Smart Phone usage has skyrocketed in the past year and it is evident that smart phone activity and mobile apps are going to continue to become more and more ingrained in people’s lives in the future.
Below is a video from Sybase that shows just how far the mobile phone has come since its inception in the 50’s and in particular, the rise of the smart phone in the last couple of years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aUQLIPdtg8
An interesting iPhone treasure hunt game from Mini whereby players search the streets of Stockholm to hunt and ‘catch’ a virtual mini. They then have to spend a week basically running away from other players of the game who are trying to steal the mini from them. If you have the virtual mini in your phone after one week of gaming, you win a real Mini!
The biggest news from Facebook last week was the announcement of Facebook Deals, a deal function that allows businesses to advertise its deals to users of Facebook Places. Businesses can offer individual deals, for example, a free pastry with a purchase of a coffee, to customers who check into their location on Places.
Users are encouraged to share deals and get their friends to check in as well and are rewarded with special ‘Friend Deals’ for doing so. Another aspect of Facebook Deals are ‘Loyalty Deals’ which work in a similar way to loyalty cards whereby users are rewarded after multiple visits. Businesses can also offer ‘Charity Deals’ were they offer to make a charitable donation for every check in that is made on Places.
Facebook Deals is being rolled out immediately in America and is being tested by up to 20,000 small businesses. The interesting thing about this idea is that, while it will surely be used by big brands too, it looks like it will be very accessible to small local businesses, giving them an outlet for tapping in to the mobile advertising market that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Price comparison mobile app, ShopSavvy, has been updated for the iPhone and comes freshly equipped with a host of new features including product tracking, crowd sourcing deals, finding out price-matching policies at various stores and finding out what store near you has a product in stock. The new version also lets users add product photos, prices and reviews as well as share items via Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4npZvsq12GE
I’m a Digital Strategist passionate about the intersection between technology and creative marketing. Last year I moved to London after 11 years living in Dubai.
