Vringo-can video ringtones crack the subscription model?

I met Haim Cohen-Mintz from Vringo at the Mobile Web Europe conference in London in September and he exuded a quiet confidence about both the prospects of the Vringo content proposition and its (nicely executed) business model.

True to form, the company has been progressively announcing a number of recent deals in both France and Turkey to provide their video content on deck with various operators.

What is interesting about their deal with Avea in Turkey is that Vringo will break new ground by launching a carrier led video ringtone subscription model. It is interesting because in many ways we are at an inflection point in the traditional models of mobile revenue generation, particularly when it comes to mobile content.

Pure advertising-supported business models are beginning to creak as the need for a balanced revenue mix imposes itself on content providers to both smooth revenues and cashflow as well as to increase the sustainability of revenue generation.

What we also see is increased divergence between the 'mature' mobile markets and the nascent or 'emerging' ones that are characterised by heavy mobile internet penetration. The consumers of the latter market have not 'evolved' from PC web to mobile web, thus do not suffer from the same degree of eyeball saturation.

Traditional revenue models (such as those entirely dependent on advertising) may well work in the emerging markets (at least for a while) but there is little doubting that a new market imperative is beginning to emerge in mature markets. Mass mobile consumers here will develop greater resistance to mobile advertising and since most large players will be slow to adapt, my belief is that nimble startups focused on niche content or niche market segments will have at their grasp interesting revenue opportunities.

Where does this leave Vringo? Vringo innovates in a mature (premium ringtone) market, so should be able to do well for a while. However, the market in mature countries appears to be shrinking, so the focus on emerging markets will be critical in sustaining future revenue growth ceteris paribus.

Mobile, Domains & The Future

“Mobile, Domains & The Future” is the first book by Javier Marti. In the past, books about the mobile environment have been exclusively focused either on the technical or on the sociological impact of the mobile web, resulting in a poor learning experience for the average person or domainer. “Mobile, Domains & The Future” integrates figures, advice and information on the world of domain names, future trends in the mobile arena, the .mobi extension and domainers’ personal stories, the debate on which mobile extension “is better” or will prevail over others, the logic behind domaining, potential threats along the way -search engines redirection, dependency and addiction, economic crisis…- and much more.

All this information is presented in a non-technical manner with pictures and graphs accompanying the text. This is also the ideal book for any lay person to read in order to get up to speed in the mobile web and the domaining world.

However, this book is not only for the “newbies”. For the experienced developer, content provider or investor with an interest in “mobile”, this unmissable book’s passages provide multiple sources of inspiration and ideas while effectively drawing our attention to new or creative sources of revenue and potential business contacts.

This first book by Javier Marti also contains articles or extracts from a number of guest authors on several subjects: from SEO, to traditional and web Marketing, to potential future values for different domain extensions.

Since Javier Marti is an independent author, the tone of the book is as impartial and objective, although there is a clear tendency throughout its pages to consider and expose domaining as a perfectly valid business activity, and a potential opportunity for financial freedom -if approached from on a sensible manner- for average individuals. This opportunity is explained in great detail.

The book also includes a section where we get to meet domainers and hear about their personal views through their own words, when they answer a standard questionnaire about their activities, motivations and future plans. Here we see the human face of domaining, and the personal stories behind those pioneers shaping the future of the Mobile Web today.

The book is free to download at:
http://trendinews.com/download-mobile-domains-future-javier-marti/

I recommend you take a (free) look at it...

Blue Ocean Strategy in the Mobile Sector

2008 will be an exciting year for developments in the mobile sector, a year in which we will witness the narrowing of the gap between traditional and mobile web, the so-called mobile convergence.

It is also a year that promises to offer economic challenges to new and existing start-ups, particularly in the mature western markets, as the trickle down of the US-led credit crunch will be begin to make its presence felt, especially to the middle-class consumer.

I would argue that this offers a perfect opportunity for companies in the Mobile 2.0 space to go for so-called ‘Blue Ocean’ strategies (W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, first published in HBR 2004) and seek new markets with little, if no, competition. This would represent a shift from today’s preference for competing in the ‘Red Ocean’ space, where competitors abound and intense fighting between them leads to much ‘blood spill’.

Examples of web-based companies that succeeded in developing a blue ocean include e-bay and skype (their shared philosophy makes it easier to understand how they are now both under the same roof).

If we look at skype’s value proposition compared to that of the best voice communication alternative at the time (toll-free international calling cards), we can better understand the strength of its positioning (Value range, 0=lowest, 5=highest).

Admittedly, skype may not be as convenient as a calling card (easily available at retail points and used on traditional phones) but for all other value elements, it set itself completely apart and rendered its competition irrelevant. Not surprisingly, skype now gathers together around 10 million subscribers worldwide.

So, how can companies involved in Mobile 2.0 adopt Blue Ocean strategies?

1. Stay clear of crowded markets –yes, they are tempting (other people are making money there!) but success is less likely than in the calmer waters of the blue ocean
2. Think carefully about what value you are adding to the consumer above what is currently available to him/her –and make sure that value gap is as wide as possible!
3. Ignore existing demand for existing services –dare to be different! Look at areas where existing products or services fall short of expectations and then offer something completely new to potential consumers. Turn that non-consumer around to bring him/her back into the market.

Applying these types of questions to existing business models will at the very least provide a litmus test of the intensity of competition a company may face. Applied using a bottom-up approach, it has the potential to generate genuinely new markets or industries we cannot yet even imagine.