EMS GREETING CARDS, WHY DON’T WE HAVE THEM?
Greeting cards are as old as the desire to show modesty, courteousness and an acknowledgement of a relationship with another individual or group. They express our sentiments, feelings, and a recognition of the ties that bind us together and can be used on occasion, events or at shared moments.
The mobile media should be seen as a ready tool that is at the point of flashes of creativity for its owner and is more suited for greeting cards as telephony is a creative tool for long-distance communication. Like every other media before it, the mobile media would benefit, in our country, from a dedicated greeting card, shared amongst every operator, with all the bells and whistles of our traditional print offerings.
It should be realized that greeting cards make it easy for one to express an emotion at a point in time, when the feeling has just washed over us or delay the expression and give them life in words at a later time. If we can get personal despite the 160 characters limitation of SMS, we can become even more cosy so with the Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) service which is an advance over the SMS that provides for interactivity, animation, ringtones, sound and graphics on the textual layer of a basic SMS.
Furthermore, no delivery can be as instant as an EMS greeting card such that the sender will be satisfied that an action that began with so much symbolism behind it ended the way he/she would have wanted it to be. By the way, a sender won’t be billed beyond the basic SMS country tariffs.
How much does it take to send a greeting card on print? Most of us do send greeting cards by hand, especially the more personal ones (not overlooking the fact that snailmail also handles a huge amount of this traffic also). With the card, the message and the transport medium are just at the tip of one’s fingers, paying for a little less than the cost of print is not money well spent, but also enjoyed with pleasure.
I wonder why we don’t see applications written for this purpose in our mobile networks? I can remember MTN’s Y’ello valentine promo during the valentine. What beats me is why that initiative was caged within a season. Greeting cards aren’t seasonal, they live for a lifetime.
I believe our mobile carriers do not realize they should be running subscriber sensitization campaigns on what services are available and can be discovered on their networks. Flashing text messages at infrequent intervals is not just enough. This should be carried out with the aim of creating a local pool of developers for the mobile media who can be relied upon to provide creative content at the lowest cost.
Marketing agencies should also be involved because they can build brand awareness and launch campaigns around EMS greeting cards, enticing subscribers with ringtone enclosed brand logos and branded messages, in collaboration with other members of the ecosystem, making this cards free to subscribers like television advertising is.
We don’t need to wait for subscribers to ask for a service, they need to be directed to as much water of services that can be made available and then given the freedom to choose which best meets their needs and provides utility.
We do need greeting cards on our mobile phones, if our carriers care to listen.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
THE MOBILE VALUE CHAIN: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS(3)
THE
This blog takes the mobile value chain a step further. How can a print media tap into the possibilities offered by the mobile media and become a strategic player in its industry by adding value through this information dissemination media?
I hope my answer will open up grounds for future considerations. To get a better picture of the thrust of this blog, I suggest you keep the mobile value chain figurative diagram from iLoop
Our print media house, Acme Newspapers, a sports newsmagazine, wants to provide sports news to a wider audience through the mobile media because a manager of Acme Newspapers read a blog on http://mobilenigeria.blogspot.com.
So he made a comment on my blog:
Acme Manager: I have read some interesting articles on your blog and would want you to give me a proposition. My yahoo id is noname_man@yahoo.com. You can IM me anytime.
I did so. Promptly too. A snippet of our chat session.
Me[2]: Hello. David. Author of the blog, Mobiles and
Acme Manager: yeah, I’ve been waiting for your message. I want you to help me, just some advice.
Me: If it’s in my capacity.
Acme Manager: I work for a newspaper house, Acme Newspapers. How can a mobile phone increase our readership as you claimed in your value chain article on market niches and strategic decision making.
Me: Definitely. What department do you work in?
A. manager: newsroom. Sports.
Me: fine. Let’s say your magazine wants to increase its readership and your core competency…or let me say, what you know how to do best at lowest cost is providing sports news to your subscribers.
A. manager: correct.
Me: if those subscribers receive your news, this need I assume or presume should be behind your question, it would reduce cost for you, increase revenue, place you in a strategic position from other newspapers and furthermore, give you a channel for customer surveys amongst others.
A. manager: interesting, but how?
Me: according to Tomi Ahonen, the mobile media has 5 distinctive features apart from other media: 1.the phone is the first truly personal media. 2. the phone is always carried. 3,. The phone is the first always-on mass media. 4. the phone has a built-in payment mechanism. 5.the phone is a creative tool available always at the point of creative impulse.
Buzz!!! Buzz!!!
A. manager: yeah, am now online. I was jotting down your points and talking to a colleague. Continue…what do the five points above mean for me and my company?
Me: The five points above means so many things and they are really value adding for any company interested in this media. Let’s take your newspaper. You can send sports news and sports info to your subscribers at any time, anywhere, unfettered, with lowest cost possible, provided they opt-in, note, opt-in, to receive such. Furthermore, your newspaper can collect market data in ways unknown before and do advertising to garner more revenue.
A. manager: I was thinking along those lines. But it’d cost us something!! We don’t have the personnel to write the programs etc…
Me: not to worry. You can partner with mobile content providers who have the know-how who will bundle info trivia, contest and logos, paid ads as well as relevant content to your subscribers in non-intrusive ways that would never make a dent on your projected revenue. Marginal returns for both parties.
A. manager: we could share the cost of say, paying Celtel, MTN…! some candles are burning in my brain.
Me: you might never bear a cost if you choose a professional content provider. It’s their duty to work with mobile application solution providers and your well known and preferred operator to deliver a service that might even by paid 100% by advertising revenue. Remember Formula 1? Although you might provide the brick ‘n’ mortar ad support through your paper for mobile subscribers to discover this campaign exists.
A. manager: I get your point.
Me: just think, if MTN has been provisioned with a new four digit number, 0703, and between all the GSM operators there should be more than 50 million (fifty million) subscribers, what vast market is open to your newspaper house!
A. manager: thanks a lot. I appreciate this chat. How do I get the article by Tomi Ahonen[3]. I’ll like to read it myself and maybe give it to my superiors.
Me: I’m sending it to you right now. I have the author’s permission to do so.
A. manager: and your phone number? I’ll get back to you.
Me: anytime. 08082695871 or 08023031608 or 08061667878.
A. manager: I’ll be in touch.
Links and still linking:
1. http://mmaglobal.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=74
2. Me, that is to say: http://mobilenigeria.blogspot.com/
3. try, http://www.tomiahonen.com/ or email me and I’ll send the article to you, its titled: “Thought Piece: Understanding 7th mass media.”
THE MOBILE VALUE CHAIN: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS(2)
THE
For strategic reasons, it is important that companies interested in a cost-effective and value added participation in the mobile ecosystem understand the nature of the ecosystem and how they can, taking their traditional core competencies into account, gain a competitive advantage in this ecosystem while delivering valued and premium services.
From Michael Becker’s paper[1], four different and distinct interconnecting spheres can be derived in the mobile ecosystem where strategic considerations are of paramount importance:
Fig. 1: The mobile channel value chain.
1. The products and services sphere. This involves brands and content owners, new media and interactive and marketing agencies.
2. Application sphere. This involves discrete application providers and mobile application solution providers (MASP).
3. Connection sphere. This involves aggregators and wireless operators.
4. Media and retail sphere. This involves outdoor advertising and broadcasting media, direct marketing, on-package, internet, retail, email and print media.
A value chain analysis of the ecosystem can help companies:
1. Create organizational structures that is permeable to this new media, the mobile media.
2. Develop market niches, brand loyalty and introduce new brands by concentrating on core competencies.
3. Create a readily available and cost effective channel of data and information sharing.
4. Break down the traditional walls in mobile content delivery created implicitly from an era where wireless operators’ have to think up every resource from the horizontal and vertical spheres of the ecosystem and value chain.
Acknowledgements:
1. Michael Becker (CTO, iLoop Mobile, inc.). Unfolding of the
THE MOBILE VALUE CHAIN: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS(1)
THE
Some mobile services we are presently familiar with are: trivia contests on television tied in with short code submissions, a mix of ringtone offerings that are purportedly “funky fones”(PHCN has deliberately stopped my listening to this ads recently), MTN’s valentine SMS promo, ability to send credits to friends and families on CELTEL networks and many more. On a careful analysis, in the ideal world, there would be four (4) spheres of players on the mobile ecosystem that with cooperation and regulations should be working strategically to make this offerings valued and premium for investors in the wireless telecommunications sector.
I really wonder how many players(stakeholders) are presently really involved?
For sure, with the lag in information delivery between the creators and users of information in our society, a lot is left to be desired.
Like in other countries before now, mobile services were delivered exclusively bundled on the mobile carrier’s technology network. The only information you can find is one that makes sure you work through aggregators designated by the wireless carrier’s preferred business partners.
What is desired, for this media not to suffer the negative initial publicity the Internet received (the Internet still really isn’t part of our culture!), is a reorganization, a re-strategizing of the mode of operation of our mobile carriers to involve more players in the mobile ecosystem, an opening up of their traditional barriers to information sharing with subscribers and other members of the mobile ecosystem and create an environment where every player gets marginal returns for investment.
Some issues that are to be considered are:
1. Pricing, both subscriber charges and prices for bulk SMS.
2. Subscriber uptake. There is no available data on SMS usage from the wireless carriers or a slight indication of willingness to make these available. A newsletter towards this end would much be appreciated. The management staff of our wireless carriers’ services department would do with input from other sectors.
3. Infrastructural economics. Although this can account in a large amount on the revenue share, it must be acknowledged that with economies of scale, these factorial could be reduced.
4. Content providers presence. Proactive engagement of content providers in the country would create a plethora of services that should generate a climatic announcement of the coming of mobile messaging as an alternative marketing media and informational resource.
5. Interoperability. If a standard set of regulations, standards, guidelines and conforming protocols are implemented by our three wireless carriers along with those operating on the CDMA platform for delivery of mobile services, it would do much to increase the integration of every participant in the mobile ecosystem.
There is no time to do it but now. Marginal returns on investment for every participant in the mobile ecosystem and an unbundling of the value chain system would entail:
1. Education and training. Not only for aggregator and wireless carrier’s staff but for everyone: content providers, mobile subscribers, brand owners and marketing agencies etc.
2. Enhancing the relevancy, discoverability of services and making pricing accommodative to subscribers.
3. For lack of concrete information regarding this issue, I’ll hold back every word on revenue formulas. But an adequate and equitable one would attract our budding content providers and marketing agencies to this playing field.
4. An administrative framework for mobile solutions and mobile management that encompasses every stakeholder. A common short code administration-like framework as obtains in
Some issues presented above are still hypothetical because the author is still gathering information on this ecosystem in our country.
THE MOBILE VALUE CHAIN: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS(1)
THE
Some mobile services we are presently familiar with are: trivia contests on television tied in with short code submissions, a mix of ringtone offerings that are purportedly “funky fones”(PHCN has deliberately stopped my listening to this ads recently), MTN’s valentine SMS promo, ability to send credits to friends and families on CELTEL networks and many more. On a careful analysis, in the ideal world, there would be four (4) spheres of players on the mobile ecosystem that with cooperation and regulations should be working strategically to make this offerings valued and premium for investors in the wireless telecommunications sector.
I really wonder how many players(stakeholders) are presently really involved?
For sure, with the lag in information delivery between the creators and users of information in our society, a lot is left to be desired.
Like in other countries before now, mobile services were delivered exclusively bundled on the mobile carrier’s technology network. The only information you can find is one that makes sure you work through aggregators designated by the wireless carrier’s preferred business partners.
What is desired, for this media not to suffer the negative initial publicity the Internet received (the Internet still really isn’t part of our culture!), is a reorganization, a re-strategizing of the mode of operation of our mobile carriers to involve more players in the mobile ecosystem, an opening up of their traditional barriers to information sharing with subscribers and other members of the mobile ecosystem and create an environment where every player gets marginal returns for investment.
Some issues that are to be considered are:
1. Pricing, both subscriber charges and prices for bulk SMS.
2. Subscriber uptake. There is no available data on SMS usage from the wireless carriers or a slight indication of willingness to make these available. A newsletter towards this end would much be appreciated. The management staff of our wireless carriers’ services department would do with input from other sectors.
3. Infrastructural economics. Although this can account in a large amount on the revenue share, it must be acknowledged that with economies of scale, these factorial could be reduced.
4. Content providers presence. Proactive engagement of content providers in the country would create a plethora of services that should generate a climatic announcement of the coming of mobile messaging as an alternative marketing media and informational resource.
5. Interoperability. If a standard set of regulations, standards, guidelines and conforming protocols are implemented by our three wireless carriers along with those operating on the CDMA platform for delivery of mobile services, it would do much to increase the integration of every participant in the mobile ecosystem.
There is no time to do it but now. Marginal returns on investment for every participant in the mobile ecosystem and an unbundling of the value chain system would entail:
1. Education and training. Not only for aggregator and wireless carrier’s staff but for everyone: content providers, mobile subscribers, brand owners and marketing agencies etc.
2. Enhancing the relevancy, discoverability of services and making pricing accommodative to subscribers.
3. For lack of concrete information regarding this issue, I’ll hold back every word on revenue formulas. But an adequate and equitable one would attract our budding content providers and marketing agencies to this playing field.
4. An administrative framework for mobile solutions and mobile management that encompasses every stakeholder. A common short code administration-like framework as obtains in
Some issues presented above are still hypothetical because the author is still gathering information on this ecosystem in our country.
Friday, March 16, 2007
MULTIMEDIA MESSAGING SERVICES (MMS): Brief overview
MULTIMEDIA MESSAGING SERVICES (MMS): Brief overview
Multimedia messaging services (MMS) transforms the simple limited text messaging that has been with us for years into an entertaining, relationship building experience through a convergence of text, music, video, pictures and animated graphics.
The possibilities with MMS are endless. If well deployed by a wireless carrier in conjunction with content providers and mobile application developers, it gives a stream of revenue that is predicted by research trends observed in our recent time to surpass SMS and MIM(Mobile Instant Messaging). I’ll cover MIM in brief in another blog.
Rich text, colored, formatted, expressive non-limited character range text (remember SMS is limited to 160 characters) are the rich package that comes with MMS.
Music, of MP3 format including the ability to sample music on the network.
Video, full length video possibilities are not present in many phones although this will be available to a majority of the 4 billion mobile phone users in developing countries in the far future (Apple’s iPhone to be released this month with full length holding capability is one such product but for sure, it won’t come cheap while still hot!)
Animation, just imagine, the power of powerpoint presentations creating lots of new business opportunities for you and I as well as the ability to make framed pictures and sending them as presentations. At your fingertip is a medium that transmits the creative impulse without much prodding.
Among the above would be logos, ringtones, screens built to support MMS that cover the full color spectrum. Except for the full length videos, most of the features above are already present in our phones, so is MMS sending and receiving ability.
MMS works on broadband (3G) networks and GPRS networks which our wireless carriers support. If your phone is built for MMS sending or receiving capability, then SMS and its limitations have met a revolutionary messaging alternative! But that doesn’t mean SMS isn’t going to fight back.
To send MMS, you could do it from your phone (called MO or mobile originating device) to another phone. This is an MO to MO MMS messaging use case. One could also send it from a network mobile application (an MT or mobile terminating device) to a MO. Whichever way this is done, your wireless carrier has a MMSC (MMS centre) which operates on a store and forward basis when it captures an MMS sent to an MO in its subscriber database.
The store and forward framework works this way: an MMS destined for your cellphone when it gets to the MMSC initiates the sending of an SMS notification to your cellphone and stores the original message for you so that in case your phone is switched off for problems of battery, non-reception of signal or any other extenuating circumstance, the SMS notification is received by you. You then decide when you want to receive the message. When the MMSC receives your request for the MMS content, it is sent formatted according to the capability of your device.
The opportunity for business, advertisement and the ability of MMS to leverage other medias is immense and this will be covered in future blogs in relation to the Nigerian mobile ecosystem.
Multimedia messaging services (MMS) transforms the simple limited text messaging that has been with us for years into an entertaining, relationship building experience through a convergence of text, music, video, pictures and animated graphics.
The possibilities with MMS are endless. If well deployed by a wireless carrier in conjunction with content providers and mobile application developers, it gives a stream of revenue that is predicted by research trends observed in our recent time to surpass SMS and MIM(Mobile Instant Messaging). I’ll cover MIM in brief in another blog.
Rich text, colored, formatted, expressive non-limited character range text (remember SMS is limited to 160 characters) are the rich package that comes with MMS.
Music, of MP3 format including the ability to sample music on the network.
Video, full length video possibilities are not present in many phones although this will be available to a majority of the 4 billion mobile phone users in developing countries in the far future (Apple’s iPhone to be released this month with full length holding capability is one such product but for sure, it won’t come cheap while still hot!)
Animation, just imagine, the power of powerpoint presentations creating lots of new business opportunities for you and I as well as the ability to make framed pictures and sending them as presentations. At your fingertip is a medium that transmits the creative impulse without much prodding.
Among the above would be logos, ringtones, screens built to support MMS that cover the full color spectrum. Except for the full length videos, most of the features above are already present in our phones, so is MMS sending and receiving ability.
MMS works on broadband (3G) networks and GPRS networks which our wireless carriers support. If your phone is built for MMS sending or receiving capability, then SMS and its limitations have met a revolutionary messaging alternative! But that doesn’t mean SMS isn’t going to fight back.
To send MMS, you could do it from your phone (called MO or mobile originating device) to another phone. This is an MO to MO MMS messaging use case. One could also send it from a network mobile application (an MT or mobile terminating device) to a MO. Whichever way this is done, your wireless carrier has a MMSC (MMS centre) which operates on a store and forward basis when it captures an MMS sent to an MO in its subscriber database.
The store and forward framework works this way: an MMS destined for your cellphone when it gets to the MMSC initiates the sending of an SMS notification to your cellphone and stores the original message for you so that in case your phone is switched off for problems of battery, non-reception of signal or any other extenuating circumstance, the SMS notification is received by you. You then decide when you want to receive the message. When the MMSC receives your request for the MMS content, it is sent formatted according to the capability of your device.
The opportunity for business, advertisement and the ability of MMS to leverage other medias is immense and this will be covered in future blogs in relation to the Nigerian mobile ecosystem.
SUCCESSFUL SHORTCODES: TIPS FROM THE CANADIAN WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION(CWTA).
SUCCESSFUL SHORTCODES: TIPS FROM THE CANADIAN WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION(CWTA).
Marketing has as much important as content provision if one wants to make money on
this alternative mass medium, the mobile medium. Short codes are tools for successful
marketing campaigns.
The tips outlined below were drawn from the document: “Tips for campaigns” by the
Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
Six tips I want to share with you are:
1. Clearly define your goals.
2. Make the short code campaign interactive.
3. It should be relevant.
4. Response Immediate!
5. Give it ease of use.
6. Provide opt-in, opt-out and help features.
CLEARLY DEFINE YOUR GOALS: Know what you want to achieve: increased
participation; target group feedback; new product introduction, brand awareness or
even brand loyalty? Your goal is much as important as getting the target group to
participate.
MAKE THE SHORT CODE CAMPAIGN INTERACTIVE: Reward participants. Be
generous and make sure they realize it.
IT SHOULD BE RELEVANT: Target-audience and situational relevancy of your
campaign will drive response. Imagine you want to promote a banking product, what
would be your target group, a gambling public or a set of young, mobile salary earners?
Would you want it to take place in conjunction with a sports event or an exhibition that
will draw stakeholders in the financial industry?
RESPONSE IMMEDIATE: Think immediacy of response. Always acknowledge the
participation of each and every mobile phone user. Be a gentleman. Never wait until your
support staff start logging customer calls as per the campaign.
GIVE IT EASE OF USE: Sending of the message should be easy, the messages short,
codes consistent and code retention a treat for even dummies.
PROVIDE OPT-IN, OPT-OUT AND HELP FEATURES: Oneth after a million times,
all short codes must be permission based! Opt-out should also be easy for mobile phone
users. We’re still in the middle of an internet spam filtering battle to create another
industry of mobile spam. Provide a “HELP” feature where mobile phone users can
receive more information. Employ user-friendly texts.
The CWTA site is: http://www.cwta.ca. If you write me, I can send you the document
through email.
Marketing has as much important as content provision if one wants to make money on
this alternative mass medium, the mobile medium. Short codes are tools for successful
marketing campaigns.
The tips outlined below were drawn from the document: “Tips for campaigns” by the
Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
Six tips I want to share with you are:
1. Clearly define your goals.
2. Make the short code campaign interactive.
3. It should be relevant.
4. Response Immediate!
5. Give it ease of use.
6. Provide opt-in, opt-out and help features.
CLEARLY DEFINE YOUR GOALS: Know what you want to achieve: increased
participation; target group feedback; new product introduction, brand awareness or
even brand loyalty? Your goal is much as important as getting the target group to
participate.
MAKE THE SHORT CODE CAMPAIGN INTERACTIVE: Reward participants. Be
generous and make sure they realize it.
IT SHOULD BE RELEVANT: Target-audience and situational relevancy of your
campaign will drive response. Imagine you want to promote a banking product, what
would be your target group, a gambling public or a set of young, mobile salary earners?
Would you want it to take place in conjunction with a sports event or an exhibition that
will draw stakeholders in the financial industry?
RESPONSE IMMEDIATE: Think immediacy of response. Always acknowledge the
participation of each and every mobile phone user. Be a gentleman. Never wait until your
support staff start logging customer calls as per the campaign.
GIVE IT EASE OF USE: Sending of the message should be easy, the messages short,
codes consistent and code retention a treat for even dummies.
PROVIDE OPT-IN, OPT-OUT AND HELP FEATURES: Oneth after a million times,
all short codes must be permission based! Opt-out should also be easy for mobile phone
users. We’re still in the middle of an internet spam filtering battle to create another
industry of mobile spam. Provide a “HELP” feature where mobile phone users can
receive more information. Employ user-friendly texts.
The CWTA site is: http://www.cwta.ca. If you write me, I can send you the document
through email.
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