FT joins the mobile craze

Hong Kong - The Financial Times has added mobile as a new channel through its website aimed at reaching out to a younger demographic.

The new FT.com website is optimised for mobile devices available at m.ft.com. Research has proved that readers visit the site most via the mobile channel when commuting, during evenings, weekends and on vacation.  

Rob Grimshaw (pictured), managing director for FT.com said the company incorporated feedback from tech savvy readers on what they wanted to see in the new mobile version of FT.com into the new site.

"We found that many of our readers look for an executive briefing from the FT, so we focused on providing quality over quantity of content," he said.

Grimshaw said their research also showed the FT has a younger demographic on the mobile web, which offers them an opportunity to reach a new and growing audience.

He added they have already seen strong demand from clients for sponsorship opportunities.

Phase one of the launch offers a new touch screen interface, faster access to content, improved search, the ability to customise and follow stock options.

Phase two of the launch to roll out in Q1 will include interactive mobile charting so users can quickly access company information and index data on the go.

The site works for all phones but is optimised for the iPhone and BlackBerry which together account for over 60% of FT.com mobile traffic.

A dedicated iPhone application will follow, incorporating more sophisticated graphics and charts and the ability to quickly share FT content with the integration of the address book.

Bango is used for the improved analytics to offer users the ability to store their preferences against their FT.com profile. The same technology allows the FT a greater ability to track traffic by country and responses to marketing initiatives.