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What impact did Apple's Steve Jobs have on mobile advertising, marketing and content?

If anything, Steve Jobs will be remembered as the Edison of mobile: his numerous Apple products have impacted the work, home and play lives of hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide.

In this wide sweep, leading players in the mobile ecosystem spell out in some detail what effect Mr. Jobs has had on mobile advertising, marketing, content and commerce.

"Before him, mobile phones were about making phone calls with a few peripheral features," said Justin Siegel, CEO of MocoSpace, Boston. "Now, voice calls are the peripheral feature."

Here is what mobile marketers had to say about Mr. Jobs, who stepped down as CEO Aug. 24, but moves on to become chairman of Apple (see story). 

First off is an email sent to Apple employees Aug. 25 by Tim Cook, previously chief operating officer of Apple and Mr. Jobs' handpicked successor for CEO. 

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Cupertino, CA
In an email sent to Apple employees Aug. 25
I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world.

Joining Apple was the best decision I?ve ever made and it?s been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years.

I share Steve?s optimism for Apple?s bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees.

We are really looking forward to Steve?s ongoing guidance and inspiration as our chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change.

I cherish and celebrate Apple?s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that ? it is in our DNA.

We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring.

I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tom Limongello, vice president of marketing at Crisp Media, New York
Steve Jobs' understanding of hardware, networks and software gave him, like he said in his Stanford commencement address, "enough points to connect the dots," to launch iOS, the first truly viable mobile advertising medium.

What made the iPhone significant immediately was that it included a Webkit browser, with great multitouch gesture support ? an innovation that will have over the long term a more significant impact on mobile marketing than the app store.

He also had taste, and his call to arms that "most mobile ads suck" two years ago was enough of a push to get advertisers to realize that improving the mobile advertising experience is a worthwhile endeavor.

Dan Lowden, vice president of marketing at Digby, Austin, TX
Steve Jobs and the Apple phenomena has had a significant impact on enabling mobile marketing and commerce through the creation of the iPhone that offered consumers an easy to use and powerful hand-held computer that could be used at home, when mobile and when in a retail store. 

For retailers, it gives them a vehicle to deliver a rich and engaging retail branded mobile marketing and shopping experience through a mobile-optimized Web site or iPhone app.

In doing so, it creates a direct relationship with their customers like never before, driving sales, customer loyalty and deep analytics around mobile consumer buying behavior.

Noah Elkin, principal analyst at eMarketer, New York
With the iPhone, Steve Jobs reimagined what the smartphone could be and ushered in a new level of sophistication in mobile marketing.

And then with the iPad, he fashioned an even larger, more dynamic canvas with equally far-reaching implications for mobile content.

Sandeep Bhanote, CEO of Global Bay, New York
Steve Jobs and Apple have revolutionized the way retailers use mobile to interact on consumer devices.
That is crystal clear. 

What is less obvious and more interesting is the way that Apple and iOS is revolutionizing the way we use mobile within the enterprise to run our businesses better.

Three years ago, there were virtually no Apple implementations of business-to-employee and in-store retail solutions on iOS. 

In fact, even the mobile checkout in Apple stores was originally on Windows Mobile devices because the peripherals were not available yet for iOS. 

But that has all changed, and businesses are now embracing iOS for all sorts of uses. 

Today, you are hard-pressed to find any retailer who is not looking to leverage Apple in their retail enterprise. 

What retailers are looking for from Apple goes way beyond mobile commerce and mobile marketing apps. 

Alistair Crane, CEO of Grapple Mobile, London
Steve Jobs has undoubtedly had a profound effect on the entire mobile ecosystem including the advertising, marketing and content industries.
 
Though iAds is yet to mature into a mobile channel that makes the media plan as a matter of course, other Apple technology, namely the iPhone and iPad, has pioneered the way in which consumers interact with mobile devices, allowing a new generation of creatives and technologists to build incredible products and services.
 
To today's marketeers, the iPhone app is the modern day equivalent of creating a 60-second television spot in Ogilvy's day. The next generation of creative talent will be revered or reviled depending on how they embrace Mr. Jobs? creations.
 
Ed Lea, chief technology officer of Grapple Mobile, London
The last time Steve Jobs stopped being CEO of Apple, it was a very different company on a very different course.

Under [Mr.] Jobs? resumed leadership he has turned Apple Computer around to become just Apple ? the leading consumer technology brand in the world.

He did this not because he?s a great developer, engineer or even product designer, but because he?s probably the greatest marketer and showman in technology.

Apple will continue making great Macs, iPhones and iPads without Jobs as CEO.

They have an amazing team of engineers and Jonathan Ive will continue pushing industrial design in directions no one else would even consider and make it work.

The challenge for Apple is, can they think different without [Mr.] Jobs?

The iPod, iPhone and iPad were all launched by [Mr.] Jobs and seemingly, from the outside, it was he who inspired the teams at Apple to create them.

He knew he could get people excited about products they didn?t know they wanted and almost certainly don?t need.

Does Tim Cook, [Mr.] Jobs' replacement, have the same vision and, more importantly, confidence in his own vision to define new markets with new products and then convince the world to buy them?

[Mr.] Cook has been the brain behind the supply chain responsible for creating the impressive margins and profitability of Apple?s Mac and iPhone products.

But this casts him as more of an accountant than the revolutionary, rebel and dreamer that made Apple the powerhouse it is today.

Beerud Sheth, CEO of GupShup, Mumbai
Steve Jobs changed the very foundation of the mobile industry.

By grabbing control of the mobile device away from the operator, and unleashing Silicon Valley dynamics of an open third-party developer platform, he brought mobile phones into the modern, post-operator era.

He revolutionized the UI and democratized developer-access to the device, which led to better content and apps, which then led to massive adoption, which attracted advertisers, which enabled commerce.

The chain reaction he triggered will continue for a long time to come.

Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer of Hipcricket, Seattle
Steve Jobs? biggest influence on mobile marketing and advertising is in the way the iPhone and iPad changed behavior.

Never before had we had such pleasing user experiences and access to content on our terms via the real Web and the revolutionary App Store.

For years, I?ve been waiting for a Web page to load properly on my BlackBerry.

[Mr.] Jobs? contributions in those areas will be remembered more fondly than in Apple?s iAd efforts.

IAd will go down as a milestone because of the reported $300 million that Apple paid for Quattro Wireless to build out the iAd network.

While iAd has been short on return for brands, Apple?s dollars and efforts have validated the mobile advertising business models pursued by many others.

Joy Liuzzo, Washington-based senior director at InsightExpress
Steve Jobs and Apple did what they do best: create an intuitive interface and platform. 

There certainly was mobile marketing and advertising before the iPhone was introduced, but the devices themselves were still being designed in the phone mindset and therefore the experience was lacking. 

The iPhone changed people?s perceptions of what a mobile phone could be and lit a fire in the mobile industry as a whole.   

Kevin McKenzie, founder of JiWire, San Francisco
The mobile industry existed for years, but Steve Jobs made it work.

He created the mobile marketplace and revolutionized how we consume content.

Prior to the iPhone launch, people only knew the Web on a PC ? [Mr.] Jobs gave the Web and digital media a life on the mobile device.

Mack McKelvey, senior vice president of marketing at Millennial Media, Baltimore, MD
The introduction of the iPhone and iPad were both game changers for the mobile industry.

Steve Jobs and the Apple team created products that helped bring smartphones and tablet devices to the consumer masses.

Many mobile devices today model parts of what Mr. Jobs introduced.

From an advertising standpoint, the iPhone and iPad both gave marketers a canvas that was unlike anything else on the market, and the introduction of the Apple App Store played a huge role in helping foster the app economy, which is so crucial today.

His mobile product visionary genius will be missed, but the industry is looking forward to seeing Tim Cook and the Apple team continue to deliver innovative world-class mobile devices.

Michael Martin, mobile SEO consultant at Mobile Martin, San Diego
I grew up using an Apple II before needing more powerful PCs toward my computer engineering degree.

In the mobile space I prefer Android over Apple products due to the same limitations, but respect Steve Jobs vision, leadership and marketing skills as well the devout quality in products he demands.

Justin Siegel, CEO of MocoSpace, Boston
Steve Jobs had an almost immeasurable impact on the mobile ecosystem. 

He essentially redefined it from the outside in.

Before him, mobile phones were about making phone calls with a few peripheral features.

Now, voice calls are the peripheral feature.

Laura Marriott, CEO of NeoMedia Technologies, Seattle
Under Steve Jobs? leadership, Apple has brought the mobile industry through a transformative process, popularising the concept of the smartphone and providing the platform that has driven the availability of and demand for ubiquitous connectivity, mobile data and content.

He changed the mobile game. 

He created a platform for mobile marketing and advertising that brands wanted to be a part of.

Mr. Jobs also led the vision for the development of products that the consumer wanted ? and stuck to his guns in providing these products. 

Brands have seen incredible response rates from iPhone-app-only initiatives and this is expected to continue. It is an amazing platform for delivery of media rich experiences for the consumer.

We are confident that the revolution Apple started will continue to foster innovative new ideas for mobile marketing long into the future.

Alistair Goodman, CEO of Placecast, San Francisco
Steve Jobs transformed the mobile industry by creating an elegant ecosystem in which mobile content, commerce and marketing could flourish. 

He delivered on the promise of a decade of discussion about what mobile could be.

By putting a simple yet sophisticated user experience foremost in the design process, he has set the bar high for all services that consumers use on their mobile device.

And whether we acknowledge it or not, consumers, marketers, app developers and even his competitors are benefitting from his brilliant vision and execution.

Kunal Gupta, CEO of Polar Mobile, Toronto
Steve Jobs provided true market leadership that not only transformed Apple but forced all of their competitors to innovate.

The result has been a global ecosystem of new businesses focused on apps that are thriving and did not exist even three years ago.

Steve Timpson, president of SiteMinis, Atlanta
Steve Jobs affected everything that we do in mobile today.

How did he do it?

By creating an ecosystem of software, hardware and content that drew users in droves to the products.

He created the market of what can be and made it a reality.

Yes, there was mobile in the marketplace before Apple changed the world with the iPhone, but what Apple did was make consumers and businesses stand up and take notice of what mobile can and could be.

In my view, June 29, 2007 was a red letter day in mobile.

Why?

That was the day iPhone was released and the view of CEOs, CMOs, CIOs, as well as everyday consumers ? the backbone of commerce ? changed.

No longer was mobile considered a maybe thing, but a "How can I get my brand" to market and looking as good as this?

Mr. Jobs was a visionary, not a reactionary.

Mr. Jobs understood the far-reaching implications of developing a true ecosystem and guided Apple to do that.

Randy Atkisson, executive vice president of sales and business development at Sumotext, Little Rock, AR
Unquestionably, Steve Jobs has impacted society, but very significantly in advertising and commerce. 

He had a vision of something different, and a very aggressive plan to bring his concept to reality. 

Would we have Android without iPhone? Would old guys like me, with arthritic thumbs, be sending text messages or searching for dining and hotels on business trips? Buying stuff we do not really need on eBay from our phones? 

Maybe at some point, but who knows when that would have happened. 

Mr. Jobs showed what could be possible and made it happen. 

I might even say, that aside from Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin, there might not have been a more significant contributor to changing so many aspects of our world.

Please click here to read "Steve Jobs' resignation as Apple CEO could change mobile dynamics."