Wake up and smell the cell phone
Yes. The Smellphone.
The newest mobile phone to hit the market in Japan, where more people access the Internet via mobile phone than PC, the SmellPhone emits varying fragrances during long calls to relax its owner. "Now imagine if this phone included global positioning satellite technology—which mobile devices can—and when you walk by a Starbucks, the phone emits the aroma of a freshly made caffe latte." Brian Hecht, founder and CEO of Kikucall Inc., was only half-joking when he pondered aloud in a session titled "Mobile Commerce and Mobile Marketing" at the Shop.org 2007 FirstLook conference in Orlando. Only half-joking because he knows how fast Internet and mobile technologies are advancing, and how quickly new developments can burst onto the web scene.
In the here and now, e-retailers should consider integrating a mobile phone component into their existing multi-channel marketing campaigns, Hecht advised. "M-commerce is not just about mobile versions of e-commerce sites, it`s also about marketing, text messaging, alerts, coupons and more," he said.
Delivering mobile coupons via text messages is a tactic already being used in retail. Some e-retailers are using text messaging to send out billing and shipping alerts as well as e-commerce site content. And some merchants have set up full-blown m-commerce sites. These are strategies being used today as America begins to catch up with other countries in using mobile phones for far more than just talking.
Just around the corner is a mobile coupon application that truly will integrate the multi-channel shopping experience—location-based advertising, Hecht said. All of the necessary technology exists today and is in place.
"A shopper can opt in to receive coupons on their mobile phones from a merchant," he explained. "Say their phone has GPS built in. As soon as they step foot into that merchant`s store, they receive a coupon on their phone for 20% off special items."
Back...
