Mobile's Growth, in Numbers and Pictures

Mobile usage and importance, in stats.

SMS and Email Marketing: Complementary Rather than Substitutes

There is some truth to the notion that text messaging campaigns are substitutes for email campaigns. There also is some truth to the notion that they are complementary.

The "personal" nature of text messaging and the high need for user opt in are key reasons why the channels mostly appeal to different types of retailer relationships. Text messages require some sort of pre-existing relationship. Perhaps email messages are supposed to require opt in as well, but frequently permission is more tacit than formally acknowledged.

A user that has opted in to receive SMS messages presumably already has significant interest in a particular product or retailer. Email messages can cover a wider range of consumers.

Mobile Allows Marketing to Shoppers at Every Touchpoint

While in-store digital technologies and media will play a significant role, mobile is the linchpin for next-generation shopper marketing, eMarketer argues.

Location-based check-ins and in-store mobile are starting to become significant for both retailers and brand marketers. And in the post-shop phase brands and retailers should find creative ways to encourage shoppers to share their stories on social media.

Marketing to Shoppers at Every Touchpoint - eMarketer

Email, Social Media to Get More Spending by Enterprises

According to a November 2010 survey of business executives around the globe by StrongMail, nearly two-thirds of companies will increase spending on email marketing, and 57% will put more dollars toward social media marketing. Search took a distant third place with 41% of respondents indicating they would spend more.

Email and social will continue to get closer as more marketers integrate the two channels with each other. More than a quarter of respondents said they had already formulated and implemented a strategy for making email and social work together, and another 43% plan to make efforts toward integration in 2011, though some are more prepared than others.

Email, Social Media to See More Marketing Dollars in 2011 - eMarketer

Enterprises Dominate Mobile Ad Spending

More than a third of interactive marketers have implemented or plan to pilot mobile search and display advertising in the next year, according to Forrester Research analyst Melissa Parrish. And just about everyone believes such spending will grow.

For that reason, Forrester Research expects that interactive marketer spending on mobile search and display will grow at a 28 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years.

Forrester expects that mobile Internet usage will increase at a compound annual rate of 12.7 percent, with 117 million people — 36 percent of the US population — searching and browsing while using their mobile devices by 2015, Parrish says.

Mobile marketing opportunities will grow as more people use the mobile Internet, of course. At the end of 2007, only 10 percent of U.S. adult subscribers used the mobile Internet. In 2010, mobile Internet usage is up to 27 percent of mobile subscribers, representing 64 million consumers in the
United States market.

Mobile Internet users also are learning to use their mobiles to make purchases. And they aren’t just looking for the nearest coffee house; they’re buying airline tickets, researching cars, and receiving coupons for products like coffee or detergent.

Forrester forecasts that mobile search and display dollars will grow to $2.8 billion by 2015, at a
28 percent CAGR.

But critical mass still is lacking. Though mobile Internet usage is increasing rapidly, marketers still can’t get enough eyeballs on content to justify spending big bucks in the space, says Parrish.

Currently, 78 percent of the US population access the Internet at least monthly while only 21 percent access the mobile Internet. By 2015, mobile Internet usage is expected to reach 43 percent of total desktop Internet usage, making the mobile medium a much more viable channel.

Inability to track performance against spend. More than half of interactive marketers feel they have no capability to measure the ROI or brand impact of their mobile marketing campaigns.

Interactive marketers prefer performance-based campaigns and are willing to pay more for these metrics. Vendors like Google and Bing offer cost-per-click pricing for click-to-call and click-to-get-directions type activities, but mobile display is still largely based on potential impressions, an unsatisfactory metric to most marketers.

Additionally, the holy grail of mobile is location-based marketing, but it’s still unclear how the connection between location-marketing efforts and in-store purchases will occur. Vendors must develop the tools for marketers to track performance and then help marketers understand the value and how to use these new tools.

·Spending by small and mid-sized business is not having too much impact, says Parrish. Forrester’s data suggests that fully 95 percent of mobile advertising dollars currently come from companies with more than $100 million in revenue.

Though the value of mobile advertising is highly relevant to small and mid-sized businesses, which benefit greatly from local and location-specific advertising, smaller budgets and less marketing
expertise will make the percentage of overall spend from SMBs consistently less than eight percent of total mobile spend.

Concerns over privacy, specifically location and carrier information, could provoke a backlash among consumers, leading to some caution as well. Consumers consider mobile phones personal devices to a greater extent than PCs and, for that reason, might continue to expect greater privacy in a mobile context, Parrish suggests.

Online and Video are Biggest "Emerging" Channels, but Mobile Follows

Online communities and video seem to be the two "emerging" marketing channels marketers at companies with at least 200 employees are using now, or planning to deploy soon, a survey of 133 executives by Forrester Research suggests.

But a fairly broad range of mobile channels seem poised to get more attention.

Among them are location-based services, mobile social networks, mobile search, mobile web sites, text and multimedia messaging and mobile video.

Established and Emerging Marketing Channels

A recent survey of 113 marketing executives confirms the current pattern of marketing channels. Display advertising, email marketing, search engine optimization, social media and online listings, plus paid search, are typical marketing venues.

Mobile advertising and applications, paid social media and game marketing are the emerging categories, Forrester Research finds.

Perhaps the most surprising finding is the 45 percent use of social media such as blogs, podcasts, widgets and discussion forums. Not so long ago, those were "emerging" and "experimental" channels.

These days, it is mobile apps and advertising and paid social media which seem poised to make the move from "experimental and emerging" status to "mainstream" levels of use.

80% of Enterprises Plan Mobile Websites

Of the 80 percent of enterprise respondents who indicated they had plans to create, or already had created mobile websites as part of their mobile marketing plans, promotion was the most-popular planned activity. But commerce applications were planned by more than 60 percent of firms.

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get a full copy of the study here

Mobile Marketing an Appetizer, Though Some Say it is a Main Course

We are a bit early in the adoption cycle for mobile marketing to be considered a mainstay of the advertising business. It still remains a bit of an appetizer. But enthusiasm is growing.

AdMob May 2010 Metrics

AdMob Mobile Metrics - May 2010 - Highlights

View more presentations from AdMob Inc.

Marketers Still Can't Measure Social Media Return on Investment

Analytics continue to be an obstacle to heavier use of online, social media and mobile marketing campaigns, a new survey by Omniture suggests.


About 80 percent of survey respondents believe the ability to measure return on investment from online marketing activities is important, but only 31 percent of marketers can effectively measure it today.

About 86 percent of respondents think the conversion rate from online marketing activities is important to measure, but 25 percent cannot effectively measure it.



Only about 30 percent of marketers using mobile channels are able to measure mobile app conversions and, overall, only 23 percent say they are "very satisfied" with their current mobile measurement capabilities. That suggests there is pent-up demand for easier to use and easier to measure mobile marketing support.

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Location Ads Work, Study Finds

A new survey conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association suggests very-high rates of user response to advertising based on location information.

"Nearly half of those who noticed any ads while using location-based services took at least some action," MMA says. That compares to 37 percent of text message advertising and almost twice the rate of Web browser ads (28 percent).

Ten percent of the cell phone owners surveyed use mobile location services at least once a week, while 63 percent of Apple iPhone owners use location services at least once a week.

Respondents said they use these services most frequently to “locate nearby points of interest, shops or services.”

U.S. Consumers Significantly More Likely To Respond To Location-Based Mobile Ads Than Other Mobile Ad Types | Mobile Marketing Association

Even App Store "Marketing" Apps Must be Marketed

Despite the hype about mobile apps, it remains difficult to "monetize" them, for several reasons. Most apps sell for low prices, so a developer needs huge volume. But volume means getting noticed, and simply creating an app and listing in on an app store does not guarantee attention.

That increasingly means a successful app not only has to provide value, but has to be promoted. And that means all the traditional thinking about traditional marketing still holds. Developers have to take affirmative steps to promote their apps; they won't sell themselves.

"The App Store is not a marketing vehicle; it is a distribution vehicle," said Raven Zachary, president of digital creative firm Small Society.

Of course, not all apps are sold. Some are themselves marketing vehicles. But an iPhone app can cost $50,000 or more for an agency to develop. So even the marketing vehicle must be marketed.

Revenue Sharing is the Heart of the Net Neutrality Matter

“The problem with mobile broadband so far has been most of the revenue it has generated has gone to over-the-top Internet content services, not to the operators,” says Pat McCarthy, Telcordia VP. “That’s what they are trying to change.”

And that is the heart of the matter as far as wrangling over network neutrality. Over time, consumers will have many options for buying customized wireless broadband plans, McCarthy says. And nearly everyone believes that will mean very-heavy users will have to pay more, in some way.

The key notion is that retail price will be related, in some way, to the cost of the services consumed. That doesn't necessarily mean billing by the byte, but probably a range of options for basic access that are similar to wireless voice plans, where users buy buckets of minutes or text messages a various prices, or unlimited use for higher prices.

Some have suggested pricing based on the value of services and applications and most providers tend to believe there should be the ability to buy optional services that maintain quality of service when the network is congested.

Standard users might get messages during peak congestion periods--perhaps rush hour or at a major sports or concert venue--that the network is congested, with their services shaped in some way. Premium users might get priority access and all users might be offered a temporary "power boost," for an additional fee, during the period of congestion.

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Interest in Content Marketing Grows, Especially in Mobile Context

There are two huge takeaways from Junta42's new survey of 250 marketing professionals in North America: the dramatic growth of content marketing and the upsurge of interest in mobile content (blogs, social networks, video, newsletters, white papers, webinars, podcasts, custom events, magazines and so forth).

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Approximately 10 percent of marketers already are leveraging content through mobile applications and 38 percent say mobile content is something they need to know more about. Of all content marketing areas, only mobile marketing rose year over year re: educational needs, says Junta42.

56 percent of companies plan to increase budgets for mobile marketing in 2010 and a hike of 17 percent in 2010 marketing budgets will be funded by drawing money away from traditional channels such as print.

For the third straight year, marketers are planning to spend significantly more on their content marketing efforts in 2010 and 59 percent of marketing professionals surveyed plan to increase their spending on content initiatives, compared to 56 percent in 2009 and 42 percent in 2008.

Content marketing comprises 33 percent of the total marketing budget, in fact. Smaller companies are spending more on their content marketing as a percentage of budget than larger companies. Small
companies (less than 99 employees) spend approximately 40 percent of their total budget on content initiatives.

Larger companies (100 employees or more) spend an average of 18 percent of their budget for content marketing.

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Neustar Lauches 2D Barcode Clearinghouse

Neustar recently launched a "Mobile Barcode Clearinghouse Services" operation intended to ensure that any mobile barcode can be read by any mobile phone or application. 

That might not seem like a big deal, but history suggests that penetration and use of any technology, no matter how useful, never gets routine and widespread use so long as the information cannot be communicated effortlessly across the entire base of people, applications and devices.

That was true for railroads. It was true for phone service. It was true of text messaging and email, and it won't be different for 2D barcodes. 

"The clearinghouse is an important component of Neustar’s mobile internet solutions strategy, which bridges network operators and enterprises and simplifies their delivery of value to customers," Neustar says. 

Neustar is right about that. 

Is Mobile Marketing the "Best" Advertising Channel?

There's a very good reason many content providers, marketers, device manufacturers and application developers  are intrigued by the mobile platform as an advertising venue.

Some researchers say it can outperform every other alternative, including "fixed" online channels, by quite some margin.

Some of us would quibble about whether it is so vastly superior on some dimensions. Some of us would argue TV is just as powerful as mobile on the "emotion" scale, and that lumping "print" in the same category as 'TV" makes no sense. Print is a "lower emotion" channel, compared to TV or even radio.

And this matrix is only a look at "potential" effectiveness. Advertising effectiveness depends on the quality of the creative material and many other factors beyond the mere choice of channel. Still, the potential reach and effectiveness of mobile marketing is clear, if perhaps overstated in this analysis.

40% Will Increase Email, Text Message Marketing Campaigns, Survey Finds

About 40 percent of email marketers surveyed in November 2009 by Silverpop say they will increase their email marketing budgets in 2010, while 47 percent said their budgets would stay the same.

In the coming year, more than half of survey respondents (52 percent) said increasing customer loyalty was a top email marketing goal.

But incremental revenue clearly is the top driver. Overall, 51 percent of respondents want to drive incremental revenue with their email program, while 65 percent of those with larger email budgets say that's their top goal in 2010.

"Inbox clutter" remains an issue for 37percent of respondents. That's an issue, but nothing like the opt in issues faced by users of text messaging campaigns, whose users often must pay "by the message" to receive them. Cluttering up an inbox is one thing, charging someone to receive your marketing message is far worse.

And social media is growing in important. About 84 percent or marketers plan to include social media into their email programs in the coming year, while 38 percent will add text messaging.

Marketers enjoying budget increases are even more likely to add these to their programs; About 89 percent of marketers will growing budgets say they will incorporate social media,  while 44 percent of respondents with growing budgets say they will add text message campaigns.

Email linked to popular social networks will work fine for PC-based users, but text messaging will be needed to reach mobile users on the go.

Google Adds "Place Pages"

One simple step any business can take to become more involved with mobile-based marketing is to take advantage of "Place Pages," a new feature Google is introducing.

Basically, a Place Page is a free one-page listing any business can sign up for, and which is available to mobile and PC-based searches using Google Maps.


Retailers can create a "Place Page" by going to the Google "Local Business Center" at
http://www.google.com/local/add/analyticsSplashPage?service=lbc&gl=us&utm_source=/lbc&utm_medium=van&utm_campaign=en&hl=en-US.

Listings are free to create. Think of it as a sort of enhanced phone book whose entries pop up on a Google Map search when a user is looking for something near a physical location.

There's more. The Place Page also allows retailers to create coupons, for example. Also, an analytics feature also allows retailers to track where customers are coming from and what they search for to find a particular retail location.

Why Droid is Important

Lots of people position the new Motorola Droid, available on the Verizon Wireless network at the moment, as the first, or the best, competitor to the Apple iPhone. We can argue about that. What seems much less contestable is the possibility that many of Verizon's 86.5 million subscribers now will begin to create a new critical mass of users for location-based marketing initiatives.

Until the total number of smartphone users on particular operating systems or devices is reached, it will be difficult to create mobile marketing campaigns with reasonable prospects of success. And make no mistake, mobile marketing has to be different than the interruption-based advertising we are used to with place-based media.

Mobile users are not likely to appreciate mobile advertising that they haven't asked for, or worse, must pay for. The difference between mobiles and TVs, radios, DVD or game players is that mobile devices are uniquely seen as "personal" devices. Peoploe use the other devices, but only the mobile is always with a user, and typically is seen as a personal and private device.

The other important angle is that mobile media typically is consumed as a byproduct of some other activity; it is not a primary destination or activity.

Virtually any mobile marketing message is, by definition, catching users in the middle of doing something else. So the value of the messages must be situational, in context, or relevant to those other activities. On the other hand, the key change is that devices such as the iPhone and Droid incorporate location information.

Potential message senders will know whether a user is at home, at some other indoor location or moving. If moving, message senders potentially will know whether a user is moving at high speed (in an auto) and should not be interrupted, or is moving at pedestrian speed, when a contextual message might be safe to send and also relevant to current location.

Presumably it will be possible (with permission) to determine whether a person is using public transportation, even when moving at high speed, and might be amenable to messages.

It will take a bit more work, and more opt-in detail, to determine whether a business person is presently trying to figure out where to get a cab, take a client to dinner, or find their way to their hotel, or whether a person might be trying to figure out what social venue to attend after work.

So why is Droid important, beyond simple creation of critical mass? Droid, as are all Android devices, are part of a larger effort by Google to tap mobile advertising potential. Google has unusual incentives to create the sort of detailed opt-in processes needed to create granular messages of high relevance to end users.

The reason this is important to end users is that if mobile network providers and the rest of the mobile ecosystem can create self-sustaining revenue streams based on mobile messaging, the providers can justify perpetual investments in the quality of the mobile networks and devices, potentially holding down end user costs as well.