MarketingBeyond

Mobile Carriers and Manufacturers Fail to Engage Their Customers

During the past few evenings, I've had conversations on Twitter with disgruntled iPhone owners, new Palm Pre users, BlackBerry Crackheads like me and other passionate people who love mobile devices but are venting.

iPhone users, in particular, are mad as Hell about AT&T's lack of MMS and tethering support. They don't understand why Apple enabled these functions on the iPhone while AT&T waffles about their availability. Today AT&T slapped a programmer in the face who had devised a software work-a-round providing users with both functions, threatening customers with enormous data bills.

Read the rest of the story on MobileBeyond.

MobiChitter--Best Website in Town for Twitter Mobile Chitter Chatter

Calling all mobile geeks, mobile marketers, advertisers, mobile developers: MobiChitter, a new site featuring mobile tweets launched today. MobiChitter combines all the best tweets and conversations found on Twitter's MobileBeyond, MobiChirp, MobiMarketing and MobiChitter.

Everytime users refresh the pages, new mobile content appears. MobiChirp, a little bird that loves his iPhone, G1 and BlackBerry, along with Hopper, Chopper and MobiGeek, got so excited today, they made a video of the MobiChirp choir.

Why only chatter when you can chitter? Check Out MobiChitter.

Optimizing Mobile Websites: Podcast Interview with Eric Hansen of SiteSpect

Mobile website owners, similar to non-mobile website owners, may believe that website optimization, mobile analytics, search engine marketing and other digital marketing techniques are too challenging, take excessive time and, in many cases, become impossible to manage. This convinces some mobile marketers to "fly by the seat of their pants" when assessing mobile website performance.

Eric Hansen, Founder and C.E.O. of SiteSpect, a Boston-based marketing-focused website testing and optimization firm, will probably disagree with you. Since starting the firm in 2004, Hansen's team has helped numerous companies, including J.C. Penney, Overstock.com, The New York Times, CreditCards.com and others that have greatly improved their website marketing performance by optimizing mobile content and placement. According to Hansen, SiteSpect is the only company in its space providing accurate mobile website user behavior on phones that don't support Javascript and cookies. Per Hansen, 50% of worldwide mobile handsets are not Javascript enabled.

Hear the podcast on IM-Mobile.

The MobiMarketing Club Launches on Twitter

Join the exclusive MobiMarketing Club now forming on Twitter and elsewhere.

The MC is an interactive online and email club sharing unique content about mobile technology and mobile marketing and advertising. Want to discover how mobile affects human communications? Launch your own mobile site or market globally?

Then The MC is for you. Sign up by entering your first name and email address when the box appears on your screen.

Michael Boland of Kelsey Group Talks About Mobile Advertising Future

Mobile Advertising Growth Forecast: Michael Boland Podcast

Mobile Advertising Growth Forecast: Michael Boland Podcast

Michael Boland, a senior analyst and program director for The Kelsey Group’s Mobile Local Media Forecast Division, is an expert in mobile advertising market research and the mobile industry.

Since joining The Kelsey Group in 2005, Mike has been instrumental in covering the local online space for Interactive Local Media practice.

Mike is a frequent speaker and organizer at top industry conferences including Kelsey Group events, search engine strategies and others. He has authored in-depth reports on the changing local media landscape including online video, social networking and mobile.

He contributes regularly to highly read online news sources such as Search Engine Watch and Huffington Post. A trusted source for reporters covering the interactive media space, his comments have appeared in major news and trade media, including the Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes.

The Kelsey Group is the leading provider of strategic research and analysis, data and competitive metrics on Yellow Pages, electronic directories, local search, SMB advertising and local media.

The Kelsey Group’s Mobile Local Media Forecast for mobile advertising (2008-2013) is highlighted in the report “Going Mobile: The Mobile Local Media Opportunity.

Kelsey’ s projections, quoted in Mobile Marketer, are  $330M in 2009; $720M in 2010; $1.5B 2011;  $2.3B in 2012; $3.1B in 2013, 20X $160M in 08; search: $81M in 09; $242M in 2010, $564M in 2011 & $905M in 2013.

In the podcast, Mike discusses local mobile search advertising trends, including advertising revenues changes from traditional media (radio, television, newspapers) to mobile (SMS, display and search). SMS still dominates, but local search is growing faster, and traditional media area adopting mobile marketing as another channel for revenue growth.

Hear it on MobileBeyond.

New Mobile Internet Marketing & Advertising Site Launches

IM-Mobile is a mobile Internet marketing and advertising site. The world is quickly turning from desktop--even laptop--computers to mobile phones for information and entertainment.

Many sophisticated applications written for smartphones are available now and the market for mobile applications is growing rapidly. Likewise, companies, large and small, are launching dot mobi websites that bring content-rich Internet experiences to smartphone users.

IM-Mobile focuses on these developments in mobile technology from a marketing and advertising perspective. How can mobile publishers monetize their websites and blogs? Which  marketing strategies work best for advertisers to reach target audiences? How do marketers create conversations and connectedness among mobile users?

IM-Mobile is not only a blog; you'll find podcasts, including interviews with mobile marketing and advertising professionals. (Subscribe to the podcasts either on the IM-Mobile site or through iTunes.)

Multimedia Mobile Advertising: David Miller & Mobile Discovery Podcast

Today's marketers are searching for new, innovative methods to increase marketing campaign results, whether for lead generation, branding effectiveness, events and direct sales. By combining multiple media channels, including mobile, marketers and advertisers can boost their overall effectiveness substantially.

In our Web 2.0 age, advertisers are finding ways to generate impact through integration of traditional off-line media, such as print, broadcast, billboards and email,  with social media, mobile and other technologies. This increases the possibility of marketing campaigns going viral.

David H. Miller, President and CEO of MobileDiscovery, an integrated multi-channel advertising company, shares his views in this podcast about multimedia advertising, product branding, FaceBook, MySpace and other social media channels, media tags and more.

David explains how to integrate mobile applications with advertising and discusses how the Mobile Discovery platform has been successfully used for QVC, U.S.A Today and other clients.

Moreover, he outlines Mobile Discovery's applications and campaigns with FaceBook, MySpace and other social media sites, portals and RSS feeds.

Commenting on "channel shifting" (enabling consumers to move among PC's, mobile phones and other communication channels), along with "time shifting" (consumers using media content at their own leisure), David outlines a vision of the future that's compelling and fascinating, including the embedding of mobile devices in the human body!

Listen to this futuristic podcast with David Miller.

For further information, see the links below:

Implementing a Multi-Channel Mobile Advertising Platform (Mobile Advertising Alliance)

For further reading, click here.

Letter to Dan Hesse at Sprint: Salesmanship and Customer Service

(A podcast version of this post is at MobileBeyond.)

November 22, 2008

Dear Dan:

Today, Dan, I walked into one of your stores--the one at Newpark Mall in Newark, CA, not far from my home. I'm a Sprint customer, qualify for a phone upgrade and thought I'd check out a few of your phones that caught my eye of late: The BlackBerry Curve, HTC Diamond Touch and even the Instinct--your "iPhone Killer"--although I'm not heavy into multi-media or touch-based keypad phones.

Dan, let me be candid. If you're wondering why you're losing millions of customers to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, it's because you haven't trained your staff how to sell and offer superior customer service. You haven't even conveyed to your staff a sense of urgency in our economically troubled times.

When I walked in the door, four--that's FOUR--Sprint employees were cracking jokes and having a great time behind the counter. I yelled out "Hi" to everyone, got a slight acknowledgment I existed and started playing with the BlackBerry Curve. (The demo Curve's screen, by the way, was full of finger prints and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a week.)

Not one of your employees approached me. I looked at several phones, thought about upgrading and signing another two year contract, then walked out the door.

Meanwhile, excited T-Mobile salespeople at the kiosk outside your Sprint store were actively soliciting business from people walking near the kiosk. I heard one say: "Hey, would you like a free phone?" Further down the mall thoroughfare were TWO AT&T kiosks. Positive, excited salespeople were showing off shiny new phones from your competitor. Down further was Verizon's kiosk with a giant BlackBerry Bold display and sharp-looking employees showing off Verizon's line-up.

You know, Dan, I was almost tempted to stop by each of those kiosks, if only to listen to how excited, positive people offer superior salesmanship and customer service. But time was passing and I had to leave the mall.

Dan, just so you know I'm not knocking Sprint alone, read by blog post on AT&T: "Training Retail People People to Become Marketers and Delight Customers." In the post, I relate a negative experience I had at an AT&T store. Or, if you're in the mood for some humor, take a look at my blast against Verizon: "News Release: Verizon Wireless Announces $99 'Talk All You Want' with Rollover Plan."

Sprint is running some VERY cool online flash videos of your phone line-up and expensive broadcast and print advertising portraying Sprint as the leader in wireless technology. So, I'm very sorry to see that, having spent millions of dollars on quality advertising, you would allow its impact destroyed by your retail employees. It doesn't make sense.

Here's what should have happened today at your Sprint store:

1. A pleasant, well-dressed trained Sprint sales rep meets me at the door
2. Through a series of questions and rapport building, the rep makes me feel comfortable and helps me find several phones that meet my needs
3. The rep answers all my questions and skillfully handles my objections by presenting features and benefits of the phone, the plan and Sprint as a quality company
4. The rep closes the deal with appropriate statements and quesitons ("this phone does meet your needs, yes?")
5. The trained sales rep upsells me at the counter with accessories, phone insurance, a better voice and data plan
6. After handling the transaction, the Sprint rep gives me a business card, asks me to call him/her at any time if I have questions, thanks me for buying from Sprint, walks me to the front of the store, thanks me again for my business and wishes me well

Dan, I know you have a training program in place for your sales reps. But you disappointed me today. You made me feel that, just maybe, I made the wrong decision going with Sprint. Your reps' lack of care, attention and professionalism didn't jive with your cool, high tech ads. I walked out the door feeling negative about Sprint.

I know you're working hard, Dan, to turn the company around. You're moving ahead with WIMAX and other new telecom technologies and services. But, today, Dan, you disappointed me.

I thought you would like to know.

Regards,

Brian

 

Social Media Advertising: Is FaceBook an Effective Marketing Tool?

Yesterday, MobileDiscoveries, Innovative Communication Solutions' e-commerce mobile and portable gadget store, started advertising on FaceBook. With Google charging $5+ per click for electronic items, we thought we'd give FaceBook a try.

For our first day, the click-through-rates varied from .02-.04  with GPS devices and Lenovo notebooks generating the higher number. While some say this is horrible and FaceBook users are only a bunch of kids clicking away, we don't have enough conversion data yet to calculate our ROI.

One feature that attracted us is the use of keywords representing member interests. I thought I'd share a few of our online ads and keywords with you so you can better determine if social media site advertising is worth a try.

Unlike advertising on Google, Yahoo or Microsoft, FaceBook provides an opportunity to choose very specific keywords and phrases matching FaceBook member interests. Here's the ad copy and associated keywords for ads with the highest CTR's:

 

Lenovo V200 12 Notebook

12 inch WXGA notebook features
a Core 2 Duo processor with Intel
graphics, 1GB memory, Corel and
XP Pro. 10% off at MobileDiscoveries.

Keywords: You are targeting people between 18 and 50 years old in the United States who like Bluetooth, Business, Business Development Manager, Computers, computing, Electronics, engineer, my laptop, Marketing Consultant, Marketing Director, Marketing Executive, Marketing Manager, Microsoft, The Notebook, Programmer, Sales Consultant, Sales Executive, Marketing and Sales, Sales Representative, Software Engineer, Travel, or Windows Live Messenger.

Here's a GPS placement:

GPS Navigation

MobileDiscoveries features
handheld and vehicle GPS units,
map software, cases and
other accessories at
great prices. Visit us soon.

Keywords on this one: You are targeting people between 18 and 50 years old in the United States who like Apple Computers, Autos, Computers, Electronics, Gadgets, Going On Vacation, my laptop, mobile phones, Sales Consultant, Sales Manager, Marketing and Sales, or Sales Representative.

We used more specific keywords in this Garmin GPS device that's geared for active lifestyles. This ad also identified 3.5 million FaceBook members matching the keywords, a million or so higher than the first GPS ad above:

Garmin Edge 605

Bikers. Add maps and get
motivated. This GPS enabled
cycle computer comes
loaded with everything
you need. MobileDiscoveries

Keywords: You are targeting people between 18 and 45 years old in the United States who like Anything Outdoors, being healthy, Bike Rides, Bikes, Computer, Computer Games, Cycling, Dirt Bikes, Electronics, Exercise, Exercising, Friendship, Gadgets, Garminchipotle Cycling Team, Going On Computer, Going On Vacation, The Great Outdoors, Health And Fitness, Health Nutrition, healthy living, Losing Weight, mapping, Maps, Men's Health, Mountain Biking, Outdoor Activities, Outdoors, Playing On The Computer, Relaxation, Relaxing, Riding My Bike, Street Bikes, Streetlight Manifesto, Weight Watchers, or Workout.

We started thinking about the product's features and benefits, then came up with a few keywords that seemed applicable to the demographics of our target audience. As you start typing keywords, FaceBook suggests words and phrases to use. Beneath the keyword section, FaceBook shows the total number of members who have indicated these interests in their profiles. Try doing that on Google or Yahoo.

As of a moment ago, in our second day of FaceBook advertising, we've generated over 300,000 impressions, 86 clicks and an overall CTR of .03. Again, It's too early to assess the results. But we've run Google ads with 0 clicks based on 50,000+ impressions. So at least we're getting potential customers to visit our site on a very small budget. (Average CPC is 33 cents.)

Here are the other ads currently running:

Personal Internet Radios
Garmin Geko 201
Nokia E62 10% Off
GPS Gadgets Galore
Never Get Lost
Portable DVD Players
Podcasting for Business
GPS Navigation
Portable Electronics

Our experience with FaceBook will naturally determine how we allocate our advertising budget. However, I like the narrow targeting, low CPC and ability to test dozens of ads simultaneously.

Oh, our daily budget? $20

 

The iPhone Competition: Nokia & Alcatel Come On Strong (Podcast)

So much has been written about the iPhone and other high-end mobile phones of late that you'd think they represent the majority of mobile devices sold around the world. That's not the case.


Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and other established manufacturers sell tens of millions of mobile handsets globally each year, while Apple's iPhone and other touch and non-touch handsets are a drop in the bucket.

To answer many questions I've received: Yes, MobileDiscoveries sells mobile handsets and useful accessories. As you surf the store, you'll find dozens of useful items, including Nokia and Alcatel handsets, Windows SmartPhones, and a variety of accessories: batteries, chargers, Bluetooth headsets, cases, wired headsets, sync s/w for Motos, external bluetoth speaker, portable speakers for iphone,  mobile handsfree car kits (a legal necessity for California drivers) from Nokia and wireless keyboards.

This podcast covers some of the features of the more interesting mobile handsets and accessories on MobileDiscoveries.

Mobile Phones:

Nokia 6300

Nokia N73.



Nokia E62




N76 Flip Phone Black




Nokia N82



Alcatel C820a Slider Phone w Camera




Alcatel E801a MP3 Player Phone



Playboy Camera Phone - Pink

Clearboost Antenna for iPhone




Remember to use code MD-NEW for your 15% discount.

Podcast on MobileBeyond or iTunes.

Lennart Svanberg Mobile Marketing Podcast: Internet and Mobile Together

Lennart Svanberg, the Producer of the Internet Marketing Conference in New York on June 4th, 2008, speaks with Brian Prows in this podcast about growing interest among Internet marketers in mobile applications.

Lennart also discusses the state of global mobile technology, contrasting Swedish networks delivering up to 7.2Mbps data speeds to slower U.S. wireless networks. He also talks about innovative mobile marketing alliances, mobile book publishing in Japan, China's 500 million mobile users and Ericsson's agreement with China Telecom to build faster cellular networks. One publisher in Sweden even supplies its customers who purchase mobile websites with mobile phones.

Svanberg has insightful thoughts on the status of mobile technology around the globe.

Mobile Growing Rapidly in India: A Model for the World?

India, according to BusinessWeek and other sources, is now the second largest mobile market on Earth. Between 250 to 300 million Indians now own mobile phones in a country with only 30 million personal computers. That's 25% of India's 1.1B citizens. Over 8 million Indians sign up for cellular service each month.

Average monthly carrier revenues (USD) in mobile-intensive countries is staggering: $10 in India, $12 in China and $30 in the U.S., although other research shows an average of $55 per subscriber in the United States. Voice minutes cost 1.3 cents in India, 8.4 cents in Pakistan and 3.5 cents in China. To my knowledge, carriers in these countries have yet to offer "talk all you want" plans recently introduced by U.S. carriers Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. (See my post on Sprint regarding its marketing challenges.)

Although India's mobile users are purchasing over $250 million a year in additional wireless services--text messaging, music, wallpaper, games and Web surfing, with expected growth to $1.7B by 2010--currently 80% of data purchases represent text messaging and ring tones. In fact, Indians send over 25 BILLION text messages a year. Additional data purchases are stymied by low-end handsets, price and lack of mobile services.

As expected, India's younger, tech savvy subscribers are the most likely purchasers of mobile services--from online banking to entertainment. Dozens of players, including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, as well as telecom providers--Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices--are developing content: movie schedules, stock quotes and other news services.

Indian mobile carriers, in particular, want to ncrease their current 10% share of information revenues (representing 13% of profits) to 20% of revenues--the "on-deck" information revenues controlled by the carriers and their partners. However, mobile users' desire for content continues its surge, and "off-deck" services, not controlled by the carriers, will proliferate.

Mobile websites, growing rapidly in the global mobisphere, should greatly interest Indian businesses, who seek innovative ways to sell to mobile users, especially considering low PC penetration in the country.

Discovering which mobile services interest India's growing mobile community is the key. In an earlier post on mobile banking, for example, I cited research indicating that younger U.S. cellular users are more interested in ATM and bank location expansion than accessing accounts on their handsets:

An eye-opening study by Javelin Strategy and Research concludes that even Gen-Y consumers (18-29) are not as hot on mobile and online usage as one might assume. "Regardless of Gen Y’s proclivity to initiate online transactions and use mobile phones and technology in general, Javelin data shows that Gen Y is not ready to abandon the brick-and mortar, or other channels, to go completely online or to the handset for all their banking needs. For example, when selecting a new financial services provider, Gen Y consumers ranked access to ATMs and access to branches as more important than online service capabilities, in comparison to those of other age groups."

Marketers seeking to penetrate the mobile space are carefully watching India.

Customer Billing and Follow-Up: A Competitive Advantage

A frequently forgotten part of marketing is customer billing. Companies of all sizes spend millions in advertising and operations to acquire customers and then drop the ball on billing. Marketers are hard at work stuffing bill envelopes with cross-sell/up-sell promotions, but most customers view bills with dread.

Why not impress customers with positive information--preferably just below the amount owed? Why not thank customers for their business? Why not create a multi-channel campaign incorporating the billing process, the MOST important customer communication channel?

Regular readers of this blog may notice a category called "customer service marketing." I've posted numerous times to it, focusing on how customer service impacts marketing effectiveness. I've praised some companies for excellent customer service. I've criticized others. Alas, poor customer service experiences are more memorable than good experiences. Here's another sad one. Sorry, AT&T Mobility, but it's you again.

While an AT&T customer for a week or two to test the iPhone and AT&T's overall service levels, I decided to port two lines back to Sprint, a company that's struggling under newly appointed Tzar Dan Hesse. See my AT&T retail posts: "Training Retail Sales People to Become Marketers and Delight Customers" and "'Call Us in the Morning: Why Customer Service is Failing.'" Read all customer service marketing posts here. In your spare time, take a look at "'Keep the Customer Satisfied:' Spread the Word" on Mobile Telephone Marketing.

My first AT&T bill, still showing the activation fees, arrived in late January. I immediately called AT&T, the CS Rep made the adjustments, told me the final bill and that it would be charged to my credit card on February 14th. The CS Rep was friendly and appeared knowledgeable about AT&T's billing procedures. The call ended on a positive note.

Fast forward to yesterday--February 28th. A past-due notice arrived from AT&T indicating I hadn't paid the bill and my closed account was re-opened. The letter warned me how my credit rating would suffer if I didn't pay immediately.

Back to the phone, again talking to a pleasant, seemingly knowledgeable rep, who was just as baffled as I about the bill, since the account was closed by me within seven days of activation. Oh, another twist. Because the bill was not paid on February 14th, AT&T added the $175 per line early termination fee, raising the total to over $450. Long and short of it: The CS rep offered to "send a message" to AT&T billing requesting a complete credit on everything and "someone" would call me during the first week of March. In other words, the CS rep was powerless to resolve the billing error on the first call. But she gave me a case number and "notated" our conversation, just like the first CS rep.

I even have a case number: xxx-xx-xxxx-x-xxxx-xxxx. (This is AT&T's form of Morse Code, apparently an improvement over tin cans connected by wires; after all, AT&T is in the COMMUNICATIONS business.)

Enough about AT&T. They're too busy, like Verizon, counting how much money they'll lose on the new $99 unlimited minutes plan.

MarketingBeyond's Recommendations for Billing Statements and Pro-Active Follow-Up

• Throw away the four-color inserts. Include the most important messages on a bill's front page, preferably near the total and due date. As more customers view their bills online, they won't notice the inserts anyway.
• Include a "We appreciate your business" on ALL bills, including past-due accounts. Eliminate the negative word "delinquent."
  
  • Use American Express' "member since ___" technique.
• Insert the following line--especially on newly opened or past-due accounts: "We realize that sometimes billing errors occur. We're here to help and would love to resolve any situation quickly. Feel free to call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx or email us by clicking here. We'll get back to you within 24 hours. We promise." Then, keep your word.
• Empower your contact center reps to resolve billing issues in one call. Have supervisors monitor calls to assess rep resolution performance.
• Train and reward reps who SOLVE CUSTOMER PROBLEMS. That's their job. Let them do it and recognize superior performance.
• Eliminate the negative, stupid phrase: "If you've already paid, please ignore this bill." It does nothing but irritate customers who've paid, indicates your billing system is on autopilot and will not persuade non-payers to clear the bill anyway.
• Create an outbound unit in your contact center to pro-actively call new and past-due customers to assess customer satisfaction and help customers resolve problems. This shows you care and seek an equitable resolution to all issues.
• Throw away the "we've improved our bill" inserts. If customers can't easily understand their bills, you've done a lousy job. Make it understandable. Make it a marketing collateral.
• Reduce the number of "customer survey" calls and emails about "your recent experience." AT&T contacted me three times after opening an account. The first was an automated IVR system, the second an email, the third a rep call from a research firm. Consumers are inundated with survey company communications. Put your money into one-on-one, personalized communications.

If you want an example of a company that's doing it right, read my post on American Musical Supply.

News Release: Verizon Wireless Announces $99 "Talk All You Want" with Rollover Plan

News Release

February 19, 2008

Contact: Vera Izon

For Immediate Release

Verizon Wireless today, pressured by declining voice plan revenues, announced a new and innovative $99 "Talk All You Want" plan with rollover.

Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon Wireless' CEO, said: "Verizon realizes that American consumer and business users, as they've eliminated their landlines for cell phones, want free roaming, cheaper prices and, quite frankly, more wireless minutes." Seldenberg added: "We've one-upped AT&T Mobility [AT&T announced a similar plan today] with unlimited mobile calling including rollover minutes."

 When questioned how rollover minutes would work with an unlimited voice plan, Seidenberg gave this example:

"O.K, here's how it works. Let's say you, as a Verizon Wireless customer, talk for an average of 12 hours a day. That's 720 minutes per day or around 21,000 minutes per month. Well, you've only used up half of all total monthly minutes of 42,000. Verizon just rolls the extra 21,000 minutes forward to the next month. So now you can talk for 18 hours a day on the best network in America and never fall behind on your voice plan. We think that's a good deal."

A spokesperson for Verizon Wireless, who requested anonymity, confirmed that if Verizon customers switch back from "Talk All You Want" to a plan with fewer minutes, they're charged 42 cents a minute for all unused rollover minutes. For example, if a customer has a surplus of 70,000 rollover minutes--and then changes to a plan with fewer minutes--the next Verizon Wireless bill would be $29,400--due in twelve easy payments in the next year. The spokesperson added there's a 2% discount if a customer opens a Verizon Wireless credit card account.

Vera Izon, Mr. Seldenberg's executive assistant, commented: "We believe all other carriers will emulate Verizon's 'Talk All You Want' plan, Sprint, in particular." (Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse, who recently joined the troubled company, previously announced his intentions for a total unlimited voice and data plan.) Izon retorted: "Although our $99 'Talk All You Want' plan doesn't yet include data, we're planning a new plan, similar to Sprint's, called "VerizonSpeed."

Verizon Wireless CMO Mike Lanman remarked: "With the introduction of the LG Voyager and other high-end mobile phones, we'd like our customers to think of us as 'the second Apple.' You want touch; we give you touch. You want Google maps; we give you Google maps." Lanman also revealed that Verizon Wireless will soon announce the Veritunes music store to compete with Apple's iTunes. Commented Lanman: "We don't think that Apple should have all the fun. You want tunes; we give you tunes." (A product marketing manager, who also requested anonymity, said Verizon Wireless will release the "vPhone" in Q2 of this year with activation via Veritunes.)

Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless' famous "test man," Paul Marcarelli,  will start production on Verizon's new "Talk All You Want" billboard and TV campaigns. Marcarelli candidly said: "You know, I was kinda getting tired of repeating 'can you hear me now?' I think it's goin' to be really cool to get a new phrase."

Finally, in a report to stockholders, Seidenberg said: "Since the iPhone knocked us for a loop, we're looking forward to delighting our customers with the new voice plan. We're next thinking about a "Do It with Data" campaign, which should make the cash register ring. Lots of data downloads: ring tones, wall paper and a Web experience that can't be beat." A rumor circulating at Verizon has it that former Apple exec Mack Tosh is joining Verizon Wireless to develop marketing strategies for the vPhone and "Talk All You Want" campaigns.

Economy Hurting Marketing Campaigns? Thinking of Joining a 12-Step Program?

One of the biggest marketing challenges--whether pushing mobile devices or stuffed teddy bears--is getting noticed and not ignored. As a marketer, you write news releases, create product and pricing strategies, maybe advertise a bit. But you still have a gut feeling no one's listening. Not good for your social life. Worse if your boss is pushing for increased sales.

Read the rest on Mobile Telephone Marketing.