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The News Rules for Mobile Ads in 2011 November 10, 2010

Posted by StrategicGrowth in mobile, Mobile Marketing.
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by Michael Chang is the founder and CEO of Greystripe, a mobile ad network.

2010 was finally the year of mobile advertising. The market has matured to the point where most major brands have embraced the medium, driven by the reach and interactivity of smartphones and their rapidly growing userbase.

The mobile market is in a state of hyper growth and is reinventing itself almost every quarter thanks to new innovations, better data, and compelling results based on billions upon billions of ad impressions.

As we look ahead to 2011, here are five new rules for brand advertisers as they consider how to integrate mobile marketing into their overall strategy.

1. Mobile display is a necessary component of every brand’s marketing strategy and will continue to outpace mobile search.

Mobile search has received a lot of attention lately, with predictions from BIA’s Kelsey Group that it will grow to a $3.1 billion industry by 2013. Search is large and growing, but display advertising is growing at an even faster pace. In app ads alone are expected to reach $8 billion by 2015, according to Borrell Associates. Search ads have an important place in the mobile market, but they will never replace display ads. So don’t make a quick move by putting all your valuable advertising eggs into mobile search.

2. Don’t rely on Google and Apple to drive innovation.

We know all about the two big hitters in the mobile advertising sphere: Google’s AdMob and Apple’s iAds. Google recently announced a forecasted $1 billion in annual revenue from its mobile ads. But just because these brand names are littered all over your favorite tech blogs doesn’t mean they are the only players. Google and Apple are big, but independents are flourishing – and they’re bringing unique tools and benefits to the landscape. Independents can focus on the needs of each marketer or brand, without being distracted by competing goals like handset sales and search revenue. Mobile advertising is about audience (reach, targeting, content) and engagement (format and creative), and the independents deliver both large audiences and proven, rich-media creatives across platforms.

3. Don’t underestimate the importance of the mobile Web.

Since the iPhone launched, it has been all about apps. All the information you needed was directly at your fingertips with a simple tap. Simple. Easy. No http://www.this or Google-search-that. Naturally, mobile ads followed – bringing advertising content into apps and direct to the consumer. While apps have (and will) continued to grow in popularity and ubiquity, the addition of viable iPhone competitors have reinvigorated the importance of the mobile Web. The mobile Web addresses fragmentation across platforms; rather than build multiple apps for multiple devices, developers can build a single, mobile-optimized Website. According to comScore, there are more smartphone users accessing the mobile Web (34.5 percent) than apps (32.3 percent).  The number of users accessing the mobile Web is growing faster (8.2 percent from May to August) than apps (7.7 percent) as well. Even popular existing apps, such as YouTube, are pushing their users toward the mobile Web. Don’t miss the opportunity to advertise on the mobile Web by being totally app-centric. In-app ads may currently be claiming most of the attention, but the mobile Web is delivering results to marketers too. Which brings me to my next point…

4. Mobile Web ads need to be as engaging as in-app ads.

When you think about ads on the mobile Web, you’re probably imagining boring, static banner ads. Apple’s iAds drew attention to the potential for immersive mobile advertising in app.  Most mobile Web ads have remained blink-and-you’ll-miss-it boring. That is all changing – the same eye-popping immersive ads can be delivered to the mobile Web, to all smartphone users across platoforms. Advertisers and brands need to ensure that they’re engaging their audience everywhere, and that means creating exciting ads both in app and on the mobile Web.

5. New mobile ad companies must outpace consolidations for brand advertisers to reap maximum value from mobile advertising.

There have been a number of high-profile consolidations among mobile ad networks: Apple bought Quattro Wireless, Google bought AdMob. Despite this trend, the market isn’t headed toward consolidation. In fact, nearly the opposite is true. A slew of new mobile advertising startups are taking off in areas that have yet to meaningfully make the way to mobile.  Some will have models in the online world and address needs for better targeting, tracking and optimization. Others are mobile specific, centered on location, format and content discovery. There is no doubt that we will continue to see mergers and acquisitions – but the space is still in its infancy and brands will benefit from the variety of new innovators in order to maximize value.

Three mobile web marketing tips for the holiday shopping season August 27, 2010

Posted by StrategicGrowth in local marketing strategies, marketing strategies, mobile, mobile coupons, Mobile Marketing.
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Bryce Marshall, Knotice

The ways shoppers make purchasing decisions in retail stores are undergoing a seismic shift. The shift is not driven by changes retailers are making to in-store promotions, store layout, retail design or packaging, however. It is driven by shoppers who have discovered that their mobile device offers a comprehensive tool set for making informed and confident decisions on what products to buy, which to pass on, or where else to make the purchase.

At the beginning of 2010 Motorola released the results of a fascinating study conducted during the 2009 holiday shopping season. Among the insights was one particularly interesting nugget: Worldwide, 51 percent of shoppers used their mobile device to help make an in-store purchase decision. The adoption rate of mobile devices generally — and smartphones specifically — continues to grow at a torrid pace. It’s common sense that mobile devices will be more vital to shoppers during the 2010 holiday season. In fact, using the mobile tool set to help make purchase decisions is no longer an emerging shopping behavior. It’s established shopping behavior.

Many of the most-trusted marketing tactics cannot adapt to the mandatory mobile contexts of time and place. And those trusty tactics cannot get down to specific increments of minutes and seconds — or meters and footsteps — like mobile interactions can. For consumers, the mobile Web unlocks the power to interact with, find, or demand the content they want at exactly the time and place they want it. The mobile Web fills the gap between layers of static, broadcast or stationary media. It fills the gap between the online and offline experience… and between Web stores and physical stores.

Here are three smart mobile Web tactics retailers can use now, and for the busy 2010 holiday shopping season. 

1. Provide the best of online in the store.

This is the clearest and most immediate opportunity for a lot of retailers, manufacturers and packaged goods providers. Consumers want the kind of detailed information found online to help make informed purchase decisions. For example, one large manufacturing company is making the great content from its website available to the in-store shopper via the mobile Web. The goal is easy access to the right amount and type of content. Not providing all of the information available on the product, just the right information to help a customer decide against a competitor’s product or prevent them from walking out of the store because of a lack of information.

The mobile Web, apps and SMS are great ways to get valuable content in the hands of in-store shoppers. Mobile solutions do not eat up valuable in-store shelf space and are more scalable and cost-effective than interactive solutions like kiosks, computers and video displays. Mobile solutions are perfect because the shopper provides the hardware.

2. Provide the tools to search, find, and motivate.

Right now consumers leverage mobile devices to search for information or make purchases while they are on-the-go. They seek convenience when busy or a diversion from boredom. They want smaller and smoother interactions. On-the-go shoppers have simple needs: Find a retailer, know what to buy, know it will be convenient, use a coupon. Apps and the mobile Web fill a potential gap in traditional media scenarios because with mobile search, location data, driving directions and coupon delivery, every shopper has the tools to locate and buy.

3. Embrace cross-channel behavior, don’t fight it.

A traditional failure by hybrid retailers, one that drives customers crazy, is the counter-intuitive division between online and physical retail operations. The organizational limitations of the retailer prevent a brand from embracing consumers’ cross-channel preferences. Right now many consumers use the traditional Web to research products, or create a shopping/wish list, all while intending to buy at a retail store. They use online tools but don’t buy online. Marketers can embrace this online-to-offline migration by creating mobile solutions that combine virtual and physical experiences in a consumer-centric mashup. For instance, allow online browsers to create a mobile cart or shopping list, then forward it to a mobile device via SMS, or access a shopping list via a personalized mobile Web page or app. Shoppers can quickly reference product information, SKUs, pricing and store location information — all of which ensures a seamless and profitable cross-channel retail experience.

On-the-go shoppers are looking for information right now. They are ready to make a purchase decision right now. They simply crave convenience, direction and purchase confidence. Deliver these experiences in every mobile interaction and your shoppers will be grateful now, and this winter when it counts the most.

Bryce Marshall is the director of strategic services for marketing firm Knotice.