3FER: Strange Mobile Bedfellows

Our growing mobile habits have created strange bedfellows recently. They’re tracking our whereabouts. Hoping we kick our card swiping habits. And bringing dating to business. It’s been an odd few weeks.

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#1: Beacons applied.

After three years of buzz, these Bluetooth low energy devices are starting to meet their promise. Big box and even small retailers have installed them for in-store engagement. Airports are using them to guide the visually impaired. And they’re even comping free sodas to moviegoers as they enter theaters. Here is a small taste of them in action:

Target Launches Beacon Test In 50 Stores, Will Expand Nationwide Later This Year (TechCrunch)

99 Ranch Market uncarts beacon-powered WeChat game for shoppers (Mobile Commerce Daily)

Indoor mapping lets the blind navigate airports (Smithsonian)

Coca-Cola has taken a step closer to using beacons to turn location-based marketing on its head (The Drum)

Imagining a beacon-filled world in Columbus, Georgia (Fast Company)

Apple, Google and the State of the Enterprise Beacon Market (Estimote)

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#2: Apple Pay ain’t.

A year ago, banks raced to adopt Apple Pay. Many retailers were boasting their acceptance. And even the US Postal Service was trying to share in the Apple’s limelight. There’s one key group that isn’t all that excited about this mobile wallet: users. iPhone users aren’t making Apple Pay a habit:

Apple Pay Declining Use (Pymnts)

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#3: Forbes does dating.

We’ve spent billions hoping to connect with others. The most recent dating darling is the app, Tinder, where users swipe left or right on the hunt for the next mate. America’s venerable business bible is hooking up with Tinder to target twenty-something professionals:

Forbes Taps Tinder To Launch ‘Under 30’ Network (MediaPost)

Forbes blends LinkedIn, Tinder formats in exclusive mobile networking community (Mobile Marketer)

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(Photo Credit: SFO)

Harvard, Drive-Bys & Fat Tire

As most analysts have expected, mobile’s grow exceeding their estimates. A few days ago, Pew Research released a study that showed 56% of Americans are using smartphones (for Latino and African American users, those numbers are 60% and 64% respectively.)

That said, most businesses are still lagging in mobile adoption. According to a survey 1,800 digital marketers commissioned by Adobe, only 27% of companies have a mobile-optimized web site and 7% have developed a mobile app.

Congrats if you’re within either or both of these groups. If you’re not, there’s is still plenty of time to incorporate mobile into your enterprise.

Here are five mobile stories that you might of missed from last month:

#1: Insights from Harvard

Few would consider Harvard on the cutting edge of marketing thought. That said, the Harvard Business Review provides a great summary on the growth trends of mobile-only users: http://bit.ly/ZqLZhE

#2: SMS for Healthier Eating

Birdseye partnered with Share Our Strength and Healthier America to provide tips for better grocery shopping. Users receive up to eight messages a month that include ideas on how to save money, what to look for in the shopping aisles and links to recipes.

Why SMS? Households earning less than $30K annually use twice the volume of text messages than those earning more than $75K.

Learn more about this innovative behavioral change campaign at Mobile Marketer: http://bit.ly/11l4w9q

#3: The March of the Latino Shopper

It is no surprise that communities of color are more sophisticated mobile users. This is especially true in Latino communities. Research shows that 16% of Latino shoppers are making purchases on their mobile devices. That’s 25% higher than the general marketplace.

Check out the piece in Progressive Grocer: http://bit.ly/ZqMCaU

#4: Mobile Drive-Bys

Approximately 200 Clark, Marathon, Phillips 66 and Sunoco gas station in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana are capturing the attention of drivers. The system connects to WiFi and Bluetooth-engaged mobile phones that pass within 300 feet of a transmitter, and the sends them an offer via push messaging.

Unfortunately, they do so without mobile user opt-in. So expect that loop-hole to close with the first class action lawsuit.

Read more in AdAge: http://bit.ly/11l2TIN

#5: Social, Mobile & Fat Tire.

Some of the best campaigns rarely come from big brands. Case in point is New Belgium Brewing. Having launched a mobile app for their flagship Fat Tire Amber Ale last summer, NBB expanded their 2013 summer campaign to mesh mobile and social with more traditional media.

Catch the whole story at Mobile Marketer: http://bit.ly/ZqP810