My in-depth analysis of Amdocs’ mobile search and advertising strategy –which inspired positive reader feedback and an impressive jump in traffic – ended with a promise that I would circle back with the findings of an exclusive best practices report. Today I am back with the findings and some valuable insights into what is hot and what is not.  Thanks once more to Garland Harwood, Account Supervisor, Weber Shandwick, for releasing the report to MSG first!

By way of background, this report, published by Yankee Group, is based on interviews conducted between April and May with Tier 1 and Tier 2 mobile service providers as well as interviews with Tier 1 branded publishers. The objective was to explore their thinking on a range of key topics, including business drivers and inhibitors, metrics and measurements (or should I say the lack of them?), customer profiling and targeting and where all this is leading. That’s plenty to start with, and I look forward to connecting later this week with report author and senior wireless analyst Linda Barrabee to compare notes, trade observations and discuss the key points.

One key finding that is hardly a surprise: The user experience is paramount.

Consumers need easy opt-in and opt-out and companies that want to get their message across must deliver clear user benefits as well as content and communications that fit the target segment. It may sound a bit like Retail 101, but that’s why I consider this report valuable. It’s a welcome confirmation that many of the same rules and business school dogma we learned still apply if we think mobile when it comes to execution.

Another interesting finding confirms what I have suspected all along: (Customer) Information is power.

Companies have reams of data,  but most service providers use only a fraction of what is available. In fact, in many cases inadequate analytical tools limit the usefulness of this data. At the other end of the spectrum, advertisers don’t see the full value of mobile, neither do they grasp the full potential of personalization.

The recommendation: Use customer insights for personalization and precise targeting, but don’t sacrifice reach.

And a helpful tip that confirms the many other reports that have come across my desk: It’s great to have rich-media campaigns, but you’ll likely only reach a portion of the population (for example smartphone users). SMS is still the best way to reach all the people all of the time.

How can service providers and brands make mobile advertising pay? They should think mobile and bake mobile’s defining characteristics (location, communication, interactivity and a high degree of personalization) into their campaigns. Don’t over-emphasize banner ads (which brands get online). Instead, leverage location and real-time interactivity.

And here is one I didn’t expect: Optimize the search experience for mobile – more specifically federated search.

Think it through and it makes business sense. The avalanche of content and the proliferation of mobile vertical search services (which I analyze here and on my partner site AltSearchEngines (ASE) are factors that play in favor of a federated mobile search approach that can connect into a variety of content sources (mobile downloadable content storefronts, WAP and Web indexes, local search services and the operator-branded portal), seamlessly blend results and display them on a single page.

I’ll have more on federated search once I publish my white paper, and more on this insightful report once Linda and I connect this week.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Local Search, Location-based services, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Research, Mobile Search, Personalization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.