Mobile Marketing: Can You See Me Now?

By David Larkins
In 2000, I launched a site called SkyPhilly.com. Dazzled by mobile technologies like WAP, Bluetooth, and 3G, I wanted to provide a platform to promote the potential mobile marketing boom, especially as it related to some exciting work that came out of the Philadelphia region. Six years, one website, and a few revelations later, Ive learned a couple things. First, the predicted explosion of mobile technologies in the late 90s and early 00s was over-hyped, over-promoted, and under-developed. Second, 2006 will be a banner year for the emergence of well-developed mobile marketing platforms, which can produce powerful results and increase visibility, for brands across all industry segments. Device technology, industry guidelines, consumer adoption, network interaction, and message delivery have all reached a point in their maturation, to create the necessary collective infrastructure for effective mobile marketing.Marketing managers, many of whom have seen their budget for online marketing increase this year, are now also tasked with exploring the new opportunities presented by mobile marketing. The integrated and interactive mobile marketing possibilities are endless. Imagine watching the Eagles game on your iPod Mobile, seeing a commercial for some new Eagles gear, and interacting with that commercial to bring you to a website where you can purchase merchandise, or download the Eagles fight song as your ring tone. That kind of branding can have you seeing a lot of green.The iPod generation will eventually look to their mobile devices for the information and interaction they desire, before they look at their TV, and yes, even before they look at their computer. There are currently 180 million wireless phone subscribers in the United States, and 58% of those are using their phones for non-voice functions (Mobile Marketing Association). Your brand and business will need to be put on the go to capitalize on evolving mobile trends. As you look to do so, here are three quick tips to consider:Do your homeworkTake time to re-examine your demographic from a mobile perspective. What devices are they using, and with what frequency? On what networks are they operating? To what services have they subscribed? (SMS, Picture Messaging, Interactive Games, Dial Tones, Video Streams, Podcasts, etc&) Where and when are they using their mobile devices? How have they previously interacted with your brand?There are numerous solution providers that can assist you in researching your demographic and crafting a strategy based on that information. Ask your interactive agency for their assistance with your mobile strategy. Chances are they have been thinking about this already, and can offer you some sound advice, or point you in the right direction. Follow the leadersSome companies (The Weather Channel, Reebok, Dos Equis, HBO, Microsoft, Adidas, etc&), have been running successful mobile campaigns for a few years now. Companies like the ones mentioned above, and many others, were willing to make the exploratory investment in mobile marketing, to insure they are on the front end of the curve. Their investments have made a certain level of qualitative data available, which opens the window for mid-market companies that do not have the excess budget for numerous exploratory campaigns. Success, though, is defined differently for each organization. A link to a website, download of a ringtone, playing of an interactive game, a sale, or a page view, are all different ways these companies have been measuring the success of their mobile campaign. Studying the campaigns of those before you will allow you to mitigate risk and identify potential opportunities. Buy an iPod and sign up for a podcast Put the portable CD player down and back away slowly. As with any demographic, to truly understand it, you need to be as close to a participant as possible. After you plug in your iPod, go to www.podshow.com and sign up for a podcast. A podcast is a web feed of audio or video files placed on the Internet for anyone to subscribe to, and also the content of that feed (Wikipedia).Consumer-driven outlets like Podshow.com offer mobile marketing opportunities within a community that is truly built by its members. A study by Bridge Research showed that there were 4.8 million listeners of podcasts in 2005, and predicted there will be over 60 million by 2010. This community driven atmosphere is a concern to some marketers, as their brands are at the mercy of the many.Podcasts are available on most any topic and can be produced by anyone with the ability to digitally record audio or video. Although audiences tend to be relatively small, top podcasters with thousands of listeners are able to charge advertisers a flat ad rate which also generally includes banners or links within the online site. As delivery mechanisms and measurement techniques are improved, further guidelines are set, and audiences grow, podcasting will become a viable channel for a more diverse set of marketers.

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