(For MMW’s complete coverage of Under The Radar: Mobility, click here.)
Things kicked off compellingly at “Under The Radar: Mobility” this morning–at least for marketers. The very first company to present, DialPlus, really offered a unique way to market on cell phones that I haven’t seen before.
DialPlus creates visual content for mobile phone calls–thus making the process of a voice call an enriched marketing opportunity. To illustrate, imagine that you call up a restaurant. Soon as you dial, a profile will come up that shows a photo of the eatery, diners’ ratings, directions, hours of operation, menu, and other data. This then gives the consumer information he/she needs to decide what time to set a dinner reservation–since she/he will know how long it’ll take to get there, and what time the place opens/closes. Heck, they might even be “on the fence” and decide whether or not to make the reservation at all, thanks to the ratings or menu.
Besides offering enticing information to the consumer about to make a decision, DialPlus also offers great branding opps as well, since outgoing callers will be able to display their profiles to call recipients. Enterprises can choose to create a profile of their company. Entrepreneurs or freelancers can create a profile based on their LinkedIn profile.
Of course, DialPlus’ success depends on how many people are using its technology. No wonder CEO/co-founder Lisa LaVasseur said her company is hoping for “massive adoption,” and aggressively going through white labeling to achieve it.
Meanwhile other presenters during this first session, titled Organize Content, were more concerned about helping consumers navigate through all the information out on the mobile We. Thus, marketing opps in these cases would be ads that, potentially, could be targeted to individual consumers.
Goojet’s technology is part social network, part personalized home page that will generate revenue through banner ads. Advertisers know they will reach the same person all the time. Not a bad idea, though I disagree with CEO Marc Rogier’s assertion that SMS marketing will become obsolete!
My6Sense aims to help consumers by doing the thinking for them. The software will learn what an individual is interested in, and then offer up more things (websites, apps) that that person might like. Thus, the consumer won’t have to worry about navigating the mobile Web–My6Sense will do it for them. “It lets you discover things you never would have discovered otherwise,” said CEO Barak Hachamov. Compelling, and opp for the best-targeted ads yet. But certain consumers might be wary of letting go control.
More to come…
