Google Wallet, ISIS’s biggest rival and frontrunner in the mobile payment race, already has check-out scanners in more than 100,000 retail locations, including the Gap, Office Max, and Walgreens, and many retailers will even offer both ISIS and Google Wallet as mobile payment options. However, there is little word regarding the lack of smartphone support for either system – Google Wallet, for example, is currently available on only four Sprint smartphones.

ISIS’s concrete stake in the race has launched the discussion of the future of mobile payment straight from conjecture into plan-of-attack. Our most recent Potty Posting offers a whole slew of information about the implications of mobile payment for brands and marketers, the technology used, category competitors, and the possibilities of what’s ahead. We’ll continue to track developments in these trends as the push for mobile payment progresses.

But as for now, it’s clear that brands, retailers, and even marketers who aren’t fast enough to keep up with the demand for mobile payment will undoubtedly be at a disadvantage when it comes to leveraging the opportunities it offers. Stay smart about mobile payment by keeping up with the Awesome Blog – we’ve got you covered.

Debit and credit cards are so last year. Checks have all but crossed the line into social taboo. And cash is basically, like, archaic.

Ugh, it’s like retailers don’t even want our money.

But wait! A few days ago, a Pew study found that 65% of surveyed tech critics and stakeholders believe mobile payments will replace cash and credit by 2020.

Even though mobile payment is still in its infancy, it seems like everyone is hopeful about its future, especially when it comes to improving the process with updated technologies.

Unfortunately, good citizens, we have cynics among us – those who worry about things like security, standardization, and the cost of new gadgets.

But fear not. We wouldn’t want you stranded in the Dark Ages of outdated currency. With this handy guide, follow us into the realm of information so you, too, can help welcome this brave new, digital-financial world.

What Is This Sorcery?

Put down the torches and pitchforks, townspeople. Brands that you already know and love have signed on to create promising mobile wallet apps, using these new technologies:

NFC, or Near-Field Communications, allows you to pay simply by waving your mobile phone at an NFC receptor at the register.  RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, is like NFC but can be used at a longer range. And 2D barcodes can even be scanned at the register from a customer’s phone to charge a pre-paid account.

Rather than producing your credit card at every purchase, mobile wallet apps store your financial data and use these technologies to pull it for you automatically, at the point of purchase.

The Google Wallet app, which uses NFC, currently only works with Citi Mastercard and the Google prepaid card, but it does sync with your Google Offers and hopes to soon hold all card types.

Acceptance is liberation. (credit: fullissue.com)

Like Google Wallet, ISIS, a joint venture of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, will also use NFC and will hold credit cards, loyalty cards, and promotions.

PayPal also plans to release its PayPal Wallet app soon. Unlike Google Wallet, it won’t use NFC but will let you change your payment method up to 7 days after you pay.

These apps will soon be able to hold multiple card/account numbers and allow you to choose which account you’d like to charge when you wave your phone at the receptor. They will also have the ability to store coupons, receipts, and past purchase information to facilitate discounts and returns easily.

However, as mentioned earlier, there are dissenters. They wonder if it could be easy for someone to access your bank accounts just by waving their phone near yours (no.) They don’t want to have to buy NFC-enabled phones (they’ll change their minds). And they complain about the lack of standardization in mobile payment technologies (ok, that might be a good point).

How Can Marketers Conjur This Black Magic?

What the dissenters don’t see is that evolving mobile payment platforms are prime real estate for marketers!

Imagine the ease of distributing targeted promotions! Using NFC, mobile wallet apps can already track a consumer’s location and purchase history, allowing brands to send her coupons for the store she’s browsing in or updates on items she frequently purchases.

Think of the social media integration! What if a check-in immediately rewarded her with a coupon loaded to her mobile wallet, and her purchase was discounted automatically at the register? And if she allows Facebook to post which coupons she was receiving, not only would it encourage more check-ins, but it would encourage her friends to adopt the app, too.

Plus, there’s potential to move into other forms of media – MasterCard’s QkR app can pull purchasing information from just about anywhere, including QR codes, TV signals, and the Xbox Kinect. Praise technology of the future!

Say NO to the tyranny of physical currency! Demand your NFC-enabled smartphone today!

(credit: venturebeat.com)

The opportunities of mobile payment are looking promising. While the technologies and full capabilities of the apps are still to be cemented, brands are sure to see significant benefits when the rough edges are smoothed out regarding standardizations and security misperceptions. But, once mobile payment technology is ready for the mainstream, brands can use it to inspire action and usher in the glorious age of mobile finance!

Now the concept is evolving, and brands are catching on. The same grocery shopping wall is currently being tested on a smaller scale in several bus stops throughout Seoul, and household needs giant Procter & Gamble executed a wall in four major subway stations in Prague featuring razors, laundry detergent and the like at the end of 2011. Just weeks ago, consumers in New York were treated to a shoppable apothecary wall by Conde Nast’s Glamour magazine, and Chicago’s own O’Hare airport is currently sporting a wall by Sears with popular toys for boys and girls (seen in the photo above). Business traveling parents take note—if you forgot to grab little Susie or Bobby a souvenir from your trip, this wall could be your saving grace on the way to baggage claim. Just a few clicks and the latest Elmo-doll sensation could be yours!

While many of the executions noted are using the more widely recognized QR codes for scanning purposes, SpyderLink’s Snap Tags are also starting to make appearances in the world of (literal) window shopping.

With brands on the lookout for new ways to target consumers, technology takes center stage with virtual walls providing a seamless, simplified shopping experience.

But hashtags weren’t the only form of social media making waves in the coveted Super Bowl ads. Cars.com and Pepsi (among others) used Shazam’s audio-recognition software to promote secret offers, full-length videos and charitable donations. GoDaddy.com’s ad with Danica Patrick used a QR code to send viewers to “too hot for TV” extended content featuring The Pussycat Dolls (for the record, my hubby and a friend watched it and were unimpressed). And in perhaps their most popular spot of the evening, Bud Light’s ad featuring a dog named “Weego” that fetches beer used Facebook to generate awareness for rescue dogs by promising to donate $1 (up to $250,000) to Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation for every “like” Weego receives. Best Buy didn’t actually use any of the noted social media, but instead highlighted several mobile innovators, ranging from the sender of the very first text message to the creator of Instagram.

According to Bluefin Labs, the game generated more than 12 million (and counting) social media comments across sites like Facebook and Twitter, with nearly a million relating to the commercials alone, making Super Bowl XLVI the biggest social media TV event ever, by a wide margin. A perfect example of our Seamless Tech trend, marketers used social media to let users live in the moment and interact with the ads in new ways, without interrupting the moment—that is, the next big play of the game.

Which Super Bowl ad was your favorite?

In January, 2011, Starbucks launched its Mobile Card payment program available on most smartphones. SMART. No doubt you’re already on your phone at 8:30 in the morning while ordering a Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte, so it’s easy to flash your “Touch to Pay” barcode and be on your way. The app replaces your reloadable Starbucks card (while keeping your rewards intact), and you can preload it from your bank account within the same screen.

With the release of Google Wallet, users can now pay with a simple tap at Mastercard paypass terminals. For now, this is advancement only for those with Google phones…and a Citi Mastercard. But, with this technological groundbreaking device, users are also able to receive offers and store loyalty points via the app.  We’re attached to our phones, so what better way to reach us directly when we’re making a transaction.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shopkick offers rewards for simply stepping inside a store and scoping out merchandise. It displays deals and discounts close in proximity to your location. The more you peruse, the more points are earned for redemptions ranging from clothes to electronics.

While cashless-ness becomes the norm, we can only assume that consumers will rely less on the benjamins, but let’s not forget about Future Fear. A lot of emphasis is placed on convenience and practicality when we look at technological enhancements. It’s our job to find the perfect balance between convenience and trust.

What we can gather from our own shopping habits is that we rely heavily on the convenience factor, no doubt about it. We’ve become increasingly comfortable with everything being accessible through our phones. We can purchase a Groupon, find our way to Alaska and back, and even count the steps we take around the office with our smartphones.

“What? I can’t just show you the e-mail, I have to print it out?!”

As marketers, we should reach our consumers as soon as they walk into the store, making it harder not to refuse a great deal on the very same phone used to swipe and pay. It has been reported that 20% of smartphone users have compared prices while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. Additionally, 15% of smartphone users have redeemed a mobile coupon (ladies more so than gentlemen). Let’s take advantage of these time-saving, less paper-wasting social platforms that deliver instantaneous results without hassle. Smartphones aren’t going anywhere, so creating more convenient methods of in-store redemption and offers will put us ahead of the game—and the checkout line.

What will it take for YOU to go CASH-LESS?

What seems like a simple program opens up a world of possibilities for developers or companies with an eye on business apps. While B2B apps in the mobile space are nothing new (Blackberry held dominance in this space for eons, and Apple has a strong number of business apps in the AppStore), mass deployment has always been a headache. Increasingly, iPhones and iPads are more pervasive in business and educational institutions, and I.T. departments are becoming more comfortable supporting them at an enterprise level. Coupled with Apple’s pending iCloud service, deploying apps across tens, to hundreds, to even thousands of devices at once will become easier than ever.

This is good news for both B2B and B2C marketers. Imagine getting entire marketing and sales teams enabled with consistent access to CRM systems, marketing automation software, and analytics dashboards delivered via mobile. No more worries about Mary not having the right version of the app, and Bob having to email her a report on the road. With Bob and Mary looking at the same app and data, they’ll be able to collaborate and make decisions in real-time.

And while mobile apps used within an enterprise can help fuel productivity, volume purchasing will also help businesses serve their customers better. The ability to create and publish an app and deploy out to a large customer base is an exciting prospect. Providing apps that helps clients communicate, place orders, provide feedback, or improve customer service offers clear competitive advantages (read: sticky). Such tools open the door to deploying targeted marketing messages, along with product updates and information that’s relevant and specific to key customer segments.

It will be interesting to see how companies embrace this new program, and what the early wins will be.

So how did they succeed? The answer is almost as simple as, well, chewing gum. Be bite sized; be snackable; be awesome.

People aren’t looking for a deep engagement on the phone, so Falling Stars keeps the gameplay simple, short and fun. Randomly draw lines and drop water to the lines to create limitless original melodies and share those melodies on Facebook and Twitter. Of course, a game wouldn’t be awesome without solid (yet minimal) visuals and ear-pleasing audio—qualities that help Falling Stars stand out in a competitive app store.

While it’s hard to say if this app will sell more gum, it can’t be denied that Kraft Foods has created a positive brand experience and is generating awareness for a new product that has potential to live on for months.

Falling Stars by Trident Vitality Gum is free on iTunes for compatible versions of the iPhone, iPad and iPod.

With everyone jumping on the QR code bandwagon, the wrong tactic in the wrong place was bound to happen. While 2D codes offer a great real-time call-to-action, it’s time to take a step back and think about the overall communications strategy.  When and where is the best place to engage consumers with your brand?

How about on television? The Daily Show with John Stewart ripped CNN’s recent use of the mobile barcode tactic for encouraging their viewers to leave the broadcast for exclusive content during their Republican presidential debate. On the flip side of that, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has done a great job using smart codes with new bands—offering links to videos or additional audio. This one makes sense. Fallon’s fans are early adopters of the technology and highly involved and engaged with his show (just ask his 3.5 million Twitter followers).

What it ultimately boils down to is that marketers need to think about their target, when they’re receptive to receiving messaging and when they’ll actively engage with the brand across the medium or technology. The true challenge is up to us—people are going to decide to adopt or ignore the technology based on what they get on the other end. If they snap and get relevant and compelling content, we all win. I’ll be waiting at the bus stop with my phone out trying to see what that truly “mobile” ad was for.

The video above is the latest installment in our Upshot Smartshot webinar series, and complements our recent Potty Posting that introduced the concept of marketers with Twitterphobia. This 15-minute episode goes a step further, assuaging marketers’ three biggest fears about the service:

• What should you say?
• What should you do?
• What should you make?

If you’ve missed any of our previous Smartshots, scoot on over to our YouTube playlist for the whole series. Of course, you wouldn’t have missed those if you’d just follow us on Twitter already, at twitter.com/upshotblog. Since you’ve now vanquished your Twitterphobia, you’ve got no excuse!

But the four-wheeled madness doesn’t stop there. Check out the above race from Hot Wheels, featuring a three-dimensional obstacle course projection-mapped on a building in Sydney. (Thanks to Karlin from MUSE for the tip.)

Speaking of races, check out the above clip from a Cornetto projection in Istanbul. In the midst of a big ol’ street party, the brand projected an interactive casual game where onlookers could compete against each other using their phones. As if an interactive projection didn’t have enough stopping power! It’s great to see that, no matter how many projection examples we share, someone always seems to be raising the bar on what’s possible with this medium.