Now that 2008 has finally drifted to a close, like many of you, we at Briabe Media are taking time to reflect on the year's many extraordinary occurrences and how these might affect our clients' businesses and demand for advertising services in this new year. Before the economic downturn occurred, advertisers had noticeably begun to alter their media strategies to the benefit of digital and alternative media channels. However, given the magnitude of the downturn thus far and its potential longevity, no one is sure just how most advertisers will respond to the uncertainty, nor how their responses will further alter the media landscape, if at all.
With regards to mobile marketing investments, when we look at the whole of 2008 we see far more signs for optimism than pessimism in 2009, as the most noteworthy trends appear to justify shifting more ad dollars toward mobile marketing. Highlighted below are four of the trends that I feel will have the most sizable impact on mobile marketing spending through 2009:
Consumers' reluctance to curtail mobile spending during the downturn
As mobile phones have grown to be an essential part of American consumers' lives and lifestyles, these same consumers have become increasingly reluctant to alter their mobile lifestyles, even in times of hardship. In a recent Harris Interactive survey, more consumers were willing to cut back on other items considered essentials (cable TV/satellite, insurance, gas, and landline phone services) before considering cutbacks on their cellphone-related expenditures. In fact, most analysts expect consumer expenditures on wireless services to continue to increase during 2009.
Our growing reliance on mobile phones as a lifeline -- to stay informed and in touch, even as we cut back expenditures elsewhere -- speaks to the importance we now place on such on-the-go devices. Consequently, we expect that in 2009, more advertisers will respond by expanding their investments in creative mobile initiatives to keep their messages in front of their consumers. This should spur increased investments in rich media campaigns incorporating video and new device specific applications.
The growing popularity of SMS messaging
Thanks to interactive TV programs such as "American Idol," new information services like Twitter and even presidential candidates who kept their followers in the know via SMS, in 2008 just about everyone in the U.S. had a reason to send and receive text messages. And we did, to the tune of more than 75 billion messages per month. Further, according to Nielsen, the typical U.S. mobile subscriber now sends or receives more text messages than phone calls, with teens sending or receiving on average 7 times more text messages than phone calls.
Consumers' growing preference for SMS messaging over phone calls and other communications tools portends to be more than just another shift in communications preferences. In fact, I suspect that we are witnessing a significant change in how we prefer to process and consume information, which could have a considerable impact on the future of advertising copy. Given the limited number of characters permitted in a text message (most messages are around 140), SMS forces friends and marketers alike to say it succinctly and keep it relevant.
Phenomenal smartphone sales
Thanks to the prodding of Apple's iPhone, smartphone manufacturers finally got smart and started producing phones that deliver functionalities that fit consumers' mobile lifestyles. And smartphone sales are on fire, as more and more consumers make the switch to feature-rich, advanced handsets. A recent study published by Infoweek estimates that smartphone sales are growing at roughly 40 percent per year, whereas sales of other phone types are growing at less than 10 percent per year. Additionally, a separate report by In-stat projects that smartphones are now outpacing the sale of laptops, as more corporate customers use their phones on the road.
Today's smartphones integrate video, picture messaging, internet access, and a variety of other voice-in data services that all can be integrated into an innovative marketing program that delivers a diverse and personal media experience vastly superior to that available on other media platforms. As the number of consumers armed with smartphones continues to grow in 2009, we expect to see even the most resistant marketers awaken to their power to engage their target audiences and shift some of their media spending towards mobile.
Major retailers embracing mobile marketing
To boost sales and drive consumers into stores, many of the nation's largest retailers turned to mobile marketing to promote their wares this past holiday season. Firms such as Wall-Mart, the Gap, Target, and Sears have all implemented SMS promotional campaigns to directly engage consumers in real time and, hopefully, while they are out shopping. Moreover, SMS messaging is not the only mobile tool that retailers are embracing this holiday season, nor are brick and mortars the only retailers with a new-found appreciation for the powers of mobile marketing. Amazon.com recently launched an iPhone application that helps consumers comparison shop and make purchases directly from their phones, while Buy.com is sending out sale alerts via Twitter.
Given the aggressive adoption of mobile by even the largest of retailers, for the first time we are now witnessing the true mass adoption of mobile marketing in the U.S. Over the next year, we expect to see more sectors following in the footsteps of retailers to execute programs that establish a one-to-one relationship with consumers.
During these troubled economic times, some advertisers who might have otherwise considered executing mobile campaigns will undoubtedly pull back. Nevertheless, the great news for the U.S. mobile marketing industry is that in spite of the economy, 2008 appears to have been the year that mobile media started to surpass the hype, as there is ample evidence to suggest that both consumers and advertisers more fervently embraced mobile technologies to make it through the tough times. Moreover, when this is taken into consideration in terms of the broader reshaping of the advertising industry that we have witnessed over the last few years, the downturn of 2008 might prove to have been just the catalyst needed to elevate the mobile channel.
James Briggs is CEO and co-founder of Briabe Media.
