If Apple refuses to support something (Flash) and then fully backs another product (HTML5), the world will usually follow. Recalling Conan’s recent review of the iPad 2: “You’ll buy it no matter what we say.” Yes, it was a jab at Apple. Yes, it was a hilarious video. But does the message change? Not really. Apple is a giant in the industry and with the magnitude of iProducts alone, any developer would be remiss not to develop HTML5 advertisements.

But aside from the Jobs endorsement, there are numerous new things that HTML5 brings to the table. Alex Linde, Yahoo’s director of mobile advertising, summed it up perfectly: “With iPhone, Android and others now adopting HTML5 we have, No. 1, a standard that allows us to ‘write almost once, run almost everywhere,’ No. 2, an installed base to do it at scale and No. 3, enough bandwidth and screen real estate to do something really interesting for the consumer.”

But, can HTML5 do what Flash did? Yes, and more. Users can swipe products across the screen, drag and drop, spin, flip, and generally control their experience with the advertisement. The glory of HTML5 is summed up by Apple. [Cool HTML5 examples.]

So far, HTML5 is dominating the mobile and tablet market, while Flash is holding its dominance in the computer world. Whether HTML5 expands its reach or Flash steps up its technology for mobile (or both) time will soon tell. Regardless of the channel, we are bound to be impressed by the innovative ways companies try to get their consumers to interact with the brand.

This is good news for mobile advertising  companies that have clients looking to execute mobile advertising on Android and other non-Apple platforms.  There will be more available inventory options for smaller mobile ad players. However it will be impossible  to execute a iAd campaign  for  a medium to smaller brand since the minimum buy is $10 million to execute. So really it’s a double edge sword, Apple has brought the light of understanding to  major brands that big mobile media buys will be a norm and happen frequently.  The catch is that no one with less than a $10 million for their mobile media budget will be able to run ads on iAds  network.

Apple has always developed all their products to exist in an Apple eco-system. I think when Apple purchased Quattro, it was a little bit of a shock that they were extending their reach beyond the eco-system of their products.  Perhaps Apple felt pressure due to the highly popularized and drawn out Google and Admob acquisition? Or was it an attempt to maintain dominance,  they purchased a massive ad network to gain more control over their inventory? One thing is for sure, Apple is casting off the non-Apple inventory and ceasing to run campaigns on Quattro’s network of  publishers. So what gives Apple?! I understand that you have $40 Billion in cash alone and $275 million won’t break or make you; but what do you have up your sleeve?

The Casio Brigade is the toughest phone that I’ve come across so far. Casio subjected the mobile device to be tested up to military specifications. Some of the criteria was dropping the phone 26 times from a height of 1.5 meters,  submerged in 3 feet of water for 30 min,  and exposing it to extreme hot/cold temperatures for 96 hours. The phone passed these tests and I am sure it can handle some everyday or special abuse.  The phone has mobile web, navigation, camera,  video, and a full keyboard. Now I may not use this phone as my everyday mobile phone because it’s a bit on the bulky side, but it is a phone to use when hiking, camping, or even doing water activities. But much like answering a call in the grocery line or in a movie, be selective on where you use it. I would hate to hear a cellphone ring when I was surfing or trying to do something relaxing away from the hustle and bustle of everyday.

When reading the news or comics (Yes! The geek in me couldn’t resist) the iPad allows you to flip through pages and access content with a mere touch. It brings the experience of eating breakfast while thumbing through the morning paper. It’s crazy to think that the iPad hit a million sold in 28 days. That’s half the time the iPhone hit that number of sales! (http://leep.it/nV)

Will the deeper capability of the consumer engagement, I think luxury brands should be looking to develop applications on this platform. Imagine a luxury car iPad app where you can enter in the car and open compartments; crack the hood open and check out the engine?  Sound ambitious? Well the technical capability is here, now we need creativity to power it.

I think these results can be attributed to a few reasons:

1.  The process is simple. No call centers or re-directing the user to a website. The transaction is completely isolated on their handsets.

2. The amounts are small, but in copious amounts they add up! People are willing to donate if it doesn’t break the bank.  The future of charity is not big galas or huge donations. It’s the reach of  a huge audience!

3. Some people are wary with entering credit card information online on a website. SMS donations are answer to the reluctant donator.

What did you like or didn’t like about the process?

My hats goes off to the surf gurus at Surfline that understood the importance of taking their services mobile. The other day I was playing with my new phone (Mytouch) and browsing through the Android Apps market, sure enough I saw a Surfline powered  Surf App! Seeing this made me wonder why aren’t more action sports brands doing more on mobile! The surfing demographic is perfect and RIPE for mobile. The ages that surf brands target are tweens, teens, and young adults, something I like to call the “green room” of marketers! This is the demographic that has high purchasing behavior and are completely mobile savvy, but many of these action sports brands solely rely on traditional methods. Perhaps it is a lack of understanding how mobile can take their brands into the pockets of their consumers? If that’s the case, sign up for a Mobile with the Munchies presentation here! Any brand looking to connect and engage their target market, mobile is the answer… My passion are surfing and skateboarding, both industries are so ripe for mobile to blow up their branding out of the water! Literally!

It’s like taking Jell-o out of the fridge without waiting the 20 minutes.  You don’t have anything solid to work with and end up giving the consumer something not as appetizing as they could have had if the proper amount of time was given. Mobile needs the same (if not more) attention as other mediums used in an integrated marketing strategy. Don’t blame mobile why your campaign didn’t yield the results you promised your client.  And not to point the finger, but blame it on a poorly planned and executed campaign.

Mobile is never going to be the ” be-all”  “see-all” medium. Mobile needs other mediums and channels to create exposure and then mobile leverages the engagement. However, I do strongly recommend you plan right from the beginning and incorporate mobile in your overall campaign strategy. I see a lot of mobile campaigns and time and time again, the most successful campaigns were ones that were properly planned and executed by people who understand the mobile eco-system and give mobile its proper planning time.

We chat with many different agencies and brands about incorporating a mobile coupon to an overall campaign strategy. Time and time again the issue is that people don’t want to take the extra step to be successful. Some of the concerns are that the client will have to update their existing POS system or that they’ll have to train the retail or restaurant staff.

Ok. (Deep Breath) If restaurant chains can train their employees to hand out a limited number of ketchup packets to a customer (which I know they do), they learn how to scan or input a promo code! Am I the only person that still has faith in America’s workforce! If concern is about updating the POS system, then I say update it! Updates occur all the time with the computer programs. Why? It’s because they are fixing a glitch or adding functionality to an existing program.

Technology and the consumer market are ready… Are your brands?