Special Report, Part Two: Mobile World Congress & The Mobile Consumer - Dan Hodges

There were a record 70000 people attending Mobile World Congress this past week MWC is a gathering of operators and the ecosystem players supporting them including handset manufacturers equipment manufacturers and software and services providersIn a much bigger sense MWC is a snapshot of the most dramatic inflection point and disruptive event in human history The mobile wave is washing over the entire world and by 2018 ninetytwo percent of the world will be covered by mobile Nokia says quotall you need is a phone number and a mobile device to participate in the information economyquotHere are some of the highlights from Mobile World CongressThe Mobile Consumer quotGetting to the Future Fastestquot75 of mobile users do something other than talk on their phones according to EricssonKeith Weed CMO of Unilever says they think of reaching consumers by surrounding them with brand messages on multiple platforms Mobile offers brands the ability to reach consumers on a 365day basis Unilever is working quotto get to the future the fastestquot according to Mr WeedMondelez the parent company of Kraft is allocating ten percent of their global advertising budget to mobileBrands such as Walgreens have integrated uploading consumer39s pictures into their app so consumers can send photos directly from their smartphone to Walgreens for printingIHG is using mobile to book millions of dollars of hotel rooms and travel packages each month Mobile is integrated into the entire hotel experience from checkin to checkoutFour Square expects to see software design advancing in networking devices in the next 18 months The CEO of Four Square said quotgive me your latlong and I can tell you where people will be in 15 minutesquotNielsen has a new study quotThe Mobile Consumer A Global Snapshotquot which shows that mobile usage tends to increase as smartphone penetration rises but patterns of behavior can vary greatly from country to country In China and South Korea 40 of smartphone users use their phone for shopping Mobile users in Brazil China India and Russia are receptive to mobile advertising The US Latino consumer significantly leads in all mobile usage categoriesFactors for Growth What is needed to drive growth by consumers and business1 Spectrum Government needs to efficiently allocate spectrum to companies2 Capital Massive capital outlays to prepare for a global connected world3 Tax Policy Tax policy needs to reward the massive capital investment needed to build mobile networks4 Regulatory Environment needs to be responsive to a rapidly changing technical environmentThe Mobile Road Map ampamp What39s AheadQualcomm is the largest mobile phone chipmaker and Telefonica a large global operator offered a clear view of the mobile innovation road map and what is coming next Ultrathin displays that can be folded App cesories that you can wear Google glasses The Internet of autos Robots and drones Qualcomm Life connecting devices for a better life LTE Broadcast providing operators with innovative video streaming for subscribers Gimbal which uses sensors such as geofencing relevance communications in a privacy compliant manner they demonstrated the use of Gimbal technology for the opening of the Star Trek movie this summerWhat are the Opportunities for your Brands The mobile smartphone consumer is innovating establishing new usage patterns and habits at unprecedented rates of changeIf you are not testing and deploying mobile you are behind the curveThe mash up of API39s along with content and location targeting outlined by Four Square offers brands the ability to deliver well timed relevant messages to users on their smartphoneLastly mobile is a distinct platform Successful marketers understand this and are using it to engage consumers connecting their brands with consumer39s livesRead Part One of Dan39s Special Report Mobile World Congress ampamp The Mobile Consumer here Read Shelly Palmer39s thoughts of the Mobile World Congress here Dan Hodges is President of ChaCha Search Inc Dan can be reached at danhodgeschachacomRead all Dan39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at MediaBizBloggers Guest BlogCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Special Report, Part Two: Mobile World Congress & The Mobile Consumer - Dan Hodges

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