Recently we saw the end of an era for ABC with the series finale of Lost. However, it seemed to be what Verizon hoped for with a marketing blitz focused on the company’s wireless network and a variety of smart phones.

The night started off with a pre-show and Verizon using Lost-themed commercials to air farewell messages from Verizon customers who wanted to say goodbye to the show and its characters. I thought this approach was a very creative way to strengthen loyalty with customers and to provide an outlet for the many Lost fans saddened by the show’s end.

When the series finale started, there was a shift in ad focus as spots were more likely to promote the network and specific smart phone products such as the HTC Droid.

At the end of the night, I think I saw as much of Verizon as I did Lost itself. I kind of wish I took the time to count the number of commercials that aired (maybe I should find someone who has it on DVR and watch it again?)

Did any of the Verizon ads convince you to switch providers or upgrade? Let me know your thoughts.

I recently bought a new cell phone. I previously had a phone that let me do my email and instant messaging, but wouldn’t allow me to do much else. I learned a lot of important things during the process of buying a new phone. Most importantly I learned that I only TALK on my phone for about 83 minutes every month. (My husband, who supposedly hates cell phones, uses our other 1,317 minutes each month.) But I’m getting off topic…

When I realized how little I talk on my phone, I realized that I needed a newer phone that would allow me to do more STUFF on it. What else I needed to do on it wasn’t exactly clear, but how else could I justify the $219 we pay each month for our cell phones? (Two phones, both with data and 1,400 minutes.)

After the agonizing process of trying to find the perfect phone, I now own an Android Incredible. I’m still learning how to use it. In fact, I’m learning really important stuff about it every day. So far it’s helped me navigate to strange places across town and find a restaurant in the mall. I also now always know the five-day forecast. Yesterday I bought my first app for the phone. It is going to organize my entire life and I know it will be life changing. I have a long list of other apps that I want to find.

I didn’t grow up with a cell phone. I didn’t grow up with a computer, let alone email or the Internet. I didn’t grow up with a scanner, a fax machine, a color printer, or an iPod. I grew up with Trim Line phones, typewriters and record players. But in this day and age I use my phone to run my life. I use it for my email, instant messaging, my entire calendar, my grocery list, my to do list, Facebook updates, GPS navigation, the weather forecast, to name a few.

And that brings me—albeit in a roundabout way—to my point. Mobile banking. Clearly mobile banking is going to happen – it needs to happen. It’s a question of when, not if. Right now mobile banking isn’t on my list of things to do on my phone. For me to do mobile banking, I need my bank to receive all my bills electronically. And I want to be able to use my bank to do all my budgeting. Those two things would make mobile banking work for me. But right now I don’t want to pay bills remotely because all my bills are at home in a folder. Is there an App for that?

Already part of a very competitive market, Palm has its work cut out for it over the next few months. It’s attempting to add energy into the company’s sales, focus and branding. After worse-than-expected results for Q3 (a 19% decrease in shares to a 52-week low of $4.59), analysts are questioning if Palm’s stock price will hit $0 soon.

The company argues that despite high volume shipments to retailers, the product isn’t moving off the shelf because of lack of proper marketing and staff training. Palm is stating that retailers do not know the benefits of many of its phones, making it difficult to move product and in turn, change the downward trajectory in stock value. If this is the case, it seems education should be the key goal of Palm marketing and training, right?

It could be, however, that the product hasn’t fared well in comparison to other smartphones (iPhone, Blackberry) because it isn’t seen as a comparable product. How many consumers enter a phone retail location without an idea of the type of product they want? Not many, I’d assume.

So, is the issue an under-trained sales staff or that Palm hasn’t convinced the public that its product is superior to the top players in the market? If the company can’t do that, I agree with analysts that the company’s stock is going to continue to fall all the way to $0. The solution has to be in marketing and strategy, so hopefully Palm is revamping its strategy.

We had a successful webinar yesterday; thanks to all who attended! Sorry about the sound difficulties at the beginning of the webinar.

Those of you who tuned in submitted tons of great questions about our financial services trend forecasts for this coming year. I’m crafting answers today and this weekend, so I hope to have them up on the blog by Monday. Please of course, feel free to use the comments field here if you’d like to submit more questions about our predictions.

In the meantime, Mintel Comperemedia’s fabulous marketing team has created a link to the webinar recording. You can either listen to it again (or for the first time if you missed it yesterday!) or you can download the slides to peruse at your own leisure. Click here to do so.

Mortorola and Google have created a great deal of anticipation and excitement with the introduction of two new smartphones. Could these new phones surpass the iPhone in popularity?

Positioned as products that can at the very least compete with the iPhone, Motorola’s Droid and Google’s Nexus One are aiming to become the new wireless “must-have.”

Critics’ reviews are starting to come in and it appears the Droid by Motorola is fairing better. Reviews of the Google phone have been mixed. Both Google and Motorola seem to have created certain features that have been received well, but other features seem to be missing the mark.

So what do the critics think about these phones’ ability to topple the iPhone’s reign? Doubtful. They may be mixed in their individual reviews, but critics are unanimous in the thought that neither phone has the potential to beat Apple’s influence, cool factor and hold over the consumer wireless market.

That doesn’t mean the two new phones were a total bust. It’s just hard to beat the original when the original is such an icon (think McDonald’s v. Burger King, Nike v. Adidas, etc.) Critics are saying that the Google Nexus One will draw huge interest from tech-focused fanatics, while the Motorola Droid will provide formidable competition to AT&T and Apple because it’s on the Verizon network.

Has anyone taken the leap in purchasing one of the new Android smartphones? Are you satisfied with the purchase? If you’re in tech marketing, what can Motorola and Google do to make their products more competitive with the ubiquitous iPhone?

We live in a mobile world. From iPhones to BlackBerrys and Wi-Fi to mobile hot spots, our population is becoming increasingly mobile and increasingly dependent on mobile devices. Leading the mobile revolution is the telecommunications industry, which more than any other sector, has helped facilitate the world’s growing desire to be mobile, wireless and connected.

Now, telecommunications providers are further expanding the mobile movement, promoting netbooks as yet another method of staying connected on-the-go. Previously, computer manufacturers were the primary companies to promote netbooks, but promotions among telecommunications providers are on the rise. Netbook promotions were included in 8% of industry direct mail sent to consumers in Q3 2009 (up from 1% in Q2 2009 and less than that in Q1 2009).

Verizon is leading the charge, often bundling netbook promotions in with acquisition campaigns for bundled internet, TV and phone services. In these direct mail offers, Verizon offers prospects a free netbook when they sign up for the bundled package. Other companies, including Comcast, Qwest and AT&T, have followed Verizon’s lead in promoting netbooks through direct mail.

In offering customers netbooks, telecommunications companies have capitalized on the opportunity to provide customers an additional means to stay connected and to fuel their ever-increasing mobile appetite. What other products can telecom companies “bundle” to help sell their services and appease the quickly changing needs of today’s consumer?

Need to step into the kitchen, stand on a wooden crate and strain your neck upwards to make your cell phone work in your apartment? Yeah, we hear you…

Apparently, so does AT&T, a provider that’s been critiqued for service and coverage quality issues. In response, AT&T launched 3G MicroCell—a product designed to provide “5-bar coverage” in customers’ homes, offices and other buildings where coverage is limited or non-existent. The device acts like a “mini cell tower”, improving wireless coverage by connecting through existing broadband Internet.

Standing out from other wireless providers that offer similar products (i.e. Sprint and Verizon), AT&T is using direct mail, email and print to market its new device to existing customers. They’re also selling it at a deep discount to customers who add an AT&T Unlimited MicroCell Calling plan.

It’s smart timing for AT&T. The company needs to combat criticism about network quality and appease iPhone users, especially as AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple nears expiration. Is a separate device the answer for AT&T? Or will yet another cost just to talk simply irk customers more?

It’s a benefit to some, a burden to others, but wireless and smart phones are quickly becoming synonymous with social networking. In order to stay relevant and keep ahead of the competition, wireless telecommunications providers are shouting loud and clear about their phones’ ability to tap into social networks.
Many wireless telecommunications providers promote customers’ ability to access social media on their phones, which allows them to update friends and family about their activities. Still others advertise proprietary applications in their direct mail, like Verizon’s “SocialLife”, or allow users to upload pictures to various social media websites.
Wireless telecommunications providers are not only giving people what they want—24/7, on-the-go access to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube (woe to the person who can’t tweet from the bus!)—they’re also finding a way to increase mobile phone usage. It’s a win-win.
So what’s next? Apps are wildly popular on the iPhone, but what can other providers do to stand out?