Funeral Fun
Wireless World, Singapore/Kuala Lumpur, June 2004 issue
Mobile marketing is arguably the most exciting game in town. I can’t wait to see it happen. But alas, waiting is the name of the game.
What is mobile marketing, actually? I dunno, but judging by telco standards, it’s sending you a message you don’t want, about something you’re not interested in, at a time that’s not convenient. I can understand someone wanting to welcome visitors, but is there really no way to prevent the system from sending me the same message when I step off my flight for the 137th time?
Of course there is. But it’s a matter of trial and error, or applying creativity. Which seems to be lacking in a big way. In fact the lack of creativity on the part of mobile providers has become so obvious, it’s almost painful. Handphone manufacturers deliver us an abundance of features, frills, and form factors. So many, in fact, that the average user doesn’t even know where to start. So the providers would be the obvious ones to tell us what to do with them, wouldn’t he?
Well, no way. Open up a Saturday copy of the Straits Times and you see what I mean. Endless series of ads showing handphones lined up like tombstones. Which is great, if you’re into cemeteries. Problem is, not many of us are. And it gets worse. Take a look at the epitaphs. What kind of distinguishing features are being advertised? Trade-in value. What? Nothing else? Nope. Just trade-in value. I am trying to picture the meeting in which next Saturday’s ad is decided. Somebody says: ‘Hey, let’s start out with the Nokia!’ ‘Nah, we did that last week. Let’s put the Nokia second and the Siemens first. Then we put the Nokia’s trade-in value next to it.’ Gasps of admiration fill the drab little conference room. Such daringness, such audacity! I wonder what they’ll think of next.
WAKE UP GUYS! Mobile phone penetration is exceeding 100% in many markets. People carry these things literally close to their hearts, all the time. Genuine mobile phone marketing is trouble waiting for a place to happen, my girlfriend would say. I actually have a girlfriend who says such things.
And yet, it’s not happening. Not even close. And don’t start me on the occasional SMS I get from a painstakingly compiled opt-in list. Or those infernal messages telling me to dial some number to get information I don’t need.
On the other hand, take a country like South Korea. Seoul at this very moment is the epicentre of mobile marketing. No caution here. They’re capable of trying anything. This, after all, is the country where you can dial a service that makes your phone buzz in such a way that it drives insects away. In Korea, not only can you personalize the ringtone on your phone, you can now also personalize the ringtone people hear when they phone you. So when your boss calls you, there’s Lee Dorsey’s ‘Working in a Coal Mine’ while he’s waiting for you to pick up, but when your girlfriend calls, she hears Andy Williams crooning ‘Speak Softly Love.’
Ringtones are just one example. It’s no coincidence that the music industry is looking at mobile phones for an increasing part of their royalty revenues. Point is, there’s a new medium out there with limitless possibilities, many of which consumers will positively love.
Now let me get this straight. I’m not making a case for creating a new mass market in mobile insect repellents hereabouts. The point I’m trying to make is, go out there and try out the new medium. Explore its boundaries. Don’t be afraid to go beyond them, it’s the best way to find out where they are, and what’s possible.
Mobile marketing is arguably the most exciting game in town. I can’t wait to see it happen. But alas, waiting is the name of the game.
What is mobile marketing, actually? I dunno, but judging by telco standards, it’s sending you a message you don’t want, about something you’re not interested in, at a time that’s not convenient. I can understand someone wanting to welcome visitors, but is there really no way to prevent the system from sending me the same message when I step off my flight for the 137th time?
Of course there is. But it’s a matter of trial and error, or applying creativity. Which seems to be lacking in a big way. In fact the lack of creativity on the part of mobile providers has become so obvious, it’s almost painful. Handphone manufacturers deliver us an abundance of features, frills, and form factors. So many, in fact, that the average user doesn’t even know where to start. So the providers would be the obvious ones to tell us what to do with them, wouldn’t he?
Well, no way. Open up a Saturday copy of the Straits Times and you see what I mean. Endless series of ads showing handphones lined up like tombstones. Which is great, if you’re into cemeteries. Problem is, not many of us are. And it gets worse. Take a look at the epitaphs. What kind of distinguishing features are being advertised? Trade-in value. What? Nothing else? Nope. Just trade-in value. I am trying to picture the meeting in which next Saturday’s ad is decided. Somebody says: ‘Hey, let’s start out with the Nokia!’ ‘Nah, we did that last week. Let’s put the Nokia second and the Siemens first. Then we put the Nokia’s trade-in value next to it.’ Gasps of admiration fill the drab little conference room. Such daringness, such audacity! I wonder what they’ll think of next.
WAKE UP GUYS! Mobile phone penetration is exceeding 100% in many markets. People carry these things literally close to their hearts, all the time. Genuine mobile phone marketing is trouble waiting for a place to happen, my girlfriend would say. I actually have a girlfriend who says such things.
And yet, it’s not happening. Not even close. And don’t start me on the occasional SMS I get from a painstakingly compiled opt-in list. Or those infernal messages telling me to dial some number to get information I don’t need.
On the other hand, take a country like South Korea. Seoul at this very moment is the epicentre of mobile marketing. No caution here. They’re capable of trying anything. This, after all, is the country where you can dial a service that makes your phone buzz in such a way that it drives insects away. In Korea, not only can you personalize the ringtone on your phone, you can now also personalize the ringtone people hear when they phone you. So when your boss calls you, there’s Lee Dorsey’s ‘Working in a Coal Mine’ while he’s waiting for you to pick up, but when your girlfriend calls, she hears Andy Williams crooning ‘Speak Softly Love.’
Ringtones are just one example. It’s no coincidence that the music industry is looking at mobile phones for an increasing part of their royalty revenues. Point is, there’s a new medium out there with limitless possibilities, many of which consumers will positively love.
Now let me get this straight. I’m not making a case for creating a new mass market in mobile insect repellents hereabouts. The point I’m trying to make is, go out there and try out the new medium. Explore its boundaries. Don’t be afraid to go beyond them, it’s the best way to find out where they are, and what’s possible.
posted by Jos. at Tuesday, June 01, 2004
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