Thumbplay exec sees excitement over mobile content at CTIA show
April 3, 2008
Thumbs up from Thumbplay
LAS VEGAS – Evan Schwartz’s schedule at the CTIA Wireless 2008 show was packed this week with client and prospect meetings. This former direct marketing veteran and current mobile content specialist is gung-ho about the show.
As cofounder and chief marketing officer of Thumbplay Inc., Mr. Schwartz is anticipating the takeoff in mobile content sales as both content owners, retailers and consumers increasingly use mobile.
In this dialogue with Mobile Marketer’s Mickey Alam Khan, the former CD Now executive talks about industry trends and developments within Thumbplay, a three-year-old online and mobile retailer of an estimated 80,000 ringtones, games, music and video.
What trends are you seeing out there and especially here at the CTIA Wireless show?
What we’re seeing is a lot of excitement about creating new ways for consumers to discover mobile content. I think people have been talking about this as the biggest challenge to growing business.
Recently Thumbplay has announced several new deals and initiatives to really go after discovery of mobile content. We announced the beta of a new program called the “Get” program. It’s basically a vertical mobile entertainment search.
So all [that] consumers need to do is text “GET” plus any artist, game or content they want to the 48000 short code.
For example, you text U2 to 48000 and we will send you back a customized link that takes you directly to U2’s page on Thumbplay’s WAP site. In two seconds you get the link and you’re ready to download U2 songs. The search is free, but data charges may apply. It’s a very easy way for consumers to find the content they want.
We also announced a partnership with Clear Channel.
What’s the industry buzz?
The buzz in the industry is that the leaders are really starting to pull ahead of the pack and that the companies in spaces that are relatively mature – like what we do in mobile content – are growing extremely fast and really pulling away from the rest.
Do people attending this show get it that mobile marketing’s the future of wireless? It’s so technology-focused here.
I think people get it. But there’s very little data that’s floating around that people can point to, in terms of successful campaigns.
I think the key is as major brands are developing campaigns that there’s some kind of direct response mechanism built into the campaign.
So you can’t just buy a bunch of banners on WAP sites and point it to a page that’s essentially a dead-end. There needs to be some kind of interactivity and some way to collect data from users so you can contact them again. And that’s how we can get to a real ROI for mobile marketing.
Any words of advice to those wanting to sell content on mobile?
We’re excited where the industry is heading. My advice to companies wanting to sell mobile content is to partner with companies who have existing distribution and consumer reach, both online and on the mobile Web.
Also just to focus on the basic metrics that create a profitable business. I think a lot of people forget this.