2014 Mobile world Congress Day1
Recap #OgilvyMWC

2014 Mobile world 1 Congress
Connecting Everyone in the World Some numbers are astounding. Here’s one: there are 7 billion mobiles in the world. Of course, half of those those phones belong to just 3.5 billion people. Here’s another: 80% of world’s population lives in areas with 2G or 3G network coverage. So, is internet access a problem? Not according to Mark Zuckerberg. For him, the challenge is to show those for whom a dollar is a big deal exactly what data can do for them and why they should spring for it. But how? Zuckerberg’s answer is found in internet.org which will make a low-cost or free onramp to the internet, providing basic services like search, wikipedia, messaging, and (surprise!) Facebook. Of course, the skeptic would ask what Facebook, et al get out of this. It seems that they’re after something noble. The internet.org partners believe that internet access is a social good that will increase individual prosperity and health and do the same for societies as a whole. Maybe dental hygiene, too. Of course, with those new users, FB and the internet.org partners know they’ll do fine. #OgilvyMWC

2014 Mobile world 2 Congress
Reaching the Data Threshold When is the last time you sat around ideating up a new mobile based campaign and tapping your thumb on your chin, “Hmm, I wonder how much data my totally rad Cannes worthy mobile idea is going to eat away at my consumer’s data plans and rates?” Probably never unless you were a really experienced UX or mobile guy in the room. And even then, we all still take it for granted—just like water and plastics. Well, data might be an infinite resource but bandwidth is limited...and expensive. The biggest part of the cost of a smartphone isn’t the device—especially with Mozilla’s new $25 entry—it’s the data plan. Facebook partnered with Ericsson to bring the pain to some app developers in an event that simulated the data constraints present throughout the world, and pain is a good teacher. We need to start thinking about how to conserve data. That will lessen the draw on data infrastructure resources and essentially (or hopefully) bring down cost. #OgilvyMWC

2014 Mobile world 3 Congress
Telecoms Changing up the Game Telecoms have a one-up advantage to a lot of industries. They have direct access to the consumer everywhere and every moment. (Admit it: you sleep with your smartphone next to you, and you check it in the middle of the night.) Telecoms, being generally of the brainy sort, are sauntering from the starchy telecommunications part of town down to the digital lifestyle village, where the cool kids hang out. They’re focusing on providing access to entertainment, better m-commerce, and even mobile financial services (MFS). Teleco company Millicom saw the need for MFS in Tunisia, and within a month of implementing mobile banking services, the country’s GDP increased. As NFC goes broader, mobile money goes with it. 1 in 3 Visa payments in Australia is via NFC. Mobile video is burgeoning, too. Of course, there is that pesky bandwidth issue. Who pays for the necessary upgrade? The consumer, the service provider (cf. Netflix/Comcast), or, maybe, a brand? #OgilvyMWC

2014 Mobile world 4 Congress
video killed the radio star...and everything else By 2017, two-thirds of mobile data will be video. While you marinate on that, consider that by 2020 there will be 50 billion connected devices. Well, you say, those will all be wrist bands and clever kitchen appliances. Mmm...no. 15 billion of those connected devices will be video enabled, thereby putting you in A Clockwork Orange lid lock wherever you turn. Mobile video is the most enagaging thing since TV. We engage (or rather absorb) for 210 minutes on connected TV. Our desktops capture us for only 10 minutes of video. But mobile sucks us in for a full hour. It’s there all the time, too. Tube primetime is the evening, and we’re staring into our computer screens during the daytime hours. On mobile, like in Vegas, primetime is all the time. Unless, of course, we get fed up: 15% of the time, mobile video watchers disappear because of buffering issues. #OgilvyMWC

2014 Mobile world 5 Congress
Social mobility Mobile has given us the power to not only communicate but uncover vast amounts of information quickly, make transactions instantaneously, and give those in minority positions the power to even out the playing field. As more and more countries across the the world become harmonized through mobile and network standards, the people that inhabit cities and towns have access to information that can impact their business or improve agricultural success. We heard examples of women and those with disabilities using mobile to empower them to take back control over their life. Using mobile, Turkcell empowered 68,000 women with microfinance and crowdfunding. Mobilizing poor women with microcredits prevents fraud, improves financial literacy, and influences families and communities. So does education, and as coding—especially mobile coding—has become a universal language major mobile players have seen the importance of creating a mobile code curriculum for entire countries. #OgilvyMWC