July 30th, 2010 by Alex De Barnardi
One more Location-based Startup has been started however this one finds itself dissimilar than the most that emulates the one’s already in existence. This one from TechCrunch Disrupt has created one much different from others.
Geotoko, as it is being named is an app created to let businesses operate contests, sweepstakes and various campaigns through the check-in functionality of already available location-based services like Gowalla and Foursquare. Hence instead to trying to redo the whole thing it just aims at adding value to the existing LBS available in the Market.
Geotoko provides a control panel for businesses to build their site for promotional campaigns. The site will combine Check-in and Geolocation input data from Foursquare, Twitter and Gowalla at present for the location of the business together with campaign details or promotions like prizes, freebies, etc. They also plan to add on Facebook, Brightkite, etc in days to come.
For instance a coffee shop can design a campaign to launch a new drink by giving away free coffee to customers who check-in through this app. Geotoko allows the outlet to administer the check-ins and have a common point for hype around the promotion, where everyone checking in can witness others doing so. Businesses can also track the traffic flow of all the locations.
With so many LBS available in the Market businesses are excited but not sure about where to start with. Business “dashboards” are being launched by different LBS providers which facilitate local business and brands to introduce one-of-its kind campaigns however it limits itself to a certain section. Suppose a business creates a campaign based on Foursquare it does not include any one using Gowalla, Yelp, Brightkite and such dozens other LBS.
Accumulating and providing a complete way out for businesses and brands to make us of the LBS ecosystem is a wonderful thought but it would be of use only if implemented effectively. Geotoko looks to have the potential but how far will it succeed will have to be seen in the days to come.
Tags: Check-in, Geotoko, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Application, Mobile geolocation, Mobile Local Services, Mobile Marketing, Social Networking
Posted in Android, Blackberry, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Application, Mobile Marketing, Smartphones, iphone | No Comments »
July 28th, 2010 by Jack Marsh
MasterCard has come out with its new programme to ensure its payment infrastructure accessible to Developers to facilitate Mobile Payments and other commerce improvisation. MasterCard declared its alliance with 2 different companies to make its “PayPass” a smooth and no interference system for Mobile devices.
Inside Contactless has evolved a NFC-based solution that will be integrated in MasterCard’s PayPass payment Mobile App. These will be in the form of stickers which can be put into Mobile devices to convert them into NFC Credit Cards. CPI Card Group is the start up company that’s facilitating these stickers.
This has made the user friendliness of PayPass with debit and credit card being carried forward to Mobile phones. Bringing together Mobile Payments, NFC and Mobile devices along with the widely available MasterCard PayPass has resulted into a unique and effective solution that will for surely draw more customers towards it than any other solutions that’s being designed from the beginning.
Josh Peirez, MasterCard’s Chief Innovation Officer said, “A big part of the Strategy is to be able to harness the innovation of others in the developer community to really push our business forward.” He added, “You’re seeing quite different ways people are paying for digital goods, but you haven’t really seen that translate into physical goods. It’s still really hard to buy a physical item from your phone.”
The idea of inserting the NFC technology inside a sticker is being very rational. This would make possible any device available in the Market unlike the OEM’s to integrate the technology in new handsets. The progress of manufacturing new NFC-enabled devices has been rather slow, much below expectation however one feels that this alliance would set the pace in the right direction. It would be very fascinating to follow this Development and see what the future outcome of this promising initiative is.
Tags: m commerce, MasterCard, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Payment
Posted in Mobile Application, Mobile Marketing | No Comments »
July 26th, 2010 by Helen Straton
PreTesting Group is perhaps the only of its kind company which concentrates on trials of Marketing and Advertising creative in real-life scenarios. A few days back they declared that it has built up a technology to facilitate brands to measure participation of the real-world with advertising on the iPad. By means of “People Reader” their patented technology, PreTesting Group utilises 2 hidden cameras to examine how people read the iPad. It also calculates how much response time is used up on Advertising.
Let’s try and find out the mechanism of this unique concept.
2 mocked-up iPad applications or other iPad implementation having advertising is exhibited to each of the test group participants. It shall be put to the knowledge of the participant that an App Developer is fascinated in his views on the proposed Application. The participant or the responder will now be asked to interact with the app at his own time in order to provide the participants enough time to respond to a few of the general questions about the app features once he has finished the app.
The App will consist of a representative number of Content and Advertisements aimed at the benefits of the consumer. If appropriate a test ad, a competitive ad along with the “filler” ad will feature in each app in days to come to provide the responder/participant can have 2 exposures to the Advertising.
Once completed, the process must determine the overall usefulness of the iPad Advertisement through 5 aspects of Involvement, Recall, Communication, Imagery and Persuasion. It’s an exclusive move towards providing real-world knowledge about how prospective ad-units and methods work on iPad. Whether a handful of consumers are able to point out the potential engagement on the iPad or not and what sort of statistics PreTesting comes out with once they complete a few experiments with the iPad, will be very exciting to observe.
Tags: iPad, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Application, Mobile interactive Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Pretesting
Posted in Mobile Advertising, Mobile Application, Mobile Marketing, iphone | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2010 by Alex De Barnardi
Almost all the new Mobile Marketing Firms are inclined to provide a one-stop shop solution. The rapidly growing industry attracts new Mobile Marketing Companies all the time all over the world. Everybody wants to make the hay while the sun shines.
In pursuit of such an ambition the issue with such a mindset is that most of the people involved with such organisations do not have in-depth knowledge of the techniques and methodology of the processes. Sometimes the basic understanding is also found wanted. As a result of which without understanding and focusing on the exact needs of the Mobile Advertisers all possible solutions from Mobile displays to SMS are dumped on him.
It is therefore always a welcome relief to witness the growth of niche-oriented marketing firms and providers. These firms usually concentrate on one technology or methodology at a given point in time. Thus they perform much better. This focused approach helps them achieve a very detailed and comprehensive knowledge of a particular mobile marketing technology and its benefits to the prospective customers.
The Mobile Flyer is an appropriate example. Their prime focus is to deliver SMS-based lead-generation and Marketing services to Real Estate agents and professionals who desire to make use of mobile technology in their trade. Whenever anyone uses the SMS-based system to know more about anything the customer (in this case the Realtor) gets on the spot lead notification.
The aim has to be to focus of one simple product or service and do it meticulously. This approach always helps both the customer and the service process itself. The more one pays attention to a particular service the firm tends to get niche about it which means better quality of service to the customer.
Thus the Niche-Oriented approach is any day more meaningful that trying your luck into everything and burning all your fingers in the process.
Tags: lead generation, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Niche Marketing, SMS
Posted in Mobile Advertising, Mobile Marketing | No Comments »
July 21st, 2010 by Helen Straton
Check.In, the Web app from Brighkite finally made a public appearance doing away with their Beta testing. This launch was being much awaited by the Mobile world.
This should finally mean an end to the much talked about “check-in fatigue”. The issue of facing so many geolocation services to check-in whenever you wish to shall also be taken care of with this app. The app has been tried, tested and refined through the beta testing exclusively done internally at Brightkite. The check-in capacity of Brightkite, Foursquare and Gowalla were being displayed initially through the app. However, now Whrrl and TriOut are also added to the list.
The APIs offered by all contributing services are accumulated in an HTML5-based Web app enabling it to be compatible on iPhones, Android devices and iPads. This makes the app absolutely uncomplicated and user-friendly. Exciting data gathered during the beta experimentation were analysed by TechCrunch. They examined the way users related with the app. It was observed that the customers check-in predominantly on Fridays and rarely on Sundays. Users primarily used two of the provided services but four or five was the least admired. It is presumed that Gowalla and Foursquare are the forerunners.
Brightkite is a privately held company based out of Burlingame, CA, Denver, CO and Helsinki, Finland and funded by Azure Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, NEA, and Nexit Ventures. They started operations in the year 2005. The team comprises of its founders, Brady Becker, Jonathon Linner, JP Virolainen, Martin May and Rob Lawson, and a zealous group of leaders who are contributing to its growth every day. Brightkite is an uncomplicated way to remain connected with friends and places. It enables you to know what’s happening with your near and dear one’s who matter the most to you. You can also make new friends and cherish your neighbourhood.
Tags: Brightkite, Mobile Advertising, Mobile geo location, Mobile Marketing, Social Networking
Posted in Android, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Application, Mobile Marketing, Web Advertising, iphone | No Comments »
