Mobile Marketing Watch
T-Mobile: Double Opt-In No Longer Required
T-Mobile has decided, effective immediately, that it will no longer require marketers and other senders of commercial, non-premium SMS to have double opt-in for their subscribers.
Double opt-in, in case you don’t know, is the process in which a marketer ensures that a subscriber really did mean to sign up to receive marketing SMS messages. Usually (including in the case of T-mobile) it means that after the consumer sends a keyword to a short code, the marketer sends the person message asking to confirm the subscription by texting back the word YES.
There’s two sides to this news. On one hand, Mobile Marketer notes that application program briefs will be much simpler, and in turn could result in quicker approvals of new short code programs. (Short code provisioning is a major issue for marketers, you may recall from a recent guest column.) And T-mobile was the last major U.S. carrier to drop the double opt-in requirement.
However, legitimate marketers know the importance of double opt-in; it’s even part of the Mobile Marketing Association’s best practices guidelines. Double opt-in ensures that people want to receive messages before they’re sent out. It’s a way to soothe consumer fears of getting SMS spam.
Well, best-practicers don’t need carriers or other authorities to tell them the most proper way to conduct themselves. They’ve been engaging in double opt-in longer than carriers had required it. So they can should still choose, on their own, to make double opt-in part of their campaigns. As a First Amendment kind of gal, I like the idea of letting the industry regulate itself, rather than impose censorship.
Meanwhile, those who say that double opt-in turned off potential subscribers now have nothing to blame when consumers don’t sign up for their messages.
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Seeking Short Codes
Have a short code that you want to get rid of?
Do you have a non-premium short code already approved on all major carriers–and you are not doing anything with it? Are you getting ready to decommission your short code? If so, don’t let it expire. There may be some money in it for you!
Please contact editor@mobilemarketingwatch.com right away to learn more.
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Whoop There it is For Mobile Marketing!
Whoop, Inc. is releasing - get ready - the first ever Whoop Mobile Marketing Manifesto.
It’s okay. I chuckled considerably upon hearing the name of this thing too.
A primer to some, a white paper to others, and blue print for how companies and their agencies can tackle the explosive mobile marketing arena, the Whoop Mobile Marketing Manifesto is being hyped as offering “solid, how-to information on rich media mobile applications, mobile web site development and simple SMS/text initiatives.”
I’m sure, however, that some will find this piece far more promotional than practical.
Nonetheless, the Whoop Mobile Marketing Manifesto is available free - but “on request” at http://www.whoopmobile.com.
Delivered via a Web-based platform, Whoop tries to simplify the process for everyone to create, publish and share text, mobile content or rich media.  To date, customers include large and mid-tier companies, publishers, ad agencies, PR firms, interactive studios and direct marketing agencies.
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Networking Opps for Mobile Marketers
Social networking has taken the world by storm. Within Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter alone there are dozens of specific ways to network with other people interested in mobile marketing. No, this isn’t going to be a post about how to get started in social networking, but rather a listing of some ways to find others who are in mobile marketing or want to be.
LinkedIn
There are several robust mobile focused groups in LinkedIn. The easiest way to find them is to log in and click on the Groups tab. Then search for mobile marketing. The reason you want to join groups first is that you can often contact people who are in your group without having to already know them. It is a strong point of leverage in building your network.
Here are some mobile-focused groups on LinkedIn I recommend:
Mobile Marketing Association
Mobile Marketing
Mobile Analytics
Mobile Marketing & Advertising
eMarketing Association Network
IMM 2.0 - Intelligent Mobile Marketing

Facebook
In Facebook you can contact individuals directly. So do a search for mobile marketing and see who comes up. If they look interesting send them a friend request. I highly recommend putting in a personal note with it. People are more likely to accept your request if they know why you want to connect with them.
To find groups in Facebook, just search your topic from the search bar and then check the tab for Groups. You will find a wide variety of groups here as well. Plus you can look for more people, pages, events and even mobile applications.
Twitter
Twitter is all about individual connections. Since the search function within Twitter itself has been “temporarily disabled” for a month or so now, the only way to find people is by the topic of their conversation. So, go to search.twitter.com (used to be Summize) and search for mobile or mobile marketing. You will see who is talking about mobile. Then you can follow them.
Jump in to social networking. The water is fine and there are lots of folks with whom to connect. You will undoubtedly run into me when you are searching in these places. I’d love to know you are a reader of my column here on Mobile Marketing Watch.
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CellTrust Recognized for “Mobile Marketing” With a Purpose
CellTrust, a provider of secure mobile messaging and applications, announced today that it won two of the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) Fourth Annual Global Mobile Marketing Awards, one of which for Best Use of Mobile Marketing.
CellTrust was selected for its project with the Yearling Harlem Success Academy Charter School, who saw parental involvement soar from less than five percent to more than 95 percent after implementing a SMS program in lieu of notifying parents of important information via more traditional methods. A really cool video showing the success of the school and the difference it made in the children and parents involved in the school is available at: www.celltrust.com/prod....
“Working with Harlem to reshape the parent, faculty and student relationship through text messaging was one of our most exciting projects this year,” said Sean Moshir, CEO of CellTrust. “We are proud to bring home both the North American and Global Mobile Marketing Association Best Use of Mobile Marketing Relationship Building awards to Arizona and be recognized as a company that cares.”
CellTrust’s SMS Gateway currently provides Harlem Success Academy with hosted web-based mobile messaging portal that allows the school to expand and tailor its communications program to meet the charter school’s growing mobile messaging and marketing needs on a daily basis. Many of the families within the Harlem Success community do not have access to a land-line telephone, a computer, or a permanent mailing address. School administrators quickly identified the mobile channel as the most effective way to inform and engage parents and students. Further, because of the ubiquity and user familiarity with the SMS channel, the parent community was able to engage immediately without lengthy instruction.
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Survey: Still Only 1 In 4 US Consumers Interested In Mobile
A recent study put on by the MMA in conjunction with research partner Synovate has unveiled some new mobile usage and mobile marketing data that for the most part is nothing new, but does include some interesting findings.
Not surprising at all: the study revealed greater use of mobile data services in the last year, with four in five subscribers text messaging, and two in five texting daily.  Picture and video messaging, along with mobile camera use, are also among the fastest-growing non-voice activities gaining momentum.  This higher data-usage will inevitably boost mobile marketing effectiveness over time.
Still, the study showed only 1 in 5 US subscribers browse the mobile web, and many of which don’t even know what browser they’re using let alone the mobile marketing efforts being displayed to them.  Now that the iPhone is the top selling mobile device in the US, its surprising that mobile web browsing hasn’t gone up more sharply.
Overall, 1 in 4 U.S. mobile consumers say they are either moderately or strongly interested in mobile marketing, unchanged from last year.  That compares to one-half and two-thirds of mobile users in Asia-Pacific and Latin American markets, respectively, expressing interest.
While many believed mobile marketing would grow by leaps and bounds over the last year, this study and several others have proved that while it’s definitely growing, it’s not quite as much as industry experts had hoped.  Still, the best demographic to market to from a mobile perspective is the 18-24 year olds.  The best ways to reach this group remain promotional tools such as downloadable ringtones, mobile coupons, location-based information, status alerts and text-to-win sweepstakes.
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Time to “Bond” with Mobile QR Codes
For our Mobile Marketing Watch friends in Australia, it will come as no news at all that Sony recently ran a major promotion by ad agency Euro RSCG to support the release of the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace using the Telstra platform to lead people through a “treasure hunt.”
Incredibly, we are learning today that the promotion attracted almost 10,000 entries despite the absence of mainstream media support.
QR Codes — two-dimensional codes that link directly to an internet address when photographed by a mobile phone camera — were originally used as tracking devices for car parts during the manufacturing process but have since emerged as a new marketing tool.
Sony head of strategy and brand development Toby Barbour told Media the success of the 007 movie promotion had prompted a rethink more broadly about how the codes might be used.
“We see QR Codes as being extremely interactive and flexible,” Mr Barbour said.
“QR Codes let us do things we could not have done in the past.”
Mr Barbour said he expected QR Codes to make the transition from a promotional item linked to a campaign, to in-store packaging on every product, effectively giving customers immediate access to a complete electronic brochure about a product through their phones.
There were up to 7 million 3G-capable phones in Australia, providing QR Codes with a potentially massive untapped promotional market that would grow in acceptance in coming months.
“I think QR Codes in 12 months’ time will be a standard medium in many promotions for different brands,” he said.
After all is said and done, we shall see if QR codes leave mobile marketing shaken… or stirred.
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Intera Group Revs Up “RocketBoat”
Intera Group, Inc., a provider of out-of-home advertising and telecommunication services, provided some information over the weekend regarding the success of its partnership with RocketBoat in “delivering special offers and promotions” to visitors at San Francisco’s PIER 39 directly to their Bluetooth(R) mobile devices.
As you may recall from an earlier blog, offers were highly targeted to Bluetooth “zones” up to 200 feet in diameter. Since the offers were delivered via Intera’s Bluetooth Proximity Marketing network — independent of the wireless carriers — they were absolutely free to consumers.
RocketBoat (which sounds like a mobile marketing firm) is a high-speed, 30-minute “thrill ride” in the San Francisco Bay. A popular PIER 39 attraction, the service is run by Blue and Gold Fleet, the Bay Area’s premier provider of bay cruise, ferry service and motorcoach tours.
“Our campaign on Intera’s Bluetooth Proximity Marketing network helped us drive ticket sales,” said Taylor Safford, president of Blue and Gold Fleet. “Not only is proximity marketing an excellent way to get the attention of potential customers and build awareness for our new attractions, data shows that when people download the first piece of content, they are much more likely to download content on other offers. The network therefore stimulates business across participating vendors.”
In October RocketBoat launched two, five-day Bluetooth marketing campaigns, both of which generated strong results. According to the results, opt-in rates were 26 percent, and redemption rates for the downloaded offers averaged 18 percent - even higher when taking multiple ticket purchases from the same customer into account. Over a ten-day period, 300 people downloaded promotional content. Of those downloads, there were 53 redemptions for a total 64 tickets sold at an average price of $21- resulting in over $1300 in incremental revenue. For those who bought tickets, most were on the next departure.
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Soccerex Kicks Around Utility of Mobile Marketing
The importance of mobile marketing behind the 2010 FIFA World Cup is clear to all excited about the upcoming Soccerex 2008 in South Africa later this month.
Even if you’re not a soccer fan (like myself) it will be interesting to see how mobile marketing is molded into a viable tool for this major sporting event.
As It turns out, FIFA and Soccerex have assembled a panel of industry leaders to highlight the importance of this during a panel entitled “Mobile Communications in Africa and Beyond: The Key to Reaching Fans at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”
This will feature senior figures from FIFA, mobile phone giant Ericsson and Perform. Heading up this panel will be Niclas Ericson (Director, TV Division, FIFA), who will outline the importance of fan communication via this media platform and the opportunities this poses ahead of 2010.
The next FIFA World Cup is expected to push forward interaction via many different communication technologies, including full match broadcasts on mobiles.
As a relatively new broadcasting medium, Niclas Ericson will reveal the world governing body of soccer’s stance on the activation of event mobile broadcasting rights.
This conference panel will provide Soccerex delegates an expert consultation session on mobile marketing strategies, focusing on South Africa’s rapidly developing telecommunications market.
The three-day Soccerex, the world’s biggest football exhibition kicks off in Johannesburg on November 23.
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Under The Radar: Lessons For Mobile Marketers
(For MMW’s complete coverage of Under The Radar: Mobility, click here).
SMS the next big thing in marketing? Hardly. Texting is cutting-edge for some marketers and commoditized for others. But those who want to get to the bleeding edge had better pay attention to the companies who presented at Under The Radar: Mobilityin Mountain View this week.
In a nutshell: The marketing industry must be prepared to get multi-channel all on one device. Technologies exist now that will help them enhance content on mobile phones, update Web content via their own cell phones, and use their handsets to communicate in far-reaching ways like conferencing and real-time networking. Companies will also be able to conduct financial transactions via mobile phones, making it more convenient than ever for consumers to make purchases–and that’s not an easy task in these days of economic uncertainty.
Savvy marketers already know that the cell phone is ideal to contact consumers because messages and ads reach them instantly, no matter what time of day or where the person is. Soon (well, now, if you’re an early adopter) marketers can use their own phones as a tool, too.
Here’s how Under The Radar startups can–no, will–help marketers achieve new heights:
Branding. Use mobile technology to make consumers more aware and knowledgeable about your company. DialPlus enables people to create visual profiles that callers–or recipients of calls–can see. Toro will give the multi-channel campaign new meaning as it consumers “tap” print ads with their cell phones to get coupons and other marketing messages that benefit them. Get recommended by Goodrec (a mobile and online ratings site featuring referrals from “trusted sources”) or Rummble (a location-based service that finds people as well as places).
Change content remotely–or for remote consumers. MyBoooallows users to make changes to social networks via their cells–a boon for marketers like musicians who use these sites almost exclusively as their marketing strategies. (The company will be their “Boo” fo’ sho!) Pixelpipe is a media gateway that lets you upload from a handset (or desktop or server) to a social network, blog, or photo/video sharing sites–no need for a carrier to create a special app for a single social site like Facebook. Bambuser lets users stream live video from a mobile phone or Web-cam; they can also interact  with viewers with Web-to-mobile chat. Mofuse lets bloggers launch and manage a mobile version of their web logs in seconds.
Bring events to mobile users. Several companies offer ways for people to attend business meetings, webinars, and other business- or branding-related events while on the go: PhoneTopp, iVisit, Iotum, and Vello.
Location-based services. Yes, it’s easy to be skeptical–we’ve been hearing about LBS for the past few years now. But carriers are quite excited about it–they really think this is something that consumers will go for. That is, once they–and marketers-figure out the best way to use it and promote it to the masses. (It pays to look ahead, especially since SMS charges might change in ways yet unknown, as the carriers themselves admitted.)
All work and no play make tech innovators dull girls and boys. Socializing at Under The Radar is almost as important as checking out the companies! Alas, while everyone unwound from the long day with wine and canapes, I sat typing out my analysis of the whole event. So drop a line and let me know what you think of everything we’ve covered!
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