Tradition Marketer? Online media can help your ROI tracking.

My online media evangelism is making me more generous towards the traditional media marketers or you can call it’s a sympathy gesture to myself (for the time I spent in traditional media). Here is a piece of advice for the traditional media marketers to track the ROIs from the offline media campaigns (which is a hard nut to crack otherwise).

Let’s say you are running TV, Radio, Print ads for certain campaign and you wish to track your ROI. Neither this is a fool proof method nor will it give you an accurate tracking, however, it can act as an add-on to your regular media tracking tricks. Assumption made here is that you would be using some call to action in your campaign and tracking it back to your results.

Try to use a “keyword” or a “buzzword” in your campaign as a call to action. Now, much before launching your offline campaign, you can look at the search engine volumes for the specific keyword which you are going to use in your offline campaign.

Identify some popular search engines in your region and start running a fixed time SEM campaign. Buy out certain keywords that you are going to use in your offline campaign and you expect that those keywords will be searched by people in search engines.

Now bid for those keywords and keep a close track on the search engine traffic coming to your website through those keywords before launching the offline campaign. This is the base setup which will work as the platform for you.

Once you start your offline campaign monitor the post campaign increase in search volumes of your keywords and the increased traffic to your website. Determine whether your offline media has a positive ROI impact by evaluating whether this incremental search traffic got you additional searches, enquiries, sales, etc.

Was it worth investment on your offline media initiatives? In case your business is not at all online, and you know, for example, that majority of your business is done by phone or in stores; you could look at increased search volumes when calculating ROI.

This is how Online Media and search engines can help you measure your ROI and track the results a little better than what you might be doing now!

TV 2.0 eating into Traditional TV time?

Is TV 2.0 or the web based video channels cannibalizing the traditional TV watching time? Would Internet replace the traditional box?

I was recently reading the survey report on media consumption and noticed that 37% of the audiences between the ages of 12-28 on an average are hooked online for up to 5 hours a day. The usage varies from news, office work, matrimonials, jobs, social networking, online videos, online and music download, blogging, commenting, reading, file sharing, mobile messaging and mobile media usage and more…It is evident that there is a cannibalization of TV time with Internet/Mobile time. Another interesting piece by Times of India, 17th March 08 on Video Blogs and how there is a general behavioral shift towards internet.

However in another media and entertainment household survey fact sheet by IBM showcased DVR as one of the key reasons to have increased the TV usage. The key thing to look at is that video recording or playback is driving this behaviour of media consumption. This means people want to choose the time and want to have the convenience of watching TV or digital media as per their own will. Can we call it ON-Demand digital media?

Now in this case people are paying for the media and a small number is also ready to pay a little extra for ad free viewing. However, considering that there is a large focus group which is online and would like to get access to digital TV 2.0 or WEB TV 2.0 at their will, that to free of charge all supported by the ads, they wouldn’t mind watching that, would they?

Here enters Vuze an open platform for digital music and video on demand! Vuze is the world's most popular entertainment platform for high-res digital content: video, music, and games. With an installed base of 18 million unique client downloads in its first year, 500,000 new downloads per week and 150 content partners to date, Vuze is experiencing unprecedented organic growth. I have seen small webseries like roommating is getting popular already and there are many similar series which are presently running on Vuze.

It won’t be an exaggeration if I call Vuze the next standard of Web TV or the TV 2.0. It’s a P2P based video and music sharing platform. You can simply download the video by opening the torrent file. Also you can publish your own content by creating torrents. Vuze attracts and features high quality content from a growing roster of global television networks, premier production studios and thousands of maverick content creators, on the most advanced, most open entertainment platform ever created. Another finding in the survey sheet was that 23% responders liked user generated content which gets fulfilled in an open platform like this.

The new commercial-grade platform is supported by powerful peer-sharing technology, enabling its vast global community the ability to browse, share, search and discover unique multimedia entertainment in a high-resolution format. And Vuze is supported by text and video advertisements.

Then you have websites like youtube.com, yahoo video, google video, MSN Video, AOL Video, Veoh.com which offer a variety of online video series to watch online.

So the battle just boils down to Bandwidth. Do we have strong enough networks which can support these heavy video streaming sites? Can we actually stream LIVE Video as smooth as our traditional TV? Obviously looking at the benefits that I get where I can choose what to watch, when to watch and for how long I want to watch, I can pretty much control my buying behavior for entertainment products. And if offered well, I can even buy into a service provider for eg: there can be a bundling of packages with news, entertainment etc for online Video viewers. Presently Tata Sky is one of the leading organized cable operators on on-demand TV which is a digital, DTH via satellite TV, in India. This can become a threat to Tata Sky if they do not look at their online strategy of on-demand TV.

Would TV 2.0 become a threat to traditional Cable and TV operators or the traditional way of watching TV and replace the Traditional Idiot Box?

Google - “A Prediction Shop”?

Google is almost “Human”.

Internet psychologist Graham Jones in his post on his website on 13^th March’08 says psychologists prove Google is almost “Human”. He supported his conclusion on the research done by researchers at University of California, Berkley.

An excerpt of the research report said:

“Human memory and Internet search engines face a shared computational problem, needing to retrieve stored pieces of information in response to a query. We explored whether they employ similar solutions, testing whether we could predict human performance on a fluency task using PageRank, a component of the Google search engine. In this task, people were shown a letter of the alphabet and asked to name the first word beginning with that letter that came to mind. We show that PageRank, computed on a semantic network constructed from word-association data, outperformed word frequency and the number of words for which a word is named as an associate as a predictor of the words that people produced in this task. We identify two simple process models that could support this apparent correspondence between human memory and Internet search, and relate our results to previous rational models of memory.”

So now my question is: Is this good or bad for me, as a search user?

Good Side: If I am thinking of some specific term in my mind and I google that term, in most probability google shows me the most relevant response. Wow it is good! Well it’s based on there algorithms, their experiments, their learning from data of masses and billions of queries and web history and many more reasons. So in a way I am happy that I got what I wanted. So google is not evil and truly giving me very precise search results.

Bad Side or Not? If google can give me the relevant search results of the stuff that I am searching for, does that also mean that they knew at one point of time in future I am going to search that? Something like a predictive search? And if yes, if they know what I am going to search for that means, they are going to serve me that even without me searching for it eg: If they know that I won a online marketing contest and previously I have been searching for a vacation in Thailand, so are they not going to serve me ads on Vacation Planning and special tours in Thailand?

Now this is debatable. Should I be happy about Google knowing that I am planning for a holiday in Thailand and they offering me relevant tour operators who can help me find a good package or should I be left alone to decide on my own through my research to find the best for me?

Last but not the least…So will a Machine algorithm take over Human Mind, and will google become a prediction shop?

I Just iMobiled it! - ICICI Mobile Banking

Wife: “Sachinnnnnnnn, did you transfer the money to your parents’ account that I asked you to do? And the bill payment?”
Sachin: “Yes I did”
Wife: “Don’t lie to me, you didn’t even move an inch from your place for past one hour. And stop watching this stupid TV.”
Sachin: “I am not lying I just iMobiled”
Wife: “iMobiled? What’s that? Some new trick of yours?”
Sachin: “Oh common, you don’t know about the new iMobile service from ICICI Bank? ICICI bank has launched its amazing Mobile Banking Services, iMobile. Through this you can do transactions through your mobile. I can do a Balance Enquiry, I can do Cheque Book Request, View my Credit Card, Demat, Loan Account Transaction details, I can even pay bills, recharge my mobile phone and all this just sitting in my place without moving an inch, while watching India Business hour on CNBC TV18.”

Thanks to ICICI iMobile, I just iMobiled and it has made my life easy!

You might see some similar TV commercial running on air soon promoting ICICI bank’s mobile banking service iMobile. Here is the link to FAQs. With launch of this mobile banking service ICICI has become India’s first bank to launch Mobile Banking. However, this is not the 1st time in world when someone has launched mobile banking. Previously, in 1996 and 2000, Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC and some others have already burnt their fingers. The previous launches of similar services were unsuccessful because of the bad mobile phone handsets and the poor networks available.

However, now the networks are much better as well as the handsets have better capabilities, which makes the outlook more positive. I am a strong supporter of Online and Mobile methods of reaching out to customers. And I strongly support the move of Mobile Banking. I would say 2008 -2010 is the right time to get into the Mobile Marketing and service arena and take the early mover’s advantage. Establish your brand name and brand recall and star building your company’s association with the mobile services. Oh by the way did I say Mobile Marketing will work in India?

With mobile payment options now available, I guess it’s just got a little more easier to promote M-Commerce as well as promoting ads on mobiles as the purchase media vehicle is ready to carry the money. I see by 2010 onwards the company revenues will shoot up with revenues from Mobile purchases coming through higher ad conversions. However, it would be necessary that the brands start attaching themselves with the most modern “Mobile” identity.

Looking for more action in 2008 in the Mobile Front!

Will Telephony Calls be free in India? - Atleast for someone!

Will telephony become Free in India? Will telephony just become Internet telephony? Will 4G networks and IPV6 track the entire world with 300 Billion IP adresses? Will VOIP calls be much better than analogue calls? Will your thumb recognition become your worldwide biometric identity? Read to know more...

If we were to go by the growing clout of telecom operators in India and the fierce fight among them for Bandwidth, it's a rare chance that the telephony would become free. However, based on my previous post on how the TSPs might just turn into ISPs, this might just become true. Even the government of India through their BSNL and MTNL services is planning to launch 2MBPs free broadband internet connection by 2009.

At-least for Youth it might be...
There have been not so old instances of free service providers like Tiger etc which failed to attempt such a concept. Though, I guess it was too early for Indian markets. However, looking at how wireless telephony has expanded in India and why mobile marketing should work in India. I do see a large Youth market out there (Youth Ages 10-24, by 2025 is estimated at 349,200,000 by Population reference bureau) who would not mind listening to a 5 sec ad after every 15 minutes that they spent on phone; if there phone calls were free of charge. (Or probably the premium telephony for business users where they don’t get ads, but they pay higher rental charges.) Also they are given an option of a unique single online mobile wallet for multiple purchases in which they need to buy a monthly recharge wallet card varying anywhere between Rs 99 - Rs 1000.

So, what I am essentially saying is, having an online mobile wallet which gets recharged by a payment of Rs. X/month, like from a recharge coupon which can be bought from a local shop. (Even this will get eliminated when we will have 4G network and IPV6 so that every device will have an IP address and just a Biometric thumb recognition would be your worldwide identity.) Now, they get to talk free and have to listen to some Voice / Video Ads and probably text messages. What they just need to do is probably use the mobile wallet to buy the services being offered to them through promotions on their mobile.

Why should I buy from my Mobile Wallet?
Well anyways, wouldn’t you be buying your monthly required items like a deo or a Movie DVD (after watching the trailers on mobile) or may be a grocery or something similar? And if you get to buy the same through a Mobile phone through a special promotion being run and it gets delivered to your doorstep…obviously an hassle free shopping experience (oh did I say that Oil prices are always rising and travelling has become a challenge, specially if you have stayed in places like bangalore, mumbai, dubai etc). You can browse through the online store on your mobile and choose and pay directly through your mobile wallet safely by your biometric signature check on your mobile phone.

What’s in it for the Supplier?
Cheapest media to connect and advertise directly in the hands of the consumer. No large real estate investment, no large set-up required, no middle men’s commission, just pure B2C delivery of products.

How can you implement this?
Initially promotion of the Mobile Commerce or M-Commerce can be supported through certain specific low cost campaign launches from advertisers like contests, freebies etc. and over a period of 2 years when we see M-Commerce becoming popular, the TSPs (or WiISPs), would start charging the advertisers for the AD time which will again be contextual content ads targeted according to the buying or other behavior of the audience.

Is this model sustainable?
This is the question which we have to answer and will get answered only by looking at the response to the mobile advertising’s success in India. Would Indians accept the technology and would prefer to buy on Mobile or would still want to visit the store to buy? Would the telephone calls be completely free or the companies like Skype or Google charge the consumers to call? Would internet broadband become a reality on mobile phones or would it still be marred by the technology?

I see the light of positive hope and this approach of Mobile driven sales and marketing catching up in next 2 years time.

Will Telecom Network Operators finally become Internet Service Providers only?

Will Telecom Network Operators finally become Internet Service Providers only? Future of Telecom service providers? Would ISP and TSPs become one? A walk back from Future...

2015. AT&T today announced their Internet Services expansion to India. “We see India is the largest Mobile Communication devices’ consumer population worldwide followed by China and our high speed, reliable mobile Internet Services would help the regular Indian consumer to enjoy most advanced telephony and Value Added Services on their ARM Mobile 1.28 GHz processor driven, Google Android / Microsoft / Symbian based, mobile communicators.” said their SVP Worldwide Marketing and Product strategy at the launch function in New Delhi.

2010. Discussing the future of Telecom business at the Worldwide Telecom Forum, the heads of Top 10 worldwide telecom network operators conclusively shared a vision, with open mobile platforms like Google Android or Yahoo Open Mobile, telecom operations have virtually came to a halt with ever decreasing revenues from Mobile Phone networks consecutively for past 2 years while VAS and mobile ads revenues are increasing. There was a consensus that the TSPs would now concentrate on their newly launched Open Mobile VAS services along with the high speed 1GBPs wireless networks. Profitability will be driven by the Ads and VAS services and the telephony will be free of charge for the consumers. This will be on a revenue sharing model with the VAS operators.

If the above claims look strange, you may want to think about what’s conspiring in the world, on the mobile scenario, again!

With Apple’s iPhone, the mobile industry has seen a completely different face of information and communication. And with Google Android’s open mobile platform, you can imagine running a mobile software, which will be capable of Voice and Data communication processing in an ARM processor, and then transmission and reception over XG (3G, 4G, 5G…) internet services. Which means, the thing in your hand, is a PC which can run something like Google Talk or Skype and you can communicate (call someone, share a song, a video or probably send a vibe(vibrator ring)), with someone who has Google Talk or Skype running on a similar mobile communication device. And with IPV6 standards this mobile phone or communication wireless device will be having an IP address too. (You can track it for contextual or behavioral marketing – Did I say Push marketing was dead?)

So what is left for the TSPs? Probably a carrier…for Internet and not for telephony. And off course 2 important things Contextual Content, Contextual Ads (in various formats like Video, Text, Audio, probably Vibration or Touch Colors etc.).

Why companies like NTT DoCoMo, Digiweb, Reliance, Vodafone, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Tata, BT, Etisalat, Du and similar ones should now focus on a long term growth strategy of acquisition of VAS providers, content management systems and mobile application development on open devices seems obvious. Companies which can help provide Mobile Advertising solutions, Mobile Content delivery or High speed mobile internet are the real companies to look for in future. Companies which can challenge Google in creating a mobile Google checkout to purchase online and start building an online purchase history and complete behavior of browsing and purchase will become very lucrative and growth businesses.

I might be knaive and may not understand the internal dynamics, though, I do see such trends which will bring Telecom network providers to become ISPs and VAS providers and contextual content delivery in various media on a mobile communication device over Internet 4G networks would rule.

*This entry is based on my imagination and analysis and is more of an observant speculation.

Web 2.0 Jargon for 2008, New terminology for 2008

2007 2008

Open Api’s --> More open widgets
Widgetization of the Web --> Virtual Worlds
Personalization of the Web --> Enterprise 2.0
The Web is the New Desktop --> Mobile 2.0 and Google Android
Social Networking --> Niche Social Networking
Blogging --> Corporate Blogging
MultiMedia Sharing --> Employee Community -Various media sharing
Behavioural Marketing --> Customer centric targetting

Will Google Android dictate 2008 mobile strategy? 2008 Mobiles from Nokia, Apple, LG, Samsung, Moto, Sony

2008 would be an interesting year for mobile phones as New Generation Phones with ARTistic and Designer instincts seamessly integrated, with WiMAX, 3G and Software driven phones will be taking over the old rut.

1. Google Android

Surprised? The much rumored G-Phone never materialized, but in its place we were given Google Android, not a physical phone, but an operating system to rival heavyweights like Symbian and Windows Mobile. While many were disappointed not to see a shiny new piece of hardware to go face to face with the iPhone, for true mobile lovers Android represents something just as exciting. Seamless integration with Google’s maps, email, search and countless other applications, and an open source platform for developers to create their own mobile software. There’s even a million dollars worth of prize money for the best creations, as Google look to raise the bar once again. It's clear, Software is driving the hardware now.

2. 3G iPhone

Despite its enormous hype, the iPhone has been underwhelming in its assault on the UK mobile scene. Perhaps people have been put off by the exorbitant price, maybe its the lack of true USPs, either way, it’s fully expected that a second generation iPhone will be with us sooner rather than later, and this one will be equipped with 3G connectivity. It was a big disappointment not to see 3G on the original model, severely undermining the product’s excellent safari browser and touchscreen interface, but a Mk II iPhone should be enough to appease some doubters. The rumoured price drop might swing a few floating voters as well.

3. Nokia 8800 Arte series

The Nokia 8800 series has been one of Nokia’s most successful ranges, comfortably outselling far better equipped phones. Until you get your hands on one its difficult to understand the attraction, but up close it’s a cut above, a fabulously designed and beautifully engineered mobile phone that feels as good to use as it does to look at. The next generation of the series brings us the Nokia 8800 Arte models, and this time there’s a bit of substance behind the style, with a 3 megapixel camera, 3G and 1G of internal memory among other improvements. The Sapphire Arte even boasts a whole sapphire within the d-pad!

4. Samsung Armani phone
Following the arrival of Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Levis and Tag Heuer onto the mobile scene it was surely only a matter of time before Armani followed suit. The Armani phone, designed in partnership with Samsung and also known as the Samsung P520 bears an unmistakable resemblance to the LG Prada phone with its black exterior, square frame and touch-screen interface, but its clearly a classy little number and we can’t wait to get our hands on it

5. Nokia 3110 Evolve

Nokia have been keen to display their green credentials of late, and at the forefront of this comes the Nokia 3110 Evolve, a phone for the environmentally aware. It’s a smart looking phone in silver and black, lightweight and slender, with a 1.4 megapixel camera and EDGE connectivity, but its the materials that have gone into the production of the Evolve that stand it apart from other phones. The casing, dubbed the ‘Bio-cover’ is made from 50% renewable materials, the packaging from 60% recyclable material and Nokia’s most efficient ever charger will make its users glow green with pride!

6. Sony Ericsson W890i
What! Another walkman phone! Surely not. Ok, it might not sound like the most interesting development in the world, but read on, the W890i is sure to turn a few heads. It’s the replacement for the ultra-cool, ultra-thin W880i, and it builds on the success of that handset by adding some mouthwatering features. The W890i is an HSDPA phone and also has a 3 megapixel camera, and is still only 9.9mm thick. Not bad when the iPhone stripped of 3G to shave off a few millimeters!

7. Tag Heuer phone
The Tag phone has been on the cards for a long time now, but an announcement in November suggests a release is imminent. French design house Modelabs are working on the design and the word is that we’ll see a product in the second half of 2008. But is it a watch or it is a phone?!!

8. Samsung F250

The Samsung F250 should be with us in early 2008 and looks like being an impressive addition to Samsung’s already extensive list of stylish slider phones. The F250 has a mirror-finish fascia and a brushed-metal keypad that recalls the Ultra range. The features aren’t outstanding, but it looks like being competitively priced.

9. Sony Ericsson P5i
The Sony Ericsson P5i is at this stage just a rumour, but its a good rumour so deserving of its place in this list! If reports are true then we’re looking at a 5 megapixel camera phone with WiFi, GPS and HSUPA connectivity. Mid 2008 release? Watch this space…

10. Motorola and Nokia WiMax phones
It has long been reported that Motorola and Nokia have targeted 2008 as the year to market their first Wimax phones, handsets that would be able to connect to citywide WiFi networks, and potentially to massively bring down the cost of mobile internet surfing for the average user.

* content help from ... http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/blog/?p=942

What's the Future Series Part 3 - Mobile Devices

Last week, I was sitting with my ex-colleagues from National Instruments when we started discussing where the world is headed to in terms of new business opportunities in IT and Web technologies and more...

Interestingly hand-held, wireless devices and online portals became the key discussion topics. Though, we discussed more about how computing is moving online and how just a TCP/IP enabled platform will become a single standard for information, computing and sales (this was under the light that IPV6 standards will provide over 300 Billion static IP addresses to any mobile, wireless, wired and electronic instruments). This should be enough to take care of the 6 billion population of the world for coming 50 years, I guess.

During this discussion, I was thinking about how our behaviour changes towards technology and I recollected some memories from my college days. There was a time when I presented 2 techhnical papers on M-Commerce and Holographic storage devices. M-Commerce basically mean purchasing things on mobiles and holographic storage means storing Terra Bytes of data on 3D holograms. 7-years back the audience was more amused and intrigued on my papers. Though they might be buying their next movie ticket on mobiles today. Anyways, I am happy that my thinking 7-years back is tied well with reality today.

Now, the Future of marketing, which I see is definitely going to be Marketing through the Mobile Channel or the “Mobile Marketing”. With Blackberry's becoming more and more common and Nokia standardizing its business phone, E-series, with Mobile content management and Mobile Value Added Services companies growing over 200% annually, with email marketing providers thrusting on the mobile friendly content, it's not going to be long when revenue source for companies start showing "through Mobile" as a constant field in their reporting.

Mobile marketing (MM) consists of a unique, complex, mix of technologies, business skills, and marketing expertise. It is a child born of the Internet revolution, and it is critical that today’s marketers grasp its significance. It is one of the first new channels to arise in over 50 years, and will quickly become a primary means of reaching out to our customers.

The reliance on mobile phones is increasing rapidly, and considering the Indian markets which has shown enormous growth, for consumption of these services, it's obvious that some of the world's largest players are investing heavily in India. In fact, there are now more mobile phone subscribers in the world (2.4 billion)*, than there are landline phones subscribers. The mobile phone is becoming a primary means of communication, not only for voice but also for digital services, email, digital photos, navigation, etc. Worldwide over 350 billion text messages, also known as “SMS Messages,” are exchanged across the world’s mobile networks every month, with over 15% of these messages, according to the Yankee Group, being classified as commercial, or marketing, messages.
*GSM Association, http://www.gsmworld.com/

An interesting mobile marketing ecosystem has emerged according to MMA, aptly depicted by the image below:-

The Mobile Marketing Ecosystem is comprised of 4 interconnecting strategic spheres–Product & Services (brands, content owners and marketing agencies), Applications (discrete application providers and mobile ASPs), Connection (aggregators and wireless operators), and Media and Retail (media properties, “brick ‘n’ mortar” and virtual retail stores). Various enablers provide the foundation for each particular sphere. Players within these spheres work in concert to deliver a rich experience to consumers. The Mobile Channel Value Chain is the path by which the actual mobile communication and interactivity takes place between the Product & Services Sphere and mobile subscribers (consumers), however, consumer demand must first be established. To create this demand, products, services, events, and content programs are promoted through the Media and Retail Sphere’s various traditional channels.

An interesting report in 2005, Unfolding of the Mobile Marketing Ecosystem: A Growing Strategic Network, by Micheal Becker, CTO, iLoop Mobile explains this ecosystem very well.

Another interesting thing which you might be thinking of is how these SMS campaigns are managed? How companies like Yellow Pages is able to send instant SMSes to you with the information you requested or how while Voting for your popular candidates on a Indian Idol show gets collected by the marketeers? Or may be how your SMSes for Contests on your favourite FM channel makes you win that hamper? Well this is because of the rise of mobile Value Added Service providers eg. On Mobile, IMIMobile, One97 to name a few in India.

With competition starting to take-off in this category, more and more marketeers will be moving to these channels. Also, these VAS providers would need to gear-up for the futue of customer centric services. They will have to look much ahead of a demand to be created and will have to be Agile enough to get such demands fulfilled even before the customers ask for it. So essentially, the strategy would be to create a Think Tank or Pool of Ideas on proactive basis, to keep differentiating the offerings before the competition does.

A WIDE-OPEN eye along with a keen tap on the market movement, will help them to remain ahead in competition. With companies like Reliance, who would want to have the entire ecosystem under their nose, it would only become more and more challenging for these VAS operators to sustain. With sustenance based on VCs, its always a continuous sword on the head, to overperform and post more and more profits. Though innovation and proactive behaviour might ask for diverging away from profits in certain business quarters. Also, this can even spur another consolidation wave where we can see some more mergers and acquisitions.