Do you trust that mobile marketers?

Do you trust that mobile marketers will use the information you provide to simply offer better, customized promotions? Is getting customized marketing information important to you?  

Yes, I do trust that the intention of a mobile marketer is to send useful information to subscribers who have signed up to receive such promotions.  For the most part, I trust that my information will remain confidential within that database and will not be shared, sold or otherwise distributed.  However, I don’t trust that my information has already been linked to farming companies that sell or trade databases for their advantage.  With anything, there are corrupt people within organizations and I simply don’t trust that the world will remain safe just because of a few laws.

Customized information is not that important to me because I don’t really pay attention to deals, promotions or incentives anyway. If I need to make a purchase, I do so at the time I need it. I rarely wait until a deal is going on. Not that I’m a millionaire (believe me, far from it), I just don’t spend time waiting on purchases if I really need them.  I’m willing to pay full price for something I need and right away.  I think this is a symptom of the consumer-driven society we live in.  We are used to immediate consumption, where retailers are available to us 24/7.

If I do sign up to receive special promotions, it is because of an immediate incentive I’ll receive at the point of sale.  For instance, if I sign up today, then I’ll receive a percentage off of my purchase.  Then, I’m likely to opt-out because the messages (while not the formal definition) become like SPAM to me. I just don’t like to be bothered. There are way too many other distractions and obligations in life – I can’t be sucked into one more thing!

Apps or Features?

When I first got my smartphone, it was the cool graphics and easy navigation that made me happy and want to explore more of the phone. Before I downloaded anything, I wanted to see for myself what cool features the phone already held.

Windows 7 has picked up on this trend of ‘new users’ and seeks to impress the new customer with its “live tiles,” showing users real-time content, such as social media updates and contacts.

“The features sort of scream out at you,” says Andy Lees, Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business president. “But the other thing that is even deeper for me is the elegance of the experience, which you only appreciate if you’ve used the phone for some time.”

Windows Phone 7 made its debut in the U.S. on November 8, 2010. The phone uses an elegant operating system that is very different from the current trend toward app-focused phones. Instead it provides active and configurable interface elements called tiles that update on the fly with real information, allowing users to place the tiles that interest them most where they want on their Start screen. Facebook photos, music and contacts are pulled into the phone and distributed appropriately across Hubs. It also brings together many of Microsoft’s popular offerings from other platforms, including Xbox, Zune, Office and Bing.

Applications will be available for the phone as well via a Hub called the Marketplace. But, unlike other smartphones, they won’t be required for the majority of everyday tasks.

It is obvious that Microsoft decided that phone features are more important that apps.  Smartphones are increasingly a part of our lives. The current smartphone designs make people either takes too long to find what they need on their phones or they get distracted and drawn in to unproductive activities simply because they have to click in and open apps to see things.

To highlight the problem, the company is launching a provocative advertising and marketing campaign, showing how Microsoft’s new phone is different. The new Windows Phone 7 is designed to help users connect with the people and information they care about most, then let them return to the real world as fast as possible.

However, Mobile apps have changed how we conceive of our mobile phones; they have moved the collective unconscious from believing that mobile phones are pre-loaded with all the software and functionality we could ever want to believing that mobile phones, like computers, will always need additional functionality to achieve our specific needs

How does a smartphone differentiate itself in the marketplace?  I believe a balance both mobile phone features and the ability to download apps will weigh heavy on how a smartphone can differentiate itself in the marketplace.
And I believe the importance will always heavily on how the consumer uses the phone.

Does Paid Inclusion on Search Engines Walk the Line of Journalistic Integrity?

This brings up a big soap box for me. When I graduated with my undergrad degree in Public Relations, there was a big deal made about journalistic integrity and the code of conduct and ethics that journalists follow. Paid inclusion on the web walks that line for me.

Anyone who works if the field today knows that if you want your company/organization to have editorial coverage is high-gloss national magazines, than that typically comes with a price. Gone are the days that journalists reports ‘real news.’ Newspapers, in the face of digital media, are faced with the same dilemma. Marketers are smart. They know that editorial is more ‘believable’ than advertising, but now that advertising drives editorial, does it take the objective ‘news’ angle away? Essentially, yes. News is now paid inclusion. Do you see where I’m taking this? Search engines are the same way. Organic search results are based solely on the relevancy of the searched key words. Paid inclusion allows advertising to be among ‘editorial.’ Either way, if a marketer is truly ‘up’ on its SEO marketing campaign, then they would know that editorial doesn’t even mean the same thing anymore. Nor does it have the same effect on consumers as it once did. It isn’t the coveted ‘objective’ standpoint it once was. Nor is it perceived that way. In my opinion (opinion only), consumers aren’t stupid and they know that news is now deliberate (based on who’s showing the money).

Consumer to consumer feedback and testimonials ranks higher on the ‘I believe’ test for me these days. I’ll believe a complete stranger who gave his/her ranking on TripAdvisor about a hotel than I would a travel writers article in Travel and Leisure magazine. Likely, the travel writers had an all-expenses paid trip to the destination with a promise that a great review would result. Consumers don’t have that buy-in and are more likely to be candid.

What do you think? Who do you believe?

Apps versus Features?

Windows 7 is a great example of the struggle for first place between phone features and apps. What is more important?

When I first got my smartphone, it was the cool graphics and easy navigation that made me happy and want to explore more of the phone. Before I downloaded anything, I wanted to see for myself what cool features the phone already held.

Windows 7 has picked up on this trend of ‘new users’ and seeks to impress the new customer with its “live tiles,” showing users real-time content, such as social media updates and contacts.

“The features sort of scream out at you,” says Andy Lees, Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business president. “But the other thing that is even deeper for me is the elegance of the experience, which you only appreciate if you’ve used the phone for some time.”

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Check out some other blog’s regarding emerging media:

http://wvubritt.wordpress.com/

http://mediamerge.wordpress.com/

http://shaypenmediatrends.wordpress.com/

http://olivernapier.wordpress.com/

http://emergingmediapress.wordpress.com

www.egamidigitalimc.com

www.digitallydazed.wordpress.com

http://tburns03.wordpress.com/

http://digitalmediaspin.wordpress.com/

http://jlgannon.wordpress.com

Windows Phone 7 made its debut in the U.S. on November 8, 2010. The phone uses an elegant operating system that is very different from the current trend toward app-focused phones. Instead it provides active and configurable interface elements called tiles that update on the fly with real information, allowing users to place the tiles that interest them most where they want on their Start screen. Facebook photos, music and contacts are pulled into the phone and distributed appropriately across Hubs. It also brings together many of Microsoft’s popular offerings from other platforms, including Xbox, Zune, Office and Bing.

Applications will be available for the phone as well via a Hub called the Marketplace. But, unlike other smartphones, they won’t be required for the majority of everyday tasks.

It is obvious that Microsoft decided that phone features are more important that apps.  Smartphones are increasingly a part of our lives. The current smartphone designs make people either takes too long to find what they need on their phones or they get distracted and drawn in to unproductive activities simply because they have to click in and open apps to see things.

To highlight the problem, the company is launching a provocative advertising and marketing campaign, showing how Microsoft’s new phone is different. The new Windows Phone 7 is designed to help users connect with the people and information they care about most, then let them return to the real world as fast as possible.

However, Mobile apps have changed how we conceive of our mobile phones; they have moved the collective unconscious from believing that mobile phones are pre-loaded with all the software and functionality we could ever want to believing that mobile phones, like computers, will always need additional functionality to achieve our specific needs.

How does a smartphone differentiate itself in the marketplace?  I believe a balance both mobile phone features and the ability to download apps will weigh heavy on how a smartphone can differentiate itself in the marketplace.
And I believe the importance will always heavily on how the consumer uses the phone.

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours…..

Welcome to IntegratedMarketingandCommunication (IMC) blog! Throughout the next nine weeks, I will be posting my weekly (and sometimes daily) thoughts and observations about and important part of what is included in today’s definition of the marketing mix – emerging media.

What is emerging media, you ask? Marian Azzaro, a Roosevelt University IMC professor defines emerging media as: “the use of digital technology to communicate with a target audience,” What are the defining characteristics of emerging media?

Here are a few:

• Blurs the distinction between individual and mass audiences.

• Audience is often known by the producer.

• Sender can remain anonymous to the user.

• Possibility of many-to-many communication.

• Communication is interactive; users can be a receiver and a sender.

We are all exposed to emerging media daily, whether we know it or not. Marketers have become very sophisticated, of course with the help of technology and digital-based communications. From website advertising, to mobile marketing strategies, emerging media has not only ‘emerged’ but is here for good. You, as a consumer, are exposed to these media several times throughout the day.

Here are a few examples of what emerging media:

• Web Sites

• Video Ads

• Widgets

• RSS Feeds

• Podcasting

• V-casting (or video casts)

• Banner Ads

• Short Films

• Blogs & Vlogs

• Chat Rooms

• Bluetooth

• In-Game Advertising

• Social Networking

• Social Bookmarking

• Smartphone Apps

• Mobile advertising

As a marketer, where do you begin? In my opinion, permission-based marketing is square one. Since emerging media carries the same virtue as traditional media (i.e. building customer relationships and loyalty), it is important to gain the trust of consumers. But can a marketing method like mobile marketing hinder this? How do you go about gaining the trust of privacy?

Let’s go with mobile marketing for example….

Managing a mobile marketing campaign can be a challenge because there are many different entities contributing to a successful campaign. At the top of the list is permission-based marketing and associative laws and regulations. Most regulations are set-forth to protect individual subscribers, and are in reference to personal information as it relates to the individuals location. In attempt to protect consumer privacy, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) issued guidelines for technology-sensitive messages to a consumer to their mobile devices. The MMA is a trade organization that represents advertisers and agencies which engage in advertising or marketing on mobile devices.

The MMA recommends that its members not merge personally identifiable information with a mobile subscriber’s information without their consent. The MMA also said that mobile marketers should not share information with third-parties without a subscriber’s consent. The organization said that mobile marketers should let consumers know if they are using anonymous or aggregate location information for marketing purposes. Finally, the MMA suggested that mobile marketers allow subscribers to opt-out of programs at any time, even if they have already agreed to receive marketing messages.

Safety is my top regarded concern. If a marketer can find me, based on my geographic location that the GPS in my phone indicates, and then who else can find me? Is my information being shared with other entities? Suddenly, my location is not private and they can find me wherever I am. Read this article from the Boston Globe to learn more about privacy concerns.

It isn’t the marketing messages that frighten me. It is the humans that are running and operating the technology. We live in a world where corruption and crime happens regularly. Technology makes privacy non-existent and the corruption of the world is what is overblown. Human error is to blame if there are concerns of privacy issues being overblown, not technology.

Do you think privacy issues concerning mobile marketing are overblown?

Check out some other blog’s regarding emerging media:

http://wvubritt.wordpress.com/

http://mediamerge.wordpress.com/

http://shaypenmediatrends.wordpress.com/

http://olivernapier.wordpress.com/

http://emergingmediapress.wordpress.com

www.egamidigitalimc.com

www.digitallydazed.wordpress.com

http://tburns03.wordpress.com/

http://digitalmediaspin.wordpress.com/

http://jlgannon.wordpress.com

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