Is Mobile Marketing Becoming Primary Marketing?

Mobile marketing is still considered an emerging form of marketing however it is growing in popularity at a staggering rate. As Lesson 5 in our course states “In fact, according to research firm Informa, worldwide cell phone subscriptions recently reached 3.3 billion, which is just about HALF the world’s population! As such, cell phones have become a primary means of communication, not only for voice calls but also for digital services, email and digital photos. Published reports state that more than half of worldwide subscribers are active users of text messages (also known as SMS messages) and according to the Yankee Group, over 15% of these messages can be categorized as commercial (i.e., marketing)” (Lesson 5, IMC 619).

Still not convinced that mobile advertising is here to stay…..check out these numbers from the Mobile Marketing Association “Research from the Nielsen Company shows a steady rise in mobile Internet usage, with more than 100 million unique mobile subscribers and $1.8 billion in revenues for the second quarter of 2008. The 102 million mobile Internet subscribers represent 39% of all wireless subscriptions, and a 32% increase in year over year growth since Q2 2007” (Mobile Marketing Association web site).

With these statistics in mind, it makes me wonder if mobile marketing will become the primary form of advertising eventually. I can’t say for sure that it will, but here are some reasons as to why it has a chance to become the premier form of marketing:

1. Direct, Targeted & Measurable – It’s every marketers dream to send direct messages to the right audience and be able to measure it. Mobile marketing allows for this.

2. Cost – Mobile marketing is less expensive than traditional forms of advertising and with the way the economy is going (or not going) right now, marketers will inevitably have to look at smarter and more cost efficient means to get their message out in the public. Mobile marketing provides a good alternative to traditional forms of advertising. This is particularly advantageous for small businesses that may not need the reach of traditional advertising and also may not have the budget to support it.

3. Actionable – Mobile marketing allows customers to interact with a brand immediately when they receive a message. This is important because it allows customer to react on the spot rather than hoping the customer will remember to do something later on. Customers are getting bombarded by marketing messages more now than ever, therefore it is important to get the customer to act as soon as possible otherwise a marketer may lose the customer’s attention to another message within seconds. Mobile marketing minimizes the effort it takes for a customer to interact with the brand.

Time will tell if mobile marketing becomes king of advertising but from what I can see; it’s on the right track.


- Patrick

References

Retrieved on November 24, 2008 from http://www.mmaglobal.com/research/mobile-internet-usage-continues-climb

IMC 619 Week 3 Lesson. 2008 West Virginia University.