Links ‘n stuff

It’s the usual story… too many tabs open in multiple browsers, a ton of stuff marked to read later, yada yada. So here’s a few links that I think are worth sharing with you.

Publishing and Media

As some of you may know, I do a lot of consulting work with media owners in the UK and the Nordic region. As such, I have a keen interest in all things publishing and this is a post about innovation in publishing with some very interesting links http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/2011/04/shorter-and-sweeter.html

Of course, the big question is why all this innovation comes from outside the publishing world and not from within. Is it just too hard to innovate from within?

And some recent conference quotes:

“newspapers must invest in content, sales & disruption – sell or outsource everything else” #linktotherest #naamxc11 #jrc via @jxpaton

#cms2011 percentage of music that is digital: 80% percentage of digital newspapers: 2% opportunity or impending disaster?” A quote from the recent Guardian Changing Media Summit which I attended.

Apps, apps and more apps

The world has gone app crazy. Or at least, the mobile press would have you think so. There’s a disconnect between the reality (90 % of apps are deleted, it’s hard to make money from apps, app stores are still ropey etc.) and the press but it’s still a very interesting area and one that if you’re in mobile, you have to consider seriously. But let’s get one thing straight… creating an iPhone app is not a mobile strategy. And it’s not just me who is saying that. Anyway, on to some app links..

Distimo and MEF have teamed up to publish the European App Store Market Report. Unfortunately, you can only download the whole thing if you’re a member of MEF but there are some interesting snippets they have shared including weekends are top downloading times, folks don’t want to pay more than £2 for an app, in-app payments are going great guns and UK developers are doing very well. More here http://www.distimo.com/blog/2011_03_distimo-and-mef-publish-european-app-store-market-report/

The new report from WIP also shows the growing importance of in-app payments as sales revenues are decimated on the appearance of competitors offerings which are free. Well worth a look if apps are your business and if you want to know more about how to monetise them. http://www.wipconnector.com/blog/entry/april_app_store_report_momentum_shifting_to_in_app_payments

And if you think you could make a million with an app, then take a look at this infographic http://designtaxi.com/news/34297/Who-Wants-to-Be-an-App-Millionaire/ – the app sales world is skewed currently. There’s no money in the long tail (yet) from what I can tell.

And if you’re new to the world of apps and you have an Android phone, then this blogpost about favourite apps might be worth a look. http://www.chromewalker.com/cw_six/?p=2307

As for me, I play WordUp and Solitaire, I use Gmail, Google Maps (although it doesn’t always work), Gentle Alarm, Foursquare (although that doesn’t always work either as it can’t always register my location) and the browser for pretty much everything else – twitter, facebook, train time search in the main. I’m told that my focus on the browser as the route to do all the stuff I want to do is unusual and sophisticated. I’m not sure that’s the case so I’m interested to hear about your phone life too.

Music and digital

We’re fed a line by certain circles in the music industry that it’s being killed off by piracy and the proliferation of digital. I’ve always been sceptical about this. As far as I can see there is even more music around now than when I was a teenager and folks are still as passionate about it. And more interestingly, is that there seem to be even more potential revenue streams and business models for music. That’s got to be a good thing, right? Well, I’m sure there are folks who would vehemently disagree, but a new paper by Joel Waldfogel suggests that my hunch could be right. http://torrentfreak.com/report-despite-piracy-music-is-more-alive-than-ever-before-110325/

Mobile marketing and advertising

Think it’s too tough to plan and buy mobile media? Then you might want to take a look at this new white paper from Mobile Squared and StrikeAd. http://strikead.squarespace.com/white-paper/

Heard the buzzword ‘gamification’? Want to know what that might mean to mobile marketing? Then take a look at this article – worth a read http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2011/03/the-gamification-of-mobile-marketing.html

Mobile Commerce

There are those who think mobile commerce is just a pipe dream. There are those, like Ryan Carson, who thought that people just wouldn’t want to use eBay on their mobiles (yes, I witnessed him say this at a Chinwag event). I knew he was wrong then. And he’s certainly wrong now. Hell, I expect he’s even using eBay on his mobile now. But if you’re in any doubt at all how important mobile is to ecommerce then please take note that PayPal’s *mobile* transactions exceed $6 million PER DAY. Don’t believe me? Then check out the article from their keynote at CTIA which also includes video clips from the keynote.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/2011/03/22/paypal-mobile-transactions-exceed-6m-per-day-ctia-keynote

And when dotcom poster child, Groupon, is getting into mobile, you know this thing is serious http://mashable.com/2011/03/17/groupon-now/ [Let’s see if this will disrupt how we think about location based services.]

And take note, Tesco advises that 1 in 5 of their visits to Tesco.com come from their iPhone app. That’s huge. Quote from the recent Retail Week event via @martinnewman: “1 in 5 visits to Tesco.com coming through their iPhone app #rw20”

I know I haven’t even got through half my links. More to come…

Demo night–Spring 2011 Edition courtesy of Intel AppUpp

Yes! Demo Night is back at Mobile Monday London, albeit a couple of weeks later than we’d originally planned. I'll update the agenda once I know who's going to demo their wares on the night but expect an eclectic mix of mobile applications, products and services. Each presenter will get 3 minutes to demo and then there'll be time for questions and feedback from the audience. We’ll be split into two rooms so we can accommodate everyone without being too squashed up and each demo company will pitch twice – once in each room – so there’s no need for the audience to move around. It also means we’ll have a bit more space so hopefully we won’t have to turn people away because we’re full.

We have room for 12 or more demo companies to show their wares. You can be at prototype stage wanting some feedback, or you can be at fully-fledged service stage able to share insight about getting to market or somewhere in between. It really doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you’re interested to show us what you’re up to and share at least one insight during your three minutes (and yes, we have to be strict on time). We are platform and device agnostic and it would be great to see a wide range of platforms and devices covered. And it doesn’t have to be mobile internet or app driven either. Voice and SMS services are also relevant. Just fill in this form http://bit.ly/demorequest or email helen@mobilemonday.org.uk if you'd like to be considered for one of the slots. Don’t be shy. We’ll fit in as many as we can.

This event is kindly sponsored by Intel AppUp Developer Program.

About the Intel AppUp Developer Program

The Intel AppUp developer program provides developers with everything they need to easily develop and sell applications via the Intel AppUp Centre and affiliate app stores. The initial focus of the program is netbooks and tablets, but is soon expanding to include smartphones, consumer electronics, and other devices. The program supports C/C++, Adobe AIR, Java, Microsoft .NET, and Meego apps. The developer program provides easy to use SDKs, easy deployment and validation along with a vibrant community. In addition, the program provides developers with numerous monetisation opportunities through the AppUp centre, affiliate app stores, in-application advertising, and much more.

Venue and timing

We’ll be at the CBI at Centrepoint. Doors open at 6pm for a prompt 6.30pm start. The demos should be finished by about 8.15pm and then we'll have drinks and networking until 9.30pm. Please note that the Northern Line will not be stopping at Tottenham Court Road from April onwards whilst engineering works are happening. Please use Goodge Street or Leicester Square on the Northern Line, or come via Oxford Circus and get the Central Line to Tottenham Court Road as that’s working as normal.

Please RSVP at http://momolo.org/ if you'd like to attend this event. An RSVP on our Facebook event is not enough as we can't export the data to tally up numbers and create a registration list. Please note that registration details will be shared with the sponsor.

Registration will be open until Friday 15 April at midday or until we’re full up – whichever comes first.

Look forward to seeing you!

Mobile Advertising Market in the UK has more than doubled

Smartphone usage more than doubles mobile advertising expenditure in 2010. New research from the IAB and PwC shows UK mobile advertising market grew 116% to £83 million in 2010. Traditional advertisers invest in mobile as finance, telecoms and FMCG increase spend.

Well, this is good news for the mobile advertising sector on the face of it. At last, we’re seeing mainstream adoption of mobile advertising – largely boosted by the adoption and usage of smartphones (and I suspect the iPhone had a large part to play in that too).

According to the research, mobile advertising has experienced a staggering 116% year on year growth (on a like for like basis), up from 32% growth in 2009. Advertisers spent £83 million on mobile advertising in 2010, according to the third annual IAB and PwC mobile study.

Entertainment and media has dominated the spend for the past couple of years, but its dominance is reducing as other advertisers – in particular financial, telecom providers and consumer good brands – see the opportunity the sector has to offer.

Smartphone adoption isn’t the only driver for the growth in spend. The way consumers are using mobile to access media has changed dramatically over the past few years.

Advertisers’ spend on search on mobile has nearly tripled from 2009, going up from £20.2 million to £54.9 million. Display advertising in the form of banner ads, text links, and tenancies experienced a rise of 62% to £23.7 million, from £14.6 million in 2009. The mobile format of pre-and post-roll adverts also experienced a rise of 492% to £1.1 million, up from £0.2 million in 2009, showing that the rich media opportunities that smartphones offer are being taken advantage of by advertisers.

Jon Mew, director of mobile and operations at the IAB, said: “This year’s research shows that traditional advertisers such as finance, telecoms and consumer goods are really starting to understand the opportunities that mobile, and only mobile, offers. Mobile advertising allows advertisers to target people on the move, and capture them when they’re most receptive. It’s an exciting time for mobile advertising, and for advertisers who use the opportunities.”

Anna Bartz, strategy manager at PwC, said: “We are witnessing patterns of growth similar to online advertising in its early stages. Increasing technology packed into handsets coupled with decreasing costs, presents brands with a tempting opportunity to target mobile consumers.”

Top spenders

The report shows the top five display advertising categories in 2010:

• Entertainment & Media – 32.9% (61.5% in 2009)
• Finance – 18.6% (8.1% in 2009)
• Telecoms – 14.3% (14.7% in 2009)
• Consumer Goods – 11.8% (3.2% in 2009)
• Automotive – 6.5% (2.5% in 2009).

Expenditure on Mobile advertising formats

Search - £54.9 million, up from £20.2 million in 2009, a growth of 172%

Display advertising - £28.1 million, up from £17.4 million in 2009, a growth of 61%

This category is broken down into:

· Banners and text links were up 62% year-on-year to £23.7 million (£14.6m in 2009).

· Tenancies were up 18% year-on-year to £1.7m (£1.4m in 2009) and a market share of 2% (3.8% in 2009).

· Pre- and Post-roll advertising was up 492% year-on-year to £1.1 million, (£0.2m in 2009) and a market share of 1.3% (0.5% in 2009).

· Other formats - including display advertising within SMS / MMS - £1.6 million, up from £1.2 million in 2009, a growth of 32% year-on-year.

Market Shares

Search continues to dominate with a market share of 66% (54% in 2009)

Display advertising (banners and text) - market share of 29% (39% in 2009)

Other formats (tenancies, pre/post roll, SMS and other) - market share is 5% (7% in 2009).

KEY DRIVERS AND INSIGHTS

· In 2008, the year records began, mobile phone advertising accounted for £28.6 million.

· In 2009 mobile phone advertising increased 32% year on year to £37.6m.

· *UK Smartphone ownership in 2010 was up 58% year-on-year to 36% of the UK (Dec 2010, Comscore)

· There are 23.3m mobile users in the UK (Dec 2010) – up 21% year-on-year (3 month av. ending Dec 2010 Comscore)

· In December 2010, 6.3 billion minutes have been spent browsing the mobile internet (Comscore GSMA MMM, 2010)

· The number of minutes spent per user, per month went up 32% over 2010 to 301 minutes per person (Comscore GSMA MMM, 2010)

· Mobile media users pick up their phone 18 times a day to consume content via apps/browser. (Mobile in the Media Day, IAB Research Jan 2011)

· 40% of mobile media users agree they often use their mobile if they see an interesting ad (Mobile in the Media Day, IAB Research Jan 2011)

· 51% of the UK population has engaged in M-Commerce (IAB Consumer M-Commerce Study Oct 2010)

o Used mobile for research for purchasing (43%)

o Used mobile for enhancing a purchasing experience (35%)

o Paid for something on mobile straight to bill (37%)

o Paid for something on mobile via card/bank/PayPal (27%)

Let’s get a little perspective

This is all great – really useful information, solid growth patterns and clear reasons for adopting mobile if you’re a consumer brand.

However, let’s look at the figures a little more… £82m sounds like a lot, right?

Well, for the mobile advertising world, yes it’s a lot. But not if you’re in TV advertising. A single 30-second spot across the UK in primetime is going to cost you something like £60k to £80k at rate card. Add those up for however many ad spots there are, by number of ad breaks, and you soon get into big money pretty quickly. And that doesn’t include production which can be 5, 6 or even 7 figures to produce. Admittedly, savvy buyers are not going to be paying rate card, but it puts it into perspective why above the line agencies haven’t been exactly embracing mobile technology with open arms. The maths doesn’t (yet) stack up for them. The commission they would make on mobile is still small compared with what they can make on TV. Even today in this digital world we inhabit.

It’s changing of course. And I’m hugely encouraged by this latest study. But we still have some way to go.

Background to the IAB/PwC Mobile Study

The IAB has been working with PwC since 1997 to survey the value of the online advertising market. This is the third time they have collaborated to find out the size of mobile advertising in the UK. Eighteen companies have participated in the survey, representing hundreds of websites. Total advertising revenue is reported on a gross basis. The figures are based on participants’ data and modelling and industry estimates.

Meffys Awards now Open for Entries

Stop Press: Closing date extended to Friday 6 May at 5pm.

Doing something interesting in mobile apps and services? Got a cracking case study in mobile marketing? Innovating in mobile content? Then you should consider entering this year’s Meffys Awards which are now open for entries. These are one of the most prestigious global mobile awards and are definitely worth consideration.

This year’s Meffys categories span the entire mobile content & commerce ecosystem. Now in its 8th year, the Meffys honour achievements across mobile content and commerce and recognise the best innovation around the globe. Entries are judges by expert panels of leading journalists, analysts, academics and VCs. The winners will be announced at a Gala dinner attended by the industry’s most influential players on 7^th July at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s famous Covent Garden.

Companies wishing to enter should visit: www.meffys.com and submit their entries by 26^th April 2011.

For highlights from the 2010 awards ceremony and a list of 2010 winners, please visit: http://www.meffys.com/about/2010-highlights

Entering the 2011 Meffys

MEF will be accepting entries for the 2011 Meffys from today. Companies interested in entering the awards or nominating a candidate for the Outstanding Contribution Awards should go to the Meffys website at www.meffys.com for full details.

Entry prices for 2011 are as follows: £350 per entry; £150 for MEF Members. This year, MEF is also offering a special developer rate of £75 per entry (3 employees or less, no external funding and in business for no more than 1 year). Please see the http://www.meffys.com/enter/cost-of-entry for further information.

Meffys Categories for 2011

Best Game
Best Music Service
Best TV & Video Service
Best Content
Best Content Discovery & Personalisation Service
Best Social Media Service
Best Ad Campaign
new this year Best Brand on Mobile
new this year Best Mobile Website
Best Blockbuster App
Best Innovative App*
Best Technology Innovation*
Best Innovative Business Model*
Best Innovation in a Mobile First Market*
Best M-Commerce Service
Best Business Intelligence
Best Mobile Connected Device
Outstanding Contribution Award

*These categories qualify for the developer rates. See http://www.meffys.com/enter/cost-of-entry for more info.

So get those thinking caps on. With Easter looming, April 26 will come around really quickly so don’t leave it too late to get your entry in.

Technorati Tags: awards,Meffys,Mobile Entertainment Forum

Swedish Beers–Barcelona Edition 2011

I can hardly believe it. It’s that time of year again and it’s all systems go for Mobile World Congress. And as part of that, your favourite networking party of the week is back to bring you more beer and more chat. We’re in danger of this year being better than ever thanks to our generous sponsors. I know for a fact there’ll be even more beer for starters. So let me introduce our generous sponsors to you…

Mesaplexx – the spectrum optimisation specialists. You’ll meet the team, including Peter Young and CEO, Mark Bole, who is an old friend of Swedish Beers from his Shozu days, so we’re very pleased to welcome Mesaplexx as sponsors this year. They are doing some very cool things to help MNOs get more out of their network. This is a good thing in my book. You can’t have too many shoes, handbags or bandwidth! When they’re not at Swedish Beers, you’ll find them at Congress in meeting room 4.OEMR07 – ground floor, opposite the VIP area. Contact Peter Young if you’d like a meeting.

Next up is AQL. Headed up by Adam Beaumont, the team will be on fine form and ready to chat to you about all things voice and messaging. Cos, that’s what they do. AQL are specialists in integrating mobile messaging and voice communications into client business processes – in fact they’ve won awards for doing precisely this. So whether you’re a carrier or SME, if you’re interested in messaging, then these are the guys to speak to. Messaging makes the world go round, right?

mxData are our third sponsor. And they’re doing very interesting things with rich and dynamic local content on mobile. Whether it’s adverts with a local angle, localised search, or a travel app – if it has a location data element to it, then this team may just have the right answer for you. I’ve been using one of their travel apps, and it’s really rather impressive. They’re also exhibiting at congress up in App Planet at Stand 7E44 so do go and say hello. And of course you know they’re going to have a stack of beer tokens to give away too.

Adfonic is our fourth sponsor. Europe’s only global advertising marketplace, they enable advertisers to bid for display advertising space on mobile sites and applications to extend their reach and optimise results and publishers to maximise the earning potential of their mobile traffic. Monetising mobile traffic is always a good thing in my book. And this team work with some long-standing Swedish Beers friends too. So if you want to talk advertising and making money, I reckon it’s worth searching the Adfonic team out.

And last, but by no means least we have Amobee. Ben and Harry have been Swedish Beers regulars for many years from their RingRing Media days and before, so it’s great to welcome them as sponsors this year. There’s not much that these guys don’t know when it comes to mobile advertising. Whether it’s planning and buying you need or a platform to manage your advertising, they’ll have something for you. When they say that Amobee powers mobile advertising, they’re not being facetious!

I really can’t thank our sponsors enough for their support, both moral and financial, for Swedish Beers. We couldn’t do this without them so please do make sure you say hello to them at the party. They’ve been really wonderful. So now you’ve met the sponsors, here’s the lowdown for the party…

Our venue for the evening is Dostrece which is a two floor bar and restaurant – a ground floor and a chillout basement.

The venue holds about 300 or so folks at any one time so there’s plenty space for everyone. There will be bars upstairs and downstairs so please make full use of both floors so that more people can enjoy the fun.

Doors will be opening at 7pm on Wednesday 16th February and we'll be open until late so there's plenty of time to drop by and enjoy the fun, meet interesting people and soak up the Swedish Beers vibe. There is no need to RSVP, but since there's a bar courtesy of our lovely sponsors, we will be distributing beer tokens on the night so you’ll have to look for the Swedish Beers crew and the lovely folks from Adfonic, Mesaplexx, Amobee, AQL and mxData. If facebook is your thing, then you’ll find us on facebook with a group and an event posting. And we’re on twitter too so do follow us there. The more the merrier I say.

Like our previous events, this is a relaxed evening, no formalities, no presentations, no business cards thrust in your face as soon as you arrive. Just come with an open mind, be prepared to see friends old and new, talk nonsense, enjoy a drink or five and have yourself a good time. Oh, and leave the ties, the corporate personas and the sales spiel at the door please. The Swedish Beers crew will be on hand – Cait, Anna, myself, Nik, Shafiq - and the friendliest bar staff in town at Dos Trece are all waiting to welcome you.

It is likely to get a bit busy at times. But don't worry, people will be coming in and out all evening. That’s kind of the point as we know there’s always a lot going on and you might want to check out more than one party. If it's very busy, there's no need to queue to get in. Just check out one of the other bars nearby and come back a little later when it's a bit less frantic.

We don't have a cloakroom so we don't recommend you bring your laptops with you - it's a liability in Barcelona I'm afraid – especially at this time of year. You won't need them anyway what with this new fangled thing called the mobile phone ;)

So just to recap:

What: Swedish Beers Mobile Networking
When: Wednesday 16th February 2011 - 7pm until we run out of steam
Where: Dostrece, Calle Carme 40, 08001 Barcelona

Dostrece is behind La Boqueria market and the nearest metro station is Liceu. Just walk up La Rambla, walk past La Boqueria and Teatro Grec, then take a left at Calle Carme (or Carrer del Carme) and Dostrece is at number 40 (Google map here). (They also have free wifi if you want to demo your latest phone app.)

See you on Wednesday 16th!

Skål

Helen and the SB crew

MoMoLo Goes to Barcelona–and we’re talking about mobile advertising

Yes, that’s right, Mobile Monday London is in Barcelona next week for Mobile World Congress and we have a great panel session lined up for you at 4pm on Tuesday 15th February in the UKTI’s seminar room which is Sala Principe in Hall 8 at La Fira itself. You must have an exhibition ticket in order to be able to attend this event.

You've heard about speed dating, maybe even speed networking, but have you heard of speed panels? Well that's what Mobile Monday London and UKTI and BSkyB have in store for you. You'll be hearing from a variety of practitioners and pundits talking about all things mobile marketing and advertising and the session will be ably chaired by the Godfather of Mobile Marketing, Russell Buckley, Admob Evangelist at Google and Global Chairman Emeritus of the Mobile Marketing Association. He also blogs at Mobhappy.com. The session will be hosted by me. (It should be noted that both Russell and I started our mobile careers at the turn of the 21st Century at mobile marketing pioneer, ZagMe.)

You'll also hear from:

Pamir Gelenbe, formerly founder and VP Sales/Strategy at Flytxt and now Venture Partner at BBV

Mark Curtis, CEO of Flirtomatic

Harry Dewhirst, VP at Amobee

Sylvie Barak, Editor of RCR Unplugged, RCR Silicon Valley and a contributing editor on RCR Wireless

George Nimeh, aka iboy, formerly MD at Iris Digital and now consulting on all things digital

Nick Hynes, former CEO of The Search Works, now co-founder at mobile media agency, Somo

Steve Jarrett, Founder and CEO of MePlease, a social and mobile marketing service for retailers.
John Roberts, co-founder, permission-based mobile marketing company, Qustodian

Kerstin Trikalitis, CEO and founder, mobile advertising firm Out There Media

Daniella Alpher, Head of Advertising, fring

Lisa Ciangiulli, Director of Marketing, Global Advertising Solutions, Alcatel Lucent

Rogier van den Heuvel, VP Global Sales for web and mobile messaging company, eBuddy

The registration desk will be open at 15:45 at Sala Principe in Hall 8. The panel session will last about an hour or so with another hour for networking and mingling. We're still on the lookout for a sponsor for the drinks so please get in touch if that sounds like you.

If you're like to attend, please RSVP at http://momolo.org/. Registration for this event will close on Friday 11 February at midday, or when we’re full – whichever comes first.

Agenda:

Doors open: 15:45

Panel session starts: 16:00

Panel session ends and networking begins: 17:00

Doors close: 18:00

Sponsors:

BSkyB is kindly sponsoring the drinks for this session and will be sponsoring our upcoming session in March where we'll be talking about tablets. Watch this space as we hear they have big plans...

The venue for the session has been kindly provided by our friends at the UKTI. If you're interested in finding out more about the UK technology companies who are exhibiting or are present at this year's Mobile World Congress, please go to the dedicated website at UK Technology Live. We also recommend you sign up there so that you can network with other attendees and find out about the other events that are happening (all free to attend)

Please note that all registration information given to attend this panel session will be shared with the UKTI. It may also be necessary to register at the UK Technology Live site as well - we'll let you know if that's the case.