Tag: mobile marketing

Project Oscar rebranded as Weve

| October 29, 2012

Weve emerges from floundering consortium

Mobile commerce is on the rise in the United Kingdom, but the consortium that would have established itself as a unified platform for the various NFC efforts that were taking root in the country has gone through a turbulent rebranding stage. The consortium, formerly known as Project Oscar, was comprised of mobile operators, financial institutions, and some technology companies, all of which had big hopes for NFC technology and mobile commerce. This consortium has been rebranded as Weve and has adopted a new focus that is very different from what the vision had been in the past.

 

Consortium was meant to provide platform for NFC applications

In the past, when Weve was still Project Oscar, the purpose of the consortium was to provide a standard platform for all companies interested in mobile commerce. These companies could import their NFC-based applications onto the platform, which would enable them to reach consumers across several mobile networks. The idea was that the companies that participated in the consortium would get a cut of the profits made through fees imposed on each transaction made through the NFC applications it supported. This quickly became unpopular when companies like Visa and MasterCard suggested they had no intention of sharing their profits.

WEVE Project Oscar

Weve shifts focus toward mobile marketing

The newly branded Weve is shifting its focus away from NFC technology and toward mobile marketing. The consortium has seen its ability to promote mobile commerce through NFC technology flounder and is looking for a way to provide a unified platform for businesses that is not entirely focused on a niche technology. Thus, the consortium will serve as a platform for various mobile commerce initiatives and those concerned with marketing to mobile consumers. Weve will not abandon NFC technology, but the technology with not be its sole focus going forward.

Mobile marketing may be a turbulent sector for Weve

Weve is keen to push the concept of mobile advertisements amongst businesses, but these advertisements have not been performing well for some of their largest proponents. Both Google and Facebook have invested heavily into mobile marketing and have found that mobile advertisements are not faring well with many consumers.

SumUp teams with Diffusion to promote mobile commerce

| October 28, 2012

SumUp looks to engage businesses in the UK

SumUp, a mobile payments startup based in the United Kingdom, has been working to help promote mobile commerce within Great Britain and Ireland. In August of this year, SumUp raised more than $20 million for its efforts. Now, the company is looking to put that money to good use and believes that Diffusion, a PR and social media communications agency. Together, the two plan to help boost the adoption of mobile commerce throughout the UK by focusing on businesses within the country.

Diffusion to handle social media efforts and traditional marketing for Sum Up

Diffusion will be handling SumUp’s social media efforts and will be operating traditional marketing campaigns, which will be targeted at businesses that have shown interest in mobile commerce in some way. Diffusion notes that there may be a serious opportunity for growth in the UK and Irish markets, claiming that the number of people with smart phones in these regions is on the rise. Businesses throughout the UK are beginning to feel the pressure to be more accommodating to consumers that want to make purchases using their mobile devices, thus creating more opportunity for SumUp.

Card reader could be a big hit with businesses

SumUp has developed a card reader that can be connected to smart phones and facilitate mobile payments. SumUp believes that the card reader could be a boon for small businesses who see traditional point of sale terminals as expensive investments. The card reader would enable these businesses to process purchases made using a credit card using a simple mobile device rather than a static payment terminal.

Growth of mobile commerce presents powerful opportunity for SumUp

SumUp has chosen Diffusion for this initiative because the agency has extensive experience in the various markets within the UK. Mobile commerce is on the rise throughout the country, and SumUp is keen to establish powerful ties to companies that can help it reach a new generation of mobile consumer. The company will have to face down some strong competition coming from Square, Orange, and even Google, if it wants to find success in this expanding industry.