(Annette Moser-Wellman)

Tomi Ahonen is a best-selling author and media consultant based in Hong Kong. His expertise in third generation (3G) technologies and global wireless trends gives him an authoritative voice in new ways to monetize the mobile channel. His "Seven New Capabilities for Mobile" have been popularized across the media community. These "seven firsts" include: the first personal mass media, the first permanently carried and 'always on' mass media, the first built-in payment mechanism, the first content-capture at point of creative impulse, the most accurate audience measurement and the first capture of social context of media consumption. We interviewed Ahonen via e-mail about the future of mobile and news.

Who are the global leaders in the mobile marketplace?
The U.S. lags badly in this space as do many players in North America who approach the cell phone opportunity from an enterprise or business perspective. Today Japan is the most advanced mobile telecom market and it leads South Korea by about 4 months. Italy is the third most advanced, then Austria. The U.S. is currently tied for 21st and almost 3 years behind Japan in my research.

In Japan, more than half of all consumers use the phone to make payments for public transportation, groceries and petrol for their car. All Japanese phones are 3G speeds and are camera phones. Over 80% have 2D barcode readers. This means that phone owners point the camera phone at any barcode and that Web site address is displayed on the screen within a second. Japan was the first country where more users accessed the Internet via mobile phones than via PCs. They also became the first country where more time was spent surfing the mobile Internet than the PC-based Internet.

What do you envision as a mature mobile market?
Maturity will be visible when the changes are not drastic and frequent. Print is a mature industry. Yes, there is turmoil now with the cannibalization of newspapers by the Internet, but print overall is going through gradual evolution into the digital age. Similarly, cinema is mature, radio is mature, but TV is not. TV is still undergoing dramatic and traumatic changes with cable, satellite, IPTV and more. Each media will adjust. None will die.

I am very bullish about mobile. I also believe the Internet will continue to grow in its power and influence for at least another decade. But mobile will become the "first" mass media because it is nearest to us, more personal and most used. It's the first thing we see when we wake up and the last thing we see when we go to sleep. Already, three billion people use SMS text messaging on a phone. That's twice as many people as own a TV set on the planet and three times the number who own any kind of PC. Mobile has enormous reach and power and this power will be utilized by media companies the world over.

Can you give us an example of monetization in mobile that represents an opportunity for publishers and advertisers?
I think the advergaming opportunity is the hottest right now. Many young users would consume more content on phones but can't afford to. Advertisers want to do more on phones, but they find that banner ads and spam SMS text messaging is not compelling enough. So now, advergaming!

You can give phone users fun entertainment for free as an advergame. Puma did a multiplayer racing game in conjunction with the Shanghai Grand Prix race in 2008. Four gamers could race each other for free and Puma provided coupons to redeem at retail stores. The best drivers won prizes but importantly those who spread the game most virally won prizes as well. These kinds of opportunities will spread fast.

What are your favorite mobile applications?
Currently, my two fave stories are mosquito sounds and Virtual Ka. Mosquito sounds is a technical term for very high pitched sounds that only kids can hear. The human ear deteriorates so much with age that there are sounds all teenagers can hear and nobody over about the age of 25 can. Kids love these games on the mobile phone because their elders don't know what's going on. Kids even use these ring tones in class as the teacher can't hear it and the kids won't get into trouble.

The Virtual Ka is an augmented reality ad campaign by Ford in Europe. It uses clever optical tricks with high end camera phones to create an illusion. When you look at the street with your eyes, you see nothing, but when you point your camera phone at the same street, it displays a parked Ford Ka. You can see it clearly and even walk around it. It's augmented reality on a phone.

What advice do you have for news organizations?
Look at CNN's i-Report. It does not kill journalism, but it does change the role of the professional to be more of a judge, editor and expert. They weed out the good and the bad and nurture and help the wannabe-citizen-journalists into capable participants. A great case study is OhmyNews out of South Korea. Mr. Oh's news company is the pioneer that invented citizen journalism. A great success story.

The big lesson is to truly listen. Big brands used to control the message. That is no longer possible in a communities-dominated age. Now the brands have to engage with their consumers and try to learn to become a part of their lives in a way that turns consumers into activists and brand fanatics. Learn from the Obama campaign and use social marketing methods. Evolve, do it better and listen, always listen, to the consumer.


Annette Moser-Wellman is President of Firemark, Inc., an innovation consultancy, and author of Six Competencies of the Next Generation News Organization and Running While The Earth Shakes: Creating An Innovation Strategy To Win In The Digital Age, both published by the Media Management Center.

This TechScout article is part of a series of Moser-Wellman interviews commissioned by the Media Management Center to explore opportunities and insights at the intersection of technology and the news media. Click here to view other articles in the TechScout series.

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