AT&T Settles Class-Action Over Mobile Web Taxes, Still Leaves Questions Unanswered

From Mobile Marketing Watch:

AT&T has been caught up in a class-action lawsuit stemming from taxes billed to subscribers using data plans. The operator started sending out SMS messages to subscribers last week regarding a future refund, though details on the settlement and the lawsuit’s background is still largely unknown.

As part of the settlement, AT&T will refund taxes billed to users for mobile Internet services rendered between November 1, 2005 and September 7, 2010. The lawsuit was filed against the operator from plaintiffs who claimed that AT&T had violated the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act. This act prohibits state and local governments from levying taxes on Internet access between November 2003 and November 2014, though apparently AT&T kept collecting anyway.

A Website was created to give information about the lawsuit, though several important questions remain unanswered. First of all, there’s still no mention of how much AT&T collected wrongly, or how many mobile data users it affects. I for one have two AT&T accounts with data plans and have never received an SMS regarding the lawsuit like many others have. Another big question is what AT&T will have to pay out for this mistake. In the last quarter alone, AT&T reported revenues of $4.8 billion from wireless data services, and this settlement covers the last five years.

It’s also likely that AT&T isn’t the only operator who’s been collecting these taxes. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more about this in the near future. Leave us a comment if you’ve been affected by this lawsuit. Has anyone received an SMS regarding a refund?

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Rhythm NewMedia Raises $10M, Sees 425M Monthly Mobile Video Ad Impressions

From Mobile Marketer

Mobile video advertising provider Rhythm NewMedia has announced a series C round of funding valued at $10, while indicating its interactive video ads average over 425 million monthly impressions as of Q3 alone.

The company was founded in 2005 and says its the largest mobile video ad network around, even though it’s continued to fly under the radar. A reason for that is that it tends to only work with big-name brands and publishers, and actually counts over 100 Fortune 500 companies as clients. Publishers include CBS and Fox; and advertisers include Best Buy and FedEx, to name a few.

The company focuses on pre-roll interactive mobile video ads, and is responsible for many of the ads you already see on iOS and Android applications. The ads served by Rhythm are interactive in the sense that users can tap on something during the pre-roll ad to visit another website, or view a longer video clip like a movie trailer for instance. Serving over 425 million monthly video ad impressions, which the company says is up 30% over Q2, Rhythm has found the sweet spot of mobile video advertising.

As part of its “Q3 2010 Mobile Video Ad Report” released last month, Rhythm covered data showing completion rates for interactive pre-roll video ads remain high at 87%, exceeding online video and even television. In addition, CTRs are 79% higher on display ads that mention “video” as a call to action vs. other similar ads, the company said, and iPad CTRs for pre-roll video ads are 2x or higher vs. iPhone, iPod Touch and Android.

The mobile video ad space will continue heating up, and we’ll likely hear a lot more from Rhythm going forward. Rhythm CEO Ujjal Kohli said his company was “a bit early” entering the space, but that things have really taken off since the iPhone launched.

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Food Network takes 45,000 recipes mobile.

From mobile marketer

November 5, 2010

The Food Network is letting food enthusiasts browse through 45,000 recipes via its applications for Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Each recipe comes with photos and step-by-step instructions. The In The Kitchen application is available for $1.99 in Apple’s App Store.

“We want to give fans access to their favorite recipes from their favorite Food Network stars – anytime, anywhere,” said Bob Madden, senior vice president and general manager at Food Network.com, New York.

“Users can follow along looking at recipe while they watch TV or look for last minute ideas for dinner in the grocery aisle,” he said. “Mobile is a category we’ve been playing in for a while.

“It only made sense for our brand to tackle recipes as that’s what we’re known for – our vast catalog from some of America’s most well-known chefs needed to be there.”

Food Network is a lifestyle network, Web site and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food.

Food for thought
Users with a Food Network account can access and browse their online recipe box with the ability to add new recipes directly from the application.

In addition, seasonal menus will be updated monthly and Thanksgiving recipes will be featured at launch.

Users can add ingredients from the recipes to a shopping list that they can share with friends via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Users can access the shopping lists offline.

“We’re leveraging all of our resources for this app,” Mr. Madden said. “You’ll see a broad marketing and public relations campaign around In The Kitchen – television ads, snipes, Facebook and Twitter posts, as well as contests, and so on.

“We’re really proud of what we produced,” he said.

Users can search the application

Users can browse recipes

Key features
Other features of the application let users set timers as they work on the recipe without leaving the application and converting measurements.

The company is looking to extend the application to Android devices in mid-November.

“Specifically with the In The Kitchen App, you can expect to see video, offline access to more content, ability to rate and review recipes, plus lots more in future versions,” Mr. Madden said.

“We’re also making select programming available on iTunes,” he said. “Food Network takes the mobile space seriously and wants to give our fans what they want, where they want, when they want it.”

Editorial Assistant Rimma Kats covers media, television, research and social networks. Reach her at rimma@mobilemarketer.com.

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Pizza Hut exec reveals how branded app achieved 2 million downloa

By Giselle Tsirulnik

October 26, 2010

Pizza Hut has been in mobile since 2008

NEW YORK – Taking a brand and bringing it to the mobile market effectively means listening to customer feedback and acting accordingly, said a Pizza Hut executive who presented at the Mobile Shopping Summit.

Pizza Hut’s mobile Web site and iPhone application are not new, but the executive explained that it took a lot of revamping to get the mobile properties where they are today.

“We initially launched our mobile Web site in 2008,” said Baron Concors, chief information and digital officer of Pizza Hut, Dallas. “The mobile site was slow and customers were complaining.

“We have several customer feedback channel and consumers were very vocal on which aspect of the site they did and did not like,” he said. “We then decided to launch an iPhone application.”

Pizza Hut is part of the Yum Brands suite of fast food brands. It is the largest restaurant company in the world, serving more than 25 million customers daily.

Pizza Hut taps Green Tomato for its ordering app

IPhone app
When Pizza Hut began to explore the possibility of an iPhone application, the company knew one thing for sure. It had to make the order process fast and easy.

At first the target audience was those who rarely prepare or consume home-cooked meals. The average age was 24.

Customers were complaining that the purchase process takes too long and that transactions were too hard to complete.

Pizza Hut targets iPhone users

Also a large amount of consumers felt that products were hard to find.

Pizza Hut took all of this into consideration when developing and enhancing its iPhone application.

As a result the company was able to get the experience to be easy for consumers and the application has been downloaded more than 2 million times since launch.

App features
The application uses iPhone and iPod touch features such as the user interface and accelerometer to make ordering menu items while having a fun and customized experience.

The pizza ordering section allows consumers to virtually build their own pizza.

Customers can pinch to select size, drag-and-drop toppings onto the pizza.

If a customer adds too many toppings, the pizza explodes and toppings go flying across the screen with an alert to make their pizza happier with fewer toppings.

The Pizza Hut mobile commerce application is driving sales in a major way. Last year the company announced $1 million in sales just via the application.

Digital strategy
Pizza Hut's digital strategy is to offer multiple digital ordering channels.

Mr. Concors suggested that brand be bold and take calculated risks when it comes to their digital strategy.

“Engage customers on their terms,” Mr. Concors said.

Pizza Hut’s ecommerce framework relies on delivering online orders to 6,000-plus stores.

“Currently we have no scalability concerns because our current ecommerce operations handle large traffic events,” Mr. Concors said.

“Additionally, there is no training required at stores when adding new online channels,” he said.

Development
Pizza Hut concentrated on quality assurance with the launch of its iPhone application.

Testing requires additional steps to compile and load the application on iPhone. Integration testing was important as well.

As for deployment, Mr. Concors said brands need to register as an iTunes developer early, since it takes some time.

“Thoroughly test before submitting to Apple review,” Mr. Concors said. “Rework cycles are costly.”

Spreading the word
Pizza Hut did quite a lot of marketing to promote its application and gain 2 million downloads.

Mr. Concors suggests that brands use all existing media to promote their application and mobile Web destinations.

Pizza Hut used its PC Web site, YouTube, Facebook, the App Store rankings and Twitter to promote the application.

Apple was pretty impressed by the application. The company included the Pizza Hut application in its television commercial.

“Pay attention to bloggers, professional reviews as well as iTunes comments,” Mr. Concors said. “The first release of an app is generally accepted as not perfect.

“But brands must aggressively fix identified issues and introduce new functions,” he said. “Apps are for loyalists and mobile Web is for customer acquisition."

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Kohl’s rolls out first mobile effort to push holiday deals and sales

Kohl’s multichannel holiday campaign focuses on all of the special offers the department store chain offers consumers, with mobile at the heart of it.

The campaign focuses on how shoppers can save on products at their convenience. The multichannel campaign will be communicated across multiple mediums, including print advertising, direct mail, email, digital, mobile and social media.

“Mobile offers retailers another powerful channel to drive sales during the holiday season,” said Nick Taylor, president of Usablenet, New York.

“With the surge in smartphone adoption this year, retailers should capitalize on this opportunity by extending holiday items and sales to mobile,” he said. “Non-optimized retail sites run the risk of losing business during the most critical quarter.”

Mr. Taylor, whose company develops mobile commerce sites, did not work with Kohl’s on the holiday campaign. He is simply a third-party source based on his expertise with mobile retail sites.

Kohl's did not respond by deadline.

Kohl’s is a family-focused specialty department store chain offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products.

Kohl’s mobile
The company saw an increasing amount of consumers accessing its Web site via their smartphones and created a mobile-optimized site.

Consumers can now shop the store’s merchandise via the site, as well as read customer reviews and view ratings for items.

Additionally, consumers can view shipping deals, find the closest store, browse that day’s ad, contact customer service, view their account and their My Kohl’s Charge history.

The company expects Kohls.com sales to increase by more than 40 percent for 2010 as the site continues to be a go-to resource for shoppers.

Kohls.com offers merchandise and savings available in-store, plus thousands of online exclusives, which are now available on the mobile device as well.

Merchandising for the mobile site focused on increasing awareness of "only-at-Kohl’s" brands through holiday insights from Simply Vera Vera Wang, LC Lauren Conrad, Dana Buchman and Bobby Flay.

Recognizing that consumers are increasingly using smartphones for improved convenience and efficiency, Kohl's has made significant investments in new mobile tools designed to make shopping easier for consumers.

The popular list builder tool will once again be available on Kohls.com and on the mobile version of the site during the days leading up to Thanksgiving as an additional resource to help shoppers conveniently plan their in-store visits and preview hundreds of Early Bird offers.

A screengrab of the Kohl's mobile site

Kohl’s charge card and direct mail
Kohl’s has increased its direct mail investment and distribution.

Throughout November and December, Kohl’s Charge card customers will enjoy more days to save than last year.

Pick-Your-Day savings offers and shopping passes allow shoppers to save multiple times during key sales events. This holiday season, Kohl’s will also include an additional shopping pass with each Pick-Your-Day offer.

Kohl’s will once again distribute a bundled holiday gift guide and jewelry mailer to select Kohl’s Charge card holders, including additional ways to save.

New this year, Kohl’s will also distribute a December guide with more than 30 pages of gift ideas.

Email alerts
Kohl’s database of shopper emails continues to grow as customers look to stay updated on brands and savings opportunities.

Emails beginning the second week of November will feature offers, gifts and apparel available in-store and online, including exclusive offers available only at Kohls.com.

Kohl’s will segment emails according to customer needs, lifestyle and preference.

Recipients can link to Kohl’s Facebook page directly from their emails to share their deals.

Digital and social media
Kohl’s will increase its investment in its digital marketing strategy, leveraging social media and online advertising.

This investment reflects the continuing trend of consumers researching purchases and sharing information online.

The company has seen substantial growth of its Facebook fan base, which has more than doubled since 2009 and now exceeds 2.8 million.

As a result, Kohl’s will continue to increase interaction on the site, making it easier for customers to shop and share their experiences.

The company will promote an ongoing dialogue about Kohl’s brands, programs and gifts, increase online polling functionality and offer integrated seasonal messaging via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

In addition, Kohl’s will seed merchandise giveaways with consumer bloggers.

Homepage takeovers are also a component of Kohl’s holiday digital advertising strategy.

The high-impact placements provide increased interaction with customers, promoting increased brand exposure.

Throughout November and December, Kohl’s will promote sales events with nine homepage takeovers on popular sites such as AOL and Yahoo.

This year, Kohl’s will also have a presence on Oprah.com to seed messaging prior to the Jan. 1, 2011 launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN, and an expanded paid advertising presence on Facebook.

Television and radio
Kohl’s will continue to leverage national and regional broadcast advertisements to engage customers and highlight why Kohl’s is the smartest choice this holiday season.

Broadcast spots will feature shoppers sharing how they gifted at Kohl’s by using savings tools and policies such as Kohl’s Cash, Kohl’s Charge card and Kohl's return policy.

Beginning after Thanksgiving, two 30-second national brand TV spots will run throughout the holiday season during such shows as Dancing with the Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, Survivor and Modern Family.

A mix of 15 - and 30-second TV advertising spots will support Kohl’s key sales events and highlight the company’s savings tools and differentiators.

The company continues to take advantage of radio’s strong reach with various 30-second national radio spots debuting on Nov. 2 and running through the week.

Kohl’s will once again use DJ integration throughout the holiday season with radio personalities Ryan Seacrest, Billy Bush, John Tesh and Lia.

“Customers often prefer alternative methods to browse and purchase gifts, especially this time of year,” Usablenet's Mr. Taylor said. “Mobile allows customers to avoid the crowds and engage with brands in the most accessible and convenient way.”

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Mobile Marketing and Coupons

Elevating the Mobile Love Affair With Coupons

Written on Apr 8, 2010
Author: Meaghan Schaefer

The number of mobile coupons redeemed in North America is set to increase more than tenfold in 2010, followed by triple-digit increases in both 2011 and 2012, according to Yankee Group. All in all, some $2.37 billion worth of mobile coupon transactions will take place in North America in 2013, up from just $5 million this year.

Typically text messages or images sent to people’s mobile devices offering a discount redeemable in-store, mobile coupons are a win-win for everyone. Consumers get deals targeted to their current interests, past purchases and/or current location sent right to their phone, while marketers succeed in directly spurring purchases that can be tracked and measured through to the point of sale.

Many marketers have experienced great success with targeted and measurable online discounts and affiliate programs, and mobile coupons are a powerful way to extend the capabilities of online marketing offline.

From a consumer perspective, mobile coupons deliver not only a discount, but more importantly, a positive shopping experience. They don’t need to flip through circulars and clip coupons or search for promotion codes online, since mobile coupons are pushed to consumers’ phones.

Today’s mobile applications also can glean understanding about a customer’s product preferences and current location from GPS, CRM, and credit card systems, then match data with brand marketers’ promotions so that offers sent to phones are truly targeted. Mobile coupons are relevant, timely and easy… and they have the ability to dramatically alter the way people shop.

Brands and retailers are eager to adopt mobile coupons to reach consumers in a unique way. By sending relevant offers to people via their very personal, always-on mobile device, marketers can essentially speak right to a potential customer in a one-to-one dialogue.

This channel not only improves sales and loyalty, but the in-store experience. Mobile coupon alerts can also serve as an influence point when someone is in the vicinity of a store, providing a timely and targeted call to action.

One of the most effective reasons marketers like them is that mobile coupons are very measurable — marketers see not only how many coupons were redeemed, but which type of customers or segments responded to which offer.

Marketers can leverage this analysis to accurately understand customer behavior and target future offers. In addition, marketers can eliminate lengthy and expensive reconciliation processes that are standard with paper coupons. If consumers opt in to offers from brands to their mobile phones, marketers can wisely develop an intimate level of customer engagement.

Mobile coupons hold the promise of both direct marketing and one-to-one marketing. By delivering highly personalized incentives to a person’s mobile phone, marketers are promoting their brand right into the pocket of their target audiences at key influence points. The mobile commerce and coupon ecosystem will be one to watch as brand advertisers capitalize on this innovation.

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New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez to Help Raise $100,000 for JDRF in Pepsi Refresh Project Challenge using Mobile Marketing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joana Casas, JDRF Media Relations

(212) 479-7560, mcasas@jdrf.org

New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez to Help Raise $100,000 for JDRF in

Pepsi Refresh Project Challenge

Supporters can Vote Online or Text Now thru Feb. 5

NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2010 – Mark Sanchez, quarterback for the New York Jets, is helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) try to win $100,000 in grants as part of the Pepsi Refresh Project, an online campaign to fund programs that will have a positive impact on people’s lives.

Voters can go to www.nfl.com/pepsirefresh and vote for Sanchez, or text ‘MARK’ to PEPSI (73774). Voting ends at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 5, 2010. If Sanchez outpolls other Pepsi Refresh Project sponsors, the funding will help JDRF establish a nationwide program to educate people about the symptoms of type 1 diabetes – the most severe form of the disease – and get medical care before suffering the life-threatening short-term complications of high blood sugar. Symptoms for type 1 or juvenile diabetes can be mistaken for common illnesses, such as the flu, and if left untreated, even over a very short timeframe, can be deadly.

“I want to help establish a much needed, nationwide educational program with JDRF to ensure that the warning signs of type 1 diabetes will become household knowledge for medical personnel, parents, teachers, and friends,” said Sanchez. “Then, a quick and accurate diagnosis can be made and proper treatment given before it results in a life threatening situation”.

In addition to Sanchez, quarterback Drew Brees and linebacker Demarcus Ware are also participating in the Pepsi Refresh Project challenge

“We re honored to have Mark Sanchez in the vanguard of our efforts to help save lives and eventually find a cure. Mark is an outstanding example of leadership on and off the field, bringing attention to a problem that can have an enormous impact on the 15,000 children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes annually – that’s 40 children a day,” said Alan J. Lewis, Ph.D., the President and CEO of JDRF. “All forms of diabetes are clearly on the rise, but the sad fact is that type 1 diabetes is far and away the most prevalent form of the disease affecting children, and so we are also grateful to the Pepsi Refresh Project Challenge for investing in a program that will positively impact so many lives.”

About type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and kills off the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, a hormone that enables people to convert food into energy. It affects 3 million American children, adolescents, and adults.

To manage their disease, people with type 1 diabetes need to measure their blood sugar multiple times throughout the day (typically by pricking a finger for a drop of blood), and pump insulin or inject themselves multiple times daily to keep blood sugar levels within a healthy range. That daily routine continues for life, because insulin administration does not cure diabetes.

About JDRF

JDRF is a leader in setting the agenda for diabetes research worldwide, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 research. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes children and adults suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation.

Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.4 billion to diabetes research, including more than $100 million in FY2009.

For more information, please visit www.jdrf.org .

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