Archive for November, 2009
RIM still holds smartphone market share…but Apple catching up
Nov 4th
Research In Motion’s Blackberry continues to be the smartphone of choice among consumers, but Apple’s iPhone is quickly catching up, according to a recent survey by ChangeWave Research.
A week long survey conducted in September, revealed that RIM has 40% market share. But there’s a dip f one percentage point compared to June 2009. And this is the lowest market share for RIM in two years.
RIM is facing Stiff competition from Apple, its iPhone (on the market for two years this September) already has a 30% market share now. An increase of 5% since June.
Palm has remained steady, retaining its 7% market share since June. It’s to note that the two important launches, Palm Pre and Pixi, have not positively affected the Palm market share.
Back in June 2006, Palm had a market share of 36% it had eroded steadily from that peak to 7% now.
Perhaps it’s the array of iPhone applications that has ensured Apple’s success. Or it could just be done to its incredible brand. Visitors to Brandchannel.com claim Apple is the brand they cannot live without. It is the marque they most want to sit next to at a dinner party and with which they most identify.
What Google’s Social Search means for search engine marketers
Nov 4th
The recent deal between Google and Twitter means that the search engine giant will now able to use Twitter data to provide more relevant searches for Google users.
This means that search engine marketing strategies now have the potential to be tailored to specific demographics and target audiences.
In short, according to Highposition.net, Google Social Search will enable anyone logged into Google Profile to find real time search results from others in their social networks.
Although results from microblogs are in the public domain and therefore searchable, Google Social Search will make relevant results about local issues more prominent.
If plans go ahead to incorporate Facebook and Linkedin with social search capabilities, results from microblogging sites will be easier to find. This will improve and refine search results by increasing time-based relevancy, resulting in a more favourable experience for the user.
As far as search engine marketing goes, Google Social Search could be used to target a wider audience. However, there is an underlying worry that this will generate more spam as far as the user is concerned and therefore backfire in marketing terms.
As search engine marketing harnesses the potential to reach more people through optimization using social networks, the end result could be a massive spam machine, which Google will ultimately have to filter out to retain prominence as the preferred search platform.
Of course, all of these applications are still in Beta stage to discover how they can be made more user friendly. With any luck, one would hope that these improvements will allow a refined feature for businesses.
If a user is logged into their Google Profile and uses Social Search to find a local service, those trusted and recommended by their contacts should be promoted. At the same time there will undoubtedly be scope for business advertising, likely through Google’s Adwords platform.
It is often said that the internet forms a global community to the detriment of local alliances, but using applications such as Google Social Search, it also has the potential to bring back local issues and support local businesses through easier internet searches for relevant information.
Meanwhile, why is the ‘Google Doodle’ Wallace & Gromit? It’s their birthday today!
Orange looks to cash in on mobile internet with iPhone
Nov 3rd
The mobile internet has certainly been given a boost this year with the increasing popularity of Apple’s iPhone and the Android, now, French telecoms provider Orange is looking to further cash in on what has proved to be a natural progression for telcos – the mobile internet.
From next Tuesday (November 10), Orange will begin selling the iPhone, a long two years since its launch in the UK when the telco missed out on the lucrative contract when it went exclusively to O2.
The introduction of Apple’s handset is set to boost revenues at the UK third largest telco, which already boasts 4.7 million mobile internet subscribers.
Research from Juniper has revealed that the mobile internet ad spending could be well quadrupling from the current day £250 million to well over £1 billion by 2014.
An increase in mobile internet ad spend won’t not directly impact the revenues of the mobile network operators, but it is an indication of how lucrative the medium is going to be in the near future.
Last week, Orange reported a significant rise in its mobile internet customer base in its otherwise disappointing 2009 financial results.
It increased the number of mobile internet customers by almost two-thirds (64%) in the first nine months of 2009, compared to the same period last year – proving it can handle the ever increasing and demanding iPhone audience.
The network offers a range of mobile internet packages offering speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps which start from £4.89 a month.
In the build to its iPhone November 10 debut, Orange has launched a £4m outdoor and press advertising campaign to promote its 3G network, which it claims covers more than 93% of the population.
Orange has a strategy of looking to woo customers with its claim to have the best network based on third generation mobile technology, which enables reasonable web surfing on handsets.
Text me more marketing messages please!
Nov 2nd
It’s not something you hear everyday in the world of marketing but, nonetheless, findings of a recent survey show that a large number of consumers aren’t happy with mobile marketers because their favorite brand hasn’t yet marketed to them via their mobile device.
A massive 83% of people surveyed for HipCricket’s second annual Mobile Marketing Survey are staring blankly at their mobile screens just waiting for a marketing message that could direct them to a bargain from their favourite brand or provide them with a nugget of new product information.
Consumers are already using the mobile internet to find brands and products, with 85% of respondents agreeing that it’s a valuable source of information that interests them. A little over 40% have visited a retailer’s mobile website for such reasons as finding store locations (70%), store hours (51%), directions (39%) and searching for coupons or promotions (29%).
HipCricket’s September study, based on 511 email responses, also discovered that mobile Internet users are even paying attention to marketing messages they receive on their handsets. Almost half of those who had received mobile marketing offers recalled the brand and a whopping 94% remembered the specific call to action.
Yet, despite consumer want, mobile marketers just don’t seem to be pushing their messages to consumers.
With consumer interest in mobile marketing continuing to steadily increase, it’s clear that now is the time for brands to launch and execute their mobile strategy and programs.
Furthermore, mobile initiatives are succeeding because they connect a demand from the consumer with high levels of recall.
Time to get texting!
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