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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Mobilizing sites could be the key in future

Mobile surfing, surfing the web on mobile phones, has been on the rise lately. It has been assessed that around 14% of mobile users surf the web regularly and this number will increase sharply over the next few years. Now, mobile internet is not an alien term to most of you guys and you’ve been hearing this quite often, right? But the issue I’m going to bring up is something different. It’s about the traffic generated by mobile surfing.

A recent report from Nielson says that a lot of companies have seen an increase in their website’s traffic on an average of 13% due to mobile surfing. This is an incredible number, to say the least.

The report also says that some websites had a pretty sharp increase in traffic as a lot of mobile users tend to surf those sites on the go very regularly. Can you guess what kind of websites they’re talking about? It’s a no-brainer. Weather sites and entertainment sites are the most accessed ones via mobile internet and the traffic to these sites increased by 22% due to mobile surfing.

In case of other websites, the increase in traffic has not been drastic, but noticeable nevertheless. However, the report says that this will change soon as more and more people are now accessing the net through their mobile phone.

In my opinion, this brings up the topic of mobile websites again. The question of whether or not a company should have a mobile website has been asked many a time, but there has not been any satisfactory answer. However, I’ve always claimed that mobile websites can change the way you connect with your customers and can actually help you interact with your core user base better. Now, this report reflects my thought too.

Just imagine, if you found out that more than 30% of your site’s traffic came from mobile phones, wouldn’t you be hard-pressed to mobilize your site to make it easier for them to access it through their mobile phones? Also, viewing a standard website on a mobile phone, as I’ve said many times before, can be a clumsy experience sometimes. A mobile site with a mobile-friendly interface which loads very quickly will make it easier for mobile users to access it via their mobile phone. This, in return, can result in an increase in your site’s overall traffic.

While this idea might be applicable for all websites, it’s absolutely necessary for some websites which are regularly surfed by mobile users. Entertainment, travel, weather, movies, maps, news, and banking sites are the most popular websites among mobile users and mobilizing these sites is a great idea.

The content of this report is not surprising for me at all, for there have already been instances where I could sense the immense potential of mobile sites. In case you’re new to this site, I urge you to read this, this, and this. In my opinion, this is a glimpse at the future. The question is, are you ready?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

1 comment.

Now, a mobile website for fishing enthusiasts

Anglers among you couldn’t be happier. Finally, you’ve got a mobile website which has every detail under the sun about fishing. Sounds great, right? Let me get down to the main news.

First Light Net, an internet advertising company for fishing related activities, has come up with a mobile site called fishingguides.mobi, which has an extensive list of over 900 fishing guides and fishing services in the country and all over the world. And the best part is, the list gets updated every day.

This is great news for fishing enthusiasts. You go on a vacation, you are on the road, and you want to get to the local fishing scene. All you need to do is take out your mobile, go to fishingguides.mobi, and check out the details of the local fishing scene in that area. It’s as simple as 1-2-3. Now, compare this with the days gone by when you had to go to the boat dock and look for a fishing guide to help you out. Gosh; it was such a lengthy process, wasn’t it?

Now, this is what I call technology helping out people in their day-to-day life. Way to go guys.

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

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Presidential Election coverage right in your mobile phone

This year’s presidential election is going to be special. No, not because of any political reasons – don’t you dare bring in a political angle to this blog. It’s special because you can follow the election right on your mobile phone.

Go2 Media is one of the most famous mobile media companies in the U.S. which has been delivering high quality mobile content for a long time now. In fact, the mobile website of go2 Media is one of the most popular mobile websites in the country. Now, it has gone one step further in providing what its consumers want. A mobile website dedicated to this year’s presidential election.

The site has everything you need to know about this year’s election. You can check out a variety of information including the candidates’ profiles, the political situation in each state, latest news from various news sites, and by-the-minute updates on various election campaigns, and results. Seriously; what more can you ask for, that too from a mobile website? And oh; did I mention it is a free site?

So, there you go people. All that you need is a web-enabled mobile phone – you can witness history in the making.

PS: If you’re one of those people who think politics sucks and don’t care two hoots about Obama, Hillary, Romney, or Ron Paul for that matter, sorry. This post was not meant for you.

PPS: If you’re wondering who Obama, Hillary, Romney, and Ron Paul are, you need to get out of the rock you’re living under.

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

3 comments.

Mobile websites will soon become the order of the day

With a lot of people dissing mobile advertising and a few coming up with numbers to prove that a certain percentage of people don’t like mobile advertising and all that jazz, I thought I would come up with some numbers too. So, here goes.

JupiterResearch says in its new report that among the companies in the U.S. which have annual revenue of $50 million or more, 40% have mobile websites. What more, another 22% of them will develop mobile websites within a year.

The reason for this huge growth in mobile websites? Simple. Mobile phones these days have improved functionality and mobile websites have become easier to access and extremely handy to customers. Once people see a big company coming up with a mobile website and providing excellent value for its customers, they expect other companies to follow suit. In this competitive market, you just cannot afford to let your competition get an edge over you. So, companies are increasingly aware of the potential of a mobile website and this is reflected in the fact that the number of mobile websites is growing steadily not just in the U.S., but all over the world.

The point I want to make is, if you don’t like mobile advertising, fair enough. That’s your personal choice. But before you come up with some numbers and run your mouth about mobile advertising saying some mumbo-jumbo, make sure you read this post.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Rant, All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

2 comments.

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