Now What?

In 2015, I wrote The Art of Mobile Persuasion, a book about the relationships that people have with their mobile devices.

It’s safe to describe them then and now as intimate, engrossing and integral.

The central questions in The Art of Mobile Persuasion were whether brands have opportunities to get in on that action or is three a crowd?

Since then, some businesses have muffed the chance, taking an approach that has been deemed as invasive, impersonal, and/or offering no value. But others large and small have knocked gently, ingratiated themselves, brought something that was welcomed, and seen resulting increases in awareness, loyalty and sales.

To the former group, what were you thinking?

To the latter, we’re good now, right?

Well, no.

Why? The playing field has changed.

Our nurtured customers and prospects are now being wooed by other means.

Though voice interfaces.

And wearables.

Smart appliances, even toilets.

And OTT (over the top) devices.

Virtual and mixed reality software and hardware.

And the list goes on. There’s every reason to believe that the pulls for attention will grow this year, next year, and every year after that.

Of course, this brings with it all sorts of complications.

·      Where will we find our customers and prospects?

·      Where we do want to lead them and what must they find when they get there?

·      How does all of this innovation affect the customer journey?

·      If personalization is the so-called North Star, how do we deliver this on the screens and interfaces of today – and the ones surely coming behind those?

And how does the relationship that your brand has steadily built with customers via the mobile phone survive, evolve, and thrive when eyes and ears are drawn to even more places?

In my new book The Art of Digital Persuasion, the conversation broadens to today’s interfaces, devices, behaviors and technologies.

I again have had the pleasure and privilege of visiting with some of the sharpest marketers and other business leaders that one can identify. I sought out real-world experience, perspective, and advice to give us the knowledge, skills and confidence that we all need to do our jobs -- and, in many cases, to reimagine our current outdated positions given these upended times.

I share what leaders from Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, ESPN, and others are doing and thinking to address the core question of the new book:

Now what?

The book is now available on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2G4CrCu

 I hope that you’ll give it a look and take the time to learn from these experts just as I have.

Delivering Lessons From The Holiday Shopping Season

Conventional wisdom would say a retailer shouldn’t risk cannibalizing holiday sales as well as not give consumers an opportunity to wait until the last minute because they might be enticed to buy elsewhere.

In 2018’s first understatement of the year, Amazon is anything but conventional.

The company actually elongated holiday selling efforts, beginning in September and stretching literally to the final hour before Christmas.

Sure, big revenue days were Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but Amazon catered to all, including those who turned the page on Labor Day with shopping and those who procrastinated or purposely waiting until Dec. 24 with delivery options that were as historic as unconventional.

It even prospered in year two of Prime Day in December -- 30 hours of deals for members of its Prime program  — and saw the biggest sales day ever in company history.

Most noteworthy was the activity generated by rapid delivery.

According to Amazon, which for the first time offered same-day or next day delivery in 8,000 markets, the last Prime Now order in time for Christmas was delivered in 58 minutes at 11:58 p.m. on Christmas Eve in Baltimore, MD. The order included those must-haves, at least for someone -- the Kid Galaxy Amphibious RC Car Morphibians Shark Remote Control Toy, the Crayola Oil Pastels Art Tools, 28 ct., and the VTech Click and Count Remote.

“Same day and next day delivery is starting to replace store visits,” retail expert Ryan Craver told me in an interview on The Art of Mobile Persuasion podcast that posted this week (episode 23 here - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/art-mobile-persuasion-podcast/id1156481550?mt=2).

“The big reason why we are seeing a bit of inflection point, if you think back, we didn’t have that many markets where it was available. Obviously now word of mouth plus the press has people try it for the first time and they fall in love with it.

“The second thing is the amount of product that is now available for same day delivery. Everyone knows about Amazon but there is a big behemouth called Google who offers something like Google Express that provide access to everything that Walmart, Target, and Costco sell with same day delivery.”

Craver, a key voice in my The Art of Mobile Persuasion book www.artofmobilepersuasion.com, says price plus availability makes consumers think that delivery is the way to go.

“It’s actually a decent price,” he told me “It’s a marginal fee now. You’ve got 1099 employees delivery for $5 a pop and a tip if you hit a certain price point. That is a pretty compelling consumer experience that is tough to match and it’s going to continue to grow and grow and grow.”

Customers' use of Amazon's one-day, same-day, and two-hour delivery doubled this holiday, according to the company.

As to mobile’s role in purchasing, Amazon said that mobile purchasing increased 70 percent in 2017.

Mickey Mericle, vice president, Marketing and Customer Insights at Adobe, said that “shopping and buying on smartphones is becoming the new norm and can be attributed to continued optimizations in the retail experience on mobile devices and platforms.”

Adobe reported that 75 percent of millennials expected to shop via their smartphone.

Still, Craver reminded us that there is more to do with mobile, noting that many web sites and apps don’t allow for purchase.

“There are only a few retailers who have figured out that final path to purchase,” he said.

Of course, Amazon is one of those few. And it won’t stand still. Drone delivery awaits.

(Hear Craver’s insights on the podcast this week and in a 2018 look ahead posting later this month.)

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Of Meaningful and Meaningless Looks At A Mobile Screen

During the same week that we learned (learned?) that many mobile users look at a device “for no particular reason” comes additional word that wireless interaction is dramatically improving health for some.

First, the meaningful news:

Out of a pilot study at New York’s Bellevue Hospital called Mobile Insulin Titration Intervention, or MITI, 88% of insulin-dependent diabetics were able to get their blood sugar in check after receiving a daily text reminder or phone call.

According to NPR, the program worked this way. Nurses reviewed individual blood sugar information daily online to check for values that were too high or too low, indicating the insulin dose needed to be adjusted. They then reached out to the patients who needed modifications, many of which were low-income New Yorkers who, while owning a phone, lacked access to computers and other resources to manage their health.

Note that text messaging was used, ensuring that even feature phone owners had the capability to view an SMS. A miss for this demographic would’ve been to rely on a smartphone app.

Only 37% of the comparison group that did not receive texts or calls managed to control their blood sugars.

MITI may soon become a hospital-wide program at Bellevue, NPR said.

Now the separate “revelations” about mobile usage:

A third of millennials take out their cellphones in public “for no particular reason”, Pew reported. 82% of smartphone owners rarely or never turn their phones off. 79% witness annoying and/or loud cellphone behavior in public at least occasionally.

Apple Watch users - any of you lose at least a bit of faith and won't buy Apple products sight unseen or untouched? I'm in that camp.

A tweet offered to help me find my next handbag. I’m waiting for the one hawking manpurses.

87% of Facebook's one billion daily users are on mobile for at least part of their experience.

Few are surprised by Amazon’s decision to exit the mobile phone-making business. Of course, it never caught Fire.

Almost three-quarters of all WhatsApp users access the messaging app on Android, per GlobalWebIndex.

Here are the top 10 magazine publishers with the biggest number of monthly mobile visitors, according to  Association of Magazine Media: 1. ESPN: 42.9 million. 2. People: 28 million. 3. AllRecipes: 24.5 million. 4. Forbes: 21.6 million. 5. Time: 18.1 million. 6. Entertainment Weekly: 14.3 million. 7. Cosmopolitan: 13.7 million. 8. Bloomberg Businessweek: 11.2 million. 9. New York: 9.8 million 10. Bon Appétit and Epicurious: 8.3 million.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - How Marketing Indiscriminately To A List Is A Turn Off

I received another cheeseburger offer via a mobile loyalty club. The problem is that I haven't had a burger in about 15 years and this quick-service restaurant should know that from previous purchases. That's not 1-to-1 marketing. It's 1-to-1 list. And it’s cause to seriously consider an opt-out.

Two men were arrested in a supposed bloody beer-bottle battle over whether Android is better than iPhone. No, they weren’t named Eric and Tim.

Smartphones can now detect earthquakes and give you time to run, per Fast Company. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Caltech, the University of Houston, and others, are establishing a crowdsourced GPS-based earthquake warning system that would send out a message when it detects an initial rumbling.

Amazon has shut down TestDrive, an Appstore feature that lets you try some apps before downloading. Only 16,000 apps participated and limited availability likely caused some to shy away.

For 2016, the question isn't whether presidential candidates will use mobile. Rather, it’s will they effectively personalize communications.

Nearly half of smartphone-toting travelers use map apps during vacation, per eMarketer. When's the last time you saw someone unfurl a paper map?

I told my wife of all the features of my coming Apple Watch. A Mickey Mouse face was the most compelling to her.

This week, I saw a headline that said mobile payments are retail's new frontier. Yup, same headline that I saw in 2013, 2014, and probably early than that.

Global mobile-ad spending on Android grew 539% in Q1, according to PapayaMobile.

U.S. adults spend 5.5 hours with video content each day, over an hour of which is digital – eMarketer.

15 million Americans say they'll buy an Apple Watch, a Reuters poll found.

CookBrite is  an app that recommends meals based on ingredients in your kitchen. That’s personalization.

44% of consumers worry that apps are collecting personal info without consent – Forrester. 33% have cancelled a transaction due to privacy concerns.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - This Just In: Size Does Matter

The No. 1 factor for Millennials and Boomers in determining which screen to use for an activity is its size, reports Millward Brown Digital. But, according to the new survey, for Gen Xers, it is speed and performance.

Japanese schoolgirls ages 10-18 spend seven hours a day on their mobile devices, according to security firm Digital Arts. It’s four hours for male counterparts.

A separate study by the University of Basel said that teenagers who used digital media at night had an increased risk for poor sleep and depressive symptoms.

Every hour, 148,400 smartphones are sold around the world, according to CTIA. For those challenged with math, that’s 41 smartphones moved every second.

There was a 15% increase in sales via tablets during recent East Coast snowstorm, per IBM.

This year, Groupon reportedly will launch a targeted deals product powered by beacons.

CBS forecasts 2016 Super Bowl ads to cost more than $5 million. No word on whether mobile will make the big game in any meaningful way.

iPhone 6 Plus owners consume twice as much data compared to other iPhones: Citrix.

JetBlue announced that it will soon accept Apple Pay at 35,000 feet.

73% of mobile searches result in an additional action such as a call, store visit, or purchase: Google.

How many knew this before Valentine’s Day? More than 60% of mobile dating apps put the users at a potential risk of cyberattacks, reports IBM.

Mobile now accounts for more than 60% of all digital media time spent: comScore.

Facebook delivers three billion video views per day, with 65% coming on mobile devices.

82% were likely to get a Valentine's Day restaurant recommendation or make a reservation via mobile, a Verizon survey says.

Mobile firms raised $4.2 billion in venture capital globally in January: Rutberg.

Seven in 10 mobile users would stop using an app if it uploaded personal info without permission, according to eMarketer.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Curves of All Kinds Were On Display At CES

There were lots of curves at CES - no, not those kind. OK, those kind, too, but curved screens caught my eye. Supposedly they help eye strain. The other curves cause it.

Holiday shoppers tweeted more than 28 million mentions about their gift purchases - up 8% year over year – SAP.

Lots of new interesting numbers from Pew -- Almost half (49 percent) of Instagram users are on the platform daily; 52 percent of online adults now use two or more social media sites, a significant increase from 2013; Facebook is still the most popular, but other platforms have seen a higher growth rate.

Despite slowing growth, tablets will pass the 1 billion mark in 2015, per eMarketer.

If your, ummm, behind is your best side, and, you want to, ummm, share it, you may like the Belfie Stick.

From a man on the street - actually a cabbie in Las Vegas, on the prospect of a smart refrigerator alerting him when low on milk or beer: "Why would I want that?"

There was signage at CES for a $33 Android tablet. That follows talk of a $25 smartphone.

58 percent prefer to look up info on mobile device while shopping, rather than talk to an in-store employee, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

64 cents is the average consumer cost for cable per hour of entertainment, per Flurry. 18 cents for mobile.

Also from Flurry: app usage grew 76 percent in 2014 with shopping apps leading the way.

More surprising than seeing a large RCA presence at CES was news that it introduced new mobile devices.

Uber has been sued for allegedly violating TCPA rules and sending unwanted text messages.

From Nestle’s Pete Blackshaw: "Don't overthink it. Have simplicity in messaging, good search on your mobile website, plus sharing."

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Beware of Self-Destructing Picture Apps

Have you heard about Xim from Microsoft, a so-called self-destructing photo app? It’s because the picture goes away over time, not because the images are of an act leading to one's downfall. I suppose that it could be both.

Download an app called Rest Room Gallery designed to show your artistic side while on the toilet. Then explain that to your wife. Ready. Go.

Is there bigger proof of the iPhone's allure than millions waiting for supply rather than buying something else? Last week, I went to an Apple Store that had received two units to sell for an entire day. And that was typical, according to an employee.

Tweet of the week? This one from @levie aka Aaron Levie, CEO of Box – “Jeff Bezos is opening a retail store and owns a newspaper. Turns out everything we thought about the Internet is wrong.”

As for my reaction to Amazon opening a physical store in NYC – the company is about selling stuff. The what remains the same here. This is just another how that will work out or won’t.

Over 65% of users use Facebook in a language other than English, the company says.

Half of the traffic on AT&T Wireless comes from YouTube & Netflix, the carrier reports.

With 7 billion mobile phones and a war chest to get things done, there is plenty of room for Google to create a messaging app that it hopes will rival WhatsApp.

Forrester says that mobile will be 40% of the online ad spend in 2015.

37% of SMBs claim that print newspaper ads are the best source for attracting customers, Borrell Associates tells us.

It has come to this for BlackBerry - Wall Street cheered an $11 million quarterly loss.

Digital video and mobile now make up 20% of Mondelēz's global spend, according to Adweek.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - No, You Can't Drive A Truck Over Your iPhone

I’m guessing that beyond sitting on it, you can't drive an F-150 over an iPhone 6 Plus. But don't try it at home.

67% of moms entertain kids with mobile videos & games, up 2X from last year, Yahoo says.

The North American mobile industry accounts for 3% of the GDP, according to industry group GSMA.

Apple sold 39 iPhone 6's per second in its first weekend.

A Homeland mobile ad uses phone vibrations to set off a virtual bomb in your hand.

Nordstrom wants to text shoppers who are interested in certain merchandise. That makes sense. It gets us closer to one-to-one marketing rather than one-to-one list.

Mobile spending on branding-related objectives will grow faster than direct-response initiatives in the next year, Nielsen says.

Nearly 75% of consumers ages 18-44 access a social network daily, Adobe reports. Mobile is the most-used device.

Smartphone penetration has made it to 70% in the U.S., Nielsen tells us.

Here’s one to stump your friends at a dinner party - research shows Japanese travelers are three times more likely to book via mobile than Germans.

Mobile now accounts for more than 50% of ecommerce traffic, according to Shopify.

Gartner says that more than 75% of mobile apps will fail basic security tests through 2015.

Mobile search prompted 30 billion calls to businesses in 2013, reports Harte Hanks.

Pinterest is the most popular social media channel on mobile devices.

Over 30% of Staples' mobile traffic is tablet-driven.

Trend Micro says that 40% of mobile users do not use a password to protect their devices. I would’ve guessed 70%.

Reports say that approximately 85% of iPhone 6 buyers had previous Apple phones. That explains the record pre-order – it was something other than blind faith

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Including Why The Point-and-Shoot Is Left Home On Vacation

Last week, I saw several 60ish tourists taking NYC photos of landmarks via tablets. The behavior looked funny, but if the oversized device worked for them and for others, who am I to argue? Nowhere to be found – the seemingly pre-historic point-and-shoot cameras. Approximately 144 million of those were sold in 2010, eclipsing all other years. Today? I know no one who has bought one. Do you?

Google is testing a method to bridge the ad-targeting gap between mobile web visitors and mobile app users, Advertising Age reports. Following a consumer from one screen to another is the next frontier.

68% of consumers engage in "content grazing" - multi-tasking using several devices at once, Microsoft Advertising found.

GroupM is seeing 20-30X lift on beacon beta testing. It was called “potentially transformative” by Jesse Wolfersberger (@jesseberger), Director of Consumer Insights at the company.

Nielsen says that 32% of mobile payers are age 25-34. 46% are multicultural. Hispanics have long led in early adoption of mobile products and services.

In the U.S. in Q2, smartphone penetration increased to 70%. Roughly 93% of the devices sold now are smartphones. Both stats came from leading industry analyst Chetan Sharma.

Looking to learn how to on adapt to the changing mobile shopper? I recommend following Ryan Craver (@ryanmcraver) of Lord & Taylor/Hudson Bay.

“Everything is a screen” - do away with the term “mobile”, urges Rachel Pasqua (@rachelpasqua), Head of Mobility at MEC.

Headline: Wireless Charging Is One Step Closer To Being Reality. My take? This is taking as long as improvements to in-air Wi-Fi.

Price savings more than privacy was on the minds when smartphone users were asked about receiving offers in-store, eMarketer said.

We're more than midway through 2014 and we're still being asked "why mobile?" Really.

The first video uploaded to YouTube was an explanation of what’s cool about elephants, Pew said. As I saw on safari during my “Mobilized Marketing” book tour, lots of things are cool about these majestic animals. I loved the experience.

First locker rooms, now the field - the NFL will let teams use tablets on the sidelines during games.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Where Mobile Stands In Lives of 18-24 Year Olds

18-24 year olds in a Bank of America survey are most likely to view their mobile phones as very important (96%) – more so than deodorant (90%) and their toothbrush (93%). Does that say more about the role of mobile or a gross decline in basic sanitary habits?

The core of an American soccer audience? About a quarter of Hispanics and young adults followed the World Cup very closely, according to Pew. Those demographics are highly engaged in mobile, too.

The U.S. mobile ad spending will surpass digital ads and print in two years, eMarketer forecasts.

Predictably vendors are talking up beacons.  My recent conversation with brands say that a robust testing period is needed first. I’ll do a webinar on the topic July 23 for Market Motive http://www.marketmotive.com/training/tutorials/conference-calls-and-workshops/workshops.html.

Shazam has moved inside movie theaters to give second-screen advertising another shot, Adweek says. You have a captive audience, so it isn’t as ill-conceived as one would think.

SAP says “the mobile revolution is now.” Jeez. Just what we need is more hype.

Mobile email opens have increased 400% in the last three years.

The average smartphone user has 21 apps and uses 8 in a week, Survey Analytics reports. Those numbers seem low on the total number and high on the weekly usage.

Separately, Apptentive says that only 4% of customers will still be using an app a year after they download it.

50% of Walmart smartphone owners use mobile to help them shop in stores, the retailer claims.           

Mobile device adoption will grow to 2.4 billion smartphone and 651 million tablet users by 2017, Forrester predicts.

80% of smartphone users want to interact with doctors on mobile devices, according to Cisco. Other than privacy concerns, why wouldn’t one want to do this?

Sizing Up Amazon's Fire

My first takes on the Amazon Fire phone:

Online pre-orders for version one of a product from a company that hasn't made a mobile phone before? That tests the brand trust notion that Jeff Bezos played hard during his presentation today.

Through Firefly, Amazon’s Fire aims to be the quickest way to buy stuff – of course, from Amazon. That’s like the mall sending a car for you and speeding you to stores. Only much more efficient.

My TiVo always underdelivered so I’m wondering about the promise that Amazon can predict videos that I’m likely to stream, leading to the video beginning instantly.

Google’s Jason Spero, long one of the savviest in the industry, tweeted: “Amazon just built a phone designed for showrooming. Not clear to me that they will sell many. This is a feature.” Except showrooming often leads to Amazon and customers know that.

Consumers have lots of choices at $199 with a contract. Smartphone prices are dramatically lower than just six months ago. Value for the price is the big question here.

A July 25 ship date gets the Fire out long before the new iPhones. You don’t think there was pressure on Amazon employees to hit this timeline, do you?

Recognition - voice, face, product, person - is the next huge innovation in mobile. Will Amazon further deliver on a relevant, personalized advertising product that brands will spend against?

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer -- Are Two-Year-Old Smartphones Useless or Good Enough?

I read on Business Insider where "80% or more of current iPhone users are due for a new phone because they're using old iPhones that are near the end of their useful lives." Says who? Two-year-old or more devices are “useless” for those with limited budgets?

Pew reports that 47% of those mobile users with a household income under $30,000 own a smartphone. Who says that they will put the next purchase of one before anything else?

Techcrunch took the same stance as I did. "The next two years will be the era of good-enough smartphones."

Integrated cross-platform ads are not driving reach, ROI: Nielsen. It’s the early days. The study doesn’t say that they won’t. It’s says that they aren’t.

That study aside, the obvious question from Mary Meeker's new Internet Trends report - with mobile adoption and usage so broad, why are brands slow to use the channel? Mobile now gets 11% of all the digital advertising spend.

Mobile advertising was up 47% year over year, Meeker noted.

The death of the tablet, eh? Tablet units are growing faster than PCs ever did -- +52% in 2013 , Meeker reported.

The U.S. market in on track to exceed $100 billion in mobile data revenues in 2014, analyst Chetan Sharma says.

As compelling as possible products that we'll see, I'm most intrigued by how ultra-strong personalities from Beats play within the Apple world.

A memorable tweet from Southwest Airlines: “You are now free to skip the printer: Mobile boarding passes land at all domestic Southwest airports!”

A new study says that 70% of retail marketers say personalization represents the future of marketing. Do the others think “one to all” will get it done?

Are these tons of World Cup apps meaningful or just for kicks?

Nearly a quarter of digital ad spending by U.S. healthcare and pharma firms will go toward mobile this year, eMarketer says.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Making Sense of The Mobile Wallet Hype

One in 5 mobile handsets will have mobile wallet functionality by 2018, per Juniper Research. Functionality means squat without usage.

I have long said that we don't live in world of absolutes - no, tablets haven't become irrelevant. As far as the latest statistics, 18.5% of all marketing emails were opened on a tablet in Q1 2014, up 5% in 9 months.

A mobile vendor that I won't name (I have friends there) sent me email starting Dear Maryann. And they sell the concept of personalization.

72% of all tweets about a sporting event on TV is tweeted by someone under 35 years old (Nielsen).

Headline: Hispanic Consumers Embrace Mobile Technology. It's one thing in the industry that hasn't changed since I got in in 2005.

I saw where Fitbit has 50% of the world’s wearable market. Yeah, but we’re in second inning.

There’s news that Verizon is about to target its subscribers with ads. No one has more data on users than the carriers.

Facebook has launched new Shazam-like features. The jury is out on whether a big number of users want to access information this way.

YouTube reaches more 18-34 year olds than any cable network.

Citi saw the growth of mobile banking go from 22% to 59% in two years.

Gartner says that the global spend on mobile ads is expected to hit 18 billion, an increase from the estimated $13.1 billion last year.

15% of all e-commerce sales are estimated to come from mobile, McKinsey reports.

Tweet from Bill Murray – “Nuns in wheelchairs = Virgin mobile.”

Houston first responders and doctors in dispatch centers are using tablets in treatment of patients who don't need an emergency room trip.

A final few words from Arianna Huffington - "We take better care of our smartphones than we do ourselves." Are you guilty as charged?

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - "The Ramifications of High Expectations" Edition

There was an interesting Gigaom take on the delivery problems encountered by UPS during the holidays: "The internet has turned us into slaves of instant gratification." I see it a different way – businesses, even owners of small shops, can respond on demand. That’s key to selling, surviving and even thriving. And it’s not a bad thing.

More evidence that consumers want stuff fast. During the holidays, Amazon gained one million more subscribers to speedy Prime. Amazon sold a record 426 items per second before Christmas.

Google-acquired Bump is shutting down this month, ending the efforts by users to transfer data just by touching devices. That’s more than a bump in the road.

73 percent of U.S. adults ended 2013 being part of social networks. Pinterest passed Twitter in popularity.

Internet enabled TV didn’t even exist in 2011, but it’s already in 11 percent of U.S. homes, according to Nielsen.

One would think Gogo would improve its bandwidth before working with airlines on providing free content – the latest being weather information.

Sales from mobile devices reached 14.4 percent on Christmas Day vs. 5.3 percent on Christmas Day 2010—an increase of 172.9 percent, IBM reported.

40 percent of U.S. ad dollars are still being spent on TV ads.

I'm not in the camp looking for a larger iPhone screen. You?

When mobile isn't "mobile" - Over 60% of mobile shopping happens from the sofa.

Going into the gift season, nearly 1 in 5 kids under age 8 used a mobile device every day. The numbers have to be higher today.

Mobile makes up 51 percent of the email opens.

Lauded by pundits, Apple's holiday ad was surely a hit as families came together. It played well in my kitchen.

87 percent of moms use mobile, up 34% And they were the buying decision-makers before. It’s even easier now.

The Moto X print ad in the January issue of Wired changes colors on command to show customization.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - "The Don't Underestimate The Brick and Mortars" Edition

I’m as bullish on mobile as the next guy or gal. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Despite mobile’s influence, 90 percent of U.S. retail sales this holiday season are projected to occur in brick and mortar stores, according to ShopperTrak.

iOS users far outspent Android users over the holiday weekend, IBM says. Marketers, plan accordingly for rest of season.

From the same source: smartphones are for browsing - tablets are for buying. Black Friday mobile stats confirm our beliefs.

How did the retailers fare? The percentage of mobile sales for department stores was up 46.4 percent over last year.

PayPal saw a 123.9 percent increase in global mobile payment volume on Black Friday over 2012. This isn’t 1980.

Amazon took $50 off Kindle Fire prices for Cyber Monday. The company breaks even on the hardware, makes money instead on future purchases customers will make with the tablet.

A delay of NBA League Pass radio broadcasts in the Game Time app shows the score minute or so ahead. That makes no sense.

About 75 percent of smartphone and tablet users use a second screen more than once a month as they watch TV: Nielsen.

My 84-year-old mother in law is teaching us about Netflix on the iPad. Is this kind of stuff happening in your world, too?

Are we that out of control? A restaurant offers a 50 percent discount for turning off the phone.

I predict voice use via mobile phones on planes will never fly. Even those of us addicted to connectivity say no.

Over 120 million in the U.S. will research products on a mobile device this year, eMarketer says.

I have no quibble with the assertion that indoor location-based services will mature in 2014. There is value for mobile users

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer: Aspirin Tablets To Handle Tablet Ad Blitz

 With a tablet advertising blitz coming between now and Christmas, we will need aspirin tablets. Microsoft is said to be coming big with Surface ads, but not quite to the Samsung spending level.

Despite those who want to convince you otherwise, Twitter is gaining in popularity among teens.  So is Instagram.

HTC will donate $1 for every Movember HairstoChange picture posted to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

T-Mobile's “free” tablet data plan costs $10 a month.

As my friend and keen industry analyst Ross Rubin says about early holiday sales, “If every day is Black Friday, no day is Black Friday.”

The strength of the Apple brand? I bought two iPad Airs for holiday giving sight unseen.

Almost half of Facebook's daily users are mobile-only. Please tell those who still view mobile and social in silos.

Facebook's mobile ad revenue was 49 percent of total ad revenue during third quarter (up from 14 percent in Q3 2012).

Home Depot approaches 100,000 mobile point of sale transactions per week.

For the first time ever, ESPN mobile properties saw more unique visitors than http://ESPN.com in September.

Yet another rumor of larger iPhone has me wondering whether I'm in small group that doesn't want size changed to bigger or smaller.

Heard about a tanning salon that had its best-ever Monday after sending out its first mobile blast. Mobile success doesn’t necessarily need scale – it needs customers.

How do you feel about this one? 38 percent of children under 2 use mobile media, a new study says.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google’s smartwatch will launch in the next few months. Marketers, please take a measured approach to wearables. It’s very early days of adoption.

Free registration for the Nov. 14 webinar with the Mobile Marketing Association, Mobivity, and Valley Yellow Pages - enabling local business to thrive with mobile https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/851664870.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Behind Amazon's Mayday Button

Some unwisely say that the new Mayday feature in Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX signals a weakness in the product. On the contrary, I say that providing such help is a customer service feature that will please and facilitate more and faster purchases. And that’s why Amazon included it.

The Samsung Galaxy Round could be announced this week, first smartphone with flexible display. I have no issue with this – choice is good.

There are now more than 1 million mobile malware and high risk apps, TrendWare says. As I’ve said before, consumers won’t notice until and unless there is a huge outbreak. Then maybe, maybe they will act.  We went through this with online viruses and worm attacks.

I saw a TV spot for a Black Friday sale nearly nine weeks before Black Friday. And I can’t remember the advertiser. That’s ineffective.

Just when we thought we knew everything about the iPhone launch came a superb, behind the scenes story in last Sunday’s New York Times. Yes, we long ago realized that Steve Jobs was controlling and a bully. This piece takes the reader to those who were on the receiving end of the fury – and came out of it as pioneers.

One in 5 cell owners do most of their online browsing on their phone, according to Pew.

Headline in CIO Magazines says CIO’s Must Move From 'Mobile First' to “Mobile Only”. Stupid, and that’s coming from a mobile guy.

Mobile hotel bookings will increase 225 percent in 2014, according to Expedia.

89 percent of people delete an email that's not formatted for mobile, says Kissmetrics.

19 percent of marketers expect their companies' mobile spend to rise more than 50 percent in the next two years, IAB says.

65 percent of Twitter's ad revenue comes from mobile.

With changes to the app, finally, you can unfriend Facebook friends on Windows Phone.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - The Free Amazon Phone Edition

On reports that Amazon is looking into giving away its own branded smartphone with no contract required, I say it’s like mall operators chauffeuring customers to the store. And offering them beverages, food, and their individual shopping preferences at prices that are competitive if not the best. How the economics would play out for Amazon remains to be told or perhaps even worked out. But Amazon would do this to sell more stuff.

An Advertising Age headline asked Is Apple's New iPhone Last Rites For Mobile Payments? My answer is no. Apple would be accelerator for near field communications. The model will take many more years to play out.

My reaction to Microsoft buying Nokia - why not given its cash on hand and woeful share of market? But it would've meant more years ago when Nokia was consumer preferred. Many of us started with Nokia phones.

Despite the Nokia purchase, Microsoft is reportedly “keeping an eye on BlackBerry” for a possible acquisition. It would be for the technology, not to take out a “threat”.

Fourteen percent of women ages 25-49 access the Internet only through mobile, according to comScore. That number will grow in all demographics.

Smartphone penetration in the U.S. has topped 60 percent for the first time. And you still don’t have a mobile optimized web site? Remember that 44 percent of smartphone owners have used their mobile to find details about a retailer.

Adobe says that 80 percent of tablet use happens at home. I knew it was high, but that number is surprising.

An example of a brainstorm gone wrong? The introduction of the word apptimization.

The hysterical headlines about “make or break time” for Apple forget the fact that 77 percent of mobile traffic comes from Apple devices.

I still fail to see the value in a larger smartphone unless it serves as both a phone and tablet. I want nothing bigger than a current iPhone for carrying in a pocket.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - The Marriage of TV and Mobile Edition

Who expected this headline in 2013: Gannett Doubling Down on TV with Belo Purchase? It’s not your grandfolks' TV - mobile makes it interactive and more attractive to advertisers.

"Flat design" and "deglitzed" failed to make it to Apple’s iOS 7 intro. It was all about benefits, just as it should be.

Of course, designers and other pundits attempted to have the last word – and made up some new ones, including overhelveticated.

Google maps turn by turn for iPhone rocks – that’s not news but it can't be said enough.

How important is mobile to Nordstrom? The retailer says that for every $1 spent via mobile today, mobile will inspire $13 of in-store purchases – and $22 by 2016.

70 percent of sales organizations using tablets are already realizing a positive ROI, according to a study.

Facebook mobile ad revenue is expected to top $2 Billion this year.  It’s the subject of my Market Motive webinar this Tuesday.

In a related note, local mobile advertising is expected to double in 2013, according to Borrell.

If you have a bad mobile site, Google says that you'll soon have a SEO problem. Bravo.

Mobile wallets are about experiences, not payments, according to a MasterCard exec. I say that you build loyalty to fight commoditization.

One third of Americans own a tablet. And further growth could come through reported $99 #Android devices launching this year.

I was struck how Siri expectations were raised so high for iOS7. I’m definitely in the "show me" place on this one.

Nokia has a new television spot selling what it calls the best low-light camera. Is that key to a buying decision for more than a few? Doubtful.

I wonder how many used their mobile device to watch the CBS Sunday Morning piece on not being able to put your phone down.

A Forbes article asked Will Mobile Revolutionize Advertising--Or Kill It? I say that it’s neither. There are no absolutes. It will change it. Already has.

An Ogilvy executive is the latest to remark that we need to bring value to mobile users. That can't be said enough.

Another article I saw said that Mobile Isn't Just a Screen or Device, It's About Behavior. Yeah, but it’s about understanding behavior that leads to business results.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - The Like and Tweet Edition

Smartphone users check Facebook 14 times a day. That’s when they are not tweeting.

Anyone other than me think it was a mistake to bring the first new BlackBerry without a physical keyboard? Touchscreen is me-too.

It's not a T-Mobile contract - it's an Equipment Installment Plan. Wasn't this going to be dead simple?

In-app purchase revenue has hit records: 76 percent Of U.S. iPhone app revenue, 90 percent in Asia. Not just any apps - games.

54 percent of retailers see mobile as biggest growth area. The others are destined to fail.

According to eMarketer, Twitter will earn $308.9M in 2013 mobile ad revenue -- more than they earned in 2012 total, from any ad type.

An analyst says that the iPhone 5 got five times as many tweets as the Galaxy S4. Meaning what? Little to nothing.

IDC: tablet sales grew 78.4 percent year over year in 2012. They are expected to pass desktop sales in 2013, portable PCs in 2014.

Apple plans to triple the number of authorized resellers in India by 2015. That could coincide with a cheaper iPhone.

News that an Australian business is charging $5 to "fight" showrooming was trending but it won't create a trend. It more likely will put the company out of business.

From the Wall Street Journal no less came a feature on the Mets PR director it calls a "butt dialer" for inadvertently placing mobile calls.

JetBlue plans to offer fast onboard Wi-Fi free of charge. Hopefully that’s the start of a trend.

HTC is no longer "quietly brilliant" in its marketing. It will be louder. As for brilliant, we'll see.

Young Americans send almost ten times as many texts as Americans over 55. What's noteworthy is that the 55+ set texts.