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Local advertising is a hot topic and there’s a heated controversy around whether or not it can be truly effective — especially on a mobile device. Many experts agree that it all rests in the hands of local search. The better the user experience when searching locally, the more people will use it. If advertisers can deliver highly targeted, contextual local, mobile advertising — all the better.

comScore, Inc. reports that local search on a mobile device grew 51% from March 2008 to March 2009. This counts the number of people accessing online directories restaurants, maps, and movies. The mobile browser is the leading access method, with 20.7 million users seeking local information in March 2009, up 34% versus year ago.

The strongest growth in the category is coming from downloaded applications. However, developers, carriers and device OEMs remain the least popular access mode for mobile access of local information. A marginally more often used channel for obtaining local information is SMS, with an impressive 72% growth rate.

Serge Matta, comScore senior vice president, says “…it would not be surprising within the next six months to see the number of people using downloadable applications surpass SMS for the accessing of local information via mobile devices… ” At ChaCha, we highly respect the analysts at comScore, but believe that SMS Local Mobile Search will be get better and better — and because of its reach and brevity (people get the ANSWER, not RESULTS), it will continue to be a popular way to access local information well into the near future. Our local advertising team can tell you all about it.

What do you think?

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Jim Shilale of MediaPost posted a very good article today on how to effectively take advantage of mobile marketing. He calls mobile a “critical component” of the overall media mix and says that mobile offers an “engaging” experience for consumers. Mobile is much different than traditional media and should be treated as such. To drive real engagement, Jim provides the following tips to readers:

Consider the following tips in the development of a mobile campaign:

1.) Make Five Minutes Fun: Mobile is used increasingly as a productivity tool as well as a source of entertainment. Offers designed to drive a mobile response must carry with them an inherent sense of value or urgency, while providing the consumer either meaningful information or entertainment, available in bite-size chunks. When consumers are waiting for a train or standing in line somewhere, they will look to mobile as a source of engagement and entertainment.

2.) Phones Are Personal: Mobile phones connect us to our worlds with a reach well beyond wireline phones and even the Internet. Consumers are connected via voice, SMS, the mobile Web and applications. The mobile phone is being used to manage our lives with banking, GPS, scheduling, games, and even fantasy sports management functionality now available. Customizing a handset with icon-based links to mobile sites, interesting applications, videos and of course unique ringtones has gone mainstream. Make your mobile strategy easy to access and more importantly, relevant and personal.

3.) Ask Them to Catch It on Film: Increasingly, consumers are using their phones to capture real-time events happening in everyday life. This is a great opportunity for building a community and engaging your customers to participate by submitting their own films directly from their handsets.

4.) Integrate, Integrate, Integrate: Mobile works best when tied together with other media like TV, print, radio and live events. For example, make sure you have campaign-specific mobile landing pages for each of your mobile banners, just like you would on the Web. You’ll also want to integrate two-dimensional barcodes or QR (Quick Response) codes into print to drive traffic to a mobile Web site. The opportunities are endless.

5.) Give in Order to Receive: Offer an incentive such as access to relevant information (weather, news alerts, local event information, etc.), mobile content or even a coupon to increase take rates and consumer participation.

Of course, ChaCha can help you develop engaging and interactive mobile campaigns — we do it every day for all types of clients. Send me an email at susan.marshall@chacha.com if you’d like to start brainstorming ideas for your next campaign.

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It’s no argument that old advertising strategies aren’t working in new contexts. Millennials are really good at tuning out and/or avoiding mass media–TV, newspaper, radio, even online. Advertisers want to be where their
audience is, but their audience has tended to disregard them.

So what’s the new thing to try? Mobile, because everyone always has their phone on them, and is always engaged by it.

But when it comes to Mobile, everything becomes personal–anything unrequested is creepy spam.

My question: Is chasing after them in one more place going to change their habit of ignoring it?

Absolutely not.

What do we do now? Rethink. Redefine.
Ready or not, a new way of thinking about advertising, sponsored content, business/consumer relationships, etc. is inevitable. A re-definition, if you will. “Redefining” doesn’t necessarily require thinking harder about the
issues; it just requires thinking differently.

So forget everything you know about what advertising is “supposed” to be. Don’t look at Mobile as being “where consumers are”. Look further, at what consumers are doing on their mobile phones, and how they are doing it:

What do people want out of their phones? How do people use their phones?
Well, at their core, phones are meant for conversations. People use their phones personally, socially, conversationally, and to obtain information that they need at any given moment.

What are conversations like?
Again – simple, obvious answer. Don’t think too hard.

I put together some illustrations of conversation, because there isn’t just one kind of conversation. Each illustration represents a conversation of a different depth. And by the way, this is the direct result of some very serious and extensive research about how to have a conversation (sarcasm):

Conversation 1: All conversations start somewhere.
Sometimes these “conversations” are cliché, but other times, that’s all the conversation you really need. It’s safe, it’s friendly, and it’s a good starting place.

Conversation 2: Small-talk? Or genuine interest.
This is when you start feeling each other out, getting acquainted and comfortable.

Conversation 3: Make no mistake – this is real.
These are the most uninhibited and meaningful conversations. Friends like these sacrifice time, money, and energy for each other.

Share your thoughts:

* What kinds of things do advertisements have in common with conversations?

* How can advertising be conversational?

* What benefits might there be to approaching mobile advertising conversationally?

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Who? What? Where?
Last week, Mickey Alam Khan from Mobile Marketer organized a mobile advertising event for the Direct Marketing Association in NYC. I was invited to sit on a panel with other execs from Crisp Wireless, AdMob, Bango and Jumptap. Our panel discussion centered on how mobile can be used as a channel to drive real engagement. The room was packed with direct marketers from Fortune 500 companies as well as midsized companies. The questions were very, very good. Everyone there wanted to learn more and asked questions like, “How can I actually get someone to buy something?” “How can I measure success?” “What really drives engagement?”

I’ll talk more about how to measure success and drive people to purchase via mobile in an upcoming blog entry—but for now, lets focus on how to truly engage a user through relevant advertising.

Everyone Agrees: Relevance is the key
After much discussion, everyone agreed that relevance was the true key to driving engagement and ultimately results. And what really works online—and we are all very familiar with how effective search advertising/marketing can be—works on mobile as well.  Someone is searching for an answer, the answer is delivered along with a very relevant, short, text-based ad. This is something that a mobile search provider like ChaCha can do and does now with select clients:

Case Study: H&R Block
As an example, H&R Block is currently running an advertising campaign with us on all of our tax related questions. So, when someone has a specific question about taxes, H&R can “pull” the user into the brand experience, rather than “pushing” unwanted messaging out at the wrong moment or time.

How YOU can make it work
There are many, many opportunities to drive engagement through mobile advertising. Conversational search advertising is one channel, mobile banner advertising is another, and there are many opportunities to make traditional media more active through mobile integration. The key is in selecting the right channel and the right type of mobile engagement for your brand.  As more and more brands start to integrate mobile into their everyday media mix, we’ll start to see mobile being used more and more effectively to drive true engagement and results. Since the opportunities are so vast, I predict that 2009 will be the year where smart brands move away from the “test” phase and into tried and true solutions.

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Can you believe it’s that time of year again? We’re ramping up for the conferences we’ll be heading to this year, and first on our list is eTail 2009 West in Phoenix, AZ, February 23 – 26.

The focus for this year’s eTail conference is Retail’s Pivotal Moment – Refocusing on the core of your business and brand while forecasting for the future.  And as an integral part of the conference, ChaCha will be the Official Mobile Answers Service of eTail 2009 West, providing the easiest way for conference attendees to access information while on the go.  They’ll be able to experience ChaCha first hand, where they can ask about eTail, who’s exhibiting in booth #45, what’s happening in downtown Phoenix after the conference - or anything else!

Since a primary focus of the event is to be forward-thinking and innovative, we’ll also be talking to retailers about our SMS advertising services. As an excellent addition to any retailer’s marketing & advertising strategy, our solutions are designed to be relevant and radically simple; the advertiser’s valuable message or offer is seamlessly integrated into the answers our users receive. We’re looking forward to meeting with all the great brands who’ll be attending!

Oh! And here’s a “Don’t Miss” if you’re attending eTail: Our Co-Founder and Director, Brad Bostic, will be speaking during the Emerging Retail Technology Summit at eTail on Thursday, February 26th on the topic of M-Commerce and Mobile Marketing.

Let us know if you’re headed to Phoenix for eTail. Just send an email to Bethany.Derringer@chacha.com and we’ll arrange a time to get together!

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According to a recent study from staffing firm The Creative Group, marketing execs think their agencies are playing it “too safe” and aren’t taking enough risks when developing marketing and advertising projects.

“Companies tend to become more risk-averse in an uncertain economy,” said Megan Slabinski, executive director of The Creative Group. “But when budgets are lean, it can be an opportune time for firms to try new or unproven promotional strategies and distinguish themselves from competitors.”

Mobile is the way to differentiate and several advertisers are reaping the rewards. Check out our case studies and you’ll see that it can be low cost, measurable and effective — especially when integrated into an overall campaign.

In this report, The Creative Group recommends the following when going for a new idea. These tips also apply to mobile advertising campaigns or when you plan on integrating mobile into an overall campaign:

Take ego out of the equation. Before going to bat for an idea, carefully consider whether it’s a pet project that won’t have a significant impact on the business or an initiative that could genuinely move your company forward.

Get granular. Minor errors, such as a typo in a presentation or email, can quickly erode credibility. Double-check all information for accuracy before you present it.

Talk the talk. When pitching ideas, use the same terminology that your audience does and avoid creative jargon people might not understand.

Step into the client’s shoes. Similarly, try to view things from your audience’s perspective. Understanding the challenges decision-makers face and the pressures they are under will help you present the most relevant information.

Give evidence. If possible, provide specific examples of firms that have achieved success using strategies similar to the one you’re presenting.

And remember, our mobile marketing consultants can help you develop sample campaigns and ideas before you even jump into a spend. Here’s to risks that pay off in 2009!

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Though I wanted to try and stay away from smarmy, cliché New Year’s resolution gibberish, I found it really hard to do. Think about it. If you don’t take a moment at the beginning of every year to think about your goals and trying new things in the New Year, the next thing you know, you’re cutting out sugary wreath-shaped cookies wondering what happened to the past twelve months. (Oh! And if you figure out a way to keep the “bow” on the wreath from breaking off, let me know.)

Though economic times are tough, some are saying 2009 could really be the “year of Mobile”. Take the always-engaging John Batelle who predicted,

“2009 will see the year mobility becomes presumptive in every aspect of the web. By that I mean what I wrote back in 2007: “Mobile will finally be plugged into the web in a way that makes sense for the average user and a major mobile innovation - the kind that makes us all say - Jeez that was obvious - will occur. At the core of this innovation will be the concept of search.”

So I challenge you, oh faithful ChaCha blog reader: what new Mobile ‘thing’ will YOU try this year? Maybe you’ll be a little more engaging in your marketing messages and add a short code. Maybe you’ll attend the MMA conference or sit in on a SMS search webinar. Or perhaps you’ll finally get your mobile web page built. Whatever it is, commit yourself to it and see it through. In the end, what have you got to lose? Except maybe a little weight before you break out the cookie cutters again.

Here’s to a rewarding – and mobile – 2009!

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I love White Elephant gift exchanges; they’re always unpredictable. We do them on both sides of my family these days. There’s 36 people in one, 15 in the other.  My family has already gotten together for the 36-person White Elephant, and I got a popcorn bowl this year in it. Fortunately I love popcorn, and it’s actually pretty cute!

Anyway, in lieu of the traditional card you might get from your dentist, let’s celebrate the holiday season ChaCha-style. So….. it’s your turn to “unwrap” a gift! Click here to get the ChaCha White Elephant gift exchange going!

When your game is over (or you’re satisfied with your gift… whichever comes first), you can mix, mingle, see what everyone else ended up with, and tell them what you got in our Facebook group, “ChaCha: Where Mobile Minds Meet.”

From all of us on the ChaCha team, we wish you a happy Holiday season, plenty of White Elephants in your favor, and an even better 2009!

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It’s true. Mobile advertising inventory is increasing as more and more people get web-enabled smart phones and usage of text-only search services from ChaCha, Yahoo and Google increase exponentially. Some are already forecasting decreases in CPM levels — thanks to a “flood” of inventory. But think about it — we are nowhere, I mean nowhere near the inventory levels that are available online.

And consider this — while inventory levels are increasing through mobile devices, demand is also increasing because advertisers have the unique ability to target by user, persona, time of day and location — which makes their dollars more effective and measurable.

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Sometimes a partnership between two really good things creates something even better. (Take Oreos and milk. Now that’s a partnership made in heaven.)

Dictionary.com tells me that a real partnership is:

A relationship between individuals or groups that is characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility, as for the achievement of a specified goal.

And when that specified goal is putting customers first, everyone wins.

Such is the case with the partnership announced recently between ChaCha and AT&T. Together, our two companies will be combining efforts to put information and answers in the hands of people throughout the country. Add to that, the opportunity for them to receive relevant, timely offers on their mobile phone? I am not a math whiz, but that seems like win³.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/mobile

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