What Does 2011 Have In Store For The Wireless Industry?

2010 was definitely a landmark year for the adoption of Smartphone and other mobile devices, such as tablets, and also for the development of software, operating systems and applications for just about anything you can think of.


So how is 2011 going to see in the new year of wireless communications and technology? 


Todd Engels of Marketing Drive has identified the following five trends that we should look out for in the coming year:


1) Leveraging the power of social media to drive commerce (e.g. Groupon)
Groupon has been the innovator when it comes to group based purchasing, and it will be exciting to see how this method of promotion will affect distribution, effectiveness and efficiency of special offers to consumers.


2) Integration of mobile (handheld) into shopping marketing programming
This allows for additional touch points with the consumer throughout the shopping process. Creating that additional connection can allow companies to capture early adopters and be more innovative themselves.


3) Marginalization of “brand.com” promotional websites
Companies are looking to feature their brands and offers on existing social networking sites, sharing sites, or potential partner sites to save having to create their own stand-alone web presence.


4) Localization of promotion
There is more of a move to grass-roots levels in local communities, even with the use of the Internet to facilitate promotions, offers and products / services.


5) Continued blurring of the line between content and promotion 
Companies are looking to have their promotional messages linked smoothly and continuously over a number of media, such as TV, print and gaming. They want to keep the promotion indistinguishable from the content because of the ability to deliver in high-value brand environments. Integration into video games, for example, is a new venture that many companies are stepping into, as a new way to reach their audience.


These five points all cover the element of Smartphone-mobile integration for the consumer. With new online opportunities emerging all the time, and existing elements continuing to move forwards, 2011 will definitely be the year to watch the communications industry.


For the full article and examples to accompany each trend above, see the iQmetrix Newsletter for this week.