Voice Keywords from Go800 - A Mobile-Centric Approach to Direct Response Marketing

Go800, a subsidiary of mobile media services and solutions provider GoIP, has launched an innovative, patent-pending mobile direct response service called Voice Keywords. This service intends to bring vendors and their target customers closer and make the process of direct response marketing simpler.

Voice Keywords is basically a text-to-action version of direct response marketing. Vendors can use certain keywords related to their business in their ads and customers can respond to those ads by texting the keyword to Go800. When they do, a representative from the vendors’ response team immediately gets in touch with them and offers more information about the product.

For example, a mortgage lender can lease the keyword ‘mortgage’ and use it in his marketing campaign. Customers, on seeing the ad, can simply text the word ‘mortgage’ to 46800 (Go800). Immediately, Go800 will call the customers on their mobile phone and connect them to a representative of the mortgage lender. All this happens within a few seconds.

Vendors can lease keywords that they want to use in their marketing campaigns. Go800 says that a lot of keywords, both generic and brand-specific, have been already taken by a number of advertising agencies and businesses.

I think it is a good idea which could become popular with vendors if pitched the right way. There are two reasons why I think this idea will click.

1. It makes it easier for a potential customer to respond to an advert. As a vendor, you cannot expect someone to see your ad, call the toll free number, wait patiently to get in touch with your representative, and get the information. It takes time, which could make some people lose their interest halfway. With Voice Keywords, all a customer needs to do is text a keyword to get a call from a representative instantly.

2. A lot of people do not have smartphones or high end phones with mobile web facility. They will not be able to visit your website immediately and get the information they want. Text messaging, on the other hand, is a facility that is available in almost all types of mobile phones. So, a potential customer can easily text a keyword and get the information he wants in a matter of few seconds.

Go800 plans to make it a global service and is currently building case studies to show potential vendors how they can benefit from such a service.

The idea of a company calling back a customer is certainly new for a lot of people in the industry. So, it might be difficult to convince them to come out of the ‘customer-calling-toll-free-number’ mindset and give this new idea a try. I, however, strongly feel that new ideas like this will become popular in the near future as businesses start looking for ways to become more and more customer friendly.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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AdMob Serves 200 Billion Mobile Ads

Mobile advertising firm AdMob has served up its 200 billionth mobile ad. That’s billion with a capital B. As I write this blog, the number stands at 202,769,798,813 – that’s how many ads the firm has served up so far. The mind boggles, huh?

AdMob offers a wide range of services including mobile advertising and monetization solutions for advertisers, agencies, mobile web publishers, and mobile app developers. With thousands of mobile sites, it is, as of now, the largest advertising network in the world. Their client list, which by the way seems to be growing by the day, includes some of the most well known brands including Coca Cola, Ford, Proctor & Gamble, Land Rover, MTV Europe, and Adidas.

AdMob’s mobile advertising solutions help advertisers target and reach their customers easily. Its monetization solutions help publishers monetize their mobile web traffic effectively. Their highly personalized ad campaigns generate very good click through rates, which is one of the main reasons why they have some of the biggest brands on their client list.

What is astonishing about AdMob reaching this landmark is that it served up its 100 billionth ad only nine months back – in August 2009. In other words, from the period of August 2009 to April 2010, the firm has managed to serve up, on average, 11 billion ads a month. Is it any wonder Google is willing to do whatever it takes, even go to the extent of fighting the government, to acquire AdMob?

To know more about AdMob, you can check out some of my posts here, here, here, and here.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Smaato Mobile Advertising Awards 2009 – The Search for the Best Mobile Websites, Mobile Games, and Mobile Applications Continues

Smaato, a pioneer in the field of mobile advertising, has announced the Smaato Mobile Advertising Award 2009. The event was a great success last year and garnered a lot of attention. The event had more than 100 entrants and the feedback was mostly positive. Considering the fact that the event was first-of-its-kind, the reception was quite good. So, the company has decided to make the event bigger and better this year.

The competition has been divided into three different categories – iPhone, Mobile Applications (including games), and Mobile Web. The participation is free and it does not cost you a dime. If you think your mobile website, application, or game is really cool, you can participate in this event. The deadline for submissions ends on the 9th of October, 2009. You can find more details here.

A winner will be chosen from each category and all three winners will be invited to be a part of Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona. Also, just like last year, Smaato will introduce the winners to the VCs who attend the event. Additional prizes include free tickets for Mobile World Congress, exhibition stands at M Days 2010 in Munich, and more. If you remember, Dial Plus was the winner at last year’s event and it has gone on to become very popular in a relatively short period of time.

Smaato has formed an impressive jury which includes some well known names from Mobile Marketer, Mobile Entertainment, VentureBeat, Mobile Monday, Infinita, Norwest Venture Partners, MSearchGroove, MobiAdNews, and more.

Like I have repeatedly said, events like this are very good for mobile advertising industry as they promote healthy competition and innovation. Most importantly, for up and coming mobile startups, events like these could be a great launch pad. So, in my opinion, these types of events are a sign of the growth of mobile advertising as an industry.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Mobile Events.

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Customer-centric Mobile Advertising in 2020?

A recent report from OgilvyOne and Acision predicts an interesting scenario for mobile advertising in 2020.

The report says that in about a decade from now, in 2020, mobile phone advertising will be a lot more people-centric. Mobile advertisers, instead of spamming the inbox of the end user with random ads, will start delivering personalized ads which will be customized according to the end user’s preferences and tastes. In other words, the end user will determine what comes into his mobile phone. Since the content will be personalized and useful, a lot of people will be glad to opt into mobile advertising campaigns.

The report also says that the proliferation of 3G and 4G networks will fuel mobile advertising’s growth significantly. It will make services like mobile web, mobile social networking, and mobile TV, which are currently used only by a small percentage of mobile users, a lot more accessible for a large number of mobile users.

The report also goes on to add that the market will not be controlled by a handful of mobile operators in 2020. It is likely to become segmented and a lot of operators might consider offering ad-funded services. This could very well lead to a cohesive, symbiotic environment where both mobile operators and service providers complement each other and offer a lot of value for the end user.

Basically, the report pretty much sums up what I have been trying to say for a while now. If you need a little primer, you can check out this post. The future of mobile advertising, despite the objection of privacy champions, looks bright. In fact, it looks so bright that you can’t even look at it directly unless you are wearing shades.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Virgin Mobile Promotes its Mobile Web Services Aggressively

I just saw the latest Virgin Mobile ad on YouTube. They have come up with this ad to promote their mobile web services. I have to tell you; the ad looks quite good. Rumor has it that the company has spent millions on its ‘powerful stuff’ promotional campaign which includes this internet ad as well. The promotional campaign includes ads for every popular medium including TV, online, and the print medium.

The ad is named Fantastic Journey. It is aesthetically shot and is very colorful. The important thing to be noted in this ad is that it does not boast of any celebrity. It is simple, yet appealing. When I watched it for the first time, I couldn’t help but think of Virgin Mobile’s last advertising campaign which involved celebrities like Pamela Anderson, Kate Moss, and Buster Rhymes. This time around, the company has decided to stay away from the glitz and glamour of celebrities and focus on delivering the right message to the viewers.

The underlying message of this ad is that mobile internet can brighten up your life and help you forget the monotonies of your everyday life. Virgin Media authorities have stated that they wanted to reach their core audience on an emotional level and give them a glimpse of the colorful world of mobile web. A world which can bring free video clips, music, movie trailers, games, and social media right to their mobile phone screen. This is the reason why they stayed away from celebrities as they wanted people to get the message without getting distracted by the presence of celebrities.

It is really interesting to see that a major telecom company like Virgin Mobile is spending millions of pounds to promote their mobile web services. It just goes to show that mobile internet might as well be the next big thing. Considering the rate at which it is growing, it could happen sooner than later.

Categories: All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

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