Branding. . .

Hyundai tells us that their cars make sense, Apple Computer offers us the power to be our best, and most of us don't believe a word of it. The fact is, when all is said and done, most people don't believe, don't remember, don't even notice, most advertising. This has always been so and always will be so. The vast majority of advertising is ineffective and inefficient.

And yet, there is a direct connection between a society's (or individual's) levels of exposure to advertising and the levels of consumption. How can this be? If advertising is inefficient, if 90 percent of all advertising is neither seen nor remembered by most people (according to surveys), if two minutes after being exposed to a particular message or brand I can no longer remember either the brand or the message, then where's the connection? How does something so banal and benign impact my consumption patterns and habits?
The message cited above for Hyundai automobiles ("Cars That Make Sense") has little or no effect either upon our personal lives or even Hyundai's sales overall. And we could say the same thing about thousands of other individual and isolated advertiser efforts. But the Hyundai advertising, combined with Apple Computer's advertising, combined with advertising for Tide detergent and Chivas Regal and RCA and Johnson's Floor Wax and the limited -time specials at your local department store or supermarket, has a very powerful collective effect indeed: it instructs us to Buy!

And it gives us, via lighthearted entertainment, permission to ignore the long-term consequences of our purchasing decisions by suggesting to us that we should not take any of this too seriously. (We shouldn't take a spilled glass of water too seriously, either. But a flood is a totally different matter.)

Advertising's real message, to buy and to buy ever more, to replace what we have rather than repair what we have, at one time served us well. When we were smaller in numbers, when we were still growing, still searching for a collective identity, when personal prosperity was touted as the primary reason for being alive, private property the only form of wealth, and when we were naive enough to believe it all, consumption and the ability to consume (choosing our livelihoods on the basis of whether or not it provided us with that ability!) was not only a way of life, it was a respectable one at that.

But we are no longer small in numbers. And we are no longer that naive. We can plainly see that advertising's collective power and our collective response to it has had, and continues to have, a profound and adverse effect upon our personal lives and upon the planet we share.
But pointing a finger at the advertising industry will change nothing. Wishing and hoping that the advertising industry will lose its innocence and suddenly leap into modern times in recognition of the situation we are all in is futile. And while the advertising industry is part and parcel of an industrial civilization now in decline, this doesn't mean we should expect the number of advertising messages and collective power of those messages to also decline in the very near future. If anything, it means we can expect an increase in the number of those messages. For the advertising industry, along with the main body of industrial society, is struggling for survival. It may be drowning, but it has not yet sunk. And in a last-ditch effort to save itself, it will flail about more wildly and make more noise than ever, as we might expect from any drowning individual.

No, what must change is us. What must change is how we see advertising in the context of the modern moment. We must recognize that its influence upon our lives and our well-being is in direct proportion to the amount of exposure in our lives, and that this exposure is an event unto itself, an experience separate from whether or not we respond to or believe individual messages.
High consumption has far more impact upon our environment than type of consumption. Buying much less and driving much less is better than just switching from plastic to paper or from "normal" unleaded to "super" unleaded. One of the first steps we must take towards consuming fewer goods is to consume less advertising.

Six Ways to Reduce Advertising in Your Life

1. Greater awareness of advertising's role in your life can help make you a conscious, instead of an automatic, consumer:

2. Don't be a walking advertisement.Remove those labels, tags and other symbols from your jeans and steer clear of T-shirt advertising, "alligator" shirts and clothing with designer logos. Why should you be an unpaid billboard?

3. Keep your counter clear of brand names.Whenever possible, transfer liquid soaps, cereals, cookies, nuts, juices and the like from their brand-identified store-bought containers into plain, general-purpose jars and cannisters. Or remove brand I.D. labels from store containers (but make sure the product is still clearly identifiable).

4. Take the road less traveled. Avoiding main highways and using local streets can help you sidestep the major arteries and commercial avenues in your locale. This will go a long way towards reducing your exposure to outdoor advertising and may even help you get to know your town or city a little better.

5. Reduce or eliminate junk mail.Department stores and local merchants will stop sending you flyers and other advertising if you ask them to. Many local direct-mail associations will also serve as clearinghouses for a request to eliminate junk mail. Check your phone directory for local listings or write to the national organization, Junk Mail Busters, Ste. 5038, 4 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111.

6. Divest your possessions of brand names.Applicances, stereo components, computers, TV sets, tele-phones, sometimes even furniture almost all display prominent logos, but you don't have to live with them. Often you can cover them with tape or water-soluble colors, unscrew them or peel them away without damaging the item. (When resale value and slight damage are not concerns, you can obliterate them.)

7. Keep your branded items hidden.Store toothpastes in the medicine cabinet, detergents out of sight and return everyday foods or other frequently-used items that can't be transferred to alternate containers to cabinets immediately after use.

"Oops! that's seven! Was in the mood to write!!"


There are probably dozens of other ways to lower advertising consumption. See how many you can think of. Remember: the idea is to keep exposure to logos and brand names in your household as low as possible and to reduce it whenever and wherever possible.
It's impossible to totally eliminate advertising from your life completely, and if you could, you wouldn't want to. Much advertising serves a useful function by providing information about products and services, supporting mass distribution and helping to keep prices of some products affordable.

But ad consumption reduction can start to change the consumption-oriented mindset that makes brand names a source of status and an end in themselves.
Implementation of just one or two of these suggestions can help you begin to learn how to consume products, not advertising. And after all, isn't that the idea?

Copywriting???

The future of copywriting is also going to be on Mobile Content giving advertisers the opportunity to reach End-Consumers directly.Mobile Campaigns via SMS,MMS and other Service oriented Mediums will over-take all Print and E-Commerce verticals with its Cost-Efficiency and Impact marketing.
You never know, if content writers would be hired for creating that 160 character message?!

FMCG : The next step - SMS your customer!!!

This is one industry which is growing at a rate of 250% a year especially with the CommonWealth Games to be hostedin India in 2010.
Every major city is under development of Hotels, Restaurants, Consumer oriented stores, Big Retailers are flying-in india,etc after the F.D.I (Foreign Direct Investment) opening up.

Mobile Marketing pushes this threshold of the upper bar of Profits made by companies by reaching the level of Marketing making the consumer Super-Aware and Super-Cautious in his/her decision.
The side effect of this direct impact would be cut-throat competition amongst merchants and making life easier-as-it-comes for the consumers.

Way to go, Discounts & Vouchers are ringing your message tone guys!

Mobile Marketing in India

For, Indian companies are increasingly opting for ‘Net-to mobile’ marketing techniques to promote their brands. With over 50 million people digitally connected in India, Internet analysts expect to see a huge growth in adspends on both the Internet and mobile medium in the next few months. By fusing the two, brand-owners are now targeting a wider audience. For instance, Coca-Cola India has extended its Net promotions to mobile phones to woo cellphone users. Likewise, HBO, L’Oreal India and CNN are extending their Internet promotions to mobile phones to reach out to a diverse target audience.India is one of the fastest growing mobile market in the world and with that brings immense mobile marketing opportunities for branded consumer companies. As Indian operators increase their sophistication and gain a better understanding of the demographics and usage statistics of their subscriber base, a scenario will emerge where the operator will sell this information to marketers. This is no different from a television network or radio station collecting ratings data and viewing habits for its programming, which enables it to sell commercial time for sponsors. The continued success of SMS marketing in India depends on the willingness of the Indian marketing and advertising establishment to adopt wireless as an accepted vehicle for campaigns. SMS Marketing is only the beginning and as operators upgrade their network to 2.5G/3G, MMS will allow marketers to develop even more sophisticated campaigns.
As for the reason behind these integrated marketing efforts, Internet analysts point out that Internet and mobile phones together are delivering ‘humungous reach’. “For instance, in India we have 20 million active Internet users and 35 million mobile users. It’s quite possible that 50 per cent of them are common—it still means that the two new medium can address almost 35 million users,” says Contests2win.com CEO Alok Kejriwal.According to Mr Kejriwal, the most common way of staying in touch these days is ‘send me a mail’ or ‘sms me’—which means that the two are part of everyday life. “The two new medium allow innovation, interaction and feedback. And brand-owners are having a huge party. Basically, both are ‘on-the-go’ medium. You cannot carry your TV or PC anywhere you go. But with GPRS facility, you can browse the Net on your cell phone,” he elaborates.


Clearly, the growing trend is of Mobile Marketing Mobile 'Media' Marketing as both reach the end-user instantly and has the highest conversion rate compared to the others.

M-Commerce...

The Mobile Marketing and M-Commerce helps you understand what is just beyond the horizon by constructing three potential scenarios that plot spending growth for wireless advertising and marketing over the next five years.

Starting from the supposition that—in percentage terms—wireless advertising is at roughly the same level relative to interactive advertising that online advertising was in relation to traditional ad spending in the mid-to-late 1990s, each scenario begins from a plausible "what-if" position and builds to a fever pitch in 2005-2006, when many firms will throw money at this new channel, much as they did in the early days of the Internet.

Growing VAS popularity in India

Growing VAS market

According to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the mobile content market in the country for 2004-05 was worth Rs 558 crore and is expected to reach Rs 1,802 crore by 2007.

Preeti Desai, President, IAMAI says, “The increased interest in and demand for personal expression applications across mobile users is driving the applications and content market. Entertainment and content applications offered by content publishers, aggregators and operators are increasingly central to the revenue and competitive positioning.”

According to Arpita Pal, Principal Consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the content market comprising mobile gaming, ringtones, ringback tones and wallpapers is expected to increase tenfold in the next five years. Pal points out that mobile operators are working towards offering 3G to their subscribers to support content-rich applications.

Though none of the VAS providers is ready to divulge its revenues, there are other indications of their reach and demand: take any reality-based programme on television and you see the use of four-digit numbers for polling.

"We will use this venture capital to create a market for 3G, scale up our infrastructure, and expand into other countries" -Arun Gupta CEO, Mauj

The potential of the Indian content market can be gauged from the recent investment that Mauj Telecom received. The company got $10 million venture capital funding from a consortium led by WestBridge Capital Partners; Intel Capital and Sequoia Capital are the other members of the consortium.

Arun Gupta, the CEO of Mauj, explains how the funds will be utilised. “We plan to use this venture capital to create a market for 3G applications, scale up our infrastructure, and expand into geographies like the US, Britain, Canada and Africa in the areas of mobile music and gaming.”

"Ringtones downloaded from the Internet or with a short code service both need SMS. Thus, it is by far the largest revenue generator" -Rajiv Hiranandani Country Head, Mobile2win

Presently, the Indian mobile market is riding high on rich media content that consists of SMS, music downloads, wallpapers and gaming, with SMS being the biggest revenue generator. Reasons Rajiv Hiranandani, Country Head, Mobile2win, “Anything that you download needs to be initiated by an MO (mobile originator). Ringtones downloaded from the Internet or with a short code service, both need SMS. Thus it is by far the largest revenue generator.”

Music comes next. According to a November 2005 survey by Soundbuzz (a one-stop online and mobile music company) that was based on reports from analysts and other sources, mobile music downloads (including ringback tones) in the Indian market are valued at Rs 400 crore. Approximately Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore was paid in royalties to the music industry in the past 18 months.

Gaming is still restricted to a certain age group (between 14 and 24), but it could take off with 3G. According to a Nasscom report, the mobile game-development industry is a $100 million business in India, and is growing at 100 percent year-on-year. By 2010, this industry is expected to be worth $500 million. Indian companies could book an additional $130 million meeting local demand for mobile games by then, up from the current $20 million. Presently, these games are priced between Rs 50 to 150. “In India, there are three price points Rs 50, Rs 99 and Rs 149; these depend on the brand and how exciting or relevant the game is. A generic game would cost Rs 50,” says Hiranandani. Mobile2win created a sort of record with its games on Bollywood themes. Till date its Sholay has been downloaded almost 1,50,000 times on to mobiles (excluding Reliance customers).

Says Rajesh Rao, CEO of Dhruva Interactive, whose games are popular among the gaming fraternity, “People are looking forward to sampling a variety of content on their wireless devices, and the number of VAS consumers is increasing.”

Another reason the mobile gaming market will grow in India is that it satisfies the aspirations of the common man. A niche segment has access to high-end PCs and consoles, but they are expensive for the common man. The mobile revolution has enabled millions of people to access games inexpensively.

Hiranandani opines that the content market has become competitive due to push from operators such as Reliance. “A few months ago Reliance was not charging for the content it was providing. It’s only now that it is charging. This means that now content providers are willing to develop quality content and deploy it across operators to make money.”

Along with the push from operators willing to charge their customers, experts feel that there is growing demand for content from tier II and III cities. Many feel that though the metros are growing in population, the demand for connectivity there has reached saturation point, hence players like BSNL, Airtel and Reliance are looking at tier II cities to push connectivity and content.

This shows that along with Mobile Marketing, there are various possibilities in the Mobile Content and Value Added Services segment, making Advertisers flourish there Products,Services and Brand-name across the globe.

source: expresscomputeronline. com

Mobile Ad Users : metrics by Mobile Marketing Association

The Mobile Marketing Association has unveiled the first authoritative metrics on audience acceptance of mobile advertising. Results from a survey of more than 11,000 U.S.A mobile subscribers indicate that more than 41 percent of those who view or intend to view mobile video agreed they would watch advertisements in order to watch free mobile video. Additionally, 20 percent agree they would watch ads in order to watch mobile TV or video for a reduced fee. The research was conducted by research partner M:Metrics.

The report, commissioned by the MMA’s Mobile Video & Television Working Group committee, found that although only one percent of mobile subscribers currently access TV or video from a mobile phone, 23 percent of non-video users express some possibility of viewing video or television content on a mobile device within the next few months.

“The next six months are critical in the continued development of the mobile medium, and this study was instrumental in aligning marketers’ agendas with consumer expectations,” said Laura Marriott, executive director of the MMA. “The high level of consumer interest and enthusiasm on the part of advertisers, agencies and carriers suggests a promising role for advertising in mobile video and television. The MMA continues to lead the industry globally in establishing the guidelines, best practices and research to ensure a sustainable mobile marketing and advertising ecosystem.”

“This research shows that a sizable number of consumers, particularly those who are already consumers of mobile video, or express an interest in doing so, will accept advertising as part of the mobile video experience,” said Mark Donovan, senior vice president and senior analyst, M:Metrics. “Furthermore, the consumers most predisposed to advertising are younger, big-spending mobile users, creating an attractive target market for advertisers.”

The research found that 60 percent of current or prospective mobile video watchers expressed either willingness or ambivalence about sharing personal information to receive relevant offers, and those subscribers who spend more on mobile services per month are more likely to share personal information. Also, the firm found that males are more drawn to the notion of ad targeting than are females.

Why it works??

In the digital age, companies that want to stay ahead need the tools to do so. Mobile marketing is one of those tools. This method of advertising allows businesses to connect to those that they need to, effectively. It allows the organization to spend messages to mobile phones to promote a product or a service. It also for them to tell their targeted audience that the store parking lot they just pulled into has something on sale. Or, it allows them to know that today is the last day for the lowest price of the seasons. Mobile marketing works for several reasons.

Convenience

Let’s face it. We are all working on finding the best way to accomplish all that we need to in the fastest, most convenient way. Mobile marketing allows individuals to receive the information they need to reach their goals, when they need it. It is convenient because it allows for not external needs. They don’t have to get online to see the ad. They don’t have to have the radio on a specific channel either. They don’t have to watch the television commercials to hear it. They get the information on their mobile phone. How many people that you know don’t take their phone with them?

Get It To The Right Audience

Mobile marketing is targeted advertising. You don’t find yourself pushing a new electronic gadget on the senior citizen that doesn’t know how to send an email. Because there is an activation process, the marketing goes to those who it will work for, those who are interested in the products and services available. There are few other mediums that can do that.

Personal Touch

The personal nature of mobile marketing also is effective for this type of advertising. The message is sent directly to them, not to a board range of people. This personal nature is quite effective at making them click and buy.

Mobile marketing is an excellent type of marketing that we can count on seeing more of down the road. Because of how well it works, more and more companies are getting it that this is the marketing of the future. Why waste money, precious advertising dollars on a ‘maybe they will see it’ type of advertising? Mobile marketing is fast becoming the advertising medium.

Source:Ezinearticles-S.Baker

Wireless Revolution in Marketing

The reason why a simple SMS can deliver your Company's motto with so much more ease, lies in it's discreetness.

SMS is an extremely cost-effective, high-response-rate vehicle, which can help to acquire and retain consumers, sell and promote products, drive loyalty, and reinforce branding efforts. Have you tried SMS marketing to promote your business?

Abstract
Communication plays a vital role in Marketing. Till today we have seen newspapers, magazines, television, radio, hording, road shows and Internet as major marketing communication tools. In addition telecommunication has given new gift to us. M – Mobile.

Go through some facts:
According to one estimate, in 2005 text - based services formed a Rs 100 crore industry, approximately 30 per cent of the value-added services market. Over the next five years, it estimated that text-based services would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 47 per cent to reach Rs 720 crore in 2010.

Mobile marketing is highly personalised, interactive and has an immediate impact.

Attractive features of SMS (mobile) marketing instant, direct and fast.

2- Way communication.

Effective as it is targeted to particular age, gender or profession.

cost effective.

It can be easily promoted through cross-media like radio, TV or print.

As customer forward messages in a group it opens opportunities of Viral Marketing.

SMS is fun loving tool. It is catching up record breaking usage.

ICM telephone survey

94% of messages are ‘read’, which helps explain the high levels of response and brand impact. The best performing campaigns, the study reveals outstanding results as follows: 46% response (of any type), 27% Reply to a message, 19% visit a web site, 15% Visit a store. The average campaign delivers 15% response (of any type), which is more than twice the average other industry reports have given for direct mail (sources: Gartner, DMIS) Where is it so effective?
"Mobile marketing is suited best to drive sales of consumer packaged goods, restaurant menu items and high-street retail commodities -- sectors that have advertised very little online to date."
- Jupiter Research analyst Dylan Brooks