Mobicom and Qkey Holdings to launch a unique interactive advertising platform

Mobicom Corp. has joined hands with Qkey Holdings, a digital marketing platform developer. Qkey Holdings has a unique platform which has generated a lot of buzz in the market. In fact, this particular platform is probably the reason why Mobicom signed a joint venture agreement with Qkey Holdings.

So, what’s so special about this platform? It changes an outdoor advertisement like billboard into a mobile based one. Qkey platform has an interactive advertising technology which enables the user to access the outdoor billboard ad through his mobile phone and get the information he wants downloaded in his mobile phone or in his email.

This process takes the revolutionary step of connecting two different forms of advertising – outdoor advertising and mobile phone advertising. Mobicom Corp. is pretty upbeat about this joint venture and thinks this will get a good response from people.

Mobicom is planning to launch this platform first in Asia and has plans to launch it in other markets depending on the response they get from the Asian market. South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, and Malaysia are the countries they’ve decided to launch this platform in.

The reason behind Mobicom’s decision to launch the platform first in Asia is very simple. In China, 17% of the total amount spent on advertising goes to outdoor advertising like billboards whereas in the U.S., only around 4% goes to outdoor advertising. So, the response for the platform will be obviously better in the Asian markets.

I think the platform will be a success in the Asian market. The real test though would be in the American and European markets where this kind of advertising is not as popular as it is in Asia.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Friendster releases mobile site in Philippines

Friendster, the famous social networking site, has released its mobile site in the Philippines. If you are a Filipino, you’ll now be able to access Friendster right in your mobile phone.

The Philippines has long been Friendster’s territory. Such is the overwhelming popularity of the site that over 94% of internet users in Philippines have a Friendster account. So, after becoming the market leader in the country, it’s only a natural progression for Friendster to get into the mobile phone. Especially, with mobile social networking being the buzz word now, Friendster has decided to join the party to grab its market share.

If you are a member of Friendster, you’ll be able to access the site in your internet enabled mobile phone. However, if you are not a user, you cannot open an account in Friendster through your mobile phone. But Friendster authorities have said that they are working on it and soon people will be able to open an account via their mobile phone.

I think Friendster has made the right move at the right time. At a time when mobile social networking is on the rise, this move can be very fruitful for Friendster. Especially, its undisputed dominance in the Asian market will help it grab its market share in the mobile market also.

Categories: All things mobile phones, Mobile Social Networking.

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The road ahead for mobile videos

There is a lot of talk about mobile video and how it could be the next big thing and so on. But there are two primary issues that stand in the way of mobile videos.

1. While watching videos might be a cool experience on Apple iPhone or a Nokia N95, it may not be so in a low-end mobile phone with a tiny little screen. Unfortunately, the number of high-end phones in the market is very low when compared to the number of low-end phones.

2. Most of the data plans available with carriers today are quite costly and a normal mobile user might think twice before going for a video plan, as it might add a substantial amount to his otherwise normal mobile bill.

Interestingly, mobile video has been popular in Asia and Europe. The reasons are not hard to find. High-end mobile phone penetration in the Asian market is high and data plans are not as costly as they are in the US. Also, carriers in Europe and Asia have been proactive in implementing a lot of ideas to encourage mobile advertising as it might boost their revenues. In fact, carriers in Europe have even gone to the extent of offering mobile phone porn, or simply mobile porn, to customers which has resulted in large number of customers opting for mobile video plans which offer porn content.

While I certainly don’t expect porn from carriers in the US, I do hope they do something to make mobile videos affordable for subscribers. Already, a large number of high-end mobile users don’t rely on their carriers for mobile videos, as they can access it easily on websites like YouTube, MySpace, and Mywaves, all of which are easily accessible from a high-end phone. So, carriers need to come up with affordable mobile video subscription plans to tap this market that can boost their revenue considerably.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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