Mobile marketing in 2009

Mobile marketing has been threatening to ‘go mainstream’ for over a decade. But the issues that have held it back have been its ability to live up to the promises of the technology companies. I always refer back to the infamous BT ads for their ‘Genie’ service that purported to allow consumers to “ surf the mobile internet”: the reality was a painfully slow connection delivering limited text based content, with terrible usability and high data costs (that were never transparent to the consumer).

As mobile internet speeds have increased through the advent of 3G and, more recently, HSPDA it’s been possible to create richer internet experiences for consumers: downloadable/streaming video and a richer web browsing experience. Certainly handsets such as the N95 started to live up to expectations. Yet the handsets were still clunky, technical and lacked true usability.

The iPhone changed all that –with a unique, intuitive user interface that (together with the uber-trendy Apple brand) has captured consumers’ imagination. This is the ONE mobile device that meets a multitude of needs: music player, mobile web browser, games machine phone.

And this is important. A critical component in whether big brands marketers will invest in mobile in 09 will be the extent to which the believe there is mass adoption of the technology. And we’re not quite there yet: the majority of mobile activity will still be text-to-wins, basic SMS communications and forays into mobile websites.

So what’s the outlook for 2009

• Mobile data costs will be addressed by the networks: bundles and clearer tariffs will mean that consumers are more open to experimenting with mobile content
• A core consumer shift will be that consumers will no longer need “log-on to the web” from their PC. They have the opportunity to will always be connected whether at home, work or on the move through a variety of devices that provide what we have called “pervasive connectivity”.

And with that mobile connectivity comes the possibility of a plethora of new services:

• Downloadable handset applications connected to the internet providing up-to-date information on everything from flight and travel details to stock market prices and sports results
• Location based services such as Google Maps that allow the consumer not simply to search for services – but search for services that are close to them.
• Increase in viral content (video etc) delivered not just online – but seeded to be distributed via mobile handsets
• Increase use of mobile internet and wap for promotional activity
• We will slowly see SMS text messaging give way to mobile email and instant messaging this has a special relevance for direct marketers. No longer will targeting simply be about the right message at the right time – but the right message at the right time in the right place.

Bluetooth will also be a continued area of growth. Bluetooth becomes a great channel for brand interaction on the move. Last year's 'Lost' TV series launch activity at Victoria Rail station was a great large scale use of this with downloable video content, images and ringtones.

But one of the biggest opportunities for the mobile device will relate to the much trumpeted ‘mobile wallet’. True cashless payments services may be a while away....but certainly from a loyalty perspective the mobile handset becomes a perfect solution to the problem of consumer’s every burgeoning number of loyalty cards. ‘Orange Wednesday’s’ pioneered the use of mobile at POS, and we will see pilots for these kinds of activities along with mobile vouchering and ticketing.