We did an interview with Raj Aggarwal, CEO at Localytics a company that offers the most powerful application analytics platform, giving mobile app publishers for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 the tools they need to build more successful and profitable applications.
Here you can find the interview on mobile app usage analytics

I ran a session on opportunities in mobile commerce or as some people call it m-commerce at mobile camp boston #mbc4 this weekend held at MIT Sloan. The event was its usual annual affair. 500 calorie donuts, large containers of coffee, sponsors, meat sandwiches only. The discussion in classrooms and in the hallway was the best part of the conference.

menu of sessions on offer at #mbc4 held at MIT

Lots of great sessions to satiate the hunger of over 600 mobile enthusiasts attending the conference. See the menu on offer. I could not suppress the urge to have an audience. So what should I talk about.

mobile technologies this mobile marketing that, mobile payments this, mobile banking that….. Hang on. I know there is a real issue to discuss. At a retailer conference recently, I heard time and time again that mobile internet traffic is going through the roof (quadrupled in the US), but the conversion is pretty low. In my own experience when I launched www.tixmob.com – a mobile ticketing portal,  we had over 98% purchases done through internet, and paltry 2% through mobile.  Granted that was pre iphone era. So I titled the session “Opportunities in mobile commerce” and found myself in a room full to capacity (well I took the smallest room at the conference that housed 50 people). The session was highly interactive and generated some great ideas. There were many mobile commerce pros in the room. Here is the output from the session.

I ran a session on mobile marketing and couponing at mobile camp boston 2010 http://www.momoboston.com/ – a successful annual conference where over 500 people participated. I was suddenly in front of 50 people in a lecture theatre at MIT’s Sloan school, feeling a little nervous, sweaty palms, and wondering if I have something useful to share with the audience. There were some really smart and interesting people in the audience.

I wanted to make the session useful and interactive, so I asked everyone to introduce themselves and share what they were working on. Here is a sample of what people were working on.
• How mobile ad networks will evolve
• How Ad-agencies can use and sell mobile marketing to brands
• How to incorporate LBS for applications
• How to build brand engagement through mobile
• How can mobile help in the healthcare
• Building Mobile commerce application
• Launching an application on smartphone (quite a few in the audience)
• Looking at the mobile marketing opportunities in Brazil
• How to get rid of card from mobile couponing and gift card journey
• Ipad apps and opportunities
• Et. Etc.

I was meeting a senior product manager at a very successful online property. This comment was made. I paused to think about this. I guess in the past this was a good and simple way of thinking about the role of couponing and loyalty card. But then I dug into the work I have been doing with Orange (carrier) in the UK. We launched a couponing promotion 6 years ago called Orange Wednesdays http://bit.ly/cdysnS , which has driven millions of customers ( http://bit.ly/aewQUl official count was 14 million on the 5th anniversary) to the cinemas. Wednesday use to be the lowest traffic day of the week for the cinemas, now it is the highest week day traffic day for the cinemas across the UK. Great acquisition tool.

Check out Orange Wednesday 5th anniversary preparation video here

I have been working with wireless carriers now for over 10 years. Customer churn has become a major issue in most developed markets. Interestingly, it has become a big issue in big metros in developing markets e.g., Delhi, Mumbai and I suspect Shanghai, where mobile penetration has reached 80%.
In the past handset subsidies were a big way to retain customers. Over a period of time, when all carriers started doing it, it become a blunt tool. Exclusive deals like iphone with AT&T or O2 are most visible method of product differentiation and worked very well for AT&T and O2 to gain and retain customers. With exclusivity coming to an end, what next.

While talking to a colleague at one of the respected carriers, content like app store and the extensiveness of the app store is a strong retention tool. But challenge is how do carriers build extensive app stores in short period of time.