Nokia at it again

Nokia is carving out a significant chunk of the mobile industry to call its own. It is still a handset maker, but it has also bought Enpocket; it has launched both a social network, Mosh, and a rival to iTunes, Ovi.

While Motorola languishes, Nokia thrives.

Today we hear that Nokia has launched the Nokia Media Network -- a global ad network. It will serve ads on mobile sites by the likes of Hearst, Reuters, Discovery.

What is it with pizza and mobile?

Maybe it's the convenience factor, the fact that you can get pizza delivered to you almost no matter where you are, or when it is, that makes pizza a perfect fit for mobile marketing.

Regardless, there seems to be a predisposition among pizza makers to use mobile -- Papa John's ("a worldwide pizza chain") leapt into mobile with text ordering back in November. Now Pizza Hut is embracing camera phone technology. The company has teamed up with MyClick Media Limited to launch "Snap for Rewards." Consumers take photos of MyClick-functional images on Pizza Hut posters, print ads and internet ads and get discounts and prizes in return.

The campaign lasts through April 2nd, and will make awards of, among other things, "classy crystal decorations."

Money, money, money -- or mobile coupons

Mobile coupons seem to be the perfect mobile marketing application. McDonald's sends you a coupon for a McFlurry late on a summer's night in NYC -- you're out and about -- maybe in the neighborhood of a Mickey D's -- you're up for it -- off to McDonald's you go -- meanwhile, McDonald's has just scored one more customer. This actually was a campaign, launched way back in 2005.

There are constraints to this form of marketing -- McDonald's can't target the random passerby. But even without this type of location-based targeting, mobile couponing is a great way to reel in customers by getting directly onto their handsets at the right time.

iMedia published an article by Alan Chapell on mobile couponing in October 2006. It's a very good overview of how this type of mobile marketing works.

Yahoo outpacing Google in mobile?

Yahoo doesn't have much to boast about right now, even if Yang sees the Microsoft takeover attempt as a big 'ole compliment. But there is one area where Yahoo has some edge -- and that's mobile.

Yahoo has been working hard for a while now to shore up its mobile offensive. And it actually has done a better job of reaching out to handset providers and wireless carriers than Google, giving Yahoo search a boost on the mobile phone.

CNET covers this story, and gets into the nitty-gritty of how Google does mobile, here.

In the beginning...

I'm the mobile editor for imediaconnection.com; as such, I get a chance to talk with and meet some very smart people in the mobile world -- here are my musings on what develops and has developed in the mobile marketing space.