By Patricia Moore
Its a unique medium that enables personal, one-to-one engagement with consumers, says Vodafones Kursten Shalfoon. Its fantastic for measuring ROI, and with proven effectiveness in eliciting direct response and improving brand engagement with consumers.
But are advertisers embracing the opportunities in every purse and pocket? Do they understand how to make the most of mobile marketing? And, what about the consumers? How do they feel about their mobiles becoming yet another channel for marketing messages?
The mobile channel has grown exponentially over the last eight years, says Snakk Media country manager Steve Hollingsworth. Its grown from simple sms/txt-to-win promotions, to integrated CRM and mobile vouchers, to this new realm of mobile advertising.
And, he says, as mobile internet comes into its own and there are more destinations to engage with, there will be more targeted, measurable, advertising opportunities for brands.
Shalfoon, who is new media & internet general manager at Vodafone, says advertisers are realising the power of the medium to reach consumers. In NZ, and internationally, we have seen effectiveness in very different categories from confectionery to vehicles to entertainment.
The key is the integration of the mobile channel into the marketing mix.
Realising the power is one thing, but advertisers are still struggling to come to terms with how the mobile fits, says Warren Tobin, of mobile marketing solutions provider Altaine.
Using mobiles as an entry mechanism for sales promotions, and simple inbound text for information, is really all that you could call mainstream at the moment, he says. While both of these areas generate excellent returns " primarily by consumer interaction " they are still not leveraging the real promise offered by the mobile as a marketing or advertising channel.
Indeed, while mobile is a key component in any campaign Touch/ Cast Next does, CD Andrew Hawley says it has to push hard for initiatives that go beyond simple SMS call-to-action.
But, he says, its easy to excite clients about including the mobile channel in a campaign when its supported with a comprehensive measurement system and realistic response projections. This is especially so when they realise one of the keys to mobiles success as a channel is its inherent ability to bypass traditional barriers of response and dialogue and enable target audiences to react immediately or at their convenience.
Touchpoint ceo Frank van der Velden suggests many marketers are still on a learning curve. The main focus for marketers using mobile is pull campaigns where messaging into another channel encourages mobile owners to use their mobiles to respond, so the mobile owner pays for the message. Unfortunately, in NZ, mobile telco outbound messaging pricing is still relatively high and rarely does an outbound campaign stack up on an ROI basis.
There are plenty of skills and no shortage of ideas on how to leverage mobile, van der Velden says. NZ innovation has generally fallen behind due to the telco pricing regime and absence of a viable 3G platform of phones and infrastructure where there are far more content-rich opportunities for marketers.
We will eventually catch up, however. As pricing is adjusted to more competitive levels, more marketers will use mobile for outbound campaigns, he says, But marketers still have to contend with the requirements of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act.
Pricing is only one of the reasons more mobile campaigns arent done. Greg Jones, group account director DDB: Its a fairly new medium. For many agencies its not core business; theres a lack of understanding of what is possible.
He also cites competition for the ad dollar, the fact that its a medium with unknown results potential (clients often baulk at the cost), and the complexity of the mobile itself. The numerous handsets and technology capabilities make it difficult to produce a seamless experience.
Once base handset technology allows for a rich media experience, the number of campaigns will increase. And its not too far away.
The majority of marketing and promotional activities still focus on the traditional channels, says Tarik Mallett of Third Screen Interactive. But we are finding were undertaking a lot of education, with new and potential clients, on the benefits of mobile marketing and how it can tie in with their current and future strategies.
Where there seems to be greatest understanding is where a member of the clients team has first-hand experience of the effectiveness of mobile marketing " typically in an overseas environment.
And, says Mallett, we havent even scratched the surface of what can be achieved through the medium of text messaging for clients.
However, this could be about to change. A recent iStart/MyMobile magazine survey of 370 businesses indicated that mobile marketing via text keywords on ads will triple in the coming year.
Marketers and ad agencies appear to be far more interested in getting higher response rates from traditional advertisements with text-keyword responses, than experimenting with small screen ads, says iStart director Marty Verry.
Texting is now the most used communication method in the world after talking face-to-face, so it makes sense for advertisers to offer that option on advertising " especially in these tight economic times.
He also points out texting is not just for the young. One of the most successful TXT2GET campaigns has been for hair-loss product Propecia, while a Spicers campaign promoting tax advice saw three times as many people text for it than go to the website or call the 0800 number.
Mobile marketing cannot be performed as a silo of marketing, says Sybase 365 regional director Jo Rich. We need more education for marketers on how mobile marketing can make existing campaigns " biilboards, internet ads, telemarketing and TV commercials " more interactive and appealing to Generation Y. Theres a need to integrate mobile with all other channels.
Many marketers havent fully understood how to leverage the viral potential of SMS and second-generation mobile technologies. We also need to look at how media affects consumer behaviour. For instance, does a banner ad on a phone create an affinity, later recalled by the consumer, that leads to a purchase?
Vodafones research into mobile marketing has indicated its customers are very interested in mobile marketing, with a recent survey indicating 85% like the concept, says Kursten Shalfoon. What we consistently hear from our consumers is that they are more than willing, and a large proportion really want, to receive mobile advertising, as long as it is relevant and within their control.
But advertisers need to tread carefully when entering a consumers personal space, says TCNs Andrew Hawley. TCNs experience " which includes the Push the Button, and Rock/Paper/Scissors campaigns " has shown there are definite rules beyond those which telcos state.
Most of these return to the simple question of whether the message or object of content is appropriate to send; is there value on this for the recipient? If there isnt, chances are it could be interpreted as spam, says Hawley.
Abuse the power to reach your customers through the highly personal mobile phone and youll lose them in a heartbeat, says Ben Northrop, ceo at digital mobile marketing company Run The Red.
I think there are clear things to take into account when youre pushing mobile messages " relevancy, timeliness and clear opt-out instructions.
He says Run The Red sent over a million SMS pushes last year to the Vodafone One Tribe fan club. By keeping alerts relevant to the audience by giving them breaking news, they managed to substantially grow the fan base with minimal churn.
Mobile marketing channel HooHaa! encourages consumers to like it by incentivising people who sign up to receive messages. We have 80,000 members fully opted in currently, and the number is increasing daily, says gm Jeremy Foster. Members receive 10c for each message received and this can be used for charity or credited to TradeMe or mobile phone accounts.
We believe the mobile is very much an advertisers dream, he says. It enables the advertiser to get to the right people the first time using a device which is with most people at all times of the day.
He says theyve had tremendous success with a wide range of campaigns over the past couple of years and results have seen a huge amount of repeat business. Our members also give us fantastic feedback and encouragement based on the offers, deals and discounts we are able to offer them.
Steve Hollingsworth says since February last year, Snakk has served up 35 million mobile ads to over a million mobile-savvy New Zealanders. We have conducted over a hundred campaigns for brands as diverse as Coke, Xbox, Westpac, Kiwibank, Tower Insurance and Waikato University.
He says the mobile channel is performing incredibly well with click-through rates ranging from 1.6% to 12%. As a result we are increasingly seeing repeat campaigns from advertisers.
The mobile is the ultimate platform to build ongoing relationships with consumers, says Altaines Warren Tobin.
The mobile finally provides us with a platform and technology to deliver on some of the theory and promise around CRM. And we can now enable millions of consumers to gain an enjoyable, rewarding, convenient and personal relationship with their brands.
Subways use of mobile technology is a great example, he says. Customers can download the whole Subway menu on their phone, order whatever they want within seconds, and their order will be waiting when they walk into the store.
Some may say that isnt marketing " but think about it. Every customer that downloads the Subway Express application also invites a Subway brand imprint into their life. This is a great example of permission-based marketing. Subway now has a direct, cost- effective, interactive, multi-media and highly effective channel to their customers.
The year ahead will be a challenging one for advertisers. And it could be a big one for the mobile channel.
Combine a realisation that its important to communicate with customers " particularly when times are tough " with the need to cut marketing budgets, and mobile marketing becomes an even more attractive proposition, says Tarik Mallett of Third Screen Interactive.
Were finding were busier than ever, says Ben Northrop of Run The Red. Smart companies are looking for marketing that really and truly is measurable, accountable and can provide a strong ROI. Mobile marketing, well thought-out, can tick all these boxes.
Indeed, measurability will mean huge growth in the next 12 months, says HooHaa!s Foster. Clients are looking for more accountability on deliverables and were able to offer that. While were very complementary to all the other advertising mediums, we are on a huge growth curve.
As the market becomes more aware of the possibilities and opportunities offered, mobile will be taking a much bigger piece of the pie, he reckons.
Gorillas Rock
One of the more memorable ad campaigns last year starred a gorilla and a drum kit. The local integrated campaign also included a mobile component.
The Cadbury Dairy Milk Gorilla campaign had been hugely successful in the UK and when rolling it out in NZ, the aim was to capitalise on the love it was believed viewers would have for the TVC and get them involved in it, says DDBs Greg Jones.
We knew they would talk about it; we wanted them to play with it.
Using image-recognition software, (a first for NZ mobile users) people could take a photo of a Dairy Milk bar with their mobile, send it in and receive mobile content to their phone. The key piece of content was a drumming game that allowed consumers to Be the Gorilla.
Other content, which included ring tones, alert tones and wallpaper was also created.
The overall campaign was a success with Cadbury enjoying significant growth, reaching new peaks in market share in a growing market, says Jones.
And the mobile component? As a support layer it worked. Response rates were comparable to a DM or online campaign. Anecdotal feedback was that people thought it was cool and different; it helped position Cadbury as an innovator and a leader.
The downside was a lack of understanding of how to do it and the perception that it would cost.
In fact a pxt costs no more than a txt but consumers dont seem to know this. But, says Jones, they were breaking new ground and those are the sorts of things you have to contend with.
You need to remember that for many consumers its the first time theyll be using their phone in that way. However, with the speed that new handsets are improving and with the massive increase in mobile data usage that is occurring, these barriers should be broken down quickly.
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