The Weather Channel view on mobile

April 2, 2008

The right forecast for mobile

LAS VEGAS - The Weather Channel was one of the pioneers on the traditional Web and is one of the most-trafficked mobile sites. Three senior executives visiting the CTIA Wireless 2008 show talk about weather.com's mobile initiatives, industry trends and challenges ahead.

Mobile Marketer’s Lauren Mooney sat down with Derek Van Nostran, director of marketing at the Weather Channel Interactive division; Craig Etheridge, vice president of emerging platforms/mobile and international division of weather.com; and Dave Blumenthal, senior manager of public relations at the Weather Channel. Here's what they had to say.

What is the Weather Channel doing at CTIA Wireless?
Mr. Blumenthal: We’re doing something a little promotional here. We have something called our Weather Wall. It’s a traveling green screen that lets people try their hand at [delivering a live weather report]. We have it here in Vantrix. We’re uploading it and they are posting it and sending it SMS to people. We’re trying to promote usage of the channel.

Where is the Weather Channel in mobile today and where are you taking it?
Mr. Van Nostran: The Weather Channel where we stand -- we’re in the awareness and growth stage for the mobile Web. We feel like many people are texting but not enough people are using the mobile Web yet. We’re focusing our efforts on the awareness of the mobile Web.

Where do you see the market going?
Mr. Van Nostran: We are getting consumers comfortable with accessing the site on their phone. SWAP is what we call the instant text with the URL back to your phone, through banner ads on weather.com.

We’re trying to make this the lowest common denominator for folks -- people know how to text. We’re doing our own Mobile Month, mid-May to June. We’re at a stage now where it’s more about marketing mobile than mobile marketing.

We need to get the word out, whatever the easiest way for us to do is. The consumers aren’t there yet, but we’re trying to bring the people in so that we can monetize it.

What do you think of the show?
Mr. Van Nostran: Yesterday we were at the [CTIA Wireless pre-show event] Mobile Marketing Channel. They’re still talking in 101 language because a lot of people aren’t up with it. They say it's mainstream, but if we’re still talking 101 to the people who are really interested, there’s a long way to go. It’s still in our future, not in our present.

Mr. Etheridge: The challenge for us is to continue to build our brand. How do you bring them useful relevant information they can use on a day-to-day basis?

Weather is perishable, it changes constantly. Our info helps consumers plan for life. The challenge we see is that there are so many technologies out there, which ones do you grasp at? [What is the] relevant connectivity for the consumer? How does weather tie into traffic, other applications, and how do we overlay that for the consumer?

It’s evangelizing, it’s educating the clients, the companies, what does it do for your audience, your clients. The money will follow, but you want to be able to show the relevance and how people embrace these devices.

What’s the sale pitch that you’ve found has worked?
Mr. Etheridge: Reaching consumers on-the-go is the No. 1 priority for Weather Mobile. It’s a more powerful connection. The connectivity, the one-to-one relationship you have. When you are viewing with a purpose, you're interacting with a brand in that space. What they see on Weather Mobile helps them make decisions. We provide all that type of info.

What type of year is 2008 for mobile?
Mr. Van Nostran: I would say it’s the year for the laying of the foundation that everything else is going to spring from.

We have to make consumers and advertisers aware of the power mobile holds. All these multifunctional handsets are now available for consumers. The future will all come from this foundation.

When the year of mobile finally happens, we’re not going to notice. Everyone has been talking about it for about seven years now. In 2001 we had a mobile forum. The year of mobile is going to sneak up on everyone. We’re not going to know what happened.

Mr. Etheridge: There’s so much technology out there, it's finding what resonates with the consumer. What info do they want to consume on their devices.

Mr. Van Nostran: Beyond the early adapters, the mainstream is here.

Mr. Blumenthal: If you look at the brands on our site now, [mobile advertising] is there. It’s so intuitive. We’re in the right place at the right time. Weather on mobile is an ideal fit.