July MoMo – Mobile @ Google

This month we present Mobile @ Google – an in-depth look at what this internet giant is doing to revolutionise the humble mobile phone.

Google has always been at the forefront of innovation and open software development and things are no different in the mobile space. There has been a lot of talk in the press about Google’s recent mobile activities from potentially buying wireless spectrum in the USA to the game-changing Android mobile operating system and everything in between.

Justin Baird senior consumer product specialist of Google.
Come and talk to Justin Baird, Senior Product Specialist at Google Australia as he showcases some of Google’s latest mobile innovations from the user-friendly YouTube Java application to the Google Maps application with “my location” pinpointing your exact location at the push of a button. Justin will also showcase the Android platform and some of the applications that have already been built,as well as touching on some of Google’s mobile advertising initiatives.

mo’mojo

Also this month we are introducing a new special feature mo’mojo.  Mobile Monday is not just about the top end of town showcasing their wares. Mobile Monday is also about innovation and industry development so this month we thought it was time to give something back.

If you or your company is working on something exciting in the mobile space and you want to share it with the community then this Monday is for you.  Whether its content, technology or something completely left of field we want to hear about it. You’ll have 5 mins to present to the community with another 5 mins of Q&A from the floor so just remember to keep it short, sharp and sweet.  If you want to present in mo’mojo email us at antony@qmcodes.com with a brief summary of your company and what you want to present.

Make sure to spread the word – Mobile Monday is open to anyone and remember it’s free to attend! Look forward to seeing you all soon.

The momomelb team!

June MoMo – Mobile TV

The next event from MoMo Melbourne is to be held on June 2nd at the Clarendon in South Melbourne, and this one is going to be huge.

Mobile TV – The 3rd Screen of Mass Media
Where it’s at, where it’s going and how it will affect you?

Mobile TV has the potential to change the way consumers engage with broadcast media forever, it is the ultimate game-changer, merging on-demand, broadcast and interaction into one always on, always connected portable platform.

This month we will discuss:

·  How does mobile TV impact upon the traditional business models?

·  Consumer vs Advertiser: Will consumers pay a subscription fee or is ad-funding the way?

·  What are advertisers and media networks doing to prepare for the 3rd coming?

·  Does mobile TV require made for mobile content or can you re-purpose existing content?

·  What’s happening in overseas markets and how far behind are we in Australia?

We have an amazing and entertaining panel of speakers lined up, already confirmed is:

Robbee Spadafora: Client Services & Research Director at Seven Network Ltd

Robbee is an exciting and highly engaging speaker who’s role at Seven takes her across across the group to develop multi-platform and integrated media initiatives involving Seven Media Group business including Channel Seven, Pacific Magazines, Yahoo!7, TiVo and mNet Corp (mobile).

Robbee has also held roles as director of AIMIA and closer to mobile as the director of marketing for m.Net corporation. With many years experience in the broadcast media arena Robbee is well versed on the existing and emerging business models and has some interesting opinions on the impact mobile will have.

Andrea Rule: Head of Interactive for Mediacom

Andrea’s role at Mediacom exposes her on a daily basis to emerging marketing channels and she has been involved in a number of innovative & successful campaigns over the years.

Mel Flanagan: Producer for Street TV

Mel has had an impressive career in content production spanning 14 years including associations with theatre productions such as Cats & Les Miserables, TV with BBC and film with Ned Kelly and Two Hands just to name a few.

Mel is currently working on Street TV a “made for mobile” interactive channel covering music, arts and culture with a presence on the Vodafone Live! portal.

Venue: Clarendon Hotel, 209 Clarendon St (cnr York)
Date: Monday 2nd June, 2008
Time: 5.30 for a 6.00pm start. (Presentations finish approx 8:30)

Food & drink will be provided by our June sponsors from YoMoTV and MComms, and we hope you can stay around after the presentations to enjoy their hospitality. We’d love to meet you.

Antony, Emily, Ben & Justin

Cash for content – Wrap up

 

Wow what an awesome evening May was and our biggest turn out yet, over 50 people in attendance from the length and breadth of the mobile eco-system with everyone from start-ups to carriers and all the players in between, a special nod to those that came all the way from Brisbane, we’re flattered!

The Lycette Brothers offered fantastic insight into their mobile content experiences when working with aggregators or as they put it in some instances “Alligators“. Advising that content aggregators certainly have their place and can be beneficial but be always sure to read the fine print and make certain you know where your content will end up once the deal is done. In particular the Lycette Brothers have found that branded content such as their work with Nickelodeon delivered the best results to date but they do have plans to start producing more of their own brand of mobile content as the market grows.

Jim Shomos of Forget the Rules fame was definitely one of our more opinionated speakers and gave the room a look into his experiences for securing funding and working with carriers for both Forget the Rules 1 & 2. In Jim’s case much of his revenue came at the beginning of the process with support from government bodies such as Film Victoria. Jim demonstrated that carriers realise the need for compelling content and that there is an opportunity in the right environment to work alongside them, but be wary
of signing over exclusive rights and don’t expect demand to be created just because you’re on a content portal.

Martin Ince, Manager for interactive data services at Telstra showcased the ways in which carriers help to facilitate the monetisation of content through the basic premium SMS services all the way through to premium video calling on 3G handsets and the potential for Wap Billing in the future. Martin also highlighted the recent reduction in Telstra’s off deck casual browsing rates for NextG subscribers down from $15 per mb to $2 per mb, this is a fantastic reduction and should incentivise many advertisers and content producer to start seriously considering mobile as a viable channel.

Our panel discussion as always proved to be lively and informative with questions focused on the future premium billing serivces such as Wap Billing and the ways in which advertisers considering branded mobile content could expect a return on their investment.

What’s clear from this event is monetisation is on everyone’s lips but the off deck models aren’t quite there yet, content producers are still going to have to work with and alongside carriers and aggregators to get original content out there and realise a decent return. The demand for mobile content is high and there is a great opportunity for advertisers to leverage the right format to reach their target audience but in mobile at least for now content producers are going to have to work hard to get their orginal content noticed.

We would like to give a special thank-you to all of our panelists, Jim Shomos, Martin Ince and John and Mark Lycette, thanks guys, great presentations and lots of deep insight. An an extra special thankyou to our food sponsor for the evening, INA Solutions who provide comprehensive online backup services for SOHO and SME customers.

This event has cemented Mobile Monday Melbourne as the place to be if you’re in mobile and we’re only going to get bigger from here on in, boy do we have some surprises in store!

See you all June 2nd for our mobile TV extravaganza!

 

 

May MoMo "Cash for Content" – Monetising mobile content

It’s that time again, next Monday May 5th is the first Monday of May and you know what that means… yes its time to MoMo!

Before we do though we would like to say a heartfelt thanks to Tamir Berkman, who is leaving us due to other commitments.  Tamir was one of the original founders of Mobile Monday Melbourne and has now passed the reigns onto the new team for 2008 and he’s confident he’s left momo in the most capable hands. 

In Tamir’s place we welcome newcomer Emily Freeman!  Emily brings 4 years experience in the mobile industry and shares the team’s passion for all things mobile.  Emily provides consulting services through her business Mobilist, prior to which she managed Mobile Advertising & Search for Sensis.  

Also this month don’t forget to check-out our special Mobile Content World offer exclusive to the Mobile Monday community.

 So onto this month’s topic, which is…  ”Cash for Content”

Many producers & publishers are looking to mobile as the new frontier for content, and with the rise of 3G mobile content is not just ring-tones and wallpapers. 

These days mobile content consists of almost anything you can find online, from Audio Visual content such as movies and TV series right through to mobile games, images and premium text based content. 

In this MoMo we will explore the various way of generating revenues for your hard earned work and look at the associated business models. 

Specifically we will cover:

1. Does mobile content pay, and if so how much?
2. Monetisation tools such as Premium SMS, WAP billing and Off-Deck payment portals (PayPal, Bango)
3. Content licensing models, working with carriers andcontent aggregators
4. The Global mobile content opportunity, the world is beating a path to our door
5. Ad funded content

Check out our industry veterans and thought leadersfor May!

Martin Ince: Portfolio Manager, Interactive Data Services, Wireless & Mobility Products, Telstra 

Martin oversees Telstra’s premium rate SMS products, InfoCall 190 and the SMS & MMS Access manager.  

Martin is no stranger to mobile data and was instrumental in the recent reduction of Telstra’s mobile data pricing (from $15/Mb to $2/Mb). He was involved in the rollout of the ’3 tab portal’ for BigPond which provides a platform for off-deck mobile sites to access Telstra’s user base.  

Hear from Martin about where content monetisation is headed from the top end of town.

Jim Shomos: Producer ‘Forget the Rules!’

Forget the rules was the first comedy/drama series in the world to broadcast all episodes on TV, broadband and mobiles, and was nominated for two MIPCOM Internet and Mobile TV Awards in 2006: best original content, and best interactive format (winner)

 Jim has extensive experience in mobile content licensing especially when dealing with carriers having had exclusive relationships with 3 Mobile and Optus.  

 Learn from Jim what’s it’s like to work one-on-one with a carrier and what’s around the corner for cross-platformcontent initiatives.

Mark and John Lycette: Owners of Lycette Bros.

Formed in 1997, Lycette Bros. creates interactive and animated digital media. For the last three years they have been creating mobile content for the global market. Lycette Bros work continues to be commissioned, exhibited and awarded internationally. (www.lycettebros.com)

Over the years Lycette Bros. has been awarded numerous accolades.

• The Special Award (ATOM 2000)
• The Special Award (ATOM 2000)
• Best Direction (FIFI 2000)
• Best Internet Animation (I’Castelli Animati 2000)
• Best Animated Pixture (Pixie Awards 2001)
• Best Internet Animation (Anima Mundi 2001)
• Best Use of Multimedia (FIFI 2003) 
• Best Minimisation (Ciberart Bilbao 2004)

 

The Lycette brothers will discuss what the current market demands are for mobile content.

 

Things you may not know about mobile content

• According to a Frost & Sullivan report, the consumer mobile content market in Australia was worth $576 million in 2006, predicted to grow to $1.3 billion by 2010. 
• According to AIMIA’s Mobile Lifestyle index as at March 2007 the most purchased content was mobile games at 42%, true tones at 38% and polyphonic ring tones at 37%.
• Juniper Research estimates that mobile TV will be the most lucrative service in mobile advertising by 2010 ($2.5 billion in 2013). 
• The global market for mobile-phone premium content, including music, gaming and video, is expected to expand to more than $43 billion by 2010, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 42.5 percent from $5.2 billion in 2004, iSuppli Corp. predicts.