In this Word on the Street Assignment, we had to answer the  Question:  “In what ways do you feel that companies are using mobile technologies to target you regarding their products and services?”

A great article on this subject is in the New York Times.  Written by Stephanie Clifford, it was published on April 16, 2010 and is titled “Web Coupons Know Lots About You, and They Tell” [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/business/media/17coupon.html].

Companies who use mobile advertising target potential customers by:

• Geographical information contained in the phone (local targeting)
• Interests
• Specific Social Media Pages (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc)
• Sex (M/F),
• Age
• Search queries
• The customer’s IP Address
• Prior shopping habits (loyalty programs)
• Ethnicity

All of this is invisible to the customer.  It’s not ‘general’ information either.  These coupons can get eerily specific, virtually following you to bed where it knows what kind of sheets you have!

Some merchandisers use a company called RevTraxx who has no privacy policy.  They get around the privacy policies of Google and can even trend your IP address – if you have a proclivity for downloading pizza coupons on Friday afternoons – you may soon find one already there!

In a worst case scenario, as the article points out, companies with this kind of personal information can offer you substandard products than they might offer another person; or the same product but at a higher price than the next person.  Privacy advocates are very much alarmed by this activity and the article quotes Ed Mierzwinski, the Consumer program Director for USPIRG as saying “There really have been no rules set up for this ecosystem”.  Now, USPIRG is asking the FTC to tighten up online advertising privacy rules.

The FTC took it’s first action in March when it sought input about whether to revamp the COPPA (Child Online Privacy Protection Act) regulations, which were last updated in 2000. Among other questions, the FTC asked whether it should expand the definition of personal information to include “persistent IP addresses, mobile geolocation information or information collected in connection with online behavioral advertising.”

[http://www.mediapost.com/publications/index.cfm?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=124908]

The deadline for comments on this, originally scheduled for June 30, 2010 has been extended by the FTC to July 20, 2010

[http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=131185&nid=116157]

In the meantime the “word on the street” is for advertisers to police themselves when dealing with kids 12 and under.  As stated in the article “Why Marketers Must Keep Kids’ Safety In Mind”, “Marketers will have to tread lightly when dealing with minors, both because of existing regulations and the possibility of new ones. As newer channels like mobile and social networking become increasingly important destinations for kids and teens, effective self-regulation could head off some of the possible restrictions strict legislation or rule-making could bring.”

Back in classes again – at last!  This month – Mobile Advertising and Social Media Optimization.  Redux.  I started these classes in May before I went down hard due to illness and had to take a Leave of Absence.

Returning to these classes reminded me of a very important lesson in technology:  It’s moving faster than the speed of light!  I had done a Discussion post for Mobile Advertising back in May that talked about Google’s pending purchase of AdMob and the FTC investigation into whether it gave them too big a percentage of the marketplace.  Well, in less than 45 days everything has changed!  Now Google owns AdMob, is ready to go head-to-head with iAd from Apple and so I had to -rewrite my post to reflect the entirely new environment!

The two questions posed for the discussion in Mobile Advertising class this week were:

1.  Referring to this link talking about how Google was optimizing a news site so smartphones could better use it, the question posed was:  ”Do you feel that Google has an edge on the mobile news market”?

2.  Referring to Google’s purchase of AdMob, the question posed was:  ”Do you feel that AdMob has created an effective way to targeting advertising for some of these major retailers”?

My initial response posted:

In terms of news delivery, I believe that anytime you can create the look of a desktop in a mobile environment it is a bonus, particularly when your aim is to deliver a consistent experience cross-platform.  To date the world of Mobile News has been very basic in terms of simple text delivery.  To have the richness and experience of a desktop/laptop on a mobile device has long been the Holy Grail, ever since the first iPaq was released.

This cross-platform rich environment is a definite advantage to Google.

Google’s recent purchase of AdMob brings them the ability to deliver mobile display ads.  This, clearly is in line with Google’s growth into the Mobile marketplace and is the next logical step n bringing mobile marketing into line with Internet Marketing’s ability to deliver rich advertisements.

jiWire conducted a Q1/2010 mobile insights study with 1,000 mobile users.  Their new report “examined device use…and consumer preferences for mobile content and advertising delivery.

David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire, says “People have a completely different perception of mobile content and advertising when they’re on-the-go… half of the on-the-go mobile audience say they are more likely to engage with an ad that is relevant to their current location… ”

They also  found:

55% of the on-the-go audience owns an app-enabled smartphone or mobile device. The top devices (and % ownership) are:

• iPhone 36%
• BlackBerry 27
• iPod Touch 17
• Android 7
• Windows Mobile 5
• Palm 2

The top 5 mobile applications are:

1.    Facebook

2.    Google

3.    The Weather Channel

4.    Pandora

5.    Twitter

Further, more than 40% of those surveyed spend more than one hour per day using apps.

Over 50% of this audience has engaged with advertisements on an app in the previous 30 days.  Of that 50%:

35% clicked on ad

27% visited advertiser’s web site

18% made a purchase

The most telling information gleaned from the study:

“Respondents say that advertisements on mobile devices are both welcome and effective, with 53% saying they were willing to share their location to receive more relevant advertising”.

I would say that, again, Google was ahead of the curve in negotiating and defending (against the April 2010 FTC investigation) their purchase of AdMob.

More Info:  Google Answers:  Mobile Image Ad Information

I have REALLY been trying to avoid controversy on my blog.  On Facebook, not so much.  The BP Oil Spill has eaten away at my soul for months now, the Banks too Big to Fail, Goldman Sachs & Wall Street, and the Foreclosure crisis have made me angrier than I ever imagined I could be, but now – for our own “Representatives” in the Senate to turn their back on the very people they allegedly represent, and deny them an extension ot unemployment benefits in a time where unemployment is at the highest it’s ever been in a U.S. recession:

I simply can’t find it in me to stop my ranting posts – unless I stay OFF Facebook – which I have also tried!

Today – well, today, was the end of my patience.

Yesterday the Senate voted AGAINST extending the Unemployment Benefits to more than 2 Million U.S. Citizens – that THEY allegedly “represent”.  You really have to wonder how far these alleged Representatives have gotten out of touch with reality…that is until you read a comment by Senator Sharron Angle of Nevada, who said – and I quote:  ”that the unemployed are too spoiled and lazy to get a job (which she says are plentiful)”.
Has she even BEEN back to Nevada lately?  I think she must be living in  D.C. full time, paid for by the same people she talks about (yes, unemployment benefits ARE taxable!)
Hell, just listen to her for yourself – she is so far out there that you really could NOT reel her back in!

I posted the traitors who voted against the extension of the Unemployment Bill on Facebook but I wanted to make it even easier for voters to note who they are in their own home state.  That way, when re-election comes up, they know who failed American citizens and then has the gall to ask for a vote!

ALPHABETICALLY, BY STATE, HERE ARE THE GOOD GUYS (YEA-Re-Elect!!)
and the BAD GUYS (NAY-Get rid of them!!!):

Senators voting against Unemployment Extension Bill 06-30-10-2

The next topic we studied this week was Mobile Coupons.

In my previous post, I wrote about how JC Penney launched a mobile coupon campaign as a pilot project in Houston, Texas in September, 2009 that involved 16 of their metro stores.

Their customers had to sign up to receive the coupons, and once they did, they could redeem them at the point of sale for a discount without ever having to print them out.  This would avoid forgetting them at home and give the customer more control over their purchase.  In turn, it was a way for JC Penney to tie directly into the end-user experience.

The focus was on retaining customers, and building brand awareness, as well as acquisition of new customers.  JC Penney also wanted to see how the consumer would interact with the coupon and how it would actually work in the store for redemption.  These coupons would be exactly like coupons that would be sent to other consumers via direct mail.

JC Penney expected to reach a younger demographic who are more apt to be avid cell phone users.  Their target demographic would be female, 25 to 44 years old.

They were willing to invest in this trial to see if their redemption rate would be similar to the 10% to 20% that other brands were reporting.

“Do you feel that JC Penney will find success with their “mobile couponing” pilot project?

I was certain that it would be successful enough for them to continue a mobile coupon program, it’s just too easy for the customer since they carry their phone with them everywhere they go.

Further research indicates I was correct, an article published in the Plano Courier Star on February 4, 2010 reports that JC Penney will take advantage of the mobile advertising opportunities and modify their program to include all store locations.  Instead of the 2D scannable image they previously included in the mobile ad, the store clerks will manually enter the coupon code and use new “hot buttons” on the register.

Their provider, Cellfire, reports that “the average redemption rates for paper coupons is about 1%, while the average redemption for a mobile coupon is between 15% and 25%”.  They also reported that “during the five consecutive quarters beginning October 2008, consumer coupon use increased 16.7% and brands issued 367 billion coupons in 2009”.

Do you think “mobile couponing” is a fad or a sign of the times?

Mobile couponing is definitely a sign of the times.  I definitely believe it will be extremely successful.  Reports of success are everywhere.  One recent article titled “What a Girl Wants:  More Mobile Advertising”,  by Jolie O’Dell, cited these statistics for Mobile Advertising:

• 85% use the mobile Internet almost daily.
• 70% expect their mobile Internet usage to increase in the future.
• 84% have noticed mobile advertising, and 57% have clicked on mobile advertising.
• 67% are interested in receiving mobile coupons or vouchers.
• 93% are always on the lookout for bargains.
• 93% like being up-to-date with new technology.

Those are some pretty convincing numbers when it comes to deciding on whether to launch a mobile coupon program!

Additionally, 86% of these women stated they accessed Facebook, Twitter and similar sites with mobile advertising, and you have more than one way to launch your coupons!

More and more online coupon start-ups are popping up.  One I just found from my “hometown’’ in the Tampa Bay area of Florida called “Send Savings.com”  allows mobile users to sign up for coupons and discounts, determine how many times a week they want to receive the offers, and for each time they get one, a donation is made to their favorite charity.  They use text coupons.

Sources:

http://www.dmnews.com/jcpenney-takes-coupons-mobile/article/149790/

http://www.planostar.com/articles/2010/02/04/plano_star-courier/news/148.txt

http://mashable.com/2010/05/05/women-mobile-shopping/

https://sendsavings.com/signup/individual.php