Mobile Insider Summit – Here We Come

MediaPost’s Mobile Insider Summit happens this week in Lake Tahoe from August 25-28.  And no surprise, Waterfall Mobile will be in attendance.

This is MediaPost’s first mobile summit so you won’t want to miss it. The mobile summit will bring together the leading minds and marketers in the mobile space to discuss where the industry needs to go. During the summit experts will identify the trends, technologies and tactics that will define the years to come.

I’m also thrilled to be presenting a case study on the success of the mobile campaign around the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove,” along with our client Participant Media.

Our presentation will be on Friday, August 27^th at 11:30:

Case Study: One Oscar. One Cause. One Call-To-Action

Participant Media/TakePart looked to test mobile for its viability as a means of stimulating activism and for keeping movie viewers engaged after leaving the theater. They decided to add a mobile call-to-action at the end of the documentary, “The Cove,” and watched as their list of mobile activists grew. Then, at this year’s Oscars, after winning for “Best Documentary” the producers held up a sign asking viewers to text DOLPHIN to 44144 – and the campaign took off like wildfire.

Participant Media/TakePart and Waterfall Mobile present a case study in driving digital activism through mobile and social channels.

Come with your questions because we’ll have a quick Q&A session after the presentation!

You can find the full agenda for the summit here.

If you’re going to be in town, be sure to reach out. You can email me at msilk@waterfallmobile.com or connect with us on Twitter @WaterfallMobile.

Digital Messaging Enhances 2010 PromaxBDA Conference

Last week I had the great pleasure of attending PromaxBDA – The Conference 2010, which happened last week in downtown Los Angeles. For those who don’t know, PromaxBDA is the annual gathering of television promotions and marketing executives.  It was a fantastic event.

Waterfall Mobile provided mobile messaging services for PromaxBDA, and thus alerted the eclectic group of industry creatives about news and special offers. As a result, Waterfall’s Msgme platform was able to make the conference more interactive and engaging.

For example, the PromaxBDA organizers declared an impromptu “flash party” via text on Wednesday night – and backed it up with a $5,000 bar tab! Within moments the previously empty bar was swarmed with conference-goers, all of whom had either gotten a text or heard about the open bar from somebody in the know.

Elsewhere during the conference, I was in a client lunch when another text came through with a special offer for PromaxBDA mobile subscribers. Sugar Ray Leonard, who was being honored at PromaxBDA, was available for an exclusive meet and greet with those attendees who had joined the mobile list! I couldn’t get away to rub elbows with the champ – but I certainly appreciated the opportunity.

Other things I especially liked about PromaxBDA:

• Learning. Attendees at PromaxBDA were actually there to learn – about social media, about new promotional and marketing tactics, about what’s next.  It made for a genuinely interesting and even (dare I say) inspirational event.

• Honesty. JD Roth, executive producer of “The Biggest Loser” on NBC (and winner of a PromaxBDA Brand Builder award) admitted during a panel that the show has taken product integration a step too far. He also said brand visibility would be scaled back when the show returns next fall. Always refreshing to hear people tell it like it is!

• Icons. Larry King interviewed with PromaxBDA Lifetime Award honoree Hugh Hefner, and it was something to see: two legends taking the stage and talking shop. Also notable: Hef mentioned Twitter twice! If an 82 year old knows about digital messaging and social media, I’d say that’s pervasive, wouldn’t you?

• Foresight. I was extremely impressed by incoming PromaxBDA co-chairman Lisa Gregorian (Warner Bros. Television Group) and her panel on the changing face of the television viewing audience. Killer data point: 70% of the TV audience will be comprised of millenials by 2014. That means delivering content to users not just over the airwaves but online, mobile, DVR, and all the rest. Extremely refreshing to hear so-called “old media” leaders with such a command of what’s coming next, and the fact that those people have a business strategy to reflect our changing times.

• Inspiration. I was blown away by the commercials and other video content on display at the PromaxBDA “State of our Art” event, which collects the best and most ground-breaking ad and promo content of the year. Some favorites: Budweiser channeling The Beatles; The Beatles themselves starring in the opening animation from The Beatles: Rock Band; this great short piece on the nature of creativity itself; and a show-stopper from French broadcaster Canal+ (stick it out to the end – it’s not what you think!).

Here’s one obvious thing that PromaxBDA can improve for next year. Despite all the digital initiatives happening throughout the event, comment cards in the session rooms stick out like a sore thumb. In an effort to go green, Promax has phased out bottled water – but getting rid of all that paper would be greener still, not to mention more efficient. Mobile messaging does a superior job, and can power commenting in real-time. Maybe next year…

Oh, and I have to give a shout out to our new friends at Wiredrive. They interviewed yours truly for a video compilation site the company is putting together featuring other PromaxBDA speakers and presenters. We’ll link to that video here as soon as it’s posted.

Digiday Mobile – Who’s Coming With Me?

I’m going to be in Los Angeles on Monday for Digiday: Mobile participating in a panel about location-based services – a topic that has been getting a lot of attention recently.

The Digiday panel, entitled “Location, Location, Location,” should be a very informative discussion about LBS – where carriers fit in; overcoming privacy concerns; the basics on geofencing and the technology that drives mobile marketing LBS; and ROI-tracking.

I’m very much looking forward to sharing the panel with reps from Verizon, NAVTEQ, JiWire and Geodelic.  And I am especially excited to share the stage with Steve Madden and to hear more about that brand’s mobile plans.

You can find the full Digiday agenda here.

If any Mobile Demystified readers will be in attendance, I’d love to meet up.  You can reach me at msilk@waterfallmobile.com.

See you in L.A.!

– Matt

MediaPost’s Email Insider Summit

December: there is no better time of year to visit Park City, Utah.

And what better reason to go than for MediaPost’s Email Insider Summit.

The conference runs from December 6-9, and on Tuesday, December 8^th I’ll be part of the “Mobile Marketing of the Future” panel. My esteemed panelists and I will be discussing the benefits of mobile, specifically as it relates to email marketing communications.

Representatives from Microsoft, Razorfish, Turner Broadcasting, General Mills and many other great companies will be in attendance. Should be a fantastic event.

You can find the full agenda for the conference here and register here.

And PS: if any Mobile Demystified readers will be in attendance, I’d love to meet up.  You can reach me at msilk@waterfallmobile.com.

See you on the mountain!

LeadsCon East – Be There!

If you’re in New York in mid-August (specifically August 17-18), you should check out LeadsCon East. The conference focuses on the online customer acquisition arena and gives special attention to lead generation.

I’ll be speaking during the Marketing Strategies Showcase session on the 18th discussing the best ways to get the most out of ad spends with other leaders in the space. Since we’ll be there, we’re able to pass along a special discounted registration rate of $295*. (You can only get the rate through the provided link).

In addition to the panel session, representatives from Waterfall Mobile will be at our booth and walking the halls. We’d love to set up a meeting if you are in the area.

Also, be sure to check out the schedule of events. Hope to see you there.

*Discount rate good on new registrations only. Credits or refunds cannot be issued on previous registrations. Discount rate good through August 1, 2009, prevailing rate applies after that.