Marketing and Mobile Technology – Event Recap

Marketing and Mobile Technology – Event Recap

Local entrepreneurs, wireless mobility executives, technology professionals and digital marketers filled the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia as Mobile Monday Mid-Atlantic welcomed a record crowd to its annual “Marketing and Mobile Technology” event. With around 400 attendees, one of the area’s premier networking organizations demonstrated that Philadelphia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is a fundamental part of the region’s viability.

While approximately one in every five Americans uses a smartphone, the numbers at a Mobile Monday event are much closer to 100%. Leveraging this, registered attendees were prompted to take their seats for the panel presentation via a welcoming email message that many were seen viewing on various mobile devices.

Mobile Monday board member Chuck Sacco welcomed the crowd and explained that attendees could provide feedback and submit questions in real-time using a beta version of Yorn on their mobile browser.

The evening’s keynote speaker, Josh Kopleman of First Round Capital, offered a VC’s perspective on the current state of the mobile industry. He broke down mobile into three categories. First there are “cash flow businesses” which consists of about 98% of mobile startups. He then pointed to companies that are using mobile as a channel of customer acquisition – where mobile is just a one element of the strategy. Finally he touched upon mobile startups that are trying to create massive enterprise value – an area that Kopleman and other venture capitalists find intriguing and capable of delivering a strong return on investment.

Kopleman then gave way to the panel moderator, Jeannette Kocsis, SVP of Digital Marketing, The Agency Inside Harte-Hanks. Kocsis offered a basic overview of trends in the mobile space, noting that a staggering 4.1 billion SMS messages are sent each day in the United States. She then introduced a panel consisting of well-respected agency, brand and mobile technologist thought leaders. The panel included:

• Drew Salamone, Director, Digital Media, NBC Universal
• David West, VP Sales and Marketing, Pocono Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau; Mobile Marketing Committee Chair for the Destination Marketing Association International
• Steve Rockman – SVP Digital Strategy, The Star Group
• Dan Goikhman, co-Founder, Mojiva
• Paul Alfieri, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Limelight Networks
• Greg Yardley, VP Products – Ad Optimization and Co-founder, Flurry

Highlights of the panel discussion included:

• Avoid SPAM – hefty fines are set in place to deter this practice
• There are basic guidelines, but really no set of “industry standards” when formatting mobile advertising
• Being able to view a website on a mobile browser does not mean a website is optimized for mobile
• Adoption rates with mobile is not the biggest hurdle, as fragmentation in the market creates a bigger challenge
• One solution for solving fragmentation is working with the cloud
• Prioritization is key as advertisers must work to clearly add value to the end user’s mobile experience by being contextual and relevant
• Application development may be a throwback, but it simplifies the end user’s mobile experience and helps them navigate the vast Internet quickly and easily
• Location based applications are the future of mobile
• The mobile industry is no longer just about early adopters, it has reached an inflection point where other industries now need to jump on the bandwagon

In summation, panelist Paul Alfieri, of Limelight Networks, stated that the key to coming up with great ideas and pushing the boundaries of mobile is to integrate the technology into your life and think that way. “Be authentic.”

The Marketing and Mobile Technology event was held in partnership with the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Marketing Association (PAMA) and the Philadelphia Interactive Marketing Association (PhIMA), and sponsored by DeviceAnywhere and Morgan Lewis.