Google testing location-based ads

According to BusinessWeek (print edition dt April 20, 2009), Google is testing location-based advertising to drive more bang for the advertising buck. In March, Google started placing local-business ads on Urbanspoon, A GPS enabled mobile app. This app has capability to identify the user’s location and then recommends places to eat nearby. This allow Google to provide a better return on advertising dollars. In a down economy, advertisers are looking to get better return on their advertising investments.

Attended Wireless Technology Forum’s Mobile Media SIG event

Had the pleasure of attending the Wireless Technology Forum’s SIG on Wireless Apps and Mobile Media. Today we had the iPhone Product Manager for autotrader.com – Nick Park presenting. 

Excellent presentation Nick. Thanks. Enjoyed the session

Nick was speaking about autotrader’s mobile web app. Some key aspects from his presentation :

Autotrader is primarily focused on iPhone but its web app works on BlackBerry and Windows Mobile too. AutoTrader’s app is about finding new and used cars, their pricing and nearby dealerships based on a number of criteria. AutoTrader is part of the Cox family. Some stats on autotrader :

• 14 million unique visitors each month
• 40000 dealers use AutoTrader
• 3 mill cars in inventory
• 250K private sellers
• 220 employees

Audience of AutoTrader :

• 78% visitors are males
• Average age is 43.7 years
• Average income $74300
• 40% have graduated college
• 63% are married

Basically the primary market audience is mid-market customers.

Another interesting stat : 83% of AutoTrader’s audience are looking for used cars. Only 10% visit to sell their cars on AutoTrader. So not a big selling platform. It is primarily search and find.

Critical aspects of AutoTrader strategy which also define its mobile app are : Portable, Rich Media, Local, Brand. Portability was a challenge as earlier strategies involved print media localized to communities. The mobile app was originally developed for portability reasons (in-pocket accessibility) and also to keep the brand fresh and young.

AutoTrader thought best to go with a mobile website as opposed to a device app. This was the easy thing to start with as it allowed them to leverage most of the backend web app and data environment. Mobile resident app would be more work and is in the future.

AutoTrader’s other brands include : AutoTrader Classic (Classic cars), AutoTrader Latino (heavy SMS usage), and AutoMart (popular with women). These three profiles require a different strategy in mobile world too.

Dealers have a substantial presence on AutoTrader. The latter enables inventory management, merchandising and auction support for dealers. AutoTrader has deep relationships with Kelley Blue Book, MSN Auto, Univision and NADA Guides.

Mobile version of AutoTrader was a result of a need to provide scalability to distributors. The mobile web app is being tightly coupled to the main web app. There is an effort to merge the business and analytics engine of the mobile app with the main web app. This helps in fast turnaround on changes and experimentation.

Functionally speaking, searching a car requires a lot of parameters to return an accurate result set. Also getting credit for referring customers to dealers has been difficult for AutoTrader so they are experimenting with coupons and such. The mapping function of the AutoTrader mobile app finds the nearest dealer having the desired car.

                                                               

                                                       autotrader.com on iPhone

Some key aspects needed to sell cars :

- photo is critical for used cars

- video is important and useful with lot of mobile users checking auto videos on mobile phones

- maps are popular to find cars in nearby vicinity dealerships

 

Next steps for AutoTrader mobile consist of : experimenting with more iPhone apps, developing for other platforms like Android, mobile / web hybrid apps and fast turnaround on application development and releases.

Thanks to WAMM (Wireless Apps and Mobile Media) SIG at the WTF for arranging this excellent presentation.

Three human needs beyond the basic

Beyond basic lifestyle needs and things of necessities (food, water, shelter, domestic needs, clothing, reach/mobility), all other Business models revolve around three basic human needs : community, sensory satisfaction and information.

Humans have a need to commune, to socialize (Need 1). The second need humans have is to get gratification (Need 2). Gratification relates to one of the sensory perceptions – looks, taste, smell, touch or hearing. The third thing humans like is information (Need 3). There is an innate desire to be aware, of being well-informed. These ideas are reflected in all successful business models as well. Most business models are either satisfying human need to commune and network, providing sensory gratification or providing information. However in today’s world, the last one has become difficult (to make money on) as there is lots of free information. One can argue that free information providers want to provide a place of community to the users. So strategy based on the Need 3 is to ensure the Need 1 and in the process make money.

Some examples to make it clear :

Internet search engines and portals : Search / Information

Social Networking : Commune

Conferences, Meetings : Commune

Education : Information

Entertainment (music, video, theatre) : Sensory Gratification

Partying : Commune and Gratification

Garden and landscape : Sensory Gratification

Advertising and Marketing : Commune and Information

Print and Publishing : Information

 

Just some philosophical ideas. How about Charity. It is not a business and hence does not fit any “Need” profile.

Startups can take notice of the above.

pre-CTIA event summary 31 March ‘09

Here are interesting happenings from the halos of CTIA Wireless site in Vegas (the event starts tomorrow but there were interesting pre-event conferences/announcements)

• Skype released on iPhone and BlackBerry. We downloaded it and really like what we see. Only issue : it works only on WiFi networks. For now TruPhone wins on this one as TruPhone works on operator network also using its AnyWhere service. We are sure Skype will provide that later. Skype for BlackBerry to be made available this summer.
• RIM to unveil the BlackBerry App World (mobile app store). Nokia Ovi Store comes this summer. MSFT Windows Mobile App Store called Sky Market is later part of this year.
• Handango, one of the initial mobile app developer, launches App Store Accelerator, yet another app store for mobile.
• MSFT thinks that mobile devices are fashion accessories. As such it is teaming up with top designers for designing mobile phone colors and schemes.
• MSFT is collaborating with AT&T for its PlayReady triple-play content management software for synchronized content delivery on three channels – TV, broadband and mobile.
• Go2 Media to create app like experience in mobile browsers like Safari
• AT&T to launch in-vehicle satellite TV service called CruiseCast. If you have seen Uverse from AT&T, you know what AT&T has mastered TV
• Samsung launches first WiMAX device for ClearWire. It is an internet tablet PC.

Stay tuned for more from CTIA as the conference kicks off tomorrow in Vegas.

twittering

We started twittering today. Amazing experience. Quite a service. Of course we are twittering from our iPhone using twitterific app also in addition to twittering directly on the twitter website. We immediately got 12 followers and we started following 12 interesting personalities.

Follow us on twitter at : http://twitter.com/CellStrat

More on this as time goes on.

CellStrat on twitter now

We are pleased to announce that CellStrat is on twitter now. So if you are really really interested in checking what we are doing at the moment, feel free to follow us on twitter.

http://twitter.com/CellStrat

We will be providing tweets as they call them. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 bytes in length. Twitter is an interesting micro-blogging service to post one liners – it is what they are now referring to as “Real-time Web”. A web which changes by the minute and people publish their thoughts on the go. Other people can follow the tweets by a person whereas that person can follow other peoples’ tweets. It becomes more relevant from a mobile perspective as one can post tweets while on the go. So we downloaded the twitter client “twitterific” from iPhone AppStore. This has been created by a firm called “the iconfactory“. Twitterific is fabulous as is twitter.

This is a new model which has evolved over last one year. It has been adopted by one and all around the world from celebrities to businessmen to evangelists.

So chase us on http://twitter.com/CellStrat …

Attended the Wireless Technology Forum (Atlanta) General Meeting on Wireless Consumer Apps

I visited the Wireless Technology Forum’s General Meeting today. WTF is the top wireless networking group in Atlanta with 550 members and growing rapidly. The topic for today’s session was “Where is the Money in Wireless Consumer Applications?“

The WTF session today had an excellent panel :

Ken Hayes, EVP – Carrier Relations, ThumbPlay

Rob Hyatt, Executive Director, AT&T Mobility

Andy McGuire, VP Mobile Innovation, GSM Association

Andrew Dod, VP Marketing, Whoop Mobile

Ron Kozoman, Director, Mobile Operations, Turner Broadcasting Systems

Moderator : Maury Margol, Sr. Director, Client Relations, Nielsen Telecom Practice

Here are some highlights from the panel discussion :

As one would expect, iPhone has come to dominate all things mobile internet in current times. Basic theme all throughout the discussion was that the iPhone is a game changer in mobile app world. It has shown the world how the mobile user experience should be and how to influence consumer adoption with a compelling application portfolio.

Which mobile apps are making money today ? Ken suggested it is the iPhone apps with its AppStore strategy.  3 years from now, it will be LBS which will be main revenue generator in mobile apps. Andy McGuire suggested that 800 million iPhone application downloads so far is the tip of the iceberg. It is an indicator that developers and consumers are there if the ecosystem is right.  He mentioned that in future, one might see utility models like medical and home apps on mobile phones. One panelist opined that in spite of all the iPhone AppStore hoopla and massive no of apps available, money is still being made in limited categories like games and music.

On the question of wired devices, the panel was of the opinion that in future there will be lot of wireless devices which will preclude the need to have a wired network but higher speed apps will still find a use for wired networking eg in case of high speed TV. Andy quoted Sony CEO’s statement that in the future, 90% of devices may be wirelessly-enabled. Clearly wireless is the future for all networks but for reasons of speed and niche uses, wired devices and network will still prevail in some areas. Some interesting uses of wireless will be wireless blood pressure monitor, reservoir monitors etc.

On the question as to how a carrier like AT&T makes money in “open mobile” environments like iPhone AppStore, Rob from AT&T mentioned that iPhone has increased data plan sales for AT&T and also AT&T itself makes some of the iPhone apps.  Plus AT&T attracts a huge no of new subscribers due to the iPhone exclusivity. In essence, AT&T has lots of monetization models around iPhone type of devices where the volume of customer adoption more than covers for the revenue lost due to “open” mobile gardens like iPhone AppStore.

Next there was a question – how can developers make money in mobile apps? The panel was of the opinion that there are lot of apps being made and put out most of the times for free. Lot of these apps are simply experimental in nature or are hobby apps with no business model around them. The panel suggested that developers need to think through the business model when writing apps. Most apps peak and then are forgotten in the ever increasing mass of mobile apps on iPhone AppStore. As to mobile ads inside the mobile apps, it is a nascent idea at this point but in future, this will become a bigger source of revenue vs a download fee. One panelist suggested that considering the fact that there are 4 times the no of mobiles in the world compared to no of PCs, there is a dearth of content for mobile so that is an area which developers can look at. Also RIM has stated that minimum pricing for BlackBerry App Store app will be $2.99 – this may invite more serious developers who have a revenue-generating business model in mind.

Per Robb Hyatt from AT&T, iPhone took AT&T Mobility from “2nd innings straight to 5th innings” in mobile data; I found this interesting.

When asked where does Google come into picture, the panelists mused that it is one of many players unlike in internet where it dominates via search. One interesting aspect about Google Android is that it has reduced manufacturing costs for OEMs (read cellphone makers) dramatically. Eg Samsung or Motorola no longer have to spend tons in maintaining custom mobile OS for its phones. It can focus on making compelling phones and just use Android for mobile OS.

On Mobile Payments, the panel thought that Near Field Communications or NFC payments are still in infancy although other countries are slightly ahead of USA in this area.  Also consumers need to become comfortable about security before mass adoption of Mobile Banking will be seen. Andy gave an example of “Banking for the Unbanked” in Kenya on Safaricom network and its mobile payment offering called m-pesa. The 7 million m-pesa customers use mobile as a payment mechanism and receive paychecks on it. This is excellent innovation in mobile payment. Everybody agreed that mobile payments and banking is a trust model as much as it is a technology model.

Then the natural question : has recession effected mobile apps business ? Apparently not, per the panel. It seems consumers will not give up mobile and its little entertainment oriented apps just like they won’t give up on movies in a downtime. Mobile is an essential device today for a consumer.

All panelists agreed that there is lot of innovation remaining in mobile app arena. The primary gaps remain in user experience and business model evolution. iPhone experience is the beginning and not the end.

Well, very informative and highly intuitive discussion. Thanks to the panel and to the organizing team at the WTF – Maury Margol, Bob McIntyre and Steve Bachman.

LG Mobiles in India to have pre-loaded Social Networking Application

LG mobile phone users will be the first in India to benefit from easy access to the rich mobile social networking. The latest version of the RockeTalk application includes a multiple Instant Messenger (IM) chat feature compatible with Yahoo, Google Talk, MSN, AIM and ICQ. RockeTalk is the only application in India that provides both mobile IM chat and a full-featured end-to-end mobile social network with voice, photo, and video messaging, communities, and user-generated and professional content.

For full story click here.

New Business Models in Wireless Space at Barcamp Delhi…

Today I attended BCD5, the Barcamp event in IIT-Delhi. Although registrations for this event were many online. However, only a few turned up for the event actually. Quiet a few people were carrying laptops and PDAs to blog in real time about the event using wifi which in general IIT – Delhi auditoriums have for use by everybody but today there was’nt any due to security reasons.

Among others, I also spoke on new business models in wireless space, representing CellStrat. Though the attendees for this topic were very very less with a total of about just 10-15 peoplefrom close to 100+ . But it was appreciated quiet a lot as these were the only people who were either working in mobile space on these models for their clients abroad or would like to include them in their businesses in India.

Overall, the technology presentations or the one in tech space were quiet good.

Notes from Telephony Live 2008, Chicago

Some other interesting discussions at the Telephony Live 2008 which I attended last week :

XO Communications : has a broadband VOIP service platform for corporate clients and uses BroadSoft platform. BroadSoft Platform allows SPs like XO launch service quickly and allow the configuration capabilities needed for an enterprise grade launch. According to XO Director of Product Management Nicola Jackson, feature packaging capability in the BroadSoft software was critical part of the successful launch.

TowerStream CEO Jeff Thompson participated in the panel “Service Provider of Tomorrow” and spoke about their Fixed WIMAX services and how launch of XOHM network by Sprint has validated the business case for WiMAX and has attracted the desired visibility from ecosystem partners to embed WiMAX in more devices and services. Jeff mentioned TowerStream mentioned by maintaining extreme focus on WiMAX services and not getting into VOIP or storage periphery services.

Tellabs was the lead sponsor for Telephony Live 2008 and presented a very interested use case on Latin American IP service provider Diveo. Diveo has launched a full IP MPLS compatible VPN service for business customers in South American nations. Diveo has 1500 customers including the Brazilian energy giant PetroBras and several financial majors in that part of the world. Tellabs exec mentioned that they are letting the core of the network continue to be an ATM/Frame Relay to allow the businesses to leverage existing investments. MPLS and IP functionality is being introduced on the edge to provide QOS and policy management functions.

The founder of NextGen Marketing group illustrated the success of one of their startup clients Sojern, Inc which has created an innovative business model of printing local advertising on internet boarding passes of various airline customers. The local advertising prints ad and event information based on the destination of the customer or flight layovers. NextGen Marketing Group is the “virtual Chief Marketing Office” where they provide strategy and marketing services in an outsourced manner to firms large and small. NextGen customers include Sojern, AirCell and NextGain.

City of Chicago CIO Hardik Bhatt mentioned how the city is tracking the city workers around the city and advising them on energy usage and route optimization. The city has an innovative IT dept and has introduced Mobile Asset Tracking and 311 VAS services. Unfortunately, state the city CIO, broadband is still not universal and 25-50% from low income families have no internet access limiting the scope of internet based services.

Ben Shin, VP Product Management of Sprint’s XOHM business unit mentions that it is not always about technology. Technology must address social needs and social concerns and also make things easy for consumers. XOHM is an all IP service with no service contracts and open ecosystem to encourage developers and partners to develop products and services for this environment. XOHM DayPass cost just $10 and provides all you can eat access for one day.

All participants agreed that future of communication lies in things like content, Location-Based offerings, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Gaming, Business Process Outsourcing etc. There are 250 apps produced for Facebook every day and this shows an open developer friendly internet can attract scores of developers to develop innovative apps. Same environment needs to be encouraged in the mobile space to achieve similar growth patterns. Many participants agreed that devices like iPhone and Android will shift balance of power to content, internet and application firms from the typical service providers.