Optism™

This week’s roundup of articles points to an increasing appreciation for the market opportunities in mobile advertising, with emphasis on the value-add of permission-based mobile marketing.

In spite of that good news, though, as we see in Carolyn Dawson’s article at TMCnet.com, there’s still work to do: “A survey conducted by bigmouthmedia shows that around 75 percent of the UK’s big brands do not understand the value of a visitor through mobile in comparison to other digital channels.” They know mobile’s big, they know they need to pay attention… but they don’t really know how to take advantage of the unique strengths of mobile. As an industry, we need to spread the word, and share experiences and best practices. (See our recent blog on best practices for getting opt-in.). Dawson reports, “67.6 percent of the respondents believed that increased customer engagement will also be a major benefit.” We totally agree – ask for permission first and then ask questions about people’s interests, so you can make it a better experience. Early movers will have an advantage and capture mindshare with the consumer.

Stephanie Marcus of Mashable/Mobile looks at the Top 5 Mobile Commerce Trends for 2010. She underlines the significance of the mobile market with some compelling stats from ABI Research: “By 2015, it’s estimated that shoppers from around the world will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via their mobile phones.” She also cites stats for the U.S., where the numbers for both mobile shopping and mobile marketing campaigns are showing steep growth. Clearly, mobile marketing spending will drive the growth in m-Commerce initiatives and, as Marcus points out, opt-in message based marketing provides “a direct way to engage with consumers that has a high likelihood of being read.” Getting people’s permission, offering relevant information through a simple interface are key. Shopping, just like mobile, can be an emotional experience – the focus should be squarely on meeting people’s needs.

In a recent blog post, permission mobile marketing guru and friend to Optism Jonathan MacDonald reminds us of The Rules of Engagement. In what should be compulsory reading for anyone active in mobile marketing, Jonathan lays out his four rules: transparency of offering, relevancy of communication, value of incentive, and ease of interaction. He points out that while the rules may seem so simple as to be obvious, “the interplay between them often differentiates success from failure.” Optism relies on these rules to deliver an advertising opportunity that enables engagement between operators, brands, advertisers and customers.

As always, Seth Godin has wise words for us. In Getting to scale: direct marketing vs. mass market thinking, he talks about how we rely on a mass market approach when it might be more advisable to “get it right for ten people” first. In the last several years there has been a mass market approach to mobile marketing, with advertisers pushing out their messages to everyone that has a phone or goes to a web or WAP site in the hopes that they will take action. Mobile is a different medium. It’s more personal and can be better used as a vehicle for engagement, as in direct marketing. Over the years, we’ve seen direct marketing approaches deliver better response rates. Why? Because the work is done up front. You have the permission of the recipient and you typically know what their preferences are. This is the type of approach we advocate with Optism.

In a follow-up post, The art of seduction, Godin admonishes us that “as marketers we seem to want to treat everyone the same.” But as he says “The most important thing to understand about seduction is this: it only works when the other person cooperates, contributes and is at some level interested in being seduced.” We’ll have more luck getting people’s attention if we deliver the right message to the right person. 

Marketing Profs provide an abundance of data to back up their belief that mobile marketing is gaining ground among retailers. The article looks at everything from what mobile tactics are being adopted by U.S. retailers today and planned for the future, and what factors retailers look at when evaluating which mobile devices and operating systems to support. The numbers say it all: this market is poised for potential growth.

At the Internet Advertising Bureau, David Murphy of Mobile Marketing writes about The opt-in advertising revolution. He explores the compelling response rates generated by some early adopters of opt-in mobile advertising and the revenue potential for mobile operators. Thanks David for including Optism in your piece.

That’s it for this week. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions for this feature. Tweet us your suggestions @optismww.