Polar Mobile offers readers an easy, efficient way to get their news-instantly
By Kayla O’Brien
RISMEDIA, January 22, 2009-Just when you thought you had mastered the everyday convenience of computer technologies, the cell phone evolves and becomes “smart”-adding more time-saving and multitasking tools to your daily routine than ever expected.
In addition to receiving important phone calls and managing a database of clients, today, smartphones allow end-users to take photos and constantly be connected-whether it’s to check account balances, edit home listings or receive breaking news-all within a handheld device.
Enter Polar Mobile, known for leading the way in providing mobile solutions in North America. From content management systems to the delivery of rich media through applications and mobile websites, the company creates solutions for all of the major mobile platforms on the market-ensuring an easy-to-use experience. With more and more real estate agents on the go, these types of mobile applications have become a sure way to stay connected without being near a computer.
Recognizing the sensitivity of today’s real estate marketplace and the need for best practices and industry updates in a convenient manner, RISMedia has teamed up with Polar Mobile to offer RISMedia Mobile cost-free to real estate professionals. After a simple download on their BlackBerry, iPhone or Windows Mobile phone, subscribers instantly begin receiving the latest in real estate content, automatically delivered the minute it’s uploaded to RISMedia.com. From the application, real estate professionals can save, e-mail, and read articles from anywhere, at any time.
“As businesses, we are always looking for ways to connect with our market,” says Caroline Andrews, group publisher, sports, leisure and entertainment for Transcontinental Media, who also found success when recently partnering with Polar Mobile to launch The Hockey News Mobile. “If you can use this media effectively and reach your market, they are actually carrying you in their pocket/purse or on their belt every minute. We cannot get any closer to our market than that. That’s significant for us and our advertisers.”
Having been in the publishing business for over 20 years, Andrews says that she was very excited about this new media environment.
“To me, it made perfect sense. After meeting with Polar Mobile, I was even more convinced that mobile would be a significant player in the media world,” she says. “Polar Mobile was the clear winner among the several companies we met with. Their knowledge of this new media, their skill, their enthusiasm and their obvious integrity set them miles apart from any other company we met with.”
After launching The Hockey News Mobile, relaying content of its information-rich news website, reader response couldn’t have proved the necessity of this new medium better. With a goal of capturing 5,000 subscribers within the first three months after launching, The Hockey News Mobile now has over 16,800 subscribers after only two months (at press time).
“These results are very exciting. It has significantly grown our audience,” says Andrews. “The people that choose to download this application are rabid fans. They live and breathe hockey, and it’s amazing that we can supply them their news minute-by-minute. We now have that engaged audience at our reach every minute of every day.”
So whether it’s a real estate professional or a devoted hockey fan, going mobile is “a perfect recipe for success in this ever-changing media environment,” according to Andrews. “If you’re still thinking about going mobile you’re already way behind. It’s an obvious medium. Our traditional media is still there and strong, but if we want to stabilize and grow our circulation we must go where our audience wants us to go.”
For more information, visit m.rismedia.com.