Mobile's Coming Of Age? For The Hundredth Time, Yes

A recent article on the WashPost website does a great job describing the proliferation of mobile coupons, along with their benefits to consumer and retailers.

Mobile coupons, as our mobile clients have been touting for years, have a threefold advantage over their paper forebears:

1. They provide convenience and ease of use to consumers,
2. Allow consumers and retailers to engage in a dialogue with one another, and
3. Let retailers collect valuable tracking data about their loyal customers and their spending habits.

All of these are highlighted in Ariana Eunjung Cha’s piece "Mobile coupons help retailers track customers," though of course no article of this kind would be complete without a veiled hint of menace (“the convenience…comes at a price: your privacy”).

But it’s the cautionary aspects of this column that are a little bit misplaced.

Now, we’re not complete pollyannas about the mobile marketing movement, nor are we deaf to the intimations of big brotherhood that inevitably accompany the accumulation of vast amounts of tailored, individualized data by large corporations.

But in terms of mobile couponing, there seems to be a very clear-cut trade off that consumers are willingly engaging in. This is NOT an invasion of privacy, but rather accepting an invitation to trade personal privacy for preferential treatment, and even that in a very circumscribed manner. Now Facebook, that is a whole nother story...

What is important to remember here is that the current generation has been willingly ceding aspects of their (our) privacy for more than a decade. When every travail is documented on Facebook, why balk at allowing purchasing behavior to steer discounts your way?

The truth is, very few balk at this. This is the choice generation, we (and they) want our offers to be relevant, tailored just to us, and we want the ability to seize them or let the pass as we see fit.

And this is the beauty of the mobile coupon, an aspect only briefly mentioned in the Washington Post article: the mobile coupon is an ‘opt-in’ offer. There must be an affirmative decision made on the part of the recipient to receive one. This means that if you don’t sign up for a mobile coupon, it’s just like the other coupons in the Sunday paper you never bought; they exist, but they don’t affect you.

Many would rather have access to the discounts mobile coupons provide. And so mobile coupons have persisted, and will continue to grow in popularity.

But of course, if you read this blog, you knew that already.

All Work And No Play....

Makes us very dull people. This is a fact.

I read a great post last week about vacation time on Firm Voice, a PR blog, and the fact that Americans need a holiday.

A recent national survey commissioned by Mondial Assistance, revealed that;

four in ten (39 percent) Americans haven't had a vacation - defined as leisure travel of a least a week to a destination at least 100 miles from home - in the last two years, up from 33 percent who said the same last year. An additional 17 percent of Americans haven't taken a vacation in over a year, meaning 56 percent of Americans haven't taken a vacation recently (39 percent more than two years and 17 percent more than a year).

Tragic, huh?

While I do agree that sneaking off for a "breather" in times of crisis a la Tony Hayward is a really bad move (then again, show me any good Hayward move), I think the guilt factor and perpetual having to be "on" is working against the American workforce.

Personally, I work anywhere from 50 to 80 hrs a week.. It's not ideal, but as a PR agency owner, I have to do what I have to do. When it comes to down time, however, I feel no guilt. Of course, the blackberry and laptop are my travel buddies, yet sometimes I won't respond to emails until a few days later - shock, horror, gasp!!! But these mobility tools allow me the luxury of time away, without worrying about not being connected to the office, or I need to deal with an urgent client matter.

I (try) to take 2-3 one week breaks throughout the year as this length is managable, pre, during and post holiday.

And you know what?

I come back recharged, reinvigorated and creatively pumped to keep going until the next break. And usually a good 15 lbs heavier, but I digress....

No person should feel obligated to spend every breathing moment in the office for fear of not putting in enough face time or losing their job.

That type of workforce is a thing of the past; the one that confuses activity with acheivement. An inefficient worker is an inefficient worker no matter how much face time they put in.

We have been empoeered with tools that allow us to work anywhere and everywhere.

For the sake of innovation, creativity and a healthier, more sane workforce...

TAKE A BREAK!