The double-dip recession predicted by some economists could scare timid brands away from mobile marketing, but provide opportunities for those with gumption.

For marketers that are using mobile effectively to make their existing marketing channels work harder for them, a double-dip recession will not have a detrimental effect on their mobile marketing and advertising spend. On the other hand, brands that are in experimental stages of mobile may cut back their investment in the channel and instead put their marketing dollars into a medium that they find less complex and risky.

?Some marketers may pull back in favor of media or channels with which they have more experience and hence a higher comfort level,? said Noah Elkin, senior analyst at eMarketer, New York.

?But savvy marketers will look at a recession as an opportunity ? to wring more out of their media spend through aggressive deal-making, to use mobile to make their other media work harder and to build more integrated, more connected programs,? he said.

Double-dip crunch
Joy Liuzzo, senior director of marketing and mobile research at InsightExpress, Stamford, CT, said that in the event of a double-dib recession, mobile marketing would definitely take a hit.

But because of the growth that was seen in the industry during the first economic slowdown, mobile would not experience a devastating decrease, should the recession hit a second time.

After all, the industry now stands taller and prouder, boasting both experience and proof of effectiveness.

A lot of brands and agencies have already tried multiple tactics in terms of mobile marketing and advertising, so it is not exactly unknown or intimidating to them. They also have multiple metrics they can use to understand the success of a campaign, per Ms. Liuzzo.

?I?m biased, so of course I?m going to say that mobile is a bright spot,? Ms. Liuzzo said. ?However, we honestly don?t know how consumers are going to react to another recession. 

?Are they going to cut down their data plans,? she said. ?Are their buying behaviors going to shift again? 

?If budgets are cut again, will advertisers value the quality of reach on mobile or the quantity reach in other media??

More confidence in mobile
Ms. Liuzzo is not alone in thinking that mobile may be a bright spot during the recession.

Consumers need to talk and transmit data regardless of the economic environment.

Most marketers understand that these are vital services that have recession resistance.

Marketers are going to continue to want to be where consumers are and they are mobile.

?If the economy goes through a double-dip recession, which I personally think it won?t, the rate of growth of mobile advertising may slow a bit, but we will still see significant growth,? said Paran Johar, chief marketing officer of Jumptap, New York. ?The reason for this is there is a massive shift in the advertising industry toward highly measurable media.

?Digital media is at the forefront of this transformation due to its measurability,? he said. ?Mobile is the next evolution in digital media, as within three-to-five years a majority of Internet access will be via mobile devices, according to Mary Meeker.?

Brennan Hayden, vice president of WDA Mobile Marketing, East Lansing, MI, agreed that mobile will absolutely be a bright spot.

Mr. Hayden predicts that traditional, more expensive media will get hit harder than mobile.

The ?bang-for-the-buck? available in mobile is what is going to save the channel, Mr. Hayden said.

?[It] should result in even reduced marketing budgets shifting partially from other media to mobile, provided the execution capability is in place for any given advertiser,? Mr. Hayden said. ?Any mobile marketing technology already deployed would and should be leveraged to the fullest.?

Could recession bring advantages?
EMarketer's Mr. Elkin said that recession is a great time to experiment for brands. Prices are favorable and everyone is in a deal-making mentality.

Consumers are all about deals during a recession. That is why it is important to make sure that a marketing program serves the circumstance.

So, it may be good a time to expand a brand?s mobile coupon strategy since it is likely to find an audience looking to save during hard economic times. 

However, it is very likely that some marketers will cut back on mobile marketing spend. You know the old adage - no one gets fired for buying television. In hard times, marketers may just go with what they know.

?I think it has less to do with sector and more to do with overall budget,? Ms. Liuzzo said. ?The smaller the budget, the less likely mobile marketing will be included.?

Brand loyalty during recession
Consumers will likely be looking to cut household costs, should another recession hit. Mobile can restore diminished brand loyalty during a recession, according to comScore.

Mobile represents a new access point for brand engagement and marketing opportunities. The channel could be used to reach consumers at the point of purchase, when they are more likely to make impulse buys.

?Mobile would be a bright spot because of its uncluttered environment on the handset, its portability, its ability to target and its evolving rich-media possibilities,? Mr. Johar said.

A March comScore study found that the CPG category is where consumers are most likely to want to cut down in spend in a recessionary environment. Trading down to generic, cheaper brands is very common.

Brands can use mobile marketing to maintain share of voice during a recession in order to better position themselves for success as the economy rebounds.

The success of location-based mobile social networks such as Foursquare and Gowalla encourage loyalty to local venues and businesses.

It is easy to imagine an extension of these types of services that will encourage interacting with certain brands via mobile during a recession.

Best practices
Marketers need to consider the mobile channel to drive increased consumer engagement and long-term brand loyalty during an economic slump.

?Technology build-out would absolutely get hit the hardest, regardless of the sector,? Mr. Hayden said. ?Any company strong enough to waive technology fees temporarily would capture a lot of accounts, in my opinion.

?But business-to-business marketing would be most likely to reduce mobile the most,? he said. ?In B2C, mobile marketing is more about targeting leverage, and better targeting is critical in a recession.

?In B2B, mobile is more about customer service, and customer service tends to go old-school during a recession, thus reducing the push for mobile in this sector.?