The financial services industry has found great success with mobile as a channel for extending products and services to on-the-go customers. A next logical and related segment where we have not seen much activity is the credit reporting agencies.
Archive for Matt Silk 
From Coffee Shop to the Bedroom, Mobile Goes Where Others Do Not
Posted by Matt Silk on November 18th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Most of us in the mobile space saw the humorous Windows Phone 7 commercial that recently debuted. In the video, mobile users young and old are shown texting while jogging, in the shower, in bed ignoring their spouses, and just about every other stereotyped scenario involving the hyper-connected.
When A Conference Connects with Attendees
Posted by Matt Silk on August 10th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Picture this; you’re attending a conference and there is a last minute speaker change, or a must-see panel moves rooms, leaving you only a couple minutes to race somewhere else. You’ve been there, right? Me too.
Wouldn’t it be easier if the simplest form of push notifications alerted you of any conference changes? Of course, I’m talking about the text message, because who doesn’t have their cell with them at a conference.
Earlier this summer, I had the great pleasure of attending PromaxBDA – The Conference 2010 in downtown Los Angeles. For those who don’t know, PromaxBDA’s conference is the annual gathering of television promotions and marketing executives.
Waterfall Mobile provided digital messaging services for PromaxBDA, and thus alerted the eclectic group of industry creatives about news, special offers, and any last minute schedule changes. As a result, Waterfall’s Msgme platform was able to make the conference more interactive and engaging.
For example, the PromaxBDA organizers declared an impromptu “flash party” via text one night – and backed the party up with a bar tab! Within moments the previously empty bar was swarmed with conference-goers, all of whom had either gotten a text, saw a tweet or heard via word of mouth about the... Read more
To Mobile App Or To Mobile Web – That is the Question
Posted by Matt Silk on August 3rd, 2010 at 6:37 pm
At Waterfall we don't build mobile websites or apps, so we don't often engage in this ongoing debate of where brands should focus their attention. However, we do power messaging for firms doing both, and since we live and breathe mobile everyday we of course have an opinion on the matter. And I think it’s time to share.
Let's look back in history at evolution of the PC computing world a bit. Not too long ago people built software which was installed directly on the computer. The software products were sold on discs and installed by IT guys before you got your laptop at work. Or, you installed it yourself on your home PC after you bought it. Then this phenomenon called the web started to gain traction and it looked like all software was moving to web-based. However, more and more of the successful must-have software products were being bundled and pre-installed in PCs, so they still had a chance to get into people's hands. Software makers continued to fight hard for their seat at the table, explaining why their software was a better experience than their new cousins who were completely web-based.
This debate still continues today – and really... Read more
Mythbusters: LBS Edition
Posted by Matt Silk on February 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 am
"Minority Report" flat-out rocks. What a great movie.
Remember the scene where Tom Cruise runs through the mall with the "precog" played by Samantha Morton? And the security guys can track his movements because of a futuristic location-based retinal-scanning technology Steven Spielberg brilliantly set up in an earlier scene?
Armchair futurists in the mobile space have been touting LBS (location-based service) as the next big thing in digital marketing for years now.
But while location targeting has come a long way in recent years, we aren't quite to "Minority Report" just yet.
Let's cut through clutter, bust a few myths, and focus on the things marketers can and cannot currently do with LBS.
Yes, the mobile Web has a few ways to triangulate your location, and mobile apps can be location-aware leveraging the GPS chips on your phone. But they must be turned on in order to transmit that data or you need a subscriber to download an app to the phone.
Sprint is the first carrier to open up its network for commercializing location-based messaging – nirvana for digital marketers. AT&T is just starting to open the kimono – and once the AT&Ts and Verizons fully join the party, LBS can become... Read more
