Mobile Marketing in 2011
Mobile Technologies Grasp On Our Lives
mo·bile mar·ket·ing
- The "set of practices" includes "activities, institutions, processes, industry players, standards, advertising and media, direct response, promotions, relationship management, CRM, customer services, loyalty, social marketing, and all the many faces and facets of marketing."
- To "engage" means to "start relationships, acquire, generate activity, stimulate social interaction with organization and community members, [and] be present at time of consumers expressed need." Furthermore, engagement can be initiated by the consumer ("Pull" in form of a click or response) or by the marketer ("Push")
>> http://mmaglobal.com/news/mma-updates-definition-mobile-marketingSMS
- SMS is a way of sending short written messages from one mobile phone to another. SMS is an abbreviation for `short message system'. n-uncount
>> http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/SMSMMS
- multimedia messaging service, takes SMS (short message service) text messaging a step further by allowing for longer lengths beyond the traditional, 160-character SMS limit.
>> http://cellphones.about.com/od/phoneglossary/g/mmspicturemessaging.htmSection One - Overview Page 1
Written by Sadie Ward | April 28, 2010
Mobile marketing is one of the most individualized marketing strategies ever created.
A decade ago, who would have thought a person's entire life could be completely organized and updated using a device that could fit in the palm of their hand? In the digital age of cell phones, a person's life can be completely structured around his or her phone. Cell phones have a range of applications that vary from performing simple tasks, such as making a phone call or text message, to the more complex, like paying bills online, receiving coupons from nearby stores and restaurants, locating where a person is in the world, and even formulating suggestions of activities the user would like to accomplish. Mobile marketing is one of the most rapid areas of growth in the business world today, yet some people may not be aware of all the capabilities mobile phones and devices can offer. It has such huge potential for growth that there is already an organization deemed with regulating mobile marketing, the Mobile Marketing Association [MMA].
Their website contains a wide variety of resources for anyone interested in mobile marketing. Its resources range from highly technical to simple half page articles. Anyone who is hearing about mobile marketing for the first time should read the Mobile Marketing Association's "Mobile Advertising Overview," because this article articulates a broad but detailed understanding of mobile marketing.
Mobile marketing is one of the most individualized marketing strategies ever created. The Mobile Marketing Association (2009) states it as "one mobile phone is one unique user" (p. 1), because, how much closer can you get to a consumer than sitting in their pocket? The Mobile Marketing Association (2009) goes further by describing a phone as an interactive tool for each user. Phones have more uses than just calling; they can do a variety of actions simply by clicking on the phone such as, "locate, order a brochure, enter competition, receive e-mail, receive mobile coupons, purchase items, download content, forward content, watch video, and even vote," (p. 3). Mobile marketing goes beyond traditional marketing to target markets more effectively and efficiently.
The Mobile Marketing Association outlines some of the challenges of marketing on a cell phone. The screen space is much smaller than any other electronic device previously used for marketing. Another challenge is that phones have different aspect ratios and resolutions, which makes designing the perfect screen page a challenge with so many variations available to the consumer. The Mobile Marketing Association actually has a variety of pictures showing the different sizes and resolutions of phone screens. "Mobile Advertising Overview" gives visuals of phones with 6:1 and 4:1 aspect ratios, but with more smart phones coming out with bigger screens, there are even more aspect ratios to design. Another factor that goes into mobile marketing is that when people use their phones, they only have a short period of time to obtain their information, and so they demand and expect it to be available immediately. The combination of all these factors makes it a necessity that mobile marketing be clear and to the point (MMA, 2009).
In any type of marketing it is always hard to measure success. However, with mobile marketing, a person can measure the success of a campaign by the number of impressions and clicks. The Mobile Marketing Association (2009) lists ten characteristics that make mobile marketing measurable and successful: Ubiquitous SMS access, growing MMS access, high attention level, simplicity, engaging, compatibility, propagation, measurable results, easy to integrate into 360 degree communication, and direct and personal way of communication.
