05/06/11 by Bryan Butler | Blog, Marketing Blog | No Comments »
If you’ve paid attention to marketing materials that feature a phone, I’m sure you’ve noticed the default smartphone is the ever ubiquitous iPhone. Perhaps this is because Apple does a great job in creating hype around said phone, which then raises consumer awareness. How many people can say that they know what the HTC ThunderBolt looks like, or even the Blackberry Torch? The graphic designer wants to use what will be easily legible, something that will communicate instantly. Since people are familiar with the iPhone look, a designer will be more apt to use it.
Sometimes, there also seems to be a misconception of what a smartphone is. “Does it have the apps?” Everyone knows Apple has the App Store, but Android Market launched the in same year, 2008, and Blackberry App World has existed since 2009. If the designer assumes that the misconception holds true, they will cater towards it, meeting the expectations of the target market, which only reinforces the idea.
Perhaps this isn’t the reason, though. If you were to search for public domain images of a smartphone (preferably something in a format that is easy to edit, i.e. vector), most of the higher quality illustrations you’ll find will be iPhones. Designers don’t always have the time or skill to illustrate a realistic smartphone, so it’s much easier to just grab one of these, pop your screen shot into it and place into the layout. This brings up another point: the iPhone and iPod can take screen shots, something which Android and Blackberry can’t easily do (unless your phone is rooted, but that’s something we won’t get into). A designer could mock up a fake screen, but, again, they may not have the time or the skill to pump it out.
Any one of these reasons helps create the strangle hold on marketing materials that the iPhone has. Perhaps Google will release screen capturing as a base function in one of the upcoming Android OS updates, but I’m not holding my breath.
06/05/10 by Brian Bauer | Blog, Industry Blog | No Comments »
While the iPhone may still have captured the hearts and minds of consumers as THE phone to have, it is clear that Google’s Android operating system is generating big gains, through calculated and smart business moves by the parent company, in the smart phone market. The NPD Group released findings in early May that indicated a new pecking order in smart phone sales for the first quarter of 2010: the Blackberry operating system maintained its lead with 36% of all smart phone sales, while Android jumped into the #2 position with 28% of sales, leaving Apple in the #3 position with 21%.
While the merits of the two operating systems (AppleOS vs Android) can be debated, the reason for this huge jump in sales lies in two significant decisions by Google. The first is to give the operating system away for free (yes! free!), which provides handset makers with a large economic incentive to create devices that use the system. The second decision by Google is to partner with any handset maker or carrier that wants to, ensuring that their phones are available on all carriers in a variety of handsets.
To date, there are 20 new Android models that are either on the market, or announced as coming to the market in next few months. The sheer volume of new Android options will make Google’s operating system almost ubiquitous. Now remember, this compares to Apple’s single iPhone model, which is currently only available on AT&T.
Now the battle seems to be moving to tablets, as the iPad has caused a rush by other manufacturers to produce a similar device. And what operating system are they choosing to run these new tablets ? You guessed it – a modified version of Android for the same reasons that handset makers have chosen it.
Apple has a fantastic history of being a first mover, creating innovative products that define spaces. That being said, Google has done a fantastic job of eliminating Apple’s first mover advantage and launching a potent rival to Apple’s hit iPhone.
keywords: mobile marketing, mobile coupons, mobile couponing, text message coupons
12/24/09 by David Wachs | Blog, Industry Blog | No Comments »
Well folks, it’s that time of year again. Time for another round of predictions. Looking back, it seems that the last time I ran through predictions was in (yikes) 2007! Many (actually most) of those predictions came true. This time, I’m going to expand my predictions to cover the entire mobile industry, and not just text messaging. As Cellit is a full-service mobile technology/mobile marketing company (covering text messaging, mobile web development, and iPhone/Android app development) so too are our predictions. Let’s get to them:
- Symbian will drop from first place to forth in global new smartphone sales. Lacking a competitive operating system, Nokia’s Symbian group will be trumped by Blackberry, iPhone, Windows and Android. Android will also overtake Windows’ position and become the third largest smartphone OS, after iPhone. Symbian will only beat out Palm, and Samsung’s Bada. (Hey, these are predictions people, so I don’t need to back them up with reasons for my forecasts!)
- iPhone app development will curb as companies come back to the mobile web. With over 100,000 apps out there, the novelty of a mobile app will compare poorly to the ROI. Thus, companies will turn to developing robust mobile web sites that support multiple platforms.
- Flash Lite will finally become an acceptable offering. I predict Android will be the first smartphone platform to support Flash, and other platforms will follow (first Microsoft, then Blackberry, with iPhone taking up the rear). This will lead to the next revolution in mobile “apps”, quite possibly more substantially than the iPhone app revolution.
- Bada will fail.
- The Twitter craze will fade. Marketers will realize catering to Twitter followers is a very specific demographic, and will turn their attention towards developing direct relationships, through text messaging or some other means. Hopefully, this will mean less “follows us on Twitter” ads everywhere.
- Text messaging adoption will continue to grow. We’ve only seen the beginning, folks. The power is the network. The more “texters” out there, the more people will want to learn to text. 1.5 TRILLION texts were sent in the US in 2009. Look for another 150% YOY growth. That’s right: I’m pegging 2010 at 2.25 trillion texts.
- Mobile CRM in 2010!. Companies will follow best-of-class leaders (like Chase, GPS Insight, Sam’s Club) in developing SMS-based interactions with their customers. It’s not about marketing anymore! It’s about developing deep relationships with customers via mobile interaction.
- Mobile companies will be top on the list to be acquired. As the economy turns in 2010, acquisitions should continue to be on the rise. Expect to see some of Cellit’s larger competition get acquired. If you had to ask me, I’d say iLoop and Vibes, as both have investors that will need an exit.
- Sombreros will be fashionably worn at the Cellit office. As Cellit continues to grow, we will be expanding further into Mexico, providing a “one stop shop” for North American messaging solutions. I know this probably isn’t pertinent to most of you, but man is this exciting for us here at Cellit! Plus, our sangrita consumption is going to skyrocket. Maybe an opportunity for some of our readers to go long in tomato juice futures?
- POS providers will begin integrating mobile couponing extensions into their offering.Cellit provides a suite of mobile couponing systems, from the Widgit POS overlay, to APIs for integration with mainstream and custom-built POS systems. POS providers will turn to companies like Cellit in the coming year to build the couponing modules directly in to their platform, which can serve as an additional recurring revenue generator for the solution provider.
Well, that’s it for this year. Many will come true, some will not. Regardless, it’s our intention to do our best in the coming year to helpyour mobile predictions come true. If there’s anything we can do, please do not hesitate to reach out. And, if I don’t get the opportunity to speak with you, please have a happy, prosperous and (most importantly!) healthy 2010.
Best always!
David
04/15/09 by Brian Bauer | Blog, Marketing Blog | No Comments »
Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry series of phones, announced the creation of the Blackberry App World, a mobile application which allows Blackberry users to easily download special applications and software for their devices. This is only the latest entry into a growing list of companies trying to provide venues for both paid and free applications for mobile phones.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal had a great article about whether small businesses should invest in a mobile website (see article). In it, the author, Roger Cheng, suggested that the business pay attention to their customers – and if the customer experience could be improved by doing so, to go ahead and consider it. In much the same way, I would encourage small businesses to also think about mobile phone applications.
Ask yourself: Will my target consumer have reason to interact with me while they are on the go? I’m online all day at work, and have access at home – so it’s not often that I want to conduct research or order products via my phone. Rather, it’s when I’m in transit, or stuck on the train – or, as happens often, waiting for a meeting to begin, that I find myself playing on the phone. During those juncture moments, are your target customers going to want to interact with your business? Facebook, Twitter, AIM (all social networking companies) are perfect examples of great mobile applications that target activities I’m most prone to want to conduct in those brief down moments on the go.
Ask yourself: What information can I provide them quickly and easily that would be beneficial on a phone? Addresses, hours, directions and some other ‘critical’ information usually provides me with enough detail to get through 90% of my needs for most businesses. However, special circumstances do indeed warrant more in-depth information. When purchasing /renting a home, attempting to make dinner reservations, or finding out bar specials and entertainment offerings – obtaining more information while on the go becomes a defacto must have. For Rent Magazine has identified that their users need apartment information and specs on their mobile devices; MGM Grand realized that their consumers (travelers) wanted to interact with their entertainment, dining and other services while on location (and thus, not near a computer) at their facility.
As Cheng points out, the answers to your consumers questions will define your need to invest in either a mobile WAP site or a mobile application. There are additional considerations to think through, as the multitude of mobile platforms makes designing an application for all phones extremely expensive. However, if you again apply consumer logic to the decision process – it’ll guide you to the right mix of features, functionality, and platform.
