Month 10 - Mobile Marketing and Commerce

Mobile Marketing and Commerce with Bill Thompson was my Month 10 class. This month we learned a great deal about mobile devices with a strong focus on mobile phones. I am very intrigued by mobile marketing and its future. QR Codes, also known as Quick Response Codes, are something I believe are the next big thing in mobile marketing. Just recently I was walking around New York City at night after the stores had closed. I passed Brookstone and saw the image to the right in the window.

The image in the window read, "Brookstone is QR-enabled", and had codes next to each product in the window.  The small paragraph below the code talks about QR Codes and states that passerby's can scan a code in the window with their Smartphone to receive more information on a product.  I think it is amazing that with this type of advertising, companies can continue to provide information about products even after the store has closed.

Donna Dowless is a very successful woman from the entertainment industry who came to speak to our class. I found her stories and attitude to be extremely inspirational. Donna has a lot of experience in event planning and putting together major concerts, something that I would love to do. Donna also had such a positive attitude and exuded such love and energy when she spoke that she made me feel like I could go on to do anything. One of the biggest things Donna taught us was never be afraid to ask!  The worst someone can say is "no" and there is no such thing as a "stupid question", therefore you really have nothing to lose by just asking.  I appreciate Donna for coming to our class and hope to follow in her footsteps one day as I continue on my path.

The Leadership Portfolio Assignment for this class was to go out and interview at least five people on their behaviors with their mobile device. I asked individuals questions in regards to their service provider and how much time they spend on their mobile device. I also asked things pertaining to mobile marketing and how open they are to receiving marketing messages via text message on their mobile device.

I learned a number of things from this assignment and I was surprised by some of the answers that I got. Apple was the most popular answer when asked what two companies first come to mind when the words "mobile device" are mentioned. This did not surprise me due to the popularity of the iPhone. However, I find it interesting because Apple started as a computing company but now is very well known for their mobile phone.

I asked individuals if they were open to receiving marketing messages via text message and I learned that people are way more open to mobile marketing than I thought. However, people seem to only be open to the idea if they opt-in to getting messages via text message. Not everyone has unlimited text messaging, therefore e-mail was the most preferred way of receiving marketing messages from companies.  This assignment taught me the importance of conducting market research.  There is no better way to find out what people think than to ask them firsthand.