This is a high-level summary of some early research we did into mobile trends for small, local, independent and alternative media in Canada. Looking to get feedback from Canadian-based broadcasters and publishers to expand this deck into a full-fledged report to be shared with anyone who wants to give input. Feel free to share and download as you see fit.

1. How Mobile Can
Transform Local Media
http://www.flickr.com/photos/noppyfoto/5267871160/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

2. mobile is hot...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

3. “By the end of 2012 we expect the install base
of smart phones to be equal to portable PCs.”[1]
- Lars Goransson, Group VP/GM at IDC Canada
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caribb/5259734742/sizes/l/in/photostream/
[1] Mobile still vital to Canada’s 2012 growth: IDC
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

4. “... [the iPad] has already become the fastest
adopted electronic device in history”
(http://gigaom.com/2012/01/07/dunlap-paypal-payment-predictions)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

5. Why hasn’t local media
joined the party?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/_sml/97519096/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

6. 1 high costs of ownership
Sourcing, designing, building and supporting multiple
mobile devices and form factors can cost up to $150K an
app per smartphone device.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

7. 2 loss of editorial freedom
Local media are more likely to present alternative
viewpoints whose content may violate guidelines or
policies of a platform vendor.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

8. 3 low ROI on mobile ads
Almost half of all mobile ads are viewed by mistake. With
local media unable to produce content as often as mass
media, traditional advertising strategies have produced
poor results.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

9. How can local media win
on mobile?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hi-phi/54828371/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

10. 1 embrace the ‘local’ web
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

11. “...there’s better long-term potential in a huge
audience through a browser than a limited
audience through an app.”
-Khoi Vinh, former design director, New York Times
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

12. Web internet on mobile is growing
3X faster than desktop ever did.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

13. 33% of Facebook and 50% of
Twitter users access content from
a mobile device...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

14. ..yet only 12% of local Canadian
media has a mobile-optimized
website.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johanl/4375773612/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

15. And remember...
[1] Mobile still vital to Canada’s 2012 growth: IDC
[2] CWTA Industry Facts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

16. ...app content platforms are not
a mobile strategy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/4773693893/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

17. App platforms don’t contribute to
organizational learning, don’t provide in-
house support and won’t provide any
competitive differentiation.
[1] Mobile still vital to Canada’s 2012 growth: IDC
[2] CWTA Industry Facts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

18. treat local businesses as
2
partners, not advertisers
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

19. Context-specific content allows local media
to insert itself between the buyer and the
seller, converting intent (offering discounts)
to purchase (collecting payments).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drh/2102396938/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

20. Shopcatch aggregates location-specific, time-
limited discounts and special offers. Consumers
can follow specific retailers or offers.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

21. The next evolution of the relationship between
media and retailers will be marked by the
widespread adoption of mobile payments.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/feuilllu/6350917633/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

22. 3 create a user-supported platform
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

23. For mass media, the overheads of researching,
creating, editing, producing and approving
content are unsuitable for real-time, crowd-
sourced citizen journalism.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/faceme/1457252072/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

24. For individuals, local media outlets are an
ideal platform to create, update and support
content.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sea-turtle/3799047293/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

25. “Why should I let some young kid with a phone
write restaurant reviews on our reputable, trusted
platform?” -- media executives everywhere
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fhashemi/145402545/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

26. Because she’s already creating
content on her phone...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sekihan/3963055349/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

27. ... and uploading to curated platforms
that make local media irrelevant.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

28. Local media no longer owns the
means of content production. They
are no longer solely content creators.
But local media can still be relevant in
digital if they act as content curators.
[1] Mobile still vital to Canada’s 2012 growth: IDC
[2] CWTA Industry Facts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

29. Which leads us to the last point...
[1] Mobile still vital to Canada’s 2012 growth: IDC
[2] CWTA Industry Facts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

30. 4 embrace the mobile medium
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

31. Print is a visual medium...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephangeyer/3501272881/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

32. ... whereas mobile is a
tactile medium.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephangeyer/3501272881/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

33. The methods of monetizing print content
translate poorly on mobile devices.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

34. Consider other features of the medium
as part of a complete mobile strategy.
Contacts: Sharing and connecting
Camera: Photos and videos
GPS: Location-aware
Notifications: Always-on
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

35. Summary
1 embrace ‘local’ web
2 treat local businesses as partners
3 let citizens contribute to platform
4 embrace the mobile medium
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

36. Milan Gokhale
milan@zeusriver.com
@milang
Zeus River
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

37. Resources
• Meeker Says Majority Of Pandora’s And Twitter’s Traffic Is Mobile; Square Transactions Grew 20,000% (http://
techcrunch.com/2011/10/18/meeker-mobile-pandora-twitter-square)
• The New Yorker uses mobile app as tour guide (http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/media/
10658.html)
• Altimeter Analyst Rebecca Lieb Riffs on Digital Marketing Today and What’s Ahead (http://
www.pulsepoint.com/2011/12/altimeter-analyst-rebecca-lieb-riffs-on-digital-marketing-today-and-what
%E2%80%99s-ahead)
• Citizen Journalism, Live From Disney World (http://blogs.wsj.com/buzzwatch/2008/05/08/citizen-
journalism-live-from-disney-world)
• An Excellent Example of Citizen Journalism: Twisney (http://www.scottmonty.com/2008/05/excellent-
example-of-citizen-journalism.html)
• Khoi Vinh: Publishers Should Be Developing for the Mobile Web Instead of Making Replica Apps (http://
www.betabeat.com/2011/07/22/khoi-vinh-publishers-should-be-developing-for-the-mobile-web-instead-
of-making-replica-apps/)
• On Twitter People Want to Follow Personal Versus Official Accounts of Journalists (http://thenextweb.com/
twitter/2011/12/20/on-twitter-people-want-to-follow-personal-versus-official-accounts-of-journalists/)
• Goings On About Town App (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/goingson/2011/08/goings-on-about-
town-app.html)
• Half Of Mobile Ads Clicked By Mistake (http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/bi/229200047)
• New Data: 33% of Facebook Posting is Mobile (danzarrella.com/new-data-on-mobile-facebook-
posting.html)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012