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Nice find, dlethe01 EOM
DD New Developments in Mobile Entertainment Take LA by Storm at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2006
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060831005...
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31, 2006--
From Mobile Marketing Campaigns to Multimedia Content, Hollywood's Finest Demonstrate New Wireless Products and Services for Today's Wireless Lifestyle
This year's CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment show, taking place Sept. 12-14, 2006 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC), will feature exhibits, pavilions and conference tracks dedicated to new innovations in mobile entertainment. Drawing on the success of the CTIA WIRELESS 2006 show in Las Vegas, the fall show dives deeper into how the entertainment industry is embracing wireless technology and changing their business models to take full advantage of the wireless channel.
"Music, video and games are still making their way onto mobile devices and consumers continue to adopt the new technology," said Robert Mesirow, vice president and show director for CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment. "New wireless applications and services are making consumers more effective in their personal and professional lives and giving them more choices and benefits. This year at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment we expect to see a number of new mobile entertainment choices come to market."
Co-located Conferences
The Billboard MECCA 2006 conference is once again co-located at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment, taking place on Monday Sept. 11 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. This one-day event will shed new light on the continually evolving mobile entertainment industry and will open with a keynote address from Paul Reddick, vice president of business development and product innovation at Sprint.
Mobile devices have become one of the hottest new channels for marketing campaigns. At Marketing--The Mobile Channel, a CTIA-sponsored conference taking place Wednesday Sept. 13 at the LACC, agency professionals will join carriers, corporate advertisers, media publishers and device manufacturers in a day-long program that will reveal some of the most interesting new campaigns and business models that encourage consumer interaction, effectively promote brands and make the "third screen" a great place to do business.
Exhibit Floor
This year in the M-tertainment Pavilion attendees will find companies with the hottest mobile trends for downloading music, movie trailers, cutting edge video games, and more. The mobile entertainment market is surging with new and untapped revenues and CTIA has created a place for up and coming companies to spotlight their services. Some of the exhibiting companies include Arphiola, BME, conVISUAL, Emdigo, Glu Mobile, GOFRESH, Hands-On Mobile, MindMatics, Mobile Streams, Oasys, Playphone, QCOM, SONiVOX, SRS Labs, STATS and VisualOn.
CTIA Educational Sessions
The Mobile Entertainment conference track will feature speakers from leading entertainment and wireless companies and will focus on topics ranging from interactive television campaigns to new trends in games and music, and ways to personalize the consumer mobile experience.
Day 1 mobile entertainment sessions include:
The Mobile Entertainment Keynote will kick off the education sessions on Tuesday Sept. 12 at 1:00pm. A panel of carrier executives from ALLTEL, Cingular Wireless, Hiwire, Orange, Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless will discuss what's working (as well as what's not) in the mobile entertainment market and what it will take to propel business to the next level.
A Mobile Television Plenary Session will follow the keynote. Here, executives from CBS Digital Media, Fox Interactive Media, MediaFLO, MobiTV, MTV and NBC Universal will outline their visions for distributing video content via the mobile channel.
A Mobile Music Plenary Session will follow, serving as a forum for music industry insiders from Ericsson, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Mobile and Warner Music to discuss trends and strategies for the mobile music market. Labels and artists are gaining mainstream exposure through the mobile channel and leveraging new revenues streams for existing and tailor-made content.
Wrapping up Day 1 will be a Mobile Games Plenary Session that will address the reality of the mobile games marketplace, the outlook for multiplayer games and the effect of 3G deployment on market adoption. Hear from games industry execs from Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Nokia and QUALCOMM.
Day 2 mobile entertainment sessions include:
On & Off Deck - Virtuous Cycle or Zero Sum Game - This session will examine the impact of the massive effort to provide off-deck content to subscribers. Executives from Fox Mobile Entertainment, Motricity, Nellymoser, Novarra, Qpass and Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) will discuss potential revenue opportunities as well as obstacles that this evolution presents.
Peer-to-Peer: The Ultimate in Mobile Personalization - P2P applications such as chat/communities, picture/greetings, music sharing, and IM have become increasingly popular in the US. Executives from AOL, Facebook, iLoop Mobile, NeuStar, T-Mobile USA and Upoc Networks will sound off on strategies to increase adoption and integration of P2P apps into the mobile personalization sector.
The Intersection of LBS & Entertainment - This session will uncover some of the amazing applications made possible with location technology. Executives from Autodesk, AOL/Mapquest, Inrix, Telmap and QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies will discuss the developing synergies between LBS and entertainment and what the future has in store for new apps.
Issues in Mobile Content: A Closer Look at Discovery, Marketing & Licensing - Legal and marketing experts from American Greetings Interactive, Goldring Hertz & Lichtenstein LLP, InfoSpace, Morrison & Foerster, QUALCOMM and Zingy will address various factors inhibiting the growth of mobile content, including rights and licensing.
For a full conference listing of panels, including times, locations and speakers, visit http://www.wirelessit.com/info/ctia_educational.cfm.
About CTIA
CTIA-The Wireless Association is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers. CTIA is also recognized as the premiere producer of two annual technology events representing the complete wireless, mobile and Internet industries. CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment takes place in Los Angeles September 12-14; CTIA WIRELESS 2007 takes place in Orlando March 27-29. Visit www.ctia.org.
CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment is a one-of-a-kind event that reflects the dual nature of today's wireless data industry--technology that offers both mobile solutions to the enterprise and mobile entertainment to the consumer. This event brings together diverse audience segments to satisfy every mobile data need and respond to the ever-growing market demand for wireless services. Visit www.ctia.org/wirelessIT06.
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Hangdog, your efforts and post are much appreciated. Thank you!
Do you think qode will not be launched at CTIA? Is Ad-Tech in London a possibility? or do you envision another venue?
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HipCricket has been finally taken off the Neom website
http://www.neom.com/bu/nm/index.jsp
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Qode.com Updated? (I don't remember seeing the get.qode.com/go link yesterday)
From the FAQ link:
What Devices Does qode Support?
qode for Camera Cell Phones™ is currently supported on the Nokia Model 3650 and Model 3660 cellular phones. For these phones, NeoMedia offers device software that uses the built-in camera in the cell phones to decode barcodes and display the content on the phones’ built-in browser. NeoMedia is actively working with other cell phone manufacturers to expand the list of supported cell phones.
qode for Personal Computers™ works on any PC running Windows 95, 96, Me, NT, 2000, or XP. For these environments, NeoMedia offers device software that will work Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and other Web browsers, as well as with a variety of barcode scanners.
top
What About Cell Phones Without Cameras?
NeoMedia has provided a gateway for cellular phones and other mobile devices that do not have embedded cameras or barcode readers. It is located at http://get.qode.com/go. If your users bookmark this Web page, they can go there and manually enter the digits associated with a barcode. This will take them to the same place they would have gone with the camera phone device software.
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Just imagine how bad the pps would be at this point without the paint news LOL.
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OT DD Nokia to buy navigation software maker gate5
Nokia agreed to buy German navigation software maker gate5. The deal gives the handset maker the ability to offer maps on mobile devices. Financial terms for the deal weren't disclosed. We've seen MapQuest become one of the top revenue-generating downloads so it's only natural that Nokia wants to capture a piece of that market. Nokia says it expects the market for personal navigation devices to nearly double to 15 million units in 2006, from last year.
For more about Nokia's planned acquisition of gate5:
- check out this article from BusinessWeek Online
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8JRE9L00.htm?sub=apn_tech_down&chan=tc
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From the 8K:
10. Confidentiality. Each of the parties hereto agrees that it will not use, or permit the use of, any of the information relating to The Division or the Purchaser respectively furnished to each other in connection with this letter, the Purchase Agreement or the Acquisition ("Confidential Information"), except publicly available or freely usable material as otherwise obtained from another source, in a manner or for a purpose detrimental to the Division or the Purchaser or otherwise than in connection with this letter, the Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. None at the parties hereto will, and the Seller will cause the Company and its directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives not to, disclose, divulge, provide or make accessible any of the Confidential Information to any person or entity, other than their responsible officers, employees, advisors or attorneys or otherwise as required by law or regulation. The provisions of this paragraph 10 and the following paragraph
11. Disclosure. Without the prior written consent of the other party hereto, neither party hereto will, and each party hereto will cause its directors, officers, employees. agents, other representatives and affiliates not to, disclose to any person the fact that discussions or negotiations are taking place concerning the transactions contemplated hereby, the status thereof, or the existence of this letter and the terms thereof, unless in the opinion of such party disclosure is required to be made under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and such disclosure is made after prior consultation with the other party. Neither party will issue any public announcement concerning the transaction without the approval of the other party, except as may be required by law (it being noted that the parties have mutually approved a public announcement to be issued simultaneously with the execution of this letter).
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They obviously had to keep the purchase price and T's and C's confidential as they are apparently also negotiating the selling of AutoXperience to DuPont or PPG. I would presume the negotiations with Jose Sada / GEM were further along at this point in time.
Hope this leads to somewhat of a bidding war between the 3 parties...so ultimately we get a fair price.
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joedimaggio, well said. EOM
Re: today's PR...Below is an excerpt of an email I sent to the Board of Directors on August 12th:
NMPR is not generating the cash to fund the Neomedia Mobile business unit as
originally planned. While I was impressed with their operation and people in
Ft. Myers during the SHM, the bottom line is it is taking too long for this
business unit to generate positive cash flow. I have no doubt that this will
eventually be a profitable business unit, but I am concerned that the reason
Neom invested in NMPR is not materializing as fast as it should. And, I have
always been concerned that it distracts or dilutes Management's focus from
the Mobile Marketing core competency.
As I view Neom's liquidity issues at a crisis stage, perhaps Neomedia should
quickly sell NMPR to DuPont or PPG to raise cash that could fund the
acquisitions.
IMO, Neom should be working fast to strike a deal with a News Corp,
Microsoft, Nokia or P&G type company to get some significant cash infused
into the business...even if it means giving up some control of running the
business.
Perhaps this correspondence and other similar communications from other shareholders prompted today's action.
I would anticipate an additional PR and associated 8K's to be filed within the next 2 weeks to detail the restructuring for financing of the acquisitions.
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OT Ditto. Thanks Billybass1234
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Beam11, Thanks for your 4 point insights. Good analysis and rational thinking.
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YJ, how does this financing enable Neom to complete the funding of the acquisitions?
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From the 8K - Exhibit 10.1
(c) Capitalization. The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 5,000,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 25,000,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 (“Preferred Stock”) of which 641,279,245 shares of Common Stock and 22,000 shares of Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding. All of such outstanding shares have been validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable. No shares of Common Stock are subject to preemptive rights or any other similar rights or any liens or encumbrances suffered or permitted by the Company. As of the date of this Agreement, (i) there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip, rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities or rights convertible into, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may become bound to issue additional shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or options, warrants, scrip, rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities or rights convertible into, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) there are no outstanding debt securities and (iii) there are no agreements or arrangements under which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is obligated to register the sale of any of their securities under the Securities Act (except pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement) and (iv) there are no outstanding registration statements and there are no outstanding comment letters from the SEC or any other regulatory agency. There are no securities or instruments containing anti-dilution or similar provisions that will be triggered by the issuance of the Convertible Debentures as described in this Agreement. The Company has furnished to the Buyer true and correct copies of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, as amended and as in effect on the date hereof (the “Articles of Incorporation”), and the Company’s By-laws, as in effect on the date hereof (the “By-laws”), and the terms of all securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock and the material rights of the holders thereof in respect thereto other than stock options issued to employees and consultants.
(h) Corporate Existence. So long as any of the Convertible Debentures remain outstanding, the Company shall not directly or indirectly consummate any merger, reorganization, restructuring, reverse stock split consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or any similar transaction or related transactions (each such transaction, an “Organizational Change”) unless, prior to the consummation an Organizational Change, the Company obtains the written consent of each Buyer. In any such case, the Company will make appropriate provision with respect to such holders’ rights and interests to insure that the provisions of this Section 4(h) will thereafter be applicable to the Convertible Debentures.
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DD Web Host GoDaddy.com Offers Early .MOBI Registration & Services
http://www.tophosts.com/articles/003684.html
GoDaddy.com, leading provider of domain name registration and website hosting services, is now offering customers early pre-registration and services of .MOBI domain names before it opens to the public on September 26, 2006
August 30, 2006 – (TopHosts News Brief) –- GoDaddy.com announced it’s offering customers the chance to pre-register .MOBI domain names before the two-week registration period opens up to everyone on Sept. 26.
Right now, all customers who register their .MOBI domain names through GoDaddy.com will receive free hosting and a website builder, giving customers access to creation tools for making .MOBI-compliant websites and hosting them through GoDaddy.com. For customers not ready to build a website, a .MOBI domain name can still be pre-registered and parked with a placeholder page until they are ready.
Designed for mobile devices by leading mobile operators, network device manufacturers and Internet content providers, .MOBI is a top-level domain (TLD) accredited by ICANN. Accessing the Internet from mobile devices is easier and faster through .MOBI.
For more information about .MOBI at GoDaddy.com visit https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/tlds/mobi.asp.
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DD Yahoo! Go for Mobile Now Available for Windows Mobile Devices; Expands Reach of Service to Millions of Windows Mobile Devices Globally
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/?epi-content=NEWS_VIEW_POPUP_TYPE&newsId=200608300...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2006--Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) has made its Yahoo! Go for Mobile service available for consumers to download onto Windows Mobile-powered phones. Starting today the millions of consumers around the world with Windows Mobile-powered phones, such as the Motorola Q, can use Yahoo! Go for Mobile for the first time.
Yahoo! Go for Mobile, which first launched earlier this year (http://go.yahoo.com/mobile), is an integrated suite of Yahoo!'s leading services including Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Photos that gives consumers quick access to their personalized Internet content on their mobile phone. Yahoo! has also signed global distribution deals with leading device manufacturers to reach millions of additional consumers by embedding Yahoo! Go for Mobile on select devices.
"Today's launch increases the number of consumers who can use Yahoo! Go for Mobile to stay connected to their community of friends, personalized content and favorite Internet services," said Marco Boerries, senior vice president, connected life, Yahoo!. "We are making it even easier for more consumers to take the Yahoo! experience with them on their mobile phone."
Yahoo! Go for Mobile is a comprehensive application that extends consumers Internet community and content seamlessly to their mobile device. Key features of the service include:
-- Yahoo! Mail -- Easily manages and stores messages on mobile devices and provides receive notification for incoming mail
-- Yahoo! Search (Local, Web and Image) -- Provides Local search, full Web search and Image search to view billions of pictures
-- Yahoo! Photos -- Automatic upload of camera phone pictures to a Yahoo! Photos account, view and manage all albums saved on the Web account and download photos from albums directly to the mobile device
-- Yahoo! Address Book and Calendar -- Easy entry, management and back-up of contacts and calendar events
-- Yahoo! News, Sports, Finance and more -- Quick access to the full range of content services including Yahoo! News, Sports, Finance and Movies.
"Staying connected to essential information, from business contacts and calendar to personal email or news, is a crucial part of today's mobile lifestyle," said Scott Horn, general manager, Microsoft Corp. "The availability of Yahoo! Go for Mobile on Windows Mobile-powered phones will allow our customers to bring their favorite Yahoo! services to the devices they already rely on."
The service is available for download at http://go.yahoo.com/mobile.
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Here is a similar, but different Yahoo asian website with a link to qode.
http://english.hk.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Computers/Hardware/Peripherals...
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Neomedia will be an exhibitor at AdTech in London on September 27-28, 2006.
http://www.ad-techlondon.co.uk/exhibitor_details.shtml?exhibitor_id=9664
Promotion information:
NeoMedia Technologies is the worldwide leader in Mobile Marketing. Across our leading-edge mobile services providers, over 4 billion on-pack mobile marketing promotions have been enabled, including the largest-ever mobile campaigns. Our R&D efforts are at the forefront of the industry, creating next generation code-reading capabilities, visual matching, and mobile couponing technology solutions, as well as the world’s most creative, effective and fun mobile campaigns. NeoMedia holds 27 patents with coverage in 14 countries. Our global solutions include: qode (www.qode.com), 12Snap (www.12snap.com), Gavitec (www.gavitec.com), Mobot (www.mobot.com), Sponge (www.spongegroup.com) and HipCricket (www.hipcricket.com).
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OT Kudos JoeDiBa. Welcome to Ihub.
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There is a link for qode on this Yahoo asian website:
http://english.hk.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/Consumer_Advocacy_and_Information/
The qode link is about 3/4 down the page.
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Neom was not mentioned in tonight's TS update.
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ipsh DD: ipsh! Contributes Mobile Marketing Expertise And Technology To “Making Change For Katrina” Campaign
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=19313
8/29/2006 11:51:01 AM
Firm leverages mobile text technology to promote national fundraising effort benefiting Habitat for Humanity
SAN FRANCISCO – Aug. 29, 2006 – As part of the national “Making Change for Katrina” campaign to help raise awareness and funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina, ipsh!, a global mobile marketing agency, created the mobile text component that will allow users to receive text messages about Katrina-related events.
“Making Change for Katrina” (www.makingchangeforkatrina.org) is the first-of-its-kind national campaign to collect spare change, via Coinstar machines, to benefit victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The funds raised through the campaign will go directly to Habitat for Humanity to help build simple and decent housing in the hurricane-affected states.
As part of its contribution to the campaign, ipsh! created the platform that allows users to sign-up and receive targeted and time sensitive alerts about Katrina events and news in their area, directly to their mobile phones. Users just visit: www.makingchangeforkatrina.org/StayConnected and provide their first name, zip code and cell phone number. Additionally, ipsh! developed the viral mobile marketing component that enables visitors to spread the word about “Making Change for Katrina” by signing-up their friends to also receive text messages, directly from the web page.
“Although Katrina was a year ago, there is still a need for funds in the region for housing and other relief,” said Nihal Mehta, CEO of ipsh! “We recognized that Making Change for Katrina is an easy way for people in the U.S. to contribute and make a big difference without having to give a lot. By creating a mobile component to the campaign, people will have even more access to fundraising events and other activities where they can get involved and make donations. We are excited being involved in such a great program.”
According to Coinstar Inc, there is more than $10.5 billion of uncirculated spare change in American homes. Together, just a small portion of these coins can help build thousands of homes for victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
ipsh! is working with Cone, Inc. the nation’s leading cause branding agency, which developed and is spearheading Making Change for Katrina campaign.
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About Making Change for Katrina
Making Change for Katrina (www.makingchangeforkatrina.org) is a pro bono campaign that was created by Carol Cone, Chairman of Cone, Inc., the nation’s leading cause branding agency. Making Change for Katrina is a campaign to collect spare change to benefit the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. The recipient of this campaign is Habitat for Humanity, which has been a partner throughout the development process. Coinstar Inc., with more than 12,000 Coinstar® Centers in grocery stores throughout the U.S., will serve as the primary collection partner.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International, based in Americus, Ga., is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since 1976, Habitat has built more than 200,000 houses in nearly 100 countries, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for one million people. www.habitat.org.
About ipsh!
ipsh! is an award-winning, full-service, global mobile marketing agency. With over 550 successful campaigns since the company’s inception in June 2001, ipsh! executes mobile marketing solutions using technologies, such as 1-way and 2-way SMS, alerts, promotions, ringtones, logos, pictures, wallpaper, screensavers and games. Additionally, the company leverages real-time voting/polling, chat, interactive TV, text to screen, IVR (interactive voice response), premium SMS, MMS, mobile video, bluecasting, and location-based services. ipsh! is a wholly owned subsidiary of Omnicom Group Inc. For more information, visit http://www.ipsh.com.
Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE: OMC – News: http://www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
About Cone:
Cone, Inc. (www.coneinc.com) is a brand strategy and communications agency, which connects corporations, nonprofits and social issues. Cone is part of Omnicom, a global network of many of the world’s top advertising and communications agencies.
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DD Mobile Marketing Trends Revealed at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2006
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060829005...
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 2006--
Executives from Leading Advertising & Marketing Agencies, Publishing Companies, Corporate Advertisers and Wireless Carriers Collaborate and Present the Latest in Mobile Marketing Campaigns
Mobile marketing is completely changing the way we're watching and interacting with television and other entertainment content, finding information and communicating with others -- whether that be a customer, colleague or friend. In the not-too-distant future, we'll be able to make purchases and receive targeted information directly from advertisers from anywhere in the world. The state of mobile marketing and its tremendous possibilities will be discussed and forecasted at a one-day event, Marketing -- The Mobile Channel, Wednesday, Sept. 13 during CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2006, in room 411 of the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC).
"Mobile commerce is just getting started in the United States, and that's a huge step for us. We have seen a number of mobile trends take off in Asia, and during the conference we'll discover several new developments underway here in the U.S.," said Robert Mesirow, vice president and show director, CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment. "Mobile marketing is one of the most creative methods for connecting people on a global scale, and as an organization, CTIA is committed to providing the best environment to share these ideas. We are excited about this year's mobile marketing program and look forward to the speakers sharing their insights."
Highlights of Marketing -- The Mobile Channel include:
-- The conference begins with a Keynote presentation from Jon Vlassopulos, vice president of business development at Endemol USA, a global leader in television entertainment programming. Endemol produces reality TV programs such as Fear Factor, Big Brother and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Vlassopulos will discuss new steps they are taking to make the most of the mobile channel and how mobile will impact the consumer interface.
-- A panel on Ad-Sponsored Content will include speakers from Amobee, Fox Interactive Media, Hachette Filipacchi Publishing, Jumptap, mFoundry and VeriSign. This discussion will explore the pros and cons of the current subscription-based model versus the currently popular and wildly successful ad-sponsored model.
-- Leading wireless carriers will sound off on the future of off-portal content and initiatives to implement consumer protection controls in the Carrier Panel. Speakers from Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile will discuss what the industry is doing to balance consumer drive for unlimited content with the responsibility to protect consumers from unwanted intrusion. Hear how the industry is taking proactive steps to automatically monitor short code programs and keep the mobile channel a clean and safe place to conduct business.
-- Marketing agency representatives from ARC Worldwide, Draft FCB, Impact Mobile and Sixteen30 will join attorneys and venture capitalists to reveal their strategies for spreading the word about the power of the mobile medium in an Advertising Strategy Panel. Attendees will learn how technology is providing numerous opportunities for advertisers to engage interested consumers through wireless devices.
-- Tom Burgess, CEO of Third Screen Media, will give an overview of the various business models employed by advertisers, publishers, aggregators, content providers and carriers in a discussion titled Defining the Mobile Advertising Ecosystem.
-- Earlier this year, Mariah Carey teamed with Pepsi and Motorola to create more than 20 original ringtones that she wrote and recorded specifically for mobile devices. In a case study presentation, the marketing team behind the campaign will provide exclusive insights into the results of this promotion in key areas including impact on sell-through for particular handset models, customer brand perception and buying influence. Members will also discuss the process of building the partner ecosystem needed to launch this large-scale promotion and incorporate feedback received from participating carriers.
"While mobile marketing is the best new way to reach the coveted 18-34 demographic, a lot of marketers are finding that these new campaigns are reaching a much broader audience than they ever imagined," said Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association. "The use of Common Short Code in so many television programs today clearly demonstrates that consumers are interacting with entertainment content through their mobile device. People of all ages and backgrounds are taking part in the campaigns."
Marketing -- The Mobile Channel is sponsored by ThirdScreen Media, Neustar, Advertising Age, Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, Mobile Marketing Association and RCR Wireless News.
About CTIA
CTIA-The Wireless Association is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers. CTIA is also recognized as the premiere producer of two annual technology events representing the complete wireless, mobile and Internet industries. CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment takes place in Los Angeles September 12-14; CTIA WIRELESS 2007 takes place in Orlando March 27-29. Visit www.ctia.org.
CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment is a one-of-a-kind event that reflects the dual nature of today's wireless data industry -- technology that offers both mobile solutions to the enterprise and mobile entertainment to the consumer. This event brings together diverse audience segments to satisfy every mobile data need and respond to the ever-growing market demand for wireless services. Visit www.ctia.org/wirelessIT06.
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DD On Advertising: Pitching via cell
By Eric Pfanner International Herald Tribune
Published: August 27, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/27/business/ad28.php
PARIS The mobile phone, the pitch goes, could be the most powerful marketing tool ever invented. Until recently, however, cellphones have been mostly about talking the talk (or texting the text). Now, from an advertising perspective, there are signs that they may be starting to walk the walk.
Worldwide, there are twice as many cellphones as PCs, and in developed countries, at least, most new phones can provide access to the mobile Internet. For advertisers who want to know more and more about their audiences and how they spend their days, cellphones can even one-up the old-fashioned, wired Internet: Not only can they track users' online clicks, they can trace their steps, too, making it possible to home in ever more closely on target audiences.
Despite the obvious potential, however, advertising via cellphones has been slow to develop, except in Japan and South Korea. One reason is the sluggish take-up of content services delivered via high-speed wireless networks. Also, analysts say, cellular operators have been reluctant to yield the equivalent of television or Web-site ratings for their mobile media offerings, frustrating marketers who crave "measurability" when buying advertising space and time.
SMS-based campaigns inviting consumers to request product information or to register for contests via text messages have proved effective in reaching niche audiences in Europe. Because of a fear of spam, however, regulators and mobile operators have required advertisers to limit this to customers who "opt in."
If text campaigns have dominated the first phase of mobile advertising, then recent weeks may have brought a new stage of development, analysts say. Several big European mobile operators, including France Télécom's Orange and Hutchison Whampoa's 3 unit, have started selling banner ads on their wireless media portals.
Several U.S. cellular carriers, including Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless, which initially resisted such advertising for fear of offending customers, have also been testing banner ads on their mobile Web portals. Operators are also experimenting with short video ads, called bumpers, to accompany video clips and mobile TV.
Meanwhile, operators like T-Mobile of Germany, Vodafone and 3 have made deals with online search engines like Yahoo and Google, promising to expand the lucrative world of search-based advertising into the mobile realm. While the search engines already operated mobile sites, the new deals bring them into the European cellular operators' "walled gardens," within which most mobile Web traffic has been confined.
Interest in so-called text-based campaigns also seems poised to grow. Jonathan Bass, managing director of Incentivated, a mobile marketing company in London, said his company expected a five- or six-fold increase in such activity next year from the levels of this year.
Analysts acknowledge that forecasts for the growth of mobile marketing and advertising are just educated guesses, but Jupiter Research sees a €700 million, or $895 million, market in Western Europe by 2010, up from less than €100 million now. Ovum, a telecommunications consultancy, forecasts a $1.3 billion U.S. market by 2010.
Some telecommunications executives are skeptical about the potential, warning that consumers will resist efforts to intrude on their intimate relationships with cherished mobile phones.
"It's not something that will revolutionize our industry, not something that will change our business model," said Boris Nemsic, chief executive of Telekom Austria.
Mobile operators are testing business models that would allow consumers to receive free content or discounted services in exchange for agreeing to receive advertising.
The Mobile Marketing Association, a trade group, is trying to smooth the development of mobile advertising by creating uniform standards for ads, making it easier to run campaigns across a variety of operators' networks. Working with media owners, media-buying agencies, mobile operators and companies like M:Metrics, a firm based in Seattle that tracks mobile use, the group is also trying to solve the problem of measurability.
"It's definitely a promising market," said Nicki Walton, senior research analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. "But quite a lot of issues need to get resolved before it steals advertising dollars from radio, TV, outdoor, print and online."
Eric Pfanner can be reached at adcol@iht.com.
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YJ, Do you know the content of the claims canceled and why they might have been canceled? (10-13 and 23-30 were canceled). Is there any significance to these canceled claims?
SS9173
DD Naplesnews.com NMPR article discussing name change
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/aug/23/auto_body_business_expands_its_focus/?business
Auto body business expands its focus
NeoMedia’s Micropaint division now will be known as Auto Xperience and will serve individual car owners
By Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
NeoMedia’s car paint and repair business is changing its name and with it, expanding its horizons.
The Micropaint division now will be known as Auto Xperience, said Paul Grzebielucha, vice president and general manager of the Micropaint division, now called Auto Experience.
The current plant site near Southwest Florida International Airport will be used as a pilot retail center.
Until now, the division’s primary focus has been services for car rental companies and other business clients. Now, the company will go into the retail business and serve individual car owners.
“Through Auto Xperience we are really trying to provide the whole experience, auto rejuvenation, micro paint, macro paint,” Grzebielucha said. “What this is going to be is the next step of our journey.”
The journey almost immediately goes to increased revenue. The company will add a couple of technicians to the staff to begin with and hope to hire several more if the response is good.
Right now, the company services about 180 to 200 cars a month with a $40,000 output, Grzebielucha said, but by putting an assembly line in place and keeping longer hours — from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. — staff hopes to double the output in short order.
In the long run, NeoMedia wants to do much more than that — to the tune of a half-million dollars.
“When we go into the local market we are really testing how our products work on the retail side,” said Chuck Jensen, president and CEO of NeoMedia. “We have tested how they work on the wholesale side, like rental companies.”
The goal isn’t to be a retail center under NeoMedia but rather to do a “test drive” for the products and create a market for other companies interested in setting up similar operations across the country and it is hoped worldwide.
A plant like the one in Fort Myers could handle 70 percent of all automotive body repair work for retail customers, Jensen said, and the company hopes to bring potential customers through and show them that.
He is hoping when people see how well the products work and how efficient the Auto Xperience system is, they will want to license the technology.
Auto Xperience has the advantage of speed, Grzebielucha said.
The industry average for small jobs is 5 to 7 days and 9 days for large jobs. The company’s average is a day for small jobs and two for larger ones.
Most of what’s done is cosmetic repair. So the target customers are baby boomers and people in the 30-to-60 age group who are concerned about the appearance of their car and have discretionary income, said Joe Jensen, director of marketing.
“It is not the necessities of life,” Joe Jensen said.
“People who go to car washes are our target,” Grzebielucha said. “People who love their car and care about how it looks.”
- - -
For more information, go to www.autoxperience.com
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YJ, Cool. EOM
DD For papers, mobile is the new frontier
Never mind the slew of formats and models
By Samantha Melamed
Aug 22, 2006
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_6796.asp
Where newspapers are creating blogs and adding podcasts and other multimedia, it's often a matter of acting first and working out the business model later: If it draws users, in time it will draw revenue. And time will determine what sort of revenue and how much.
And so it is with mobile content, as newspapers rush into offer content for mobile phones and other portable devices, in what's turning out to be a motley assortment of news formats and ad models.
Which ones will dominate is anyone's guess. For now, it's enough that readers and advertisers are showing interest.
Many newspapers, including Gannett Co.'s USA Today and The Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, two Tribune Co. papers, are offering free mobile content through ad-supported wireless application protocol (WAP) sites, or web sites designed for mobile devices.
Others, like the Arizona Republic, offer SMS texts that include news alerts and coupons. And then there are The Wall Street Journal and New York Times, which charge monthly subscription fees.
By now most newspapers are looking hard at mobile content, or they should be, says Colby Atwood, vice president at Borrell Associates, an internet research firm.
"It is gaining appeal as more and more people use mobile devices as a tool for accessing information. It certainly makes sense that newspapers would want to be investing in this as a marketing tool," he says.
"It's not a significant revenue source compared to the revenue they're generating from their online properties. But it is an area of growth, and an area that newspapers will want to defend because other people are going to be going after that space, too."
Figuring out the right models will come later, says Atwood. "It's early enough in the game that it's hard to say which models are going to dominate."
At USA Today, offerings include a WAP site, SMS text information and a mobile sudoku game. Users can browse a site with sections that include news, sports, life and tech. Or they can text a code for a stock listing and receive a return text with the latest price.
Just as with the web or the printed edition of a newspaper, what users look for in mobile content varies, says Matt Jones, who heads up USA Today's mobile initiatives.
"It's a combination of things. In the case of the game, people have some downtime, but for the mobile WAP site, people just want a quick bite of the latest news or sports," he says.
The content comes with scaled-down banner advertising from the likes of Exxon Mobile, Microsoft, Toyota's Lexus and Sheraton hotels. Ads link to micro-sites formatted for mobile devices. An Exxon banner, for example, allows readers to find the nearest gas station, get discounts on fuel or snacks, or sign up for a reminder to change their oil.
Jones won't say how many mobile users currently access USA Today's content, but he says it's in the millions and that the market is only growing as consumers get phones with more capabilities.
Likewise, he says the advertising potential is impressive, considering the hours users spend on their phones and their undivided attention. The ads work, he says. "The response rates are significantly higher than they are on the web."
Still, Jones considers today's mobile marketing capabilities to be about where web marketing was back in 1995. Web-style behavioral targeting is one hope that's not yet a reality. Another is hyper-local advertising, in which a marketer will be able to send a mobile coupon to a consumer standing within a few blocks of a retail outlet.
Until then, mobile serves a valuable function in driving traffic back to papers' web sites, says Laura Lombardi, senior vice president of media at TextCaster, which provides SMS news and coupon services to newspapers, radios and television stations.
Papers typically get slews of sign-ups for severe weather alerts when storms are approaching, while the other top draw is breaking news. And all of it serves to build a paper's relationship with readers, especially the much-sought-after younger demographic.
"Newspapers are moving in the direction they have to," says Lombardi. "It's so much harder to capture a young person's interests. You've got to speak to them in the technology they're used to. It's a way to reach a younger demographic that is already used to sending text messages as part of their daily lives."
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DD Mobile Marketing Uncovered: Upwardly mobile
Campaign 18 Aug 2006
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/588614/mobile-marketing-uncovered-upwardly-mo...
Mobile advertising and marketing offer the chance to target consumers in a very personal and direct way. But just how close can advertisers hope to get? Deborah Bonello investigates.
You're on your way to a friend's house for dinner and you need a bottle of wine, so you use your mobile phone to search for an off-licence nearby. You click on a link that sends a map to your phone, along with a money-off voucher and a wine review from your favourite newspaper.
On your way out of the shop, you see a poster ad for a movie you want to see. You use your phone camera to snap a picture of the poster, hit "send" and immediately receive a message informing you where the film is showing locally, plus a map, showing times, a short video trailer and a voucher offering you two tickets for the price of one.
Or perhaps you're a football fan watching the latest episode of Lost on your mobile phone and, during a one-minute ad break, Rio Ferdinand shows you some defending tips, brought to you by Nike.
Those are just some of the possibilities that mobile applications will offer brands and media owners. Some of them are already reality. Mobile marketing is into the second phase and is no longer just about SMS. Within the next couple of years, most people will be able - and, more importantly, willing - to surf the web and receive all sorts of rich media and audio content on their phones.
The potential of mobile is only just becoming apparent. Contrast the decline in impacts currently afflicting traditional media with the ubiquity of hand-held phones and devices and the intimate relationship consumers have with them, and it becomes clear that mobile is offering a new way in.
Nick Wiggin, the head of the Mobile Marketing Association, says: "The mobile phone will be the red-button technology of the future - it will enable interaction with broadcast media, be that radio, posters or TV. Mobile is the media glue that links different communications solutions together."
But, predictably, as with many new ways to market, some agencies - both media and creative - have been slow to exploit the medium's possibilities.
"The bigger agencies are definitely ignoring the potential of mobile. Traditionally, these agencies are always slow to pick up on new technology, and when they do it takes them a while to skill up - and there aren't the fees to interest them as yet," Richard Davies, the founder of the independent agency Vexed Digital, says.
And the mobile operators themselves have been slow to give advertisers access to subscribers, fearing that targeting them with commercial messages would result in customer churn.
They are now, however, proving themselves more amenable to the idea of brands creating content and applications that add something to the customer experience. The result is that while some agencies stroke their chins and watch, specialists such as En-pocket, Flytxt, Filter, Ipsh and Vexed are creating new ways to reach people in a uniquely personal environment.
"I think we are on the starting blocks of a true paradigm shift in the world of communication," Dave Allen, the chief executive of Team Vodafone at JWT, argues. "The mobile is a device that consumers won't leave home without and it is capable of receiving location-based communication that is specific to the user. It is going to be a powerful marketing tool. It is also easy to keep track of all user data: clients and media planning people are going to love it because it will be easy to link cause, effect and cost."
South-East Asia is currently leading the field in mobile marketing. Adidas, for example, carried out a massive mobile push in China around its sponsorship of the World Cup. Sponsored content on mobile portals included free news alerts about World Cup games, ringtones, wallpaper and competitions. Adidas also provided MTV-produced videos of David Beckham, the Spanish star Raul and other famous football players, localised for the Chinese market, for download via the mobile site.
The use of something called 2d codes is also very popular in South-East Asia. These are like barcodes on posters that consumers photograph with their mobile phones to request free content or to buy music tracks or video clips. Phones automatically read the codes off billboards or print ads without the user having to enter data into the phone by hand.
Here in the UK, the potential of mobile is also growing. There is, however, an important distinction to make between mobile marketing and mobile advertising and their respective advertising models.
The content opportunity
Mobile marketing - as opposed to advertising - effectively means brand extensions on the mobile platform, usually in the form of content. All the UK mobile phone operators are piloting mobile content portals, for example, T-Mobile's T-Zones, Vodafone Live! and Orange World, which has 2.1 million users a month.
If you're already a media owner, the potential here is obvious. MTV, for example, has already created the hugely successful Head and Body series, which was made just for mobile.
Edward Humphrey, the head of interactive at Flextech, which has just launched mobile TV channels for Bravo and Living, says the mobile platform offers more opportunities for advertising-funded content and branded content than television, because the restrictions that apply to TV don't apply to mobile.
"You could bring the product and the brand closer to the screen," Humphrey suggests, "or you could show it on a programme in a way you couldn't in the TV world."
One of the main problems with mobile content is the cost - users have to pay for it. But if advertisers sponsor content, they can pick up the tab. The mobile operator 3 is already exploring this potential. During the World Cup, the network created its own bespoke mobile television channel that was free to air because it was sponsored by Canon and Electronic Arts. The channel had more than 3.6 million viewings during the World Cup season.
Brands could also use mobile to harness the growing popularity of online communities such as MySpace, Bebo and YouTube. Jon Williams, the interactive creative director at Wunderman Interactive, says he and his team are considering using mobile to extend the GoBeyond campaign the agency is already running for Land Rover.
GoBeyond aims to create an online community linked to the Land Rover brand. The campaign encourages "adventurers" from all over the world to upload details of their activities on to the GoBeyond site, where other adventure junkies can see what they're up to. "As a development phase, we will enable people to browse that site via mobile phone and to upload images and stories to the site via mobile phone," Williams explains.
The advertising opportunity
Mobile advertising consists of either ads served around mobile and mobile TV content, or directly to phones as text or picture messages.
Advertising served around content could appear as banner ads on mobile portals - very similar to those we already see online. Orange has just launched its new portal advertising service and other operators have already tested the model. Alternatively, it could also consist of ads within content - product placement within games, sponsorship, or TV ads repurposed for mobile TV.
Much has been made of the promise of mobile TV for advertisers, although as yet the first thought tends to be of broadcasting TV ads to handsets.
"Mobile TV will probably follow traditional TV models," Davies says. "It will be a combination of subscriptions and ad funding. It's worth noting that ad funding alone is failing TV channels today, hence the move to direct interactions with audiences through things such as Big Brother charging for votes, TV channels selling mobile content off the back of broadcasts and so on. But (calling it) mobile TV is a bit of a red herring - content in that (traditional) format doesn't really work on mobile devices."
Steve Ricketts, the third-party relationship manager of mobile advertising and marketing at Orange, agrees that traditional TV ad content won't work. "If you're watching mobile TV, chances are you're not going to want to watch a 30-second ad - you're going to watch something shorter," he says.
The medium gets really interesting when you start considering its potential for personalisation. This will mean mobile advertising served directly to people's phones, based on who they are, where they are and what they're doing. So far, this sort of targeting has taken place via multimedia messages, MMS, which contain rich media such as video, audio and colour pictures.
But other mechanisms do exist. Bluecasting, for example, involves poster or press ads that ask consumers to enable their Bluetooth connection in order to allow a download to their phone. The recent poster ad campaign for the launch of the Coldplay album X&Y, from a company called Filter, invited users to switch on their Bluetooth function to download samples from the album.
"Another thing we're investigating is a property from some guys in the States called Sticky Shadows," Williams says. These are files - images, words and pictures - that float in the air. If your mobile phone is registered, they will appear on your phone as you walk through them.
The creative opportunity
But although this is very exciting, there is a cloud around the silver lining: the "piss-off factor", as many experts like to refer to it. People tend to have a personal relationship with their mobile phones and, unlike e-mail or snail mail, they open and read all of their messages. Accordingly, they are much less tolerant of spam via mobile than via any other medium.
But the ability to target on mobile means advertisers can make their messages relevant to individual consumers. And the lack of regulation also means agencies have more freedom to produce creative, entertaining work. In theory, at least, relevant and entertaining messages ought to be less annoying than dull, irrelevant ones.
"Mobile offers the ability to target an ad to the consumer by personal information such as age, sex, interests and location at any given time, plus the ability to bill for products and services. It's a huge step forward and no other ad medium has the ability to target to such a high level," Dusan Hamlin, the managing director at mobile marketing agency Inside, says.
Where does this leave agencies? The costs of mobile are much lower than for above-the-line media such as print or TV but a set pricing structure has yet to be developed. Media agencies can't buy it as easily as other media, and creative skills are in short supply. "Sometimes the money goes where it's easier to spend," Humphrey says.
There's also the creative challenge to consider. "The small screen is an issue," Allen says. "Content made for TV and cinema works far less well (on mobile) and dark and moody is a complete no-no. Camera angles have to be much tighter and you have to go much closer in on people."
Repurposed content just doesn't work. But that in itself is not such a huge obstacle. Agencies don't need to change the idea, just think carefully about the execution. Avoid crowd screens, or long shots, because whatever people see will be three millimetres tall. Don't do any fast panning shots, and bear in mind that your audience isn't sitting on the couch watching - they'll probably be on the move.
Next week: User-Generated Content Uncovered.
WHAT MOBILE MEANS FOR ...
AD AGENCIES
- Start looking now for creatives with mobile campaigns on their books
- The opportunity to do something new rather than merely repurposing web and TV content
- Don't be intimidated by shooting video for mobile distribution - the technology is simpler than it seems
MEDIA AGENCIES
- If you're not doing it already, start putting mobile on your schedules and allocating it a share of the budget
- Think about working with operators to develop a pricing structure
- Remember that mobile is not a broadcast media - it's all about targeting
BROADCASTERS
- A new platform on which to extend your brand
- Less regulation of content and advertising
- The chance to create content delivered directly to a device that most people would not leave home without
- Brands can become broadcasters in their own right.
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Re: Hangdog's post on Jinche Yingang
Check out the Human Resources link and you will find this:
Technician for Car Repairing and Maintenance (100 persons)
Qualification:
1. Related working experience
2. Familiar with the structure of vehicles and the ability to work independently
SS9173
OT ditto on the member mark for Sportif. EOM
DD Mobile Local Comparison Shopping Gets a Boost as GPShopper Partners with Channel Intelligence
http://www.wirelessdevnet.com/news/2006/aug/15/news7.html
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ORLANDO, FL – August 15, 2006 – Channel Intelligence (CI), the leader in technology innovation for Web-initiated commerce, and GPShopper, the leader in mobile marketing, today announced a partnership to enhance local and online ecommerce accessibility on mobile phones. The partnership marks the expansion of CI’s SellCore Platform Solutions into the mobile market.
GPShopper is best known for bringing location-aware mobile marketing initiatives to local businesses and national chains through the free consumer mobile application Slifter (http://www.slifter.com). The service enables a consumer to find the nearest retail location where a product is available by typing the product name and their zip code into a cell phone. The partnership with CI, through the adoption of the SellCore services marks a pioneering advancement in comparison shopping technology that allows for advanced capabilities and increased accuracy of data for mobile shoppers.
Founder and CEO of GPShopper Alex Muller said, “Mobile marketing has reached a critical point as brick-and-mortar retailers are realizing the benefits of meeting the needs of shoppers in relevant, innovative ways. Our partnership with Channel Intelligence provides significant value for retailers as it advances the options that consumers have to make shopping more convenient, with more ways to find and purchase products right when they want to.”
Roger Robbins, CI’s Vice President Strategic Alliances, said “Channel Intelligence is excited to be working with GPShopper on their unique mobile shopping approach. With our SellCore services designed to allow fast integration of both local and online ecommerce data, GPShopper can focus on providing advanced features and functionality for their customers while we provide optimal management of data.”
SellCore Platform Solutions is the latest innovation in product data management from CI, designed to manage diverse product data from various sources while allowing CSEs to focus on creating a unique consumer experience. SellCore makes available all retailer product data, online or local, in one common format. Data can be delivered in multiple ways, including through feeds organized by category or retailer, with an edge server that CI updates and CSEs publish from, or in real time by Web API. CSEs are able to leverage CI’s deep retail relationships through the flexible integration, partnership approach and fast time-to-market of SellCore.
Slifter is GPShopper’s flagship consumer product, accessible for free via SMS, wireless web, or Java application on almost any mobile device. Consumers using the location-aware Slifter application are able to search for a product and immediately learn if it is in stock at a nearby store. They are also provided with product price, descriptions and images, as well as the store’s location, phone number and even a street map. Additionally, they can save the item to personal shopping lists or send it to a friend via text messaging. Retailers and brands that use the GPShopper technology are able to enhance their ongoing brand awareness campaigns as well as expand the effectiveness of product promotions by adding a mobile marketing component to their initiatives. Detailed real-time analytics of consumer mobile activity enables marketers to adjust their marketing spend and initiatives immediately to better take advantage of a positive trend, as well as the ability to effectively evaluate the impact of a mobile marketing program.
About GPShopper LLC
New York City-based GPShopper is a leading mobile marketing technology company whose products and services connect consumers to offline, real-world purchase point locations through wireless technology. The Company’s flagship consumer product, Slifter, is accessible for free via SMS (text “SMS” to 75438), wireless web, or Java application on almost any mobile device. For more information on GPShopper and its products and services, please visit http://www.gpshopper.com.
About Channel Intelligence
Based in Orlando, Florida, with offices in Geneva, Switzerland, Channel Intelligence (CI) is the leading provider of on-demand data solutions that make it easy for online shoppers to find and buy products whether they start at retailer sites, manufacturer sites, or destination shopping sites. CI’s patented optimization technology and data solutions currently manage and syndicate over $2.5B in product value to over 50 destinations every day. CI customers include nearly 200 of the world’s best known retail and manufacturing brands such as Best Buy, Baby Universe, Canon, Circuit City, eToys Direct, Fujifilm, HP Home and Home Office, ICE.com, LG Electronics, Northern Tool + Equipment, Olympus, Panasonic, PC Mall, PETCO, Rooms To Go, Target, Things Remembered and more. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.channelintelligence.com.
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DD Bath & Body Works(R) Partners With Cellfire to Deliver Instant Discounts on Mobile Phones
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-15-2006/0004416287&...
SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellfire Inc. announced today
that Bath & Body Works will join the growing list of specialty retailers
that are embracing mobile marketing. To kick off their partnership Bath &
Body Works(R) will offer fun Cellfire(TM) savings for midsummer splurges
and back to school shopping -- just by using your cell phone.
"We are excited about the prospect of connecting with our customers in
this innovative new medium," said Brian Beitler, VP of Customer Marketing
for Bath & Body Works. "Cellfire is the only service on the market that
enables us to place branded offers on a mobile device.
Bath & Body Works has become a leading beauty retailer by creating and
offering high quality wellbeing and spa products at attainable prices. With
over 1,500 stores nationwide, Bath & Body Works pampers the daily lives of
millions of consumers with their best-in-class fragrant bath and body care,
facial skincare, hair, spa and home products.
"Bath & Body Works is a significant partnership for Cellfire, because
they enable us to provide great deals in an entirely new retail category,"
said Brent Dusing, CEO of Cellfire. "Their store is a one-stop shopping
experience for millions of people looking for gifts for friends, family --
and themselves. We are honored to be a part of their strategic plan for
marrying targeted customer offers with 21st century technology."
Cellfire is a free downloadable application that provides valuable
coupons from a host of local and national retailers within the user's
geographic region. It is the only mobile coupon service available today
that provides money-saving deals for some of the most popular national
venues. Besides the new offerings from Bath & Body Works, consumers can
take advantage of a "rent-one-get-one-free" offer from Hollywood Video, a
free appetizer at T.G.I. Friday's, as well as numerous discounts from
retailers such as 1-800-flowers, Carlson Travel and other local retailers.
About Cellfire
Silicon Valley-based Cellfire is pioneering opt-in marketing solutions
tailored for consumers' mobile phones. The flagship service Cellfire is the
first-ever application that consumers can download to their cell phones and
begin receiving coupons to use at their favorite stores, restaurants and
entertainment venues. Major brands such as Hollywood Video, Bath & Body
Works, T.G.I. Friday's and 1-800-flowers.com are among the many retailers
where consumers can get discounts using the opt-in mobile solution. For
more information, please visit Cellfire at cellfire.com.
About Bath & Body Works
Bath & Body Works is a world-class modern apothecary of beauty and
wellbeing that offers the most luxurious products in fragrant bath and body
care, facial skincare, hair, spa and home. Today the specialty store sells
not only its own branded product lines, but leading beauty brands as well,
including Patricia Wexler M.D. Dermatology, Frederic Fekkai, Slatkin and
Company, Henri Bendel, American Girl, Le Couvent des Minimes, Goldie, and
C.O. Bigelow. Bath & Body Works is based in Columbus, Ohio, and is a
subsidiary of the Limited Brands family of companies.
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SS9173
Google's acquisition of Neven Vision could be huge for this space.
Banks posted PP's related blog earlier this morning - here is the link: http://theponderingprimate.blogspot.com/2006/08/google-acquires-physical-world.html
Scott Shaffer believes ActiveSymbols will be their next acquisition. You can extract that assumption by clicking on his "visual google" reference and link.
Who's next on the shopping list?
There's one company I expect to be courted shortly.
I have to think Jeff Reed and what he calls his "visual Google" are the next likely target. There's a reason they just partnered with these guys .
Here is the link for "visual google": http://theponderingprimate.blogspot.com/2006/03/activesymbol-debuts-camera-phone.html
Friday, March 24, 2006
ActiveSymbol Debuts Camera Phone Mobile Marketing Tool
Another physical world connection company and another great mobile marketing campaign.
ActiveSymbols lables it a visual "Google" for customers.
From CBS Marketwatch ActiveSymbols debuts MobilePromote
Racing fans attending this weekend's Toyota Indy 300 at Miami's Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 26 will be invited to "Take a Mobile Test Lap" with MobilePromote 1.0, a fun, new service for mobile consumers.
Cell phone users will be able to subscribe to live race-day alerts and download rich content using this brand-new mobile imaging technology service offered by ActiveSymbols , a Logicalis Company and a sponsor of the Rahal Letterman Racing IndyCar team.
View the demo
The MobilePromote service enables mobile consumers with popular camera phones, from manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Hewlett-Packard, to send text messages or pictures to an online ActiveSymbols database.
A unique and patent-pending key attribute of the ActiveSymbols technology is its ability to interpret a photograph taken with an auto-focus camera, intelligently match it with an image in its database, and return a response appropriate to the photograph and the time it was taken.
ActiveSymbols works with:
Text Messaging, 1D Barcodes, 2D Barcodes, Branded 2D Symbols, any Branded Image (logo)
Once the message is received, it is matched against a sponsor's promotion and a rich content message link is returned to the caller.
What can ActiveSymbols do?
posted by Scott Shaffer @ 5:17 PM
4 Comments:
At 7:32 PM, March 24, 2006, Anonymous said…
These guys get it....quite an opening salvo to potential competitors in the PWC space. Thanks for posting.
At 7:49 PM, March 24, 2006, Larry said…
Scott
Does this seem to use the same IP as another company which has been around for a long time?
Larry
At 5:41 AM, March 25, 2006, Scott Shaffer said…
I expect to meet with them this weekend and get more information.
To quote their site "It is one thing to create a system that allows a consumer to save his or her camera phone images to an online album.
It is an entirely different problem, with unique IT challenges, for multiple users spread across an enterprise or throughout the world to categorize, save, and search for images "real-time" for business process automation or consumer uses"
What is unqiue with this application/company is they are backed by powerful Logicalis, an international global provider of high tech solutions.
Here's the demo
I said there are a few companies that are not ready to release their PWC mobile applications.
Stay tuned, the space is heating up.
Here is the demo
At 5:55 AM, March 25, 2006, Scott Shaffer said…
ActiveSymbols, a Logicalis Company, is bringing mobile consumers together with brand marketers via a unique and patented brand image database technology.
ActiveSymbols&trade Enterprise Server (patent-pending) is an enterprise-class scalable platform enabling image and object recognition (computer vision), text recognition (OCR), biometrics (facial recognition), and linear (1D) and 2D barcode decoding from everyday consumer devices such as camera phones and PDAs.
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I have got to believe Google has talked with Neomedia as surmised by TS. I bet Microsoft has as well. But what about Yahoo...regarding search - Google and Yahoo are the two major competitors IMO. And we know Yahoo has had several links that appear to work in the Go Window.
Regardless, this Google purchase of Neven Vision should lead to some interesting future events in this space...perhaps to the benefit of Neom.
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Hangdog, Sounds like it will be a NMPR PR rather than qode if Paul G was traveling with David Dodge. Unless there is huge cash or revenue projection attached to the PR, it won't have a positive effect on the pps IMO. I was hoping their China trip would have been qode related.
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Hangdog, nice find. EOM
YJ, I wonder if Blue Run Ventures would be interested in investing in Neom? They already have to a degree with their prior arrangement with 12snap...so they obviously already know all about Neom. Wouldn't we be better off with them helping us out with our liquidity issues rather than Cornell?
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DD qtags and Brandmovers Join Forces to Solve Advertisers’ Mobile Marketing Dilemma
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/8/prweb423591.htm
Brandmovers, Inc., "The Engagement Marketers," and qtags, a short-code texting platform, have teamed up to offer advertisers turn-key solutions for text-message powered promotional campaigns.
Houston, Texas (PRWEB) August 14, 2006 -- Brandmovers, Inc., "The Engagement Marketers," and qtags, a short-code texting platform, have teamed up to offer advertisers turn-key solutions for text-message powered promotional campaigns.
qtags has developed the best spam-free text messaging service on the market for advertisers, and Brandmovers is the industry leader in building engaging branded community sites. We are excited to enter the mobility marketing space with such a strong partnership
As part of the partnership, Brandmovers will use qtags as its exclusive text-messaging platform for mobility-oriented advertising and promotional campaigns, and qtags will exclusively offer Brandmovers powered micro-sites that enable advertisers to engage their audience with community offerings and news, as well as deliver coupons, contests and instant-win solutions. The off-the-shelf style, fully managed solutions can be activated by an advertiser quickly and with little or no customization.
"We chose qtags text to power our promotions because it is the most consumer-friendly service in the mobility market. The qtags text platform is always non-premium, which means consumers are not charged to participate in texting promotions powered by qtags (although standard carrier rates do apply), and consumers’ mobile numbers and other information are kept private. This consumer-friendly premise will increase participation in our clients’ programs," says Hector Pages, COO of Brandmovers. "And for advertisers, in addition to being a complete off-the-shelf solution, qtags-based promotions offer two chances to send marketing messages to the consumer, first, as an instant reply on their mobile phone, and another on a special web page or branded micro-site."
"Brandmovers is a trend setting company in the promotional marketing space, and they are developing pioneering campaigns that leverage mobility marketing," says Allison Gower, qtags president and co-founder. "This hot new medium is taking off because it works, mostly because it’s a truly effective ‘engagement’ marketing technique that allows consumers to actively engage with advertisers."
Brandmovers, whose clients include Dairy Queen, Coca Cola, Mizuno and Dannon, developed its first qtags text-based solution for Red Robin restaurants. The Red Robin campaign, beginning late August, will be advertised via its servers’ uniform buttons in four Houston restaurants and will invite guests to text to QTAGS (78247) for special promotions and news.
"qtags has developed the best spam-free text messaging service on the market for advertisers, and Brandmovers is the industry leader in building engaging branded community sites. We are excited to enter the mobility marketing space with such a strong partnership," adds Tim Moore, VP of operations for Cowboy Red, a franchisee of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (Red Robin).
About qtags:
qtags have been used since Fall 2005 by some of the world’s most well known brands, including HP, FYE and Rip Curl USA. The company offers the qtags service to nonprofits at no cost. For more information on how this innovative marketing concept works, setup your own qtags inbox at www.qtags.com, visit the company blog at www.allaboutqtags.typepad.com or the advertiser resource site at www.qtagsforadvertisers.com.
About Brandmovers:
Brandmovers are The Engagement Marketers, connecting today’s postmodern consumer to your brand. Using incentive based technology to drive trial and purchase continuity, Brandmovers builds powerful brand communities. Web, MMS, SMS, and more-- Brandmovers reaches your target audience in the digital spaces where they work and play. www.brandmovers.com
Press Contacts:
John Wagner, qtags - 281-565-6045
Allison Gower, qtags - 713-478-3266
Hector Pages, Brandmovers - 678-718-1842
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DD Additional functions suit local NeoMedia
By Tim Engstrom
tengstrom@news-press.com
Originally posted on August 14, 2006
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060814/BUSINESS/608140308/1075
The growing use of cellular telephones for text messaging and entertainment is good news for Fort Myers-based NeoMedia Technologies Inc., founder and chairman Charles Fritz said.
"The cell phone has been kind of a toy, but it should be more of a tool," Fritz said. "Instead of just using it as a voice channel, people are saying, 'What else can I do with this phone?' "
NeoMedia is the parent of several companies in the U.S. and Europe that create software and technology used in marketing campaigns via mobile phones.
The approach is more established in Europe and Asia, where text messaging is more established.
Some recent examples:
• Gavitec AG — mobile digit, a NeoMedia company, collaborated with a Portuguese partner to equip Portugal's leading cinema chain with admission terminals for mobile tickets.
Movie-goers can buy tickets on the Web or from special call centers, and receive an electronic ticket as a text message on their mobile phones. Tickets, displayed graphically on the phone, are read by Gavitec scanners at the entrance to the cinema, letting patrons in without having to wait at the box office.
• ELLE Magazine and Mobot Inc., a NeoMedia company, will create Wireless Wish Lists in the October, November and December 2006 issues.
The readers can use their camera phones to take a picture of any item advertised in ELLE or texts the brand name to EWISH and instantly receives a reply inviting them to log on to their own personal Wireless Wish List on the Web.
The list then directs them to the nearest retailer or online retailers where the items can be purchased, as well as special sales and discounts. One reader will win a $2,500 gift card.
• In another Gavitec campaign, World Cup fans who attended games in Kaiserslautern, Germany, received electronic coupons on their phones for beverage discounts after they sent a certain text message.
"The brands are paving the way to make your phone a more useful device," Fritz said. "The device is turning into the Swiss Army knife of electronics."
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