Mobile marketing. It’s the source of revenue operators are looking to to fill holes that could be left by declining voice and SMS tarrifs, and that could subsidise “free” IP services.
But operators are being faced with a variety of methods to unlock the market, while the brand owners and media buyers themselves are keen to use mobile to bridge different channels.
One example from Hong Kong company iMagic is MyClick. MyClick is a patent-pending system that allows a mobile user to take a specific picture of an image on a billboard, magazine or even on-screen image. An on-handset client then converts that image to data, before delivering it over the air to a network server, which recognises it as a specific request for data. It then pushes back to the handset whatever information or message the advertiser wishes to deliver.
Rupert Purser, ceo, said that the system is immediate and free to end users. The underlying airtime and data charges are paid for by the advertiser, with MyClick taking its revenue from the mobile operator in a revenue share agreement.
The benefit for advertisers is that can capture a user’s identity automatically, and use the process to initiate any process, whether for sales, promotion or other message. They also get a clear indication of which campaigns are working, and which aren’t, he said.
Purser added that the company is working with handset vendors to get the client application, a Java app, installed directly on the handset. Huawei is installing the app in all its 2.5G and 3G phones, he claimed, and the company is in “advanced discussions” with Nokia and Motorola about preinstallation, he said. Other means of installing the app are via SMS, dialling in for an automatic download or direct from the MyClick website.
The company is in Europe to talk to prospective media and operator partners, starting in the UK, with Italy, France and Germany ear-marked for next year.
Currently the MyClick server is outsourced to Hutchison within its secure environment, although Purser said he could envisage adding a server in each market to add reliability.
The service contrasts with a SMS based service just launched from MOB.Li, which works by a user sending a text containing their email address to an advertiser’s specific number. The user is then emailed back by the company in question. The user pays for the cost of a text message.
Responding to the suggestion that SMS based marketing campaigns were well established, without the need for any further client installation, Purser said, “If people like that and are willing to pay for it, they will love MyClick because it’s free. SMS is limited so this is the next generation.”