In understanding global trends within social media, video and mobile, we came across details on what the Mobile Marketing Association is calling their top Asia Pacific trends in mobile, for 2011. Further, and after reviewing the list, we couldn’t help but note the synergies across regions. Their top 10 list was as follows:
- Personalization and privacy will increase effectiveness and credibility of the mobile media as a marketing channel.
- Over the top services will drive data usage
- Free SMS/free video/free phone calls will be available across devices
- The re-birth of Windows 7 mobile
- New winner in the HTML5 vs Apps war
- Location-Based Services (LBS) + Augmented Reality (AR) will be the leading integrated mobile technology in the market
- Mobile micropayments will allow customers to pay from their ‘electronic wallets’ rather than ATM cards
- The re-emergence of mobile blogging
- Continued proliferation of smart-phones and mobile Internet advertising
- Mobiles will jump onto the 3D bandwagon
There are a few interesting things, as a North American, to note with the MMA’s list of predictions for 2011. Firstly, there are many similarities and in fact many of the items listed on the MMA’s Asia Pacific regional trend list, could be applied to North America. For example, an increase in mobile advertising, further mobile device personalization and further growth in data usage. However, where the list starts to stray from what we believe to be a reality for mobile in 2011, is in the expectations they have for Windows 7 mobile and their thoughts on 3D technology and mobile.
We believe that Microsoft will continue to do all they can, in the form of advertising, to spread hype around their recent official launch of the Windows 7 Mobile platform, but the adoption will continue to lackluster when compared to its competitors, therefore deeming the OS a bit of a bust. If you take a look at mobile OS market share numbers, you’ll notice that the clear winners have been OS’s that can build a community, and encourage that community to further add value through feedback, loyalist behaviours and most importantly, mobile applications to aid other users in personalizing their mobile experiences. These are all feats that Microsoft has failed to master, despite their being in the mobile market since April, 2000. To date, Microsoft has been unable to compete against the likes of Apple or Google in the smart phone arena and the only thing that can catapult them in 2011 is a formidable partnership, which does not seem likely, in their near future. Lastly, although we like 3D as much as the next junkie, we doubt we’ll see such an impact on mobile devices as indicated here on the MMA list. We may see a few firms launch entry level tools that set the stage for full on 3D integration into mobile, but it won’t happen in 2011.
