Texting and driving has become an epidemic of deadly proportions. Working with the Ad Council, The Concept Farm has created an integrated campaign with many different executions under one unified theme, “Stop The Texts. Stop The Wrecks.” Our goal is to get America to share their ideas on how to fix the problem and optimize our messaging to change behavior and save more lives. Please visit stoptextsstopwrecks.org to see the work and share your thoughts.
Posted by Matt
A good mobile retail study from millenial media via Cynopsis. Hope this is helpful:
Mobile applications and browsers are becoming essential sales and marketing tools for retailers, according to a new whitepaper from mobile ad network Millennial Media. Consumers rely on their mobile devices to guide them through every step of the purchase process, from determining if they need a product (52% of respondents), to making a purchase (38%), to evaluating a product post-purchase (12%). Over 13 million consumers accessed retail content on their mobile phone in a given month, with 2.2 million accessing some sort of retail content almost every day. Retail was the top vertical on the Millennial network both globally and in the U.S. From Q1 2010 to Q1 2011, retail spending grew over 1300%.
Posted by Matt
Recently Danielle Baukh, one of our favorite Farmers was traveling in Costa Rica when that massive tornado hit down in Alabama. With friends and family nearby the event was just too close to home. Not surprisingly she was hit almost as hard as they were stateside - So she decided to help.
After a few very persuasive emails to her fellow farmers and friends to gather up last year’s overalls she was able to get a few really good hauls of clothes and other necessities together.
The effort is being supported by UPS with free shipping to aid locations for distribution.
Congratulations and thank you Danielle and all the folks at UPS. Well done.
-Your Farm Family
Posted by Matt
1)Why Mcommerce is is different than Ecommerce
It is becoming clear through data patterns and user studies that mobile plays a far greater role in augmenting a real world shopping experience rather than simply allowing an actual mobile purchase. Using location among other data points Mcommerce is a continuum or sequence of events that can work before, during and after the sale. This may happen over a few hours, days or weeks. Mcommerce can notify of sales. It can ping you when you are physically near the retail location. It can support shopping in store with information, community opinion, direction and price comparison. It can extend the shopping experience after sale with sharing and follow up loyalty messaging. So Mcommerce should not be thought of as the moment of sale. It is the amalgam of all of the stages of a marketing funnel. A portable personal shopper that can do everything except take out your wallet in store. And that is not far behind.
2)We know the iPad is different - we’re just not sure how
Consistent among tablet discussions at the recent Mobile Upfront is where do they fit in your connected life? Which device does it replace? Or is it yet another brick to carry? The answer is a qualified yes. The tablet clearly has a place as a new device. its portability and size make it far better suited for media consumption and game play when away from a desk (stat: 84% of ipad users have played a game on it. Not a huge surprise…). So it offers mobility out of the house but also inside. The tablet becomes the device you can carry room to room rather than the laptop (ideal for dual screen viewing). Healthcare has been a hot tablet (well - ipad) topic. One panel discussion noted 40% of doctors have them now. 75% will have one in a year. For may part a recent visit to a shoulder specialist ended with an ipad video of the surgery I might need. Gross but helpful (I opted out). And no doubt he played solitaire on it after I left.
3)We must recalibrate ROI for mobile
In some ways this is the same conversation had about digital media in general for years. Is it direct response or a brand awareness tool? Mobile is beset with similar - if not unclear expectations. As is being demonstrated with the emergence of Mcommerce a transaction in the mobile space can be many things short of a sale. Proving value should be a mix of audience quality, engagement and to a lesser extent some data or $$ exchange.
2011 has again been touted as the year of mobile. From our vantage point at The Concept Farm this is the decade of mobility. Smart phone penetration is below 50% (probably below 40%) and new technology including enhanced Bluetooth and mobile payments mean mobile innovation will continue to make news for some time. Continued device penetration, new technology and new consumer habits will open new (and exciting) ways for marketers to market in the coming years.
Posted by Matt