Mobile and newspapers – a quick lesson

The word ‘mobile’ in terms of newspapers can mean several things:
1. Making money from premium rate services such as ringtone downloads or entry to competitions.
2. Using SMS or MMS as a communication method to readers
3. Providing newspaper content on mobile phones through internet/WAP

These three, despite having very different aims, are not independent of each other. Having a look at them more closely, this is what they can entail…

1. In the business of making money

This trend has stemmed from the old fashioned premium rate phone services and is popular among the tabloids in the UK such as The Sun and The Mirror. The theory is that readers are using a different method, i.e. their phone bill, to ‘buy’ services such as horoscope readings or entry into a competition (see picture).

Often the charge for a service is more than the cover price of the newspaper. In the UK these premium services have come under fire for ‘ripping readers off’. Newspapers have to beware that there is a danger of alienating readers through high charges. If done well however, readers can be happy to purchase specialty services through this method.

These services usually provide a small incremental revenue stream in terms of the overall balance sheet. However in terms of manpower and space, returns can be excellent.


2. Opening lines of communication and learning from them

One of the benefits of using premium rate mobile services is that it is possible to build up a database of mobile numbers that can be used to both the newspapers and the readers advantage. By using the database effectively, newspapers can build loyalty, rewarding regular readers with timely news snippets and breaking news via SMS. Ideally, users interests are tracked from each interaction (sports team, astrology etc) allowing for more targeted future contact.

Gauging opinion and getting feedback from readers as they are reading the paper is something that can only be done via mobile (at the moment). A comment following a contentious article or a vote in a poll is timely and can be used in print the next day whilst a story is still fresh. With only 160 characters space is limited which usually allows for interesting short, sharp comments that can liven up the staple ‘letters to the editor’ page.

If newspapers are really smart, they can learn a lot from this use of mobile. A great example of clever use of information is that of a chocolate brand in the UK. They used a ‘text to win’ marketing mechanic where consumers were asked to text in a unique code on the inside of a chocolate bar wrapper for their chance to win a prize. As consumers are most likely to text that code at time of consumption, the brand found out which of their chocolate bars were being eaten at what time of day. This information was used to dictate a large part of their TV and Radio advertising campaigns. This can be translated to newspapers so that editors and advertising teams can tell which time of day each page is being read and, if the database is detailed enough, by whom.

3. Mobile Newspapers

Newspapers can now be read on the Internet…. And the Internet is now becoming available on phones. Can you see where this is heading? And why not. Consumers want information from wherever they are and the one piece of equipment that is universally carried on a person at almost every step, is the mobile phone.

The good news is that newspapers are unlikely to have to go through that huge learning curve of moving between print and online again. Most of the lessons learnt from the transition will be equally applicable to mobile, after all it’s another electronic medium.

It all seems to make sense but logistics have held up the market so far with two major problems:
- Small screen size on mobile handsets
- Network operators dominate the browsers on mobiles and therefore make it difficult for users to get to other WAP sites.

Newspapers started looking at WAP options a few years ago but take up was slow as it’s clunky to get to sites and readers can’t get much information on the screen at one time. It also ended up being a push product rather (i.e. had to be sent out by newspapers) than the pull product (i.e. readers requested the information). Another option for newspapers was a Java applet on the phone, which is easier and requires less direct communication from newspaper to reader via other means. The problem is that it requires space and needs the user to physically download it. Plus of course, it comes back to the small screen size.  

Some newspapers have experimented with WAP: The Sun in the UK launched a WAP site in January 2005 have experimented with WAP, Scandinavia has been the most successful and other countries around the world such as Malaysia and Malta are joining the trend.

Technologies are however advancing quickly and several developments are making it easier to get access to and view the mobile internet. In fact over 10% of America’s 200-plus million cell phone subscribers are now using the wireless Web on a regular basis (Source: Mediapost February 2007). There are two good examples of how the mobile internet is being used at the moment:

imode from O2 goes further but information is still limited due to screen size. News organisations such as The Times (UK), CNN (US) (pictured), Reuters, Bloomberg and Sky News have all signed up but there aren’t many figures available for the uptake of these services.

The new apple iphone showcased earlier this year demonstrated the ease of viewing full newspaper websites. The site can be read vertically or horizontally and text could be made bigger or smaller (more here). This is where the future of newspapers on mobile is likely to develop more. A key difficulty that newspapers will need to overcome is designing websites that are easily readable and navigable on computers and mobiles. How this will scope out depends very much on the new phones that are launched in the next few years. Monetisation is possible through advertising banners in the same way as the internet but is undeveloped as a market to date.

According to Meredith Artley, new executive editor, mobile news is “blowing up right now. It's a huge opportunity. All news organizations need to pay a lot more attention to wireless." The opportunity exists to "invent something new that's mobile-only."

Mobile can provide revenue and better communication so the more creative the use, the more effective the channel can be. Joining up print and online by using mobile as glue can also be a good tactic: for example run a competition where users text in to get a car registration or an unlock code which they then input to the website to see if they win.

For now, learn what you can from mobile and be prepared to strike when the market in your country is ready.

Source: Sponge Group Ltd, ImodeOnline, Journalism Review