The recession in 2009 took a toll on many sectors of the economy, and B2B was no exception. B2B publishers were buffeted particularly hard by a drop in advertising spending and several, including Penton Media and Questex, filed for bankruptcy (although Penton recently emerged after a quick reorganization).

Even though ad spending is heading toward a solid recovery in 2010, the recession may have lingering effects. According to a study released this week by Outsell, B2B mobile ad spending will actually contract 38% this year (and that’s after growing by 5% in 2009 in a down economy).

“This is the first year that it’s negative,” report author and Outsell VP Chuck Richard told ClickZ. He attributed the decline to a “first year post-recession effect” but also noted that long sales cycles and the relative unimportance of geographic proximity in purchasing decisions reduce the impact of wireless campaigns.

On the other hand, Outsell’s Chuck Richard did suggest that the decline in B2B mobile ad spending was more of a temporary blip than a permanent condition. And other research firms have predicted a positive trajectory for B2B and mobile. Forrester recently issued a forecast showing four-fold spending growth over the next five years.

It is the case that no business is going to buy a $1 million ERP implementation, for instance, on the basis of a mobile banner ad. Of course, the same can be said about consumers and luxury cars, for example.

Mobile isn’t always the platform where the transaction ultimately takes place,  but in the case of highly considered purchases, mobile can be highly effective at driving awareness, consideration and intent, even in a B2B context. Microsoft, for one, got good results from a B2B mobile campaign for its SharePoint server, and the likelihood is high that more businesses will begin to use mobile for similar ends.

We recently spoke with Jami Lawrence, associate director of mobile marketing at Publicis Modem & Dialog. Here’s a clip from the full interview on eMarketer Total Access, in which Lawrence discusses best practices for developing a mobile application strategy that can strengthen the relationship between brands and target consumers. (Read more…)

Wired Magazine just released a video promoting their upcoming app for the iPad, and it looks gorgeous. We’ve all heard about how large-format e-readers such as the iPad and Amazon Kindle DX can deliver a truly immersive experience, but this video gets that point across visually. I was especially struck by interactive features embedded in the ads – something we haven’t heard much about because we’ve been understandably focused on editorial content. Delivering this type of rich media advertising experience will be crucial for publishers threatened by a sluggish economy, competition from other forms of entertainment, changes in consumer behavior, and the inexorable march of technology. (Read more…)

Boston-based company uLocate unveiled what looks to be the next logical step in the location-based marketing puzzle today with the debut of WHERE ads, a “hyper-local ad network” that aims to serve consumers with more geographically and contextually relevant ads than those provided by standard third-party ad networks. uLocate will make WHERE Ads available to other publishing platforms as well. (Read more…)

We recently spoke with Chris Epple, senior manager of media strategy at PepsiCo, about the company’s Propel brand of low-calorie flavored water. Here’s a clip from the full interview about the brand’s new mobile app, and how along with product enhancements and various promotions, Pepsi is working to streamline the lives of busy female shoppers (and sell more Propel). (Read more…)

As more consumers opt for smartphones, it’s becoming progressively harder for brand marketers to ignore the call for an app-based mobile experience, especially when comScore’s lastest figures show that app usage now rivals, if not exceeds, browser-based Web access among iPhone and Android device owners.

It’s tough to turn your back on this kind of evident consumer demand. Fortunately, most marketers appear to be heeding the call: 65% of marketers and publishers responding to a December 2009 survey from DM2PRO and Quattro Wireless reported that they plan to invest in mobile apps this year.

Of course, where there is app-ortunity, there are also challenges. There is growing competition for mobile users’ attention, not only among app stores (which number more than 30 worldwide at this point) but also within each storefront.  According to recent analysis by Distimo, a Dutch app store analytics firm, there are nearly 200,000 apps in the six largest mobile device manufacturer/OS app stores alone.

What’s a marketer to do? In my latest column for iMediaConnection, I go into detail on some key steps marketers should take to make the most of the mobile
“app-opportunity.” Here’s a brief summary of the main points:

1) Ensure your app satisfies a consumer need, but does so in a way that also reinforces (and stays true to) your brand’s values. Ideally, strive to combine entertainment, social communication and utility into a single experience.

2) Promote your app like you would any other product using all available media, but pay especially close attention to social discovery. In other words, include apps in your brand’s social media strategy and include social media in your brand’s app strategy.

3) Keep your users engaged by keeping things fresh. Make an update schedule an integral part of your app strategy, much as it would be with any other product.

Getting consumers’ attention is increasingly challenging, but branded app experiences still have room to grow. According to Razorfish’s November 2009 “FEED: Digital Brand Experience Study,” only 24% US Internet users had downloaded a branded application. The right kinds of apps, backed by the right level of marketing support, can help drive those figures up.

We recently spoke with Brian Cooper, the creative director of UK digital agency Dare. Here’s a snippet from the full interview, in which Cooper chats about Dare’s approach to marketing in a digital age, and the agency’s recent work for Vodafone. (Read more…)

The Mobile World Congress wrapped up this week in Barcelona. As expected, it saw a flurry of new device launches and a big focus on mobile applications, despite no official presence from Apple, whose App Store is the market heavyweight. For those of us who couldn’t make the trip to Spain (where, as many observers have noted, it was cold and rainy), PCWorld and mocoNews both have good slideshows of the festivities.

Among the many announcements made at the show, a few are worth highlighting: (Read more…)

More than one big story from Europe this month. While all eyes in the mobile industry are focused on the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, more leading newspapers are beginning to charge for content.

During its first two days—February 15 and 16—much of the attention at MWC went to new phone launches, including the unveiling of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series, and new models from Samsung, Sagem and HTC. All, like the iPhone before them, have large, rather gorgeous color screens. The kind of screens that make sharing photos, playing games and watching video on a handset positively enjoyable. But not only that. The size and resolution of these screens also makes it relatively easy for users to read newspaper and magazine content.

The German publisher Axel Springer has already launched iPhone apps for two of its papers, Bild and Die Welt. Available since December 2009, both now rank in the top 10 selling iPhone apps in Germany, according to ClickandBuy.

Meanwhile two other Springer titles, the Berliner Morgenpost and Hamburger Abendblatt, have instituted paywalls controlling access to some or all of their articles. Both charge a monthly fee, though some national news is still free on the Abendblatt site.

In France, Le Monde also charges for access to premium content. Le Figaro is expected to implement fees later this month, while L’Express apparently plans to climb on the bandwagon later in 2010.

Since the Guardian clocked up 70,000 downloads of its iPhone app in a single month, newspapers have even more reason to take the app route. But they may also be encouraged by the cost/value equation implicit in paid apps. If readers will pay for prime content on their mobiles (where data tariffs can push the cost even higher), why not ask them to do so online? If content is worth viewing on a small screen, it should also be valuable on a larger one.

While the buzz in 2009 was all about social networks as a function of the Web, in 2010, marketers’ attention will focus increasingly on the ways social networks are becoming the medium for communicating on mobile devices. Video is likely to play a key role as well, as mobile users are “socializing” video from their devices to a far greater extent than they are watching it.

I wrote about this phenomenon and other key trends in mobile marketing in my latest iMedia Connection column, which went live today. Following is a clip from the full article:

Consolidation among mobile ad networks is clearly lining up to be a major theme in the year ahead. Even so, achieving scale in display advertising on mobile devices is just one piece in a much larger puzzle — that of using mobile to showcase full-blown marketing and commerce experiences.

Marketers often talk glowingly about mobile’s flexibility and how effective it is at activating other media. However, mobile has traditionally been a less effective vehicle than other media for end-to-end consumer experiences. In order for mobile to reach mass adoption among marketers, the medium has to develop beyond its core strengths in communication and messaging.

Fortunately, startup activity is rife across many keys areas of the mobile sector, and the next 12 to 18 months should see many of the missing pieces fall into place. The continued fusion of mobile and social and the appetite for apps (among both consumers and brands) will facilitate more involved marketing experiences. In fact, location- and social-aware apps and utilities will be a key avenue for brands looking to engage consumers on the go.

Mobile advertising will likewise grow more sophisticated, with improved targeting capabilities and richer, more engaging options across multiple channels, from apps to browsers to SMS. Augmented reality (AR) seems destined to generate more ink than activity or revenue in 2010, given the limited number of mobile handsets that support it, but AR is worth keeping an eye on nonetheless because of what it portends for the future of mobile marketing. It represents an innovative way of creating a virtual overlay to the physical world by combining and maximizing on-board device features (e.g., camera, GPS, accelerometer, broadband connectivity).

With the rise in mobile broadband access and the proliferation of multimedia smartphones, video viewing (and consequently, video advertising) is set to become a more integral part of the mobile experience. Paid content models such as iTunes will continue to expand to mobile devices, but the growth in mobile web and application usage will also create opportunities for marketers to engage with viewers in both professional and user-generated video content.

The article takes a detailed look at different segments in the mobile marketing space and profiles a number of companies to watch, so be sure to read through to the end to get the complete picture.