Tom Farrell, Director of Marketing, Swrve
Let’s skip the usual preamble and assume we are all aware that mobile is now not just “a” method to speak to consumers, it is “the” method.
Take a walk down any given high street or spend five minutes in a train carriage and you’ll soon notice that anyone under 35 isn’t even going to see conventional display advertising because their faces have apparently been glued to their smartphone screens (yes, I do have a teenage daughter since you ask).
And like all such changes, this sudden – the iPhone was only launched 8 years ago, remember – change in consumer behavior is both a challenge and an opportunity. Opportunity because for smart agencies (and their clients) the mobile represents the most personal and ubiquitous communication channel out there. A challenge because everything has happened so fast that marketers are still figuring out how best to take advantage of it.
Thinking About Mobile
One thing that is certainly true is that, as an agency, you want to introduce mobile to your client rather than vice versa. It really is best not to be sitting on the other side of the table when somebody who pays YOU for marketing smarts asks “have you considered mobile as part of a strategy”.
So it’s important to get your head around mobile now. To help with that, I’m presenting a webinar on just this subject in the near future, but here’s a few random ideas and pointers that may be of some use:
Don’t Think Of Mobile As An Add-On. Sure, it can be. But if your idea of a mobile marketing strategy is also showing your TV ad in a user’s Facebook stream, I should stop and think again. Firstly – and I realise this may come as something of a shock – consumers don’t particularly like those videos (ever wonder why AdBlock is so popular?). Secondly, it’s almost insulting to the potential of mobile to consider it to be a side-kick in the Robin mould. Mobile is Batman baby!
Do Remember It’s Not Just About Revenue. Don’t get me wrong – at Swrve we spend a lot of time helping our customers deliver increased mobile revenue. But that isn’t the whole story. For the agency and their client, mobile represents a fantastic opportunity to bring the brand to the fore – everywhere and anywhere.
Consider campaigns that make use of the fact that the mobile is always with the user, and that it know where they are – and can access a whole host of other data. Like the weather, for example, in this great campaign from Budweiser.
Do think App First. Mobile apps are the new loyalty scheme. Can you imagine any greater driver of customer loyalty than the fact that your logo is right there on the phone screen, and access to your service is simply a click away? Almost certainly not. So make every effort to get an app onto the consumer’s phone. For example, a number of retail outlets deliver offers and assistance via mobile apps – that in turn give them the ability to track and communicate to users via push notifications when they are in the store. A win-win!
Don’t Ignore Consumer Trends. Part and parcel of the move to mobile is the move away from a ‘desktop’ way of life. Mobile is not just a small computer you carry around in your hand, or rather it is much, much more than that – and has changed consumer behavior. One obvious example is the rise of messaging as opposed to email. Make sure your strategy takes account of these changes and that your campaigns ‘fit’ the mobile lifestyle.
That’s just four pointers – and obviously there is an almost infinite amount more to consider. But these will, at least, point you in the right direction.
Register for our upcoming agency webinar here: How To Create The Mobile-First Agency- A Practical Guide or download our latest agency white paper: 5 Habits of Highly Effective Mobile Agencies
Good luck!
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