Issues Facing Brand Owners
There are two interesting papers authored by iGR and available via openmarket.com.
The first entitled Increasing the Profitability of Off-Portal Mobile Content: Who left the back door open? discusses business models for off-portal network operator content.
The second, Going Direct to Mobile Consumers: Fish or Cut Bait gives a great overview of the issues facing brand owners.
The conclusion is particularly interesting…
"While some in the mobile industry see market entry for the large media companies as inevitable, iGR does not believe this is the case. Rather, the media companies will enter the mobile market when there is a clear and sustainable business benefit to their brands. The danger for the mobile industry is that if direct action is not taken, the media companies will not enter the mobile market for some time, waiting for the business environment to naturally evolve to their liking. By this point, end user expectations for mobile content may have seriously eroded to the point that a sustainable direct-to-consumer content business cannot be built by the tier one companies. In other words, iGR believes there is a finite window of opportunity for the mobile industry and the large media companies to build a significant D2C content business."