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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Popeye Chicken’s Mobile Coupon Campaign a Major Success

Check this out folks; this is easily one of the most amazing news I’ve heard from the mobile marketing industry lately.

Popeye’s Chicken recently ran a mobile coupon campaign in Wichita, Kansas to promote its three-piece chicken dinner. The campaign, which was developed by Ping Mobile, was a super success with a response rate of nearly 54%.

The campaign was simple. It asked customers to text the keyword ‘POPEYES’ to 74642. On doing so, the customers got a message from Popeye’s Chicken. The message had a mobile coupon which the customer can use to get a free two piece chicken dinner on buying a three piece chicken dinner and a medium drink. The customers were also given a choice to join the Popeye’s Chicken VIP Club to get more such offers right in their mobile phones.

Over 750 people responded to the campaign and more than 50% of them have opted in to join the VIP club to receive more such offers in the future. The customers, at the time of opting in, are reminded that they have the option to opt out of the campaign any time they want simply by texting ‘STOP’. This reassures the users that they can opt in and opt out of the campaign any time they want without any hassles.

This is something that I have always said about mobile coupons. Such campaigns are highly targeted, affordable, and, most importantly, very effective. The response rates for these types of campaigns are usually way higher than what you get with traditional marketing campaigns. Mobile advertising, like I’ve always said, is where the future lies for everyone – from big businesses to small ‘mom and pop’ local retailers.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Mobile Advertising Startups Attract VCs Despite Rough Economy

We already saw how bad economy has managed to make a lot of companies interested in mobile advertising. It does not stop there. It keeps getting better and better. According to the latest reports, a lot of VCs (venture capitalists) are interested to invest in mobile advertising start ups as they show a lot of promise despite the rough economy.

Two examples come to my mind right now.

1. Blyk, one of the most popular companies in the market right now, recently managed to raise more than $50 million in private investments in its third round of funding. Considering the growth it has had so far, I would have to say that the investors have made the right choice.

2. AdMob, yet another famous U.S. based company, managed to raise around $16 million a few months back. Again, considering the numbers we have seen so far, this does not sound surprising at all.

If you notice carefully, you can see that there has been a paradigm shift in the advertising industry lately. The money spent on traditional advertising methods like TV ads, radio ads, and print ads has come down significantly. At the same time, mobile advertising is slowly becoming a lot more affordable than it used to be in the past. And thanks to the state our economy is in right now, businesses cannot afford to spend money on ads that don’t deliver results.

The biggest advantage with mobile phone advertising is that it delivers terrific results. The average CTR (click through rate) of a mobile advertising campaign is in the range of 1.5% to 2%. In some cases, it has been unbelievably high thanks to specific, targeted advertising campaigns. For example, the average response rate of Blyk’s mobile ad campaigns is a whopping 29%. So, even if you spend a little more money than what you usually spend, you are bound to get very good results. This is what makes mobile advertising so good.

Research firm eMarketer says that mobile advertising market will grow significantly in the next few years. It says that the proliferation of high end phones has made things easier for mobile advertisers as these smartphones open a lot of possibilities for ads.

In summary – I just have to say what I always say. Mobile advertising is here to stay. Don’t you guys think so too?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Ad funded mobile operator Blyk has 200,000 subscribers now

It’s time for a little celebration in good old Blighty. Blyk, the London based ad funded mobile operator, has reached yet another milestone quietly. The company has increased the number of its subscribers to a whopping 200,000.

To understand the significance of this feat, we need to put things in perspective. Blyk is the first ad funded mobile operator in the world. When it started off, it had just one goal. It was to get 100,000 subscribers within the first year. However, since the company was funded completely by advertisements, no one really thought it was possible. The idea of people getting talk time in return for getting ads on their mobile phone didn’t sound majorly appealing at that point of time. However, the response was so good that it reached its goal in just six months.

Now, just a few months after reaching its goal of 100,000 subscribers, the company has crossed yet another milestone – 200,000 loyal customers – All of them willing to get ads on their mobile phone to get free talk time and free text messages.

The important thing to be noted here is that the response rate for these mobile ads has been nothing short of terrific. 25% of the customers who get ads on their mobile phone respond to them. In other words, it costs only around $0.85 per response, making it highly profitable for the advertisers.

200,000, when compared to the millions of subscribers in the UK, might seem like a small number. But you have to consider an important point here. This is the beginning of a trend. Mobile advertising is still in its infant stage and a lot of mobile users around the world are yet to realize its benefits. So, in a relatively new market, Blyk has been able to get 200,000 loyal subscribers within such a short span of time. And it has managed to achieve the highest response rates at the lowest costs possible. In other words, it has got a highly targeted customer base which is a dream for any advertiser. With the number of mobile users increasing by the day and people becoming aware of mobile advertising, you can only expect these numbers to up. To put it simply – watch out for Blyk.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, Blyk.

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Mobile advertising - South Africa remains on top

South Africa is one country which is light years ahead of other countries when it comes to mobile advertising. It is considered the hottest market right now and the numbers speak for themselves. The average response rate for mobile advertising campaigns in South Africa is anywhere from 10% to 25%, which is nothing short of amazing.

The latest success story, MXit, proves it once again. MXit is a mobile social networking site which is as popular as Facebook in South Africa. With a subscriber base of over 7 million, the company is a dream for mobile advertisers. A huge number of mobile advertisers are interested in working with MXit as the response rates are really high.

This is not just a one-off story. Mobile phone is considered the hottest advertising medium in South Africa today and it is predicted that mobile advertising will be worth way over R1.5 billion in the next three years.

In case you’re wondering how it’s possible, let me explain.

1. Mobile advertising is cost effective. It’s way cheaper than traditional advertising methods like TV, magazines, or radio. And it delivers tremendous results.

2. You can create a mobile advertising campaign and launch it within a week’s time. And you can see the results in a day or two. This is simply unimaginable in the case of traditional advertising.

3. Most importantly, South African mobile users are prolific when it comes to mobile web. A majority of mobile users use mobile internet very regularly and this helps mobile advertisers create interactive mobile advertising campaigns to reach out to them.

Already, South African students have mobile advertising as part of their syllabus, in case you don’t know. It can only mean one thing and that is the next generation will be even more receptive to mobile advertising. Interesting, don’t you think?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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