Mobile devices have become central to people's lives, making them representatives of the most important screen for end-users. These devices are the number one screen for people in Africa, making them a major point of contact for brands.
That's according to Nadia Gonzalez, VP for mobile marketing at Gemalto, who points out that if compared to other media channels such as radio and TV, the real power of mobile lies in the fact that it is contextual, timely and immediate.
As studies from the Mobile Marketing Association show, optimising mobile's role in the advertising mix delivers better results for the exact same budget, reaching +2,4% awareness and +3.4% purchase intent.
She notes that most importantly, whereas traditional advertising channels such as radio and TV only allow brands to push messages and promotions out, the mobile device offers an opportunity for brands and mobile operators to interact with the end users, better engage with them, share feedback, and even spread the word to friends and family, as social communities, through social media.
Gonzalez says the 'old school' sledgehammer marketing approach, which was all about shoving unwelcomed messages to consumers, is today broken. Consumers are nowadays bombarded with thousands of marketing messages on a daily basis but the majority of them are ignored and this traditional, one-way marketing approach doesn't work anymore, she notes.
As it is always on and interactive, she adds, the mobile channel appears as the perfect media to run marketing campaigns but, she calls for caution, saying mobile phone is a personal device which people are attached to and running 'mass market' untargeted marketing campaigns through this media could easily be perceived as too intrusive by the end-user and abusive mass marketing campaigns could simply spoil the channel.
"Our research shows that consumers have clear expectations regarding the way mobile marketing campaigns should be run."
She mentions that allowing people to make their own choices and opt-in for marketers' messages is the first critical step to fostering a relationship built on trust. It ensures the brand message is delivered to an audience of opted-in consumers who genuinely want to hear it. Thus, it provides the cornerstone of a strategy that delivers reach, interactivity and high response rates.
"It is also important for companies to identify themselves from the get-go, and be transparent about who they are and what they want. Messaging is a conversation and a relationship. You would not let a stranger into your home and the same holds true for brand communications on mobile."
To Gonzalez, if those golden rules are respected, the majority of the adult population would be won over by mobile marketing. "Successful mobile marketing is about meeting customers' requirements for relevant messages and implementing strategies that put the end user in control of the conversation."
She points that many mobile markets, in both developed and developing markets, are approaching saturation. "With current growth rates, there will be more mobile subscriptions than people on earth well before the end of the decade. But this hardly represents a tremendous growth story because mobile operators in all markets also face a rapid decline in the 'average revenue per user."
Against this backdrop, mobile operators have two options - they can attract more customers from rival operators, or they can wring more value from their existing customers. Operators are in an enviable position, well equipped to deliver what their subscribers want and appreciate, she says.
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