Tuesday, March 24, 2009

75% of the World’s Messages Sent by Mobile

from eMarketer Daily

Worldwide communication in the future will be done through mobile devices.

According to TNS Global, 74% of the world’s digital messages were sent through a mobile device in January 2009, a 15% increase over the previous year.

Percent of Digital Messages Worldwide that Are Sent from a Mobile Device, January 2008 & January 2009

In emerging markets, the trend is even more dramatic; nine out of 10 messages are sent via mobile.

Some of the growth can be attributed to mobile instant messaging. Thirteen percent of all mobile subscribers used the feature, but 41% of smartphone users did so.

Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) Usage Among Smartphone and Total Mobile Phone Users Worldwide, January 2008 & January 2009 (% of total)

Other increases in mobile usage can be attributed to the abandonment of fixed-line telephones.

“As mobile devices slowly take away usage share from fixed services in developed markets, in emerging markets consumers are more likely to by-pass fixed communications altogether and go straight to mobiles,” said Sam Curtis of TNS.

As for developed countries, the PC e-mail remains the most popular message method, but its use is waning.

In Japan, 40 out of 100 e-mails sent are from a mobile device. In North America, 69% of those using e-mail on their mobile phone use it daily, high compared with 43% worldwide.

full article

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Biola Media Conference at CBS Studios April 25


Biola Media Conference 2009 from BiolaMedia on Vimeo.

MobileCause is proud to be a sponsor of the 2009 Biola Media Conference. We'll be offering Text2ScreenLive and other mobile services.

For 14 years, the Biola Media Conference has changed the way people of faith interact with the entertainment and media industries.
It’s become the largest conference in the world for Christians working in Hollywood, and its impact is being felt globally.

Held on the CBS Studios lot in Hollywood, it creates the perfect environment to learn and interact with today’s leaders of the film, television, and digital media industries.

Our theme, “CLOSING THE DEAL,” will focus on how to get your project produced!
Workshops will feature the art of pitching, knowing what projects Hollywood is looking for, discovering niche projects, no budget filmmaking, the legal aspects of deal-making, how power is used in Hollywood, living out your faith, and more!

Join the BiolaMedia Facebook group

Friday, March 20, 2009

Radio's biggest potential lies in building a conversation with audience via mobile


From Mobile Marketing Watch.
With advertising spending drastically spiraling downward across most sectors of print and television media, it is no surprise that the anticipated 40 percent increase in mobile marketing budgets for this year could give a huge boost to radio broadcasting,

According to a group of “mobile marketing professionals” at the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) conference, the mobile segment will attract more than six billion in ad revenues by 2012.

If the mobile marketing geniuses are correct, radio’s biggest potential lies in trying to “stop selling only 30 or 60 second spots and to begin creating a conversation between the station and/or deejay and the audience.”

According to Katz360 President Brian Benedik, “There are 145 million mobile media consumers in the U.S. today, defined as anyone who uses a cell phone for text messaging, downloading content or accessing the Internet. Hence, advertiser appetites for mobile are growing as the market grows. Seventy-six percent of listeners use text messaging, and 66 percent want to text with your radio station.”

Last week, the Nielsen Company reported that advertising in the U.S. in 2008 was down 2.6 percent compared to 2007.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Ten Reasons Mobile Giving will be the Bright Spot in Fundraising for 2009...

This post is a response to a commentary made by a traditional fundraising consultancy.

"One major question we continue to ask ourselves is what is the value of a $5 text donation? Our traditional fundraising research shows us that donors who give low dollar amounts (such as $5), have a commensurately low lifetime donor value. Often, we’ve found that the cost to cultivate (i.e. mail, email, call, etc.) these donors exceeds the donation income they provide. In other words, we end up LOSING money in cultivating donors who give very small amounts."



First of all, I'm glad they're bringing attention to micro-giving. We believe (along with Forrester Research, Mobile Marketer, and others) that micro-giving will be one of the trends to watch in 2009 and following. They are correct that in previous "traditional research," small one-time donors may have a lower lifetime value, but these studies have not accounted for the new developments in text donations.

Here are 10 reasons why Text Donations will be the be the trend to watch and why every Cause should consider adding Mobile to their Donor Engagement tool belt.

  1. Turns a mobile phone user into a donor in less than a minute (no credit card, web access, phone operators necessary!)
  2. Donation is tax-deductible and shows up on the caller’s phone bill.
  3. Engages the donor at the closest point of emotional engagement. (we carry our phones at all times!)
  4. Caller can text-donate up to 5 times per month (5x per billing cycle)
  5. $10 donations are now possible (as of March 2009)
  6. Recurring donations will be available soon. That means sending a one-word text message instantly turns a caller into a $120/year donor! Wow.
  7. The Call-to-Action couldn’t be easier to remember–across all types of media channels. Pick up your mobile phone and try this sample: text GIVE to 27138. (no donation will be transacted. It is a sample to show how easy it is)
  8. Used in conjunction with other mobile engagement tools (like text2broadcast and text2screen), organizations can build consistent and lasting relationships with donors.
  9. As of 2008, all major carriers have waived 100% of their fees for approved 501c-3 orgs who partner with a qualified service provider like MobileCause. (Elsewhere in the world, the carriers still charge up to 50%)
  10. Response rates have shown to be 10%-40% compared to 1% - 3% for direct mail and other types of donor acquisition methods.
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Things are moving extremely fast with Mobile Technology and we are thrilled to partner with the Mobile Giving Foundation to help organizations like Open Doors, Focus on the Family, Invisible Children, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sparrow Clubs and so many others fulfill their mission in effective new ways.

Follow us on Twitter and let us know how we can help you Mobilize your Cause.

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Welcome!

Welcome to our blog. This blog will focus around what is going on in the mobile space, cause marketing, and to be honest whatever else we care to share :)

We at MobileCause have over 50 years combined experience working with non-profit organizations, ministries, and causes. We are not only a mobile service provider with decades of marketing, media and telecommunications experience, we have fundraising in our DNA.

Our three core areas are:
-Text2Screen
-Text2Give
-Text2Broadcast

We'd love to work with you to meet your mobile goals.
Cheers!
~The MobileCause Team
steve(at)mobilecause.com
george(at)mobilecause.com
doug(at)mobilecause.com
danny(at)mobilecause.com
jon(at)mobilecause.com
hendre(at)mobilecause.com