Mobile Facts Change So Fast! – a repository for key mobile stats and facts

On at least two occasions, I have written posts that incorporated a summary of notable stats about mobile apps and the mobile space in general to set the scene for a topical discussion.  But the facts change so fast that I was continuously updating the posts, and the posts had a tendency to grow and grow at the rate of foursquare subscribers.  So, I’m starting afresh and focusing specifically on notable mobile facts starting with these:

Android Apps Reach 400,000

In December 2011, Google recently celebrated their ten billionth Android app download, and now new research from mobile app analytics firm Distimo reports that there are 400,000 apps available in the Android Market. (Scroll all the way down for a post about Android apps reaching 90,000 in July 2010!)

Free apps make up a considerable portion of that 400,000, and Distimo’s research indicates that the ratio of free to paid apps has jumped from 60% to 68% over the last eight months. Distimo pegs the prevalence of free apps on the current popularity of the freemium  app economy, which also isn’t much of a surprise considering the potential payouts inherent to the model.

Mobile Is a Hotbed of VC

Mobile marketing was the most active segment within digital advertising for mergers, acquisitions and investments in 2011, according to a new report from marketing and media investment bank Petsky Prunier.

The iPad Revolution:

Only 13% of Web Traffic Is Mobile:

While mobile devices are expected to surpass laptops and desktops for accessing the Internet, they account for only 13% of web traffic today (still not shabby).  This is due in part to the lack of mobile optimized websites, a situation that is changing.  Within the 13%, more than 80% of comes from iPhone and iPads:

40% of Mobile Phones Are Smart Phones (Source: Nielsen)

Becoming the Primary Means for Accessing the Internet

Mobile devices and connected TVs are expected to overtake personal laptops within the next year as a means for accessing the Internet.  I hope your website is optimized for mobile and mobile search…

“I Love My MacBerry”  - Literally

• A study using MRI scans showed evidence of not only addiction to iPhones but also Love.  (I admit it.  I’m hopelessly hooked.  I’m even willing to put up with the fact that my AT&T iPhone often hangs up on me.  Is that a sign of codependency?)

iPads, iPhones, iPods and More – How Many Were Sold in Apple’s 4Q 2011

• The Company sold 17.07 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 21 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.
• Apple sold 11.12 million iPads during the quarter, a 166 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. (That’s 20.37 million iPads in Apple’s fiscal 2011 2H – ALONE, which does not include what will likely be a huge holiday purchase season for the device, and annualizes to 44.5 million per year)
• The Company sold 4.89 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter.
• Apple sold 6.62 million iPods, a 27 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

iPads, iPhones, iPods and More – How Many Were Sold in Apple’s 3Q 2011

• 9.25 million iPads were sold during Apple’s 3rd quarter, 2011, up 183 % vs. year-ago (That would annualize to 37 million per year.)
  
• 20.34 million iPhones were sold, up 142 percent vs. year ago (That’s a pretty nice stat – and impressive given growth of the Android.  A testament to the dramatic growth of smartphone in general)
  
• (That means that nearly 30 million iPads and iPhones were sold this quarter.)
  
• 3.95 million Macs, up 14 percent vs. year-ago (iPads cannibalizing Macs.  I would say, “yup.”  Especially laptops – by all manufacturers – and, perhaps MacBook Airs.  I think the Christmas season is going to blow the current iPad number out of the water)
  
• 7.54 million iPods, a 20 percent unit decline from year-ago.  (I saw a young man on the subway today using the iPhone as an iPod with headphones – ironic as he had to hold the relatively large device.)

Observations,  Implications and Hypotheses:

• Nearly 30 million iPhones and iPads were sold.  Compare that to less than 4 million Macs (laptops and desktops, up only 14 percent vs. year-ago) – and less than 8 million iPods, DOWN from year ago.  iPads and iPhones seem to be cannibalizing laptop, desktop and iPod sales.
• More than twice as many iPads sold as Macs.  iPads are definitely cannibalizing laptop sales
• iPad sales equivalent to 1/2 iPhone sales
• In sum, iPads are HOT.  They’re starting to reach a tipping point from: it’s cool to have one to it’s not cool not to have one (I hope that made sense, i.e., it’s becoming embarrassing to not have one – I predict I’ll give into peer pressure within the year at most)
• Quite a large increase in iPhone sales given growth of Android penetration; hence, it seems that the overall pie is heating up

Source: Apple 3Q earnings report

Being Mobile at Home

Don’t mistake mobile device usage with being mobile… A good chunk of time spent with smart phones, PDAs, iPads, eReaders and other such devices is spent at home.  Think about it.  Picture your well-wired friend – or maybe it’s you – with a laptop before you, a smartphone in your hand, an iPad on the sofa beside you, and an Internet connected TV shimmering its HD (or 3D) images from across the room.  In fact, the latest data from ComScore shows that tablets have the highest share of traffic for digital news consumption during evenings, beating out computers (as well as smart phones) in at-home news consumption. (Source: Moxie Pulse)  Moreover, GlobalWebIndex data suggests that, globally, half of those who access the mobile web do so from home or work, rather than while traveling or “roaming,” or while in a public place.

91 MM Americans Use Mobile Search

Overall, more than 91 million US consumers use the Internet through a mobile device at least monthly, and this increase in on-the-go web usage goes hand in hand with more search activity, particularly for local content.  20% of mobile search users do so almost every day.

Meanwhile, the debate between App and Wap (ok, browser) continues, with mobile search engine usage currently exceeding search via apps by 70% as of August 2011 – According to Yahoo! and Ipsos, via eMarketer.

Facts from Jimmy Wales at OMMA Global (September 26, 2011)

• One out of every two Americans owns a smartphone [whoah, that's DOUBLE the 25% shown for Q2 2010 if you scroll down]
• 15.1 million tablets shipped worldwide (I have seen other numbers for this metric that I will add to this post… Ok, eMarketer is estimating 24MM for 2011 and 46MM in 2012)

Android is #1 U.S. Mobile Operating System – Q2 2011

• As of June 2011, the Android operating system accounted for 39% of the total U.S. mobile market, making it the #1 mobile operating system in the country.
• Apple maintains its share of 28% share, while Blackberry OS from RIM (Research in Motion)  has fallen from market leadership (nearly 40% in 2009 – scroll down) to third position with only 20% market share.
• These three operating systems (representing 87% of the market) are followed by Windows Mobile/WP7 (9%), Palm/HP Web OS (2%), and Nokia’s Symbian OS (2%)
• Apple is the leading handset maker in the United States whilst Android is the top mobile operating system. (Nielsen)
• Apple overtook Nokia to become the world’s leading smartphone vendor in July (Nielsen research and IDC figures)
• According to a report by the NPD Group, the Android operating system accounted for 52% of the smartphones sold in the second quarter of 2011, up from 36 percent sold in Q1 2011 according to previous data by Gartner.

Smartphone Penetration and Share Q3 2010

• Twenty-eight percent of US mobile subscribers have smartphones as of Q3 2010, according to data from The Nielsen Company
• 41% of recent mobile phone acquirers have smartphones
• Among US smartphone owners, the Apple iPhone OS has practically caught up to the market-leading RIM Blackberry OS, with 28% and 30% marketshare
• Google’s Android OS is now at 19% and growing.
• The Android is less than 2 1/2 years old – AndroLib.com

Smartphone Penetration and Share 1st Part of 2010

• Droid outsold Apple: In the first half of 2010, Google-powered Android phones outsold Apple’s iPhone in the U.S. (Nielsen)
• Among consumers who purchased a smartphone in the first half of 2010, 27% opted for Android phones, compared with 23% who bought an iPhone. Android’s total market share of 13% still lags well behind both Apple (28%) and Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry (35%).
• Look at Droid go!  Look at Droid grow!

App vs. WAP

• The discussion of Apps vs. WAPs is heating up with the growth of the Android market and the number of Android champions – Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Google, etc.  The advantage of the mobile app is that it can tap into other mobile apps – and, for me, it’s just cleaner and faster to get to.  The advantage of the WAP (wireless application protocol) is that it can be richer and closer to the online experience.
• Apple has revolutionized the mobile space by spurring the development of 200,000+ mobile apps for Apple platforms.  Google is calling the browser the “killer app” for mobile that will eradicate the need for developers to create different apps for each platform: Apple, Android, etc.  Personally, I don’t see the app marketplace going away any time soon.  The use of browser applications may increase as connectivity speed increases (says the poor woman with the AT&T service plan), but I would advise my clients to cover their bases with iPhone, iPad, Droid, and WAP versions – at the least.

Apple’s Spring Season (quarter ending June 26th, 2010)

• Apple sold nearly 12 million iphones and ipads in the quarter ending June, 2010
• 3.5 million Macs and 8.4 million iPhones were sold, with  iPhone sales increasing 61% versus year ago.
• The Company began selling iPads during the quarter, with total sales of 3.3 million.
• iPod sales declined 8% versus year ago, tapping out at 9.4 million units

Apple’s Summer Season (quarter ending September 25th, 2010)

Apple sold:

• 3.89 million Macs (+ 27 % vs. YAGO)
• 14.1 million iPhones (+ 91 %)
• 9.05 million iPods (-11%) – looks like iPhones are cannibalizing iPods
• 4.19 million iPads (that means 7.49 million since introduction last quarter)

RIM sold 12.1 million units in their last reported quarter – as a point of comparison

Apple achieved its highest revenue ever this quarter ($20.3 billion)

Apple Apps

• As of September 1, 2010, there are at least 250,000 third-party applications officially available on the App Store, with over 6.5 billion total downloads (“Apple Special Event” via wikipedia)
• As of June 22, 2010, there were more than 11,000 new applications created exclusively for the iPad (Apple)
• This does not include “unauthorized” iPhone apps
• There is a category of apps developed to help people discover… apps.  Notable examples include: AppMiner, BargainBin and StoreExtend for finding bargains and seeing what’s new; Apple’s own iPhone Apps Recommendations and Genius offerings; and Appsfire, Appsaurus, Appolicious, Apptizr and Chomp for recommendations and reviews.
• iPhone customers who go to the App Store download almost twice as many programs as those who use Google Inc.’s Android Market or BlackBerry’s App World, according to a study from Nielsen Co. (via Bloomberg, September 13, 2010)

How Wired Are We – U.S.?

• There were 291 million U.S. wireless subscribers as of June 2010
• 93% of Americans have a mobile phone
• The number of consumers accessing the mobile Internet in the United States has jumped from 54 million in May 2009 to 72 million in May 2010, a year-over-year increase of 33 percent (Nielsen)
• Multipurpose smartphones that allow users to access the web and email as well as run thousands of apps and share text and picture messages reached 25% of the U.S. mobile market in June 2010, up from 23% in the prior quarter and 16% just one year ago (data from The Nielsen Company published on its blog Nielsenwire). By the end of 2011, Nielsen predicts smartphones to overtake feature phones in the U.S. market.

How Wired Are We – Globally?

• There are approximately 5 billion mobile phones in the world; that’s more than two mobile phones for every three people on the planet.  (4.6 billion at the end of 2009; 4.7 billion according to U.N. in February; expected to reach 5 billion in 2010)
• There are currently 636 million mobile subscribers in India, representing 65% of the population.  The subscription base is expected to reach full penetration by 2014, creating a market of 1.2 billion mobile subscribers. (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India – TRIA, Gartner, Informa Telecoms and Media – July and May 2010)

Ad Networks for Sale

• In November 2009, Google purchased AdMob for $750 million
• In January of 2010, Apple acquired Quattro Wireless for $275 million
• After stating that Google and Apple overpaid for their acquisitions, RIM opted not to purchase Millenial Media for the ad network’s $400-500 MM asking price

The All Elusive Mobile Metrics and Analytics

• Nokia acquired Motally, an analytics firm that provides companies with data that helps them profile their customers – August 20th, 2010

Mobile Advertising

• US mobile ad spending is expected to increase nearly 80% in 2010 to reach $743 million. eMarketer estimates that mobile ad spend will exceed $1 billion in 2011 ($1.1 billion) (eMarketer, October 2010)
• Brand recall rates from mobile marketing are 20 times greater than for the web and 10 times greater than for direct mail (HipCricket via Mobile 4 Franchises – October 26, 2010)

Mobile Health

• 70% med students own iPhone/iTouch, + 39% vs. 2009. 24% plan to switch to Android – ePocrates, summer 2010
• Stanford School of Medicine has given an iPad to every incoming student in the Class of 2014.
• According to an interview with Manhattan Research’s Monique Levy posted on the blog site Pixels and Pills, nearly 75% of physicians have smart phones – 3 times the general population.
• According to Manhattan Research, as reported on darkdaily.com, smartphone penetration among physicians is expected to reach to 82% by 2011, with more than half that number using the devices for such tasks as administrative work, continuing medical education, and patient care.
• 20% of physicians plan to get an iPad within the first year of its introduction – Epocrates, February 2010
• 20 million U.S. adults are accessing health information from cell phones, smart phones or PDAs – a number that has doubled in the last year (March 2010, mmm)

Android Apps

• According to AndroLib.com, there are now 90,000 Android apps – and that number is expected to reach 100,000 shortly -AndroLib.com, July 10, 2010

That actually took me quite by surprise.  I had heard and believed estimates that there would be 150,000 Android apps by the end of 2010 back, I believe, in late 2009 or at the start of the year.  But during Internet Week, I was hearing numbers closer to 40,000 (apps available at that time) and over a recent dinner with Sony Ericsson execs, the number I was hearing was 60,000.

But Sebastien Chalmeton tweeted this morning that Android had surpassed the 100K mark – on about the same day that foursquare passed the 2 million mark, by the way, so I am hereby sharing that up to date mobile stat.

However… on July 14th, I attended a talk by a Google mobile executive, and the number he was given by Google PR was, in fact, 65,000, which is more consistent with what I had been hearing  I will have to circle back with AndroLib to understand the discrepancy.  Quite a contrast with Apple’s App Store – single provider, single source of data.  Does Droid have that kind of walled garden approval structure?

• A year ago, there were 10,000 Android apps - AndroLib.com, July 10, 2010

My Summer in Poland after the Fall of the Berlin Wall – June 26th, 1990

This is the third installment in my recounting my summer in Eastern Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall.

June 26th, 1990 – 5:30pm

Dear Journal,

As I’m sure you can tell, I am writing to you on a train.  This is much more difficult than the U.S. Air flights from Richmond to New York.

My experiences are so rich here that I must write in you regularly.  Yesterday I met Jim, who will be running the Garment/Textile project I will be working on for the summer.  (Sidebar: When Poland opened its economy to the rest of Europe – and the world – it became apparent that the quality of its textiles and garments following the Russian occupation and closed market would not be competitive with the rest of the free market.  The goal of this project was to identify other industries/sectors for the city of Lodz, keeping in mind that, due to the nature of the textile industry, most workers were women.)  He seems like he’ll be a good manager.  He’s bright and pretty laid back.  He seems well-organized and explains himself well.  He puts questions out for discussion but still retains some control over the conversation.

Last night at dinner I got really charged up over this whole project.  It just seems so perfect.

It’s 10:30pm, and I am ready to go to bed, but I must make an effort to write in you.

I couldn’t sleep very well last night because I was afraid I would oversleep.  It gets light at about 3 a.m., so I was awake at 4 a.m. and at least one other time before my alarm went off at 6:15.

It got up very quickly because I knew I had not given myself a lot of time to get ready.  I was supposed to meet Jim at 7am at the train station to go tho Lodz (pronounced Woodj or maybe Wodj).

I wore my flat patent leathers in preparation for walking and a long-sleeved dress in preparation for cold weather.  I wore a blazer to look somewhat professional and a belt to give it some style.

I didn’t take a shower because we have no hot water (A reminder of the Russian occupation, hot water is turned off for two weeks each summer to maintain the pipes! We took turns showering at each other’s homes, and I took some showers at a the Holiday Inn – built in 1989, where I would go to get full body massages for $9!) and because I did not leave myself enough time.

I didn’t have a briefcase since it disappeared from the OMNI hotel when I was working in Virginia – one of the things I do not have to take care of.  So I put my papers in a cardboard portfolio.

Mike (one of our Polish guides) tells me I can buy a synthetic briefcase on a store on Marchewkowa for about $9 – a lot of money by Polish standards.

At 6:45 I set off walking.  I was very paranoid about my purse – putting on my New York attitude in preparation for the dangers I had been warned about at the train station.  The walk was a little difficult – even in flat heels – because of the bumpy cobblestones.

I arrived a little after 7 at the Polish car being raffled off and, wearing my new glasses, easily spotted Jim in the middle of the very slow-moving line.

He waved me over and explained that he still did not have any money.  Then he asked me to hold his place so that he could locate a girl named Helen who was joining the team and would know whether we could buy tickets on the train.  (It was now 7:15, and our train was at 7:20.)

Jim quickly found Helen and confirmed that we could pay on board the train which left promptly at 7:20.

The seats on the train were very dirty but could be pulled out like beds – as the lady in our coach showed us.  So Helen and I slept most of the way.  (See photo of our first class accommodation.  A friend who just returned from Warsaw tells me that the train interior does not look much different from today, though they run more frequently and faster.)  

We arrived in Lodz at 9, and I discovered that the weather was no warmer outside.  The grey damp coolness reminded me of my 1987 trip to Europe.

Helen and I left Jim to wait while we set off for food, bathroom and tickets.

(more to come)

Big Computer, Small Car… My Summer in Warsaw after the Fall of the Berlin Wall – June 25, 1990

This is the second installment of my account of my time in Eastern Europe the summer after the fall of the Berlin wall.  This was less of a travel experience than an opportunity to experience a short-lived and fascinating period in history.

June 25, 1990, just after midnight

Dear Journal,

Poland is great.  I have been having so much fun that I have not been able to write in you, and these first impressions are some of the most important to note – before I become acclimated.

Anyway, we landed almost on time, at 9:10, and I, having been too hyper to sleep, started to feel the time change (7 hours).  It was rainy in Warsaw – and cold.  The temperature was in the 50s or 60s.  (I already find myself stressing the penultimate syllable of words – as if speaking in Polish – when I speak or think.)

I waited for people to get off the plane because I knew that it would take me time to get the Compaq on the wheels. (The Compaq is a heavy and cumbersome “luggable” computer – this is a portable as things got in 1990.  You’ll see later that, after lugging it on and off the plan and through the streets of Warsaw, it self-destructed as soon as I plugged it in to a Polish outlet.  Ugh.  And so few computers available.  We all had to share.)  I am regretting having brought the Compaq more and more every day.

Once I had the computer on the wheels, I realized that I had to go down a flight of stairs to get off the plane.  (The stewardess was speaking to me in Polish.  Perhaps I look Polish.)  She (actually another one) helped me get it down the stairs and then a man I had met on he plane helped me get it onto the bus.

This is all very boring.  On to more interesting facts.  The Polish people were somewhat impatient and, in fact, pushy at the airport.  I was cut in line trying to show my passport.  They crowded around the baggage belt (as do Americans) so that I could hardly see my bags.  And they pushed in front of me in line for Customs.

This, together with the fact that I was trying to locate the representative from the Stephan Batory put me almost last in line to get through Customs.

Customs took a long time because instead of filling out forms on the plane, people declared their purchases to the customs agent.

Feeling abandoned by the Batory Foundation, I made some friends in line.  These people offered to drive me home – although they explained they would have to make a special trip because their car was too small.

But when I finally got through customs, Alexandra and her father, Pan Jasienski, were waiting for me with a big sign with key name.  When Alexandra told me who she was, I was worried that the Batory Foundation night be there as well.  But she told me that the story Foundation had called and asked her to meet me. They were worried about my welfare.

We drove home in a very small car.  We had to put one of the boxes in the hood.  Then I met Mrs. Jasienski (see photo of her holding my Polish-English dictionary; I spoke no Polish, and she spoke no English), who made me breakfast.  When I asked for water, Alexandra explained that it was not a custom in Poland to drink water.  I had warm milk instead.

Today, Alexandra told me that Mrs. Jasienski bought 2 bottles of milk for me.  Just after that, Diana McDonald warned me that Polish milk is often not pasteurized.  But I’ve heard that Consumption is a romantic way to die.

After breakfast we looked at a book which showed parts of Warsaw as they looked after the war and today.  Much as been rebuilt.  And the Russians donated a large Socialist Realist building which the Poles seem to hate and one of my colleagues calls a copy of the Empire State Building.

Then we went for a walk so that I could change money, buy water and maybe get a manicure.  I changed money at 9,965 zlotys to the dollar.

(more to come)

My Summer in Warsaw after the Fall of the Berlin Wall – June 23, 1990

This evening as I was organizing my closet, I came across my journal from the summer of 1990 (yes, 21 years ago).  Now, this might serve as interesting reading just because of the passage of time, but in this case, it was particularly noteworthy, because it journaled my summer in Poland as part of a team with Jeffrey Sachs just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, i.e., when Poland was trying to become a market economy.  A pivotal period of history.  Well, I couldn’t put it down, and an hour later, I find myself sharing it with you.  I hope you find this window into the Poland of 1990 as intriguing as I did.

June 23rd, 1990 at 6:45am

Dear Journal,

I know I should sleep, but I am too excited…

I love to fly!  I don’t love sitting here, but I love what flying represents.  I had been looking forward to the takeoff of this flight with such anticipation.  Taking off is so definitive.  It means that you are leaving one place and going to another.  And while you are doing so, you are restricted to being alone with yourself and thinking about what you are doing.  It is forced down time – to read or write or watch a movie or meet people or listen to music or just think.  (Do you remember those days – no electronic/mobile communication devices – just books and in-flight movies and portable tape players) And you can’t turn back.  You can’t change your mind.  And there are a limited number of daily tasks you can attend to while you are flying.

This flight is so significant.  It is a turning point, and it represents freedom.

Traveling like this simplifies my life.  There are a finite number of things I can deal with, and the cut off for whether I put something on my to do list is much higher.

My main task for the next two months is to experience and also to be focused – to read Polish literature, Polish history, Polish maps, Polish dictionaries – because the more I know about Poland and Polish culture and language, the richer my experience.

My goal is not to save money or get staffed on a consulting engagement – but to experience life.

In two hours I will find myself at the Warsaw airport where I will be met by a representative of the Stephan Batory Foundation.

I will collect my baggage and go with him to the home of Pani Jasienski – Michal Jasienski’s mother. (Michal was a tutor in my college dorm.)

I may have a phone, (note the word “may”)  but I will not be able to work my way down the list of people I need to call to prepare for my time at Wharton.  My life will be simple.  My wardrobe is simple – despite the weight of my bag – cut down to a minimum.

Of course the flight over is more than symbolic.  It is the beginning of the journey.

Starting at the baggage check, you meet people who speak only Polish.

Then  you encounter the stewardesses and either they reprimand you for carrying too many large carry-ons or they help you store it away.  In this case, they helped me.

And of course, flying is full of class distinctions.

Which brings me to another issus – the cost of the flight.  The cost of this flight – had I paid for it (rather than using frequent flier points) – would have been at least $800.  How much does it cost a Pole?  Where would a Pole get that kind of money?  That’s like 8 months rent.  That’s like $60,000 to me.  Do they offer it cheaper when bought in Poland or when bought by a Pole?  How does purchasing power parity work?

I’m happy…

(More to come.  This is just the preface to the beginning.)

Social Media Tidbits

Visit me here for social media tidbits I find worthy of sharing.  Share with me your thoughts.

Using Facebook during the workday?  Sure!Which Social Media Activity Do Companies Feel Benefit Them the Most?

I suspect this varies by company, e.g., a customer service/complaint/service oriented company such as Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Bank of America, etc., might rank customer support higher.  As Ted Schadler wrote in “Empowered,” customer service has become a form of marketing.  Think Zappos and Virgin America.

Do You “Like” Me?  Do You Really “Like” Me?

Much of both Advertising Week and OMMA Global was spent talking about the importance of being “Liked,” as in the Facebook “Like” functionality.  The conclusion was that (a) consumers don’t hate advertising, they hate bad advertising… (b) if you keep it under control, it can be powerful (c) consumers DO want to have relationships with brands they care about – as well as those who offer them something for being their “friend.”  So, ironically, today’s eMarketer article includes two charts about consumers attitudes towards letting brands/advertisers/companies into their Facebook worlds:

Discretion

We’ll move now to a personal admonition – things individuals should consider before posting on their social networking site (69% of prospective employers have rejected a candidate based on something posted on a social networking site).  Below, we get into what organizations should do at a minimum in social media – to avoid regrets.

The chart below shows the huge draw Facebook has on our time.  Far and away higher than any other U.S. Web Brands in terms of total minutes.  I was intrigued by the Facebook phenomenon back when I joined in early 2006  (as one of 7.5 MM unique users) – and suggested my media client take a serious look at it.  At the time, Facebook was just opening up beyond college students.  Here are some bullet points I put in my report in February 2006:

Overview:

• Social network site for college & university students
• Founded by Mark Zuckerberg; raised $500,000 from Peter Thiel in angel round
• Raised $12.2MM from Accel partners in April 2005 (valuation of $100MM)
• Began allowing high school students to join September 2, 2005: High school and college networks are kept separate.  There are 20K U.S. high schools.

Membership (info as of September 2005)

• Must have .edu email address to join
• Supports 1,120 colleges – 56% (Source: Scott Osman, 2/10/06 – up from 880)
• 85% of students in supported colleges have a profile
• 7.5MM unique users in January
• 60% of members log in daily; 85% at least weekly; 93% at least monthly
• Recent alums are maintaining same log in rates
• Users can add favorite music, books, movies, quotes, etc. and see others who share same interests; can also form and/or join groups
• Additional functionality: events, messages

Who knew!

Here’s an interesting post from ClickZ by Heidi Cohen:

What’s Your Social Media Marketing IQ?

As you make your 2012 marketing plans, consider what you need to do to take your social media marketing to the next level. To ensure your firm’s maximizing its social media effectiveness, now’s the time to check your organization’s social media marketing IQ.

Here are 30 questions to help determine your firm’s social media marketing IQ. These questions will help you assess where your organization is in terms of social media marketing maturity and where you may need to improve effectiveness. Depending on where your organization is along the social media adoptioncurve, some of these questions can help you develop plans going forward.

Listening

1. Do you have brand monitoring and/or other analytics in place? If you don’t have the budget for professional social media monitoring, use free options such as Google Alerts, Twitter Search, and Google Analytics.
2. Are you analyzing the information collected?
3. Are you taking action where appropriate based on your brand monitoring? Remember, about 2 percent of the comments require any company interaction.

Social Media Guidelines

1. Do you have social media guidelines for how employees should represent themselves and what they can say?
2. Do you have guidelines for what’s acceptable for customers and the public to contribute on your organization’s website, blog, and/or forum? This doesn’t mean you can delete negative comments! Customers will say whatever they want on their own and third-party social media networks where you have no control.
3. Do you have a crisis management plan? If so, do you review it regularly to ensure it’s up to date and employees know what to do? If not, here’s help to develop one.

Goals

1. Do you have goals for your social media marketing? This is a critical first step of any marketing strategy. Don’t think it’s just a test and we’ll figure it out later. If it works, you’ll need to make a case for more resources.
2. Are your social media marketing goals related to your overall business objectives? This is a must for any marketing plans!
3. Is your social media marketing driving revenues? For many businesses, this is a sign of social media maturity.

Management

1. Does senior management buy into social media as part of your marketing and business plans? Recognize this can be difficult to achieve. Research shows leadership at one in three businesses supports social media marketing after three years.
2. If management doesn’t buy into social media marketing, are you bringing them up to speed? Chances are that you need to show how it drives results associated with business goals.
3. Are you expanding buy-in beyond senior management? Think customer service, sales, product management, human resources, investor relations, and other organizational departments.

Social Media Marketing Strategies

1. Do you have a social media marketing strategy? What do you want to accomplish?
2. Are your social media marketing strategies integrated with your overall marketing plans?
3. Are employees monitoring social media marketing implementation(s)? Customers will use every point of contact to reach a human being.
4. Are you promoting your social media marketing efforts? To drive customers and the public to your social media marketing, you must continually promote it. Use internal media.
5. Do you make it easy for social media participants to share your content? Think social sharing including Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
6. Do you have tailored call-to-action and tracking mechanisms integrated into your social media marketing efforts?Prospects and customers need to be guided through your sales process.

Social Media Marketing Content

1. Are you creating tailored content for your social media marketing initiatives? Since social media thrives on content, ensure your social media efforts have the fuel they need.
2. Have you created a variety of content formats?
3. Does your content support every stage of the purchase process? The information consumers need may cut across your organization. To support these efforts, use an editorial calendar and marketing personas.
4. Is your social media-related content integrated into your search optimization efforts?

Social Media Marketing Budget

1. Do you have a dedicated social media marketing budget? Social media marketing isn’t free! You can’t count on having a robust social media marketing strategy without financial and headcount resources. If you don’t have a dedicated budget, can you leverage other resources or hide your social media marketing budget?
2. Do you have headcount dedicated to your social media marketing efforts? If not, are social media marketing activities incorporated into specific employees’ job descriptions? If no one’s required to do the work, it won’t happen.
3. Do you have social media training to ensure employees understand how to engage on social media platforms and are consistent in how they represent your organization? Many firms overlook this important factor.
4. Do you have a social media contingency plan to ensure you have personnel involved and monitoring social media 24/7?What happens if your social media manager’s sick or unavailable and there’s a problem?

Metrics

1. Do you have established metrics to track social media marketing efforts back to marketing and/or business objectives?This is best done when you’re planning your strategy.
2. Do your metrics include the full purchase process not just the last marketing touched? Social media can influence customers before you realize they’re shopping and after they’ve bought your product or service.
3. Do your social media metrics go beyond marketing? Think broadly across your business such as customer service.
4. Are you measuring the ROI of your social media marketing? Understand it takes time to have a well-integrated social media marketing strategy where you can measure your investment and results accurately. Short-term, determine whether your social media marketing contributes to achieving your business goals.

Social media marketing is a growing part of every marketer’s plans and budget. Regardless of where you are on the social media marketing continuum, you must assess the effectiveness of what you’re currently doing and implement strategies to enhance your results.

Geolocation: What Art Thou to Me? Part V

Each day, foursquare has a unique impact on my life as I watch the way in which it influences my city, myself, and increasingly, my world. I decided therefore, a few months after joining the network – May 20th, 2010 – , to keep a little diary of my new life with foursquare

You have now entered Part V this ongoing journal – tracking the personal, sociological and historic milestones associated with the rapidly growing service/game/application. Check my archives for Parts I, II,  III and IV.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

It’s a 40-something sunny day in Manhattan.  I know that because of my desktop widget, but I also know that because Central Park is trending on foursquare, with 38 people currently checked in there.  This made it a lot easier and quicker for me to check in as I headed out for my fourth run this year.  The other times it was snowing and/or in the 20s.  I welcome the opportunity to check into something trending as it takes longer and longer and longer for Foursquare to catch up to where I actually am when I try to log in.  I have been working at Time Warner Cable since January 3rd, but Foursquare thinks I have been there half that time because I am able to successfully check in about half the time.  I suspect this is due in GREAT part to the AT&T network/performance of the iPhone on the AT&T network, and I know that this is one of the most frustrating elements of Dennis Crowley’s business plan, but I can’t help being a bit annoyed with Foursquare as well as AT&T as I stand on the subway platform waiting for my check in to pleeeease go through.

All that said, the fact that I was in fact able to check in efficiently means that I have a relatively accurate reading on how long it took me to run to and from the Park and make it around the (mostly uphill, it seems…) lower loop.  39 minutes is the time.  Please stop laughing.  My current goal is to outpace the horses, the bicycle cabs and the people who walk.  There will be a large celebration on the day I actually outrun another runner.  Thank you to my good friend Fred for running with me.  I shudder to think how slowly I would run without him!

A few months ago, I noticed that “Fall for Dance” at City Center showed up as a venue on Foursquare.  Great marketing.  And a few nights ago I saw another theater venue – Radio City?  or Carnegie Hall? trending.  Now that’s foursquare going mainstream.

This week is social media week.  How many new participants do you think there will be by this time next week?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Last week, I used my first foursquare Nearby Specials.  And, I must say (a) it was quite easy (b) it influenced me to spend $40 more than I had planned.  I was at the Modell’s near my apartment to pick up one or two cans of tennis balls.  As I waited in line – thinking about a past “tip” I had left suggested that one might not want to come to this store if in a hurry… I decided to read the nearby specials.  I saw that if I spent $50 at this store, I would get $10 back.  Gee, I thought, I could use another sports bra, and I’m sure to use up any tennis balls I buy.  So, I did.  I added the sports bra and several cans of balls to my purchase.  I showed the special as it appeared on my iPhone to the girl at the register, and simple, I got $10 back.  Gee, I thought, I just got a bunch of free tennis balls.

This is in contrast to an experience I had the week before at Bed, Bath and Beyond. BBB has trained me to think that there is always a coupon available.  Hence, I am reluctant when in the store to buy anything if I don’t have a coupon with me.  Surely, I thought, however, there must be a mobile coupon available and so I dutifully googled BBB and promotion code.  My phone asked me for my phone number, and, as I navigated the escalator, I attempted to enter it.  Two rejected attempts – rejected rather rudely, by the way, in red font.  As I came to the top of the escalator and saw the huge line at checkout, I decided to buy my Vornado fan another time, which I have yet to do.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

My doorman just ousted me as mayor of my apartment building.  I never thought I would see the day.  Game On!

American Express is doing some very interesting things with “synced” foursquare and card accounts.  When you check in or check out a venue, you, as a linked AMEX member, are served with an additional list of special offers.  I first found out about this at the US Open.  AMEX had a huge presence there.

Saw my doorman on the way in just now, and he asked me about foursquare and the whole mayorship race… I feel kind of bad now.  He’s sweet and new to foursquare.  I shouldn’t make him think it’s a competition… but, am I willing to give up being mayor of the venue I created – still hoping for a swarm someday.  I told  him we could trade off.

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Made my third trip to 16 Handles today, now that I’ve realized they have hot fudge sauce – one of my top 10 food delicacies.  Quite scary to know that HOT fudge sauce is less than two blocks from my apartment at any time.  I’ve settled into a small amount of  frozen yogurt with lots of fruit and a significant dollop of fudge sauce + some coconut shavings and a few chocolate covered pretzels.  (This could get dangerous.)  In any case, 16 handles uses a loyalty card app – check in 4 times and get $2 off the fifth purchase.  I’ve had 1 out of three successful check ins so far.  I’ll let you know the name of the app tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I continue to check into my apartment building diligently.  3 days away from reclaiming my mayorship!  (Though it’s probably more important to have a good relationship with my doorman…)

Friday, September 30, 2011

The AMEX sync program came up during one of the presentations at the OMMA Global conference this week.  I believe it was the one by Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures.  I asked about the popularity of the program given how complex it was to sign up.  He admitted/agreed that the sign up process could be more integrated – not even taking into account that I learn

ed about it offline and had to go online to even start the application.  I believe he said they have 300,000 participants, a number that would be higher if it were more turnkey but that it was clearly a successful program that is being renewed and extended.  (I’ll get the details for you when I have a moment to review recording.)

Here, by the way, is the message I received as part of the signup process (scary stuff): ‎”Connected accounts can build cool things on top of what you’ve done on foursquare. Approving this connection allows them access to do things like update your status, view your check-in history and look at things like your friends list, Tips, and To-Dos.”

On another note, I am now (finally!) mayor of the Central Park Tennis Center and have also reclaimed mayorship (an unelected government position?) of my apartment building.  The game continues, Diego the doorman…

Wednesday, Ocober 5th, 2011

A lot of wait time/delays trying to check into the New York Times Center during Advertising Week.  Quite frustrating.  Typically need to enter the venue manually.  I wish the Times Center would consider getting an AT&T booster.  I read on Twitter that someone had even worse luck with Verizon, downstairs.  Amazing, in a disturbing way.

OMMA and Advertising Week are both obsessed with Facebook, and perhaps rightly so.  What impact will this have on Foursquare.  More so, what will the open graph due to get glue, which, by the way, has gotten some significant traction through corporate promotions.  If I were still in my role at a major cable operator and still working on supporting their five ad-supported VOD channels, I would reach out to Get Glue – assuming I could get approval to use social media, which is currently frowned upon.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

My doorman tells me with a big smile that he is going to be mayor next week (of our building), that he is 3 days away.  I can’t imagine that will be the case if I continue to check in multiple times or even once a day.  I think I am going to let him have it – the mayorship, that is.  Though I don’t plan to show that kind of generosity to whoever is looking to be mayor of Central Park Tennis Center.

So, everything new is new again.  New iCloud, new Facebook, new Foursquare.  I can’t begin to tell you how many new passwords!  One for iTunes, one for mobile me, one for my apple ID, one for wordpress on my laptop – that doesn’t work on my computer, one to unlock my iPhone, one to access my voicemail, one for each email account, one for facebook, one for foursquare – different IDs/emails, and different passwords.  I can’t keep up.  But I digress.  What I mean by what’s new is new again is that they all have new interfaces and capabilities again.  So… what happened to my targeted, local specials on foursquare.  I don’t see them.  Maybe I’ll find them eventually.  Am I really less technologically intuitive than the general social media and/or geolocation population?

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Foursquare tells me that I have checked into the Central Park Tennis Center 72 times.  So how come that is not reflected in the quality of my forehand?

Monday, October 24, 2011

I don’t take a lot of taxis, but I thought I would indulge tonight after an evening of wine and pizza, chips, pretzels,  Ritz crackers and good conversation at the Harvard Club.  With time to spare, I decided to check in.  To save time, I started by entering the four digit cab ID number.  A year ago, it would have blown my mind to find that someone else had checked in in this taxi – see post front that era with the big photo of taxis.  Tonight, there were two entries.  The question arises, therefore, how many of our many NYC taxis have been catalogued in foursquare???  (p.s. it was a very nice taxi – I think it may be a hybrid.)

Sunday, October 29, 2011

Last night I earned the Greasy Spoon badge for checking into Cafe Luxembourg. a charming and pricey French restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  Whoops.  Here is what my award said: “Sticky vinyl booths, bottomless mugs of joe, apple pie fresh out of the display case… Does that waitress have syrup on her hairnet? Sounds like diner heaven to us. Now that you’ve hit 5, treat yourself to onion rings. Or a milkshake. We suggest both.”  I also received the Halloween swarm badge for checking into Snowcopalypse 2011 – on the Saturday before Halloween.  Nice idea.

I know it’s not geolocation, but it’s related: GetGlue, the application in which  you check into cultural activities such as watching a TV show or movie or reading a book, is getting more and more buzz and, as I believe I predicted, has and is starting to leverage huge commercial potential as a vehicle to drive tune-in and engagement.  I wish I had had more time and latitude to get Time Warner Cable’s  ”Automotive On Demand” listed there.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Eureka!  I’ve rediscovered specials and – in a way – trending on FourSquare.  And, in the process, I happened upon a tie in with Groupon.  It’s all so incestuous, these frenemies.  In the images below, please note: (a) “Special” next to my local designer pizza joint Freddie and Pepper’s  - tied in with Groupon (b) little person image next to the Beacon that shows that 12 people have checked in (c) This is new to me – “Show” icon next to the Beacon.  I’ll have to investigate that further.  Something GetGlue-ish???

Just arrived home from a phenomenal meal at a restaurant in Chelsea called Westville – an amazing meal thanks to all the people who left me tips on foursquare, from the scores of them who recommended the four market sides for $14 to a non anonymous stranger named Frank, who recommended the chocolate pecan pie.  My friend Nancy and I thank you all.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

It seems that my taste in primetime television is on par with other GetGlue users – and that the app is gaining serious traction.  I chad into “New Girl” along with 7,173 other viewers and joined 14,682 other Glee fans when I checked into that show.  I watched both via DVR.  Keep you eye on this one.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Have you checked out Square’s Card Case app. You should. If only to experience the art of what’s possible. You can pay for things by simply giving your name to the retailer.

Ok, so I’m working my way through Mary Meeker’s 2011 Internet trends and discovering all kinds of treats and terms along the way.  Many of which are mobile, and many of which are location based.  (I’ve even adopted a new phrase: “Geosocial networking.”  Nice.)  Here’s one I find intriguing: Shopkick. And here’s what they have to say about themselves:
“shopkick gives you awesome deals and rewards simply for walking into your favorite stores. You can collect your kicks™ rewards at millions of stores in America, and great deals at many of the top national retailers. Crazy, but true.

Collect walk-in rewards: Have you ever gotten rewarded simply for walking into stores – yes, just for visiting? Now you can collect boatloads of kicks™ in the kicks Reward Program and unlock awesome exclusive deals at your favorite stores. Just walk into 1,300 Best Buy stores in all 50 states, and hundreds of Target stores, Macy’s, American Eagle, Sports Authority, Crate&Barrel, West Elm, Wet Seal and the largest Simon malls! Open the shopkick app on your iPhone or Android phone in the entrance area, and wait for a few seconds. That’s it! Your shopkick app will reward you instantly. It’s fun. shopkick is adding more stores in more cities every month.

Get exclusive deals: Discover and unlock awesome deals in the shopkick app at dozens of national stores, many of them are exclusively offered to shopkick users only.

Collect scan rewards: Collect additional kicks rewards by scanning barcodes of featured products with your phone at 250,000 stores across the United States.

Redeem your kicks™ for rewards! Get cool rewards like iTunes gift cards, restaurant vouchers, Best Buy/Target/Macy’s/American Eagle/Sports Authority instant gift cards, Facebook Credits, movie tickets, or if you go all out, a 3D 55″ Sony Bravia HDTV or a cruise around the world! And if you want to change the world, donate your kicks to 30 different causes!”

Friday, November 18, 2011

The next (current) phase in location based services is Near Field Communication (NFC).  (I call it a LBS because the two devices need to be near each other.) Here’s how wikipedia defines NFC:

Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters.  It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States. [Gosh, it seems like decades ago that I read about Japan doing this.  Oh right, it was.  It was commonplace as long ago as early 2006 when I did my first mobile study for BusinessWeek.] Many smartphones currently on the market already contain embedded NFC chips that can send encrypted data a short distance (“near field”) to a reader located, for instance, next to a retail cash register. Shoppers who have their credit card information stored in their NFC smartphones can pay for purchases by waving their smartphones near or tapping them on the reader, rather than using the actual credit card. Co-invented by NXP Semiconductors and Sony in 2002, NFC technology is being added to a growing number of mobile handsets to enable mobile payments, as well as many other applications.

And, here are some of the applications (by applications, I mean uses) – again, from wikipedia:

(1) Social networking

NFC simplifies and expands social networking options:

• File Sharing: Tap one NFC device to another to instantly share a contact, photo, song, application, video, or website link.
• Electronic business card: Tap one NFC device to another to instantly share electronic business cards or resumes.
• Electronic money: To pay a friend, you could tap the devices and enter the amount of the payment.
• Mobile gaming: Tap one NFC device to another to enter a multiplayer game.
• Friend-to-friend: You could touch NFC devices together to Facebook friend each other or share a resume or to “check-in” at a location.

(2) Bluetooth and WiFi Connections

NFC can be used to initiate higher speed wireless connections for expanded content sharing.

• Bluetooth: Instant Bluetooth Pairing can save searching, waiting, and entering codes. Touch the NFC devices together for instant pairing.
• WiFi: Instant WiFi Configuration can configure a device to a WiFi network automatically. Tap an NFC device to an NFC enabled router.

(3) eCommerce

NFC expands eCommerce opportunities, increases transaction speed and accuracy, while reducing staffing requirements. A Personal identification number (PIN) is usually only required for payments over $100 (in Australia) and £15 (in UK).

• Mobile payment: An NFC device may make a payment like a credit card by touching a payment terminal at checkout or a vending machine when a PIN is entered.
• PayPal: PayPal may start a commercial NFC service in the second half of 2011.^[15][16]
• Google Wallet is an Android app that stores virtual versions of your credit cards for use at checkout when a PIN is used.
• Ticketing: Tap an NFC device to purchase rail, metro, airline, movie, concert, or event tickets. A PIN is required.
• Boarding pass: A NFC device may act as a boarding pass, reducing check-in delays and staffing requirementsFr.
• Point of Sale: Tap an SmartPoster tag to see information, listen to an audio clip, watch a video, or see a movie trailer.
• Coupons: Tapping an NFC tag on a retail display or SmartPoster may give the user a coupon for the product.
• Tour guide: Tap a passive NFC tag for information or an audio or video presentation at a museum, monument, or retail display (much like a QR Code).

(4) Identity documents

NFC’s short range helps keep encrypted identity documents private.

• ID card: An NFC enabled device can also act as an encrypted student, employee, or personal ID card or medical ID card.
• Keycard: An NFC enabled device may serve as car, house, and office keys.
• Rental Car and hotel keys: NFC rental car or hotel room keys may allow fast VIP check-in and reduce staffing requirements.

The future (or past…) is here.

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

I’ve checked into the Central Park Tennis Center 88 times and into my apartment building 726 times.

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

On Monday of this week, Gowalla was acquired by Facebook.  That’s huge.  What impact will this have on foursquare?

Friday, January 13, 2012

The American Express tie-in with Foursquare has been simplified and is quite nice.  When you check into a participating location, you are notified of an AMEX special.  If you use your AMEX card there, you get a $10 credit on your statement.  Nice.  I’ve used it at a restaurant and a nail salon.  It’s a good promotion because it encourages you to use your AMEX card to pay – at the time and point of purchase.  Moreover, it gives you an incentive to spend at least $10, a requirement I met easily with my yummy chicken parmesan and lovely pedicure.  What will be especially valuable is to use it for an $11 manicure…

Update? Digital Dating “Too Good Not To Share” Nuggets

Yup, I’m back again.  Is crazy really defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

I did a double take when I saw this at the top of a still active dating site profile on OK Cupid: “UPDATE: I’m in a relationship now, so not looking for dating. But feel free to read on if you have an interest in my ramblings…”  Uh, boy.

‘Tis the Season of the Webinar (and Conference)

Autumn is here, and  with it, a plethora of webinars, seminars and conference.  My dance card is filling up.  Here are some recent and upcoming events:

Upcoming:

“A Millennial Perspective  on Diversity & Multiculturalism” – American Advertising Federation – November 9th, 2011 – various locations throughout the country

Recent:

The State of Mobile Commerce - Are You Meeting Your Customers’ Mobile Experience Expecations? – webinar – November 2nd, 2011 – NYC

Featured speakers, Sucharita Mulpuru, Vice President, Principal Analyst from independent research firm Forrester Research, Inc., and Compuware APM CTO, Steve Tack discussing:

• The current state of mobile commerce and key mobile trends
• Why tablet owners are a key component of mobile success
• Common mistakes that prohibit companies from capitalizing on the mobile opportunity
• Best practices to deliver quality mobile web and application experiences to smartphone and tablet users

To view the webcast slides, click here

 

Advertising Week NYC – October 3-7th, 2011

Advertising Week Videos available HERE.

Future of Media Forum – October 5, 2011

MediaPost’s Future of Media Forum brings to life MEDIA magazine’s annual “Future of Media” issue by gathering together prominent executives and intellectuals from all facets of media to discuss, debate and opine about the Media Industry’s future. This intriguing roundtable discussion — moderated each year by a noted industry journalist — will take place October 5th during Advertising Week at New York University’s Kimmel Center, hosted by the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

How to Effectively Leverage Customer Insight to Deliver a Superior Multichannel Customer Experience, October 13, 2011

By the American Marketing Association (AMA): “Voice of the Customer is not just about surveys anymore.  Customers are interacting with your brand through multiple channels including the website, retail store, contact center and even social media. You have to understand all of these multichannel interactions collectively to develop a complete Voice of the Customer.  Join us on this webcast and learn how you can easily gather and leverage data from all customer touch points to deliver a superior multichannel customer experience.

Learn how you can:

• Collect real-time customer insight across channels
• Discover and act upon emerging customer trends
• Deliver a more personal and targeted customer experience
• Increase customer loyalty and reduce churn”

The World Technology Summit and Awards, October 25-26th

“On October 25th and 26th, 2011, at the TIME Conference Center in New York City, many of the most innovative people and organizations in the science and technology world will come together for an historic gathering – the 2011 World Technology Summit & Awards (the tenth incarnation) – to celebrate each other’s accomplishments; to explore what is imminent, possible, and important in and around emerging technologies; and to create the kinds of serendipitous relationships that create the future.

The majority of Summit participants are either current WTN members (primarily winners/finalists from previous World Technology Awards cycles, as selected by their peers as those doing the innovative work of “the greatest likely long-term significance”) or 2011 World Technology Award nominees. A combination of keynote talks, panel discussions, and breakout sessions… and potentially-career-altering-networking opportunities over two days concluding with a gala black-tie Awards ceremony on the second night held at the United Nations.”

How IP Geolocation Can Turn Your Local Marketing On – webinar – September 28th, 2011

“It’s a proven fact that located messages perform better overall but there is a discrepancy when it comes to online ads.  Currently, online CPSs are far below their offline counterparts (TV, radio, direct mail), and this correlates to the fact that half of all advertising is bought at the local level but there is no scalable way to reach consumers locally online.  For brands, targeting consumers locally is an essential and effective part of marketing as 80% of consumers’ disposable income is spent on businesses within 10 miles of their homes.

Advertising networks and online properties are boosting efforts to engage in increasingly local campaigns as clients are requesting geographically targeted ads.  IP intelligence provides the ability for super-niche targeting, allowing brands to create/provide the most relevant and engaging adds as it provides unique information about web browsers.  This increases marketers’ ability to reach their customers by targeting both business type, and consumer location, IP intelligence provides geographic, demographic and business information so that brands can effectively reach customers online the way direct mail and billboard ads are used to work offline.  Marketers will be able to zero in on trends, demographic information and cultural aspects to best target consumers.

Key learning points that audience members will take away from this webcast are: What is the need for geolocation targeting?  What are the statistics of geolcation effectiveness on advertising?  ROI?  What are some marketing strategies that I can implement around IP intelligence?

Speakers: Miten Sampat, VP of Product Strategy, Quova.  Steven Cook, CMO, Co-CEO, i.e., healthcare.  Alli Libb, Moderator, AMA.”

OMMA Global – September 26-27th, 2011

And, uh, the aha is…

@adscientist posed the following question to me about Advertising Week’s overflowing goody bag of panels and presentations: “Did you learn a lot last week or did you look at it as a lot of obvious statements? I was looking for more insight than i got.”

His comment made me stop to think whether I could identify 5-10 true  ”a has” from the conference.  And, as I had tweeted back as my initial reaction, there really was not a lot that I gained (so far) that was truly new and cause for pausing – so perhaps this exercise will help:

1. The ruling on the purchase funnel is not final.  Most agree publicly that the traditional funnel, e.g., awareness, consideration, intent, purchase, loyalty – or as I was taught in business school, AIDA: Awareness, Interest, Desire, Acquisition, needs to be updated.  The patch to purchase is no longer a straight line.  The funnel of choice seems to be the McKinsey oval, which you can view in my summary of the panel.   (No mention of the Forrester “path to purchase” in the age of social engagement – see below).   The key takeaways being that: (a) the process is iterative and circular (b) must include advocacy (b) many include “loyalty,” but that’s not new, that’s just “adoption.”  However, when we got to the TV panels, the upward and lower funnel nomenclature was still front & center.  A disconnect?

Figure I: Forrester Path to Purchase in the Age of Social Engagement

Figure II: Harvard Business Review – Traditional Funnel and McKinsey Consumer Decision Journey

2. I was incredibly impressed with Comcast’s Xfinity vision of how its subscribers will be able to interact with their cable TV menus and the ways in which it will connect to the digital world in terms of (a) broadcasting “likes” (b) finding out what friends “like.”  And, RADICAL, there will be KEYWORD SEARCH!  (When I asked about search functionality at an Advanced Advertising panel in 2010, I received a combination of perplexed and blank stares…) – See Graphic to the right

3. Everyone is on the Facebook bandwagon.  We’re convinced that consumers want us there, and, while I don’t necessarily disagree – after all, a truly successful brand is a “friend” to an emotionally connected consumer, I’m concerned that we may tip the scale and kill the golden goose.

It’s (a) about the balance of push and pull in terms of broadcasting info (b) the ratio of real people to brands.  If kids leave the service when there are too many adults, what will adults do when there are too many brands?

4. Brands are content creators.  This is not new – see Larry Kramer’s recent book C-Scape, Conquer the Forces Shaping Business Today and recall Coke’s Polar Bear campaign (ahead of its time, or pre cursing the future that is today?), but it was a major theme, which means that it is becoming more mainstream.

5. SEM and ad networks are getting more advanced.  Google has new multi-media listings.  aol, yahoo and microsoft are creating a three-way ad network.  Programmed trading (wait, are we talking about finance), is growing.

All for now except:

If you don’t have an iPad, you’re so not cool.  Get thee to an Apple Store pronto!  (iPads, like Facebook profiles of a few years ago, have reached a point where it’s not that you’re cool if you have one but that you’re NOT cool if you don’t have one.)

Advertising Week 2011 Key Themes

Matt Scheckner of Advertising Week begins each panel with the following comment: people always ask what is the theme of Advertising Week this year.  And his answer is that there is not a specific theme.  They identify the themes people care about the most and then find the smartest people to discuss those areas of interest.

So… what are the recurring themes that have bubbled to the top?  Below is my iterative stab at it.  Please share your suggestions, edits, corrections and comments:

1. Social, Social, Social – at least as many social talks as mobile talks.

- Social is a double edged sword.  You have less control over it than we delude ourselves into thinking.  If your product is not good, social will hurt more than it will help.

- Must use social as a listening post – and react quickly: “Fail fast.”  Own up to mistakes, e.g., Domino’s and Virgin.  Don’t take someone on who has a large social following… (Maytag)

2. Facebook, Facebook, Facebook

- “Everyone is on Facebook,” Nick Sheth, Gap Inc.

- Walmart has nearly 10 million fans. Coca Cola has 34.5 million.

- The open graph, the timeline and the new ad formats (sponsored stories) that leverage the opinions of your facebook friends. (What, by the way, is Facebook doing to educate its actual mainstream users about these innovations.)

- Do consumers want to have relationships with their favorite brands on Facebook?  Answer seems to be, sure.  I think the key is the right balance between push and pull.  I’m a bit concerned that brands might become to the Facebook community as adults are to kids.  Once too many of them are on the platform, the people may leave… will we kill the golden goose?  It’s a delicate balance.

3. Paid, Earned, Owned

- Separate from this conference, Chris Lubin of Attention USA, added a fourth adjective to this marketing triumvirate: shared.  In a recent blog post, he wrote:  ”As social media matures, and audiences grow within branded environments, shared media gains importance. The most efficient way to build audience in social media is to co-opt the audience of a partner or like-minded brand—share. So, smart brands are using social channels to barter exposure, and cross-promote.”

4. Content Creation

- Brand as Content – Content as Brand: Marketers have (or must) become content creators

- People don’t hate advertising, they hate bad advertising.

- That’s an opportunity for agencies

- Deep dive into what Coke has and is doing – beginning with the revolutionary Polar Bear campaign (remember that!)

5. Metrics (and Data)

- Measure it. CMOs continue to be increasingly accountable for ROI, even display ads on in-store behavior

- The census.  What is this data telling us, particularly about cultural diversity and influence.  50 million Hispanics.  (Does this include “undocumented?” I imagine it does.)

- Continued debate and discussion around attribution.

- “A like, a friend, a follower.. a click” what is that worth to a brand?

- The “Data Management Platform,” aka DMP

6. The Funnel (aka Path to Purchase and Consumer Decision Journey)

- The traditional funnel is outdated.  However, much of the terminology has survived and/or been incorporated to the new, bright shiny (Mustard colored) circular tubes.   There is some consensus about the fact that the process is no longer linear but more of a circular conversation.

- However, the term “funnel” as well as “top” and “bottom” of funnel and stages such as awareness, consideration, acquisition were used frequently, particularly by CMOs.  However… the funnel must include advocacy.  (Social, social, social)  And, the funnel is iterative and, well, free flow.

7. Search:

- Google, Google, Google.

- Retargeting.  Performance display.  Auctions.

8. Big, big, bigger

- Most speakers came from or service large advertisers.  Not a lot of insight into how to get started with social, etc. if you’re small.

9. Digital Dollars

- Dollars are shifting into digital – because that’s where the audience is.  But… the livingroom, big screen experience is not going away, particularly with smart/connected TVs

- We’re hearing numbers like 20%, 40%, majority of dollars being spent on non-traditional/digital media including mobile, etc.  (See L’Oreal stats at end of post)

- Media and content providers finding that more of their content is being consumed wirelessly than wired (MLB)

- Yet… prices up 10% during TV upfront despite ratings declines

10. Bright Shiny Objects

- There needs to be a drinking game at these conferences where everyone drinks when they hear this phrase

- Oh, and also a drinking game about references to “Mad Men.”

11. Targeting (and Networks)

- Retargeting, cookie-ing, digital ad trading, real time bidding (RTB).  (These terms and tools seem to have supplanted behavioral advertising; I don’t recall hearing that term mentioned at all)

- Serving ads that are relevant to the consumer

- Dynamic ad insertion – available online – that means the ads are dynamically inserted when the user requests the page so it’s really, really targeted

- The Yahoo!, aol, Microsoft “three-way” designed to give Google a run for its ad network money

- “Data is changing our marketing lives.” – MicroStrategy executive

12. Youth, Hispanics and Moms

- Youth: Do we know how to connect with this savvy group?

- Hispanics: 50 million, according to current census, and many are not assimilating because they don’t have to, e.g., language.  Large families, heavy media users, especially mobile.  Univision is a top 5 network.  Can’t afford to ignore them.

- Moms: How to reach them?  They are not all the same…

——

9. Digital Dollars at L’Oreal:

“After doubling U.S. digital spending in 2010, L’Oreal will spend as much on digital here this year as over the prior two years combined, Mr. Speichert said. That will bring digital to around 10% of L’Oreal’s overall advertising outlay in the U.S., he said. Although he declined to detail spending levels in dollar terms, Mr. Speichert said L’Oreal’s measured spending here was $1 billion last year, up about 25% from the prior year.  L’Oreal is increasing its overall outlay rather than raiding other budgets to fund digital growth, he added.”