Did You Know 4.0-Mobile is the internet tool of the future.

CNN Puts a Price Tag on Mobile Content.

Back in February I posted an article outlining 6 Strategies For Monetizing Digital Content. One of those strategies was to focus on the delivery and immediacy of content. Whereas most people won’t pay for content, they will pay for mini applications that deliver information to them in timely and convenient ways.

 As many content providers are sitting around planning ways to charge for content online, CNN has taken the plunge today with its new Iphone application, priced at $1.99.  The app is pretty slick and well organized allowing easy access to CNN breaking news and headlines.

Being in the advertising business, I was pleasantly surprised to find that ads are still being served within the application. Though the ads aren’t obtrusive, I’m sure they’ll receive lots of complaints from readers who expect an ad-free environment for shelling out some cash.

There’s a link to iReport so users can submit their own news reports with videos and photos.  The ”Local” section of  the app is called “My CNN” which automatically tunes into feeds from local newspaper websites. Users can also enter a topic and “follow” news topics or save articles for later reading. The video feeds section is quite impressive, allowing users to view videos live on their phone while news is breaking. No more running to the nearest television for updates.

There are a couple of functional downsides however. The app doesn’t support landscape mode and doesn’t seem to allow for zooming like you can from web sites displayed on the iPhone, but  it’s well worth the $2.

I’d expect that this is an opportunity that local newspapers will be looking into to deliver quality and timely local content to their readers in the near future. It’s less costly and easier to produce an iPhone app today than it was two years ago and it’ll cost even less 2 years from now.  The developers kit is free so it’s only a matter of time before this trend catches on.

“The Word Is Alive”

Bluetooth Technology Delivers Targeted Messages

This is copied from a clip compiled by John Kelly at the Palm Beach Post.  jkelley@pbpost.com:

Shoppers at five regional retail malls in the greater Los Angeles area have a new way to obtain promotional messages and discounts. They just have to set their Bluetooth enabled cell phone, PDA or other mobile device to discoverable.
Santa Monica, CA-based Macerich Co., one of the country’s largest owners of major retail properties, is using the Intera Group’s Proximity Marketing network to reach customers. Pleasanton, CA-based Intera installs Bluetooth transmitters in a busy area of the retail properties. Then it sends ads and special offers wirelessly to the mobile devices of passing shoppers.

The program debuted at the Westside Pavilion in West Los Angeles, The Oaks in Thousand Oaks, Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos, Lakewood Center in Lakewood, and Stonewood Center in Downey. The five shopping centers have more than six million square feet of combined retail space.
The key to the Intera AzureMayan Bluetooth Proximity Marketing network is Bluetooth wireless technology. Bluetooth is the global short-range wireless standard for personal connectivity of a broad range of electronic devices. The low-power technology has a typical range of 50 to 100 feet, says Intera Group CEO Kevin Thornton.
“This limited range enables us to target promotions to a specific location. In addition, Bluetooth operates independently from the wireless carrier networks,” Thornton says. “That means there’s no cost to the consumer to receive the message or associated content.”

Bluetooth zones are located in or near food courts, theater box offices, information kiosks and other strategic locations where shoppers tend to linger. “We always post signs so shoppers know they’re in a Bluetooth zone. They have to opt-in if they want to receive promotions,” Thornton says.

The network enables marketers and advertisers to deliver targeted messages to consumers based on their location and near the point-of-sale, when targeted marketing has the greatest effect. Intera’s content delivery system supports all major content formats including video, audio, images, downloadable mobile applications and text.
“One of the first promotional offers we sent to shoppers was a 30 second trailer for a soon to be released movie. Consumers who downloaded the trailer received an option to download a second piece of content, wallpaper for their mobile device,” he says. “Once people opt-in and download, 50% opt-in a second and third time. Those who don’t opt in again have typically moved out of range.”

Thornton says the key is to make sure consumers perceive value in the content. The promotions have to be relevant and interesting, and the offers have to be meaningful and easy to access. “Generally speaking, merchants just ask the consumer to show the coupon on the screen to redeem it. A few will include a code that can be copied,” Thornton says.

Scott W. Burchard, senior vice president of business initiatives for Macerich, calls mobile marketing “vitally important” for reaching consumers today and in the future. Partnering with Bluetooth network “provides a unique opportunity to reach millions of consumers with relevant offers at the point of sale,” he says.

Macerich owns approximately 77 million square feet of gross leasable area consisting primarily of interests in 72 regional malls. It focuses on high-growth US retail markets, including in California, Arizona, New York and suburban Washington, DC.

This is from a clip compiled by John Kelly at the Palm Beach Post.  jkelley@pbpost.com

Are Private Party Ads Going Mobile?

I received the following text message this morning from a friend in my bible study group. “My daughter got a job in New York, does anyone want to buy a Honda CRX -CHEAP?”. It’s not the first time I’ve received what I consider a “private party” ad via cell phone. I’ve even received images and video for some items.

As the price point for higher technology cell phones decreases we’ll see more of this type of FREE peer to peers (group) advertising taking place. Many social networking sites are also making it easier for this type of advertising. Myspace has its bulletin space where you can post a message instantly to all of your “friends” and Facebook has its “News Feeds” which can be used to communicate offers to people in your network. Even the more business oriented sites such as Linkedin.com offer tools to help users look for jobs within their network of contacts.

There’s also a certain benefit of buying and selling within your group. The “trust factor” comes into play. People generally like to buy from people they trust and offer better deals to their friends or associates. As the various networks of friends grow that’ll be the first place people look to conduct a private party transaction.

Here’s some things newspapers might consider in light of this trend:

1. Provide tools to help private parties advertise on-line:

With the proliferation of free classified sites and peer to group advertising venues it’s becoming difficult and time consuming for sellers to cover all the bases. Perhaps newspapers can create a communications center which allows users to enter and submit messages from a single site. Services such as Vflyer.com, postlets.com, and vendio.com provide valuable tools that focus on the “Sellers” side of the transaction. Many of these sites offer services for free and rely upon paid ads from traffic generated to the ads themselves. People looking to buy a car, for example might be served up an ad for insurance. Newspapers have already begun to sell contextual advertising within editorial content, these ads present more valuable eyeballs who are in the market to buy a certain or product or service.

2. Build groups of on-line users:

The power of newspapers is and continues to be local. It’s not too late to create spaces for local people to interact and form groups around areas of interest. Whether its pets, prep-sports, or local heath, newspapers have valuable “local” content that drives visitors to certain sections. At the very least, voluntary registration forms should be up in all areas of the site. Providing tools to allow users to communicate and join groups within a section allows newspapers to effectively “own” those groups.

3. Embrace mobile technologies:

Beyond the simple mobile alerts and news updates that most newspapers are providing, how about allowing users to share photos and videos from from editorial sections in the printed paper. For many consumers the cell phone is their primary gateway to the internet. Today their are over 3 billion mobile phones in a world of 6 billion people, that 2.5 times more cell phones than Internet connections. Newspapers need to start thinking more about the handsets and less about the PC’s.

“The Word is Alive”