Mobile Marketing Outlook for 2010

Fujita-san, President of D2C, posts op-ed outlook on Mobile marketing in Japan for 2010 - http://bit.ly/7bKcJ9

Up the stairs, out of the metro, and out on the street; it’s the perfect time to grab a bite for lunch. I whip out my mobile and there on the screen is my avatar telling me I am right in the area where that tasty Chinese place is, the one I discovered on TV the other day. I check out what people are saying about the place and their top picks from the menu on my screen, thanks to social media exclusively about restaurant information. Having picked up the map, I’m off there right away.

This service, dubbed “i-concier” is being developed by D2 Communications, and is currently offered by NTT Docomo as a concierge function to its contract customers. There are more and more people in Japan who are tipping this kind of concierge service on mobile phones to become an effective 1-to-1 marketing platform. That said, user fears about privacy need allaying, and it is only by providing a new innovation to users that the service will really lock-in; and then it can be fully applied to advertising and marketing. Expect 2010 to be the “year of preparation” leading up to this.