Telstra extends mobile plan to Google Nest devices
If you’ve been itching to place calls with your Google Nest (formerly Google Home) devices using a mobile plan, now’s your chance. Australian operator Telstra this morning announced that it’s the first carrier to offer outbound calling on Google Nest speakers and smart displays. Subscribers can ask Google Assistant to make calls from a Mini, Home, Home Max, and Hub starting this week, with Nest Hub Max compatibility coming down the line. Full Story: VentureBeat
Google Home speakers can now make mobile calls, starting in Australia
For two years, Google Home users have been able to place calls from their smart speakers using the built-in VoIP functionality. From today that function is available using mobile service too, with Australian mobile provider Telstra becoming the first company to offer voice-activated calling via a mobile carrier. Full Story: Engadget
Learn Mobile App Design from a Top Instructor
It’s difficult to qualify exactly what makes a great mobile app. The best apps, truthfully, don’t make you think about how good or bad they are at all. They just work. When mobile apps work seamlessly, it’s a sign of excellent design. As apps continue to grow and virtually every company seeks to build their own app, competent mobile designers are in huge demand. If you’ve ever wanted to build an app or you’re thinking about changing things up in your career, check out The Complete Guide to Designing a Mobile App. Full Story: Entrepreneur
Seven Keys For Better Converting Mobile Websites
Two mistakes I see most companies make when creating a website are: to create it as if it were a graphic design masterpiece to show off their design skills, or an unoriginal, hastily-put-together after-thought in a rush to start their business. Full Story: Forbes
UK happiest nation when it comes to online retail experiences
UK consumers are more happy with the experiences being offered by retailers online than their global counterparts – but most only shop regularly shop with three online retailers. According to an analysis of 33,500 online shoppers across 17 countries – with 2,000 from the UK – by Google and Kantar, 79 per cent of UK consumers rate their experiences with retailers as being either excellent or very good, compared to the global average of 69 per cent. Full Story: Mobile Marketing Magazine
6 Ways Mobile Apps are Incorporated into Marketing Campaigns
With so many ways to advertise and promote a brand online nowadays, the term “marketing campaign” now encompasses a vast number of steps and processes that need to be completed in order to make a truly competitive effort. As most popular industries are saturated with other marketers and entrepreneurs who are trying to gain their own slices of the pie, everyone is always looking for the next secret marketing technique or trend that will boost their ad revenue or sales overnight. Mobile apps are one of the few tools that allow such rapid expansion, particularly when incorporated into marketing campaigns in the following six ways: Full Story: Wire19
How TikTok can help brands get on Christmas wish lists
Video-sharing app TikTok has the potential to be a key media platform for brands looking to reach young audiences around the upcoming holiday shopping season, several marketing experts told Mobile Marketer. Full Story: Mobile Marketer
O2 in “Smart Ambulance” trial using 5G tech
O2 will provide connectivity for a new “Smart Ambulance” at Millbrook Proving Ground this month, as part of a trial that has the potential to revolutionise patient diagnosis, transport and treatment. Full Story: Mobile Marketing Magazine
What’s Old Is New Again: SMS Marketing
What’s next for digital marketing? That’s a pretty common question at any given marketing industry conference. With the continued evolution of the internet, it seems marketers are always on the lookout for the next channel they can add to their marketing program to drive results. Full Story: Forbes
GameAnalytics report sheds light on gaming apps’ revenue and retention performance
Game analytics platform GameAnalytics has released its Mobile Games Benchmark report, which analyses how gamers play and pay on their smartphones. The report highlights performance benchmarks for key metrics across the top 16 genres, including retention, session length, stickiness, conversion rate, ARPPU. Full Story: Mobile Marketing Magazine
Snapchat pens ad fraud and viewability deal with DoubleVerify
Snapchat has teamed up with DoubleVerify, a digital media measurement software and analytics platform, to enable brands to measure viewability and prevent ad fraud. The partnership means that brands are now able to authenticate the quality of Snapchat campaigns using DoubleVerify’s viewability and fraud verification technology. Full Story: Mobile Marketing Magazine
Clinique, Heinz and Samsung ads found alongside fake cancer cure videos on YouTube
A BBC investigation has revealed that YouTube’s algorithm is promoting fake cancer cures in a number of languages, and found major brands running ads on the site alongside them. The BBC searched YouTube across 10 languages, and found more than 80 videos containing false information about health, primarily bogus cancer cures. Full Story: Mobile Marketing Magazine
WHY MARKETERS STRUGGLE TO INTEGRATE IN-APP ADVERTISING
In-app advertising is still struggling with issues that have largely been solved in other formats, such as ads that don’t render properly, fraud and measurement. Despite these flaws, however, advertisers continue to spend on in-app ads, because that’s where their targets are: Consumers spend an average of three hours per day on mobile, and GenZ spends 20 percent more time on mobile apps than the rest of the population, according to AppAnnie. Full Story: AdAge.com
Marketers should be double mobile optimising content – here’s why and how
We all know that our time spent on mobile phones is increasing, but this year, for the first time, our time spent on mobile overtook TV. That’s more hours checking social media, watching content and viewing ads on our phones, than watching television, or on desktop. It may have been a long time coming, but surpassing that tipping point is a momentous shift for brands. Full Story: Marketing Tech
Marketing in meltdowns must be mobile
While no informed person is suggesting that the South African economy is in actual meltdown, it certainly feels likes it. Those in the know have been telling us to prepare for challenging times for several years now and things really do feel like they are getting positively tricky Full Story: Bizcommunity.com
7 Best Mobile Commerce Strategies for Business
Retail customers are no longer tied to a physical location to buy what they need – in fact, they’re not even tied to a desktop computer to buy things online. Mobile devices offer the freedom of shopping anywhere and better payment flexibility. This is becoming a key revenue driver for many businesses, and in fact, many start-ups are growing up out of the notion that more people prefer to do their shopping and service ordering on the go for greater flexibility. Full Story: TechFunnel
Apple just announced a trio of new and improved iPhones
During Apple’s highly anticipated September 2019 event, the tech giant announced an upgraded version of almost all of its most popular products, including iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. As an extra incentive to buy the new devices, Apple announced that the purchase of a new iPad, iPhone, laptop, or desktop will come with a complimentary 1-year subscription to Apple TV Plus. The company’s own streaming service, which will feature original content, is set to launch on November 1st, for $4.99 a month. Full Story: Mobile Marketing Magazine
Apple’s 3 New iPhones Are All About the Cameras
The iPhone’s camera has always been near the top of the list of the Apple device’s standout features, and this year is no different. Today at an event in Cupertino, California, Apple announced three new iPhone models, all of them with redesigned cameras. Full Story: WIRED
There’s little doubt that mobile marketing is a huge opportunity for marketers, especially in South Africa, and should be seen as a channel of choice for most firms. The question is: what strategy should firms follow if they want to ‘go mobile’? To answer this, there are a number of considerations marketers need to keep in mind. The mobile marketing strategies that we recommend are: Full Story: Bizcommunity.com
Gen Z are the most likely to be influenced online
According to an Adobe survey of 1,200 UK consumers distributed evenly across Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers, 43 per cent of people think that Gen Z are most likely to be influenced online, compared to just 17 per cent for Baby Boomers. Amongst Gen Z alone, 41 per cent agree they are the generation most likely to be influenced online. Full Story: Mobile Marketing Magazine