Telemedia Magazine by annika micheli

issue 27

g L n A i I t C t e O

t ion r a ut e l h o he rev t t al a a oci i ed e s m th e l Te of

SOCIAL MARKETING Opening up those new channels to market

SOCIAL GAMING Playing to win with competitive content

THE SOCIAL SELL It's all about social mobile commerce

SHOW PREVIEW PAGE 25

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features RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

The PRS regulatory environment is set to change drastically to one of shared responsibility and proportionate response. But such an upheaval comes at a price. Paul Skeldon investigates

SHOPPING IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND

M-commerce is fast becoming the default setting for the telemedia space: whether it is offerings for retailers or simply the sale of digital goods, telemedia billing is slowly morphing into m-retail. Paul Skeldon reports

FIGHT!

Much has been made of whether it’s better to have an app or m-web services. But while there are many advocates of each, the real answer lies in what apps and m-web can achieve together, says Paul Skeldon

CASH!

While the debate rages over whether m-web or apps is best, what of the billing options available? Here we take a look at how it works for two different solutions

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT’S DUE

Cross network mobile crediting has revolutionised mobile campaigns and is set to do the same for TV voting. Alex Moir, General Manager Europe, OpenMarket, looks at how it works, assesses some key campaigns and ponders what its future potential might be

TELEMEDIA 360 SHOW PREVIEW

Full details of what is going on in Manchester on 16 November at the Telemedia360 event. Check out the seminar programme, the drill down sessions and exhibitor and sponsor highlights from the media, telemedia, marketing, branding, networking and service provider world

GETTING SOCIAL

Kicking off our cover theme stories, Sheldon Johns takes a look at how social media is now the marketing channel of choice and what it means for telemedia companies, while on page 33 we take a look at the social gaming and ‘gamification’ revolution and then on to how that all fits in with the nascent boom in mobile gambling

GOT TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT

Social gaming and ‘gamification’ are becoming hot tickets for monetising both social media and traditional media content. Sheldon Johns continues his foray into social markets with a look at the role of games and gaming around TV and other media content – and finds the money trail

BET YOU DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING?

While social media and ‘gamification’ are generating great potential new revenue streams for media and brands, a similar revolution is underway with mobile gambling. Paul Skeldon reports on how iPhone, tablets and a growing acceptance of social games is finally driving the up take of mobile gambling

GET OFF THE BENCH

Sports clubs need new tactics to keep fans motivated, drive up revenues and develop their global brands – and there’s no better tool to get the message across than the smartphone, says Gary Corbett, Chairman at Oxygen8

THEWHOLE WORLD IN YOUR HANDS

LOOK INTO MY EYES

Video is making psychic and horoscope personal again – and offering publishers a way to make their websites more lucrative. Paul Skeldon reports

regulars comment 04 Social media changes everything newswrap 06 Round up of the latest news from telemedia-news.com and telemediaTV

opinion: devices 06 BlackBerry’s PlayPad launch cements tablets as the new, well, black

commerce 07 opinion: M-commerce is a golden goose

for telemedia, but where are the openings?

telecoms 07 opinion: Companies must “app or die” says Mulabaloo’s Mark Mason

opinion: content 09 Anuj Khana offers some insight into how to monetise content

opinion: print 09 iPad is the saviour of print,

10 11

except it can’t do subs services – until now

opinion: social media

Social media on mobiles is what TV viewers want. So how can you monetise it?

the agenda

What the regulators and industry bodies have been up to since we last met

46 Thedirectory industry’s only listing of who does what

people 50 Keeping tabs on the movers and shakers

telemedia issue 27

The social revolution will be televised – and on the web and mobile

paul skeldon

ou can’t move these days for politicians espousing change. Soon you won’t be able to move for masses of the downtrodden asking you to spare some as well. But, that aside, change is in the air around heart of telemedia and it is set to have a massive impact on the business. There is a seismic shift in how consumers use the web, their phones and how they consumer content. For starters, there is an ever-growing raft of new devices, not just ever smarter smartphones, but also tablets, e-readers, games consoles, set top boxes, web-enabled TVs and of course PCs and laptops. Then there is the shift in what consumers are doing with these devices: what they are consuming, how they are interacting with it and each other, and what media and content companies need to do to make money from this new environment. It is a social revolution in every sense: consumers have never been more empowered to consumer what they want, when they want and across the devices they want. They are also doing it more with social media tools that are both a channel to consumers for media content and the glue – based around messaging and content sharing – that holds social groups together. On paper it looks ideal, but to anyone with content that they have spent money creating or licensing, this multi-device, social network driven consumer utopia is a doubleedged sword. On the one hand it opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities as to how to re-purpose and re-sell content to consumers outside of the traditional media channels that they usually use. On the other, though, it is often viewed as free and ‘sharing’ is rife. So, how do you monetise these channels successfully, while maintaining consumers’ sense of freedom to do what they please online? It’s a conundrum and one that is tackled in all the features in this edition of Telemedia magazine. It is also the backbone of our Telemedia360 event, taking place on 16 November in Manchester at the Palace Hotel. The main thrust of the event is to bring together the media companies, agencies and brands, with the telco, service provider, aggregator and billing community to look at the challenges this new world presents and to assess how best to take content and advertising and use it to generate new revenues in the new social channels that are taking over how consumers use media. Among the key themes are how to tackle designing services for new devices, as well as getting an insight from print, TV and marketing experts and brands on how they are actually using new channels to market and new devices to calve out new revenue. There is also a deep look at both social media and social gamification of media, which currently present some of the biggest challenges and hurdles to all. There is also a look at how sports and live events – which is now becoming something of a key market for telemedia – is starting to hot up, while we also take an indepth look at m-commerce, which is now perhaps the area that most companies in the sector are keen to take a slice of.

Make sure you renew your annual subscription to continue receiving Telemedia Magazine AND now you will get 10 issues of Telemedia 360 into the bargain! www.telemedia-news.com/signup.html

telemedia issue 27

the small print

COMMENT

Editorial DIRECTOR Paul Skeldon paul@telemediamagazine.com Art Director Victoria Wren victoria@whangdoodleland.com Contributors & Consultants Sheldon Johns, Andrew Darling, Peggy Ann Salz, Matthew Leach, Ritesh Gupta, Paul Dunone, Bruce Pharoah, Christabel Farrah, John Strand, Melvin de Vere, Victoria Hawes, Peter Welburn, Thea George Sales & Marketing info@telemediamagazine.com Production Director Annika Micheli annika@telemediamagazine.com Publisher Jarvis Todd jarvis@telemediamagazine.com To subscribe www.telemediamagazine.com

What we’ve been listening to Star Tiger, Star Ariel, The Delays Waste of Space, Danger’s Close What we’ve been amused by The Inbetweeners What we’ve been following Tablet wars What we’ve been reading about Mobile social commerce

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newswrap

For the latest news as it happens see www.telemedia-news.com DEVICES RIM unveils the BlackBerry PlayBook PUBLISHING YUDU claims to have solved iPad subs issues for publishers M-COMMERCE Karen Millen launches SMS gift vouchers using Eagle Eye Solutions technology BUSINESS Admoda/Adultmoda opens Asia office ADVERTISING TGI Friday’s launch first location based, time targeted mobile advertising campaign with 4th Screen Advertising, Rippll and Initiative ADVERTISING 25% of consumers in Europe want to interact with adverts using mobile, finds MMA TELEMEDIA 360 BLOG UPDATE Practice what we preach TELECOMS Mobile operators to generate $67bn through roaming by 2015 PAYMENTS Monetise powers up Ireland’s first mobile banking app GAMING Poker Channel and Dennis Publishing team up to create poker magazine show APPS BK launches whopper of an app MARKETING Jack Daniels uses 2D barcodes as part of mobile marketing campaign to get the whisky makers birthday declared national holiday REGULATION Ofcom agrees fines of £2m for silent calls TELEMEDIA 360 BLOG UPDATE Gearing up for social gaming and drilling down for facts

Telemedia magazine augments its editorial offerings with video interviews with leading players. Check out www.youtube.com/telemedia360

Opinion Analysis

The App Economy Print & Telemedia – the INMA Interview The Media & Mobile parts I to IV Direct Billing goes industrial

DEVICES

BlackBerry comes out to play: Another day, another tablet… Research In Motion (RIM) has taken the wraps off its new professional-grade BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and BlackBerry Tablet OS as it joins the race to catch a slice of the new device market action

pple has, until now, held all the cards around tablet computers, the latest device sub-genre to get developers excited/overworked. Then came Samsung, with some short-lived fanfare. Now BlackBerry has joined the throng with its delightfully named PlayBook (not BlackPad as most of the media called it) and the game is truly on. The device is highly capable, looks good and, like iPad and GalaxyTab, does loads. There is no denying that it is a superbly engineered bit of kit. All that the media can find to knock it on is the choice of OS – not really something that impactful so long as it works. But perhaps this device long tail that is emerging is something of a phoney war. There is no shortage of hype around tablets and how they are going to revolutionise the media and content market, but will they? OK, many will be sold on the back of the hype and there are always enough people out there with money to chuck at the latest fad, but, once the dust

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1GOAL – mobile’s chance to save the world Flirtomatic and the best reality show there never was Real Madrid’s head of mobile speaks

of publicity has settled, will people really actually use them or will they be dug out in five years time when people start moving house again to the bemused smirk of “Darling, do you remember this?” The experts thing that tabs are here to stay. The newspaper barons think so too. And the content providers really hope so. Already these devices are having an impact. Research by eMarketer suggests that these devices – along with the wealth of music players and games consoles now getting wifi and smarts – are making the content market, especially for games, music and movies, boom, hitting $1.54billion this year in the US alone. “The continuing advance of smart devices— including tablet-style computers, led by Apple’s iPad—and the growing ubiquity of mobile broadband networks mean that consumers have to make fewer compromises when it comes to the consumption of games, music and video,” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Mobile

Content: Games, Music and Video Take to the Cloud.” eMarketer estimates combined revenues from three principal streams—subscriptions (streaming music and mobile TV services); direct and pay-perview downloads (full music tracks, games and TV/ movie/event programming); and advertising-supported (games, music services and video)—will more than double from 2010 to reach $3.53 billion in 2014. Gaming is by far the leader in terms of usage and revenues: The number of US mobile gamers is expected to reach 64 million in 2010, driving revenues of $849 million. Meanwhile the number of US consumers who watch mobile video or television on their mobile devices is expected to reach 23 million this year and draw revenues of $719 million. By 2014, however, mobile video revenues are expected to reach $1.3 billion. The main factor driving revenues to game, video and music publishers is still paid or subscriptionbased content, though ad-supported revenues are expected to grow at more than double the rate of paid mobile content through 2014. “The rules have not been written—yet,” Elkin said. “The ongoing digitalization of media and the increased emphasis on monetization spells opportunity for mobile game and music publishers as well as producers of video content.”

ANALYSIS

M-commerce’s golden opportunity Survey commissioned by AIME, IAB and IMRG shows that 41% of UK retail brands expect to have a transactional mobile site or application within the next year

Opinion Analysis

mised for mobile, and only eight of the top 20 have any kind of mobile application for smartphones like the iPhone, Blackberry or Android powered devices. This means that many retailers could be missing out on additional revenues from the ready and willing mobile consumer traffic to their sites. In response to the research, Sienne Veit, Social and Mobile Commerce Development Manager at M&S Direct said: “Mobile internet sits at the heart of many of our customer’s lives, and we’ve invested significant resource to ensuring that their mobile experience is as straightforward and rewarding as possible. This research from AIME, the IAB and IMRG highlights how emerging mobile media looks set to play a much stronger role in UK commerce, and for us as retailers it’s been essential to establish a solid mobile presence to fully complement the evolving customer journey.” Whilst most retailers believe their mobile revenues will increase over the next few years, currently around 63% either make less than 1% of their total revenues via mobile, or don’t measure their mobile revenues at all at present, citing a lack of knowledge and expertise about the mobile platform. However, the research found that over half (59%) of the senior-level representatives from UK retail brands that took part in the survey, expected their mobile revenues to increase over the next 12 months, and 94% saw it as a real opportunity for their business. The majority of UK retail brands welcomed the opportunity for further training in mobile commerce and advertising, recognising the increasing part the medium will play in the customer journey - 74% of those respondents stated that they would like to receive training in this area. Currently 1 in 10 retail

marketers cites themselves as a ‘mobile expert’, while 43% believe they have a basic knowledge of the medium. Edward Boddington, Chairman of AIME and CEO of Harvest Media, commented: “The results of this survey commissioned by these three leading trade associations clearly demonstrates the opportunity for M-Commerce to develop rapidly over the next 24 months from a £500m industry today. Increasingly, consumers are looking for best deals, especially in a tough economy and mobile represents the most convenient tool for instant redemption in the form of coupons and also loyalty clubs.” Steve Ricketts, Head of Mobile Marketing and mCommerce Services, Everything Everywhere said:”Retailers know that there is a huge audience wanting to engage with them via mobile and the mCommerce opportunity is there for the taking. It’s great that just under half of respondents intend to provide customers with the opportunity to purchase via their mobile in the next 12 months - what the others need to ask themselves if they’re happy letting their competitors steal the march. Tom Sondej of eDigitalResearch adds: “The research shows that retailers are all aware of boundless opportunities that m-commerce holds such as increased revenues, identification of niche markets and a possibility to target ‘low incidence rate’ groups with different marketing mix campaigns. However mobile operating platforms must be fully optimised for the retail marketplace to take the full advantage of m-commerce and the research reveals that many retailers are still lagging behind in terms of developing their M-commerce offer.”

oo few retailers have a solid mobile presence today, despite a staggering 4.2 million UK consumers visiting retailers’ websites using the mobile internet. However, 41% of sellers plan to have a transactional mobile site or application in place within the next year, according to the results from a new research partnership between the Association for Interactive Media and Entertainment (AIME), the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG). The study found that while mobile commerce is still very much at the consideration stage, the majority of retailers surveyed expect mobile commerce to be part of their main strategy within the next 12 months. eDigital Research, commissioned by AIME, the IAB and the IMRG surveyed 140 marketing professionals from the retail, advertising and mobile service provider sectors in the UK to understand attitudes, behaviours and perceived challenges to mobile commerce. Over half (59%) of the senior-level representatives from UK retail brands that took part expected their mobile revenues to increase over the next 12 months, and 94% saw it as a real opportunity for their business. The research highlights the need for retailers to move faster to keep with the consumers already seeking out retail websites via their mobile phones. Each month in the UK, a staggering 4.2 million consumers are visiting retailers’ websites using the mobile internet. However, just four out of the top 20 most frequently visited retailer websites are presently opti-

Opinion Analysis

M-COMMERCE

TELECOMS

Companies must “app or die” So says Mubaloo Founder Mark Mason, who has consulted to Google, Toshiba and Microsoft and is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust

martphones and iPads are in exactly the same place as websites were 10 years ago.  It’s early days but it’s changing fast. You couldn’t imagine a company functioning without a website today; it will be the same for apps within a year. They’ll be everywhere.     But this app revolution will be ‘sudden, explosive and everywhere’ rather than following a slower growth curve like the web. We’re going to see apps everywhere; in phones, TVs, cars and even fridges, to tell you when to buy more milk. Smart companies have immediately stuck their toe in the water and are making their pres-

ence well and truly felt at this land-grab time. A typical app cost anything between £20,000 to as much as £150,000 and most clients are developing a series of apps for different areas of their business.    Companies have already started to provide smartphones to all of their employees, across the enterprise, with apps that will do everything from improving employee collaboration, extending their brands and simplifying business processes. Apps are the exciting new channel to market. They are functional specific mobile experiences that will provide organisations with a personal

and direct link to their clients, partners, employees, suppliers and prospects. Companies which understand this have the opportunity to forge ahead of their competitors. Mulbaloo has already produced a fuel-price finder for The AA (which Apple has ranked in its Top 50 Apps), an AXAdent claims app for AXA insurance, a hotel finder for Britain’s Finest, an augmented reality app for the Carphone Warehouse and an internal app for McDonalds. The company also produced one of this year’s most successful app for their 2010 World Cup Tracker app which achieved over 2.4 million downloads in 8 weeks.

telemedia issue 27

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ANALYSIS

How to monetise digital content: Monetising digital content is still the biggest challenge for most brands and publishers. However, with the advent of new revenue models and payment mechanisms the hurdles of making consumers pay for digital content on the web and mobile have become easier. Anuj Khana from Wireless Expertise explains

Opinion Analysis

basis. However, if you are offering a product with a limited shelf life, stay clear and stick to premium. Ad-funded content: You can make your digital content available through advertising networks or digital stores who make the content available to consumers for free but instead charge advertisers to pay for the content in exchange for ads. So, now the revenue models are understood, how do you match them up with the billing tools available? Premium SMS: Premium SMS payment is the most widely used payment mechanism to access digital content on a global basis. This works in every country, requires no prior or consumer registration (except the SMS opt in) and is understood by most consumers. Premium SMS encourages high volumes of content consumption and impulsive purchases. However, the downside is lower revenue shares, as mobile operators still retain for themselves substantial revenue shares. Click & Buy: WAP & IP billing are gaining ground on a global basis where a consumer can buy content or services through their browser. However, Western Europe is the best market for this as yet and it is still to grow on a global basis. Credit Card: works fine on a global basis and gets back the maximum revenue share to content providers. Consumers in developed markets are now more accustomed with using their credit cards on the web and mobile. However, consumers still have security

concerns and find it a hassle to pull out their card for a low value transaction and go through the long process. E and M wallets: Services such as PayPal and Google check out are popular on the web and are trusted payment mechanisms. However, they are still to gain ground on the mobile channel. Mobile Banking: In developing markets of Africa, mobile money services are becoming popular and are more often being used for payment both of physical and digital goods. Prepaid and Virtual Credits: This is a payment method supported by the above payment mechanisms where consumers can buy prepaid credits to use digital content. Cash, physical printed vouchers and codes: In many developing markets such as China and India digital payment methods are not well established within the vast rural population. There is an opportunity to print content vouchers and scratch cards which can be distributed via physical retail stores and corner shops. Consumers can use those codes to access digital content. This model is also prevalent western markets where you can buy calling cards or scratch cards to access telecommunication services. App Store billing: offers a combination of revenue, distribution and payment models. Digital content owners can use multiple app or digital content retail stores to build a business model.

ight now there are a confusing array of digital revenue models for media companies to get their heads around. Pay per download and per view: This is one of the traditional payment models where a consumer pays for a single download or use of digital music, game, video or other digital asset that commands a premium value. This model is preferred by consumers who are looking for good quality branded content and do not want a subscription. Premium subscriptions: This model historically has a bad reputation as many consumers have sour experiences of being tied into unwanted contracts due to misleading advertising. But, digital media brands who offer easy opt out and advertise clear pricing can be successful in building consumer loyalty. Freemium: is a revenue model that works by offering basic web and mobile services, or a basic downloadable digital product, for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special features. The word “freemium” is a portmanteau combining the two aspects of the business model: “free” and “premium”. This model only works if you can reach a critical mass of consumers. Try before you buy: This is great for consumers as it offers consumers a time capped trial or limited functionality in a digital product before a consumer can buy. This business model is good if your digital content or application will be used on a recurring

Opinion Analysis

CONTENT

Overcoming the iPad subs issue: The iPad has been hailed by everyone from Rupert Murdoch downwards as the saviour of print media. But issues still remain about how to bill for subscriptions on the device… until now

he success and popularity of the iPad has spurred publishers from all over the world to adopt the medium, despite Apple’s 30% commission charge. However, the strict Apple controls and long approval process has meant many large publishers have been struggling to find the right sales model, especially those with time-sensitive publications such as daily or weekly titles. But ePublishing specialists YUDU Media claims to have a solution and has unveiled a demo video

of its new iPad subscriptions feature. The new feature gives YUDU iPad app customers the option of selling packages of multiple titles from within their Apps, allowing their readers to subscribe in advance for a chosen period of time. Publishers can choose the packages that they wish to offer such as one, three, six and 12 months. If readers wish to purchase a new iPad edition on the day of publishing, they can now do so by taking out a subscription. Thereafter the subscriber can access any publication that is pushed to the

We’ve devised a solution that will enable publishers to sell subscriptions for the iPad, iPhone and iPod – an enormous breakthrough

App until their period of access expires. The YUDU solution also allows publishers to add subscribers from other subscription systems and gives publishers the opportunity to bundle iPad and print subscriptions. In addition to the unique subscriptions development, the video also unveils other new features and enhancements to improve the user experience, including push notifications, video triggers and thumbnail navigation. Richard Stephenson, CEO of YUDU says: “We’ve devised a solution that will enable publishers to sell subscriptions for the iPad, iPhone and iPod – an enormous breakthrough in mobile publishing that will help to make iPad sales a viable revenue growth strategy.”

telemedia issue 27

Opinion Analysis

ANALYSIS

SOCIAL MEDIA

It’s a social world: New research shows that social media is the preferred second screen while consumers are watching TV and attending live events – just as well, as this social revolution is the key to the next stage of telemedia

ith the rise of ‘event TV’ like X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and sporting events, more and more Brits are using social networks and instant messaging to chat to friends as the events unfold. Research from Intel has found that almost half of (45%) Brits have admitted to using sites like Twitter, Facebook and MSN messenger to discuss a TV programme whilst it’s on air. Other research from Telekom Austria also shows that Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia are the most commonly used mobile websites, especially among kids. Networking via social media platforms and logging on to these websites many times a day have become indispensable for users under the age of 19. The younger generation accounts for 85% of Facebook users in Austria, 90% in Slovenia and 100% in Croatia.

attracted over 11 Tweets per second (11.49), last year’s Strictly Come Dancing drove almost 7 Tweets per second (6.67) and even the more serious UK election debates drove over 29 (29.06) tweets per second. “It seems we are becoming a nation of armchair pundits, sitting watching TV with laptops at the ready so we can share our own commentary and opinions with friends and family whilst watching popular TV through social networks like Twitter and Facebook,” says David McKeown, Sales & Marketing at Intel UK & Ireland. “The rise of event TV is really fuelling this trend, especially for women who are talking about shows like X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing.” “This clearly demonstrates an appetite from consumers to have Internet connectivity whilst watching TV. Smart TV – a technological revolution will change the way we view TV forever.

Smart TVs will enable users to tailor content to their individual needs and interact with and about latest programmes more socially and immediately – this is the sort of thing that is driving the rise of social media around existing media channels Surprisingly, according to both Intel and Telekom Austria, it’s the girls who are leading this social change with more than half (51%) of them using the online chat offerings whilst watching TV when compared to only 38% of men. With the ease of staying in touch online, a fifth (21%) of Brits would actually cancel a social engagement if it meant missing their favourite programme. Fuelling this technological revolution is the increasing amount of hardware people have access to. Other devices used while watching TV include a laptop (57%), a desktop computer (23%) and an internet enabled smart phone (19%). In fact, two thirds (63%) would like for their TV to access the internet so that they can find more information on the shows they’re watching, shop online and use social networking sites. The year’s biggest TV events have seen conversation go online worldwide. While X Factor

telemedia issue 27

It will not only become more interactive and responsive, but it will make TV an even more social experience”, he stressed. Smart TVs will enable users to tailor content to their individual needs and interact about latest programmes more socially and immediately. Intel is at the heart of creating the platforms to make this revolution possible by working closely with the likes of Google TV and YouView in the UK. It is this sort of thing that is driving the rise of social media services that sit around existing media services across Europe. UK broadcaster ITV has already grasped this nettle with the roll out of its ground breaking Corrie Nation online social game that is based around its hit TV soap Coronation Street. The TV company, inline with Intel’s findings, believes that social gaming is the way to combine its traditional media offerings, with social media and games to create a new revenue stream. Patricia Wagstaff, Director of Digital

Productions, ITV Studios said “Coronation Street enjoys a unique place in the hearts of the British public and with an appeal which spans generations, the brand has the potential off screen to match its phenomenal on screen success. Corrie Nation is a great example of engaging with the Coronation Street audience in new ways and exploiting this world class brand to deliver further revenues to the business.” The move by ITV into ‘gamification’ of its most widely watched programme comes hot on the heels of another game related announcement from Italian social gaming company and social network for yoof, itsmy. Itsmy has declared that social gaming should be open to all and has started to tweak its games engine so that anyone on any sort of web-connected device that plays games can play against any other player on any other device. Or as Jukka Saarelainen, CTO itsmy, says: “You can now play our games on iPhones against PSPs, PSPs against PCs and PCs against Blackberrys against Nokias against Android devices against Netbooks against any other device with internet access”. This announcement, along with ITV’s mainstream social game launch show that interactive social gaming is really on the up and that media companies should be seriously looking at how to turn content and services they have into games – the so called ‘gamification’ of the media that I keep banging on about. Oh, and no one in the media or the telemedia industries should ignore the device long tail either, as espoused by itsmy. It’s not just about developing games – or indeed any sort of multimedia offering – for just a set of devices such as iOS or Android or Nokia or even for all smartphones. This gamification process will be something that anyone connected to the web will want to embrace and that is where the maximum amount of revenue lies for anyone looking to tap into this. This growth in interest in how mobile links ‘events’ – be they real live events, or TV events – with social media while people are out and about is a revolution in telemedia. Turning content and services into social games on mobile is just part of that. The whole ethos of connecting people to each other to comment on and share content and experiences is a key driver for a whole generation to start spending money through new channels. For this reason, Telemedia magazine is putting on Telemedia360 in Manchester on 16 November to bring together the media, brands, games companies, device makers and telecoms and telemedia players to work out how to exploit this new landscape. For more details see page 25 of this issue or go to www.telemedia-news.com

INDUSTRY AIME

PPP

PTV Regulation PhonepayPlus issued notice of changes to Prior Permission for PRS used in television broadcasting following AIME lobbying – 19th Aug. Main clarification is that votes or entries received outside the voting window do not have to be counted or refunded provided the risk is clearly communicated to consumers, that consumers are informed their entry is invalid but they will still be charged and that there are no technical difficulties. AIME is pleased with the cooperation offered from PhonepayPlus to ease restrictions for interactive TV voting and competition entries.

Interim Regulatory Arrangements for Payforit Following the PRS Scope review, Ofcom has announced that it will be using the Analytical Framework developed as part of the review to evaluate whether premium rate regulation is appropriate for certain services. One of the services under consideration is Payforit. Pending the outcome of this review, PhonepayPlus, after consultation with the mobile network operators that developed Payforit, is today issuing a Help Note for industry to provide clarity on how it interprets rules on pricing transparency for services using the Payforit payment mechanism. PhonepayPlus and the mobile network operators have agreed to work together to ensure that Payforit services are compliant with the Trusted Mobile Payment Framework scheme rules as formulated by the mobile networks and the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice. The aim of this co-operation is to reduce market uncertainty around the role of the mobile networks and PhonepayPlus in the regulation of Payforit services, while Ofcom’s review is undertaken.

Fixed Line • AIME members forum – first meeting held 18th August • Discussions on Higher Rate PRS Tariffs, VAT, Retail Price Transparency & Consistency, Regulatory Framework and Consultations • Agreement for forum to meet on quarterly basis, next meeting to be held in Nov 2010 Interactive Services for Charities • AIME forum - Inaugural meeting to be held on the 16th Sept attended by major charities, charities agencies and providers of Interactive technology services PTV – Live Psychic Services Best Practice Guide AIME Best Practice for the provision of Live Psychic Services in the UK Issue 1 currently being signed up to by Service Operators of these services VAT Increase AIME surveyed members on the implications of the Jan 2011 VAT increase to 20% for the PRS Industry Survey results sent to members to be reviewed at the September AIME GM and next steps to be determined Industry Research Project AIME, along with Industry bodies Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) announced the findings of their recent M-commerce survey Survey results showed that 41% of UK retail brands expect to have a transactional mobile site or application within the next year, mobile retailers need to follow their audiences on mobile and that more mobile training is needed.

Rules on Broadcast SMS clarified PhonepayPlus today issued a supplementary Notice to Industry detailing changes to Prior Permission for Premium Rate Services (PRS) used in television broadcasting. This follows approaches earlier in the year from PRS industry representatives and broadcasters seeking clarification on conditions. In particular, clarity was needed in relation to votes received using SMS that arrived outside of times when lines were open and what the expectations are in relation to refunding such consumers. PhonepayPlus took the opportunity to review all the conditions of the Broadcast PRS Prior Permission Notice. Following this review, PhonepayPlus’ Board altered some conditions and added one new condition in order to provide greater clarity to providers. The main clarifications are: • That votes or entries which are received outside the voting window – e.g. when lines are open – do not have to be counted or refunded provided that this risk is clearly communicated to consumers, that consumers are informed their entry is invalid but they will still be charged, and that there are no technical difficulties (either from the network or provider) which might have caused votes or entries to be delivered late. • That phone lines may remain open when programmes are repeated, provided that the voting/entry window for PRS is still open during the repeat. • That where multiple methods of voting/entry exist for the same Broadcast event, then if some of those methods will have shorter voting/entry windows than others this must be clear to consumers in each call to action. Changes to Multi-Party Chat prior permission announced PhonepayPlus has today issued a statement in response to its Multi-Party Chat (Chatline) consultation, as well as published a Multi-Party Chat (MPC) Prior Permission Notice. This statement follows a review of Multi-Party Chat in 2009 and the public consultation published on 31 March 2010. The main changes are: • Providers of MPC services will no longer be required to obtain the caller’s address prior to allowing them to participate in MPC services, or state that all calls will be recorded and details passed to the regulator where appropriate. • The maximum tariff per minute for MPC services will increase from 60p per minute to £1.50 per minute. • Successful applicants will be allowed to operate adult MPC services. • MPC services will be allowed to transfer consumers to other services (although not where it is possible to access adult chat or IVR through a service which has advertised itself as being non-adult) provided this transfer remains part of the same call (with the same spend limit). • MPC services will no longer be required operate on the 09059 prefix. • The requirement for MPC providers to pay into a Compensation Fund will be removed, although the requirement for them to pay a security bond will remain. Consultation on Strategic Plan for 2011/14 PhonepayPlus has today published a consultation on its new Strategic Plan for 2011/14. The document sets out the key elements of the Plan for consultation with stakeholders, before the final Plan is published later in 2010. PhonepayPlus published its first Strategic Plan covering 2008/11 in 2007. The objectives of this first Plan included developing a more proactive approach to consumer protection through building effective relationships with the industry. The aim of this industry outreach was to increase compliance with regulation through better understanding on both sides and also to ensure PhonepayPlus’ work was informed by the needs of industry.

The telemedia industry crosses so many business borders, its interests are tied up with a range of trade bodies and associations. Here we take a look at who is doing what

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INDUSTRY MMA

MEF

MMA Announces Repositioning The MMA announced a repositioning to enhance the MMA’s effectiveness at the global, regional and national levels, and to create additional membership benefits. The repositioning is based on feedback from a survey of members and non-member companies, across four regions, representing all players in the mobile marketing value chain; on a global market assessment, its challenges and its opportunities; and the expanded MMA global presence. The objective was to identify ways that the organization could evolve to better meet members’ needs and provide greater visibility for the mobile marketing opportunity

MEF North America Launches M-Commerce Guide Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) North America announced today the launch of the first edition of the MEF Guide to M-Commerce. Rimma Perelmuter, Executive Director of MEF, said: “M-Commerce is not a new phenomenon for our members. The $36bn global mobile media industry is largely built on micropayments and MEF’s M-Commerce Initiative substantially expands this opportunity to the retail and content industries with today’s launch of our M-Commerce Guide. It is a comprehensive resource that brings together expert content and analysis showing all the different ways that the mobile device can be used to enable commerce for content, services and products consumed both on and off the device. The MEF member authored Guide contains essential case studies designed to help brands, content producers and retailers demystify, simplify and monetize the mobile commerce landscape.” The Guide is available for immediate download from the MEF website and copies will be made available at today’s Retail Mobile Executive Summit taking place in San Francisco.

M-commerce research MMA, with its research partner Lightspeed Research, has found that a quarter of consumers in the UK, France and Germany would be more likely to respond to advertising in any media if it allowed them to do so using their mobile device. Of the most common mobile response options, texting a keyword to a shortcode was consumers’ preferred method for responding to adverts in each country. M-web research Another study by MMA and Lightspeed found that 28% of European mobile consumers expecting to access websites once a week or more using their mobile phone over the next year. British mobile consumers emerged as the most likely to use the mobile Internet regularly, with 36% stating their intentions to do so over the next 12 months, followed by Germany at 27% and France at 20%. Certified Mobile Marketer Program: MMA Track Tier 1 The MMA announced the launch of its Certified Mobile Marketer Program: MMA Track, designed to provide marketers with the fundamental skills and knowledge that are critical for success in mobile marketing. Open to individuals and organizations of all skill levels, the program is a unique, intensive opportunity to master industry terminology, budgeting and financial planning for mobile campaigns, regulatory requirements and industry best practices in mobile marketing.

INMA ARF Audience Measurement Conference The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) held its annual Audience Measurement Conference June 22-23 in New York. The conference looked at multiple aspects of the advertising and consumer relationship as the way consumers use media is changing at an unprecedented rate. Cross-media measurement and attaining the most effective ad spend possible were key themes throughout the two-day conference which included participants from all walks of the media landscape. INMA World Congress The 80th Annual INMA World Congress brought together 350+ delegates from 48 countries to discuss audience, advertising, and brand opportunities for newspapers in the Digital Age. Key conference themes included integrated advertising sales, the value of content, and what new platforms such as the iPad mean to newsmedia companies.

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MEF Elects New Global Board Luca Pagano (Vice President Publishing, EA Mobile), Rob Lewis (Executive Chairman, Omnifone) and James Parton, Head of Developer Marketing (Telefonica) were voted onto the MEF Global board for the first time at yesterday’s MEF Global AGM. In addition, directors from both KPMG and Shazam were re-elected to the board, with Andrew Bud also re-elected as Global Chairman and Pete Wood elected as Global Vice Chairman. Qtel Group co-found the first MEF Middle East Office at QSTP In line with its vision to create the first Mobile Innovation hub for the region, the Qtel Group celebrated the co-founding of the first Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Middle East office for the MENA region at Qatar Science and Technology Park in Qatar.

Keep abreast of all industry developments with these key websites www.telemedia-news.com www.praltd.co.uk www.aimelink.org www.m-e-f.org www.mmaglobal.com www.inma.org

REGULATION

MENT

ENGAGE

Rules of

The PRS regulatory environment is set to change drastically to one of shared responsibility and proportionate response. But such an upheaval comes at a price. Paul Skeldon investigates

survey conducted for Phonepay Plus (PPP) by independent researcher ThinkTank earlier this summer found that consumers want PRS to be more fairly and openly regulated and will spend more money on such services as a result. However, the industry, led by trade body AIME, still has huge reservations about the practicality of what is set to be a radical rethink of how regulation is applied in what will become PPP’s 12th Code of Practice. Broadly the telemedia industry is welcoming of what PPP is proposing to do: the principles of shared responsibility, a registration scheme and more proportionate reactions to problems are all very welcome. However, there are still concerns as to how these changes will be implemented in practice and how the transition between the old and the new code will be managed. Chief among the problems industry has with the code, and highlighted this month by AIME, are with coping with the change to the new code, the new regulatory process, the costs of regulation, compli-

ance assessment, proportionate liability and the due diligence process. AIME is looking to get assurances from PPP that the process of change from 11th to 12th Code will be managed effectively, but moreover are looking for a cultural change within PPP that reflects the new spirit of regulation. To this end, PPP has initiated a training programme focussed on industry training for its staff, stresses Bradley Brady, PPP’s Director of Strategy and Communications. “Which we are pleased about, but we want to see further evidence of how PPP plans to change the organisation’s culture and process,” says an AIME spokesman. There are also concerns with the actual transition from old to new code of practice and what it means for open cases, old cases and judgements, as well as what happens under the newly proposed registration scheme with judgements made under either code going forward: do they follow the individual? “Cases will be dealt with under the Code that was active and in force when the first complaint was

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REGULATION received,” explains Brady. “For example, if the new Code comes into force 1 May 2011, consumer complains 30 April, it’s Code 11, consumer complains 3 May, it’s the new Code. There will, of course, be an implementation period where we transition to the new Code and we will work closely with industry during this period to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities under the new regulatory regime.” One other question surrounding this issue is, for those on the registration scheme who do have breaches, will they follow them from company to company, and will company histories follow the company around if it is bought or merged with another firm? “Yes, absolutely,” says Brady. “Your history and company history will follow you around. It has to, otherwise problem operators or companies could simply shut down and start again with a clean bill of health. What we are looking at is having a timed history, so that any judgements stay on record for a period of time commensurate with the breach.”

Getting cloudy? The other area causing concern around the process of regulation is that the industry has to have confidence in the new process. While there are issues with the current framework under the 11th Code, at least the industry knows how it works. The 12th Code’s radical changes make this a little more cloudy. “AIME has taken the initiative and launched a Regulatory Best Practice Forum within its membership to provide ongoing focus on areas of regulatory process that raise concern and may require review,” says AIME. Within this, there is still much confusion over PPP’s proposal that every PRS service value chain has Level 1 and Level 2 companies, with Level 2 companies shouldering the lion’s share of responsibility for any breaches and with greater onus on them than the Level 1’s (who, one assumes are all the other companies in the value chain) to do proper due diligence and ensure that the services aren’t harmful in

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anyway. “Level 2 companies will likely be those that have the most impact on the consumer, so either those directly facing the consumer, collecting most of the money or responsible for the marketing,” says Brady. But there are those within the industry that worry that this means that the main responsibility for getting the services right may well rest with a one-man band merchant provider sitting at the front who has much less to lose if the service goes wrong than others further back along the chain. Not so, says Brady. The whole idea of the registration scheme, the Level 1 and Level 2 status and an emphasis on correcting problems as they happen, rather than simply opening up proceedings will see this right. So how do you know who is Level 1 and Level 2 and who holds this information? “In the event of an investigation into a service, PhonepayPlus will decide for a given service who the Level 1 or Level 2 provider is, based on the evidence (including contracts) provided by the parties on the roles they carry out in the value chain,” says Brady. “The definitions and Guidance provided with the Code will allow providers to determine what role they are carrying out for any given service they are operating.”

Counting the cost Regulatory costs are also an issue. According to PPP’s own figures in its annual report the PRS sector in the UK is currently worth £730million: 11.4% down on 2008 and a whopping 54% lower than the industry peak in 2006, when it was worth an estimated £1.6billion. According to AIME members, the cost of regulating the industry has gone up from £3.6million in 2006 to £4.8million in 2009. That’s a doubling in cost to the industry per £1000 of revenue from £2.25 in 2006 to £5.28 in 2009. The recession may well have played a part in this, and costs do rise, but many in the industry feel that regulatory costs are getting too high.

REGULATION According to Brady: “This year regulation costs industry one fifth of a penny for every pound of outpayment, for which we deliver strong value to the PRS sector as an independent regulator building consumer trust. Our costs are now 9% less in real terms than they were two years ago, despite taking on the regulation of 0871/2/3 numbers. “It is not the size of the PRS market, but rather its compliance that drives the costs of regulation,” he says. “We are committed to working further with industry to increase compliance with the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice, which will allow us to further reduce our costs over time.” Proportionate liability also is an issue for the industry, with possible code infringements costing up to £250,000 in fines. This is an area that has seen a massive increase over the past couple of years and raises the bar on what can happen when things go wrong. The telemedia industry argues that these sorts of fines would put companies out of business at a stroke and are grossly unfair, especially given the poor trading conditions that many in the industry are experiencing.

Unintentional breaches The problem as AIME sees it is that there will be occasions when elements of the value chain will identify errors of judgement or failures of technology – these have already happened and have led to unintentional breaches of the code. What the industry is hoping for from the 12th Code’s proportionate liability is for it to be possible for swift corrective action to be taken, refunds delivered and services cleaned up as errors are spotted, without it leading to hugely expensive actions and fines. Here PPP has set out from the beginning of its 12th Code consultation a plan to be much more open to simply letting obvious oversights be corrected as soon as they are spotted and no further action being taken. “We have set up a complaint resolution team with the idea that, under the new code, if anything goes wrong it can assessed quickly and where possible simply put right before further consumer harm occurs rapidly and proportionately,” says Brady. “The new code is much more about resolution so that we can then devote the bulk of our efforts towards targeting the few really serious incidents and the worst harm – something that is very small, but will ruin the business for everyone from PRS companies, to network operators to consumers.” So, as we wait for the final consultation to begin – the deadline for submissions was extended from June to July and is yet to be completed as we go to press – the industry is holding its breath as to how this will play out. There are certainly many things being mooted in

the new code that should be welcomed by the industry and I for one do think that PPP has, in many ways, the best of intentions in trying to make this work. The research the regulator conducted shows that consumers want regulation, but not heavy-handed, nanny-ish regulation: and PPP has to take this on board along with the other data the survey throws up about how great PPP is. What is really needed is true co-operation between industry and regulator – and, after years of never quite getting there, AIME under new chairman, Ed Boddington, is now making some headway. It looks like, under the new stewardship of Paul Whiteing, PPP is also attempting to shift its stance on the industry and is coming to meet it half way. Trouble with half way, as David Cameron and Nick Clegg can attest, is that it can the kind of compromise that is neither the best nor the worst: a mishmash of what the two sides want from regulation. It won’t be until this time next year – round about mid summer 2011 – will we see how the 12th Code has performed in practice and what the real issues it throws up are. But let’s face it, both AIME and PPP have an interest in this running and running. Let’s hope they use the years of sparring that lie ahead to develop a framework that makes this industry of ours flourish.

Working together

PRS regulation isn’t just about punishing miscreants and trying to keep things clean: the other important role is that the industry and the regulator work together to promote the industry and grow its overall business. This is something that PhonepayPlus and AIME both recognise and are actively seeking to promote. PPP’s recent research conducted independently by ThinkTank found that more consumers would use PRS services if they knew they were innovative, but regulated – and that means clearly promoting what the regulators and the service providers do at point of sale. PPP has tried, with mixed results in the past, to deploy industry publicity, but often this has been seen as being rather too much on the side of stopping problems, rather than saying how good the industry is. This, though looks set to change under the new Code and the new culture being ushered in at PPP. “What’s good for the consumer is good for the industry,” says Bradley Brady, PPP’s Director of Strategy and Communications. “Until now regulation has been driven by being reactive. Now we want to be pre-emptive where possible and that means working with the industry to deliver good services and to help promote they open and flexible regulatory regime within which they operate. This is what consumers want.” One idea being put forward is that PPP advertises itself on the pages of publications carrying PRS ads, so that consumers can see at point of sale that there is a regulator and, more importantly, that all the services on that page are safe to use. “It will drive more PRS business, it’s as simple as that,” says Brady.

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m-commerce

Shopping from the

comfort of yo

M-commerce is fast becoming the default setting for many companies in the telemedia space, but there is more to it than offerings for retailers that sell stuff through mobile, or simply the sale of digital goods. Paul Skeldon reports

f the number of surveys done into something is any indication of its significance, then mobile commerce is as popular as national treasure Stephen Fry or something classy like Coronation Street. But cutting through the figures, where many companies were focussing on the untold riches of interactive media, now most are shifting their emphasis to commerce and retailing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all driven by consumer demand to start shopping on and with their mobiles. According to research by the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), 53% of consumers are actively wanting to use their mobiles to buy things, while a study by Netsize has concluded that 95% of the 2000 people it asked across Europe are game to spend up to E25 on a single transaction on their mobile. Couple this with the fact that eBayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transactional iOS app has been downloaded 11million times and that the company expects mobile revenues to

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hit $1.5billion in 2010, as well as the news that Amazon has done $1billion of business solely on mobile in the past 12 months and you know that something is happening in m-commerce. So what are the opportunities? Well, if you can develop apps, or if you are a billing company, then transactional applications, transactional web-optimised apps and even browser apps that let people purchase are going to be a hot ticket for you. But m-commerce goes much deeper than just delivering purchasing over mobile in some way, shape or form. The real opportunity lies in showing retailers of both physical and online digital goods what mobile brings in terms of marketing, messaging, social networking, recommendation, location, augmented reality, product demos, price/stock/ location-comparison, couponing, ticketing, payments and shop-floor sales tools (to name but a few). Oh, and letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not forget the enterprise uses within retail and commerce organisations that mobile brings.

m-commerce

our own phone There is so much that mobile can do with commerce and retail that you could write a book about it (in fact, I am – to be published early in 2011), so what are some of the key opportunities?

Marketing mayhem Mobile marketing is perhaps the clearest example of what mobile can bring to the all round retail experience, offering as it does a conduit for talking to customers, giving them offers and getting them engaged with content, services and goods. According to research by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) a quarter of consumers would be more likely to respond to advertising in any media if it allowed them to do so using their mobile device. Of the most common mobile response options, texting a keyword to a shortcode was consumers’ preferred method for responding to adverts in each country. In fact, while shortcodes are hugely popular, another study by Placecast found that 45% of 18 to 34 year-olds and 35% of 35 to 44 year olds were interested in receiving opt-in mobile alerts via text and declared it “the only form of mobile marketing to reach the entire mobile universe.” “Mobile phones now have consumer penetration rates that surpass the Internet, and marketers need to grasp the implications of ‘go-anywhere media,’ which is what mobile phones represent,” says Kathryn Koegel, President of Primary Impact Research, which conducted the study. “Consumers use their phones to do everything from research products to check competitor retail pricing – even from within store locations,” she continues. In the US, further research by Placecast (I told you there had been a lot of studies into m-commerce this summer – Ed) found that as many as a third of US shoppers who have signed up to mobile marketing alerts say that they strongly influence the stores they visit, while as many as 27% say it has also impacted their decision to purchase goods. But there is also an interesting trend for the resurgence of email marketing acting as a driver for mobile commerce, thanks to smartphones. According to Andy Houstoun, head of marketing and e and m-commerce platform supplier Venda, “between one and 6% of traffic we see currently comes from mobile vistors and a lot of that is driven from email marketing shots picked up on those smartphone’s email clients that users then click through.”

Mobile in-store

Another side of what mobile brings to commerce and retail is what mobile services can do in store. I don’t know about you, but I am forever using my mobile – usually Amazon’s app – to see if I can find what I am standing in front of cheaper online. There are also barcode scanning tools that let you also do this or locate what you are looking for elsewhere, but there is now something of a fight back by retailers with bricks and mortar stores to use the same tech to keep people in store and buying from them. “Many retailers are looking at how they can use shelf-edge barcode scanning to offer special deals or customer reviews, stock checks and so on so that those consumers convert in store,” says Venda’s Houstoun. “And those that produce catalogues – which let’s not

Is it just the high end?

Despite the hype, adoption of mobile commerce in Europe remains low, with a mere 2% of adults across the continent reporting purchasing products from their mobiles and only 5% interested in doing so, according to new research from Forrester Research based on a survey of more than 14,000 European online adults. Only 16% of online buyers have used their mobile phone for a shopping-related activity such as researching products, checking on the status of an order, or locating a nearby store to buy a specific product, says Forrester. Currently, browsing for products and services is the most popular commercerelated activity on a mobile, but only 7% of online buyers do this. Online buyers also tend to use their mobile phone to check on the status of an order or locate a nearby store. Buying products from a mobile phone hasn’t taken off, as a mere 2% of European online buyers purchase products from their mobile phone and only 5% are actually interested in doing so. Unsurprisingly, mobile-savvy users are more likely to engage in mobile commerce. For example, 23% of European iPhone users research products on their mobile phone at least monthly. Similarly, among mobile daily Internet users, onethird have already researched products/services using the mobile Internet, 20% have located a nearby store, and 18% have compared prices on a mobile device while in a shop. Even if this group is still niche, this gives a good indication of the potential of mobile commerce. Italian and Swedish online buyers have warmed up the most to mobile commerce, followed by the UK. Those in France and Germany show the least interest – as backed up by eBay’s findings that UK consumers buy four times as much online than the French. Despite the low penetration rate, Forrester analyst Thomas Husson argues that mobile presents a growing market opportunity. “Smartphone adoption in Europe is growing fast, which makes traffic to Web sites through mobile devices easier. European consumers are starting to show interest in mobile commerce activities, and many retailers across Europe— like La Redoute, Fnac, eBay, Amazon.com, Tesco, and Carrefour — are starting to improve their mobile Web sites and creating mobile applications for the iPhone.”

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m-commerce forget is still a huge market – are also starting to add barcodes that can be scanned by mobile and initiating sales through mobile from the catalogue.” Many retailers are also looking at how mobile commerce can be used as part of the business process, which is something that should be of great interest to telemedia companies. Over in the US, where on an m-commerce front, they are way ahead of Europe, there is a growing move to looking at how mobile can be used as part of the shop floor selling process. PAYware, Intuit and AppMaster have all produced iPhone sleeves and apps that turn the iPhone into a card reading, stock checking, point of sale tool. They all share the basic idea that you add a special sleeve to the phone, that uses the dock, that can be used to swipe credit cards and the then the app can be used to do the secure payment. AppMaster’s offering also connects the phone to the stores tills, the stock database and more and is being touted as a shop floor queue cutter that lets sales assistants check stock for customers, let them pay there and then and – in theory at least – aid the up and cross sell. US shoe company Sketchers has become one of the first to put this into action. “Skechers was looking for a state-of-the-art Mobile POS solution that would heighten customer service, satisfaction and retention by utilizing the latest technologies and products

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available,” says Walter Tondu VP of IT Skechers USA. “We partnered with App Masters because they had an established application and deployment map and they understood Skechers goals. App Masters worked very closely with my IT team and performed on time and on budget with professionalism. Our Mobile POS solution is a modified version of their PayMaster solution, which is customized to our exact specifications and delivered in a timely manner. “Our PayMaster solution is revolutionary and helps our stores to eliminate lines, accelerate checkout and increase customer satisfaction. The people at App Masters and the PayMaster technology are great, and I highly recommend them to retailers of any size,” Tondu says.

Check out There is clearly much more to say about the role of mobile in commerce, but this gives a taster for some of the less obvious opportunities that are opening up. Over the next few pages you can also see what the billing opportunity is and how the apps vs m-web debate rolls on – driven by the need to make mobile commerce engaging to the widest possible audience. But if one thing is clear, it is that m-commerce is not only the new e-commerce, but will become e-commerce. Are you ready for the rush to the mobile check outs this Christmas?

Apps vs m-web

Much has been made of whether it’s better to have an app or m-optimised web services. But while there are many advocates of each, the real answer lies in what apps and m-web can achieve together rather than in contest, says Paul Skeldon

Fight!

he Romans are known throughout Europe and North Africa as conquerors, but in fact the way they spread the Roman way of life wasn’t all that blood-thirsty. OK, when they pitched up they did a fair bit of violent oppressing, but their real legacy – and why the Roman Empire lasted so long – is that they embraced local culture and religion and made it part of their own. They amalgamated. This important history lesson is proving to be the framework for the nascent apps and m-web markets. Both are offering new ways for consumers to get online with their mobiles. Both offer seemingly conflicting approaches. Both, it seems now, are amalgamating. The debate over whether you should have an app or optimised website has raged for two years and neither side took any prisoners. Still today many are determined to get their case across, typically that apps are where it’s at. “Companies must ‘App or die’,” says Mark Mason, who has consulted to Google, Toshiba and Microsoft and is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and is founder of Mubaloo, the UK’s leading agency dedicated to app development for bluechip cor-

porates. “Smartphones and iPads are in exactly the same place as websites were 10 years ago. It’s early days, but it’s changing fast. You couldn’t imagine a company functioning without a website today; it will be the same for apps within a year. They’ll be everywhere,” he says. “We’re going to see apps everywhere; in phones, TV’s, cars and even fridges, to tell you when to buy more milk! Smart companies have immediately stuck their toe in the water and are making their presence well and truly felt at this land-grab time.” And the logic is inescapable: apps make it easy to find stuff – especially on a phone screen – but m-web gives you all the flexibility of constant updates of the content and service. And consumers want m-web. A recent study by GSMA and ComScore found that 4.2million UK consumers are regularly using the mobile web, many for commerce and shopping. But the current either/or approach to apps and m-web is in danger of crippling this nascent market before it has even started to deliver. Both Apps and

M-web separately have their drawbacks. Apps have to be designed for specific devices, and are only really suitable for brands wanting to reach high-end smart phones. M-web, the argument goes, is a build once, update constantly, offering that can be accessed to some degree by almost all web enabled

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Apps vs m-web handsets. But both strategies are flawed if you are after the mass market of consumers. Putting the case for apps, Ed Lea, CTO of apps developer Grapple, says: “Mobile web has never been able to deliver what users want and expect of it. Apps have been able to deliver. The major mobile OS vendors are improving mobile web extensively, but not necessarily in a very consistent way. We’re in danger of a very fragmented mobile web appearing, where some sites will only work on specific mobile devices. Until there is a unified mobile web experience that can deliver the same quality and functionality as native apps, apps will remain dominant.” But mobile web is increasingly becoming a unified experience and one that is making it ideal for the fragmenting access world. In fact, the App world is fragmenting almost to the same degree as mobile web. Independent app vendor GetJar’s CEO Ilja Laurs believes that for some apps that are used on the widest variety of devices there are 200 versions of the app that need to be build, tested and hosted. “Unfortunately, fragmentation today is a given, so developers need to adapt to it,” he says. “High development and porting costs and simplified user experience is the price that developers need to pay for supporting multiple platforms – but this is the only way to reach scale.”

But with media companies and brands now routinely using apps as their mobile interactive touch point with their customers, the market is now locked into using them. The answer, then is to look at where apps and m-web can, in the words of, if not the Romans, then the Spice Girls, become one. Many people out there think that apps still have a huge drawback – they can’t be readily updated, so they are not suited to some dynamic services. Today this is poppycock. Load up your weather app and you’ll see what I mean – you don’t have to go to the apps store every time you want the latest weather, or news, or sports results or to see my ramblings on Facebook as they happen. The app is the perfect and confined way to label access to services from a mobile phone, but by incorporating apps and web, where some of the functionality and data is native to the phone, the rest out there in the cloud, then you get the best of both worlds. In fact, if Mark Mason’s suggestion that soon everything will use an app – including the fridge to order milk – then the apps themselves are going to have to be pretty special and will have to be web-enabled to work. M-web and apps will have to be amalgamated. Just like the Romans.

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telemedia issue 27

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BILLING

While the debate rages over whether m-web or apps is best, what of the billing options available? Here we take a look at how it works for two different solutions

CASH!

In-app billing that uses PSMS

M-web billing using Payforit

ccumulate UK’s Flexion Wrapper allows consumers in more than 60 countries to use in-app billing – making payments by either Premium SMS or credit card – to buy content and goods from apps all over the world. This new service provides App stores, content providers and handset manufacturers with an out of the box billing and pricing solution that is fully dynamic based on the market it is used in. The Flexion wrapper can be customised with different price points and different methods of billing as appropriate for the territory. This means that new content can be launched, knowing that revenue can be generated, without the content provider having to manage their own detailed, global billing relationships. However, if a relationship exists with a preferred billing provider, then the Flexion wrapper can add or change the billing providers without any effort required by the content provider. “We believe it is key to be able to offer operator billing in as many markets as possible since this will increase conversion to spend and ultimately generate more revenues for all involved. It is pretty obvious why certain App stores are struggling and a lot of it is down to ease of use and purchase. We would like to invite them to use our solution and focus on distribution rather than billing,” said Jens Lauritzson, MD of Accumulate UK. To help launch the global service, Accumulate has chosen txtNation (www.txtnation.com) as one of its providers for the Premium SMS billing element. Specialising in in-App billing and micropayments, txtNation’s knowledge of the sector means that they can help provide a seamless service for the Flexion wrapper.

pareroom.co.uk, the UK’s most popular flat and house share website, has launched a new mobile purchasing option for people who wish to access the website on their mobile phones, that uses ImpulsePay’s Payforit tool to pay for access to ‘Early Bird’ ads on Spareroom.co.uk and get a head start on finding their next room. Thanks to ImpulsePay’s implementation of Payforit, it takes just one click for Spareroom.co.uk’s mobile users to purchase access to ‘Early Bird’ ads on their mobile phone. The cost, which is taken directly from the user’s mobile phone bill or available credit, is just £3 for 24 hours access or £10 for 10 days access. “Thousands of users already choose to access Spareroom via their phones, now they can also receive the most up-to-date ads, by purchasing Early Bird access on their mobiles,” said Rupert Hunt, MD and founder of Spareroom.co.uk. “The ImpulsePay solution is a very simple and clear way for our users to pay, and as it utilises Payforit we know that anyone in the UK can use it.” ImpulsePay provides a mobile purchasing solution to all online content owners or service providers. By using Payforit, the service backed by all the UK’s mobile operators, ImpulsePay provides an alternative option to Premium SMS or credit card payments. “By introducing a mobile purchasing solution Spareroom.co.uk has provided more choice for its users and at the same time created more revenue opportunities,” said Paul Paterson, Operations Director of ImpulsePay. “We are seeing more and more content owners and service providers that want to increase the range of purchasing options and offer a solution that can be accessed by nearly every adult in the UK – mobile purchasing.”

telemedia issue 27

BILLING

Credit where credit’s due Cross-network mobile crediting has revolutionised mobile campaigns. Alex Moir, General Manager Europe, OpenMarket, looks at how it works, assesses some key campaigns and ponders what its future potential might be

gencies, brands, retailers, enterprises, content providers and merchants using mobile to promote their products directly to consumers will continue to drive industry growth and traditional businesses across all industries will start to make mobile messaging an integral part of their communications strategy to build customer relationships. It is fundamentally important, however, that these businesses that are increasingly seizing the mobile opportunity continue to gain access to innovative, evolutionary and above all, reliable services from companies in the mobile industry. According to research by Ovum, most mobile subscribers send and receive more text messages in a month than they make phone calls. Although the application (business)-to-person (A2P) messaging market has lagged behind P2P, traditional brands, media and enterprises are now embracing messaging. This second wave is recognising and building on the success of previous mobile marketing and CRM programs and businesses have realised they must incorporate mobile messaging into all aspects of their customer relationships. After all, SMS is still the only mobile medium that can instantly reach all mobile users, and its ubiquitous use demands integration into customer touch points.

Gimme credit OpenMarket has been working with its mobile marketing agency partner Sponge over the past two summers to bring a new sales promotion concept to the market for Coca-Cola (GB). The promotion used SMS to help drive sales of three of soft drinks giant’s brands, while simultaneously engaging and rewarding loyal customers with monetary credit to their PAYG or contract phone accounts. The promotion also helped to build a valua-

telemedia issue 27

ble mobile CRM database of a key market demographic: 16 to 24 year olds. The “Every Pack Gets 50p” Gimme Credit promotion was featured on bottles and cans of Fanta, Dr Pepper and Sprite, as well as on special cups sold in Cineworld and Vue cinemas across the UK. The promotions offered a unique code with every purchase that could be redeemed by submission to an SMS short code or via an online portal in return for monetary mobile phone credit to both pre pay and contract customers. This was the first ever cross-network mobile crediting solution in support of a sales promotion campaign in the UK. It was featured on tens of millions of cans, bottles and cups stocked in retailers nationwide and while a significant majority of customers were expected to be pre-pay mobile users, the OpenMarket solution had to be capable of supporting contract customers too. OpenMarket’s developer team built additional functionality into its Charge To Account Gateway, which is the service behind the Payforit WAP and web billing solution, in order to handle the crediting. To credit a user, Sponge would send a request to OpenMarket to check that the user’s mobile number was on a valid network. OpenMarket then passed the credit request to the relevant mobile network in a format customised for the target system and credits were applied in real-time on most networks. Sponge was then notified of the outcome and the agency sent an SMS to the user confirming the account would be credited with 50p. The result was a UK mobile marketing first from Coca-Cola, which described it as its most successful sales promotion campaign of 2009 and the number of consumers that engaged with it in 2010 have been more than double. The promotion boosted customer uptake and provided Coca-Cola a competitive edge in a crowded FMCG market. Mobile Crediting is also ideal for applying mobile refunds, potentially saving the significant overhead of generating and sending cheques. It doesn’t stop there though – the potential of crediting is as far reaching and dramatic as mobile payments, from innovative new marketing campaigns through to game-play rewards. The facility allows customers to add money to practically any mobile phone account for competition prizes

BILLING and incentives for mobile gaming too. OpenMarket also offers the option to zero-rate short codes in the UK, making it completely free for the end user. Now the initial wave of mobile marketers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; agencies, brands, social networks and merchants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are looking beyond SMS and beginning to leverage MMS to reach consumers with rich media content. For example, businesses and brands can now send 30-second video ads to mobile devices, rather than plain text, to communicate their message more effectively. Working with marketing agency Movement London, OpenMarket has enabled MVNO Virgin Mobile to send promotional video messages in MMS format to its customers announcing new offers, celebrating milestone subscriber acquisition numbers and other promotional messages in an exciting way which helps foster an emotional brand experience. From an industry perspective, adding richer functionality enables many additional use cases and business models across verticals.

App-solutely great As more third-party and off-deck application stores emerge, fragmentation in the app industry is an increasing problem for mobile providers and a confusing issue for consumers. Mobile subscribers are demanding more

options and, above all, an easy purchasing process when it comes to apps. The market is demanding consistency from the mobile app industry. As operators, developers and subscribers consider a worldwide app store, these changes may also lead to more off-deck app stores, and the need for a streamlined, consistent payment mechanism that can make the user experience simple and seamless. More brands are developing apps which deliver a rich and enjoyable experience for mobile consumers engaging with entertainment and retail services. However, an app store without a consumer-friendly payment methodology either for the initial download or for further in-app purchases will never appeal to the mass market. While the ubiquity of credit cards makes them a potential option, consumers are wary of entering this type of personal, financial information and the process of inputting these details can be cumbersome â&#x20AC;&#x201C; defeating the impulse and dynamic functionality of mobile devices. PayPal and Google Checkout are other alternatives but, much like the Apple App Store model, they require users to create an account connected to and funded by a credit card before making purchases. Even third-party payment mechanisms cannot achieve necessary subscriber mass to be successful. The opportunity and power of operator

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BILLING

billing is tied to the relationships that these companies have already established with consumers. OpenMarket has been working with Nokia’s Ovi store and Virgin Media to introduce in-app purchases via a single click, direct to operator billing systems. We call this Billing on Behalf Of (or BOBO) and it is helping Nokia drive further revenues from its X Factor mobile application, promoted by ITV during the current series on Saturday nights. In addition, following the success of its mobile internet video player offering, Virgin Media have developed a mobile application in conjunction with Ocasta Labs for launch in October which will give subscribers the ability to view a ‘view again’ video for a per-minute charge. The application is being developed for Nokia, RIM, Symbian and Apple devices. Virgin Media have deals in place with Nokia and Samsung for the application to be preloaded onto new handsets from Autumn 2010. Charging will be on a prepay basis with users purchasing a time-based pass from within the application which can be used to watch any programme. Virgin Media have opted to use mobile billing for the purchasing of passes. The key driver for this choice is the

simplicity of mobile payment above alternative methods which would require the user to enter more information to make a purchase. OpenMarket is the billing partner for this project and in order to enable mobile charging, the proposal is to use OpenMarket’s MSISDN passing and direct billing capabilities to give the best possible user experience. BOBO enables a streamlined mobile purchasing experience for consumers, straightforward payment functionality for off-deck app stores as well as in-app billing. It also builds on the established billing relationship between operators and subscribers which has the greatest reach and relevancy of all payment methods. As the mobile app space continues to evolve, mobile operator billing is the only payment method that can offer scale and support growth for the commercial success of app stores. For higher value transactions, bill-through-mobile is an untapped market that enables merchants to leverage the mobile device and user payment credentials to charge traditional funding sources like debit or credit cards. INFO www.openmarket.com

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Trading Day, Seminars & Networking

16 November 2010 The Palace Hotel, Manchester www.telemedia360.com

T360 Show Preview Making more money from media

We live in a multi-channel world and consumers no longer look to the television to watch TV content, nor turn just to a newspaper or magazine for a good read. Likewise, print media businesses are not shying away from drawing consumers into their websites with video and TV news outlets are using mobile to deliver written content. In fact, every thing is now a cross platform festival of media – and it doesn’t come cheap. This is what drives Telemedia360. The monetisation of cross platform traffic is the key to making the media work in this multichannel world and Telemedia360 brings together the media talent that is looking at how to find the revenue opportunities in its new marketplace with the telemedia companies that have long been pioneers of looking at how to use telecoms in the broadest sense to deliver quality services that consumers are willing to pay for. The heart of Telemedia360 in Manchester on 16 November is tackling the real issues that face the media and telemedia alike: not just how to monetise media, but how social media, new devices, ‘gamification’, new technologies, e-commerce and regulation all come to bear on delivering high quality, sticky user experiences that extend brand and reach. Around this, the event is looking to also deliver the core telemedia service updates and explore – whether you are new to telemedia or one of its stalwarts – how key services such as Psychic, chat and dating are all developing and can cross-fertilise the mainstream media with interesting new revenue and traffic generators. Over the next four pages we take a look at the key seminar, conference and workshop sessions, some of the highlights that the exhibition has to offer and, of course, an outline of the more social side of things at the show. So if you are looking to monetise your media, develop new services or meet new contacts across the media, marketing, telecoms and billing worlds, then get online and sign up now.

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t e l e m e d i a i s01/10/2010 s u e 2 710:31:57

SOCIAL MEDIA

Sheldon Johns takes a look at how social media is now the marketing channel of choice and what it means for telemedia companies, while on page 33 we take a look at the social gaming and ‘gamification’ revolution

t’s been more than a year – July 2009 to be precise – since social networking over took email in terms of users worldwide. Currently, it is estimated that some 859million people, about a sixth of the world’s entire population, are using social networks in some way, shape or form and this obviously presents a massive opportunity to anyone looking to connect with, well, 859million people. But what exactly is that opportunity and how can it be exploited? To date, many have eyed social networks as a potential channel to market, billing channel, marketing channel and most have no doubt whatsoever that there is a vast amount of money to be made from social networks. Trouble is no one has yet come up with a business model that really works.

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So perhaps the thing to do is to look at social networks not as channels to market, but as a way of identifying groups of people that you can then try and target through other channels: it is the ‘inch wide, mile deep’ elements that make up the long tail. Identify where what you do fits with these and you have the makings of a revenue generating social networking strategy. The key to getting to grips with social media is to understand who is using it. When social media first got going it was dominated by the under 25s – Generation Y, Digital Natives or Millennials, to use the marketing man’s argot – but over the past couple of years this demographic has shifted markedly as us oldies have started to get a handle on the joys of being ‘social without having to leave the house’. According to the latest research by Flowtown, the average social media participant is 37, and the fastest growing demographic is the over 50s. That means that, while your kids are living in fear of you coming across them in the social ether, so you should be worrying about your mum and/or dad finding your drunken musings too. And it’s a lucrative opportunity. Statistics from various sources suggest that the current ‘average’ US user is someone 37 years old, equally likely to be male or female, with a college education and earning in the region of $50,000 to $74,000 per annum. OK, the US market is much more developed than others, but still it shows that there is a massive opportunity out there around social media. After all, the US accounts for just 13% of the world’s internet users and countries like China, Brazil, Russia and of course all of Europe are all becoming massive social media users. With so many well-healed people now embracing social media, what opportunities are there for the telemedia sector to exploit? Well the key ones are using it as a marketing channel, monetising its marketing potential and in developing – and monetising – social gaming around it. There are also a range of opportunities around location based services, but really it is about looking at what brands, media companies and content creators and owners are doing with social – or what they could be doing with it – and looking at where microbilling and other monetisation offerings fit in.

Marketing up a storm According to Forrester Research, social media marketing budgets are on the rise and are likely to reach about 20% of total ad spend by 2014, up from an already healthy 12% in 2007. This means that there is a healthy market for using social media as a marketing channel. But to do this successfully, brands and advertis-

SOCIAL MEDIA ers are having to box clever with how they use these channels fro advertising. Gone are the days of intruding on peoples’ leisure time with adverts, these days – and especially in the social media environment – any sort of marketing that brands choose to do through social channels has to be seen as entertainment and part of the fun. Facebook now carries ads along the sides of the PC display version and these only work – and are designed by creative as such – if they are engaging enough for the viewer to want to pass them on. Social marketing is really just a first step in getting your message spread virally. “The hoped-for result is that a consumer’s endorsement is carried with the traditional ad, allowing the reach that can be gained through paid media impressions to be combined with the impact associated with an earned endorsement – the best of both worlds,” says Claudio Alvarez, a social media analyst at BP Bullhound. “Importantly, in comparison to the potential breakdown in communication through traditional word-of-mouth, this type of format allows the business to maintain the message being broadcast – together with the added stamp of approval from the endorser.” Facebook is convinced that advertising like this is going to work and it thinks that its revenues could double to $1.4 billion in 2010 as more big brands bring advertising campaigns to the social network’s 500 million users. According to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, the biggest advertisers increased spending by as much as 20-fold in the past year. In an interview with Bloomberg she said: “Two years ago the big brands were experimenting with us. Now, they’re going big.” Facebook is also improving its infrastructure to give more space and time to display advertisements and increasing user personal engagement with brands through social gaming and other features. “You can’t ignore the reach that’s there, but it’s also the true engagement that we have,” said Michael Donnelly, Coca-Cola’s director of global interactive marketing. Facebook advertising campaigns have clearly increased in the past year, being used to improve reach for online clothing retailers, revive Buick Motor’s youthful spirit, inspire the electric car market, boost revenue for Old Spice and increase pizza delivery orders at Dominos Pizza. In fact, an ingenious example is the current online video campaign by Wieden + Kennedy for Old Spice. Between 12 and 15 July 2010, the company delivered 186 personalised video responses to tweets, YouTube and Facebook comments mentioning its ads starring American actor and ex-NFL ath-

lete Isaiah Mustafa. Each of these videos involved Mustafa standing in a bathroom wearing just a towel around his waist, the way he appears in the company’s successful series of body wash commercials, providing individual users with a funny response. For example, replying to @Starbucks’ suggestion that he’s cold and may need some coffee, Mustafa said he keeps warm by putting his head in boiling water with pasta in his mouth. Additionally, certain

At the end of the first week of the campaign, Old Spice accounted for seven of the top 10 videos on YouTube celebrities with large numbers of social media followers have also been specifically targeted as they will no doubt retweet and blog resulting in further earned media. At the end of the first week of the campaign, Old Spice accounted for seven of the top 10 videos on YouTube. But this recommendation based social marketing can have its downside. While McDonald’s has become one of the first major brands to start marketing based around social location service Foursquare, the burger company has also found that social networking can work against it. A Washington DC community nutrition watchdog, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), has launched a new ad campaign, linking McDonald’s products to heart disease. While the ad is limited to Washington DC area TV sets, the ad’s pre-release on PCRM’s social networks has generated a global response. The video ad, which features a corpse holding a hamburger and the line “I was lovin’ it” under the McDonald’s trademark golden arches, has been released on PCRM’s various social networks over the past few days and has generated over 20,000 views on YouTube. PCRM’s Facebook page of 26,000 fans, Twitter account with nearly 5,000 followers, and YouTube channel with 370 subscribers have all generated comments.

Location, location, location While McDonald’s maybe being pilloried through social media, we should be doffing our little paper hats at the fast food joint for its pioneering work in using location based social media. With Facebook places going live in the US in August and the UK in mid-September, social media is becoming not just about what you are doing, but also about where you are doing it and this throws open all manner of other new possibilities.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Social whirl

What sorts of social networks and media are there out there? According to analysts GP Bullhound’s analysts Claudio Alvarez and Martin Afshari- Mehr, the social media landscape can be broken down as follows: SOCIAL NETWORKS Social networks are online communities where users create a profile and connect with other members that share some point of common interest. These types of networks can be broken down into two broad categories: internal social networks (“ISN”) and external social networks (“ESN”). An ISN is a closed or private community consisting of a group of people within a company, association, society, education provider and organization or even an “invite only” group created by a user in an ESN. In contrast, an ESN is open or public and available to anyone. ESN’s can range from small specialized communities to large generic social networking sites. Examples: Facebook, LinkedIn BLOGS Blogs, and their offshoots, microblogs, are online journals usually providing commentary, descriptions of events or other material displayed as date-stamped entries in reverse-chronological order. Broadcast publicly, they may provide commentary or news on specific topics to more personal matters similar to a diary. Most blogs also allow readers to post their own responses in kind. In recent years, microblogging has become increasing popular, with contributors posting smaller bite-size amounts of information through websites such as Twitter or Tumblr. These sites have found alternate uses as sources of real-time news updates in crisis situations. Examples: Blogger (blogging); Twitter, Tumblr, Jaiku (microblogging) PUBLISHING: WIKIS AND SOCIAL NEWS Wikis are websites allowing for its community of users to participate and collaborate in content generation and classification. Without doubt, the most famous example is Wikipedia, a free web-based encyclopaedia written collaboratively and edited by anyone with access to the site. This concept has also been used in corporate contexts by companies such as Adobe and Microsoft to enhance internal knowledge sharing and processes. Social News sites like Digg and Reddit allow users to submit and vote on news stories and other links, with more popular stories having a more prominent position on the page. Examples: Wikipedia (Wiki); Digg; Reddit; Sphere (Social News) MEDIA SHARING COMMUNITIES From live and recorded video to photos to PowerPoint presentations, these types of sites allow users to organise and share content among their social networks or the public. Since starting in 2005, YouTube has grown to be the biggest video sharing site in the world with in excess of 2 billion views a day – nearly double the primetime audience of all 3 major U.S. broadcast networks combined – and more video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than all major US networks have created in 60 years (Source: Website Monitoring). Examples: YouTube (video); Flickr (photos); SlideShare (presentations) GAMING Virtual gaming and social worlds like World of Warcraft and Second Life respectively, probably make up the most immersive form of social media to date, allowing users to appear in the form of personalised avatars and interact with each other as they would in real life, forming in-game relationships and exploring the world together. More recently, there has been a convergence of forms of social media - Farmville, for example, allows users to manage a virtual farm and invite their friends to join and be neighbours whereby additional benefits such as more money and experience can be gained. Examples: World of Warcraft (MMORPG1 / Gaming); Second Life (Social); Farmville (Social Network / Gaming)

telemedia issue 27

Almost half of Facebook’s European traffic now comes from mobile phones and services such as FourSquare and Gowalla are making use of this technology to form ‘geosocial networks’ where users are able to connect with their friends and have the ability to post information about their location together with personal comments. Additional functionality also allows users to broadcast this information across other social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. These companies have also formed partnerships with businesses in order to provide mobile coupons and discounts, with more than 3000 restaurants, bars and other venues currently involved in the service. The addition of augmented reality on to this and you have the makings of an all encompassing, highly personalised, mobile social media marketing tool that will offer a vast array of opportunities to business who want to monetise these channels. But the biggest issue is going to be privacy. While many people are open to sharing their personal data online through social networks, many more are much more circumspect about what data they do share. There will also, undoubtedly, be a backlash against sharing of opinions and the ‘word of mouth’ approach social advertising. Already brands are having to contend with the fact that not everything posted about them is good, but ride it out for now as they still look groovy for doing social media marketing in the first place. But how long will this last? And, with the move by telemedia companies to get involved, how long will it be before we see the first social media scam hit the headlines?

GAMES

In it to win it

ver since the first Space Invaders machines started landing in pubs and youth clubs across Europe and the US in the 1980s, every generation has pretty much been captivated by what my Nan still insists on calling ‘video games’. From shooting badly rendered aliens, to trying to smash asteroids, to the total addiction to Tetris and on to long nights faffing about with Farmville, electronic games have played, and continue to play, a significant role in many people’s lives. And thanks to social media that looks set to increase. Like social media, these games are also no longer the preserve of the young. Hoards of ‘80s teens, ‘90s ravers and now noughties whippershappers are all now using social networks with increasing vigour. According to research by Flowtown, the average social media participant is 37, and the fastest growing demographic is the over 50s. And most of these people all grew up with games, so gaming and social networking have a natural fit. “Virtual gaming and social worlds like World of Warcraft and Second Life respectively, probably make up the most immersive form of social media gaming to date, allowing users to appear in the form of personalised avatars and interact with each other as they would in real life, forming in-game relationships and exploring the world together,” says Martin Afshari-Mehr, an analyst at BP Bullhound. “More recently, there has been a convergence of forms of social media. Farmville, for example, allows users to manage a virtual farm and invite their friends to join and be neighbours whereby additional benefits such as more money and experience can be gained.” The combination of these games and the desire by traditional media companies, content owners and brands to monetise new channels is driving a revolution in what is becoming known as ‘gamification’: the turning of well known concepts, celebrities, programmes, brands and products into games that can either act as an elaborate marketing tool or can be a

revenue generating tool around and outside of the original content. Nowhere is this principle of ‘gamification’ more prevalent than in the TV business. As we go to press, both the BBC and UK commercial channel ITV have developed games, both of which also have a social element, around the broadcasters’ two most popular shows. The BBC, which is run in effect by the state, is not designed to make money, so its ‘gamification’ of long running sci-fi spectacular Dr Who is not a commercial proposition, although it offers the first real insight into how broadcasters and programme makers are looking to social games to extend brand reach and, for some, make them some money too.

Corrie Nation Over on the commercial channel, ITV has rolled out its first foray into gamification with its Corrie Nation game based around long running soap opera Coronation Street. Coronation Street is one of the world’s most successful television programmes. Broadcast on ITV, the first episode was transmitted live on December 9th 1960. It is the story of everyday lives of ordinary folk, on an ordinary street, in a northern town called

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GAMES Weatherfield, and it changed television history forever. Now 50 years and more than 7000 episodes later Coronation Street is the only drama to ever hold all top five positions in the BARB ratings. The show has been sold to over 40 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, Taiwan, Iran, Somalia, Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa, Estonia and Poland. ITV Studios are working with game developer Enteraction, the social gaming subsidiary of etv media group, to produce Corrie Nation, which will be developed using their new social games framework Gameshape. Gamers will be able to play the game through the broadcasters’ website, ITV.com, initially and soon over Facebook too, making it a truly social game. The objective of the game is to build, populate, manage and grow Coronation Street and a wider Weatherfield over time. Players use their understanding of what builds drama to help them score maximum points. Fans will compete against their peer-group and a wider playerbase sharing their progress with their social network of friends as they view each other’s character album progress and engage in trading duplicate characters. With peer interaction, ongoing reference to past and current storylines and multiple ways to access new buildings and characters, the game has no defined ‘end point’ and will provide Corrie fans with an ongoing fun and social way to interact with their favourite soap and each other. Performing character tasks will help players progress to the next level of the game experience providing access to additional characters, buildings and items from the show. Fans can choose tasks that reflect what they think characters should do in current storylines from the show. This returns a poll result of the nation’s views on the hottest storylines in British soap. Players will also have the opportunity to revisit bygone moments of Coronation Street allowing them to collect legendary characters and review unforgettable moments. At launch, Corrie Nation will encompass Coronation Street, Rosamund Street, Victoria Street and Viaduct Street, which will all reflect how they currently appear on screen. Fans will be able to populate their game

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space with over 60 characters both past and present. As well as collecting elements to build and maintain their own Street, players will be encouraged to return to make the most of in-game spoilers. Game points can be exchanged for storyline reveals presented as ‘psychic predictions’ from one of the characters. With 50 years of drama, incredible characters, and years of storytelling to come, Corrie Nation has an almost inexhaustible wealth of material to keep evolving so that, much like the television programme, audiences are encouraged to keep coming back for more. “Coronation Street enjoys a unique place in the hearts of the British public and with an appeal which spans generations, the brand has the potential off screen to match its phenomenal on screen success,” Patricia Wagstaff, Director of Digital Productions, ITV Studios says. “Corrie Nation is a great example of engaging with the Coronation Street audience in new ways and exploiting this world class brand to deliver further revenues to the business. We’re thrilled this fantastic game is the latest addition to the Corrie off-screen activities which include games, books, DVDs and ale.” Kieran Roberts, Creative Director, Manchester Drama, ITV Studios adds that: “We’re delighted this brilliantly imaginative new game will take the show onto new platforms whilst remaining truthful to 50 years of heritage and everything viewers love about Corrie.” Users can play Corrie Nation at no cost but will have the option to pay to purchase virtual goods, customise their game space and pay to advance gameplay rather than wait to build up points to buy new characters or buildings. Further revenue will be generated from a variety of commercial sponsorship packages and advertising.

In game advertising This monetisation through selling virtual goods – pioneered by the likes of Flirtomatic – and, more importantly, in-game advertising, are key to the appeal to media content owners and brands of ‘gamification’. “Zynga Game Network, currently one of the most successful social game developers, has some 100 million unique visitors playing games like Farmville and Mafia Wars,” explains BP Bullhound’s Afshari-Mehr. “Traditionally, game developers generate revenues from the sale of virtual goods to players – skill points to spend on character development or better weaponry and so on – however with so many unique visitors playing games on a daily basis – in June this year, Farmville had 9.4 million unique visitors in the US who spent an average of 36 minutes on the site according to Nielsen – advertising revenues are increasing as companies have noticed the potential benefits of in-game advertising as a platform.” Early attempts to exploit this involved static ads that were placed in games and stayed there, but now

GAMES many companies, including Microsoft, McDonalds and offer their customers across all internet platforms. The Honda are experimenting with dynamic adverts in goals for itsmy are obvious: higher customer satisfacsocial games. “With in-game placements currently cost- tion, higher growth rates and new revenue streams. ing roughly less than $1 million, eMarketer expects ad Jukka Saarelainen, CTO itsmy, says: “You can now spend on social games and social-media applications to increase 20% this year to $220 million,” says AfshariMehr.

The device long tail While social media and games are proving to be a mighty axis for monetising content and services through new channels, the idea of getting as many people as possible playing these games is also gaining ground. A report published earlier this summer by Netbuscuits suggests that to maximise the potential of webenabled devices, brands and service providers need to look at how to get their services being accessed across all devices – including not only iPhones, PCs and tablets, but also games consoles and wi-fi enabled music players. This concept has been picked up by Italian social gaming leader itsmy, which has expanded the capabilities of its browser game engine to deliver games on all devices with internet access. The itsmy management evaluated the feedback from its mobile web customers who want to play with all their friends online and mobile, as well as the current development in the online and mobile gaming scene and came to the conclusion that a true social gaming experience and viral growth in future will only be possible ‘cross-any-platform. Starting today, the casual multiplayer games on the itsmy game network and from all connected social networks can be played with all internet devices online and mobile. At the same time, itsmy created a social gaming product which all leading social networks can

To maximise the potential of web-enabled devices, brands and service providers need to look at how to get their services being accessed across all devices – including not only iPhones, PCs and tablets, but also games consoles and wi-fi enabled music players play our games on iPhones against PSPs, PSPs against PCs and PCs against Blackberrys against Nokias against Android devices against Netbooks against any other device with internet access. The multitude of devices people use to play is absolutely astonishing. More than 12,000 different devices, platforms, software versions and browsers already checked in.” Antonio Vince Staybl, CEO itsmy, adds: “In 2011 we will see an interesting battle: Apps vs. Browsers. I personally think 2011 will be the year of online gaming on mobile devices without downloading or updating anything. We have learned from our users that people don’t care about technical requirements and they love to play games with their phone all day long.” itsmy is currently in beta with the integration of casual mobile browser games from other developers in its network and will soon release its own mobile web gaming SDK. But while all this looks good on paper, leading digital publisher Digital Chocolate’s MD, Trip Hawkins, is making it clear that, for now, the social gaming phenomenon will be confined to Facebook and PCs. Talking to Mobile Entertainment, Hawkins said: “Anyone who thinks it is easier to make money on the iPhone or Android rather than on Facebook is wrong. The mobile infrastructure, social features and web device population are just not there yet, and it will take some time,” he says. “Mobile games will become more social but it is a rope that a game publisher cannot push right now. Inevitably and eventually, the mobile side will be huge, but it’s not now and it’s not even next.” No harm in preparing for this revolution now though is there?

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GAMES

While social media and ‘gamification’ are generating great potential new revenue streams for media and brands, a similar revolution is underway with mobile gambling. Paul Skeldon reports

Bet you didn’t see that coming

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GAMES

bet you’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve read that mobile gambling’s time has come and that pretty soon it will rival, if not surpass, the huge success story that is online gaming. Well, me too. It has been a mantra within the mobile industry for years that mobile gambling will explode. The idea behind it – that everyone from serious players to casual gamers on their way home from work will all be doing it – still holds true, but until now the whole experience of mobile gambling has left a lot to be desired. But I do remember exactly when this all changed. It was 2008 and I was sitting in the Charlotte Street Hotel in London when several execs from Spin3 told me that they were concentrating on the iPhone as it was the perfect platform for mobile slots, casino games and so on. Since mid 2007 we had all seen that the iPhone was going to be a game changer, but these guys were the first in line to readily admit that it meant a rethink on what they did. And now, the whole gaming industry is pretty much of the same mindset. As we have seen in the previous two features – on social media and ‘gamification’ – mobile is now increasingly bringing together social networking, gaming, brands and content: and it has all been driven by the smartphone (well, pretty much all by the iPhone, which in turn is driving the growth of the smartphone market). And that growth is starting to make m-gambling look like it might, finally, be about to deliver on its promise. A recent study by Juniper Research concluded that some $48billion was set to be wagered on mobiles worldwide by 2015. Leading the way are, of course, the Chinese, but changes in legislation in Europe and the US also starting to see growth coming from within these markets too. The Juniper study also found that, up until now, the bulk of M-gambling traffic is coming from users of the Japan Racing Association’s iPAT service, with casino and betting services in the UK accounting for much of the remainder. However, the sharp surge in adoption of the mobile lottery service launched by VODone will help propel China into third place in terms of mobile gambling transactions. Meanwhile, the US market is also poised to see the introduction of its first mobile lottery services, says the analyst. According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, “State lottery providers are anxious to explore new distribution channels, with US lottery sales from traditional outlets in decline. The upshot is that several lotteries are in the latter stages of discussion with mobile technology providers with a view to launching mobile lottery services in 2011.” In addition, the report observes that impending legislative changes in the US

may herald an opportunity for mobile casino operators in the medium term. Typically, analysts and industry watchers are seeing apps on smartphones as the way that mobile gambling will move forward. The logic is simple: these devices have essentially created the market, so they will be the dominant force therein. And the way both iOS and Android work best is with apps. “The iPhone forced a change in the entire mobile

Make it personal

Today’s mobile gambling efforts are clunky and limited to specific handsets, and it is time to offer a better, more personal service, believes James McNab, head of Mobile at StanJames Despite it once again being the year of mobile gambling, offerings are still unsophisticated, limited to a subset of handsets and requiring users to log in and out of different portals to access different services. Multiple accounts and passwords further undermine the user experience, and there is no opportunity for companies to understand customer behaviour across both gaming and sportsbook services. This divergence clearly affects the user experience and constrains market development in one of the most important revenue generating channels. Furthermore, with the majority of mobile gambling solutions actually based on the same basic technology, there is limited differentiation between services: back-end service functionality and user interfaces are virtually interchangeable. Companies must now leverage mobile technologies to deliver a single portal that enables customers to access all services in one place, with one account and one password. Adding in options for sports news feeds and other related information combines to create a mobile destination for customers to further differentiate the service and build loyalty. Not only will this transform the user experience but the single portal model provides organisations with the chance to gain real insight into the behaviour of the mobile customer. And this is key. While online personalisation techniques are transforming the customer experience and enabling companies to deliver highly effective offers and marketing, within the mobile market there is simply no personalisation at all. Personalisation offers gambling companies the chance to drive greater revenue from existing companies. By tracking betting and gaming habits, companies can deliver highly personalised and relevant offers and news – such as the odds on the forthcoming football match. It also offers the chance to extend a customer’s betting habits beyond, for example, the Premiership to the Champions League. It also provides a chance to introduce non-gamers to, for example, football related poker games – and vice versa, by offering gamers information on the odds for major events, such as the Wimbledon final or Epsom Derby. This mobile channel clearly has a massive revenue potential for gambling companies. And it is poised to fulfil its expectations and provide a fantastic revenue stream for gambling companies. But this will only happen if organisations deliver services that truly reflect the needs of a highly sophisticated consumer base. Playing around with iPhone apps is not enough. Organisations have to deliver a highly intuitive interface and a single portal service to create a true mobile gambling destination. It is with this approach that companies can both grow the mobile customer base and provide a white label solution to a raft of other businesses to, finally, deliver mobile gambling to the masses.

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GAMING industry and galvanized manufacturers to produce devices capable of doing so much more than just placing calls,” says Matti Zinder, founder and CEO of Spin3, a division of Spiral Solutions and one of the execs I met in 2008 who was totally taken over by the iPhone. “This, in turn, prompted the network operators to reduce data usage costs which encouraged handset makers to make more advanced phones. Suddenly, developers had the freedom to make more creative and interactive games and since that point, the gap between PC gamingand mobile gaming has been closing. “ iPhones and now Android – and, says Zinder, HTML5 – are now key drivers for mobile gambling and mean that mobile gaming is now on a par, in terms of quality of experience, with PC based online gambling.

Reshaping the market But, while iOS and Android have their advocates in the industry, the trend that is emerging now is one that seemingly is bucking the trend for apps and totally reshaping the market. In fact there is no such thing as apps verses m-web anymore, the real answer lies in developing webenabled apps. All this spurious argument that you can’t update apps easily no longer holds true. Just click on your weather app and tell me whether that updates each time you open it or not? What is more important is not whether we should be running apps or m-web in gaming, but what will the market take? For instance, according to Juniper, users are already eschewing multiplayer mobile gambling apps, preferring to multitask while playing “snacking” applications and, while Apple has begun to permit gambling apps to be sold via the App Store – though neither it nor Android permit real money gambling apps – the majority of service providers are opting for a browser-based approach.

What is more important is not whether we should be running apps or m-web in gaming, but what the market will take – users are already eschewing multiplayer gambling apps for snacking app games. This is backed up by a number of experts within the industry too. With Android and Apple both not wanting real money gambling on their apps stores, the real gaming industry is moving away from apps models and taking the fundamental shift towards browser based services, just as the adult industry has done with its content for smartphones. What gaming companies did to ‘circumvent’ this restriction actually has the potential to fundamentally

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change the mobile gaming market,” says Marcel Puyk, CEO of Cellectivity. “Using the browsers in these devices gaming companies have developed WebApps. These are services that run in the native phone browser but that almost look like applications you download. You can even add them to your home screen like apps.” Then there is the question of new mobile operating systems and some old favourites and what these mean for the mobile gambling market. Puyk again: “Let’s not get carried away with the iPhone versus Android debate quite yet, however. We should not forget that Nokia is still the largest Smartphone manufacturer in the world and it will continue to push its Symbian platform and try to maintain its lead.” The mobile market, therefore, shows no signs of stabilisation in terms of a standardisation of operating systems. Whilst Android may be outdoing the iPhone in terms of growth (from an admittedly small base), other operating systems are making a new (Linux) or renewed (Windows Mobile 7) attempts to take a share of this significant market. This battle is not yet over by a long way, so developers of mobile gaming applications and services will be required to be on their toes and support varying platforms for the foreseeable future. As always, the consumer will decide.

Not-so-smart phones However, it is very easy to get carried away with the smartphone-centric apps verses m-web debate and forget that about 75% of handset our there aren’t smartphones. What is being done to bring mobile gambling to these masses: the masses where the real money lies? Bookmaker Paddy Power recently revealed that, since the launch of its iPhone app, 10% of its traffic now comes in through smartphones. This is a high proportion, but still, 90% doesn’t come that way. There is still a market for gambling games and sports book betting on low end handsets, says James McNab, head of mobile at StanJames. “You have to look at what you are delivering and develop Java downloads that suit the bulk of non smartphones and you can cover 95% of handsets that are out there.” But McJab does concede that, looking at where his own stats are pointing, the shift towards browser based gaming being the predominant access point is gaining considerable momentum. “Mobile sports books and casino style games are now almost all either Java downloads of browser based. We are developing now for iOS, Android xHTML and HTML5 as this will cover the bulk of the market, but there is a shift towards the high end phones – not just iPhones and [Samsung] Galaxy. This is where the market is moving.”

BENCH

get off the

LIVE EVENTS

Large or small, sports clubs need new tactics to keep fans motivated, drive up revenues and develop their global brands, and there’s no better tool to get the message across than the pocket smartphone, says Gary Corbett, Chairman at Oxygen8 Communications

or all of their wealth, even the biggest sports clubs have so far failed to wake up to the unique opportunity represented by mobile marketing to nurture their fan bases and drive new revenue. This is a great shame – for clubs both large and small and fans – given how technologically savvy their target market now is. The means by which sports fans access information and services is becoming more sophisticated all the time. Supporters, particularly of football, are renowned for their allegiance to their teams, and their strong sense of belonging to a community. As Generation Y has grown up, the role of web sites and social networking has developed naturally, allowing fans to swap notes about games, players and what they’d like to do to the referee. Not only does this bring together fans dispersed across the country, it also bridges the physical distance for fans abroad, drawing them closer into

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LIVE EVENTS

the game and making them feel part of the wider membership.

Staying in the game As the game changes, sports clubs need to develop a coordinated communications strategy so that

Specialist service providers are available to host the back-end technology to make all of this work, too, removing the need for specialist skills within the club they are able to maximise interaction with their fan base. Treated strategically as part of a well thoughtout marketing plan, this could also present a highly successful means of drawing in new sales that are badly needed in the current economic climate. Using the mobile medium as a communications channel allows clubs to be highly personal with fans, getting directly to the individual, in real time, wherever they may be. This offers a sports club unparalleled immediacy of contact, and the chance to personalise marketing messages to individuals. As many as 97% of the 5 billion text messages sent in the UK each month are opened immediately. This presents an incredible opportunity to get up close and personal to fans at very short notice. For a struggling sports club, however small, it offers a highly effective - and cheap – way to sell leftover tickets, or promote a replay event, directly targeting those most likely to be interested. Advanced applications on mobile phones are becoming commonplace due to smartphones such as the iPhone and Google Android based devices. These display web content and multimedia in a much more user-friendly manner, harnessing mobile broadband, and featuring larger, clearer screens and enhanced keypads. Now must-have devices for users of all ages, they are the ideal target for maintaining regular contact with fans, especially if content is timely and specific.

Scoring a hat-trick There are a multitude of different, innovative ways that sports clubs and events stadia could harness the unique properties of the mobile channel to get

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the results they need, whether enhancing the feeling of ‘community’, increasing interactivity with fans, or directly growing revenues through ticket or merchandise sales and promotions. The only real limit is the promoter’s imagination – as is the case with their existing web sites, so many of which are surprisingly under-utilised or poorly managed. Commercially-minded associations can’t afford to let these activities falter or slide. If they don’t act quickly, they could fall behind, as other clubs wake up to the opportunity and cash in, and the mobile dimension could be just the trigger to liven up their web sites and complete the communications cycle. Once aware of their mobile marketing options, and set up to take advantage of them, clubs can have some fun, generating SMS and MMS campaigns, quizzes and competitions, replay features, votes, alerts and reminder notifications, community-based interactions, mobile coupons, ticketing and merchandise sales. In the event of a match draw, a club with 2,000 tickets to sell for the replay, at short notice, could issue a video message from the team manager or a popular player, to encourage a faster and more substantial take-up of seats.

Don’t wait for extra time

Communications activities might take place either side of or even during a fixture, allowing teams to run competitions during matches, or inviting fans to post messages to their big screens for during half-time. As the community spirit intensifies, loyalty grows, season ticket sales go up, and so on, until soon the new momentum fuels itself. The more clubs interact with their fans, the more data they find they are able to gather too – information which can be fed back into customer relationship management systems to help hone future communications. What’s more, taking advantage of the mobile channel is easy and cost-effective, compared to other communications vehicles. Specialist service providers are available to host the back-end technology to make all of this work, too, removing the need for specialist skills within the club. Such services can be combined with billing applications for processing e-commerce transactions, from ticket

LIVE EVENTS

or merchandising sales or premium SMS or MMS based competitions. Measured against promotional activities through other media, including glossy brochures, costly ad campaigns and the like, mobile communications offer unparalleled value, particularly given their high return rates by virtue of their direct targeting and immediacy of contact. From getting more bums on seats, to streaming match highlights to far-flung fans, the mobile channel is a powerful medium with the potential to transform the way clubs engage with their supporters. Given that few clubs have yet to exploit the mobile medium to any significant degree, early adopters have much to play for as they line themselves up with their goals to grow their fan bases, build a global brand identity, and cement team loyalty among an increasingly global audience.

From getting more bums on seats to streaming match highlights to far-ďŹ&#x201A;ung fans, the mobile channel is a powerful medium with the potential to transform the way clubs engage with supporters

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DEVICES

THE WORLD IN YOUR HAND

Monetising content and services on mobile is no longer just about making it work on some 7500 handsets and smartphones, these days it also includes a whole ‘long tail’ of devices. Paul Skeldon finds what you are up against And so the device long tail theory was born and for the rest of this year everyone from content developers and billing specialists, to brands, broadcasters, media barons and retailer have been trying to work out how to tap into the half of the market that is looking for its content – and potentially to part with money for it – on a vast array of other devices. While a lot of the devices logged by Netbiscuits’ study are, to be fair, obscure feature phones, what is evident is that a significant amount of mobile web traffic is coming from an array of new devices. Games consoles such as Sony’s PSP, music players such as the iPod Touch, set top boxes and soon wifi-enabled TVs are all having an impact on how consumers are looking to access mobile web and apps. Couple this with the introduction of the iPad earlier this year and the accompanying deluge of other tablets that are set to hit the market and you now have a very fragmented market to design for – and a market that is hungry to get stuff through its preferred device. “By far the largest number of devices that are requesting mobile Web sites rest within the long tail of all Web-enabled mobile devices,” says Netbiscuits. n February 2010, Netbisuits “Optimizing mobile Web sites only for the few devices recorded, worldwide, mobile that dominate a market means intentionally locking out website requests coming the vast majority of all Web-enabled handsets and their from a staggering 2508 users from your content and services. unique devices. 51% of these “Besides the few devices that dominate there are were what you would expect always hundreds and thousands of other mobile devices – iPhones, Android, Nokias from many different manufacturers that are used for and so on – but 49%, accessing the Web,” says the report. “Taken together, which is as good as half the numerous devices that make up the long tail in my book, were accounted for the major share of all mobile Web site requests comrequests via Netbiscuits between February 2009 and ing from other February 2010.” devices that were handheld, TV times connected to When it comes to tapping into the device long tail, billthe web – but not ing becomes problematic, especially as new services ‘phones’. and new content clash with new devices and user

I 42

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DEVICES demand. This is no where more true than with TV content and the kind of new devices that TV content is being distributed on. Launched at IBC in Amsterdam in September, PayWizard, is an innovative solution that is set to revolutionise how micropayments for digital content are monetised. According to its developers, MGt, PayWizard opens up new commercial possibilities for content owners, broadcasters and service providers to more effectively engage and build profitable long-term relationships with their viewers, a capability that is more important than ever in this fast-changing and competitive digital entertainment world. At the core of the solution is a function-rich, pre-paid e-wallet that securely supports micropayment transactions in multiple currencies. The e-wallet can be topped up in a variety of ways, including direct debit, one-off or periodic credit card payments and via automated payments based on a user-defined threshold. PayWizard also manages all traditional subscription-based pay-TV billing. A key feature of the PayWizard e-wallet is its ability to support continual card authorisation, enabling single-click buying. The viewer can thus avoid timeconsuming logins which can lead to consumer frustration and incomplete transactions, and gain immediate access to their chosen content, leading to greater viewer satisfaction.

PayWizard supports transactions made on any device, including digital set-top boxes, connected TVs, mobile devices and PCs. The PayWizard user interface on all devices is easy-to-use and intuitive, enabling viewers to initiate and complete their transactions quickly and easily. A PayWizard account holder can securely manage all of his account details and preferences through the easy-to-use PayWizard website. PayWizard delivers a highly attractive ‘per transaction’ business model to content owners, broadcasters and service providers compared to some incumbent payment solutions that are simply Payment Service Providers (PSP). The result is greater potential for generating profit. “We believe that PayWizard fulfils the need in the digital TV industry for an independent, commercially attractive, multi-device micropayment solution. In the increasingly diverse and fragmented world of digital media, attracting and retaining viewers is more challenging than ever and requires a sophisticated set of tools,” commented Stephen Petheram, Marketing Director at MGt. He continued: “PayWizard not only offers a revolutionary pre-paid e-wallet, but also provides real-time information crucial to understanding viewer patterns and tastes, enabling personalised promotions that encourage brand stickiness and viewer loyalty.”

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PSYCHIC

Psychic services used to be a one to one experience, often with a gypsy in a tent. But PRS turned that into a successful phone service. Now video is making psychic and horoscope personal again – and offering publishers a way to make their websites more lucrative. Paul Skeldon reports

W LOOK INTO MY EYES 44

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hile there has been much made of News International’s move to start charging for online content, many in the publishing industry are not quite so sure that such an ‘in your face’ model is really what is needed, certainly at the more popular end of the market. Instead, many are looking at how to more subtly monetise their websites by making them a more compelling place to visit. And one of the key weapons in this battle has to be video content. It has been proven in the e-commerce sector that video content on retailer websites makes consumers linger longer on site and makes them marginally more likely to convert. Many assume the same can be said of any other commercial service online, including the media. And, as if by magic, psychic and horoscope services appear – in video form – to give newspapers something compelling to really drive consumers to their websites. Orca Digital has developed a white label platform that allows psychic and horoscope services providers to build and deliver fully functioning video services that bring psychic services back to what they always used to be – personal. The platform offers anyone selling psychic services the chance to drive more users to their websites and to get a much more engaging experience with readers. For publishers such as newspaper owners who run psychic chat services, it gives them some compelling online video services that will allow readers to interact online. “Many newspapers run psychic services and this can act to drive readers then to the website to interact with the readers, rather than just do it over the telephone,” explains Orca’s CEO Will Neal. “It’s great for newspapers and psychic service providers who work with them as it makes their websites

PSYCHIC more compelling and sticky and gives readers a reason to go on line.” This all gives newspapers and other organisations that need to drive web revenues ideal content to bridge that gap between traditional media and online and start the process of getting consumers hanging around and spending online. But this psychic video platform, believed to pretty much be a one of a kind, does more than just bring people online from newspaper ads. The service makes full use of premium rate, not just for billing (which we will come to in a moment), but also for making the service interactive. If you have a webcam and a microphone on your PC then you are laughing, but if you haven’t – and many people don’t – the Orca platform cleverly integrates the web session with the phone to allow the user to seamlessly see the psychic session on the screen and interact with the reader via the telephone using a premium rate number. “You click on the reader you want, call the number that comes up and enter the PIN and the caller and the reader are then linked, with the phone and the web session being totally linked,” says Neal. “And you can use this to pay, though the service will also take credit card and PSMS as payment tools too.” Currently, the platform is set up to take per

minute billing, says Neal, but, since many reading services are also now offering a fixed fee for a set amount of time, he believes that this will soon be incorporated into the service once someone demands it. And while there are obvious advantages for service providers and news media companies, the video psychic is also a much better experience for the user too. “Psychic is all about trust,” says Neal. “You want to see the person you are talking to is sincere and, if it involves tarot or cards or anything else being read, then you want to see it happening in front of you, so you know that what you are seeing is genuine.” It is how psychic services are meant to be: personal and in front of you. The psychics and other services offered are, in many ways, an informal form of counselling and so care and trust are central. While this has worked over the years on the phone, the YouTube generation is going to demand more from its readers; demand the right to see them and this services bridges that gap perfectly. A great example of telemedia moving with the times. INFO www.orcadigital.com CONTACT e: hello@orcadigital.com

2010 Telemedia Service Provision & Aggregator Survey Billing • Content • AppliCAtions • MediA & MArketing • network serviCes Get your business listed FREE in the Telemedia Survey 2010

Results to be published in the spring edition of Telemedia magazine and posted on www.telemedia-news.com, where entries can be updated throughout the year.

ContaCt For sales, Jarvis Todd on Tel 08707 327 327 jarvis@telemedia-news.com and for editorial information, please contact Paul Skeldon on paul@telemedia-news.com

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DIRECTORY C3

MADVERT

Is a platform provider of over 20 years supporting Voice and Video applications for Fixed, Mobile and Web channels. There are a full range of pre-built services available with source code for interactive media, chat – Virtual, 1-2-1, Eavesdrop and Multi-Party and many more. The platform supports all types of billing and has been PCI Tier 1 accredited. Customers are supported 24x7x365 by C3 staff.

‘MPR’ is the brand new, sophisticated stand-alone technology platform, highlights include: • Instant Mobile Advertising Networks • Aggregator/Operator Agnostic • Multi Layer Mobile Affiliation • Traffic Trapper Technology© • Live Mobile Video Blogging • Mobile Site Creation Tool • Tailorable Banner Systems • Handset Recognition • Full Analytics and Metrics • White Label Opportunity • Broadcasting Tool.

The Jeffreys Building, St Johns Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS, Tel:+44(0)1223 427700, Fax:+44(0)1223 427711, Email: Sales@C3.co.uk, Web: www.C3.co.uk / www.Seteca.co.uk

Contact Dean Butler on +447780695769 or dean.butler@madvert.net

SQUARE 1 COMMUNICATIONS

GLOBAL TELECALL

Square1 is a leading UK based SP & technology solutions provider for fixed line, mobile and web based services. We offer a full range of billing and platform services across sms and fixed line, end to end development of IVR and sms apps. We also offer a range of content including:Virtual Chat, Dating, Live 1-2-1 chat, 121 psychic & text chat.

Global Telecall’s new VoiceBlade management platform allows anyone to brand, provision and manage an amazing spectrum of voice and messaging services on behalf of their clients.

Contact: Mark Birkett; Mobile: 07899 961965; Tel: 0844 499 4545; Fax: 0844 499 4546; Email: mark@sq1.co.uk; Web: www.square1communications.co.uk

WELBURN AND CO

WAPPLE

Qualified in 1983, Peter Welburn provides “onestop” legal advice on regulatory and commercial law matters to clients in the Telemedia industry. Often acting as a “quasi in-house” lawyer, Peter works closely with clients in addressing their need for advice on a range of subjects including the acquisition/disposal of business premises, employment matters, litigation/dispute resolution, intellectual property, corporate sales and purchases.

Leading Mobile Web Publishing Platform! Wapple powers 10,000s of sites worldwide, ranging from the largest brands to small retailers. Build your site using Wapple Canvas and we adapt this for high-end iPhone, Android, RIM handsets as well as EVERY other mobile device. Full professional services available too.

Contact: peter@welburn.co.uk or peterwelburn@btconnect.com Tel: +44 (0) 2380 230500, Mob: +44 (0) 7768005050 Fax: +44 (0) 2380 224091, Web: www.welburn.co.uk

http://wapple.net +44 (0)1527 558247 sales@wapple.net

CORE TELECOM

INTERNATIONAL PAYOUT NUMBERS

Core Telecom offer a wide range of services to over 2000 UK businesses. This includes their new product, CreditPay, which offers flexible telephony solutions for up front and pence per minute billing on credit and debit card for both the Telemedia and Corporate markets. Core also specialises in providing non-geographic numbers and call management solutions through their online brands www.08direct.co.uk and www.0800numbershop.co.uk, as well as offering this as a white label product through resellers. Core also offer very competitive pricing for the wholesale inbound and outbound markets.

Kwak is one of the leading providers for international payout numbers and domestic premium rate numbers, we offer ■ Extensive portfolio of international payout numbers with worldwide access ■ Domestic premium rate numbers from over 25 countries worldwide ■ New interactive neutral client area with the ability to generate sub-customers

Nick Dixon, E-mail: nick@coretelecom.co.uk, d: 0844 504 0010

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DIRECTORY ORCA DIGITAL Orca Digital is the UK’s leading provider of interactive platforms for mobile, web and TV. Mobile voice short-codes - we’re one of the UK’s largest suppliers of 5-digit numbers, with price points from free to £2/min. Live video streaming + chat - across web, mobile and TV our innovative platforms drive £millions/yr for our clients. Participation TV - we power interactive services for the majority of the UK’s live TV stations.

Contact: www.orcadigital.com // hello@orcadigital.com 020 8819 5710 - let’s talk!

GLOBAL PREMIUM RATE & BILLING SOLUTIONS FROM A GLOBAL BUSINESS

OPEN MARKET Mobile Messaging, Direct Billing, IVR, Video Shortcodes, Location-Based & Mobile Crediting Services.

OXYGEN8 GROUP CAN OFFER YOU THE FOLLOWING: Domestic Premium SMS billing capability in over 110 countries Domestic Premium Rate Numbers in 38 countries Over 50 International Voice terminations

Text sales to 88600 in the UK. STD operator charges apply. Tel: 0845 666 7778 (Int: +44 20 8987 8855) Fax: 020 3095 5080 (Int: +44 20 3095 5080) www.openmarket.com/europe

Solutions can be easily implemented on Oxygen8’s voice and mobile messaging platforms. In many cases ready made services are available. These are supported by Oxygen8’s global network of offices. Build your business with a reliable global player. To find out what Oxygen8 can do for you. See our website for more details www.oxygen8.com

unwiredplaza.com is the destination of choice for those looking to source wireless services - both applications and connectivity - that will help you win and retain customers, improve your business efficiency and generally put you in great shape to exploit the m: +44(0)7886379659 fantastic opportunities offered by t: +44(0)2071939230 embracing the Mobile Channel. enquiries@unwiredplaza.com

TXTNATION

EXPAND Your program to North America Premium Rate Numbers IVR Platform

SMS Services

Providing Interactive Telephone to the World Since 1989 Philadelphia • Toronto • London • Dublin • Prague Contact: Bob Bentz (+1) 610-254-7191 • bobb@advancedtele.com • www.advancedtele.com

txtNation is an award-winning provider of cost-effective mobile billing, content and messaging solutions. Behind a stable of extensible platforms such as mBILL and mENABLE, the company has focused on combining international connectivity with extensible software solutions to bring simplicity and enviable leadtimes to well-known brands and thousands of smaller clients alike. End-to-end solutions facilitate SMS campaigns, alternative payment and micro-billing tools, and mobile content distribution across an extensive plug-and-play platform.

Contact: Web www.txtnation.com E-Mail: sales@txtnation.com Tel: London, UK: +44 (0)203 283 8828

CELLCAST Managing critical communications solutions

for the media channel Inbound & Outbound Voice 08, 09 and 03 Premiun Rate Unique IVR platform

Internet Leased Lines Ethernet MPLS

Visit kcom.com/channel-partners

or call 0800 915 5345

The Cellcast Group is a global leader in the provision of participation television programming and interactive mobile content in the rapidly growing multiplatform digital entertainment sector. Our services enable broadcasters, content developers, media ventures, 3G services and mobile networks to participate in the accelerating convergence of television, IT and telecommunications.

Contact: Craig Gardiner E craig@cellcast.tv W www.cellcast.tv T +44-207-190-0300

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DIRECTORY • PRESS • TV • WAP • ON LINE • IN THE UK, IRELAND, AUSTRALIA, SA & USA •

Maximise Your Profits with Successful PRS Advertising! We make your advertising work harder.

AUDIOTEX ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS

Members of

To save on your media, call

+44 (0)845 225 55 55

+44(0)20 7510 5900

11 GREEK STREET SOHO LONDON W1D 4DJ

enquiries@ellisonuk.com www.ellisonuk.com

email: mail@goodmanassociates.co.uk • www.goodmanassociates.co.uk

BT AGILEMEDIA

CSINFO

BT Agilemedia are the UK’s No.1 supplier of participation media services. Working in partnership with media owners and service providers, BT Agilemedia’s technology and reputation for service excellence, has enabled all those involved in the creation, production, promotion, broadcast and running of audience participation services to optimise the customer experience and value of these events. With an extensive portfolio of products and services across all channels of interaction; voice, mobile and online, BT Agilemedia are ideally placed to help its customers to develop and grow their participation media strategy.

CSINFO is a telephone operator licensed for Italy, which operates at global levels in providing telephony INTERNET, VOICE AND DATA, SINCE 1995 services and telecommunications. Our main focus is in providing premium numbers for Italy as well as business numbers and toll free numbers. CSINFO is also in the wholesale termination market with over 50 carriers interconnected and PoPs located in all major European cities, standing as a partner of choice per the traffic termination towards italy and towards many international destinations. Finally, due to a strong and efficient development team CSINFO is able to offer customized outsourcing services further to the possibility of lodging other operators on our network..

Contact: Darren Parker, Sales Director, Phone 0800 731 3050 Email: btagilemedia@bt.com URL: www.agile-media.co.uk

Via Matteucci 34 - 56124 Pisa (Italy) - Phone +39 050 782 000 wholesale@csinfo.net

DO YOU SELL MOBILE CONTENT OR SERVICES?

You need to use Admoda or Adultmoda as a new source of mobile traffic. 7.5 Billion impressions per month. Global coverage. Pay per click. Simple online set up.

Visit www.admoda.com and www.adultmoda.com

UK, Ireland, International

Using 20 years of experience to make your media spend work harder for you!

If you are looking for a complete service and higher profits - contact us today.

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