Mobile Marketing Playbook
Published by 360i
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2010 360i
Thank you for downloading this ebook. As always, we welcome comments, critique, debate, and discussion – you can find us on Twitter (@360i or @bwiener), Facebook (facebook.360i.com) or on our blog (blog.360i.com).
Table of Contents
Contributor Articles
The
Future of Mobile Content & Commerce
By
Noah Elkin, Senior Analyst, eMarketer
The
Nail for Social Media’s Hammer
Interview
with Mickey Alam Khan, Editor in Chief, Mobile Marketer
How
Mobile Marketing Can Fuel Buzz and Engagement for Entertainment
Brands
Interview with Valerie Brown,
Director of Consumer Marketing, Bravo
Mobile
Innovation: What the U.S. Can Learn from Japan
by Naoki Muramatsu, VP, Digital Business Development, Dentsu
Holdings USA
FOREWORD
By Bryan Wiener
CEO, 360i
Is this the Year of Mobile? For over a decade this proclamation has turned out to be premature, giving marketers ample reason to be skeptical. The difference looking forward to 2011 is that this is the first time that consumer behavior and mobile platforms have reached sufficient scale for mobile to move beyond an emerging media tactic for mainstream marketers.
Mobile is finally experiencing its tipping point as one of the critical components of the digital marketing landscape, much like search marketing experienced in the early 2000s and social marketing during the past few years. Nielsen reports that within a year, smartphone adoption will exceed the adoption of simpler, feature phones. We’re coming to a point where the majority of phones – and consumers – will have Internet connectivity wherever they go.
Mobile is perhaps one of the most exciting and revolutionary forms of media to flourish over the last decade, as it builds exponentially on the groundbreaking changes brought on by search and social. While the PC Internet is completely divorced from the physical world, mobile breaks down these walls and brings the power of the Internet into the real world in real time.
Imagine you’re in the grocery store, and you can easily look up a product’s ingredients, compare the price of products in the aisles with those in neighboring stores, check other customers’ reviews, and see how popular a product is with other shoppers in your area. This is a vision of our not-too-distant future. If someone has access to information anytime and anywhere, how does that change the way consumers think about your brand and the way you have to interact with them as a marketer? This brings both opportunities and challenges to existing business practices – much like the Internet did.
Rather than seeing this as a daunting prospect, consider that mobile allows consumers to bring their digital lives with them wherever they go. This also means that we no longer have to silo our marketing efforts; the opportunity for cross-channel integration and truly rich multiplatform brand experiences has never been greater.
The accelerated intersection of mobile, local, social and commerce across the online and offline worlds means things are going to change incredibly quickly. That’s why we’ve put together this Playbook – to provide a foundation and framework for approaching the changes ahead. In 2009, we issued our Social Marketing Playbook for similar reasons and it received a tremendous response with more than 50,000 downloads to date. We hope that this Mobile Marketing Playbook will be as valuable for marketers looking to make sense of the current mobile landscape and arm themselves for the innovations ahead. Specifically, the aim of the Mobile Marketing Playbook is to help marketers:
Work within a framework for establishing a set of clear objectives for their mobile marketing strategy
Move beyond the checklist approach with a filter for evaluating the myriad of opportunities within mobile
Think of ways to use mobile to merge online and offline strategies, as a hub that bridges the gap
Encourage a dialogue about what matters in mobile now, and what’s ahead for this new and exciting medium
As always, we welcome comments, critique, debate, and discussion – you can find us on Twitter (@360i or @bwiener), Facebook (facebook.360i.com) or on our blog (blog.360i.com).
Happy reading,
Bryan Wiener, CEO, 360i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Several individuals graciously lent their time and talents to the production of the Mobile Marketing Playbook. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contributions.
To our featured columnists: Valerie Brown, Eugene Chung, Noah Elkin, Mickey Alam Khan and Naoki Muramatsu – thank you all for sharing your keen insights with us and our readers.
Thanks also to the 360i team who wrote, edited, designed and managed this Playbook: David Berkowitz, Amanda Bird, Carleejean Cook, Natan Edelsburg, Laura Frizzell, Jim Gulsen, Lara Hejtmanek, Sarah Hofstetter, Chris Humber, Kolin Kleveno, David Levin, Tanya Nam, Katie Perry, Jesse Shaver, Sarah Sikowitz, Benny Simon, Paul Stadnyk and Chang Yu.
And advanced thanks to the readers of this Playbook who are moved to comment, share, critique, tweet, scan, blog or generally discuss the contents herein. We encourage you to reach out and share your thoughts directly with us anytime at editor@360i.com, via feedback on our blog at blog.360i.com or on Twitter @360i.
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
U.S. Smartphone Penetration & Projections
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mobile vs. Online
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.
Campaign Effectiveness – Brand Metrics by Vertical
THE FUTURE OF MOBILE CONTENT & COMMERCE
By Noah Elkin
Senior Analyst
eMarketer
Remember when ringtones were all the rage? No one thought twice about dropping $3 to get 15 seconds of a song because it was a quick and easy way to personalize your phone. Indeed, through 2007, revenues piled up for music publishers and wireless carriers alike thanks to the rush to personalization, peaking at more than $700 million, according to SNL Kagan.
Much of this purchasing activity took place “on deck”– the categorized links that came bundled with web-enabled phones. Carrier decks offered benefits to users and marketers alike. First, they enabled marketers to place content and applications with easy reach, meaning users did not have to engage in long (and, at the time, expensive) browsing sessions to find music, games, news or weather. Second, purchases conveniently went right on users’ phone bills, putting access to that content ecosystem within a few clicks. But carrier decks were walled gardens by another name, and ultimately that translated into constraints for the end user.
The launch of the iPhone in June 2007 made those constraints more apparent. Although it was by no means the first web-enabled phone, the iPhone broke new ground as a content-consumption device. The built-in Safari browser brought a desktop-like experience to mobile, unlocking a world of media experiences that previously had been imperfectly realized at best. Integration with first the iTunes Store and subsequently the AppStore gave consumers new options for accessing music, games and video on their mobile devices, and new modes for marketers to engage their audience with branded applications.
Apple’s model of tight integration between hardware, software and services has helped to ignite the mobile value chain, spurring adoption of devices with dramatically improved feature sets. At the end of Q1 2010, Nielsen found that just under 25% of the U.S. mobile subscriber population had a smartphone. That number is forecast to rise to 49% by Q3 2011, as device manufacturers and wireless carriers increase their marketing push to graduate users to higher-value devices and data plans. The success of Apple’s iPad, and the anticipated launch of other tablet-style form factors, will further consolidate media consumption on mobile devices.
Increased smartphone ownership is driving growth in mobile Internet usage. According to eMarketer projections, 142.1 million mobile users, representing 54% of the U.S. mobile user population, will access the web from their mobile devices in 2014, up from 85.5 million in 2010.
Content consumption will likewise increase at a rapid pace. By 2014, eMarketer predicts that U.S. mobile gamers, music listeners and video viewers will number 94.9 million, 52.2 million and 56.7 million, respectively. Moreover, what these mobile content consumers buy and how they buy it is also evolving, driven in part by advances in mobile devices and networks and in part because of broader secular developments in digital content. For example, mobile users are talking less than ever before and using more data-centric functions such as texting and social networks to communicate. The decline in voice calling has hurt ringtone sales.
At the same time, the combination of increasingly ubiquitous broadband access and the steady migration of content to the “cloud” means that mobile consumers are moving more in the direction of “accessing” content rather than owning it, emulating a trend begun on the desktop with software and services. Paid and ad-supported streaming services such as Pandora, YouTube and Hulu offer access to vast content libraries that would be far costlier to replicate through purchases. This shift heralds the rise of subscription and pay-peruse payment plans and boosts the potential of ad-supported and hybrid monetization models.
Bottom line: Consumers will continue to pay for content on mobile devices. But whom they pay, what they pay for and how they pay for it are starting to evolve as quickly as the devices on which they consume it.
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING IN MOBILE MARKETING
Creating an Integrated Mobile Marketing Program
When planning a mobile marketing program, questions will arise as to which channels, tactics and vendors are most appropriate to incorporate. Marketers can embark on a mobile plan by answering four questions that lead to a much broader number of decisions involved in figuring out how to make the most out of mobile. These questions together comprise the Mobile Marketing Strategic Lens.
What are your goals for mobile marketing?
Are your goals centered more around branding or direct response marketing? Do you need massive reach for the mobile program to be effective? What does the end result look like if the mobile program is successful? What kind of commitment will you make upfront in terms of the staffing and budget allocated? Do you have the time to fully optimize the program? Are you seeking massive scale for impressions, clicks, engagement or app downloads within a brief campaign flight? Answering these questions at the onset will help ensure mobile fulfills its potential as part of your marketing plan.
How is your audience using mobile?
Beyond talking, what are consumers doing with their mobile devices? Which handsets and operating systems are they most likely to use? Are they likely to text, take pictures, search, play games, use social media, read news, look for local businesses, surf the web, download apps, scan barcodes or participate in other activities? With whatother media, including traditional media, does your target audience engage? It’s critical to understand your audience and how they are utilizing mobile when creating your plan.
How can you use your arsenal in mobile?
What assets do you have that might make sense to incorporate? Do you have stores or other channel partners? Do you have apps or a mobile-friendly website? What other digital branded experiences do you have, perhaps across social networks? Mobile bridges digital and physical worlds, so consider tangible, real-world assets: products, out-of-home or print ads, retail stores and live events.
Does it follow mobile marketing best practices?
Does the program adhere to how consumers are using mobile media? Does it use the functionality of mobile devices? Does the experience translate well both to the smaller screen size and then the broader real-world landscape where consumers use their mobile devices? What kind of value does it provide to the consumer – information on a new product or service, entertainment, or a discount on merchandise, among many other options?
Marketers who have read 360i’s Social Marketing Playbook may notice some similarities between the lens above and the Social Marketing Strategic Lens, which is also discussed in the section on Mobile Social Marketing. The tenets of both are similar, but each lens is designed to address the specific demands of its respective marketing discipline.
Using research and insights to uncover opportunities in mobile
Forrester Research called 2010 the “year that every firm needs a mobile strategy.” Understanding the current mobile landscape, relevant consumer trends, and what competitors are doing will help you avoid wasted dollars and increase the impact your program, has on the target audience.
Consumer insights
As consumers increasingly rely on their mobile devices, understanding audiences’ motivations in mobile and aligning strategies to these new and changing behaviors will result in the most effective programs. Specifically, this means defining the mobile persona of your target.With limited screen real estate to leverage, having a deep understanding of your customers’ mobile usage and motivations will allow you to offer true value exchange that will delight - rather than distract - your audiences.
The types of intelligence that will help paint a picture of your consumer’s mobile persona include:
The size and composition of your mobile audience:
How many consumers can you reach within your target demographic?
What are trends for how your target audience indexes with mobile usage?
Operating system and handset usage:
Does your target use iPhone, BlackBerry or Android devices?
How are adoption rates trending for each?
Understanding Mobile Usage
Mobile Activity for Moms Online
Moms over-index heavily for sending and receiving picture mail and gaming, but the most popular non-voice use of mobile for this segment is texting. Source: Nielsen/NetRatings @Plan
Usage insights - understanding how your consumers use their devices:
Which mixture of SMS, e-mail, mobile web, applications and other mobile channels do they use?
When are consumers engaging with mobile? What days and dayparts show the most activity?
How much time do consumers spend using their mobile devices?
What are their go-to mobile sites and applications?
How prevalent is search usage?
How likely are they to use geolocation services?
How likely are they to play games?
Do your consumers complete transactions via mobile devices? How do they shop?
Do they extend their multimedia consumption (music, video, etc.) to mobile?
The most common device for females 25-34 is the Blackberry, followed by Apple’s iPhone. Source: comScore MobileLens
Resources for gathering syndicated research include comScore, Nielsen//NetRatings, the Mobile Marketing Association and Forrester Research.
Competitive intelligence
Given the nascent nature of mobile marketing tools and techniques, it can be very beneficial to study what other marketers are doing. There’s no need to limit yourself to direct competitors either. It may be just as valuable to learn from others in the category as well as from other industries to see how various marketers are reaching their audiences via mobile channels.
Syndicated tools such as comScore offer detailed perspectives on what other marketers are doing in mobile. These tools often include information on brands and industries that are the most active in mobile, with overviews of the creative they’re running and what publishers they partner with.
Staying ahead of the curve
Research, especially in an emerging arena such as mobile, is not a one-time endeavor. The market is evolving, new marketing models are being developed, and devices are quickly acquiring new features and functionality. When planning a mobile program, look at the most recent data, but also try to discern trends at least six months ahead to see what’s coming. Events such as a new iPhone release, offers from different mobile providers, new entrants in the tablet market and fast Android growth can be taken into account when developing a forward-looking mobile program. Testing new opportunities now can lead to a sizable advantage in the longer term.
Conclusion
The near ubiquity of mobile has made it necessary for any brand that regularly interacts with consumers to consider a mobile marketing strategy. But mobile marketing doesn’t have to be a mystery. Taking the time to investigate the landscape, examine consumer interactions with their devices and monitor competitive moves will reduce the unknowns and provide a solid base on which to launch, test and optimize an effective mobile program.
CHAPTER 3: MOBILE SEARCH
KEY FACT Google mobile search volume is up 500% in past 2 years
GOALS IT ACHIEVES Sales, purchase consideration, drive to store, content download
BEST INTEGRATION Points Applications, mobile shopping
As mobile devices have become more sophisticated and easier to use, mobile search has become the starting point for consumers on the go. It’s often a good entry point for marketers just getting started with mobile campaigns, and it only becomes more important for marketers with a fully developed mobile presence. Build on an online search program by understanding the best ways to use mobile paid search and search engine optimization.
Mobile paid search
According to the Kelsey Group’s Mobile Market View Report, nearly 60% of all activities on mobile devices are search-related, making search one of the best ways to reach consumers in mobile.
Before tackling a mobile search plan, it’s critical to understand how mobile paid search differs from its traditional web-based counterpart:
There is less competition within mobile search, but there are also fewer ads per page across both feature phones and smartphones.
Calls to action and user experience can vary based on objective. For instance, click-to-call and click-to-map don’t need to point to a mobile site.
Shorter search queries means there are greater demands for relevancy and understanding intent.
The constantly accessible devices lead to gr eater immediacy with consumers’ needs.
Shorter creative means marketers must get their point across faster.
Mobile search is evolving in several different ways:
Mobile search is especially useful for local queries. Whether they include local modifiers (such as a city name or zip code), consumers looking for “JCPenney” on their mobile phone will expect to find one in their area. The Kelsey Group reported that about one in three mobile searches has local intent.
No matter how much better mobile phone keyboards get, mobile users will keep their queries shorter when they can. Optimization in natural and paid search around higher volume keywords will be especially competitive.
Voice search is making an impact, and all the major search engines incorporate it. A range of other companies have developed offerings here, including Jingle Networks’ FREE-411 directory assistance, Naturally Speaking’s Dragon Search application and Apple’s Siri. Expect renewed innovation in this area during the next two to three years.
SMS search is still relevant for feature phones, where users text a query such as for business listings or stock quotes and then receive results. Given that there’s a brief delay between the query and response, these queries will diminish as smartphones dominate the market.
On Google Android-powered devices, a search button is built into the phone’s hardware, making it possible to conduct searches instantly no matter what the consumer does within the mobile experience. Mobile search listings can in turn appear during a wide range of activities beyond searching from a mobile engine, such as when searching for driving directions or using various applications.
Activities Conducted on Mobile Devices (as a % of mobile users)
The results pages themselves will continue to evolve to showcase more mobile-specific content. For instance, in June, Google added application links to its mobile search results, with links to download apps directly from Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android Market.
A search for local hair salons shows how marketers can use coupons to enhance their mobile location listing.
For select marketers, here’s when to include mobile search as part of your marketing mix:
Retail/QSR marketers
For marketers trying to drive in-store traffic and sales, mobile search is a great starting point. According to Google’s Retail Advertising Blog, 54% of users who researched online but bought offline used their mobile device to conduct their search.
Travel marketers
Travel companies can leverage mobile search to capitalize on the popularity of travel to provide information such as flight searches and transactions such as booking of airline tickets.
Entertainment marketers
Entertainment companies can promote movie listings, theater locations, TV tune-in reminders, album releases, concerts and other live events.
Consumer packaged goods marketers
Within mobile search, marketers can enhance their search listings to include special information and offers such as coupons to incentivize users. (Learn more about coupons in Commerce & Shopping.)
Mobile paid search best practices
Group mobile campaigns separately.
They tend to perform differently from online search campaigns, and you’ll often want to adjust the rules accordingly.
Broaden your scope.
Mobile search volume tends to be significantly lower than online search for most keywords, so to achieve the best reach you’ll want to target queries more broadly, include more high-volume queries and possibly include additional keywords.
Go local.
If geotargeting matters at all for you with online search, it’s going to be vital for mobile.
Incorporate mobile functionality into the creative.
Click-to-call was somewhat useful online, but it’s poised to play a pronounced role in mobile search. Anytime a consumer would benefit by talking to a person, from a booking agent to someone at a local store, click-to-call can potentially improve conversion rates.
Target immediate needs.
Mobile Marketer reported that 70% of mobile search users complete their task after one hour, compared to 30% on the PC. Make sure copy and landing pages are useful for consumers looking to meet their needs right at that moment. Microsoft’s Doug McMillen told Mobile Marketer,
“As a marketer you need to be there when a user needs you most. There’s a huge payoff in terms of emotional connection with a brand if you’re right there at the top of the listings and help the user accomplish their task easily when they’re highly motivated to connect with you.”
Mobile search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) has evolved significantly over the last two years, extending beyond commonplace activities such as title and META tag optimization to include diverse methods that keep pace with the changing search landscape. Mobile search builds on the basic techniques, though it involves many new considerations to capitalize on mobile devices’ design and functionality.
Optimizing a mobile website, regardless of the markup language, still centers around the core tactics one applies to traditional HTML websites. Core optimization techniques such as title tag creation, proper use of META tags, sufficient keyword density in copy, the proper use of HTML page headings, and link development remain vital for greater natural search visibility. With core onsite factors in mind, brands should focus on efforts that impact smartphones and the next generation of mobile users.
When managing multiple versions of a website through one content management system, many of the onsite SEO best practices incorporated into a traditional website can be ported to the mobile version. However, due to the prevalence of dynamic content types such as maps or mobile applications, there are several SEO considerations that are specifically applicable to mobile search.
Mobile SEO considerations
With smartphones and other mobile devices maintaining full browser capabilities (with JavaScript), brands should look to optimize mobile sites for the future. XHTML Basic 1.1, XHTML MP 1.2 and HTML5 are good choices for new mobile site development.
Utilize browser/user agent detection methods to redirect mobile users to the appropriate mobile version of your website.
How fast a website loads can impact how well your site ranks. Web browsing speeds can in turn impact click-through and abandonment rates on mobile devices. Providing users with a simplified mobile version (WAP, XHTML, etc.), which limits the use of large images and other elements that slow page load, can gr eatly improve user interaction and time spent on site.
Searching for local information such as business locations and directions is one of the most popular mobile activities. Local directory submissions are critical for brands to maintain accurate listings within map applications such as Google Maps.
As mobile naturally aligns with a searcher’s location, more emphasis will be prioritized on geotargeted landing page development and customization.
Traditional SEO on-site best practices are still applicable. The proverbial spine of your web page is the title tag. Instead of long 120-character titles, consider focusing on the primary three keywords and limit your mobile site titles to 50 to 70 characters in length.
Build dedicated landing pages for mobile applications that auto-detect browsers and devices and can automatically load the appropriate application storefront. This will make it easier for a user to download and install the app. It can even prove to be beneficial for non-mobile users.
Evaluate where social media content is influencing the mobile audience and develop a participation and value exchange strategy to gain more real-time exposure or links.
If your website utilizes a significant amount of rich Internet applications or suffers from congestion of information, consider building a mobile version that simplifies navigation and provides access to the most recent content.
Looking to the future with HTML5
As more brands adopt HTML5, new markup definitions and features will allow for simplified site management and may lead to the extinction of mobile markup languages such as WAP. While they’re several years away from becoming mainstream, HTML5 and CSS3 (cascading style sheets) can allow webmasters to create and manage one website that performs efficiently on mobile and traditional desktop devices.
Less Framework, an HTML5-powered CSS framework for building smart website layouts for varying screen widths, is one way to build a flexible multi-column website that intelligently collapses into a single column for small screen devices such as smartphones. As we collectively move closer to an HTML5-rich world, mobile and desktop experiences will become less fragmented and the application of SEO will become much more efficient as the lines dissolve. More on HTML5 is found later in this Playbook in the chapter on Mobile Applications.
Traditional Site
MTV’s traditional site includes navigation and content that prove difficult to use in a mobile browser (if the mobile browser defaults to the original website).
Mobile Version
The mobile version of MTV.com, which loads automatically in most mobile browsers, streamlines navigation and optimizes content across all channels.
Conclusion
Marketers with experience in paid search and SEO can maintain their competitive advantage by constantly applying the latest mobile search best practices. Waiting until mobile search mirrors the scale of online search could make it harder to catch up later.
CHAPTER 4: SMS MARKETING
KEY FACT Texting is more than twice as popular as mobile browsing or app usage
GOALS IT ACHIEVES Deal alerts, event reminders, persistent CRM to develop relationships
BEST INTEGRATION POINTS In-store, out-of-home, TV, radio
Even with all of the bells and whistles on headline-grabbing smartphones, SMS (or text messaging) still reigns as the most popular mobile activity. It’s the most universal functionality, given that SMS is available on almost every mobile phone, from lower-end feature phones to the priciest smartphones. comScore reports 65% of mobile subscribers send text messages, compared to about 30% using the browser and downloading apps.
Mobile Content Usage
For marketers, SMS marketing has the lowest barrier to entry. Once the messaging platform is in place, there is no creative development needed beyond copywriting.
Anyone who’s encountered a teenager in the past few years won’t be surprised that texting is especially popular with younger consumers. The Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that American teens 12-17 contact peers daily via texting (54%) more than any other communication channel, including calling on mobile phones (38%), talking face-to-face (33%) and interacting via email (11%).
It’s hardly just for teens though. An April 2010 study by Merkle found that 63% of U.S. adults 30-39 text, as do 49% of adults 40-49. Additionally, 26% of U.S. adults have opted in to receive commercial messages on their mobile phones with an average of three companies sending them mobile messages monthly.
How SMS fits in with marketing plans
There are several ways that brands can utilize SMS as part of their marketing mix. Below are some approaches to consider.
Building an SMS list for further communication
Branded shortcodes: A marketer registers a five- or six-digit number, or shortcode, which often relates to its brand as it’s spelled out on the keypad, such as 262966 for AMAZON. Consumers can send a text message to that number to opt in to updates or engage with the marketer. Marketers benefit from owning their brand name, but it’s relatively costly and a lengthier setup process compared to other forms of SMS marketing.
Shared shortcodes: Marketers can also run campaigns on shared codes. For instance, Facebook enables marketers to have consumers become a fan of their page by texting “like” and the page name to 32665 (FBOOK). It’s one shortcode that can be used with millions of pages, as each page has its own unique name. Facebook has tried out offering physical decals for marketers to place in their store windows (see image below), and marketers can use the same messaging in other channels, such as email. With either form of shortcode use, the biggest advantage is the integration potential. SMS callouts can appear in: out-of-home marketing, point of sale locations, TV, radio, print, online display, email and social marketing. In that sense, shortcodes are the most adaptable forms of mobile media, and of any form of media.
Facebook offers a common shortcode (32665, or FBOOK) that any marketer can use to promote their Facebook page.
SMS contest entries: Brands can offer users the option to text in exchange for a contest entry. Universal Home Entertainment ran an SMS remarketing campaign for the launch of their DVD “Bring It On: Fight to the Finish.” Website visitors were encouraged to text “BringItOn” to enter to win a prize pack. In doing so, Universal was also able to collect opt-ins for an SMS reminder when the DVD went on sale. This is a great example of how brands can drive SMS opt-ins through another form of advertising (TV, Print, OOH or digital).
Myxer promoted Universal Home Entertainment’s “Bring It On: Fight to the Finish” with SMS-based prizes.
Utilizing an existing SMS platform as a way to reach your target consumer
SMS Advertising: Marketers can append their messages to content that consumers subscribe to via SMS (e.g. news alerts, sports scores, horoscopes, etc). The ads can be used for a range of purposes, from building up the marketer’s own SMS opt-in list to driving traffic or engagement.
Marketers can also buy ad space from mobile search providers such as ChaCha, a service that allows users to text questions in to “242242” (ChaCha) and receive answers back via SMS. The questions are categorized (e.g. travel, entertainment, local geographies) and brands can append their message to the answer the user receives to their question. This type of program can work for any brand looking to align with specific content (e.g. health insurance marketers targeting health questions, or a theatrical new release targeting entertainment questions).
Marketers can use SMS to align their brand with an activity that appeals to their target audience. In late 2009, State Farm sponsored a SMS-driven game at a University of Kansas football game. Fans were encouraged to text in to show their school allegiance. State Farm was able to follow up with participants later via mobile. When considering SMS, marketers should limit the focus of their programs to content that aligns with their target consumer’s mobile behavior.
Ads appended to SMS alerts allow consumers to opt in to marketing promotions and content. Image source: 4INFO
State Farm encouraged fans to text in to show their college football allegiance. Image source: Mobile Marketer
Marketing options for text message content
Even with the limited character space, marketers have many options for the content they distribute and promote via SMS:
Text content, such as product information, informative tips, polls or trivia questions
Links going to a mobile website
Links to maps, such as for store locators
Click-to-call links, leading consumers to retail stores or call centers
Multimedia, such as images, videos or ringtones
Coupons, from codes that can be entered by the consumer or cashier, or a link to a barcode that can be scanned
SMS can work well for time-sensitive promotions, such as in this American Idol tune-in reminder. Image source: iPhonematters.com
SMS marketing best practices
Stay relevant
When targeting content with any SMS publisher, ensure that your message belongs there.
Ask permission
Always obtain consent in the form of an opt-in before messaging to users. SMS messages can cost money, so it’s important that the recipients know what they’ve signed up for and understand the implications.
Offer something of value
The last thing users want is spam on their phones. Offer something they care about in exchange for permission to reach out to them (e.g., a coupon code or a link to exclusive content).
Use it for time sensitive events
Interested users will appreciate the reminder.
Conclusion
SMS provides a turnkey way for marketers to tie together a variety of programs. On its own, SMS may not create a large impact, but when used in conjunction with other types of media, creative and content, it can create a path through which users can become more deeply engaged with your brand.
CHAPTER 5:
MOBILE ADVERTISING
KEY FACT U.S. mobile display ad spending will top $1.2 billion by 2015 (ABI Research)
GOALS IT ACHIEVES Branding, engagement, content download, mobile web traffic
BEST INTEGRATION POINTS Online display, apps, video
The mobile medium has the potential to bring to life the power of digital advertising and unleash a renaissance of creativity and innovation. Within mobile there are opportunities for display, rich media, video and in-game, plus constant advancements as new players and devices emerge. Like the rest of the online media world, the process of deciding which tactics make the most sense should tie back to campaign objectives and an understanding of the target audience, as discussed in Planning in Mobile Marketing.
This chapter will provide an overview of mobile advertising opportunities, explore how each media tactic compares to its desktop counterpart, offer frameworks for evaluating when to include each in your plan and review overall best practices. Finally there will be an overview of what can be measured to gauge success based on the goals of your campaign.
Targeting options
Mobile marketing offers various ways to help advertisers find their audience. As with online, you can reach users based on location, demographic information, content and publisher (app or WAP), but you can also target particular devices and carriers. Here are some targeting methods that you can employ across many forms of mobile advertising:
Geolocation
Marketers can locate users in several ways, such as through GPS or wireless tower signals, check-ins at local businesses through social applications, and by using ZIP codes or localities entered in search or weather queries.
Carrier
Marketers can specify which mobile providers they would like to target.
Handset/Operating System
Marketers can select if they want to target users of the iPhone or select BlackBerry devices, or users of the Android operating system.
Demographic
By tapping into non-personally identifiable information provided by the carriers, marketers can select if they want to target men or women in a certain age range.
Contextual
Marketers can display ads next to relevant content within the app or site.
Behavioral
Behavioral targeting is still in its infancy due t o limitations on tracking users from app-to-app and app-to-WAP. However, companies like Millennial Media offer solutions that can track users’ movements from WAP-to-WAP. Millennial MYDAS™ Audience utilizes user profiles, opt-in survey data and publisher-provided meta-data to create audience segments. Furthermore, it is widely speculated that eventually marketers will be able to tap into iTunes-rendered user behaviors and run an iAd campaign to target users. Despite these advances, mobile browsing behaviors differ from online, and curr ently there is no way to track or target users fr om online to mobile or vice versa.
Publisher-created targeting
Publishers often offer their own custom targeting vehicles, and for mobile it’s no different. For example, Pandora launched its own iPad app that enables marketers to target ads by gender, age, location, type of music and time of day . Similar to full-screen rich media units such as iAd and Greystripe’s Immersion Ads, when a user clicks on an ad within the iPad app, the ad will open a new page without interrupting the streaming music. Some of the initial sponsors include Starbucks, Lexus and Budweiser.
Mobile display
Mobile display encompasses any type of banner advertising that takes place on mobile websites or within applications. According to ABI Research, spending on mobile display is expected to grow from $313 million today to $1.2 billion by 2015, fueled by the growth of U.S. adult Internet usage.
Buying mobile display
Mobile display can be priced on CPM (cost per thousand impressions), CPC (cost-per-click), or, in some cases, cost per engagement (CPE) or cost-per-download (CPD). Like buying traditional online media, brands should consider which type of pricing will help them accomplish their goals.
CPM – buying guaranteed impressions: CPM media is good for branding campaigns where it’s important to achieve a specific impression level and/or run on specific sites.
CPC – buying clicks: CPC media works for marketers who want to guarantee traffic to their mobile landing page, but who may not be as concerned with where their advertisements run.
CPE or CPD – buying ad engagement or downloads of a mobile app: Similar to CPC advertising, CPE or CPD ensures that a mobile program will deliver the exact action that a marketer is seeking. This type of pricing is good for brands that have invested in interactive creative and want their target audience to interact with their brand within the unit. It also works for marketers who have mobile apps and are interested in driving downloads.
The majority of mobile inventory is currently sold through mobile ad networks. Similar to the early days of online display advertising, networks provide a way for publishers to sell inventory on their mobile sites without dedicating a sales force to it. As mobile inventory and advertiser interest in the medium increases, however, more publishers may opt to sell it on their own.
Mobile ad networks provide reach and scale to marketers looking to buy within the channel. Because the channel is still new, there aren’t standard creative specs or sizes. Mobile ad networks help marketers navigate the landscape and serve as a one-stop shop. As with any ad network, the trade-off for marketers is less control over where the ads run, but marketers can mitigate this by excluding sites or specific content that isn’t appropriate for their brand.
There are a handful of publishers such as The New York Times, CNN, Weatherbug and Photobucket that are able to sell mobile inventory on their own. This works for marketers looking to round out an existing offline or online buy with that publisher, or for marketers who have custom offerings. It is difficult to scale with publisher-direct buys because inventory levels are still relatively low.
Mobile banners come in a range of sizes to support a range of goals ad handsets. Image source: AdMob
Mobile banners
Mobile banners can be targeted across various channels and categories of mobile sites and applications. In addition, marketers can also target mobile banners against behavioral and demographic attributes.
One of the major benefits of mobile banners is that campaigns can be built around the post-click experience of the banner and do not need to drive the user to a mobile site.
A major challenge facing mobile banner advertising is the lack of standards across the various ad sizes.
Marketers are often required to develop ad sizes for a number of devices ranging in size from 120x20 pixels all the way up to 300x50 pixels. Additionally, third-party tracking technologies are still a work in progress. Marketers must often resolve discrepancies that arise between mobile publishers and third-party reported numbers.
Does this mean marketers should stay away from mobile banners? Definitely not. While mobile banners may require more upfront work, they can still be used to meet campaign objectives such as awareness, traffic and engagement.
Mobile banner advertising best practices
Take into account the various operating systems and devices when developing ad sizes, as mobile banners are usually not purchased based on ad size.
If planning for smartphones, think about the post-click experience.
Take into account how you want to measure campaign success, as mobile metrics can differ from traditional online metrics (see the section on Measurement later in this chapter for more).
Think about where you want your mobile banners to show up, such as on mobile webpages or within applications.
Mobile video
According to Nielsen’s Three Screen Report, more than 20 million users watched a mobile video in Q1 2010, which represents an increase of more than 50% year-over-year. eMarketer projects mobile video revenues will climb from $436 million in 2009 to $1.34 billion in 2014.
Mobile video opportunities include pre-, mid- and post-rolls that consist of 10 to 15-second video ads that can run prior to, during or after video content, as well as full-page video interstitials that take over the entire screen prior to content. Marketers can also create custom video companion ads or customized video channels to promote their brand.
Click-to-video ad: Users can click on multiple links from a video ad to take various actions. Source: Rhythm NewMedia
Carousel ad: On a custom landing page consumers can scroll through multiple video ads or clips. Source: AdMob
MMS video ad: Marketers can send video ads via multimedia messaging service. Source: Mogreet, via mocoNews
Best practices for mobile video
Ensure that the aspect ratio for the video is correct, as it will differ from the web and varies across mobile devices.
Make sure the video will work on a small screen; dark and fast moving images won’t look great on a mobile device.
Keep video ads short. Most mobile users prefer shorter snippets of content, and slower mobile connection speeds can sometimes cause uncomfortable delays in video load times.
Similar to the post-click experience, think about what the post-viewing experience should be.
Don’t use online benchmarks. Instead, create new ones for mobile, as the user experience will vary. Certain publishers and networks will have benchmarks for various verticals.
Mobile in-game ads
According to MobClix, a mobile ad exchange, more than 40,000 mobile game applications have been released in the past year. As of summer 2010, MobClix reported that more than 300 game apps are added each day.
Similar to PC or console-based video game advertising, brands utilizing mobile in-game advertising have the opportunity to reach a rapt audience before or during a transition in gameplay.
Ads within games can be games themselves. Source Greystripe
The sequence above is an example of an advertising campaign on Greystripe’s mobile network. While playing a game, at a break before the user moves on to the nextlevel, he or she sees an ad for a movie. The ad itself is a game, but the user has the option to skip it.
Many advertisers have seen great success with mobile gaming. It’s important, however, to think about your audience and if they engage with gaming on or off the mobile phone.
Best practices for mobile in-game ads
Determine if your target audience is likely to engage with an ad more if it runs in a game. Such ads can work best for marketers who have had success with other gaming programs.
Temper your investment until you’re sure your target audience will engage in gaming. Most in-game advertising is sold on a CPM basis, and brandedgames usually require a development cost.
Understand the audience of the game before choosing to advertise on a specific game. Gaming audiences differ dramatically, as a casual gamer will likely be very different from someone who plays a first-person shooter action game.
Provide value through entertainment or interactions that appeal to your audience. It’s not just about getting your message out there, but rather providing an experience that makes the distraction from the game worth it.
Mobile gaming will continue to become more popular as smartphone penetration increases. If done right, mobile in-game advertising can be as entertaining as the game itself. The key is to create the right experience for your audience – one that entertains and leaves the player with a positive feeling about your brand.
Mobile rich media
Just like with online advertising, mobile rich media ads offer a visually stimulating way for users to engage with a brand. There are various ways to capture a user’s attention with these ads:
Expandable ads are banners that load as standard-sized ad units, and then when the user scrolls over them, they expand over the content of the app or site in order to reveal more information. The expanded portion of the ad can contain anything from a static banner to a form to a microsite.
Expandable ad: Best Buy, Source: Greystripe
Prestitials and interstitials are full screen ads (a 300x250 ad unit is standard for iPhone/iPod Touch and Android) that are displayed on an app or site’s welcome page or in transition to another section of an app or site.
Prestitial ad: Step Up 3D, Image source: Photobucket
Interstitial ad: 90210, Image source: Jumptap
Full-screen engagement ads are a form of rich media engagements that allow marketers to create an immersive environment.
iAd keeps users within an application instead of redirecting them to a page in their browser. This enables users to explore the ad and interact with it, and even purchase products.
There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to choosing iAd as of summer 2010. Marketers should check to see if Apple has addressed any of the downsides when considering iAd, as this could change at any time.
Pros:
iAd allows marketers to get in front of users as they engage with apps they frequently use.
Apple’s selling point is that iAd offers interactivity plus emotion. People not only interact with the ad units but also feel emotionally connected while doing so.
Apple helps developers make money with a 60% revenue share; this enables them to offer apps for low prices or even for free.
Cons:
In order to run an iAd campaign, there is a large monetary commitment up front.
At first, these units may have high bounce rates from people clicking just to play around and experience the ads but not actually have any interest in the brand or the campaign. On the flipside, this could benefit some advertisers who are running a brand awareness campaign and seek to capture early adopters.
Apple is solely selling, developing and hosting iAd. As a result, you cannot develop your own iAd in-house or use your creative agency.
Greystripe’s Full Screen Immersion Ads (formerly iFlash Custom Ads) are an alternative to iAd and offer a similar experience that involves rich media animation, interactivity, and click actions without leaving the actual application. Greystripe’s technology allows them to take pre-existing rich media ad units built in Flash and transcode them into HTML5 format that is readable on iPhone and iPod Touch.
Beyond iAd and Greystripe, other ad networks such as AdMob, Millennial Media, and Medialets can deliver immersive creative experiences within applications. Marketers should consider a number of factors when evaluating such networks, including reach, audience demographics, creative offerings, targeting capabilities, transparency of placements, development time required and the responsiveness of account personnel.
iAd promises to grab consumers’ attention with immersive creative experiences. Image source: Erica Ogg/CNET
Measuring mobile advertising campaigns
Depending on the objective of your campaign, you will want to consider how to best measure success. For instance, a branding campaign may involve measuring awareness or lift, impression volume, or engagement. Direct response campaigns, meanwhile, may measure clicks, conversions, calls received or coupon redemption.
Brand metrics
Brand awareness and lift can be measured using marketing research companies such as Insight Express, Dynamic Logic or comScor e to conduct studies. These studies typically require a specific budget and multiple ad units in order to reach a significant impression level. Marketers can apply what they learn from these studies to optimize creative concepts and messaging.
Impressions are generally recorded in aggregate. However, it is important to consider unique impression data in order to accurately determine the true reach of a campaign.
Engagement reflects how users interact with a marketer’s ad unit or messaging. Interactions can include mouse-overs, clicks, video plays, and drop-off rates, and time spent playing a game.
Direct response metrics
Clicks are a meaningful measurement metric if site or app traffic is the main marketing objective. In order to gauge the value of the clicks, marketers should consider the bounce rate, which represents the percentage of initial visitors to a site who “bounced” away rather than interacting with the site.
Conversions are determined by the goal of each campaign and help marketers evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising spend. Marketers can measure impact by looking at the conversion rate, which represents the percentage of initial visitors (clicks) to a site or app who converted by taking a pre-determined action.
Click-to-call ads contain a telephone number that, when clicked, populates the phone’s dialpad with the number. If properly set up, marketers can track how many calls were received, the duration of the calls, and if the desired action was taken.
Couponing offers a convenient way to target promotions to a medium that is always on and can act as a redemption tool. Marketers can track coupon redemption and see revenue generated by each individual code to captur e granular ROI. Phones enable users to consolidate customized discounts in a single place, so it is up to retailers to trace use of coupons to prevent multiple redemptions and also track redemption rates. (See more on couponing in the section on Mobile Couponing in Commerce & Shopping.)
Tracking mobile advertising
Although marketers can track clicks and impressions using third-party ad servers such as DART, tracking conversions via third-party tags remains a challenge. Therefore, as these ad servers focus on building out tracking and reporting capabilities, the burden of providing the analytical data rests mainly on the publishers. If tracking application downloads through the iTunes store, the developer needs to install a code snippet that enables the publisher to record conversions. Since discrepancies often exist among ad servers, we recommend using third-party ad server click trackers and standard tags to compare click and impression data. Third-party tracking capabilities should evolve quickly to meet the pressing advertiser demand.
Conclusion
Advertising models for mobile have evolved to be very similar to desktop advertising models, yet it’s important to consider how people use their mobile devices compared to how they use their desktop or laptop computers, and how mobile campaigns should differ in light of this. A mobile device is unique to an individual, whereas a computer may be shared at home. A mobile device is also a must-have utility that is rarely left behind, unlike computers that get turned off or put away. Understanding the nature of how a mobile phone fits into someone’s life allows marketers to devise strategies that make the most of this channel.
A mobile device is unique to an individual, whereas a computer may be shared at home. A mobile device is also a must-have utility that is rarely left behind, unlike computers that get turned off or put away. Understanding the nature of how a mobile phone fits into someone’s life allows marketers to devise strategies that make the most of this channel.
CHAPTER 6: MOBILE SOCIAL MARKETING
KEY FACT More than 150 million people access Facebook from mobile devices each month
GOALS IT ACHIEVES Branding, engagement, drive to store
BEST INTEGRATION POINTS Online social media, digital word of mouth, email, loyalty programs
Mobile social media, any form of social media accessed through mobile devices, has much in common with online social media: the power of building relationships with consumers, the large and rapidly growing user base and the potential to incorporate sharing and community functionality into every form of content. Mobile presents new opportunities, as these untethered mobile devices are designed for communication – the raison d’être of social media – and can harness the power of location.
Preparing for mobile social’s challenges
Marketers who start learning what works with mobile social media can wind up well ahead of their peers and provide added value for consumers in the process. On the other hand, there are plenty of hurdles with mobile social marketing:
Mobile and social are two areas that often don’t have clear ownership within marketers’ organizations.
There’s a higher learning curve in both mobile marketing and social media as neither offers clear-cut application of the media buying skills that marketers have honed in other media.
Metrics are still a work in progress, as are the business models of many vendors in the space.
Budgets are often too small to gauge the real impact of a campaign, and the process can turn off some who want immediate results on a large scale.
Marketers, agencies, publishers, technology providers and others will need to overcome these challenges to keep pace with the consumers and where they are increasingly spending their time.
Mobile social media by the numbers
comScore’s April 2010 data reveals that social networking is the fastest growing mobile content category, whether accessed by mobile applications or browsers. There were 15 million U.S. mobile users ages 13+ engaged with social networking via applications, up 240% over the previous year, and 30 million users engaged with social networking via mobile browsers, up 90%.
Facebook reports that more than 150 million active users access the network through their mobile devices. Users accessing its mobile services are more than twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users. Ground Truth, a mobile metrics firm, reported that in April 2010, 60% of the time U.S. mobile subscribers spent on mobile Internet usage was on social networking sites.
Categories of mobile social media
Mobile social media comprises a broad field, but here are some of the key forms it takes:
Mobile extensions of online social networks: The largest social network, Facebook, not surprisingly has the most mobile users, as well. MySpace and other social networks have mobile extensions, such as optimized sites or apps, and many are ad-supported. One can expect that in the coming years, U.S. social networks will follow the same course as Mixi, a leading network in Japan, which now has three-quarters of its users accessing the service from mobile devices.
Mobile-central social networks: MocoSpace, Mig33 and Peperonity are three social networks that launched on mobile devices and attract most of their users there. They tend to attract feature phone users and may specialize in reaching certain target audiences, such as MocoSpace with 70% of its 12 million members comprised of Hispanics and African Americans.
Location-based check-in services: Users check in to physical locations primarily through mobile applications. See the following section for more details.
Social gaming: Many mobile gaming applications are either built entirely on social functionality or rely heavily on social features. For instance, Words With Friends by developer Newtoy is an asynchronous form of Scrabble; it’s part of a “With Friends” series that has recorded more than 6.5 million downloads. Gaming company Ngmoco has developed a number of mobile social games where users derive in-game benefits by cooperating with each other.
Gaming has helped propel mobile social media, thanks in part to hit apps such as Words with Friends.
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