The BuzzCity Report - Vol.4, Issue 1 (Jan 2014)

In the latest edition of The BuzzCity Report, we look at how the robust return of mobile content players over the past twelve months has driven up advertising spending.

The opportunity to engage consumers via their handsets is driving mobile commerce. In some markets mobile commerce grew in step with e-commerce while in others, m-commerce streaked ahead.

In the BuzzCity Report, we look at consumer surfing behaviour as well as planned purchases over the next year. We also cover the fourth quarter of 2013 during which time The BuzCity Network delivered more than 72 billion paid ads.

We look at hotspots that have attracted advertising dollars and are likely to continue doing so in the months ahead. We also highlight a few countries outside the Top 10 that we think may interest advertisers.

Read more in Volume 4, Issue 1 of The BuzzCity Report.

Consumers Surf Less; How To Reverse The Trend

By Hisham Isa, Vice President (Marketing)

Fact #1: Carriers have discontinued unlimited mobile surfing packages in many markets.

Fact #2: Mobile surfers are spending less time online.

Surprised?

Less consumer time online means missed opportunities and potentially lower revenues for all sorts of mobile players, from advertisers to publishers and merchants.

We are seeing creative attempts though - mainly in the form of partnerships between telecoms and Over-The-Top (OTT) players like Facebook and Google - to counteract this trend and encourage more surfing. To really be successful though, carriers need to look beyond a few big-name brands and embrace mobile merchants as well.  At the same time, they should take a fresh look at pricing plans to make them clearer and more predictable.

Let's take a closer look.

Season's Greetings from BuzzCity

Because the support of those we serve is the foundation to our success, there is no time more fitting than now to say “Thank You!” 

We wish you a happy holiday season and a New Year full of Prosperity and Happiness.

The Crystal Ball 2014

By Lai Kok Fung, BuzzCity CEO

It's that time of year again . . . time for holiday parties and annual budgets . . . and time to pull BuzzCity's Crystal Ball out of the desk drawer, dust it off and have a look at 2014.

(Sorry to mix the work metaphors with the play, but it seems appropriate for those of us in the mobile industry. After all, we're using our phones on a daily basis now for everything from reading office memos and replying to emails to watching viral videos and buying theatre tickets.)

This year, we're going to keep it simple. Just two main predictions:

1. Many Channels, Mobile First

2. MobileMoney Becomes Commonplace - Everywhere!

If you're a close follower of the GammaLife blog, you'll know that we've been writing about the prevalence of mobile commerce & mobile payments -- as well as a mulit-device, multi-channel world -- for some time. But these two trends are only going to become stronger in the year ahead, as they shape our industry - and consumers' lives.