It's A Hot Summer For Mobile
It’s been a July full of activity in the mobile space, most notably a 60,000 signature petition to reduce data fees, the launch of the iPhone in Canada and the announcement by Bell and Telus that SMS fees will be both sending AND receiving party pay.
I’ll breakdown each of these announcements and what it means for marketers:
1. 60,000 signatures to reduce data rates.
This is good news for marketers! It means more pressure to bring down data rates. Eventually rates will fall – it’s a question of when NOT if - so brands continue to develop your mobile internet and mobile display strategy. The petition by Canadians is also putting added pressure on wireless carriers to adopt an “all you can eat” plan, which leads me to my next point.
2. The iPhone effect
In a previous post I discussed the implications of the iPhone effect and I talked about the symbiotic relationship between data rates and the Apple brand. Therefore I wasn’t surprised to hear the news about Apple pulling its phones from its Canadian stores in disgust. In addition, despite low penetration rates of iPhones in Canada, it’s been a catalyst for marketers to think not only about their mobile internet presence, but also downloadable iPhone apps. It’s still early days for widgets, gadgets and apps but these “Full clients” are raising eyebrows. (Note an example of “thin clients” are RSS feeds on a mobile Internet site – example: http://pcworldcanada.mobi - best viewed on your mobile browser). The important thing to consider when you’re evaluating apps is that your app must be platform agnostic. That app must port across various mobile operating platforms, such as Symbian, Blackberry, Android, Windows mobile...etc.
3. Consumers charged to receive SMS
Bell and Telus’ announcement that consumers will be charged two ways (for sending and receiving text messages) has no doubt been a PR nightmare. I have received confirmation that text messages received via standard rated shortcodes will NOT be charged to Bell consumers. I am still waiting to receive confirmation from Telus if they will follow suit. (I really hope they do). If Telus does start charging to receive incoming SMS via a standard shortcode then I suggest you speak to your mobile partner to re-evaluate the setup of that shortcode. My company, Vortex Mobile, will take appropriate measures to ensure that no brand associated mobile marketing will charge consumers to receive promotional alerts.
So, how do these announcements impact your mobile strategy?
