Last but not least...
5. m-Governance
In an exemplary move, the state of Kerala is setting up 20 services offered by the government on mobile phones instead of having the rural populace physically go to local government offices. See the details at the Kerala Govt. Site.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
5 Things To Bring Over From the Indian Mobile Industry...continued
3. Positioning by the mobile operators: ex. IDEA mobile with the mass appeal
Idea cellular launched a campaign in 2008 with the messaging “for the people, by the people”, highlighting how the mobile medium can be used to empower the masses of india (eg. Aid in policy decision-making by democratic voting, rural education, etc.). In comparison, the cellular services in the U.S. advertise high-end applications of phones (eg. Apple iPhone, Google Android) that are more for an affluent consumer rather than the average Joe. The mass-appeal function not only expands the market, but opens up avenues to make a larger impact on society. (From a marketer’s perspective, the PR prospects are immense)
4. SMS Culture
Just like the micro-blogging culture in the U.S., the texting culture in India is a phenomenon that has changed the way people communicate in the country. The popularity isn’t just within teen users (as in the U.S.), but transcends all ages. The interesting this is that the short hand used for SMS, somewhat of a slang-English, has become the normal way of written communication, especially within the younger users.
Idea cellular launched a campaign in 2008 with the messaging “for the people, by the people”, highlighting how the mobile medium can be used to empower the masses of india (eg. Aid in policy decision-making by democratic voting, rural education, etc.). In comparison, the cellular services in the U.S. advertise high-end applications of phones (eg. Apple iPhone, Google Android) that are more for an affluent consumer rather than the average Joe. The mass-appeal function not only expands the market, but opens up avenues to make a larger impact on society. (From a marketer’s perspective, the PR prospects are immense)
4. SMS Culture
Just like the micro-blogging culture in the U.S., the texting culture in India is a phenomenon that has changed the way people communicate in the country. The popularity isn’t just within teen users (as in the U.S.), but transcends all ages. The interesting this is that the short hand used for SMS, somewhat of a slang-English, has become the normal way of written communication, especially within the younger users.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
5 Things To Bring Over From the Indian Mobile Industry
Hi readers,
I am reviving my blog after almost a year of it being defunct. But now I'm back at doing some research and shall be posting plenty of trends and musings here. So stay tuned and please comment!
For the first few posts, I will be focusing on the new media trends that I observed/documented in India during my trip over the winter.
Read a blog post stating that successful brands have changed consumer behaviors. Advanced mobile phone usage has been a long time coming so I’ve enumerated a few things below that might influence how consumers interact with their cellphones--
1. Radio on Mobile
It is flabbergasting how such an obvious technology to translate into mobile as has not seen the light of the 2x2 screen in the U.S. yet. The smartphones carry only web radio as most of the handsets are not equipped with radio frequency receivers. Even the iPod needs a special add-on receiver.
Implications for marketers: In India, people listen to their fav radio stations on mobile phones as well even though regular radio has a high level of penetration. In the U.S. this technology might help buoy the declining radio industry and have the dollar spent on radio spots go a little further.
2. Idle Screen ads (GroupM + Celltick)
Not too intrusive, as you just check the time on your mobile and see a scrolling text ad to get your horoscope sent to your phone. Airtel and Vodafone are currently serving such ads in partnership with Celltick (www.celltick.com). This has immense potential for the future – users can create their own dashboard out of their idle screen.
Another playground for content creators and an arena for marketers to sponsor!
more to follow shortly...
I am reviving my blog after almost a year of it being defunct. But now I'm back at doing some research and shall be posting plenty of trends and musings here. So stay tuned and please comment!
For the first few posts, I will be focusing on the new media trends that I observed/documented in India during my trip over the winter.
Read a blog post stating that successful brands have changed consumer behaviors. Advanced mobile phone usage has been a long time coming so I’ve enumerated a few things below that might influence how consumers interact with their cellphones--
1. Radio on Mobile
It is flabbergasting how such an obvious technology to translate into mobile as has not seen the light of the 2x2 screen in the U.S. yet. The smartphones carry only web radio as most of the handsets are not equipped with radio frequency receivers. Even the iPod needs a special add-on receiver.
Implications for marketers: In India, people listen to their fav radio stations on mobile phones as well even though regular radio has a high level of penetration. In the U.S. this technology might help buoy the declining radio industry and have the dollar spent on radio spots go a little further.
2. Idle Screen ads (GroupM + Celltick)
Not too intrusive, as you just check the time on your mobile and see a scrolling text ad to get your horoscope sent to your phone. Airtel and Vodafone are currently serving such ads in partnership with Celltick (www.celltick.com). This has immense potential for the future – users can create their own dashboard out of their idle screen.
Another playground for content creators and an arena for marketers to sponsor!
more to follow shortly...
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