Steve Madden’s Plan to Enter the Mobile World

Optimistic predictions about mobile advertising are not new at all. You can find a whole bunch of experts claiming that the mobile phone will become the most sought-after advertising platform in the future. However, when something that validates these claims happens, it surely is exciting.

Steve Madden, a San Francisco based retail shoe brand, has been bitten by the mobile bug and is considering shifting its focus on mobile phone advertising. Jared Horowitz, who is in charge of the business development section of Steve Madden, has stated that it has become an integral part of their digital business.

As of now, only 0.5% of Steve Madden’s revenue is generated by mobile users. The company, however, is hopeful that the revenue will increase significantly in the coming years if they develop a mobile optimized site and drive traffic to it by running innovative mobile advertising campaigns. So, to prepare themselves for the mobile juggernaut, they have come up with a long list of plans. They include

• Developing a mobile optimized WAP site which is easy to navigate.

• Adding lots of interactive features to the site like click-to-call functionality (to help people get in touch with sales persons directly) and mobile social networking functionality (to help people share their favorite stuff with their friends via email, Twitter, or Facebook).

• Adding a Store Locator feature to help people find the nearest Steve Madden store.

• Developing an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch to make it easier for iPhone users to reach the site.

• Setting up multiple revenue streams with mobile web display ads, mobile search ads, and in-app display ads.

• Introducing SMS offers and mobile coupons to engage potential customers.

• Devising innovative mobile marketing strategies to target potential customers.

According to the numbers revealed by the company, the non-optimized site of Steve Madden got more than 55,000 visitors via mobile devices in the month of February. There were more than 300,000 page views and 450 purchases. If they go ahead with the plan and implement the ideas they have come up with, they will be able to get a lot more visitors in a short span of time. More traffic, needless to add, will result in more revenue, which is always good news for any company. It should be interesting to see where Steve Madden goes from here.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Customized Mobile App for Windows Mobile Users from the Associated Press

The Associated Press has developed a mobile application for Windows Marketplace for Mobile. The application, aptly named AP Mobile, gives Windows Mobile users access to the global news network of the Associated Press. If you download this application onto your mobile phone, you will be able to get all the information you want right on your mobile phone.

If you remember, the Associated Press launched its own mobile news portal some time back. The response, as expected, has been very good so far. With more than 1.5 million registered users, AP’s mobile application is one of the most popular apps in the marketplace today. Still, AP wants to extend the reach of its mobile news network further. So, the company thinks that developing a customized application for Windows Mobile users is the first step in the right direction.

The introduction of this application will help AP in two ways. One – it will make its mobile news portal very popular. Two – it will create new revenue streams for its members. It will be beneficial for Microsoft as well as it gives Windows Mobile users access to a wide range of information, tools, games, and more. If you are a Windows phone user, this app will bring you stock market news, weather news, sports updates, local news and international news, lifestyle tips, travel tips, and entertainment news right to your mobile phone screen.

The app also includes plenty of social networking features which allow you to share a news story with your friends instantly on Twitter or Facebook. You also have the option of bookmarking it in your Delicious account. If you want to share something privately with your friends, you can email the story as well.

So, how have Windows Mobile users reacted to this new app? A cursory look at the comments section on Windows Marketplace for Mobile gives a good idea. It is full of positive comments like ‘great app’, ‘user friendly app’, ‘nice social networking features’, and so on. So, we can expect a lot more users to download this app. AP has plenty of reasons to smile. If you are a Windows Mobile user, make sure you check out this application and let me know your thoughts.

Categories: All things mobile phones, Microsoft.

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Mobile World in 2009 - Some Numbers

Check out these numbers from the Mobile Market View study by BIA/Kelsey.

• The number of people who use social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace increased by nearly 7% in 2009.

• The number of mobile users who send or receive more than 10 emails a week increased by nearly 10%.

• The number of mobile phone users who send or receive more than 10 text messages a week increased by nearly 10%.

• The number of people searching the internet for products and services available in their area increased by nearly 3%.

• The number of local searches done on the mobile phone exceeds the number of out-of-area searches. In other words, local search is increasingly becoming popular with mobile users across the country.

Done? Now, check out some random statistics I picked up from various sites on the internet.

• There are about three billion mobile phones in the world today, which makes mobile technology the most widely used technology on the planet today.

• For a large number of 16-24 year olds, the mobile phone is a lot more important than the TV.

• The number of people who have mobile phones is significantly higher than the number of people who have credit cards.

• The amount spent on mobile media rose by nearly 40% last year. In other words, mobile media is the fastest growing media channel in the world today.

• In 2012, the amount spent on mobile media in the U.S. will be somewhere around $6 billion. The total amount spent on mobile media worldwide will be in the range of $18-20 billion.

What do these numbers tell you? Firstly, the world is becoming increasingly mobile savvy. Secondly, a large number of mobile phone users use their phone for browsing the net, searching for stuff, listening to music, watching videos, and connecting with their friends through various social networking sites. So, the mobile phone is no longer just meant for sending and receiving text messages and calls. It is slowly becoming a multidimensional tool.

If 2009 is a precursor of things to come in the world of mobile phones, we can expect a lot more in the coming years. And that is good news for mobile advertisers all over the world.

Categories: All things mobile phones.

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The Future of 3G and 4G Services - A Detailed Look

Wanna hear something really incredible? According to TeleGeography, by the year 2013, the addressable market for 3G and 4G mobile services will be, hold your breath, somewhere around 4.5 billion people. In other words, nearly one third of all mobile users in the world will have access to these high speed mobile networks. That is right folks. An unbelievably big number – 4.5 billion wireless subscribers.

It is expected that more than 95% of wireless subscribers in Western Europe will have access to 3G and 4G services in 2013, which is nothing short of amazing. Europe still continues to be the leader as far as mobile market is concerned. Nearly 90% of mobile users in the U.S. and Canada, more than 80% of users in Latin America and Eastern Europe, 70% of users in the Middle East and Africa, and 60% of users in the Asia Pacific region will have access to these next generation cellular services. While it could be said that this is a highly optimistic prediction, the possibility of such an occurrence definitely cannot be ruled out considering the rate at which mobile web and other mobile related services are growing.

I have often argued that India and China are the countries to look for when it comes to mobile services because of their huge population and rapidly developing economies. Now, looking at the numbers above, some of you might wonder why only 60% of users in Asia are expected to have access to 3G and 4G services. The reason is not hard to fathom. The population of China and India is so big that it is nearly impossible for mobile service providers to expand their networks to that extent in such a small period of time. So, even if only 60% of wireless users access 3G and 4G services, it is still a huge achievement.

The most important thing about this news is that it hints at the possibility of a global network of mobile phone users connected by the invisible web of 3G and 4G networks. This, in my opinion, could result in the explosive growth of mobile social networking. The ability to access social networking sites right from their mobile phone at the click of a button is something that every other mobile user, particularly teens and young adults, wants. While this news is certainly exciting, it is not that big of a surprise to me. After all, it is something that we all knew was going to happen sooner than later, isn’t it?

Categories: All things mobile phones, Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Web.

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Microsoft to buy mobile software company MobiComp

The game of mergers and acquisitions is on for sure. After Nokia’s successful acquisition of Symbian, it’s now Microsoft’s turn to get into the act. Microsoft announced a few days back that it will buy MobiComp, a Portugal based mobile software maker.

MobiComp is particularly known for its apps related to data protection and sharing. MobileKeeper Backup & Restore, an app which stores and backs up mobile data, and MobileKeeper Sharing & Communities, an app which connects the mobile phone with social networking communities on the web, are the two most important apps that Microsoft is said to be interested in integrating into its Windows Live Mobile.

Microsoft has not disclosed the cost of this acquisition and the terms of the deal.

I think this acquisition will do loads of good to Microsoft and will serve as a morale booster. Apple made news with 3G iPhone, Google is almost always in the news with Android, Yahoo is going great guns, and now Nokia has made headlines all over the world by buying Symbian. Microsoft needed something to get back into the limelight as far as the mobile market is concerned and it has come in the form of this acquisition. The competition, my friends, is only going to get more intense.

Categories: Microsoft.

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