I have been fascinated by a show on the History Channel called America, The Story of Us, which shows how Americans created new tools, structures, and machines to blaze forward. In my opinion, mobile marketing is very much like the inventions and great ideas of the past that have changed the way we do business, live, and communicate. In spite of all that has been written about the benefits of mobile marketing, we are still explorers in this new frontier. And no different than in the past, it brings challenges and opportunities that are being discovered every day.
For marketers, the emergence and rapid growth in the popularity of smartphones to access the Web over wireless broadband networks is beginning to raise many issues. It sparks the need to track closely what makes sense for their particular customers to ensure that they choose the appropriate channels and formats for their campaigns. And as the use of mobile devices reaches near-saturation across the country, leading suppliers of both mobile devices and applications are finding themselves at odds as they seek methods to both develop and protect their share of the market.
Recently published data about mobile device usage makes it clear that these issues will become increasingly important as a result of the high level of consumer acceptance of mobile phones, and most especially the variety of applications these phones make possible. Surveys indicate that approximately 90% of U.S. households now have cell phones, and mobile devices are becoming increasingly powerful. Cell phones in the U.S. are now used for transmitting data (text messaging, mobile Web access) more often than for phone calls. How suppliers themselves view and design their own futures will shape the way consumers access and interact with information, as well as how marketers and others will disseminate that information.
Challenges to face
There are a number of software development platforms available today, and the choice of platform can limit the choice of tools and languages that are available, not to mention the range of devices the apps can run on. So how to reach the broadest audience becomes top of mind when integrating mobile into the marketing mix.
Why should you pay attention to any of this? For one thing, many marketers and advertisers use Flash to deliver interactive advertisements on Websites, and such ads don’t translate very well to a mobile phone that offers no Flash support. Marketers developing integrated campaigns must bear this in mind. And with the acquisition of Quattro Wireless and the launch of the iAd platform, Apple, for example, protects its advertising ecosystem for its mobile devices in order to deliver the best ad experience possible for its clients. In any case, marketers will have to stay attuned to these varying approaches to the mobile marketplace and their outcomes to most effectively target and reach their audience.
The ultimate challenge, however, is winning over smartphone users who are being bombarded by more and more messages every day. Technology won’t help your mobile marketing campaign if you use it to send messages that are irrelevant to the recipient. Successful integration of mobile into the marketing mix must take into account the importance of offering relevant communications in an effort to engage and gain trust.
Opportunities abound
In spite of the challenges inherent in anything new, the fun part of mobile marketing is the opportunities it presents. Laptops have now become “handtops,” giving marketers the ability to engage consumers in ways that haven’t been done before. Almost every industry segment, whether operated from a brick-and-mortar environment, retail, or online, can now use mobile marketing to deliver relevant, engaging content right into the hands of its customers and prospects instantly. One of the key features of mobile communications is that it provides a link to the consumer wherever he or she may be at any time. This allows for 24/7 access to potential customers who are on the go and seek the convenience of quick and instant interactive messaging.
As communications technologies continue to evolve, marketers will continue to be presented with more ways of reaching their audience. Mobile marketing can be an effective element of any marketing campaign that includes numerous vehicles, such as print, personalized URLs, and microsites, by providing one more avenue for reaching your audience. Success in marketing lies less in getting the message out than it does in getting a positive response. Truly effective use of multiple communications channels, including today’s mobile devices, can help secure that response.
A good example of this type of integration is an iPhone app our company created recently, which uses image personalization technology to enable users to craft personalized postcards on their mobile device and send to anyone in their phone via e-mail, Facebook, or text message. Users also have the option of requesting a physical postcard that can be printed and sent to the desired address via first-class mail.
Being an early adopter can be confusing at first, but the creative challenges it brings are nothing less than exciting. When you really think about it, this whole new way of marketing is really just a natural extension of what we as marketers, and consumers of marketing messages, have been doing all along. If we do it right, we have a whole new delivery mechanism that can we can use to fascinate our audience.
The bottom line is that with mobile Internet penetration currently at around 74 million subscribers and expected to jump to 134 million subscribers by 2013, mobile marketing will soon be an expected part of the marketing mix. It’s now simply a matter of how you want to get involved.
Frank Defino, Jr., is vice president and managing director of marketing communications service provider Tukaiz.
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