MMC 2013 day 2: “Content is king”

 

"Content is King" seemed to be the ongoing theme among the speakers, who shared successful case studies and applications in their talks, and stressed the importance of having good content. 

 

Mobikyo director Lars Cosh-Ishii opened day two with his lecture on the Japanese Mobile Marketing Experience. Cosh-Ishii described Japan’s current mobile landscape, which seemed to be very cutting-edge and creative, making use of technology such as augmented reality in simple but exciting ways.

 

According to Cosh-Ishii, the future of mobile is set to be even more exciting, with devices increasing in number, and being more wearable and flexible. 

 

"These next ten years are gonna be wild," Cosh-Ishii said.

 

Opera’s regional senior vice president Fabrizio Caruso followed with his talk on the state of mobile internet in Southeast Asia, and monetization through mobile advertising.

 

As Caruso said, mobile phone penetration is high in the region, though mobile internet penetration still remains fairly low. However, he said that more and more people are using their phones to access the internet, with almost half of internet users in the Philippines using only their mobile devices to go online.

 

Caruso stressed the importance of feature phones in the region, despite the "spectacular rate" of smartphone growth. "Anyone who operates in the mobile space in Southeast Asia cannot neglect feature phones," he said. Caruso also said that they believe internet access should be a universal right.

 

Qualcomm Inc. regional head Mantosh Malhotra then discussed the future outlook of mobile devices and design. Malhotra said that mobile is redefining computing, and more and more devices that are not traditionally connected are starting to be, for instance, coffee makers, refrigerators, and even cars.

 

"I can see a coffee machine being controlled by my mobile. It’s not sci-fi, it’s happening right now," he said.

 

Smart Communications Multimedia Group head Leah Besa-Jimenez then discussed media consumption and reaching more consumers through mobile in her talk, "Capturing 100M." 

 

"Content is kind at the end of the day. If it’s compelling, they will access it, they will pay for it," Besa-Jimenez said. "Content drives consumption of data."

 

Augmented Reality was also a hot topic at the conference, with Total Immersion general manager Scott Lai kicking off the discussion in his talk on the integration of augmented reality to mobile commerce and retail business.

 

Lai talked about Augmented Reality’s unique position in bridging the virtual and physical worlds, and its power in engaging consumers and driving cross-channel traffic.

 

Mick Atienza, lead strategist for creative and digital solutions at the Philippine Star, also talked about AR technology, discussing the broadsheet’s integration of the technology into their newspaper earlier this year.

 

Atienza stressed the importance of not just having good content, but having relevant content. 

 

"Relevant content puts a premium to thrive in this changed landscape," Atienza said.

 

Philippine Star vice president Lucien Dy Tioco also said that creativity and collaboration are key to developing the use of AR in the country.

 

eCom Philippines director Chris Fong then talked about mobile coupons and tickets in the country, saying that mobile coupons help increase trial of products and services, clear old stock, and build product awareness.

 

Fong then introduced eCom’s mobile barcode solution, Bcode, which is "the beautiful lovechild of sms and barcodes."

 

According to Fong, the technology engages the customer throughout the entire shopping experience.

 

Fiksu director Rico Wyder then started off the start-ups segment of the conference with a lecture on marketing mobile applications.

 

Wyder said that strategic goal setting, maximizing organize lift through optimal app store rank, and incorporating the vast global media inventory are some tips that mobile app marketer’s can keep in mind when it comes to standing out and earning loyal users.

 

Wyder also said that it is important to take advantage of social media, utilize real-time bidding, and continue to improve.

 

Various leaders of mobile start-ups then shared their own thoughts on marketing mobile apps. 

 

Perxclub co-founder Jerry Ilao, ZapGroup Inc. founder Terence Lok, Looloo founder Odell Ramirez, and CEO and founder of Sari Software Solutions Ibba Rasul-Bernardo all talked about their own apps and how they marketed them.

 

The conference ended with a talk from KuyiMobile founder Erick Garayblas, who discussed how his app Streetfood Tycoon went from 1 to 1,000,000 downloads in the Philippines. 

 

Garayblas attributed the app’s success to a variety of factors, such as the active blogging community, social media, and the app’s local and global appeal. 

 

Giving advice to young developers, Garayblas said simply, "learn the business."

 

For more quotes from the speakers at the 3rd Mobile Marketing Conference, visit the adobo magazine Twitter feed or Facebook page.