Tag Archives: check-in

Little by Little

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July 25, 2011

This week sees the release of the Absolute Radio app on the Apple and Android operating systems. While ‘company releases app’ isn’t shocking news per se, it brings us nicely to a quick review of what’s happening, available and working well in the mobile space.

Mobile commerce is moving into the mainstream. As of June this year, 36% of Brits were using smartphones. With this comes a boom in mobile advertising. In 2011, eBay is expecting to generate $4 billion through its mobile proposition. The UK buys more vehicles and fashion via eBay mobile than any other product category. Other major retailers such as French Connection and New Look have invested heavily in m-commerce and this is notable against the backdrop of a declining high street.

The phenomenon of group deals is also flourishing thanks to mobile. Check-ins are fairly obvious: a café signs up to Facebook deals, for example, and users who check in to a specific branch get a half-price coffee. It gets more interesting when users are purchasing and redeeming vouchers from the likes of Groupon, LivingSocial, etc. through mobile devices. Any group deal app will need to display latest deals within the immediate vicinity of a user’s handset. This means local commerce is changing as is users hunger for local offers.

Users are responding to mobile ads. According to comScore, 28.8% of European mobile owners use their phone regularly for online browsing. Crucially, users are more responsive to mobile display ads than desktop or laptop banners. MediaMind reviewed more than 230 million mobile impressions including both mobile and browser, compared results and found that mobile banners recorded click through rates  nearly eight times higher.

This is in part explained by mobile banners occupying a larger proportion of the screen and often being the only ad on the page. But throw into the mix rich media streaming in video content and there’s no doubt that mobile banners can prove highly effective at encouraging click through or user interaction.

Mobile now offers so much more than banners. It is becoming as sophisticated as other more established digital channels and, as ever, technology is the driver. What’s HOT sees mobile as the natural platform for local and increasingly targeted ads.

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Posted by the7stars

Mamma Mayor

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May 16, 2011

Are check-ins dead?

The case for:

According to a survey from youth agency Dubit, 48% of teens have not heard of Facebook Places, Foursquare, Gowalla and SCVNGR. Some 58% of those who did know what they were still did not use them because they ‘did not see the point’.

According to compete.com, Foursquare’s web traffic has declined by 50% over five consecutive months. Check-ins per day have dropped from 0.5 per person to 0.4, despite boasting a user increase from 2m to 5m, suggesting millions of inactive members. And with a much bigger user base, Facebook Places check-ins are five times lower than that of Foursquare.

Echoing the sentiments of Dubit’s teens, the check in is dead because it has no point. Checking-in within a densely populated city like London may reveal long-lost friends around the corner, which is great. But in more sprawling destinations it doesn’t work.

The ‘Mayor’ game may be fun but, as with even the best games, the novelty lasts no more than two weeks. Or until you realise that you can check into the trendy café over the road without leaving your office. And that being Mayor doesn’t result in free coffee after all.

The Facebook Places product offers even less: no points or badges to win, no tips – just a flat statement telling people where you are. Outside a niche set of people who want the personal branding (or ego boost) of the check-in, most people not only don’t want to check-in, but don’t know why they should.
 

The case against:

Location based check-in services are far from dead; in fact they are in their infancy. It has been predicted that location-based companies will generate $24 billion worldwide (according to ABI research 2010) by 2013, so clearly we have a lot more to come in the space.

The idea of checking into places through your mobile is still new a concept to most people. Concerns around security and privacy have been raised and the notorious argument for check-in fatigue is well known. The main question is “why bother?” or “what’s in it for me?”. Essentially, the reason for users to check-in is that it gives users the opportunity for companies to reward their custom/loyalty and spread the word. Even if companies themselves are only just starting to realise this.

We are on the cusp of Facebook deals being rolled out fully in the UK. This means that when users check-in to places they will be offered a deal, say a free coffee at Starbucks. This will be posted on their profile for all their friends to see. Facebook is the location-based service with the biggest attraction, with UK Facebook numbers now reaching 30 million. With even a small percentage of these using Facebook Places, we’re looking at a big number. However, because Facebook Places was rolled out without the Deals function, it’s easy to see why some think checking in is pointless. Until Facebook Deals starts to promote its check in for deals function, we will see slow growth.

Foursquare has always incentivised check-ins to earn badges, alert users to special offers in their area and promote ‘Mayorships’. ‘Mayorships’ recognize and reward the individual who is most loyal to an outlet. The latest addition is ‘Specials’ which is very similar to Facebook deals and gives local offers to anyone that checks in. The likes of Gowalla only offer badges at this stage – so in order to generate sign ups they really need to up their game

In reference to check-ins with the teen market – I’m sure if Justin Bieber or lady Gaga asked them to check-in to their O2 gig, more of them would know about check-ins!
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