Advertising: Coming To A Phone Near You

Tonight, I attended the December MobileMonday DC meeting which focused on “Electioneering in the Mobile Age” and had an impressive speaker line-up with representatives from the Giuliani and Obama presidential campaigns as well as from Rock the Vote. The conversation centered around if/how each organization incorporated a mobile messaging component into their overall strategy this past Election season.

Here are five interesting facts I learned:

  • 77% of Americans under the age of 24 use SMS
  • Rock the Vote observed higher SMS opt-in rates among Latinos, African-Americans, women, those under 30, and those living on the coasts. (I might have had that written down incorrectly, it might just be East Coast…)
  • The Obama for President Committee found high value in texting people on Election Day to inform them of polls that were kept open late, but were unable to find a viable way to message Americans oversees, due to the variety and number of possible systems they would have to test and integrate.
  • Rock the Vote and the Obama for President Committee both had multilingual mobile campaign components – RTV had a Spanish mobile site and each was able to answer texts in a variety of languages
  • The Rudy Giuliani for President Committee did not include mobile messaging as part of their overall strategy with obstacles including the perception that SMS was not appropriate for the target demographic (older audience) and the cost was too high

In the future we’ll be seeing other entities incorporate mobile campaigns into their marketing strategies through the use of optimized websites, iPhone Apps, and SMS (text messaging). SMS is a key component of a successful mobile campaign because of its guaranteed deliverability, ease and speed of use, and the two-way interaction that it facilitates.

And as these mobile campaigns become more commonplace, we’ll see higher levels of sophistication and integration between different social media avenues – in other words, people will be texted a link to a website, they’ll view the optimized website, which perhaps has a YouTube video embedded, and will then share the video with their friends on FaceBook.

As a marketing professional, it a relief to know there’s a new medium out there which is successful in getting information to the public. But as an individual, this all concerns me.

Of course, there’s a distinction between opt-in marketing campaigns, where you’ve elected to receive the texts, but I’m already experiencing unsolicited advertising coming through with AT&T/Apple sending me promotional texts. (They have my number since they are my mobile service provider.). It’s only a matter of time before all the junk I’m getting in my email comes to my phone and clutters that space as well.

SO – What do you think? Are text messages a way you’d want to get information from your political candidates and other companies? Or is your phone a sacred safe zone where ads don’t belong?

Living in Historic Times

I'm a little excited about the financial collapseThe card pictured here was sent into PostSecret, an online gallery of postcard-sized images posted anonymously to unveil a secret, and I am humored by the sentiment as I had been thinking the same thing.

Yes, we’ve heard (and some have experienced) the awful stories of lost jobs, defaulted loans, foreclosed houses, and people struggling to make ends meet. There are whispers comparing the current state of the economy to the Great Depression and the recession of the 1970s.

But if there’s even a hint of a silver lining to this whole mess, it’s that we are living in historic times. We’ll be able to tell our children of the dark times that were the late-00s. And its how we weather this difficult period that will be written into the history books of the future.

A Darker Perspective on the Election Results

I know that what I’m about to say is pessimistic and cynical, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t voice how I felt.

Over the past week, with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, we’ve heard words that have been all but forgotten over the last eight years – openness, hope, change.

BUT – The fanaticism of Obama supporters scares me. (I know, I know, pretty ironic to say since I’m a supporter…)

Maybe it’s my Russian heritage or my Jewish faith (or BOTH!) that make me distrustful of a government and its leaders, but when someone in a position of power has such a strong following it makes me nervous. Right now our president-elect is using his influence for “good”, but what if he decided to use it for “evil”?

Again, let me be clear, the identity of the individual himself does not really matter, it’s the willingness of a large, collective group of people to do whatever the individual says that makes me a bit uneasy.

I can only hope that my fears are unfounded and that the next four (or more!) years will be marked by an era of openness, one that brings very positive change.

2008 Election Results

Where’s my sticker?

In 2004, I voted on Election Day in person. This time around, it’s the Absentee Ballot way. I wish they would include “I voted” stickers in the Absentee Ballot package so I could wear one proudly!

Before

Before

AFter

After

And, it's off!

And, it's off