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Reading between the headlines: Making sense of the news in 2010

There were many headline-grabbing advancements and initiatives in the areas of mobile marketing, media and commerce in 2010 as the ecosystem overcame challenges to approach mainstream adoption.

By reading between the headlines and making sense of the news in 2010, it becomes easier to understand where the industry stands as it enters 2011. It also becomes easier to predict what to expect in the year to come.

Brands
Which brands garnered the most attention?

Well, that is an easy answer. Apple, Google, Coca-Cola and Starbucks really topped the charts in terms of who got the most attention from Mobile Marketer in 2010.

The fact that Google and Apple topped the charts really shows just how formidable the two are in the industry.

We enter 2011 knowing that Google and Apple have brought real money to mobile in 2010 and most likely marketers will be allocating more to mobile advertising because these two giants have validated the industry.

When it comes to Coca-Cola, there is not one thing the company has not done in mobile.

The brand has engaged consumers with mobile applications, mobile advertising, branded content, location-based ads, SMS promotions such as text-to-wins, mobile video, mobile SEM and even some mobile social media marketing.

Coca-Cola has really left its mark on mobile in 2010. Going into 2011, it will be interesting to see what the soft drink giant has in store.

Channels
Android applications made headlines during the first half of 2010, until the iPad launched.

Once the iPad was out, there was a flurry of developers creating applications for the platform.

Advertising within iPad applications was also a common headline in 2010.

All in all, mobile advertising was definitely the most popular channel, followed by applications and bar codes, which really gained traction this year.

Brands such as eBay, Calvin Klein, Procter & Gamble, Target and JCPenney used mobile bar codes.

Some print advertisers added bar codes to their static magazine ads, connecting consumers to digital content.

Nestlé, Tiffany & Co. and Estée Lauder are examples of brands that did so.

Seasons
In the first quarter of 2010, Mobile Marketer published a vast array of stories having to do with applications, advertising and marketing around the Super Bowl and the 2010 Winter Olympics.

With the recent launch of Android, the last few months of winter were packed with new Android application SDKs and branded applications.

The Mobile Marketing Association?s restructuring made headlines, as mobile marketers worried over the fate of their industry advocate.

Also in the first few months of 2010, headlines centered around a potential Apple tablet and industry experts were asked to predict the affect the iPad would have on mobile content and mobile advertising.

By the second quarter, as spring came, marketers made their way to Las Vegas for the CTIA Wireless show, where Mobile Marketer reporters were busy typing away.

Location-based advertising, augmented reality and the looming spectrum crisis were popular topics at the show.

Then in April we found out that Apple was betting brands would pay $10 million to be iAd launch sponsors. There was a lot of hate going on. Some experts criticized Apple for its cockiness.

In May, Google became the largest mobile advertising network and articles talking about what that meant for Apple, smaller networks and Google made headlines.

The summer is when we finally got details of some of the iAd campaigns being launched. Back-to-school mobile advertising, mobile commerce-enabled sites and applications and iAds for brands such as JCPenney and Target made headlines.

The Mobile Marketing Forum turned into a ?Let?s bash Apple? fest as uncertainty about the platform scared a lot of agencies.

As the fall approached how-to holiday articles were all the rage, as marketers clearly began to plan their holiday marketing strategy.

Later in the season, as Thanksgiving and then Christmas approached, we covered holiday campaigns and trends. More iAd campaigns surfaced and the industry got to see just what the platform is capable of.

Issues
Overall, Apple?s iAd was the issue that dominated headlines most. Whether it was the platform's effect on mobile advertising, developers, brands or agencies, iAd found itself at the top of the newsletter a lot.

A comparison of iAd to other platforms such as Google's AdMob was a popular type of story.

However, legal stories having to do with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act made headlines as well, with brands such as Twentieth Century Fox surprising people.

The Florida Attorney General also made headlines in 2010, slapping fines on all of the wireless carriers for unauthorized billing for third-party charges on consumers? mobile phone bills.

Holiday-themed stories started early this year, with headlines starting in August on how to plan for ?the most wonderful time of the year.?

Now, lets not forget the HTML5 versus applications debate, which seems never-ending.

That was a big issue in 2010 and the headlines prove it.

People
Steve Jobs was definitely the most popular person covered in Mobile Marketer in 2010.

Funny that he was never actually interviewed by any of the reporters. He was just the most mentioned person in Mobile Marketer stories.

But there are other mobile celebrities in Mobile Marketer. Neil Strother, practice director of ABI Research, Oyster Bay, NY, was interviewed for many stories, based on his expertise in the space.

Paul Gelb, director and mobile practice lead at Razorfish, New York, is also Mr. Popularity when it comes to Mobile Marketer stories.

All in all, 2010 was a great year for mobile and for Mobile Marketer. We cannot wait to see what 2011 has in store for the industry.