Did I get your attention?
...Good :)
Okay, so I do not whole heartedly believe the above statement,
…however for years I have heard mobile ad firms telling me that mobile advertising is here and here in a big way. Well, where is it?
All of the mobile ad companies I talk to tell me mobile advertising has reached the point where it is a viable solution for any marketer, (except for my friend Chris Arens of Ad Infuse who has the most organic and realistic view of mobile) while many of the marketers I speak with ask, “where is the real value?”
Disclosure: I am not an expert on the mobile industry, but it is my job to pay as close attention as is necessary for my clients (which is probably closer attention than most people pay)
So is there value in mobile advertising?
I would say the answer to this question would have to begin with a shift in the semantic approach we take towards this channel. I also think we need to, once again re-adjust our attitudes and approaches towards advertising (as we did when shifting to web advertising).
Advertising is largely a reinforcement of a brand message. When most of us think of interactive advertising, we think of banners, impressions, click through etc. I have been told over and over again of the incredible click through rates that advertisers are seeing on the mobile web. I don't buy it, and even if I did, I don’t care about click through rates on the web, so why should I care about them on a phone? I care about real results!
Yes, I believe there is a ton of value for marketers in the mobile space!
From this day forward I will never refer to an initiative in the mobile space as advertising. This may seem unnecessarily analytical, but from now on it is strictly mobile marketing, not advertising. The decision is rooted in the Cluetrain Manifesto’s definition of markets as conversations. It is my belief that one of the sweet spots of delivering brand messages via mobile devices is in the conversation (I am going to stay away from locality and search in this post as we all know the importance of these factors in mobile marketing. I am strictly aiming my argument at those throwing banners on mobile phones aimlessly and telling me that is it working).
Markets are Conversations, Mobile Powers Conversations, Conversation Is Social
I chose not to blog about Coca-Cola’s Sprite Yard initiative when I first heard about it, as I did not know what I thought. My initial reaction was, “why would anyone want to be on a branded mobile social network? Teens will never go for that!”
Then I began to think, not about whether or not the campaign would be successful in a traditional sense. I begin to think about whether or not the experiment would successfully yield useable learning’s for Coke and the rest of the marketing community. Under this guise there is no way this initiative will be a failure.
After all, what is Coke really doing here? They are providing a persistent branded experience, and at the same time providing value to consumers by creating a social platform. To say this is not admirable would be somewhat hypocritical coming from someone who spends a great deal of time convincing others to experiment, provide experiences and take part in the new media conversation.
I want to hear from you! What is the true realization of effective mobile marketing?
Tags: Mobile, Mobile Marketing, Sprite Yard, Cluetrain Manifesto, Coca Cola, Chris Arens, Ad Infuse, Experience, Conversation, Advertising