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M&M’s Blog goes behind the headlines to offer a running commentary on the business dynamics within the international media and marketing industry. The M&M editorial team joins forces with industry experts and local market heroes to balance a bird’s eye view of global trends with the importance of local insight.

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Mobile

• The year ahead for images

  25 April 2013

  In 2013 it’s believed the smartphone will become an everyday object worldwide*. It’s believed that sales will hit one billion over the next 12 months – an impressive milestone in the mobile world. It’s certainly a true testament to the ‘sharing age’ we now live in; people want to tap into information and divulge their experiences constantly, be it with their friends or brands.

  This of course presents a plethora of opportunities for companies, but with these opportunities come challenges. Brands are already working hard to remain contemporary and front of mind in the current economical climate and the increase in customer touchpoints and information portals means they will need to do even more to make sure they stand out from the white noise.

  One of the key ways companies can improve their prominence is via strong visuals, and this goes beyond a snazzy logo. Brands need to ask themselves whether the visual language they use represents their values and connects with their customers.  The imagery used by a pharmaceutical company, for example, will be different to that used by a fashion brand; much like copywriting each industry will have a different way of using visual language to speak to their audience.

  Creating a constant visual brand across the different media channels and platforms is going to be one of the biggest challenges brands will face in 2013. While smartphones, tablets and social media have increased the opportunities for brands to reach their audience, it also means that consumers are becoming more scattered so the need to provide engaging visual content is more pressing than ever.

  It is brands that are focused and try not to be all things to all people that will prosper when it comes to visual branding across multiple channels. One brand that will continue to succeed in 2013 is Apple. It has always had consistent and impressive communications, and customers recognise it immediately across all of its platforms; its reduced style stands out in comparison to its competitors.  Apple has successfully turned its visual language into a key decision-making factor for many people looking to buy an Apple product.

  Apple’s success has a lot to do with staying ahead of the game and responding to shifts in customer expectations when it comes to its branding. Much like the constantly changing trends in fashion, the visual industry also sees shifts in ‘in vogue’ imagery. It’s important for brands to keep tabs on these changes as they often represent the changing mood of the nation and brands need to reflect that in their branding if they are going to make an emotional connection with their audience.

  For example, we are currently witnessing a fascinating revolution in photography; namely how it is used and its social purpose and function, which directly impacts on the use of visuals in marketing and advertising communications.

  Photography is now fast, mobile, social and more authentic; people want to see real images. We are now seeing some brands use consumer generated content in creative ways to engage with their audience. This year will see other brands adapting the visual language they use to reflect a feeling of authenticity and realism in their branding.

  If brands address their visual branding and ensure it is consistent across all touchpoints and conveys their values, there is no reason why they won’t be able to connect with their consumers in ‘the year of the smartphone’.

  (*According to a study by Deloitte) 

  By Michaela Schwing, creative planning manager, Getty Images Europe 

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Bloggers' Gallery

  Tags: Mobile, Apple, Branding

• Facebook Home: Fancy new app, or tipping point for the internet?

  24 April 2013

  Facebook, Google and Apple are preoccupied with one key ambition – to become the dominant interface between people and the internet. It's the same thing the ISPs warred over before people started setting their home-screen to Google. Now, with the mobile interface destined to become the key access point to the Internet, Facebook Home is the latest salvo in the battle to realize that ambition.

  Designed to replace the existing ‘home’ and ‘lock’ screens on Android powered devices, Home is a new app that wraps around the Android OS and pulls in your social content to enrich the mobile experience. Look further, however, and Facebook Home is more than just another app; it’s a concerted strike by Facebook and Google on Apple’s ecosystem of device, experience and content.

  Home’s Cover Feed and Lock Screens trump everything else on your mobile device, meaning Facebook no longer plays second fiddle to Google. Instead, Home aims to make Facebook the starting point for every digital journey you’ll make, facilitated by its integration with Bing and the recent launch of its Graph Search service. That, of course, puts Facebook directly in the path of more advertiser dollars.

  Of more importance though is the user experience Facebook Home tries to deliver. Until now, Facebook has for most merely been a welcome distraction to our daily lives, whilst the usefulness of apps and mobile technology plateaus without the intelligence of contextually relevant social content. Cool applications, big megapixel cameras and gesture-controlled interfaces will remain novel but will ultimately be generic.

  Layering Facebook’s social content over the mobile operating system will enhance your phone’s functionalities, elevating them from technology features to humanised tools. Imagine a phonebook that doesn't order contacts in alphabetical order but instead by the type of relationship you have, or a calendar pre-populated with the birthdays of your best friends and family and delivering gift suggestions based on their likes.

  In placing the emphasis of mobile interaction on people, rather than apps, Home aims to provide a compelling reason for people to switch from Apple’s iOS to a combined Facebook and Android ecosystem. Own the ecosystem, own the user, and of course a big slice of the revenue generated by advertising and paid content downloads.

  The big question, and one which we will only gradually understand the answer to, is whether Home is primarily a feature for the Facebook-obsessed, or a genuine paradigm shift in the war to own the interface between people and the internet, and the dollars spent on advertising and content at that interface.

  Does Facebook Home deliver a paradigm shift? With a two-out-of-five rating from over 11,000 reviews on Google Play, this version of Facebook Home seems to be a rather underwhelming experience for many Android users.

  By Ross Jenkins, global managing director, Profero Performance Media

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Bloggers' Gallery

  Tags: Mobile, Facebook

• It's a mobile world: the rise of m-commerce

  17 April 2013

  We all know that mobile commerce is booming, but check out this infographic from Affiliate Window looking at just how much it has grown over the last few years and the trends that are driving it.

  

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Jenni Baker

  Tags: Mobile, M-commerce

• Embracing the mobile evolution

  10 April 2013

  It’s been a while since I shared an infographic on the M&M Global blog, but I thought it’s about time we were due another one. This one comes courtesy of the team over at global marketing and technology solutions company Upstream and takes a look at the mobile attitudes of consumers in emerging markets. It appears they are more susceptible to mobile advertising than you might think:

   

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Jenni Baker

  Tags: Mobile, Emerging Markets

• The future of mobile payments

  27 March 2013

  It is clear that contactless payments are most definitely the next evolution of payment, but is a method which will require time to gain consumer confidence, particularly in terms of security. Surprisingly, contactless payments have been available in the UK since 2007 but it is only now reaching a tipping point in terms of usage with consumers beginning to trust this new method.

  Currently the most common form of contactless payment is contactless cards and according to figures from the Payment Council, there are 31.3 million credit and debit cards enabled with contactless technology and 144,000 contactless terminals in retailers including Boots and Ikea.

  The next stage in contactless technology is paying by mobile and mobile payments are presently high on the agenda for brands looking to provide a safe and simple shopping experience for customers. Last year PayPal processed $14 billion in mobile payments, compared to $4 billion the year before highlighting the speed at which consumers are shifting. Earlier this month, customers using the RBS/NatWest mobile phone app were given the option to send a payment of up to £100 ($150) to anyone with a Visa card, by entering their mobile phone number. 

  At this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) both Mastercard and Visa announced new payment technologies to help push m-commerce forward. Mastercard will be offering a service called ‘MasterPass’ which will roll out in Canada and Australia by the end of the month, the US later this spring and in the UK in the summer. Meanwhile, Visa has named Samsung as its first global NFC partner and dongle maker Ingenico-owned ROAM as its first mobile payment partner for its Visa Ready program.

  At the same time, consumers are looking to brands and retailers to offer solutions which will be easy to use, secure, and add value to the mobile shopping experience. Simply allowing users to swipe their mobile to make a payment offers little additional value. Personalised product recommendations, location based offers coupled with an easy purchase experience defines the essence of what mobile payments need to be about; increasing sales for brands and improving the experience for consumers.

  So what technologies are in the pipeline, which brands do we need to be keeping an eye on and how can brands use this to their advantage in driving sales?

  The market is evolving rapidly and the path is not clear whilst also becoming more complex for brands to embrace mobile payment solutions with ease. With many options on the market the biggest issue brands are facing is choosing which payment approach to implement. For example, app stored based solutions such as iTunes and AppWorld dictate the platform to take a percentage of electronic goods sales per transaction. Whilst, software based solutions such as PayPal which are easy to integrate and use, will charge per transaction. Then operator/carrier based companies such as Bango will charge per transaction and are consumer friendly by charging the purchase to the phone bill.

  Brands such as ASOS, Dominos, Debenhams and Starbucks seem to be leading the way in exploring evolving payment options. Implementing new mobile experiences to capture impulsive users’ purchasing power, combined with new device technologies enabling new payment methods such as Blackberry wallet HUB and iOS 6 Apple Passbook, will most certainly deliver an advantage in driving sales.

  However, the mixture of ambiguous app store charges and commission policies mixed with the lack of user based research makes it difficult for even the most experienced analysts to make a decision and advise brands on the best option to take when implementing a payment solution. Until brands can get clarity on the right one to use, and when and where to employ the solution to engage customers that suits the specific business strategy, mobile payments will be a tough nut to crack for the industry, no matter how many technical solutions enter the market.

  By Chris Minas, managing director and founder, Nimbletank 

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Bloggers' Gallery

  Tags: Mobile, M-commerce

• Why the time is now to embrace mobile marketing

  15 March 2013

  Mobiles are a firmly established necessity for the majority of consumers and although its popularity as a marketing channel has significantly grown in recent years, many brands are still not utilising it as part of broader campaigns.

  The success of mobile is in part down to the increasing capabilities of phones and the variety of uses for it - it seems that consumers these days are literally holding the world in their hands, using their phones to make purchases, do their online banking, interact with people via social media, get directions, check their emails – the opportunities are endless.

  When related to retailing, although some 40% still prefer to make purchases in person an increasing number are using their mobiles and tablets to research and compare prices, some even before they go shopping.

  This means that marketers must ensure they connect with the consumer via mobile and although a strategy can be complex, retailers in particular need to commit in order to reach this increasing audience by creating innovative ways to link up online and offline shopping experiences. Creating user-friendly apps, online catalogues and online tools are all ways to enhance the consumer’s shopping experience and stay one step ahead of competitors.

  Similarly, at least half of mobile surfers in 50 countries around the world use smartphones and yet although marketers are fully aware of mobile and actually tend to get quite excited about it, there are still brands out there which haven’t even optimised their websites for mobile yet.

  BuzzCitys’ latest report found that consumer confidence in mobile shopping is at an all-time high with 29% considering shopping with their mobiles and 55% planning to purchase on their phones, highlighting further ideal monetisation opportunities for marketers - yet countries such as the UK and those in Europe are far down the scale when it comes to mobile shopping. Pakistan (66%) tops the charts with Spain in the bottom two (28%).

  The reason behind why brands are not utilising mobile to full advantage is not yet clear, especially given how successful integrated mobile campaigns are becoming and the impact that they are having on businesses’ bottom lines.  John Lewis for example has seen triple digit growth for shopping via its mobile and tablet apps, both for traffic and revenue.

  With m-commerce on the up and consumer confidence at an all-time high, consumers are now purchasing all kinds of products via their mobiles, again reinforcing the appetite for mobile commerce - while mobile purchases used to be predominantly used for digital products like videos or games, consumers are now using their mobiles to buy physical products like clothes and electronics.

  This could be down to the fact that 74% of consumers use mobile as a convenient way to make last-minute purchases, linked to the increasing prevalence of mobile vouchers and QR codes to drive people to connect mobile with the offline world. Even if it’s not, it provides even more evidence of the opportunities available to brands looking to use mobile as a revenue channel.

  With bricks-and-mortar retailers continuing to struggle, now really is the time for brands and marketers to embrace mobile wholeheartedly in order to really maximise on it.

  By Dr KF Lai, chief executive, BuzzCity

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Bloggers' Gallery

  Tags: Mobile, Mobile Marketing Strategy, Marketing, M-commerce

• Welcome to the m-commerce revolution

  13 March 2013

  Check out this infographic from performance marketing specialist Intela, which shows some interesting comparisons between consumers in the UK and the US when it comes to shopping on smartphones and reactions to mobile ads:

  

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Bloggers' Gallery

  Tags: Mobile, Mobility, M-commerce

• Mobile RTB in 2013: infographic

  06 March 2013

  Rubicom Project has been busy polling agencies to find out what the year ahead has in store for real-time bidding on mobile. Here's what they had to say:

  

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Bloggers' Gallery

  Tags: Mobile, Infographic, real time bidding

• Festival of Media Asia 2013 Day One: Tweets Roundup

  04 March 2013

  For those of us not lucky enough to be in Singapore this week for The Festival of Media Asia, we’ve been keeping an eye on the #FOMA13 hashtag and pulled together some of the best tweets from Day One:

  

  @sushobhan #foma13 if u r not following this hash tag you are missing something.

  @caitlinonline Men consume more luxury goods than women… Only in China! #foma13

  @ranjidavid Media Innovation must feed back to Brand vision... And, of course, Business goals - Rahul Welde, Unilever #foma13

  @ festivalofmedia APAC is home to 3.37m high net worth individuals - more than any other region #FOMA13

  @freddie_covi Phil McAveety says 25% of all travel searches done on mobile #FOMA13

  @ranjidavid If you catch someone when they're bored, and your content catches their eye, 82% will share it - Sarah Ivey, Initiative #foma13

  @sarahivey #foma13 Rahul Welde Unilever: believes we have only scratched the surface of what's possible in mobile.

  @chrismccarthy Karim Temsaman, Google: Young people switch devices 20+ times/day so marketers, stop counting devices: focus on context & moments #foma13

  @warcasia  Customysation, Brandme and the benefits that tech can bring are key to engaging the new global luxury consumer (Phil McAveety) #FOMA13

  @stevehyde360xec #foma13 Baidu has 83% of the search market in china with over 2 billion page views per day...wow

  @bwilliej Wonderful pres on What Chinese Want from Tom Doctoroff JWT #foma13 http://t.co/Po4qRa0qxi:

  

  @festivalofmedia Sarah Ivey: We talk to 27 ppl face to face per day but interact with 23 ppl on a weekly basis online that we have never met #FOMA13

  @brandscreen #foma13: As marketers we haven't even begin to scratch the surface when it comes to engaging consumers through a mobile device.

  @festivalofmedia Strategy: 90% of staff in market; 100% marketing done locally; Use of channels different in each market - Michelle Froah #FOMA13

  @kathapesch 93% of transactions are cash ones in emerging markets and 56% in developed markets as per #mastercard at #FOMA13

  @ivor_ivor luxury goods in China are tools of advancement in life #foma13

  @freddie_covi @RahulWelde bringing the house down on mktg to the middle class. GREAT Content! #foma13

  @ivor_ivor What do you do when you’re bored? #foma13 #SocialMedia #game #text http://t.co/hvcnm8PyvH:

  

  @caitlinonline @RahulWelde Create Experiences, truly engage the user with positive social impacts. #unilever #foma13

  @karthik_perumal Any of you planning to make a ppt on digital marketing this week be sure to follow #FOMA13 and use the tweets this hashtag. Pretty good.

  @sushobhan China is the least brand cynical market as brands are tools for success says Tom Doctoroff #foma13

  @whosaidwhatwhy Everybody at #foma13 either uses an iPhone or a blackberry. Still keeping a lookout on android

  @brandscreen #foma13: There is a fine line between personalisation and going against personal privacy.. How many can really define that line?

  @festivalofmedia Tensions within Chinese culture: ambition vs. regimentation; projection vs. protection - Tom Doctoroff #FOMA13

  @dsouthgate Michelle Froah, Kimberly Clark: Same same but different means different local approaches for same global trend. That's the way fwd #foma13

  @caitlinonline Hot topic: Who will 'own' customer data in the future? #mastercard #foma13

  @ranjidavid Love how Tom Doctoroff is seamlessly weaving Chinese phrases into his presentation - and pretty perfectly, too #foma13

  @shaun_yap Just sent thrills down my spine. "trend: total recall - we are going to remember everything we've done; everything we've bought." #foma13

  @superfabulous “@dsouthgate: Phil Mcaveety Starwood on Gen LuXurY: want things Customysed & built around Brand Me #foma13 ps 3d printing is the future!!”

  @maxusglobal We can't wait to hear @VikramSakhuja speak tomorrow about Asia's role in Media at #FOMA13! More info here: http://t.co/Yrufl9Mmp2 #iammaxus

  @superfabulous Where do u do most yr window shopping? #foma13 Must.. help connect, embrace boredom & leverage home mobile shopping http://t.co/LPWTmDgNhU:

  

  @caitlinonline Great first day of #foma13 #diageo #amobee and #starwood.. you have some serious talent on your teams! Great speakers!

  @whosaidwhatwhy #foma13 stop talking about the 'size' of data and just use it in a meaningful way. Hellmanns case study. #unilever http://t.co/2pyFY76sMv

  @amfumero 2013 Digital #FutureinFocus Series - covering search, social, online advertising, mobile and e-commerce http://t.co/phxcGPsmfb #foma13

  @waynejarnold Like this quote "Mobile is the new cigarette" #foma13

  @mecideas 50% of cellphones are in Asia, but fragmentation the reason we're at only 25% of revenue #MECatFOMA #foma13 @Kmandel http://t.co/zxL6xSEipY:

  

  @ranjidavid China is not becoming more like the West: China is becoming a modern version of itself - Tom Doctoroff, #foma13

  @kathapesch China is the only market where men consume more luxury products than women by Tom from #jwt at #FOMA13

  @warcasia Michelle Froah of Kimberley Clark: 'same same but different' approach to make Asian campaigns culturally relevant in each market #foma13

  @kathapesch The mobile future is the second brain for humans... #FOMA13

  @marklaudi @Initiative @SarahIvey People share 82% of videos they watch on mobile #foma13

  @shaun_yap "mobile was as important as water and food in the early days after the 2011 earthquake" Akihisa Fujita. kinda like post-sandy in nyc #foma13

  @anumenon83 #foma13: china is becoming more modern and international but not westernized

  @james_fleetham Netflix's House of Cards demonstrates great stories remain great stories. Only the platforms have changed. #FOMA13

  @ AspireAsia Multi-tasking when social networking #foma13 http://t.co/PfSv2xAb8i:

  

  @festivalofmedia Ken Hong - Weibo has 500M users; 135M posts per day; spend 90 minutes on platform per day #foma13

  @ranjidavid Don't let HQ dictate your Mobile strategy. .. If there's one thing you need to localize, it's Mobile" @kmandel #foma13

  @trendwatchingap A sure sign of Chinese digital mobility? Baidu handles a whopping 5 billion search queries daily #China #AHEAD #MOBILEMOMENTS #foma13

  Keep an eye out tomorrow for a round-up of the Top Tweets from Day Two at The Festival of Media Asia.

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Jenni Baker

  Tags: Mobile, Festival of Media Asia, Festival of Media, Mobility

• Mobile marketing trends from MWC 2013

  27 February 2013

  Mobile World Congress has morphed from a telecoms sector-specific trade show in years past to an industry event that has implications for everything digital. From retail, music and entertainment to gaming and social networking, smartphones and tablets are ubiquitous and many are waiting to hear how the latest apps, handsets and periphery technology will improve their everyday lives. The retail sector in particular has benefited from advancements in the mobile technology, and here are three trends in the mobile shopping space causing a stir in 2013:

  1. Augmented Reality – Retailers are joining up the online and offline shopping conversations augmented reality apps such as Blippar or Aurasma. Working together, publishers and advertisers can add a layer of mobile engagement to offline content. For example, a fashion magazine could use augmented reality next to an article on “Spring Fashion Trends” to offer readers that hover over the code with their Smartphone a video tutorial on how to pair outfits and a 30% discount from a high street store.

  2. Location-based offers – Using publisher apps, shoppers that have enabled geo-tracking can receive timely offers from brands when they check into or pass certain locations. Imagine for a moment you are wandering past a restaurant and receive a push notification from a publisher’s app offering you a free dessert with any main meal. Credit for the sale would then be passed on to the publisher involved.  

  3. Social discovery sites – Shoppers increasingly seek shopping advice and recommendations from friends and experts across the social web – especially when killing time on the move. Provided brands are transparent with links and offers, content sharing and discovery sites such as Spotify or Motilo will become major drivers of sales conversions in affiliate. Motilo is a social discovery site that lets users browse the latest fashion from a range of designers.  Users can then add their favourite dress to their virtual closet. Motilo can even style a shopper based on their closet and all products can of course be purchased through the site.

  By Mark Haviland, managing director, Rakuten LinkShare

  See also:

  Laying their cards on the table: On mobile

  Comments (0) | Permalink

  Posted by: Bloggers' Gallery

  Tags: Mobile, Mobile Marketing Strategy, Shopping, Retail

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