 | Issue: | Global-ICT 2014 |
| Article no.: | 10 | |
| Topic: | Is messaging the new search? | |
| Author: | Shmuel Jonas | |
| Title: | CEO | |
| Organisation: | International Discount Telecommunications (IDT) | |
| PDF size: | 360KB |
About author
Mr. Samuel Jonas, also known as Shmuel, has been the Chief Executive Officer of IDT Corporation since December 31, 2013 and served as its Chief Operating Officer since June 24, 2010. Mr. Jonas served as the Vice President of Operations at IDT Corporation since June 2009 and previously as Vice President since June 2008.
Since 2004, Mr. Jonas has been the Managing Member of Arlington Suites, LLC, Manager of a thirty million dollar mixed-use ground up development project in the Bronx, New York. From 2006 to 2008, he was a partner in a 160-unit garden apartment complex in Memphis, Tennessee. Between 2004 and 2005, he owned and operated various businesses in the food industry, including BID Distribution, a distributor and marketer of frozen desserts to grocery stores and food service operations.
Article abstract
By 2020 average data consumption per person is projected to reach 5,247 GB – with emerging economies accounting for an increasing proportion of the world’s total. The global data supply reached 2.8 trillion GB in 2012 – but just 0.5 percent of this was used for analysis, according to The Digital Universe Study . There is massive, untapped potential in properly tagging and analysing data. Analysis of big data can provide businesses around the world with significant insight and powerful tools for increasing revenue.
In our web-based, digital world, search is king. The world’s content can be explored and navigated using a web browser and a search engine. Google dominated and became expert at determining content and context using search input. Following this year’s European Union Court of Justice decision under the “right to be forgotten” ruling, which obliges Google not to point to web pages with “outdated or irrelevant” information about individuals, industry players and end-users alike are turning their attention to context and content and endeavouring to understand their implications for the future.
Full Article
Going mobile
The world is now increasingly mobile and more people are using their smartphones rather than laptops or desktops to search and browse. The global mobile messaging market looks set to rise to US$310.2 billion in 2016 and there are almost seven billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, according to estimates from the International Telecommunication Union (May 2014). This is equivalent to 95.5 percent of the world’s population .
Accordingly, the mobile advertising market is booming. In the UK alone, mobile advertising is set to overtake the multi-billion pound newspaper and magazine market next year, and surpass TV ad spend to hit £4.5bn in 2016 . Mobile advertising is the powerhouse behind continued use of the internet for free and advertisers are now able to systematically reach a specific, targeted audience with their campaigns. It’s time for businesses to exploit the burgeoning mobile ecosystem – the proliferation of sophisticated mobile technology, such as smartphones, tablets and other connected devices, escalating end-user expectations and increasing appetite for ‘on-demand’ entertainment and information.
Context aware, when it counts
The future is in messaging. The market is flooded with SMS and IP-based messaging platforms and applications, and although it is evolving, messaging remains a core service. Therefore, it is primed for use as a way of deriving what is contextually relevant for the user in order to deliver relevant content to them – without them having to perform a specific search.
A context-aware messaging application can be used as a vehicle to filter and assess large volumes of data in real-time by dynamically analysing the context of a conversation and then adding links to particular words to supplement and enhance it. This kind of technology can bring content discovery and distribution back into the operator domain and away from the app store or browser, while creating abundant mobile advertising and monetization opportunities.
Context helps perfect the timing of messages, ensuring messages are not only relevant but also sent at the key moment in time. This can make a huge difference in the response rates. A message sent at the right moment is 14 times more effective at driving purchase intent compared to banner ads . It’s not just response rates that leap up when the timing is right, it also enables brands to be seen as helpful and relevant. This increases positive brand perceptions and contrasts with banner ads which can often be seen as intrusive and an interruption.
Text messages for example, have traditionally been rigid and un-dynamic, consisting entirely of text-based content and additional media attachments. Implementing a messaging service which incorporates technology that can analyse context in a conversation means that useful, targeted content can be added, without disrupting the streamlined usability that has fuelled text messaging growth. Consumers will no longer need to exit a messaging application to actively search for something. Event tickets, sports results, places to meet – all of this information and much more can be automatically linked into a conversation and made accessible to participants. The consumer gains a better user experience and value-add because messaging becomes more useful as a multi-purpose application and is reinforced as the dominant application on the device. By making this message relevant and timely, consumers find a helpful partner and do not feel that their privacy is being invaded and their time wasted by intrusive advertising.
Operators can also use messaging as an analytical data tool. Data analytics can help them to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction by offering differentiated messaging that provides operators with a competitive edge in an already saturated market.
Summary
The mobile market is experiencing inexorable growth around the world as emerging markets transition to smart devices. Mobile advertising is taking advantage of this booming market with increasingly sophisticated targeting based on improving analytics. In a world where people expect mobile technology to be increasingly responsive and aware, big data, evolving content and analytics are having a profound effect on the way businesses understand buyers, direct offers and track trends. Real-time context aware applications, like messaging, can be used to build targetable, profitable audience profiles and can attract and hold audience attention by delivering the desired service or information at the time it is required. Getting the context, and thereby timing, right is essential to ensure that users gain an intelligent partner and not an over-bearing Big Brother.
