Google is capitalising on the growing popularity of smartphones, allowing mobile publishers to serve richer ads.
October 6th, 2009
The search engine company announced on its official blog that it would launch a new feature for AdSense mobile publishers allowing them to take advantage of the high-end mobile phone browsing experience.
Advertisers will now be able to run bigger, more dynamic Google ads to users of high-end smartphones equipped with HTML-capable browsers.
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‘People need Internet access to be able to function equally in today’s society, and that most basic right is not being given to them’ says Owen Geddes of Freerunner; a project launched with the direct purpose of opening up genuine, no catch wi-fi access to a broader audience. In a bid to further demonstrate their commitment to their aims, it has just announced the opening up of a scheme designedto provide free wireless connection to 50 community groups. All they need do is email connectmenow@freerunr.com or call 0800 860 0815 explaining where and why the community group justifies free access by the 25th of September. And if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also partnered with charity donation site, justgiving with the aim of providing 500 charities with free connection. Watch this space…
Orange has just unveiled its Monkey programme, directly aiming to add value for younger consumers on pay as you go. The idea is to provide a free music service, that is provided via a tie-in with 4music. Along with a planned tie-up with Blyk later in the year, the mobile service that bases its free usage on compulsory advertising, Orange is making positive, bold moves to take advantage of the free culture that is becoming increasingly prevalent especially among younger markets.
Research from the Institute of Fundraising and Charity Finance Director’s Group indicates that 2009 will be worse for charity organisation incomes than predicted. In the face of this, charities are being forced to diversify the dialogue they initiate with possible givers. I’m sure the mention of Twitter will have the more cynical of you sighing “not again”, but some charitable organisations are proving that it works for them. The more astute of you will have noticed the trending topics drop down, indicating the most popular subjects of the day. Proving popular amongst these, with regular mentions is “Charity Tuesday”. Designed to encourage people to list their favourite charities on a Tuesday so that people then follow them on Twitter, the initial results are proving favourable with Bullying UK stating that they have received 1000 additional followers from this source alone. With the donation apps still to be fully tested as effective methods for giving, the power for direct asks remains to be seen, but as tool for awareness it is certainly proving effective.
Born out of a need to create positive art from the recession, “Worthless” is definitely in keeping with this blogs attitude. A fusion of art and music; this exhibition relies upon interactivity, with members of the public bringing along items that are considered to be “worthless” that will then be worked into pieces of art. There is more than coincidence in the name with it directly referencing Woolworths. They state their intention as taking perceived worthless items through to priceless with consumers dictating how much they would pay for said items. The exhibition will be taking place on Endell Street from 22nd May, for more info follow the link
The last decade has been dominated with talk of how to convince people to dedicate their time towards being interested in whatever you’re trying to get them to consume. However as countless articles have begun to state we may be shifting towards a paradigm of attention as the commodity of choice that we ask consumers to exchange. Countless facts may be fired off about how many marketing messages the average person is exposed to but how many actually take root and hold away? An excellent example of understanding motivational marketing and talking to people when and how they want is the recent increase in popularity of Swedish music platform, Spotify. This has taken advantage of the business model in the culture of free in order to look at new ways to help brands get a hold of consumer’s attention. The free model of subscription to a vast library of music at the expense of being forced to listen to adverts has proven particularly popular with unofficial figures having sign up at 1.5 million with 40,000 average new users a day. With large distributors and brands already on board the next move is rumoured to be mood advertising with adverts matched to the music the user is listening to – see opportunities open up such as films to soundtracks, events to “feel good” music ad infinitum.
Just when you thought the iPhone could not get any better, Apple have announced the release of Skype on their application store. The application will allow iPhone users to make free phone calls to other Skype users over a wireless connection. For anyone who makes regular long distance or international calls, this truly is an important innovation in the smart phone market, and has also opened up a new dimension to second generation iPod Touch models. The latest models have in-built microphones that, when used in conjunction with the new Skype application over a wireless connection, will transform the popular music gadget into an internet phone. Very handy.
