The Official blog of Dark Matter, Inc.

Good video interviews from Rob Woodbridge and some of the more forward thinking marketers in mobile. Top themes that emerged form the interview:

1. People still excited about SMS. Many retailers have realized that even though it’s been around for a while, it’s been underutilized.
2. The lessening of fragmentation in the market will inevitably create more opportunities. This applies to everything form devices to carrier interoperability.
3. Latin America (LATAM) is a key opportunity and also a key challenge, both from a technical and best practices perspective.
4. MMS. People seem exited about it, but it’s still a cloudy topic in need of more clarity

Some themes we were surprised didn’t emerge:

1. Voice and gesture as a means of communication across all devices.
2. Mobile transactions, e.g., Square
3. All-mobile social networks
4. Mobile gaming. Which has overtaken the traditional gaming consoles and appeals to a broad range of demographics.

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Last week, we Google presented a webinar,“Going Mobile: From Why to How?” on the five fundamental components to a mobile advertising strategy to help you get started. Google Product Marketing Manager, Sonja Lee and Mobile Specialist, Angela Sherman presented key statistics surrounding the current state of the mobile landscape, particularly looking ahead into the holiday season, and presented a deep dive on the five things that every mobile advertiser should do:

1. Mobilizing your web presence

2. Set up separate mobile-only campaigns

3. Think Local with Mobile

4. Utilize mobile-unique ad formats

5. Track and optimize your mobile performance

Watch the webinar

Above all else, make sure to spend time creating a graphically light, quick-to-load home page. Secondly (but not secondarily) make sure to spend time making sure that the search functionality returns speedy, relevant results. These are probably the two most important qualities to a retailer’s mobile commerce site.

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Source: Rimma Kats, Mobile Marketer, June 7, 2011

Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery is letting aficionados book tours or private tastings and make reservations via the company’s mobile-optimized site and applications.

Consumers can learn more about the company’s wine collection, take in-app wine notes and find a wine retailer or restaurant via the new mobile offerings. Additionally, consumers can navigate the winery with GPS-enabled maps and redeem special app-only offers.

“At Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery, we’ve noticed that our visitors are increasingly going mobile,” said Cheryl McMillan, public relations and advertising manager at Ferrari-Carano, Healdsburg, CA.

“Our new, free, mobile phone application makes it easier for our customers to interact with us, and access and share information about the winery and sister properties,” she said.

“They can look up tasting notes, a recipe pairing, or a video with the owners and winemakers talking about a wine, find Ferrari-Carano wine near you, book a tour or private tasting, check out events at the winery and around the area, book room reservations and Vintners Inn or dinner reservations at John Ash & Co.”

Ferrari-Carano tapped MacroView Labs to develop the mobile offerings.

Bottling the experience
The company decided to leverage mobile technology in an effort to reach new customers and enhance the experience consumers have with the winery and its sister properties, Vintners Inn, John Ash & Co., Lazy Creek Vineyards, and Seasons of the Vineyard Tasting Bar & Boutique.

Via the mobile app and site, consumers can browse a full catalog of wines and gifts, read the food and wine pairing guide that is filled with recipes and look up tour and tasting information.

Consumers can also browse the Circle of Friends wine club details and sign up for discounts, exclusive events and personalized concierge service.

“Our mobile app will allow the winery to enhance the experience customers have with us, and help them feel more a part of the Ferrari-Carano family,” said Rhonda Carano, owner/vice president of Ferrari-Carano, Healdsburg, CA.

“We see this already with Facebook and Twitter,” she said. “Consumers want to get to know the people behind the brand – the winemakers and the vineyard team.

“This app is one way for them to do that, while at the same time allowing us to provide worthwhile information to the consumer in a highly interactive way.”

Code language
Consumers can also bookmark information about wine tours, restaurant menus and get the word out about the app via social integrations such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and YouTube.

Ferrari-Carano has also implemented mobile bar codes on shelf talkers, bottle neckers, case cards, product cards, and advertisements.

Consumers can use their smart phones to scan the code, which points to a You Tube video of the owners and winemakers talking about a wine, a YouTube video about the winery, or a food and wine pairing on the Web site.

“We even have a built-in QR code reader in our app,” Ms. McMillan said. “The technology allows the winery to provide a lot of information to the consumer, while the consumer benefits from an enhanced brand experience before they even make a purchase.

“It’s a great way for us to talk to our customers, or potential customers, as they’re standing in the grocery store isle, or they’re flipping through a magazine at home,” she said.

“It personalizes Ferrari-Carano. QR codes allow us to provide value-rich information to the customer in an innovative and fun way before they’ve even made their purchasing decision.”

Source: Posted by Erin Schultz, Senior Specialist, Mobile Ads, Google, Wednesday, May 11, 2011 | 1:01 PM

Let’s imagine you’re stranded on a trip and need to book a last minute flight or hotel. At a time like this you fully appreciate the power of the mobile web and mobile search. As consumers embrace their phones for all types of activities, we’re seeing mobile devices play a increasingly important role in the travel sector.

We like to think about travel in five stages from: dreaming of that perfect vacation; researching it; booking the trip; experiencing the place; then, sharing the experience with family and friends. Mobile now plays an essential role in this process. In fact, industry analysts at eMarketer predict the number of US consumers using mobile devices to research travel will climb from 19.7 million in 2010 to 29.7 million in 2012.

Mobile devices make all five stages of the travel process more accessible and more robust for consumers. It also opens opportunities for marketers.

• Dreaming: Westin Hotels & Resorts created a display campaign on The Weather Channel’s app. It invited users to “Tap here to warm up,” planting the seed for the dreaming user to begin planning their travel with Westin to warmer climes.
• Research: At Google we’re seeing 19% of all hotel queries conducted on mobile devices.
• Booking: Giving users an easy way to book on the spot is crucial. Scott Durchslag, President of Expedia.com revealed “70% of people searching on a phone are looking for a single room, for a single person for a single night that same day.” (2)
• Experiencing: Features such as reviews, translation, “scan and go” check-ins for flights, and  location maps make the travel experience easier.
• Sharing: A study we conducted with Ipsos/OTX indicates that 49% of travelers report making travel plans based on the experiences and reviews of others. (3)