BMW Gets Personal With Targeted Mobile Video Ads
By Ken Liebeskind
Just before Christmas, BMW sent personalized mobile videos to 11,000 young people in China. As a video depicting the BMW X1 played, personalized text messages were interspersed, which the company says is an advertising first.
The targeted messages, sent Dec. 21-24 to cell phones in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, were prepared by Clip in Touch, an Israeli software development firm that specializes in Web and mobile video messaging. Ila Bialystok, Clip in Touch’s vice president of marketing, says video footage from a TV commercial was edited so it fit a 90k limitation to work with mobile phones. “The challenge was to generate a high quality clip that can be sent through MMS,” she says. Personalized text messages were integrated into the video, using a database of names provided by BMW. Each video included two text message segments, one personalized with a reference to the BMW X1, the other a holiday greeting with links to BMW’s websites.
Bialystok says the recipient’s name was the only personalized element of the video. “You could send them a clip that tells them to visit a local dealer with a relevant location, but they wanted it straightforward.”
Michael Becker, the global board vice chair of the Mobile Marketing Association, says personalization of mobile advertising is relatively common, but the personalized mobile video may be unique. “Personalization is the key to relevance, and we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this,” he says.
Personalized mobile video can work because the consumption of mobile video is growing, with 7 percent of mobile subscribers consuming it. The consumer adoption of smartphones, coupled with the desire to view video, will spur the use of mobile video.
As for the use of personalized mobile video, it’s an exciting concept because personalization makes the video more relevant. “If I see my name, it makes it more relevant,” Becker says.
BMW’s personalized mobile video was an example of “a major global brand creating original content,” he says.
The fact BMW introduced the idea in China is supported by the fact that 58 percent of Chinese mobile users access the Internet via mobile phones and post content. In China, “mobile is the access point for Internet usage,” Becker says. “BMW realized that the customer segment in China that will buy this type of car has higher-end phones with the right data plan, so it was the best medium for targeting their audience. They engaged the audience in relevant fashion and they got to share it with their friends.”
(There have been initial reports that the campaign was a success, but DigitalMediaBuzz was unable to contact BMW in China or its agency for details. It was also unable to determine whether BMW got the names for the mobile video campaign from a carrier or through a list it developed itself.)
Ken Liebeskind is a freelance reporter and copywriter who specializes in digital advertising.
Location-Based Mobile Advertising Platform AdLocal Enters America, Wants To Win With Japan Know-How
By: techcrunch.com
Mobile advertising is poised to become a huge growth area, with research firm Kelsey Group seeing the market grow from just $160 million in 2008 to $3.1 billion in 2013. eMarketer projects mobile advertising spending in the US will balloon from $648 million in 2008 to over $3.3 billion in 2013.
Very few in U.S. willing to pay for online news
By: siliconindia.com
Bangalore: Americans, it turns out, are less willing than people in many other Western countries to pay for their online news, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group.
How Etailers Can Take On the Whole World
By: ecommercetimes.com
International e-commerce is within reach of every online retailer, even those without a global brand. However, going international requires careful consideration of several factors, including security, language differences, currency differences, shipping costs, fulfillment time and customer support.
Digital marketing should target ‘Millennials’
By: zdnetasia.com
SINGAPORE–”Millennials”, a term used to describe 18 to 25 year-olds, are savvy online users who are more receptive to digital marketing messages and willing to receive commercial e-mail messages, according to Epsilon International.
The Real World of Virtual Commerce
Virtual commerce goods
By Rebecca Jacoby
2009 might be the break-out year for virtual commerce, and it’s not relegated to avatars on Second Life. The global market for virtual goods is projected to be $5.5 billion, says Brian Balfour, founder of the Virtual Goods Market, Inc./Viximo.
It seems that everyone who’s anyone in the “micro-transactions” sector of goods, items and gifts will be at the Virtual Goods Summit this October in San Francisco: Viximo, Mochi Media, Zynga, Globespan, Norwest Venture Partners, Super Rewards, Offerpal Media, Fatfoogoo and BlueRun Ventures, to name a few. The VG Summit agenda will include:
- Why and How Virtual Goods Work
- How to get started with Virtual Goods and Virtual Gifts
- A Case Study on Launching Virtual Currency
- Managing and Marketing a Virtual Goods Offering
- How to Manage a Virtual Economy
- The Payments Landscape and Payment Options
While the bulk of virtual commerce resides in Asia (about $5 billion projected for this year), Americans will be spending $400 million on VG, Balfour says. Launched in 2007, Viximo provides a VG store of gifts and personal accessories that surprisingly does better on dating sites, online social networks and casual game sites where the products are often used as virtual gifts than in virtual worlds such as Second Life. Dana Grayson, a principal at North Bridge Venture Partners, an investor in Viximo, took over as CEO of the firm in April and will be leading the search for a long-term CEO.
When Facebook added VG to its practices, other online social media companies followed suit to supplement a slow-down in ad revenue. Overall, though, most of the “players” in the industry are relative newbies, like Zynga, which has nearly doubled its staff in the last year.
The VG business model is big business and growing rapidly, especially in the teen world of Gaia Online, where approximately 7 million visitors per month click in to play or connect with friends. The entertainment site began selling VG like Elvis’ blue suede shoes and Paris Hilton’s pet Chihuahua. These and other similar items boosted sales by nearly 20 percent within one quarter.
These affordable “luxuries” are items represented by innocent-eyed avatars whose inoffensive appearance adds to the fun and entertainment value of the online experience at Gaia, not to mention the licensing and publicity opportunities afforded to the celebrities fortunate enough to be “virtually cool.”
And should one collect the luxury VG, take note of the cost of limited editions. One such “out-of-production” Gaia golden halo recently sold for $6000 on eBay.
In fact, so lucrative is the VG industry that non profits such as the American Red Cross (ARC) are using virtual worlds in unique ways. The ARC held a fundraising auction in Second Life of donated VG. Further, check out MyYearbook.com’s “Causes” page where teens can spend their lunch money to support their favorite charity: AIDS, ending child abuse, feeding rescued animals, saving the rainforest and more. It’s microfundraising on a scale supportable by teens who really may want to save the world.
The world of virtual commerce will continue to expand beyond its traditional borders of Asia. America is poised to grow exponentially through social networking sites like Facebook. Are you ready?
Rebecca Jacoby is a freelance writer who reports how digital media works with business. She may be reached at rebecca.jacoby09@gmail.com
Loading ...