The iPhone has undeniably changed the mobile marketing landscape, and for good reason.  It was reported that iPhone customers are 12 times as likely as others to use their device for mobile video and mobile TV, as well as basic internet usage overall.  With more and more Apple-inspired cell phones from LG, Samsung and others that mimic iPhone attributes like the touch screen and user interaction, it’s become a dream for mobile advertisers.

With the release of the upcoming SDK and the access for third-party developers to market their wares via the ever-popular iTunes interface, advertisers and brands alike will be chomping at the bit to use the “it-factor” of the iPhone to boost brand awareness.

Beyond building simple “iPhone-versions” of websites and WAP sites that brands have already been using since the launch of the iPhone, the SDK will allow for the development of custom widgets, games, and other software platforms that will use the features of the iphone as a ladder to concrete brand awareness.

Just this month, Intuit unveiled an iPhone-specific version of it’s popular Quicken Online mobile software to be available via the new iStore, as well as new games from the likes of  Sega, EA, and Namco.  It should be interesting to see how creative brands will get, and which apps will stand out from the rest.

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On the rest of the handset makers. Pretty much the only thing holding back the iPhone from winding up in most consumer pockets is the price.

Not for long, Fortune is reporting a $200 price drop is coming.

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As I was surfing around this morning via iPhone, I noticed a few sites that sported brand new iPhone-specific mobile themes.  After doing some quick research, I found that MoFuse has added new iPhone integration into their platform, which enables site owners and bloggers alike to instantly create mobile-versions of their content.

By simply providing MoFuse with your sites RSS feed, the service automatically creates a very user-friendly mobile-version of your website or blog, and now one that’s perfect for iPhone consumption.  You can customize your mobile site by adding links, or RSS pages, and even customize your logo, header, or domain name by upgrading to a Pro account.

MoFuse gives you access to a set of promotional tools for your newly created mobile site as well.  You can do things like create an “SMS widget” to place on your site, place “redirect” PHP code on your site for automatic redirection for your mobile readers, and even generate a QR code that’s readable from camera phones that you can promote offline.  For a free service, it’s an impressive set of tools.

If you’re a free subscriber, you can even monetize your mobile site with a 50/50 revenue share program through AdSense or AdMob.  Upgrade to a Pro account for $6 a month, and you can keep all the profits.  MoFuse will automatically insert small contextual ad-units at either the top or bottom of your site, or both.  Of course, MoFuse also gives you some mobile analytics data as well. 

There’s similar services around that will quickly convert your site to a mobile version, but none that take such a comprehensive approach as MoFuse.  With their iPhone integration, they’re standing out again by offering one of the first automatic iPhone web application creators available.  With Google reporting that they receive almost 50 times more searches from iPhone’s than with any other mobile device, it’s no secret the ease of use and intuitiveness have lead to more mobile browsing.  With MoFuse, you can now take advantage of this.

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Since a recent infusion of funds, Ad Infuse is ramping up it’s mobile marketing offerings by introducing new iphone-optimized ads to their already impressive platform.

Dubbed adinMotion, the platform uses algorithms that calculate everything from age targeting, user preferences, geo-targeting and more to serve the most relevant advertising possible for mobile content. Now, with ads specifically for iPhones, they’ve increased their targeting power even more. By utilizing a complete web-based control panel, advertisers can choose what type of advertisement they want, what time and dates to serve the advertisement, what demographic and/or other targeting attributes they prefer, and more. For the iPhone, the platform can integrate a WAP banner on content pages, as well as show short, high-quality video ads that are tied to the WAP banner before the user connects to the content. In other words, the commercial-like video can be from the same advertiser as the WAP banner, creating a multi-platform campaign. They also claim that there’s no wait or buffer time between the video advertisement and the content itself, stating it adds to the “premium user experience.”

AdMob has seen success with serving iPhone-specific ads and campaigns recently, notably with their Land Rover iPhone campaign. Their iPhone ad-serving usually contains more user-interaction such as automotive campaigns that feature zip-code fields for user’s to instantly locate their closest dealer, and offerings. Ad Infuse seems to focus more on the media-rich capabilities of the iPhone rather than user-interaction, but it’s sure to come in the near future.

What will be interesting to see is when companies like AdMob and Ad Infuse start to integrate the media-rich, and touchscreen capabilities of the iPhone with other current and future 3rd party iPhone applications. With Google Maps integrating cellular triangulation to pinpoint where an iPhone user is to within a few meters, it’s only a matter of time before the ads served on iPhones, or any other phone for that matter, will start to integrate with mobile-mapping applications to show location-relevant advertising as well.

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TapSlide, Inc. made its debut on February 1st, vowing to provide a new twist on “complete mobile marketing solutions” for it’s clients. The company focuses on building branded mobile applications for iPhone, Android, and Symbian platforms, as well as combining those mobile applications with a branded desktop widget to engage users further.

The idea is to build brand awareness and retention with the use of mobile applications, and widgets that user’s can interact with in a on-going manner instead of the traditional method of inserting ads on mobile websites. In the words of Mike Stemple, President of TapSlide;

“…Why buy ads on a mobile ad network when an advertiser can have a complete mobile marketing solution that engages the user, not only when they are using their phone, but also when they are in front of their desktop as well…”

The company plans to utilize the new popularity of touch-screen devices, such as the iPhone, to develop private-label applications and application publishing services for it’s clients, and developers. As per their website;

“…The explosive growth of touch screen smart phones presents a new opportunity - the ability to provide a new channel for distributing and monetizing a brand through mobile applications and content. Imagine providing a new means for mobile phone users to interact with your brands every day, while also providing content and services that are relevant to the user and generate revenue…”

We’re beginning a new era in mobile marketing brought on by advanced technology on mobile devices. A good example of this is the way AdMob caught the iPhone bandwagon with their introduction of specialized ads focused on the iPhone user. In a recent successful campaign with AdMob and Land Rover, a small ad was served on iPhones that incorporated a zip-code finder that allowed user’s to instantly search for the nearest dealer. This new form of marketing-interaction proved to be very successful for Land Rover. TapSlide looks to be going the same direction with their focus on iPhone and other touch-screen device applications, while providing yet another innovative channel for mobile advertisers.

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I just read this on RCRWirelessNews and one bit struck me as odd.

“Brown’s announcement also reflected that Motorola’s troubles are deeper than generally acknowledged by the company or analysts. The company has not revealed a follow-on platform to its Razr handset, it missed the global ramp in 3G devices, its smartphone offerings are minimal in a profitable growth area, it made a failed attempt to chase Nokia Corp. in global market share, and has been slow to reveal the depth of its woes.” Read the rest

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Forbes has a story that indicates Disney is getting out of the mobile business and has plans to re-evaluate their mobile strategy to include their content. There’s going to be a huge opportunity for a Carrier to distribute this content provided they’ll be able to make money. I wonder if we’ll see an Apple Disney mobile marriage that would put this content on the iPhone?

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