May Mobile Marketing Roundtable (Pt 1): How AMEX Banks on Mobile Marketing

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

I’ll just come out and say it: Friday’s GEN WOW Mobile Marketing Roundtable was nothing short of awesome.

Three of my favorite people in mobile marketing teamed up to answer questions on the quickly evolving world of mobile + social + local + retailing + pop culture and more.

On hand: Julie Fajgenbaum, vice president of brand and social media for American Express; Rachel Pasqua, director of mobile for New York City-based digital marketing powerhouse Organic; and Dorrian Porter, CEO of mobile marketing phenom Mozes, a longtime sponsor of this blog.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll post excerpts from this wide-ranging new roundtable, which spans mobile apps vs. mobile web; Facebook’s prospects for monetizing the mobile channel; the future of social television and much, much more.

Up first: Fajgenbaum, who gives us the scoop on AMEX Sync, which offers card members discounts for tweeting advertised hashtags; strategies for fighting “showrooming” – the dynamic where consumers go to stores to see products but then order via mobile phone – and how mobile + Jay-Z = astonishing success.

Click here to listen to: MOBILE ROUNDTABLE PT 1: JULIE FAJGENBAUM – HOW AMEX BANKS ON MOBILE MARKETING

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Rick Mathieson is the author of THE ON-DEMAND BRAND and BRANDING UNBOUND. Post special to Mozes Inc. (C) Rick Mathieson.

Amazing Spider-Man Augmented Reality App (Video)

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead – with your mobile phone, that is.

Sure, Marvel’s “Avengers” did boffo box office over the weekend, and it already has its its own augmented reality app for use within Walmart.

But July 3′s big “Spider-Man” reboot is getting an even niftier little app that lets you see Peter Parker’s alter ego in action – and even snap and share photos from his web to yours (talk about bringing new meaning to the phrase “webslinger.”)

I still think “Mission Impossible’s” AR app is cooler – but this is still sure to please friendly neighborhood Spidey fans near you.

Rick Mathieson is the author of THE ON-DEMAND BRAND and BRANDING UNBOUND. Post special to Mozes Inc. (C) Rick Mathieson.

Mozes Featured in Wired: Putting Fans in Control of the Concert Experience

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

Wired is reporting on some of the cool things Mozes is doing to help redefine the concert-going experience for Umphrey’s McGees’ sold-out UMBowl this last Friday, April 27, in Chicago.

The whole idea of this year’s UMBowl is to “break down the wall between band and fan by putting the listener in control of the experience.”

Think four musical quarters, each with a different interactive theme. By using the Mozes platform, fans and band are able to engage through mobile interaction, “constructing an evening of music based on the mood of the audience.”

Read the Wired article on the initiative here.

And read case studies on how Mozes is helping bands, brands and fans connect in amazing new ways here.

Rick Mathieson is the author of THE ON-DEMAND BRAND and BRANDING UNBOUND. Post special to Mozes Inc. (C) Rick Mathieson.

‘Turntable Rider’ Turns Your Bike Into A Music Mix Pad (Video)

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

Why just ride your mountain bike when you can use it to make music, too?

After all, nothing rounds out a rollicking quest for a natural high like adding a pulsating dance mix to those placid hills and valleys. (In truth, this YouTube video isn’t so much mountain bike as it is trick bike – and this is certainly a new trick that will thrill certain segments of the consumer republic.)

According to Creativity, Cogoo, a Japense bicycle sharing service, launched the system – called “Turntable Rider” – to enable bikers to set off and mix pre-recorded sounds by performing different actions on the bike.

There’s a small fader box, a jog wheel stick, a handbreak soundpad and a mobile app for creating and sharing your creations.

According to the pub, the system makes its premiere at the Kaikoo Popwave Festival 2012. And it is certain to give enthusiasts a whole new kind of street cred.

So what’s your take?

Would you brake for mixing dance tracks with your next nature ride?

Or would you prefer that the club music takes a hike?

Read more here.

Rick Mathieson is the author of THE ON-DEMAND BRAND and BRANDING UNBOUND. Post special to Mozes Inc. (C) Rick Mathieson.

VW Prototype Wrapped in QR Code

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

Here’s one way to keep a new prototype under wraps while still causing a stir.

As 2D Code reports, Volkswagen, Mercedes and Chevrolet have all pulled the QR code thing off in recent months. Is a new car launch complete without QR codes anymore?

Read more here.

Rick Mathieson is the author of THE ON-DEMAND BRAND and BRANDING UNBOUND. Post special to Mozes Inc. (C) Rick Mathieson.

Holiday Inn: World’s First Augmented Reality Hotel (Video)

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

Holiday Inn is celebrating it’s role as the Official Hotel Provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by launching what it’s calling the world’s first augmented reality hotel.

In truth, it’s the world’s first AR-enhanced hotel – a way for mobile users to discover AR versions of top British athletes in the hotel.

Think windsurfer Nick Dempsey “windsurfing” your bed’s sheets; BMX world champion Shanaze Reade busting bike moves in the lobby; or tennis champ Will Bayley hitting table tennis balls from the reception desk.

I hope there’s more to the initiative than viewing AR athletes, of course. Perhaps a game for guests to win prizes – maybe even Olympics tickets – during their stay.

Anything less would hardly seem Olympian.

Read more here.

Mozes Digitizes IEG Sponsorship Conference 3rd Year In A Row

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Tanya

For the third year in a row, Mozes partnered with the IEG Sponsorship Conference, digitizing their event with interactive mobile elements such as Mobile Q&A, live mobile polling, real-time mobile updates, and more that engaged and informed attendees.

Mozes also spoke on two round table sessions with client, The Country Music Association (CMA), discussing how they connect with today’s country fan through mobile. The CMA has seen much success and therefore, relies heavily on the mobile channel to deliver branded value to their headline sponsors, and engage their passionate fan base. Check out their presentation here.

IEG polled attendees in real-time on hot topics such as sponsorship measurement and using social media as a vehicle for monetization. 44% said program participation is their current go-to sponsorship evaluation tool, and 63% said fan response was their biggest challenge in monetizing social media.

Marvel Previews Augmented Reality Comics (Video)

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

Why just read “Iron Man” when he can leap off the page and into augmented reality?

That’s the idea from Marvel, which offered a preview of AR-based comics at SXSW last week.

Great idea. But it’d have to offer a whole lot more than just a quick mobile or web cam-based AR-based visual of your favorite hero.

IMHO, it should be used to animate key frames from the story (or even better, the whole issue). Short of that, if they’re just going to be extras, why not experiences that make you part of the action, like the AR iPhone app promoting “Mission Impossible”?

Now that would bring new value to print-based comics versus their digital editions, at least for a time.

But what’s your view?

Are AR comics super? Or hardly worth the heroic effort to use them?

Read more here.

Q&A: Rachel Pasqua, Exec Dir, Mobile Marketing, Organic (Pt 3): Beyond The QR Code

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

In part three of my conversation with Organic’s new executive director of mobile marketing, Rachel Pasqua, talk turns from QR codes to other forms of 2D barcodes and even NFC.

As the prototypical consumer – a working mom with two kids – Pasqua definitely has some insights on how mobile marketers could make her own life a whole lot easier.

Q&A: RACHEL PASQUA, EXEC DIR, MOBILE MARKETING, ORGANIC (PT 3)

Q&A: Rachel Pasqua (Pt 3)
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Q&A: Rachel Pasqua, Organic’s New Exec Dir of Mobile Marketing (Pt 2) – On Mobile & The Super Bowl

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Rick Mathieson

For the record, Rachel Pasqua, Organic’s new executive director of mobile marketing, thinks the QR code is like cilantro: You either love it or hate it.

You’ll hear more pronouncements like that, presumably, in the upcoming book Mobile Marketing in One Hour A Day (Wiley) that Pasqua is writing with eMarketer analyst Noah Elkin (listen here as Elkin interviews me about QR codes for an eMarketer report on QR code best practices).

In part two of my interview with Pasqua, we begin a discussion about last month’s Super Bowl advertising, and mobile’s varied role as an activation or response mechanism – starting with audio activation ala Shazam and yes, more about cilantro.

Q&A: Rachel Pasqua, Organic’s New Director of Mobile Marketing (Pt 2)

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