During the “Mobile Marketing: Getting to Great, Delivering Bigger Consumer Experiences on Smaller Screens” session panelists discussed that although there are challenges and complexity of designing great content for mobile devices it can be done, and if mobile is going to earn brand marketing investment, it must be done. The session was moderated by Tom Daly, director of mobile and search and global connections at The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta.

“Music has never been more popular today,” said Russell Wallach, president of Live Nation, Washington. “There’s so much out there for people to learn about.

“For us, it’s about how do we make it easy for those fans to purchase those tickets,” he said. “It’s about discovery.

“You don’t have to be sitting on your computer to purchase that ticket, you can do so via mobile.”

Mobile ticketing
Live Nation has been delving into mobile for a while now.

According to Mr. Wallach, the company continues to listen to its users to build an engaging mobile experience.

Live Nation recently added an app alerts feature that syncs a user’s iTunes library and notifies them about any relevant upcoming sales.

“Based on research we did, 40 percent of fans did not go to a concert because they did not know about it,” Mr. Wallach said.

“When we launched our iPhone app, everything in your iTunes library is linked within the app,” he said. “We solved the challenge not only to get more people to buy tickets, but we’ve also solved it for fans because now they know about it.”

Live Nation saw that 30 percent of ticket buyers would buy concert tickets through its mobile app.

“This year we launched a bar code feature within our mobile offerings where the ticket bar code is right on your phone,” Mr. Wallach said. “This is definitely more than just saving trees, this is about ease.

“Everything we’re doing now in mobile, we’re thinking about how we can bring brands into this experience,” he said.

According to Mr. Wallach, the mobile experience should not just happen during a concert or event.

The before and after are equally as important.

Live Nation has noticed several mobile behaviors during concerts.

The company found that 47 percent of users would text or email during an event.

Sixty-six would take photos and 32 percent would update their Facebook or Twitter status.

“The beauty of understanding that you’re in the venue gives us an opportunity to find ways for brands to figure out how to tell that story and deliver the message in a way that makes sense,” Mr. Wallach said.

Mobile concessions
According to Mr. Wallach, Live Nation has been testing a new feature – letting consumers order concessions via their mobile device – over the summer.

The company is looking to expand the feature soon.

According to the executive, 32 percent of amphitheater attendees wish to avoid long lines and order concessions via their mobile devices.

“You can now order your Coca-Cola from the lawn and run to the Coca-Cola fast session line and pick it up,” Mr. Wallach said. “We brought a brand to be part of that experience and give it value.

“For us, it’s a tremendous win,” he said. “We’ll look to take this platform and roll it out to other venues across the world.

“From a mobile perspective, we see incredible opportunity to continue to enhance the experience.”

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York