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I am not yet convinced about mobile commerce.  But we are seeing increasing experiments in this area – particularly in Asia and Europe.  Toys “R” Us, which apparently does pretty well in Hong Kong , has launched a new multimedia campaign that utilizes QR codes, vidoes, and rewards.  The toy retailer has 18,000 Faceboook members in Hong Kong and its YouTube channel (HKTOYSRUS) is one of the 10 most viewed in Hong Kong, and there are more than 700,000 Hong Kong members of its Star Card Loyalty Program.

The article, “Toys “R” Us unveils multichannel mobile CRM tactics” (Mobile Commerce Daily, September 9, 2010) offers a good example of integrated marketing communications that utilizes a variety of new media in a foreign country.  One element of the campaign is an iPhone app — the video below shows how that works.

Verizon continues to run ads that promote its superior 3G network.  The 3G network allows simultaneous speech and data transmission at higher speeds — it is what you need to surf the web from your phone.   We have reported on this subject in a previous blog post (the previous post now includes links to articles on the subsequent legal battle).

This is a great example of a marketer identifying a competitor’s weakness (AT&T’s 3G network has significantly less coverage than Verizon and is a source of complaints of many iPhone customers).  Of course part of the goal is to distract customers from Verizon’s own weakness — Verizon doesn’t carry the most popular smart (surf the web) phone the Apple iPhone (although its recently Droid has received some positive reviews following its recent release.   The ad below is Verizon’s latest salvo in the battle.

UPDATE 11-22:  AT&T responds to Verizon.  How well do you think it works?  Who is winning this battle?  And should AT&T be replying to Verizon?