Click-through rates, SMS subscribers, widget/application interaction time, mobile video downloads, game plays -- these are no doubt good metrics for determining the success of a mobile marketing campaign. However, advertisers could be in jeopardy of making some of the same mistakes that were made in the early days of online advertising, when click-through seemed like the fast answer to ROI. In the current economic environment, it is increasingly important to measure the value of every marketing dollar spent.
The mobile medium can and should be viewed as a brand-building platform, just as TV, print, and the internet have proven to be time and again. This is especially the case for mobile today, given that there is still little clutter and users are still curious and engaged. Newly released normative benchmarking data across 34 Dynamic Logic mobile ad effectiveness studies shows that WAP banner ads can increase traditional brand metrics such as brand awareness and purchase intent (see chart below).
These increases are still very large, indicating that brands have an opportunity to really make an impact. Though it could be argued that the reach of the mobile internet has not yet hit critical mass, the frequency of mobile internet usage among those that are getting online via their mobile device demonstrates that users are highly engaged. Among the studies mentioned above, on average 91 percent of respondents claim to use the mobile internet at least once per week, and 63 percent say they use it more than once per day.
Display ads are just one example of how marketers are beginning to leverage mobile as a brand-building medium. Other mobile marketing efforts can have just as much or more brand-building power. Research released by 4th Screen Advertising has shown that mobile pre-roll video ads are "attention grabbing" and increase brand recognition. Fifty-nine percent of respondents exposed to 15-second mobile video ads said it made them more interested in the advertised brand, and 62 percent said it gave a good impression of the brands being advertised.
What about a simple branded or sponsored SMS/MMS message? Do they have any branding impact? Some marketers and publishers would argue they do, and are engaging in measurement to verify and quantify this. "We believe there is a lot of value in maintaining a brand presence across all aspects of a user's mobile experience, whether that's while they are checking for latest sports scores and fantasy football and baseball updates on our WAP and iPhone sites, or receiving them via SMS message," says Rich Calacci, SVP of advertising sales for CBSSports.com and CBS Mobile.
What will 2009 hold for mobile brand measurement? There are three key categories for more advanced measurement opportunities in the coming year:
- Survey delivery advancements
- Linking branding and behavior
- Analyzing the impact of mobile in conjunction with other media
First, mobile experts are focusing on ways in which publishers, marketers, and their agencies can further gain insight into perceptions and attitudes via survey data. More and more mobile users are expected to become comfortable with texting short codes, taking WAP surveys, and even clicking to call a number. Technology enabling interactive voice response (IVR) and SMS surveys will make it easier and faster to reach and poll respondents on the go, even as they are interacting with advertising.
Second, linking brand measurement with behavior is often discussed but hard to accomplish. However, companies like Phluant Mobile are looking to merge and analyze location and browser behavior data with survey-based brand metric data. Phluant offers richer mobile ad experiences via its M-stitial ad unit, which is a full-screen ad that displays on the user's device as the internet browser and mobile site loads. Advertisers may soon be able to link brand impact due to ad exposure with the location of a user, page visitations, clicks, and possibly even actions taken, such as signing up for text reminders about a product. Coupled with the survey technologies discussed above, it may further be possible to follow-up with users to confirm an actual sale.
Third, mobile marketing is most effective when used as part of a larger marketing campaign. Quantifying mobile's role in the media mix is becoming increasingly important. Marketers want to know how mobile works alongside other media, as well as what synergies and incremental effects mobile can have.
As a first step, it will be essential to gain a better understanding of the impact of a campaign with both a mobile and online component. According to Nielsen Mobile, mobile web traffic extends the audience reach of online sites by an average of 13 percent. Each medium alone is likely to have specific goals and strengths at branding. In combination, an online plus mobile campaign may yield even larger increases in brand metrics than either one alone.
Many companies, including Microsoft, are beginning to explore methodologies for this type of cross-media measurement. Although there are challenges with the current reach of mobile campaigns and tracking mobile ad exposure, we should start to see results of such research in the year to come. "Microsoft understands the importance of proving the value of mobile advertising," says Pavan Li, senior research manager of mobile advertising at Microsoft. "Although it may be a challenge to provide innovative measurement solutions, the first to accomplish this will help the entire industry move forward. We hope to be among those pioneers."
Jennifer Okula is account director and mobile champion at Dynamic Logic, a Millward Brown company in New York.
