A Word From Our Sponsor?
Devin Pike, Senior Editor, AnywhereYouGo.com
September 20, 2001

MAX Racks is a way for advertisers to get their products in front of eyeballs in restaurants, nightclubs and so forth. Usually it's an array of upcoming movies, new and exciting liquors, and the occasional bit of art from struggling artists.

I was passing one of these racks a couple of weeks ago and came across a card with a trio of post-Marilyn Manson gothic punks and a businessman keeping his distance from the three, yet smirking. One of the punks is holding a PDA. There isn't any descriptive copy about the visual, or why the pairing is relevant to the PDA. The ad is for Sony's CLIE.

My first reaction was, "What the hell?"

My reaction now is, "Here we go again."

The mobility industry -- with both wireless data and PDAs -- has had a history of inadequate advertising. Any Intro to Advertising professor will tell you that an affective ad will do at least one of two things: it will intrigue the viewer about the product enough to make them use it; or it will give the viewer enough information about the product where the viewer will want to use it.

By its very nature, mobility products aren't going to be easy to sell in the industry's first years. You can't compare it to the Internet, because people didn't have to purchase a whole new device for it -- new internet users merely had to use the computer they already had, and service providers used that to their advantage.

Wireless data, on the other hand, requires both a new device and new service, along with a new way to use data while the user is on the go.

The penultimate bad ad for wireless came from Sprint, advertising "the web on your phone." Scores, e-mail... even Yahoo! was available on your phone. Problem was, it doesn't go over the differences between the desktop Internet and the wireless internet. Users were burned on the experience, and American carriers are still dealing with damage control.

I'm not saying it's going to be easy. This is a whole new ballgame, and it seems the only way to get people to figure it out is to take each person and physically show them the benefits of mobility devices and products.

Short of that, the challenge I issue to developers advertising their product is this: "Don't be stupid about it." Figure out how to wisely leverage your 30-second TV spot, or print ad, or postcard. Tell the consumers that this will change they way they move around. It will empower them, give them a new form of freedom. It will NOT replace their desktop connection, nor will it make you bond with the errant group of punk rockers.

I still have the postcard. It sits on my desk as a reminder of the enormous amount of work we still have to do.