ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.

GRC?s Valerie Christopherson on the state of mobile PR

Valerie Christopherson runs one of the leading corporate communications firms with a major focus on mobile clients. How has she seen mobile marketing PR evolve over the past three years?

As founder and managing director of Global Results Communications, Ms. Christopherson oversees an ever-growing team of PR executives shepherding clients such as the Mobile Marketing Association, Nuance, Scanbuy, Mobile Giving Foundation, Mogreet, Femto Forum, Mavenir and Upstream. Given her association with current and past clients, she has seen an evolution in mobile marketing, as well as a jump in the number of companies in the space.

?Increased competition means there is a viable market and the more that enter the scene the better it is for the industry overall,? Ms. Christopherson said from her Irvine, CA-based headquarters.

In this Q&A, Ms. Christopherson discusses the expectations of her mobile clients, the market changes and what mobile brands need to do to get their message heard. Please read on.

You've been in this field long enough: How have you seen mobile marketing service providers evolve in the last three years?
Yes, officially 17 years in the mobile field representing hundreds of companies. 

Mobile marketing is an industry sector that evolves on a moment-by-moment basis with service providers rushing to keep the demands of the consumer. 

In the last three years, I believe that mobile marketing has matured to a point in which service providers are now in the position to implement more innovative campaigns going beyond SMS and into video/MMS. Consumers get it, they want it and are engaged. 
 
Has increased competition made it harder for mobile marketing firms to get their message out?
No. What it has done is created more compelling campaigns to ensure differentiation.

Increased competition means there is a viable market and the more that enter the scene the better it is for the industry overall.
 
In your estimate, what is the biggest challenge that mobile marketing firms face today?
Challenges are really opportunities for marketers. It means that the boundaries are being pushed. 

For mobile marketing firms, it?s about creativity and making sure that your focus is on the consumer at the individual level rather than the mass.
 
What seems to have worked to get these firms noticed in the media and with advertisers and potential clients?
Engagement. Those that understand the importance of engaging the audience are those that are successful today.

Relevancy must also be factored in to provoke engagement.
 
What tools are mobile marketing firms using to get their message heard?
One cannot overlook social media over mobile.

QR codes are also being used more and more as a means to get the message out. 

And, finally, video. These three tools are the most prominent means to get your message heard.
 
Are mobile marketing firms behaving like online marketing firms -- you know, exit strategy before client acquisition?
I don?t think so.

While acquisition/exit strategy is always on the mind for almost every busy person, I believe that client acquisition remains the focus. 

The mindset of building a business is still one that I believe is prominent.

Mobile marketing is not about technology, it?s about the customer which is the consumer.
 
How realistic are your clients' expectations in this market where everything is moving mobile and yet structural challenges persist?
GRC?s clients are realistic.

Our specialty in the space affords us the opportunity to work with top-notch players that get it.

Expectations are always being upped a notch. To me, that is a great thing ? why should we let technology challenges stifle the dream of making it possible?
 
What makes 2011 different from 2010?
Mindset. 

The conversations of ?why mobile marketing? has converted into ?we must be in mobile marketing