Google - story so far and the road ahead

Google is one of those things that most of us just can’t live without. At least, I know I can’t. It has become so indispensable in our lives that we find ourselves searching for something in Google every day. With everyone and their mother using Google as their default search engine, the popularity it enjoys is immense. It’s also the reason why Microsoft and Yahoo pale in comparison. So, when Google announced that it will focus on mobile phone market, a lot of people were surprised. I, for one, was surely surprised. I mean, why would a company which enjoys almost a monopoly in online search think of going into mobile phones? But apparently, Google knew what it was doing.

For long, Google has been enjoying the number one spot in online search. Yahoo and Microsoft were the contenders but ‘so close, yet so far’ was their case. But Google was wary of its competitors, especially Microsoft. Given Microsoft’s reputation to buy companies, a deal with Yahoo was almost on the cards. Steve Ballmer apparently told Yahoo board that together, they can be a great threat to the dominancy of Google and topple it easily. But the deal has not happened and Google, as of now, is still the number one. But for how long was the question. In order to sustain its position in the market, Google had to prove that it was not a ‘one product’ company. The solution came in the form of mobile web.

Why mobile web? It’s simple arithmetic. There are more than 3 billion mobile phones in the world. In just about a couple of years from now, there will be 4 billion mobile users in the world. In other words, there will be three mobile phones for every PC in this world. And to add to this, mobile camera, MMS, mobile internet, mobile video, mobile audio, and GPS – features which were considered luxury once – have become so common these days that we see these features in almost every other phone. What this means to advertisers around the world is that they have a new channel for advertising – the mobile phone.

Mobile advertising, as they say, is the next big thing and there’s billions to be made in the industry which is still in its nascent stage. We hardly go out without our mobile phones. We attend every call and read every text message we get. So, an advertisement in a mobile phone is sure to get noticed. Especially, if you can send targeted ads to people, it will have a bigger impact than traditional advertising. Add this to the fact that Google specializes in targeted advertising. The answer is simple – Google planned to enter the mobile advertising territory big time.

Out came Google Android. A platform which can probably make Google as big a name in the mobile web as it is in online search. But Google knows that this will not be a smooth ride. It will have to struggle considerably to cope with Yahoo, iPhones, Windows Live Mobiles, Blackberries, and more. But competition is something that brings the best out of everyone. Let’s just hope that this competition brings the best out of every big player out there in the market and ultimately benefits us – the end users.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Google, All things mobile phones.

2 comments.

Motorola - the road ahead

The story of Motorola is something that has always amazed me. I mean, a profit of over $340 million in one year and a loss of over $380 million the next year is something I cannot understand.

The mobile phone giant has posted monumental losses for four quarters in a row now, which has made its investors think twice about its future. A lot of investors are pushing Motorola to sell its mobile phone manufacturing unit, as they consider it a liability. The mobile phone biz alone, if sold, could fetch a sum of around $20 billion, according to sources.

Some big names, especially some companies from Asia, are interested in buying Motorola’s mobile phone unit. However, it’s not just about mobile phone companies. People who watch the market closely say that even a company like Google might consider Motorola a good option. Google, instead of asking other companies to incorporate its platform, can come up with its own range of Android based mobile phones if it decides to buy Motorola. However, I have to say it’s a far fetched idea, as Google may not have any such idea, at least in the near future. Google doesn’t like to identify itself as a mobile phone company, as its core revenue is based on advertising - which is the primary reason why it came up with Android, a mobile phone platform, instead of Google phone, unlike what most of us had predicted.

One thing’s for sure. Motorola is struggling. Whether it will reinvent itself with a stunning model like RAZR to reestablish its position in the market or sell its mobile phone biz to someone is something we’ll have to wait and watch.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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University grads come up with a text message based mobile advertising idea

Two graduates from Carnegie Mellon University are working to make text messaging (SMS) facility in your mobile phone more useful than ever. They believe that text message is the ideal and the easiest way for marketers to reach their customers effectively.

The idea is simple. The advertiser will have text codes in his ads and when a customer wants to know more details about the product/service advertised, all he needs to do is take his mobile phone and send a text message and get the information he wants right in his mobile phone. This technology will be launched this summer by the famous Smash Technologies.

This will be a great opportunity for retailers and small business owners to advertise their products/service more effectively. Also, it’s the customer who makes the first move in this campaign by responding to the ad with a text message. So, he can always choose to only respond to those ads which he finds useful. As a result, what you have is – no privacy concerns for the consumer and an effective advertising method for the advertiser.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

2 comments.

CBS joins hands with Loopt to bring location based mobile advertising

A few weeks back, CBS announced that it will experiment with location based mobile advertising and based on the results, will think about taking the advertising campaign to the next level.

It was announced that CBS Mobile unit will team up with Loopt, a famous social networking service, in this advertising campaign. The team has got two tailor-made mobile websites to run this advertising campaign – CBS Mobile News and CBS Mobile Sports.

As of now, these ads will appear on your mobile screen only if your phone has GPS capabilities and if you are a customer of Sprint Nextel or Boost Mobile, who have signed deals with Loopt. However, CBS is confident of getting more carriers sign a deal with them to reach out to a larger customer base.

Loopt’s GPS based technology will help advertisers send targeted ads based on the mobile users’ location. Now, to stay clear of controversies and privacy issues regarding location based advertising, CBS and Loopt have announced that this advertising service will be made available strictly on an opt-in/opt-out basis. Meaning, if you are interested in getting the ads, you can opt in and you can opt out of the same at any time. Also, they have announced that the mobile ads will be delivered anonymously and they will not store your location history.

Something that Cyriac Roeding of CBS said made a lot of sense to me. When asked further about the importance of adding value in mobile advertising, he said that this is a game in which the customer should win at the end of the day, for if he doesn’t, there is no game to be played. Spot on, I should say!

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Social Networking.

2 comments.

Pay per call - The next step in mobile advertising?

With mobile advertising gaining momentum by the day, marketers and advertisers are thinking hard to come up with mobile advertising campaigns that will catch the attention of mobile users. One such idea is pay per call.

Pay per call is the concept of sending adverts to mobile users with a little twist. The ads will have a phone number which the user can call to get more information on the product or service advertised. This form of advertising is sure to get you a lead, as a person will call you only when he is interested in your product/service. So, if you can impress him with your sales talk, you are sure to get a sale.

However, pay per call costs more than traditional pay per click advertising in the internet. But it has better conversion rates and it’s been proven that people are willing to call the number immediately if they like what they see in the ads they get. This is especially good for retailers and small business owners who want to reach out to people in the local area more effectively. If you are a retailer and you’ve introduced a new product/service, the best way to inform people is to send mobile ads with your number on which they can get back to you. Since you target the local customers, they will definitely give it a try if it’s useful to them. So, this form of advertising is more effective, more targeted, and more likely to get better results.

So far, pay per call hasn’t clicked big time with local mobile marketers but experts predict that it could become a big deal in the coming days.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

3 comments.

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