Resource Interactive’s take on Future of Mobile (marketing)

Don’t Just Talk

This is my first video on this topic, diverse learnings have inspired my views in this video. I will request your feedback to help me create better videos in this area. The idea of “Don’t just talk” is inspired by Gareth Kay’s presentation at VCU Brandcenter.

iPhone ruled 2008. With series of product launch, is it BlackBerry for 2009?

Research In Motion (RIMM) and Apple (AAPL) continue their smart phone battle for the hearts and minds of consumers, according to the latest ChangeWave survey of 3,803 cell phone owners released Monday. Research suggests, new product launches (Storm, Bold & Flip) by BlackBerry have led to a  jump in consumer planned buying that suggests a full-scale battle with Apple for market supremacy in 2009.

About the Survey:

The ChangeWave survey was conducted between December 9 & December 15. The survey takes a close look at smart phone market trends, including consumer reaction to RIM’s launch of the BlackBerry Storm and how it compares to the Apple iPhone.

Current Market Share:

Apple (23%; up 6-pts) has witnessed explosive growth – up 6-pts just since September. Importantly, its overall market share has more than doubled in the past six months – a direct result of the late-June release of the 3G iPhone.

Participants planned purchase:

Blackberry features in 39% of participants purchase plan over next three months, this is up by 9 points from September. Meanwhile, the wave of enthusiasm that greeted the iPhone 3G seems to have settled down; only 30% plan to buy an Apple smartphone, down by 4 points from September.

Research also shows that an iPhone 3G buyer is way more satisfied than a BlackBerry Storm buyer. One question is, does RIM have enough to capitalize on the increased consumer interest? or will it be a lost opportunity? only time will tell. But as things are going, Apple is leaving no stone unturned. Currently ‘Expanding the distribution Channel’ is the flavor of the season at Apple Camp.

Wal-Mart Partnership!

Wal-Mart confirmed Friday what everyone who follows Apple already knew: that it will begin selling Apple’s iPhone 3G at nearly 2,500 Wal-Mart stores starting Sunday Dec. 28 — three days after Christmas. (read full article)

As per Apple 2.0 on CNN.com… “The move represents the fourth major expansion of the iPhone’s retail presence outside Apple’s own 200-plus stores.The phone was sold first at AT&T’s (T) 2,000 retail outlets then at nearly 1,000 Best Buy (BBY) outlets, and then at the tens of thousands of points of sale (many of them no more than mom-and-pop kiosks) that carry iPhones for Apple’s overseas partners.”

With all these things, This is the time for RIM to buckle up loose ends & capitalize on the opportunity.

Text Messaging for Marketing!

• Order status. This is the easy one, as B & H is already doing it. I can’t vouch for the actual messages it sends back, as the service didn’t work when I tried it. To use its service, you text the word “order,” followed by your order number, to short code BANDH. This is less than ideal, because I have to know my order number, then have to type it into an SMS. For instance, such a text message might read “order 34324322839374444444.” That’s a lot to type and leaves a lot of room for error. A better approach would be to let users add their cell phone number to their account. That way, simply texting “order” to BANDH would be just as effective and would be easier for users to type. They also wouldn’t have to know their order number to use the feature. They’re obviously interested in the most recent undelivered order on the account. The existing method could be used as a backup in case users don’t have an account.
• Product availability and purchasing. If you know the product you’re looking for, texting its name or SKU to a company could return its availability and price. The system would also respond with a purchase option, such as “Respond with ‘buy’ to purchase this product.” Obviously, default shipping and payment options would be pulled from the user’s account (which is tied to the cell phone).
• Ratings and reviews. If I want to read user reviews of a product, texting “ratings” would return the product’s average rating or the number of good/bad reviews, such as “Avg: 3 out of 5 stars (25 bad/50 good).” Texting “reviews good” or “reviews bad” would return the first positive or negative review, with the option to request more reviews.
• Similar items. Texting “cheaper” could return a less expensive alternative to the product, whereas “better” could return a better (and more expensive) product. “Alt” could return a list of alternative products. “Acc” might return accessories for the product.
• Multimedia messages. One could easily imagine wanting to receive a photo of a product. In this case, texting “photo” would return a product photo. If you hadn’t mentioned the product before in previous texts, you could specify a product name after “photo.”
• Policies and store hours/locations. If I’m out shopping at a store, one piece of information that might persuade me to shop at your store instead of the one I am in is your return policy. Text “return,” “shipping,” “warranty,” or “guarantee” should return the high-level important parts of these policies. Similarly, type “hours” or “location” (probably followed by a Zip Code) would return store information.
• In-store customer service. Some stores, such as coffee shops, are experimenting with allowing users to text their orders in. Other ideas for the in-store experience include getting a salesperson to come and help you while you are in the store. For instance, texting “help 3″ or “help menswear” would send an assistant to aisle three of the store or the menswear section. Typing “promo” might give a list of this week’s promotions or sales. “Coupon” might tell you whether the current product has any coupons available.

[Clickz]

my Idea: A widget for at&t

Triggers:

(a) It is always a hassle to visit at&t website & check my account information. it is a huge problem for me as I used to forget my password (even now i do not remember my password)

(b) I lost my cell phone & gone with the wind was my valuable contact information.

(c) Remembering the bill date is not my cup of tea. I set up reminders in I-cal, on my mobile, i also have a post-it on my desktop.

So, I wanted a genie to help me organize my life. But as I am not Alladin I had to think of something else. So here it is… A widget for my desktop. I am sure all of you will realize how handy this could be.

Concept:

A desktop widget by at&t (can be developed by any network provider) that enables you to sync your cellphone account from the at&t website to this widget. This widget effortlessly keeps you updated about your minute / data usage. My widget will come equipped with “Live Chat”, “Phone book” & “Payment Reminder”.

(a) Live Chat: at&t make their customer service right at your desktop!

(b) Phone book: Allows you to sync your contact list directly into this widget!

(c) Payment reminder: Option to set payment reminders

Benefits to the customers:

(a) Live Chat: Hassle free clarification of my doubts.

(b) Phone book: Safeguards valuable information from loss or damage.

(c) Payment reminder: keeps your mind (& may be credit history) fit & fine.

My widget:

widget! I hope at&t comes up with something like this. (optimistic?)

sign in to your account

check your minutes / data usage

click on the at&t logo & explore the widget!

click on 'customer service' for a for a "Live Chat" with at&t representatives.

click on 'my phone book' to explore your contact list from your cell phone. (connect your phone to sync).

designed & conceptualized by Anish Shah (thats me)

I believe this widget is a novel idea & creates a win-win situation for both subscribers & the company (in this case at&t).  For people who share my problems will love this widget, people who don’t will still appreciate this. There are thousands widgets developed everyday, but widgets that really adds value & help me make my life more organized stay on my desktop.

This widget can be used by any network provider & expect to gain positive reviews on their commitment towards making lives of their subscribers simple. This small widget also increase the brand exposure as the widget remains on their subscriber’s desktop. To satisfy a marketer to invest in this widget, let me share that this widget can also be used as a potential platform to source out ‘promotional messages’ directly on the widget (but, pleaseee without intruding our privacy. Otherwise you will destroy the whole purpose of this widget).

Disclaimer: Over the years my innovative nature has come up with hundreds of ideas, but this is the first time I have actually spend some time & executed this. It would be great if you can leave your valuable comment on this post.

ATT Widget by Anish Shah is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at interface.anish@gmail.com.

Now Tweens are mobile too! big time!!!

Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! Marketers here comes the “tweens” with a significant opportunity in the mobile marketplace! As per a recent research conducted by Nielsen on profiling the mobile activities & preferences of U.S. “tweens” (aged 8-12 & a population segment of 20 million young consumers)  46% OF TWEENS USE CELL PHONES. On average, these kids get their own cell phone between the ages of 10 and 11. Safety is the top reason sighted by the parents for introducing these kids with the cell phones. I wish my parents were concerned too I got my mobile phone at the age of 19. I envy this generation, they have it all & have it so early.

the lovely tweens

Anyways another startling finding is that 55% of tweens who own a cell phone send text messages & 21% download ring tones. Tweens are texting too… around 428 monthly text messages. Helllooo! Cellular Service providers…. are you there? Tweens are here, you have an opportunity to connect to them through “tween-centric packages”! But hold on, research indicates that 92% of parents restrict how tweens use their phone, 68% say they prohibit downloads that incur charges. To add to the complexities for the cellular service providers… 65% of tweens with cell phones are on family plans . Holly shit! I am sure these kids want to do much more than make a call.

So What? my brand management side of the brain is excited & wants to offer to parents a plan that addresses their concern (of kids incurring cost to download games & ring tones) & offer them a ‘fixed rate plan’ over and above the monthly rental. This plan could include:

• certain number of games & ring tone downloads
• Free educational games (that parents will love)
• Daily Audio feed or a text SMS (on latest news) to enhance their kids GK
• Connect these web content specifically targeted to “tweens & parents” (can be extended upwards age too)

Obviously I cannot not go in details as I understand that without extensive research any recommendation would be like shooting in the dark. But I strongly feel that there is a great opportunity to tap this segment; more importantly to gain trust & leverage the brand recognition among parents as they are the ones with the buying power & paying the bills.