The concept of augmented reality each day has more success. It has gone from being something intended for military use, to overlap information on the helmets of the pilots, to be something for everyday use.

The possibilities are endless, from training to marketing arena. A clear example is the action taken by Ikea and their agency Mobile Dreams.
The challenge is clear sell more by watching how fits the product in your house. Something we had seen before in the world of clothing but not they are the first one in the furniture arena.
Helping visually how the furniture fits at home before buying it, certainly reinforces the purchase.

Labels: Augmented Reality, mobile advertising

The MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) has presented the report about the mobile marketing industry in Spain.
The result can not be more encouraging. In the middle of a crisis in which we see everything going down, mobile marketing thrust one's chest out, and grow by 13.3%, with 32 million Euros investment.













And mobile Internet applications are those brilliant higher growth.













Similarly, the future trend is that these formats will continue to grow. From my point of view, 'search' will rise, and get the same weight than Internet.

The concept of advertising in video games, what to say? Is our format, and give us our name Unkasoft Advergaming. In-game format is a non-intrusive one, something that SMS and MMS are more difficult to justify.
Bluetooth, it still also has a small component of intrusiveness.
VOICE, is still to take off in Spain, although the U.S. seems to have more success.















The report reflects what we have seen in the market this week with the Google acquisition of AdMob, a leading mobile marketing network. Google paid U.S. $ 750M for a company which was founded in 2006.

More info in the MMA web site.

Labels: advergaming, mma, mobile advertising, Unkasoft advergaming

mmCHANNEL & UNKASOFT presents in Spain their last initiative. Both companies, thanks to the strategic alliance in the Mobile Marketing Arena, reached in 2009, will enable Simyo, the leader MVNO in Spain to be the first operator to offer free mobile games to all their client base, and to every customer in a close future.

Simyo offers free games for mobile phones, including publicity for offering this kind of products freely. Adding publicity to the games, offers a new way of communication between customers and companies, not making the user experience weaker, but the opposite, making it more funny and close.

mmGAMING, the gaming product from mmCHANNEL, delivers innovation and flexibility to manage the mobile games life-cicle over time in order to maximise the service value with compelling consumer experiences.

Our games communications platform, serves as social community hub, built around a brand and manages consumer propositions related to Premium Games, Incentivized games ( try before you buy, rental models – time, plays-, etc...) and opening doors of Mobile Advertising through our advergaming “on the fly” platform.

Once again, Simyo keeps on innovating not only within the MVNO's segment, but going ahead as well of the traditional MNO's, being the first mobile telephony operator to offer it's customers, free games with publicity. With this, Simyo reinforces the attractive existing actual offer in the digital wap & wep portals (reachable from any Simyo customer mobile phone or any computer), complementing the existing offer of Premium games, as well as fulltrack, realtones & wallpapers.

Initially, it will be possible to find, among other games, some Zeemote Ready titles. Zeemote is the bluetooth device, that offers the best user experience possible as the customer is playing with a joystick in the handsets, in titles like, “Bubble Crashers”, “Valquiria” or “Bricks”, from the Advergaming company Unkasoft that has reached recently reached an strategic alliance with mmCHANNEL.

‘In-game advertising will be the most effective format in mobile marketing thanks to the interaction with the consumers’, Juan Antonio Muñoz, Unkasoft founder.

Labels: advergaming, mobile advertising

We’re travelling next May 7th to London and in the agenda we have good news. We’ve been nominated in the Mobile Advertising and Marketing Awards:
Best use of mobile in driving new revenue and sales: Advergaming on the Fly

So cross your fingers we finally reach the trophy, on this occasion our colleague Laura will pick it up :)

Labels: award, mobile advertising, Unkasoft advergaming

BARCELONA, February 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobixell, a leading provider of innovative mobile multimedia and advertising solutions, is partnering with Unkasoft Advergaming, leading provider of advergaming and mobile marketing, to deliver multi-channel, rich-media advertising campaigns including in-game adverts.

Both Mobixell and Unkasoft Advergaming will display the solution at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on stands J36 (hall 1), and CY11. The alliance between the two companies will allow mobile operators and content providers to offer a comprehensive multi-channel mobile advertising solution to brand owners, which includes the option of ad-funded games.

Unkasoft Advergaming delivers a mobile gaming platform to mobile operators and publishers, which allows third party advertisers like Pepsi and Toyota to insert advertising messages inside free video games, offering a powerful personalized and interactive medium to engage with subscribers. The partnership with Mobixell, to create a joint solution, composed of Unkasoft's Advergaming platform and Mobixell Ad-It(TM) multi-channel ad-server solution, allows existing and prospective customers of both companies to deliver high quality, multimedia adverts across multiple channels, including WAP, SMS, MMS and video, as well as the highly interactive and engaging gaming medium.

The joint solution enables the dynamic insertion of rich media adverts in games, as part of a unified multi-channel campaign management environment. Contextual, behavioral, demographic or location-based criteria are, ensuring optimal relevance for the consumer, whilst enforcing policy and privacy protection.

"The partnership with Mobixell brings the Unkasoft Advergaming solution to the most innovative operators, which employ multi-channel advertising solutions," said Juan Antonio Munoz-Gallego, Co-founder Unkasoft. "Operators and brands can now engage the users in an interactive and personalized manner. I believe this joint solution offers a win-win situation for the mobile operator, the brand owner and the user."

Operators are seeking proven solutions that create additional revenues streams," said Avichai Levy, Executive VP Marketing, Mobixell, "Through this partnership, our customers can now enjoy in-game mobile advertising, which is a fertile ground for brand owners and creative agencies, and an area rich for exploitation by mobile operators and content providers."

About Mobixell:

Mobixell Networks provides innovative multimedia and advertising solutions to mobile operators and content providers. Mobixell's solutions focus on enhancing the user experience to increase adoption, encourage customer loyalty, and build on the operators' assets to introduce new revenue streams. Mobixell provides tailored solutions for multimedia processing and adaptation, and multi channel mobile advertising to over 300 mobile operators and content players worldwide, including top-tier carriers in five continents. Founded in 2000, Mobixell is a US Based company with additional offices in the UK, Germany, China, and Israel.

For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.mobixell.com

About Unkasoft Advergaming:

Unkasoft Advergaming, (http://www.Unkasoft.com) develops advergaming marketing applications that let companies incorporate their branding into video games that customers download to their mobile devices. With Unkasoft's personalized, non-intrusive approach, customers enjoy a dynamic, interactive experience that creates favorable awareness for companies and their products. Unkasoft offers a library of ready-to-deploy mobile video games as well as custom game development. Unkasoft clients include Pepsi; Toyota; Vodafone; Renault; Nokia; Oxfam, an international relief organization, and others. With offices in Madrid and London, Unkasoft was named the Spanish European 2008 Dell Small Business Excellence Award winner

Media contacts:
Kirsten Scott / Tim Focas
eclat Marketing
Email: mobixell@eclat.co.uk
Tel: +44-1276-486-000

Labels: company, mobile advertising

Unkasoft advergaming has been nominated to the Mobile Peer Awards.

We are part of a select group of 42 winners chosen out of 164 candidates from all over the world.

The startups nominated by the MobileMonday chapters to compete for the Mobile Peer Awards in Barcelona are:

* 7syntax - MobileMonday Portugal
* Addict Digital Media - Mobile Monday Buenos Aires
* aka-aki networks GmbH - MobileMonday Berlin
* Anaeko - MobileMonday Belfast
* Aradiom - MobileMonday Istanbul
* Babajob.com - MobileMonday Bangalore
* Beabloo - MobileMonday Barcelona
* Big in Japan Inc. - MobileMonday Dallas
* bioLocate - MobileMonday Jakarta
* CIDWAY - MobileMonday Geneva
* Cirius Technologies, Inc. - MobileMonday Los Angeles
* Crave Mobile - MobileMonday Philadelphia
* Creador Estudio Interactivo C.A. - MobileMonday Caracas
* Dial2Do - MobileMonday Dublin
* Dialy - Mobile Monday Maroc
* DPGroup >> Product: SINDYK - MobileMonday Bogota
* Fortumo - MobileMonday Estonia
* fring - MobileMonday Tel Aviv
* Getjar Networks - MobileMonday Lithuania
* iKen Solutions - MobileMonday Mumbai
* Keynetik - MobileMonday Washington DC
* Liquid Air Lab GmbH / adplace.com - MobileMonday Frankfurt
* Mob4Hire - MobileMonday Vancouver
* Mobintech A/S - MobileMonday Copenhagen
* mobiSiteGalore - MobileMonday Chennai
* MocoSpace - Mobile Monday Boston
* Nimbuzz B.V. - Mobile Monday Amsterdam
* Orbster GmbH - MobileMonday Munich
* Oxynade - MobileMonday Brussels
* Palringo - MobileMonday London
* rmbrME - MobileMonday New York
* Secusmart GmbH - MobileMonday Dusseldorf
* Smaato Inc. - MobileMonday Hamburg
* Soonr - MobileMonday Silicon Valley
* Tellmewhere - MobileMonday Paris
* Unkasoft Advergaming - MobileMonday Madrid
* Wapalta - MobileMonday St. Petersburg
* Wapja.net - MobileMonday Sao Paulo
* WorldMate, Inc. - MobileMonday Atlanta
* Xumii - MobileMonday Sydney

* NOTE Helsinki and Stockholm nominations pending

You can see more here

Labels: company, excellence, mobile advertising, mobilemonday

The MMA has released the new version of Mobile Advertising Overview, which contains good educational practices in mobile marketing. Required reading for everyone : ) who are interested in the industry.
From Unkasoft, we try to contribute with the experience we got with you all.

You can download it free from http://mmaglobal.com/mobileadoverview.pdf

Labels: advergaming, advertising, mma, mobile advertising

Only a few weeks to jump into the Mobile World Congress. Once again we’re going to be there in the Spaniard Pavilion showing the trend for this 2009. Coming soon, our news for the free games site, GameSpace.
Direct link to gamespace:












So we meet you in Barcelona.

Labels: advergaming, company, events, mobile advertising

Today we close the year and before we eat the grapes, I’ve received a document from the MMA (Mobile Marketing Assosiation): Consumers Best Practices.

The Consumer Best Practices document received updates to several topics, including the following:

• Clarification of Terms & Conditions specifically for Web Print/Video
• Clarification of each carrier’s “Standard Rates May Apply” language
• Removing triple opt-in from premium IVR program
• Clarification on Alcohol & Tobacco marketing guidelines
• Adding new section providing update on MMS interoperability

The idea of this document is to ensure mobile marketing profitability and consumer protection. You can download it here.

Labels: marketing, mobile advertising

Unkasoft, a provider of advergaming and mobile marketing, today announced an agreement with Microsoft's mobile advertising arm to use Microsoft's ad server, Atlas, for the GameSpace project, a new form of non-intrusive advertising.

GameSpace provides media companies with an effective way to promote digital content or products and brands to vital segments of the market through games delivered on user's mobile phones. GameSpace is claimed to provide many benefits to the mobile operator, including an increase in income from content, the potential to widen the number of users by offering content for free or for preview and a new income source for back catalogue games. more

Labels: company, mobile advertising

Last Thursday, I joined the presentation of the first study about the Spaniard Mobile Marketing Market , we've done in MMA Spain and Accenture. The study accurately reflects the growth of this industry. The market for mobile marketing in Spain in 2008 exceeds the 28 million euros. It’s something quite real, because in the study had participated in the largest domestic companies.
And it’s expected to exceed 100 million by 2010, something entirely feasible, although some friends do not believe him.
You can see a little more detail of what was the event at AECOMO.
And if you have any interest in the paper, just send me an e-mail - I do not know why the MMA has not even uploaded on the web-.

Labels: mobile advertising

Waiting for my flight at Heathrow I’ve installed Skuair on my mobile, a Daemen Interactive application. And to be frankly, I’ve enjoyed the outcome, I know they are not the only ones who are working along this line but are the ones who have let us a try first. In Europe, we’re beginners in BIDI and QR codes -which are not equal-, both based in DataMatrix, Japan use it long time ago and they use it for everything. Movistar clearly are betting on the BIDI, and in Europe I spot that the trend is more for QR codes, since they have higher density of information.

All our discussion in the Mobile Marketing Association outcome with the same concern, this will not work until the user has the application pre-installed. In addition, the market has to address the standardization problem.



Daemen has taken a step further, creating what I call the ‘real’ codes and you can see the example here:

To test it you have to download the application of skuair first http://www.skuair.com/get

Advantages:

• The main difference is aesthetic; it is no longer something that ugly stain advertising but is integrated much better. You can do the test with our Unkasoft logo – you have to download the app from http://www.skuair.com/get -
• No click on the image required as it recognizes the logo
• No MMS required neither, with a cost that takes into Spain -I hope we see a day that has U.S. prices-.

Disadvantages:

• You have to make the recognition on the server, not a dense as the QR code. But I guess, going to a world of always-ON, does not affect us the server communication.
• We have to install the application. At this point hopefully Daemen, operators and manufacturers work together to achieve.

I guess soon all of us we’ll be recognising QR and 'real' codes, and about BIDI, I do not know its future ...
Without doubt will hear more and more talk about Skuair, meanwhile enjoy this video.

Labels: mobile advertising

It has been launched for public comments, the MMA Proximity Marketing Guidelines. These guidelines are the result of the committee which we are members. Thank to its local idiosyncrasies, most of the mobile marketing companies will proximity marketing.

Actually when in the mobile industry, discuss the proximity marketing, automatically comes to mind the word 'Bluetooth'. Although there are more technological options go beyond RFID or LBS from ops.

The committee sought to give a series of recommendations and educational lines based on what is done today to make this idea a powerful tool to promote companies and products. And I think that, largely, going in the right direction. But when I read the hot topic, opt-in, I thought it was going to cause problems. Mainly because when Bluetooth was designed, mobile marketing wasn’t in mind.

Quote: "Bluetooth On visible or discovered the Bluetooth functionality is on, and the phone is visible to other Bluetooth devices. In this mode proximity marketing systems can contact the user. "

It’s totally ‘correct’, if the user has enabled Bluetooth and is visible 'can' be connected. But ‘should’ we?, Could be a green light for SPAM as indicates an article in The Register? Does the consumer have the knowledge to manage their bluetooth and not receive unwanted publicity?

The issue is actually complex, what would be the best way to opt-in a bluetooth marketing campaign?

Labels: mobile advertising