Mobile Snippet: The Mobile Invasion Continues!

The mobile space has set the wheels in motion for its world domination…well, maybe not quite. But we’re getting there according to research firm Berg Insight, which reported this week that mobile is expected to grow from $3.4 billion in 2010 (at a compound annual growth rate of 37 percent) to $22.5 billion in 2016. Yikes! The report suggests that by 2016, mobile will account for 15.2 per cent of all global online advertising and marketing spending.

While mobile has been a bit of a nouveux trend until now, with some savvy and innovative agencies testing the waters, Berg Insight suggests that companies have begun changing their strategies to incorporate mobile into their annual ad plans as a key media component. Rickard Andersson, telecom analyst for Berg Insight, stated in the article from GIGAOM: “The popularity of smartphones and the increasing availability of mobile media that can include mobile advertising are the main game changers. Brands are now progressively embracing the mobile channel, including the entire range of apps from games and entertainment to utility applications.” He suspects that, while in-app ads have been the leaders in mobile marketing thus far, the advent of HTML5 brings traditional channels such as SMS as well as mobile web advertising, back on the table. He thinks that location-based advertising has the potential to unleash the full power of mobile advertising.

Location-based advertising is certainly having a hay-day in the world of mobile commerce, and should continue to be a driver of the mobile ad world. We second the emotion that it would be to a brand’s benefit to find new and innovative ways to employ mobile campaigns to enhance other advertising channels, and vice versa.

1. Don’t build an app just for the sake of building an app- Businesses are starting to recognize the enormous potential to interact with customers through the mobile platform. As this area expands everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon, especially if their competitors are already embracing the mobile space. The automatic reaction that I often witness is a panic stricken one attached to the words “I need an app… Can you make me an app?”. This reaction is also paired with the misconception that a ‘mobile strategy’ is essentially having an app. Examining the business model to determine the most relevant path into the mobile space, be it a mobile website, an application, or a mobile campaign of sorts might encourage businesses to be more objective with their approach.
2. An app will not solve all your mobile needs- Although an app can serve as a tool to utilize the mobile channel, businesses need a strategy that could come in the form of a combination of SMS campaigns (if need be), mobile websites, mobile commerce, mobile social programs and/or perhaps a tablet strategy.  Exploring mobile commerce capabilities, customer engagement practices, along with possible loyalty programs that are built into a mobile campaign would be a more comprehensive way to tackle mobile.
3. One size does not fit all: As a marketer you don’t need to reach far beyond your personal experience to figure out that mobile is different than the website/online experience. Apps or mobile websites are not just mini websites, and “porting” your site into an app/mobile websites is not a mobile strategy. Mobile devices are used differently, so you don’t just take all of your content and move it onto 320×240 pixel screen. Ask yourself: ‘how much time will my user spend navigating a website on their mobile device?’.  Be selective about what you put out in the mobile space and remember that generally less is more.  Also, take into consideration that mobile usage happens at different times of day, and in different settings for the user, so what you serve should be relevant to time and location.
4. If you build it they wont come: An app or a mobile website is like any other product which requires a promotion and distribution strategy. Identify your target audience, assess your distribution channels, and give your audience an incentive to use/download your product. It may seem elementary to point out that existing and potential customers aren’t psychic, and they’re certainly not browsing the various app stores to see if your brand has decided to offer mobile services.
5. Although this would suggest that you will need to build apps across the various platforms, its important to focus on the old principle of “quality over quantity”.  So if you are at a cross road and deciding between doing an HTML5 app that will work on all platforms, I would recommend that you go for quality (in native form), rather than quantity (in HTML5 form). Disclaimer: HTML5 can be very useful, even in-app, but must be handled with expert care and used for certain design patterns.

An interesting article on Mobile Marketer about a BMW campaign in Germany really caught my attention today.

I read about many different mobile initiatives around the world and this one specifically caught my attention for one specific quote ” We did much more fancy things but we figured out that the more fancy an application is, the less traffic we get,” said Mark Mielau, head of digital media at BMW Germany.  The reason I find this particularly interesting is that in Germany and with the BMW campaign, going back-to-the-basics of mobile is going with an campaign that users MMS and asks the users to interact with multimedia via their mobile phone.  As basic as this may seem to many throughout the world, MMS and multimedia on mobile phones is a new area to Canadians.  Adoption is still low and many mobile users do not yet know how to send or receive MMS communication.

A campaign such as the one by BMW in Germany may not have the desired results in Canada due to the late adoption of MMS.   For us here, going back-to-the-basics is using SMS and texting campaigns.  This can be highly lucrative for marketers if targeted appropriately.  Further, marketers have the ability to build mobile SMS communities so that future loyalty and communication could be routed to customers via their mobile phones.  The use of SMS is more readily understood and adopted than more “Fancy” campaigns using web and mobile applications at the current time.  Mobile web and applications and more “Fancy” mobile initiatives are not off the radar however and in fact they are on the horizon…..it’s just a matter of time before mobile users adopt these technologies and take full advantage of what the new mobile world has to offer.

Undoubtedly, the mobile space is drastically changing and particularly as a result of the changes that are occurring in the smartphone category.   With the release of the Apple iPhone and the growth of BlackBerry handsets, people are starting to browse more on their mobiles and data plans have shifted in Canada to allow for this.  Mobile company’s like us (Plastic The Mobile Agency) are really excited about this shift and see all the great possibilities that exist to expand and grow the mobile industry.  More and more we hear our competitors, clients  and industry experts speak about browser capabilities, applications and new technologies that are taking advantage of these better devices.

The technology and the possibilities excite our curiosities and stir our imagination but we also also have to consider the analytics.   How many people can be targeted?  What is the reach?  What is the engagement level? What is the ROI and what is the per user acquisition cost?  Unfortunately, we are at a time with little access to mobile analytics and looking at handset usage and penetration rates paints a gloomy story.  There are still millions of people who don’t use their phones to browse and even more people without smartphones so how can you really get maximum reach?  For this reason I still believe in the power of SMS and campaigns oriented around text-messaging.  In fact, SMS is superior to other modes of communication such as email or direct mail. There are many benefits to SMS campaigns and these can be used by brands to communicate with their audiences:

SMS allows you to:

• Reach a greater number of people as an overwhelming majority of mobile handsets are SMS enabled (95%+)
• Allows for better use of marketing spend. SMS is as very cost effective way to reach users and is far cheaper than traditional print advertising
• have effective campaigns since SMS campaigns are estimated to be 10x more effective than print advertising
• Track and evaluate your interaction with users whereas print advertising does not allow for responses.
• to targeted towards 13-35 age range.  It is estimated that about 1742 SMS messages are sent per month in the (13-17 age group) and 790 sent in the (17-24 age group). The third highest usage is  331 messages per month for the  (25-35 age group) according to Nielsen.

With a greater reach,  more user interaction, better response rates by your audience, better tracking and more cost effective, it sometimes blows our minds why some companies are not taking advantage of this great mode of communication.

Plastic Mobile Agency located in Toronto Ontario helps our clients evaluate their mobile needs and understand their targets.  We provide mobile strategies that are suited for our clients and suggest to them with the most effective use of their marketing budet.