Mobile Barcodes: The Challenges Ahead

We've never truly 'got' mobile barcodes, but we recognize that some consumers have embraced them as a form of mobile marketing. They certainly have their advantages, but they continue to face challenges. Consider TheNextWeb's recent post, 'Mobile Barcodes: The Challenges Ahead'

While the use of mobile bar codes has been mainstream in Asian countries like Japan, it is not until last year that we’ve witnessed their adoption in U.S. and Europe by brands in order to provide holistic experiences to their customers, blurring the line between the online and the offline world.

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There is a long list of brands experimenting with mobile codes, but there is also a list of challenges they have to face in order to interact with customers in innovative and effective ways.

Head over to TheNextWeb to read about challenges for further adoption including fragmentation, 'Coupon Madness,' and Mobile payments.

eBay's Mobile Sales Are Exploding

We knew that eBay has had some success with mobile sales but their 2010 numbers are absolutely incredible:

eBay has announced that global mobile sales generated nearly $2 billion in 2010, up from $600 million in 2009. To be clear, we’re not talking revenues here but gross merchandise volume. Nevertheless, a clear sign that mobile ecommerce has reached a tipping point.

eBay earlier announced that global sales were up 166 percent to $230 million from Nov. 25 to Dec. 25 from the same period last year, so the holiday season was a clear catalyst for much of that growth.

The ecommerce company says its mobile apps, which give users access to eBay’s global marketplace on the go, have been downloaded more than 30 million times in eight languages, and in over 190 countries.

Read more at TechCrunch.

Where Introduces Innovative Mobile Coupons

There's an interesting story over at Mobile Commerce Daily about a company called Where. Where platform’s primary focus is to provide customers with location based mobile coupons, as well as increase merchants’ conversation with their local target market. In other words, according to where you are-you will be able to access special discounts and promotional alerts. We like that you can customize your mobile coupons to be saved for a later date or to be alerted when a coupon is about to expire- creating tons of value for the consumer.

Want to learn more about Mobile Coupons? Read our Mobile Couponing Guide

Editorial: What Apple and Gillette have in common

Mickey Alam Khan, the Editor of Mobile Marketer draws an interesting analogy between Apple and its App Store and Gillette's razor business:

The genius of Apple is that it has replicated with the newly launched iPad tablet what it has got down pat for previous products such as the iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, followed by the App Store in 2008.

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Indeed, it is not the iPad device that’s the prize – it is the revenue from the hundreds of thousands of applications created for that device, locked and unique to the Apple ecosystem. It is the potential of downloads, mobile advertising on applications and revenue shares from sales of movies, music, software, books and media.

Apple, in effect, has learned from Procter & Gamble’s Gillette: create and upgrade the subsidized razor, win the loyalty of its target market and then keep them coming back for refill blades year after year, life-stage after life-stage.

For Apple, the iPad is the razor and applications are the refill blades. The iPod with its songs from iTunes and the iPhone with its songs and applications from the App Store are cut from the same philosophical cloth.

Read the whole thing @ Mobile Marketer.

Snoop Dogg Goes Mobile To Promote Album Sales

Snoop Dogg, the eternal rap star, is bringing his mobile game up to speed to promote his new album More Malice:

Rap mogul Snoop Dogg is using the mobile channel to drive sales of his CDs, DVDs and ringtones, giving away free mobile video content and wallpapers and running a sweepstakes.

The rapper’s agency Cashmere has partnered with mobile entertainment content provider Myxer to promote the upcoming release of Snoop Dogg’s CD and DVD combination More Malice, the follow-up to the Malice N Wonderland album. As part of the promotion, Snoop will use Myxer’s MobileStage product to deliver exclusive, behind-the-scenes branded mobile video content.

Head over to Mobile Commerce Daily for a whole lot more.

Looking for SMS marketing solutions for radio or concert promotions? Visit Club Texting.

Best Buy Bulks Up Mobile Marketing Efforts

Mobile Marketing Watch reports that Best Buy is ramping up their mobile marketing programs:

According to sources at the company, Best Buy is putting the wheels in motion on a spruced up mobile website, more aggressive and targeted SMS texting campaigns, and mobile application updates to help capture a larger share of the mobile community’s attention.

It was just late last year that Best Buy introduced its mobile site and a corresponding iPhone application.

Best Buy’s chief marketing officer, Barry Judge, told the Wall Street Journal last month that his company “wants to use mobile to make standard ads more interactive. A print ad or billboard, for instance, might give consumers an address they could text-message for more information.”

Read more @ Mobile Marketing Watch

Read about Club Texting's text message marketing solutions for retail.

Getting Started With Mobile Coupons

Want to learn about Mobile Couponing? We've got a guide for that!

The technology has been around for a few years, but couponing campaigns have only recently taken off with brands and consumers. We first started to see major brands launch national couponing campaigns last year.

Since then, three things have changed. First, consumers have grown familiar with mobile coupons; second, companies like Club Texting have launched dead simple couponing platforms; and third, financially stressed consumers are looking for ways to save money.

Now is the time for your business – small and local, or large and national – to launch a mobile couponing campaign. You no longer need to pay a marketing agency tens of thousands of dollars to run your campaign for you; Club Texting’s mobile marketing platform allows you to Do It Yourself. This guide will show you how easy and effective mobile coupons can be for your company.

Read more about mobile coupons in our guide at Club Texting.

Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey's Square Mobile Payment Platform Debuts

Yesterday saw the unveiling of a potentially groundbreaking product:

The idea – let people quickly and easily accept physical credit card payments from their mobile phone. A small device attaches to the phone via the headset/microphone jack. The device gets the power it needs to send data to the phone from the swipe of the card, and sends the information over the microphone connection. Based on the shots below, the device is compatible with both the iPhone and Android (or at least the recently released Droid).

Think paypal, but anyone can now accept physical credit card payments, too. With no contracts or monthly fees. People are sent receipts by text and email.

Head over to TechCrunch to learn more, or just watch the video to see how it works!

Report: Mobile Entertainment Sales To Rise 33% In 2009

MediaPost's OnlineMediaDaily brings news of a new report on the mobile entertainment industry:

The worldwide economic downturn isn't slowing down mobile media growth, according to a new forecast. The Mobile Entertainment Forum's latest Business Confidence Index, compiled by KPMG, projects average mobile media revenue will grow 33% in 2009 -- a 6% increase over the rate predicted at the beginning of the year.

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The explosion of mobile applications is also starting to pay off as apps alone are expected to account for 14% of all mobile media sales. It's likely Apple's App Store, with more than 2 billion downloads to date, will generate the vast majority of app sales this year. Even so, most iPhone apps are still offered free.

Read more @ OnlineMediaDaily

Mobile Coupons Take Off With Marketers

Mobile Marketer had a great roundup yesterday of the plethora of recent mobile couponing campaigns:

Brands including Firestone, Hollywood Video, Popeye’s, Borders and OshKosh B’gosh are distributing coupons via smartphone applications.
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Bridgestone’s Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. distributes various mobile coupons’ via Mobiqpon’s applications, including a “Buy 2 tires and get one free” offer.

Similarly, Hollywood Video has run a “Rent 2 movies, get another movie free” promotion using Mobiqpon’s mobile couponing apps.

Quick-serve restaurant Popeye’s tapped Mobiqpons for a mobile couponing campaign offering free two-piece chicken dinners.

Bookstore chain Borders regularly offers 20 percent discount coupons via Mobiqpons’ apps, as well as special birthday offers for regular customers who share specific data.

OshKosh B’gosh, a children’s apparel company specializing in bib overalls, has distributed various mobile coupons via Mobiqpons, including “20 percent off your next purchase of $50 or more.”

Read more @ Mobile Marketer

To learn more about SMS based mobile coupons that do not require smartphone applications, visit Club Texting.