A Starbucks in Lao Ximen, Shanghai. Image by bitslice cipher, via Flickr.

History suggests that foreign brands lack the local understanding to effectively target Chinese consumers online.

Companies like Google, eBay and Groupon all entered the Chinese market hoping to translate their success from the U.S., only to ultimately meet with failure in the Middle Kingdom.

Rather than try to introduce Chinese citizens to online services from the West, successful multinationals like Starbucks, Diageo and IKEA have all worked within the existing frameworks of China’s online space to engage potential customers.

By making use of local microblogging platforms, popular online video sites, and lifestyle social networks, these brands demonstrate that the real winners of online in China are not internet companies themselves.

Instead, they are brand marketers who understand where their customers spend time online, and come up with creative ways to engage them in an environment they are already comfortable with.

Starbucks: Microblogging the Chinese Way

A poster from Starbucks' 2011 Christmas campaign. Image by dcmaster, via Flickr.

In October 2011, Starbucks opened its 500th store in mainland China, with plans to reach 1500 stores in the country by 2015. To fuel its ambitious growth plans, Starbucks partnered with China’s leading mobile advertiser Guohe Ad, tapping into its local expertise for a Christmas 2011 campaign.

Guohe created a social app on the Chinese version of Twitter, called Sina Weibo, that allowed users to “check in” when they visited select Starbucks locations in China. Starbucks customers who used the app received a free drink size upgrade.

The campaign was so successful that Starbucks received 40,000 daily click-throughs to the microsite and achieved the number one ranking on the popular Chinese application platform Weico.

By partnering with a local firm that understands the marketplace for mobile and microblogging, Starbucks built up a tremendous amount of buzz among its Chinese customers.

Diageo: Chinese branded entertainment

Spirit brand Diageo is another international company that tapped into local expertise to target Chinese consumers online.

Diageo faced tough competition from Pernod Ricard, which had already established itself in China by appealing to the Chinese preference for Chivas and green tea, a popular drink at Chinese bars and karaoke clubs.

Diageo partnered with acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhangke to produce a series of brief documentaries entitled the Yulu Project.

The documentaries feature 12 individuals from different backgrounds who all share one thing in common: a willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve their dream.

One example is Zhou Yunpeng, a blind folk singer and poet who recounts the challenges he faces on his path to performing professionally. Xiao Peng has a different dream. He seeks to create a successful company after returning to China from his studies overseas.

The campaign tapped into the fact that, according to the 2011 Chinese Market and Media Survey (CMMS), Chinese netizens between the ages of 15 and 34 spend an average of over two hours per day watching online video.

Diageo chose not to make the video segments advertisements, but rather inspirational branded entertainment, only flashing the Johnnie Walker logo briefly at the end of each segment.

According to Diageo, the campaign generated 20 million video views over the course of eight weeks. Given the success of its first campaign, Diageo plans to run a second Yulu campaign later in 2012.

IKEA: Engaging customers on their turf

In China, marketers understand they need to have a presence on social media, but the problem is that they do not always know the best sites to invest in (the Chinese social media landscape is more fragmented than in the West, where only a few sites dominate).

Inside an Ikea in Nanshan, Shenzhen. Image by dcmaster, via Flickr.

Like Starbucks and Diageo, Sweden’s IKEA did an excellent job leveraging a Chinese social media site to engage customers. IKEA created a profile on Douban, a popular Chinese social networking site that allows users to recommend, comment on and compare their favourite books, films and music.

In September 2011 IKEA launched an event on its profile page called “The Dream Home in Films.” Users were encouraged to upload screenshots of their favourite home furnishing styles from famous films and write a description of the scenes. The most thoughtful entrants won IKEA products.

IKEA’s online campaign provided potential Chinese customers with an outlet for self-expression, giving them a positive impression of the IKEA brand in an online environment they were already familiar with.

Go local

The examples of Starbucks, Diageo and IKEA demonstrate that the true Western champions in China’s online space are not those who simply transplant and translate their existing model, but those who play within the existing frameworks of China’s internet.

Companies need to build internal local expertise or partner with domestic firms and social media sites to win the hearts and wallets of China’s 500+ million netizens.

The ability to close a financial transaction in mobile previously relied upon a web browser, premium SMS, or actually performing the transaction through a separate channel and then completing it through an app.

But new technology that’s secure and user friendly is giving app producers the tools to create meaningful in-app experiences while earning real revenue.

Freemium comes of age

Many developers still use some form of in-app advertising to fund their apps, but the real breakthrough of 2011 was the advent of the freemium model.

What started out as a “try before you buy” approach has grown into something much more significant, where brands offer their apps for free, and then encourage users to sign up for a subscription, or sell them a product within the app.

Of course, publishers can still charge for their apps or pursue a more niche (and controversial) strategy of collecting user data and then reselling it. But the fact is that in-app monetization today is primarily driven by freemium downloads.

Apps as brand extensions

Some businesses are launching apps with no intention of earning direct revenue from them. Brands like Facebook and Google (not to mention almost every airline) are able to justify the expense of mobile on the basis of the lift a compelling, useful app may give the rest of their business.

But of key importance for brands is uncovering how their core value proposition can be extended to their mobile audience.

In the case of Google Maps, it is easy to see that mapping through a handheld device is a natural fit. For airline or hospitality apps, it means providing utility for the traveller through features like mobile check-in and flight updates.

The key takeaway for brand marketers is that mobile apps can help them serve and retain the customers they’ve already earned.

Monetizing magazine apps

For media brands, mobile is an opportunity to deliver content to audiences that may have previously been out of reach. The Hockey News (a Polar Mobile client), for example, maintains one of the oldest professional hockey destinations in the mobile world, and is itself a venerable ice hockey institution.

But beyond providing a compelling mobile experience for existing users, the app has led to increased print subscriptions and newsstand purchases.

By building brand awareness in the mobile space, the publication was able to reach people within the North American market it already served who were previously unaware of the brand and who were not being reached by its traditional marketing efforts.

Needless to say, this surge in print sales occurred while many other legacy magazines and newspapers were folding, or shifting toward digital-only models.

It’s still early days in mobile

The ability to monetize through mobile, directly or indirectly, is no longer a pipedream. But it’s worth noting that mobile is still in its infancy and that the app industry will continue to evolve rapidly in 2012.

The early winners will be the brands that invest in building relevant and useful products for audiences old and new.

Photo by Ross via Flickr

Last week’s BlackBerry outage angered millions of the smartphone’s users when BlackBerry owners from across Asia, Europe, Africa and North America were deprived of email and chat messaging services for days. Even those who don’t own a BlackBerry were probably affected by having to listen to non-stop complaints from frazzled friends and co-workers.

The question now is, what will BlackBerry’s 70 million customers do following this mass black(berry)out? There’s no question that the brand has suffered because of the outage. After all, BlackBerry has built its image on reliability and security. But that doesn’t mean that BlackBerry’s millions of users are suddenly going to abandon the smartphone brand altogether.

Tech writer Peter Svensson believes the BlackBerry won’t become extinct just yet. “BlackBerrys, like other imperfect business technologies, are deeply entrenched in commercial settings, and getting rid of them represents time and money that companies may be reluctant to give up,” he writes in The Huffington Post.

That said, things aren’t looking so bright for Research in Motion, the company that produces the once-dominant smartphone. A Kelkoo survey of more than 1,000 BlackBerry customers found that 19 percent of users were thinking of switching over to another smartphone, while 42 per cent are considering making a switch later on.

BlackBerry users have been migrating to other smartphones long before last week’s fiasco. RIM’s smartphone holds only 20 per cent of the market in the United States, according to ComScore. One thing is for sure; the recent outage won’t do anything to help the troubled brand.

Do you think story can really play a role on a screen that’s meant to be engaged with in terms of seconds?

I think it depends on the concept and on the story you are trying to convey. If you attempt to capture people’s attention by expecting them to watch something in 15 seconds, you’ve fundamentally failed.

If you go back to creating an old-school style of press ad in terms of a stopper – something that has stopping power when you walk past it – that glance only takes a second to understand. Then you can roll into a story where you’ve got their undivided attention.

You have to be very aware of your audience and be clever about how you communicate. Through digital outdoors, you still need to get people’s attention, but you have additional benefits including interactivity, built-in cameras, and eyeball detection.

This was used in a great Amnesty ad about domestic abuse: The violence went away when someone looked at the poster, and it started again when the person looked away – just like it does in reality.

The digital billboard is still being used and created for like a poster, but it’s not a poster. It’s an interactive format, it’s a server, it’s a wireless connection, it’s a touch-screen device. You have to think about it as a content management system. You have to think about the possibilities that the medium can deliver, and then you can create stand-out campaigns.

You’ve worked and won awards in both the online and offline marketing worlds. Do you foresee a world where the two will go hand in hand?

We just created a campaign for one of our clients where users can create things on Facebook that feed to outdoor screens. So we’re now taking online content and placing it in offline environments.

This type of campaign is exciting; it can drive revenue for the client and generate fame for the product, and it creates a need for advertising, which could ultimately include branded content from television sponsorships and programs.

Ultimately it depends on who your audience is. If they’re 65-70, which the majority of the world is going to be soon, then some of those people might be more interested in passive media like television. There wouldn’t be much point in doing a Facebook campaign for them.

Once you understand where your target audience or customer is, then you can develop a campaign and select the media that will interact with them in their space. We don’t expect them to come to us; we place a lot of our content where we think they might be.

I always say, “Never technology for technology’s sake.” The technologies should enhance the ideas and, ultimately, deliver a better experience.

But that’s starting to change. Smart brands and savvy advertisers are using screens to engage passersby in a creative, entertaining and memorable way. Technological advancements in touchscreens, gestural interface and facial recognition software are making rich, interactive out-of-home campaigns a reality.

Photo via USA Today

Change in store

The retail sector is one area experiencing a boom in digital signage. Companies like Best Buy and Walmart have networks of screens throughout their stores that help promote products, inform customers and allow advertisers to reach customers directly at the point of purchase. Content on the Best Buy On network includes everything from digital photography tutorials and interviews with movie directors to the ABCs of 3-D televisions.

At the recent National Retail Federation convention, Intel unveiled a seven-foot interactive holographic glass and LCD display that lets customers explore merchandise, find out about promotions, read customer reviews and share their discoveries via social media and mobile apps. Brands such as Adidas, Best Buy, Kraft Foods and Proctor & Gamble, in addition to researchers at the MIT Media Lab, worked with Intel to create these experiences.

Photo via www.thisadvertneedsyou.com

Customization: One size doesn’t fit all

Moving on to the streets, targeted digital billboards can help make out-of-home advertising feel less impersonal. In another first, Castrol, with execution by Ogilvy, Mindshare and ClearChannel, designed specially positioned cameras to recognize car models and registrations as they drove by. Further up the road, a digital billboard displayed a recommendation for which Castrol oil would best suit the car.

JCDecaux used weather gauges to create intelligent billboards that advertise thirst quenching beverages when the sun is shining and cold and flu medication on a wet day.

While it may seem like we’re getting into Minority Report territory here, the idea of transforming what many view as ad clutter into a one-to-one medium makes billboards both more relevant for consumers and more efficient for advertisers.

From advertainment to public service

InWindow’s urban tornado campaign is a great example of how digital signage can build buzz while entertaining people on their daily journey. To promote the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers program, they recreated the experience of a tornado in New York City, complete with fans to simulate wind. Pedestrians were able to have their photos taken and share them with their social networks.

Photo via ericmorello.com

On a more serious note, this example of an ad for Amnesty International to raise awareness about domestic abuse, includes a camera sensor that can “see” when someone is looking at the ad. Face the ad and see a normal happy couple standing side by side. Turn away and the man attacks the woman. The tagline: “It happens when nobody is watching.”

3-D, anyone?

3-D is all the rage these days. 3-D advertising specialists 3D Exposure claim that 3-D public displays have “four times the stopping power of standard 2-D advertisements, up to 10 times the average dwell time [and an] increased brand recall rate.”

ClearChannel recently released what it claims to be the world’s first 3-D movie poster for Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief. But so far technological limitations have prevented 3-D from making much headway in out-of-home advertising. Once glasses-free technology becomes more developed, expect 3-D ads to show up in a public space near you.

The shape of things to come

As younger consumers turn away from traditional media, innovative and interactive digital campaigns are becoming an invaluable way to reach the increasingly important millennial crowd.

With mobile adoption, post-recession marketing budgets and screen technology on the ascent, the out-of-home industry is poised to come out of its shell.

Sparksheet is the official media partner of Love Content, an international showcase of digital-out-of home storytelling. This is part of a series of original think pieces and in-depth Q&As built around the initiative.

With more than 1400 companies in attendance, the conference highlighted everything from smart phones to tablets to new applications for these proliferating devices. Even good old Angry Birds found a place in this week’s festivities, taking home the awards for Best Mobile App and App of the Year on the Apple platform.

It’s no surprise that tablets dominated this year’s conference. Acer launched its new Iconia tablets, which critics hope will have a more reasonable price tag than some of its competitors. HTC also revealed its Flyer model, which CEO Peter Chou claims is more than just another “me-too” product.

More than a showcase for new devices, the event made headlines by uncovering some controversial opinions about the world’s most powerful tech companies. For example, AT&T’s CEO found himself with few positive things to say about Apple’s customer service. On a more positive note, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed the benefits of the Windows Phone 7 and boasted about the positive reactions it has received.

Smart phone pioneers Research in Motion also presented some new developments with Blackberry, unveiling a new app that manages travel itineraries. And Mark Zuckerberg a made a cameo via video recording to put the rumours about a Facebook phone to rest.

Throughout the conference, members were kept well informed via MWC’s  Twitter feeds. We can only hope that this year’s countless innovations will give us plenty to talk about on the mobile front until Mobile World Congress 2012.

Top stories

New LG Smartphone uses 3D technology.

Yahoo reveals Livestand, the latest in personalized magazines for tablets.

The Brazilian High Court apologizes for a Twitter message.

Apple implements controversial subscription fees. And so does Google.

Views from around the web

Yet another take on social media’s role in the Egyptian Revolution.

Facebook turns a new page, changing the role of page administrators.

Smart displays move in-store at JC Penny.

TED continues to “spread ideas worth spreading” on their new Quora-inspired forum.

This week in social media

Lil Wayne vs. Oreo: The unusual Facebook battle over a Guinness World Record:

Blackberry coordinates with TAT for a new scrapbook app:

Photo by mary hodder via flickr

Let’s start with the basic question: What is VRM and why should businesses and marketers care about it?

VRM is Vendor Relationship Management. It’s the customer-side counterpart of Customer Relationship Management, meaning it’s the way customers manage their relationship with vendors. Businesses should care about it because customers will come to market with their own tools, and it’s a good thing to be ready to engage with those tools and those customers.

What role do Facebook, Twitter and other so-called social media play in VRM?

They provide ways to test or prototype some VRM activities. For example, one can put out what we call a “personal RFP” on Twitter. A couple years ago I did that at O’Hare when my family was delayed several hours by a snowstorm. I tweeted a request for pointers to a good sit-down restaurant at the airport and got a pile of helpful responses.

But we were still inside Twitter’s silo. Twitter owns and controls the means by which I issued that RFP. This is very much like it was when e-mail was owned and controlled by companies. You had to operate inside AOL’s mail, or Microsoft’s mail, or MCI’s mail. Today only one company controls all of tweeting, and that’s a problem, no matter how well Twitter behaves.

We have the same problem with Facebook. One company owns the whole show. It’s AOL 2.0. No matter how big Facebook gets, it can’t be bigger than the Web, and certainly not bigger than the Net. It’s a giant walled garden. And walled gardens are not free marketplaces. They are private ones.

Both Twitter and Facebook are close to becoming clichés as well. See Dilbert from last month, especially that first frame:

That you say “so-called social media” says a lot as well. As I’ve pointed out, social media are largely understood as marketing vehicles. Telephony, texting and blogging are no less “social” than Twitter and Facebook, but are dismissed or ignored because they have less marketing value.

VRM is social to the degree that humans are social, shopping is social, and dealing with companies in the marketplace is social. And, to the degree that “social media” – whatever they are – help, we might call them VRM tools. But VRM will never be a branch of social media or marketing, any more than any of us are branches of commercial entities.

What opportunities does the widespread adoption of mobile smartphones present for VRM?

This is the limitless sweet spot for VRM.

Humans are mobile animals. We were not built only to sit at desks and type on machines, or even to drive cars. We were built to walk and talk before we did anything else.

This is why mobile devices at their best serve as extensions of ourselves. They enlarge our abilities to deal with the world around us, with each other, and with the organizations we relate to. This especially applies to companies we do business with.

Right now we are at what I call the “too many apps” stage of doing this. Every store, every radio station, every newspaper and magazine wants to build its own app. At this early stage in the history of mobile development we need lots and lots of experimenting and prototyping, so having so many apps (where in lots of cases one would do) is fine.

But as time goes on we’re going to want fewer apps and better ways of dealing with multiple entities. For example, we’ll want one easy way to issue a personal RFP, or to store and selectively share personal data on an as-needed basis.

We won’t want our health data in five different clouds, each with its own app. We may have it in one cloud, for example, much as most of us currently have our money in one bank. But we’ll also need for that data to be portable, and the services substitutable.

Are there any businesses or services putting VRM tools into action? Anyone making money with them?

A number of companies are making VRM tools. Azigo, Kynetx and MyDex are three that come to mind. A number of open-source projects are also in the works. I’m working with students at MIT and Kings College London on my own development projects (r-button, EmanciPay and related tools). The list goes on.

It’s important to remember that not everything useful in the marketplace comes from companies or makes money. The protocols in the Internet’s suite make no money in themselves, yet support trillions of dollars in economic activity and benefits.

Look up RSS on Google and you’ll get more than two billion results. Dave Winer created RSS (Really Simple Syndication) as a tool to make it easy for anybody to syndicate what they publish. He didn’t do that to make money for RSS itself, but to enlarge the publishing world as a place where many – including himself – could make money and do other good stuff.

The authors of the e-mail protocols we all take for granted (SMTP, POP3, IMAP) just wanted a simple zero-cost way to do e-mail, not to make money with it. And e-mail supports a heap of economic activity as well.

In fact both RSS and e-mail qualify as VRM tools already in use.

If you want to see which way the wind is starting to blow here, look at this tweet from Alexander Ainslie:

Blaine is one of the founders and architects of Twitter. Webfinger is a way to translate e-mail addresses to URLs. This too can be a powerful VRM tool.

You recently hosted a VRM+CRM summit, where you brought folks from both sides together to cross-pollinate. Did you find any common ground?

Well, it was a workshop, rather than a summit, and it was terrific. We had a lot of very productive dialog, and agreement about the need to engage. We also saw clearly that both sides have a long way to go.

What mattered was that both sides were moving toward meeting in an open marketplace where customers roam free and companies see more value in free customers than in captive ones.

Check out Part II of our interview in which we ask Doc about privacy, marketing buzzwords and his contention that “brands are boring.”

Last time, we talked about trust in cyberspace. It’s a theme that came through strongly in the Economist’s take on location-based services and a challenge to those seeking to engage with consumers in transit.

If anything, trust is even more important when you are on the go: trust that no one can see where you are unless you want them to, trust that you aren’t revealing your whereabouts to burglars. The question on every marketer’s lips is, does the average consumer have enough trust in social networks and brands to reveal his (or perhaps even more importantly her) location?

Work we’ve done in Australia suggests that there is some way to go before location-based services definitively break out of the “geek ghetto” to fulfil their brilliant potential. The majority of consumers express strong fears that knowledge of their location could be used to their detriment.

Around 80 percent were fearful of being tracked or stalked or burgled if the wrong person knew they were out of the house. For some (such as users of the iPhone app Loopt that allows friends to track each other 24/7) the notion of being tracked is not a deterrent, while for others it is downright creepy.

But the apprehensive are open to being persuaded. Based on the study, 41% of Australians believe the potential benefits of location-based technology outweigh the risks, while only 13% believe the risks outweigh the benefits. To address people’s emotions, services need to have in place clear and well-communicated safeguards that reassure consumers the technology is safe.

But if these services are to really take off, they also have to address a more rational question: “What’s in it for me?”

In this sense, location-aware is where online retail was 10 years ago. Consumers were reluctant to buy online until retailers lured them in with discounts, greater choice and a reassurance of security.

And just like then, some categories are better placed to lead the way than others. Some services, like gay dating app Grindr, appeal to people’s emotions, while others make the cost of disclosure seem so small it doesn’t count (which Ryanair did with online booking via its famous £1 fare). Urbanspoon is a leader here – the cost of revealing location is small but the payoff is a handy app that helps you find a spot to eat nearby.

Travel brands have the advantage of the “What’s in it for me?” factor: Public transport information and travel aids are much-desired location-based services.

In Melbourne, tramTRACKER not only allows commuters to find the nearest tram stop based on location, but lets you know exactly how far away your next ride is. Similarly, Lonely Planet has done a nice job of incorporating their guidebooks into apps that feed off current location.

Location can be leveraged into revenue as well. Indeed, special offers are the most effective way of accessing consumers’ location information; half would divulge their location for an immediate benefit, according to the study.

But marketers beware: Offers and advertising are not the same thing. Three-quarters of Australians will reject brands that send them ads without an explicit benefit. Consumers consider their mobiles a part of their personal space and if you’re stepping into it, you’d better make sure they get something out of it.

The benefits of all this for travel brands are twofold. Operators at the originating destination (think travel agents) can use location to engage potential customers, while businesses at the destination can use it to stimulate sales (by sending out a special offer to turn around a slow day, for example).

The key to cracking the location code is leading with the benefit and using that to start the conversation. Again, we saw that with the Internet 10 years ago. But it’s actually been true of almost all technology through the ages. The technology changes but the battle to win the trust of those 50,000-year-old bits of technology known as hearts and minds still has some common features.

Media + Magazines

Design buffs are abuzz about the new Writer app for the iPad (we’re loving the product brief as much as the app).

Living up to the hype: the US eBook market expected to reach $500 Million in 2010.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: a look at the state of the magazine from three distinct angles.

Airlines + Travel Marketing

A self-proclaimed “Instapaper for the real world,” Foursquare’s revamped iPhone App offers location-specific “tips” and curated “to-do” lists.

The no-nonsense bus gets a business casual makeover: bus lines step up to compete for the business travel ticket.

Photographer Nick Gleis offers exclusive views into the world’s most opulent private aircraft.

Branded Content + Entertainment

Why marketing heads should turn to Hollywood for cues on branded content.

Ad network VideoEgg acquires conversational media company SixApart to form SAY:Media.

Time Magazine’s curious countdown of oddball celebrity endorsements.

Casares is co-CEO of mobile payment service Bling Nation. He is a founding partner of MECK Ltd., a private investment firm based in Santiago, Chile and co-owner of Banco Lemon, a Brazilian retail bank for the poor.

You’re originally from Argentina, own businesses in Chile and Brazil, and live in the States. Have you noticed whether people use mobile technology differently in North and South America?

It would be hard for you or me to own something as important as the phone is to a lot of the market in Latin America.

In the US, even for people with very low income, a cellphone is quite affordable. It’s not a huge part of what we own, like a house or a car. In Latin America, you find people who are making 150 bucks a month, yet they manage to have a phone that costs that or more. That’s because they may not have access to a car or public transportation, or their own TV.

So the phone is very, very, very important for them. It’s how they relate to the world around them. It’s also the most important status symbol they have. I once told someone, with good intentions, that I thought it was financially unwise for them to spend their money on a cellphone bill every month.

And very quickly I realized that I was wrong. Because the phone may be the only thing that saves them a trip into town, which could take half a day just to find out how much something costs. Or a small merchant might contact distributors through a text message, or schools may use mobile phones to communicate with parents.

People in Latin America are getting a lot more out of a mobile phone than we do.

What have you learned from the Latin American market that can be carried over to North American consumers?

I think we can learn a lot from other countries. Our tendency in the U.S. is to try to figure out everything on our own, as if this is all in the future.

In fact, millions of people are using mobile phones to pay for goods every day. In emerging markets, the most cited example is M-PESA in Kenya, which is very similar to GCASH in the Philippines and mChek in India.

Basically, people take cash to the store, where they top up their cellphone, which becomes their virtual wallet. From there, all transactions take place through text messages, so no cash or cards or PIN numbers are ever exchanged.

This makes sense in emerging markets where most people do not have a bank account or credit card. And most merchants do not have a point of sale [card reader], so your option is to carry cash or do no transaction at all.

That same functionality is provided by PayPal in the U.S. and it’s a total failure. Because when you already have a bank account and credit card, and the merchant already has a point of sale, what’s the point?

What has gained traction in the developed world is what happens in Japan and South Korea, where people tap their phones to pay for stuff they would normally buy with cash or credit at the merchant location. Instead of swiping a card, they simply tap their phone and they’re immediately notified how much they paid, and how much they have left in their bank accounts. That’s convenient and that’s what we’re trying to bring to the U.S. with Bling.

Will consumers be able to use Bling to not only purchase goods and services, but content? For instance, can I tap my iPhone on a magazine bar code and then get that issue on my phone?

Right now, we’re focused on retail and restaurants as the point of sale. But it’s only a matter of time before you are tapping a bar code or chip on a magazine or poster to buy content.

I think it’s going to take no less than three years, and that’s optimistic, but no more than 10 years. In that period of time, we are going to see people on Main Street – you know, people like my mom – tapping for content.

Any interesting brand partnerships involved in Bling? I understand the convenience of a mobile payment from the customer’s perspective, but what do I get out of it as a business?

The key advantage to the merchant is that it is 50 percent cheaper than accepting Visa or Mastercard.

We also let them run their loyalty programs on top of our system. So every time you tap, the system tells you that in three more visits, you get a bit of a discount. The merchant can set this up very easily and they don’t have to keep track of it – the system does.

Also, many banks have linked Bling to “shop local” programs where they give you a certain number of “local dollars” that you can only spend with certain merchants, using Bling. On the bank’s side, they simply make more money with this than any other payment mechanism, and at the same time, they are being perceived as bringing a valuable service to local businesses and customers.

So people can use Bling to support their local community, but do you have any plans to build a social community around Bling itself?

We’re just beginning to do that. People expect to be able to link different parts of their online identities, whether through Facebook, or Foursquare or Twitter. Now compare the functionality of those sites to the experience of buying something in a store. It feels like the point-of-sale experience is stuck in the ‘70s!

We’re opening that up to enable customers to link Bling to a third-party application that can tell you, “Hey, now that you’re here, did you know that you still have a lunch voucher a block and a half from here?” Or “Did you know that your friend just bought something at a store around the corner?”

As someone who has offices in California and Chile, you must spend a lot of time in transit. What do you look for in a travel brand, and how do you spend your time in flight?

I see travel as my information-overload oasis. I travel almost every week and I use that time to catch up on things that I need to read and get done. I’ve always fantasized about buying an airplane cabin to put in the office, so I can retreat there when I really need to focus on something. For some reason, I seem to do my best work in flight.

The smartphone is changing the way we travel. Since 2000, a shortage of meaningful content, issues with handset functionality and high usage charges have stymied the long-awaited “Year of the Mobile.” With these barriers lowering, the smartphone age is upon us and it has big implications for travel marketers.

We know the consumer in transit is always switched on and hungry for useful, compelling content. But how Transumers connect with that content changes throughout their trip.

Below are some ideas for how brands can use mobile technology to engage customers at each stage of the journey cycle. Some of these examples are already out there – that’s because they work. Of course, we also invite readers to suggest their own ideas.

Stage 1: DREAMING
Tempt me

In the dreaming stage potential travellers are open to a broad range of information, including deals and offers, but focussed on the destination. Mobile applications should ignite interest, fuel desire and raise awareness of a place or offer.

E-mail newsletters and Twitter feeds are made for mobile. Both can provide regular interaction with a destination through special offers, updates and images. Both can inspire your customer to move straight to booking, bypassing the planning stage.

Of course, mobile applications are also great platforms for deeper engagement. Apps can deliver holiday ideas, destination tours, street level maps and so on. A great example is Tourism Queensland’s iPhone app which offers maps and information on Queensland’s top 10 destinations.

Stage 2: PLANNING
Give it to me straight

Travellers need information during the planning stage. Content should be detailed and comparison tools are key.

World Nomads has a bunch of helpful apps that provide detailed information on destinations around the world. Webjet’s iPhone app helps simplify the price comparison process.

Dates are usually the first step in the decision process, but dangling special offers in front of the consumer via Twitter and e-mail newsletters can encourage people to plan their holidays around a deal.

Stage 3: BOOKING
Make it quick and easy

Mobile provides an opportunity for the industry to exercise greater influence over the booking process, by encouraging spontaneous bookings through special offers. Flights are usually booked first, while accommodations fall into place later as other good deals arise.

The booking stage is a great opportunity for upselling and upgrades. After a customer has booked, brands can share related offers via text message, confirmation e-mails or apps. For example, the Hertz rental car iPhone app could be targeted at travellers who’ve just booked their flight or hotel.

Stage 4: ANTICIPATING
Excite me

The anticipation stage is characterized by excitement, preparation and anxiety. It generates a need for detailed information and a wealth of opportunities to upsell. The mobile medium can be used to keep the excitement alive through sensory pictures and videos. Thomson mails the customer a video of their destination on booking that they can show to friends.

Mobile apps can also be built around destination-specific suggestions or information such as amenities, events, weather or exchange rates. User-generated review sites like TripAdvisor are ground zero at this stage of the journey.

Stage 5: EN ROUTE
Hold me close

Mobile is a fantastic platform for streamlining routine travel chores and keeping the traveller on track with updates and alerts.

Providing customers with airport directions, transfer information or taxi coupons is an excellent way of ensuring a stress-free arrival.

TripCase, for example, is an iPhone app that aggregates information about airport shops, gates and parking, and allows travel managers to track employee whereabouts.

Stage 6: DESTINATION
Knock me off my feet

The destination stage is the heart of the journey cycle. Location-based services and user-review apps are both made-for-mobile opportunities to improve customer experience and engagement.

Leading hotel chains, such as Omni, Hilton and InterContinental, are using mobile technology to streamline check-in. Initiatives include apps that give guests the ability to select a specific room; radio-frequency-identification key cards distributed to loyalty program members; and kiosks that spit out room keys.

Plans change. Travellers are increasingly using their mobile phones to adapt their itineraries. Lonely Planet’s iPhone app offers location-aware guides linked to Google maps – great if you turn up on New Year’s Day to find that the hotel you hadn’t bothered to book is closed for renovation (happened to me in Argentina a few years back).

The tramTRACKER iPhone app in Melbourne can feed real-time timetable updates to you. So if you suddenly score tickets to a big game on Viator, you can work out how to get there for the opening kick.

The final step in the destination stage is closing the circle to the next trip. Equip customers with reasons to stay engaged with your brand. Invite them back and keep them updated with regular interaction through newsletters and social media channels to build on the relationship and reward loyalty.

That’s the thing about the journey cycle. As soon as we get home, the dreaming begins…

The very first airline apps were so basic you’d expect them to be a no-brainer for any brand. They provided booking, flight information, flight tracking and mobile boarding passes, eliminating the need to dig through your luggage.

Then last summer Air Canada became the first carrier to provide complimentary travel information through their app,  including weather updates and the ability to rent a car.

In the last few months, things have gotten even more interesting. Southwest Airlines’ brand new app does everything mentioned above, but includes a built-in DING! function, which notifies frequent flyers of exclusive airfare deals.

Cathay Pacific’s app includes 68 destination guides. It also allows passengers to “Meet the Team” by browsing photos of Cathay Staff, making the journey experience that much more personal.

But leading the way is Lufthansa, with three different mobile tools. The Lufthansa Launcher provides customers with the now-standard booking, tracking and boarding services. Not a true native app, it directs customers to the German airline’s iPhone-optimized site.

The recently released Lufthansa Navigator acts as a GPS, providing travellers with an interactive map and Google Street View-like functionality. It will store your flight information and tell you exactly how to get to your gate, check-in counter, baggage carousel or favourite airport lounge. A native/web app hybrid, some features are embedded into the app itself, while others direct you to the optimized site. For now the Navigator is only being tested in Frankfurt Airport, but it’s a sign of things to come.

The third app encourages Lufthansa’s Miles & More frequent flyers to engage with one another. MemberScout allows passengers to share their geo-location, arrange meet-ups, give and receive travel advice, and even share taxies—a social feature suggested in this Sparksheet think piece last summer. How long until Lufthansa combines its three apps into one mobile monster?

A handful of other airlines launched basic apps in the last few months, including GOL, Luxair and Swiss International Airlines. And Singapore Airlines is already integrating iPhone connectivity into its seatback system.

But it’s surprising how many of the world’s largest airlines have yet to leave their mark on the iPhone or any other mobile device. In the meantime, we’ll keep checking up on them.

By colodio via flickr

With thriving Asian economies barely skipping a beat during the latest financial crisis, the region has emerged as the single biggest opportunity for travel marketers. And much of that opportunity lies in the digital space.

In the past we’ve faced the challenge of tailoring our marketing efforts to the nuances of different Asian markets. When it comes to digital, we need to be even more careful to not treat Asia as a homogenous lump.

Rules of Engagement

Overall, Asian netizens are highly active:

• 85% are members of social networking sites; users spend an average of seven hours networking per week
• 87% read blogs and three in five have started their own
• 95% research products and services online

Digital’s secret weapon is engagement. The Internet allows marketers to deliver content that engages consumers in the experiential elements of a brand and sparks conversations—all in a cost effective manner. For a prime example, look no further than Tourism Queensland’s Best Job In The World campaign.

But consumers will only engage with content that speaks to them and their world. So recognising the differences in how Asian cultures interact in the digital sphere is vital.

Digital Relativism

Three broad factors influence the needs of a digital population:

1. Culture. Collectivist versus individualist cultures (e.g. Japan versus Australia) use digital media differently. Different cultures have different priorities. For example, in China personal life is stronger, while in India political engagement is.

2. Maturity of Internet penetration. A low penetration group is distinct in attitudes and demographics in a way that a larger population is not. For example, in India, Internet use skews heavily toward young men in urban areas who are early adopters of technology.

3. Digital infrastructure. Internet speed and availability of broadband connections define what we can do online.

By plotting the type of digital activity (blogging, online shopping, mobile use, etc.) against these factors, we can determine which media work better for each culture.

Typically, younger demographics in less mature markets will have a stronger need for recognition, so (as the chart below shows) individual blogs are more prevalent in China and India. Mobile Internet is also strong in these markets because this technology became available before traditional PC-based interactions were widely established.

On the other hand, in countries with high Internet penetration but a strong collectivist culture, digital habits tend to centre around acceptance. So in Korea, collaborative blogging is more common.

Here in Australia, the Internet is highly prevalent but a more individualistic culture (plus a higher degree of trust in public spaces) means that we look to digital technology for enrichment and entertainment. Australians enjoy researching and buying products online as well as watching movies, downloading music and playing games.

Airlines and Local Differences

To see these cultural differences in action, compare Jetstar’s digital branding strategy in Australia to Air Asia’s Malaysian campaign. Australians are mature travellers who value convenience. With this in mind, Jetstar is among the leaders in Asia in piloting tools like mobile phone boarding passes, alongside its traditional focus on the Internet as a sales distribution tool.

At Air Asia, digital marketing plays more of a supporting role. The company’s brand philosophy is built around the theme “Now anyone can fly.” So while you can buy an Air Asia ticket online, you can also buy one in your local convenience store.

In their own ways, both carriers serve the disparate needs of their target customers.

The Golden Rule

It’s an older story, but 10 years ago the fast take-off of SMS technology happened in stark contrast to the slow uptake of 3G. The technology gods thought we couldn’t wait to make video calls, but we didn’t know how, what it would cost or feel the need to. A great technology, it was not driven by consumer need like SMS and other successful innovations we see today—like iPhone apps.

Localising digital strategy is a lesson in the same philosophy: Don’t do unto your neighbour what you would have them do unto you. Their needs may differ.

So, if you’re an airline, you can develop a unique app that allows passengers to purchase tickets, access their boarding passes, track flights, and receive inflight messages without touching a printed slip or clicking a mouse.

Sounds like a no brainer, but so far only a few airlines have done it.

British Airways led the way in July 2008 with a free app aimed at frequent flyers. Australian-based Qantas soon followed suit. Then, this summer, Air Canada became the first North American carrier to launch an app that lets passengers store their flight info, check the weather and even rent a car through their iPhones. (Though unfortunately these apps are only available for download in their native countries, so that a Canadian flying to Sydney won’t be able to grab the Qantas app until he’s down under).

Since then, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, EasyJet and others have released web applications—and several carriers, including SAS Scandinavian Airlines, offer mobile boarding passes— but the list of airline-branded native apps remains startlingly sparse.

It’s surprising because awesome travel-related apps abound. Check out this list of iPhone apps for airline geeks, which highlights applications devoted to everything from airport codes and airplane seating charts, to flight tracking and aircraft specifications. Meanwhile, augmented reality applications like Layar and apps from travel brands like Kayak and Lonely Planet are cornering the Transumer market.

Airlines might consider forging virtual partnerships with other iPhone-friendly brands and independent developers. Virgin America has already sponsored the popular itinerary-planning app TripIt. Now imagine if Guinness’ Pub Finder tool lived within an Aer Lingus app—both of which were integrated with Layar.

If airlines won’t be developers, they can still be facilitators, connecting brands and Transumers throughout the journey cycle. Travellers crave useful content in their medium of choice and if airlines don’t provide them with it, someone else will.