Why Mobile Marketing looks set to dominate this year
Think OTB is no stranger to the importance of mobile marketing; frequently creating innovative mobile campaigns for a wide variety of our clients. This week we take a look at why mobile should be at the top of everyone’s priority list this winter.
Mobile Marketing, like so many digital platforms, is moving at an unprecedented rate of change. As consumer demand constantly calls for a more sophisticated, more streamlined service to be readily accessible through smartphones, brands are looking for new ways to capture the imagination of these mobile users through their marketing.
The mobile marketing market
So how big is the mobile marketing market? Some statistics suggest that mobile is now the dominant platform of choice over more traditional digital platforms such as the desktop, with statistics from the US indicating that 52% of an individual’s time on the internet is spent using a mobile app. Data from IPA TouchPoints5 has found that in 2014 almost half of all UK consumers own a smartphone with a further 27% owning a tablet. This data has also found that 72% of consumers watch video on their mobile phones, namely due to the increased speed available through 4G and the higher video quality available on larger screen phones.
Given this ever increasing usage rate of mobile as the preferred digital platform for the consumption of online information, it naturally follows that marketers should be looking at creative ways to tap into this growing market. As Marketing Magazine points out in an interesting article this week, the fact that change in this market is driven entirely by consumers can be a daunting prospect for marketers seeking to break through into mobile. Marketing Magazine claims however that this should not be seen as a reason to avoid mobile marketing or not set goal and targets in mobile investment, rather that this consumer-driven change provides an opportunity to be more flexible and open to new ideas in creating a strategy.
Mobile marketing strategy
So how are brands bridging the gap between desktop and mobile digital marketing? As Mobile Marketing Magazine points out, it is not all about the ‘mini film’ style advert so popular with department stores and major retailers this Christmas. Admittedly, this style of advert plays towards the increased use of mobile video viewing and frequent social media sharing. It has proved hugely successful. But, other brands have taken an arguably more creative approach to diversification towards mobile.
A perhaps unexpected advocate of this approach is Argos. They introduced the Christmas Gift Finder and Argos Wishlist app in order to move their strategy into the mobile market. It allows shoppers to navigate quickly through products and ‘swipe to like’ in a move which imitates popular mobile dating site Tinder. The Christmas Gift Finder app has moved the brand away from its’ traditional catalogue and store-driven sales. The Argos Wishlist has also proved creative in its approach by targeting children aged three to seven. The app lets them create a digital collage of the presents they would like. This then emails the results to parents complete with direct hyperlinks to the products in order to shop via mobile.
Make it work for you
This innovative approach to seasonal marketing by Argos is a perfect example of how brands can diversify. You can alter your traditional consumer strategies to embrace the fast-paced change of the mobile marketing world. In 2015 this demand looks set to continue to grow, but the key focus must lie in integration. Focusing on mobile-only marketing or desktop-only marketing is no longer a viable option for brands of any size. As consumers flow seamlessly from one device to the next, so must a brand’s digital strategy.
Through creativity, innovation and outside the box thinking, organisations can successfully manage this transition. Make 2015 the year your strategy wins on the digital marketing stage. Need help to get there? Just get in touch.
