My interest in interactive advertising really only began to take true direction when I was working for eStara.com, the Click to Call people. This is where the concept Call on Cue was born. I think that the evolution of “Call on Cue” is one of the best examples of how innovation has the ability to inspire Creativity. However it is only truly unique because it marries all the important elements of a successful marketing campaign: Creativity, Impact, Efficiency and Total Engagement.

“Innovation Call on Cue, where Click to Call is triggered from within a Flash movie,
Adtech 2008 award winning campaign for Sporting Portugal and General Motors, Prepare your Hair campaign, Summit International Efficiency Award 2007.”

Here’s a Constant Change blogpost that cited a Marketing Sherpa piece on my work:
http://constantchange.typepad.com/constant_change/2006/12/unique_cr…

This is a collection of links to the creative which is public:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/cs/opel/study.html

And this is a post on eStara.com website on my work:
http://website.estara.com/de/aboutus/news/marketingsherpa2.html

And this one about the award winning Sporting Portugal campaign:

A new partnership between Ingenio and AOL marks the launch of Click to Call in mobile search Today AOL unveils the new beta version of AOL Mobile Search.
The new interface makes use of tabs that enable users to easily toggle between search verticals within the site like Finance, News and Local Content. The partnership with Ingenio enables click to call for all search results that include a phone number. As with the wireline portal, Google still powers the search results with the exception of local listings, which come courtesy of AOL CityGuide and financial info from AOL News.
Rachel Pasqua is Director of Mobile Marketing for iCrossing gives a nuanced view on these developements in the SE mobile market:

“Now granted the name AOL is by no means synonymous with search, but as Om Malik pointed out in his own insightful column on the subject, the jury is still out on who will own search on mobile devices. Google has the lead at this point, which is pretty much what you’d expect. But there’s certainly room for other contenders. Especially a contender that can wrap up an easy search experience and premium results with great content. The icing on the cake would be location awareness – you still need to proactively tell AOL where you are. But true LBS is on its way, if not right around the corner. A partnership with ThirdScreen is in place for advertising and if they continue to hone this refined user experience, I believe that AOL could give Yahoo!, if not also Google, a run for its money when it comes to mobile users and ad dollars.”
Ingenio commentary on mobile market opportunities

Over the last two years, much of the attention on convergence has traditionally focused on technological aspects namely, application,service, device and network. Media, through the accessibility and affordability of enabling technology, has changed through all recognisable appearances.

The previous one-way flow of content to consumers has morphed into a two-way connection of content and feedback. This has dynamically changed the very nature of media, shifting target audiences from the general to the niche, increasing the volume of content as well as changing the manner of consumption.

“The convergence between technology, media and telecommunications has been a fundamental factor in this development,” notes Frost & Sullivan’s Mobile and Wireless Industry Analyst Pete Nuthall (http://www.mobileandwireless.frost.com) “New technologies, first through the provision of broadband services and currently through increased functionality of mobile devices, as well as mobile operator strategies, have penetrated the mass market.” This has provided users with the opportunity to directly control timing, format and the actual content itself, either through increased interactivity or by providing the necessary tools, thus enabling them to become content producers themselves.

The result has seen the blurring between journalist reporting and opinions. Further, this has increased feedback channels and created greater transparency, as well as accountability for the industry in terms of measurement.

Moreover, the cost of technology is proving to be a declining barrier to mass market participation in media creation. Although authorities continue to regulate the media, the Internet has enabled greater freedom of information.

Accessibility to the Internet and the explosion of digital TV have dramatically expanded the range of content and its distribution. The primary catalyst for media liberalisation has been the access to high bandwidth broadband services, which spurred Web 2.0.

Mobile data services are set to extend this evolution further. The delivery of media has also changed, with less importance given to programming schedules. The emphasis is now on release dates and ‘on demand’ content.

“Awareness of Web 2.0, through social networking, podcasts and user-generated content has already crossed over into the mass market supplemented by camera phones, MP3 players and broadband technologies,” remarks Nuthall. “Mobile operators in particular have the power to accelerate this further, by removing the barriers that currently exist.”
Media convergence has created various potential revenue streams for the telecoms industry. The success of converged content and channels can be seen in instances such as the success of iTunes.

However, there are concerns over the exclusive nature of some of these agreements. Advertising based models appear promising but the purchasing power of the targeted user as well as their ‘affinity’ towards subsidised/value offerings are still in question.

The Convergence of Telecoms, Media and Technology: How Mobile Services will Accelerate Changing Media Consumption is part of the Mobile & Wireless Subscription. Access to this research is available at http://www.mobileandwireless.frost.com 

Granted we shouldnt listen to rumours. A month ago we all were pretty convinced that Google was to launch a Google mobile phone now some serious bloggers claim that Google may instead be moving towards proving a wireless internet service. Personally I think its improbable that Google will launch this service anytime soon but then again who knows what they are up to.

Like other Internet technology companies such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp., Google has shown increasing interest recently in the mobile Internet. The companies believe that advertising on the mobile Internet could generate significant revenue streams.

I am pretty sure that Google is on top of Mobile Internet Advertising but most likely this will be fueled by demand from advertisers for a seemlessly integrated cross media delivery system for Google Ads including various methods for delivery to mobile devices which we are yet to see from Google.
“A Google executive yesterday said the company is considering trying to win spectrum in an upcoming Federal Communications Commission auction. “We have not ruled in or out participating in the auction as a licensee,” said Richard Whitt, Washington telecommunications and media counsel at Google.

Computer world report today that Sony will transform its popular PlayStation Portable (PSP) into a mobile phone and Internet appliance.

The British Internet service provider BT Group PLC and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. announced the deal today which will transform the PSP by adding wireless broadband communications functions, including handheld video calls, voice calls and messaging.

The deal is to be carried out over a 4 year contract between the two parties. The services are set to launch in the UK first and later rollout with different Eurpean internet service providers.
Concern regarding the possible health issues involved by exposure to wireless internet and mobile is increasing in the UK as well as the fact that the UK Heart Association is concerned that youngsters in the PSP target group are increasingly becoming couch potatoes after a report claims that the average child now spends over 4 hours a day watching TV or playing games on PSP or PC.