One of the more interesting segments at Ad Week here in NYC was the Mobile Advertising Insights presentation on Thursday.

Diana Pouliet, a Google product manager for mobile, led off with a high level overview of Google’s mobile strategy. Some interesting points in include:

• Pervasiveness of mobile – 3 billion global users will become 4 billion in 2010.
• Mobile is a complimentary platform that isn’t necessarily replacing wired web usage. For example, Google Maps Mobile usage spikes on the weekends when Google Maps usage as a whole usually dips.  Why? Because those same people who use Google Maps at the office during the week are out and about on the weekends and accessing Google Maps via their mobile device.
• Applications are key to the expansion of the mobile platform. It was very interesting in that it seemed as if Pouliet essentially equated Location with Google’s Applications strategy. I think Google, for all of the flak that they’ve taken in the past week for their new G1 phone (when compared to the iPhone), has a great opportunity to make location-based search the key differentiator and strategic advantage in their looming battle with Apple.
• It shouldn’t come as any surprise, but Google had an interesting circle matrix that showed the highest usage of mobile, based on 30-40 different categories, were: Local, Reference, Online Communities, Lifestyles and Entertainment.

Other misc. observations:

• The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) does have some good case studies on their website.
• Interactions per dollar is a great way to measure ROI in the mobile space.
• 87 million people in the U.S. have data plans, with 23 million having unlimited data plans. The unlimited data plan subscriber base is really the one that folks involved in mobile marketing want to keep a close eye on.

Have online user reviews improved in the past 12 months on the 61% trust level, or have those same reviews allowed for a greater possibility of manipulation, thus decreasing trust levels?

And, as most of our friends become integrated into our online social networks, will “word of mouth” simply be ubiquitous for online AND offline recommendations, thus eliminating the need for a distinction? After all, I get more recommendations from my “offline” friends via Facebook, email or Upcoming then anywhere else.

Of all the panelists I heard discussing the state of advertising in the “digital age” at the Ad:Tech conference in Chicago, it was this comment by Kevin Kells, CPG Industry Director at Google that seemed to sum up the entire gist of the conference; “People do want a relationship with their mustard.” He sites that contrary to popular belief, activity swarming over ketchup spots on YouTube seem to confirm this reality. Although the content obviously must be engaging, entertaining and actionable, the full potential of web and mobile platforms can now be deployed to engage consumers, especially the passionate consumers at the Long Tail end of the ad spectrum.

This ultimately relates to one of the core realizations that came out of our Alpha launch; people are genuinely excited to identify themselves through their “Finds”. It’s not just about buying a BMW or a Chanel handbag anymore. HoodFind actually fosters brand-interaction and identity association down to the hyperlocal level. So now it’s also about communicating “I’m a Wiener Circle char-dog guy with extra brown mustard”.

Oh, you are too?

The hype around the iPhone is deafening. Over 100,000 developers and counting have paid either $99 (standard) or $299 (enterprise) to participate in Apple’s pre-launch development program. If only 10% of the development community delivers a working product around the launch of the 3G iPhone, we will be looking at 10,000+ applications ready for users to download at the end of June.

We at HoodFind have spent a considerable amount of time mapping out where we think the mobile Internet will go. On the hardware side, the iPhone will continue to be the leading mobile platform for the near future, but the Blackberry and other cheaper mobile products combined will be just as important in driving mobile adoption. As for the application side, authorities such as TechCrunch predict that demand will exist for pure play mobile apps - and native iPhone apps in particular - in areas such as social networking.

While transferring something like a pure play social network to the iPhone will generate some marketing buzz (the very cool iRovr comes to mind), I have my doubts as to whether replicating the web experience will be of immediate or lasting value unless a unique functionality set is added. Otherwise, the casual user will simply continue to use their mobile device to access their current web-based social network like Facebook or LinkedIn.

So, if re-creating a current web platform in the form of a native iPhone application is not a sure-fire way to imminent success, what will work? Our answer - an application that takes advantage of the unique benefits of being accessed while on the move (i.e. being mobile). The proper use and integration of location-based technology will allow a native iPhone app to take on the web 2.0 big guys while holding home field advantage of competing in the mobile space.

Leveraging GPS and location-based technology with your iPhone app will be the key differentiator. Twinkle, for example, is a hacked iPhone application whose Locate Me functionality allows you to view who else is within X mile radius of your current location. Other verticals such as real estate (finding homes for sale while walking/driving around a neighborhood) or local search (discovering an instant promotion by a salon or restaurant) would be able to truly benefit from the inherent portable functionality of a mobile product.

Just like the web, finding passive directory data such as a specific location or contact information will be useful. But if you can capture the dynamic aspect of a truly mobile search - say finding your friends who are attending the same Cubs game as you or discovering people with similar interests to network with at a business conference - now that is really useful stuff.

ANSWER: 100. One to change the bulb and 99 to figure out how to generate revenue to keep the electricity on.

“While tough times give people more incentive to change their behavior, it is the wealth of information about products made available on the Internet that gives consumers the know-how to try it. People now can quickly amass information on product availability and pricing, helping them develop strategies to get the best deal.”

The article goes on to say that businesses, from mega-stores to even mom and pops are becoming more flexible in terms of pricing and are willing to negotiate, primarily to retain customers:

“Says Priya Raghubir, a marketing professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, said that retailers willing to haggle were making a calculated gamble that acceding to lower prices means establishing customer loyalty. The retail mantra is “customer lifetime value,” meaning any single sale might not be that profitable, but an enduring relationship with a shopper would be.”

But perhaps the most interesting point in the article is when a former Best Buy clerk explained that cash registers at Best Buy were set up so that prices could be reset by associates at checkout. Steps taken like that by management to empower employees are the actual enablers of painless haggling.

Hill puts forward the premise that product and service solutions that target the $2 Billion dollar local advertising spend should be sold through one-one-one consultative education sessions involving the business owner. He goes on to explain that business owners control the advertising spend and that building solid relationships with these folks is the key to breaking into this loyal market. If you ask an ad salesperson at Yelp, CitySearch or any traditional print publication for that matter, he or she will swear by this necessity for face-to-face contact with SMB customers.

The problem with this touchy-feely approach is threefold:

• First, in the age of do-it-yourself on the web it is entirely inefficient to work with a human publisher to promote a product or service. Owners are now accustomed to using simple publishing tools like Craigslist or eBay. Ask the owner of your salon or favorite neighborhood shop how many advertising solicitations she receives on a daily basis from both online and offline publishers and she will likely roll her eyes and throw up her hands in disgust.

• Second, the proliferation of content on the web (most of it generated by users) only serves as an ever increasing point of interaction for a local storefront-based business. Businesses can’t rely on posting static content on their website and must play in other sandboxes where their customers are spending an increasing amount of their time.

• Third, business owners will gladly accept discounted publishing rates passed through by an advertising platform that avoids building a large sales staff. Building relationships with ad salespeople was once considered a business necessity (like dealing with classified ad salespeople at your local newspaper before Craigslist came along). But ask a neighborhood store owner if he would sacrifice this “relationship” for a more effective method and he will respond, “I would rather build relationships with my customers, so give me a simple and cheap tool and I’ll do it myself.”

As Hill notes, SMB owners have extremely limited time and money. These same owners constantly seek more efficient, effective and cost-conscious ways to promote their businesses online. All that was needed were the tools to break through the old paradigm.

“HoodFind is a dynamic local search platform that benefits both businesses and consumers alike. On one hand, it’s like a Craigslist for local businesses where they can easily post fresh, actionable content to increase sales and on the other, it’s like a Digg for people to hand-pick and share the best products, services and even staff at local businesses.”

Well folks, I hope that you enjoyed it. HoodFind launched this evening and with exception for the spilled drink on the laptop, everything went off without a hitch. In fact, we want to thank the folks who were waiting in two and at times three deep lines to speak with us. Your patience and understanding was much appreciated.

The launch was a success, the website is working, the message is honed, and the samurai are sharpening their blades.

First of all, thank you to Adrian. You delivered when our go-live date seemed to slip further away the closer the goal became. You rock, man. We could not have done it without you.

Second - thank you to Radu and Ionutz for your help as well. Great work guys.

Third - Kati, Jon, Nicole, Jandra, Kay, JoAnne, Suzanne – the HoodFind team was in full effect and the support you showed us tonight was unbelievable. A truly team effort.

Fourth, we wanted to give a shout out to all the Tech Cocktailers who peppered us with your questions and humored us with your wit – it was a great night at John Barleycorn (and we don’t care if Yelp only gives Barleycorn 2 stars – for us it was a 5 star night).

Fifth – to Eric and Frank – the organizers. Great work. Great show. Thank you for letting us be a part of it.

And finally to my partner Ara – wow, man. Your creativity is unbelievable. Your passion for perfectionism is unrivaled. Now the gauntlet is down and the challenge lies bare before us – let’s do this for all the people who really want to cut through the clutter and find stuff in their Hood.