Optism™

We start this week’s roundup with some exciting news from close to home and then take a look at encouraging signs of growth in mobile marketing within the industry and from the consumer's perspective.  

“Over 50% of consumers are comfortable sharing sensitive profile information, such as location, presence and online behaviors, with their mobile provider.” That’s one of the findings reported in The Shift: The Evolving Market, Players and Business Models in a 2.0 World. The book, which was launched this week by Alcatel-Lucent, explores “how additional value is inserted into the ecosystem when service providers expose intelligent network capabilities” – a concept that underpins Optism™. Containing a wealth of original primary research and analysis of industry intelligence, the book provides tremendous insight into the challenges and opportunities of a Web 2.0 world.

Nielsen provides a thought-provoking economics lesson on mobile marketing in emerging markets. They advise that, “The key to success lies in understanding the unique ways in which the demand for information and communication will evolve.” Their analysis suggests that “mobile communications is a truly disruptive phenomenon, acting on a global scale.” As an “affordable, accessible alternative to the Internet”, mobile outstrips the Internet as the technology of choice for communications and information. As a result, you get what Nielsen calls “reverse innovation” – where mobile advertising platforms succeed earlier than more traditional approaches. A permission based mobile marketing platform, such as Optism, can help brands reach the growing mobile market in emerging economies with campaigns that are engaging and tailored to the individual’s preferences and lifestyle.

As a recent article from AdvertisingAge attests, agencies are being challenged to adapt their organizations to the new reality of mobile marketing and advertising. Not surprisingly, there’s more than one idea about where mobile advertising folks belong. We’re encouraged by the growing emphasis agencies are placing on mobile because it’s sure to lead to some excellent creative that maximizes the value of a mobile campaign. Regardless of which organization or part thereof that the mobile staff end up in, Optism’s online booking tool makes it easier for them to reach aggregated audiences in any given country, market or region. 

A Harris Interactive survey highlights that people with kids at home are most receptive to mobile advertising. Once they’re given the chance to opt in, these folks are happy to receive messages that help them manage their busy days. We believe that relevance is also key to engaging with an audience, so you should ask users what kind of information they want to receive. Our own extensive consumer research on this subject indicated that young adults (18 – 25) also have a strong preference for permission-based mobile marketing. We surveyed over 2,200 people from 11 different countries between the ages of 13 – 25. If you ask first and rely on preferences to keep it relevant, there’s clearly a strong opportunity for growth in mobile advertising.

Mobile Marketer reports on Walgreens’ successful deployment of an SMS-based mobile service. The forward-thinking CTO at the pharmacy giant, Mr. Dhar, advised other retailers to accept that “consumers have changed” and deal with that reality. “The customers want it,” Mr. Dhar said. “What we realized is that we need to educate our customers [about mobile] offline.” Walgreens’ experience highlights that if you give people what they want, and provide tools and information that make their lives easier, you’ll find a receptive audience. Of course you also need to make sure you ask permission first, and safeguard their personal information and privacy.

We like the emphasis on relevance in Kevin Slatter’s article in Marketing Week. We also like that he exhorts brands to “gain a thorough knowledge and understanding of their audience, by listening and then using this information to build an effective two-way relationship with them.” Without that, and the consumer’s permission to be engaging with them in the first place, brand messages do indeed risk being seen as “invasions.” Permission mobile marketing services should be designed to ensure that brand messages always reach a receptive audience.

As we see in a report from uTalkMarketing.com, banks are embracing the mobile marketing opportunity. In fact, “Banks are predicted to send 30 billion messages this year, but by 2015 the number of SMS mobile banking alerts sent is estimated to triple.” As the article points out, banks are increasingly ready to take it beyond SMS alerts and use mobile to develop a better understanding and strengthen communications with users. This will enable them to tailor products and services to meet their customers’ needs. As the article says, mobile marketing is a “win-win” opportunity for both brands and consumers.

That’s a wrap for this week. Send us your comments or follow us on Twitter @OptismWW. Join the conversation on our Facebook page or check out our videos on our YouTube channel.