Satellite needs the ground Network:
Anyone who uses Android Navigation in their car will know that unless you have the ground network the 'Route' information does not work. Vermont which has very poor Verizon coverage will allow me to have the Map with my Location but unless I am in the 3G coverage area to set the Route Info, it doesn't work. Once the Route is set I can leave the 3G coverage and it will still give directions and the mileage left etc.
Without the Ground Network you also can not check in using any of the LBS services such as Foursquare or Gowalla, or even pull up Yelp! listings. They can find your location but the Apps will not work without the network.
Mobile Success Story:
Normally I am exposing frauds and holes in things in an effort to show clients and readers not to take things on Face Value. I had a discussion this weekend with Simon Salt (aka
@incslinger ) about the lack of Social Media success for Marketing for big Brands. Tomorrow's post is going to freak you out when I debunk 'Viral' with some very powerful proof (though I actually have something nice to say about Facebook for once).
Simon showed me the Airwalk Pop Up Store campaign which I found very clever. Airwalk started as a Skateboarder shoe and then stumbled in the mass market a few years back. They have survived but aren't quite the same cache as say Vans, DC or Fallen shoes have today. The problem when you are leader in a niche is to keep the core supporters when you attempt going to the mass market. Many brands in Skate and Surf and extreme sports have died because of this effort. There is a huge disconnect I will share with the video narrator, the campaign, and reality which I will share later.
While this campaign is unique and was very successful, it obviously is not scalable for the mass market. But the important thing this does showcase, is how we can integrate technologies in such a way that helps leverage small budgets. It also shows why going to an IDEAS Agency can have a big impact on your marketing efforts. It allows an Agency to use various technologies that best fit your Brand's needs vs trying to force fit you into whatever technology 'We Have'. And this is a powerful statement on why this is all TECHNOLOGY vs MEDIA. Y&R pulled in technology from all over to make this happen.
I am very skeptical about the $5 Million in Earned Media they claim, since they give zero proof or support of this, just a number. But even if it was just $1million or $500,000, if they sold 600 high end shoes and got that earned media with a small budget it is a win. In fact remember this statement:
Unless a Marketer gives you supporting data to prove a claim, don't believe it. Ever.
Now I get to be a snob. It is my blog right?
I spent 17 years living in Southern California at the beach in Hermosa, Redondo, Huntington, and Venice and have had many Skate Punks as my friends, starting at Arizona State in 1985-87, even separating my shoulder on a Quarter Pipe there, I can state this campaign was not aimed at the Airwalk hardcore Skateboarder but in reality the more affluent people. Trust me 12 to 21 year old Skaters are not reading Blogs. They aren't even on Facebook unless they are Pro and need a Fan Page. They are Skate Punks. They don't care about you and your Facebook or Blog. Though they will upload videos of themselves skating to You Tube. But in reality they are out Skating. I have spent so much time in Southern California watching the Skateboarders (I gave it up after getting hurt), they are not sitting around using IPhones and reading blogs. They are Skating.
This goes to the heart of marketing. Reaching your desired audience. I stand by my assertion that the only people who watched the Old Spice Twitter/YouTube campaign were people in Marketing, Advertising, and Media. Trust me, Old Spice wants to compete with Axe yet that demographic surely wasn't watching that campaign. Clever idea. Bad product. Poorly targeted. Over all a failure in my view.
SKATE OR DIE PUNK!
