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Someone told me five years back that “this is the year of mobile or if not this season it will be next year — possibly”.
As a person on the head I enjoy mobile, however to me that the mobile press of today is similar to most other trending, shape-shifting and emerging media, a single legged stool. Interesting to check at and talk, but tough to really utilize.
I wonder if cellular, when looked at as a single-source networking (and perhaps only partially cellular — it all depends on how we define becoming portable, but this is another article on its own) is a networking searching for partners, integrators, extenders, convergence and other media, heritage or emerging tools/technology to make the current process truly successful and yes truly, entirely, interactive and portable. Otherwise, then the article’s headline is not a prediction, but will be a fact!
Mobile is no longer “only” a smart phone, no cellphone includes a variety of tools, including but certainly not limited to smart and not so smart phones, tablets, gaming consoles, private interactivity, wearable technologies, appliances, houses, trains, planes and automobiles designed to deliver from a brand to the targeted customer.
The delivery system is set up through “mobile or real-time usage and in turn context and content that is as the army and other high risk professions state as “situation aware”. Mobile has the capability to be over a data-rich advertising tool, cellular has the ability to redefine advertising that I, together with 27 years of advertising expertise, have yet to see!
Challenge the current state of mobile
Much of what I have mentioned so far is attainable and real? Is the ability to deliver relevant content and context in real time (and quantifiable) through the “use” purpose of current cellular technology (a transitional media) and implementation sufficient to create mobile the long term, profit-generating technologies, the upcoming big new thing that many have foreseen, perhaps yes, not?
Personally, I am not sure!
My argument is valid if the world of advertising is shifting to customisation, algorithm, data and segmentations. In case the advertising world moves out and returns into corrals that are broad-based vs structured not-so-customised silos, I’m mistaken.
I wonder and worry about the use of single-sourced mobile technology that will include incorrect demographic and messaging segmentation that this technology along with its use may bring to the marketing world. My panic focuses on messaging that is failed or frustration mobile-based fragmentation and changing.
Fragmentation
Mobile can be seen as an orchestra or a musician searching for an audience, or a music type searching for listeners. Is your client trying to find a trio, a solo performer or a quartet? What about the message or the Kind of music? Is it rock, room music n’ roll, jazz, big band or even a channel that is symphonic?
Does the selection of size and music type affect the objective of selling. Can the provider that is mobile, you, connect the two, three or four? What if a customer wants jazz played with woodwind instrumentation by a chamber quartet, can source cellular bring the consumer that?
Frustration
Will theories that are trending endless miss-used and over-use media such as unders, banner ads, pop-ups, e-mails and ailing fated-media’s cases add to the degrees of frustration? I have heard the complaints, have you?
Significance and Variety reduces frustration. Its deployment and highly relevant content can eliminate the potential of frustration that is mobile-centric.
Fluctuating or failed messaging
What about the end result of a experience that is mobile that is bad? What about neglected, confusing and incorrect messaging? If you think you have a higher rate of vacant or abandoned shopping carts today, wait till poor practices that are mobile overwhelm the customer.
Poor messaging or incorrectly deployed sales will be impacted by offers. Studies reveal mobile’s rise and potential to become massive, but if you’re dealing with frustrated, fragmented and confused audiences, would that condition of events meet or improve the failure to market rate?
The saving grace is integration
Mobile when connected, partnered and incorporated with other real time or non real-time, customised (isn’t cellular the most personal of all advertising tools — it is with YOUR customer all the time and is solely, truly theirs) advertising tools becomes the instrument that leads the fee.
It will fulfill the dream of most CMO’s — dialogue and participation. Mobile is a tool that is not only being used more than 150 times a day, but that usage can and will be linked to the geographic place (geocaching) and the societal needs of the user? The venture should not end here!
Improved cellular offers customisation or Integrated, personalisation, tiered functionality as well as articles and situationally aware contextmeasurement metrics and tracking. The convergence of different media and mobile is the future of mobile, a future that will then not be a prediction but be based on fact.
Today this approach is known to some as SoLoMo or social, location and cellular but this name can be an issue because we are living in a formula, algorithm-driven world and also the formulation of SoLoMo seems to etched in rock, too patterned and too restricted for the full convergence of different media with cellular.
The new mobile must not be direct by societal, followed by mobile and ended with location. Instead, the viability and potential for mobile will be the correct use and integration of switching and shape-shifting marketing components which may be added to boost the cell mix. The when, why, where, how and the need has to be contained, the true anagram should contain all of the letters of the promotion alphabet: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ!!
I foresee this incorporated phone being called improved mobile, profit-based mobile, performance-based mobile, mobile plus, expanded mobile, cellular convergence, ROM (reunite on cellular) or just results-based mobile.
Maybe plus is your catch phrase. The term that will clearly define the marketers’ tool. A tool like mobile is with two borders, like a double-edged sword. One facet of this sword is cutting out service/benefit-based algorithms designed to support the needs of the audience along with the needs of this brand and the second side cutting and ready to serve messages.
The end game
Mobile, oftentimes, will lead into consumer experience and the next. Mobile Should act as an integrated, communication intersection which can lead to the all-desired sale, but not if the campaign is Regarded as fragmented or bothersome and has fluctuating messaging
Should you want a good example (in my opinion) consider exactly what occurred to QR codes. Perhaps only a tool to me, but in your thoughts it’s a badly defined tool that has ended up on the garbage heap of marketing.
A number of the articles posted this month offering marketing predictions and beyond measurement define variable, data, dialogue, participation, personalization and customised messaging and yes ROI as the fantasy hoped to be fulfilled by contemporary marketing.
The mobile at the forefront of this business can provide all this and a whole lot more. In fact, with the foundation mobile becomes the upcoming big thing in marketing, but redefines the station and redefines the advertising mix for years to come.
Summary
Sure mobile will survive and I want to see mobile do more than just survive. I hope to see cellular getting the lead, the driving force, the future of real time media tools that are incorporated. I want it to turn into a tool that will not only meet desires and our needs, but look tomorrow and seem to ten years from now. Mobile will have the ability to state and prove that cellular is the media tool for the next century.
After all unless a huge black swan event seems, I don’t see usage declining, just increasing as data from the numerous mobile suppliers indicate.
The evidence is often not in the pudding but at a publication, so why don’t you take a look in, “What Does Media Mean To You” developed and written by Harvey R. Levenson, Ph. D? Harvey’s book offers proof and multiple explanations for why mobile has to be integrated with other marketing programs.
