Mobile transactions

The 6^th March 1983, Motorola launched the first mobile telephone, the DynaTAC 8000X, and was predominately a rich kids toy costing $3995 and weighting a unbelievable 28 ounces.

Who would have thought that less that 30 years later that would have turned into this:

Since then a large amount of research have been put into developing mobile technology and to date there are now 48 million mobile phone users in Britain, and over 5 billion mobile users globally. There are now a large range of mobiles available however; mobiles are no longer just a portable telephone, since the development of SMS the technology behind mobiles have developed and now have replaced computers, cameras, mp3’s, note pads, maps and many more, in addition to this manufacturers have now started to replace our wallets, by partnering with banks they plan to link our phones directly to our debit accounts and use a simple swipe method of payment so cash is not required. The time online stated that industry insiders predict that this advancement could arrive in the UK in around a year’s time. Although research shows that people would be more likely to leave their wallet at home rather than their mobile phones, however when bring out both its bad enough losing your mobile and still having your cash or bank cards but how many people would like to risk losing both, I can recall many times Ive been out and lost my mobile but been so happy cause i still had my money to hand, and the security issues we as customers would have would need to be fully addressed.  

 We are moving far into the 4^th generation of mobile technology where phones are now ‘SmartPhone’s’ and are cheaper to own and use. This enables poorer countries to access the internet and includes them in the development of technology so communicating is as accessible to poorer people as it is in richer countries. While this has developed the communication channels available to people it has also opened up new doors for the advertising community, mobile advertising is now the future, like TV years ago we still haven’t discovered its full potential but it is being developed. We can now look up places online for places to eat or to visit, Marco Veremis, President of UpStream, a mobile marketing consultancy stated "We are at the start, there's lots of enthusiasm, and the industry is set to hit $20billion this year," 

However, there are also some limitations that need to be considered when advertising over mobile phones, mobiles are personal belongings and some people may not be keen on being advertised to over the vehicle they use to communicate with family and friends. The challenge is to advertise over mobile phones in a way that it doesn’t look like advertising.

Interactivity

Interactivity has become such a commonly used word within the I generation, almost every form of media is becoming interactive; we can be interactive through our phones, through the internet and even through our televisions. It can be defined as a mutual or reciprocal action or influence however over time many different definitions have been developed. We see ourselves more often than not being interactive almost everywhere we go, online we can take part is discussions, on game consoles we can talk and play with other people logged on and we can play games on websites. While the internet did open up a whole new world of communication and interactivity, technological advancements also mean that we can interact with objects, groups and people within our everyday lives.

Interactive media is also on the up rise and has been surprisingly successful with using experiences to reinforce a brands reputation; here are two examples of interactive brands:

Coca cola released these posters in France in 2009, it attracted an array of curious customers. 

Apple’s stores are allow customers to interact with products, staff and other users creating a familiarity with the products and allow room for opinions of the brand to develop.

The book Branding at the digital age by Herbert. M Myers says that loyalty can be lost at the click of a mouse and that we are finding that as technology develops more traditional brands need to develop an online and interactive presence and that online brands must also enter into traditional media types. Overall brands need to find a balance between being interactive and being traditional. This can be seen with PSA’s encouraging the use of online games to promote sexual health, Amazon straying away from online advertising and into print and other forms, with television stations asking opinions and at the press of a button linking you to new pages or channels, radios promoting discussions etc. By staying interactive it can keep a consumers interest.

While being an interactive is not the most important aspect of advertising it is becoming increasingly important, and also having positive effects on the brands images and relationships with consumers. A few weeks ago I had an experience with a brand that in turn convinced me that I should try the ‘product’. When home for Christmas I was shopping in Westfield’s and on my way to the bus stop walked past two teenage boys jumping repeatedly on a platform and waving their arms about like animals until the screen in front on then burst in to colour. Naturally I stopped to watch, while watching the next group of people I was approached by a woman asking me and my friend is we wanted to try, so we agreed, she then went on to explain it was a promotion for the browser Google Chrome and that we had to try and fill the screen with colour as fast as we can. So we did and now I have Google Chrome as my browser, although the activity did not relate to the browser it did lead me into conversations with a few friends on to whether it was worth downloading or not and after some positive feedback it turns out it was. 

obsession

Being a 20 year old female the number of communication channels between me and my friends are increasing quickly, where once I was only accessible in person or through the house phone as I grew up, I can now list 8 different communication channels that are used daily and for many others this number may be much higher, so while the average person spends 55 minutes a day on Facebook today I will spend my 55 minutes wondering why we are all so obsessed with constant communication?  

On my Facebook profile to date I have 383 ‘friends’, now I can honestly tell you that I do not have 383 friends. I am on the internet daily, I use search engines, read blogs, use social networking sites, things that many other young adults do, things that everyone on the internet does but will it ever get too much? The internet is so now well used that whole relationships can be built without ever meeting in person, just by looking at a ‘friends’ Facebook page you can tell, birthdays, fashion sense, music taste, wether they are single or in a relationship, and events they have been to, their friends and so much other stuff that would under any other circumstance be kept private and know by those who you communicate with regularly, but now I can know everything about the girl that left my primary school in year 4 that I have not spoken to since she left and most probably never will again, and yet I will still browse her profile every once in a while, for no apparent reason. 

Stephana Broadbent did a talk on TED, she expressed her opinion on how the internet can be used to create intimacy between people, that by using so many different forms of communication we break an imposed isolation. People usually communicate with around 5 people in their intimate sphere daily yet the average user has 120 ‘friends’ on Facebook, however considering the safety issues associated with social networking many of the more positive aspects can be overlooked, for instant families living in other countries can stay connected easily and  are allowed to communicate whenever they please. The relationships that people have are dominant and to some extent people know each other more, with regular status updates and opinions being expressed more than ever and to a mass audience, it is easy to feel a closeness to those around you. These relationships can be built between people, businesses, brands and even events or ideas, the internet has been given no limitations.

The extent of social networking sites has lead to south park doing an episode based around people becoming obsessed and living a life on the web, one different to their reality. This particular clip shows the idea that a relationship is not really official until it’s confirmed on Facebook, it made me laugh, because as surprising as it may be, it’s accurate.