U.S. marketers to go beyond mobile pilots

December 31, 2007

Bob Gold is CEO of Gold Mobile

By Bob Gold

Is the United States catching up to Europe and Asia in its sophisticated use of mobile in sales, marketing, customer service and operations? My answer is no. But 2008 will see a significant increase in major U.S. companies going beyond pilots and deploying mobile solutions as part of their overall budgets.

So, sitting in front of my fireplace with a chilled mug of beer (and please do not tell anyone that I purposely turned off my cell phone) I present my crystal ball for 2008.

Carriers: Strong business-to-business push
Most people do not realize the level of investment the wireless carriers must make to support value-added data and multimedia services as well as traditional voice functions that are carried over their networks. Carriers need to discover new ways to monetize their network investments or they may not to be able to keep up with demand.

In 2008, carriers will get much more aggressive in going after vertical industry B2B applications and partnering with B2B application solution providers to grab a portion of this growing segment of the mobile market. After all, how does a carrier monetize the small to midsize business market for high-margin data services?

Handset manufacturers: More direct-to-consumer strategies
Handset manufacturers are in a very tough position. First, hardware is typically viewed and priced as a commodity. Next, as a mobile device supplier, most of their sales and distribution is through a handful of carriers.

Imagine if Nokia or Motorola was dropped by a couple of carriers, the effect on their revenue, profitability and stock price is enormous. Therefore, handset manufacturers will get much more creative in two ways.

First, be more aggressive in offering bundled carrier services through their own Web sites as part of a broader initiative to have direct consumer relationships. Second, acquire more value-added software applications in both the B2B and consumer space.

Web portals: Become very aggressive in serious mobile integration
For an online community or portal to truly be part of a person's daily social life, there is nothing more important than ensuring they can stay tuned in and actively participate when their members are mobile.

Portals will begin to deploy a combination of mobile messaging, companion WAP sites and handset widgets that enable bi-directional communications between their Web site and mobile members. Those digital communities and portals that understand this will gain more market share and highly engaged members (sponsors love that).

Content owners: Brands as content partners
Who pays for content anymore? Is advertising the only model that can work? How do content owners demonstrate to Wall Street the new emerging revenue models?

The new consumer is creating an interesting dilemma for both content owners and marketers.

For marketers, in order to be part of the consumer communities and gain favorable brand exposure, they can no longer just interrupt content with ads, but must become part of the consumers' content experience.

For content owners, marketers and consumers want more engagement and are no longer satisfied with the CPM [cost-per-thousand] model but would rather have a CPP formula (cost per participation, a la Google).

Media companies will derive more revenue from brands by offering a new form of sponsorship that has the two sides as true partners in content delivery.

A great example is Second Life and applications where brands are part of the overall user experience. Since mobile has a limited-size screen and requires less content to deliver a complete experience, it will prove to be a great starting point for opt-in mobile messages, entertainment, Mobisodes and training and self-improvement content, as well as new applications that are jointly delivered by content owners and brands.

Short-form content is ideal for mobile and makes sense anyway given the attention span of today's consumer and business audience.

Brands: Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
Mobile devices have become true lifestyle products, similar to the other most popular mobile device -- the automobile. Companies will begin to recognize that brands which have the most visibility and footprint on a person's mobile device will gain market share. Therefore, more and more loyalty programs will integrate mobile into how their customers interact, communicate and purchase.

Bob Gold is CEO of Gold Mobile, a Clark, NJ-based provider of mobile marketing and technology services. Reach Mr. Gold at
or text "bob" plus your contact information or short message to "51684".