MediaPost.com: mobile

LevelUp, NCR Partner to Grow Mobile Payments

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:02 -0400

LevelUp, a mobile payments company, has partnered with NCR, a leading supplier of point-of-sale software in the U.S. Together, the two companies will focus on spreading mobile payments throughout the U.S. and getting consumers more comfortable with the concept of using their smartphones and tablets to pay for products. LevelUp, along with NCR, hopes to placate these concerns by providing consumers with a comprehensive mobile payments platform.

Walmart Focuses on Mobile Tools to Meet Customer Needs

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:02 -0400

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is using mobile technology to bring the power of ecommerce to its stores while remaining faithful to its customer-centric approach, Gibu Thomas, global head of mobile for the company, said at CTIA. And Walmart plans to make the most of an opportunity that will see mobile-influenced offline sales hit $689 billion by 2016.

Smartphone App Extends Mobile Wallet to Pay Bills

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:02 -0400

Electronic payment services provider Vesta has launched its PayMobile wallet, a smartphone application that enables mobile operators to offer core financial services to their prepaid customers. Powered by partnerships with consumer brands Xoom, PreCash and Prepaid.com, the app builds on Vesta's core account reload platform to include money transfer, bill payment and international top-up services.

Mobile Commerce in China Continues to Soar

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:02 -0400

The mobile shopping market in China continues to grow, recording spending of 26.6 billion yuan (US$4.29 billion) in the first quarter. The entire year will see mobile spending grow to US$15.7 billion as more and more Chinese use mobile in their online shopping, according to a prediction by research company iResearch.

The Mobile Commerce Win: Location, Location, Location

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:00 -0400

Let the mobile location innovation begin! While we regularly see and hear of innovations in how marketers can reach consumers at various stages during their path to purchase, new ideas around location are starting to get richer, as is the location data information. For example, Moosejaw, the outdoor retail chain headquartered in Michigan, has 11 stores but the majority of sales come from online and mobile.

Pandora Beats Q1 Revenue Estimate

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:22:00 -0400

Online radio service Pandora on Thursday reported revenue rose 55% in the first quarter to $126 million, topping analysts’ expectations.

The company’s net loss widened to $28.6 million, or 16 cents a share, compared to a loss of $20.2 million, or 12 cents a share, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the loss was 10 cents a share, in line with the consensus forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Pandora’s quarterly revenue—which had been projected to reach $124 million—was bolstered by the addition of 700,00 net new paid subscribers, bringing the total to more than 2.5 million. Excluding certain items, mobile revenue doubled to $86.7 million. That outpaced mobile listener growth of 47%.

“During the quarter, we successfully implemented a mobile listening limit, enabling us to manage our content acquisition costs with minimal impact on listenership or revenue growth,” stated Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy in the company’s earnings release. The company in March imposed a 40 hour-per-month cap on free music streaming on mobile devices to help address rising royalty costs.

Pandora’s total listener house increased 35% to 4.18 billion. The company’s share of total U.S. radio listening in April was 7.3%, up from 5.9% a year ago. Active users reached 70.1 million, up 35% from a year ago.

For the second quarter, Pandora is forecasting revenue in the range of $155 million to $160 million. Adjusted earnings are estimated to range from a loss of 2 cents a share to a profit of a penny a share. The company’s stock was up about 8% in after-hours trading to $18.50 following the earnings announcement.

Mobile Important For Hispanic Shoppers

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:10:00 -0400

According to the survey, 16% of Hispanic consumers use their mobile devices for their purchases, compared with 12% of general market consumers. According to Armand Parra, director of insight and strategy at The Integer Group, age and early adoption of technology are the main drivers behind the trend.

Path Seeks Dismissal Of Wireless-Spam Case

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:07:00 -0400

Mobile social network Path is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the company violated a federal consumer protection law by sending unsolicited text ads to people's cell phones. The lawsuit stems from Path's invite-a-friend feature, which allows users to invite their friends to join via SMS message.

Vice, Twitter Partner For Mobile Show

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:14:00 -0400

Simultaneously expanding its video and social strategy, Vice on Thursday unveiled #dailyvice -- a daily show tailored for Twitter users and featuring short clips featuring the publisher's irreverent brand of news and cultural coverage.

When Innovation Like Android Steps In To Shake Things Up

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:05:00 -0400

In a rare admission by the former eBay CEO, Hewlett-Packard President and CEO Meg Whitman attributes the ability to enter a new segment of the tablet market to Google's operating system, Android. "Frankly, having Android products here helps a lot," she said during the company's fiscal Q2 2013 earnings call. "This $169 Slate helps [HP] cover a segment of the market that we didn't have before." Yes -- HP's Whitman attributes market opportunity to Google Android.

Tablet/Smartphone Commerce Site Share Escalates: So Where Are The Cool Multi-Screen Experiences?

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:46:04 -0400

According to Monetate's EQ survey, activity at commerce sites from devices nearly doubled since last year. So when is someone going to help me juggle those multiple screens?

'Data Is The Next Natural Resource'

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:37:15 -0400

Has the ad industry struck oil and perhaps they don't quite know how to process it? "We need to create the infrastructure to analyze data," Chris McCann, president of 1-800-flowers.com, told attendees at OMMA DDM. The company participated in a beta test with Affirm payment service, a startup from Max Levchin, PayPal cofounder.

Now Your Car Will Tell You How Much Money You Still Owe On It

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:34:56 -0400

Mercedes-Benz is announcing the first car financial services app for in-car networks. It always seemed to me that driving was one time and place where you really wanted to forget the fact that you didn't actually own this car yet.

Mondelez Goes Social, AR In Band-Tour Sponsorship

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:14:00 -0400

The "1D VIP Tour Correspondent" (Kylie Keene of Portland, Maine) was selected through a contest that generated big buzz across 1D fan sites and social media communities. Hundreds of One Direction and Nabisco snack brands fans submitted videos and resumes to vie for the job.

Black And White And Read All Over

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:15:02 -0400

The vast majority of U.S. adults read newspaper media content across a range of technology platforms, including 59% of Americans ages 18-24, the youngest cohort of adults, that many are skeptical that they ever think about newspaper content.

Network Advertising Initiative Proposes New Mobile Privacy Rules

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:03:00 -0400

Moving forward with its plan to issue mobile privacy rules, the self-regulatory group Network Advertising Initiative this week provided members with a draft version of a code of conduct regarding information collected from apps. The proposed mobile rules, which were provided to Online Media Daily, require companies to let people opt out of receiving behaviorally targeted ads on mobile devices.

Migrating from desktop to mobile: What gets left behind

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:19:00 -0400

Does migration from desktop to mobile change the nature of content? One thing for sure: There are limited insights.

For example, Ken Burbary, chief digital officer of Campbell Ewald, speaking at OMMA Mobile, says when it comes to looking at some mobile data -- like Facebook "likes" -- the site doesn't really tell marketers much.

"I'd like to see analytics improve -- and to compare and contrast with tablet and desktops."

Entertainment, Travel Bet On Mobile Banners

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:16:00 -0400

Banner ads have long been the whipping boy of online advertising, and the same is now true for mobile. But in the entertainment, travel, and auto categories, advertisers have seen results.

A-B's Mobile Initiatives Hint At National TV Primacy

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:56:43 -0400

Listening to the top marketer at Anheuser-Busch, it seems pretty clear why major brands shouldn't be expected to move big dollars away from TV anytime soon. So, barring another gruesome recession, networks don't need to do much tossing and turning.

The Short Time of the Mobile Purchase

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:26:00 -0400

The window to reach mobile shoppers may be short with some factors out of retailers' control. A study from IBM's Digital Analytics Benchmark last week looked at shopping behavior around Mother's Day and found that online mobile shopping traffic increased 43% from a year ago, comprising a quarter of the holiday online sales. That study found that mobile consumers shopped and bought in three-and-a-half minutes.

Chanel Bolsters Cross-Channel Sales by Omtimized Mobile Site

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:25:02 -0400

French fashion house Chanel is strengthening the cross-channel brand experience with a new mobile-optimized site that offers commerce for its beauty lines. The most proficient part of the mobile site is now the beauty section that integrates mobile commerce and easy vertical navigation. This portion of Chanel's mobile strategy could help to increase sales since consumers are likely more open to buying beauty via mobile rather than high-ticket apparel, jewelry and watches.

Google Checkout Closing as Mobile Wallet Takes Lead

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:25:02 -0400

Google will close down its Google Checkout online payment service for good in November of this year. The online service and technology provider says the move is part of a broader transition to its Google Wallet multichannel commerce platform.

Target Looks to Personalize the Mobile Shopping Experience

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:25:02 -0400

A Target executive at the CTIA 2013: Mobile Marketplace conference said that data and personalization will be key drivers in bolstering the mobile shopping experience across a variety of platforms.

Entertainment, Travel Bet On Mobile Banners

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:16:00 -0400

Banner ads have long been the whipping boy of online advertising, and the same is now true for mobile. On an OMMA Mobile panel focusing on whether mobile display even works, agency executives gave some examples of industry categories including entertainment, travel, and auto where they’ve seen results.

Steve Minichini, at TargetCast pointed to entertainment advertising in mobile as a sort of “softball” you can’t miss with if ads are designed right. “It’s really ripe for full interaction regardless of the technology” because of the strength of the content. Think movie trailers.

When it comes to travel, the focus is more on comparison pricing. As technology allows more tracking of how ads are served and sequenced, he believes interaction and success will grow. Staying in the travel sector, Scott Swanson, CEO of Mobile Theory, said the ad network ran a campaign for an international airline that resulted in a dozen tickets being purchased directly through the ad. That might not sound like much, but Swanson called it “impressive” given the cost level of the tickets. He added the client was also “extremely excited” to get that result.

Michael Lieberman, group account director at MEC, meanwhile, noted that people tend to spend more time engaging on mobile and tablets, but still end up converting on the desktop. He said the rates can be twice as high as for someone who’s only seen an ad on the PC. “So we know mobile and tablets are having an impact on consumer decisions, even if we can’t follow the ROI chain on one single device,” he said. But no one uses just one device.

TargetCast's Minichini: Mobile Banners Are Like A Gateway Drug

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:52:21 -0400

Speaking on a panel at OMMA Mobile, Steve Minichini, president of interactive marketing at MDC Partners' TargetCast, acknowledged that the agency doesn't buy many mobile banners -- yet. And it it does, it's mainly looking at them as a means to an end. "It's almost like a gateway drug," he said, noting that the real goal is to figure out how to do a "data capture," or launch a video campaign, not to serve a banner ad impression on a mobile device, per se. The mobile banner dilemma is further complicated, he said, by the fact that many client campaigns are split between brand-building ones, and performance-oriented ones.