Mobile Advertising

As Smartphone Ownership Crosses 50% And Mobile Ad Spending Jumps 80% Keep 3 Key Measures In Mind

~ K. Quesenberry ~ 1 Comment

A new report by eMarketer estimates that U.S. Mobile-ad spending is projected to grow 80% this year, to $2.61 billion. What is driving this growth? The Pew Internet Project just released a report saying smartphone ownership has just crossed the 50% threshold to 53% of U.S. mobile consumers. And people are using those data plans. From 2010 to 2011 U.S. Smartphone data usage was up 89%.

As smartphone ownership increases more and more people are using their phones for search, web browsing and use of applications – that is where mobile marketing comes in. According to the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), Mobile Marketing is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network. The MMA says mobile now includes advertising and media, direct response, promotions, relationship management, CRM, customer services, loyalty and social marketing. It can also engage to start relationships, acquire, generate activity, stimulate social interaction with organizations and community members, [and] be present at time of consumers expressed need.

The old way of thinking about mobile media is mobile advertising where you bring old school Internet banners and TV ads to the tiny screens of mobile devices. The new way takes full advantage of the new technology capabilities of mobile. It makes marketing on a mobile device interactive. With this definition in mind some of the measures of effectiveness of the Internet are very applicable to mobile media. I believe that ease of use, perceived usefulness and speed of interactivity are all important factors in measuring the efficacy and effectiveness of mobile marketing interaction.

1. Ease of Use is an important factor in measuring its effectiveness whether you are making an iPhone app or a text message pizza ordering system. Is the organization and structure of the marketing app logical and easy to follow? Is the app name or text to address easy to remember? Are the terms and conditions of a promotion easy to understand? Is content concise and easy to understand? Is learning to use the system or app easy, clear and understandable?

2. Perceived Usefulness is another important measure in mobile. People will not download an app, pay attention to rich-media ads or watch a video if it is not perceived as useful to them. Is your mobile marketing going to improve their shopping experience (I.E. get coupons, information at the point of purchase)? Will it increase shopping productivity (I.E. book a flight while waiting in line)? Or will it increase shopping effectiveness (I.E. pick out movies before you get to Redbox)? The best mobile marketing are the ones build around a consumer’s needs.

3. Navigability is also an effective measure because of the new uses of mobile. If voting for your favorite American Idol contestant was hard to navigate less people would do it. Is the layout intuitive and is the order of information clear? By now everyone knows they need to develop mobile enabled websites that meet the navigation requirements of the small screen.

Search, display (which includes spending on banner and rich-media ads) and video are expected to grow their share this year at the expense of SMS, MMS and P2P messaging, which are expected to drop according to eMarketer’s estimates. Search is expected to take up 50% of spending next year followed by banners and rich media at 35%. Video and SMS/MMS/P2P finish out ad spending at 8% and 6% respectively. If you are diving deeper into mobile this year or next, keep the three key measures above in mind.

Are Mobile Ads Still Annoying?

~ K. Quesenberry ~ 2 Comments

In 2008 a Forrester research report said that most forms of mobile advertising were annoying to most people. Of those surveyed, 65% said they were annoyed when an ad appeared while a web page was loading, 57% found ads appearing alongside maps annoying, 56% found banner ads annoying, 48% found paid search ads annoying. The least annoying ad format was pre-rolls for mobile video clips or games. How are we doing two years later?

According to Steve Jobs we’re not doing much better. Last month, Apple unveiling iAd its new mobile advertising platform called iAd. Built in to the new iPhone OS 4.0 operating system. Why the need for a new system? Jobs explained, ” Our developers are putting ads into apps, and for lack of a better way to say it, we think most of this kind of advertising sucks.” In the video below is a Nike iAd demo that does not.

iAd includes an emphasis on “emotion and interactivity.” Ads will allow users to stay in the app they’re using. Apple will sell and host the advertisements that appear on iAd, sharing 60% of the ad revenue with the developer. Steve Jobs noted that currently users are discouraged from clicking on app ads because it takes them out of the application they’re using. Apple’s solution is to create an interface that lets users access the advertisers’ interactive and video content without leaving the app.

According to Crisp Wireless there are other ways to ensure that your mobile ads are not irritating:

  • Frequency Capping – This limits impressions to no more than one to two a day per visitor.
  • ‘Layer’ the Ad – In full screen ads use a gradient or other technique to make sure the users site is still visible beneath the ad, so they don’t think they’ve arrived at the place.
  • Ability to Skip – Always offer the ability to skip the ad. This is common practice online. People are used to it.
  • Time Out – The ad should time out after 7 to 10 seconds, so the user is taken to their content without any further action.

Will Apple once again take the lead in a new digital area or can others step up to the task?