At the recent CMA Mobile Marketing conference I asked to see a show of hands for all those who worked for brands or agencies that had created “mobile marketing” capabilities within their organization. I was impressed that the majority now claimed to have mobile as part of their marketing mix.  This is a significant change from even a year ago. When I followed up that question with how many have mobilized all their marketing activities, I got mostly blank stares.

It’s one thing to hire a mobile “expert” to create messaging campaigns, help you build and app or figure out your mobile web experience, but to harness the true potential of mobile, marketers need to think about mobilizing the entire marketing mix. 

Incorporate mobile to enhance and create engagement with existing print, broadcast, outdoor, PR, social, retail, training and event marketing activities. 

Remember how hard it was to convince Creative to add a URL to that print add or TV commercial a few years ago? Dust off those cognitive dissonance management skills and march back into black turtle neck row armed with your shiny new QR codes, SMS Short codes, mobile friendly URLs, app store and bluetooth logos and your quick reference sheet on mobile adoption in North America and get ready for round two.

In addition to working on Polar Ice Vodka, we work on the ABSOLUT  Vokda account as they are both Corby brands.  Recently we launched a new micro-site for ABSOLUT Vodka that can be seen here.

We’re also helping with a special one day ABSOLUT Vodka event that will be popping up in a secret and exclusive location. Canadian multi-disciplinary artist Justin Broadbent will create an optimistic, vibrant and inspiring destination for those who encounter it. Check out his blog here.

As the sun sets, the exhibit becomes an exclusive, eclectic and dynamic party.

We’re leveraging a bluetooth network and creating our own as part of our outreach / teaser campaign. We’ve also built a facebook profile page that acts as an event teaser and hub and it’s where we’ve created an opportunity for people to register for the guest list for our exclusive event.  We’ve also setup a twitter account that will be used to engage event goers and to publish updates and further details as they are made available.

What has amazed us so far is how quickly people found the event & registered for the guest list without any traditional media support.  This is going to be a great case study for us to further demonstrate the reach, power, and effectiveness of social media in the marketing and media mix.

I’ve updated my standard mobile marketing 101 presentation deck to include updated stats and points of view of how the landscape is evolving and where the opportunities are for marketers to extend their multi-media campaigns into this channel.

Topics covered include: Canadian landscape stats, the 8 mobile consumer segments, SMS Marketing, Mobile Web, Mobile Applications, designing for mobile, mobile media, 2d / QR codes, Bluetooth, and a few points on what to expect next.

This is meant to be in introduction and overview – but let me know if you think I’ve missed anything you believe is really important. Feedback on content welcome too!

Earlier this year I predicted that we’d start seeing bluetooth networks popping up around Canada… and then this release came in from Broadburst last week:

Broadburst Technologies’ Bluetooth Broadcast Network Live and ‘On-Air’ in Downtown Toronto

Toronto, Ontario – November 7, 2008 – Broadburst Technologies Inc., a North American mobile media company utilizing Bluetooth® wireless technology to deliver interactive services and content to mobile phones, announced today that its downtown Toronto Bluetooth Broadcast Network is now live and ‘on-air’ at 40 Gateway Newstand locations.  Broadburst’s Bluetooth transmitters are now positioned throughout the Toronto transit system and other high traffic pedestrian areas in the downtown core to deliver rich, interactive media content

“We are extremely pleased to launch this new phase of our Bluetooth broadcast network,” said William Kells, CEO of Broadburst Technologies Inc.  “Our coverage area in downtown Toronto is extremely attractive to advertisers who want to connect directly with mobile phone users as they move through the city.  By using Broadburst’s Network, advertisers can send localized content in an entertaining and informative way to cell phones of potential customers, who can download and enjoy the content free of charge.  Broadcasting content via Bluetooth allows advertisers to reach potential customers in the moment, as they are making decisions on products and services at point of purchase.”

“We have already received calls from companies interested in taking advantage of the new network to reach out to mobile customers,” said Noah Aychental, Vice President of Marketing and Promotion for Gateway Newstands.  ”Our traffic numbers speak for themselves, as millions of people pass by our stores everyday, and with an enticing mobile offer we can now connect advertisers to a very targeted mobile phone audience.”

The launch of the 40 location network in downtown Toronto is the first phase of a roll-out program that could see Broadburst Technologies’ Bluetooth Broadcast Network grow to over 500 Gateway locations across Canada and the Unites States.  Gateway newsstands are strategically positioned in high traffic locations such as transit stops, shopping centres, office towers and neighbourhood convenience stores.

In South Africa some malls have bluetooth zones that allows consumers to download native apps to their phone which are updated automatically with coupons, sales, and retail info every time they come back to the mall.

It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing similar applications of bluetooth here.

Q: Are there certain age groups or regions that have been more responsive to mobile marketing and how would you predict this to change?

A: Just like the interweb, the younger generations were the quickest to adopt SMS and are still the most likely to respond to a call to action via sms

Having said that, keep the following three things in mind:

1. Parents and grand parents are fast growing segments for SMS because they’ve realized that in order to stay somewhat in touch with their kids and grand kids, they had to learn how to text. As a result, SMS adoption is penetrating all demographics and should no longer be considered a tween or teen obsession only
2. How many of your friends have blackberries? Ever notice that they are emailing their co-workers & friends as often as the kids sending SMS back and forth? With RIM having around 40% market share in Canada, there are lots of people who are exhibiting the same behaviours and dependancies on mobile as those who are more SMS reliant.
3. We’ve found that the “professional age” demographic is far more likely to go on to the mobile web than other demographics. The reason is that many of these folks are using PDAs (like blackberry) that come with nicer & larger screens and data plans that are paid for by their company.

Response rates for mobile marketing can be good or great across all demographics. It’s not unusual to get 6% on well targeted mobile campaigns for example.

The key is knowing your audience and understanding how to deliver your message in the most audience relevant context (sms, mobile web, bluetooth etc…) with a relevant message.

With 3.3 billion mobile devices in use worldwide today, mobile is already a mass medium and marketers who figure out how to integrate mobile into their marketing mix now will be at a huge advantage tomorrow when mobile goes from experimental to essential.

With retailer’s becoming more technologically advanced (RFID, Bluetooth, wifi) what is the future of “proximity marketing” through a mobile device? – Ian Barnett, spider marketing.

With technology playing a larger role in the retail experience, we can expect traditional old in-store media to become very interactive. It’s happening now with LCD screens – but the ability to get additional product information or get drawn to products through bluetooth, SMS, mobile web, or qr codes represents real and near future opportunities

In some countries like South Africa for example, consumers are entering malls and downloading virtual coupon books through Bluetooth before starting their shopping. They download a widget or application to their device once, then simply update the content through bluetooth every time they enter a bluetooth zone in the mall.

Think of mobile technology as conversation enablers vs. interruption devices. Nobody wants to be bombarded with messages on their phone – so the successful retail experiences will incorporate opt-in first for any technology play that goes beyond signage.

When will this happen in Canada?

It’s already started. Several malls in Ottawa and out West have already started piloting bluetooth projects and other mobile related projects are also in play across the industry. RBC is piloting a mobile payments platform called mobex which could also roll out to the masses in the next 18 months.  You won’t see widespread qr codes until a carrier incorporates them on their device.

We have enough examples from around the world on the future of proximity marketing in Canada, the bigger question is when will proximity marketing really take off. My bet is 2010.

Be sure to check out the following two articles posted on onedegree.ca and the CMA blog this month (in case you missed their original postings)

1. Will Bluetooth Become a Sweet Tooth for Marketers? (onedegree.ca)
2. 6 Tips for building and managing consent for mobile marketing (CMA blog)

I’ll be getting on a plane Sunday afternoon to Barecelona, Spain for the 2008 Mobile World Congress – formely known as the 3GSM.

My plan is to blog at least once a day with summaries, points of view and perspective on a variety of mobile related topics including: 

1. How MMS is working as a marketing device in Europe
2. Applications of LBS (location based services) in Asia
3. Bluetooth marketing messaging in Africa
4. Mobile Search
5. Mobile web vs. Mobile widgets
6. Mobile advertising platforms, case studies and trends
7. Mobile Social Networking
8. Demos of 4G technology
9. New devices, or device trends
10. Off-deck content and applications

The plan is to also attend several events related to the conference including the Mobile Monday Peer Awards, Mobile Entertainment forum, Canadian breakfast forum, Mobile Jam session and the GoMo News blender.

Do you have other topics you’d like to hear about while i’m there? Send me an SMS, comment or email me through the contact form on this website.