Interesting mobile facts for South Africa:

• 57 percent of South Africa only access the web through their mobile phone
• In South Africa cell phone banking is used by 28 percent of the total population whilst only 16 percent of the population utilise Internet banking
• In South Africa 65 percent of all smartphone owners use apps to improve their lives
• On average a user spends 9% more time using mobile apps over the use of the Internet
• Games and social networking apps combined are equal to 79 percent of consumers overall app usage time

The Mobile App
The trendy word in mobile today is the App. As consumers move into the notion of the super consumer, many feel the need to be in control of everything they see, view and interact with. Applications have thus gained a greater importance with apps for almost everything from fun apps (which may have no real use, like the infamous broken screen app) to business related apps which improve overall mobile operations speed and performance.

Mobile apps are creating more possibilities for the mobile phone, and brands like for example; LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have taken advantage of this trend, by creating their own personalized apps. Mobile apps assist in brand integration and allow the consumer to stay connected whether it is off-line, online or though mobile and many brands will start developing apps as a way of communicating with consumers.

What is hAPPening in South Africa?
Vodacom has recently decided to create the brands own app store with over 140000 applications.  ”We think that this will drive the growth and innovation within an already thriving local South African mobile ecosystem,  ” they said.

MTN seems to have picked up on this new development and has announced that their own app store is “currently in the works,” with an apparent launch in less than six months time.

This trend has not only risen within mobile networks, as 5FM has created an app for BlackBerry which allows users to listen and stay connected to 5FM where ever they go, and FNB have launched both FNBConnect (used to locate ATM’s and has some of the VASP functionality) and the first South African integrated mobile banking application.

Conclusion
The growth of apps in South Africa and worldwide, continues to be on the increase and why not take advantage of it? Smartphones and browser-enhanced cell phones keep consumers connected 24/7 and it seems only obvious that to stay connected with the consumer is to talk to them where they already are.

Apps allow for greater consumer-brand interaction and consumers like to download different apps that make their lives easier. Apps may assist brands to break through endless ad clutter and to connect directly with their target markets. Who would have thought that smartphones and browser-enhanced cell phones would surpass the capabilities of the computer, but it seems that targeting of consumers on smartphone apps is the smart choice for brands today.

The panel included:

• Ashley Dewat – Channel Strategy at Ogilvy
• Barbara Cooke – Acting Executive Director of the OHMSA
• Jacques du Preez – MD of Provantage (Pty) Ltd
• Kevin Kirby – COO of ComutaNet
• Lyn Jones – Marketing Manager of Continental Outdoor Media

Jeremy Maggs lead the discussion, and came out guns blazing. Here is the overview of all the questions:

Why is Ambient media still relevant?

There are new platforms out there however the outdoor space drives consumers to the new platforms.

Someone has to drive those consumers to the many plethora of different options. (Lynn)

We know that with above the line media, it’s getting harder to reach consumers, and more ineffective year after year.  Out of home media can’t be switched off, and you are exposed, always.

Is there quantifiable research?

There has been some research, but the medium has grown faster than most.  We look at the numbers and the members. As a proportion of the media mix, we have grown immensely. (Jacques)

Kevin’s opinion is that these mediums have less wastage.  It’s a media category that requires for more work and studies to be done, so it makes it more difficult.  Homework must be done – targeted media must be researched well.  You need to know who the audience is, and what they want and above all, you need to understand what the creative concept it about.

Barbara – The bigger picture is that around the world, we are seeing fully integrated advertising research thus we can have payment by results. SA doesn’t have that yet, but it is on its way.  Tenders are out today (12 Feb), and will be looked at internationally, also best practice proposals will be looked at.  It has taken so long because the industry hasn’t focused on growing the whole industry, but rather the slices of it.

Digital is becoming the most flexible media.

If all of the research has not been available and going out for tenders, why is it only being done now?

Lyn – Research has been done, and is good, but looked at the industry in a segmented view, and didn’t look at out of home in its entirety.  We need to get to the stage where we measure the whole industry.

Have you been disadvantaged not having the full holistic research available?

Yes, but the industry needs to take responsibility.  The industry needs to take control, as they feel they have funded the research of other platforms too, and would rather take the research for out of home completely on our own.

What tough Q should brand managers be asking of the industry?

Investment and planning tools are needed. The expectation they should have, is to come up with the tools, and the planning to facilitate the spend.

Barbara, what would you say is the current perception of the outdoor industry?

I have no idea what they are thinking, but I would like them to think that it’s an exciting industry.  I think this is possibly THE most exciting medium, as it is growing so fast due to the population becoming more and more mobile.

The youth especially are spending more and more time outdoors, from clubs to bars, to generally outdoors.

Is pricing is unstructured due to supply and demand?

The industry is facing many challenges due to pricing, but you will get people who would want to undercut.

It is about creating value, and people are prepared to pay for quality.

Most members offer good value, but people need to ask the right questions. You need integration, and there is a premium for good exposure.

The price discussion has to follow the strategic discussion.

How does the client know which site is best?

It’s all about knowing what the strategy is behind it.  You need to be able to match your offer to the strategic environment.

How do you know where the good sites are?

Immerse yourself in the market – get out there and find out where you would like it to be.  GoogleEarth is helping a lot with this, and gives a visual element to the market.

Each sites needs to be measured, and it can be told how many people pass that site a day.  There are empirical ways to gate it.

Barbara – The outdoor industry is not the different to any other industry – know your consumer.  So reach and frequency must be measured against a target market.  It needs to be measured on a continuous basis. The mantra is “know your consumer”.

Do media agencies have the upper hand?

The issue is that both owner and agency should be wanting to add top added value to the client’s objective. The problem comes in, in the lack of transparency in the funding model.

It’s difficult to manage, as from an economic point of view you want to be in the game, but you have to be guided from an ethical stance.

Transparency is definitely needed.

A price war is healthy, this is a free market, and the outdoor industry is freer than anybody.  But the consolidation of buying points have become very narrowed down.

Where is the industry going?

Firstly from an outdoor perspective, every marketing point is based on location, through all mediums.  This industry is going to continue to grow.

Outdoor is constantly evolving.  It is going to grow as the population grows more mobile.  Technology will start melting in more, with a digital input.

The right creative use must be encouraged.

New infrastructure development gives many more opportunity.  It provides opportunities to target audience in a more integrated and upmarket way. But the industry must have a positive engagement with government, to help them understand what is possible.

Loerie ads are judged according to 5 categories:

• Innovation – creativity in terms of being distinctively different
• Quality – how well is the idea executed
• Relevance to the brand,
• Relevance to target audience,
• And relevance to the  chosen medium

On the menu today to talk and question about winning ads are:

Andy Rice, Chairman, Yellowwood Brand Architects
Oresti Patricios, CEO at Ornico Group (Pty)Ltd
Steve Miller, CEO at BF Strategy
Lou Boxall-Davies, Chief Strategist at Morris Jones
Geoff Whyte, Managing Director at Snackworks

Advert 1:

The Vodacom Music Station, done by Draft FCB, directed by Neo Mashingo.

Goal: To promote that Vodacom provides the listener to have radio at their fingertips, their own choice of music.
Creative angle: The DJ Keeps talking over the music, that the listener really wants to listen to. Where as they have their own choice of music via Vodacom.
Delivery: Pointers were given for the voice artist to talk about, and then were elaborated on in studio.

• The voiceover artist did a fantastic job at depicting the DJ.
• The ad explains that it is music without a DJ, any category any music. Like listening to a radio station, on your cellphone.
• Was flighted on vernacular ALS radio stations.
• The Vodacom brand doesn’t come out strong, but appears as a spot read by the DJ.
• Sales increased in terms of data markets. A lot of teaching still needs to happen. The campaign was driven to teach people on ALS stations to use their phones for other functions, like data, and not just voice.
• In terms of building the brand, they wanted the brand to be viewed as a friend, with a comedic thread.

Advert 2

Yuppiechef vs Woolies
Agency: Hello World
Danni Vos, CEO

The sign, which had the incorrect URL on, which Yuppiechef held ransom.

Yuppiechef.co.za hijacked Woolies’s misspelt URL, registered it, and held it ransom.  Challenging them to donate money

• They had less than 14 days before Valentine’s day.
• Social media driven, but mainly driven by the PR.
• How do Yupppiechef now continue to engage? They are an online company, so they continue with online and social media.
• It’s about finding the right social idea, and backing it up with the right brand.
• If it were to be done again, would it be done differently: Because of time constraints, strategy couldn’t be planned.  A bigger base could’ve been achieved, and the Yuppiechhef current bas could’ve been utilized.
• Great opportunistic campaign, and a great PR exercise – what was the PR strat: was totally focused on radio and online media. Power of online has turned a corner, to use Online PR more – to engage online bloggers more.
• Built their social media database immensely.

…./2

AdWords for Mobile provides mobile access to your account, key alerts and statistics as well as a facility to make quick changes to your AdWords settings even while on the move.

You have to customize your experience for your mobile device. To do this you should first log in from your desktop computer and choose the parts of your account that you want to monitor closely. You are able to set up custom alerts for key account events such as when your campaing reaches a certain threshold of your daily budget or to monitor when traffic drops significantly.  You can also set “saved filters” to flag your most important keywords and campaigns.

The interface was designed to access the essentials in your account by viewing and making basic edits to campaigns and keywords. If you need access any other areas of your account then you can switch to the desktop version of AdWords through a link at the bottom of the screen.

AdWords for Mobile is now the default mobile interface for a small percentage of English language advertisers, and Google will be enabling the feature for additional advertisers and languages in the coming weeks.

To try out AdWords for Mobile immediately, simply direct your Android, iPhone, or Palm Pre to http://adwords.google.com/dashboard/Dashboard

Current local (South Africa) trends show that:

• There are ten million mobile Internet users in SA (Five million PC Internet users in SA)
• One in six Google searches in SA originates off a mobile device.
• In South Africa about 40 percent of mobile phone users have WAP-enabled phones.
• The top Mobile Applications currently in South Africa are: Mxit – with 15 million+ users – and Facebook.
• Mobile search and eCommerce will be a large area of growth in 2010.

In short, this indicates an importance for businesses to target mobile searchers and users of mobile applications.

Some of the best Mobile Site examples I can give include BBC, the Goal mobi site, and College Humour (N/B: “these examples obviously look better on your mobile phone – feel free to suggest your favourite mobile sites below“).

However, when creating a Mobile Site it is also imperative to build and optimise the Mobile Sites so it is user-friendly and accessible on the Mobile Web.

Mobile Design and SEO Best Practices
When designing a Mobile Site one aspect to consider is that one must understand that mobile searchers/users are different from PC searchers/users. In order to cater for Mobile users designers must:

• Provide an elegant experience by considering whether individuals possess a smart phone (for example an iPhone with fully featured web browsing) or a standard mobile phone (with stripped site features).
• Consider that phones are not used like PC’s – users are usually on the go therefore the site should be more goal oriented – Relevancy and Simplicity is key.
• Mobile designs are to conform to the new W3C standards in order to create mobile-friendly style sheets (CSS).
• Mobile Sites must be small, lightweight and fast-loading site – (< 20kb / page).
• Consider User Agent Detection –  this is another form of transcoding which takes into consideration the type of mobile phone an individual uses to search and provides more uniform browsing experience for various device types.

Once the Mobile Site has been built, Mobile SEO steps can now come into play. These include:

1.    Validating the page with the .Mobi Validator or the W3C Validator
2.    Following ‘traditional’ on-site  SEO Best Practices such as:

• Major keywords in the title tagging
• H1′s and body text
• Rich keyword Meta Titles and Descriptions
• Keyword-rich anchor text for internal links

3.    Mobile Search results tend to reflect ‘Local Search results’ – your site must be optimized for local type searches. Also submit your business info to local directories making sure your site is verified and included in sites like Google’s Local Business Center.
4.    Get the Mobile Site spidered and indexed – submit to major search engines:

• Google Sitemaps
• Yahoo! Submit Your Mobile Site

In short, the above Mobile Design and SEO factors are to be strongly considered when building a Mobile Site. These aspects help provide a solid Mobile Site foundation for your Mobile Campaign or Strategy. For further Mobile Campaign or Strategy enquiries, visit our Virtuosa website.

Google is calling the Nexus One a super phone, obviously trying to set the device apart from the other players, saying that the Nexus One represented the next frontier in the company’s $20bn (£12.4bn) core business – selling advertising through search.

The dictionary definition of Nexus is ‘point of convergence’, simply explained as ‘a means of connection’. Nexus One is where web meets phone.

This is perhaps not earth-shattering news, but Google, like many in the industry, recognises that more and more people are accessing the web via their mobile phones rather than through their desktop or personal computers.

2010 will become more about the mobile web, and therefore companies like Google, who make their money by advertising online, is shifting paradigms. According to David B Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School, “This has the potential to change the economics of the internet business and to redistribute profits yet again.”

It may still be early days but Apple may have their work cut out for them to stay ahead of the game.

At the moment, the Nexus One is only available in the US but will be sold in Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore in the spring through Vodafone. Google said it hoped to add other devices and carriers for sale in the future. It won’t be available in South Africa for some time to come.

For more in-depth news and technical specifications, read Google’s new phone to protect mobile advertising base and Liveblogging The Google Nexus One Phone Launch.

Lynne Clark – The Social Media and MSN lady

Lynne’s presentation emphasized to me a few basic points on social media. This includes how social media have changed the consumer’s relationship with a brand as it is a point of influence on users’ decisions. Social media serves several functions for users – information, entertainment, community and self expression. However it has a very compulsive and addictive side as well and this is apparent in most corporates banning Facebook as it has caused a loss in many work hours. She also demonstrated the use of social media and how consumers are starting to synchronize all their social applications at one point. But the question still remains – how do you really utilize social media as an advantageous marketing tool?

Karin Du Chenne – The Mobile Research lady

From the previous day’s talks on mobile, Karin du Chenne’s presentation on TSN’s “Global Telecoms Insights of 2009″ was very appropriate. The research was conducted world wide (including South Africa) and helped with insights into the mobile market, what people are looking for in a mobile device, and what they use it for. The research indicated that promotion of the mobile web has increased with the advent of the Smart Phone, as users with these devices are more likely to surf the mobile web. Once again the iPhone made an appearance and seems to be the front runner when associated with its online access capabilities.

Rudo Maponga – The Black Diamond lady

Even though the term “Black Diamond” is such an overused term, I still find some sections of this research useful, especially when it comes to how you communicate with this type of segment. As marketing is ultimately not just aimed at a demographic profile, but at mindsets and attitudes as well, this study helps us marketers formulate communication that tickles the right string in this market segment. Not only do you have the 4 segments within this group (Mzanzi Youth, Starter Ups, Young Family and Established), marketers need to remember that these individuals range between two mindsets – “status quo” or “future focused“. This requires marketers to vary their message between community focused individuals to ambition based messages.

My Final Thoughts on the Symposium?

It was great to be surrounded by like minded individuals in the digital space. Throw in an awesome venue that supplied us with really good food (really, this is not a promotion) and lovely accommodation and you have a great mix. Even my long wait at the tiny Cape Town Airport was worth losing 2 day’s worth of work.

On a serious note, the presentations were relevant and interesting and it showcased South Africa’s digital opportunities. There are many exciting things that will happen in this market and will attract appropriate support very soon.

Way to go Habari!

Looking at December’s Netratings data, you will notice the decrease in the amount of users on the OPA registered sites during the holiday season, with overall unique users’ percentage decrease of 16% compared to the previous month. In December, the amount of unique users online was 4,663,783 with 231,827,427 page impressions. This is a decrease of about 888,400 unique visitors. On the top 20 domestic usage sites, the only website not experiencing a decrease in unique users during the silly season is the number one visited SA site – news24.com with 1,126,834 unique users and over 22 million page impressions.

However, no result should be viewed in isolation. At closer inspection, you would be able to see what consumers were doing online during this period. As the year comes to an end, users’ headspace revolved around gifts and traveling (% growth in websites such as Exclusive Books and GoTravel24), online social media (% growth in websites such as Thunda.com and Speakerbox), and sport (% growth in websites such as Nedbank Golf Challenge and other sporting websites).

Source: OPA, Nielsens/Netratings

Traffic Rankings Statistics for South Africa, supplied by Alexa, indicates that the most visited national and international sites the past 3 months are sites such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, MSN, YouTube and Wikipedia, which actually comes at no surprise. But the stats also show a presence of blogging portals (such as blogger.com and wordpress.com) which reflects the increased interest in blogging in South Africa.

South African Traffic Rankings from Alexa:
1. google.co.za
2. facebook.com
3. google.com
4. Yahoo!
5. YouTube
6. Wikipedia
7. Windows Live
8. Microsoft Network (MSN)
9. Blogger.com
10. News24
11. Gumtree.co.za
12. The Standard Bank of South Africa
13. ABSA Group Banks
14. Microsoft Corporation
15. M-Web
16. Independent Online (IOL)
17. Flickr
18. WordPress.com
19. BBC Newsline Ticker
20. Bid Or Buy

On the other side of the spectrum, mobile usage stats reflect quite the opposite. Vodafone Live’s unique visits, for instance, had a significant increase during this period. The usage rates across December spikes on Christmas day, as many consumers received Mobile Phones as gifts.

Online reflects a consumer’s frame of mind as you can normally see trends of how people move across sites depending on the time of year. Although this analysis looks at percentage change on the stats, the bottom line is that people are still online and this trend is growing everyday.

What was truly interesting to me was that Africa showed the strongest gains over the past two years and more than two thirds of all mobile subscribers were from developing countries by the end of 2007.

Mobile subscription growth stood at 39 percent annually in Africa between 2005-2007 which is “a positive trend that suggests that developing countries are catching up”, the report said.

The report further highlighted that “Mobile phones are eclipsing traditional fixed lines” and that “in Africa they account for nearly 90 percent of all telephone subscribers”.

Fascinating stuff indeed. For me, that means that 9 out of 10 people who have a phone use mobile technology to communicate. Perhaps people in developing countries use a mobile phone mainly for phoning and keeping in touch, but just think about it, this remains a huge target market for online marketers to look at.

Mobile vs. Fixed Line
When comparing the growth in the mobile sector to fixed telephone penetration, it is not surprising that fixed-line usage is stagnating (based on the report). The report shows that growth is just under 20 percent globally for the last years and has been below one percent between 2005 and 2007″.

In the fast paced world of today, we are required to be available and stay connected, 24 hours a day. More people “connect” using mobile phones, mainly because it is more affordable and it means we can indeed be more “mobile”. The end result will be that the trend is going to continue and that mobile user numbers will continue to grow.

Is Mobile the way of the future?
Well, that seems to be a no-brainer! Past reports on such trends have already shown that, so nothing new there. But, does this mean that mobile is the only medium to look at? My opinion is no, but one can certainly not overlook the fact that as more and more people are making use of mobile phones, this market is wide open.

So, are you looking at mobile solutions and mobile marketing as part of your marketing strategy for your business?

Something to think about!

For more on this and also broadband penetration in high-income and low-income countries, read the full article at iafrica.com.