Many of the discussions I have had at trade shows and with new prospects are marketers looking to find out more about mobile marketing and advertising. The discussion quickly moves to “how do I get started”.

For a marketer starting to explore mobile, it can be a daunting task due to the number of acronyms thrown about by our industry on a daily basis. There are a few basic tools that I recommend any client should have to start to trial and embrace mobile as part of their mix now. Starting with this tool kit today will set your organisation on a path to make mobile an even more cost effective channel in the near future.

The basic tool kit:

• Short code or long code depending on your market
• Mobile destination,
• Web trigger

Shortcode and longcodes. Text messaging in most markets is the easiest place to start an organisations entry into mobile marketing. Traditionally this represents the highest penetration method to reach a mobile audience as even the most basic mobile handset has this capability. In most countries you will need to obtain a number through your major mobile carrier or mobile solutions partner (SMS Aggregator). Once your code is set up you have the equivalent of an address to use for ongoing marketing calls to action and to interact with you customers. These services are very effective on Outdoor media, print, and TV. Typical uses are prompting your audience to “text [KEYWORD] to [shortcode/longcode] to get more information/enter a competition/register interest”. This can be a powerful way to start a dialogue with a potential customer. As marketers drive towards gaining greater understanding of the returns from their media investment this technique gives you almost instantaneous feedback on how your media is performing e.g. how many prospects text in after a TV ad spot, after a magazine hits the stands etc.

The mobile destination. Most companies start out with a very simple mobile site or a campaign based landing page. As 3G network penetration increases and consumers move toward later handsets, this presents a compelling opportunity to provide a richer, more informative experience. Leading brands are now starting to build their mobile “web site” as they seek to be found anywhere, anytime by their prospects and customers and to feature in the fast growing mobile search engines. Mobile destinations these days are moving beyond text and graphics and are fully featured sites that includ data entry/capture, video, and transactional credit card billing. Take a look at the m.Net mobile destination (mobile.mnetcorporation.com) to see a wide range of recent client destinations ranging from compelling coupons and campaign sites right thru to full featured mobile destinations.

Web Triggers allow you to take advantage of the investment you have put into your online website to promote your mobile assets. One of the challenges of creating a mobile destination is how to make your audience aware of its existence. A web trigger is a call to action, typically implemented as icon on your website that your users interact with to launch a pop up. The pop up allows the user to enter their mobile number and to send an SMS with a link to the desired mobile asset to their handset. Really effective but simple executions include mobile contact pages (your business details, a map and a click2call phone number), and mobile coupons (shown at point of sale to redeem the offer). Advanced forms of web triggers allow the user to opt-in (double opt-in of course) off the pop up on your web site so that you can grow your mobile opt-in database.

Finally getting started is actually very cost effective particularly with the backdrop of the global financial crisis. You are on your way with this little toolkit including a basic mobile site (1-3 page) for less then $10K. There really is no reason why your business should not be starting the “plan, trial, refine” cycle with mobile marketing and advertising to understand the best ROI for your business objectives.

The m.Net team is at at the Sydney Convention Centre this week for ad:tech Sydney 2009. Come an visit us in the trade hall at Booth 27.

On the stand this year our team members will be able to take you through recent mobile marketing case studies and demonstrate the breadth of our solutions that can meet your business needs. Come and see why m.Net was awarded B&T Magazine’s Digital Services Company of the Year 2008.

The m.Net team are in the USA this week, selected as one of 6 companies considered as the most innovative in Australia to participate in the G’Day USA week Australian Innovation Fast Pitch and Shootout.

During this week the m.Net Campaign Mobile product will be showcased at separate events in LA and Silicon Valley.

An elite group of judges from the US technology and financial industries will determine which of the 6 participants is the Australian Innovator of the Year

Posted by Horden Wiltshire, Chief Executive Officer

We recently designed, developed, and delivered a site of which we are very proud: the 2008 Olympic Games mobile site for Australia’s number-one carrier, Telstra. The site–which was a world-leading mobile destination by any measure–incorporated two live video streams from the Seven Network and SBS as well as Video On Demand, integrated SMS alerts, and the delivery of a variety of content feeds.

I was personally surprised by the enthusiasm with which Australians took to watching live video on their phones. Negative press regarding the uptake of video on mobile phones is all too common, with the argument usually trotted out being that no-one wants to watch a movie on the phone. I have to admit I did have some misgivings.

The Olympics has changed my opinion. The site was an outstanding success with an uptake significantly greater than anyone expected.

The service was priced well, at AU$9.95 for an unlimited-access pass to the Olympic Games site over the 16-day event. Day passes were available for AU$3.95 and pay-per-view was available at AU$0.50c.

Another important factor in the success of the service was a promotional campaign implemented by Telstra across the Seven Network and Yahoo!7 during the event. The call to action was simple: “just push the BigPond button on your mobile phone”, with a link to the site featured in a prominent position on the portal.

I think we will look back at this time as having been a turning point in the uptake of the mobile Internet in this country, with more Australians today having 3G devices than terrestrial broadband connections. Last year more than 40% of Australians visited mobile websites on their phones, and with increasing exposure to events such as the Olympic Games we expect that number to increase significantly. I believe there will be increasing demand for marquee events where real-time video makes a significant difference to the end user’s experience.

Bring on the Melbourne Cup!

Posted by Scott Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer

We continue to help educate the market about the opportunities gained from embracing mobile marketing. I will be speaking at the ADMA Forum about how including mobile in the marketing package can help enhance campaigns. I have some interesting case studies to share from our experience with leading local clients.

Please also visit our stand in the Mobile Marketing Pavilion as I will be demonstrating www.campaignmobile.com. If you would like to see how Campaign Mobile empowers agencies, web developers and brands with the capability to manage their mobile-marketing campaigns please drop by and ask for a demonstration of the platform.

To find out more about ADMA Forum follow this link www.admaforum.com