Redundant service launched for unemployed

Deciding on a technical strategy for a mobile campaign or service can be really tricky. We like to think we offer our clients a good level of insight, and we are often amused by some of the mobile technology choices made by companies and organisations. However, I think it is fair to say that I was shocked and a little outraged by the choice that the UK Jobcentre made when they decided to launch a job finding service as an iPhone and Android app.

For the uninitiated, one of the major challenges in mobile is the fact that different mobile phones have quite different technical capabilities and that consumers (even if they own the same phone) can exhibit quite different behaviours. By technology I mean, for example, the phones’ ability to download applications or connect to the internet. By behaviours I mean, for example, a consumer’s willingness to engage with these technologies. This is often referred to in the business as ‘fragmentation’.

Next time you sit down at a meeting or round a pub table, look at the range of phones on display, ask people what they use their phones for, and you’ll see what I mean. Some phones will be used for apps, some will be used for the mobile internet, some will be used for both, and some technology refusers will just use their phone for making boring old voice calls.

The way round this for a brand or organisation is to get your mobile advisers to analyse your target audience and work out their likely device and usage profile. From this you can work out the most appropriate technology choices to meet your business objectives. Assuming you are a normal company or organisation, you’ll be faced with scarcity, especially in a world of cut-backs and economic uncertainty, and therefore a fixed budget. As a result, you’ll need to make some tough decisions around your technology strategy, because you won’t have the money or time to develop a campaign or service that works on all devices and appeals to every type of user (at least not from the get-go).

Developing an application, for instance, that will work on a Blackberry, a Nokia, an Android Phone and an iPhone, essentially requires building four separate products, so you will need to balance your functional requirements (what you want the campaign or service to do) against your reach requirements (how many of your customers you need to access) and choose a technical solution that get you the most ‘bang for your buck’.

Those commissioning the Jobcentre application must have been thinking more ‘bandwagon’ than ‘bang for buck’, because an iPhone/Android application, in terms of their target audience, functionality and reach requirements was, quite possibly, the worst possible choice.

Despite the hype, the iPhone (and even more so Android) is a niche device, appealing to a mostly urban moneyed crowd. The pay-as-you-go version will cost you £350 and pay monthly contracts start at £25. If you need any more convincing of the unsuitability of this as the target device for a service aimed at the unemployed, then have a read of my colleague Ben’s piece on the average mobile user, I don’t need to repeat it here, suffice to say that the average user is not an iPhone or Android owner.

In terms of functionality, an application was simply not needed for this service. All the core elements could have easily been accommodated within a mobile internet page. In fact, I would suggest that while a mobile internet based solution would have had better reach, it still would not have met the needs of the majority of job-seekers.

Un-sexy as it is, something akin to a simple SMS alert (based a users job profile with a click-to-call) would look like a much more democratic and effective solution. It would not get a write-up in the Guardian, but at least it would stand a chance of connecting a real person with a job opening.

If you you are hoping that this exercise was just a trial or a side-project, then think again. The scheme was announced by Jim Knight, minister of state for employment and welfare, at the National Digital Inclusion Conference !

I wonder if he appreciates the irony.

Also posted on www.welovemobile.co.uk