experience matters

I don’t know if I’d say the theme of last week’s iMedia Breakthrough Summit was mobile, but there has definitely been movement in the marketplace since this time, last year. There’s no secret in our industry that the mobile web has unlimited potential. Mobile is likely the most important of the emerging platforms. John Hadl, Managing Partner & Founder of BrandinHand, Inc. has been quoted as saying, “We are at the tipping point in terms of consumer adoption and the starting gate in term of marketers’ readiness to embrace the medium. 2008 is the year of rising tides … a rising tide lifts all ships.” By 2011, the mobile advertising market is estimated to be worth over $11.5 billion annually. While there were more noteworthy case studies at this year’s conference, mobile has yet to find a fixed spot in the marketing mix budget.  After talking with some of my peers, it seems like the biggest hurdle for mobile is that it is directly competing with online budgets. Should it be? Does it take the place of traditional or online media?

During one of the keynotes, Jeffrey Cole (above), director of the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future (that’s a mouthful); believes that, “No medium will disappear.” I agree, each medium has its own unique value proposition. As marketers, we determine how to prioritize the value and experience each delivers to the end-consumer. As the audience matures and the technology becomes more sophisticated, we’re seeing more brands leverage mobile platforms. For those of us in the industry, it feels like adoption is slow, but it’s still too complex for many advertisers to embrace. There are multiple carriers in the U.S. that won’t let us segment their audiences, technologies like GSM and CDMA, mobile ad networks, WAP applications, on-deck vs. off deck, etc…

We can wait for someone else to figure it out (which I’m not willing to do) – or we can stop treating it like the platforms of the past.  Mobile marketing has a unique offering around the consumer experience.  We need to focus on the brand problems we’re trying solve, thinking of mobile as a utility to solve those problems versus a technology.  Leverage the mobile device for what it is best used for: engagement through function and entertainment to add value and delight. 

While I don’t think that mobile is going to be a consistent marketing initiative for most brands this year (as much as I wish it would for some), there are a substantial amount of respectable branded case studies showcased at the event – I’ve included links to some, if they are live or if there is a site that offers more information:

• Our own, Mercedes-Benz: regional campaign yielded the highest conversion rate to the “C Ride” Event
• Land Rover iPhone Application: 23% responded to at least one call-to-action on the landing page
• Adidas360: $20,000 investment garnered 100,000+ interactions with the brand
• Dr. Pepper iPhone Match Game