• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 21, 2007

Publishers targeting consumers with news about alcoholic beverages and venues are going mobile. This allows them to reach their readers on the go and at point of sale. The new mobile services run the gamut of market niches--from high-class wine recommendations to the cheapest happy hour dive.

On Tuesday, Wine Spectator magazine announced that the Top 100 Wines of 2006 will be available for free download to iPod, via Mogopop, a site that allows users to create, share and download interactive content. The top 100 list is compiled by the magazine's senior editors from all wines reviewed in the previous year. This is the first year where it will be available in iPod format.

Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator, explained the utility of the downloadable list: "The top 100 Wines for iPod means iPod-carrying wine lovers can now carry a great tool that offers the expertise and guidance they expect from Wine Spectator into a restaurant or on a wine shopping trip." No need studying vintages to sound like a sommelier--just grab the "Cliff Notes" version in mobile form.

Also on Tuesday, CoolHappyHours.com, a Web-based social network with a self-explanatory mission, is soliciting advertising from restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses that want to reach its members through various digital channels, including email newsletters, text messages and Web logs. The text-message service allows advertisers to reach consumers during the day via their mobile phones.

According to Gemma Jablonski, a former commodities trader who founded CoolHappyHours.com, "Texting patrons who have 'opted-in' to receive bar and drink specials from their favorite establishments is a new trend that is sweeping Europe and Australia. Only the tip of the iceberg is being exposed here in the States." She notes that texting is popular with young urban, tech-savvy hipsters who are not swayed by conventional ads.

CoolHappyHours.com members receive details about local specials, happy-hour event e-mails and exclusive drink offers through SMS, as well as an e-postcard system to invite friends to particular venues.

Both announcements came shortly after Arbitron announced the results of a survey, which found that 50% of Americans over the age of 21 had been to a bar in the last month, with 33% visiting in the last week. Consumers who patronize bars are actually a desirable target demo for advertisers.

According to Arbitron, they include a higher percentage of self-described "early adopters" than the population at large: 27% of monthly bargoers consider themselves "early adopters," versus 18% generally--and 26% say they frequently recommend new products to friends, compared to 19% overall. Monthly bar patrons visit 3.6 days a month on average, and weeklies visit 1.7 days a week--meaning that they frequently expose themselves to in-bar messages.