INTRODUCTION TO MOBILE MARKETING

Mobile allows a brand or content provider to target subscribers with anytime, anywhere marketing. A consumer's mobile device is always on and always connected. That means always available. Brands can now access consumers when they're at home, at work, in the car, traveling, and so on. These consumers are in complete control of their mobile experience. When they choose to be engaged, they're more likely to want to buy. When integrated into a cross-media marketing communications campaign, mobile provides consumers with a flexible new medium to target. The industry has experienced near-hockey-stick vertical growth. In the U.S. alone, text campaigns (SMS) have experienced approximately 200 percent growth in adoption in the last year. No other marketing medium, not the Internet, out of home, or print, has experienced this level of adoption. And this is only beginning (text messaging is only one aspect of the mix). Mobile allows brands that have relied on traditional channels to create a more direct, sustained relationship with consumers. Mobile Accord targets its mobile marketing business toward nonprofits (NPO). They now have a more cost-effective means to target subscribers. Mobile provides a far more cost-effective channel than direct mail or telemarketing campaigns, which have traditionally been used by the nonprofits. For the non-mobile savvy, however, the terms and perceived complexity of the industry appear daunting. With abbreviations like "SMS," "PSMS," "WAP," and "MMS" and terms such as "mobile video" and "mobile

advertising," how does a brand begin to launch a mobile marketing campaign? In fact, it's very simple.

The key terms:

SMS (short message service): This is often referred to as "text" or

"text messaging." It's the ability to send text-based messages person to person (P2P); from person to application, such as a voting application (P2A); or application to person, as with an acknowledgement or information (A2P).

PSMS (premium SMS): Premium means the service user will be

charged an incremental fee instead of the basic text charge. The transaction usually involves participation in a program, purchase of a ring tone or wallpaper, or something similar.

WAP (wireless application protocol): WAP is simply the wireless

Web. When you access an Internet session on your mobile device, you access via a WAP session.

MMS (multimedia messaging service): Ever taken pictures with

your phone and sent them to friends or e-mailed them? That's MMS.

Mobile video: It's exactly what it sounds like: watching TV, music
videos, commercials, and so on from your mobile device.

Mobile advertising: Like Internet or TV advertising initiatives, this is

the ability to offer a call to action or brand banner within the mobile application, whether it's mobile Web (WAP), text messaging (SMS), pictures (MMS), or video.

Short codes: Cellular service providers offer short codes, made up of

four-digit numbers. Short codes can be used for voting, polling,

contests, surveys and direct marketing. They direct responses from mobile users to a database at the telecom operators' end, which is then analyzed. The data sourced from short codes can be used to track spending patterns. Individual tastes as well as the needs of millions of users can then be determined.

SMS marketing offers real-time information about the target base, is personalized, accurate and quantifiable. It is also location-sensitive, hence advertisers can evaluate demographic charts. Mobiles enable a marketer to reach out to a niche audience and deliver results in shortened time frames and quicker response times. Marketers who have used it are aware of its competitive advantage, available literally at the push of a button and have insisted on integrating the 4-digit short codes consistently across all campaigns. Currently, short codes allow mobile users to download ringtones and picture messages and even participate in tele-voting. Even at Rs 6-10 per ringtone, there are many takers. There are around 80,000 downloads a month. Per month, spice Telecom Company earns Rs 8 lakh-9 lakh just from short codes. Tele-voting applications have also successfully combined the reach of the TV and mobile to enable an interactive medium. Talent hunt shows such as Indian Idol have evoked a good response. Each short code attracts around two lakhs SMSs per month. The Indian Idol series received around 5.5 crore SMSs per day.

 Enterprise branding: A new trend in this domain is the use of short

codes by enterprises. Banking, insurance firms and airlines use this service to engage new customers. Companies are also attempting to market new products, such as a new credit card. The output of these trials is not up to the mark, though. While Bollywood and TV channels have popularized the use of short codes, new players such as consumer durables and FMCG companies are also getting into SMS advertising. Mobile marketing increases return on investment of all marketing campaigns when integrated with print, radio, television and promotional marketing.

Personal, private: As mobile phones form an integral part of

consumers' lives, advertisements can also be personalized. They also reach out to customers advertisers find hard to contact. The cell phone is a personal agent, a hotline to our customers. With mobiles, we can reach them 24x7. The ad industry is also facing a hurdle - many mobile users do not appreciate push-based SMS marketing. Most feel it is an intrusion into their privacy. The challenge is to ensure that the advertisers make the SMS more engaging. According to a study conducted by Lintas Media Services, 66 per cent of Indian youth were willing to accept advertising through SMS on their cell phones. Any form of promotion involving a scratch card or a contest form excites the consumers; there is also a greater inclination to participate using interactive media, namely, SMS and e-mail.

On average, an Indian mobile user gets six SMSs and sends four a day. Brands are taking advantage of this to reach customers in newer ways. IT sits pretty in your pocket, buzzing with information on new deals and offers. It's one of the latest media the advertising industry has hit upon a quick and easy way to reach consumers. The short messaging service (SMS) on your mobile phone offers advertisers a simple method of reaching millions. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the number of mobile users at end-November 2005 stood at a little over 7 crore. The Indian advertising industry itself is worth over Rs 13,000 crore. Of this, SMS marketing is pegged at around Rs 1 crore, but is growing at a scorching rate. Telecom companies such as Bharti Televentures, Spice Telecom and

Tata Telecom have jumped right into this mission. Around 60 per cent of their revenue from the text messaging service comes from SMS advertising, say industry experts. The telecom industry can reap benefits from SMS marketing as long as text messaging remains the number one data service available across societies According to a survey by Swedish mobile communications company Smart Trust, messaging services and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) have become hugely important to operators keen to raise average revenue per user.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MOBILE CHANNEL

There are a few misconceptions about the mobile channel. Let's straighten them out with the facts:

Belief: Mobile is best suited for the teen market. Fact: Though mobile is certainly better suited for those 35 years of age and under, it certainly spans age groups. New campaigns and initiatives are focused on the older demographics and include automotive campaigns, loyalty programs, fundraising, and sports and

entertainment marketing. The mobile demographic is beginning to skew more broadly, so don't feel restricted by age. M: Metrics research also shows the majority of mobile users are employed full time. That means the mobile demographic has a higher basis of disposable income. Determine your segment, and develop the campaign accordingly.

Belief: Mobile is an extremely difficult channel to use and is hard to understand and navigate. Fact: Due to the commonality of standards and the adoption of industry best practices, mobile is a very easy channel to use, once you find the right partner to help guide you through the process.

Belief: Mobile makes for fast campaign deployment. Fact: Mobile marketing programs do require lead time and may even require more lead time than you anticipate. Plan accordingly. Integrating mobile into a campaign requires as much preplanning as print or TV.

Bottom line: adding mobile to your initiatives is a process of iterative refinement, not reckless creativity. The mobile channel offers substantial benefits to agencies, brands, and consumers. Mobile is now a mainstream marketing element.

WHAT MOBILE MARKETING IS ALL ABOUT?

Mobile marketing is a part of integrated marketing communication that provides a level of interaction and direct connection with end customers. The ease of one-to-one communication has popularized mobile marketing greatly. A study conducted by mobile agency Enpocket and research firm

ICM interviewed over 5000 end customers and covered a selection of 150 mobile marketing campaigns. The study showed that brand awareness in mobile marketing was 12 per cent higher than that in radio and television campaigns. According to Forrester Research, mobile marketing response rates are up to five times higher than those of direct marketing. The average response rate to an SMS campaign is some 8-11 per cent and average campaign cost is relatively low. To put it simply, mobile marketing is all about making effective marketing campaigns by using mobile messaging as a channel between a brand and a consumer. By sending marketing messages about a brand, the business owner can use mobile marketing as a direct, immediate and personal interactive channel to the consumer. This can be used in a number of ways, such as customer acquisition and retention, loyalty programs, product launches, brand-awareness, redemption and m-coupon services. Mobile marketing can also be effectively used for direct marketing that can earn revenue in lieu of news and information services. This can also be used for time and location specific promotions. Mobile marketing is effective enough to build a two-way relationship between the brand and the consumer, and serves to generate greater consumer awareness and purchase intentions.

MOBILE MARKETING GIVES AN EDGE

Keeping in mind the growing popularity of mobile phones, its understandable that marketers take mobile marketing as a great business

opportunity. Mobile marketing can yield positive results for some customers, but, at the same time, might annoy other customers. It can consolidate, but also destroy a relationship between a brand and a prospect if not used properly. It is important to understand how mobile marketing can work effectively: Personal touch: As mobile phones are supposedly personal tools, the mobile numbers are like ID cards. This gives marketers a possibility of precise targeting. This helps in making a personal connection with the customer. Direct: Wireless communication is person to person and in context with mobile marketing, it is company to person communication. There is no intermediary, no distributor, no retailer between the brand and the consumers. Immediate: Mobile marketing has the advantage of speed of communication. Numerous messages can be sent in a second to various users. Reliable: This is a reliable method and gives the business owner a chance to know and monitor when a message is delivered. Two way: Mobile marketing facilitates two-way communication. The marketer or business owner can talk and can listen to the customer. You can even engage them in a relationship with your brand through a direct and personal interaction. Measurable: This provides you a chance to monitor your campaign with extreme precision. The response rate and response time can be quickly measured.

PLANNING FOR MOBILE MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

Mobile marketing campaigns need to be extremely focused so that the marketer hits the target in the first place and avoids wastage on mobile calls and SMS. Also, the quality of the message forwarded must be maintained. For a company initiating mobile marketing, media creation and campaign support as well as technology aspects must be taken into consideration. Ensure that you make sufficient use of databases to get the best return on investment. Some important points that one needs to keep in mind are as follows:

Consultancy and campaign planning: Ideally, a consultant can help

in streamlining all the work related to database sourcing, copy writing, branding via mobile, interactivity, MMS design, premium rate, IVR integration, market research, etc. To avoid unnecessary complexity, customized programming for interactive marketing campaigns such as Txt n Win competitions, quizzes and instant prize draws can be implemented. Other attention drawers are applications like SMS games, polls, voting solutions and market research. The recent success of a TV programme, Indian Idol, was largely due to the effective use of a mobile voting campaign.

Technology aspect: Technology awareness is a must. To ensure

high-quality SMS delivery at low cost, you must personalize messages, premium SMS short codes and delivery reporting. Mobile CRM is important to generate an opt-in mobile database, amend existing databases with mobile records and to run ones own mobile CRM programme. Using

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features like mobile entertainment, mobile voting, mobile coupons, multi media message (MMS) is also important.

LIMITATIONS OF MOBILE MARKETING

Mobile marketing has come up as an important campaign tool, but it has some restrictions which have to be kept in mind by the marketers and the business owners:

Its not a mass marketing tool, as it would be too expensive to reach

out to the mass audience on the mobile phone. Also, this allows brands to deliver a message that is closer to the concept of personal selling rather than that of advertising. An SMS has a limited length, 160 characters. The limitation is that message needs to be confined to 160 characters only. An unsolicited commercial message could harm the relationship between your brand and the audience. The uneducated people who use mobile but cannot read the message will have no effect of these messages on them. All said and done, mobile marketing has come up as a great marketing medium. According to a survey conducted recently, more than eight million people are using mobile phones in India, while 60 per cent of the mobile phone users prefer to communicate using SMS or text messaging. This speaks a lot about the potential of mobile marketing

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WHY IS MOBILE MARKETING IMPORTANT?

Text message alerts on your phone are great, especially if you're running around. Not all phones have e-mail access, but every (cell) phone has text messaging. Text messaging has evolved into a powerful non-voice form of communication for cell phone users, especially younger subscribers who love to trade short notes and updates. The practice has grown in just a few years to the point where more than one-third of cell phone users regularly send and receive text messages, most of them personal. Now businesses, governments and nonprofit groups are increasingly finding it handy to provide a wide array of services and information. In the process they are finding out that text messaging can reach an unusually large audience, is easy to use and offers an immediacy not found in voice calls, e-mail or instant messaging. Already texting, as it is commonly called, is being used to handle a number of tasks, from delivering bank account balances and dispensing medical advice to coordinating emergency response and providing coupons and marketing pitches. Text messaging had an inauspicious debut in the 1980s when phone companies used it to alert cell phone users about incoming voice mails. By the 1990s, text messaging caught on in Europe, where it flourished as a lowcost alternative to regular phone calls. Text messaging has been more

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popular in Europe and Asia, where 70 percent or more of cell phone customers use it. In some countries, including Ireland, more than 80 percent use text messages. But it hasn't caught on as quickly in the United States, in part because people could not send messages to subscribers of a different cellular service until rather recently.

The relatively low cost of voice minutes in the United States compared with other countries also kept U.S. subscribers from taking up the habit. Mobile marketing is important because of following reasons: 1) Text to anyone: This changed some years ago, when texting caught on with teens and young adults after phone companies began allowing text messages to flow between their networks. Television shows like "American Idol," which allows viewers to text in their votes, have also given the medium a boost. Now, about 35 percent of mobile phone users text at least occasionally, paying either 10 cents a message or a flat monthly fee for unlimited messages. About 48 percent of people said they will probably use text messaging in the coming year, according to M: Metrics, a mobile marketing research firm. According to the wireless industry association CTIA, 9.8 billion messages were sent in December 2005, up from 2.1 billion in the same month in 2003. Texting is one major factor behind the runaway popularity of cell phones. There are 215 million cell phone users in the country, compared with 204

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million Internet users. Companies, banks and government agencies are looking for ways to expand their use of text messaging. eBay said its customers can now receive text alerts when they are outbid for an auction item. They can also re-bid via text message. Google and other search companies like 4INFO have begun using text messaging to deliver search results over a mobile phone. Airlines including Southwest, United and American offer text message alerts about flights.

Banks and other financial groups are also getting into the act. Secure Wireless Transfers of Orange County is a new company that will provide bank account and credit card balances via text messages starting next month. It will also send alerts about account activity. San Mateo's Clickatell, one of the leaders in bringing text messaging to the corporate world, helps FedEx alert customers when a package is about to be delivered. They've also enabled security firms like ADT to notify homeowners when their burglar alarms have been tripped. Pieter De Villiers, CEO of Clickatell, said text messaging is an ideal way to contact people because the message will reach them wherever they are in the previous world, you would call someone's home or office. Now with mobile phones you're contacting an actual person. We're communicating with people, not places.

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2) Powerful marketing tool: It's certainly proven popular with for people who want daily feeds on everything from weather, news and sports to Bible verses. Text messaging is also becoming a powerful marketing tool. In its World Cup commercials, Adidas includes a five-digit short code. A short code is a way that companies and organizations can deliver information to people. When a person sends a text message to a short code, the company will reply with information or an invitation to receive future updates and offers. Snapple recently started a campaign where customers collected raffle numbers from their bottle caps and participated in drawings via text message. Movie posters are starting to sport short codes that provide information about the movie.

Enpocket, the Boston mobile marketing company behind the Snapple campaign, is also working with several East Coast radio stations to let people request songs via text messages. The stations message the listener 15 minutes before their song is to be played. With text messages, you can send messages and you can get an instant reply. The phone becomes a remote control for life. In India many radio station accepted song request through messages, for eg. Radio city, Red FM etc. Government agencies and nonprofit groups are also realizing the advantages of texting. San Francisco's Public Health Department recently began offering information about sexually transmitted diseases via text messages. Starting last year, cell phone subscribers could sign up for Amber Alerts about

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missing children. And the San Francisco Neighborhood Parks Council ran a disaster drill in April in which dozens of volunteers reported conditions from around the city using text messages. 3) Emergency uses: Messages are a valuable emergency tool because they are more reliable than phone calls and use less battery power. After Hurricane Katrina, most voice calls failed to connect but text messages could be delivered. During Katrina and the London subway bombing, the only way people could communicate was over text because the voice lines were jammed. It remained open or didn't doesn't get clogged up as quickly. Text messaging also is credited with influencing elections in the Philippines, Spain and South Korea. Experts said it will be only a matter of time before text messages play a role in U.S. elections. One of the organizations looking to take advantage of that potential is San Francisco's Music for America and its nonprofit arm MFAC3, which recently began enlisting musicians to get people to register to vote via cell phone.

An artist at a concert can now direct people to text a keyword to a short code, allowing them to receive voter registration forms in the mail or by email. MFAC3 plans to follow up by texting people on Election Day to remind them to vote. 4) What about Spam? With this growing interest in text messaging comes the potential that it can be used for Spam. Though some subscribers have encountered isolated

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cases of unsolicited messages, text Spam has not approached the volume of unsolicited e-mail messages. That's because carriers have been vigilant about patrolling their networks for mass text message senders and are quick to suspend numbers that are being used for spam. Companies also have been required subscribers to consent to marketing messages. And because text messages cost an average of 10 cents and e-mail is practically free, fewer people send Spam via phones. The companies remain on guard. 5) The power of text messaging Virtually all cell phones sold today can send and receive text messages. A cell phone subscriber can send a short message of up to 160 characters to any other text-enabled cell phone number or to a 5-digit short code, which acts as an address for companies and other organizations. Users can give their permission to receive alerts or they can text in requests for deals, contests or information. Each message typically costs 10 cents and is sent in a short package

of data that is continually transmitted until it arrives at its destination. One message can usually be sent to up to 25 people at one time.

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6) Health: San Francisco Public Health Department dispenses medical information about sexually transmitted diseases via text messages. While the H1N1 virus was spread in India many messages were sent by government to let the people known the symptoms and precautionary steps to protect them from such deadly virus. 7) Financial: Banks and financial companies are providing alerts for account activity. The leading banks provide the facilities like SMS banking. They provide facility to operate their account, pay bills, to transfer money etc. through SMS. 8) Political: Music for America is registering voters via text messages. Many political leaders promote themselves by sending messages having their promises as their message content. 9) Advertising: Advertisers are using text messages on posters, commercials and banners to reach out to consumers, offering them coupons, discounts or deals. There are many source of advertising in mobile marketing for the Website www.mytoday.com provides new through SMS but the 80 characters out of 160 characters are advertisement. 10) Education: Teachers can update parents and students on upcoming assignments or alert them to emergency situations. Now- a- days many teachers links themselves with students through SMS. 11) Commerce: eBay users can get alerts when they are outbid on auctions and are given the opportunity to up their bid via text messages.

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CURRENT MARKET SITUATION

For marketers, mobile marketing and advertising has great promise, it combines the wide reach of television with the precision of direct marketing and the tracking potential of the Internet. It enables marketers to create permission-based marketing campaigns rapidly and cost-effectively in the most personal of all media is mobile. For mobile operators, mobile marketing and advertising promises an opportunity to engage with a new set of enterprise customers (brands and advertising agencies) and develop a new and potentially lucrative revenue stream, and to drive demand for their own mobile data and content services too. For consumers, mobile marketing and advertising may provide cheaper or even free communications and entertainment services on their phones and a convenient way to interact with the brands they like. Billion dollar bonanza: The firms latest market research study indicates that mobile advertising is a huge opportunity with the potential to generate in excess of $1 billion in annual revenues by 2010 for ad spend, and to facilitate far more in mobile commerce transactions. But it warns that the development of a robust and profitable mobile marketing and advertising market will only be possible if the major players -- operators, handset vendors, content providers, advertisers and Internet portals -- collaborate effectively. It also predicts that the extent of this collaboration may be

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limited as the motivations and objectives of some of the key players will inevitably conflict.

CAMPAIGN ROLLOUT FOR MOBILE MARKETING

Steps involved:

Keep your text messages simple and use plain English. The more complex language can loose the interest of receiver.

Avoid over zealous use of exclamation marks and capitalization. Do not put spaces in telephone numbers but include them as a single number so they can be dialed easily from within the message. This makes the prompt feedback from receiver easy.

Plan your communications in advance and keep a record of what you have done and to whom. Which can be used as evidence in some suspicious cases.

Offer a mobile option alongside other response methods advertised in traditional media let the consumer choose

Promote the mobile option on communications to reinforce the option Consider an incentive for choosing the mobile channel, especially if your operational (acquisition/service) costs are reduced through this medium

Allow opt-outs via text, web and through your front desk and highlight these clearly

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Train all customer-facing staff in your permission/privacy policy including how to manually record of opt-outs

Keep your database up to date. Draft your message in such a way that attracts the receiver. If you are going to be coordinating candidates make sure they can reply to your text message, i.e. your software handles and re-routes the reply.

The software you use should be capable of supporting a thread so that a conversation of several text messages is grouped together on screen for ease of use.

Finally, when you run an advertisement for a job include a text-back call to action with a unique code being the job itself and prospects can find out more. If they send their house number and postcode you can post a job summary or if they text their email address you can automate an email reply even containing an interactive questionnaire.

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TYPES OF MOBILE MARKETING

To get maximum benefits out of mobile marketing, it is important to understand the kind of mobile marketing that is possible. By knowing more about various types of mobile marketing options, one can plan an effective strategy. Lets look at the types of mobile marketing that are available:

Message-based marketing using SMS and MMS. Short message

service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS) gives marketers an opportunity to send marketing messages, strategy or campaigns to the customer.SMS is broadly used as present marketing tool because it has provided the positive result in global business scenario. SMS is quick, silent and can be effective in capturing hot leads. MMS adds value to the messages by combining text, sounds, images and animation. But it has relatively less popularity then SMS because it is

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more costly and requires WAP or GPRS services activated from the service providers.

Voice-based marketing. The response rate is high in voice-based

marketing as the communication is on a one-to-one basis. Speaking on the mobile and passing on the marketing details is a better option.

Voicemail marketing. This is an upcoming means of mobile marketing, wherein the marketers as can simply leave their prerecorded voice mail messages to their prospect clients. This is as similar to voice-based marketing but in this only one side communication is done. It also has limitation like retrieving the message for three times charges some bucks.

HOW IS MOBILE MARKETING DONE?

1) SMS on Short Code: Short Code is one unique 3 or 4 digit number active across various operators, which has a SMS gateway. Charged at Rs.2/- or Rs.3/- to the subscriber depending on the operator. Each subscriber can get 2 messages free of cost for 1 message sent on any premium number. One billion SMS are sent per month by subscribers in India. Short Codes are mostly used for Lead generation, Contests and Polls.

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Works the same on CDMA and GSM technology. SMS is the cheapest medium for Direct Marketing.

2) Advergaming:

Mobile gaming: There's been a lot of hype lately about gaming,

advergaming, and the role both play in the mobile marketing value chain. Brands can use mobile games for brand awareness, premium content revenue, product placement, and so on. Games can help integrate fun and entertainment into the mobile consumer's experience, driving overall adoption of mobile and brand participation.

Mobile Advergaming: Advergaming basically promotes a product or

service throughout the game. Many brands already leverage advergaming in campaigns. CoverGirl recently offered visitors to its site a mobile game download for "Girls' Night out Solitaire." Site visitors received $1.00 off the $5.99 mobile game download just for visiting the site. If consumers entered the UPC code for the LashExact product, they received $2.00 off the game

download. CoverGirl also tempted visitors to the site with tie-in promotional prizes. The game not only featured brand sponsorship but also included brand or product placement within the game. e.g.

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 Teen Expectations: It is discovered teenagers expected to be marketed

to on their phones, similar to how the Internet, TV, and other media work. In regard to gaming, teens anticipate and expect advertising, special offers, email, and SMS messages advising them of new games, incentives, and ways to rate and share games. Teens are surprised that there aren't more games that tie into the brands they recognize (they're actually looking for television and movie references). Teens expect advertising in their gaming experience, particularly if it leads to discounts or incentives.

Conclusion: Advertising dominates every sphere of our life, the Internet,

television, and outdoors. Ads are everywhere, and mobile is no exception. Ads are being rolled out or trialed in messaging, mobile Web, video, and downloads. As with every other advertising medium, ads will play a role in the mobile channel. Advergaming presents an opportunity for brands to reach consumer. If the demographic target is ideal and fun is a focus, try offering games as part of your mobile marketing mix.

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3) Mobile Applications: Informative and useful Java application that can be downloaded onto the Mobile phone just as a Game. The content could be sponsored by the brand, Brand placements inside the application or the content could be about the Brand like address of consumer touch point, Product catalogues & Mobile Brochure. e.g.

4) WAP (wireless application protocol) Site: WAP site is a physical space that hosts Mobile content and can be sourced through GPRS compatible handsets. Most commonly visited WAP sites for content: Hutch World. Airtel Live.

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 BPL MiZone. Yahoo India. Rediff. Mobile2win. Indiagames. Mauj.com Idea

Operator WAP portals still contribute 75% of Indias mobile space. GPRS Rentals have come down from Rs.499/- to Rs.99/- in the past eight months. State owned BSNL just started their GPRS service increasing the reach to Rural e.g. of a wap site

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5) Mobile Content: Wallpapers, Ring tones (Polytones, Truetones, Monophonic), Screensavers, Themes, SMS Tones and Logos are the universally accepted content on mobile. Cost for mobile content varies from Rs.7/- to Rs.30/-. Bollywood still dominates 75% of the Mobile content in India, followed by Cricket and International Music.

Branded content like Brand Jingle Ring tone, Brand ambassadors wallpapers and themes are also created and distributed through various channels on mobile.

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6) R-World The R-World is the application developed by Reliance Telecom. It is been developed for reliance CDMA mobile phone. Which provides following 1. Live Cricket Score. 2. Statistic. 3. Profiles. 4. Contests. 5. Ringtones. 6. News. 7. Jokes. 8. Astrology.

7) Bluecasting: A high traffic area such as a mall/multiplex hoarding location is required. The hoarding will announce, You have entered the XYZ (brand) Casting Zone. Switch on your blue tooth application to receive Free Ring Tones / Screen Savers / MMS/ Wallpapers / special videos the user will switch on his blue tooth. As this is user initiated it is not spamming. When a user is within the proximity of a BlueCast server and makes their handset discoverable the Blue Cast server identifies their device via its blue tooth ID and serves the content in accordance to the compatibility of the handset. Users phone locates blue tooth server. The server will identify the users unique ID. It will then check if the users phone is compatible to receive this data. Server asks permission to transfer data.

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User responds and starts receiving the content on its cell phone. It then rests with the user and he could view the content whenever he/she wants to do the same. A web-based access would be given to understand how many persons interacted with the brand and downloaded content. 8) IVRS: We can have a dedicated system, which allows the consumer to interact with the brand, and it could be for contests/ offers/or any brand promotion the brand wants to do. This could be a dedicated no = XX on your handset and this would be connected across operators pan India. It would be advertised across mass media so that the customers are aware that they need to call this no to avail/know relevant discounts. E.g. FOR ICICI Cr CARD: A person carrying a Gold card could press 1 and all the benefits/discounts of a Gold card would be told to him and he can then all the places where he can redeem his points could be mentioned..similarly for all other silver/executive card members. 9) Mobile Shopping/Auction Portal: Now-a-days there are contests like bid2win through which you can make an reverse auction and win many things like cell phones, laptops, etc. Many offer exits in present market like Bid the unique and small amount and win prices.

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THE INTERACTIVE SCENE IN INDIA

Currently, the total mobile marketing industry is pegged at Rs 100 crore in Indiaand is said to be growing exponentially, albeit on a small base. Advertising agencies aver that some corporates insist that about 2% of their total media spend should be allocated to mobile campaigns. The return on ROI is high. Recently, Coca-Cola has opted for only wireless marketing to promote its brand Sprite. Players like Nokia and HBO are focusing on mobile marketing to gain visibility. The trend is really catching upespecially in the past some year. Its a cost-effective way to create a wireless database for future marketing activities too. Unlike other devices/media, the handset is a non-share device. Thats an area open to marketers for leverage. Mobile marketing has taken off for good because technology innovations have allowed marketers to conduct campaigns across carriers. Dedicated agencies have sprung up that smartly created the means for brands to monetize the channel and to make it fun for consumers. Since mobile devices are something that people carry with them all the time and

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are connected to the world around them, it has become a perfect marketing tool for advertisers, What has also helped is the alacrity with which people have taken to the hand-held device in India. According to Cellular Operators Association on India estimates, the GSM mobile subscriber base crossed the 70 million mark in April 2006. The subscriber base grew from 69.2 million as on March 2006 to 72.12 million as on April 2006recording an addition of 2.93 million during the month.

Little wonder that media planners and buyers are gung-ho. Mobiles are being used to sell lotteries to fast food joints to financial services to even FMCGs. Many like Cadbury, Tata AIG, Asian Paints and Godrej are using mobile as a media platform. The Internet, which has a penetration of 3.4%, has about 200 odd advertisers; but mobile has only 80 odd advertisers with three times penetration (8.8%). To give a quick comparison, the Internet and Mobile Association of India estimates that the online population in India stands at 38 million, while the online advertising market is pegged at Rs 162 crore. The mobile subscriber base in India grew 66.5 percent in 2007 and touched 68.5 million people, as compared to 47.4 million in 2006. During the current Indian financial year (2008-09), ecommerce transactions' value is expected to rise 95 percent (i.e. reach 2.3 billion Indian Rupees) when compared to the corresponding figure in 2007-08.

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The above figures are definitely encouraging for players in the Indian interactive marketing arena. These include the advertising agencies, marketers and intermediaries such as website publishers and telecom operators. Such is the importance attached to interactive marketing that a couple of years ago, Ad Club Bombay-- one of India's leading advertising communities-- instituted a new category called New Interactive Media in its awards called Abbies. Ads created for Pepsi and Coca-Cola, posted on Yahoo! India and Hungama respectively, were two of the winners in this category in 2007. In the 2006 Abbies, O&M and Web Chutney bagged the Golds in the Interactive Digital Marketing category for ads for their clients HT Matrimonial Services and Makemytrip (a travel portal) respectively.

Recent initiatives: The following table lists some of the recent Indian interactive campaigns: Marketer Lufthansa Product Category Airline Mobile auction of a few tickets between New Delhi and New York Kelloggs Cereals SMS-based contest, to promote Iron Shakti ingredient in its cornflakes Sony Media Identification of a Brief Description

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Entertainment Television

tune (program titled Kuch Kehti Hai Ye Dhun) played on TV, through SMS responses

Wrigleys

Chewing gum

Question/answer SMS contest, to promote its Meetha Fresh flavor of chewing gum

Smirnoff

Alcoholic Beverage

SMS-based contest to create buzz around a theme party (Smirnoff Experience)

Coca-Cola

Soft drink

Interactive SMS promotion to promote Vanilla Coke

Dominos Pizza Convenienc Interactive SMSe food based promotion to create hype around its new product Cinnastix Nestle Beverage Online advergame, to promote its instant coffee brand Nescafe Yamaha Automotive Online game, to promote its bikes As it is evident from the table, across different product categories marketers are treading the interactive path to consumers' hearts and minds. To elicit

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proper responses to the contests, marketers dole out attractive prizes, such as mobile phones, T-shirts, CDs, vouchers redeemable at department stores, audio systems, TVs, etc.

WHY MOBILE MARKETING IN INDIA?

Mobile phone has become an extension of our arms today. Very Personal One to One environment. Immediate and effortless response mechanism. Boost effectiveness of traditional promotional channels with Mobile Interactivity. Cost effective and measurable. Easiest interactive address to remember amongst Web, Toll-free or Postal.

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Customized, high quality, branded content.

Indian market:
Mobile subscribers (Millions)
280 240 200 160 120 75 48

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

HURDLES IN MOBILE MARKETING

There are other potential hurdles. For example, the impact of advertising messages may be diluted or even backfire, if the limitations of small screen devices and mobile networks are not adequately compensated for and technical issues such as inter-operator and device interoperability are overlooked. It also warns that significant commitments and investment by major brands might not materialize due to uncertainty regarding timing of key technology developments, e.g. availability of ubiquitous, low cost and

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high speed mobile access, mobile broadcast TV, alternative DRM and mobile payment systems. The study demonstrates that rather than mobile operators driving this market, it is small, entrepreneurial mobile marketing specialists or innovative, established advertising agencies, which are creating the impetus. Marketers are searching for more effective mechanisms for influencing buying behavior, partially because the effectiveness of traditional media such as TV is decreasing as technological and cultural trends are heavily influencing patterns of media consumption, especially in the youth market -an important demographic for advertisers. Problem 1. The Short Code Process It can take months to register short codes with a carrier. These are special 4and 5-digit numbers that can be used to address messages from mobile phones (GOOGLE, 46645, Mozes, 66937, and American Idol voting, 7827). Agencies are frustrated by it. So are their clients who get sold on a big idea and then learn they cant execute it until a lengthy bureaucratic process is cleared.

So people are trying to find workarounds. One emerging application that had people buzzing involves visual recognition technology, which allows a consumer to take a picture of a static page or billboard using a cell phone and the image automatically gets them to more information -- as if they had entered a short code.

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But short codes have their purpose. Tagging the product with a short code is a common practice in Europe, and its expected to occur in a major way this year in the US. Nesquik tagged more than 40 million bottles for a recent promotion. Problem 2. Ad Buying Isnt Easy Enough Advertisers are looking for efficiency. They buy only those ads which are most efficient. Problem 3. Selling Mobile Content Advertisers eager to bypass the restrictions and the tariff charged by the mobile carriers are aggressively looking to market their services directly to consumers and go off deck, where they will not appear on the actual cell phone menu. But doing this adds a new wrinkle: finding a way to bill the consumer for subscription services. Anil Malhotra, Senior VP of Marketing and Alliances at payment processor Bango, had people lined up in the exhibit area to hear how his company helps marketers do it. One client, Hearst Communications built a branded mobile site for readers of Cosmopolitan, CosmoGIRL! And Seventeen offering pay-per-download and subscription services such as ring tones, wallpapers and Cosmo Hunks and horoscopes. Print ads are used to promote the mobile offerings. One interested prospect was Charlie Minesinger, VP/Business Development for QMobile, which sells downloadable ring tones, chat & other services. His biggest frustration? The carriers antiquated billing systems. Dropped signals and other service problems result in a high rate of failure to complete billing for services.

ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE USED MOBILE MARKETING 38

BlueFire Digital has released a new mobile marketing product

to allow digital signage network operators to reach consumers on their mobile phones and PDAs. BlueFire MS Standard Edition uses Bluetooth wireless technology to bring music, video trailers, ring tones, wallpapers, promotional items, coupons, and catalogs to customers mobile devices without airtime charges.

A NeoMedia Technologies, Inc.company, in cooperation with

its FunkTicket AG partner, brewed up a mobile couponing beer deal for fans attending FIFA World Cup games that took place in Kaiserslautern, Germany. To participate, fans call a hotline or send a text message (SMS) with their name and the catchphrase "Bewegungsmelder Bier." They then receive a money-off coupon in the form of a smart code on their mobile phone, which they take to the beer stand at the World Cup soccer stadium. The smart code displayed on the screen of the cell phone is then scanned by Gavitec's EXIO scanner, which instantly prints a coupon which can be redeemed to save EUR 2 (approximately $2.60) off the price of a Bitburger beer, drawn from the tap of Germany's second biggest brewery. NeoMedia's Gavitec AG developed the hardware scanners to enable the innovative FIFA World Cup mobile couponing program for fans with partners including FunkTicket, Bitburger beer, handypoints.de, and Pavillion.

NDTV 24x7: NDTV 24x7 launched a current affairs show You

Decide, hosted by staffer Vikram Chandra. The show takes up topical issues and involves the viewer in the panel discussion by asking him to vote on the issue by sending an SMS.

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As the votes keep coming in, the poll results, displayed on the screen, keep viewers glued to the channel.

Indian Idol, the music contest on Sony TV, involves voting via SMS as
well as through the internet. Worldwide, the `Idol series elicits nearly 100 million responses, generating huge SMS traffic.

Star Plus reverse auction for jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh (promoted

through its serial Kahin to Hoga...) evoked six million SMS in three weeks, a response Star India claims was the biggest generated by the network in Asia.

Celltick has launched a new service that allows companies to buy

space on your mobile phone's idle screen. Celltick's new service is called LiveScreen Media, which makes it possible for companies to advertise and sponsor content teasers on its original LiveScreen platform. LiveScreen Media delivers teaser messages directly onto the phones idle screen when and only when it is not in use. The teasers can take the form of sponsored content, brand campaigns or promotional messages. For example, users can select to receive news headlines, traffic reports, games, sports updates or alerts about sales. When subscribers see anything that interests them, all they have to do is click once to access associated content or services.

Lifetime Television ran a six-week Watch, Bid and Win campaign,

which allowed players to bid on items tied into programming. Ratings spiked and it introduced text messaging to the channels older demographic audience, even prompting some viewers to buy new phones

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specifically so they could participate.

Education was crucial for the campaign to work. It included an explicit video step-through of the process tied into a trivia challenge involving watching the days shows. Lifetime also used its Web site to drive participation. Customer service staffers were on call to walk people through the process. To show for its efforts, Lifetime now has a phone list of 8,500 viewers.

PVR Cinemas will launch mobile ticketing across India in September

06. The solution allows one to search and select the movie, and enter the theater without having to by a paper ticket. OnMobile CO. is testing mticketing in Bangalore. Currently around 7% ticket sales in PVR Bangalore take place using m ticketing. They expect mobile users to adopt the m-ticket in a big way as it allows them the convenience of sitting at home and booking a movie ticket. The tickets, however, are going to be more expensive. Fame Cinemas Launches Mobile Ticketing

Indiantelevision.com: Fame Cinemas has launched mobile ticketing and its available in Mumbai, Pimpri (Pune) and Kolkata where the multiplexes are located. People can now book movie tickets of any Fame Multiplexes by a voice-recognition service and pay through their credit card. The service is powered by OnMobile and is available for Hutch, Airtel and Idea subscribers.

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FUTURE OF MOBILE MARKETING

Mobile Marketing May Hit 10 in 2010 According to a report released by the Shosteck Group, the mobile advertising industry will be worth $10 billion dollars by 2010. Shosteck points out the three advantages that mobile has over other forms of advertising, the ability to target ads by location, the ability to personalize ads to a particular user, and the ability to run time-sensitive campaigns. The report points out the increasing availability of multimedia phones, the publics increasing interest in mobile multimedia content, and the growing number of mobile services, which have led to the increasing appeal of mobile as an advertising platform. Mobile advertising will be a necessary driver for the development and commercialization of the mobile Internet. The two mobile advertising and mobile content are inextricably linked. The success of one will enable the success of the other and vice versa. Is Mobile Advertising Good for Mobile? The industry could grow to as much as $9.6 billion by 2010 under ideal conditions. But it also says that mobile providers, phone manufacturers, content providers and advertisers need to be able to cooperate effectively. While SMS, or text messaging, is currently used in conjunction with other media, such as TV, radio or the Internet, the setting up of 3G networks will make the mobile phone a

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complete tool for marketers. Industry sources predict that wireless advertising will go mainstream only the next year. That will see the advent of location-based services, paid downloads over wireless broadband and mobile discount coupons. Location-based services will inform mobile users about sales or events happening in the vicinity. Users will be able to download ebooks or videos over mobile broadband, and pay for it through m-banking.

Brand exercises will include discount coupons sent over telecom networks in the form of M-coupons. M-coupons are all set to hit Indian cities early next year. So that offer on a pizza may no longer reveal itself through pesky pamphlets floating out of the newspaper but turn into another beep on your mobile phone.

CASE STUDY ON MOBILE MARKETING

GROUP M INDIA PVT LTD Background GroupM, the world's leading full-service media investment management operation, was created by WPP to oversee its assets in this sector. These assets include MediaCom Worldwide, Mediaedge:cia Global, Mindshare Worldwide and MAXUS. The focus of GroupM is the intelligent application of volume and scale in trading, innovation and quality of services, in order to bring benefit to clients and the companies it operates. GROUP M is created by WPP group. It is a media-buying agency. It advertises on the behalf of other companies. It has 400 hundred clients in India. E.G. Pepsi, ICICI. It has offices in almost all countries.

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Mobile marketing process When companies want to do mobile marketing of their product or services they give ads. GROUP M pitches on to this with their quotations. The co. and GROUP M management prepare their terms and conditions. If the co. accepts it then annual contract is signed between the two. Actual process After getting the orders, GROUP M hires a short code with all leading mobile networks. For e.g. 3636 and 7827. The messages that are to be sent are put on the server. When the customer replies to that short code, they get a reply, which is nothing but the message that was put on the server. Their clients decide messages that are sent to the customer. Thus GROUP M helps their clients in mobile marketing. They act as agents. Mobile marketing has been introduced in India three years back. GROUP M is into mobile marketing from past two years. GROUP M does advertising through other mediums also like television, print, hoardings, online. Percentage of advertising through above mediums is shown below in the

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form of pie diagram.

2% 8% 10% 20% 60%

television print hoardings online mobile marketing

Mobile marketing is only 2% but it is growing very fast and co. is now concentrating more on mobile marketing. Right now it is not the best advertising method of the co. but in future it is expected that co. will do more than 20% of its business through mobile marketing. The focus of the co. is on the youths. Because youths use cell phones more for downloading various things like ringing tones, wallpapers, games, etc. so the market audience is youth. After GROUP M has introduced mobile marketing their customer response has increased. It has proved beneficial both to the co. as well as its customers. Benefits that the co. has received by introducing mobile marketing are as follows:

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1) Cost effective: - In a lesser cost mass number of customers can be

attracted.

2) One-to one: - It helps in building a direct contact with the customer.

Company can know that the customer has got the message regarding its product or service.

3) Faster: - It is faster than other advertising methods. People carry cell

phones with them regularly so it is an easy approach. Customers can respond at the same time.

4) Brand image: - It has improved companys brand image as mass

number of people now know about the co. and its services. Mobile marketing has helped increased their profits because of the above benefits. It has also increased the number of customers. Their customers now prefer mobile marketing with other advertising methods. Competitors The competitors of GROUP M are MOBILE2WIN and HUNGAMA GROUP M is currently on the number 1 position. Future of mobile marketing Major populations in India still do not use cell phones. These people are the target audience of the co. in next 3-4 years there will be more no. of cell phones and thus the number of their customers will also increase Mobile marketing will take 3-4 years to penetrate in Indian markets.

SURVEY:
Questions included:

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Information I received from the survey: 1) Have you heard of mobile being used for advertisements?

2) Have you anytime responded to these advertisements?

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3) How many times have you responded?

4) Have you heard anybody related to you winning after responding to these advertisements?

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5) Which operator network, do u think does it the best?

Airtel BPL Dolphin Hutch Reliance others

6) Are you irritated by these messages on your hand set?

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7) What do you download the most?

8) Would you like to receive such kind of messages on your cell phones in future?

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Conclusion: -this survey shows that people know what mobile marketing is and are ready to accept it. In future, people would like to have these services.

CONCLUSION

The growth in mobile marketing can only expand the scope for interactive marketing in India. The growth rate is increasing. As estimates predict that by 2010, India is slated to have the third largest mobile and Internet user base worldwide. Thus, mobile marketing lets you expand your marketing base. The result is enhanced sales with limited marketing expenses and better return on your marketing investment. It is an integral part of marketing. Hence, mobile marketing and its effective execution in marketing to increase sales and retain loyal customers stands very important today.

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Bibliography Book and magazines Marketing management By Philip Kotler Daily journal Websites: www.google.co.in www.indiatimes.com www.economictimes.com www. Mytoday.com

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