Just two years ago, Steve Jobs brought the iPhone to the world and since then the term 'apps' has become a household name, with more than 100,000 mobile applications available for the iPhone alone, plus apps for Symbian, Android and other popular handsets. This mobile revolution is a tipping point for people connecting with the mobile internet and we now see nearly 4 billion people worldwide accessing the internet through mobile devices everyday.
Just this week, mobile advertising got a huge valuation and push into the limelight from Google when they announced that they were to buy mobile ad marketplace Admob for $750 million.
If you aren't keeping an eye on this mobile revolution and how to reach people through this medium, you are missing out on a powerful way to connect with consumers. But it is not too late. With 2010 just around the corner, ad spend budgets are being formulated for the new year and can include, at surprisingly affordable rates, planning for mobile advertising campaigns. Here are three reasons why a mobile advertising company can benefit a brand:
- Reach a global audience of 4 billion people, or target a geographic region
- Connect with consumers through the most personal device they own
- Extend brand awareness and engagement to the mobile medium
With millions of people accessing web content through mobile phones, the mobile advertising market has grown fiercely over the last three years and so has the number of mobile ad networks offering services. If you are investigating mobile advertising for 2010, you have probably encountered a number of ad networks offering services with different reach and inventory. New optimisation platforms have emerged to connect international or local campaigns with global mobile inventory.
In planning a mobile advertising campaign, it is best to turn to the experts to figure out the best approach, keeping in mind:
- The geographic reach of the mobile advertising company (can you reach North America and Europe effectively?)
- Amount of inventory of mobile content supplied by a company (what category of apps and services is using the mobile advertising company you are thinking about picking?)
- Does the network serve ads on the most popular handsets (can you reach customers on the iPhone and Android or other smartphones with the mobile advertising company you have in mind?)
Here are six tips in planning your first mobile campaign:
- What countries and demographic target group do you want to reach? Provide a list of targeting specifics like geographic regions, gender, age and content category (channels) to the mobile advertising company.
- Do you have engaging banner campaigns and is your branded mobile site 'conversational'? Mobile citizens are very discriminating with their attention. Get a great award winning mobile agency to show you how.
- What are the handsets that you want to serve ads on? Be sure to check that your mobile content (landing pages) will have compatibility with iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other popular handsets.
- What are you planning to spend? A mobile advertising campaign can cost as little as £20, but can easily be £50,000 for a global outreach.
- What is the timing on your campaign? Work with the mobile advertising company to schedule best times for campaign distribution and to determine the best length of time your campaign should run. Mobiles have peak usage time, much like other media.
- Promote it! Remember to promote your mobile advertising campaign in other media, such as social media networks and through traditional PR channels, to increase attention.
Many advertisers and customers of our local ad network partners are running mobile advertising campaigns based on targeting criteria, such as location, that see impressive lifts of up to 600 per cent compared to non-targeted ads. Smaato works in partnership with content publishers to enrich the handset users' ad requests with anonymous keywords, which help to work out channel segments and pinpoint reaching the most relevant mobile consumers in a target market.
I think mobile advertising spend will have a significant growth rate in the upcoming year. After the worst of the recession is over, we think we will go back to the growth rate of 2008 and with the ongoing iPhone, Android, mobile internet and social media hype, the media planners will open up their eyes and budgets to the medium that is always in close reach of the consumer.
So, in planning for 2010, make room for ad spend in mobile advertising and reach consumers through the most personal accessory they own -- their mobile phone.
Harald Neidhardt is the CMO and co-founder of Smaato.
