December 1, 2006
Mobile Marketing Goes Mainstream
Mobile marketing is now being given its own budget line at consumer brand companies such as Procter & Gamble and Microsoft, pushing so-called “third-screen media” into the marketing mainstream.
Jay Emmit, president of the Americas, mBlox, told attendees at the 2006 Mobile Marketing Forum that the development should be viewed as “a significant shift in the advertising world — [mobile marketing is] now mainstream; it’s out of trial mode.”
While use of mobile marketing is growing, there are a number of challenges facing the burgeoning medium. One of the most pressing is measurement.
“I want data,” Eric Bader, senior VP-digital at MediaVest, told Ad Age. Mr. Bader said, there is “not a lot of ‘M’ in the CPM,” meaning it is difficult to assess the value of buys on a cost per impression basis.
Others say the current carrier system limits media purchases because buys cannot be made across service providers. Deals with carriers need to be negotiated separately instead of being bought in blocks.
Kim Olson, marketing director, Sprint Mobile Media Network, said marketers could improve results by finding something more compelling to put on a cell phone screen than just a company or brand logo.
Research shows that companies that have found success online are those most likely to utilize mobile marketing. According to JupiterResearch, 22 percent of online advertisers are also making use of mobile marketing. The study predicted mobile ad spending will grow from the $1.4 billion this year to $2.9 billion in 2011.
Discussion Questions: Is mobile marketing going mainstream as suggested in the Ad Age article? What are the keys to being successful in mobile
marketing campaigns?
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Yes, mobile is here, and will be in mainstream use in 07. Enough companies are doing it now that no one has to fear that they will be the often dreaded “first one” any longer. So, all those companies watching on the sidelines waiting for mobile to prove itself can now start up their own mobile marketing programs.
We will see a steady stream of brands and retailers venturing into mobile from here on out. If you haven’t yet received a text message… Well that just means two things; You haven’t opted in to anyone’s program and the channel is pristine and almost completely spam free.
I had been waiting to see what would be the first non-solicited ad to my cell phone. I was very very careful not to opt in to any programs that would result in media to my phone. Circa Winter 05/06, I got a text message on my Cingular phone from American Red Cross to help after Katrina. I felt I should let that one slide. The next (and last, as of 12/1/2006) was a message from Fox’s American Idol. That’s the one that frustrated me.
As George stated above, young people are definitely more accepting of the idea of mobile content/mobile ads. As far as the current 25-54 Adults, I think it will begin with weather updates and stock quote feeds that will be coupled with ads. In addition, local mobile services (ala socialight.com) will begin to persuade users to opt into services that will result in ads. Just yesterday, a friend of mine (27 year old male, NYC) was setting up Verizon’s VCast on his phone.
Sad to say, it’s on its way.
I also believe mobile has a significant opportunity to allow permission-based cell phone relationships between retailers, brands and consumers.
As this is a “retail” forum, you’ll notice the only retailer that was recognized by the MMA for using mobile marketing was Meijer Supercenters, a 175 store big box retailer based in the Midwest. They won the 2006 MMA Mobile Award for “Relationship Building.” The mobile program was very customer-service oriented and all permission based (100% customer opt-in). That is the wave of the future — consumers in charge of how they are marketed to.
You can view the Meijer mobile case study on the MMA website:
http://mmaglobal.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=635
I believe mobile marketing can go mainstream, but first we have to notify customers that it’s out there.
I am utilizing a multi-channel approach to let our customers know about the service. There isn’t much sense in signing onto this type of marketing if we don’t lay the groundwork.
Cell phone marketing is already mainstream. Anytime a billion dollars is spent on anything, it’s mainstream. Let’s see if there will be a “free” cell phone service for people willing to accept ads constantly, like “free TV,” and conventional broadcast radio. Certainly young people, whose incomes are low, would be the fastest adopters. Selling them clothing, music, electronics, fast food, etc. might make the venture worthwhile.
No it is not mainstream. I believe it is still early in its current marketing form. I have not seen it on my BlackBerry yet and I don’t hear anyone talking about it — I must not be a target consumer?
It will become more important because mobile communication and the related bells and whistles will be on our phones and they are with us wherever we go. It will be important to develop metrics to understand the value of this tool for marketers.
As we all have different perspectives on where mobile marketing stands, you can almost declare it has become a viable alternative and complement to the mainstream…especially for specific target groups.
Two major reasons support this view — if not declaration — as follows:
1) P&G doesn’t buy into any marketing vehicle and/or program without a measuring mechanism. It has found the way to measure and other advertisers may not have.
2) If any marketer or “plain old” supplier is targeting the 3 generations after the Baby Boomers, it had better be researching, testing, and/or getting into the mobile marketing arena. If not, they aren’t selling to the Generations with pocket money exceeding $50 billion for cloths, food, tech games, etc.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!
We’ve all seen the AT&T commercials touting the “three-screen” world view, where the televised drama jumps from a television to a computer screen to a character’s mobile phone. I think that scenario omits a very important “fourth screen” – the public screen located in retail and transit environments.
Seen Times Square lately? It’s wallpapered with various forms of crude and more sophisticated digital signage that put marketing messages in front of thousands of people every day. Been to a Wal-Mart supercenter recently? One store I visited on Black Friday had numerous flat screens and conventional monitors in every major department and traffic aisle, plus a checkout channel running at every register stand. And have you checked out the content playing on the video walls in Best Buy or Target? How about the monitors inside the elevators at the Chicago Marriott?
My point is that the impact of the mobile screen is already eclipsed by the impact of the public screen. The reason we hear less about it is because the big telecom companies have a go-to-market play with screens #1, #2 and #3 but no presence whatsoever on screen #4. There are already more than 50 at-retail media networks in north America collecting $1 billion+ in revenues annually – and this is the tip of the iceberg.
Mobile media is certainly a very interesting environment for forward-thinking integrated marketers like P&G and MS. But the store is really where “the maximum is the message.”
The fewer the messages coming over any screen, especially the small one on my cell phone, the better for me. Now, talk to my 10 through 17 year olds and you’ll get a completely different story. Mobile marketing may not be there yet but it appears as though it is getting awfully darn close.
Playing devils advocate on whether mobile marketing is mainstream today, the real question that beguiles me is – what is mobile marketing in a world where you have internet and email on your phone? Yes, this is not common today. But, give it a couple of years and this will be as plain as vanilla. From this point of view, what is the rush for marketers? Why not wait until mobile marketing’s mainstream is the same as internet marketing’s mainstream and then start using the tools available, which will be much simpler to use (and probably much more effective)?
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Yes, mobile is here, and will be in mainstream use in 07. Enough companies are doing it now that no one has to fear that they will be the often dreaded “first one” any longer. So, all those companies watching on the sidelines waiting for mobile to prove itself can now start up their own mobile marketing programs.
We will see a steady stream of brands and retailers venturing into mobile from here on out. If you haven’t yet received a text message… Well that just means two things; You haven’t opted in to anyone’s program and the channel is pristine and almost completely spam free.
I had been waiting to see what would be the first non-solicited ad to my cell phone. I was very very careful not to opt in to any programs that would result in media to my phone. Circa Winter 05/06, I got a text message on my Cingular phone from American Red Cross to help after Katrina. I felt I should let that one slide. The next (and last, as of 12/1/2006) was a message from Fox’s American Idol. That’s the one that frustrated me.
As George stated above, young people are definitely more accepting of the idea of mobile content/mobile ads. As far as the current 25-54 Adults, I think it will begin with weather updates and stock quote feeds that will be coupled with ads. In addition, local mobile services (ala socialight.com) will begin to persuade users to opt into services that will result in ads. Just yesterday, a friend of mine (27 year old male, NYC) was setting up Verizon’s VCast on his phone.
Sad to say, it’s on its way.
I also believe mobile has a significant opportunity to allow permission-based cell phone relationships between retailers, brands and consumers.
As this is a “retail” forum, you’ll notice the only retailer that was recognized by the MMA for using mobile marketing was Meijer Supercenters, a 175 store big box retailer based in the Midwest. They won the 2006 MMA Mobile Award for “Relationship Building.” The mobile program was very customer-service oriented and all permission based (100% customer opt-in). That is the wave of the future — consumers in charge of how they are marketed to.
You can view the Meijer mobile case study on the MMA website:
http://mmaglobal.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=635
I believe mobile marketing can go mainstream, but first we have to notify customers that it’s out there.
I am utilizing a multi-channel approach to let our customers know about the service. There isn’t much sense in signing onto this type of marketing if we don’t lay the groundwork.
Cell phone marketing is already mainstream. Anytime a billion dollars is spent on anything, it’s mainstream. Let’s see if there will be a “free” cell phone service for people willing to accept ads constantly, like “free TV,” and conventional broadcast radio. Certainly young people, whose incomes are low, would be the fastest adopters. Selling them clothing, music, electronics, fast food, etc. might make the venture worthwhile.
No it is not mainstream. I believe it is still early in its current marketing form. I have not seen it on my BlackBerry yet and I don’t hear anyone talking about it — I must not be a target consumer?
It will become more important because mobile communication and the related bells and whistles will be on our phones and they are with us wherever we go. It will be important to develop metrics to understand the value of this tool for marketers.
As we all have different perspectives on where mobile marketing stands, you can almost declare it has become a viable alternative and complement to the mainstream…especially for specific target groups.
Two major reasons support this view — if not declaration — as follows:
1) P&G doesn’t buy into any marketing vehicle and/or program without a measuring mechanism. It has found the way to measure and other advertisers may not have.
2) If any marketer or “plain old” supplier is targeting the 3 generations after the Baby Boomers, it had better be researching, testing, and/or getting into the mobile marketing arena. If not, they aren’t selling to the Generations with pocket money exceeding $50 billion for cloths, food, tech games, etc.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!
We’ve all seen the AT&T commercials touting the “three-screen” world view, where the televised drama jumps from a television to a computer screen to a character’s mobile phone. I think that scenario omits a very important “fourth screen” – the public screen located in retail and transit environments.
Seen Times Square lately? It’s wallpapered with various forms of crude and more sophisticated digital signage that put marketing messages in front of thousands of people every day. Been to a Wal-Mart supercenter recently? One store I visited on Black Friday had numerous flat screens and conventional monitors in every major department and traffic aisle, plus a checkout channel running at every register stand. And have you checked out the content playing on the video walls in Best Buy or Target? How about the monitors inside the elevators at the Chicago Marriott?
My point is that the impact of the mobile screen is already eclipsed by the impact of the public screen. The reason we hear less about it is because the big telecom companies have a go-to-market play with screens #1, #2 and #3 but no presence whatsoever on screen #4. There are already more than 50 at-retail media networks in north America collecting $1 billion+ in revenues annually – and this is the tip of the iceberg.
Mobile media is certainly a very interesting environment for forward-thinking integrated marketers like P&G and MS. But the store is really where “the maximum is the message.”
The fewer the messages coming over any screen, especially the small one on my cell phone, the better for me. Now, talk to my 10 through 17 year olds and you’ll get a completely different story. Mobile marketing may not be there yet but it appears as though it is getting awfully darn close.
Playing devils advocate on whether mobile marketing is mainstream today, the real question that beguiles me is – what is mobile marketing in a world where you have internet and email on your phone? Yes, this is not common today. But, give it a couple of years and this will be as plain as vanilla. From this point of view, what is the rush for marketers? Why not wait until mobile marketing’s mainstream is the same as internet marketing’s mainstream and then start using the tools available, which will be much simpler to use (and probably much more effective)?