Target Leads The Way With Mobile Couponing

Target is first out of the gate with true Mobile Coupons that are sent to phones and scannable at checkout registers. This is a big part of a broader Target Mobile initiative that includes weekly mobile circulars, a revamped Iphone app and exclusive mobile deals. This will will ignite innovation within Mobile couponing.

And no surprise, P&G is among the first to Partner with Target with its Tide brand. Given the I went ATVing this weekend in the muddy woods of Butler, PA I am off with my Blackberry to local Target Store to test my Tide Mobile coupon.

What should Google Fear in the New Year?

Turnabout is fair play - With Google jumping into the handset market in 2009 with the Andriod targeting Apple, it only seems just that the one of the first big announcements of 2010 is that Apple is shifting its startegy to jump into the digital media space.

Apple has acquired Quattro Wireless for $275MM to compete with Google and their acquisition of AdMob putting them in the mobile advertising space for the first time. Quattro Wireless is the 5th largest Mobile Ad Network with 7% share.

The acquisition leads to key, intriguing questions for the year ahead:

1. Who's next? With only a few big players left in the Mobile Advertising space left, who will Yahoo and Microsoft Gobble Up?
2. How will Apple navigate new territory?

Its only the first week of the New Year and the Mobile space is setting up for a very interesting year.