NEW YORK – The year ended with an extremely strong Q4 for online advertising as U.S. paid search spending grew 22% year-over-year resulting in the best quarter to date. Retailers drove much of this spending, as holiday shopping initiatives pushed their search budgets up 26% year-over-year. Mobile search advertising among retailers was up a huge 269% YoY and accounted for 14% of total retail search budgets – peaking at 24% on Black Friday.

These figures are released quarterly by IgnitionOne, a leading digital marketing firm, managing more than $1 billion in online advertising.

Key findings in the report:

•    Mobile search is growing at an enormous rate – YoY mobile search ad impressions are up 317% and spend is up 269%. Among retailers, mobile search ad spend accounted for 14.2% of total paid search budgets, compared to 5.2% last year. This spiked on Black Friday with 24% of retail search ad spend going towards mobile queries.

•    Search advertising has its best quarter ever – It was a strong holiday season for search with advertising spend up 22% YoY in Q4. Search advertising spend among retailers was up even higher at 26% YoY. There were also large YoY increases in impressions (42%), clicks (42%) and transactions (67%).

•    Search costs (CPCs) declining – In total, Q4 CPCs are down -8.6% YoY and -2.3% compared to last quarter. This trend benefits both marketers and Google as clicks cost less while monetizing at the same rate and expanding impression base and higher clickthrough rates point to revenue growth for Google. The trend is driven by Google, as Yahoo!/Bing saw a YoY 6.4% increase in CPCs.

•    Google retains market share lead – In mid-Q4, Yahoo!/Bing held only a 16.6% share of the search market, but as expected, given its retail consumer focus, it rebounded with a stronger holiday shopping season.  However, by the end of Q4, search market share remained largely unchanged from the previous quarter, with Google commanding 81.8% compared to Yahoo!/Bing at 18.2%.

•    Europe search advertising also on the rise – Q4 shows gains for European search advertising as spend increased 14%, clicks increased 22% and Clickthrough Rate (CTR) increased 19%.

•    Google continues to grow in display – Spending on display was up 9.3% and impressions were up 31.5%. The growth for Q4 came from Google’s DoubleClick Ad Exchange, which saw a 105.5% increase in spend.

“Adoption of smart phones and tablets is exploding and mobile search is becoming a major part of the shopping experience for many consumers,” said Roger Barnette, President of IgnitionOne. “Advertisers are responding to this trend, which is clearly shown in the enormous growth of mobile search advertising spending.”

This report is the latest in a series of reports from IgnitionOne reviewing trends across the online advertising landscape. Previous quarterly reports can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/ignitiononeresearch

About IgnitionOne
IgnitionOne is the world’s first closed loop Digital Marketing Suite, offering multiple solutions to improve online performance within a single interface. Solutions include ad management and optimization (search, display and Facebook), cross-channel attribution and website optimization. The company was formed in 2011 by combining online ad management platform, SearchIgnite, with audience profiling and on-site optimization from Netmining.

Ignition One currently powers more than $20 billion in revenue each year for some of the world’s leading online marketers, including General Motors, Chico’s, Ann Taylor, Fiat and advertising agencies such as MRM Worldwide, CyberAgent and more.

For more information, please visit http://www.ignitionone.com or follow the company on Twitter @ignitionone.

In Time for the Holidays: ‘Mobile Shoppers’ Study Shows How Ubiquitous Data Spawns Savvier Consumers

NEW YORK – Understanding the crucial role of mobile in marketers’ holiday strategies, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence released “Mobile Shoppers,” a new report that looks at how consumers’ access to mobile data will inevitably influence both what they buy and where they buy it. In addition, the study unveils the first-ever ranking of the most mobile shopping savvy cities in the U.S.

When it comes to being adept, able and prone to shop on mobile devices, “Space City” consumers nabbed Houston the highest spot on the list, followed by New York and Atlanta. Perhaps surprising to those who think of San Francisco as the hub of technology on-the-go, the Bay Area did not break into the top 10, landing instead at 11th place in the rankings.

The complete “2011 IAB U.S. Mobile Shopping Savvy Cities Index” is as follows:

1) Houston
2) New York
3) Atlanta
4) Los Angeles
5) Dallas/Ft. Worth
6) Tampa/St. Petersburg
7) Chicago
Philadelphia
9) Washington, D.C.
10) Seattle/Tacoma
11) San Francisco/Bay Area
12) Boston
13) Detroit
14) Minneapolis/St. Paul
15) Phoenix

The rankings were determined by looking at the mobile shopping audience today along with the distribution of mobile-savvy shoppers across major U.S. cities. The research used to determine the list refers to “mobile shopping” to mean both completing purchases via a phone or tablet and using a phone or tablet to research or shop for products that are later purchased in physical retail locations or online.

“Early data this holiday season already indicated the growing importance of mobile as a shopping tool,” said Joe Laszlo, Deputy Director, IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “Identifying mobile shoppers and delivering relevant messages to consumers as they are in shopping mode represents a key opportunity for marketers. That’s why we took this study one step further – pinpointing cities where advertisers would need to quickly embrace mobile strategies as a part of their overall plans to attract shoppers, both during the holiday season and throughout the year.”

Some of the other findings explored in this report include:

- Mobile shoppers are younger and have higher incomes than the average mobile user

- Ten percent of U.S. mobile users use their mobiles for comparing prices

- Almost 20 percent of U.S. mobile users use their phones to text or call family or friends about a product while in a store

To download the entire “Mobile Shoppers” study please visit www.iab.net/mobileshoppers

Methodology

In creating the “2011 IAB U.S. Mobile Shopping Savvy Cities Index,” IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence leveraged BIGinsight’s Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM), a biannual survey of over 20,000 consumers, conducted in June 2011, a large enough sample to yield data on mobile usage for each of the top 15 U.S. DMAs. The IAB examined four key data points: ownership of a mobile device (primarily smartphones or tablets), propensity to be influenced by mobile coupons, ownership of a mobile retail app on a handset or tablet, and ownership of a mobile social media app. For each of these data points, the IAB constructed an index for each DMA relative to the U.S. national average. The IAB then combined them into a single metric, weighting device ownership most heavily, followed by coupon influence and retail app ownership. Social media apps, as conduits for sharing shopping and other information, received a relatively lower weighting.

About the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence

The IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, an independently funded and staffed unit inside the IAB, is charged with driving the growth of the mobile marketing, advertising and media marketplace.

The Mobile Center devotes resources to market and consumer research, mobile advertising case studies, executive training and education, supply chain standardization, creative showcases and best practice identification in the burgeoning field of mobile media and marketing. Our agenda will focus on building profitable revenue growth for companies engaged in mobile marketing, communications and advertising, and helping publishers, marketers and agency professionals understand and leverage interactive tools and technologies in order to reach and influence the consumer. For more information or to find out how to join, please visit www.iab.net/mmcoe.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – StrongMail, a leading provider of interactive marketing solutions for email marketing and social media, today announced the results of its “2012 Marketing Trends” survey, which provides unique insight into how businesses plan to budget and prioritize marketing dollars in the New Year. Conducted in November 2011, 939 business leaders participated in the global survey.

Survey Highlights

- 92% plan to increase or maintain marketing spend in 2012

- 60% plan to increase email marketing budget; 55% social media; 37% mobile/search (tied)

- 45% cite data integration as primary email marketing challenge in 2012; 43% lack of resources/staff; 40% content management

- 48% cite increasing subscriber engagement as top 2012 email marketing initiative; 44% improving segmentation/targeting; 32% growing opt-in email list

- 68% plan to integrate email marketing with social media; 44% with mobile; 17% with search
Marketing Budgets Remain Healthy; Email and Social Media Attract Increased Investment

Email marketing (60%) and social media (55%) were cited as the top two areas for increased marketing spend. According to the survey, 51% of businesses plan to increase their marketing budgets in 2012, and another 41% plan to maintain current levels. Only 8% of respondents plan to decrease marketing budgets, which is a slight increase over the 7% reported in last year’s survey. Other areas of increased spend included mobile and search, which are tied at 37%. Direct mail (28%) and tradeshows (23%) are top targets for decreased spend.

Subscriber Engagement is Top Email Marketing Priority; Data Integration is Top Challenge

The top email marketing initiatives for 2012 are increasing subscriber engagement (48%), improving segmentation and targeting (44%) and growing opt-in email lists (32%). Data integration is key to achieving these top priorities, but it is also identified as the primary email marketing challenge in 2012 (45%), followed by lack of resources (43%) and content management (40%). These opposing data points represent an opportunity for email service providers to fill the gap with relevant services.

Marketers Focus on Integrating Email Marketing and Social Media

More than two-thirds of businesses plan to integrate social media and email in 2012, versus 44% integrating mobile and email. The strong ties between email marketing and social media are also emphasized by the 47% of businesses that plan to increase investment in using email to drive growth in their social media channels, such as corporate Facebook and Twitter pages. The next popular areas of investment are batch promotional (44%) and newsletter (39%) programs, followed by real-time lifecycle marketing programs (35%), with an emphasis on winback (68%) and welcome (59%) programs.

Marketers Unclear on Value of Mobile Marketing

More than a third of businesses plan to increase their investment in mobile marketing programs such as mobile apps (29%) and SMS alerts (20%), but there is a lack of consensus on the primary value of this emerging channel. Building customer and loyalty (35%) was identified as the top benefit, followed by expanded reach (29%) and awareness building (28%). However, this is offset by a similar percentage still trying to figure it out (24%) and a smaller percentage citing no value at all (7%).

“While email marketing leads the pack in terms of increased investment in 2012, the data also reveals that marketers need to overcome key challenges around data integration and resource constraints,” said Christopher Marriott, vice president of agency services at StrongMail. “Whether managing and optimizing existing email marketing programs or enabling integration with social media and mobile, there is a real opportunity for full-service email marketing providers like StrongMail to help companies get the most out of their interactive marketing investments in 2012.”

Survey Data

Full survey data is available at: www.strongmail.com/2012marketsurvey

About the Survey

The StrongMail “2012 Marketing Trends Survey” was conducted in conjunction with Zoomerang. The poll, which gathered feedback from 939 business executives in a wide range of industries, was conducted from November 16 – 29, 2011.

For more information on email marketing trends, tips and best practices, visit our Email Marketing Insights blog.

About StrongMail Systems, Inc.

Every day, StrongMail is empowering leading brands to engage and grow their customer base through email marketing and social media. From the world’s largest enterprises to the hottest daily deal sites, StrongMail is helping smart marketers boost the performance of their programs with cutting-edge lifecycle email marketing capabilities and the ability to deliver millions of highly personalized messages in minutes. Our products and services provide end-to-end solutions for such notable brands as Travelocity, Macy’s, McAfee, Viacom and T. Rowe Price. Learn more at www.strongmail.com, or follow us online at www.twitter.com/StrongMail or www.facebook.com/StrongMail.

LOS ANGELES – Encore Media Partners’ managing partner, Cristopher Levy, will present a session entitled “Leveraging Mobile Marketing to Drive Attendance, Engagement and Value” at the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) Annual Meeting & Exhibition, Dec. 6 – 8, 2011, in Las Vegas.

“The explosive growth of the mobile platform is creating exciting, new marketing opportunities, which are clearly being embraced by show organizers,” said Cristopher Levy, Managing Partner, Encore Media Partners. “We look forward to sharing our ideas on mobile marketing at this major industry event, and are confident participants will leave this fast-moving, information packed session with takeaways they can apply to their shows immediately.”

The session, scheduled for Thur., Dec. 8, 11:00am – 12:15pm, will focus on key mobile trends, capabilities and best practices, and how event marketers can benefit from mobile marketing. Participants will hear live examples of how some of the world’s leading events are using mobile media and technologies, including SMS, MMS, QR codes, RFID, mobile apps, mobile web sites, mobile email and mobile social networking. The session will also look at the implications of HTML5, and the marketing possibilities offered by an NFC-enabled future.

“For those of us who believed in the future of mobile marketing, Steve Jobs gave us the device that would forever change our industry and our world,” said Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) CEO Greg Stuart in an October 5, 2011 statement on the passing of Steve Jobs. In a tribute to this visionary icon, Encore is pleased to offer the first 100 attendees at the session a complimentary copy of the new book “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson.

About Encore Media Partners

Encore is an audience strategy, marketing and media buying agency, which specializes in local, national and global trade and consumer shows and other types of events. Encore collaborates with leading show producers on “live” audience acquisition across multiple industries, domestic and foreign markets and traditional, digital and mobile media platforms. More information is available at www.EncoreMediaPartners.com.

NEW YORK – As mobile acceptance and adoption continues to skyrocket, the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence (MMCOE) announced a set of major initiatives it intends to accomplish in 2011 and six new member companies. In addition, the IAB MMCOE is calling on device and equipment manufacturers, software companies, platform developers and operators to join its newly formed Technology Advisory Board, a separate body that will act in an advisory function to the MMCOE board on technical and operational matters.

The IAB MMCOE plans to drive better monetization of the mobile market across six specific dimensions in 2011:

Unify

Establish standard and best practices to help industry participants meet buyer expectations for congruent and reliable metrics, formats and back-end systems for mobile advertising

Educate

Help marketers learn about mobile marketing strategy and tactics
Help sellers of mobile advertising understand the buying community’s needs, desires and concerns

Lead

Act as a guiding force for the mobile marketing industry, helping it understand itself better (market size, creative, technology evolution) and recognizing and celebrating excellent mobile advertising

Evangelize

Educate and excite marketers and agencies about the possibilities of mobile marketing both today and going forward
“Our members are ready for IAB to take an authoritative role guiding the emergence of mobile,” said Anna Bager, IAB VP and General Manager of the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “The growth in the space over the last two years has been dizzying—and we at IAB are best positioned to bring the same supply chain discipline to the mobile marketing sector that we have done for the broader digital advertising space for more than 15 years, from its nascent stages to its present state as a $26 billion industry.”

The MMCOE Board of Directors is:

John Cantarella, Time Magazine
Cameron Clayton, The Weather Channel
Kevin Conroy, Univision
Bobby Figueroa, Yahoo! Inc.
Chris LaSala, Google
Tony Nethercutt, Mojiva
Maria Mandel, AT&T
Jamie Wells, Microsoft
Michael Zimbalist, New York Times

Since the Center’s launch in November of 2010, six more companies have become MMCOE members. These companies are Mojiva and Time, Inc., which have joined as board members, and BabyCenter, Jumptap, Nexage and Unicast, which have joined as supporting members.

These organizations join the original members of the Center, which include board members AT&T Converged Services, Cars.com, Google, Microsoft, The New York Times, Univision Interactive Media, Weather Channel and Yahoo!; and supporting members 24/7 Real Media, CNN, Disney Interactive Media Group, Federated Media, The Huffington Post, IDG Communications, NBC Universal and Tremor Media.

The Center is also recruiting members to participate in a new Technology Advisory Board. All members of the Center will also contribute thought leadership via specialized IAB committees, councils, and working groups that will address specific developments including the rise of tablets, mobile ad operations, and in-app advertising. For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Anna Bager at anna@iab.net or (212) 380-4730.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.

Contacts

NEW YORK – Tremor Media announced its acquisition of San Francisco-based Transpera, the leading mobile video advertising company. Tremor Media’s acquisition of Transpera, the mobile video advertising platform with the broadest penetration, will accelerate Tremor Media’s ability to scale its own mobile video advertising efforts.

“Tremor Media’s acquisition of Transpera will help drive mobile video advertising to the next level and help establish some of the same advertising and analytics principles in the mobile video landscape that have set them up as a leader in online video,” said Doug Brodman, Associate Digital Media Director at Mediavest. “Tremor Media has strengthened its vast scale by not only continually improving their ad technology, but also through the continued development of their data and analytics platform. This will surely impact the mobile video segment.”

The acquisition of Transpera by Tremor Media marries the leading mobile video advertising company with the largest online video advertising company. With this addition, Tremor Media will provide advertisers with the most comprehensive multi-platform service offering for video advertisers – creating the unique ability to run a video campaign across online and mobile platforms, and across a large number of premium publishers with one single media buy, at scale. This dramatically reduces the complexity of a video ad campaign at every level, from managing ad creative and campaign flights, to targeting and reporting. More importantly, for the first time ever, this enables brand advertisers to target, optimize and obtain insights in a unified manner.

“Transpera has become the go-to company for mobile marketing through a powerful media platform that complements Tremor Media’s reach,” said Bill Day, Tremor Media’s CEO. “The continued acceleration of consumer adoption of smart phones and tablets makes mobile devices an increasingly important part of an advertiser’s media plan and moving into the mobile space is a strategic extension of Tremor Media’s current offering – we can help advertisers reach their consumer wherever they may be in a simplified way.”

The acquisition comes in response to key advertiser-driven objectives for online video, solutions for which have not been available in any one place until now. Consumers are spending more time on mobile devices and the depth and richness of experience on these devices makes the mobile segment an increasingly critical component of a brand advertiser’s video campaign. According to Nielsen, in the US, smart phones will overtake feature phones by the end of 2011 while eMarketer predicts tablet sales will reach 24 million units in 2011, up from 9.7 million in 2010.

“We are excited to be part of Tremor Media, furthering our combined leadership in video advertising,” said Frank Barbieri, Transpera’s Chairman and CEO. “The combination of our mobile platform and footprint, and Tremor Media’s own success in digital video advertising will help solve a lot of the challenges our publisher and advertiser customers face in this fast-moving market.”

eMarketer also forecasts US mobile ad market size growing at a robust 48 percent year-over-year to $1.1 billion in 2011, with the video ad format within mobile growing the fastest at 124 percent year-over-year. Combining the largest digital video advertising companies, positions Tremor Media as the sole entity that can deliver results against all of these goals.

This story was first covered in TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/04/exclusive-tremor-media-acquires-mobile-video-ad-platform-transpera/

About Transpera

Transpera is the leading mobile video ad network, enabling app developers to generate the highest CPMs available on mobile via high quality, interactive video ads from leading brands. For brand advertisers, Transpera is The Attention Network, fostering pure, undivided attention between consumers and brands. Transpera is based in San Francisco, Calif. and is funded by top venture firms Flybridge Capital, Intel Capital, First Round Capital, Labrador Ventures and Blackberry Partners Fund. For more information, visit www.transpera.com or follow us on Twitter @transpera.

About Tremor Media

Founded in 2006, Tremor Media (www.tremormedia.com) provides in-stream video advertising solutions to Fortune 1000 brand advertisers and top tier publishers and is widely regarded as the leading video company online. Leveraging their innovative video ad formats and the Acudeo® publisher technology, Tremor Media delivers the mass reach and campaign results advertisers should expect from digital video. Tremor Media is the only video ad platform that pre-approves content at the video stream level, finally giving advertisers control and full confidence in brand safety. Powered by the award-winning SE2 Engagement Engine, Tremor Media’s real-time intelligence gets smarter at finding and engaging viewers with every ad served, enabling the company to welcome and encourage pay-only-for-engagement pricing. Tremor Media is a privately held company headquartered in NYC with 10 national and international offices.

AMERICAN FORK, Utah – OrangeSoda, a leader in localized online marketing (search, mobile, social), announced the official launch of CitrusBlast, a solution designed to help Internet users find small and multi-location businesses. CitrusBlast optimizes recent changes to Google Places, the feature set in Google that presents maps, listings, locations, addresses and contact information based on a user’s search.

CitrusBlast helps businesses increase their prominence in Google Search and supports similar feature sets in Bing and Yahoo! that organize search results by clustering around specific locations. CitrusBlast combines a customized website, mobile microsite and maps to quickly and effectively place businesses in front of potential customers looking online for their products and services.

“Google’s recent changes in displaying localized searches are having a profound impact on locally-focused businesses and CitrusBlast is helping them to leverage these changes to build their bottom line. This is especially significant as more Internet connections are coming from mobile devices”

“When you consider that 80% of consumers search online before buying within a 10-20 mile radius, it becomes clear that the Internet is the single most important avenue for every business to market themselves locally,” said Jay Bean, OrangeSoda founder and CEO. “Google’s recent changes in displaying localized searches are having a profound impact on locally-focused businesses and CitrusBlast is helping them to leverage these changes to build their bottom line. This is especially significant as more Internet connections are coming from mobile devices,” Bean continued.

OrangeSoda partners with many leading small business aggregators and large media companies which resell their services under their own brands. The San Diego Union-Tribune will be the first of their partners to launch CitrusBlast with rollout in February 2011.

“We have worked with OrangeSoda for a number of years on our SEM efforts, and they have proven to be one of our strongest partners. We believe that CitrusBlast will create new revenue streams for the San Diego Union-Tribune,” said Mike Hodges, Vice President Interactive, San Diego Union-Tribune.

About OrangeSoda

Founded in 2006, OrangeSoda offers online marketing to local businesses with a unique blend of intelligent service and simple technology. OrangeSoda provides the best return on marketing investment, by blending social, mobile and search with insider analytics on how consumers use the Internet to find local business offerings. With its proprietary advertising technology and service platform, OrangeSoda enables its partners including CityGrid Media, YPG, and Freedom Communications Inc., to provide the best social, mobile and search services to their customers.

Practice director Neil Strother says, “Although the market for mobile advertising and marketing is starting from a very small base, it is showing steady, solid growth. A Consumer Technology Barometer survey (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1006321) conducted by ABI Research this year revealed that about one third of the smartphone owners polled had clicked on at least one mobile advertisement.”

Overall spending on mobile ad media has accelerated with the arrival of the autumn “back to school” and end-of-year holiday seasons, and is expected to approach $1 billion by year’s end.

Before 2010 this industry was seen as quite “experimental,” but, says Strother, “There was a shift starting at the end of last year from the pioneering phase to what we might call the ‘early growth phase.’ By now, probably 20% of all major companies have done something with mobile marketing, and some of them are doing so repeatedly. Today’s mobile campaigns can cost $100,000 or more and annual budgets may run to several million dollars.”

Mobile marketing and advertising fall into five categories:

- Text messages
- Mobile display (banner) ads
- Mobile search
- In-application advertising
- In-video advertising

All of these may have their uses within a campaign, as does location data; however Strother observes that, “Today mobile is often seen as a distinct channel, but eventually there will be nothing special about it: it will be understood as an integrated part of a campaign’s overall strategy.”

ABI Research’s “Mobile Marketing Database” (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1005172) provides market data and projections for spending on commercial mobile messaging, mobile display, search, and in-application advertising, and ad-supported mobile video. It also examines user adoption, and includes five-year forecasts.

It is part of the firm’s Mobile Marketing Strategies Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Mobile_Marketing_Strategies_Research_Service), which also includes other Market Data products, Research Reports, ABI Insights, and analyst inquiry support.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 30+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.

The U.S. mobile penetration levels are at the 90 percent mark. An increasing number of mobile subscribers are using various content services and applications on their devices, which opens up newer avenues for mobile advertising. Penetration of next-generation mobile handheld devices such as Smartphones and tablet PCs have opened up newer possibilities in mobile advertising. Adoption of mobile advertising by the nation’s largest mobile operators and innovative MVNOs as well as entry of the online advertising leaders is a testament to the perceived potential of the market opportunity.

This Frost & Sullivan research service titled U.S. Mobile Advertising and Search Markets provides market trends, forecasts, and predictions for 2010 and beyond. The study also provides value chain and revenue share analyses. In this research, Frost & Sullivan’s expert analysts thoroughly examine the following: smartphone and feature phone applications, next-generation devices, mobile advertising, mobile marketing, mobile banking, and mobile payments.

Market Overview

Next-generation Connected Mobile Devices with Rich Media Advertising Capabilities Stoke Growth in Mobile Advertising

Increasing penetration of advanced mobile devices is perhaps the biggest driver for mobile advertising, helping the industry on two important fronts. Firstly, greater uptake of mobile data services – including the mobile Web, mobile applications, mobile video, and others – opens up new forms of inventory on a per user basis and from an overall growth perspective. Secondly, and perhaps equally important, is the ability of these next-generation devices to support new technologies and user experience paradigms that helps in delivering an improved, interactive mobile advertising experience such as rich media advertising, HTML 5.0, location-based services, and others. In-application mobile advertising has emerged as a strong contender in the mobile advertising markets – mainly driven by smartphone in-application opportunity, notes the analyst of this research service. Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android market have already demonstrated the viability of smartphone in-application mobile advertising. The smartphone environment creates a superior mobile advertising experience that encompasses rich media support, location awareness, m-commerce capabilities, and others. Leading advertising platform vendors offer mobile advertising across multiple channels, with mobile Internet and in-application advertising emerging as the most common among holders of multiple types of inventory.

The ability to embed Web views within applications unleashes several innovative possibilities for rich media advertising in mobile applications. Within applications, advertising solution providers can also leverage on additional functionality/information such as location, accelerometer, and others that are exposed by the operating system software development kit (SDK). The strong performance of in-application advertising can be attributed to the high-quality experience it delivers when compared to that of a browser. Emergence of application analytics to measure the advertising and application performance helps advertisers and application developers improve the performance of their consumer offerings and optimizes the advertising and application performance. A large majority of applications are available free of cost to the end user and this has significantly generated newer types of advertising inventory in the U.S. mobile advertising markets.

The biggest challenge is to educate the brands and advertising about the possibilities in mobile advertising. Managing the expectation of the key stakeholders is also important to ensure sustainable growth. Prolific growth in the mobile data ecosystem, along with multiple specialized industry participants targeting different advertising services, has made it difficult to have standardized frameworks for mobile advertising. Specialized industry participants have been the early innovators in this space; however, this has also resulted in disparate processes and approaches to mobile advertising leading to greater demand for working together with the existing platforms to enable a unified, consistent advertising workflow. The online advertising industry benefitted significantly due to the third-party ad serving technologies and greater automation for campaign management, says the analyst. For example, industry solution providers are already integrating with the dominant online ad campaign planning and delivery platforms to incorporate a mobile advertising element. Additionally, all major mobile advertising networks work collaboratively to deliver the best advertising experience to advertisers and agencies as well as publishers and mobile operators.

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:

Prepaid and postpaid mobile
SMS and MMS
Mobile Internet
Forecasts
iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian
Technologies

The following technologies are covered in this research:

Smartphone and feature phone applications
Next-generation devices
Mobile advertising and mobile marketing
Mobile banking and mobile payments

Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction

2. Market Trends and Strategic Evaluation and Analysis

3. Total U.S. Mobile Advertising and Search Market

4. Messaging-based Mobile Advertising Market

5. Mobile Internet-based Display Advertising Market

6. Mobile Video Advertising Market

7. In-application Mobile Advertising Market

8. Mobile Search and Other Performance-based Mobile Advertising Market

9. Impact of Next-generation Connected Tablets on Mobile Advertising

10. Key Industry Participants

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9a03fc/u_s_mobile_advert

BURLINGTON, Mass. – e-Dialog, a proven provider of advanced e-mail and multichannel marketing solutions within the GSI Commerce (Nasdaq: GSIC) Global Marketing Services division, announced the launch of the Centre for Digital Marketing Excellence at www.DigitalMarketingExcellence.com. The Centre will serve as a resource for marketers, providing primary research and analysis of global online marketing trends and consumer attitudes, while fostering discussion and sharing e-Dialog’s expertise in creating relevant, results-driven marketing communications.

“The ability to customize content across marketing media has changed the way consumers expect marketers to communicate with them,” shared John Rizzi, e-Dialog president and CEO. “We developed the Centre for Digital Marketing Excellence to help marketers understand consumer expectations for relevant messaging across channels and to enable an exchange of information that will have a positive impact on their programs.”

With the launch of the Centre, two new reports are now available exclusively at www.DigitalMarketingExcellence.com. The first is Mainstream Your Mobile Marketing: Five Tactics to Advance Mobile E-mail Marketing Success, a summary of findings from a recent survey of more than 2,000 consumers in the U.S. and U.K. conducted on behalf of e-Dialog by Forrester Consulting. The report advises marketers on effective ways to optimize their e-mail practices for mobile opportunities. In this report, marketers will gain valuable information on the amount of e-mail that is read on a mobile device by different age groups, what consumers look for in relevant communications, and in what industries mobile e-mail optimization matters most.

The second report is Social Influence: Extending E-mail’s Reach through Social Media, which reveals the ways in which consumers prefer to socially interact with brands and gives advice on how marketers can utilize that information to drive profitable subscriber growth and new customer acquisition, while increasing the reach of their e-mail marketing programs.

In addition to these reports, the Centre is also home to additional original research from e-Dialog, including the Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumers Demand Relevance and the Global E-mail Attitudes Survey. The Centre will also feature important e-commerce findings from GSI Commerce’s Center for Online Retail Excellence, or CORE, which provides advice and resources for online retailers.

About e-Dialog

Established in 1997, e-Dialog empowers marketers to meaningfully connect with customers by engaging in relevant conversations through e-mail, mobile devices, social networks, e-commerce and at the point of sale. e-Dialog’s technology and services give marketers direct access to timely customer insight that drives targeted and opportunity-rich consumer dialogs. With e-Dialog, marketers quickly transform conversations into conversions and evolve customer relationships from the newly acquired to the highly engaged.

Consistently recognized by top analyst firms for both outstanding service and first-class technology, e-Dialog is a global provider to some of the world’s most recognized brands, including AirTran Airways, Avis Budget Group, Boots, British Airways, CVS/pharmacy, Nintendo, the NFL, PETCO, Reuters, the Royal Bank of Scotland group of companies, and The TJX Companies. With offices in Boston, London, New York, Seattle and Singapore, e-Dialog is a wholly owned subsidiary of GSI Commerce Inc. (Nasdaq: GSIC). For more information, visit http://www.e-dialog.com.

NEW YORK – DataArt, a high-end software development company with headquarters in New York and R&D centers in Eastern Europe, was selected by TexTango™, a mobile marketing startup based in San Diego, to build a series of mobile ad applications to revolutionize marketing on mobile phones.

TexTango™ is establishing a new advertising network, via the consumer-to-consumer SMS message communications stream, compensating users for sending text messages. TexTango™ users who send SMS messages with the banner ads attached during the alpha test will initially be entered in a sweepstakes to win a new 2010 Smart® car, and other valuable prizes.

DataArt was hired to develop a mobile application for BlackBerry® and Android™ phones. The engagement includes configuring a management system which contains a correct software build for each supported mobile device operating system and selects the right build for downloading to each participating device.

“We chose DataArt for their demonstrated mobile technology skills,” said Allan Lees, Chief Operations Officer of TexTango™. “We received great support from the start, and their developers provided us with the highest level of professionalism every step of the way.”

Besides the mobile apps, DataArt will work on a Web-based version of the application, which will include incorporating functionality from TexTango™ site and its advertisers, developing a content distribution system, integration with payment, accounting and e-mail management systems as well as database implementation.

The TexTango™ network supports charitable nonprofit organizations displaying their advertisements in rotation, including UNICEF, Rady Children’s Hospital, Empowering Spirits and the Life Rolls On Foundations, and America’s Toothfairy.

“We value clients like TexTango™ for their vision and commitment to a new, big idea,” said Eugene Goland, President of DataArt. “They’re challenging us and their customers to create a better future of mobile advertising options, and we’re happy to bring their vision to life, to become the trusted partner that DataArt strives to be for every client.”

About DataArt:

DataArt (http://dataart.com) is a high-end software engineering firm with industry-specific expertise in financial technology, online travel, telecom, media and mobile sectors. The company specializes in enterprise application development, system integration and business automation tools. In 2006-2010, DataArt has been named one of the world’s top emerging outsourcing providers by BusinessWeek, Global Services 100 and IAOP. Headquartered in New York City, DataArt runs four R&D centers in Russia and the Ukraine, and maintains offices in London, UK.

About TexTango™:

TexTango™ is a privately-held corporation with headquarters in San Diego, California; the leading mobile marketing company “for the people, and by the people,” monetizing the SMS mobile text message channel at the intersection of mobile advertising and consumer communications. More information available and download the free TexTango™ mobile software application at http://TexTango.com.

INDIANAPOLIS – ExactTarget, a global provider of email marketing and interactive marketing solutions, announced a new partnership with Acceleration, the leading provider of consulting, systems integration and technology services, to deliver and optimize the interactive marketing campaigns of ExactTarget clients across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia.

Under the partnership, Acceleration’s team of experts will augment ExactTarget’s team of nearly 200 professional services consultants and network of more than 500 global interactive agencies to provide implementation, systems integration and delivery services to ExactTarget clients.

“Partnering with Acceleration provides clients in cities around the globe instant access to local experts certified in delivering unparalleled results with ExactTarget’s interactive marketing platform,” said Sameer Kazi, ExactTarget’s senior vice president of client services. “Acceleration’s deep roots in interactive marketing and expertise powering the email, mobile, social media and Web campaigns of some of the world’s top brands makes them a perfect partner to assist our clients in achieving unmatched return on their marketing investment.”

Acceleration has more than a decade of experience delivering results for clients in the digital marketing, publishing and advertising industries using email marketing, Web analytics, ad operations, paid search marketing, rich media and mobile marketing.

“This deep expertise and ability to integrate ExactTarget with other online marketing and analytics systems provides a flexible set of international resources to support the growing global demand for sophisticated, multi-system and multi-channel interactive marketing campaigns,” Kazi said.

“Marketers are under increasing pressure to boost the return on investment of their interactive marketing efforts while managing the explosive growth of social media alongside email and mobile marketing,” said Stephan Pretorius, Acceleration’s president. “By partnering with ExactTarget, we’ll have the technology and the team to help marketers meet their goals and maximize their interactive marketing efforts.”

The announcement of the partnership follows Forrester Research naming ExactTarget a “leader” in email marketing and awarding the company a perfect 5 of 5 in the Customer Category of “The Forrester WaveTM: Email Marketing Service Providers Q4 2009” (December 2009) report. The independent research firm found ExactTarget to be the only email service provider to score a perfect score in the Customers Category, noting “with high satisfaction scores and online community, ExactTarget can successfully meet marketers’ complex business needs.” To download the report, visit www.ExactTarget.com/Wave09.

About Acceleration

Acceleration is the leading provider of consulting, systems integration and technology services for the digital marketing, publishing and advertising industries. With over a decade of experience in the marketing technology field they have a breadth and depth of experience that is unrivalled. The company specialises in getting technology, people and processes to work in harmony, to maximize return on digital investments for clients such as: the BBC, The Economist, AARP, John Wiley & Sons, Fidelity, Royal Caribbean International and Publicis Modem.

Acceleration employs expert teams in offices around the world who maintain strategic partnerships with industry leaders and constantly strive to advance the state of digital marketing. For more information visit our website – www.acceleration.biz

About ExactTarget

ExactTarget is a leading global provider of on-demand email marketing and interactive marketing solutions. The company’s software as a service technology provides organizations a single platform to connect with customers via triggered and transactional email, integrated text messaging, landing pages and social media. Supported by collaborative global services teams, ExactTarget’s technology integrates with more sales and marketing information systems than any other in the industry, including Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Omniture and Webtrends among many others. ExactTarget’s software powers permission-based multi-channel communications for thousands of organizations around the world including Expedia.com, Aurora Fashions, Papa John’s, CareerBuilder.com, Gannett Co., Inc., The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Home Depot and Wellpoint, Inc. For more information, visit www.exacttarget.com or call 1-866-EMAILET.

“The trend starts with smartphones, which have reached critical mass among US mobile subscribers,” he says. “These powerful devices, coupled with affordable data plans, enable people to search, browse, and watch video in ways and in volumes that have become more and more attractive to marketers.”

A February, 2010 ABI Research consumer survey revealed that only about 15% of the mobile phone subscribers who accessed the Internet at least occasionally had never used their phone’s search engine, used a mobile yellow pages, or clicked on a mobile web advertisement.

Marketing messages can reach mobile users in a variety of ways: text messaging, search advertising, ads within applications, and video (streaming and on-demand). This range of options means that marketers can tailor the delivery medium to each particular kind of branding message or call-to-action.

“Consumers appear consistently receptive to location-based promotions,” adds Strother, “as long as they are not used in an invasive or abusive manner.”

ABI Research has released a new White Paper, “Mobile Marketing Strategies – Positive Trend” (http://www.abiresearch.com/news/whitepaperDL.jsp?id=48) on the growing mobile marketing opportunity. It can be downloaded at no charge by anyone registered on the ABI Research website (www.abiresearch.com).

For more information about ABI Research’s offerings in this area, please visit the Mobile Marketing Strategies Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/mobile_marketing.jsp), which also includes Research Reports, Market Data, ABI Insights, and Consumer Surveys.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 28 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Hipcricket, the one-stop mobile marketing and advertising company that empowers brands, agencies and media properties to engage customers and drive sales and loyalty, unveiled HIP 6.0, the latest version of its cloud-based mobile marketing and advertising platform. Key new features in HIP 6.0 include enhanced analytics, tighter integration with industry-standard customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing resource management (MRM) systems and new, industry-leading hyperlocal targeting capabilities which enable brands to target customers and prospects based on location.

Delivered as a software as a service (SaaS) platform, HIP 6.0 provides brands and agencies with powerful capabilities to create national and local mobile campaigns through SMS (including mobile coupons), Mobile Web, applications and Interactive Voice Response (IVR). HIP 6.0 also provides access to the Hipcricket Mobile Marketing and Advertising Network through display advertising and to customers who have opted in to receive relevant marketing and advertising offers via SMS. The Hipcricket network gives brands and agencies access to more than 50 million unique users across Hipcricket’s national footprint representing over 250 million impressions per month.

Beyond the benefits inherent in its simple yet powerful cloud-based delivery model, HIP 6.0 includes the following new features:

- Enhanced Integration with Enterprise Marketing Systems for Superior Cross-Channel Campaign Management: Hipcricket has created a comprehensive library of application programming interfaces (APIs) so that HIP 6.0 can tie directly to customers’ CRM and MRM systems. When integrated, the business and marketing information from HIP 6.0 flows into one marketing database, giving non-technical managers a complete, 360-degree view of all of their customers and campaigns across all channels while ensuring data integrity. Customers can also integrate HIP 6.0 with large data warehouses to improve customer information accuracy and streamline information flow.
- Industry-Leading Hyperlocal Targeting for New Sales: HIP 6.0 enables users to create hyperlocal campaigns, based on GPS data or other gathered data as well as declared information. For example, a customer who has opted in to share his GPS data could be “detected” upon entering a store and offered an SMS coupon.
- Unmatched Flexibility of Engagement: On the creative/campaign execution side, customers can work with a Hipcricket account executive to plan and execute their campaign, or create a campaign themselves with the platform’s powerful self-service capabilities. On the technical side, HIP 6.0’s SaaS delivery provides a lower total cost-of-ownership without the need for expensive infrastructure investments.
- Enhanced Analytics: HIP 6.0 includes Hipcricket’s industry-leading reporting and analytics capabilities which enable businesses to comprehensively monitor campaigns, analyze results and make campaign changes in real time for the best possible results and return on investment.

“The HIP 6.0 platform represents an important release for Hipcricket; one that mirrors our customers’ desire to integrate mobile into their overall marketing mix, rather than have it operate as a silo,” said Eric Harber, president and COO at Hipcricket. “We listened to our customers, and built an easy-to-use mobile marketing and advertising platform that tightly integrates with their existing marketing to deliver results quickly, while empowering them to reach new mobile subscribers and to better engage with their current ones.”

Hipcricket has conducted more than 65,000 mobile marketing campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands—including Macy’s, Nestle, KFC, HBO and Clear Channel—as well as hundreds of radio and television stations nationwide. Hipcricket equips clients with superior technology and services that enable them to create mobile advertising and promotional campaigns in minutes.

About Hipcricket Inc.

Hipcricket Inc. is the one-stop mobile marketing and advertising company that empowers brands, agencies and media properties to engage customers, drive loyalty and increase sales. Hipcricket’s customers connect with consumers across every mobile channel, including SMS, mobile Web sites, permission-based advertising networks and branded apps. Hipcricket’s proven technology and experienced account management teams have provided measurable successes through an industry-leading 65,000 campaigns for clients such as Macy’s, Nestle, KFC, HBO and Clear Channel. The company has also created the first comprehensive permission-based mobile ad network that taps into the buying power of the mass market with industry-leading capabilities to target customers via location and highly-specific demographic information.

Hipcricket is a privately held corporation based near Seattle, Washington, with operations in New York, Los Angeles and Mexico City. More information can be found at: www.hipcricket.com.

The session, titled “Mobile Marketing: The Evolution of Customer Outreach” will feature insights on how leading companies are building brands and extending their reach to important customers through mobile devices and location-based services. Moderated by Infogroup’s Barry Berkowitz, the panel will focus on practical applications of mobile technology to engage customers with targeted marketing communications, informational programs, leading applications, and mobile e-commerce.

“Mobile is rapidly evolving into a critically important communications channel,” Berkowitz stated. “However, many marketers don’t know how to get started there. They are struggling when it comes to leveraging location-based programs, and integrating mobile into their channel strategy.”

As Vice President, Digital Marketing Solutions for Infogroup Interactive, Mr. Berkowitz focuses on helping companies orchestrate and implement multi-channel marketing strategies, which integrate online, offline, email, social and mobile tactics into desired client outcomes.

The 2010 CMO Leadership Forum is presented by the Argyle Executive Forum. This invitation-only event will bring together the marketing leadership from approximately 100-115 public and private, large and mid cap corporations, complementary areas of executive leadership and select advisors.

More information about the 2010 CMO Leadership Forum is available at http://www.argyleforum.com.

About Infogroup

Infogroup (NASDAQ: IUSA) is the leading provider of data and interactive resources that enables targeted sales, effective marketing and insightful research solutions. Our information powers innovative tools and insight for businesses to efficiently reach current and future customers through multiple channels, including the world’s most dominant and powerful Internet search engines and GPS navigation systems. Infogroup’s headquarters are located at 5711 South 86th Circle, Omaha, NE 68127. For more information, call (402) 593-4500 or visit www.infogroup.com.

ad:tech San Francisco 2010
SAN FRANCISCO – OfferMobi, the first performance marketing network in the U.S. to focus entirely on the mobile market, launched at ad:tech San Francisco. Pay-per-call services offered through technology provider RingRevenue will allow advertisers to track and compensate for high-quality calls, engaging publisher partners to expand their reach within the fast growing mobile advertising space.

With cell phone adoption close to 100 percent and more than 45 million smartphone users in the U.S., OfferMobi recognizes the revenue potential of mobile pay-per-call and is offering advertisers and publishers a valuable new way to build their businesses. While some mobile customers are starting to use their devices to make purchases, most users respond to ads by placing a phone call, making mobile pay-per-call an unprecedented opportunity for marketers. Industry watchers predict a multi-billion dollar mobile advertising market within the next few years as technology improves and smartphone adoption increases, an observation supported by recent moves by Google’s new click-to-call service and Apple’s new iAd platform.

“Given the widespread adoption of the mobile device and today’s advanced quality filtering and tracking technologies, we see an exciting opportunity in this space,” said Mark Roth, CEO of OfferMobi. “With our extensive knowledge of performance marketing and RingRevenue’s high-ROI call tracking platform, we’re well-positioned to help advertisers and publishers capitalize on the rapid growth and broad reach of mobile.”

OfferMobi founder Roth (OfferVault) and network director Jimmy Chin bring deep experience in performance marketing, online advertising and mobile marketing.

OfferMobi’s platform allows advertisers to assign unique 800 tracking numbers to each publisher, who use those numbers in campaigns for application-based advertising, SMS, mobile network inventory and mobile search. RingRevenue’s detailed call filtering options assure a high percentage of quality calls, while real-time analytics give advertisers the data they need to adjust payouts, change call flow or take additional measures to ensure top performance.

“This is the first time marketers have been able to access this rapidly growing niche,” said Chin. “It goes beyond just getting a text or seeing a landing page. Now you have the opportunity to connect with someone instantly from your phone. It’s an entirely new facet of interactive marketing.”

“OfferMobi is entering the mobile market at just the right time,” said Jason Spievak, CEO of RingRevenue. “With mobile advertising and pay-per-call, consumers can connect directly with merchants in a single click. Consumers want human interaction. If you aren’t giving it to them, you are losing them.”

Advertisers and publishers interested in getting started with OfferMobi’s pay-per-call services should visit: http://offermobi.ringrevenue.com/organizations/new.

About OfferMobi

OfferMobi is the first U.S.-based affiliate network focused on the mobile web. As the first in the mobile network performance arena, the company is not only focused on helping clients acquire new mobile traffic and consumers but also on helping build mobile landing pages and ensuring compliance with the newest laws and compatibility with all mobile devices. OfferMobi.com is the one-stop shop for the aggressively growing mobile space.

About RingRevenue, Inc.

RingRevenue tracks and manages calls even better than clicks, enabling affiliate networks and advertising agencies to track purchases made by phone. RingRevenue’s patent-pending pay-per-call platform makes it easy for online and offline publishers to promote call-based campaigns through the leading affiliate networks, and the company’s proprietary call quality processing engine ensures delivery of the highest-quality callers to advertisers. RingRevenue provides its pay-per-call platform to several leading affiliate networks and agencies. For more information about RingRevenue or to schedule a demo, please visit www.ringrevenue.com or call 866-943-6426.

How do consumers feel about receiving promotions on their mobile phones?

What kinds of free text messages are consumers interested in receiving on their mobile phones?

How often do consumers access Internet websites via their phones?

The results of these actual survey questions are presented and discussed in a new White Paper, “Mobile Market Strategies: Is Your Brand Ready to Engage Mobile Consumers?” (http://www.abiresearch.com/whitepaperDL.jsp?id=46) that is available for free download from ABI Research’s website. (Free site registration is required.)

For more information about ABI Research’s new Research Service, please visit: Mobile Marketing Strategies (http://www.abiresearch.com/mobile_marketing.jsp).

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through 28 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Motricity, a leading provider of mobile Internet services, announced the release of Campaign Manager, a Web-based mobile marketing product. Campaign Manager will continue to expand Motricity’s presence in the media and enterprise space, providing marketers with a simple means to create, implement and manage mobile marketing campaigns. A&E, the Arts & Entertainment Network has implemented Campaign Manager to create powerful multi-platform mobile marketing campaigns that integrate mobile into live broadcast television events, making fans participants, not just viewers.

“Forrester predicts as much as a 50 percent year-over-year growth in mobile marketing spending in the next four years. As the use of mobile devices expands, marketers for major brands like A&E will increasingly need to adopt mobile marketing to stay competitive. A&E is really on the forefront of this type of marketing and has been working with us now for four years,” said Ryan Wuerch, chief executive officer of Motricity.

Motricity Campaign Manager offers a number of features such as premium messaging, text alerts, polls and trivia games that, according to the U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast Online Survey in March 2009, marketers are planning to implement in 2010 and beyond. It also offers direct access to Motricity’s mCore Gateway, a messaging and commerce solution, which connects marketers to approximately 250 million mobile subscribers in the United States and Europe. It also allows mobile marketing campaigns to connect to existing carrier customer databases through API integration, creating efficiencies that save time and money.

“Motricity has proven to be a rock-solid partner in the ever-changing mobile world. Campaign Manager, along with Motricity’s expert account management team, has made it possible for us to easily create new marketing campaigns to quickly reach millions of mobile subscribers,” said Tina Prause, Director Mobile Strategy, A&E. “Campaign Manager has been valuable in helping us increase market awareness and expand our audience base through the use of cost-effective mobile marketing campaigns.”

Motricity is best known for its work with wireless carriers supplying the mCore Platform, which serves as the bridge between the Internet and mobile users. However, the company is continuing to expand its range of solutions, beyond carriers, to enterprise customers who are looking to leverage the power of mobility to gain direct, personalized connections to their customers. Motricity Campaign Manager has applications for mobile advertisers and enterprises that need more control and capabilities for their mobile marketing campaigns.

About Motricity

Motricity is a leading provider of mobile Internet services to some of the world’s largest mobile carriers. It provides a hosted mobile Internet solution for carriers that simplifies the mobile Internet and creates a personalized mobile experience for consumers. Motricity also helps some of the largest consumer brands leverage the power of mobility to make direct, personalized connections with their customers. For more information, visit www.motricity.com.

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Motricity.

“With local ad distribution models opening up on mobile, MoVoxx is extending value to merchants and publishers by layering in real-time user location relevance. The PlaceWhere platform is a critical part of this value-chain, enabling MoVoxx to rapidly deploy vital location services,” stated Derek Merrill, vice president, products at MoVoxx.

This new geo-targeting capability now makes the mobile channel relevant for small business and local merchant advertisers. To reach them, MoVoxx aggregates local merchants’ mobile campaigns , through partners such as Citysearch, Marchex and iPromote, as well as by working directly with larger brands interested in geo-targeting such as Sears. With a full range of post-click call-to-action solutions for advertisers – including click-to-WAP landing pages, click-to-call for small business services and SMS reply – GeoSense offers a highly targeted mobile advertising solution for small business and national brands with retail locations.

Mobile advertising has always had to balance the issues of ad relevance with reach and the persistence of fragmentation caused by carrier, handset and transport disparities (SMS, Mobile Web, In App). “We are excited to join forces with MoVoxx, who is taking a leading position in the geo-targeting arena by deploying this capability across all major mobile advertising channels on an integrated basis for advertisers,” said Tom Parrish, vice president, business development for Useful Networks. “The opportunity for advertisers to engage consumers on a more personal level via geo-targeting provides them with the ability to offer more effective advertising. In working with MoVoxx, we are combining our technologies and services efforts to provide better targeting and opening up the mobile channel to the vast local merchant market segment.”

Useful Networks’ PlaceWhere.location clearinghouse dramatically increases advertising relevancy by adding location context to a variety of mobile campaign types, while enforcing the principles of informed consent and privacy, to ensure the consumer is in control of if, how and when their location information is accessed. The entire process is managed by Useful Networks per the CTIA’s best practices, carrier guidelines and consumer regulations.

About Useful Networks

Founded in July 2006, Useful Networks is a Denver-based company that delivers innovative mobile location aggregation and geo-services for both carriers and content providers. Their PlaceWhere platform helps reduce costs, time to market and complexity in launching location aware products and services. Useful Networks is a privately held subsidiary of Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA). Liberty Media Corporation owns interests in a broad range of electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses. Useful Networks and PlaceWhere are trademarks of Useful Networks, Inc. For more information, please see http://www.useful-networks.com.

About MoVoxx

MoVoxx is a location-based mobile ad platform that intelligently serves ads into mobile content reaching over 30 million unique US mobile users. GeoSense™ platform combines real-time user location data within the ad serving process to enable national brands and local merchants the ability to launch location-based mobile advertising campaigns – at scale. Multi-mode ad serving provides seamless reach on all forms of mobile media – SMS, mobile web, and mobile app. Using proprietary MobileTrace™ technology, MoVoxx tracks and aggregates user-level mobile behaviors, offering advanced optimization and superior post-click conversion rates. Founded in 2006, MoVoxx is backed by Greycroft Partners, Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital and BV Capital.

BELLEVUE, Wash. – SinglePoint, the leading provider of mobile interactivity and SMS advertising services, announced that mobile and media industry veteran Gowri Shankar has been appointed president and CEO to lead the company as it greatly expands its focus on mobile advertising.

An early innovator in the mobile marketing industry, SinglePoint has built a successful business in interactive media, powering industry-leading SMS campaigns, including Deal or No Deal, MTV Movie Awards, the Oscars, Project Runway, the 2008 Olympics and the tremendously effective Obama for President text campaign. SinglePoint works with the world’s most prestigious media companies, including CBS, NBC Universal, Viacom and ABC/Disney. Over the past three years, SinglePoint has enabled over 80 percent of interactive TV transactions initiated by text messaging.

In 2009, SinglePoint expanded its portfolio to include SMS advertising services, creating a marketplace for publishers and advertisers to create content and purchase SMS inventory to serve advertisements. The SingleBrand Ad Marketplace is a Web-based transactional platform for delivering contextual mobile advertising, ranging from pure brand messages to interactive options, such as click-to-WAP, click-to-call and click-to-coupon, all dynamically inserted into the SMS message and targeted to the desired consumer demographic.

“Under Gowri’s leadership, SinglePoint has become a true industry leader with a premium network of publishers for SMS advertising inventory,” said Alec Andronikov, CEO, MoVoxx, Inc. “As a result, we have seen terrific engagement results for our brands and interactive agency clients’ campaigns and look forward to working closely with SinglePoint as a valued mobile inventory partner.”

Shankar joined SinglePoint in 2001, spearheading the company’s evolution from a mobile messaging infrastructure provider to the leading enabler of SMS marketing and advertising for the media and consumer packaged goods industries. With Shankar at the helm, SinglePoint’s marketing and advertising business expanded rapidly. At the close of 2009, SinglePoint sold its infrastructure business to Ericsson to focus solely on further developing its full suite of products and services to rapidly launch, refine and manage mobile advertising campaigns.

Prior to his new role, Shankar served as senior vice president, sales and business development, at SinglePoint and was a founding member of the Sprint PCS team. He led the creation of the first nationwide telesales and e-commerce distribution in the wireless industry, creating the foundation for Sprint’s industry-leading enterprise sales strategy. In addition to his work with Sprint, Shankar was general manager for eAssist, a CRM software company, where he developed eAssist’s international strategy and was responsible for the organization’s expansion into nine European countries.

“As we are witnessing with the overwhelming success of the Haiti SMS donations campaign, it is clear that there is no more effective medium than SMS to reach hundreds of millions of people and prompt them to take action,” observed Shankar. “The mobile marketing industry is at an inflection point where SMS evolves to be the preferred advertising platform driven by its unique ability to instantly reach an audience with high rates of effectiveness. It’s an exciting time for our industry, and I’m thrilled to lead SinglePoint as we define and expand the category of SMS advertising.”

About SinglePoint™

SinglePoint enables brands, agencies and publishers to connect with upwards of 300 million wireless subscribers. SinglePoint’s full suite of products and services enables publishers to monetize their mobile messaging traffic and advertisers to access premium inventory to rapidly launch mobile advertising campaigns. SinglePoint works in partnership with entertainment, media companies, brand managers, advertising agencies and mobile networks. Current publisher partners include NBC Universal (Bravo, Oxygen, SyFy, CNBC, MSNBC, Telemundo, USA Network), ABC/Disney, Viacom and CBS Corp. For more information, visit www.singlepoint.com.

Winners to be Honored at OnMedia Conference February 1-3 in NYC

NEW YORK – AlwaysOn, the leading open media blog and event community, announced the winners of the 2010 OnMedia 100 Top Private Companies. This award recognizes the cutting edge technology companies that have emerged as leaders in the worlds of advertising, media, marketing, branding, and publishing. Each winner will be acknowledged at the OnMedia conference on February 1-3 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City.

In its fourth consecutive year, AlwaysOn challenged companies to demonstrate that they excelled in five primary categories: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value creation, and media buzz. During the two-and-a-half day executive event, the top CEO’s from the OnMedia 100 will present their market strategies in a series of “CEO Showcases” and engage in high-level debates on which forces are disrupting user behavior and creating new opportunities through technology and innovation. The agenda for OnMedia NYC can be found here: http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/33604.

“In a tough and uncertain economic year technology companies have been determined to forge ahead and push the boundaries of innovation,” said Tony Perkins, CEO & Founder, AlwaysOn. “The companies on this year’s list are at the nexus of change, using their unique insight to create market-making technologies. I congratulate every winner selected for this year’s award and greatly look forward to watching these companies as they stimulate economic growth and further diversify the industry.”

To order tickets by phone or inquire about group rates, please contact Jeannene Glass at 650.465.6544 or jeannene@alwayson-network.com.

The AlwaysOn editorial team and industry experts spanning the globe select the top 100 private companies. This year’s winners include:

Advertising Networks and Exchanges:

Adchemy
Admeld
AdSide
AppNexus
AudienceScience
BlueKai
BrightRoll
Collective
Invite Media
JiWire
MediaMath
Mpire
PaperG
PerformLine
Pontiflex
Reply!
Rocket Fuel
Simulmedia
Yieldex
Yodle

Advertising Service Providers:

33Across
Adgregate Markets
Brand Affinity Technologies
Context Optional
Covario
FreeWheel
Operative
Peer39
Spongecell
Tumri
WrapMail
Zadspace

Community Platforms:

BiddingForGood
Gilt Groupe
Imagini
IMShopping
kajeet
Live Gamer
PlaySpan Marketplace
Unisfair
Viewpoints Network
Viximo
Weplay

Digital Publishers:

Arkadium
eRepublik Labs
HopStop
MUZU TV
ON Networks
RoofTop Media
Turbine
Yext
Zillion TV

Mobile Marketing and Advertising:

Hipcricket
Millennial Media
MobileCause
Mobixell Networks
PointAbout
Transpera
Zoove

Next Generation Search:

Altruik
Clicker
Eventful
Goby
Marin Software
RAMP
Redlasso
uLocate Communications

Technology Enablers:

Black Arrow
Conduit
Critical Media
DoubleVerify
Hoodlum
HubSpot
ion interactive
JanRain
Long Tail Video
Marketo
Mercent
MyPRGenie
ORCA
Pyxis Media
Rhiza Labs
Skyhook Wireless
Twones
Vidyo
WhereverTV
WhichBox Media
WideOrbit
Yield Software
YieldBuild

Web and Media Analytics and Research:

Ace Metrix
AdSafe Media
Affective Interfaces
Causata
Coremetrics
Datran Media
GumGum
Lattice Engines
Quantcast
SeeWhy
About AlwaysOn

AlwaysOn is the leading business media brand networking the Global Silicon Valley. AlwaysOn helped ignite the social media revolution in early 2003 when it launched the AlwaysOn network (alwayson.goingon.com). In 2004, it became the first media brand to socially network its online readers and event attendees. AlwaysOn’s preeminent executive event series includes the Summit at Stanford, OnMedia, OnHollywood, OnDC, OnDemand, Venture Summit Silicon Valley, Venture Summit East, GoingGreen, GoingGreen East, and GoingGreen Europe. The AlwaysOn network and live event series empower readers, event participants, sponsors, and advertisers to spearhead the global innovation economy.

NEW YORK – AdMeld (www.admeld.com), the leader in ad network optimization for premium publishers, has appointed mobile industry veteran Marc Theermann as Vice President of Mobile. The announcement, made by AdMeld CEO Michael Barrett, comes a little more than a month after the company introduced the industry’s first optimization solution for both web display and mobile ad inventory. As a member of AdMeld’s executive team, Theermann will oversee all aspects of the company’s mobile operations. He will be based in the company’s New York headquarters.

For more than a decade Mr. Theermann has participated and shaped the mobile marketing industry as an entrepreneur, investor, and senior operating executive. Prior to AdMeld he incubated a mobile analytics and media buying dashboard concept at Polaris Ventures, which ultimately became part of Smaato Inc. Through its optimization platform, Smaato maximizes mobile publisher revenues in the US, Europe and Southeast Asia. In 2004, Mr. Theermann co-founded mobile application company Everypoint, where he assisted in raising $14 million in venture funding from three prominent investment firms. In 2000 he founded YellowPepper, one of the world’s first mobile marketing companies, which he later sold to a private equity firm. Mr. Theermann holds an MBA degree from Northeastern University, and a Masters in International Management from Thunderbird.

“The convergence of mobile and web advertising is happening faster than anyone predicted,” said Theermann. “As this trend accelerates, premium publishers will increasingly require a fully-integrated toolset to manage and optimize their inventory across all platforms. As the leader in ad network optimization for premium publishers, AdMeld is uniquely positioned to provide its customers with this groundbreaking functionality, and I am thrilled to be leading their mobile initiatives.”

“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Marc Theermann to the team,” said Michael Barrett, CEO of AdMeld. “As a member of the AdMeld executive team, Marc will play a critical role in evolving our mobile capabilities and providing our customers with technology that maximizes the value of every ad impression.”

About AdMeld

AdMeld (www.admeld.com) helps the world’s premium online publishers maximize revenue from ad networks and exchanges, reduce operating costs and protect their brands from unwanted ads. AdMeld’s real time optimization technology generates the highest possible yield from each ad impression, and its suite of tools and services enhance publishers’ understanding and control of their discretionary ad inventories. Current AdMeld customers include Answers.com, AccuWeather, Discovery Communications, FOX News, Hearst Television, IAC, New York Post, World Wrestling Entertainment® and more than 130 others worldwide. Founded in 2007, the company is headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco and London.

In total, 49 women from the United States, Canada and one from Britain have been honored with this prestigious award for their dedication and commitment to mobile marketing. Find the full list of Mobile Women to Watch in 2010 here:

Ragnar Kruse, CEO and co-founder of Smaato said: “Congratulations, Petra! We are proud to have as a Co- Founder a woman, who was already successful as a pioneer in e-commerce by being instrumental in growing a company from start up to IPO, and now she is doing it again by shaping the future of Mobile Marketing and being a role model to other women.”

About Smaato Inc.

Smaato is a pioneering mobile advertising company that operates the leading mobile ad optimization platform called SOMA (Smaato Open Mobile Advertising) and partners with mobile publishers, developers, ad networks and operators.

SOMA’s unique feature is the aggregation of multiple leading ad networks globally to maximize mobile advertising ARPU. SOMA can be easily integrated with ad networks, ad inventory owners (publishers, developers and operators) and 3rd party ad technology providers.

Smaato is an active member of the Mobile Marketing Association, the dot.mobi Advisory Group and the German Digital Media Association BVDW. Smaato received a Top 100 Private Company Award by AlwaysOn Media (2009 & 2007) and was an Andrew Seybold Choice Awards finalist at CTIA 2008 for best Newcomer, among other awards.

Hothand’s secret to success is its proprietary menu-driven mobile web platform that gives advertisers repeated and sustainable exposure to students. Rather than being bombarded with text messages, students access deals on the web when they need them. With a couple clicks a hungry student can find information or save some cash with a mobile coupon from a local restaurant. No paper coupons to lose or forget. The offer is on the phone!

Randy Jaramillo, Hothand’s President, said, “The mobile web is the future of mobile marketing. The cell phone is a very personal device and allowing consumers to access information on a mobile website rather than pushing information to them respects the relationship. Google’s recent acquisition of AdMob reinforces the value of mobile advertising without special technology or text messaging.”

Partnering with universities allows Hothand to create a network of mobile websites that students go to repeatedly to view university information and Hot Deals. Students get hyper-local information because the business locations are right in their university community.

Hothand is expanding its merchant network to the more than 50 universities it serves across the nation. Mark Powell, University of Nebraska Campus Recreation added, “We are excited to partner with Hothand to provide offers to our students and access to the companies that support Campus Recreation.”

Jaramillo added, “We are providing a timely and valuable connection for students and merchants. Both have responded enthusiastically to this new approach to mobile marketing.”

Universities, students and companies can get more information at www.hothand.com or by contacting Tim Leets (949-581-2840 or tim@hothand.com).

DUBLIN – Research and Markets has announced the addition of Berg Insight AB’s new report “Mobile Advertising and Marketing – 3rd Edition” to their offering.

How to transform the mobile handset into an advertising platform? As the global number of mobile subscribers approaches 5 billion, there is no question regarding the potential reach of the mobile media. Yet advertisers, agencies and telecom industry players are still searching for the winning formula that will unlock the market. Learn more in the third edition of this 150 page report in Berg Insight’s VAS Research Series.

Mobile Advertising and Marketing is the third consecutive report analysing the rise of mobile advertising on the global market.

This strategic research report from Berg Insight provides you with 150 pages of unique business intelligence and expert commentary on which to base your business decisions.

This report will allow you to:

Identify tomorrow’s most profitable advertising opportunities in the mobile space.
Understand the fundamentals of the ad-based mobile media revenue models.
Recognise the key barriers restraining the growth of the mobile advertising market.
Comprehend the relative importance of digital channels compared to other advertising media.
Learn about the early experiences of mobile marketing campaigns by top global brands.
Profit from valuable insights about ad-funded business models for mobile operators.

This report answers the following questions:

How can mobile handsets become integrated in the marketing media mix?
What changes in the mobile industry and end-user behaviour are required before mobile advertising can become a multi-billion euro market?
How are Google, Microsoft, Nokia and Yahoo! positioning themselves to become leading mobile advertising networks?
Who are the rising stars that stand out from the crowd among the mobile advertising and marketing companies?
How well suited for advertising are different existing and future mobile media channels?
What are the initial experiences from mobile marketing campaigns?
Which advertising formats will become most successful in the mobile environment?
In what ways can location technology improve the relevancy of mobile advertising?

Who Should Buy this Report?

Mobile Advertising and Marketing is the foremost source of information about the status, future trends and technology developments on this market. Whether you are a telecom vendor, mobile operator, advertising agency, investor, consultant or application developer, you will gain valuable insights from our in-depth research.

About the Authors

Johan Fagerberg is co-founder and an experienced analyst with a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology. His areas of expertise include Mobile VAS, locationbased services and wireless M2M markets.

Marcus Persson is a Telecom Analyst with a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology. He joined Berg Insight in 2008 and his areas.

Executive Summary:

Mobile communication is a global phenomenon that has thoroughly changed the way people interact with each other. More than 4 billion subscribers are using mobile services every day, more than twice the number of traditional Internet users. Mobile devices have several unique characteristics that make them highly suitable for advertising and marketing. Handsets are extremely personal devices since they are owned and used by one person. They are almost always with the person, which allows contextual targeting of people on-the-go. Being switched on at almost all times, they also allow advertisers to reach the consumers in the right moment. Since today’s mobiles are highly interactive devices and are featured with a range of functions including video players, music players, cameras and web browsers there are many different options for interaction. Another major benefit is that the mobile space is less crowded than most other channels whereby adverts get more attention.

For these reasons mobile is becoming a natural part of the marketing media mix. Handsets are highly private devices that offer a unique platform for personal interaction with consumers. Advertisers are increasingly aware of the opportunities and seek new ways to exploit them. Just the simple fact that people are able to make a phone call or send a text message anywhere at any time has changed the conditions for marketing in general. Many marketing campaigns are designed to trigger a response in the form of a voice call, SMS/MMS or a visit to a mobile web site. Handsets are also a suitable platform for building brand awareness through the distribution of free content or applications. Mobile advertising is yet another channel that evolves along with mobile Internet access.

As the advertising and marketing industry acquires more and more experience of the mobile channel it will become a natural part of the integrated marketing media mix. As digital media converge there will however be less and less distinction between mobile or traditional Internet advertising and market. Digital campaigns will be designed to reach out to consumers on a broad range of platforms, including everything from full-size PCs to smartphones.

Berg Insight estimates that the total value of the global mobile marketing and advertising market was euro 1,014 million in 2008. Asia-Pacific constituted the main regional market, accounting for around 75 percent of the total value. Despite the shrinking advertising market, the mobile channel has grown over the past year underpinned by a strong momentum and increasing mobile media usage. Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 43 percent, the market will be worth euro 8.7 billion in 2014 – corresponding to 11.7 percent of the total digital advertising market.

The mobile marketing and advertising ecosystem is highly fragmented and complex, which is typical for an immature industry. Many companies try to find their place in the value chain and get a piece of the market. Much of the activities carried out are still on an experimental stage and actors are constantly looking for new business models and services that could generate revenues. However, many large brands have launched numerous campaigns and are now moving beyond the trial stage to establish the mobile channel to be part of the media mix. Campaigns are getting increasingly complex and more integrated into larger campaigns, spanning several media formats. Most firms specialized in enabling mobile advertising are still relatively small, venture capital funded actors. Many larger players are taking a relatively cautious stance with the exception of a few companies such as Vodafone, Yahoo! and Google. Over the past three years many of the larger players have acquired firms specialized in mobile advertising. The largest deal to date was Google’s US$ 750 million acquisition of AdMob in November 2009.

Many mobile operators have actively engaged in mobile advertising activities in some form. The level of activity, however, varies vastly between different operators. Turkcell is currently the most aggressive promoter of mobile advertising since Blyk discontinued its MVNO business. Vodafone offers a wide range of services across the globe, some commercially available while others are of an experimental character. Besides the operators, both Nokia and Ericsson have launched various services to accelerate the mobile advertising developments.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive summary
1 Advertising and digital media
2 Mobile advertising
3 Messaging and mobile marketing
4 Mobile web advertisement
5 Ad-funded applications and content
6 Forecasts and conclusions
7 Company profiles and strategies
Glossary
Index
List of Figures
Companies Mentioned:

AdMob
Aegis Group
Amobee
Asatsu-DK
Comverse
Dentsu
Hakuhodo DY Holdings
Havas
Interpublic Group
mBlox
MDC Partners
Netsize
Omnicom Group
Publicis Group
Smaato
Velti
WPP Group
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/a6dff5/mobile_advertising

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Mobile marketing leader HipCricket has teamed with Twentieth Television’s new program, “Wedlock or Deadlock” to connect with viewers through their mobile devices. The campaign includes interactive polls via mobile messaging on whether the featured couples on “Wedlock or Deadlock” should marry or separate.

Each episode of “Wedlock or Deadlock” features an engaged couple with concerns about their relationship and questions about whether they have what it takes to get married. The show presents each couple the opportunity to discuss their hopes and fears with Dr. Michelle Callahan, psychologist and relationship expert. To complement Dr. Callahan’s final decision, during the half-hour program, viewers follow on-air prompts to text in and vote on whether couples should wed or go their separate ways. Additionally, the at-home audience is given the opportunity to opt in to receive daily “Lovescopes” provided by Tarot.com.

Ivan Braiker, CEO of HipCricket stated: “Wedlock or Deadlock’s target demographic is a young, hip audience, so adding a mobile element is a perfect fit. By using HipCricket’s mobile marketing solutions, the show not only engages its audience during the show but also facilitates an ongoing relationship with viewers even when the show is not on the air.”

“Wedlock or Deadlock” is currently being tested on the Fox Television Stations in New York, Tampa, Phoenix, Dallas and Memphis.

About HipCricket

HipCricket, Inc. drives new revenue and customer loyalty for consumer brands, broadcast stations, and media companies through strategic, creative and measurable mobile marketing interactivity. Recognized as a pioneer by CTIA, the preeminent wireless association, the mobile marketing software and solutions company has delivered more than 40,000 successful campaigns for customers including Coca Cola, Staples, Hershey’s, Jameson, Clear Channel Radio, Premiere Radio Networks, Sandusky Broadcasting and NBC. With its unique technology and experienced, customer-focused team, HipCricket produces interactive campaigns through SMS, Mobile Web/WAP, and mobile advertising and now connects brands with audiences they desire to reach via the first comprehensive Hispanic Mobile Marketing Network. The company is based near Seattle with additional operations in New York and Mexico City. More information can be found at www.hipcricket.com.

About Twentieth Television

A leader in the U.S. program production and distribution arena, Twentieth Television provides a wide array of first-run, network and off-network programming, as well as feature film packages, to the syndication and cable marketplaces. First-run programs distributed by Twentieth Television include the game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?,” the court shows “Divorce Court” and “Judge Alex.” Off-net shows distributed by Twentieth include “Family Guy,” “24,” “COPS,” “The Simpsons,” “Boston Legal” and the fall 2009 launch of “My Name is Earl” & “Bones” followed by the 2010 launch of “The Unit” and “How I Met Your Mother.”

Utilizing CMG’s mobile marketing and advertising platform, retailers can now send advertising impressions along with instant notification of new menu items, products, discount offers, and promotions at any time throughout the day. Each time an offer is viewed, a splash page is displayed that delivers any impression the retailer wants their consumers to view.

Using ‘push’ technology, notifications are delivered to the consumer in the same manner as a text message, instantly alerting the iPhone user that a new offer is available. The iPhone’s Location Services will direct users to the closest retail location. Each offer’s expiration date and time is also displayed, creating a sense of urgency. Once expired or redeemed, offers will no longer appear on the iPhone obviating the need for the user to actively mange the offer list.

The application, developed under the name “In UR Face”, will only be available to consumers under each individual QSR’s brand name.

To view demo: http://www.cablesmedia.com/demo

“Consumers keep their iPhones with them at all times,” said Jon Krutchik, president of CMG. “Because of the constant advertising opportunity afforded by our platform, and the way it enables the brand to be viewed by the consumer on a perpetual basis, internally we named the application ’In UR Face’. Mobile marketing represents the most direct way to reach consumers. Our application can ensure that the message will be received and viewed by the intended target audience.”

“This is a totally opt-in, personalized application for any QSR or retail chain,” said Jennifer Cohen, vice president of marketing. “For the retailer, In UR Face is a fully customized and rapidly deployed mobile marketing platform, but to their consumers, this is an iPhone application that delivers valuable offers. That’s why consumers will want this.”

Cables Media Group drives shareholder value by:

* Reaching the 18-54 age demographic since this matches the largest iPhone demographic (85%)
* Offering significant cost-savings versus traditional advertising mediums
* Guaranteeing results and providing valuable near real-time analytics
* Increasing brand-awareness, brand loyalty, and frequency of visits
* Creating an on-going communication vehicle between the retailer and the consumer
* Allowing for a cutting edge customer acquisition tool
* Integrating with current marketing campaigns

The iPhone is a disruptive technology that has forever changed the interaction between the consumer and their mobile device. With more than 1.5 billion iPhone apps downloaded to date, retailers may acquire new customers simply by having a presence on the iPhone.

About Cables Media Group:

Cables Media Group is a full service mobile marketing firm that creates customized mobile marketing campaigns for the iPhone. CMG provides “SaaS” (Software as a Service) that empowers its clients with mobile marketing applications specifically designed to drive shareholder value.

NEW YORK & LONDON & SINGAPORE & SAO PAULO – The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) (www.mmaglobal.com) released the latest version of its U.S. Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services. Updated regularly, the guidelines are the industry standard for cross-carrier mobile content services such as text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), shortcode programs, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and mobile Web.

The new, version 4.0 guidelines are the first to consolidate the individual mobile marketing guidelines and codes of conduct – known as “carrier playbooks” – of the four largest U.S. wireless service providers: Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA. Announced in March 2009, this industry-first agreement is a milestone toward the continued growth of mobile marketing and will achieve operational efficiencies for the industry upwards of $200 million annually.

Produced by the MMA’s CBP Committee, the guidelines provide measures of acceptable and unacceptable practices for all players in the U.S. ecosystem. At 100 pages, the new CBP document is significantly more comprehensive than the previous edition, yet it provides the industry with the first concise, inclusive set of guidelines by eliminating the need to refer to four separate carrier playbooks.

In addition to incorporating carrier standards, the new guidelines include revisions and additions to key areas such as:
Standardizing the language “Msg & Data Rates May Apply”
Allowing for more flexibility with PIN location in message-terminated (MT) messages
Modifying the STOP requirement in Opt-in MT messages

The guidelines also feature a new reference ID system designed to make it fast and easy to navigate the document and find information. The guidelines help standardize practices across the industry which provides a better experience for customers by ensuring the consistency of mobile marketing campaigns across the four major U.S. carriers.

“Verizon Wireless has a long history of trying to protect our customers against unscrupulous marketing practices,” said Richard Williams, Verizon executive director of marketing. “By sharing best practices with other companies in the mobile marketing ecosystem, we hope to drive these practices out of the wireless marketplace altogether.”

“The latest MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines are an industry milestone toward meeting the ecosystem’s need for a concise yet comprehensive set of rules at a time when rapid growth increases the challenge of following multiple playbooks,” said Mike Wehrs, President and CEO of the MMA. “By providing a single, industry-standard reference, the new guidelines free carriers, technology companies, brands, media companies and consumer advocates to focus on protecting consumers, providing the optimal user experience and continuing the mobile channel’s growth.”

The guidelines are available for download at www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf.

The MMA would like to thank the following member companies that participated in the CBP committee and were instrumental in the development of the new guidelines: AT&T                       mBlox                       Sybase 365
Bango                 Mobile Messenger                 Telescope Inc
BrightKite                 MX Telecom                 Thumbplay
Buongiorno                 NeuStar                 T-Mobile USA
Cellfish Media                 OpenMarket                 VeriSign
Fox Mobile Entertainment                 Publicis NA                 Verizon Wireless
LavaLife Mobile                 Sprint-Nextel                 Yahoo!

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin American (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com. For information relating to the MMA’s Mobile Marketing Forum series, please visit www.mobilemarketingforum.com.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Harris Connect, the leader in providing innovative affinity marketing solutions for alumni and membership organizations for more than four decades, will preview its newest solution at this year’s CASE Summit in San Francisco, CA. Designed to help organizations engage their alumni and members in a way they prefer, Kurt Worrell, Senior Vice President of Consumer Sales and Marketing, will also host a session focused specifically on how the higher ed marketplace can integrate mobile technologies into their existing communications strategy.

Harris Connect Mobile

Launched in the second quarter of 2009 for the higher ed market, Harris Connect Mobile will soon be available to membership associations and other affinity groups. With this initial release, colleges and universities have the ability to send highly targeted messages and information – on a 100% opt-in basis – to alumni, students and parents via cell phone or other mobile device using a Mobile Content Manager. Constituents subscribe to receive specific types of content by SMS (or text), which can range from sports scores and university news, to event announcements and reminders, to special offers from affinity partners and more. In addition, this solution also allows for downloadable mobile applications to be sourced from existing RSS feeds and admin-generated rich or dynamic content.

According to Worrell, mobile messaging opens up one more powerful communication stream for colleges and universities to use in reaching their constituents. “More than 200 million people in the U.S. today carry a cell phone, and virtually all cell phones are capable of receiving text messages,” he explains. “In fact, with the introduction of smartphones like the iPhone and others, people have begun using their phones for much more than just voice communications – and text messages actually surpassed voice messages in cell phone usage last year.”

While companies and news outlets around the world have been experimenting with mobile marketing strategies for several years, the application has real significance for higher ed and other membership based groups. To begin, the age range for those using text messaging on a daily basis is between 18-49 – making mobile devices a primary communications method for a vast majority of an organization’s constituency. The strategy also has a wide array of applications for colleges and universities. For instance, alumni relations and development offices can push event information to alumni and accept registrations on the spot via click-to-call to increase participation. Plus, the ability to conduct surveys and polls quickly helps keep alumni engaged and provides immediate feedback. The Mobile Content Manager also provides design options using images, text and html – affording colleges and universities the ability to reinforce their core brand by incorporating graphics and audio into messages, such as the school’s seal, mascot or fight song.

All this is combined with in-depth reporting and other backend tools that ultimately help colleges and universities extend their reach and realize higher response rates. CASE Summit attendees can view a demonstration of this next generation marketing tool at Harris Connect’s Product Launch Reception on Thursday, July 9 from 3:45-4:15 Pacific time in the Pacific N Room, as well as at their booth (#28) in the Exhibit Hall. Information can also be accessed by mobile, of course, by texting HARRIS to 258664.

CASE SUMMIT 2009 CONCURRENT SESSION – Friday, July 10

Adopting a Mobile Strategy: Why It’s Important & How to Get Started

In his session at CASE Summit in July, Worrell will discuss the importance of implementing a mobile strategy – looking specifically at how this newest technology can enhance advancement efforts. He’ll do this by examining industry trends and best practices, as well as highlighting cases where alumni and development offices have begun using mobile marketing to build participation and engagement.

In addition to learning about mobile marketing in general, attendees will gain in-depth knowledge of the user experience by walking through a typical mobile campaign – allowing them to opt-in, receive a text message and interact via their mobile devices. A demonstration of how Harris Connect’s mobile platform works to create and distribute content, as well as track results will also be included.

Worrell joined Harris Connect in 1990 and has since held management positions in virtually all areas of the company’s operations. In 2004, he was a driving force in implementing the launch of the Data Services product line having previously worked as a technical consultant teaming with many colleges and universities on projects ranging from data integration to profiling and target marketing. In his current role, Worrell oversees the consumer-facing areas of the operation focused on Consumer Sales and Marketing and Business Development. In 2009, he partnered with Acuity Mobile to create and launch a mobile platform. Worrell received his bachelor’s degree in business communications from Bentley University.

About Harris Connect

Founded in 1963, Harris Connect is the leading provider of affinity marketing solutions including alumni and member publications that range from directories to coffee-table editions to commemorative books; research services to update email, phone and mailing address information; online communities and applications built on the Facebook platform; and now mobile marketing strategies, as well as programs designed to produce non-dues revenue for their clients. Today, Harris Connect serves more than 4,000 clients worldwide. The company is headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia with offices in New York and Texas.

For more information about Harris Connect Mobile in particular, simply text HARRIS at 258664 or go to harriconnect.com/mobile. For general inquiries, send an email to moreinfo@harrisconnect.com or call 1.800.326.6600.

Roadside billboards are probably the oldest form of advertising and the oldest form of information. The digital revolution has ensured that billboards have come full circle, with the November 2008 launch of a network of 16 roadside screens broadcasting live news feeds from Sky News.

Digital billboard networks are increasingly available to advertisers in many locations — railway and underground stations, airport terminals, shopping centres and on-street locations. Many are interactive, which signifies digital marketing’s leap from the PC-accessed Internet into the real world.

However, the PC remains key to digital marketers. Despite high hopes of next-generation mobile telephones providing the same kind of networking services as are available online, mobile marketing has not moved in any significant way from text marketing, and mobile network operators are now including laptops as part of their deals to encourage users to expand their network usage.

Mobile marketing barely features as a percentage of overall advertising expenditure, where the Internet continues to take market share from print and television. Marketing budgets are being cut across the board as the economic situation worsens, but online budgets are still growing, albeit at a slower rate than in previous years.

However, both the print and television sectors are also embracing the online medium as an extension of their reach. Most media owners also have a Web presence and the computer is being increasingly chosen as the device upon which to watch television, whether it is ‘catch-up’ recorded television or live television over broadband.

Broadband service offerings — traditionally the domain of Internet service providers (ISPs) delivered via cable, telephone and satellite connections — are now also offered by mobile telephone network operators using wireless connections via plug-in universal serial bus (USB) devices. This has freed users, enabling them to access the Internet from a much wider range of locations and no longer having to find wireless ‘hotspots’ where they might have to purchase access.

Radio remains the poor relation in the digital arena, with advertising spend continuing to decline despite efforts from radio sales networks to promote a wider take-up of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio sets. There has been much consolidation in this industry, with a number of takeovers during 2007 and 2008, most notably Emap selling all of its radio holdings to Bauer Publishing during 2008.

The Internet is the undisputed leader in the digital marketing arena and it is here where the digital marketing agencies find more opportunities to practise their creativity, engaging with consumers in a way that is not possible through other media. Despite its early promise, interactive television advertising has failed to move much beyond being a mere direct response offering, but the Internet finds true interactivity.

Social networking has flourished in the UK, which has the third-highest percentage of users in the world.

Marketers counsel a gentle approach when entering this space. As one of the respondents to our virtual roundtable, created for this report to provide industry insight from key industry practitioners, stated: brands have to earn the right to be there.

This report cannot examine every aspect of digital marketing, which now reflects the entire marketing spectrum. However, it does discuss market developments and profiles some of the leading agencies and players operating within it, as well as providing an insight into how digital media are used by marketers.

Key Topics Covered:

* Executive Summary
* 1. Introduction
* 2. Strategic Overview
* 3. Digital Television
* 4. Digital Radio
* 5. Marketing on the Internet
* 6. Mobile Marketing
* 7. An International Perspective
* 8. PEST Analysis
* 9. Industry Dynamics
* 10. Company Profiles
* 11. The Future
* 12. Further Sources

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/fc1cf5/marketing_in_the_d

INDIANAPOLIS – Tetherball, an industry leader in mobile loyalty and rewards solutions, unveiled its breakthrough RFID-based mobile marketing platform that represents the most advanced technology-based solution in the marketplace today and sets an unprecedented standard in mobile marketing.

“This groundbreaking technology platform, which has been in the making for more than two years, will truly revolutionize the mobile marketing arena,” said Jay Highley, President and COO of Tetherball. “Mobile marketers have been struggling to develop a solution that not only provides an easy method to deliver targeted offers to mobile users, but allows them to truly measure the return on their investment. Our new technology solution does just that in a radically simple way.”

“Mass adoption of mobile marketing using barcoded coupons just hasn’t happened because it’s far too complicated with a plethora of technical and user issues at the point of redemption,” added Highley. “Our solution doesn’t use mobile coupons with barcodes, or for that matter, require any type of mobile screen visuals to redeem offers. Most important, our RFID-based solution, which works on any mobile phone, eliminates fraud and allows our clients to measure the performance of their campaigns with pinpoint accuracy via real time validation and reporting. Brands are looking for a reliable mobile solution that is easy to deploy and delivers measurable results – and our solution does both with exceptional results.”

How it Works

Tetherball’s unique 360˚ approach helps clients “tether” their brand to target audiences by identifying what their customers want and delivering mobile campaigns that interact with the ultimate call to action through permission based mobile coupons, mobile rewards, mobile sweepstakes and mobile notifications. Integrating traditional marketing methods such as in-store advertising, customers are engaged to sign up for mobile loyalty rewards programs offering promotional discounts. Upon joining, customers are given a Tetherball Tag™, a tiny RFID chip that is easily affixed to their mobile phones, which uniquely identifies them through Tetherball’s sophisticated technology platform. Tetherball clients are then able to send offers to their customers via standard text messaging. Offers are redeemed electronically using existing in-store RFID point of sale terminals or stand-alone RFID kiosks provided by Tetherball.

Mobiquitous™, a patent-pending real time web-based reporting system, delivers detailed visibility and analytics into coupon redemption rates and overall program performance. Whether it’s reporting at a campaign level, geographical level or for a specific period of time, Mobiquitous provides clients with “real time visibility” so that they can adjust quickly and leverage the real time nature of mobile marketing.

“We are a big believer in the future of mobile marketing and are very excited to be partnering with Tetherball,” said Jamie Guse, Web Site Manager for International Dairy Queen, Inc. “Through their innovative RFID-based Mobile Loyalty Program we are able to provide great offers to our customers in a fun and easy way while precisely measuring the effectiveness of our Dairy Queen Mobile Rewards Program.”

“I have been working with Tetherball for nearly two years to refine the mobile loyalty program for my stores,” said Dave Reasner, International Dairy Queen Franchisee. “Due to the success of our program, we now average over 900 members per store and continue to see solid growth in membership and redemption rates – which is making a measurable difference in our year over year traffic and revenue. Tetherball’s hands-on approach made getting started and optimizing my programs really simple and affordable. Most important – their programs work.”

“We are delighted to provide our radio frequency (RF) based contactless technologies to Tetherball and believe their mobile marketing solution opens the door for the next generation of loyalty, coupon, and promotion programs,” said Mohammad Khan, President and Founder of ViVOtech Inc. “Tetherball’s RFID-enabled mobile solution is leading the way by making it simple and easy for consumers to use rewards and coupons while at the same time solving the most important industry problem of accurate measurability of program performance.”

About Tetherball

Tetherball, a leading edge mobile marketing applications service provider, offers a different approach to digital relationship marketing by “tethering” brands to target audiences through their mobile devices. Tetherball programs increase revenue, improve profitability and drive customer loyalty through mobile coupons, mobile rewards programs, mobile sweepstakes and mobile notifications. Tetherball clients enjoy real time analytics and reporting on program performance and redemption through Mobiquitous™, Tetherball’s own patent-pending web-based intelligent analytics platform. Tetherball serves national retailers and ad agencies in the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and entertainment industries and has delivered over 150% growth in new revenue and higher customer retention and loyalty for these clients. Founded in 2007 by Scott Yancey, Tetherball is now one of the fastest growing mobile marketing companies in the United States. For more information, please visit www.tetherball360.com.

About IDQ

International Dairy Queen (IDQ), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen stores in the United States, Canada and foreign countries, offering dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages. IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

About ViVOtech

ViVOtech (www.vivotech.com) is the market leader in Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payments, promotions and over the air (OTA) provisioning infrastructure software, transaction management software, NFC smart posters, secure tag technology, and contactless (RF) terminals. These innovative solutions allow millions of consumers to make contactless payments with radio frequency-enabled credit/debit cards, tags, fobs and NFC mobile phones. ViVOtech’s products are used by the most prominent retailers all over the globe and today the company has shipped over 500,000 contactless terminals to more than 35 countries worldwide. In 2009 ViVOtech received the prestigious Frost and Sullivan North American Smart cards Product Line Strategy of the Year Award. ViVOtech was named #1 in ABI Research’s Contactless & NFC Reader Ranking Report, last issued in 2008.