Tag Archives: SMS

May 20 2013

Tapjoy and Kakao ink mobile advertising deal

Summary: Kakao Games and Tapjoy will work together to monetise the former’s developers’ profits.

Tapjoy has signed a new agreement with mobile texting app service Kakao that will see the latter’s games developers make more money from their apps through the former’s advertising and monetisation tools.

As part of the collaboration, Tapjoy will offer Kakao the opportunity to deliver content within some of the world’s most popular games and apps as a way of broadening its global reach.

While Kakao is the provider of mobile messaging tool KakaoTalk, it also boasts its own games platform that allows consumers to play various popular titles with their friends and share game scores.

According to a spokesperson from the company, Kakao is “excited” to team up with the global advertising platform and drive forward revenue for its mobile gaming partners.

They added the partnership will also serve to heighten users’ gaming experience “by providing new game items that can be earned through Tapjoy’s rewarded advertisements”.

Kakao is likely to be hoping its developers boost their revenue in the same way that Madfinger Games did – the platform saw the profits for its Dead Trigger title rise by 66 per cent on Android and 48 per cent on iOS after implementing Tapjoy’s monetisation solutions.

Steve Wandsworth, president and chief executive officer of Tapjoy, noted Kakao has enjoyed excellent and rapid growth over the last 12 months.

“With its KakaoTalk and Kakao Games platform, Kakao is at the forefront of emerging trends in the industry and we cannot wait to help them and their partner developers grow even further,” he remarked.

Indeed, the company accounts for a sizeable portion of the global mobile gaming market and since its launch in July last year, its titles now gross more than $40 million (£26.2 million) for the US economy every month.

What’s more, on Android handsets, Kakao games make up eight of the top ten games and 48 of the top 100, while on iOS, seven of the ten top grossing games in Korea have been produced by the firm.

newsDynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.

 

May 20 2013

Customers’ needs ‘central’ to successful mobile marketing

Summary: Mobile marketers must prioritise the demands of their target audience.

It’s becoming common knowledge among brands that mobile marketing is the best way to attract and interact with customers.

Through tools such as mobile apps and websites optimised for use on handsets, firms are able to engage with the public on a more personal level – and this in turn does wonders for their returns on investment (ROI).

It seems from recent research that it isn’t just organisations that are recognising the benefits of the mobile channel. Indeed, a new infographic posted by digital security company Gemalto has shown how mobile marketing trends have had an impact on consumers and what they believe to be the best methods of interaction.

Pointing to data from Ifop gathered towards the end of 2012, the visual representation showed that 80 per cent of people are concerned about mobile marketing.

After questioning more than 3,000 mobile users over the age of 18 from Europe and North America, it was revealed there are a number of practices respondents prefer businesses to use when targeting them via mobile.

For instance, 95 per cent of consumers were irritated by companies that didn’t ask for their permission before sending them promotions and news updates via SMS or email.

This emphasises how crucial it is to ask your target audience whether they want to opt in to a regular messaging service or not – and if they don’t, take this as a solid answer and don’t push them away by continuing to email or text them.

The key to successful mobile marketing is knowing when your presence is going to be appreciated. On the plus side, every new opt-in is great news for your brand, as it means you can draw people in with any upcoming news and offers.

According to the infographic, firms must understand the needs of their customers. Unfortunately, it also claimed that more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of mobile users reported they have received a message not in line with their interests.

On top of being a waste of time and money, emails and texts that are irrelevant to the lifestyle of your audience will only serve to discourage individuals from opting in to your services in future. Therefore, it’s crucial to build a clear picture about your customers before rolling out a mobile campaign.

As social media consultant Roy Morejon recently claimed, the personalisation of the mobile experience is critical to delivering on customer expectations and all major websites – such as Google and Facebook - base their marketing strategies on data they’ve gathered about users.

It’s also vital to get your timing right. The infographic revealed more than half of respondents to the Ifop survey were happy to receive messages on their phones when it was appropriate to their current whereabouts.

Whether you’re offering a discount on selected products, a multi-buy deal, loyalty points or even a free gift, you must make sure this information is being delivered when there’s the best chance of the consumer making use of it.

Once your end goal has been fulfilled and mobile users have responded well to a message alert, then you will begin to see your ROI grow and loyalty to your brand increase.

While your business needs are crucial, what’s more important is your target audience, as pleasing them will ultimately lead to your success.

Dynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.

May 17 2013

Small firms combining mobile and social marketing channels

 

Summary: Smaller US companies are blending email and social channels with mobile marketing.

An increasing number of smaller businesses are incorporating social and email channels in to their mobile marketing strategy.

This is according to a new poll of companies in the US carried out by marketing tool provider Constant Contact for eMarketer, which found seven in ten respondents from small organisations have used mobile technology for both types of marketing.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of firms also disclosed they rely on mobile to launch social media campaigns, while 71 per cent said the same for email marketing.

In addition, 44 per cent stated they use the mobile channel to advertise through social platforms and 34 per cent claimed to own a mobile-optimised website.

This counteracts recent research from Pitney Bowes that indicated not enough smaller companies are recognising the benefits of mobile. Indeed, the customer communications organisation said only eight per cent of small organisations have their own website optimised for use on mobile phones.

Of the one-third of small business questioned by eMarketer that said they boast an optimised platform, 70 per cent noted they have made extra effort to ensure these sites function well alongside social media.

Select features implemented across the websites included a responsive menu (44 per cent), individual product listings (40 per cent), videos (39 per cent) and location-based services (20 per cent).

It was also revealed that more than half of firms that have yet to use mobile technology for marketing purposes explained their inactivity is a result of the fact there is a lack of customer interest in mobile communications.

Meanwhile, 47 per cent said they haven’t got around to rolling out mobile payment options simply because their target audience hasn’t expressed a need for it.

According to eMarketer, “just because small business’ customers are not giving voice to a demand for mobile technology, [that] doesn’t mean that it isn’t there”. The research firm suggested that businesses – and small ones in particular – can damage their returns on investment by failing to accommodate the needs of mobile users.

Dynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.

May 17 2013

Research: Smartphone sales increased in Q1 2013

 

Summary: Sales of smartphones surged during the first quarter of 2013.

Smartphone shipments worldwide soared during the first quarter of the year, new research has revealed.

According to new figures released by Gartner, sales of the devices hit around 210 million units during the three-month period, a rise of 42.9 per cent since the same time in 2012.

In addition, the handsets accounted for 49.3 per cent of overall mobile phone sales across the globe, up 34.8 per cent from the first quarter of last year and 44 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2012.

While smartphones were once viewed as a luxury item, over time they have evolved into a commodity and more consumers than ever are able to afford a mobile with flashy features and larger screens.

What’s more, this explosion in sales means mobile marketers may need to work harder than ever to roll out effective campaigns tailored to the channel.

The research also discovered sales of feature phones dropped by 21.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 and Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner, said users of these mobiles across the world are either content with their existing phones or waiting for smartphone prices to be reduced further.

“Either way, the prospect of longer replacement cycles is certainly not good news for both vendors and carriers looking to move users forward,” he added.

Meanwhile, Samsung has maintained its position as top dog of the mobile phone industry and the manufacturer’s sales were found to have grown by 13 per cent in quarter one. Its share of smartphones hit 30.8 per cent, up 3.2 per cent from the first quarter of last year.

Mr Gupta stated the Korean firm’s main market rival Apple is set to become increasingly dependent on the replacement market and face challenges in the upcoming two quarters, given that it isn’t expected to release any new products until the third quarter of the year.

newsDynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.

May 16 2013

Reach target audiences with location-based mobile ads

 

Summary: Mobile advertisements based on the specific locations of consumers could help companies grow their returns on investment.

Location-based mobile advertisements could be a great way of helping businesses to boost their returns on investment (ROI).

According to the latest Mobile Locations Insight report from mobile ad specialist xAd, which focuses on mobile trends in the first quarter of this year, there is a steady shift among agencies in the US towards geo-precise targeting.

This form of advertising – which interacts with users based on their exact whereabouts – accounted for 58 per cent of all national brand campaigns studied throughout the three-month period, compared to just 27 per cent during the same time last year.

It was also found to have continuously provided companies with increased ROI than standard geo-targeting, which is more common among traditional marketing methods.

This is likely to be because older marketing channels like print and email are becoming less relevant to the daily lifecycle of consumers all over the world, while mobile continues to surge in popularity.

Currently, one of xAd’s customers Pinkberry is using geo-precise mobile ad targeting to boost traffic to its stores and drive forward uptake of its latest promotional offer concerning a new Greek yoghurt.

The company is taking advantage of technology that relies on accurate location signals – combined with real-time mobile search behaviours – to send relevant and timely messages to mobile users within a one-mile radius of its shops. Amazingly, after just two weeks of adopting this method of marketing, Pinkberry has noticed its mobile ad performance has doubled.

Dave Martin, senior vice-president of media at Pinkberry partner Ignited, explained it was critical for the company to reach new and existing customers within “shouting distance” of all stores.

He added the latest investment has made its hyperlocal strategy “come to life” with a solution that included “dynamic, creative and even a custom landing page to assist with offer redemption”.

Dipanshu Sharma, chief executive officer at xAd, said the rapid adoption of geo-precise targeting technology comes as no surprise, given that it enables brands to capture their target group of consumers when they are at their most influential.

He added national advertisers are becoming better acquainted with the power of mobile location and its ability to not just reach specific audiences based on their past location behaviours, “but its unique ability to reach users at the specific moment they are most likely to view and engage with an ad message”.

Other findings in the report included that the top three industries capitalising on mobile location at present are telecommunications, restaurants and financial services and insurance. These were followed by health and beauty, travel, retail and education.

The research follows a recent study that was carried out by BIA/Kelsey, a leading advisor for the media industry, which predicted that mobile ad revenues will soar to $9.1 billion (£6 billion) in 2017, up from $1.2 billion in 2012.

It also stated mobile ad spending in the US will grow from $3.2 billion in 2012 to $16.8 billion in four years’ time, meaning that location-based ads could represent more than half (54 per cent) of spend in 2017.

Dynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.