MediaVision Blog : Search Engine Marketing

I was surfing the net at work the other day, as one does, searching for interesting news postings. There was a very interesting post about A US senator who is suing god, nominally to demonstrate the frivolity of civil court cases in a litigious society. It made for fascinating and amusing reading. Presumably because god is omniscient he knows about the proceedings and doesn’t need a subpoena. But I’m not going to write about a god suing senator, I’m going to write about mobile marketing, also an interesting subject and whether or not it will work in modern society.

This year around $3 billion will be spent on mobile advertising, it is expected that by 2011 that sum will exceed $11.35 billion. This is because it is expected that more mobile phone users will surf the net using their mobile phone technology. Mobile marketing is being tauted as the next big thing in interactive marketing. But there is always a “next big thing” and so far nothing has really lived up to that reputation. One Next Big Thing has simply been replaced by another. So can mobile marketing make the grade and stick around for the long haul? Let us consider the following pros and cons:

Pros:
1) High penetration of devices, twice as many cell phones as computers
2) Web searches on mobile phones will eventually exceed those on computers
3) Cell phones provide access to those who can’t afford computers
4) Mobile phones receive input anywhere, any time
5) People take their cell phones with them everywhere, companies can develop a relationship with customers
6) Good response rates for mobile campaigns
7) Messages to phones are more likely to be read than emails to computers

Cons:
1) Current WAP technology inadequate
2) General intolerance for advertising on personal devices
3) Trial and error period required for mobile marketers to learn how to succeed in a mobile market
4) Advertisers wary of consumer privacy issues
5) Establishment of reliable measurement metrics to measure effectiveness is needed
6) Reach is low, consumption of mobile content is is small and penetration of 3G devices is low in most countries

There is also the need to know the types of campaigns that work in mobile markets, how to target the audience and the important factors that lead to campaign success.

Overall it looks like mobile marketing has a 50/50 chance of working out. And if that’s not sitting on the fence I don’t know what is. It all depends on the determination and efficiency of the marketing companies themselves. If they put in the effort and do their homework and then put in the hours and the work then it stands every chance of being a success and exceeding expectations. But as with all things in life, if they only put in minimum effort and rely on second hand information and have slap dash “creativity” then the results will be as wishy washy as the companies themselves. Self determination will win this race.