Mobile plays key role in Visit Orlando marketing campaign

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Use AdKing.com's Mobile Web Apps and Free Unlimited SMS Text Messaging to engage local consumers for your advertising customers. Go to visitorlando.mobi to see their mobile website/app on your smartphone.]

Visit Orlando is using mobile marketing and advertising to spearhead its latest campaign to attract visitors to the destination.

The convention and visitor’s bureau is promoting the chance to win a free trip for four to the city. Once entered in the contest, consumers can opt-in to receive ongoing promotions and information about Orlando as a travel destination.

“The strategy with this campaign is twofold,” said Eric Harber, president and chief operating officer of Hipcricket, Kirkland, WA. “First, Visit Orlando will be introduced or reintroduced to potential visitors.

“Second, the organization is building a loyalty club of opted-in consumers,” he said. “This allows Visit Orlando to interact with these people on an ongoing basis and offer them promotions, deals and suggestions of fun things they can do while visiting Orlando.”

Visit Orlando is a sales and marketing organization for the Orlando and Orange County area. It represents more than 1,450 private businesses that make up the area's tourism industry.

Learning about Orlando, let us count the ways
The contest is currently being promoted through a number of channels, including SMS and banner and in-app ads on several different media properties.

An SMS mobile call to action is also being included in radio spots, on VisitOrlando.com and on a billboard in New York’s Times Square.

With the call to action, consumers are being asked to text a keyword to a shortcode in order to be entered in the contest.

Although the contest kicked off this month, results regarding the number of people texting in have not yet been disclosed.

...Visit Orlando has been able to build a mobile database of opted-in consumers for future marketing initiatives.

Building a mobile database is a key component of a mobile marketing strategy and allows for continued consumer interest long after the initial promotion has ended.

Businesses are also able to maintain a voice and command attention in a competitive industry.

“An opted-in consumer has raised his or her hand and is open to ongoing engagement,” Mr. Harber said. “For Visit Orlando, this keeps the entity top of mind and builds loyalty via offers and information that consumers' desire.”

-Mackenzie Allison

Mobile ads driving purchase intent among smartphone users

A study by Google Inc. found that mobile ads drive smartphone users to take actions such as visiting a Web site or making a purchase.

Google’s “The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users” study found that 71 percent of smartphone users search after being exposed to ads online and offline. A whopping 82 percent notice mobile ads and 74 percent make a purchase as a result of using their phone during the shopping process.

“The findings of the study have strong implications for businesses and mobile advertisers,” said Dai Pham, a member of the mobile ads marketing team at Google, Mountain View, CA. “Make sure you can be found via mobile search as consumers regularly use their phones to find and act on information.

“...make it easy for mobile customers to reach you because local information seeking is common among smartphone users,” he said.

In fact, 88 percent of those who look for local information on their smartphones take action within a day, Google found.

The study was commissioned by Google and conducted by Ipsos OTX, an independent market research firm, among 5,013 U.S. adult smartphone Internet users at the end of 2010.

General smartphone usage
There is no argument when it comes to the role that smartphones play in the daily lives of consumers.

Consumers are increasingly relying on their smartphones to multitask and consume other media.

Google’s study found that 81 percent of smartphone users browse the Internet, 77 percent search, 68 percent use an app, and 48 percent watch videos on their device.

The smartphone has turned into the always on companion. Consumers are using their devices even while they are consuming other forms of media.

In fact, 72 percent use their smartphones while consuming other media, with a third claiming they use their device while watching television.

At one point the mobile device was a means of reaching consumers on the go. But that has now changed.

With 93 percent of smartphone owners using their device while at home, the mobile phone is now a means of reaching consumers at all times.

Action-oriented searchers
Google’s study found that smartphone users rely on mobile search to navigate the mobile Web.

Search engine Web sites are the most visited mobile Internet destinations, with 77 percent of smartphone users citing this, followed by social networking, retail and video-sharing sites.

What is interesting is that nine out of 10 smartphone searches result in an action such as purchase, visiting a business or a click-to-call.

Additionally, Google found that 24 percent of smartphone searchers recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search.

Almost all smartphone users are looking for local information. And, consumers are ready to act on the information they find.

Google’s study found that 95 percent of smartphone users have looked for local information and 88 percent of these users take action within a day.

These findings indicate that there is a need for immediate information among smartphone users. A whopping 77 percent have contacted a business, with 61 percent calling and 59 percent visiting the local business.

Purchase-driven shoppers
At the end of the day, marketers are trying to drive sales. And smartphones have become an important part of the shopping process. They help shoppers research and make a purchase decision.

Google’s study uncovered that 79 percent of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping via activities such as comparing prices, finding more product info and locating a retailer.

Seventy-four percent of consumers that use their mobile device during the shopping process make a purchase online, in-store or on their phones.

The study also found that 70 percent of consumers use their smartphones while in the store.

Reaching mobile consumers
A cross-media approach is the best way to influence the largest number of smartphone users. Different people use their devices for different things. In the end, as a marketer, it would be nice to reach them all.

A majority of smartphone users notice mobile ads, which leads to taking action on it.

In fact, 71 percent search on their phones because of an ad exposure, whether from traditional media (68 percent), online ads (18 percent) or mobile ads (27 percent).

Eighty-two percent notice mobile ads, with most noticing display ads and a third noticing mobile search ads.

Half of those who see a mobile ad take action, with 35 percent visiting a Web site and 49 percent making a purchase.

“Develop a comprehensive cross-channel strategy as mobile shoppers use their phones in-store, online and via mobile Web sites and apps to research and make purchase decisions,” Mr. Pham said.

“Last, implement an integrated marketing strategy with mobile advertising that takes advantage of the knowledge that people are using their smartphones while consuming other media and are influenced by it,” he said.

-Giselle Tsirulnik

Text REDCROSS to 90999 to Give $10

[As we are well aware,] on March 11 an earthquake struck Japan near the city of Sendai, which caused damage and generated a powerful tsunami which struck northern Japan and spread across the Pacific.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Since then the catastrophe has escalated to include a nuclear disaster. Nearly 200,000 people have been displaced and are desperately in need of aid. I just read an article trying to explain why the appeals to help Japan via an SMS Text Messaging campaign paled in comparison to Haiti's $25 million success. Here is my attempt to encourage more giving - please text today!]

You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross. During the donation process, you will be offered the option to specify your gift to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific, or to support other Red Cross efforts. On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters.

Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Message & Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 90999 to STOP. Text HELP to 90999 for HELP. To see the full terms applicable to donations, please visit www.mgive.org/T. Receipts for donations are available at www.mgive.org/receipt.

Tablet Research: Top Uses For iPad

New research out from AdMob looks at tablet device usage, primarily the iPad, in terms of content consumption, where they use them the most, and other factors.

The survey included responses from over 1,500 respondents and showed that gaming (84 percent), search (78 percent) and email (74 percent) led the way in terms of how users are spending their time with their tablets, while surprisingly, entertainment consumption (music and video) and reading e-books ranked among the least common activities with only 51 percent and 46 percent respectively.

Interestingly, the survey shows that nearly half (43 percent) of those surveyed now spend more time with their tablet than they do with their desktop or notebook computer, and 77 percent spend less time on their notebooks or desktops than they did before getting a tablet. Even more impressive is that over a third (34 percent) of respondents indicated that they use their tablets more than they use their televisions.

In terms of where people use their tablets most, it seems “at home” was the most common response. In fact, 82 percent of respondents claim they primarily use their tablets at home, while only 11 percent said they use them most often “on the go.” The remaining 7 percent said they use the iPad mostly at work.

-Mobile Marketing Watch

New Report Shows US Smartphone Ownership Soaring

Smartphone ownership in the United States is surging. That’s according to fresh data published today from the comScore MobiLens service.

The report points to key trends in the US mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending February 2011.

For the three month average period ending in February, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices.

Based on comScore’s survey of more than 30,000 US mobile subscribers, estimates now place US smartphone ownership at 69.5 million, a substantial 13% spike from the preceding three-month period.

In the race for smartphone supremacy, Google’s Android grew 7.0 percentage points since November, strengthening its #1 position with 33.0 percent market share.

RIM, meanwhile, finished second with 28.9 percent market share. Apple placed third (25.2 percent), Microsoft fourth (7.7 percent), and Palm (2.8 percent) rounded out the top five.

With regard to mobile content usage, 68.8 percent of US mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device in February 2011. Browsers were used by 38.4 percent of subscribers (up 3.1 percentage points), and downloaded mobile apps were used by 36.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 3.2 percentage points).

Similar noteworthy spikes were observed in the usage of social networking and mobile gaming.

-Mobile Marketing Watch

The hottest trends in mobile right now

Tablets, of course, are the device of the moment, with consumer adoption booming and plenty of iPad 2 competitors reaching the market—from Android-based tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom to Research In Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook and Hewlett-Packard’s TouchPad. Brands and retailers are placing an increasing emphasis on applications for various smartphone and tablet platforms, but the trick is encouraging repeat usage and fitting apps into a marketer’s overall strategy.

“From all directions—app development platforms, apps themselves, marketers and thought leaders—[at CTIA Wireless 2011 in Orlando] I was hearing about the need for brands to think about usage and engagement measurement and metrics for app strategies,” said Melissa Parrish, New York-based analyst at Forrester Research.

“I agree that thinking needs to move beyond the application download numbers to see how and how often users are using those applications post-download,” she said.

“This is particularly important for marketers to understand how their branded application is really changing and deepening their relationship with their mobile consumer.”

Melissa Parrish is analyst of interactive marketing at Forrester Research
Based on the buzz at International CTIA Wireless in Orlando, FL, 2011 is the year of mobile commerce, location-based advertising and apps for all types of devices.

App craze
Apps have been hot for some time now, but their importance has been amplified tremendously with the launch of the iPad and competing tablet devices.

With tablets, a whole new array of applications have been launched in an effort to gain loyalty, sell goods and for branding.

It is imperative for brands and retailers to market their applications to drive downloads. However, getting onto consumers’ handsets—while definitely invaluable—is not the be-all-and-end-all.

Tracking how often consumers are using a particular application, and what actions they are taking once they do open an app, can provide key insight to help the marketer optimize the experience.

Monetization tactics for applications range from free/ad-supported and in-application transactions for virtual goods to pay-per-download, freemium and subscriptions.

In addition, Ms. Parrish said that mobile technologists who are looking for marketers’ dollars are getting much more adept at addressing marketers’ needs.

-Dan Butcher