Marketing to go: mobile ad­ver­tis­ing

Three quarters of all mobile phones sold are capable of con­nect­ing to the internet, and the number of people who take advantage of this function to shop for goods and services online is con­stant­ly in­creas­ing. Thanks to these de­vel­op­ments, smart­phones are slowly becoming a portable re­place­ment for the desktop computer, posing in­ter­est­ing new chal­lenges for marketers. Desktop internet ad­ver­tis­ing and mobile ad­ver­tis­ing cannot be con­sid­ered in the same league; the latter has trans­formed into an entirely separate entity with its own set of rules, defined by a smaller display space and limited options, among other things. At the same time, mobile ad­ver­tis­ing has a far greater proximity to the consumer – after all, most of us have our smart­phones within arm’s reach most of the time. The real task is finding the right way to make a mobile ad­ver­tise­ment appear both at­trac­tive and so­phis­ti­cat­ed so that it’s still perfectly adjusted to the mobile en­vi­ron­ment and is ac­cept­able to the consumer.

Mobile ad­ver­tis­ing occurs over a range of different channels. Besides the obvious op­por­tu­ni­ties this presents for ad­ver­tis­ing on mobile browsers and free apps, it’s also relevant for different com­mu­ni­ca­tion channels, i.e. instant mes­sen­gers and text messages. Ad­ver­tis­ers can also place mul­ti­me­dia ad­ver­tise­ments on various forms of mobile video and TV ap­pli­ca­tions.

The different channels of com­mu­ni­ca­tion in mobile ad­ver­tis­ing at a glance:

• Mobile web
• Mobile ap­pli­ca­tions
• Mobile messaging
• Mobile video/TV
• Text messages (SMS/MMS)

Overlay ads or pop-ups are perceived as a dis­tur­bance by mobile browsers; this is because dis­turb­ing the user’s activity is exactly what they are designed to do. While embedding mobile ads in editorial content isn’t obtrusive, banners appear more cum­ber­some and bulky, in­ter­rupt­ing the natural flow of reading. Even if this kind of ad­ver­tis­ing is designed to appear more subtle and natural, it’s still noticed by the user. The consumer then makes a conscious decision as to whether they want to read your ad or not. You should therefore ensure the contents of your ads suit the needs of the reader. 

Given the reduced screen size, mobile ads are always far more present than their desktop coun­ter­parts; this can either come across as annoying or lead to high ad im­pres­sions, depending on the quality of your design. Effective mobile ad­ver­tis­ing is often cus­tomized (i.e. varied, adapted to suit different locations). Ex­tract­ing useful in­for­ma­tion from GPS systems (i.e. geodata, weather forecasts) also allows marketers to zero in on specific regions, target groups and sit­u­a­tions, so that their ads can be rolled out in a con­trolled manner that is precisely tailored to their target audience.

In­ter­ac­tion with the target audience is a trump card in the world of mobile ad­ver­tis­ing. The different mobile devices fa­cil­i­tate a variety of tech­niques to reach out to customers directly, stim­u­lat­ing concrete actions. This new form of in­ter­ac­tive ad­ver­tis­ing opens doors to unique and in­no­v­a­tive concepts with a playful feel. This results in a strong user en­gage­ment, an in­creas­ing appeal, and positive recall ratings in the long-term.

When it comes to the ad­van­tages of mobile ad­ver­tis­ing, the strengths of the medium itself are plain to see. As smart­phones and tablets become an in­creas­ing­ly integral part of our daily lives, a higher degree of ac­ces­si­bil­i­ty is created, along with strong op­por­tu­ni­ties for cus­tomiz­ing campaigns with rel­a­tive­ly low scat­ter­ing loss. Real-time in­ter­ac­tion is also possible. Users can react and interact with ad­ver­tis­ers over their smart­phone with no media dis­rup­tion. Mobile com­mu­ni­ca­tion also enables an af­ford­able kind of direct ad­ver­tis­ing.

But of course, the medium also has its dis­ad­van­tages. The small screen, the private en­vi­ron­ment, and the intensive use can lead to users quickly becoming irritated with the ads. Making an effective mobile ad­ver­tise­ment is always a balancing act of reaching out to the target audience without invading their space with annoying ads. These lim­i­ta­tions, caused by the user interface, also have an influence on the ad’s design. It’s not always possible or logical to use large images and long texts on small, portable devices, which forces ad­ver­tis­ers to think of creative new ways to get their message out.