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Should all marketers adopt a mobile marketing strategy?

By Hope Needles

Now that consumers are more receptive to receiving advertisements and sales alerts via their mobile devices, marketers are starting to warm up to the idea of adopting specific mobile marketing strategies.

This issue was recently debated at a New York Media and Information Exchange Group panel. The event spotlighted several up-and-coming leaders in advertising and mobile content development, who discussed the value of carving out a “mobile” category for advertising.

According to Natali Del Conte, of CNET, a mobile marketing strategy is going to be imperative for most companies to adopt because we are living in an era where “the laptop and the cell phone are becoming indistinguishable,” she said. “In five years, we’re not going to really be talking about mobile, it’s just going to be part of connectivity.”

Del Conte went on to say that every major company needs to be thinking about the fact that, on a mobile platform, content has the potential to be distributed virtually anywhere, and people will be able to carry this content with them wherever they go.

However, not everyone on the panel was as enthusiastic about adopting a mobile marketing strategy. These individuals argued that a category devoted exclusively to mobile marketing was unnecessary because it would eventually be absorbed by the vast, digital consumer environment.

Allison Mooney, of Fleishman-Hillard’s mobile marketing group, was one of the panelists who expressed the view that mobile advertising strategies might not be right for all marketers:

“I think [marketers] should be asking whether mobile is right for their company because it’s not right for all companies,” she said. “Look at your user base, at the people that you’re targeting. Are they active mobile users? Is it going to provide utility? Is it just going to sit there and no one’s going to use it?”

Mooney offered an example of how a mobile marketing campaign might work in successfully reaching its intended audience. She suggested creating a synergy between the mobile social network MizPee (which helps users track down public restrooms) and a brand like Pampers. MizPee, Mooney said, would be a “perfect way for a brand to get involved with mobile.” In this case, marketing Pampers products on MizPee would serve as a utility for moms on-the-go, who are active mobile phone users.

Although there were various opinions about how to utilize mobile advertising, overall, most panelists seemed to agree that the mobile device is becoming one of the most powerful ways to deliver content. Statistics alone can indeed back this up — worldwide, mobile advertising is projected to surpass $2.7 billion in 2008, up from $1.7 billion in 2007, according to Gartner.

Based on these numbers, I would agree with Natali Del Conte. Mobile devices are now among the powerful tools that can be used to strengthen the link between consumers and brand campaigns.

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 Filed under Advertising |