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A remote control for life, that's how Jeremy Wright, Co-Founder, Enpocket, would like to describe it. We shall tell you, it's a mobile phone that he is talking about. Welcome to the latest P of marketing: the mobile phone!
It started with voice and has spawned a whole new set of revenue streams for the mobile industry from ringtones, screensavers, gaming, premium SMS, MMS, video streaming, handset enabled Internet messaging to what-have-you!
With the handset being all-pervasive in the lives of consumers, it has become the most personal medium for communication for marketers today. Make no mistake, the ubiquitous mobile means serious business in the marketplace!
For those who are tired of hearing numbers on the mobile revolution in India, here are some more: According to research conducted by Harris International, on behalf of Enpocket, a study of mobile usage over the last three months in UK, US and India shows that apart from mobile Internet and MMS, where UK tops usage, respondents in India are frequent users of most functions.
SMS, ringtones and downloading of screensavers and wallpapers are amongst the highest in the Indian market, when compared to the UK and the US. Even with respect to premium SMS, India tops the list, in terms of usage.
A closer look at the survey results shows that, with respect to availability of functions, 98 per cent of the Indian sample base used sms, compared to 93 per cent in UK and 75 per cent in the US.(see slide 1)
With respect to ringtones too, India tops usage. The greatest incidence of premium sms was in India, while it was the least common in the US. When respondents were asked whether they had seen any advertising from brands or companies on their mobile phones, in the form of either a text message, WAP page or within a downloaded game, 65 per cent of the Indian sample base had seen it in a text form, 11 per cent had seen it on a WAP page while 10 per cent had seen it within a downloaded game (see slide 2).
In the US though, 85 per cent of the respondents answered to 'none of the above' option. The interest in synchronising phone contact with an online service is highest in India. Indian mobile users are also very interested in listening to the radio through their phones. Overall, the study shows that the average Indian mobile user is more enthusiastic about additional services than his counterparts in the US and the UK. (see slide 3)
Enpocket is among the leading mobile marketing companies in the world today, which provides integrated entertainment and marketing services to build and retain mobile audiences. Jeremy Wright, Co Founder, Enpocket was in India recently as they are partnering with Mediaturf, to look into opportunities in the mobile space and integrate that with the internet business that the latter is handling, at present.
Wright is visibly excited about his plans for India, "As one of the biggest markets in the world, mobile (in India) has huge potential. Everyone would agree that the development of mobile is a global phenomenon. What we are seeing in different parts of the world is that, it is developing faster than any previous medium. There are many different ways in which it is emerging in the market place; the most usual place for it to start, being sms. There are many richer forms of mobile, which make it an even more exciting medium; its personal since it is always carried. The best marketing usually takes advantage of the personal nature of this medium and the way in which people can connect anytime anywhere with it. The change in the marketplace is that with 3G (which is coming here shortly), video, MMS (which is the richer messaging format), WAP and JAVA; all these technologies mean that, besides being ubiquitous, the mobile is becoming a very rich channel for communication. This means it changes from being just a connection medium for brands to a medium through which they can create brand experiences."
And as Wright points out, it is a medium through which marketers can develop CRM or a series of communications with customers, that can both improve the customer relationship and drive up sales. "The opportunity for up selling and cross selling, once data capture has been established and the consumer has given permission for communication to be delivered, is one that is unmatched in any other channel," he adds.
To read the entire story, buy a copy of Impact Advertising and Marketing magazine dated Nov 28-Dec 4