Last night, mobile advertising and near field communications (NFC) were the talk of the techie town after Taipei’s most recent installment of Mobile Monday was held in downtown Taipei. Hosted by Yushan Ventures, around 70 people gathered to listen to a panel comprised of industry experts Roger Chen, VP of Taiwanese mobile carrier FarEasTone; Laurent Renard, CEO of TORO Development; and Polo Wu, Interactive of Starcom Media. The ‘fireside chat’, moderated by Netbook News editor Nicole Scott, allowed the trio to weigh in on the future of mobile advertising and NFC.
At the heart of the discussion was how NFC, a wireless communication technology that would allow mobile handset users to transmit data over short distances, would alter how advertisers and consumers connect, and when such a change might happen.
From left to right: Nicole Scott, Roger Chen, Laurent Renard, Polo Wu, host Volker Heistermann
Polo Wu set the tone with a brief presentation, highlighting a paradigm shift in both the way consumers are surfing the net and how advertisers are engaging audiences in response to this trend. On the one hand, Starcom observed a 240% jump in mobile traffic in the 6 months leading up to February 2011, fueled by increased tablet and smartphone penetration. On the other hand, Wu explained that digital advertising had grown to 15-30% of total advertising budgets, up from 5% just two years ago. As consumers increasingly browse the web via smartphone and tablets and advertisers switch media to follow suit, a major question was how NFC could be utilized to capitalize on the mobility of web users.
Take, for instance, Coca-Cola’s recent experiment in mobile advertising. Starcom worked with the beverage company and chain convenience store 7-11 to develop a soon-to-be-released app to deliver a location-based coupon for Coca-Cola to the user’s handset. The panel agreed that steps taken by advertisers were necessary to move NFC adoption forward. But this was assuming more fundamental challenges could be overcome.
Polo Wu discusses mobile advertising trends
Challenge: Getting NFC into the hands of mobile users
Solution: Simply put, more NFC-capable handsets need to hit the market. Roger Chen indicated that he was placing his bet on Android phones being the market leader here, with a number of models shipping in Q3 of this year. How widely adopted these models will be is something that remains to be seen.
Challenge: How to educate consumers on what NFC is and how it can benefit them
Solution: An easy to use, high-benefit, and open application/tool could instantly communicate to users the potential of NFC. One example given was Taipei city’s Easycard – a ubiquitous all-in-one transportation and cash card accepted at countless Taiwan merchants. A similarly convenient solution would at once demonstrate the potential of NFC and attract merchants and advertisers into investing in the necessary infrastructure to allow future tools to be developed. Laurent Renard offered up some similar high-benefit services: top up, payment, balance checking, and money transfer services.
The crowd at MoMo reflects on NFC
Challenge: Resolving security and privacy concerns surrounding NFC technology
Solution: The panelists universally agreed that privacy and security issues were overblown. Roger Chen reminded the audience that the exact same risks exist with credit cards, a technology the entire world has readily embraced.
The panel was accompanied by networking sessions and delicious burgers courtesy of Nemoburger. It was a casual and informative opportunity to learn about a promising new technology. At the same time, it raised important issues that need addressing: as more and more data is being linked, hesitant consumers will only be swayed if the benefits of NFC technology are there. If mass adoption can be achieved, early indications are that advertisers will be more than willing to jump into the fray.
The next Mobile Monday will be held on June 13th. Visit MoMo or like them on facebook to find out more about the next session.
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You’ve got great insights about mobile marketing, keep up the good work!
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