IMMAP makes history in 1st summit

Despite the heavy typhoon a day before, more than 400 participants joined the 1st Internet and Mobile Marketing Summit (August 9 and 10). For an association on its first year, this event is indeed record-breaking that sets a positive signal on the demand of Internet and mobile marketing.

This is what I learned so far from the sessions that I was able to listen to:

Simon Bond of Proximity Asia was able to share how brands have tapped on new media technologies such as blogs, videos, among others to create user generated content. For instance, Air New Zealand was campaigning New Zealand as a tourist destination and was sad as hardly one from the country knew anything about the place. They send a blogger to China for two-weeks to take on interesting adventure and blog about the experience. Due to his popularity, celebrities and other famous personalities have also visited New Zealand. The build-up of marketing activities resulted to have New Zealand as the 2nd most popular destination for travelers from China going to abroad.

Nix Nolledo of Xurpas shared how hard it was in 1999 where no organization wants to advertise at that time. Today, several opportunities exist today to build successful branded web IPs and it is easier towin market share from an empty space. He notices that a lot of companies have not really taken advantage of mobile spaces. He cited G-Blogs as an example as that site generates 10 million page views a month. It is also important for brand to get customers opt-in on a long term by building communities.

Nix emphasized as well that in their experience, those who combine Internet advertising with other forms, such as mobile marketing, have higher chances of success. He expressed high hopes on mobile TV but ponders on whether this would be subscriber-based or be supported by advertising-sponsored model. In the end, he shared that good campaigns are well planned. Companies should not make cost their number one means of choosing who should supply with digital marketing services. Finally, there are only two advertising mediums that are trackable - Internet and mobile.

Yota Mitsunobu of Dentsu shared changes in the purchase process as users can now directly act on and immediately make a purchase. Before, the conventional purchasing behavior can be referred to as AIDMA (attention, interest, desire, memory, and action). Today this has changed to AISAS (attention, interest, search, action, share). This means that consumers can now research for more information about a product before making that decision purchase. Once done and they have taken action, buyers can also share their experience through various means from blogs, word of mouth, short messages, among others.

Michael Bayle also delivered a presentation about Yahoo Go and Yahoo oneSearch. A lot of developments are happening in Yahoo since it launched its campaign "Be a better searcher". Michael is optimistic in delivering Yahoo through the mobile phone. He see it as an action-able environment where clickthroughs are higher that brands should take advantage of. Yahoo believes that they are capable of matching their inventory to the needs of their partners.

Enrique Gonzalez, CEO of IPVG, delivered a talk on marketing opportunities in online gaming. He gave an overview on how the online gaming industry is maturing stating also 25% of Internet users now play online games or at 4 million Internet gamers with revenue turnover of 1 billion pesos in 2006. The company is know for its popular games such as RANOnline (#1 Internet game in the Philippines based on our survey) Internet users and gamers growth population play a factor to the growth of the online gaming sector. Enrique predicts that there'll be 16 million Internet gamers in 2010. What makes a great game is one part content but a big part of it is a community that plays the game. Brands can advertise in game site, game launcher, home page of the game, include visual logo at the back of game such as billboards and merchandise. He also cited Wimpy's burger as a case study for creating virtual ads and items inside the game. It is also trackable as the gamers interaction with the brand is measurable.

Aileen Apolo, country consultant in the Philippines for Google, talks about how more and more companies globally are advertising online. However with so much developments in technology, Internet users usually multi-task. Advertisers have to work harder in making themselves relevant to their target audience. Aileen shared that they expect that there'll be 24 million Internet users in 2008 according to ACNielsen. She encourages users to adapt to consumer behavior and be found where the users are. Campaigns must be done off-line and online, complimenting each other or merged.

Ferdinand Dela Cruz, head of consumer business group of Globe Telecom, delivered a presentation on mobile advertising. This is where the mobile phone screen is being used as an advertising medium, similar to TV or radio. With 57% mobile phone penetration, it is growing target media. TV and radio can't be denied that it offers high visibility and reach. It also expires immediately, after airing. Print has fast turnaround but it can be busy and cluttered. Internet is a terrific and interactive medium but low PC penetration in the country is still limited at this point. Creating a personal advertising message is now the challenge and is the "Blue Ocean". Mobile advertising advantage to the telco is its ability to profile its user and select a set of customers based on characteristics such as gender, age group, location, telco spending, type of phone, among others. The mobile phone is useful as a tool to get a feedback from customers, respond to inquiries, guide or influence the customer in the buying process.

The mobile phone as an advertising tool can be complementary to traditional ads or tactical campaigns. It can be a more effective tool compared to mailers and traditional coupons. Brands can benefit through mobile marketing due to carrier's unparalleled reach. Customers can be given opportunity to get product and promo offers relevant to them, understand them better, avail of discount, and freebies. Very soon, mobile phone carriers will be able to provide contextual content discovery such as being able to offer your information and related services from keywords you punch in. There's an expected regional opportunities for marketers due to brand alliances that carriers have with neighboring countries.