Brands finally realize the importance of including mobile in holiday marketing plans, since not doing so means missing out on a core demographic of their audience who are often key influencers for products and services.

The 2009 winter holiday season was the largest single mobile ad season seen to date. However, early indicators show that the 2010 holiday season will dwarf last year?s.

?Brands and marketers that do not include mobile in their holiday marketing plans this year will miss out on a growing number of consumers who will be considering products via their mobile devices, especially those with advanced smartphones who search and browse products and brands,? said Neil Strother, Kirkland,WA-based practice director at ABI Research.

What has changed?
Industry experts predict that mobile marketing budgets will reach their peaks this holiday season.

Budgets will depend on the type of campaign, of course.

Mr. Strother predicts that some will be in the five- and six-figure range, and a few for the iAd system will be in seven figures.

?The holiday campaigns that were the highest performing on our network [last year] spent a good portion of the late summer and early fall on brand awareness and some promotional efforts, leading into larger promotional campaigns in the fourth quarter and throughout the holidays,? said Mack McKelvey, senior vice president of marketing at Millennial Media, Batlimore, MD.

?We have numerous advertisers already deploying the same methodology this year,? she said.

What makes this holiday season for mobile different from last year?s is that more people with smartphones will be using applications and social networks to connect with brands.

Smartphone users will also be looking for special offers, deals and coupons.

Also, more brands have a mobile strategy and fairly modest mobile budgets to connect with this growing audience, since last year marked the beginning of a recession.

The recession is over and brands have more money to spend this year, when mobile plays an even more important role in the lives of consumers.

Because smartphones are becoming the standard, marketers are flocking to the various platforms this holiday season.

Smartphones are providing more scale for advertisers with budgets to spend. Their enhanced capabilities make it feasible to do more interactive and video-driven appeals.
 
Mobile commerce is making strides, with more consumers finding it easy to buy on the go.

Smartphones allow for large amounts of quality content, attracting brand advertisers. Mobile content, games and applications are providing various marketing opportunities.

What to expect
The iPhone 4, iPad and Android devices will play a large role in regards to how this holiday season will shape.

Expect more rich media and mobile video advertising. Also, there will be more location-based campaigns. 

Mobile social network-based loyalty programs are going to be huge.

IAd campaigns are going to change the mobile marketing ecosystem forever, as advertisers will get their first shot at using the platform to reach consumers.

Marketers will focus their mobile programs to address consumers? holiday needs through emphasis on the mobile wish list or shopping list access, product locators and gift suggestions.

Mobile coupon campaigns are going to be very prominent this holiday season as will loyalty campaigns that increase consumer retention and spend.

Additionally, campaigns that focus on customer interaction and growth are going to be big as well.

Customer profiling is key during the holiday season so expect mobile polls, votes and surveys.

Experts predict there will be much more interactive with SMS and WAP this holiday season.

Most of the campaigns that Jeff Becker, senior director of marketing at Apptera, Sunnyvale, CA, is seeing show that brands are most interested in reaching social media communities through audio and visual mobile engagements.  

This year advertisers are upping the ante on engagement by integrating video content into the mobile ad.

Budgets depend on category. The largest budgets are coming from the auto, finance and retail sectors.

Mr. Becker said that he is seeing budgets ranging from $50,000-$250,000, which is way more than last year.

?There is such a thing as a holiday mobile strategy, especially for brands that want to reach a younger adult demographic that will be constantly checking in with their devices on social networks, playing games or interacting with apps that have a connection to brands,? Mr. Strother said.

Paran Johar, chief marketing officer of Jumptap, New York, said that holiday budgets for mobile are increasing at an aggressive rate.

There is a surge in the number and categories of brands advertising as well the level of integration into overall campaigns.

?The days of the $25,000 mobile test buy are numbered as brands and agencies have seen the power of mobile and are adjusting their budgets accordingly,? Mr. Johar said. ?We are seeing increased fragmentation of media with a clear focus on digital and the mobile channel.

?Advertisers have embraced digital media as a core component of any media plan and as such see mobile as a natural extension to reach the consumer on the go,? he said. 

David Gwozdz, CEO of Mojiva, New York, said that for shoppers, travelers and foodies, the holiday season is when activity is high and purchases are above normal. 

Holidays are highly emotional and social for most people.

Mobile usage is simultaneously very personal and social at the same time. 

?Reaching and engaging customers via mobile should be a key component to any media mix this season,? Mr. Gwozdz said. ?With all of the new gift apps and shopping list apps available, finding the right gift on the go has never been easier.

?And with location-based apps, now finding that gift that is closest and cheapest is also at many consumers? fingertips,? he said. ?I also think there have been enough advances in the devices and services themselves to warrant new device and tablet purchases.?

Bruce Hershey, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Adz2Mobile, Naples, FL, said that he is seeing the mobile marketing budget percentage growing as high as 30 percent of overall budget, with an average of 23 percent, which is a big spike from last year.

The growth is due to the fact that brands and agencies have been seeing positive results from their current campaigns.

Additionally, brands have been hearing how well their competition is doing on their mobile campaigns.

Smart marketers will devise a holiday strategy around push promotions, commerce and coupons. 

?Let?s face it, if you are looking to create a true one to one intimate relationship with you consumers and you are looking to engage them in real time with relevant information, mobile is the only way you can make that happen effectively and efficiently,? Mr. Hershey said. 

?Brands are starting to not just do mobile to do it,? he said. ?They are looking to mobile strategy that does more that brand recognition.

?It is not about being outside the box, it is about filling your box with as many mobile customers as possible so we can reengage them back to the brand.?

Millennial Media?s Ms. McKelvey said that her company has seen an uptick over the past few weeks in new retail, travel, auto and CPG holiday budgets.

Marketers in these sectors understand that premium inventory will go fast in the fourth quarter, and that a creative mobile consumer engagement strategy can be reached with pre-planning. 

Best practices
1. Keep it simple and relevant
2. Ensure the consumer can understand what to do and how to do it
3. Engage the consumer with a call to action that resonates
4. Do what you promise you are going to do
5. Monetize the program to provide positive ROI for the brand/client
6. Try a viral marketing component with social media baked in (i.e. ?Like? button on Facebook, invite friends to watch trailer, post to Facebook/Twitter account)
7. Utilize mobile as a lower funnel marketing strategy to get people in-store or remind them about last minute deals/offers
8. Give consumers an incentive to engage ? offer has to be meaningful
9.  Include a call-to-action (go to Web site, go in-store, watch a video) on all mobile engagements

?Those that are planning now will reap the benefits,? Ms. McKelvey said. ?Those that do not embark on holiday planning soon, may be relegated to inventory and targeting that does not necessarily meet their expectations.?

Final Take
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