Sencha CEO: Treat HTML5 apps as a programming platform, not a Web page | HTML5 - InfoWorld

Sencha CEO: Treat HTML5 apps as a programming platform, not a Web page | HTML5 - InfoWorld

By InfoWorld Tech Watch

Created 2013-04-29 03:00AM

Sencha provides tools for buildings Web applications to run on a variety of devices, including tablets, mobile phones, and laptops with touchscreens. Focused on HTML5, Sencha's products include its Sencha Touch mobile application development framework. InfoWorld Editor at Large Paul Krill recently met with Sencha CEO Michael Mullany to discuss the mobile application landscape, sizing up native versus Web development, and emerging platforms, including Tizen and Firefox OS.
InfoWorld: Has the HTML5 application caught up to native, or is that never going to happen?
Mullany: We did a pretty cool promotion and proof-of-concept last year, after [Facebook CEO Mark] Zuckerberg said HTML5 was a big mistake for the company [1]. We took exception because we knew it could be just as fast as native. We looked through its app -- we've seen this in other companies -- and when you build an HTML5 app, you can't build it like you build a Web page. If you treat it like a Web page, you're going to have slow performance. You have to treat it like a programming platform.

That's where our framework comes in, which is you treat the browser as a rendering platform but create all your user interface and all your app logic in JavaScript. That allows you to dynamically add and subtract screen elements on the fly and get much, much better performance. So we did something called fb.html5isready.com, which rebuilt the Facebook feed in HTML5 at better than native performance for Android and at native performance for iOS.
InfoWorld: What's next for mobile application development?
Mullany: What everyone is trying to do is get to a single code base that can be easily adapted for different device types. Today that basically means for enterprise users. It's really the iPad as the tablet device; on phones, it's BlackBerry phones, a little bit of Windows Phone, and iOS and Android. That's the trend for everything we've been focused on for the last couple of years, which is allowing developers to create one application that can adjust to the different devices they find themselves on.
InfoWorld: Any thoughts on new platforms, such as Windows 8 [2], Windows Phone 8, or BlackBerry 10?
Mullany: The [BlackBerry] Z10 [3] is a very nice phone. It's a great HTML5 platform. It actually has the most HTML5 features of anything in the market. The browser team at BlackBerry was an acquisition from a company called Torch Mobile, and they had been working on WebKit for several years before they were acquired. The Staikos brothers were the guys there, and they've done a really nice job on the browser. For people looking to deploy HTML5 apps, the Z10 is a pretty good platform.
On the Windows side, Microsoft was a terrible laggard in browsers until Windows 8. Internet Explorer 10 is still not quite as good as other platforms, but some things are actually faster, and it is now a competitive HTML5 browser. If you look at the Surface Pro, you'll see the fastest vector graphics implementation of anyone. Canvas is a little bit slower, and the raw JavaScript performance and DOM interaction is a little slower than the iPad.
InfoWorld: What do you think is going to happen with Firefox OS [4] and Tizen [5]?
Mullany: Our early look at Tizen is that it probably has about nine months to go before it's really production-ready. The early versions we saw at Mobile World Congress [in February] were slow and buggy. These are obviously pre-released development devices, so that makes sense. But they have a bunch of work to do before it releases.
The Firefox OS stuff was pretty snappy, and people were very excited about Firefox OS at the show. People were literally falling off the edge of the booth because there wasn't enough space for everyone who wanted to get in and see Firefox OS.
InfoWorld: What do you see from competitors like Appcelerator and RhoMobile?
Mullany: The biggest competitor is just native development. HTML5 today is the No. 3 development platform for mobile behind iOS and Android.
InfoWorld: Do you see that changing?
Mullany: Yes. I see it changing because Android is fragmenting [6] and the device diversity is increasing. We're also seeing a pullback from some customers who have gone the iOS route [7], who want their code to be long-lived and don't know how long they're going to be on iPads. They want the flexibility of switching over to other platforms in the future, and the notion that they have this massive stranded code base written in Apple native code is not attractive.
InfoWorld: Working with an HTML5 app, they could just move it over?
Mullany: With an HTML5 app, they can just move it over to whatever hardware is the best price-performance and features that year.
InfoWorld: Would you have to tweak the code a little bit?
Mullany: Not if you're using a framework. That's one of the benefits of using a framework, which is we abstract that from you.
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Google Looks to Push Mobile In-Store Shopping, Tablet-First Design

Google SVP Sridhar Ramaswamy | Adweek

As Google's svp of ads and commerce, Sridhar Ramaswamy oversees the engineering behind products like Google Shopping’s Product Listing Ads, AdWords’ transition to Enhanced Campaigns and even the test of a same-day delivery service. He spoke with Adweek about his tablet-first design philosophy, how ads and commerce intersect at Google and what can be expected at the company’s upcoming annual developer conference.

Adweek: Last time we talked was for the launch of Enhanced Campaigns. How's the roll-out been, and what kind of feedback have you been hearing?
Ramaswamy: The feedback has been very positive. There have been examples of several advertisers that were not really part of mobile that use Enhanced Campaigns as a great opportunity to simplify how they thought about the different platforms and received very good results. We’ve also gotten feedback about how does one manage bid multipliers. All of these things have a lifecycle that our advertisers and partners have to get used to.

Do you develop with desktop first in mind and then modify for mobile, or is it a separate line of thinking altogether?
When you design products, you sort of have to think about how I [can] make it simple enough that it can be used by everybody in a straightforward way....Different teams do this differently, even at Google. I don't think there is a single answer anymore. I’ll tell you a design philosophy that I subscribe to, but it should be clear that it’s mine and there are even teams within my team that don’t exactly follow this. A nice way in which I think about design is it should be tablet-first, because that brings into account things like swipe that are quite unique about how you think about an experience. Then if you start from there, then the mobile experience becomes a relatively simple space-constrained version of the design, while the desktop experience nicely generalizes this is what you do with the mouse. But the devil’s in the details.

Last year you converted Google Shopping into a paid model, replacing organic product listings with Product Listing Ads. A number of people initially voiced their displeasure, but studies have shown PLAs to be a success. What have you seen, and what are the plans going forward?
Product Listing Ads have been very well received overall. We have tens of thousands of advertisers representing hundreds of thousands of sellers. 

Last year Google Maps added indoor maps for stores and shopping centers. Does that open up opportunities for collaboration between the Maps and Shopping teams?
We collaborate at multiple levels with the geo team that produces Maps data. I think that geo especially offers a rich world of possibility for what one can do with products. And this is where mobile phones are also a big deal because as you're searching for stuff, let’s say from within a store or inside a bar, we can often the location of where the query is coming from, and as part of Shopping, you will see what we call local inventory, stores where you can actually buy the product. We see mobile as striking a nice bridge between online and offline. It’s an ongoing collaboration with the geo team that knows so much about locations all around the world.

Amazon and more recently eBay are opening up their conversion data for ad targeting. It seems like Google Shopping—and Shopping Express, Wallet and Offers—is a way for you to extend the product-oriented data you have closer to that conversion data. What does that portend for the type of intent data advertisers will be able to target against through Google?

That's a fair assessment. The other thing to remember is we actually have products that are part of the AdWords suite like Conversion Optimizer that actually let the advertiser give us conversion information and then only show ads in places where they have a high chance of converting. This works actually for both search ads and display ads. Simiarly Shopping actually has a mode in which large retailers can pay us a percentage of the conversion value that resulted. That was a core part of Shopping from early on. So we are definitely working with conversion information from advertisers and using it to serve better ads, both in Shopping and in search ads.

You guys are hosting the annual Google I/O developer conference next month. What can we expect?
I/O is a way for us to reach out to the developer community to showcase what they're doing and what we are planning to do. You will see a robust presence from the ads and commerce side. The Wallet team, for example, will have a big presence there.

MediaPost Publications M-Commerce Up 31% In First Quarter 04/26/2013

MediaPost Publications M-Commerce Up 31% In First Quarter 04/26/2013

Mobile commerce climbed 31% in the first quarter from a year ago, fueled by growing tablet use and improved customer service, M-commerce now accounts for 17.4% of total online retail sales, up from 13.3% in the year-earlier period. Overall e-commerce spending was up 20% in the quarter.

The IBM’s Online Retail Index study highlighted the growing role that tablets are playing in driving m-commerce as more people use the iPad and other models to shop from the comfort of their living rooms. While mobile traffic overall increased 40% during the quarter, for instance, tablet traffic jumped nearly 80% from a year ago.

“This trend reflects marketers’ ability to create a positive customer experience for consumers shopping on their iPads and Kindles, by designing for the finger and making it easier for customers to browse via their mobile devices,” stated the report. The finding also aligns with other research pointing to tablets as the go-to device for m-commerce.

An eMarketer forecast earlier this year estimated that tablet transactions accounted for more than half (57%) of the nearly $25 billion in U.S. m-commerce last year, with that proportion expected to grow to 62.5% this year. And keep in mind that tablets to date have less than half the U.S. penetration of smartphones, at roughly 20% to over 50%.

While tablet adoption has helped boost m-commerce, the study shows the share of online sales coming from mobile is not growing as fast as in 2012. Last year, m-commerce nearly doubled from 7% to 13.3% of total e-commerce, while the share this year grew only by 30%.

The IBM study spotlighted the online performance of department stores in the first quarter, which saw a 32% rise in mobile sales. It attributed the gain in part to stores embracing digital shopping by streamlining the buying experience and using mobile tools, such as QR codes to provide product information and shopping services.

In relation to social media, IBM found positive sentiment about pricing expressed through social media reached 60.5%, seven times that of negative sentiment. “As marketers and retailers offer more digital shopping solutions, customers were most positive about price comparison applications, when discussing pricing,” stated the report. Sentiment around product availability hit 70%, up six percentage points from a year ago.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/198960/m-commerce-up-31-in-first-quarter.html#ixzz2Ra2I4MxA

How Do Internet Users Divvy Up Their Desktop, Mobile Web Time? - eMarketer

How Do Internet Users Divvy Up Their Desktop, Mobile Web Time? 


Email gets more mobile time

The bite mobile is taking out of desktop internet use keeps getting bigger. The Media Behavior Institute monitored US study participants and found that the mobile phone and tablet were drawing down the percentage of internet users who turn to the computer in a given week: The percentage on desktop slipped by 5 points between the six-month period ending in July 2012 and the six-month period ending in January 2013.

As desktop’s reach falls, mobile’s reach rises. On average, 43.5% of participants accessed the internet via a mobile phone each week during the period ending in January 2013, an 8-percentage-point increase over the period ending in July 2012. Tablets grew their average weekly reach by 4 percentage points, used by 17% of participants at the end of the study period.

In terms of what activities internet users are engaging in on mobile vs. desktop, in Q1 2013 Experian Marketing Services found that US mobile internet users spent the greatest percentage of their mobile web time using email, a 23% share of time spent vs. only 5% of time spent on desktop. Social networking came in second on mobile, garnering 15% of time spent. Travel also occupied a greater share of time on the mobile internet (9%) compared with the desktop (1%).

On the desktop internet, activity was much more heavily weighted toward social networking, which accounted for 27% of time spent online. Entertainment was the second most popular activity, taking up 15% of time.

Mobile vs. desktop usage patterns will continue to change, especially as tablet penetration rates climb higher. In the US, 67% of mobile internet users surveyed by Decision Fuel and On Device Research in November 2012 said they mostly or only used mobile, as opposed to the desktop, to go online and surf the web. Only one-third stuck with the desktop either half or most of the time.

Read more at http://www.emarketer.com/Article/How-Do-Internet-Users-Divvy-Up-Their-Desktop-Mobile-Web-Time/1009841#1Sxx4FiU7fOuDTGO.99 

Best Times and Days to Make Sales Calls | BrandonGaille.com

Best Times and Days to Make Sales Calls 

Selling is a subtle art. Closing a deal can be a tricky balancing act and difficult to achieve without knowing what strategies really work.

Thanks to a report by Leads360, over 3.5 million leads were analysed to understand exactly what makes them tick. Read on to learn the best way of converting prospects into paying customers.

The faster the better

Leads are usually gathered from a web form on your site, or from a whitepaper you make available for download. These new prospects are eager to find out more and are waiting for you to contact them. The quicker you can make that call, the chances of lead conversion dramatically increases.

It was found that attempting to make contact by phone within the first minute of acquiring a lead, significantly improved the likelihood of a conversion. You don’t necessarily have to get through to them either; just the attempt alone has a great positive impact.

Persistent, not annoying

So we know that making the first contact attempt as soon as possible is ideal. But how many times should we continue to contact a lead? The key is to be persistent, but within reason. Eventually too much persistence will lead to annoyance and you lose the prospect forever. Studies have shown that there is a tipping point, after which it is no longer worth the time to pursue the lead.

When contacting by phone, 6 contact attempts is the limit for effective conversions. Leads that are contacted 7 or more times are less likely to convert. At this point it won’t be cost effective to continue with that particular lead.

But when contacting via email, successful conversions usually occur within the first 5 contact attempts. If it takes 6 or more emails to get through to the lead, then they are very unlikely to be converted.

Timing is everything

As we saw, how quickly the first contact attempt is made and the number of contact attempts, determine the overall outcome. By combining these two lessons, we can reach an optimal lead converting strategy.

On average, the correct timing of phone calls will result in a 49 % conversion gain. Also by correctly timing your email messages you can get a 53 % gain to conversions. The combination of both strategies results in an average conversion gain of 128 %.

Now you know the recipe to achieve countless conversions.

Senate votes 75-22 to advance online sales tax bill - The Hill's Floor Action

Senate votes 75-22 to advance online sales tax bill 

The Senate took a second procedural step Wednesday on a a bill that would allow states to collect online sales tax.

In a 75-22 vote, the Senate proceeded to The Marketplace Fairness Act, S. 743, which would empower states to collect taxes on purchases made online by consumers in their states. 

On Monday, the Senate voted 74-20 to end debate on the motion to proceed and last month the body passed a non-binding budget resolution supporting the Marketplace Fairness language on a 75-24 vote.

The latest vote suggests supporters of the bill are likely to see it win approval in the Senate later this week. Its path through the House, despite the support of many GOP governors, is less clear.

“Internet retailers have an advantage over brick and mortar retailers,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Wednesday. “This has caused many stores on Main Streets to face competition that is unfair … so we’re trying to level the playing field.”

Senators in states without a sales tax voiced opposition to the bill, arguing it would burden retailers in their states by forcing them to collect taxes for other state governments.

“This legislation would impose new burdens on small businesses not only in New Hampshire but actually across the country,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said. “Small businesses across the country — not just in non-sales tax states, such as New Hampshire, but small businesses across the country — will see their tax burdens increase.”

The bill would exempt small businesses that earn less than $1 million annually from out-of-state sales and requires states to provide retailers with software to calculate sales taxes based on a buyer’s zip code.

Under current law, states can only collect sales taxes from retailers that have a physical presence in their state. People who order items online from another state are supposed to declare the purchases on their tax forms, but few do or are even aware of the law.

“This issue has grown tremendously because of the explosion of Internet sales," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said Tuesday. "Remote sellers are getting bigger, and our main street businesses continue to suffer, continue to struggle.

“Let's do this. Let's level the playing field. Let's make this responsive to those main street businesses who everyday struggle and are simply asking for justice."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and others who opposed the bill said it should have gone through committee before coming to the Senate floor.

“This is a bill that — once again, as happens all-to-often in this Senate — hasn’t been run through committee, hasn’t been properly vetted, and hasn’t yet had the kinks worked out of it,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday. “It’s not like there aren’t other things that can be done to improve tax compliance from online shoppers — things that don’t require us to turn private businesses into tax collectors for remote state governments.”

Those supporting the bill have called it a “states’ rights bill” because it would allow states — many of which are battling large budget deficits — to collect the revenue they need to fund state programs.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned senators Wednesday that there could be weekend work if the opposition continues to drag its feet.

“I know this sounds like me crying wolf, but this might be the time the wolf is coming,” Reid said. “If we have to be here Friday, Saturday, we’ve got to finish work on this bill.”

Most opposition to the bill has come from conservative GOP members joined by lawmakers from three states that don’t have sales tax: Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Delaware also doesn’t have a sales tax, but its senators didn’t oppose the bill.

Retail groups such as the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association have backed the legislation, which senators have been pushing for years.

Reps. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) have introduced companion legislation in the House.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/295857-senate-votes-75-22-to-advance-online-sales-tax-bill#ixzz2RZW9lAE1 
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

Re/Max leverages QR codes to mobilize business cards - Mobile Commerce Daily

Re/Max leverages QR codes to mobilize business cards 

April 23, 2013

Re/Max real estate agents are putting QR codes on their business cards to link homebuyers to relevant information and, ultimately, help close sales.

The QR code on an agent’s business card links to a mobile optimized landing page for that agent includes information such as the agent’s contact information, Web site address, location and date where the scan happened as wells as links to the agents LinkedIn page, mortgage calculators and all of the agent’s listings. Users who scan the QR code will also find a notes section and links to common referrals such as contractors and real estate lawyers.

“There is a real challenge going on in businesses across the country and that’s that there are industries like real estate specifically that have aging workforces but younger consumers,” said James Alexander, CEO of Vizibility Inc., New York.

“The average age of a real estate broker is 57 while the average age of a first time home buyer is 30, so you have a three decade gap here,” he said. “We want to buy things form people we connect with so it is not lost on brokers and agents that they need to bridge this gap if they are going to tap into this new generational market.

“It makes a ton of sense to have a link to a communication method that’s preferred by a different generation. It is all about building credibility and enabling that trust to happen more quickly.”

Technology experts
With millennials making up an important segment of homebuyers – they have the highest lifetime value of anyone buying homes today – real estate agents need to be mobile-savvy if they want to interact with these consumers.

Re/Max agents will be able to order the printed business cards through a centralized portal run by Vizibility and have the QR code and mobile content automatically included.

The goal is to make it easy for agents of any technical ability to take advantage of the mobile offering.

“How do you get folks who maybe are more entrenched in the technologies and processes that they understand, how do you get them to use new technologies?,” Mr. Alexander said.

“Re/Max is basically saying we are not going to make all of these agents become new technology experts,” he said. “We are going to integrate the ability to get this new mobile business card as part of the business card ordering process.”

The mobile connection
Agents can choose to share a variety of content with their customers, including a vcard, virtual tours, video bios and client testimonials. They will also be able to choose from 12 different business card designs.

While agents have to pay for the business cards – which is typical in the real estate industry – the hosted Mobile Business Cards with alerts and metrics is free as long as business cards are ordered at least once a year.

The mobile business card can also be used to streamline appointment scheduling with prospects and clients.

There are over 300 Re/Max real estate officers and over 4,000 agents across regions of the country, including Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Southern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan.

QR-code enabled mobile business cards are being adopted across a variety of industries, including accounting firms, law firms and manufacturing companies, per Mr. Alexander.

“Five percent of the top law firms in the world are using Vizibility and they have QR codes on their business cards,” Mr. Alexander said.

“This is another example where you have a situation where legal professionals want to share their online identities in an easy package but they also want to be tech savvy and mobile savvy to the people who are vetting them and looking to hire their services,” he said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Passbook is standard for mobile wallets: Sumotext exec - Payments - Mobile Commerce Daily

Passbook is standard for mobile wallets: Sumotext exec - Payments - Mobile Commerce Daily

April 23, 2013

CHICAGO – A Sumotext executive at the Results 2013: Mobile Marketing Day last week said that Apple’s Passbook is helping marketers establish industry guidelines when it comes to mobile coupons and offers.

During the “Why SMS matters for retail and CRM” session, executives from Sumotext spoke about the best mobile practices and technologies for marketers to increase their number of subscribers. Additionally, the session presented a look at how to use SMS to drive loyalty and redemption rates.

“What I do like [about Apple] is that they didn’t wait for all of the payment stuff to shake out,” said Tim Miller, CEO ofSumotext, Little Rock, AK.

“We want to stake some ground on what’s a coupon going to look like, what’s a boarding pass going to look like,” he said.

“They really got to market first with a standard, and I think it’s going to be good for all of us,” he said.

Results 2013: Mobile Marketing Day was hosted by the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing. The event was co-sponsored by Microsoft, Sumotext and Mobile Marketer.

Pay with mobile
There are a slew of companies including ISIS, Square and Google that are going after mobile wallets.

Apple’s Passbook is a built-in application that lets consumers store loyalty cards, tickets and mobile coupons.

There are five different types of Passbook passes that can be made — boarding passes, tickets, store cards, coupons and generic passes.

There are also applications that put the passes on other devices, such as Android or Microsoft phones.

Pick a technology
In addition to mobile wallets, Mr. Miller spoke about three other types of technologies that marketers can use to grow a database and connect with consumers.

The first technology presented was Star Star codes, which are abbreviated dial codes that trigger an audio clip and SMS message to be sent to consumers with more information when they place a call. The technology can also be used to hone in on consumers at a local area.

The next technology is geofencing, which lets marketers set up boundaries around specific geographical areas that can be used to target consumers.

“If you have lots of locations, you have to think locally,” Mr. Miller said.

“The statistical differences you can make in response rates are dramatic when you do things like local relevance,” he said.

The final technology is MMS. Since messages are short, marketers can leverage multimedia to send longer pieces of content, such as terms and conditions, objects and slideshows.

Additionally, MMS can double the redemption rates for SMS, according to Mr. Miller.

SMS tactics
Mr. Miller also gave attendees six SMS best practice tactics.

The first tactic focuses on pushing versus pulling content. Instead of pushing an offer at a consumer, marketers should pull a message to get insights into a campaign.

For example, marketers can tell how many people were interested in the offer and how many offers retailers should be prepared to have redeemed.

Marketers should also aim to get something in return for sending a message, such as email addresses.

Messages should be personalized. Mentioning a consumers’ name in the message, for example, can help increase redemption rates.

Similarly, the fourth tip mentioned in the session was around context by using time and location to create relevant messages.

Encouraging consumers to share a message to friends and family helps take content viral, per Mr. Miller.

Finally, marketers should use SMS to integrate other marketing channels. This could include either getting a text message as a receipt or sending out shipping information.

“Text is really the base to get to everybody really quickly,” said John Styers, executive vice president at Sumotext.

“It matters because we still want to collect email addresses, we still want to collect attributes, [and] we still want to know stuff about these customers so that we can create and target marketing messages that are relevant and succinct,” he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Yahoo hopes for mobile magic from new iOS apps - Mobile Marketer

Yahoo hopes for mobile magic from new iOS apps 

April 23, 2013

Yahoo continues to look for some mobile magic. However, is the company just pulling rabbits out of a hat as it struggles to regain relevancy in a world becoming less focused on desktops every day?

The online company has been struggling to redefine its role for some time, which became even more evident with last year’s appointment of new CEO Marissa Mayer, who joined the company from Google and is intent on building Yahoo’s mobile presence. So far, one of the most visible parts of the strategy has been reworking the company’s mobile applications, kicking some to the curb while introducing new ones, such as a new iOS flagship app as well as a weather app and a tablet email app for iOS.

“Even if the new apps don’t fly out of the app store, this is a very good sign that Yahoo is trying to evolve,” said Dave Martin, senior vice president of media at Ignited, El Segundo, CA.

“What Yahoo has historically struggled with is a lack of innovation in social and mobile media,” he said. “It’s pretty impressive that it was able to integrate Summly so quickly.

“This is a great sign that it wants to get ahead of trends instead of chasing them.”

Adoption is keyYahoo is leveraging mobile apps to make its various services more appealing and accessible to the growing number of consumers using smartphones to check the weather, stay in touch with friends and keep up on the news.

The stronger mobile focus is already producing some positive results for Yahoo. During a recent conference call with analysts to discuss Yahoo’s first quarter financial results, Ms. Mayer said that Yahoo’s mobile services now attract about 300 million monthly visitors, up from 200 million at the end of last year.

Similar to other traditional desktop companies trying to adjust to growing mobile use, Yahoo is struggling to turn its mobile traffic into ad revenues as mobile ads typically command lower prices than desktop ads.

Yahoo also faces significant competition on the mobile front from Google and Facebook, which dominate a large percentage of the mobile ads being delivered.

Yahoo’s success in mobile advertising will depend on if it can continue to build its mobile user base.

“It really depends on the adoption,” Mr. Martin said. “If no one downloads or uses the new apps, it will remain a tough sell.

“Advertisers need both reach and engagement and they can’t do that without a significant installed base of users,” he said.

“That said, Summly is a very sticky technology that could lead to a lot of new native ad inventory for Yahoo.”

News summariesThe new flagship iOS app for Yahoo incorporates technology from the $30 million Summly acquisition the company made a month ago.

The new iOS app for Yahoo uses Summly’s natural-language algorithms and machine learning to deliver summaries of news articles from a variety of sources, with users able to select topics they want more of. The app also features a virtually endless newsfeed, stronger imagery and improved video and image search.

The move comes as Yahoo is reportedly looking for a closer relationship with Apple that could see the two companies integrating more products.

Yahoo also has a new weather app.

Weather apps are hugely popular with mobile users, which has helped The Weather Channel attract some big name advertisers to its mobile app.

Yahoo! Weather for iOS devices is a well-stocked app with features such as heat maps, interactive satellite displays and weather images relevant to the users area that are pulled from Flickr. This is in addition to the information users expect, such as temperatures, precipitation amounts and extended outlooks.

The latest Yahoo apps to be shown the door include Upcoming, Yahoo Deals, Yahoo SMS Alerts and Yahoo Kids.

“The release of these new and updated apps is absolutely the right track for Yahoo,” said Dan Roche, vice president of marketing at TalkPoint, New York. “It is significant for them to get real product into people’s hands and show consumers that they are dedicated to enhancing their offerings.

“Marissa Mayer has made it clear that the company is entering a new era more dedicated to creating beautiful products that are well made,” he said. “The new email and weather apps show a dedication to meeting people where they are and making their experience more enjoyable.

“In addition, by incorporating Summly into their product line, they are demonstrating progressive action and a dedication to the new.”

Final TakeChantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York 

Social Media Attracts, Drives Purchases for Moms

Social Media Attracts, Drives Purchases for Moms

April 22, 2013 by MarketingCharts staff

Mothers are 20% more likely than the general population to use social media, according to [pdf] a report from BabyCenter and comScore. Beyond major sites such as Facebook and YouTube, young mothers (18-34) have higher reach than the general online population on other platforms such as Instagram (27% vs. 15%) and Pinterest (24% vs. 15%). An accompanying survey of expectant women and mother with kids up to 8 years old finds that 59% report having bought something because a brand posted a coupon or other offer on a social network.

44% have made a purchase due to a friend liking or posting about the brand on a social network, 32% because they saw a picture on Pinterest, and almost 1 in 4 on account of seeing a sponsored ad on a social network.

Mothers who are very active on social networks (defined as the top 20% of social networking mothers aged 18-49) are indeed active online purchasers. Compared to the general online adult population, they’re 96% more likely to have made an online food and beverage purchase, 73% more likely to have spent on movies and videos, 61% more likely to have bought apparel, and 82% more likely to have made an online purchase in the toys and games category.

Marketers looking to reach mothers on social media will likely find coupons or discounts to be a good way to attract them. Expectant women and mothers with kids aged up to 8 are 42% more likely than the general online population to say they like or follow brands on social media due to coupons and discounts (78% vs. 55%). They’re also 43% more likely to follow brands because they have bought or used the brand (40% vs. 28%), and 26% more likely to do so because they want to find out about new products early on (43% vs. 34%).

Other Findings:

• Expectant women and mothers of young children are 49% more likely than the general online population sample to own a smartphone (81% vs. 54%), 30% more likely to own a tablet (52% vs. 40%), and 65% more likely to have a streaming TV subscription (49% vs. 30%).
• 73% use parenting social media for brand and product recommendations.
• 45% are communicating more through social media and emailing less frequently.
• These women are more likely to check Facebook and text messages first thing in the morning, and less likely to check their email.
• 36% of these respondents say they have more than 250 Facebook friends, compared to 23% of the general population sample.

About the Data: The study describes its methodology as follows:

“The findings in BabyCenter’s 2013 Social Mom Report are the result of qualitative research including social media diaries, in-depth survey research among over 1,480 moms and other online adults, and a behavioral and secondary analysis with comScore covering e-commerce habits and social analytics. Fourteen new and expectant moms were recruited from across the United States via Facebook, Twitter, and BabyCenter and asked to keep social media diaries documenting their daily online activities and how much time was spent. BabyCenter also held in-home friendship groups in Chicago and San Francisco. Additionally, BabyCenter partnered with Socratic Forum to field an in-depth survey of more than 1,480 individuals including 928 expectant women or moms with kids up to 8 years old as well as 552 other online adults (referred to as general population) using Socratic’s online panel. Finally, comScore analyzed online behaviors of moms 18 to 34 and the top 20% of social moms age 18 to 49 compared to internet users 18+ (general population) in terms of e-commerce online spending by category, as well as social analytics including social brand exposure and referrals.”

QR codes may not be visually appealing but they work

QR codes may not be visually appealing but they work

Though people don’t typically like the way they look, they are still scanning them, study.

QR codes are being used on a rapidly increasing basis for mobile marketing purposes, and the results of a recently conducted study have shown that as much as people don’t find them attractive, they are still using them.

The results of this research are in direct contrast to many who doubt the effectiveness of the barcodes.

Among the various industries where there has been the highest use of QR codes by mobile marketers and yet the largest amount of controversy, is tourism. While some marketers are fully convinced that the barcodes are a cost effective marketing tool that is appealing to consumers and that produces results, others feel that they are simply a fad that is not worthy of being included in their advertising.

A recent trial program for QR codes was just implemented to help to judge their effectiveness.

In order to be able to judge the effectiveness of using QR codes, Ruidoso Tourism started to test them using two different methods. The first method was including them in print advertising in order to help to draw attention to the launch of the company’s new website. The barcodes were issued in various different publications, and depending on the publication in which they were printed, the themes of the ads themselves were different.

Some of the QR codes were linked to outdoor activities such as winter sports, trails, or attractions. For instance, the barcode that was published in Wild West magazine linked to the Lincoln County History page. Those print ads generated 1000 scans, which was well within the success bracket designated by the marketers.

The other barcodes were printed on restaurant menus. Their goal was to promote restaurants within specific areas. A page was created for a range of different restaurants at the destinations, and each one was assigned its own unique QR codes. When the barcodes were scanned, they led to reviews and images of the meals, as well as additional information about the restaurants such as their specific locations. At the high point of the marketing campaign, there were 35 restaurants included in the listings. Within the designated time period, those barcodes were scanned more than 1,500 times.

Chico’s drives engagement, charitable giving via mobile-optimized microsite - Mobile Commerce Daily

Chico’s drives engagement, charitable giving via mobile-optimized microsite 

April 22, 2013

Chico’s FAS Inc. is driving engagement for its Chico’s, White House Black Market, Soma Intimates and Boston Proper retail brands, while also raising funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals via a new multichannel campaign that includes a mobile-optimized microsite.

On the Send a Smile microsite as well as on the Facebook page for each brand, users can create a card that will be printed and delivered to a child being treated in a local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Chico’s FAS will donate $1 for every card created up to $50,000.

“We aspire to leverage all of our digital capabilities – Web sites, social, mobile – whenever possible,” said Jessica Well, vice president of social marketing at Chico’s FAS, New York.

“We want our customers to be able Send A Smile anytime, anywhere,” she said. “The interactive card creator feature of the campaign has been scaled to fit the small screen for ease of use and convenience.

“With this campaign, we believe that you don’t have to be on your desktop to do good.”

Easy participation
Chico’s FAS created the multi-faceted campaign as a call-to-action for new and existing customers, recognizing that mobile and social media make it easier participate in programs such as this.

Participants who create a card on Send a Smile site can share the experience via Facebook, Twitter, email, Google+ and Pinterest.

Users can also tap a button on the site to watch a video about the Children’s Miracle Network from their mobile device.

The campaign is being promoted via posts on social sites, the retailer’s branded ecommerce sites, via email and with in-store signage and handouts.

The Send A Smile campaign was launched in partnership with digital engagement agency ePrize. This is the second year Chico’s is running the program.

“As with many of today’s campaigns – whether for a social cause, product promotion, or educational purpose – to stay competitive you must be mobile,” said David Wachs, senior vice president of mobile at ePrize, Chicago.

“With that in mind, clearly mobile plays a major role in the overall ‘Send a Smile’ campaign,” he said. “Mobile helps to make the participation process incredibly convenient for the consumer.

“You can send a card with 4 easy touches or clicks, and do that on the go. Send a Smile’s mobility makes for a campaign that is easy, fun and seamless for consumers to use anytime, anywhere.”

Mobile a requirement
Last year, Chico’s hit its 50,000 card and $50,000 donation goal for the Send A Smile campaign in just two weeks.

The Send a Smile microsite is part of a larger effort designed to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals during April and May. This is Chico’s third May is for Miracles campaign.

The campaign also includes an in-store element, with Chico’s selling a limited-edition Miracle Bracelet starting April 18 that is available in boutiques, outlets and online for $20, with $10 from the sale benefitting local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. White House Black Market is also joining in with its own Creating Miracles Bracelet.

Additionally, Soma Intimates will donate 50 percent of the proceeds from sales of its Sensualities Collection during May to local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals while Boston Proper will donate 10 percent of proceeds from its Travel Collection.

Last year, Chico’s FAS raised over $1.3 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Chico’s FAS operates 611 Chico’s boutiques and 100 outlets as well as 406 White House Black Market boutiques and 48 outlets, 197 Soma Intimates boutiques and 16 outlets and 2 Boston Proper boutiques.

“Mobile is a major component, especially related to usability and accessibility,” Ms. Wells said.

“Mobile and tablet adoption is nearly ubiquitous at this point, so ensuring that the microsite experience is seamless on mobile is not a nice to have, it’s a requirement,” she said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

How To Make Your Field Workforce Truly Mobile

How To Make Your Field Workforce Truly Mobile

by Jen Cohen Compton

From utility and telecommunications professionals, to engineers, retail associates and professional services, field workforce personnel are more than just what you think of in terms of a typical cable person. Field service professionals can work in a variety of industries and because of their offsite work style, going mobile can do more than just provide convenience.

According to the predictions of industry experts, technicians with wireless access to a formal packaged field service management solution in a large enterprise will increase to approximately 50 percent by the end of 2013. This observation is largely based on the spectrum of benefits that accompany CRM and Work manager mobile apps that can reduce costs, boost service levels, and increase service revenue.

If you’re thinking of deploying a Field Service Mobile Strategy, here are ten questions to ask that will help you know if you should make the leap.

• Do you have a portion of your workforce working outside of the office?

• Does your out-of-the-office workforce need to communicate with the back office for projects and service delivery?

• Do your field workers ever get lost or need assistance finding job sites?

• Do your field service workers need to report their time and travel, and submit expense reports?

• Is your field service profitability affected by the rising costs of fuel and/or vehicle maintenance?

• Could your field service workforce benefit from collaboration with those in the office and other field service workers?

• Would specific data collected onsite at projects be helpful to improve your business functions or bottom line?

• Do you need to quickly document projects and provide documentation to the office and end-user?

• Do you currently use a customer relationship management tool (CRM)?

• Would you like to collect instant feedback from clients and completed projects?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may have an urgent need to support your field service workers with a mobile strategy and full-service solution.

Hibbett helps customers get their thumb in the game via new mobile site - Mobile Commerce Daily - Web site development

Hibbett helps customers get their thumb in the game via new mobile site 

April 19, 2013

Hibbett Sporting Goods is getting into the mobile game with a new optimized site designed to complement the in-store experience at its 850 locations.

Users who are members of the chain’s MVP Rewards loyalty program will be able to see their point balance on the site as well as review their point history and access rewards and special offers. The launch is being supported with a multichannel marketing campaign encouraging sports fans to “Get Your Thumb in the Game.”

“Estimates place mobile Web traffic at 15 percent of overall Internet traffic, and that figure will only increase,” said Rich Sullivan, CEO and executive creative director of Red Square Agency, Mobile, AL.

“Simply, mobile is an integral component of Hibbett’s customers’ experience with their brand, and it’s the link between physical and digital,” he said. “We want to make it easy for them to find products, stores and manage their MVP rewards.”

Hibbett Sporting Goods worked with Red Square Agency to develop the mobile Web site and supporting marketing campaign.

Shopping support
With smartphone owners increasingly using their mobile devices in store to support their shopping activities, Hibbett Sporting Goods wanted a mobile site that would enhance the strong tie between mobile usage and local shopping.

Mobile users who visit the Hibbett Sporting Goods site will be able to browse products, redeem coupons as well as manage their MVP Rewards account.

“When a mobile user arrives on hibbett.com they have the option to browse products, find a store, view or sign-up for an MVP Rewards account,” Mr. Sullivan said. “Users can also email Hibbett directly or read a brief about section.

“The new design gives users more control on how they search for products and store locations,” he said. “Items are organized in categories and users can search based on those categories.

“Users can also find stores that are nearby, with GPS, or search based on state or ZIP code.”

SpokesthumbsThe supporting marketing campaign introduces several thumb characters representing a football, basketball, baseball, soccer and softball player. The tagline is “Get Your Thumb in the Game.”

With users likely to be using their thumbs a lot on the mobile site, the thumb characters are a fun way to introduce the new site to customers.

The campaign will appear on in-store signage and radio spots, print ads and in three videos on the Hibbett Sports YouTube channel.

“These videos are comical introductions of the Hibbett Sports ‘spokesthumbs,’ encouraging consumers to ‘Get Your Thumb in The Game,’ by utilizing the new mobile Web site,” Mr. Sullivan said.

“The new mobile Web site ‘spokesthumbs’ are representative of baseball, basketball, football, soccer and softball athletes,” he said. “Essentially, a play on sports figures signing brand endorsement deals.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York