Location-based service advertising -- which ties in consumer locations with restaurants, retail shops and other locations through mobile devices -- will grow to over one-third of all mobile advertising in four years. By 2015, location-based advertising will be $6.2 billion, according to Pyramid Research. In 2010, location-based advertising was $588 million -- 18.5% of all mobile advertising. Location-based advertising will generate 60% of all location-based revenue in four years. "The different components of mobile advertising (including search, display and messaging) are all growing," stated Jan ten Sythoff, analyst at large for Pyramid Research. "However, local search will be the most important driver of location-based advertising revenues." ten Sythoff added that navigation applications are moving to a search-funded model, while many companies are "looking to capitalize on the growth of local search, including start-ups, (such as Poynt and Yelp), local business advertising specialists (such as Yellow Pages) and vertical aggregators (such as toptable and HotelBooker)." Foursquare is probably the best-known dedicated location-based service with around 10 million users, and handles about 3 million user check-ins daily. Analysts believe the continued growth of smartphones and mobile tablet GPS-based devices -- which allow tracking of consumer movements and locations --- will push more location-based advertising business. North America is the largest region for this advertising growth because of the high penetration of GPS handsets. Japan and South Korea GPS are also high; while European services generally have lower GPS penetration, according to Cambridge, Mass.-based Pyramid.
eReader adoption rates have surpassed those of tablets, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project report released Monday. Some search marketing experts believe the gap will widen as eReaders become more affordable and offer the most basic Internet-connected services for free. The share of adults in the United States who own an eReader doubled to 12% in May 2011, up from 6% in November 2010. Kindle or Nook, both portable eReaders, allow consumers to download and read books and periodicals. Amazon on Kindle offers 3G connectivity for free. This is the first time since Pew began measuring eReader use in April 2009 that ownership of this device has reached double digits among U.S. adults. Tablet computers designed for more interactive Web functions have not seen the same level of growth in recent months. In May 2011, 8% of adults reported owning a tablet computer, such as an iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Motorola Xoom. That percentage has only slightly risen from the 7% who reported owning this type of device in January 2011. It represents a 3 percentage-point increase in ownership since November 2010. Prior to that, tablet ownership had been climbing quickly, according to the report. Similar to the need to segment mobile from computers in paid-search platforms, such as Google AdWords and Microsoft AdCenter, it will become increasingly important for marketers to segment eReader campaigns from those running on tablets once the engines offer the service. Search on eReaders will become the device's most basic function, according to some experts. "Clearly, eReader manufacturers like Nook and Kindle will bundle deep Web functionality to capture more market share because many people only want basic access to the Internet services, such as email and Web surfing," said aimClear Founder Marty Weintraub. "It's a no-brainer, really. Searches will increase for these devices across millions of books, and we can expect manufacturers to poach market share from devices like iPad." Consumers have access to the Internet and search through eReaders, which are less expensive compared with tablets, less complicated to use, and book-centric for those who want the convenience of a digital device. The ability to access the Internet and search for information could keep eReaders "over the top" when it comes to adoption, Weintraub said, pointing to Kindle, which offers free 3G wireless connectivity. Search marketers also can expect to see companies such as Adobe to segment eReaders from tablets in analytics packages to support campaigns, according to Tim Waddell, director of product marketing at Adobe. "We haven't done that yet, but it will be something we will need to address in the future because the engagement is quite different," he said. "We segment out mobile search already. It's quite easy to do. We will do the same thing for other devices as they become available." Adults 18-65, Hispanic adults, college graduates and those living in households with income of more than $75,000 are most likely to own eReaders -- up from $30,000. One-fifth of recent college graduates own eReaders. Similar demographic patterns exist for tablet adopters, although parents are no more likely than non-parents to own these devices. However, in the case of tablet computers, men are now slightly more likely than women to own this type of device. Between November 2010 and May 2011, men had among the largest increases in tablet owners. Overall, the highest rate of tablet ownership falls among Hispanic adults and those with household incomes of at least $75,000 annually. Other adopters include adults 18-29, those with some college or college degrees, and those reporting household incomes of $30,000 or more. The survey -- which was conducted from April 26-May 22, 2011, among 2,277 adults ages 18 and older -- also reveals that laptops have become as popular as desktop computers among U.S. adults. As recently as November 2010, desktop ownership outpaced laptop ownership by 8 percentage points, 61% to 53%. While the popularity of mobile devices continues to rise, eReader and tablet computer adoption levels among U.S. adults remain well below these tech devices that have been on the market longer.
Much of mobile advertising spending will be locally targeted in four years -- and higher-priced. Locally targeted mobile ads will have a 70% share ($2.8 billion) of the expected $4 billion in overall U.S. mobile ad spending by 2015, according to Chantilly, Va.-based BIA/Kelsey. In 2010, overall U.S. mobile advertising was at $790 million. Local mobile advertising's piece of the pie is $404 million -- 51% of the whole mobile advertising market. BIA/Kelsey, the media consultant/researcher, says much of this gain will come from large brand advertisers that will adapt their marketing goals for the mobile device. That's thanks to a growing awareness of retail locations, driven by consumers' increasing smartphone ownership. After large advertisers move in, BIA/Kelsey says small and medium-sized businesses will also push marketing efforts on mobile. All advertisers will benefit from the clearer return on investment and shorter purchasing funnel. Mobile advertising sellers will also garner premium pricing on location-targeted ads. Michael Boland, senior analyst and program director of BIA/Kelsey's Mobile Local Media practice, stated: "These premiums result from higher performance for locally targeted mobile ads when compared with non-local ads, due to higher relevance, immediacy and consumer buying intent, all of which are more prevalent in mobile than many other print and digital media."
Mixpo released a platform that lets brand advertisers deploy video campaigns on tablets. Through a Web-based studio, publishers can add interactive pieces to the campaign and tailor the tablet ads based on geography, time of day or message sequencing. The technology automatically determines the consumer's device and deploys the appropriate ad, for either a Flash or a HTML5 version. For tablet in-app campaigns, the technology also segments ad performance by platform, giving advertisers data on ad consumption and engagement. Brands will continue to see companies similar to Mixpo create the ability to segment ads and serve up content on tablets as sales continue to steadily increase. While the research firm Gartner forecasts consumers will purchase approximately 300 million tablets by 2015, a joint study from the Online Publishers Association and Magid Associates suggests advertisers should expect 23% of the U.S. population to own a tablet by early 2012 -- up from 12% today, about 28 million U.S. Web users. The iPad represents about 89% of tablet traffic across all markets, according to comScore. In the U.S., that number stands at 97%. The stats are part of a Device Essentials report on digital traffic by device, including computers, mobile phones, tablets, music players, e-readers and games. Apple has sold about 25 million iPads globally, but hardware competitors running Google's Android operating system have been playing catch up. The search engine launched a new version 3.1 -- Honeycomb -- earlier this month, but many viewed the earlier versions -- Android 3.0.1 -- as "unpolished," according to Richard Shim, senior analyst at DisplaySearch. "The Android universe is going through some growing pains, and the OS is one of a number of challenges that the ecosystem is slowly overcoming as it tries to compete more effectively with Apple and the iOS," Shim wrote in a blog post. Google's new version 3.1 offers many positive enhancements, according to Shim. One such enhancement includes an encrypted storage card device policy recognized by devices with emulated storage cards and encrypted primary storage, a feature that specifically meets the needs of tablet users.
Smartphones and tablets have already upended the consumer electronics industry (having reached near-equal penetration to e-readers and netbooks, according to Parks Associates). And they're expected to have a residual effect on the mobile banking world as well. According to a study from Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, more than half of smartphone and tablet owners use their devices for some form of mobile banking. At the same time, the 39% of people who plan to purchase one of the devices will use it for banking. Those statistics show that growth for mobile banking will come from new owners, rather than the current owners, who have already made up their minds whether they'll engage in mobile banking. According to the survey, only 6% of smartphone or tablet owners said they planned to enroll in mobile banking in the next six months. "The growth opportunity is substantial," Jim Garrity, vice president of Chadwick Martin Bailey's financial services practice, tells Marketing Daily. "The majority of the growth is coming from people who don't have the smartphone in hand. Of the people who have a smartphone today, the vast majority of them have made that decision." CMB's study also found consumers are becoming more comfortable using their smartphones to make purchases. According to the survey, 45% of smartphone owners made a purchase with their device over the past year. The majority of those payments are tied to credit cards (49%), while 40% of those purchases were tied to debit cards and PayPal. Despite the many publicized security breaches among financial institutions (and other companies), consumers seem to believe the convenience of having access to their account information and ability to transfer funds from anywhere outweighs any security concerns they may have, Garrity says. "Most of the security breaches have been on the large-scale, institutional side of the business," Garrity says. "Unless we start hearing any well-publicized stories of people who've had their [personal] accounts compromised because of mobile banking, it will continue to grow."
Local.com on Monday announced an expansion of its strategic distribution agreement with AT&T Interactive. Per the deal, AT&T Interactive's YP.com advertiser listings will be given premiere placement on Local.com search results pages. The expanded one-year agreement is also intended to increase collaboration between the companies on new distribution, traffic, product and revenue initiatives. The YP Local Ad Network is made up of some 300 publishers, according to AT&T Interactive. Said Rob Luskey, vice president of business development at Local.com: "We believe [the deal] will secure additional long-term revenue benefits." Todd Rose, vice president of business development at AT&T Interactive, added that it gave "advertisers the opportunity to increase their reach and drive leads to their businesses." Local.com offers a platform for users to write ratings and reviews for any business listing that appears on the site. Users can enter comments, rate a business using a five-star rating system and view all of the reviews they have previously submitted. Ratings and reviews entered on the site appear on business listing profile pages, subject to a user validation process. Along with strategic partnerships, Local.com has looked to mergers and acquisitions to increase service offerings and market share. In May, it acquired location-based product search company Krillion for $3.5 million. In February, it agreed to buy rich media provider Rovion for $1.5 million. Also in February, AT&T said it reached the highest ad revenue during Q4 2010 for Internet services offered by its local ad business unit. One of the carrier's success stories -- the YP mobile platform, AT&T Interactive's flagship mobile platform -- saw search queries grow 125% in 2010, compared with the prior year. The platform provides access to millions of local business listings accessible via a mobile app on millions of Web-enabled mobile phones across all U.S. wireless carriers. In March, BIA/Kelsey predicted that local online ad revenues will reach $42.5 billion by 2015. That would represent a nearly 100% increase over the $21.7 billion spent on local online advertising in 2010, and a compound annual growth rate of 14.4%. The growth is contingent on an anticipated improvement in the U.S. economy, and a continued rise in overall local advertising, which BIA/Kelsey expects will hit $153.5 billion by 2015 -- up from $136.3 billion in 2010.
In an extension of its "Bacardi Together" campaign, Bacardi rum has launched a multiplatform effort employing Live Nation Entertainment's digital, mobile and social media properties. Live Nation owns Ticketmaster.com, as well as LiveNation. com. The "Best Shared Live" campaign is targeting 20-something consumers who enjoy nightlife and music by helping them plan summer activities and connect with one another, according to the brand. Elements in the campaign include:
In the year since Google closed its $750 million acquisition of mobile ad network AdMob, Android has become the largest mobile operating system globally. Google disclosed that its mobile operations were generating more than $1 billion on an annualized basis. In April, AdMob hit 2.7 billion ad requests a day, more than tripling in the last year. The ad network itself spans 80,000 sites and apps, up from 50,000 in January. Online Media Daily caught up with Jason Spero, director, mobile, Americas at Google, to discuss Google's mobile ad business, the integration with AdMob and remaining hurdles to expansion of mobile advertising. Spero, who oversees mobile display and search advertising for the Americas at Google, was previously vice president and general manager, North America at AdMob. OMD: Google has made mobile optimization something of a cause. Do you see that as one of the main obstacles to mobile advertising growing faster?Spero: Growth has been phenomenal, but there's sort of a broad readiness issue we're bumping into on different fronts. The big categories would be the advertiser landing pages, ad-serving and tracking as a second bucket, and managing fragmentation as a third. I'm amazed by how the industry has grown, but these are absolutely critical things for taking mobile to where everybody expects it to go. We're not talking about spending a lot of money. This could be any retailer that just wants to be found in search, or any product. Basically, people are searching in every category in their mobile phone, and when they find particular things, they're looking for, they're engaging with it. Businesses -- whether that's the local movie theater or a massive national brand -- need to understand what customers want on their mobile phone, but many are not yet in position with a core asset. OMD: How is Google trying to change that?Spero: Making sure we have the right messages and creating the right benchmarking and trafficking tools. Google is frankly going house to house, talking to all of Google's advertisers, as well as doing marketing programs to educate people about the need for investing in mobile properties. This is the big issue facing our industry for the next year. Of Google's top 1,000 customers, we found 79% were not mobile-ready -- did not have a mobile optimized Web site. That's four out of five, right? Google is going out and showing people what good sites look like, and what PC sites look like on mobile phones. [We're} helping them understand just how powerful it is when you build a simple, engaging property for the mobile phone. OMD: How has AdMob been integrated into Google's ad infrastructure in the last year?Spero: AdMob had a bunch of display assets and a bunch of targeting techniques, but now we've been integrating those with the Google platform. Google has a lot of investment in display if you talk about DoubleClick and all the integration with the core AdWords and AdSense systems. In the last nine months, we've been putting together the greatest hits of the Google display network and the AdMob product. We've been porting AdMob over to the Google stack. Where we think we'll end up is in a place where a marketer gets a lot of the mobile-specific ad formats and targeting AdMob was known for -- all deeply integrated with Google, ad serving and analytics. Two or three weeks ago, we announced some new formats that weren't available previously -- new formats for tablets. There's also a huge base of people out there who are already using DART for Publishers or DART for Advertisers, and we've announced some things about how DFP now integrates the AdMob format. Publishers that want to allow their sales teams to sell mobile formats can now leverage Google/AdMob formats for their own sales organizations. OMD: How does Google handle mobile ad sales?Spero: There's an Americas sales team that's verticalized to understand the needs of each customer base. The big Google sales org is now talking to customers about their needs around mobile search, mobile display and local. To the extent that customers want to have introductory conversations, that's a couple thousand people who are now trained and actively talking about mobile. If those customers want to go deep, about where things are going in mobile and how they take advantage of it ...we've got a team of mobile specialists. OMD: How would you characterize where agencies are at in relation to mobile?Spero: There are agencies that have some technological investment and those that don't. There is a mix of people trying to take the specialist approach, whether that's a closely held specialist team or an arms-length partner or another agency under the holding company. And then the other model is trying to mix the mobile expertise in with the account team. The traditional, independent, built-for-mobile agency played an important part in the early years in mobile, and they're still there, and some of them are very strong. But the big agency holding companies' names have caught up very quickly. I've been impressed with the investment some of the agencies have made in their ability to build their own media mix models. OMD: How has growth of Android impacted mobile advertising for Google?Spero: Every time somebody turns in a low-level feature phone for a smartphone of any kind, their usage patterns go up dramatically. Loosely, they become more addressable by a marketing community. That is a trend not specific to Android or iOS or Windows Phone. People are getting more of these phones as the prices come down. The role that Android has played in the market is to create a very viable second platform and, in a lot of cases, to provide a great first option for people who want to get a smartphone. That's very good for advertising. As a media guy, I get to be agnostic. I serve lots of ads on Nokia devices and Windows phones, and on WebOS Palm Pre. For me, I want innovation. I want everybody who has a phone they bought more than a year ago to turn it in for one with a better processor. That means I can do a lot more with the media.
The image of a "gamer" as someone who sits on a couch in the basement while playing Sony PlayStation or Xbox 360 is fading, as the abundance of new platforms and delivery systems is changing. According to the NPD Group, Core Gamers, once the leading segment of people playing video games, are starting to be challenged by more casual gaming segments, particularly those playing mobile and digital games. While the Core Gamer segment spent the most amount of time playing games (18 hours a week), the Digital Gamer segment is close behind, playing 16 hours a week. When it comes to acquiring games, Digital Gamers outpace the Core Gamer segment, acquiring an average of 5.9 games a week (compared with 5.4 a week for Core Gamers). Although the Digital Gamers are becoming an increasingly important segment, Core Gamers still represent the highest amount of gamer identification (23%), followed by Family and Kid Gamers (22%), Avid and Light PC Gamers each represented 15% of gamers. With so many places to play games, from smartphones, music players and PCS, most of the players in these segments are playing games on at least three platforms. "The name of the game in 2011 seems to be choice. Gamers are increasingly branching out to methods of play other than those that the industry has traditionally expected them to use," said Anita Frazier, NPD industry analyst, in a statement. "Fueled by the growth of smartphones and new tablet devices, mobile gaming continues to accelerate, and what a game is and what it means to be a gamer is evolving, reflecting the rapid nature of change within the industry."
Mobile gaming company OpenFeint and its parent company, GREE International, have been sued by three consumers for allegedly accessing their cell phones' unique device identifiers. OpenFeint allegedly "compiled and misappropriated personal information" including consumers' gender, age, education level, geographic location and household income, Texas residents Matthew Hines and Alexander Hernandez and Wisconsin resident Jennifer Aguirre allege in a complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. They argue that OpenFeint violated a federal computer fraud law and wiretap law as well as California state laws. The case, a potential class-action lawsuit, marks the latest in a string of cases centered on device identifiers, or sequences of unique letters and numbers on some smartphones. Other lawsuits against Apple and a host of application developers, dating to last December, have been consolidated in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. A representative for OpenFeint declined to comment. OpenFeint allows developers to add social elements to games, enabling users to import friends from Facebook or Twitter. OpenFeint also offers free games itself. The allegations against the company appear to stem from a recent research by New Zealand security expert Aldo Cortesi, who reported that it's possible to figure out the names of some iPhone and iPad users who are on Facebook, and who also have applications powered by OpenFeint. The gaming network, which has 75 million users, reportedly stopped leaking this data after hearing from Cortesi. The consumers who are suing allege that OpenFeint linked users' unique device identifiers to Facebook and Twitter profiles, as well as to GPS coordinates: "OpenFeint then used analytics software to collect, use and disclose device data to third parties." The consumers also say OpenFeint didn't notify them of "covert activities within their mobile devices" and "covert tracking activities by application developers and application developer's affiliates." They add that OpenFeint targets children by offering free apps including "storybook tales, friendly animals, and child-like game scenarios." Attorney Joseph Malley of Dallas is representing the consumers. Malley also has represented Web users in other privacy cases, including lawsuits against Facebook, NebuAd and Netflix.
FTC Commissioner Julie Brill today reiterated her support for a universal do-not-track mechanism that will allow consumers to opt out of online tracking as well as receiving behaviorally targeted ads. "Everyone recognizes that behavioral advertising helps support online content and services and that many consumers value the personalization such ads provide," she said in an address at the Center for American Progress. "But we are also all concerned that much of the tracking underlying this advertising is invisible to consumers who, at present, do not have real choices about how -- or if -- their personal information about their cyber behavior is collected and used." In discussing do-not-track, she emphasized a point made by other FTC officials: To honor consumers' opt-out requests, ad networks and other companies must stop collecting data about users and not merely stop sending them ads because they've previously visited certain sites. Brill also said that she believes that consumers should have the ability to opt out of all mobile tracking through a do-not-track mechanism. "This branch of the information superhighway is in desperate need of basic reform," she said of mobile data-collection. She added that 22 out of the 30 top paid apps lack a privacy policy, according to a recent Future of Privacy Forum study. At this point, it's been around six months since the FTC officially proposed that Web users should be able to opt out of online tracking via a universal do-not-track mechanism, though the concept itself dates to at least late 2007, when privacy groups proposed the idea. Since then, the major browser developers (with the notable exception of Google) have said they will offer do-not-track headers, but very few ad networks have promised to respect them. While ad networks have been joining the self-regulatory program run by the umbrella group Digital Advertising Alliance, a self-regulatory program, they need only stop using data that's collected from people who opt out of behavioral targeting. Those ad networks don't have to stop gathering information about users who say they want to avoid behavioral targeting. Brill also said that protecting consumers' privacy involves more than simply addressing economic harms, like those caused by identity theft or spyware. "By focusing only on tangible harms to consumers, this approach misses the less quantifiable -- but none the less real -- injuries suffered by those whose sensitive information -- about medical conditions, children, or sexual orientation -- is exposed," she said.
Marketers have options other than Google Wallet when it comes to mobile electronic payments. Naratte, a Silicon Valley startup, has been creating buzz behind technology that uses a speaker and a microphone found in mobile handsets and devices. The technology provides the same benefits as near field communication (NFC) to launch mobile wallet transactions and marketing campaigns such as coupons. Naratte Cofounder and CEO Brett Paulson calls the ultrasonic technology Zoosh. The technology, when built into an application, can serve up coupon and other marketing campaigns, as well as process ecommerce transactions with merchants. It gives application developers the benefits of near field communication (NFC) in a software development kit (SDK). Paulson, a former Texas Instruments executive with a background in wireless and audio technologies, holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from The University of Texas and an MBA from Stanford University. He explains how each transaction gets turned into an audio wave before being transmitted through the speaker. The microphone on the other end picks up the sound and processes it. While the transaction is turned into an inaudible signal to humans, the audio wave can be heard by frogs, dolphins and other animals. Naratte's app runs on Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems. The company already has one developer embedding the software in its app. For instance, SparkBase built a Zoosh-enabled mobile wallet application called PayCloud, which the company has been selling to undisclosed merchants. Trials will begin in July in Chicago and Ohio. Paulson said wireless carriers are starting to get on board, too. Marketers have options other than mobile wallets. The technology supports a multimedia (MMS) coupon where the consumer receives a multimedia message for $1 off on the phone. Rather than an SMS message, the consumer receives an MMS message from a consumer product goods company, ad agency or retailer. The consumer can take the phone into the retail store and play it at the point of sale (PoS) terminal. An audible sound might say "thank you for being a loyal customer, Laurie," as the inaudible signature processes the transaction. That's something NFC can't do. Marketers can't take a multimedia message and connect it to an NFC chipset or have an option to move the transaction through HTML 5-based applications, which has access to an audio system. Zoosh will not replace NFC, but marketers that want to build a digital coupon campaign or loyalty program can do it today. Retailers relying on a tablet as a point of sale terminal use the microphone and the speakers in the device to complete the transaction. Those that want to deploy it through a VeriFone or similar terminal can purchase a $30 docking device that plugs into the back of the machine to complete the encrypted transaction. PoS terminals built on the Intel platform need a "$2 piece of plastic" that has a speaker and a microphone. Although Google and Apple still have work to do, consumers under age 50 are ready to make cashless transactions. A recent study from Retrevo titled "Pulse" examines consumers' readiness to start paying for items in-store using their cell phone. The study, released earlier this month, found that iPhone owners are more comfortable using a mobile wallet from Apple -- at 61% -- compared with Android owners, at 46%. In fact, 40% of iPhone owners are the most likely to want NFC in their phone to conduct mobile transactions, compared with 24% for Android owners. Men, at 27%, are more interested in a mobile wallet, compared with women at 15%. And 75% of people over age 50 were not interested in a phone with a mobile wallet.
Viacom's dispute with cable operators -- first Time Warner and now Cablevision -- over iPad apps is not only about license fees but also advertising revenues. Right now, viewing of TV shows on a iPad, while important, doesn't give advertisers all the information they are used to getting from traditional TV media deals. Cablevision and Time Warner want to retransmit Viacom's networks -- MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Spike, BET and others -- to iPads because they believe they are just additional screens into the home that they control. More importantly, they not only want to give their viewers more value, but want to wrap themselves around the cool-factor of the new digital video environment. Next in importance for cable operators is the growing mobile video advertising market. By transmitting the exact same channels on mobile devices, cable operators -- according to their legal folks -- can now sell two to four minutes per hour of mobile ad avails. This is based on the two to four local ad minutes per network that they now get under their deals with the cable programmers. Viacom also expects advertising revenues from mobile devices and, like all TV content providers, wants full control over them -- plus possible extra monthly fees from cable operators. If this happens, cable operators would need to charge customers more for mobile apps -- now, or in years to come. Nielsen still controls much of the video "currency" by which big national TV advertisers and TV sellers wheel and deal. But the big TV measurement company still hasn't worked the bugs out when it comes to what comparable data is available from "second," "third" and other screens beyond the TV box -- especially concerning different commercial inventory loads in traditional and digital TV platforms. If Nielsen can work out its measurement problems for all TV sellers, groups like Viacom can monetize all those potential mobile video advertising opportunities. Cable operators already see mobile as an existing opportunity to sell advertising -- one that they believe doesn't require cable networks' legal permission. But what if cable operators don't just target local-market advertising deals as they do under traditional arrangements with the cable networks? What if they were to include a broader national advertising footprint? All of which makes for interesting, confusing, and -- definitely -- litigious cable TV industry times.
"Print for me? 60 copies." I get print orders from my college professor wife via email. We're still running print jobs by in-box carrier pigeon around here despite the fact that we are drowning in high tech. With all of the cross-platform media gadgetry I write about, we have a house that can rival an MIT Media Lab in connectedness. Tablets control DVRs, Pandora spews through every imaginable device throughout the house, incoming phone calls pop up on my TV. And yet, Mr. and Mrs. Jetson can't figure out how to network her laptop to my laser printer. "OK," I write back (we're only about 30 feet away from each other). "No, wait. This is an 8 page exam. 60 copies? WTF?" We suck down printer toner like iced tea around here. And the lame tech jackasses who make cartridges in countless models force all of us to stare at office store shelves with the cocked head of clueless puppies when we have to figure out which model goes to my printer. I am dragging you through my distress, to make a mobile point. Staples understands my pain. In the recently relaunched version of its m.staples.com mobile Web site, I am pretty much a click away from a toner finder that knows most people won't remember their own printer model. I get it about half right when I put a model in the search box and it is smart enough to deliver the goods. This is a little thing, but important in mobile. They know what most of us need when we come to their mobile site -- probably toner. But in this iteration of m.staples.com the company emphasizes the multiple touch points of Web, mobile and in-store and keeps them in synch. Items I put in my cart from any of these entryways (including the in-store kiosks) show up everywhere. The mobile site is designed to be used in store, to check inventory and to drill deep into user reviews and product specs. Brian Tilzer, VP of E-Commerce and Business Development at Staples, says, "We have in this iteration spent considerable time and investment in customer research to understand the profile of how people are using it." They did a quantitative study as well as anthropological observational research -- just scoping out how people want to use the mobile dimension in store. While Staples has apps across the platforms also serving customers, the metrics were showing them that getting the m-dot strategy right was critical to the overall marketing strategy for the brand because this was the platform on which the customer was engaging with Staples' other materials. "A huge number of our emails are opened on mobile," Tilzer says. "A large number of searches are coming through mobile. It shocked us." It is not surprising, then, that moving through the toner-choosing experience on the Staples mobile site quickly renders a screen-filling image of the toner and an opportunity to buy it on the spot. "Our formula is, picture, add to cart," says Tilzer. "That has been a proven method of maximizing sales." But what was surprising to Tilzer was the depth of information customers wanted on their phones in store. "This is not just the basics," he found. We are way beyond store locaters and outlet phone numbers now. Mobile users are augmenting their in-store experience with the device and want to dig into user reviews and ratings and specs. Tying the mobile Web in to local store availability is not just for me in my home office -- but me in the Staples aisle not having to ask the salesperson how many of these they have in stock. And when you do consult a Staples associate, Tilzer assures me, he or she will know what to do. In more than a few in-store situations I have shown a floorwalker my smartphone with their own store's mobile app or web site and they have been flummoxed and seem to feel almost pre-empted. "We educated our associates on the device so they wouldn't be skeptical but embrace it. We make sure they are aware of it and understand when customers are using it and how to interact with them in meaningful ways." Also completing the in-store mobile experience is the presence of WiFi, so customers can actually get the signal they need to make good and fast use of the tools Staples is offering. The mobile Web site works strategically for Staples on a number of levels, Tilzer says. Because so much of the brand's existing digital materials and marketing efforts are being accessed on smartphones, a seamless path to the brand on mobile was critical. Also important to the Staples image was being seen by customers on the cutting edge of technology. "It is part of being that kind of technology provider - an authority -- [so] we are beholden to use the latest technology to help customers select us. At a strategic level for our brand, this is imperative," Tilzer says. But Tilzer also recognizes that his customers can be hijacked by other mobile services in his own store. "We used to be able to control the product message and the price message, but now there are so many other ways of accessing it," he says. What major brand retailers do not want is a race to the bottom where choices at retail all boil down to a single consideration. "If it just becomes a price game someday, that is not attractive to anyone in our business." The counterpoint is service and ease. For Staples, the best proactive defense against me shopping elsewhere is to make as clear and clean a path to purchase as possible. True to the company's "That Was Easy" messaging, there is a word that keeps popping up when Tilzer describes the ethic informing the new m.staples.com site: "We tried to make it easier to buy." Well, easier once you get to the store. For me, I am still trying to vault the heated exchanges with my Professor Wife and her ream of exam printouts. "WTF?" she shoots back. "Hey, watch your acronyms, buddy! OIWCUTAHYUTH" "???" "While you are figuring it out, print out 60 copies."