Going Mobile
By 2013, mobile phones will replace PCs as the most common device for Web access, according to a new report by research firm, Gartner[1].
Mobile media promises to be one of the most important – if not the most important – media vehicle for advertisers in the decade before us. The reasons are simple, clear and compelling. Mobile phones are ubiquitous and heavily used among the audiences that advertisers want to reach most. With over 235 million A18+ wireless subscribers, mobile phones are in the hands of 8 out of 10 U.S. adults and growing[2]. Cell phone penetration surpasses cable TV, web access, and home PCs.
Mobile phone users are uniquely tied to their phones . One person, one phone is the rule. A cell phone is a very personal item, carried at all times (38% say their phone is more important than their wallet). This is not the case with web access via PCs. People may have a shared desktop computer at home, a laptop for travel, and a desktop computer at work. When we talk about reaching users on the web, we often forget that we’re really talking about reaching browsers. Even with sophisticated behavioral tracking, a shared home PC paints a strange profile when the same browser is used by a husband and wife, plus their teenage and younger children. Also, a single user who accesses the web from home, work, and laptop can appear as three different people from a tracking standpoint. In contrast, mobile phones are generally not shared (except sometimes by parents with their younger children.) People use the same mobile phone whether they are at work, at home, or traveling. An advertiser who successfully makes a connection to a mobile phone user can be assured of reaching the person, not just the browser. (When P&G went from measuring household rating points to target audience rating points, someone famously remarked “households don’t buy products, people do.” The same can be said today; browsers don’t buy products, people do.)
Cell phones today are used to text, watch videos, listen to music, play games, search online, receive coupons, purchase products, perform banking tasks, navigate local streets, and – oh, yeah – talk. As these activities become more and more common, the cell phone will solidify its position as THE indispensible personal tool.
Advertisers are seeing the benefits of going mobile. Mobile advertising delivers 4.5 to five times better than online against common metrics including unaided and aided awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent, based on findings from digital marketing research firm InsightExpress[3].
While mobile advertising has been around for awhile, it is only now beginning to take off. Google’s acquisition of AdMob and Apple’s purchase of Quattro Wireless clearly demonstrates the importance of mobile in the growth strategy for these industry leaders. The consensus outlook is for significantly higher ad spending in the next 12 to 18 months. As P&G Chairman/CEO Bob McDonald recently remarked, “the eventuality is one-on-one relationship with every consumer.” Mobile media takes us one step closer to that ideal.
Are you going mobile? If you haven’t yet, now’s the time to get started.
[1] Center for Media Research Brief: Top Information Technology Predictions, 2/5/10, from “Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users, 2010 and Beyond: A New Balance”
[2] New Millennium Research Council (NMRC), March 2009
[3] “Mobile Ad Campaigns 5 Times More Effective Than Online: InsightExpress Study”, Mobile Marketer, 2/5/10
Mobile media promises to be one of the most important – if not the most important – media vehicle for advertisers in the decade before us. The reasons are simple, clear and compelling. Mobile phones are ubiquitous and heavily used among the audiences that advertisers want to reach most. With over 235 million A18+ wireless subscribers, mobile phones are in the hands of 8 out of 10 U.S. adults and growing[2]. Cell phone penetration surpasses cable TV, web access, and home PCs.
Mobile phone users are uniquely tied to their phones . One person, one phone is the rule. A cell phone is a very personal item, carried at all times (38% say their phone is more important than their wallet). This is not the case with web access via PCs. People may have a shared desktop computer at home, a laptop for travel, and a desktop computer at work. When we talk about reaching users on the web, we often forget that we’re really talking about reaching browsers. Even with sophisticated behavioral tracking, a shared home PC paints a strange profile when the same browser is used by a husband and wife, plus their teenage and younger children. Also, a single user who accesses the web from home, work, and laptop can appear as three different people from a tracking standpoint. In contrast, mobile phones are generally not shared (except sometimes by parents with their younger children.) People use the same mobile phone whether they are at work, at home, or traveling. An advertiser who successfully makes a connection to a mobile phone user can be assured of reaching the person, not just the browser. (When P&G went from measuring household rating points to target audience rating points, someone famously remarked “households don’t buy products, people do.” The same can be said today; browsers don’t buy products, people do.)
Cell phones today are used to text, watch videos, listen to music, play games, search online, receive coupons, purchase products, perform banking tasks, navigate local streets, and – oh, yeah – talk. As these activities become more and more common, the cell phone will solidify its position as THE indispensible personal tool.
Advertisers are seeing the benefits of going mobile. Mobile advertising delivers 4.5 to five times better than online against common metrics including unaided and aided awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent, based on findings from digital marketing research firm InsightExpress[3].
While mobile advertising has been around for awhile, it is only now beginning to take off. Google’s acquisition of AdMob and Apple’s purchase of Quattro Wireless clearly demonstrates the importance of mobile in the growth strategy for these industry leaders. The consensus outlook is for significantly higher ad spending in the next 12 to 18 months. As P&G Chairman/CEO Bob McDonald recently remarked, “the eventuality is one-on-one relationship with every consumer.” Mobile media takes us one step closer to that ideal.
Are you going mobile? If you haven’t yet, now’s the time to get started.
[1] Center for Media Research Brief: Top Information Technology Predictions, 2/5/10, from “Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users, 2010 and Beyond: A New Balance”
[2] New Millennium Research Council (NMRC), March 2009
[3] “Mobile Ad Campaigns 5 Times More Effective Than Online: InsightExpress Study”, Mobile Marketer, 2/5/10
Labels: mobile trends
posted by Rich Miller at 2:57 PM
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