IT'S NOT MOBILE STUPID

Perception and reality, at odds with one another, have crept into that which defines the growth of mobile advertising and e-commerce (or m-commerce). The problem lays in the definition and perception of the term "mobile".

Mobile, as the general population defines it, refers to a cell phone.  The term has been hijacked by the ad community and the digerati (the elite of the online communities), to include cellphones, smartphones, tablets, laptops and notebooks ... essentially any device that can move with you.

As the devices swirl around e-commerce sites, the elite have pooled both traffic and sales to imply that smartphones are the lead devices.

That's the perception.  Here's the reality.

The "mobile" (or m-commerce) shopping experience is best optimized on a tablet or laptop.  his is especially true of the baby boomer generation (the demographic with the highest disposable income).

In the m-commerce world, it is estimated that 30% of site traffic is attributed to "mobile" devices and that 80% of that traffic comes from tablets.  Not surprisingly, 90% of the tablet traffic comes from the Apple iPad alone!  These numbers leave smartphones in the dust, yet the industry spends far too much time, money and effort chasing the phone.

An eBay spokesperson suggested that consumers move from mobile to desktop and back again with some form of mobile activity touching 30% of eBay activity.

Isn't it time for marketers to reconsider how they spend their "mobile" dollars before chasing the ever-changing (and costly) mobile phone formats.  Focusing on the tablet would seem to be a no-brainer.  

FLY!!!

If you haven't heard of Flyboarding you soon will.  This amazing new ocean sport allows you to fly like a bird or swim like a dolphin.

Marketers of sports drinks and soft drinks take note. Sponsorships for this sport will be big.  Watch the video that follows for a quick six minute overview.

READ BETWEEN THE LINES

As the newspaper industry slowly moves its business model to "Digital First" in the face of declining print revenues, television should take its lesson from the digital first trend.  As production and distribution costs shift to enhance profitability it allows for better balloon trials for new programming.

"In Between Men", for lack of a better descriptor is a narrative Web TV series.  "It's a sexy new dramedy about All-American guys who feel caught between two worlds, not truly knowing where they fit in. In Between Men follows four friends in NYC who live "in between" a gay world, whose cliches they don't relate to, and a straight world they don't belong to. They are successful, professional men not defined by their sexuality. Through wild adventures, racy story-lines, joys and pains, underscored by the pulse of New York City, In Between Men examines the relationships between each other, their lovers, and the greater community."

Regardless of the show's appeal, the business story here focuses on the low cost production and audience trials that are available using the net.  A series of short ten minute episodes make up the season (season two begins this month).  

TV network and cable producers should quickly adapt the model for new program development and testing, cutting short major "TV First" releases and potential cancellations....eventually providing for a more stable TV program schedule.