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We just pushed some changes to the chat campaign. Here’s a breakdown of what has changed and how that may effect you.

Obfuscated Syndication URLs

We switched our syndication URLs to a format that is not easy to guess. To ease the transition, we are redirecting the old URLs to the new format until next Thursday. Please update any bookmarks or hardcoded links you may have to the new format.

Improved Timeline

We upgraded the format of the chat timeline to better display chat messages. Here’s a screenshot of the chat display. We will be rolling out a new feature that takes advantage of this display style within the next few weeks.

Admin Rights

Finally, we made some actions require an administrator. Administrators will now only be able to reset the timeline, ban/unban a user, and delete a single message. Administrators can adjust user roles in the My Account section of the application.

Today Retailwire.com highlighted a March 12, 2010 post by a firm called Compete about its research into consumer acceptance of various mobile advertising tactics.  I thought this was worth mentioning for a number of reasons, but mainly to highlight the distinction between mobile advertising and mobile engagement – which are really two separate ideas that get co-mingled in this case.

For retailers in particular, it’s important to separate engagement from advertising; the former is interactive by definition, the latter more static/one way communication, even when targeting a particular demographic.

With respect to mobile ad acceptance by consumers, the research found:

“…we saw consumers were most interested in receiving grocery coupons (36 percent), scanable barcodes (29 percent), offers to save and pursue at leisure (26 percent), movie theater offers (26 percent), and ads via SMS when going by a retailer with a promotion / coupon (21 percent).”

The means by which these “advertisements” are delivered to mobile consumers is typically via SMS text message interactions initiated as part of customer engagement strategies.  Engagement itself is the real opportunity presented by mobile channel marketing, which the research also highlights as shown in the chart included earlier in this post.  The research dovetails with a diagram we have been using (at right) to illustrate the personal nature of the mobile channel relative to other advertising and marketing methods that also present fewer opportunities for engagement.

Be it coupons or special offers, these calls to action should be viewed not as advertisements, but rather part of engagement strategies targeting consumers receptive and available to receive them in ways not possible in other media.

Marketers and their agency partners always seem to have smartphone demographics top of mind when discussions turn to mobile projects, and rightly so.  Until such time that applications are as universally accessible as on desktop computers, marketers need to make choices with respect to mobile strategy.

This article today on AdAge.com presents some generalizations to describe typical smartphone users:

iPod Touch: “The Touch user is young — according to AdMob, 65% of iPod Touch users are under 17 — and likes to game and listen to music.”

Blackberry: “The BlackBerry user is still very much a business user who uses the phone primarily for e-mail, instant messages and viewing attachments.”

Android: “According to Nielsen, 33% of Android users are single and, by Ad Mob’s count, 73% are male. Millennial’s Mr. Startzel calls it the ‘tough, terminator-like robot phone…’”

iPhone: “The iPhone user is tech-obsessed, wealthy and is less likely to have kids than other smartphone users… iPhoners are also using the device for much more than e-mail or messaging and are very active web surfers. They’re also more likely to buy things from their phones, download apps and content, according to Nielsen.”

While certainly good to know, such information doesn’t paint a full picture.  No matter what the generic user profile for a particular smartphone device looks like, it’s important to also consider whether or not consumers perceive a particular device as a viable application platform.  Although Google Android device shipments have been strong and are capable app platforms, the available market for applications pales in comparison to Apple’s App Store for the iPhone.

Right or wrong, currently the iPhone is perceived as the mobile app platform for consumers, due as much to its features and capabilities as the hundred+ thousand applications currently offered.  Some marketers invest in iPhone apps to reach their target demographic, others for the publicity which can accompany novel or interesting apps regardless of how well they are aligned to buyers.

Where trade-offs are not required is with SMS text message marketing programs.  These not only offer universal reach, but provide marketers the unique opportunity to learn more about their customers via direct engagement.  Marketers are not afforded the luxury of knowing who downloads their applications.

Today on my iPhone, browsing news on an application designed by Interactive Mediums for Newser, I came across this interesting article about a “Minority Report”-like mobile marketing trial taking place in Japan that will soon be brought to the U.S.

If not familiar with the movie reference, futuristic billboards presented personalized ads based on your actual identify as you walked by them.  The trial taking place in Japan is similar in that it features facial recognition capabilities to understand age and gender, and use these as inputs into personalized advertisements.

Although an interesting, if not very exciting marketing advancement, the article raises logical privacy concerns that arise with anything which consumers have little control over.  In this case, identities remain private and the scans are not saved following delivery of personalized messages.

Whatever form this takes in the U.S. or elsewhere, you can be certain that it will be followed by integration with location aware smartphones so that consumers may opt into being recognized and presented with personalized offers and messages based on actual identity, not just age or gender.

Preparing for this future now, marketers would be wise to develop mobile relationships with their customers using commonly available SMS text message marketing capabilities as offered by companies like Interactive Mediums.   Doing so successfully is equally a function of adhering to opt in standards which will not likely change even in the face of advancements like intelligent billboards.

This March 12, 2009 article on eMarketer.com titled, “Marketers Buzz About ROI,” is notable for what it doesn’t say – which is that mobile marketing is the tactic most important to executives subject to a recent survey.

As you can see in the accompanying chart, others in the list – from ROI to customer satisfaction – are attributes of marketing’s charter.  This supports what we have written about many times before – that mobile marketing applied strategically can underpin, power and drive results for a variety of initiatives.  With ROI the topmost concern, the measurability of mobile marketing programs surely contributes to its prominence in the list, even above social media.

Since every business is unique we find it helpful to perform a simple exercise designed to highlight the most immediate way mobile can create the highest value, as quickly as possible.  You can read about it here.

In October of 2009 we mentioned a great example of mobile as part of a casino’s customer engagement strategy.  Good case studies are easy to remember, so I was not surprised to see this article today on MobileMarketer.com about where this business is evolving its approach to mobile.

I thought this was worth highlighting to show that mobile is not an “all or nothing” proposition, but that a phased approach to engaging customers in the mobile channel often makes the most sense.

Within the casino itself, mobile gaming is being introduced via proprietary mobile devices from a firm called eDeck.  These will provide on the go access to a variety of traditional games such that patrons can enjoy gambling wherever they may be within the property.  It’s an example of “micro mobile marketing,” in that customers are confined to a particular space that lends itself to mobile enablement in this fashion.  The upside for the casino will surely be more revenue while offering another channel of interaction with its customers.  Those two objectives are common among leading mobile marketers, whether their customers are more or less confined to a particular space or not.

While the article does not say so, this statement suggests the casino’s prior efforts around SMS text messaging programs to create an opt-in database of mobile subscribers will be used to help promote the new offering:

“Hard Rock will target its existing database and create eDeck awareness throughout the property.”

Other casinos will probably follow suit, or perhaps develop smartphone applications offering a similar experience in order to reach a greater number of potential customers than with a limited number of proprietary devices.

In an article published last Monday, Adage identified 6 applications created independently of retailers that are making a significant impact on the shopping experience. The article speaks to the challenge of retailers to adopt not fight this new transparency.  The applications reviewed are some of the very best at putting the power in the hands of the consumer by offering real-time coupons, in-store product reviews, competitive pricing, alternative store locations and more.

With 41% of iPhone users apparently actively checking prices, it’s obvious some retail CMO’s see these competitive applications as a threat. However the majority of big name retailers have already adopted and created their own integrated shopping applications to compete with these consumer advocate apps that threaten their pricing. North Face, Best Buy, Home Depot, Target, Nike, Gap, Wal-Mart, and Banana Republic all have integrated shopping applications, while Crate & Barrel, and Disney stores have their applications in development.

The challenge however is not to just develop a mobile shopping application, it is to create an incredible user interface that makes it simple and fun for your customers to shop with you. It is to create a fundamentally different way for customers to interact with your store.

For example, the NikeID store let’s you pick shoes out based on colors from photos in your phone. I found some great Nike Dunks just by showing a photo of a Fuji apple. Wal-Mart’s application lets you snap a picture of your living room wall to figure out an appropriate television size.

As more retailers enter the mobile ecosystem, it becomes clear that they must create a mobile shopping experience that goes above and beyond just acting as a portal if they want to keep their customers shopping with them over strictly shopping by price. With a combination of loyalty points, cool customization, interactive features, and convenience it’s still possible for the big name retailers (and brands) to win out.

Learn more about mobile application development at our resource center.

In October of last year, we highlighted news of retailer Wet Seal’s mobile marketing efforts as “best practice” by effectively mapping their strategy to the mobile channel in a manner similar to one we prescribe at Interactive Mediums.  The company continues to build on that success, as outlined today on MobileMarketer.com in an article titled, “Wet Seal exec: Mobile drives retail and online sales.”

From SMS text messaging, to mobile application to a mobile website, Wet Seal has implemented a program which stitches these mobile marketing tactics together in such a way to engage their customer base and drive sales.  SMS has outperformed email in direct marketing tests by the retailer, who uses text primarily to engage customers with in store contests and promotions geared toward learning more about them and drive other mobile interactions.  A mobile website simplified relative to the full online version and optimized to facilitate purchases as well as an “outfit” configurator smartphone application round out the current approach.  Planned projects include mobile purchases paired with in-store pickup scheduling, mobile gift cards and social media integration.

Key lessons others can learn from cited include:

“First, get started early to benefit from early interactions and then fine-tune strategy and tactics.

Second, customers like to choose the way they want to shop. So offer them as many options as possible.

Third, extend the mobile experiences across channels – online and in-store – and optimize. Mobile is often the bridge between other channels.

Fourth, focus on core competency and technology to create excitement within the target customer base.

Finally, integrate customer feedback.”

Wet Seal is among the most progressive users of mobile marketing and their aggressive approach may intimidate those less experienced.  Paired with the urgency to begin competing for consumer mobile mindshare, and you have a recipe for stress.  Interactive Mediums’ platform and professional services are geared around helping customers move rapidly into mobile in a “right sized” fashion and grow over time.  Mapping your business and marketing strategy to the mobile channel is a good first step.

The other day my colleague Drew Myler posted about HTML5 and its ability to serve as a basis for mobile web applications offering a very similar user experience as native applications for the iPhone and other smartphones.   A lot has been written about mobile web browser-dependent applications offering a less ideal basis for engaging experiences due to the latency around data transfer involved in loading pages that a user links to in the browser.

Moreover, should the network connection be lost, a user must re-start the browser session, which does not occur with native mobile applications.  HTML5 apparently has the ability to stage data in memory on a device such that the user cannot perceive the data transfer usually associate with web browsing.

Drew points out HTML5’s ability as well to access device functions that historically were the domain of native apps, such as the built in GPS capabilities of the iPhone.  What this all means for marketers, agencies and others considering mobile application development projects is that the mobile web offers essentially a “write once, run anywhere” experience that alleviates the need to create unique applications for different smartphone platforms.   At least for those devices with browsers supporting HTML5.  Of course, were it that simple, demand for iPhone applications would not be so strong, which Drew correctly identifies as a strength Apple brings to the table via the App Store.

This article I came across yesterday on InternetRetailer.com titled, “Apps versus sites,” doesn’t discuss recent developments aimed at closing the gap between the mobile web and applications, which illustrates how important maintaining touch with the technical community is so critical to success in the mobile channel.  Things are happening so fast, that once defacto stances around what works/what doesn’t are constantly being revised.  For example:

“M-commerce sites and apps differ in four fundamental ways: reach and discoverability, which favor sites, and experience and performance, which favor apps.”

In reality, apps are probably as “discoverable” as mobile websites given the visibility of the App Store.  Their point is that just like SMS text messaging, smartphones of all varieties have web browsers.  But with “experience” and “performance” becoming an immaterial aspect of the debate, it will be interesting to see what decisions marketers make with respect to mobile web and application projects.

Here’s a suggestion:  If torn between smartphone application development platforms due to the demographics and reach associated with each, why not create a rich web-based application that is universally accessible.  Then, in order to leverage the marketing-might of the App Store and other smartphone application stores, simply create small applications that offer a gateway to the mobile web app.  In this way, you lower your costs, ensure access to the widest audience possible while tapping into the demographic niches associated with different smartphones.  Don’t be surprised to see more than a few retailers and other industries begin taking this approach as HTML5 becomes more mainstream.

Do you have an existing database of customers that you would like to start marketing to via the mobile channel? If so, TextMe makes it incredibly easy to utilize the information that you have already collected to start interacting with these customers via the mobile channel immediately.

Please note that the Mobile Marketing Association requires you to first obtain your customer’s permission before marketing them via SMS. There are several ways this can be accomplished. Please contact us for more information.

To get started, you first need to tell TextMe about the data you wish to store about your customers. You can check out this blog post to see how this can be accomplished.

Once your user data has been defined, you can start uploading your existing customer data into TextMe. There are two ways to do this.

The first is by selecting the Upload Contacts option under the Contacts tab. Upload contacts will upload your customer data into TextMe without associating your customers with any subscription list. Hence, it can be done without first obtaining permission from your customers to contact them via SMS.

After uploading your data file, which can be a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, an Open Office spreadsheet, or a comma separated values (CSV) file, you will be brought to a screen where you can map the data in your data file to the attributes that you have defined in TextMe. If there is a column in the data file containing data you do not wish to upload, simply click the Ignore this column check box for that attribute.

After verifying the data mapping, TextMe will begin processing your data file in the background. An email will be sent to you when the upload is complete.

The second way to upload existing customer data into TextMe is by selecting an existing subscription campaign, clicking Subscribers, and choosing Upload Subscribers from the list of options. Upload subscribers will upload your customer data into TextMe as well as add them to the list of subscribers for this particular subscription campaign. If you have not already obtained their permission, TextMe will send an opt-in message to your customers asking if they would like to opt-in to your subscription list. If you have already obtained their permission, let us know, and we can help you get setup without sending the opt-in message.

The best part about uploading subscribers with the information that you have already collected about them is that you can immediately start segmenting your customers into groups and targeting groups of subscribers with custom messages.

We hope you find this capability useful. As always, let us know what else we can do to help!