The mobile payment industry is about to find it’s pay day – it’s estimated that mobile payment will jump over 800%.  In 2009 mobile pay companies processed 68.7 billion dollars by 2014 the industry is looking at processing 633.4 billion, not a bad return on investment if you ask me.

So are you ready for the mobile payment world?  It’s coming, don’t  you think you should start to get ready now, why wait to turn away that first customer who wants to pay with their smartphone.

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While the all-in-one functionality will  reduce the number of clicks between searching and eating.    I’ve used Opentable and liked it a great deal, but I’m not a big fan of Yelp,  so I will continue to make the clicks.  Actually, I won’t because I don’t use Yelp!

If you do use Yelp you will still be able to see reviews, ratings, price and other information on Restaurants, , but now you’ll be able to  choose the restaurant by checking availability and making  a reservation.  No longer with you  have to bring up OpenTable to make a reservcation . Yelp users won’t need an OpenTable account to the  feature, either.

Current OpenTable users will receive OpenTable points when making a reservation with Yelp as long as the same e-mail address is used for both accounts.

Yelp said by email “This feature is something that our users have been asking us for, and we’re happy to oblige”  I don’t doubt the users wanting it on Yelp, but do wonder if  the Restaurants want to be associated with Yelp in that way?

Will Yelp’s integration of OpenTable make you use Yelp more often?  After all a third of all business listed are restaurant with over 11 million reviews.

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This is just another reason why I will not own an iPhone as long as they stay exclusive with AT&T.

I’m not even going to talk about the coverage and dropped service issues.

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While this is a great idea, managing the many different social media outlets and the content being sent to them, it can be a bit time consuming, the underlying issue remains.

Any business using social media needs to learn how to listen, first.  Managing is great, putting out good content even better, but that is lost,  if the business is not really paying attention to what is being said.

My fear regarding these type of social media content management tools is they will give business the idea that they can manage the message – which we all know will never bee true, because they never really controlled the message in the first place – once it left the office!

What are your thoughts on tools to manage social media content?

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Offering freshly prepared foods can not only increase the total amount spent, but increase the number of products purchased and the number of visits in a 30 day period.

So, next time your in for a quick lunch, try your local convenient store, it’s not just for lottery tickets anymore.

Take a look at NPD’s finding here

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There seems to be a big disconnect when it comes to marketers and consumers, which should come as a surprise.  Consider this consumers feel overwhelmed and inundated with irrelevant span from programs, yet marketers are planning on upping the amount of email they send.  This is one time, when content is not King!  Consumers want information that is relevant, not everything the marketing team can think to send them.

What do you think about your Loyalty Programs – do you get what you need? Would you stop shopping or switch brands over to many email from a brand?

For more on the CMO Council’s report click here

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I love reading on my kindle and the transition from one page to the next is wonderful for reading, but hardly fast enough for any type of video.  Gaming would be a drag, as there isn’t enough of a processor in a kindle for much more then tic, tac, toe and I still question that would work.  Kindle will need to provide a much larger processor to provide the type of content most internet users has come to expect.  Would a large enough processor, make the kindle larger, heavier and more expensive?

The Kindles display is clear and photos look wonderful, but they are still black & white – Maybe Amazon is looking to bring back the black and white film industry?  Until the kindle is color, content development will be limited.

But, the thing I love best about my Kindle is how long I can go between charges – I mean if I pay attention to how often I download and how I stay connected to the internet, a single charge can last well over a week!   If Amazon starts adding different types of content that require an internet connection more often or use more power, then I’ll have to charge more often. I mean really, isn’t one of the benefits of the Kindle to be to charge once and go for days having access to my books, newspapers and blogs?  I can take use my kindle places that where I can’t use my smart phone or laptop?

I love my Kindle, but I’m not sure I would use it for gaming, surfing the web chatting with friends or even updating my Twitter – I have a smart phone for that.

What are your thoughts on the Amazon opening their software to developers for new content on the Kindle?

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Personally, I think the campaign is wonderful and will be successful.  However it is a double edge sword – if the projects that receive money accomplish little, Pepsi will receive little reward and much blame for squandering millions of dollars and having nothing to show for it.  However, if Pepsi finds a couple of outstanding programs that do amazing work, then they will benefit from the good work, while being praise and rewarded for giving back to the community.  It always helps to know you consumer dollar can come full circle back to your community.

This 21 century corporate community partnership idea is nothing new, but how they go about getting the information out to the masses and not just existing nonprofits is.

In the end I think this will benefit Pepsi more in the long run then any Superbowl Ad.  How many of those ads do we see three months later?  This campaign could go on for years, will minor adjustments and changes and thing of the brand loyalty they can create.  I just hope Pepsi has a long term strategy for this campaign and these project – there is nothing worse then a corporation throwing one time money at a long term problem with no long term planning.

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If this is the move for the commercial world, I’m happy.  I will be happy to drink Pepsi if I know a portion of the money they make is being reinvested back into a community of need.  It’s doesn’t have to be my community, nor do I expect Pepsi not to make a profit, but knowing they are giving back in a meaningful way makes it easier to choose a Pepsi product.

What do you think of the Pepsi Refresh Project?

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Verizons "There's a map for that"

AT&T case against Verizon “There’s a map for that” ad was rejected by a Federal Judge in Atlanta Wednesday.  AT&T claims the ad was misleading, but at this point does it matter? The damage is done.  Yes, the can fight it in court, win and maybe get a monitory judgment, but will that make  difference for the consumer, probably not.  While the lawyers fight it out, the marketing staff at AT&T need to get a response and quick.

Today, AT&T came out with their counter, not as strong because it talks about smartphones and app – which refer to one product  – the iPhone, but at least they are trying to answer the map add.
Might, I suggest AT&T look at the user contract and cancellation policies of Verizon.  I think AT&T should talk to customer through the pocketsbooks – offer a one year contract – lower termination fees – get clients in the doors, then you can talk about how good your coverage is and how 3G is a small part of the complete wireless network.

Here is AT&T new ad with Luke Wilson sidebyside

Just my thoughts!

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