The promise of mobile web marketing in South Africa

The only country in the world where mobile web marketing has truly taken off is Japan. The Japanese have been using their mobile phones to access the internet, send emails, buy items and pay for store bought items via “electronic wallets” for years, and they haven`t been using iPhones. Their mobile technology companies churn out 100s of new models annually, each with more sophistication and more features than the generation before. The question is: why have they managed to embrace mobile technology while the rest of the world struggles to do so?

Smartphones in Japan

Serkan Toto, who lives in Japan, believes that there are five specific factors that have enabled the mass adoption of the mobile web in Japan:
• The overwhelming presence of advanced cell phones that cater to unique consumer needs
• Tech savvy consumers who rely on their phones for web experiences
• A reliable technical infrastructure
• A relatively sound regulatory policy
• A mutually beneficial relationship between carriers and content providers

In an article for Consumer Preference, Tony Norcross, sees things slightly differently. He attributes the growth of the mobile web in Asia to:
• Lack of choice, as the majority of the population (especially in China) don`t have access to the internet within their homes, accessing it via mobile phones has always been easier and made more sense
• Mobile email, in Japan, mobile internet services where launched with mobile email, as a consequence the Japanese population began using their phones rather than their PCs to access their email
• Better revenue sharing, content owners have a larger share of the profits in Japan than those in Europe and America
• Single culture, it`s easier to market technology to a single culture with similar values and needs than it is to an area with multiple cultures and diverse needs

Commuting has mobile appeal in Japan

If a single culture played such a large role in the adoption of the mobile web in Japan, and indeed, across most of the Far East, then what hope is there for Europe, or even Africa, with their range of cultures? Africa`s mobile web problems are compounded by a lack of reliable infrastructure, relative poverty and a far less sophisticated level of technology in general. Even South Africa, which many believe to be one of the more technologically advanced countries in Africa, is years behind the East in terms of technological sophistication.

But the picture is not nearly as gloomy as some would believe. In an article for emarketing trends, Melt du Plooy, says that over the past two years Africa has shown the strongest gains in mobile subscription growth. And according to Allan Kent, head of the interactive division at Saatchi and Saatchi SA, South Africa has 4 million internet users, with 42 million mobile subscriptions, which augers very well for the adoption of the mobile web. In addition, South Africans are hungry for new technology. They are determined to prove to the rest of the world that they are not some backwater hick country that thinks flushing toilets are the acme of evolution.

Allan Kent says, “We need to stop thinking of the mobile web as technology, but rather how it enables engagement and communication.” This is a very important point, as one of the things that keeps hindering the mobile web in Europe and America is the fact that developers keep trying to replicate web online experiences on mobile phones, and it just doesn`t work. For starters, people use the mobile web for different reasons than they do internet online. Mobile users usually look for practical information - directions, services, and certain types of purchases. And they want information quickly because they don`t have the time, or the patience to scroll through reams of suggestions or pages of data to find what they are looking for.

All of which means that website owners and designers need to adopt different tactics if they want to succeed on the mobile web. Take Nando`s for example. Nando`s is a popular restaurant franchise in South Africa. It`s famous for its peri-peri chicken and original, innovative and clever adverts. In conjunction with DigitalMobile, Nando`s has launched their ‘MobiZone`, which provides customers with information regarding their nearest franchise, menus and current competitions, all via their cell phones.

Brandon Meszaros, managing director of DigitalMobile, explains that the system is based on a ‘push strategy`, which means that users SMS or text ‘Nandos` to a number in order to receive a link that allows them to download relevant Nando`s information. The service also determines the model of phone that the request comes from and delivers content in a format most suitable to that type of phone. This type of customisation is important because many studies have shown that one bad experience on the mobile web is enough to make users think twice about using it ever again.

While the Japanese have overcome most of the problems presented by the mobile web, the west is still struggling with a number of obstacles, including small screen size, speed, broken pages, navigation and lack of windows (or single tabs only). But the new 3G iPhone (I should have known I wouldn`t be able to write about the mobile web without referring to Apple`s new baby) has solved a great many of these problems, not completely granted (some people complain bitterly about the lack of a cut and paste feature), but they have come a long way since their first model. The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and also done its bit by releasing a Global Code of Conduct for mobile marketers to follow. Various analytics companies (Bango, comScore, M:Metrics) have developed solutions purely for mobile web applications. And mobile apps now offer a viable alternative to mobile advertising.

With all of this development going, it`s not surprising that some universities have started including mobile marketing courses to their curriculum. One of the pioneers in this field is the University of Cape Town`s graduate school of business, which has developed a course that will help marketers reach the vast number of cell phone users in South Africa.

Japan may own the mobile web, but with so much enthusiasm, development and learning going on in South Africa, it`s no surprise that many believe South Africa to lead the way for mobile web marketing among developing countries. Perhaps even America and Europe will learn a thing or two.