Free Webinar Tomorrow: The Convergence of Local & Mobile Advertising

Tomorrow at 1 US Eastern, 10 Pacific is our free webinar: The Convergence of Local and Mobile Marketing. I'll be providing a broad market overview on the following issues:

• Smartphone and mobile Internet adoption
• Local-mobile user behavior
• Tablet adoption
• Mobile advertising projections
• SMB demand for mobile marketing  

AT&T Interactive’s Executive Director of Product Management Matthew Goldman will offer their view of the mobile market "on the ground." What are consumers really doing in mobile and what are they looking for? How are they responding to mobile ads? And, beyond surveys, is there truly demand among SMBs for mobile marketing? If so, where is that demand concentrated? 

We'll also take questions from the audience on these and related issues. If you're operating in the local-mobile segment or selling to small business advertisers you won't want to miss it.

To attend you must first register here. 

Millennial: 'Place Call' the Top 'Post Click' Action on Network

Yesterday Millennial Media released its latest SMART report for May. It shows advertiser trends and marketing tactics on its network. There was a drill-down focus on automotive in the report (which I'm not going to focus on except in one respect). The data indicate the increasing nuance and sophistication of mobile marketing programs.

There are a wide range of goals/objectives that marketers are pursuing via mobile: local, social, demographic targeting and so on. These tactics and objectives defy easy assumptions about the trajectory of mobile advertising over the next several years.

Mobile is a branding and awareness medium, it's also a local ad medium and it will be used in tandem with other media. It's not going to be primarily one thing (e.g., LBS). There will be enormous diversity in the campaigns and tactics seen. Indeed, I've argued before that mobile is a better branding medium than online display. That assertion is supported by the data. 

Immediately below is the mix of targeting methodologies used by marketers on the Millennial network in May. The number of campaigns that were targeted in some way has remained relatively constant on Millennial's network for roughly the past year. But of that targeted advertising geo/local has grown and so has demographic targeting to some degree. 

Compare the data for Q3 2010 (below). Geo-targeting was the primary targeting method employed by marketers in 42% of all targeted campaigns on Millennial's network. In May, 2011 that was smaller percentage of targeted ads but a higher percentage of them used local targeting (which can be state, city or zip).

Automotive advertisers were much more local in their mobile marketing efforts (chart below), seeking to send people into dealerships or to generate phone calls. They were less interested than advertisers generally in getting people to Like them on Facebook ("mocial"). 

As a general matter Millennial said:

• Store Locator grew 48% month-over-month and represented 22% of the Post-Click Campaign Action Mix on our network in May (above). Retail and Automotive brands heavily drove mobile users into retail outlets and dealerships by creating unique and engaging Moms, Dads and Grads promotions for their target audiences.
• Mocial (Mobile Social Media) experienced growth of 36% month-over-month, with 23% of the Post-Click Campaign Action Mix in May (Chart C). Telecom, Entertainment and Retail advertisers increased their usage of Mocial as a Post-Click Campaign Action to acquire social media followers and gather feedback on movie releases and new product launches in May.

Below is the mix of advertiser goals and "landing pages" they sent clicks to.

Compare Jumptap's data showing some similar things around targeting or post-click activity. Jumptap also shows consumer click metrics and the improved lift of local + demo targeting. 

T-Mobile Becomes Daily Deals Aggregator

T-Mobile USA is becoming a deals aggregator, with a new Android app called "More for Me." It's available today for any Android smartphone running OS 1.6 or higher. LivingSocial is the only deal source mentioned although the word "aggregator" implies a broader array of sources. 

T-Mobile claims that the app is the first of its kind from any US mobile carrier. AT&T (the would-be owner of T-Mobile) similarly aspires to be a major player in the deals space and has a existing relationship with Placecast to deliver geo-fenced "shop alerts." That's not the same as "daily deals," but it's location-based discounts and offers nonetheless. 

According to the T-Mobile press release:

The T-Mobile More for Me application is customizable, enabling consumers to find the most relevant deals, closest to their exact location. Users have the opportunity to see deals from a variety of retailers, in nearly any city, with many deals tailored to meet their specific interests and preferences.

“LivingSocial works directly with merchants in all of our 260+ global markets to craft great deals that drive our valuable members through their door,” said Jake Maas, senior vice president, corporate and business development, LivingSocial. “We are excited to bring our handpicked experiences to the millions of consumers who will enjoy T-Mobile’s new More for Me app.”

What's unique here is not that T-Mobile has built a deals app or even that it's created by a carrier. Rather it's the idea that a carrier is creating an app extending beyond the borders of its own subscriber network. Given the availability of branded deal apps from Groupon, LivingSocial and others, however, it's very unlikely that More for Me will see much adoption beyond T-Mobile subscribers. 

WHERE Wisely Takes the Money

As you've no doubt seen by now WHERE.com was acquired by eBay for an estimated $135 million. WHERE had 2010 revenues of $17 million and projected revenue for 2011 was $40 million.

WHERE has a bunch of assets: great domain, strong mobile app, mobile ad network (120K-130K advertisers), deals functionality and a strong team. The company was reportedly offered a bunch of VC money but chose to take eBay's buyout offer instead. 

They were right to do it. While it's possible that WHERE could have built a great deal more revenue and usage, the company also faced massive challenges from larger players such as Google, Facebook, Yelp and Foursquare. It also faced challenges from newer entrants (flavor of the month). 

In addition WHERE.com, the PC site, is a huge opportunity that the company has not been able to develop successfully -- so far. Let's see if eBay can do it. 

WHERE's ascendancy might be peaking now and a year or two from now the company might not be in the same position of strength. It's possible that WHERE could have grown much bigger if it were to remain independent but I'm not so sure. 

Accordingly I think it was smart to take the money and run. 

DexOne Releases Upgraded Mobile Apps

Directory publisher DexOne has upgraded its smartphone apps across mutiple platforms, with an emphasis on the iPhone, Android and RIM. The company has also broadened out the app's content considerably from the previous version, integrating events, movies, gas prices and other non-standard YP content. There are also a range of new or enhanced social features.

Users may now directly write and submit reviews through the app, which will be incorporated into the DexKnows online directory as well. Consumers can also share listings information via Facebook, Twitter and email. The Facebook and Twitter sharing/notification is tantamount to a "check-in" though there's no formal check-in capability in the apps at this point. 

In addition to the new and improved native clients, there's an upgraded mobile browser experience and an improved "WAP" browser experience for lower-end phones. Users can also conduct transactions (if available), such as buying movie tickets or making restaurant reservations through OpenTable. 

Deals are coming in the future. Advertisers are incorporated into listings and search results throughout but not specifically "called out" as sponsored links or ads. However they're only presented (at the top) if they're relevant from a location and category standpoint. 

The homescreen of the iPhone app is animated, which can't be turned off right now (though I would recommend that capability). It rotates through a series of widgets, giving users a tour of the app and showing relevant local listings or other content.

I can certainly offer some critical remarks but, overall, there's much more visual appeal, design flair and "personality" in this app vs. the previous one. It should prove to be more engaging and drive new user behaviors among Dex's customer base. 

WHERE teams with Constant Contact, Integrates Mobile & Email Marketing

Mobile marketing platform provider WHERE.com has teamed up with small business email vendor Constant Contact to combine the benefits of mobile and email marketing. Email marketing, though "old school" compared to mobile, is highly effective and so regarded by many small businesses. Indeed, they often rate it as the most effective or one of the top three most effective marketing tools they use.

The WHERE-Constant Contact deal contemplates that WHERE daily deals and offers can be marketed to existing customers through email via Constant Contact. And the reverse is true: Constant Contact users can now reach WHERE's consumer audience and mobile ad network (a combined 50 million people) with deals and offers.

This is an oversimplification, but WHERE sees itself as the new customer acquisition platform while Constant Contact is the CRM tool: 

This integration will allow small business owners to create daily deals through WHERE and market them to their current customers through Constant Contact’s email marketing tool, as well as to WHERE’s 50 million mobile consumers. WHERE merchants can also add Constant Contact’s “join my mailing list” (JMML) button to their listings, an easy way to grow their email subscriber list. The collaboration will enable Constant Contact’s customers to utilize the WHERE platform to deliver deals to their existing customers, while reaching new customers through WHERE’s location-based mobile advertising. In addition, WHERE’s recent acquisition of LocalGinger.com , a pioneer in the local group buying category, gives merchants interested in group buying deals a massive platform to help drive foot traffic.

This collaboration aspires to be a kind of "360 degree" solution for small business to help drive people from the Web into stores. Constant Contact reported that it had 415,000 paying customers as of the end of Q3. Yesterday Constant Contact released an iPhone application. 

Constant Contact's customer base offers a massive potential audience for WHERE, which offers mobile landing pages and a wide array of promotional opportunities for SMBs. 

What Is "Google Offers"?

On Friday Mobile Marketer published an article, based on a talk given by Google's Mike Steib in New York. The article appeared to "announce" a new Google couponing effort called "Google Offers":

“The Holy Grail for local advertising is location-targeted coupons, and we’re building Google Offers to enable that, as well as click-to-call functionality for nearby businesses,” Mr. Steib said. “If you have the ability to reach out to consumers nearby and pull them in using mobile, it’s great for consumers and advertisers.”

I had an opportunity to talk to Google on Friday (though not Steib) about this, as well as its $1 billion in mobile ad revenues and other subjects of interest. Most of the conversation was off the record. However my conclusion is that "Google Offers" is much more of an idea than a product at this point. What the talk in New York really means is that Google sees locally oriented advertising on mobile devices, driving calls and foot traffic into stores, as very powerful and desirable both for consumers and merchants.

Part of that calculus is coupons, which more than any other advertising vehicle have a direct impact on consumer purchase behavior. Currently SMBs and others with Places pages on Google can offer coupons. However Google needs to do a better job of surfacing those coupons in order to gain consumer notice and further merchant adoption. Somewhat more visible are Google "Tags," which can also be coupons.

There's also the broader question of how deeply Google wants to get into coupons. Does the company, for example, want to integrate them into Google Shopping/Product Search or limit them to service businesses exposed via Local/Maps? Would Google create a "coupon destination," as others have done, including Yahoo and Ask?

I'm sure that Google has looked carefully at the "daily deals" segment as well. But so far the company has declined to either buy a company or mimic the offering. However it did recently invest in a company called Signpost, which is in the same general space. 

It's clear that Google does want to get more deeply into local deals and coupons and is trying to figure out what's the best, most scalable way to do that. It also appears there's no new product (ad) announcement coming in the immediate future. 

xAD Raises Money, Game On in Local Ad Network Space

Local ad platform xAD (formerly V-Enable) just announced that it had raised $4 million Emergence Capital. It also announced that it is profitable, growing 20% per month and "serving 200m local search ad requests per month." The company also says it delivers 10 million calls per month.

xAD said it will use the money for technology upgrades and development. 

The company operates LocalAdXChange which was one of the first local ad networks for mobile. It takes inventory (ads) from many sources, including yellow pages publishers, and delivers those ads to a growing list of publishers across its network. It also optimizes ads across sites and by geography. 

In the past 12-18 months a number of other local and local-mobile ad networks have launched:

• CityGrid
• Marchex (calls)
• Chitika
• Where.com
• LSN
• Verve Wireless 

AT&T Interactive should also be considered a network and provides lots of inventory to others, including Bing.

Where there was once almost nothing now the segment is very crowded with local and local-mobile networks. That's good for advertisers and publishers both.

Generally speaking CTRs, engagement and performance of mobile ads beat the PC. In my previous post I discussed data that suggest mobile uses are better and more immediate prospects for local ads (or locally targeted ads) than PC users.

Microsoft: 27% of Mobile Search Queries Show Local Intent

Google has been telling people that "one-third" of mobile queries have a local intent. But this is based on a BIA survey number (probably extrapolated from roughly 1K respondents) and should be taken with caution accordingly. It's probably not a "bad" number but it's ultimately a directional estimate. Google should come forward with a mobile number that's based on its own query data internally.

By contrast to the survey number, Google reported some time ago that about 20% of PC queries had a local intent. That was based on actual query observation and it's only a very general estimate. I would argue the number is actually larger but it gets into gray areas quickly. Regardless, it stands to reason that the local number should be larger in mobile.

The challenge of course is defining what is a local query. On the radical fringe I argue that most product-related searches should ultimately be considered local because more than 95% of products are purchased in stores. However that's not a position held by anyone else to my knowledge. 

Microsoft recently presented a mobile query analysis on a panel I moderated at the SMX conference in New York earlier this month. Below is a slide that Microsoft's Jamie Wells showed during that panel. It reflects, based on Microsoft internal analysis, that 27% of queries in mobile show intent to take action locally. It also shows that mobile searches tend to be more commercial than PC based searches.

Previously Microsoft reported that 70% of mobile (Bing) users start and complete a search process ("query chain") in one hour vs. one week on the PC for comparable behavior.

Taken together these data communicate that mobile users are doing more commercial searches, which are more likely to be acted on locally -- and generally within a very compressed time frame (an hour or so). All this means that ultimately mobile is going to be a better platform for locally oriented advertisers than the PC.

deCarta Announces White Label Maps and Local Search Product Suite for OEMs, Carriers

Location platform and data provider deCarta made a flurry of announcements today that seek to position the company as the leading alternative to Google for local search content, maps and related services for carriers and handset OEMs. The company announced some new partnerships, a new navigation application and an upgraded map-based local search offering, MapSearch.

Here are the components:

• MapSearch Content Cloud: MapSearch customers can upload customized or tailored content to the MapSearch Content Cloud.
• MapSearch APIs: Expanded APIs allow MNOs to deploy local search across most major mobile handset platforms (Android, iPhone, bada, J2ME, Mobile JavaScript) as well as through computer browsers.
• MapSearch Engine: deCarta's Local Search Engine provides the most advanced spatial search including search around locations, search along a route, category search, free text search, international geocoding, international direction finding, directory search, UGC search, geo-fencing and more.
• Navigation: deCarta Navigation is an “off-board” solution, with the map data stored in the cloud, allowing frequent map updates and easy integration with dynamic content. It is available on Blackberry, Android and many Java ME platforms covering a wide range of mobile devices. And because deCarta Navigation is built on this same platform, it can be tightly linked to other location based services. deCarta’s MapSearch is used as the search engine making it easy to navigate to a local search result in a seamless user experience. deCarta Navigation also includes integration API’s that allow third party developers to incorporate navigation as a core feature of any
  application.

The quote in the release from deCarta CEO Kim Fennel is very telling in terms of the pitch to partners: "MapSearch is all about delivering control of state-of-the-art mobile local search applications back to the MNOs and Handset OEMs."

Telenav offers a similar value proposition and positioning, although it's not quite as broad a product offering.

TELUS to Pre-Load YPG App on Canadian Handsets, Pair with 'Conceirge' Service

Canada's Yellow Pages Group annonced that its popular YPG mobile app would be pre-loaded on some BlackBerry devices from carrier TELUS:

Starting in October, TELUS will preload the popular Yellow Pages™ mobile application on select TELUS BlackBerry™ smartphones activated by TELUS consumer clients. The app, which has already been downloaded over one million times, allows users to quickly look up information about millions of Canadian businesses by category, name, or location. Business lookups conducted on the TELUS mobile web portal will also be powered by the YellowPages.ca search engine.

But what's most interesting is that the app will include connection to an enhanced DA/concierge service: 

This partnership also includes options for TELUS mobile customers to complete a voice-assisted search and to receive confirmation or address information via text message. An optional "concierge" service will also be made available allowing mobile users to connect with a TELUS 411 agent to provide additional assistance such as driving directions or accommodation reservations related to search results. 

There's no word on pricing in the press release but I suspect this service is billed on a per call basis. But because of its tie-in with the YPG app it is differently positioned than pure DA. You'll invoke it when you need specific, additional help. I'll be interested to hear how the app and the DA feature work together and how popular the enhanced service is. 

To my knowledge this is a novel implementation and integration of DA into an app, although I know that Tellme had some very ambitious and non-traditional plans for "enhanced" DA services (which may never be realized). 

Weather, Maps Follow Only Games in Apps Race

Last week Nielsen released data based on a recent survey of 4,000 mobile users (geography uncertain) who had downloaded an app within the past 30 days. The survey found that iPhone owners had "an average of 40 on their phones . . . while Android owners report having 25 apps on their phones . . . and BlackBerry owners report having 14." 

Nielsen also reported that "Facebook is the most popular individual app on all of the major operating systems." In terms of categories, games leads followed by weather (strangely) and maps/search.

Here I assume that "search" refers to map-based search or local search given the way the Nielsen has grouped them together -- although it could just refer to general search. 

Apple's 'On the Grid' Highlights LBS Apps

Apple has collected about a dozen location-based apps in a new featured iTunes area called "On the Grid." While there are many more apps that offer location as a central element of the experience -- yellow pages apps for example or various cityguides -- the bias appears to be  toward check-in style apps.

Apple should recognize that location and check-ins are not entirely synonymous.  And I would expect the selection to grow over time. Here's what's there now:

Third party sites that monitor the app store recently indicated that it now exceeds 250,000 apps from more than 50,000 developers. Here's the distribution of apps from 148Apps.biz. Somewhat surprisingly books has taken the top spot from games.

Nokia Builds Mobile Craigslist for Developing Countries

There have been other mobile classifieds marketplaces but none with the potential heft of Nokia. Craigslist has many associated third party apps on the iPhone that mobilize its listings content; eBay of course has had great success in mobile, to name two big names. 

Nokia has now created Listings, a sales and services marketplace aimed right now at the developing world. It's only available in India during the beta test. 

The downloadable app features several categories of information:

• Buy & Sell – Find or post items for sale
• Jobs – Find or post a job
• Local Services – Access or advertise services such as auto repairs, driver services, plumbers, etc.

The success of such a service is all about penetration and inventory. If lots of people use the service it could become quite successful and potentially generate meaningful revenue on a global basis. User experience is key but more important is getting the listings content into the system so that users show up.

The service is also more likely to succeed in countries where there aren't already established online marketplaces, which means developing nations primarily. Yet if the content is there and the UX is good enough it could potentially compete elsewhere in world, in Europe perhaps.

Report: Local Search on Mobile Growing in 'Double Digits'

Data released today by comScore and the Yellow Pages Association show that local search on mobile devices is growing significantly. The data focus on use of directories and IYPs on mobile (and online). Here are the top-line mobile figures:

• Mobile subscribers accessing business directories on a mobile phone increased 14% year-over-year to 17.3 million users in March 2010
• People accessing directories on a mobile device at least once per week increased more than 16% YoY growth to nearly five million in March 2010.
• Mobile browser was the most common access method for users, with 10.8 million subscribers in March 2010 and 21% YoY growth.
• Apps grew at a more rapid pace with 42% YoY growth (4.1 million subscribers)

 Mobile IYP users are more affluent and better educated than the general population: 

• 58 percent are 34 or younger.
• Over half have a household income in excess of $75,000.

 Study methodology:

ComScore utilized "both 1) a unique survey sample of over 10,000 U.S. respondents each month, resulting in a sample in excess of 35,000 when running 3-month average reports and 2) a meter-based smartphone mobile browser measurement tool based on a representative panel of approximately 2,500 devices."

ComScore has always been conservative regarding how it defines a "local search." These data too likely undercount activity online and on mobile devices directed toward offline purchases and other local commercial behavior.

The slide above also reflects activity on IYP and directory sites exclusively and doesn't look at search engines or locally focused apps in the aggregate. 

Related: Report: Local & Social Huge on Smartphones

Google Offers More Attractive Places to Go

Google has offered a browse centric (as opposed to search) directory of local business listings for quite some time: Places Directory. But with its new Maps upgrade for Android the company is encouraging users to put "Places," a cleaner, more attractive version of Places Directory, on their homescreens:

On Android-powered phones with Google Maps 4.4, you’ll find the new Places icon in the app launcher with the rest of your apps. Press and drag it right onto your home screen to use it when you’re looking for a restaurant, shoe store, movie theater or any other type of local business. You'll get a detailed list of all the nearest places and can choose one to learn more about it on its Place Page.

Some folks are seeing this as a bid to compete more aggressively with Foursquare and Yelp on mobile devices, with check-ins to come. Maybe so, however Google is equally motivated to create uniformity and correspondence between Places online and on mobile devices. It has made a big investment in Places online and wants to extend usage to mobile devices. 

Regardless of its precise motivations Google is obviously a formidable competitor in mobile, especially on Android devices. It basically "owns" the home screen unless users actively set up alternative content sources to Google. 

Google now has a range of interesting and varied local assets in mobile that it needs to better integrate: Buzz, Places, Latitude, Maps, Navigation. Google can also benefit by aggregating and presenting geotagged data from the Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare APIs in one or more of these properties. 

One of the issues with all of these "around me" or "near me" tools is that they fail to recognize the "near future" use case: where I'll be tonight or tomorrow. I suppose the thought is that "conventional" local search will address this need. However "where I'll be later on" is a scenario currently not well served in mobile. 

Distimo: Android Market Has Most Free Apps

Distimo put out its monthly survey of the various smartphone apps marketplaces. It contains data about application pricing and identifies the top apps on all the different smartphone platforms.

Interestingly, Android has the highest percentage of free to paid apps of the major platforms.

A couple of other things caught my eye in the report. First Yellowbook continues to have a top-performing app on Android. I was also struck by the mix of the iPad's top apps. They suggest that people don't think of it as a true mobile device, in the same way as their smartphones. The top free and paid apps, according to Distimo, suggest that it's being used in many ways like a PC and/or as personal entertainment device.

Top Android free apps:

Top iPad apps, free and paid:

Looking at the top free and paid iPad apps makes the device look very different, in my mind, than a smartphone -- and also different than a PC. 

____

Related: No Surprise: iPad Satisfaction High.

Revisiting the Local Queries Question

One question making the rounds -- without a good answer -- is "what percentage of mobile search is local?" Let's put aside app usage, which can be a form of search, for the time being.

Google previously said that on the PC "20% of searches on Google are related to location." Because of the challenges in defining a local search -- is "flat panel TV" a local search because 95%+ are bought in stores? -- this 20% figure is probably conservative.

On the mobile side of the house, two Google employees have been cited (Paul Feng and Diana Pouliot) as sources for the metric that roughly one third (33%) of mobile search have a local intent. I asked Google to unpack this figure for me and I was told by a Google PR person that this number came from BIA/Kelsey Group.

I'm not confident that's actually the case, but if it is it's really weird that Google would repeat a piece of third party data when it has actual mobile query data. BIA's data are survey based and self-reported. Surveys are good directional indicators but not as accurate as actual behavioral data. 

Previously Microsoft presented data (from 2008) that argued if "local intent" is the value, at least 50% of mobile searches featured local intent:

Source: Microsoft (3/10, based on 2008 data)

This morning I was playing around with Google's keyword traffic estimator tool, which allows you to look up mobile search volumes for specific queries. I looked at a number of categories and query terms: doctors, restaurants, movies and a few others. One caveat here is that I selected terms that are predominantly local terms. Product-related terms are far less local (in Google's attribution) though most products are going to be bought in stores. 

What I discovered was that the portion of queries attributed to "local" on a monthly basis varied, as one might expect, by query and category. The range was 29% at the low end to 67% at the high end for the terms I selected. The average of this small sample came out at around 43%. 

Someone with API access could probably do this calculation across a broad range of queries and get a better "average" than I got off my small non-scientific sample. But the point here is that there's a lot of LBS action in the query mix on mobile devices. And with specific local-intent queries there's going to be an accompanying "need it now" interest in many or most cases as well.

So let's not call it "one third." Instead, let's say there's a "local intent" mobile query range from about 20% in ambiguous categories to as much as 70% (or more: e.g., restaurants) in some categories where fulfillment is offline.