Just came back from a very interesting luncheon presentation on mobile marketing. This was held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham), which sounds like a bunch of stuffykins but is actually one of the most high-value business and networking groups in town.

Today's speaker was the very engaging, sharp-as-a-saber Ian Koh, Ericsson Taiwan's guru for multimedia solutions. Several interesting case studies were rolled out, some of which Ericsson has implemented for Mercedes-Benz, Coca-Cola and McDonald's in the EU and Asia. The company occupies a very interesting position. Ian nicely put our friends in the ad biz at ease, saying he doesn't want to replace the agencies. However, it is clear that a brand, mobile operator and Ericsson could do up a nice mobile campaign together and cut out the ad agency suits.

So just what kind of campaigns are a'happening in Taiwan? There've been some typical movie tie-ins (download wallpapers for your mobile), product promotions and campaign-tracking SMS-utilizing initiatives. And that's just it: Many have been commenting that Taiwan, which is the techno fortress I know and love, is slowly slipping into obsolescence when it comes to next-gen mobile services and usage. Every campaign mentioned used SMS in some way. Ian made a good point: SMS may be an old service offering, but it's near universal and usage continues to grow in Taiwan.

Local SMS rates are just finally getting up to about 300 million messages a month. MMS and 3G services are still not all that widespread. So, in short, for now it just MAKES SENSE for any marketer looking to go mobile to stick to the technology everyone knows and loves: That simple little shorty, the SMS.

As for finding truly whacked-out superfly Jetsons mobile marketing innovation: My guess is check Japan.

More to come.
-jag

 

slockums
Level:

Nantharuban
Level:

matthewtan28
Level:

RezaHashemi
Level:

sherriton
Level: