Free mobile calls could be the future - II

Remember I talked about the possibility of free mobile calls some time back? Well; here’s one more company which is excited about that possibility.

Aura Interactive, a Bluetooth marketing company, is the one I’m talking about. The company is known for its Bluezones, which send targeted Bluetooth based ads to mobile users. Recently, the company’s CEO said that they are planning to expand the company and come up with new prospects and innovative marketing strategies. He also hinted at the possibility of offering free mobile calls to users as one of the ideas. However, he quickly added that they haven’t decided anything on that yet and it might take some time before they start working on that idea.

I’ve been watching the mobile advertising industry for the past year or two and I’ve heard people talk about the possibility of free mobile calls, free text messages, free mobile web usage, and a lot more. Especially with companies like Blyk becoming popular, this idea is being considered by quite a few companies.

What do you feel about this? Are you okay with the concept of ad supported mobile calls? Or would you rather pay your bill and have an ad-free mobile phone?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Different types of mobile advertising

The fact that text message advertising is the most popular form of mobile advertising is something that everyone knows. However, mobile advertisers are trying their hands on different types of mobile advertising to reach their target customers more effectively. Three such types of mobile advertising are rapidly becoming famous with both mobile marketers and people. They are Bluetooth advertising, video ads, and barcodes or QR codes.

Bluetooth advertising is something I’ve talked about a lot of times in this blog. With more than 60% of mobile phones in North America sporting Bluetooth facility, advertising via Bluetooth is a no-brainer. You can download coupons, audio files, video files, and other things via Bluetooth and this has become very popular with mobile users of late. Not surprisingly, the response rate for such ads has been very impressive.

Video ads are something that is a part of mobile videos these days. Most carriers offer free mobile content in the form of videos funded by adverts. Instead of placing these ads before or after the video, advertisers these days try to intersperse these ads with the content in such a way that people don’t find it odd. Product placement is gaining popularity among mobile marketers these days and they are trying to add adverts to mobile videos in a manner the user won’t find annoying.

QR codes or Quick Response codes are becoming rapidly popular. All you need to do is, scan the code with your mobile camera. Immediately, you’ll get a text message with more details on the ad. It’s that simple. In Japan, like I already said, this technology is a rage and it’s now popular in Europe and parts of the U.S.A.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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MobiBlitz - Bluetooth based mobile advertising in South Africa

MobiBlitz, a well-known media firm in South Africa, recently announced that it will install a number of Bluetooth hotspots in shopping malls across the country. These hotspots will be installed in over 70 shopping malls across the country and the number could go up soon.

These Bluetooth hotspots are a great way for mobile advertisers to reach their customers. Mobile advertising through Bluetooth technology is something that has been discussed a lot in the past. The hotspot, called MobiZone, is like a marketing server which can extend up to 100 meters. A number of such hotspots together will create a network of Bluetooth advertising spots across the country, making it easier for mobile marketers to send targeted ads to mobile users.

To make things easier for people, MobiBlitz has assured that this will be strictly done on an opt-in basis, meaning customers can opt in and opt out any time they want. Also, they’ve assured a zero-virus policy, as Bluetooth activated phones are prone to virus attacks. Apart from mobile ads, customers will be offered movie trailers, weather reports, travel information, news updates, sports updates, and more to make things interesting.

MobiBlitz has already created a buzz and big names like MTV, KFC, and Wrigley will be joining the network soon.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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The impact of mobile advertising in shopping

We’ve been discussing the moves made by biggies like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft in mobile advertising and marketing for quite some time now. But the point I want to make is, mobile advertising and marketing can have an equally big impact, if not bigger, on small retailers just as it does on biggies. Surprised? Read on.

National Retail Federation usually has an annual conference in which retailers all over the country congregate and discuss various issues. In its last conference, the most important issue discussed was the role of mobile phone in retailing. Small shop owners and retailers agreed on the fact that they need to catch up with the technology of mobile phone and adapt themselves to mobile marketing.

The reasons, as always, are not hard to find. Let’s take a look at the impact of mobile phone in day-to-day shopping.

In Japan, you can use your mobile phone to scan the barcode of a product to check its freshness.

In South Korea, you can order a meal over mobile phone in McDonalds and you will be sent a mobile alert when the meal is ready.

A lot of companies use Bluetooth technology to send ads to customers’ mobile phones while they are in shopping malls or retail stores. You go to Starbucks and wait for your friend. You get an ad in your mobile phone which has a discount coupon for your favorite latte. Nine out of ten times, such an ad will result in a sale for the company.

With this being the case, retailers and small business owners are gearing up to enter their customers’ mobile space. Mind you, this is just the beginning, as mobile advertising is only going to get bigger. When it does, it will bring about a sweeping change in the way we shop.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Latino Movil offers a new text message based service

Latino Movil, a U.S. based mobile content provider, has partnered with Comunicad, a marketing company, and launched a service with the slogan “Your Country, Your News.” The basic idea is to provide people from Latin American countries who live in the U.S. with information and updates from their countries. What it does is, it gives you news updates, sports, politics, and entertainment news from your country via a text message. You can subscribe to it by pressing the pound sign, typing the word Latin, and then pressing Send. You will be directed to an automated voicemail system which will let you choose your language and the country from which you’d like to get news updates and other information from. This service will cost you $5.99 per month and you will get up to three text messages per day.

Latino Movil also has another service called Mobile Machine, which enables you to download video, audio, and photo content from a country of your choice to your mobile phone using Bluetooth technology. This, of course, comes at a fee. Latino Movil is right now available with carrier networks like AT&T/Cingular, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, Alltel, and Dobson.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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