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Friday, January 4, 2013

Advertising gets truly personal with Pontis

Every mobile network customer can be offered an individually tailored deal

Mark Bridge writes:

Advertising is already personal. Browse online for certain products and services – perhaps a new camera, a car hire deal or a pair of jeans – and you’ll see the same items advertised when you visit other web sites. Cookie-powered ads may not be sophisticated but they’re everywhere.

Then there are the location-based ads offered by a number of companies. These can take advantage of information provided by mobile networks, enabling advertisers to target consumers with text, MMS or online advertisements depending on where they’re shopping.

Marketing technology company Pontis, based in the high-tech industrial zone of Ra'anana in central Israel, has a much more focussed perspective. It talks about a segment-of-one marketing approach… and it’s just started working with O2 in the UK.

The claim is perfectly straightforward: every single customer can receive an offer that’s specifically targeted to the way they use their mobile phone. Just as importantly, customers won’t be bothered by deals that aren’t relevant or could even discourage future usage.

From new connections to top-ups and retention activity, everyone can automatically be sent a promotion or other communication that’s designed specifically to suit their needs.

spoke to Efrat Nakibly, Marketing Manager at Pontis, and asked her why Pontis had chosen to specialise in working with mobile phone and television service providers.

“There is a combination of a large amount of subscribers that need to be addressed, a large variety of marketing options and a huge difference between what I need now and what you may need at the same time”, she explained.

For example, a mobile operator that wants to promote data services would traditionally segment its subscriber base by targeting customers who weren’t new, who had smartphones, generated a medium amount of revenue and didn’t use mobile data much.

However, this might not be appropriate for a specific customer whose spending had dropped over recent months, who had contacted customer services recently about his tariff, who’d reduced his data usage and who had just travelled abroad.

Although the segment-of-one process involves a large amount of information and hundreds upon hundreds of different options, Efrat said it wasn’t difficult for network operators to implement.

“This is one of the strengths of our technology and system. We have an integration layer which is very flexible and intelligent; we can be live within four months or so. It doesn’t take a lot of resources, definitely not from the customer’s side.”

That’s good news for the service providers… but what about their customers?  I wondered whether it might feel a little intrusive to receive communications that were so obviously tailored to suit your needs – and perhaps also obviously based on your previous behaviour.

“On the contrary”, said Efrat, “instead of getting messages which are spam and irrelevant, they’re getting things that are exactly what they want. Subscribers that are addressed by Pontis have 15% higher NPS [Net Promoter Score; a measure of customer loyalty], which is quite impressive.”

So – what’s next?

Much more of the same, Efrat explained. Not only is there much more personalisation available to service providers – the average Pontis-generated mobile subscriber profile contains around 300 separate data points for each user – but there’s also the potential of sharing data. Mobile operators could (with a customer’s permission) disclose detailed subscriber information to third parties, giving them an ability not just to understand what a consumer likes but also what they’re likely to do.

Targeted ads aren’t new. Market segmentation isn’t new. But treating every customer as a segment of one – as an individual – appears to promise many benefits for consumers and network operators alike.

The film Minority Report depicted a sci-fi future where electronic posters would call out to people as they walked past. Reality, according to Pontis, is rather more subtle.

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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 10th October 2011

Mark Bridge takes a look back at last week’s mobile industry headlines.

Rest in peace, Steve. The death of Apple co-founder Steven Paul Jobs following several years of illness has seen the kind of public grieving usually reserved for pop stars and princesses. There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said; it’s hard to argue with Tim Cook’s statement that “Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

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India launches 'world's cheapest' tablet

Anjana Pasricha of voanews.com writes:

India hopes that the launch of what is being called “the world’s cheapest tablet computer” will help tens of thousands of low-income students connect to the digital world.

The $45 device with a seven-inch color touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and two USB ports is meant to bridge the digital divide in a country where only three percent of the population has computers.

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Mobile crime and mobile security at Over The Air

Mark Bridge writes:

Much of Bletchley Park’s history involves code-breaking and intercepting radio messages so - when Over The Air 2011 brought hundreds of mobile developers to the site - it seemed appropriate to explore the subject of mobile phone security.

In particular, there were a couple of sessions on the agenda that caught my eye. Detective Sergeant Andy Williams of the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit started by talking about stolen phones... and asking if mobile applications could help with this problem.

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'Design for All goes Mobile' at Over The Air 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

One of the speakers providing inspiration for the mobile developers at Over The Air 2011 was Denise Stephens, co-founder of Enabled by Design. Her presentation, called ‘Design for All goes Mobile’, explored how good design could help mobile phone users live more independently than they would otherwise be able to.

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The other Apple announcements that shouldn't be ignored

Mark Bridge writes:

Apple’s evangelists will need to wait a little longer for the iPhone 5, it seems. Last night’s announcement of the Apple iPhone 4S by Apple CEO Tim Cook seems to have disappointed many people, although plenty of others had predicted the arrival of this faster and smarter sibling for the iPhone 4.

But that wasn’t the only news from Apple.

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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
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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