As the year winds to a close, marketers spanning the globe begin reviewing the effectiveness of their 2013 strategies and kick-starting 2014 activity. Ian Vint, managing director of revolutionary new lead generation agency for the smartphone market, Click2CallCentre, explores the challenges the New Year brings and gives his advice on mobile advertising which he anticipates being the biggest game-changer in the industry.
Mobile advertising isn’t new, but it is certainly on an ascend. The continued growth of smartphone use means those marketers yet to trial advertising through the device could be missing all important audience reach, but most critically, halting genuine sales leads.
Like never before, there is excitement around the potential mobile advertising has to effectively track and increase sales. The nature of mobiles, to provide a seamless route from advert to sales call plus our personal connections to them, means they are realistically the most natural advertising medium consumers will want to interact with.
How and why?
Over half of the UK population now has access to a smartphone and for around two hours a day, they’re browsing the internet (24 minutes), checking social networks (16 mins), listening to music (15 mins) and playing games (13 mins).
Like television and radio which subconsciously connects to an audience during their downtime, this time a person is actively engaged with their smartphone provides an excellent opportunity to advertise to them. What’s even more exciting about this medium is that unlike other broadcast channels, the smartphone also allows, following the interaction with an ad, the opportunity to make a call straight through to a customer service operator without the need for changing device.
Why now?
Whilst there is still a nervousness around mobile, with many brands still yet to trial it and so not confident in allocating spend, over the past year the industry has advanced at pace. Those brave enough to test the market are, as a result, getting excellent deals on campaigns. In essence, mobile works like PPC, but without the over-inflated prices, meaning it is a less risky strategy for those starting out as advertisers only pay per ad clicked.
Integration in marketing has never been so important or more evident than this Christmas, with consumers being targeted at all angles whether through print, broadcast, poster or online advertising. Mobile is the final part of the puzzle; it is a tool for building brand awareness and also compliments other marketing activity.
How does it work?
There are many ways mobile ads can be seen and placed. In terms of reach, geo-targeting is an extremely popular method. By using GPS, mobile users can be targeted by their location and sent an ad relevant to a business in their locale. It could be a money off voucher or free offer to entice them to enter a retailer and make a purchase.
Other campaigns target the demographics of customers which will have already been predetermined according to their preferences and behaviour on their mobiles. As such, a perceived 20-something female may be targeted with fashion and leisure ads while a sports-mad 45 year old male sent deals on new mountain bikes and latest football news.
Design-wise, the size and format of mobile advertising has changed to become more engaging too. The tiny banner ads remain but are part of a portfolio of creative options which also include screen takeovers and video pre-rolls. Most importantly for us, and one area we are particularly excited about, is the time and expertise being invested in creating mobile landing pages which provide immediate calls to action for the ease of the user.
Prompts like ‘tap here to call’ help the lead generation process. These innovations make the sector more compelling not only for advertisers looking to invest, but also for browsing users.
Looking ahead to 2014 I am confident more brands will be waking up to the benefits of mobile. Whilst the industry is still in its infancy, now is an opportune time for brands of all sizes to trial the platform for themselves without breaking the bank.
Ian Vint, Managing Director of Click2CallCentre.
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