German Company To Try QR Code Based Mobile Advertising

Sennheiser, a Germany based audio technology company, says that its print ad on the latest issue of InTune Magazine will contain an interactive QR code linked to an application. The application contains music related content that could be useful for teachers who teach music and students who learn music.

InTune Magazine has joined hands with Didmo, a mobile business solutions provider based in Sweden, to use its custom QR codes in print ads. When a mobile user scans the QR code using his mobile phone, he will be directed to Magmito applications that contain lots of content related to teaching and learning music. It could be text, images, or audio and video tutorials.

The best part about these applications is that the content they have is not just limited for high end phones or smartphones like the iPhone. The basic content can be accessed by anyone with a mobile phone. Multimedia content like audio and video clips and certain additional features and experiences are, however, meant only for people who have high end mobile phones.

Using QR codes in mobile advertising is not exactly a new idea. It has been tried and tested by a lot of companies before. These codes, like I have already mentioned several times on this blog, bridge the gap between print content and mobile content. With interactive QR codes, you can mobilize a print ad. People, instead of visiting your website or calling your company to know more details, could just scan the code, download the application, and get more information in a matter of just a few seconds. This, needless to say, is a huge advantage for any business as it increases the response rate significantly.

The technology of QR code based mobile advertising is still in its infant stage. However, as more and more companies start to realize just how advantageous it can be for their business, we will certainly see a sharp increase in the number of QR code embedded print ads on magazines and newspapers.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Working Mothers - The Target Customer Base for Mobile Advertisers

Here’s a quick question for you – whom do you think is the most important target customer segment for mobile advertising? I bet most of you would not hesitate to say that teens and young adults are the target customer base for mobile advertisers. Well; guess what? You are in for a surprise. Let me tell you why.

Working moms, according to a recent report, are more likely to spend money on mobile content than most other people. The latest report from Scarborough says that married women who have at least one child and a steady job are more likely to download mobile content and respond to mobile advertising campaigns than most other people.

The report says that the mobile bill of a working mother is nearly 20% more than the mobile bill of the average mobile user in the country. This is a significant difference and it just goes to show that married women with jobs do not mind spending a lot on their wireless bills. The report also says that a working mother is 40% more likely to download multimedia content to her mobile phone than the average mobile user. These are important data and they make us look at the mobile user demographic in a slightly different manner.

It is not hard to understand why working moms spend more money than most people on their mobile phones. A married woman who has a full time job and a kid is likely to make important decisions for her family. She gets to choose a lot of things for her husband, kids, and herself. So, when she comes across an offer which is good and could save her some money, she is likely to make a decision immediately. So, when mobile marketers send her targeted ads, she is likely to respond. This is why the working mother demographic is considered important by many.

If you remember, I already talked about people in the 30-50 age bracket who are likely to spend money on mobile related stuff here. Now, with this report, it becomes very clear. People with a considerable amount of disposable income are certainly an important target for mobile advertisers. They have money, they are used to taking quick decisions, and they do not think twice before responding to what they consider good offers. So, it is a good idea for mobile advertisers to widen their approach and target different customer segments to get better results.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Germany based mobile web portal offers free text message service

If you are one of those people who are still wondering if the whole concept of ‘offering free mobile content supported by ads’ is good or bad, here is some news for you. A German company has recently come up with an idea that is so good that even the harshest critic of mobile advertising will find it hard to argue against.

Mjoy.com, a Germany based mobile web portal, offers free SMS (text message) service for its registered users all around the world. The service is simple – as a registered user, you will be able to send text messages to any phone, any network, anywhere in the world – for free. How does it sound?

This is usually the point at which the question ‘how can they afford to do so?’ comes up. The answer to that question is something you are already familiar with, if you have been following this blog. It is mobile advertising.

This free service is supported by advertising banners in the portal. Mjoy has officially stated that these mobile ads will not be a hindrance for users as they will be placed in such a manner that they do not disturb the user experience by any means. On top of that, the company has also promised that the users will not be sent any sort of commercial text messages at any time in the future.

Even at the risk of making this blog post sound like a sponsored piece, I have to tell you something about the cool features of this service.

1. There are no character limits for the text messages that you send.

2. The text messages you send and receive will be stored in chat mode in your Mjoy inbox.

3. As a registered user, you can sync your mobile phone contacts with the Mjoy network if you want to.

4. You can also access a variety of mobile content like videos, widgets, pictures, sounds, and much more in Mjoy portal.

Already, we have seen a success story in Blyk, which has now become synonymous with ad supported mobile content. Is Mjoy another success story in the making? Only time will tell. What do you think?

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

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Mobixell gets $6 million funding

Mobile advertising solutions provider Mobixell Networks has got a cool $6 million fund from Apex Partners, Intel Capital, and SMAC Partners. This fund was raised in the fourth round and Mobixell has raised $29 million to date.

Mobixell is based in California and Israel. The company specializes in delivering mobile advertising solutions and mobile multimedia solutions.

It has a pretty good mobile advertising solution package which includes different modules like messaging, video, WAP, ringback tones, and many more. Its mobile advertising solution can process and optimize a variety of mobile content including images, audio files, video files, and MMS.

Its mobile multimedia solutions include special content production suites for mobile content production, mobile webcast gateway, and other multimedia handling solutions.

Mobixell has also got a pretty impressive client list which includes some famous names like Orange, Vodafone, and O2 among others.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Yahoo to send text message ads to mobile users

As the next step in its quest for domination in the mobile advertising industry, Yahoo might soon start sending text message ads to mobile users. It is all set to announce a partnership with a startup in Silicon Valley (where else?) called 4INFO. Yahoo believes that 4INFO’s technology will be very helpful in its text message advertising campaigns.

Yahoo is planning to send mobile content including news, sports updates, horoscopes, weather forecasts, and other things via text messages. The total number of characters allowed in a text message is 160. Out of this, 40 characters will be dedicated to advertisements.

The point, however, is, they seem to have an interesting deal. Yahoo will send mobile content backed up with mobile ads and 4INFO will try to send ads through its own mobile advertising network. The revenue will be split 60-40 between them and whoever managed to make a sale will walk away with 60% of the share. How about that?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Yahoo.

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