The rise of 3G mobile phones signifies a fresh avenue for marketers

PRECISION MARKETING - 26 September 2003

...offering an innovative and engaging way to communicate. But before riding the latest technological wave, the industry should consider how it will keep the spam tag at bay. (An extract from the article follows)

The secret, claims Neil Svensen, chief executive of brand communications and new media company Rufus Leonard, lies in marketing taking the lead from consumers, as opposed to forcing solutions upon them.

“Companies develop technologies and say how to use them, but it never works that way,” he says.  “What happens is that the users decide how they want to use it; they accept things they find genuinely useful and reject what they do not.  The best marketing taps into users’ quirkiness.”

And with limited numbers of 3G-enabled handsets out there (Hutchinson-owned 3 is the only network to have offered a concerted 3G roll-out, so far with questionable success), the jury is still out on future mobile usage.