Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Monday, November 19, 2012

Consumer privacy, opt-in marketing and the future of mobile

We talk to Henry Lawson of nFluence media

Mark Bridge writes:

Today’s consumers receive a seemingly never-ending stream of online information from their social networks, from websites, in their email and on their mobile devices. But is there a way to let individuals stay in control whilst also helping companies advertise their products?  According to nFluence Media, there definitely is.

To find out more, I spoke to Henry Lawson, co-founder and CEO of nFluence, and started by asking him to explain exactly what nFluence did.

“nFluence has cracked the code on how to get consumers to create ‘personas’, profiles of themselves, essentially an ‘interest graph’ of themselves that enables them to attract the kind of content, the kind of advertising, the kind of offers they are really interested in. And we've done it by 'gamifying' personalisation. We've cracked the code on how to turn the chore which personalisation mostly is, into something that's actually fun and interesting for consumers. We've now got tens of thousands of consumers participating in creating those very personal interest graphs.”

This sounds very much as though it could apply to any aspect of online communication, so I asked Henry why nFluence often described itself as a mobile company.

“I spent fourteen years in the Ad Tech industry”, he explained, “running the largest processor of media billings at media agencies [Donovan Data Systems] and saw digital marketing move from basically zero, up to about 25% of the media mix in the UK now. I've also watched mobile take off in this country. One of the things when we started nFluence was a very strong view that the mobile device has become the ‘remote control’ to peoples' lives. People keep their calendars on it, people keep their email on it, people keep all of their lives on it. And that device has a number of very interesting characteristics because it is the centrepiece of their lives.”

“First of all, it goes everywhere with them. That means it accompanies them into that bricks-and-mortar environment which has been suffering so badly compared to e-commerce. We believe very much that the mobile device can give a renaissance of bricks-and-mortar commerce by enabling bricks-and-mortar commerce to have the same kind of advantages and understanding of the customer as e-commerce does.”

“Secondly, this is a personal device so it's very logical to develop your own ‘interest graph’ on. Typically people's phones are not shared with other people, whereas your set-top box in front of your TV at home is. Even your iPad and your PC or your Mac will be shared with other people, typically. And we believe very strongly that the mobile device is going to become more and more important in people's lives. It's more and more going to be the way in which people control their lives. We think the preferences they have and the things they're interested in should be reflected through that mobile phone. That was why we went to a mobile strategy and everything about nFluence is driven by that personal device.”

“The other thing is, as it happens, our UX works beautifully on a smartphone because a smartphone is a fantastic place to do what we call 'Swoting'; it's our trademark term, which is basically a conglomeration of 'swiping' and 'voting'. It's about moving your finger half-an-inch on the screen and voting about what you're really looking for. One of the secrets to what we do is the user experience on a smartphone works so much better than clicking and pointing with the mouse. The mobile phone is core to people's lives and it's core to nFluence.”


This is an edited transcript of our podcast interview with Henry Lawson. Click below to read more or listen to the full interview via the built-in audio player on our website.

1234
Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Opinion Articles

4G doesn't come to Three

Mark Bridge writes:

Earlier today, Three.co.uk published a blog post headlined “4G comes to Three”. But it hasn’t.

I spent most of this morning here at Mobile World Congress muttering about the blog before returning to it this afternoon. And suddenly it’s changed.

The blog post remains. The headline is completely different. Now we’re told “Three to launch leading edge 3G service”.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

How far does it go, mate?

Geoff Varrall of RTT writes:

About 15,000 years ago some indigenous Northern Australians decided that they needed a more efficient way of talking to each other than just shouting a lot.

And blowing into a long cylindrical tube proved to be just what was needed and seriously useful fun – the dawn of the didgeridoo.

Trumpets and bagpipes were invented at about the same time. The ancient Greeks used the trumpet in battlefield communication to devastating effect.

The way you can tell that your didgeridoo is better than everyone else’s didgeridoo is to blow into it and see how far the sound goes.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Last week at The Fonecast: 20th February 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So said Sir Arthur C Clarke.

Last week’s magic was supplied by imaging company Scalado, which announced a new product called ‘Remove’. The clue’s in the name: it can automatically remove unwanted people from photos taken on a mobile phone. Expect to see it on a handset near you before too long.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Last week at The Fonecast: 13th February 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s not been a good week for Nokia staff, with 4000 of them likely to lose their jobs from factories in Finland, Hungary and Mexico. The company says it’s moving device assembly to Asia, where it’ll be closer to component manufacturers. The three scaled-down factories will remain open with a new focus on smartphone customisation.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Could a new legal framework for FRAND principles end the mobile patent wars in 2013?

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m not the first person to point out that mobile phone patent battles are raging all around us. They’ve been going on for years.

However, the topic of FRAND patents - those designated as ‘industry standards’ and therefore required to be licensed on Fair, Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory terms - has become an increasingly newsworthy topic.

In the last couple of weeks we’ve reported on an EC investigation into Samsung’s licensing of mobile patents and a Motorola/Apple legal battle that involves FRAND licensing.

Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First4546474850525354Last

Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
12345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«March 2025»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
242526272812
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31123456

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement