NewsLine Column: Time To Start Measuring Mobile
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Mobile marketing has seen huge growth in recent months, with the latest technology presenting companies with ever more advanced methods of communicating their brands to consumers. Nick Wiggin, chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association, explains the growth and benefits of the medium…
Mobile Marketing has come along way in the last three years. This engaging communication channel has moved from being just a direct response tool into a credible new media option on the planner’s schedule.
It’s difficult to place mobile marketing in a box as it can fulfil various communication objectives, working best by enhancing the interaction that consumers have with other media channels. Imagine walking past a poster, or reading a magazine, or watching a TV programme where the advertiser can invite the consumer to interact immediately with the brand, using their mobile phone. 12 months ago all you’d get back would be a 160 characters text message, but now brands can create even more impact.
2005 is pivotal year as mobile marketing grows up. With more than 50% of handsets now able to receive picture messages (Source: Mobile Data Association 2004) there is a real opportunity for brands to get images and audio into the palm of their mobile consumer’s hands. With more mobile phones than people in the UK, planners can achieve significant reach and frequency target via the mobile phone. But does the standard ‘response’ measurement go far enough to demonstrate Return on Investment?
Today it is standard practice to demand response rate measurement when conducting mobile marketing activity, but this is a broad measure at best. Evidence of campaign success that goes further with ‘re-contact’ samples helps to prove mobile marketing impact however the quality of this evidence varies by supplier. Planners need more qualified information that breaks down advertiser spending in this area as well as consumer reaction. While the industry is too small to demand a measurement panel like BARB, this is the year when mobile marketers must work with advertising agencies to understand how best to demonstrate the effectiveness of this communication.
In response to advertising agency demands a number of mobile research projects are emerging that address consumer’s response to emerging mobile content opportunities. The interactive research agency iBurbia has developed a programme of research that is investigating the appeal of various mobile solutions and evaluating the strength of different delivery options like Bluetooth and WAP. Agencies can find out how consumers react to sponsored video clips, branded java applications and product placement in mobile games.
Congratulations to those that are concept testing the future of mobile marketing, however the main issue surrounding mobile measurement remains. The Mobile Marketing Association is putting this issue at the top of its agenda and will be inviting its members to contribute to the discussion. By this time next year more research and panel surveys will have included mobile marketing related questions that will enable planners to use mobile with confidence. The ongoing debate will centre on ‘which questions to ask?’
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