by Imran Ali
April 25, 2008 at 3:22 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Privacy, HSDPA
UK-based Phorm has attracted criticism like no other company in the recent history of tehcnology, rapidly gaining an image of a company rapaciously consuming the personal rights and privacy of internet users and in the process ensuring its telco partners - British ISPs such as BT, Virgin and TalkTalk - are even less loved than they already are.
Phorm works with its ISP partners at their network’s infrastructural level to analyse the browsing patterns of users and serve targeted, relevant advertising to those users.
Some of the criticism has been unfair - privacy isn’t an absolute and people wil ltrade access to their privacy for some return in value. Criticism has been levelled largely at the lack of transparency and permission, but I think more importantly, that Phorm and its ISP partners aren’t sharing any created value with those creating it!
So what has Phorm to do with mobility? Many of the target partners for companies like Phorm have mobile and wireless ISP arms and it’s likely Phorm-like analytics can be applied to the burgeoning use of the mobile internet via smartphones, HSDPA dongles and maybe even some clever analysis of SMS and voice traffic, though it’s not entirely clear what the user experience of a mobile-Phorm would be?
More importantly, Phorm’s antics have given mobile users a headstart in ensuring that network operators are forced to at least consent them and possibly share some of the newly created value with them. If it’s possible to hate your cellco even more, companies like Phorm will be the ones that could help make it happen!
by Debi Jones
January 15, 2008 at 5:22 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, News, mobile data statistics, mobile social networking, MMA, Mobile Marketing
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) today announces its first Mobile Attitude and Usage Study for five key Western European markets. Mobile subscribers from the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain were surveyed to uncover insights into the region’s consumer mobile usage by demographic group.
The expected results found significant SMS use across all age groups with the most active texters in the 13 to 24 year age group. Spain and Italy were reported as the most active geographies for text messaging. The MMA report seems a bit conflicted with itself as it reports that “2 way text messaging is the most important mobile feature across all age groups,” but at the same time reveals that among teens text messaging was second to having a camera. Having camera functionality is the most important mobile feature to teens in Western Europe.
The rising importance of camera functionality as the most important feature for the golden teen demographic is profound. First, it follows the evolution of consumer behavior in Japan and Korea the most active mobile consumers on the planet. And second, the finding has implications for the future of mobile social networks and other applications.
The study also focused on awareness and interest in mobile marketing. The age group with the most exposure and awareness of mobile marketing was the 18 to 34 year olds. In other words, those more likely to have jobs and income of which to dispose. Experience with marketing messages among this age group includes: interactive voting, ads, and product/service information.
Also, notable is that one in ten subscribers are said to be interested in receiving marketing messages on their mobile if those messages are relevant and have benefit to the recipient. Acceptable marketing messages of interest include coupons, status alerts, and special offers.
If the industry is to continue fast following the youth demographic, it’s time to look towards image messaging and MMS. That is: if we find the results from the MMA to be replicated and credible.
