iPhone - Revolutionizing Mobile Marketing
Just as the iPod revolutionized the way we listen to music, Apple is hoping their new iPhone will do the same for how we use our mobile device. As a marketer and a lover of new technology, I, for one, am extremely excited about the possibilities.
With only one day left before the Apple iPhone goes on sale, the Apple and AT&T stores are preparing for one of the biggest product launches since the Playstation 2. Since the announcement of the iPhone, Apple’s stock has increased over 40%. It’s nearly impossible to go to a blog or PR site without seeing an article about the new phone. The news about the phone has been unprecedented.
To see an example, just take a look at the keyword term “iPhone” in Google. There are over 80 million pages that mention the term. Hitwise notes that the searches for “iPhone” have increased 583% over the past four weeks and it has become one of the most search upon terms in the search engines. This is also reflected in Google Trends. Visits to Apple’s iPhone page have increased 185% and even with mixed reviews, iPhone blogs, videos and websites (even sites that make suggestions on how to use your old phone) have been springing up all over the Internet.
So what’s the hype about?
There have been cell phones (with Windows Mobile), Blackberries and Palm devices that have combined phones with audio, video and web, but none as “cool” or as “trendy” as the new iPhone. Also, none marketed as well as the iPhone. (Take note all marketers!) The Apple iPhone makes it EASY to listen to music (iPod), watch video (YouTube & iTunes), sync your calendar and contacts, view maps and surf the web (Safari). Through this one device, we as marketers can use multi-media and multi-tactical campaigns more effectively than ever.
At JPL, we have developed websites and video for mobile devices and I can share examples of successful text messaging and mobile campaigns. But, with only 3-4% of the cell phone population participating in these campaigns, mobile marketing has not yet proven to be a viable option for most corporations. As the price goes down, as more carriers pick up the phone and as the product evolves in the upcoming years, the iPhone will turn these early adaptors into the majority and mobile marketing will become an important tactic in a company’s overall marketing strategy for several key demographics.
The Mobile Marketing Tactic
The iPhone will make it EASY for the user to participate in promotions. We won’t need a person to remember that catchy url that we used in our radio campaign. They can type it in immediately. We won’t need to hope that person that found us on the web will walk in our store. They will already be walking. We won’t have to hope that someone that finds our location on a map will pick up the phone to call us. The phone will be in there hands. Just think of the possibilities for consumer-generated media! Think of the possibilities for coupons, sweepstakes, and comparison shopping!
Will the iPhone revolutionize technology as we know it? I’m not sure if I can answer that, but I truly believe it will revolutionize the way we think about and the way we use mobile marketing in our overall marketing strategy.
June 29th, 2007 at 1:26 am
No 3G.
No RFID.
No GPS.
No Flash Player.
No MMS.
No Video.
No IM Client.
No Semacode reader.
No copy/cut/paste.
No 3rd party support.
Don’t get me wrong, the browser has me drooling, but from a marketing standpoint, Apple has made their iPhone VERY closed to third parties, and thus closed to many mobile marketing techniques.
What’s your stand is on mobile sites–will it be worth making a mobile version when cell phones have full-fledged browsers?
I’m also curious about where you get 3-4% of cell phone users with marketing statistics. Japanese and European marketers are using the tools I listed above in their marketing campaigns, and such technologies are fairly common knowledge there (BTW, the iPhone is locked to one carrier, and is only available via AT&T roaming in foreign countries; another mistake since it’s those other countries that are leading the way, both in technology and mobile marketing).
July 2nd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Great points Rich!
It doesn’t seem as though the lack of these third party tools have stopped the lines at the stores. Reports from Cnet show that AT&T stores sold most of its initial stock of iPhones within hours and media coverage and word on the street continues days after its launch.
I completely agree that the iPhone would be much more effective with Flash capability, GPS, 3G, etc., but let’s not forget this is Apple’s first generation of the iPhone. I’m sure that a lot of these issues will be addressed in upcoming versions. Let’s think back… how many of us went out and purchased an earlier version of Apple’s iPod before the video version we have today? The Apple iPod is not the PERFECT device, but it has become the standard that all mp3 manufacturers are trying to match and I think the iPhone will set a similar tone as it continues to evolve. It will become what consumers expect from a cell phone.
As the iPhone continues to evolve and other carriers, as well as foreign carriers, begin to add the iPhone to their list of products, more and more individuals will begin to own the iPhone or iPhone clones with similar features. With more cell phones on the market with these capabilities, the more opportunities we have as marketers to reach our demographics. With this in place in the upcoming years, mobile marketing will become an important tool in our marketing arsenal.
You also make a great point about how far back the US is in the mobile marketing landscape in comparison to European and Asian nations. We are learning a lot from these foreign campaigns. According to MediaPost.com very few have been successful domestically (3-4 %) because of the lack of individuals willing to participate or willing to use the technology. I believe with the popularity of the iPhone, it has the ability to change this perception and increase the percentage of participants in these types of campaigns.
Finally, in my opinion how we think about website design will need to change with more people using mobile browsers. Instead of using basic text, text links and limited graphics that we currently use for our mobile versions of our sites, designers will have the opportunity to become much more creative with the new browsers. More creativity leads to more interesting and engaging campaigns. The iPhone brings an exciting time for designers as well as marketers for this reason. I think there may still be a need for a mobile version depending on the site’s interactivity and overall website content. Remember, we are still looking at a 480×320 pixel screen. This is where a designer’s creativity plays and important roll in your marketing strategy.
Thanks again for the comments Rich!