The following is a guest post from Dan Trigub, VP Business Development at Blue Bite.

Next week on March 6^th I will be giving a short discussion regarding Near Field Communication (NFC) during the NFC Ecosystem track at the Cartes Expo and Conference being held in Las Vegas.  My session will dive into the state of NFC (specifically in America) and focus on how even though the hype is well underway for NFC as a game changer in mobile payments – NFC is much more than just that.  As I prepare my thoughts for next week I thought this was an opportune time to give my views and take on how NFC will revolutionize content delivery and consumer engagement, potentially even more so than it will mobile payments if at all.

A picture is worth a thousand words and I hope my graphic accompanying this post helps get across my view on NFC for mobile payments as we sit here today in the U.S. (click the image to view full size).  It seems to me that the most overused imagery the industry is using today for NFC payment solutions is the infamous episode from Seinfeld where George Costanza blows out his back from his hefty, over stuffed, over utilized wallet that is making him sit crooked when it is in his back pocket (watch here).   Arguably, one of the funniest and recognizable Seinfeld episodes, this is being used in the U.S. to sell the dream and vision of one day never having to blow out your back from an overstuffed wallet.  As it does a great job to get across the point and sell consumers on the power of NFC I am not at all that convinced that NFC is going to be the solution to our back pains.  I must disclose that I am personally a huge advocate and believer in NFC and see it drastically changing our lives over the course of the next few years – though, I am not convinced mobile payments are the right conduit for NFC.

Just like with any new technology platform and especially when it comes to getting private consumer data and information (i.e. your credit card number) there are immediate security concerns and panics by the general public and society as a whole.  I would be the first to argue that NFC mobile payment solutions are even MORE secure than a traditional wallet, however, that is beside the point.  Society as a whole is much more irrational than the individual and will immediately rush to conclusions which will continue to impede NFC adoption for payments.  This was recently seen via the Google Wallet security scare that flooded all media outlets over the past few weeks.   In addition to security concerns, the awareness for NFC enabled phones and what the technology is capable of is still some time away from the general public in the U.S.  I can’t tell you how many of my friends or twitter followers get excited about NFC when I first mention it to them as they then proceed to tell me that the Giants win over the 49ers was phenomenal.  I then have to tell them we are not talking about the National Football Conference.  I am obviously exaggerating a bit, but what many industry people tend to forget is that not everyone lives in NYC, San Francisco, LA or Chicago.  There are many consumers and mobile phone users elsewhere that know very little about the technology, let alone what it can do for payments.

Another key problem of NFC for mobile payments in the U.S. is that not many handsets support the technology and for the ones that do, not all carriers support the payment platforms.  Keep in mind that the most recent research from ComScore shows that the smartphone share of the total mobile audience is still at only just over 40% in U.S. of which Apple has nearly a 30% share and probably at least double that in mindshare.  That said, the fact that the iPhone still does not have NFC (with no signs indicating it will have NFC in the near future) will continue to hurt the adoption of NFC for mobile payments.  I will be the last to pretend to know what Apple is going to do or claim I know anything more than the next person but I will refuse to believe any rumor about NFC and the iPhone until it comes straight from the mouth of Tim Cook.  However, I do know that Apple is all about their closed ecosystem and wanting each of their users to download and receive content from the iTunes store.  With that context I can’t see Apple allowing their iPhones to simply interact and touch NFC touch points at the POS or wherever they may be without having to go through the Apple “ecosystem.” In addition, just look how Apple will not let an iPhone receive content via Bluetooth from another non-iPhone (but I can do this with any other handset out there today).  As we all know Bluetooth is an open standard (just like NFC) but Apple will refuse to let content be shared via this technology with other handset types.  I cannot imagine this being any different with NFC as this all leads me to believe the iPhone will not have NFC anytime soon or that when it does it will be open and free to use as anyone would wish.

Finally, if you ask my mom and a lot of other people about what they feel about waving their phone at the POS instead of swiping their credit card I think an overwhelming majority will not really care or see the value proposition.  There was recently a great post in Business Insider speaking to this very point entitled NFC Is Fighting The Right Battle With The Wrong Weapon that goes into this very reasoning.  This is certainly not the case in other markets and countries where the value proposition for NFC as a mobile payments solution is much, much superior.  In emerging markets in Africa and APAC regions where more people have cellphones than credit cards and bank accounts – the value proposition of instantly going in and developing an NFC payments ecosystem is much larger and frankly makes more sense.

Today in the U.S., what the reality is when it comes to NFC for mobile payments is that it is a complete mess and cluster jam.  Today there are: too many players trying to fight for the same piece of the pie (handset makers, POS manufacturers, credit card companies and banks to just name a few); lack of NFC standards; concerns with how to enable the secure component on the various cellular networks; too many NFC payment platforms (ISIS, Google Wallet, ISIS to just name a few); and simply too much confusion for the average American consumer.  In my view there is definitely a need to avoid the chiropractor for all the George Costanza’s out there but there are many more impressive non-NFC payment solutions that will steal the thunder of NFC.  Starbucks, Square, Dwolla, Boku, mopay and SCVNGR (via LevelUp) are just a few examples of those already infiltrating and gaining rapid market share in the mobile payments space today.  The beauty of these platforms is that they can work anytime, anywhere and in many cases anyhow (via SMS, QR Codes a traditional barcode or even an App via the cloud) and do not rely on a single technology platform that is still in its infancy.

Other than mobile payments there are many other more compelling use cases for NFC.  A lot of hype has been around its ability to transform transportation as this is certainly happening today in the U.S.  Just the other day in San Francisco I noticed parking meters with NFC tags that would allow someone to instantly get an app on their phone that could be used to pay the fare on their mobile device via a cloud based payment system.  Also, many transportation systems across the country are using NFC based systems in their metro cards.  In San Francisco, the Clipper Card which can be used for all public transportation actually has an NFC chip embedded in the plastic.  This allows for the public to simply tap their card when boarding the various metro systems.  You can also download the FareBot App and touch your card with your NFC enabled phone and read all types of information off of your Clipper Card including balance data, prior trip history and recent balance refills.  Second, simple file sharing applications for NFC are extremely compelling as well.  Shazam, Rovio and Evernote (click to read more specific examples) are just a few who have entered into the realm of NFC for this purpose and have shown great opportunity.

Transportation and file sharing will certainly help advance the proliferation of NFC (more so than payment systems) but in my view, the Holy Grail is content delivery and connecting real world objects with the much more rich and robust online world.  Unfortunately, where we sit today in the U.S. there are simply just too many technologies and platforms to get content from one object to a consumers handset each with varying difficulty and consumer user-flow experiences.  SMS, Bluetooth, WiFi, QR Codes and Apps are the most widely used platforms today but this just leads to confusion.  Certainly, there is no one good “silver bullet” for brands and marketers.  However, NFC has the opportunity to change all of that.  What is even more exciting is that NFC can transform the way media is bought in the physical world.  What the internet did for marketers by bringing a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) model NFC can do the same thing with a Cost-Per-Engagement (CPE) model in the physical world.  Nevermore will an advertiser have to pay on a grey and at times fuzzy impression based metric (i.e. how many eyeballs are looking at something) which cannot ever be verified and proven.

NFC will certainly take a bit of time to gain traction and saturation within handsets (just as it took time for a CPC model to carry any heft on the internet) but when it does it will be a game changer.  Unlike all the technology platforms that exist today which I rattled off earlier, NFC is by far the easiest from a consumer experience perspective and requires fewer clicks and fewer steps which ultimately translate to more engagements.  Literally any object in the real world can be outfitted with an NFC engagement – store shelf products, clothing, posters, business cards, out-of-home advertising and so much more.  Conversely, once these objects are engaged with via an NFC handset the content delivered can be just as endless – video, games, pictures, social media integration, coupons and whatever else the mind can imagine.  This possibility of taking real world objects and connecting them to the web is by far a much more compelling and significant opportunity for NFC than being the go-to solution for the mobile wallet.

About the Author

Dan joined Blue Bite as VP of Business Development in March 2009. Dan is responsible for business development, marketing, operations, finance, and corporate strategy.  Dan joins Blue Bite with over 6 years of early stage startup, finance and marketing experience. Most recently Dan held the title of investment banking Associate at GCA Savvian, a firm principally focused on providing M&A advisory and capital markets services globally in the digital media space among others. Previously he worked at Analysis Group, a leading financial, economic and strategy consulting firm in Washington, D.C.  Dan has a B.S. in Economics from Vassar College.

Company Website: www.BlueBite.com
Email: dan@bluebite.com
Twitter: @datrigub

The post The State of NFC – Mobile Payments, Marketing and More appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest post by Dan Trigub, VP Business Development at Blue Bite.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending OMMA Global West 2011 in San Francisco. OMMA Global West is part of an annual conference and event series put on by MediaPost Communications, with a focus “on the user-generated disruptions that are forcing all media and marketing institutions to rethink and reorganize,” as stated by its official website.  Unlike most conferences, OMMA speaks to the media buyers and marketing institutions, arguably the most important audience of the mobile marketing ecosystem. One thing that we in the mobile space tend to forget, no matter how great our technology and value proposition, the media buyers and agency people often drive innovation and adoption through their checkbooks and budgets they control.  With that in mind, I came away from the conference confident that we as an industry have forced those with the checkbooks to rethink what media channels are important.  However, the major media agencies still need to reorganize for the mobile marketing industry to advance.

During the conference, I had the pleasure of attending a Q&A session featuring the CEO of one of the world’s largest full service media agencies.  The goal of the session was to discuss some of the latest tools and trends in mobile, social media, and other modern forms of communication that are important for media buyers and planners.  The thesis of the session was that media buying used to be straightforward (think traditional media – TV, Print and Radio) and a one-way affair where marketers pushed messages at consumers hoping that they would respond by buying their products.  Sitting in the audience I had the unique opportunity to see the mobile marketing industry through the eyes of one of the single biggest media buyers, a person that we in the mobile marketing space try to get in front of for a chance to showcase our mobile marketing solution.

During the session, I could not help but take advantage of this opportunity and propose a question to the speaker.  Providing some context for my question I said, “We [mobile marketing solutions providers] spend a lot of time meeting with agencies and media buyers such as yours, and a major challenge we face is that mobile, unlike traditional media (TV, Print & Radio), cannot perform to its true potential as a standalone solution.  We integrate our technology with other forms of media (digital, traditional, etc.) in order to bridge the mobile experience.  However, given how media agencies are structured today, it is very hard for them to buy media across multiple platforms. Today they work in very finite quadrants – whether just digital, out-of-home, online or mobile, and struggle to figure out which budget an integrated media buy should come from.  When we come in with an integrated solution, their heads begin to spin and they look at us as if we are aliens from another planet.”  I went on to ask what he recommends that we [and the mobile marketing industry as a whole] should do in order to overcome this challenge and successfully sell solutions across multiple platforms.  To my surprise, he looked at me and responded that he had no real answer and was frustrated about this very issue himself.  If the CEO of one of the largest media buying agencies does not have an answer, what are we to do? How are we to advance mobile marketing?

Reflecting upon the presenter’s response, it became clear to me that the major media buying agencies are structured (for better or for worse) in a fashion that makes it very hard for them to be innovative and drive change that is so critical to the Mobile Marketing industry.  The crux of the problem is that they have been organized into divisions to support traditional media channels. These divisions do not talk with one another – making a media buy across multiple platforms and budgets nearly impossible.  Likewise, these organizations continue to be focused solely on traditional media metrics such as impressions and CPM, and at times do not consider the quality or effectiveness of the interaction for brands they are hired to represent (caring more about the top-line metrics).  In an age of DVR technology, (according to Nielsen as of September 2010 DVR ownership stood at 38% of all US TV households) where many Americans barely watch a television commercial and spend most of their time consuming media out of the home – it seems like a waste of client money to be spending nearly all of it on TV advertising buys and yet it happens all the time. This is just one example of a weakness in traditional media in today’s world.

Recently MAGNAGLOBAL released its 2011 advertising forecast and the data was mind-boggling.  It shocked me that even though mobile and digital-out-of-home are predicted to be the highest growth segments of advertising, growing at a 20% and 15% CAGR respectively from 2011 to 2016, they are predicted to remain the smallest in real dollars, representing 1.2% and 0.9% of TOTAL advertising dollars by 2016, respectively.  To me, this is absolutely absurd, but can become reality if the major media buying agencies (one of the key drivers of these trends) fail to realize the importance of non-traditional media channels such as mobile and digital-out-of-home.

To be fair, it is certainly not all doom and gloom for the mobile advertising industry, but there are two key things that need to continue to happen.  First, and as the presenter at OMMA suggested in my one-on-one conversation with him after his session, the vendors of mobile advertising solutions need to continue to pound on the doors of and meet with key agency people.  It is our job to continue to show our value proposition and demonstrate success with quality case studies that demonstrate why brands need to reach their target demographic via mobile.  Likewise, it is important to continue to show the value of bridging other forms of media with mobile and therefore prove that the various media divisions cannot continue to operate as independent silos.  Unlike traditional media, it is important in today’s world to combine the media that people know and see every day with their most personal device – the mobile phone.  See my recent post on iMedia Communications to learn more.

Finally, in order to get the largest and most traditional agencies to change, the smaller more agile agencies need to continue to drive this very innovation and lead the charge.  One of the agencies leading this movement today is Chicago based Legacy Marketing Partners who also happens to be a partner of Blue Bite.  Legacy sees the importance of including a 360-degree approach to client campaigns and melds mobile, digital and social into one cohesive strategy that extends reach, measurement and budget.  Likewise, many of these innovative agencies are hiring cross-platform specialists who work across a number of formats including print, digital, mobile and online.

Barbara Maldonado is exactly this type of specialist for Legacy Marketing.  Barbara is Legacy’s Social Media + Mobile Strategist with more than twelve years work experience in digital, experiential, mobile and social media marketing for Fortune 500 brands.  It is Barbara’s job to focus on social media and digital engagement extensions of Legacy’s agency projects. Barbara notes, “As a member of the Creative team at Legacy, I work across many of the client projects and sit in the concepting meetings that yield the work that Legacy delivers for our clients.  I am tasked with not only staying apprised of evolving technology and building relationships with providers such as Blue Bite that can bring a great offering to our campaigns, but I also need to be able to communicate and educate agency staff on the capabilities of such emerging technologies.  By educating them on the technologies that seamlessly fit into their campaign concept, they can better communicate how digital and mobile extensions build the success of the program while confirming its effectiveness.”  Barbara goes on to say, “The agency you are working with may not be the digital or mobile Agency of Record, but educating them on how your technology can support their campaign’s objectives and understanding their role within these large programs, you will be able to build a stronger relationship between yourself and your agency prospects.”

When building a relationship with an agency, Barbara recommends providing case studies that are applicable to the agency’s capabilities and/or the category they are working with.  Oftentimes agencies will use those very case studies as points of reference to build support for technology integration.  Barbara also suggests to make sure to share your latest news and platform upgrades with your agency prospects as they are continually looking for ways to increase their program success and technology integration within all of the client programs – “educate them on how to make their programs smarter and measurable for their clients and you will definitely see the benefits,” Barbara adds.

Just like it took time for the major media agencies to see the value of online advertising, it will continue to take time for them to understand the value of mobile marketing.  I guarantee that when the first proponents of paid search or online video advertising sat in the offices of some of the world’s largest full service media agencies they were looked at like aliens from another planet.  However, we as an industry must continue to meet with the ones with the checkbooks, advocate the value of our services, and not be frustrated or discouraged by their old ways.  At the same time we must look to the first movers, like Legacy Marketing, to see the potential of the future and together drive the change and reorganization we so desperately need in the agency world.

About the Author

Dan joined Blue Bite as VP of Business Development in March 2009. Dan is responsible for business development, marketing, operations, finance, and corporate strategy.  Dan joins Blue Bite with over 6 years of early stage startup, finance and marketing experience. Most recently Dan held the title of investment banking Associate at GCA Savvian, a firm principally focused on providing M&A advisory and capital markets services globally in the digital media space among others. Previously he worked at Analysis Group, a leading financial, economic and strategy consulting firm in Washington, D.C.  Dan has a B.S. in Economics from Vassar College.

Company Website: www.BlueBite.com
Company Media Kit: Blue Bite Media Kit
Email: dan@bluebite.com
Blue Bite on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bluebite (@bluebite)
Dan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/datrigub (@datrigub)

The post Media Agency Reorganization is Critical appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest post by Dan Trigub, VP Business Development at Blue Bite.

This week marks the launch of Digital Signage Expo (DSE) in Las Vegas – no, not nearly as anticipated as CES but it is the self proclaimed “World’s largest international trade show and conference dedicated to digital signage, interactive technology [including mobile marketing], and Out-of-Home networks.”  Unfortunately, the majority of exhibitors, attendees and those talking about it in the Twitterverse are digital-out-of-home (DOOH) insiders, and the most important people, the media buyers, are few and far between. Without question, in-app advertising is the buzz right now and justifiably so, but media buyers do not yet recognize the parallels of mobile marketing with DOOH media and in-app advertising. Mobile marketing coupled with DOOH media can serve the same purpose and at times be even more effective.

Today there are two primary mobile ad networks that run inside smartphone applications.  The first is AdMob, which was recently acquired by Google and the second is Apple’s iAd, which it built through the acquisition of Quattro Wireless.  For those of you who missed Steve Jobs’s demo of iAd, it is worth watching and can be found here.  Simply put, in-app advertising relies on the fundamental notion of content in the right context.  For example, while I peruse a newspaper application on my smartphone and read the sports section, an in-app advertisement for Nike would appear featuring the latest basketball shoe. Given the contextually relevant environment within the app, Nike knows that they are generally speaking reaching basketball enthusiasts and expect the audience to click on the in-app advertisement and not only learn more about the shoe but to make a purchase.

Just like in-app advertising DOOH networks provide marketers the ability to deliver content in a contextually relevant environment and at moments of maximum influence. Just as Steve Jobs promoted the iAd in his demo presentation, RMG Networks, one of the leaders in DOOH media, created this video to demonstrate the power of DOOH and is worth watching as well.  Using the example of a Nike shoe placement – there are multiple DOOH networks that have digital screens in gyms across America including RMG and their Fitness Club Network that has 18 million monthly viewers.  Imagine now if I am running on a treadmill in front of an RMG digital screen and see a placement for a Nike shoe. Running is definitely top of mind (I am actually doing that at the moment the ad plays) and what better time to attempt to target the consumer with a Nike ad placement.

If you remember from our in-app example – we can only say that “generally speaking” the app user is interested in the add placement.  There is no way for sure to know that the app user who is on the sports page really cares about a basketball shoe and did not mistakenly click on that advertisement. Though, we know with 100% certainty that the treadmill runner likes to run (well maybe not that they like to run, but at least that they are running).

Finally, the placement of the advertisement on the DOOH network provides a great opportunity to take the experience one step further and deliver content to the consumers’ mobile phone or to drive them to a mobile site. There they can view or download further content, extending the DOOH experience and providing the brand tracking and measurement comparable of in-app advertising.  In addition, in-app advertising only targets smartphones, while a variety of mobile marketing channels can be coupled with DOOH to reach virtually any mobile handset – see my last post to learn more about these channels.  With all of the press around smartphones, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that according to ComScore only one out of every four mobile subscribers today actual has a smartphone; meaning in-app advertising cannot reach three out of four mobile subscribers. Smartphone market share will continue to grow over time, however, in the near-term, mobile marketing channels such as SMS, proximity marketing and QR Codes coupled with DOOH is a very effective way to reach those audiences.

Just last week, ADCENTRICITY, a DOOH ad network – essentially the iAd of DOOH media, published its 2011 DOOH Media Outlook & Planning Guide and its Q4’10 DOOH Market Review. The reports note that “2011 will bring some significant DOOH industry changes through acquisitions, cross-media integration (think mobile, social & retail integration) and alliances.” The majority of the large media industry players still spend a significant portion of their budgets on traditional media channels; however times are changing as witnessed by the adoption of in-app advertising and the observations of ADCENTRICITY.  Certainly more consideration should be given to DOOH media integrated with mobile technologies in 2011 and beyond.

About the Author

Dan joined Blue Bite as VP of Business Development in March 2009. Dan is responsible for business development, marketing, operations, finance, and corporate strategy.  Dan joins Blue Bite with over 6 years of early stage startup, finance and marketing experience. Most recently Dan held the title of investment banking Associate at GCA Savvian, a firm principally focused on providing M&A advisory and capital markets services globally in the digital media space among others. Previously he worked at Analysis Group, a leading financial, economic and strategy consulting firm in Washington, D.C.  Dan has a B.S. in Economics from Vassar College.

Company Website: www.BlueBite.com

Company Media Kit: Blue Bite Media Kit (January 2011)

Email: dan@bluebite.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/datrigub (@datrigub)

The post The Parallels of In-App Advertising and Mobile Marketing with Digital-Out-of-Home Media appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest post by Dan Trigub, VP Business Development at Blue Bite.

As we all know, over the course of the last few years media consumption has been in the midst of a fundamental shift from traditional channels (i.e. TV, Print and Radio) to channels outside of the home.  Without question, this trend will only continue in the coming years.

Just recently JCDecaux’s Jeremy Male, Chairman of the Outdoor Media Centre, opened a conference by stating, “OOH [Out-of-Home] is showing a growth of 12.5%, only bettered by TV. Digital now represents 12% of all outdoors advertising…”  Garry McGuire, CEO of Reach Media Group (one of the largest digital-out-of-home (DOOH) media networks in the U.S.) recently proclaimed in an article that DOOH advertising in public venues reaches more Americans each month than online videos delivered by Facebook, Hulu, and YouTube combined.  Please take a moment to digest that – this is simply staggering.   In an age of digital media and DVR technology where viewers fast-forward through commercials and glance over advertisements – the power of utilizing place-based media (whether traditional OOH or DOOH) is immensely more impactful.

The next step and one that I believe is already underway, is the bridging of place based media with the mobile device.  In the world today, the mobile phone has become the single most influential decision making device.  Thus, the key to reaching people out of their home is going to be through their mobile phone and one of the most important objectives of place-based media will be to trigger the decision-making device at the moment of maximum influence.  This will be achieved through the use of varying forms of mobile content delivery technologies and a call-to-action message embedded on the OOH media.  The “big” screens around us (whether digital or static) will primarily be responsible for getting us to do something on our “small” screens – our mobile devices (the most personal screens of all).

Just recently Forrester predicted that in 2011 marketers will take the training wheels off mobile programs and start investing in cohesive mobile marketing strategies – setting the stage for the convergence of mobile and place based media.  With the stage set, what technologies should marketers and brands deploy to bridge place based media with the mobile phone?  Today there are 7 critical mobile platforms and each serve their own underlying function.  Let us now take a look at each and evaluate their pros and cons as well as how they should be implemented with place based media:

1.  Short Message Service (SMS) – THE MOST UBIQUITOUS FORM OF MOBILE MARKETING

Pros:

• Mass adoption and understanding by consumers
• User initiated interaction
• Ability to activate other forms of media

Cons:

• Mass adoption has created a “spam” image
• Need own shortcode – can be expensive to implement at scale
• Lower level of accountability

Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:

• Implement for large scale campaigns looking to reach a general audience
• Perfect to integrate with other forms of mobile (i.e. send SMS to receive mobile app)
• Works well for localized information (i.e. text shortcode “12345” to receive driving directions to nearest XYZ Movie Theatre)

2.  Proximity Marketing (Bluetooth & Internal WiFi Network) – ABILITY TO PUSH CONTENT TO BROAD RANGE OF MOBILE DEVICES

Pros:

• Content is pushed and always free to consumers
• Historically high opt-in rates
• Consumer information is anonymous
• Can reach all types of phones (both traditional and smartphones)

Cons:

• Early unsuccessful campaigns tarnished image of medium
• Blackberry experience is not optimal (Bluetooth)
• Not gateway to internet (closed WiFi network)
• Hardware needs to be deployed at location

Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:

• Works best for campaigns looking to deliver branded content to individuals within a certain location
• Works best when delivering offers that can be redeemed at point of interaction

3.  Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) – WEB BROWSING OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE PHONE

Pros:

• No hardware integration
• Works across multiple mobile phone platforms
• User can access content anywhere / anytime

Cons:

• Does not generate as much buzz (nobody talks about the great website they just saw)
• Not as personal of an interaction
• Requires data service

Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:

• Works very well when objective of campaign is to drive downloads of a mobile application or to obtain user data through form fields and send additional information later
• Can provide a great extension of placed based media experience on mobile device

4.  Social Media – PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH DIGITAL SCREEN AND COMMUNITY

Pros:

• Tremendous amount of social media users among all age groups
• Becoming major sources for the acquisition of content
• Provides ability to monitor, listen, react and measure

Cons:

• Timely to build out DOOH network that is linked to all major social media streams
• Some concerns around privacy and “big brother” image limit full adoption

Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:

• Optimal for brand looking to stir reaction from a community and allow for consumers to influence DOOH content
• Works very well when integrated with SMS and even mobile apps

5.  Mobile Applications – FULL BRAND EXPERIENCE AT OOH LOCATION AND BEYOND

Pros:

• Can generate great buzz – viral effect can increase adoption
• Allows you to build a richer experience
• Allows you to take full advantage of native phone features (i.e. camera)

Cons:

• Difficult to obtain the initial download
• Most consumers will not use an app more than once – must offer true utility
• Can be expensive and timely to create and bring to market

Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:

• Optimal for brand looking to extend the OOH experience beyond single location
• Works best when content can be designed to be location-centric – assigned and accessed via specific geographic coordinates and activated when consumer is near OOH location

6.  Quick Response (QR) Codes – RICH CONTENT THROUGH “FUN” AND RECOGNIZABLE MEDIUM

Pros:

• Can link consumers to all types of rich media
• Beginning to gain major awareness from consumers
• Easy to deploy and implement across large OOH network

Cons:

• Requires a smartphone with camera and special reader
• Need to be in close vicinity / line-of-sight of QR Code

Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:

• Works great for campaigns looking to drive downloads of mobile application
• Ideal for campaigns that need to be implemented quickly and at low cost
• Great for campaigns looking to drive traffic to a specific mobile webpage

7.  Near Field Communication (NFC) – EASY & HYPER-LOCAL EXPERIENCE DELIVERING RICH CONTENT

Pros:

• Very personal interaction with consumer (~4inches from reader)
• Not necessary to pair the device – instantly works
• Many big players (i.e. Google / Apple) adopting technology

Cons:

• Few phones have NFC capability
• Must be extremely close to the display
• Will first be used more for mobile payment than content delivery

Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:

• Display can be tagged with chip that will deliver specific offers / content to targeted customer base

As one can see, the options for bridging place based media and the mobile device can become quickly overwhelming.  Unfortunately, where we stand today there is not much that can be done about this as there are a number of underlying factors.  These include the large diversity of mobile phones and operating systems available today, varying ease of use across platforms, consumer acceptance, and various content delivery capability among other variables.  However, what is clear is that there is no one silver bullet to bridge place based media and the mobile phone.

Marketers need to listen to their brands to determine the objectives of each campaign.  With clear objectives, it is imperative that they work hand-in-hand with their OOH and mobile teams to figure out the right solution or combination of solutions for their clients.  From there they should find a vendor who can offer a majority if not all forms of convergence since a cohesive and fully integrated campaign will ultimately yield the best results.

About the Author

Dan joined Blue Bite as VP of Business Development in March 2009. Dan is responsible for business development, marketing, operations, finance, and corporate strategy.  Dan joins Blue Bite with over 6 years of early stage startup, finance and marketing experience. Most recently Dan held the title of investment banking Associate at GCA Savvian, a firm principally focused on providing M&A advisory and capital markets services globally in the digital media space among others. Previously he worked at Analysis Group, a leading financial, economic and strategy consulting firm in Washington, D.C.  Dan has a B.S. in Economics from Vassar College.

Company Website: www.BlueBite.com

Company Media Kit: Blue Bite Media Kit (January 2011)

Email: dan@bluebite.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/datrigub (@datrigub)

The post The Importance of Bridging Placed Based Media & Mobile Phones, and 7 Ways To Do It appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.