Mobile Technology is one which we are all aware of, most of us make use of and grows at an incredibly rapid rate. From the 1st generation (1G) of mobile phones introduced in the 1980’s which made use of analogue technology, through to the upcoming 4G mobiles which will incorporate Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and boast incredible download speeds, there has been an incredible change in the function, usage and amount that individuals rely on this single piece of technology.
3G networks helped popularise mobile marketing. The incorporation of the internet into a mobile device means instant access to information, with the ability to share download and interact with it, allowing the concept of web 2.0 to be available to users on the move. The growth of mobile internet users is growing exponentially. As mentioned in previous blogs, when a new technology or medium becomes available, many companies want to throw money and resources at “it” and make “it” happen, as there is not an immediate blueprint from which to base marketing communications on many fail. This blog entry will discuss what's currently out there in the mobile marketing world, how it being used and what’s next for mobile marketing!
Mobile marketing is defined by Shankar and Balasubramanian (2009) as
“The two-way or multi-way communication and promotion of an offer between a firm and its customers using a mobile medium, device or technology.” [1]. This definition indicates the importance, once again of involving the consumer, making the consumer react and perform some sort of action. The following examples illustrate mobile marketing in action in the past, present and future
SMS
One of the earliest mediums through which mobile marketers could operate, SMS text messages were popularised in the mid to late 90’s, booming in popularity in the 2000’s. According to the Mobile Data Association between 2009-2010 96.8 billion text messages were sent [2}. One of the best things about mobile marketing is its highly targeted and personal nature, you are able to walk away from a television set when adverts come on, however it is very difficult to avoid text messaging. SMS can be extremely effective for instantaneous offers, communicating important information quickly and for personalising communications. One of the most successful SMS promotions comes from Orange. Their Orange Wednesdays promotion has been used over 14m times between 2004 and the start of 2010 [3]. It is personalised, direct and pulls customers not pushes them, counteracting, what I believe is the most common pitfall in mobile marketing; invasion of privacy. One of mobile marketing strengths is it’s personal nature, however this is also one of its weaknesses. Consumers can feel negatively towards brands if they pester them with messages through a highly personal device.
One of the earliest mediums through which mobile marketers could operate, SMS text messages were popularised in the mid to late 90’s, booming in popularity in the 2000’s. According to the Mobile Data Association between 2009-2010 96.8 billion text messages were sent [2}. One of the best things about mobile marketing is its highly targeted and personal nature, you are able to walk away from a television set when adverts come on, however it is very difficult to avoid text messaging. SMS can be extremely effective for instantaneous offers, communicating important information quickly and for personalising communications. One of the most successful SMS promotions comes from Orange. Their Orange Wednesdays promotion has been used over 14m times between 2004 and the start of 2010 [3]. It is personalised, direct and pulls customers not pushes them, counteracting, what I believe is the most common pitfall in mobile marketing; invasion of privacy. One of mobile marketing strengths is it’s personal nature, however this is also one of its weaknesses. Consumers can feel negatively towards brands if they pester them with messages through a highly personal device.
QR Codes.
QR codes or Mobile Barcode’s are encrypted with a url, when de-coded using a QR code reader app/device on a mobile phone a link is given to that url. They are cheap and easy to make, the same can be said about mobile websites. This technology which has been in Japan for year and is starting to become popular here allows for quick access to specific mobile sites and can prove extremely effective, To illustrate the ease of creating and using one of these codes simply download any QR code reader onto your mobile device from you application store and scan the below code,
QR codes or Mobile Barcode’s are encrypted with a url, when de-coded using a QR code reader app/device on a mobile phone a link is given to that url. They are cheap and easy to make, the same can be said about mobile websites. This technology which has been in Japan for year and is starting to become popular here allows for quick access to specific mobile sites and can prove extremely effective, To illustrate the ease of creating and using one of these codes simply download any QR code reader onto your mobile device from you application store and scan the below code,
and hey presto my Digital Communications blog on your mobile! One of the best examples of QR codes in action comes my German company Mytoys.de, who constructed a series of QR codes out of Lego and put them on display for people to snap with their QR code reader, directing them to a mobile site where Lego purchases could be made. The QR codes depicted different scenes including a wizard and a sea serpent, displaying how the functionality and creativity were combined to produce real results:
· 49% of website visitors came via QR codes
· Twice as many brick boxes advertised via the QR codes were sold as opposed to non advertised.
The video below shows how this campaign worked!
In all honesty I don’t see why companies who have a mobile site already don’t provide QR codes on all advertisements, products and promotional material. If its website hits you are after then no real strategy is required.
Augmented Reality
So what does the future hold for Mobile Marketing? For me this is the most exciting and technically brilliant of the lot. Its sustainability in the UK however, I believe, is unfortunately questionable, largely due to problematic nature of such technologies in this country. However this video does provide some hope!
Augmented reality allows for real time marketing communications to be provided to potential consumers via graphics in your field of view on the phone screen, as you move the phone to look in different directions, different “tags” are picked up by the camera viewer and the relevant graphic displayed. For example if you were to walk down a high street with your Augmented reality viewer pointed at a coffee shop, the graphic could display a time limited special offer which can redeemed instore. The advantages for marketers is the real time, location based aspect of the technology which means 100% of people who use this technology have the physical ability to be a consumer and encourages interaction.
Recommended Read: Really interesting interview about the use of mobile marketing in 2011: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=145325
Top tweeter:@ Telegraph Tech
Top tweeter:@ Telegraph Tech
[1] Mobile Marketing definition, Shankar and Balasubramanian, from: http://www.crito.uci.edu/papers/2010/MobileMarketing.pdf
[2] Mobile Data Association- http://next-generation-communications.tmcnet.com/topics/nextgen-voice/articles/74007-968-billion-text-messages-sent-across-uk-2009.htm
[3] Orange Wednesdays: New Media Age http://www.nma.co.uk/features/sms-marketing/3008583.article
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteMobile marketing has appeared on many b2b Marketing lists of things to watch in 2011. Some mobile marketing is similar to advertising delivered over other electronic channels such as text, graphic and voice messages. Thank you...
SMS Marketing