Microsoft is gearing up for the launch of its Windows Marketplace for Mobile app store later this year, and some new details have emerged as to how it will all play out.

Coinciding with the launch of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, the new Marketplace for Mobile will debut with over 600 apps available from day one.  Although there are thousands of Windows Mobile-based applications already available, Microsoft says only a small percentage have made it through the selection process to be available via the Marketplace at launch.

Like other app stores, the Windows Marketplace will feature both paid and free apps, but in addition to offering credit card payments for premium apps, operator-based billing will also be offered- meaning users can purchase apps and pay for them on their cell phone bill.  Users will also have the option of returning the app within 24 hours of purchase if they’re not satisfied, a feature that will likely find its way into other app stores in the future.

According to Microsoft, Windows Marketplace for Mobile will debut in 29 countries at first.  The storefront promises developers 70 percent of all revenues as well as transparency throughout the certification process.  Developers will also have the option to set their own prices in each market, enabling them to maximize their revenues based on targeted pricing strategies.  Microsoft is slated to begin accepting Windows Marketplace for Mobile application submissions later this summer, with the initial launch of the marketplace slated for this Fall.

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I’ve been involved with affiliate, or performance-based marketing for a long time now.  More recently I’ve been interested in advertising models that utilize the benefits of performance-based marketing together with other forms of new-age advertising- primarily mobile marketing.

Taking the obvious benefits from today’s mobile marketing methodologies, and working them into a model that only charges advertisers for results would be a winning combination in my book.  Advertisers use affiliate marketing to drive sales, leads, clicks, etc, but only pay the publisher, networks, etc. when they produce results.  This takes a lot of the wasted ad-spend away, and significantly increases ROI in almost every situation.  This is the reason many small and large brands alike have been using the performance-based model for years and years.  Up until recently, however, it was only carried out online.

While there aren’t many services available that take this model into the realm of mobile, they’re starting to emerge if you dig deep enough.  One in particular is a company called RevTrax.  They’re utilizing mobile marketing, and mobile coupons in particular, together with a performance-based model to drive results to the brands distributing digital coupons or using any form of “customer loyalty” programs.

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Tetherball, a mobile solutions company specializing in “mobile loyalty and rewards,” is testing a new RFID mobile marketing platform with Dairy Queen in the US that aims to combine mobile coupon solutions with location-based marketing and customer loyalty- all in one integrated platform.  

Tetherball’s approach aims at helping clients “tether” their brand to target audiences by identifying what their customers want and delivering mobile campaigns that interact with permission-based mobile coupons, mobile rewards, mobile sweepstakes and mobile notifications.  The new RFID platform works by integrating traditional marketing methods, such as in-store advertising, in hopes that customers are engaged to sign up for mobile loyalty rewards programs offering promotional discounts.  Upon joining, customers are given a “Tetherball Tag,” a tiny RFID chip that is affixed to their mobile phones, which uniquely identifies them through Tetherball’s platform.

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At day two of the Mobile Marketing Association’s forum in New York City, some interesting industry stats were released that give us an insight into the growth and use of various forms of mobile marketing.

As usual, the growth rate for mobile marketing as a whole is expected to be around 26% this year- much lower than recent year’s projections, but still impressive nonetheless when compared to other forms of advertising.  It was estimated by the group that overall marketing expenditures will be down 7% this year, so any growth in mobile is more than welcomed.  

More research shows that brands are more comfortable with mobile than agencies- about half of agencies said they overall viewed mobile marketing as still being part of experimental expending, compared to 36% of brands.  Even more surprising, both brands and agencies reported having “average” success with mobile efforts compared to other marketing channels.

While that might not be the ringing endorsement the industry would like to hear, especially at an event dedicated to mobile marketing, MMA President and CEO Mike Wehrs said the increase in mobile spending despite the downturn shows that more dollars are shifting to the category from traditional media. “The benefits of mobile marketing are clear and they’re being proven out,” said Wehrs, in terms of metrics like ad response rates and brand lift found in MMA case studies.

The stats and information released at this year’s event seem to prove that the recession and reduced ad-spend overall are hitting the mobile channel just as hard, and being a new and largely un-tested form of marketing doesn’t help either.  Hopefully by this time next year, the numbers will be on the uptake once again.

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Location-based marketing is a method that has a lot of potential, but relies heavily on the technology of mobile devices to really reach ubiquitous use by consumers.  As the transition to devices with GPS chips and enhanced triangulation technology, location-based services and advertising are finally coming into mainstream.

Mobile coupons, however, still remain the driving force in delivering true,  location-aware marketing to the masses and new services and start-ups are introduced everyday it seems.  Nowadays, marketers are able to identify where consumers are and push mobile coupons to them thanks to several new mobile marketing platforms. These new apps all offer easy redemption at point of sale, pay-for-performance fees and real-time campaign tracking, which are becoming staples of any mobile marketing campaign.

Knowing ones location automatically is crucial, apps automatically retrieve coupons via GPS negating the need for consumers to browse for offers, memorize SMS shortcodes or play with zip codes.  Redemption is also simple - after downloading the coupon, consumers display it on their mobile phone screen and show it to the store cashier.  The latter is still up for debate, whether to implement special barcode scanners at the point-of-sale, or to simply use special codes that can simply be typed into POSs.  Either way, the technology is catching on strong.

Some mobile coupon apps are already making their way onto Apple’s App Store and becoming very popular with consumers, and CellFire, a leading provider of digital coupon technology, is growing rapidly and seeding its technology to many other companies and retail outlets to implement.  While still evolving, location-based marketing wouldn’t be where it is today without the growing use (and need) of mobile coupons.

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New concepts in mobile marketing come along every day it seems, but most are simply rehashed ideas and methods that have already been tried before.  Such is not the case with a new method known as mobile “idle screen” marketing that, judging by its response numbers, seems somewhat promising.

The idea involves broadcasting media in the form of everything from news, sports, business, entertainment, “lifestyle teasers” and advertising messages.  The difference is, since the broadcast is made directly to the mobile idle-screens- a synchronized, interactive network of personal billboards is created.

The concept is being tested by The Telefonica mobile operators group which has launched an innovative “idle screen marketing solution” powered by Celltick’s LiveScreen Media platform.  For real-world testing, the service is being used by Movistar, the Mobile Phone Company from the Telefonica Group.

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With the onset of mobile broadband from almost every carrier, will Wi-Fi still have its place in the market?  Will it truly be needed once a broadband connection can be used- not only at home and in the office but everywhere else as well?  The wireless carriers say yes.

Beyond that, carriers are making strides to partner with broadband providers to offer access to hotspots all across the country in hopes of subsidizing their own networks and providing coverage in areas where mobile broadband signals aren’t the strongest.

Qwest, for example, has partnered with AT&T to offer its high-speed Internet subscribers free access to over 17,000 hotspots, it said recently, and Verizon Communications is getting ready to partner with Boingo Wireless to do the same.  Carriers and broadband providers alike believe Wi-Fi will always maintain its relevancy due to cheaper international data roaming, much better indoor coverage and the ubiquity of built-in support for the technology.

No matter how advanced and ubiquitous mobile broadband becomes, Wi-Fi will always compliment it nicely due to several advantages. Read the rest

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