Zurich-based startup Kooaba is out to replace QR Codes with a mobile app called Shortcut, an updated of an app it formerly called Paperboy.

Why should marketers consider a shortcut to quick response codes? “We believe QR codes are belonging to an intermediate technology used for things it was never meant for," wrote Tom Desmet in a company blog post. "Despite the enormous media attention QR is getting, it still is not at a level where people are really using it.”Continue reading...

It’s just a matter of time until Facebook starts monetizing mobile ad revenue, says Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazerow, and when it does, it will create huge growth, as he commented to the Washington Post.

That may be an understatement. With mobile ad spending projected by eMarketer to reach $2.6 billion in 2012, up 80% from $1.45 billion last year, it’s an enormous hurdle for Zuckerberg and troops to scale, as quickly as possible.

“It’s a huge Achilles’ heel for them,” said Susan Etlinger, a consultant at the Altimeter Group, to the New York Times. “There’s clearly a movement toward more social media consumption on mobile devices, and Facebook doesn’t have a revenue strategy for that shift. They haven’t figured it out yet.”

Facebook’s IPO filing highlighted the brand's lack of mobile advertising to date, anticipating mobile users will “exceed the growth rate of our overall monthly active users for the foreseeable future,” but also flagging the lack of mobile monetization as a risk factor in their offering. 

One barrier to entry — the dominance of Google and Apple’s Android and iPod devices — may be handled in the social network's new deal with Bango, a mobile payments startup that has deals in place with BlackBerry-manker RIM, Amazon, Electronic Arts, and mobile games pioneer, Gameloft.Continue reading...

Mobile was the big winner in the Super Bowl this year, as marketers and consumers seized the second-screen experience.

“Caring about eyeballs was your grandfather’s ad agency,” commented Dan Israel, Atlanta-based strategy lead for the mobile practice at SapientNitro, to Mobile Marketer.  “What matters today is how many people with smartphones can be gathered in one location at one time. The Super Bowl rules in this category.” 

This Super Bowl was a huge coming out party for Shazam, the mobile app that enables audio tagging to link to content and offers, which partnered with almost half of Super Bowl 46 advertisers, representing 1 million giveaways, this year.

Shazam linked to commercials by Acura, Best Buy (which offered $50 gift cards), Cars.com (which donated $1.00 per Shazam tag to charity), Bud Light, Disney (John Carter trailer), Fed Ex, GE, Honda, Pepsi, Teleflora, and Toyota to unlock exclusive content and coupons. Some of the offers:Continue reading...

As Facebook's Timeline feature rolls out globally (although not for brands — yet), the social media behemoth is jumping into a new revenue stream: mobile advertising. It's getting ready to leverage the shift to tablets and smartphones just in time to boost its coffers prior to a projected $10 billion IPO. It’s a long awaited, preemptive move against Apple's iAd and Google's mobile ad(ventures).

According to Bloomberg, the social network with 800 million users will put ‘Sponsored Stories’ ads in the mobile News Feed. Up until now, Facebook apps on iPhone and Android have remained ad-free. Although flush with cash, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and team have been chomping at the bit to capitalize on their 350 million users who access Facebook via mobile devices. 

If Facebook embraces mobile ads, “it could set off a fascinating corporate strategy fight with Apple and Google,” writes Business Insider. 

Google is “virtually printing money from mobile ads running on its Android system,” says BI, with CEO Larry Page projected $2.5 billion in revenues from mobile ads this year. The search giant has cut a fertile and broad swath for Facebook until now, but with FB selling ads, the relationship will require readjustment so Google reaps a revenue cut.Continue reading...

When you are driving by your local strip mall and a coupon for a store suddenly pops up on your smartphone, congratulations! You’re now part of an industry that has grown (and will continue to grow) exponentially in recent years.

Only three years ago, location-based advertising “was worth just $86 million,” Pyramid Research reports, according to Business Day Online. That was about 10% of the overall mobile advertising market, the site notes. Last year, the numbers had grown to 18.5% and $588 million.

Additionally, the industry is expected to rake in $6.2 billion by 2015. “The research says the figure is equivalent to almost 35 percent of total mobile advertising revenue, and more than 60 percent of total location-based services revenue,” notes Business Day.

“The different components of mobile advertising (including search, display and messaging) are all growing,” Pyramid Research analyst Jan ten Setoff commented.

“However, local search will be the most important driver of location-based advertising revenues. Not only are navigation applications moving to a search-funded model, but there are also a wide range of other companies looking to capitalize on the growth of local search, including start-ups.”

A marriage would clearly be made between advertisers and content providers when smartphones appeared on the scene and users began to spend more and more time staring at their little devices, particularly as more and more content has become available for smartphones. After all, advertisers always want to be where the eyeballs are.

However, the mobile world is starting to fracture into different categories and there are some that consumers remember more than others, another key ingredient to building up advertising dollars. A new study from Compete shows that mobile users remember advertisements within apps more than ads that are simply in mobile websites.Continue reading...

We covered Microsoft's Tag (see a demo above) back in October, so it's fascinating to find out the latest on how the 2D barcodes for mobile tagging by brands doing. Just released stats show an impressive increase in usage and the biggest month of scans to date in March.Continue reading...

New research from the UK's IAB and PwC shows growth in mobile marketing across 2010, in which the market grew 116% to £83 million. Mobile advertising grew 116% year on year growth, up from 32% growth in 2009, according to the third annual IAB and PwC mobile study.