Is personalization essential to unlocking mobile marketing profits? A recent report from Accenture -- titled The Brave New World Of Mobile Commerce and based on a survey conducted by Lightspeed Research -- sheds new light on global mobile advertising attitudes.
Specifically, the survey of 1,100 users ages 18+ in Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. found that 65 percent of respondents in Asia and 32 percent of respondents in the U.S. and Europe would "welcome receiving personalized mobile phone ads when within a few steps of the promoted product or service."
We are entering into a new and critical phase of development in the mobile marketing industry. The discussion no longer centers on whether mobile fits in then marketing mix. Today we are debating where mobile fits best in the customer journey and whether marketers should craft mobile campaigns that focus on customer acquisition or retention.
According to M&S (Marks & Spencer), a leading U.K. retailer, the answer is all of the above.
Specifically, mobile has earned a place in every part of the sales cycle. From text alerts to customers on products and offers they are likely to appreciate (delivered only after customers have opted-in to receive them) to website functionality that allows them to buy what they want where they want, M&S has put mobile at the center of all they do.
Honored as a "Award-Winning Finalist in the General Business category of The USA "Best Books 2011" Awards, this stellar assemblage of experts from business and academia provides vital insights into the characteristics of how digital natives work, shop, play, and learn. I contribute the chapter on marketing and advertising, showing how brands and businesses must connect and communicate with this always-on, socially networked generation. This resource, edited by Michelle Manafy and Heidi Gautschi, offers practical advice geared to help managers, marketers, coworkers, and educators maximize their interactions and create environments where everyone wins.
Aptly titled Truly Mobile, The Netsize Guide by Gemalto, underlines three key themes that characterize the state of mobile today and its future. These are Transaction (how we’ve come to rely on mobile devices for commerce from researching products to making purchases); Transformation (how mobile devices are increasingly driving content, communications, and connectivity); and Trust (how we require — and will soon demand — simple, transparent services and devices we can trust). It draws from interviews I conducted with over a dozen senior executives from companies across the business ecosystem including ARM, Atlas Premium Brands, BNP Paribas, CMO Council, The Coca-Cola Company, Gameloft, GlobalPlatform, Informa Telecoms & Media, Millennial Media, SingTel, Texas Instruments, Trusted Logic, Yahoo!, and others.
From brands and agencies to Millennials and veteran observers, I encourage each to give their take on the issues and opportunities around mobile -- specifically permission-based mobile marketing. Today we take a step back and look at the Big Picture and examine the questions posed in an even bigger debate going on in the industry: what is the value chain? And, more importantly, what is the value of apps?
Who better to ask than Martin Wilson? Martin recently published a critical look at companies' obsession with delivering iPhone apps (a condition he terms iSyndrome). In it he also urges companies to think through their decision carefully because an iPhone app doesn't deliver the same value to every customer segment.
