Myne

Forget iPad, should I get a Kindle?

A slew of new tablets and e-Books readers are due to hit this year, of course most notably the new Apple iPad. We’re lead to believe that 2010 is the year we really do finally start to say farewell to paper. There are plenty of skeptics on this one, a la “a paperless office is about as realistic as a paperless bathroom”– style thinking but we’ll see. I’m sure there will be plenty written about these topics (@granleese and @agreeves are no doubt already on the case).

But what of the Amazon Kindle, does it have anything to offer?

Questicon makes use of QR

       

We recently spotted that Canberra's interactive science and technology centre Questicon is making use of QR codes to provide more information to browsers. It's especially relevant since QR codes are themselves a subject for one particular exhibit called Perception Deception.

This is an application that we've talked about a lot.

It's a great way of connecting to more detailed content providing the back story, if you will. It also means that users can walk away with referenceable content after the fact - very useful indeed.

However in this case I just felt that the reward just wasn't strong enough. That is, the experience didn't really add anything. I think when used in these situations QR must link to content that provides more value - greater utility or entertainment. Think video content, location-based tools, mobile vouchers and so on.

Nevertheless good on you Questicon for getting stuck in, and my kids really enjoyed the exhibit. This is a must visit attraction in Canberra if you have kids by the way.

Game over for QR Codes in Australia? The evidence.

For some time now QR Codes have been off the radar. I've gone from having multiple conversations a week to one or two a month. They are still appearing in market (more often than not poorly executed), but the conversation has definitely slowed.

The only response I got back to the question above in the Twittersphere was simply "QR was never in the game" (thanks @holabendez), [which  highlights either an apathy issue or my serious dearth of followers, probably both].

But I digress, WOW! so is it game over for QR Codes in Australia, before it even really started?

Or is it possible that QR is going the same way as many nascent technologies, wallowing in the trough of disillusionment, ready to burst through into the mainstream?

Lets consider for a moment what are some of the barriers to widespread adoption of QR codes in Australia...

Tell Australia what you think at allofaus!

We recently launched a unique new programme for client Qantas - called allofaus.

Allofaus is a project designed to discover what makes Australia great...Is it our culture? Is it our people? Is it our determined spirit? Or is it something else entirely? It's a question with no single answer and a discussion that every Australian is invited to be a part of.

The AllofAus website is the home for this content and the programme leads up to a magazine keepsake in newspapers across Australia in the last week of July.

In addition to the website, submissions can also be made via SMS or M-site which also features celebrity video content.

The advertising campaign makes extensive use of Mobile activation tactics through SMS and QR codes and a multi-carrier mobile advertising buy drives additional traffic through the zero-rated M-site.

Be sure to check out the content visualisations on the website - these allow you to filter submissions to get different views of the data. Very cool (or at least we think so!)

Mobile Coupons and QR Codes set to take off

A Special Report in AdNews April edition, Bill and I both made the cut :-)
Grab a copy of mag as this is just one article in a nine page special feature. Good stuff AdNews.

VodaHutch – a new number 2 force.

 Wow, no such thing as a dull day.

No sooner had we done a round-up on 3G than it looks like things will change again. Based on this morning’s announcement of 3 and Vodafones likely merger as reported, here, here, here and from a media perspective here we wonder what the new carrier landscape may look like?

In terms of total customer numbers Vodafone would still be in third place, but in the key area of 3G would move ahead of Optus.

From a media perspective, this would make Vodafone VHA the #2 player in the mobile marketing and advertising arena. Optus has a nascent commercial model, whereas both 3 and Vodafone are well experienced in commercialising their mobile portals albeit in very different ways.

It will be interesting to see how this blend manifests itself – Vodafone’s team have been very open to trialling opportunities, whereas 3 has tended to favour a more protective stance on customer experience (and making the customer pay for more content). No doubt learning’s from both sides will prove very useful.

The other obvious point is that the new entity will be very strong in the 18-35 segment, a traditional hot spot for many advertisers. As ad dollars begin to flow into all carriers mobile portals (with e-Marketer and several other players predicting 300% growth this year) this should see some stiff competition.

The reality: it will be 6 months before we see any real changes, and it still has to get through a shareholder vote in April and meet with ACCC approval -  although one would think the prospect of a third heavyweight in the market would be appealing.

Any other thoughts?

QR Codes – Australian Market Update

Many agencies and clients are asking whether they should be including QR/mobile codes on campaigns, and it’s timely therefore to assess how well on the road to mass adoption this standard is.

QR codes arrived seriously in Australia in August of 2008 with Telstra’s launch of the standard.

There have been a number of campaigns employing the technology to date, driven by clients like Lion Nathan, Toyota, Sony Ericcson, NAB and of course Telstra with their Olympics inspired launch campaign and others subsequently such as Yellow Pages.

For this post we’re going to confine ourselves to the following question:

How well are QR codes faring and what is the prognosis for this still nascent standard?

Lets take the first part of this question.

There is no independent market data available on QR codes so we’ve been thinking about this based on our own experiences and canvassing expert opinion.

Mgage: Mobile Activation and Measurement

Today marks the launch of a new Myne product called Mgage.

P&Gs Global Head of mobile recently stated that the long value chain of mobile needs to be simplified in order for marketers to start to embrace the channel. That's what Mgage is about.

Mgage is a tool that provides marketers with better access to the benefits of mobile - it's about getting better customer engagement with campaigns and driving better media efficiencies. Mgage works across two key dimensions:

1. Activation - mobilising traditional campaigns using interactive media tags (SMS keywords, QR codes and direct mobile urls). Nothing new in this except that we now have a tool that makes it easy to issue interactive media tags and then track, analyse and optimise multiple media types in real time. It's like adserving for atoms.

2. Content connection - a simple and cost effective mechanism for deploying content to mobile - whatever that content is: a test drive video, a retailer locator, a detailed product descriptor, a request for a sample.

Mgage has been pretty all consuming for the last few months as we have defined the vision, architecture, planning, production, licensing, and business processes - we're pretty happy with the results and we hope our clients are too.

Download mgage_media_release.pdf

For more information on Mgage email me.

[Sincere thanks to Matt H, Jacqui, Bill, Graham, Jeff, Matt N, and the rest of the team. SM]

6 degrees (make that 6 beers) of separation

Lion Nathan's latest campaign for Toohey's Extra Dry (TED) launched recently.  6 beers of separation is the brainchild of creative agency BMF and digital agency Holler (along with host of other specialists). Myne's role was in defining the mobile strategy and producing the mobile experience.

The idea behind 'six beers' is centred around the 6 degrees of separation notion. TED is creating a  programme to test the theory that we are less than 6 beers away from our personal heroes. It's a great idea for a piece of branded entertainment and plays out over a myriad of channels and touchpoints.

Check out the manifesto video and sign-up here.

Visit the mobile site - scan the code or go to http://6beersofseparation.mobi

Should Aussie marketers be concerned about iPhone?

Three months in and with nothing official from Apple, we'd like to know how many iPhones have been sold in Australia.

Anecdotally we have heard that Apple allocated 900,000 phones to Australia in the first consignment and that 50,000 sold over the first weekend. We doubt those phones have all sold but lets see how feasible that might be. The total installed base of mobile phones is around 21M units. Assuming that conservatively a third of these turnover in a year we're talking about 7M units per year or 1.75M per quarter.

So what percentage of the last three months new mobile sales could iPhone have attracted?

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