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Social chevy. Chevrolet has launched three social media apps at SXSW to pilot test emerging technologies aimed at helping the brand connect with consumers.
For one, the motor marque has partnered with Austin-based social networking outfit Gowalla so that visitors to the megafest can let their friends and followers know exactly where they are via their smartphones. When users check in at different locations they will receive messages and SXSW offers from Chevy.

By Simon Fuller. AR reality. Yuza Mobile is pretty big on augmented reality right now. The UK-based mobile tech outfit has just rolled out its SKAN – Private Label AR engine, allowing brands to enter the augmented world quickly and cost-effectively. And come spring, Yuza will be launching its SKAN AR browser, which will draw many AR channels into one common destination.
Although full details on SKAN AR have yet to be revealed, Yuza Mobile CEO Richard Skaife talked to brand-e about the philosophy behind the browser – and Yuza’s take on the fast-developing AR sector.

By Simon Fuller. Mobile shopping. The Nexus One is a name that’ll probably be familiar to anyone with a hint of interest in smartphones. Yes, Google’s first phone handset – and the supposed ‘iPhone killer’ – touched down in the US earlier this month and is set for a spring release in Europe. But while the Nexus One is certainly big news for gadget lovers, will it impact on mobile marketing?
Like any smartphone, the handset certainly packs a hefty range of gadgets and gizmos – voice-enabled keyboard, free SatNav, plus its own range of apps. But will marketers have anything new to play around with?
There’s nothing world-changing from a marketing point of view, reckons Jeff Hasen, CMO at US-based mobile marketers Hipcricket.

By Simon Fuller. Mobile multiplies. With Hipcricket recently hitting the 50,000-campaigns mark, it’s a sure sign the mobile sector is moving with a certain amount of gusto at the moment. The mobile marketers, who have worked for clients such as HBO and Nestle, have a few ideas on why mobile has legs right now, along with a few nuggets of wisdom – among them the notion that brands should look to integrate, not isolate, the channel.

By Simon Fuller. Upward mobility? When it comes to mobile marketing it’s easy to get swept away with a tide of buzz that includes smartphones, GPS technology and augmented reality. But there may be disappointments ahead.
“The market is peppered right now with unbridled enthusiasm and is seeing a lot of demand driven by trial, testing and curiosity,” says Gib Bassett, director of marketing at mobile marketing outfit Interactive Mediums.

Monied apps. Hachette Filipacchi Media US has released a quintet of branded apps – Elle Shopping Guide, Elle Astrology, Woman’s Day Cooking Assistant, Car and Driver Buyer’s Guide and Cycle World – to strut their mobile stuff on the iPhone and iPod touch.
The Cooking Assistant and Car and Driver Buyer’s Guide are the publisher’s first applications focused on providing utility and have been launched as free, ad-supported services. Both apps have major sponsors in Unilever/Knorr and Toyota, respectively.