All Aboard! ...Additional Mobile Anecdote

The following story encapsulates the power of the mobile "phone" for me. As Babs wrote, I think it's much easier to convey the impact of this device through anecdotes rather than a data dump of facts and figures.

The other day I was talking to my friend Chris (who happens to be in the business) about mobile marketing. We were trading stats and facts, debating the relevance of Twitter, comparing notes on how we like the mobile experience of Facebook, etc. We were both feeling like mobile was on the cusp of becoming a true game changer; the next great communications and entertainment vehicle for consumers and marketers alike. Akin to how we were all feeling in the late 1990s when the Internet broke onto the scene. In other words, to quote the New York Yankee legend Yogi Berra, "This is like deja vu all over again". [I had to throw that in there for the Babinator]

ALL ABOARD!

Then Chris told me the story of his three-year old son's interaction with his iPhone. Chris was in the living room with his son. Chris was doing some work on his computer and his son was playing with his toys. His son got bored with his toys, climbed onto the couch, reached into his father's pocket and took out his iPhone. With much pride and enthusiasm, he exlaimed to his dad, "I am going to watch Thomas the Tank on your phone now!". The son, knew all the right buttons to push, started his movie and was locked in for 30 minutes completely engaged.

This tells me a few things about the power of the mobile channel:
First - the iPhone is a game changer for so many reasons, most of all because the user experience is truly enjoyable. The bar has been set and every other phone manufacturer will eventually catch up.
Second - from this day forward, there will be a generation who cant even conceive of a mobile "phone" not being an all encompassing entertainment and communications vehicle (a true computer in the palm of your hands). Thus refuting the old adage that the only device ever successful in converging technology was the clock and the radio.
Lastly - if this relatively small screen can engage a three-year old for 30 minutes, then it leaves no doubt in my mind that it has the power to tell our brand stories with as much impact, if not more, than the traditional screens we currently tell our brand stories.

Viva la Mobile!