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Mobile Marketing Playbook

360i, September 2010

Below is an extract from the Mobile Marketing Playbook on "Ten Reasons Mobile Marketing Matters Right Now":

There's so much buzz about mobile marketing that it's easy to dismiss it, or to check off a few mobile tactics and say you're doing enough with mobile.

Here are the top ten reasons why mobile matters right now. They illustrate why marketers need a comprehensive mobile roadmap as part of their integrated communications plan to take full advantage of the exciting opportunities ahead.

1. Your customers most likely own and use mobile devices. Market research firm comScore reports that as of May 2010, 234 million Americans age 13 and older are mobile subscribers. That's more than 90% of the U.S. population.

2. Mobile data usage keeps rising, with Americans especially fond of texting. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of mobile subscribers text, according to comScore, while the Pew Internet & American Life Project reports teens 12 to 17 communicate each other daily with texting more than through any other channel – including talking face-to-face or on the phone.

3. Mobile Internet usage is taking off, making it easier and imperative for marketers to connect mobile with their digital marketing programs. eMarketer reports that there are more than 85 million U.S. mobile Internet users, and about half of mobile phone users will use the mobile Internet within a few years.

4. Smartphone penetration is increasing to the point where brand marketers can deliver rich experiences through pocket-sized devices. Nielsen reports that within a year, smartphone adoption will roughly match adoption of feature phones (the more basic, functional phones with limited web and app capabilities).

5. Smartphone competition is expanding the audience that can access rich content. Mobile ad network AdMob noted U.S. ad impressions on Google's Android operating system reached 46% of the total in March, compared to 39% for the iPhone operating system, marking the first time Android surpassed the iPhone. Also consider Myxer, which has served 34 million consumers 1.3 billion downloads of free mobile content. Skewing toward a younger audience, it has seen a disproportionate share of downloads and traffic coming from BlackBerry devices. BlackBerry has proved especially popular with this demographic in large part thanks to the interest in BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), its instant messenger service.

6. Mobile is designed to be the most integrated marketing medium the world has ever known. Along with the integration of the various channels within mobile, to be most effective mobile should integrate with as many other kinds of media as are included in a campaign or program, including online, TV, radio, print and out of home. Mobile devices are always on and accessed everywhere, and the portability alone makes mobile unlike any other form of media. Mobile marketing has near limitless potential to contribute to and build on other marketing programs.

7. Mobile is great for branding thanks to several factors: deep engagement, minimal ad clutter and new and constantly evolving advertising experiences. Dynamic Logic found that its mobile MarketNorms across various brand metrics consistently surpassed online norms.

8. Mobile marketing matters in any vertical, with any goal. A consumer packaged goods marketer can use mobile display and video ads for branding, SMS for couponing and applications for consideration. Retailers can similarly use mobile in different ways, whether they're trying to drive consumers to the store or launch a new product line. InsightExpress further quantified some of these effects, showing strong performance across brand metrics for marketers in six vertical industries.

9. Mobile marketing is more than just a single marketing channel. Consider online marketing, where search, video and social media are all very different disciplines. The same is true of mobile, and these various forms tend to intersect. Coupons can be delivered via text messages that link to mobile barcodes. Mobile display ads often promote applications. Mobile social marketing programs can include video and mobile search, and tend to run in conjunction with a range of other promotions.

10. The twenty-first century is the century of mobile. The "year of mobile" phrase is played out, but it has been true for some time now. The International Telecommunication Union wrote in its 1999 Annual Report, "If 1999 was the year of the Internet, it was also the year of mobile cellular." Since then, there have been several milestones as the number of text messages sent annually rises well into the trillions and mobile ad spending nears the billion-dollar mark. The past few years of innovation have brought the iPhone with its continual improvements, pervasive Android devices and mobile social services that have consumed much of the bandwidth of the mobile Web. The milestones will keep coming at a breathtaking pace.

The complete playbook is available below or by visiting the 360i website blog page entitied Read 360i's Mobile Marketing Playbook:

360i's Mobile Marketing Playbook