Check out the article I wrote for Rhythm Interactive’s Blog-A-Rhythm.
In Japan, Keitai is a popular buzz word which is short for Keitai Denwa, or “portable telephone”; and, the Japanese are crazy in love with their mobile phones. Since broadband internet never took off in Japan like it has in the rest of the world, most Japanese rely on their trusty Keitai for their daily dose of news, gossip or even their latestmanga. During past business trips to Japan, while taking the train I would notice just about every single person transfixed on their phone, oblivious to everyone and everything around them. Just imagine how many potential new customers are out there and looking for a way to pass the time while they are in the middle of their boring morning commute.
Now the US is finally starting to catch up with Japan on the technology front, thanks to devices such as the Apple iPhone and the recently announced T-Mobile G1. These devices represent a quantum leap in functionality over the phone you had in your pocket a year ago, and now is the time to take advantage of the possibilities they bring. So, the question you should be asking yourself is, “How can I take advantage of this powerful new medium to grab the attention of my customers?” Here is a quick look at some of the technologies that empower these devices so that you can start answering that question for yourself.
What is 3G?
3G is an acronym for Third Generation, and what this means to you is that these new phones can finally access the internet at speeds that surpass old fashioned dial-up. While 3G isn’t as fast as DSL, it is still fast enough that a properly designed website can seem almost as snappy as if you were viewing it over a broadband connection. Also, most of the new phones that utilize 3G technology have much larger screens. Where in the past phones were limited to a 240×320 screen or even smaller, both the iPhone and the T-Mobile G1 have a screen that is double that at 480×320. Plus these new phones use displays that have a higher DPI range (which means that they can fit more Dots Per Inch than your computer monitor) which brings a pleasing crispness to any displayed content; and, as a bonus these devices have the ability to quickly and easily zoom in on the content to make it even more readable.
Microsites for Mobile
One of the easiest ways to take advantage of this new technology is to create a Microsite that provides a “bite size” version of the content from your “hungry man size” corporate website. Also, since you know the person visiting your site is a bit more technology savvy, you can better target your messaging in order to take advantage of that fact. Additionally, you can provide fun takeaways like wallpaper images and videos specially designed for their phone.
SMS (Short Message Service)
I recently was trying to get my hands on Wii Fit, the latest offering from Nintendo that you just can’t seem to find anywhere. My wife is addicted to DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), and I thought this would be a perfect birthday present for her. After calling all over town to see if I could find a store that had it in stock, or could even tell me when they expected their next shipment, I took my search online and found that Amazon now has a feature for some of their top selling items where they would send me an SMS message when the item was in stock. I was in nerd nirvana, as now my phone will tell me when the item is in stock, and with the built in web browser I can log on to their site to immediately purchase the item.
Location Awareness
One of my favorite applications that I have installed on my iPhone helps me decide which local restaurant to go to for lunch. I shake my phone and it unlocks slot-machine-style wheels that begin spinning to randomly pick a City, Cuisine and Price Range that are cross referenced against the built-in GPS and an online database to find a dining option. With Google’s work on their Android platform, these capabilities will soon be available in phones from any service provider. And, with the W3C forming a working group to add this functionality to all browsers, soon even your laptop computer will have this functionality.
The examples above describe a few of the new capabilities mobile will bring to the advertisers arsenal. By using one or more of these new technologies, you will be able to tailor the user experience to ever better target your customers and provide a personalized experience. As pointed out in Tony’s recent posting some of the best brand-building opportunities in the foreseeable future will be centered around offering valuable online and mobile services related to your product and service category. Hopefully this will get you thinking about ways in which your customers might like to interact with your brand while on-the-go and how new mobile phone technologies can extend your presence and help you build brand loyalty.