Mobile is the Center of the Marketing Universe
Because mobile advertising can give brands unique capabilities to reach customers with unprecedented engagement and relevance, it has begun to shift from a secondary marketing strategy into taking center stage.
And just in time. More than 90% of consumers have their mobile phone within arm’s reach around the close, making it clear that mobile’s “power of the personal” must be at the core of the connected experience. In the United States alone, 56% of adults have a smartphone, creating huge opportunities to deliver targeted and relevant messages in-the-moment.
Mobile Data Can Be Tracked & Measured
If the NSA has taught us anything, it’s that what we do on our phones is trackable. From who we call or text to where we are and when we do it, that information is readily available. And mobile advertisers don’t need a subpoena to get it. But of course, they’re not after who you’re talking to – they’re more interested in understanding what you want, when you want it.
As such, mobile isn’t so much a vertical, the same way that other media like radio and television are. Rather, the mobile market is much more horizontal. Advertisers can measure the full end-to-end experience and glean contextual information from it, much more deeply than they can more traditional media.
Mobile Advertising is Slightly More Advanced than the Mobile Web
In the United States, most everyone has a smartphone in addition to having access to an internet desktop. But in other parts of the world, it’s cell phone only. Recent studies have shown that 64 percent of users worldwide are from developing countries, and in Africa, mobile phone sales have increased by 550 percent due to growing popularity. As a result, mobile technologies are more developed when it comes to honing SMS-based techniques, data collection and geolocation tracking. Strecker says that such exposure and experience has made applying these practices to mobile advertising easier.
Mobile Advertisers are Hungry For More
Compared to publishers and operators who have not been as quick to adapt, mobile advertisers are looking for new ways to create unique experiences. The pace of change within the industry is very rapid, says Strecker, which can be attributed to the lack of mobile standards. Unlike the online world, standards for mobile have been slow to evolve, so mobile advertisers can experiment and innovate more than can on the traditional web.
Customers Are Complacent About Access to Mobile Behaviors (For Now)
Though consumers are worried about governments accessing their private data, they have seemed rather complacent when it comes to giving access to advertisers, operators and publishers. Of course, many are asked to consent or opt-in, but the majority of us don’t read the fine-print before clicking “agree.” Additionally, younger generations of mobile users consider trading their privacy for a better customer mobile experience as fair. As a result, mobile advertisers are able to predict our behaviors based on our history, making it easier for them to get us to switch brands at the right time.
Strecker says it doesn’t require much information to infer behaviors either. Using the weather, for instance, advertisers can target consumers at risk of allergies and on their way to sporting events to improve conversions.
