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Here’s a news item that surprised me to say the least. Interbrand recently released its list of the top 100 brands for 2009 and nearly 1/3rd of the brands in that list do not have their own mobile website.
If your reaction to this news is ‘dude, what’s the big deal?’ – let me tell you something. According to statistics, the number of people who use smart phones (read iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc) keeps increasing every year. In North America alone, nearly 26% of mobile users use the mobile web facility on their phone regularly. In other words, they use their mobile phone to browse the web. With more and more people buying internet enabled high end phones, it is only logical to assume that this percentage will grow significantly in the near future. So, you’d assume that big brands would have woken up to reality long time back and created their own mobile websites, right? Well; it turns out it is not the case.
Remember – I am not talking about small, lesser known brands here. Big, famous brands like Coca Cola and GE do not have a mobile website. To say that this is surprising is a huge understatement.
I have talked about the importance of big brands having a good mobile presence and how important it is to have a decent mobile website. I firmly believe that a well designed, easy to access mobile website is of paramount importance for any brand, leave alone huge brands like Coca Cola and GE.
Some could argue that iPhone and certain other mobile phones offer a full browser experience and so there is no need for a mobile website. Guess what? Not everyone in the U.S. uses an iPhone. There are other phones whose mobile browsers are not nearly as good as the iPhone mobile browser. What about the people who use these phones? What are they supposed to do?
Contrary to what most people think, browsing the web using a mobile phone is not easy. The screen is small, the keypad is small, and it is certainly not as easy as browsing the web on your PC or laptop. This is why you need to have a customized mobile website which loads quickly and easy to navigate. It is not hard to do. Facebook has a very good mobile site, Toyota has one, MySpace has one, Microsoft has one, and a number of other famous brands have one too. So, the only explanation is that some brands have not yet realized the potential of mobile internet and are reluctant to reach out to their users through their most personal device – the mobile phone.
I hope it does not stay this way. The future is mobile and let us hope – for the sake of all mobile users in the world – these brands realize this sooner than later.
Tags: Android, Blackberry, coca cola, Facebook, GE, interbrand, iPhone, Microsoft, mobile, mobile browser, mobile phone, mobile phones, mobile users, mobile web, mobile website, MySpace, smart phones, Toyota
Technorati Tags: Android, Blackberry, coca cola, Facebook, GE, interbrand, iPhone, Microsoft, mobile, mobile browser, mobile phone, mobile phones, mobile users, mobile web, mobile website, MySpace, smart phones, Toyota
Categories: All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.
Using 2D barcodes in mobile marketing is something that we are aware of. However, when Microsoft decides to do it, it definitely deserves a special mention. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it will introduce a new barcode technology which will bring the print medium, internet medium, and the mobile phone together successfully.
At CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2009, Microsoft released the beta version of what they call Microsoft Tag – a barcode technology which can help to store data in the form of graphical bitmaps.
Microsoft Tag differs from QR codes or any other type of 2D barcode available today because of an important reason – It is based on a brand new technology called HCCB (High Capacity Color Barcodes) which uses triangle shaped color pixels to store data instead of the usual black and white square pixels. Moreover, these tags do not store any information. Instead, they store a unique ID which is used to retrieve information from Microsoft servers. So, it is now possible to store a lot more information than what can be usually stored in conventional 2D barcodes.
Here is how it works.
Microsoft Tag contains HCCB data which is nothing but a unique ID for the information stored in a Microsoft server. When the tag is read, the HCCB data is sent to the server and the publisher’s URL is returned to the mobile phone and the user is able to open the appropriate website in his mobile browser. All this takes place in a span of few seconds.
What you need
What you need is an internet enabled smart phone with a camera, a reasonably good data plan, Microsoft Tag application, and a Microsoft Tag account. This application works on phones which run on Symbian, Blackberry, Android, J2ME-MMP, Palm, Java 2 Micro Edition, iPhone, and any Windows OS.
You can open an account on Microsoft Tag webpage in a matter of few seconds and download the application on to your mobile phone for free.
How you use it?
When you see a print ad with a Microsoft Tag, all you need to do is activate the tag application on your mobile phone and take a picture of the barcode using your mobile phone camera. Immediately, you will be able to see the publisher’s website, which contains information about the product or service mentioned in the ad, on your mobile browser.
Why is it good for businesses?
It is a very simple yet effective way to reach the end user. It makes advertising a lot easier. When people find a product or service mentioned in a print ad appealing, they usually try to get more information about it. If the business owner can give them the information they want immediately, the chances of a sale increase significantly. This is now possible with Microsoft Tag. It is reliable, easy to use, and, most importantly, free. So, a lot people, small business owners in particular, can benefit immensely from this technology. I think this technology will make a big impact in the near future and will increase the scope of mobile marketing tremendously. Let us wait and see if I am proven right or not.
PS - You can read more about 2D barcodes and their role in mobile marketing here,here, and here.
Tags: 2d barcodes, Android, barcode technology, bitmaps, consumer electronics show, internet medium, iPhone, j2me, Java, java 2 micro edition, microsoft tag, microsoft server, microsoft servers, mobile browser, mobile marketing, palm, QR codes, smart phone, tag application, windows os
Technorati Tags: 2d barcodes, Android, barcode technology, bitmaps, consumer electronics show, internet medium, iPhone, j2me, Java, java 2 micro edition, microsoft tag, microsoft server, microsoft servers, mobile browser, mobile marketing, palm, QR codes, smart phone, tag application, windows os
Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Microsoft, Mobile Web.
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