Mobilizing for the Mobile World Congress

In recent months, we’ve been spreading the word about connected devices, the future of mobile money, and how the “Internet of things” is going wireless. Now, frog will host and facilitate a series of interactive workshops and presentations on those subjects at the Mobile World Congress, the mobile industry’s leading conference held in Barcelona from February 14–17.

Here are some highlights of what attendees will be dialing into at the event.

Mobile Money, Afghanistan

frog Executive Creative Director Jan Chipchase will debut findings from his recent trip to Afghanistan where he conducted a field study of the country’s nascent mobile phone based financial service known as M-Paisa. Jan and his team of researchers interviewed mobile subscribers and resident M-Paisa agents to uncover the day-to-day realities and challenges of mobile phone use and banking in the country with little formal financial infrastructure. Jan will discuss his findings and what the mobile money community can learn from Afghanistan. The event will also feature his new book Mobile Money, Afghanistan: Notes from the Field, a highly-visual, behind-the-scenes look at his research journey.

Personal Data: The Hidden Cost of Free

frog has been exploring questions around personal data, the implications for users, and which industries people trust with their information in a time where companies are collecting information on our rich digital lives. frog VP of Creative Robert Fabricant and frog Executive Creative Director Fabio Sergio will host an exclusive workshop for 25 leaders from various industries to explore the impact of personal data on emerging markets. The workshop is a continuation of frog’s partnership with the World Economic Forum on the “Rethinking Personal Data” initiative. In preparation for this workshop, frog ran two workshops with the WEF in London and NYC and conducted crowd sourced design research on the subject of personal data using its frogMob research tool. Insights from the frogMob and concepts from the workshops were included in a special report that was presented at the WEF’s Annual Meeting in Davos in January.

The Internet of Things

frog Strategy Director of Marketing Adam Richardson will host a special interactive workshop that explores the challenges and opportunities presented by the “Internet of Things,” a term used to describe the rapid explosion of machine-to-machine communications. During this interactive session, attendees will contribute and explore the theme of connected devices through a series of brainstorming methods and approaches used in frog’s proprietary frogThink ideation sessions—the same methodology frog uses with the world’s leading companies to inspire innovation. In a separate session, frog’s VP of Innovation Theo Forbath will also explore this trend’s implications for the mobile industry and explain the market opportunities around this kind of increased connection.

For more details on how to participate in these frog events, attend daily cocktail receptions, and meet frog executives at the Mobile World Congress, please check out frog’s schedule here.

Image by Jan Chipchase