Technology trends and other key factors in the market climate today suggest that the world is becoming more mobile. There is an increasing number of people who are ditching their landline phones for a streamlined mobile lifestyle and marketers as well as service providers are taking note. Many have found themselves spending more time on social media and the web via their smartphones than compared to a desktop or laptop. We’ve also begun to see the rise of mobile application companies hit the street at monstrous valuations.
Most recently Snap Inc. (SNAP, Financial) became available for public investment. The company IPO’d in early March amid much scrutiny regarding its street value versus its intrinsic value. Following a decline in stock price to as low as $18.90 from an IPO price of $24, the stock has stabilized between $20 and $23 during previous weeks. The company’s flagship Snapchat app allows users to publish their daily activities via a video sharing service accessed solely through a user’s smart device. Though Snapchat is not the only thing on which Snap has been focusing, it is the mainstay in the market that has identified the company.
Beyond simple video, Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to exchange messages, videos and photos among friends that ultimately self-destruct after a few seconds. With a user base of more than 70 million, the company has already been compared to the likes of Facebook (FB, Financial) and Twitter (TWTR, Financial) both have also gone by way of mobile applications to better reach their user bases.
This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. U.S. consumers are looking at their devices more than 9 billion times per day, according to findings from Deloitte. “The growth in smartphone usage signals continuing opportunity for all telecom subsectors, including wireless and wireline/broadband carriers, network equipment/infrastructure companies and device manufacturers. Nevertheless, we expect there could be a change in how these opportunities are manifested. In 2017 we may see a shift toward areas with a higher growth potential that goes well beyond carriers’ core connectivity business.”
This has further brought about opportunity for active engagement from marketers. The space for SMS/text message marketing is becoming a mainstay in the advertising strategy of businesses looking to capitalize on this growing trend in mobile connectivity.
Textmunication Holdings Inc. (TXHD) has focused on this area specifically. The company is B2B online mobile marketing service provider with a platform developed for its clients, which allows it to communicate with its own customer base via mobile messaging. Textmunication has targeted businesses like Health Clubs, salons and even health care firms.
Recently the company signed a Letter of Intent to acquire software that will allow the company to integrate social media and other engagement tools into its already existing services portfolio. According to the company, the entrepreneur responsible for creating the software has already put more than $2 million of resources into the platform and would be looking to Textmunication to scale the software. In addition to this, Textmunication holds a 49% stake in Aspire Consulting group, which was recently awarded a 10-year government contract to become a strategic teammate on a CMS Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business contract.
This includes an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracting vehicle with a $25 billion ceiling that is shared among multiple companies. According to Aspire, this relationship will allow it to open new SMS verticals in the government sector with Textmunication providing this service.
Further enhanced by the growth of mobile engagement, other companies that are not traditionally focused in telecom are bringing about new options for the industry. In the same Deloitte report, one of the key drivers for future growth in the industry could come from machine learning and biometrics will help propel growth. This is something that can already be seen in devices like Apple’s (AAPL, Financial) iPhone. The original TouchID technology was introduced on its iPhone 5S in late 2013 and has continued to be a mainstay for latter versions of the device.
New reports have surfaced on the company’s pending release of its iPhone 8 later this year, which also commemorates the 10th anniversary of the device’s launch. Many reports expect the iPhone 8’s new OLED screen will incorporate a Touch ID fingerprint sensor or better yet may be that the company may opt to rid the device entirely of the feature in place of a new facial recognition system. The new iPhone is also said to possibly have some type of augmented reality feature as well. This are of interest was brought into popularity with the release of Nintendo’s (NTDOY, Financial) Pokemon Go mobile game and since then, companies have been scrambling to get in on the action, Apple included.
Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) has also joined the fun. Its biggest investment into the AR market has been with its HoloLens. Previous demonstrations have shown the device being used as more of a “mixed reality” platform as opposed to a traditional virtual reality device. Though the HoloLens isn’t built as a mobile tool, its technology and the development of that technology could help breed options for mobile application in the future. And right now Microsoft has focused on its Windows 10 Creators Update to be the framework to build off when it comes to developers creating these augmented reality objects.
Whatever the case may be, mobile as we know it today has already begun to evolve and have an even deeper impact on how we conduct our day-to-day activities. With further penetration into the market, it’s important to pay attention to all facets of technology and telecommunications trends in order to stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on the next move from the industry.
Disclaimer: The author owns ZERO shares in any companies mentioned within this article. The author is affiliated with MAD MEDIA PUBLISHING LLC a company which has an exisiting marketing & awareness contract with Textmunication Holdings Inc. (TXHD) to provide marketing & awareness . The author has not been compensated to write this article.
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