Just a week before their blockbuster debut, the Simpsons have their first Mobile game, “Minutes to Meltdown.” The game was created by a team from Fox Mobile Entertainment, Gracie Films, EA Mobile and mobile entertainment company Jamba. Gamers will guide Homer through Springfield to stop a meltdown at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant with appearances by Bart, Mr. Burns and other favorites.
The Simpsons team have created a solid mobile platform that includes ringtones, voicetones, wallpapers, screensavers and the Simpsons mobile game. All of these mobile phone products can be purchased through the Simpsons’ mobile site. For $9.99 a month, subscribers can purchase 6 different Simpson content products for their cell phones. For some reason, the mobile game is not supported through Verizon or Virgin Mobile.
All the right steps and elements have been added to leverage this brand internationally. “Woo-Hoo” We will see the successes of these promotional and marketing efforts after next weeks release of the Simpsons Movie on July 27.
PayPal has announced the addition of their mobile checkout service in the US, Canada and the UK. PayPal Mobile allows customers to click on a PayPal icon and purchase items through the mobile web. The service, “Click to Pay,” compliments a text based payment service introduced in April of 2006. Users can donate to charities, “Text to Buy,” or send money by phone through the PayPal short code 729725 - paypal.
Other companies providing mobile payment options include TextPayMe and Wells Fargo/VISA is testing a similar offering. Until websites are readily accessible through mobile browsers more focus should be put towards mobile content sites offering games, ring-tones, etc. And don’t forget to sign-up for the PayPal Mobile service ahead of time.
We’ve all been patiently waiting and tomorrow at 6pm (local time), the Apple iPhone is officially on the market. The Frenzy all started Monday in New York City with enthusiasts forming lines to be the first to receive their iPhone. AT&T, the exclusive carrier, and Apple retail stores plan to increase security and employee forces to deal with the crowds.
The iPhone has become one of the most hyped product releases ever it is bound to change the mobile industry. There is still uncertainty about the phones performance and cost; $499 for the 4G and $599 for the 5G models. Regardless, the phone remains the talk of the mobile world for now.
In an attempt to reach a younger demographic, the car manufacturer Hyundai has implemented a new interactive campaign that includes a mobile-friendly microsite, ads on MySpace and mobile applications for a Times Square billboard. Through its research, Hyundai discovered that nearly 40 percent of the population has little knowledge about the car brand, especially the 18-34 demographic.
Hyundai created this new mobile platform to reach the younger audience and compete against automobile giants Toyota and Honda. So far the mobile campaign has earned a nine percent click-through rate since March and will add more of its models to the campaign. This was a good move on Hyundai’s part and could have some real legs as people start adopting this new form of advertising. The growth of social networks, mobile applications and Web 2.0 will prove to evolve the interactive marketing industry as large companies find new ways to reach their target audiences. It will be interesting to see the up-and-coming campaigns that marketers will use to target their audiences as the competition becomes fiercer…
Today MobiTV, the mobile content provider, has added NBC Sports to the lineup. The NBC Sports content became available today with the US Open Golf tee-off by Tiger Woods. NBC Sports Mobile will continue to be available for other sporting events and highlights. Other mobile sports coverage will include Wimbledon and the NFL.
On June 1st, Amp’d Mobile officially announced they had filed for Chapter 11: Bankruptcy Protection. A press release on the Amp’d site explains that with an increase in growth, the company has been unable to keep up with customer demands and is seeking government protection to help stabilize the weakening financial status of the company.
With about 200,000 subscribers, Amp’d has about 80,000 non-paying customers. With several debts, this clearly has created a problem for the company. The Chapter 11 files indicated that Amp’d owes over $33 million to Verizon Wireless and another $16 million to Motorola. Total debts are around $100 million.
So, will Amp’d be able to get past this $100 hurdle and not fall victim like ESPN Mobile did last year? It seems that while mobile users are interested in the services provided by the Amp’d and ESPN networks, perhaps the problem is figuring out a better pricing model. Mobile phone subscribers are going to continue to be reluctant to shed additional dollars for an over priced service.
Amp’d Mobile was established in December, 2005 and works with the MTV network and Universal Music Group (to name a few) as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) to proved music, videos and entertainment content to subscribers mobile devices.
The latest buzz in mobile phones is all about the “iphone killers.” Most note worthy could be the LG Prada Phone. The LG Prada phone has a sleek touch screen design which includes a camera and plays music and videos. The phone is not a PDA or for email and online usage. The name “Prada” speaks for itself, this phone is all about the brand and image. Retail value should be around $600. At this time, the Verizon Wireless US release date on the LG Prada phone is unknown. A Verizon rep denies that the Prada phone is the answer to the iPhone and claims there will be several other phones for release late this summer.Other “iPhone killers” could include the Song Ericsson Walkman phones and a possible Google phone. Rumors have surfaced that Samsung and Google have paired to create the Google Switch phone. As we all patiently wait to see which phones out perform the other, the iPhone release has certainly pushed the US phone carriers to step-up and offer some better phones.The iPhone release date has been postponed from June 11th to now be around June 26th.
Clear Channel Radio has announced a new mobile phone initiative that will be rolling out over the coming months for more than 100 radio stations. The new application will be free for users (with standard text messaging rates) and incorporate mobile advertising.
New York radio station z100 will be the first to launch the mobile phone application. By using SMS test features, users will be able to access text messages to participate in contests, receive music news, request songs and much more. Access to the mobile service is supported by a WAP site wap.z100.com. Additionally, listener will have access to station logos, ring tones and wallpapers.
Just two weeks after the merger of Microsoft and Screen Tonic, AOL announced it has officially acquired mobile ad network and management platform provider Third Screen Media. Third Screen will operate under the AOL Advertising.com division.
Third Screen Media is currently the largest mobile provider and mobile ad network worldwide. Third Screen offers MADX, the web-based mobile ad management/delivery system, and TSM which is the mobile ad network with over 100 publishers. Mobile ads can be delivered through WAP sites, SMS, MMS and mobile video.
This merger positions Advertising.com as the “One-Stop” shop for advertisers and publishers interested in mobile advertising. By taking the lead in their capabilities for online advertising, Advertising.com will combined their advertising solutions with the next levels of the mobile advertising channel and technologies.
Admob, the world’s largest mobile advertising network, and mywaves a mobile video company, are joining forces to create dynamic mobile video ads. Coca-Cola has signed on to be the first advertiser to utilize the Click-to-Video platform. Admob will deliver a banner like ad to any of its partner sites and the user can click to view a short video ad from Coca-Cola entitled “bubble.” The animated ad is on a mywaves landing page with the embedded player where the video appears.
For mobile, the challenge still seems to lie in the careful balance of creating an ad with entertainment and commercial value. Will the Coca-Cola mobile video live up to these expectations? We’ll have to wait to see, but clearly Coca-Cola has a lot to live up to. I was surprised to find no promotional elements with the campaign. As well, neither the estimated costs of the campaign nor the goals were discussed.
