Black Friday always excites retailers, but this year Black Friday and the new Cyber Monday brought a new wave of shopping never seen before. Mobile phone purchases have skyrocketed 310% this year! The new trend of mobile marketing and purchasing has taken the market by storm and there are several companies that are taking great steps in the development of advertising and applications for the mobile world. When mobile marketing started, it focused solely on SMS or text messages. Many consumers and businesses felt the texts were spam and unwanted. Since then, cell phone technology has improved exponentially and mobile apps are the wave of the future.
MobileStorm is a leader in the mobile marketing industry. The company has been around since email marketing began (about eleven years ago) and has done well among its competitors. MobileStorm provides a hosted email and mobile platform for businesses looking to expand their advertising market. MobileStorm offers world-class technology support and guarantees a good return on investment. Although email marketing is a big part of MobileStorm, it also provides:
* SMS messaging
* Voice messaging
* RSS, and
* Video transmission and fax.
The best part about MobileStorm is that they recognize that not all companies are in a position to pay for large-scale marketing efforts and therefore provide two different options. The MobileStorm Go system is ideal for businesses simply looking to reach their audiences quickly and cheaply, while MobileStorm Pro focuses on broader marketing strategies, integration and brand protection. While MobileStorm may be the largest mobile marketing company, it has some reputable clients like Nascar, Hard Rock Cafe, American Idol, and Ashley Furniture Home Stores.
Millennial Media is one of the largest mobile marketers and has been in business since 2006. According to Nielson research studies, Millennial Media reaches 80% of the mobile web and has several hundred different advertisers on the web each month. Millennial Media has major entertainment clients such as Time Warner, MTV, Disney and Fox. As one of the largest of the independent mobile marketing companiesMillennial Media surpassed $9 billion in advertising requests in 2010. Millennial Media sets itself apart from other mobile vendors with a focus on creativity, first-to-market solutions, and being the only company to deliver targeted and scalable audiences.
Jumptap, another major player in the mobile marketing game, is unique in that it focuses on letting the consumer control advertising. Jumptap finds that customer control leads to better targeting, more relevant ads, and higher conversion and click-through rates. In September 2010, Jumptap added video, making it the only company to offer all mobile solutions on a single platform, including:
*Search
*Display
* Rich media
* Video, and
* Advertising in the application.
Mobile marketing companies often do a lot more than that, too.
Jumptap stays competitive by developing innovative intellectual property (IP) protection in many of its solutions. Jumptap has received more than five US patents on its developments in the last year and is sure to continue to be a force to be reckoned with among the competition. Jumptap recently partnered with Cyber Communications, Inc. (CCI). As Japan’s leading media representative company, CCI will be the only partner in Japan to offer Jumptap advertising technology. CCI is owned by Japan’s Dentsu, Inc. and plans to invest heavily in Jumptap. Jumptap is aware that mobile apps are making it possible to reach target audiences more effectively and has started its orchestrated Passport to Freedom initiative to provide increased revenue opportunities for mobile app developers. As mobile apps become more prevalent, it will become increasingly difficult for major developers to compete with the development budgets of large companies.
It should come as no surprise that Google has a foothold in the mobile marketing game. Google’s Admob was started in 2006 by a developer looking to remove obstacles to engaging users. Now, Admob has become one of the biggest players in mobile marketing by investing in cutting-edge technology and hiring the most talented developers. With Google’s notoriety, it’s understandable why companies like Ford, Paramount Pictures, and P&G have used its marketing tools. Admob provides business models for businesses looking to monetize and serve over a billion ads per month! Compared to MobileStorm’s total of 3 billion ads, you can see why Admob is the top favorite in this race. Admob also provides monthly mobile metrics reports that allow clients and partners to recognize trends in the market and strategize their advertising accordingly. Like MobileStorm, Google’s Admob allows companies with different advertising budgets the ability to reach consumers around the world.
Not to be outdone by Google, Microsoft also offers cutting-edge technology, making them the preferred choice for many businesses looking for mobile solutions. Microsoft Advertising has tremendous resources and outlets for its advertising campaigns and aims to reach more than 688 million customers per month. The sheer size of Microsoft and Google secures their positions in the field of mobile marketing, but the smaller companies highlighted above may offer more personalized approaches and be better equipped to reach specialized niches of customers. The rise of mobile phone apps signals the developing trend of businesses focusing on reaching consumers wherever they are. Future developments will focus on local advertising and tracking user interests. These techniques will make mobile advertising even more effective.