth on their phone and receive a WAP link taking them to a mobile internet site where
they can read about the film, watch a clip, find nearest cinema where it’s playing, and receive a piece of
movie-related free content such as a game or ringtone.

There are also interesting art projects which are being created around Bluetooth. At a recent event at the
Festival Hall, the audience were encouraged to take pictures from their mobile phones and sent them via
Bluetooth so they appear on screens around the foyer thus showing their photography skills to the world.
Cheap to run, no operator costs, engaging for customers and a good use of the technology. Projects like
these are very sponsorable. There are no issues around spam or data protection as no mobile numbers are
captured. The only question is who has the rights to the photographs in the future!

24
Source: Marketing Week 2005

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56
 Business Models in Mobile

So how does free mobile content and media pay for itself?

Historically, free or low cost mainstream media such as TV, magazines, newspapers and radio have been paid
for by a combination of advertising, licence fees (in the case of the BBC specifically) and paid-for services.
There is a cover charge for magazines and newspapers, some services have monthly subscriptions, as in Sky
TV, and we now have pay-per-view and pay per download video and TV as well.

But the ‘free’ nature of the internet has changed consumer perceptions. The economics behind making a
TV programme, videogame, piece of music or web service are largely hidden from the consumer and they
expect it to be ‘free’. So how do you do it?

Ad-funded Content
Recent Jupiter research from Q4 2006 tells us that:
• Mobile advertising is set to reach £2 billion in the UK by 2010.
• Almost half of the 16 to 25 year olds vs 32% of the over 25s were happy to accept adverts in return
for free content.
• 30% of those then said they would be likely to respond to marketing messages.

A good example of ad-funded content in action is Blyk, the new virtual mobile network operator aimed at 16
to 24 year olds. Customers sign up to the service and receive free SMS and calls (within a set limit) and this
is paid for by advertisers sending those customers advertisements relevant to their customer profile. The
customer profile goes beyond the basic demographic information and also includes usage metrics and also
the content those customers create.

For this approach to work, you must match your advertiser very closely with the end customer as well as
the service you are offering. In Blyk’s case, it’s a focussed youth segment and the advertisers working with
them have products and services very much aimed at that audience. The way that content is created is in
keeping with the media expectations of that target customer group and is based on engagement rather than
bland branding messages.

If there is no congruence between the advertising brand and the media entity then the campaign is unlikely
to work, e.g. a message about Persil washing whiter school uniforms is not going to be of much interest to an
18 year old interested in clubbing and spending time on dontstayin.com and bebo.com.

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Mobile Advertising
Using a service like Admob wapsite owners can generate income from offering pay per click advertising from
their sites without having to search for the advertisers themselves.

If you’re an advertiser, you can target your audience and the device you want [really important if you want your
customers to download something and you know which handsets it works best on]. You have the flexibility
to select which kinds of sites your ad will run on. There are advanced reporting and analytics available and
if you don’t have a mobile site, there are companies that will help you create one very quickly and easily.
You can use simple hyperlinks or graphical banner ads. And because of the sophisticated reporting and
analytics, you are able to work out which treatments are working well.

Five Tips to increase the Click Through Rates of your mobile adverts
1. Change ad text frequently
Keep your campaign fresh and get the highest ROI by frequently changing ad text. Customers are
more likely to click on ads that they haven’t seen before. [People get bored, so it’s important to
come up with regular new content].
2. Use relevant links
Be sure that the click through URL takes your audience to a relevant landing page and that the
product you are promoting is easy to find. [The right landing pages are crucial on web or WAP. But
get it wrong on WAP and it’s even worse as you don’t have the space to play around with navigation
on a phone for someone to bother finding the right page].
3. Customise your advert
Include the user’s phone model into the text of your ad, making it more relevant and
dynamic. You can do so by inserting the %phn% tag into the text of your ad. For example, “Share
pictures on your %phn%” would become “Share pictures on your RAZR” to a user viewing that
ad from a RAZR. [This is particularly important for mobile content providers, and probably not so
relevant to non-mobile brands].
4. Be timely
Reference hot products, sales, events and holidays. Be sure to update your text once time sensitive
events are over. [e.g. don’t advertise England football mobile content on a non-football site the day
after England lose a big match]!
5. Experiment often
Try new ad text and targeting. Experiment with the Run of Network offering to attract more global
traffic. Continually trying new things will help you to determine what works best for your business,
as well as to ensure your ads are fresh.

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Sponsored SMS
Some list owners are offering clients the ability to add a short message at the end of a text message they are
sending out already to their customers. An example of this is the directory enquiries service 118118.

However, a text message is already very short and typically you’ll get 40 characters or less to play with. This
is not a lot of space. Be wary of the targeting – how targeted is this list or this communication? Can you tie in
with a message that’s already going out or does your message bear no relationship to the original message
you’re sponsoring? In the case of 118118, there is little or no link between the sponsor and the 118118
message. Also have a think about the customer and how they would feel about receiving a sponsored
message. In the 118118 example, when you have paid good money to receive the answer to your directory
enquiry, how would you feel about receiving an advertising message as well? And how would that impact on
their feelings about the advertiser.

Selling your List

There are many database owners that will sell their data to any willing buyer. It can be a murky business.
Rates for your data will vary from less than 1p per name to about 12p. But you’ll be very lucky to get to the
upper end of that range. Branded lists [Kiss, FHM, MTV] fare better when it comes to pricing and can attract
cpm rates of £250. But the chances are you’re not EMAP or MTV.

If you are thinking of selling your list, there are lots of data protection hoops to jump through - and rightly so.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to sell your list and just hand it over to a third party. The chances are, if you’ve
structured your terms and conditions properly you’ll have permission to send messages on behalf of third
parties, but that the data can’t leave your hands.

For this to work, there needs to be a close association with the brands of the list owner and the brand
advertiser which isn’t easy to achieve. Third party lists have been so badly abused in the past that they are
suffering from the law of diminishing returns.

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Sponsored Content
Create useful/entertaining/must-have mobile media such as an application, game, mobile TV loop, news,
gossip, messaging etc. Then get access to a loyal customer base and get a big brand sponsor in to fund
it - The Sun, News of the World and The Times did just this for the 2006 World Cup. The application was
called your ‘World Cup Companion’ and meant that you could keep up with all the scores and news around
the World Cup as it happened. It was promoted in the newspapers in print and online, the sponsors’ logos,
Betfair and Three, appeared in all the media promotion so the whole was greater than the sum of its parts
in terms of media coverage.

Off The Page Promotion

This could be a revenue share deal or a bounty deal [where the content company pays the publisher for each
customer acquired - pay per acquisition]. A good example of this was the promotion that 82ASK did with
IPC’s Pick Me Up magazine. The promotion was co-branded, and was reinforced throughout the magazine in
the following weeks and generated a high response rate.

Subscription Model
This is where you offer customers either an all you can eat package or a limited weekly use package for a
fixed fee per week or per month. These services are still advertised on television and were a big part of Crazy
Frog’s success - the adverts shown at the time didn’t just advertise Crazy Frog - to get the Frog ringtone,
you had to subscribe to a weekly or monthly service. This type of service has got itself a bad name with
unscrupulous providers not being clear about costs and how to opt-out. That said, if you get it right, it’s a
very profitable way to run a business – LoveFilm, BCA book club and many others find it a very successful
model. But for it to work, you need a trusted brand image, squeaky clean operations, great customer service
and strong customer focus.

User Generated Content

This is a neat model - get your customers to create their own content. Give them the ability to market, buy
and download each others content, and reward the creators with a percentage of sales and only payout when
they reach a certain amount [say £25]. Examples of this are SeeMeTv, PeekabooTV [NSFW], LookAtMeTV.

Wholesale
Syndicate your content to a network operator, media owner or content aggregator/s. There is a protracted
value chain - not least the chunk of money that the network operator takes for premium SMS payments - and
this means limited margin. So what you’re aiming for is multiple niche deals rather than one big deal, going
for global makes sense, if you can. Some revenue may well be better than no revenue at all and if you do
start selling content, it all adds to your sponsorship story and credibility for creating things that customers
actually want.

Don’t expect miracles though, there are thousands of content providers out there and the chances of you
hitting the jackpot will be slim.

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Retail
Go direct to consumer and build your brand and trust, and put effort into your own marketing and
distribution.

The five ‘P’s of mobile marketing are important here.

• Product: what is it, is it easy to use/understand/download.

• Place: where will customers find it? On some dodgy back of beyond website or your own amazing
site.
• Price: you may need to play around with pricing models.
• Promotion: how are you going to promote? You’ll need to look at the whole marketing mix, online,
offline, mobile.
• Partnerships: getting revenue share deals with publishers will be really helpful so you share the risk
and don’t have to pay out advertising costs up front.

Don’t Have a Business Model

Hope you’ll be the next big thing in mobile and someone will buy you for loadsa money... it could happen!
There are plenty of internet business out there who didn’t have a business model when they started up.
However, like the online world, the successes will be very few and the failures will be many.

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Social Networking Will Drive the
Next Wave of Mobile Commerce:

Jeff Spirer
Vice President Mobile Internet,
Tanla Mobile Inc

Jeff Spirer has over twenty years in managing high technology sales, marketing, and business
development. Most recently, Jeff managed US business development for mobile e-commerce provider
Bango, working with major entertainment companies, key strategic partners, and mobile developers
to build a US presence for Bango. Prior to that, Jeff co-founded startups such as Newsnet, which
developed applications for Microsoft’s TabletPC, and Navitel, which developed software for advanced
telephones and was successfully sold to OpenTV. Jeff also worked in key sales and marketing roles for
Intel, Sun Microsystems, and Home Shopping Network’s Internet division.

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Social Networking Will Drive the Next Wave of Mobile Commerce

The telephone is the most social device people use. This has been true since the invention of the phone,
and it continues today. Over the last two decades, we have seen the phone become mobile, and more
recently seen its use expand from just voice to voice with messaging and data. What hasn’t changed is that
the phone is the most social device we use. What will change is that the phone will also become a primary
commerce vehicle through its ever-presence, data connections and its social usage.

When mobile commerce first emerged, it was tied to operator sales of limited types of digital content
provided by businesses, both large and emerging mobile-specific companies. As mobile web browsers
became available, these businesses added off-portal (off-deck) offerings, but the content being made
available didn’t change as off-portal sites opened up. Phone users were offered through on-portal and off-
portal a mix of ringtones, wallpapers, and occasionally videos, full songs, and specialized information. With
this limited content and the limited methods of discovery available to drive users to mobile storefronts, sales
have usually been generated by purchase of a new phone and strong fan support rather than serendipitous
shopping. All this is changing with the advent of social networking via the mobile phone.

Social networking has become a fixture on merchandising sites on the PC internet. Amazon, Netflix, and
many other shopping sites provide user feedback and recommendation tools. Social networking develops
around these tools, with users sharing information with online friends. In addition, sites developed
specifically for social networking are now offering ways to make recommendations, tell a friend about
products, and even keep them informed on every online purchase. Shopping is about sharing, and social
networking sites enable sharing.

Social networking is already popular on the phone, but the tools have been crude. Teens in particular use
text messaging to stay in touch with groups of friends and share their daily activities. More recently, rich
mobile sites have emerged to go beyond the limitations of SMS, using graphics, scripts, and databases to
bring a better social networking experience to the phone. Companies such as Intercasting and Tiny Pictures
make it easy for people to connect inside the mobile internet, allowing sharing of information. These social
networks provide new commerce opportunities that can bring new business to merchants, and in turn, bring
more usage and revenue to the social networks.

With the rapid growth of the mobile internet, and the consequent surge in social networking sites on the
phone, the next wave of growth in m-commerce is being driven by social networking. Users can easily share
their recommendations and recent purchases with friends, make suggestions to someone in a store, or just
let someone know about what they just bought, be it digital content or physical goods. The link between
the phone and shopping has so many avenues – voice, sms, and mobile web – that it becomes the natural
way to share.

Brands can leverage social networking for both promotion and sales, in both sites developed for social
networking, or using social networking elements within their site. Within a social networking site, advertising
can help generate brand awareness, “tell a friend” and “this is what I bought” widgets can spread product
demand. Within a retail or entertainment mobile site, social networking elements, such as those provided
by mPulse, can add the ability to share information and opinions about products and services. Using the
next generation of social networking helps everyone working to build mobile commerce.

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Tanla’s offerings are enablers for social networking sites that want to offer commerce solutions to their
users. Here are some of the ways it can happen:

• WAP push a product recommendation to a friend

• Provide billing for digital content downloads
• Provide billing for physical purchase
• Offer subscriptions to mobile shopping sites
• Serve interstitial and banner/text ads on social network sites.

Tanla’s suite of mobile offerings will enable social networking and m-commerce sites, bricks and mortar
stores and online shopping sites to ride the next wave of growth in mobile commerce and mobile shopping.

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Mobile TV
- Are We Nearly There Yet?

Steve Flaherty,
Mobile Consultant,
Keitai Culture

A qualified engineer with 16 years experience in high technology marketing, Steve Flaherty is now
developing an independent mobile data & wireless consultancy Keitai Culture, specialising in creating
and delivering mobile innovation.

Prior to founding Keitai Culture, Steve held a number of key positions within the high-technology
industry. These included business consultant at Cable & Wireless, UK general manager for Taiwan’s
Behaviour Technology Corporation and head of Mobile Data & Wireless for both Rare Technology and
Red Hot Chilli.

Over the last seven years Steve has specialised in mobile data & wireless consultancy, leading his
first serious project for Apple in 1996. This involved technical problem solving regarding wireless
communications for the Newton. Since then he has lead mobile related projects for Orange, C&W,
BT, BA, Zurich Bank, IBM, LG Electronics, KPMG and many others. These projects have ranged from
strategic market reviews on emerging technologies, to strategy and vision creation and have often
involved implementation of his own recommendations.

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Mobile TV – Are We Nearly There Yet?

Our relationship with TV is changing, we have PVRs and TV on demand across terrestrial, satellite and
broadband networks, we can watch it on our laptops and even route our home TV across our broadband
to our mobiles. This greater access to TV and video on demand seems to have allowed us to become more
efficient in our viewing habits as we watch less TV now than we did 4 years ago. Another new form of TV is
being introduced into this melee with the hope of getting us to spend more money on our favourite pastime,
the much vaunted, mobile TV.

Mobile operators seem to be shaping up for large investments in mobile TV, in spectrum, networks,
applications and in TV programming but do we really want it, are we ready for TV on our mobiles? Getting
people to watch and pay for mobile TV is going to be a big challenge for mobile operators. In the main
people still view their mobile phones as communication rather than entertainment devices. The mobile
TV experience will therefore have to be compelling if people are going to give a share of their increasingly
precious wallet to pay for it. Most TV is not that compelling and when it is it can be recorded or is increasingly
available on demand or time shifted. We can then enjoy it on that crisp HD TV we will all one day have.

Early mobile TV services seem to be getting little traction. Virgin Mobile has just announced the demise
of its mobile TV service less than a year after launch. Even after a £2.5million advertising campaign the
service could only recruit 10,000 viewers. The lack of Handset options may have been a little off putting
to the consumer as Virgin Mobile only released one “Tellyphone” the somewhat clunky Lobster. This
was compounded by the lack of channel choice as the DMB (digital multimedia broadcast) technology
used was an upgrade to the DAB radio network and therefore lacked the bandwidth required for very
multi-channel TV.

Let’s look at some of the problems that mobile TV must overcome if it is to succeed. Firstly, there are in general
two types of mobile TV, TV that is streamed across a mobile operator’s network and TV that is broadcast from
a high antenna network such as used for traditional interactive digital TV (IDTV), although it is worth noting that
due to the small aerial on a mobile phone that mobile TV networks will need to be denser than IDTV networks.
Under the right circumstances broadcast TV gives a significantly better reception to the user than streamed
TV which has those familiar variable bit rate and buffering problems of internet streaming services. This is
further compounded by the fact that the consumers 3G phone has often roamed onto a 2.5G network that
does not support the typically over 100Kbps transmission speed causing the service to either freeze or not
launch at all. This lack of premium service delivery guarantee is an early headache for consumers and mobile
operators alike.

Due to the inherent problems with streaming most operators are looking in the long term at broadcast
technologies. In Europe the EU has now officially sanctioned the DVB-H (digital video broadcast – handheld)
broadcast standard. DVB-H requires spectrum to operate in, the more spectrum the more channels can
be broadcast. Problematically many other new technologies are also looking for scarce spectrum capacity,
these include WiMAX, HD-TV and even 3G as operators may look to upgrade their existing capacity. As
regulators in the EU are taking a hands off approach to defining what available spectrum is to be used
for, it will surely fall to the highest bidder and therefore the technology with the best potential return on
investment capital. It may be worth mentioning at this stage that the mobile standard for WiMAX will soon be
ratified and handheld WiMAX devices will be able to receive streamed IPTV creating a potentially disruptive
market entrant.

In the UK spectrum is so scarce for DVB-H that it will not be until 2012 when the analogue broadcast service
is switched off in London that any spectrum becomes available that is unless the MoD decides to move old
military radar into different spectrum.

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The next problem to overcome is content licensing and rights issues. Broadcasters do not in general have all
the mobile rights to their play-out. For example the BBC does not hold the mobile rights to the premiership
and therefore would have to block out Match of The Day on a Saturday night. Mobile TV at this stage does
not create enough revenue to justify broadcasters buying all the mobile rights to all their TV programmes
therefore leading to the scenario that for large chunks of the day the mobile TV screen will be blank if
standard linear channels are broadcast. This in turn leads to a user adoption and customer retention
problem for mobile TV, which will in turn reduce the business case for paying more for content licensing.

Mobile operators or MVNOs that are part of a quad/triple play may be able handle some of these issues
better than standalone operators. If the mobile operator has a broadcaster as a sister company then a
more holistic approach can be taken towards multi-platform TV. Mobile TV can then be used not as a killer
application to drive mobile operator revenues but as a customer acquisition and retention tool. This would
be done by offering mobile TV at a reduced price bundled in with other TV packages and on the same bill.
Broadcasters could then leverage their spend on content licensing to extend it into mobile.

Mobile operators that are not involved in a triple/quad play need to watch out that they do not end up
disintermediated from the mobile TV value chain. We have already seen that Virgin Mobile was able to
launch mobile TV with the associated mobile operator retaining none of the revenues.

Most of all operators should be looking at how to catalyse the early market before the business case
for short term implementation evaporates. Mobile operators have the advantage of being first to market
with streamed mobile TV. They should look more to recent video phenomenon such as You Tube and the
user generated content craze. The generation that will be the consumers of mobile TV are sitting in their
bedrooms chatting on the internet, listening to music and keeping their Facebook up to date. I doubt they will
allocate 20% of their monthly top-up to watch the News at Ten and Coronation Street on their mobiles.

Of course there is always the sure fire hit of erotic mobile TV. This content genre has lead early user adoption
of mobile video as well as many other media channels. Three UK and Three Italia already run relatively
successful adult mobile TV services, which at the very least is getting young men used to consuming TV
on their phones.

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64
The Mobile Web,
Beyond Best Practices:

Daniel Appelquist,
Senior Technology Strategist,
Vodafone

Daniel Appelquist is an American expatriate, living in London and working for Vodafone Group Research
& Development. As a Senior Technology Strategist and Program Manager, he focuses on Web and
mobile Web topics. He represents Vodafone in the W3C and in the Mobile Web Initiative which he
helped create, and within which he chairs the Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group. He has also
been involved with the development of dotMobi, the mobile top level domain.

Before joining Vodafone, Daniel was a pioneer in the field of Web content and the use of XML, first
working with publishers in the mid 90s to put content (notably, the journal Nature) online using SGML
and later developing XML-based content management systems at TheStreet.com. He is a published
author, a speaker on technology topics, evangelist and sometime dot-com CTO.

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The Mobile Web, Beyond Best Practices

The Web is going through an upheaval. Once given up for dead, the Web is experiencing a period of intense
innovation and change like never before. This upheaval is taking many forms, but one of the most profound
is the convergence between Web and Mobile. This convergence is leading to a clash of civilisations, as the
established Web culture and paradigm collides with the established Mobile industry paradigm.

WAP. IMode. Chtml. Xhtml. Walled gardens. Off and on-deck content. dotMobi. Small-screen browsing. The
field of Web mobility is littered with buzzwords that mean different things in different contexts.

Keeping it Real
In January of this year, Steve Jobs said of the current state of the Mobile Web: “It’s bad out there today,” and
of the capabilities of the Apple iPhone, “it’s a real revolution to bring real Web browsing to a phone.” In fact,
both Nokia and Opera had already brought so-called “real Web” browsing to the mobile platform.

But what is “real” about the “real Web?” In fact, the word “real” is a code-word for the “PC” Web – Web sites
that are designed for and tested exclusively on PC Web browsers with no thought given to mobile browsers.
The concept of a “real” Web also implies a static Web. In fact, the Web is an evolving medium. In 1994,
the “real” Web consisted of Web sites built for Netscape Navigator which usually assumed a 640x480
screen size In 1999, the “real” Web was Web sites built for Internet Explorer with a screen size of 800x600
usually assumed. By the end of 2004, people were designing for both Firefox and Internet Explorer and
assuming 1024x768. So the concept of a static real Web is a non-starter. Other aspects of Web design and
development have evolved as well, both in terms of product features and technologies in use to implement
them. Each of these has required a mind-set shift.

The shift to the Mobile is no different. In the case of mobile, many would argue that as the devices and
browsers have matured to the point where they can show users “real” (i.e PC) Web content, there is no
longer a need for a concept of the mobile Web or for mobile-specific user experience. But they would be
wrong. What is happening now with the launch of advanced devices and advanced browsing technology is
that smart content developers are finding ways to engage users with these technologies directly. They are
developing mobile-specific services and user experiences that take advantage of the advanced features of
these browsers rather than using them as a bad way to show PC-bound content.

Even the iPhone benefits from mobile-specific user experience and mobile-centric design.Apple themselves
released a developer guidelines document along with the iPhone which underscores this message. The
Mobile is different. However, the tent of the Web is big enough to encompas this difference. To put it another
way, it’s the Web, but not as we know it.

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User Choice
I ran an event called “Mobile 2.0” (yes, another buzzword – sorry) in November of 2006. In an attempt to
define the term, I came up with an O’Reilly-esque checklist of attributes of “mobile 2.0” services. You can
read the full article, but one item on this checklist was “Operator chooses -> User chooses.” In other words,
in the emerging world of services on the mobile Web, the user is choosing the services, as opposed to the
walled garden way where the operator is choosing for them. This shift is roughly analogous to what we have
seen in the past with the migration from dial-up walled garden portals such as AOL and Compuserve to the
open Web model.

Developing services for the mobile Web, however, does not necessarily mean giving up all the advantages
of the mobile platform. For example, use of SMS text messaging can be powerfully combined with use of the
browser by sending users text alerts with links that bring them into mobile Web sessions. There are many
options available for integrating direct mobile operator billing as well.

Designing Services for the One Web

But how do you create compelling products and services for users on this new platform of the mobile Web?
Part of the answer is to adopt a multi-channel approach to design and delivery. The cornerstone of this
approach is that Web sites can and should adapt themselves to suit the user’s device and browser.

The success of the Web as a platform is partially due to its consistency of use. Web users can be fairly
certain that Web sites can be accessed from whatever browser on whatever machine they happen to be
on. Designing for One Web means designing services that support this paradigm of consistent access, but
extending across multiple devices and multiple device form factors as well. This means that a Web site might
appear or behave differently on different devices – because it adapts to that device’s specific features and
capabilities.

For example, an airline Web site when accessed from PC browser might allow the user to search fares, look
up their air miles, see what a business class seat looks like, etc… The same Web site when viewed from a
mobile device might also allow access to the same information, because use of the Web from mobile devices
tends to be more “task oriented,” the site might provide up front access to often-used items for mobile users,
such as “confirm my flight,” or “online checkin.” Because the mobile device has comparatively less screen
real-estate, the “information architecture” of the services provided might also be different.

Web-capable mobile devices also feature different input modalities than the PC-based Web. For most
devices currently on the market as of this writing, that means use of a four-way rocker switch, not a mouse.
Touch-screen devices are also playing an increasing role, however a touch screen, even though it is more
versatile than four-way navigation from a Web perspective, is also not equivalent to a mouse. Neither of
these modalities support, for example, the concept of a “mouse-over” (whereby some functionality, such as
a pop-up, is activated by the user allowing their mouse pointer to hover over graphic or some other area of
the screen). Part of the adaptation process is taking into account these differences in modality and creating
user experience that fits the modality.

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Creating Services that Flow Seamlessly Across Devices
Use of the “One Web” thinking can enable you to more easily design services that engage users across
multiple digital channels. But don’t be afraid to use mobile-specific mediums such as SMS text messaging to
engage users when you know they’re mobile. Sending a text message to a user can pull them into a mobile
Web session (as, for example, when that text is a notification of something the user needs to know, such as
“your flight has been cancelled. Would you like to rebook?”)

Some premier “Web2.0” content brands are jumping into the mobile Web feet first by developing offerings
that enable their mobile users to use the same applications they’re used to interacting with on the PC-
bound Web. FlickR, Facebook and Google are some particularly good examples. The concept of these
mobile services by and large is a cut-down user interface which provides basic access to functionality
from most mobile browsers. Some services, such as SoonR, are taking full advantage of the capabilities of
advanced mobile browsers to build truly interactive applications inside them. These so-called “mobile Ajax”
applications are on the cutting edge of the mobile Web. Currently, they are difficult to build and require a
lot of customization for different browsers. This mirrors the rise of Ajax applications in the PC-bound Web,
and just as with the PC Web, a number of commercial and open source efforts are under way to lower the
complexity and barrier to entry for rich mobile Ajax applications.

Testing Testing Testing

The most important aspect of developing any mobile service is testing. Testing that your service works
across a range of devices can be the difference between mobile Web nirvana and mobile Web purgatory.
This also means understanding what devices you are targeting up front so you can be sure to test your
service on the devices that matter. For example, for a service targeted towards the youth market, you would
test on devices that are popular in that market, and not care too much about, say, the Blackberry. For
services targeted towards mobile professionals, however, Blackberry should be top on your list.

What Does the Future Hold?

The Web is evolving and bringing Mobile browsers and usage paradigms into its global tent. This means
some of the established “truths” about mobile development are flying out the proverbial window, however
some established “truths” about Web development are flying out the same window. The result is a new
manifestation of the Web and a new way to engage with people, what Alan Moore has called the “seventh
mass medium.” As content and application developers begin to build ever-more compelling services for this
medium, and as innovative technologies continue to come to market, it’s likely that within five years the
majority of Web usage will be from mobile devices.

Will this be a world of mobile-optimized Web applications and services or are we all going to be using these
devices to pan and zoom around on Web sites that were designed for desktop PCs? I think the latter scenario
is a rather dystopian vision of the future of the Web; a vision we can avoid by designing for one Web across
a range of devices and thereby treating mobile users as first class citizens of the Web.

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67
64
66
Limited Use of Mobile Content
Provides Advertisers With An
Opportunity to Go It Alone:

Jessica Sandin,
Head of Mobile & Senior Consultant,
Fathom Partners

Jessica heads up Fathom’s mobile work, having many years’ experience in the mobile content and
applications business. She is a highly regarded commentator on all aspects of the mobile data services
sector and frequently speaks at industry events. Jessica is also co-vice chairman of the European board
of the Mobile Entertainment Forum.

Jessica joined Fathom from Informa Telecoms & Media, where she was principal analyst and portfolio
head for mobile content and applications, responsible for a range of business intelligence products.

She started her career as a journalist in 1995, with U.S. TV trade magazine Broadcasting & Cable.
When moving to London, she joined Baskerville, working on their high-end TV and telecoms newsletters
as journalist and editor. She was involved in launching industry publication Mobile Media (formerly
Mobile Internet) in 2000, subsequently taking over responsibility for all publications, and later all
premium products, in the mobile data applications and services area at Informa.

105
Limited Use of Mobile Content Provides Advertisers With An Opportunity To Go It Alone

Two topics have made a come-back in the mobile space over the past year: mobile advertising and mobile
internet. The mobile industry’s enthusiasm for both seems almost limit-less. It’s bordering on the hype we
saw around both in the early days of WAP, but now technology is more developed and the expectations are
therefore a bit more realistic. The two topics also reinforce each other, but here, the advertising industry
needs to tread a bit carefully. Mobile is not the internet any more than the internet is TV (even if there’s TV on
the internet, that’s not the same as TV on a TV set). Mobile, therefore, should be looked at as an advertising
medium in its own right.

If advertisers choose to regard it simply as an internet extension, they’re missing a trick. Mobile can be
much more – and it’s different. It’s personal, inherently interactive, always with you and used in a different
way to the fixed internet. In fact, the areas that are heavily used on mobile today have little to do with the
internet at all.

Advertisers looking to get serious face-time with mobile consumers in 2008 would do well to consider
sponsored messaging or solutions allowing ads on the idle screen or at call set-up. Most consumers use
these features daily – much fewer access any form of content services. According to M:metrics, which tracks
mobile content usage, 86% of UK mobile users sent an SMS in 1Q07, but only 19% did any form of browsing
on their phones.

The lack of mobile internet inventory we’re hearing about is, then, not all due to industry fragmentation.
Many hurdles to mobile internet advertising remain, including the lack of standards and measurement,
but the lack of a substantial audience is quite fundamental. After all, advertisers are looking to buy time
with consumers. To get people to spend time with content and services on mobile, you have to provide
them with something worthwhile. You need to give consumers a compelling user experience and great
content and services that they can find quickly and easily. So far, mobile has too often failed to deliver on
these fronts.

Encouragingly, we are seeing increased penetration of 3G and advanced devices that enable a better
mobile data user-experience. The prospect of ad-funded content should also encourage the creation of
more compelling content as well as better discovery mechanisms.

After all, if your content is ad-funded, your revenues come with frequent usage that generates more ad-
views. It’s not enough to make users pay once to download something. But, crucially, without an audience
accessing content to begin with, it’s hard to bring advertisers on board. For advertisers, the availability of
data-ready devices in consumers’ hands provides an opportunity that could also help the mobile content
industry as a whole. Advertisers could play a key role in pushing users onto the mobile internet – and they
could create a closer relationship with those users in the process.

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Bringing an audience onto the mobile internet will be about finding the right entry point for each individual.
Once you’ve found a service you really like using, you’ll realise there’s more out there and start exploring
others. In such a scenario, driving discovery is crucial. This is where advertisers’ cross-media spend could
become a driver. Cross-media campaigns which prominently integrate shortcodes that provide a WAP push
to advertisers’ own, branded sites or downloadable applications could bring users to the mobile internet.
And unlike mobile companies that are looking to generate revenues from mobile users, advertisers can bring
users in with rewards of free content or coupons.

If brands play their cards right and provide a compelling content or service experience, they could also hold
onto the relationship with the consumer. It won’t be suitable for all brands, but worthwhile considering for
some. These forms of sponsored content can help users discover other mobile internet services as well
– and once they have, there’ll be more advertising inventory across the mobile web.

107
Conclusion:

Gerry Drew,
Chief Operating Officer,
Tanla Mobile, UK

Gerry is responsible for driving business through the Marketing, Media and Enterprise sectors. Prior
to joining Tanla, Gerry held several positions at Opera Telecom. He was Director General for Spain
and Portugal, before taking the role of Senior Vice President for the Americas in charge of interactive
broadcast projects through Latin America, The Caribbean and North America. Before Opera, Gerry was
Commercial Director for O2 where he managed several teams, including the mobile interactive services
group responsible for delivering high profile broadcast propositions for TV shows such as ‘Big Brother’,
‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’, and ‘Pop Idol’.

109
A Brave New Future for Mobile

Introducing mobile into the marketing and advertising mix represents the single largest evolution in the past
decade of marketing for brands and content owners alike. Whether the aim is to drive revenues, cross sell
products or acquire customers, the true power and potential of mobile is soon to be realised.

This brave new world will not be without its challenges. Those adopting mobile marketing will need to arm
themselves with the right tools, teams and find partners who truly understand the sector. The power and
influence that mobile marketing can bring to a brand is un-paralleled when executed in the right way, there
are many great examples of this. Similarly there are examples where brands have been adversely affected
when campaigns are poorly managed. Remember, “The quality and history of your relationship with the
customer is the only source of competitive advantage that ultimately cannot be copied”.

As a trusted service provider, Tanla Mobile works proactively with industry regulators, industry bodies, mo-
bile networks and clients to create an environment for the promotion, content and overall operation of
mobile services, that is safe and transparent for the consumer to use. We play a key role in providing our
clients with advice to ensure mobile services are compliant with the latest regulatory codes of practice. It
is our business to protect yours.

The ease of use and the ‘always connected’ nature of the mobile device has made it the preferred medium
for a diverse range of products and services, from delivering entertainment to enabling financial transac-
tions. Not only is the number of subscribers growing worldwide but even their usage has evolved rapidly
from voice-calls to SMS and now to downloading full-length audio / video tracks and increasingly browsing
the internet. It has quickly become an integral part of daily life, it is our phone book, gaming device, music
player, it is the link between the ‘real’ world and the ‘virtual’ world.

Mobile marketing gives brands and retailers the capability to personally connect to consumers by interact-
ing with them wherever they are. As such, provided there is permission, mobile technology allows a level of
intimacy and interactivity not previously achievable. People have their mobile phones with them wherever
they are – at work, at home, at play, letting you build a strong one-to-one relationship with each consumer.
However, it is essential you always think ‘customer’ and put yourself in your customer’s shows when running
any mobile marketing campaign. Who is your audience? What are your key campaign messages? Where
does mobile fit into your overall campaign? With mobile marketing the critical success factor is the context.
Context of the message, it’s environment and the recipients readiness to receive.

With huge amounts of effort going into the development of mobile content, it isn’t at all surprising that de-
velopers and service providers are turning their attention to mobile advertising to fund their efforts and build
profits. We are now at the stage where conditions are almost in place for advertising to deliver the levels of
revenue needed to allow mobile advertising to hit critical mass. There is a huge active mobile user base,
hungry for the next wave of content developments. There are a large amount of good quality phones in use
with decent cameras to allow broad user participation, and above all there is high capacity storage and fast
data speeds available across the board.

It is important that mobile advertising developments keep pace with the objectives of mass market brands
and the preferences of users in order to fully launch the next mobile revolution. The industry needs to strike
a balance between the right amount of advertising to pay for content and services, coupled with lower data
charges.

110
The outlook is extremely positive, with the industry awash with actual and planned ad-funded content or
supported services from the likes of Orange and T-Mobile. 3UK for example has just reported some 6 million
clips have been viewed by over 600,000 customers of its ad-funded service since April 2007. Advertisers
making use of this channel include a range of household names whose ads bracketed video streams on
subjects such as breaking news, weather and horoscopes.

We are fast approaching the tipping point for mobile advertising, service providers such as Tanla are
providing the capability and the global consumer brands are beginning to spend. The link between the two
are the consumers, who seem ready to accept the presence of ads across mobile content and services as
long as they are accompanied by compelling viewing and reasonable pricing.

111
The Tanla Mobile Marketing and Advertising Guide has been edited by Helen Keegan, a marketing
communications professional with more than 15 years experience in retail and marketing management and
consultancy for Selfridges, Episode, Inter-Continental Hotels, Hewlett Packard, First Group and TNT. Helen
has specialised in mobile marketing, in particular how to initiate and leverage customer relationships by
using the mobile phone, for more than 7 years. Helen was at the birth of the mobile marketing industry
in 2000 as head of customer experience at ZagMe, the location based mobile marketing pioneer. She was
instrumental in recruiting more than 85,000 customers at Lakeside and Bluewater shopping malls and
ran more than 1,500 SMS marketing campaigns for over 150 leading retail clients, agencies and brands
including Esprit, Nike, TopShop, HMV and Waterstones.

Today, Helen runs her own mobile marketing and media consultancy, BeepMarketing, developing mobile
strategies, creating mobile media and implementing mobile marketing campaigns for many blue-chip
and agency clients including Scottish Courage, UIP, Sony Ericsson, Emap, Samsung, Direct Line, ENO
and Danone. She also runs Swedish Beers, a (roughly) quarterly mobile networking event in London and
Barcelona and is also a founder member of Women in Mobile Data, a global association for women working
in mobile, promoting mobile content and media for niche markets. Helen speaks regularly on the hot topic
of mobile marketing and media at seminars, conferences and networking events.

Helen also runs mobile marketing courses at the Institute of Direct Marketing, Academy Internet,
e-consultancy and New Media Knowledge and is a guest lecturer in marketing at the Universities of
Westminster, Newcastle and Hertfordshire. She writes a popular blog on mobile marketing and media and
contributes to group blogs on the same topic. And when she’s not doing that, she becomes Raindrop and
leads a brownie pack in South West London.

www.beepmarketing.com
www.technokitten.com
www.swedishbeers.co.uk

112
 Appendix

Emoticons
:-( Sad face can’t cu 2nite :-(
:-) Smiley face can’t wait 2 cu 2nite :-)
:@) Pig don’t b a :@)
;-) Winking face ;-)
:-o Surprised face seen g’s hair? :-o
:-D Laughing face gr8 joke :-D
:-l Confused face What do u mean? :-l
8-) Smiley face wearing glasses I need 2 get new specs 2 day 8-)
%*) Drunk I’m drunk %*)
>:< Furious im >:< with u
8-{) Smiley wearing glasses and a tache nvr said I was cool 8-{)
>:) Little devil u >:)
+ And/plus U + me 2getha 4eva
& And (more formal) & me
1 One any1 coming?
2 to, too me 2
2day today c u 2day
2moro tomorrow c u 2moro
2nite tonight can’t w8 4 2nite
4 For, four Call me 4 more info
4wd Forward Can u fwd me that email
aka also known as aka big guy!
atb all the best atb luv g
b be 2b or not 2b
b4 before cu b4 then
bcnu be seeing you bcnu now
Bfn Bye for now bfn
brb be right back ill brb 2 u
bwd backward u r bwd
c see can u c me
cu see you cu b4
doin doing how r u doin?
f2t free to talk r u f2t?
fwd forward fwd this txt 2 g pls
gr8 great gr8 2 cu
kewl cool u r so kewl
l8 late im l8
l8r later c u l8r
lol laughing out loud I was lol :-D
luv love luv a coffee
med immediate not med
mob mobile fone me on mob
msg message send me a msg
ne1 anyone hav u seen ne1 2day?
no1 no-one no1 I know

113
oic Oh, I see oic wot u mean
pcm please call me pcm now!
pls please now pls
ppl people hi ppl
r Are Where r u?
ru are you? ru ok?
sk8 skate get ur sk8s on!
sum1 someone sum1 wants 2 tlk 2 u
thx thanks thx 4 coming
tix Tickets Where r the tix?
txt Text message Send me a txt
u you I luv u
ur you are/your ur l8
w8 wait cant w8 4 2nite
w/ with ru w/ us
w/o without I’ll go w/o u this time
wan2 want to I wan2 cu
wiv with I wan2 b wiv u
wknd weekend cu @ wknd
wld would wld u
wot what wot ru talkn about?
x kiss save ur xxs
xoxoxox hugs and kisses xoxoxoxox
yr you’re/your yr cute/ yr turn

114
Glossary of Terms

Term Definition

2G Second Generation mobile networks, such as GSM

2.5G An interim stage between 2G and 3G, using network technologies such as GPRS on GSM infrastructure. This is
what is currently used by the UK networks to enable services such as Vodafone Live and T’Mobile’s t-zones.
2.5G is a stepping stone between 2G and 3G wireless technologies. 2.5G provides some of the benefits of 3G
(e.g. it is packet-switched) and can use some of the existing 2G infrastructure in GSM and CDMA networks.
While the terms “2G” and “3G” are officially defined, “2.5G” is not. It was invented for marketing
purposes only.
3G Third Generation, also known as UMTS. The future international standard for mobile phones, allowing faster and
more interactive mobile communications, enabling multimedia applications and advanced roaming features.
4G Fourth-Generation Communications System (4G), is a term used to describe the next step in wireless
communications. A 4G system will be able to provide a comprehensive IP solution where voice, data and
streamed multimedia can be given to users on an “Anytime, Anywhere” basis, and at higher data rates than
previous generations.
Airtime Airtime refers to the time tracked by your service/network provider to determine your billing costs. It includes
making/receiving calls, retrieving Voicemail, text/picture messaging, email and faxing.
ATM Asynchronous transfer mode. A very high-speed transmission technology. ATM is a high band width, low-delay,
connection-oriented switching and multiplexing technique. There are efforts underway to develop wireless
ATM networks.
Bandwidth A relative range of frequencies that can carry a signal without distortion on a transmission medium.
Bluetooth Voice and data connections between devices (e.g. PDAs, mobile phones, computers, cash registers and
others) through short range, two-way digital radio. This enables devices to share information and synchronise
data usually within 30 feet but can be greater with commercial systems.
BPS Bits per second. The unit of measurement for the rate at which data is transmitted.
Byte The unit for measuring electronic data and computer storage
Cache A temporary storage area where frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid access.
CDMA Code division multiple access. Using military technology originally developed by the Allies in WWII, it spreads
transmisions over all available frequencies. Conversations are assigned a code which is used to reassemble it
upon arrival. This allows multiple calls to be carried over one channel.
CDPD Cellular digital packet data. Technology that allows data files to be broken into a number of ‘packets’ and sent
along idle channels of existing cellular voice networks.
cHTML Compact Hypertext Mark-Up Language. A subset of the HTML language but excludes some images, tables,
multiple fonts and background colour.
CLID Caller line identification – this enables the receiver to know who has sent the original message – especially
important in mobile marketing and IVR systems to enable 2-way communication.
Compression
Reducing the size of data to be stored or transmitted in order to save transmission time, capacity,
or storage space.
Contract See Pay Monthly.
Cradle A stand or bracket designed to hold a phone or handheld computer in place on your desktop,
or mounted to your dashboard. It may incorporate recharging or data transfer functions.

115
Term Definition

Digital Modulation
A method of encoding information for transmission. Information is turned into a series of digital
bits - the 0s and 1s of computer binary language. Digital transmission offers a cleaner signal
and is less immune to the problems of analogue modulation such as fading and static.
Encryption The transformation of data, for the purpose of privacy, into an unreadable format until
reformatted with a decryption key.
EMS Enhanced messaging service.
EPOC An operating system for handheld computers and mobile phones with Web access. It’s
an open operating system developed by Psion, and now licensed by Symbian. EPOC’s main
competitor is Windows CE.
Extranet An Intranet-like secure network, which a company extends to conduct business with its
customers and/or its suppliers.
GPRS General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a Mobile Data Service available to users of Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and IS-136 mobile phones. GPRS can be used for
services such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access, Short Message Service (SMS),
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), and for Internet communication services such as email
and World Wide Web access. 2G cellular systems combined with GPRS is often described as
“2.5G”, that is, a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile
telephony.
GPS Global positioning system. A satellite-based system for determining your location within
10 to 100 metres, depending on the accuracy of the equipment. Originally used for military
and scientific applications, GPS receivers are now widely available in everything from cars
to wristwatches.
GSM Global system for mobile communication. The standard digital cellular system in Europe,
Asia, and other parts of the world. It is a variation on TDMA, with a data transfer rate
of 9.6Kbps.
HDML Handheld device markup language. A modification of standard HTML, developed by Unwired
Planet, for use on small screens of mobile phones, PDAs, and pagers. HDML is a text-based
markup language, which uses HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and is compatible with
Web servers.
HTML HyperText markup language. An authoring software language used on the Web. HTML is
used to create Web pages and hyperlinks.
HTTP HyperText transfer protocol. The protocol used by the Web server and the client browser to
communicate and move documents around the Internet.
i-mode™ “Information-mode” is the wireless technology developed by NTT DoCoMo of Japan, roviding
access to Internet-based services via mobile phones.
IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity. A unique serial number used on digital
mobile phones.
IMSI International mobile station identifier. A number assigned to a mobile station by the
wireless carrier uniquely identifying the mobile station nationally and internationally.
See also MIN, TMSI
Infrared A band of the electromagnetic spectrum used for airwave communications and some fiber-
optic transmission systems. Infrared is commonly used for short-range (up to 20 feet)
through-the-air data transmission.

116
Term Definition

Interconnection
The routing of telecommunications traffic between the networks of different communications companies.
Interconnect fees
Fees that are payable to the network operator for carrying another network’s SMS
Internet Phone
A phone capable of accessing the Internet (via WAP).
Intranet An internal network, which is private or employs a firewall to secure it from outside access, that supports
Internet technology. The Intranet is used for inter-company communications and can be accessed only by
authorized users.
IP Internet protocol. See TCP/IP.
IrDA Allows mobile phones, PDAs, and other devices to connect to each other for various purposes.
Infrared is a wireless technology that uses a beam of invisible light to transmit information.
IVR Interactive voice response. This uses a well-established telephone technology whereby the users typically
interact by pressing the keypad (1 for yes, 2 for no) in a call centre environment. Can also be used effectively
for marketing, billing on premium rate, TV interaction and games.
Java (J2ME) Java 2 Micro Edition. A feature that allows the device to run specially-written applications. J2ME applications
can provide specific functions such as a tip calulator, they can be games, or they can be custom-written
corporate applications.
LAN Local area network. A data communications network, typically within a building or campus, to
link computers and peripheral devices under some form of standard control.
Megabyte A measurement of electronic data or computer memory. One megabyte is usually thought of as
1,000 kilobytes (although technically it is 1,024 kilobytes).
Megapixel One million pixels. Pixels are the tiny coloured dots that create digital pictures. The greater the number of
pixels in a photo, the higher the resolution (quality) of the image. Refers to the quality of a camera.. the higher
the MP the higher the potential resolution of the pictures taken.
MIN Mobile identification number. A number assigned by the wireless carrier to a customer’s phone. The MIN is
meant to be changeable, since the phone could change hands or a customer could move to another city. See
also ESN, IMSI, TMSI.
OS Operating system. A software program, which manages the basic operations of a computer system.
These operations include memory apportionment, the order and method of handling tasks, flow of information
into and out of the main processor and to peripherals, etc.
Packet A bundle of data organized in a specific way for transmission. The three principal elements of a packet include
the header, the text, and the trailer (error detection and correction bits).
Packet Switching
Sending data in packets through a network to a remote location. The data sent is assembled
into individual packets of data.
Palm OS The operating system originally designed for the Palm series of PDAs. Palm has since been purchased by 3Com,
but they still develop and license the OS. Unlike some operating systems used by other handhelds, the Palm
OS is built to function on a particular type of device.
PAYG (Pay as you Go)
All networks offer PAYG (or pre-pay) phones, where there is no contract or monthly line rental, and you ‘top up’
your phone by purchasing credit vouchers in order to make calls. The biggest advantage is it is impossible to
run up a huge phone bill as you can only make calls once you have already paid for them. The disadvantages
are you tend to pay more for the initial phone, there are various restrictions on use compared to contract phones
and calls are generally more expensive than on a normal contract tariff.

117
Term Definition

Pay monthly
Pay monthly (or contract) is a payment scheme whereby a 12 or 18 month
contract is agreed between the customer and a network. A monthly line rental is paid
for a tariff which normally includes free talk time minutes and text messages. When signing up to a
pay monthly tariff, handsets are generally given to the customer at low cost or free.
PCS Personal Communications Services An all-digital set of cellular services operating in the
1850-1990 MHz bands. PCS technologies include CDMA, TDMA, AND GSM.
PDA Personal Digital Assistant. A small handheld device commonly used as a mobile computer or
personal organizer. Many PDAs incorporate small keyboards, while others use touchscreens
with handwriting recognition. Some of these devices have Internet capabilities, either through
a built-in or add-on modem.
Picture and video messaging
The ability to send a photo or video clip from a compatible mobile phone to another mobile
phone or email address. The service is sometimes known as MMS, which stands for
Multimedia Messaging Service.
PIM Personal information manager. Also known as a ‘contact manager,’ is a form of software
that logs personal and business information, such as contacts, appointments, lists, notes,
occasions, etc.
Pocket PC Formerly Windows CE. An upgraded version of Windows CE that offers greater stability and
a new interface. Features include mobile Internet capabilities, an e-book reader, and
handwriting recognition.
Portability Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is the ability to retain a mobile number when moving or
porting from one mobile carrier to another. This process is also sometimes called migrating or
transferring. To begin the process, contact your current Service Provider (the company your
contract is with) and ask for a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC). The PAC is your authority
to request a transfer and will allow the Network you wish to move to, to request your number
be transferred to them. However the PAC is only valid for 30 calendar days so you must
action your request promptly.
Portal Provides access to WAP services and content.
POS Point of sale terminal. A type of computer terminal used to collect and store retail sales
data. Wireless POS terminals are often used for remote and temporary locations.
Predictive Text Input
A technology which allows you to enter text by pressing only one key per letter. The phone
will automatically compare all of the possible letter combinations against a built-in dictionary
of words. The current Predictive Text Input implementations are T9, iTAP and eZiText.
Protocol A set of rules used by computers to communicate.
SIM Subscriber Identity Module. A smart card inserted into a phone containing your phone book
and network details.
Smart Card A credit card-sized card with a microprocessor and memory.
Smart Phone
A phone with a microprocessor, memory, screen and a built-in modem. The smart phone
combines the some of the capabilities of a PC on a handset.
SMS Short Message Service. Text-only communication between phones. Also called a
text message.

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Term Definition

Symbian Symbian is a mobile operating system (OS) targeted at mobile phones that offers a high-level of integration with
communication and personal information management (PIM) functionality. Symbian OS combines middleware
with wireless communications through an integrated mailbox and the integration of Java and PIM functionality
(agenda and contacts). The Symbian OS is open for third-party development by independent software vendors,
enterprise IT departments, network operators and Symbian OS licensees.
Synchronisation
Also known as ‘replication,’ it is the process of uploading and downloading information from two or more
databases, so that each is identical.
T9 See Predictive Text Input
TCP/IP Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol. The standard set of protocols used by the Internet for
transferring information between computers, handsets, and other devices.
TDMA Time Division Multiple Access. Divides cellular channels into three time slots, increasing data capacity. This
lets multiple users or conversations to be carried on the same channel.
UMTS Universal Mobile Telephone System, also called 3G.
URL Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a WAP site or Web site.
Wallpaper Graphic/picture/image spread across the background of your mobile phone/computer screen.
WAN Wide area network. A network that uses local telephone company lines to connect geographically dispersed
sites. See LAN.
WAP Wireless Application Protocol. An open, global specification that allows mobile users with enabled mobile
devices to easily receive and interact with Internet information and services.
Windows CE
A version of Windows designed to run on PDAs or other small devices. CE was renamed Pocket PC with the
version 3.0 release.
WISP Wireless Internet Service Provider, also called a portal.
WML Wireless Mark-up Language. A programming language for WAP.
XHTML A reworking of HTML 4.0 designed to work as a application of XML. It allows anyone to create sets of markup
tags for new purposes.
XML Extensible Markup Language. A standard for creating expandable information formats that allow both the
format and the data to be shared. XML is similar to HTML in that both use tags to describe the contents of a
document. However, while HTML only describes how the data should be displayed or used, XML describes the
type of data. This allows anyone who can interpret those tags to use the data they contain.

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Events and networking
160 Characters: http://www.160characters.org
Industry Association. Monthly knowledge and networking events run in conjunction with NOC Online in
London.

Chinwag: http://www.chinwag.com
UK digital media marketing email newsgroups.

E-Consultancy: http://www.e-consultancy.com
Interactive media resource.

Mobile Data Association http://www.mda-mobiledata.org or http://www.text.it

Latest figures of mobile usage and news.

Mobile Entertainment Magazine: http://mobile-ent.biz

Organise regular meet-ups. Further information can be found on their website.

Mobile Marketing Association: http://www.mmaglobal.co.uk

Global industry association that aims to stimulate the growth of mobile marketing and associated
technologies.

M:Metrics: http://www.mmetrics.com
A research house specialising in mobile statistics. Free data is published on a quarterly basis.

Mobile Mondays: http://mobilemonday.org.uk

London part of the global Mobile Mondays network covering all aspects of the mobile industry including
marketing and media. Events held in cities globally. See the website for links to other chapters.

Ofcom: http://www.ofcom.org.uk
Mobile ownership figures.

PhonepayPlus: http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk
Industry-funded regulatory body for all premium rate charged telecommunications services.

Swedish Beers: http://www.swedishbeers.co.uk

A quarterly networking event for anyone interested in what’s happening in mobile held in London
and Barcelona.

W2Forum http://www.w2forum.com
Statistics, news, reports, forum, conferences and events.

120
Further reading
“Next Generation Wireless Applications”, Paul Golding
“Mobile Marketing: The Mobile Revolution”, Matt Haig
“Roam, Making sense of the mobile internet”, Bruno Giussani
“Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution”, Howard Rheingold

Magazines (print) covering mobile topics

New Media Age: http://www.nma.co.uk
Mobile Entertainment: http://www.mobile-ent.biz
Revolution: http://www.brandrepublic.com/revolution
Stream: http://www.streammag.com

Blogs
Mobhappy: http://www.mobhappy.com
A blog about mobile technology and business

Mobile Marketing Magazine: http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk

Reporting the news in the mobile marketing sector

Musings of a Mobile Marketer: http://www.technokitten.com

A blog about mobile marketing and media and a bit about day to day life working in mobile

Rudy’s m-trends: http://www.m-trends.org

A blog with a Spanish flavour (in English) about mobile trends

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78
 Acknowledgements

Tanla Mobile would like to thank all the people who contributed to this guide.

Ben Tatton-Brown, Head of Advertising Sales, EMEA, Medio Systems

Blue Brand Communications, Blue Integrated Ltd

Daniel Appelquist, Senior Technology Strategist, Vodafone

Gillian Kennedy, Managing Director, Emerging Media Platforms Ltd

Helen Keegan, Found and Managing Director, Beep Marketing

Jessica Sandin, Head of Mobile & Senior Consultant, Fathom Partners

Mike Short, Vice President R&D, O2 Europe

Paul Doran, Switch Communications

Paul Goode, m:metrics

Russell Buckley, Managing Director Europe, Admob

Tomi Ahonen, Author & Consultant

Steve Flaherty, Mobile Consultant, Keitai Culture

Tanla Mobile: Anuj Khanna, Brian Brady, Gautam Sabharwal, Gerry Drew, Jeff Spirer,

Lee McElhinney, Subba Rao and D. Uday Kumar Reddy.

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78
 Sources & References

160 Characters www.160characters.org

Buddyping www.buddyping.com

Dreamblog www.dreamblog.co.uk

Economist www.economist.com

GP Bullhound www.gpbullhound.com

GSM Association www.gsmworld.com

Informa Telecoms and Media www.informa.com

Jaiku www.jaiku.com

Juniper Research www.juniperresearch.com

Marketing Week www.marketingweek.co.uk

M:Metrics www.mmetrics.com

Mobile Data Assocation www.themda.org

MORI www.ipsos-mori.com

Ofcom www.ofcom.org.uk

Shazam www.shazamentertainment.com

Siemens www.siemens.com

Strategy Analytics www.strategyanalytics.net

Texperts www.texperts.com

Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org

125
Interactive
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 Photographs: © Getty Images

Design & Layout: Blue Brand Communications - a division of Blue Integrated Ltd

Published by: Tanla Mobile, 39 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0AR

© Tanla Mobile 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any storage or
retrieval system without prior written permission from Tanla Mobile.

Notice of Liability:
While care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this guide, it is provided
on the understanding that no responsibility is attached to Tanla Mobile or the author, and we shall not be
liable for any consequential loss or damages which arise out of, or in connection to,
information contained in this guide.

This guide contains broad recommendations only.

Consult with your regional regulatory authorities and take appropriate
legal advice before commencing a mobile marketing or advertising campaign.
About Tanla Mobile

Tanla Mobile is a global provider of mobile marketing, mobile entertainment, mobile commerce
and mobile internet solutions to the Media, Digital Content and Telecommunication industries.
We develop customised mobile applications, platforms and services for companies who want to
create a mobile strategy or channel.

Tanla Mobile has direct revenue-sharing partnerships and connectivity with mobile operators
across Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. We provide interactive
platforms, 3G video calling, interactive TV, campaign management, content management,
mobile payments and global messaging services, enabling brands to launch end-to-end
commercial mobile services.

Tanla Mobile is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tanla Solutions Ltd, a company listed on the
Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

The introduction of various telecommunication technologies and services has created new
opportunities for brands to integrate their businesses and improve relationships with their
customers by effective communication.

However, companies are faced by the challenge of integrating various IT systems, technologies,
communication methods and applications to benefit from convergence. Tanla Mobile aims to
bridge the telecommunications gap for customers by “connecting the dots” and providing fully
managed services which include end-to-end mobile content management, billing, messaging
and delivery of mobile services.

We are helping customers by providing complete solutions which generate revenues, reduce
costs and help them better communicate with their customers. From text messaging to video
calling, we are building mobile channels and services for mobile operators, media owners,
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