Marketing Via the Third Screen,
A Q&A with Steve Lamont

Steven Lamont is a strategy and marketing professional, with a track record of success leading growth initiatives, especially in the communications and high technology arenas. We recently heard Steve speak on mobile marketing during a luncheon in San Jose and were intrigued enough to follow up with him for a Q&A session.

Q.  What have you observed with the mobile market over these past few years?
In the U.S. we are seeing the early stages of significant growth in the Mobile Internet that is creating something of a revolution. The number of Mobile Internet users and the breadth of applications is accelerating. The opportunities for applications, content, marketing, and customer interaction in the mobile environment are becoming very real.

Q. Where is mobile marketing today? Is anyone making money at it?
We are still at an early stage and so few players are making money at it. The wireless service providers are realizing revenue growth but have yet to recoup a return on their multi-billion dollar investments to build out the networks.

Q. What are some trends you’re seeing?
The major industry trends are having a multiplicative effect in the marketplace. We are all benefiting from a wider footprint of faster wireless networks, including Wi-Fi and 3G. We have a broader range of choices for powerful mobile devices that are both fun and productive, with the promise of more to come in the next few months. And we are seeing more powerful and useful web applications that bridge our use across our “three screens” of mobile, computers, and TVs.

Q. What is the number one issue facing mobile companies in 2009? (Is it technology, or how to get people to opt in, or something else?)
In order to achieve the needed growth, industry participants must bring down the total costs to make the mobile internet more affordable for Middle America. This is difficult because the technical and financial challenges are still enormous for all players directly in the industry. Wireless Service Providers face incredible challenges to finance and build out new faster networks. Device manufacturers are facing accelerating development cycles to satisfy demanding consumers in a highly-competitive marketplace. Applications and search services are forced to innovate constantly just to keep up. Media companies are challenged to protect their digital assets against what they define as piracy while trying to expand their markets. 

Q. Which industries have been enthusiastic toward mobile?
Apple has invigorated the industry with the iPhone, and forced most of the device competitors to respond with their version of an “iPhone killer”. Google and Yahoo! have invested a great deal in creating mobile platforms and applications that work well in the mobile environment, each wanting to be the preferred search engine on the mobile frontier. It seems the major social networking sites are seeing the tremendous potential of mobility to expand their reach. And Microsoft has had a significant focus on mobility especially for enterprise applications.

Q. Which industries need to make more use of mobile?
While it may sound trite, I believe that within a few years just about every industry will experience changes in their business model to accommodate the Mobile Internet. This will of course include companies tied directly to the industry, such as wireless networks, devices, peripherals, and applications. And it will extend to media companies delivering their products and services on mobile devices, to those companies that will collect money by way of mobile payments, to enterprise application companies that will enable mobile workers, to those that will interact with their customers in different ways using the Mobile Internet.

Page 1 | Page 2