For more than a year the air has been buzzing with iPhone tales of splendor and rumors of good times to come with Apples mobile wonder. Since July 11 2008, the second generation iPhone has become available in 22 countries – including Denmark – and global sales figures serve as testimony for the sleek smart phone’s popularity: One million in 3 days.
To top it off, Apple expanded their iTunes branch to include the Application Store where developers and users can respectively up- or download new features to spice up the iPhone. According to voices from various areas of media business this user-driven shopping experience coupled with the (deserved) iPhone hype is going to drive mobile use to the next level:
Mobile gaming has never been an essential need of the average user. But even so ABI Research has found that 64% of mobile phone subscribers have games on their current phone, making it the most common feature. This discrepancy is about to even out according to Screen Digest who expects the user-experience of touchscreen interfaces will drive the growth of the mobile gaming market, especially in North America, and double its market value by 2012.
Of the first 10 million downloads from the iTunes Application Store roughly 1/3 is believed to be games, but according to Screen Digests Senior Analyst, this demand for mobile games could however soon come to a halt if developers don’t overcome technical challenges and deliver more enticing games to a wider audience of gamers.
Mobile gaming and advertising is an obvious match that could provide for a broader – and more targeted – game distribution. In an interview with AdvertisingAge Brian Bos of Ford Motors hints at an iPhone-exclusive ad campaign in mid-August that will take on and play with the components of the device. He feels the brand is able to come alive on the intuitively interactive iPhone, providing for a deeper and longer engagement with the product. The article also emphasizes that iPhone users fall in a highly sought-after target group: The well-off, male 25- to 34-year-olds.
Another marketing-friendly feature of the iPhone and other smart phones is the built in GPS. In mobile web browsing as well as application use, context-based banner ads can cater to both user and advertiser interests by linking to offers available in the local vicinity of the user. A much disputed scenario, for sure, but nonetheless one that comes closer to reality with every GPS-enabled mobile device being issued.
On a slightly different note, marketing strategist Steve Rubel predicts how wifi-enabled smart phones will change the way we interact with audio. Internet radio applications for the iPhone like Pandora and Last.fm (unfortunately neither is available in Denmark) where you continually personalize your musical profile could prove to be disruptive for broadcast radio. Not only does it make for a gratifying user experience, but advertisers could also benefit from the user’s input and target ads according to musical tastes as well as GPS-information.
So the iPhone buzz is more real than ever and the predictions point to new mobile habits and two-way interaction. Let’s just hope the marriage between user interests and commercial ditto will be of mutual benefit.