QuickMobile

I had the opportunity to attend the Dow Jones Wireless Innovation Conference last week in Redwood Shores, CA. The event is primarily designed to connect new mobile start-ups with funding, but the show had some interesting panels where today's hot mobile topics where debated (e.g. open systems, Internet devices, LBS). More on panel discussions coming soon in later blog entries. There were some interesting companies showcased at the event.

I had the pleasure of meeting Patrick Payne CEO of a new Vancouver BC start-up called Quickmobile. The company has developed a mobile marketing platform specifically designed for the global travel and tourism industry. The application enable the delivery of coupon offer to the traveler.

I was very impressed with company's capabilities and approach. Offers that are received are personalized, relevant, timely and valuable to the consumer sent on an opt-in basis only. Quickmobile was able to show how an SMS message can be sent that when accepted sends a bar coded coupon to the user. How can this be used? Here are just a few examples:

• Hoteliers - could use this method to send coupons for hotel services such as a discount at the restaurant, bar or spa to promote on property services
• Travel Management companies or leisure travel agents can promote "long tail" services (restaurant discounts, activity promotions) to increase loyalty and add to traveler convenience.
  

Mobile advertising will explode over the next few years. The key to mobile promotional campaigns is giving the consumer control over what they receive and making sure the offer is relevant. Quickmobile understands this need and is a company to watch.

Backlash from the Facebook Beacon advertising program

Facebook's attempt to exploit its social network for advertising purposes has raised some major concerns from their users. The Beacon advertising platform is designed to broadcast purchases made by users to their social network. The issue has been taken up by the progressive political organization, MoveOn.org claiming the program violates privacy. Over 50,000 Facebook users have signed the MoveOn.org petition complaining about the privacy issue. The primary problem seems to be in the opt-out strategy taken by Facebook. There is no question that social networks are here to stay and they do influence purchases, especially for travel. The "Where I've Been" application (now owned by Trip Advisor) has been one of the most successful applications on Facebook. Behavioural targeting is also becoming a mainstream advertising strategy that is designed to deliver specific content based on the implicit and explicit behavior of the user. Earlier this year one of the largest players in the behavioral targeting space, Tacoda, was purchased by AOL demonstrating the importance of this emerging advertising trend. Mobile advertising is beginning to become major force as well. Whether planning a complex vacation or buying a HDTV, the opinions of my friends and colleagues do make a difference. The key lesson here is that no matter what the platform (social networks, behavioural targeting or mobile advertising) the user must be in control. Opt-in is the key, not opt-out.

Digital Public Space Advertising

I am fan of the 2002 sci-fi movie Minority Report. In the film Tom Cruise is bombarded by digital advertising as he walks through a crowded mall. The ads are triggered by a retina scan personalizing the offering to respond to the character's specific needs. (In the case of the film, Tom Cruise actually replaced his eyes with another character's so the ads reflect that person's preferences).

A recent article in Always On talked about the emergence of adverting in public spaces such as NYC taxi cabs. Combining that with the growth of Behavioral Targeting, the world described in Minority Report is rapidly emerging. Each generation has become more desensitized to the onslaught of media. My 16 year old son is perfectly happy doing his homework, responding to multiple IM messages all while listing to his favorite tunes. I have no doubt that his current ability to manage multiple media inputs will allow him to handle the coming onslaught of personalized advertising. The growth of public space advertising over the next 5 years will be dramatic.