Brand owners and content providers have recognized the potential value of marketing that leverages the inherent personalization of a mobile device. As reported by Aerodeon, mobile Web users are amenable to purchasing a brand in response to relevant opt-in advertising on their mobiles. Operators are beginning to recognize the viability of mobile advertising as an alternative or complement to the existing subscription-based business model.

 

For mobile marketing to be effective, opt-in advertisements must be highly targeted and personalized based on user preferences, user activity, predictive analytics, user context and device context. Device context is an important consideration given, for example, the disparity in device features and capabilities. In addition, current network constraints require the ability for mobile applications to support user interaction across a plethora of networks (2.5G, 3G and IP).

 

A more powerful form of mobile advertising is interactive media-rich mobile advertising where the user interacts with a campaign offer using a plethora of messaging methods. For example, users are presented with relevant, personalized and engaging experiences and can interact (e.g., request more information, enter a contest, add comments, tell a friend) using familiar means such as instant messaging, text messaging, social networking as well as voice and video messaging. A solution architecture that can support this type of interactive mobile advertising application comprises both an integrated server-side platform as well as mobile device application components.

 

Operators and application providers are faced with difficult choices for supporting interactive mobile device applications that can deliver these compelling user experiences to support interactive media-rich mobile advertising. There are a number of different application development strategies such as using mobile Web applications, development on a specific device application platform (e.g., Java, .NET) or emerging industry frameworks (e.g., Android (News - Alert)), and leveraging an on-device portal (ODP) platform. This article explores these different device application development strategies for delivering interactive media-rich mobile marketing applications.

 

 

Mobile Web browsers enable interactive applications that can be supported on a broad set of devices without requiring the user to download and configure a separate application. The familiarity of the Web browser promotes a user experience that is easy to use and a mobile application’s ease of use is highly correlated with market penetration. With mobile Web browsers, separate download and maintenance of applications is not required and there is a large pool of industry developers who are skilled in mobile Web browser technologies such as XHTML MP. Further, Web browser usage is increasing in popularity. For example, more than 40 million global users currently use the Opera Mini Web browser.

 

Nevertheless, the overall mobile browser arena is nascent. There are differences in mobile Web browser implementations and in the features they support. For example, mobile browser support for style sheets varies and client-side scripting is not currently supported in most browsers. In addition, the user experience can be adversely affected by network latency as a result of limited bandwidth and the need to request new XHTML pages from the remote Web server. These issues are being minimized in higher bandwidth networks. Further, when the device is not connected to the network, the lack of offline support in most mobile browsers precludes the user from using the Web applications. Note that there are emerging technologies (e.g., Gears) to address offline Web support and improve the user experience (e.g., Mobile Ajax).

 

While a mobile browser-based application may not be appropriate for all device applications, it may meet the needs of a specific marketing campaign. For example, a user who has opted-in to receive offers on local sports receives an SMS with a special offer for a local professional game. In order to participate in the offer, the user needs to click on a Web link embedded in the SMS. The Web page presents an advertisement followed by an offer to receive a free ticket and refreshment. After a user elects to participate in the campaign, a resulting SMS is sent to his/her device with a special coupon code that can then be redeemed at the stadium.

 

This type of application fulfills the mobile campaign requirements while minimizing the current limitations of mobile Web browsers (e.g., limits the Web requests and point and clicks required to access the information). This type of marketing campaign is available to all users with a device that simply supports a mobile Web browser and illustrates the short-lived and disposable nature of some types of interactive mobile campaigns. Given the ubiquity of mobile Web browsers and the encouraging advancements in mobile browser capabilities, a solution architecture for supporting interactive mobile marketing applications should support a mobile Web browser application strategy.

 

 

Another strategy that can support interactive mobile marketing applications is to develop device applications using a specific industry platform such as Java ME, Compact .NET (News - Alert), or the nascent device consortium frameworks (e.g., Android, LiMo).

 

There are a number of advantages with this device application approach. Development on these application platforms can enable a targeted, personalized, brand conversation with customers. Latency issues faced by current mobile Web applications are ameliorated because resources can be downloaded and cached locally. Increased features are afforded by this approach because local device resources (e.g., synchronized device contact lists) can be leveraged, applications can appear as branded icons on the device’s home screen and offline access is supported.

 

Also, the large pool of Java and .NET developers and application partner ecosystem validates the broad deployment of Java ME and Windows Mobile devices. Further, innovation, enhancements and standardization (e.g., Java Mobile Services Architecture) to industry platforms is spurred as a result of continuous development and testing by a global community of developers. For example, the MIDP 3.0 specification promises Java handsets a broad set of application enhancements such as starting application MIDlets at platform boot time, sharing components among application MIDlets, and background MIDlets.

 

There are emerging industry consortiums that offer device application platforms upon which applications can be built for a range of supported handsets. The Open Handset Alliance (News - Alert) and the LiMo Foundation have received support from a broad consortium of device manufacturers, operators and developers. Both the Android and LiMo foundation are Linux-based platforms with a layered architecture that offer core features required to develop interactive media-rich applications such as presentation components, messaging capabilities, database access, networking and security features. Android also provides an integrated Web browser based on the WebKit engine.

 

Despite its advantages, there are a number of issues to be considered when adopting a specific device platform strategy. Some operators deploy a number of devices and require support for multiple platforms such as Java, .NET and BREW. This results in multiple separate device client application development efforts for supporting, for example, Java ME in addition to .NET devices.

 

This additional development impedes rapid interactive mobile marketing application development and increases maintenance and device application management costs. Note that while Java is used for both Android and Java ME applications development, Java ME and the Java used in Android are incompatible. Thus, Android applications cannot be run on any Java ME device. Also, the effectiveness of the universality of Android application deployment across multiple devices has yet to be determined and, at the time of writing this, there are no Android capable devices on the market.

 

 

ODPs are another option available for developing mobile device applications. ODPs are device application components that are downloaded to a device and can provide a rich interactive mobile experience. In general, ODP’s can currently address the limitations of some of the other approaches discussed in this paper.

 

An ODP platform provides the capability to develop interactive marketing applications that are portable on multiple types of devices (BREW, Java, Windows Mobile). This enables quicker development of interactive mobile applications and applications that can be deployed on a broader set of devices. The user experience is enhanced because an application can use locally cached resources and differential updates to minimize network requests. This enables the user to use an ODP application even when network connectivity is not enabled.

 

Some ODP vendors provide built-in mechanisms to deliver and track advertisement effectiveness features thus more rapidly enabling the development of interactive mobile media applications that can present, deliver and monetize content. Further, some ODPs provide additional features to enhance the maintenance and performance of device applications such as supporting over the air (OTA) updates and techniques to minimize requests from device applications to network servers.

 

However, the ODP device application strategy has some drawbacks. Developing device applications on a proprietary mobile application vendor’s platform in a nascent and evolving field is a risk. Also, the need for ODP vendor-specific skills (proprietary XML) limits the developer talent and ecosystem of application partners as well as the community expertise that is leveraged by industry device platforms. While ODP platforms vary by vendor, a number require not only a mobile device software component but also a server component to manage communication with the device client, support advertisements, integration with network enablers (e.g., billing, content providers) and to support and manage device application updates.

 

Nevertheless, ODPs enable a rich interactive application experience that can be rapidly deployed today on a broad set of platforms (.NET, Java, BREW, etc.). ODP platforms provide a vehicle for enabling interactive device-based marketing applications that are media-laden, require quick response times, can be used when offline, and to harness a user's clicks and turn them into purchases. With the additional features to support the delivery and tracking of advertisements, ODPs provide a compelling argument for inclusion in an initial interactive mobile marketing solution offering.

 

 

As each device application platform strategy has strengths and weaknesses, it is imperative that, at least for the short-term, a solution architecture that delivers rich interactive mobile marketing experiences be capable of supporting a broad set of device application platforms such as mobile Web browsers, ODP frameworks, and industry platforms such as Java ME. Moving forward, operators, device application developers and handset manufacturers will begin to aggregate around device frameworks and technologies after significant initial micro-segmentation.

 

In addition to be able to support different types of mobile device applications, an effective solution architecture for interactive mobile advertising must be able to support a broad set of messaging and communication methods with the benefit of a common user profile, share advertising campaign data stores, and intelligent analytics that transcend a specific access method. Application analytic and business intelligence tools are important drivers of product and content distribution, increased user engagement, and increased product and content sales. Another important enabler for successful deployments of interactive marketing applications is the ability to rapidly create multiple access interactive mobile marketing applications that can support a broad set of device clients and interactive campaigns using task-focused, graphical Web-based tools that do not require programming expertise.

 

 

This discussion was not intended to provide a comprehensive review of all available vendor toolkits and device frameworks. There are other client approaches (e.g., iPhone, Flash Cast, JavaFX, Silverlight) that were not included for a number of reasons. Some device toolkits cannot be adopted and deployed by all operators, some are limited to a specific device, documentation is not available on some device toolkits, and finally some device platforms maturity and availability is limited. There were also some features (e.g., multi-touch) that were not covered because they are not coupled to a specific approach but rather have implications for all the different device application strategies.

 

Finally, some of the broader underlying comments detailed in this paper are very germane to toolkits and device frameworks that were not specifically mentioned in this discussion.