Integrating Mobile Marketing with Other Media

Mobile ad spending last year was $416 million. It is predicted that in 3 years it will be at $1.5 billion (Mobile Marketer May 5, 2010 newsletter “Five Trends Driving Mobile Marketing and Commerce this Year”). The consumer package goods, retail, entertainment, travel and restaurant categories are leading the way in mobile spending. How are these advertisers utilizing this medium to generate awareness and sales for their business?

I have been in the advertising business for 23 years and I have never seen the media landscape change as rapidly as it has in the last two years. Some say that the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 was the tipping point for mobile web and mobile advertising. The availability of unlimited data and text messaging plans also opened the door to mobile marketing’s explosive growth. Never has a medium been so personal and had such intimate proximity to the user. Your target audience has a mobile phone in her purse or clipped on to his belt (87% of U.S. households own a mobile phone according to Neustar 11/09). You can communicate with them any time you want. This new medium provides the opportunity for two-way communication, enabling you to directly engage with the user. You invite them to dialogue with your brand; become a fan; view your video; download your app; vote; provide customer feedback; respond to your call to action; and request store alerts, marketing messages, and coupons.

However, as cool as the mobile phone is, I believe that mobile marketing should not stand alone. With the introduction of mobile marketing, the media mix has now become more dynamic. Traditional advertising and mobile make wonderful partners helping deliver results like never before.

Common Short Code (CSC) is becoming an increasingly popular mobile marketing tool. People are invited to text a code to the carrier-approved number for that advertiser
(think ‘American Idol’). When they text, the dialogue begins, the user has now given you permission to communicate with them. However, a key element in this tactic is how to deliver the short code and number to an audience. This is where traditional media comes into play in the media plan. The traditional media delivers to the masses the code and number.

One of the benefits of short code is testing. You can use a different code in each of your media and measure which one pulls better. You can test the media used and test within a medium. For out-of-home you can test if certain OOH units pull better or if an outdoor location generates more response to your invitation to text. You can also test messaging and offers. With the help of mobile, advertisers now have real time results that can be analyzed and then campaigns can be adjusted to generate better responses. Case studies tend to report that short code text messages out perform emails and web based
call-to- action. Short code campaigns keep the offer top-of-mind and make it so easy to respond and the result is strong response rates.

Best practices with mobile and traditional marketing are an integrated advertising program. When you combine print, broadcast, web, and other traditional advertising with short codes you will increase response rates, consumer appeal, measurability, and overall return on your advertising campaign. Short code marketing can act as a unifying component within a broader advertising strategy (Neustar 11/09).

According to Mobile Marketer, we will be in the golden age of mobile advertising within two years. “Every single retailer will need a mobile site or application within three years or they will risk losing business to their competitors.” Other industries also need to learn quickly how to utilize mobile in their marketing plans or they will miss out on incredible opportunities to build relationships with their customer base and generate sales.