Author: Joe Barber
Joe Barber has been working in mobile marketing since the early days – he remembers a time before we were all constantly glued to our phones. Here he reflects on how attitudes have changed dramatically over the past decade. In 2004 I was embarking on my earliest mobile marketing endeavours. I spent more time […]
Is a strategy for mobile really that important? It’s a question Joe Barber hasn’t been asked for a long time… until he attended a recent seminar on technology in retail. I must admit I was shocked by the general lack of understanding about where mobile now fits within the technology ecosystem in respect to […]
Better roads and faster cars don’t reduce travel times when there are 10 times the cars and only one new lane. As Joe Barber writes, the same holds true for web infrastructure and modern content. With what seems a constant stream of innovation in infrastructure technology, why is the performance of websites degrading at […]
They’re under-hyped, but could be a mobile marketer’s dream innovation, writes Joe Barber. The mobile industry, in respect of marketing tools, has on the whole remained reasonably static. Technologies have improved, as has the understanding of brands in leveraging omni-channel strategies to encompass mobile, but true innovation or the next ‘game-changer’ has seemingly taken […]
Jump into a world beyond reality where Joe Barber will be your guide to good stuff and the gimmickry. Most augmented reality (AR) executions have been generally regarded as gimmicks, lacking any real tracking, control or engagement model implemented. Most of the implementations I’ve seen to date have been less than inspiring and deliver […]
Two decades since Richard Jarvis received the first text message to his phone, Joe Barber finds out that this unique channel still affords major advantages. Does text messaging still work for brands? I get asked this question often, which is amazing since it was less than six years ago I was being asked ‘what is […]
Responsive web design delivers a website that dynamically adapts to any device format or size. There are, however, important limitations to consider before getting too excited about this new evolution in web development. Dealing with mobiles and tablets for brand pages is a challenge in design and technical performance. It is important to consider not […]
Website analytics provide a wealth of information, and even the free Google Analytics is well supported by myriad graphs and charts dissecting website traffic in just about every way imaginable. Leveraging this data to improve electronic direct marketing (eDM) efforts and refining site structure, however, seems to be a challenge and an ignored discipline. There […]
In 2013, we are facing a whole new paradigm in digital marketing. The past 18 months have seen a shift in consumer habits in respect to devices and technology platforms that is now all but complete. But, surprisingly, many campaigns are still failing to succeed in the ‘final mile’ of connecting with a consumer. At […]
Landing pages are a highly-critical tool in the digital marketer’s arsenal. Trying to find a uniform email format or having enough detail in the body of an SMS is challenging. Landing pages are the most successful, yet most under-utilised and poorly-executed aspects of digital marketing. Many brands simply use a QR code, SMS or email […]
One of the most asked questions of me over the last three to four months is about QR codes – those funny-looking, two-dimensional graphic images that you scan from a mobile. The renewed interest I believe is due to the significant growth of the QR code in the US market and the volume of stories […]
In 1997, I spoke at an internet show in Singapore. I expressed what was then regarded as extreme concepts about the future impact of the internet and the World Wide Web. I proposed wild ideals at the conference that one day the use of an organisation’s web address would become as commonplace as their phone number […]
The release of the iPhone generated world news and not always for the right reasons. Most will remember the 300-page phone bill Justine Ezarik received in a box from AT&T and the YouTube video that followed. This bill shock drove many telcos to rethink their billing strategies for mobile data, giving rise to what we […]
Joe Barber lays bare Ritchies IGA’s mobile loyalty program to illustrate that in mobile marketing short-term campaigns are misguided – while this truly powerful program goes all but unnoticed. Omni-channel retailing is an evolution of multichannel retailing, but enveloping the premise of a seamless singular strategy to the consumer experience through all shopping channels: […]
