With one word, "mobile," clients' ears perk up. The mere mention of the all-encompassing term by agencies, brand managers, and vendors can give the illusion of innovation to executives continuing to search for new marketing avenues with strong ROI.
However, a current issue is that often those recommending mobile media lack the understanding of how to use it well. While professionals with true experience and expertise can be hired, many brands entrust their valuable budget dollars to teams who are learning on the job, and at the client's expense.
The iPhone is a game-changing product in terms of consumer usage and possibilities for brand interaction. However, even with its tremendous success, as well as that of BlackBerrys, more than 75 percent of U.S. users still carry "dumbphones." The iPhone's allure, and its constant publicity, convinced many companies that they had to have a branded mobile app. Not a mobile strategy; not a plan to effectively communicate with its audience's needs.
With an investment of $150,000 to $300,000 in their new app, these companies placed faith in the possibility that a user might find their asset in a sea of 75,000 other apps. Of all the early gambling on branded apps, it is awfully telling that the most successful project with over 5 million downloads is the "Zippo Virtual Lighter."
A better mobile outcome
As the hype-machine kept churning, many companies hoped to ride its coattails and garner their own PR attention by merely putting an app in the market. An alternative and more successful approach would be to place equal focus on the opportunities to create real consumer engagement and increase brand value, as well as the need to generate buzz.
The first step would be to determine what the company's business -- not mobile -- goals are, and then match them to the right mobile tactics. The app is merely one component that addresses a very specific audience. "Strategy first" needs to be the mantra that the modern-day marketer carries through a day while considering mobile, social, or any other new media.
What follows below is an in-depth analysis of three recent mobile initiatives, which made significant missteps, seemingly right from the planning stage. The one commonality shared by the campaigns from SIRIUS XM, Ralph Lauren, and Foot Locker is that for programs meant to engage the consumer, ironically, each one lost focus on that very target.
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