Here’s Part 1 of the Smartphone Obsession Series that I’m producing thanks to the support of mobile messaging giant, OpenMarket.
In this first episode, I talked with Alex Meisl, Chairman at mobile marketing specialists, Sponge Group. Alex is also joint-Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association so I thought it would be fascinating to get his viewpoints first.
Is there too much obsession with smartphones in the mobile marketing arena?
Why do companies jump straight for iPhone, even when they’re marketing products and services that really don’t appeal to iPhone users?
How much influence does the argument ‘but the Chairman’s got an iPhone’ have on the decision process?
What do you do when you want to reach everyone in the mobile channel, rather than just the smartphone users?
Have a watch and find out!
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Related posts:
New Video Series: Is the mobile marketing industry too obsessed with smartphones?
The iPhone Is Creating Smartphone Marketshare, Not Stealing It
I’m delighted to bring you the third part of the Future of Voicemail video series featuring Shawn Barber, Director of Product for Voice Messaging at global messaging provider, Acision.
To say Shawn is Mr Voicemail is to put it mildly. He lives and breathes the medium, although he was clear to point out that its no longer referred to as simply voicemail but instead, voice messaging. Which is good news. Because thats where Id like the medium to as well. Id like us to get away from the mail aspect (i.e. having to dial in to retrieve messages in sequence) and move to some kind of messaging-based facility. But what does the future look like? Well, Shawn set out some rather stimulating points in todays video including discussing the possibility of simply providing operators with the building blocks to create their own voice messaging systems to fit any consumer scenario. So if you want the mobile operator to recognise that youre driving and thus it should pipe the voice messages down to your car stereo, no problem. Or if you want to be called with my voice messages as a matter of priority, no problem.
Id dearly like to see mobile operators offering something like this something better than just the same-old-thing.
Shawn did a super job of answering my questions and Im sure youll enjoy his perspective on the future.
Thank you very much for taking the time, Shawn!
Here’s the video:
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Just a reminder, view the preceding episodes in the series here:
- Part 1, Olivier Sichel of Sofinnova Ventures
- Part 2, Tim Rea of ePlanet Ventures
Related posts:
Episode two of the Future of Voicemail Series is in the can!
The Future of Voicemail Video Series – first episode in the can!
Welcome to the first in the series of videos exploring the Future of Voicemail, supported by visual voicemail experts HulloMail.
I’m delighted with the feedback we’ve had from part 1 of the Future of Voicemail Series featuring Olivier Sichel of Sofinnova Partners so I’m delighted to bring you part 2.
Today’s episode features Tim Rea of ePlanet Ventures discussing his pain points with voicemail as it stands and the future of the medium. I hope you enjoy…
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Welcome to the first in the series of videos exploring the Future of Voicemail, supported by visual voicemail experts HulloMail.
I got my first mobile phone in September 1996. I purchased it from a hovel opposite the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street, London. After I got the handset home, the first thing I did with it was set my voicemail. I’m willing to bet it’s one of the first things you do too, whenever you’ve activated a new phone connection or joined a new company and been assigned a phone. Voicemail is an entirely ubiquitous service, provided free or inclusive for many.
Voicemail sits in the background. The vast majority of users don’t think twice about it. We use the word daily. We receive and send voicemails daily. Yet its one of the most overlooked essential requirements of today’s mobile (and landline) telephone functionality. Ever been annoyed when you’ve tried to leave a voicemail and got a ‘mailbox full’ error? Yeah. Or when you call someone and the line just rings-and-rings because, for whatever reason, voicemail isn’t active? Have you ever been abroad and phoned your friend/partner only to get their voicemail and realise that even though the call didn’t complete, you’ve been charged a pretty penny for the privilege?
And from a commercial viewpoint, what does it take to deliver voicemail services to 20 million customers on a daily basis? Why do we still need voicemail? Is a voicemail box with 10 slots simply ridiculous or a necessary restriction ? And what’s coming next? What innovation should we expect to see in the near term and beyond?
It’s these issues, questions — and more — that I intend exploring with this series.
Our first thought leader is Olivier Sichel, Partner at well-known European Venture Capital firm, Sofinnova Partners. I was particularly interested to see what he’d have to say, given his tremendous fixed and mobile experience. Prior to joining Sofinnova, Olivier was Chariman of Wanadoo, the 6.5 billion internet and directory giant. So he knows a thing or two.
Over to Olivier — here’s the video:
Thank you for taking the time, Olivier!
I hope you enjoyed the first episode! I aim to bring you the next video in the series — Tim Rea of ePlanet Ventures — next week.
HulloMail’s support has enabled me to produce this series and to help toward keeping the lights on here at Mobile Industry Review. Therefore I would very much appreciate it if you’d take the time to familiarise yourself with the company’s services and perhaps download their app and check out their services. Their app available on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry — but it’ll also work on any handset at all.
