Google Trader launched in Africa – Copycats Mobiya

Google is launching a free online classified service driven by SMS. The new service allows Ghanaians to buy and sell products and services, as well as search for jobs or just about anything else using SMS text messaging. The service is catching on fast with traders as many of them are listing livestock and clothes using their mobile phones.

Stories in local newspapers report happy customers: “This is incredible. You mean I can really advertise my coconut selling business on the net?” says Stephen Agyapong, a coconut seller at Osu queried after he was given a handout explaining how the service works. Also amazed by the fact the service was free of charge.

According to Google, Trader can be used by anyone in Ghana, but is expected to have the biggest uptake in major towns and cities across the country. “Individuals can post short ads to buy and sell items and services, whilst businesses of any size can also use the site to reach more customers and increase their sales,” a statement read.

Google Trader is an exact copy of Mobiya. The difference with Mobiya is that it has a secure exchange of contact details between buyers and sellers, while Google publishes mobile numbers directly and isn’t interested in the privacy of people! Mobiya has also a fraud protection service using SMS authentication, which is very important in countries with high poverty and massive fraud.

Deeper in Africa, Google is also demonstrating Google SMS. Google SMS is part of an effort to reach people who don’t have Internet access at all, starting in Uganda.

The opportunity in Africa is serious. According to a report from the International Telecomunication Union, 28% of the population has basic mobile phone voice and SMS services. This seems not much, but less than 5% have Internet access. So, as an online search giant looking to make money in Africa, phones are the obvious route.

Similar to what Mobiya is doing in India, Google SMS is also a way for people to use SMS text messaging to request information like local jobs, weather, sports, etc. But, the most promising service remains Google Trader, a marketplace built around SMS. In the event that Uganda and Ghana go well, Google will seriously expand these services across the continent.

It is time for Mobiya to step up. Also Microsoft and IBM see these regions as potentially huge markets too. Mobiya has the advantage of having developed a telco-grade platform through its European operations, and is now looking to operate the service in Africa. Mobiya’s patent protected platform connects buyers and sellers via secure SMS text messaging and allows the service to be free of charge for consumers subsidised by the embedded mobile advertising service.

 

Sources:

• Africa News: “Google Trader lauch stuns Accra“
• The African Reporting Project: “Will Google Trader help farmers in Africa?“
• VentureBeat: “Google aims for less developed nations with Google SMS“
• YouTube: “Google Trader Uganda AppLab“
• YouTube: “Interview with Eric Cantor, AppLab Uganda Manager, Grameen Foundation“
• Google: “What is Google Trader?“

SMS stats and forecasts: $1 Trillion over next 7 years

SMS is now more than 16 years old, and it has been an incredible success. Worldwide, Portio Research forecasts that there are almost four billion SMS users in 2011. Compared to this, we forecast that there are roughly one billion smartphones in use around the world in 2011, roughly 800 million mobile broadband subscribers and approximately 100 million mobile apps users.

SMS has generated revenues for operators worldwide of approximately $585 Billion USD since services were launched in the mid-1990s. According to our forecasts, we calculate that it is still set to earn those operators another $726 Billion USD over the next five years, to year-end 2015. MNOs should focus on the fact that SMS will generate more than 1 TRILLION USD over the next seven years. In 2010, we estimate that SMS generated revenues of $220,000 USD per minute all year for the mobile operator community.

Source: Mobile Messaging Futures Report 2011-2015. Analysis and growth forecasts for mobile messaging markets worldwide: 5th edition. Download PDF.

Analysts forecast a $70bn market for Mobiya in 2016

Juniper Research’s new report forecasts that revenue from Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS will exceed $70bn by 2016. Revenue from these types of messages will overtake that of Person-to-Person (P2P) SMS during that year as the strategic focus for players within the mobile messaging ecosystem shifts from communciation between individuals, to sending and receiving service-enabling messages.

Application driven text messages

Service-enabled platforms such as Mobiya’s enable application-to-person text messaging within classified media systems. This unique mobile-interactive service is currently helping major newspaper groups to access new revenue streams for their classified content. Furthermore, the report finds that A2P messaging in general, defined as those messages which are sent to or from an application, has an even wider variety of use-cases. Classifieds being one, these also include financial services, advertising, marketing, business administration, ticketing, television voting and any other service where information needs to be sent to, or received from a large number of users in text form.

Getting the message with SMS

The report finds that while SMS is one of the oldest value-added services, it has an enduring appeal for a number of reasons. In terms of text communication it is unrivalled on the mobile device in its ubiquity. Virtually every handset in the world can send and receive it. This makes it extremely appealing for brands who want to enable communication with their customers, as unlike other messaging mediums, they know it will reach almost its entire intended audience.

Source: Juniper Research press release, Hampshire, UK – 4th May 2011. Read here.

Mobiya.co.uk has 1.5 million unique mobile numbers

In only 18 months Mobiya.co.uk has collected 1.5 million unique mobile numbers within its online classified advertising platform. This is the biggest mobile number database with buying/selling trading history in the world. These mobile numbers can be accessed by mobile advertisers looking for SMS advertising inventory. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Mobile advertising revenues to reach $2.9B

It’s no surprise that the mobile advertising market is growing like gangbusters. Today, BIA/Kelsey is releasing a new report that shows that U.S. mobile advertising revenues will grow from $491 million in 2009 to $2.9 billion in 2014.

The study evaluates any advertising placed in mobile search (text advertising applied to search queries on mobile devices), display (display advertising applied to app and mobile Web inventory) and SMS (commercial SMS messaging). During the forecast period, BIA/Kelsey expects U.S. mobile search ad revenues to grow from $59 million to $1.6 billion, U.S. mobile display ad revenues to grow from $206 million to $803 million, and U.S. mobile SMS ad revenues to grow from $226 million to $562 million.
In terms of the local breakdown, BIA/Kelsey expects U.S. mobile local advertising revenues to grow from $213 million in 2009 to $2.03 billion in 2014. This represents 44 percent of total U.S. mobile ad revenues in 2009, growing to 69 percent in 2014. BIA/Kelsey defines mobile local advertising as ads that are targeted based on a user’s location.
In a statement, the company said that as mobile advertising movies to the SMB and mid-market segments, there will be an increase in advertisers adoption as well as a growth in geo-targeted (i.e. local) ad spends.

It’s interesting to see that mobile search advertising has the biggest potential to grow over the next few years. This represents a huge opportunity for Google, who dominates web search advertising. Of course, Bing could also stand to reap the benefits of mobile search ads as well.
It’s important to note that steady increases in the use of smartphones and new innovations in mobile ad formats also are contributing to an rapidly growing market.

Operators predict SMS messaging will dominate mobile marketing

Coupons issued via SMS and MMS will be the dominant form of mobile marketing by 2015, according to 61% of people surveyed by messaging company Airwide Solutions.

The study, conducted by research company MobileSquared, quizzed employees from 31 mobile operators across EMEA about mobile marketing trends over the next five years.

It found 58% of respondents predicted SMS and MMS ads would be the most widely accepted form of mobile advertising by 2015.

Jay Seaton, chief marketing officer at Airwide Solutions, said, “The widespread use of mobile messaging creates a far-reaching and significant marketing opportunity for brands, which in turn, creates a revenue opportunity for mobile operators.”

UK mobile operators Orange and O2 have rolled out permission-based mobile advertising offerings Orange Shots and O2 More with brands such as L’Oréal launching campaigns on the platform.
The study revealed that 53% of respondents believed subscribers should have the ability to opt out of receiving ads via their mobile.

The findings by Airwide Solutions reflect a joint study by the DMA and IAB, which found that brands are failing to make the most of consumers’ willingness to be targeted through mobile messaging.

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 | By Ronan Shields New Media Age UK

http://www.nma.co.uk/news/operators-predict-coupon-messaging-will-dominate-mobile-marketing/3020452.article

Resurgence in mobile messaging is proof it simply works

While smartphone use is growing, SMS is the only medium that can get your brand to every mobile consumer.

Last week I felt like I’d stepped through a magic door and gone back in time. I was chairing an event hosted by the Internet Advertising Bureau and the Direct Marketing Association about SMS marketing. And I’d spent the evening before with O2 Media MD Shaun Gregory, in large part discussing the effectiveness of SMS as a marketing channel.

Text messaging was the original mobile marketing channel. It has been helping brands reach consumers for longer than a decade. But recently there has been a swell of renewed interest in the channel. This is nothing but good news. SMS was kicked out of the limelight by the explosion of mobile apps, in particular on the iPhone. Apps’ technicolour success threw the dowdy SMS into the shade.
But it’s all too easy for brands to get caught up chasing the latest digital innovation and forget to focus on channels that have been proven to deliver. This is compounded in mobile where platform schisms are prone to occur, as Reuters global head of mobile Ilicco Elia discusses in this week’s Profile.

Mobile messaging can undoubtedly deliver. While smartphone use is growing, SMS is the only medium that can get your brand to every mobile consumer. Research from the IAB and DMA offers compelling evidence of SMS’s effectiveness for brands. Although marketers are often wary of using SMS for fear of being seen as intrusive, the research found consumers welcomed brand contact. In fact, commercial messages from a user’s operator were almost as welcome as those from friends and family. Also clear is the role mobile messaging can play in influencing consumers’ use of complementary media. Marks & Spencer found MMS messages increased visits to its mobile site by 81%.

So the renewed interest in mobile messaging by marketers is heartening. The IAB/DMA event was packed and operators are reporting huge success with their SMS marketing arms like O2 Media and Orange Shots. Messaging should be a core component of any brand’s marketing strategy and will continue to provide effective, measurable results.

By Justin Pearse, New Media Age

SMS continues its dominance over the next 5 years

What are US Adults doing with their mobiles?

The USA has a mobile penetration of 86%. The majority’s most popular activity on a mobile phone is sending text messages by far! In the age category 18-29, more than 94% use SMS. See Silicon Alley Insider Chart:

Six things publishers should focus on by P. Zollman

I wondered. “If I had to launch a new interactive-media product today, what six things wouldI focus on to be successful?”.

Reviewing tons of Web sites each month, I’m struck by a simple fact: Too many are trying to be “all things to all people.” There’s local, there’s national. There’s weather, there’s sports. There are directories and classifieds. There are entertainment guides, video clips, scrolling headlines and widgets and gidgets and gadgets.

You may note I didn’t say “launch a new Web site.” I started to, in fact. But if you’re launching a new “Web site,” you’re already behind the curve. Read on.

What’s most important?

1.  “The conversation.” Don’t do anything that doesn’t engage people, that doesn’t get them involved, or doesn’t promote their views (and content) as well as your own. These are two-way media, and they need participation to work. Involvement. Make sure comments are visible on your home page, or your mobile screen. Get people Twittering and referring your site to others. Make “the conversation” integral to your home page, and every page. Don’t hide it at the bottom. As for getting people involved, focus on content that people are passionate about. At a local newspaper, that may be zoning or education, taxes or traffic. Or all of the above. In recruitment, it’s salaries and openings and the latest hiring trends. Real estate? Prices and rates and “the beautiful homes.” Focus on things that matter. People will respond.

2.  “The bargains.” On a local site, people want local bargains. Not just from advertisers. Promote a “deal of the day” to get users engaged. Sell services at 50 percent off; that brings ‘em in. Even on something like a recruitment site, there are “bargains” of a different sort. Great jobs, salary calculators, cost-of-living info. People want a deal. Give it to them.

 3. “The breaking news.” Again, this isn’t just for newspaper or even news sites. Some real estate sites certainly include “breaking news.” Auto sites, recruitment sites, entertainment sites – all  can and must be up-to-the-minute, fresh, and lively.

 4. “The faces.” Remember the maxim I learned when I was a beginning editor: “You never go wrong with kids and animals.” Ever. Or faces. Pictures. Video clips. People want to see themselves, and their friends and neighbors. They want to see the beautiful people, and the ridiculous people doing stupid things. Show them. Lots of them. And don’t make faces microscopic, or hide them. Make them a big box on your home page or on your mobile screen.

 5. “The movies.” People want to see and hear things moving. Text on a screen is so passive, and so passé. Susan Boyle generated how many views, how fast, of her brilliant singing? She topped 100 million views on YouTube in less than a week. “United breaks guitars” brought new fame to a small country-music group from Halifax, N.S., within hours. It wouldn’t have gone anywhere as text in a box, or as an audio clip. It moved, and it was funny.

 6. “The top cars / homes / jobs / stuff.” People may not be looking for “classifieds,” but they’re always interested in what someone else’s home is selling for, or what kinds of jobs are out there, or what someone else is selling (or buying). The right “top homes / jobs / cars / stuff” spark conversation, too, not just sit there as ads on a screen. Showcase what’s going on in your community for your users. And that doesn’t have to be a geographic community; it can be an “interest” community as well.

As I reread my list, I realized this isn’t just about interactive media. They’re about PC screens and mobile screens, but frankly, these things work on newsprint, too. Okay, not “the movies” part. Even “the conversations” work on paper, although they’re tougher there – but anyone who’s edited or read a lively editorial page knows they, too, can get people engaged, thinking, passionate, even angry. It’s not about the delivery platform – newsprint, PC screen, mobile device – so much as it is about remembering what matters.

Don’t forget mobile. It’s the “next big thing.” If all of this works on your Web site, but your Web site doesn’t work on mobile devices, you’re facing failure. Soon.
Part of “what matters,” of course, is revenue. But if you can get the hang of the six things I’ve listed above, and you train a strong sales team to sell, sell, sell, you’ll have a product that gets everyone involved – audience(s), advertisers, your team. And that will make it successful.

Peter M. Zollman is founding principal of the Advanced Interactive Media Group / Classified Intelligence, a consulting group that works with media companies to help develop profitable interactive media services. He can be reached at peterz@aimgroup.com, 1-407-788-2780

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