What is it?
Mobile marketing and advertising is the creation of marketing communications exclusively for mobile handsets. Formats include text messages, pictures messages, display, search and voice. Other mobile ‘sub-media’ include shortcodes, Bluetooth and applications.
Why is it important?
Since the launch of the iPhone and iPod touch, mobile has become the fastest growing new media platform, accelerating at a 33% annualised rate according to the IAB. It is also fast becoming the primary means of internet access for many of us. Indeed, Google forecast that, by 2013, mobile will overtake desktop as the primary means of internet access.
Mobile media allows brands to communicate interactively with consumers when they are in ‘mobile mode’ e.g. commuting or in a shopping mall.
Mobile internet usage has become universal, with 22m UK consumers aged 16 to 60 (47% of mobile phone owners) using mobile media including the mobile internet. This has been spurred on by the development of smartphones, such as the iPhone or any phone with a large colour screen, internet access and multimedia capability – which represent 36% of all handsets in the UK according to Comscore. Brands wanting to engage consumers in a rich and interactive way can now do so across more than 17m smartphones.
Mobile marketing allows you to reach audiences who might be light TV or radio consumers. It also allows you to ‘complete’ your interactive day part targeting. When planning an interactive campaign, it is impossible to communicate with a consumer interactively during the commute day parts (7-9am and 5-7pm) unless mobile is in the mix. It acts synergistically with online advertising; research conducted by Media Contacts and the IAB demonstrates that, when an advertiser invests in mobile display, it increases the likelihood that consumers will click on online display media from the same advertiser.
Mobile also extends the impact of offline advertising. Through shortcodes or so called ‘quick response’ (QR) codes, brands can make their poster, radio or TV ads interactive. This allows brands to extend their experience from offline media to mobile media and stretch the consumer relationship much further than was ever previously possible. We can therefore argue that mobile helps to ‘sweat’ the investment that our clients have made in offline media.
Consumers are now using mobile phones and increasingly, tablets – such as the iPad - whilst they are watching TV. This so called ‘dual screen’ behaviour offers unique targeting opportunities to a captive audience within the context of highly engaging media. More than 50% of consumers use their mobile phones whilst watching TV (Comscore, 2011).
What we do
We offer a variety of mobile phone marketing services:
Messaging Media
Text messages allow brands to communicate short, 160-character messages to consumers. Multimedia messages allow pictures, video and sound to be included. Messaging media is effective for time sensitive and highly targeted campaigns that need to interrupt consumers at a point in time to perform a task – such as browsing a mobile site, online site or switching on the TV/Radio.
Display Media
We produce a variety of creative in-house (such as banners, expandable rich media and video) and most can be tightly targeted. Highly interruptive formats, such as Home Page Takeovers, are also available alongside subtler sponsorship that knits brand messages into mobile site editorial. We plan, buy and build creative in this area.
Search Media
Still in its infancy, but growing fast, as more and more consumers use the mobile internet to search for products and services. Mobile search is planned and bought in a similar fashion to online search; Google offers brands the ability to seamlessly integrate mobile when they plan their online search campaigns.
Broadcast Media
Bluetooth technology allows brands to ‘broadcast’ text, images, video and small applications to consumers’ handsets via so called Bluecast devices. There are many Bluecast networks that are permanently installed in train and bus stations, student unions, cinemas, bars and galleries and these allow brands to connect with young consumers at a very intimate level.
Mobile Application Build
We design and build applications for our clients to run on mobile devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Android. Applications allow brands to develop and distribute rich mobile content via well established commercial distribution channels such as the AppStore from Apple or OVI store from Nokia.
We have developed our own proprietary mobile campaign management and reporting tools to help our clients manage, optimise and report on the effectiveness of the mobile media we buy for them.
mCommerce Build
Mobext has developed a proprietary platform to help its clients extend their web presence to mobile – mSite. mSite allows brands to quickly, cost effectively and intelligently transition their web facing assets to mobile. mSite includes a transaction module that helped Dominos Pizza generate £1m in sales in the first three months since its launch. All activity across your site is tracked using mTrak and this data is accessible via our own web based interface or exportable to your preferred analytics platform.
Why MOBEXT?
Mobext is a mobile advertising network operating within the Havas Digital family of agencies, alongside Media Contacts. As the largest mobile advertising agency in the world, with offices in Europe, USA and Latin America, Mobext is recognised as a leader in offering mobile marketing and media strategy to global brands.
Contact
For more information, or if you would like us to contact you in regards to a sales enquiry please click here.