Parie Markowitz of Bite Sized Candy Answers The Big Q

July 7, 2009

Bite Sized Candy sounds like a name for…drum roll…a candy shop or even a trendy accessories boutique, but this company’s moniker does make some sense considering it caters to the physically tiny, yet globally gigantic mobile technology industry. It packs a big punch in a small device.

Bite Sized Candy launched in February and has partnered with publishers from around the world to bring magazine content to the iPhone and other select mobile devices.

Since the most popular question these days is: “Where is the publishing industry going?” we asked someone quite close to the new wave, Parie Markowitz, managing director of Bite Sized Candy.

THE BIG Q: HOW DO YOU MAKE MONEY WITH MOBILE?

The top misconceptions are that people don't want to read or watch video or TV content on their mobile phone, but both of these are significant growth areas. Here’s how you can monetize mobile:

• Ask for the money. I believe publishers should put a monetary value on their content and the good thing about mobile users is they have been more conditioned to pay for content than web users.
   
• Offer what they want. Apps, video, and games are the best mobile products to monetize. I don't believe mobile web advertising is a significant enough revenue stream, unless the media company offers timely content like news, sports, or weather updates.
   
• Make a game plan. I would really suggest publishers hire an outside vendor or bring in a strategist with mobile expertise. The mobile phone is the most personal electronic device, so content providers need to think about utilities consumers would want to use to engage with their favored content.
   
• Play nice. ESPN is a great example for how to make “bite-sized” or mobile-friendly content.  They have really figured out how to create a consistent presence across mobile verticals and cross-sell/up-sell mobile products effectively through:
  -Text - ESPN Alerts
  -Mobile Web - ESPN Mobile Web, ESPN Deportes Mobile Web and iPhone optimized
  -Apps - MVP (Verizon), and a series of iPhone apps and BlackBerry launcher
  -Games - Winter X, Darts, Poker
  -Mobile Video - Mobile Web and In Apps
   
• Make friends. Mobile is an additive medium, so media companies should plan for mobile in their advertising.  Text messaging it the best entry point.  By tagging an ad or with a keyword and short code, media companies can opt-in viewers. For example, if I can associate the number 917-444-4444 with Dara Pettinelli and I see that she asks for text message news alerts, Yankee alerts, and weather alerts and she usually does this between 12-4pm on Sundays, I'm building a profile and doing some very unique data mining. Another easy way to build a mobile audience is to make sure a mobile number field is included in all sign-up materials.
   
• Go all the way. I think one of the biggest, most common pitfalls is a media company dipping their toe in the water and saying let's try a text messaging promotion contest or let's do a one-off program and see how successful it is. I think that mobile should be valued as any other communications medium--print, on-air, web--and companies should invest in hiring or having someone on board to create an overarching plan.

The future of publishing is definitely going the way of civic journalism. The media companies that see journalism in terms of distribution get it--content needs to be everywhere. Outside, of mobile, I think Adobe Air is an extremely interesting media and I look forward to further investigating Microsoft Silverlight.

Parie Markowitz has worked in mobile for over five years at such companies as MTV, ESPN and Nokia.

-Interview by Dara Pettinelli