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Consider brand objective before setting mobile holiday strategy: Mobile Marketing Summit

NEW YORK - More consumers will engage with mobile advertisements, Web sites, applications and mobile search functionality this holiday season, according to panelists at the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus conference.

Today?s shoppers are being trained to have the same expectations on mobile as they do on the wired Web. The panelists discussed why ads, SMS, mobile-optimized sites and applications matter for brand and customer experiences.

?Mobile is really about a customized experience,? said Patti Freeman Evans, vice president and research director at Forrester Research, New York. ?It?s aggregated, it?s giving me resources ? it?s relevant to me and it?s social.

?If brands use SMS and those kinds of tactics, then they should think about what their objectives are and then set a strategy,? she said. ?They should take a strategic approach and then they can begin to have a much clearer strategy.

?Our biggest challenge is to realize how not to piss off their customers.?

Mobile discussion
Other panelists included Shira Simmonds, president of Ping Mobile, Englewood Cliffs, NJ; Eric Litman, chairman/CEO of Medialets, New York; Jay Highley, president of Pangea Partners, Indianapolis, IN;  Michael Ahearn, vice president of marketing strategy at iLoop Mobile, San Jose, CA, and Bryce Marshall, director of strategic services at Knotice, Akron, OH.

The panel was moderated by mobile marketing consultant Ocean Fine.

According to Mr. Highley, consumers do not look at their mobile device as dramatically different from their PC.

There is a lot of noise and clutter with mobile, but getting started and learning is key, per Mr. Highley.

Retailers and brands that roll out a mobile SMS campaign, mobile site or application now, will have a competitive advantage.

?You really need to build a mobile base,? Mr. Highley said. "You can build a base across all of your mediums and encourage your consumer to engage with you and all the statistics and data suggests that consumers want to engage with us on mobile.

?I?m also a big fan of SMS because it works everywhere ? it?s a great way to get strated and most importantly learn from,? he said. ?So start looking at behaviors and start to learn from that.
?I think we?re very addicted to mobile device.?

Retail challenges
A big challenge is measurement and according to Mr. Highley, ultimately the company has to measure the point of sale.

For brands and retailers who are unsure of which mobile direction to take their company, iLoop Mobile?s Mr. Ahearn suggests starting with SMS.

Brands should avoid the paralysis of mobile and create some effective interaction with the consumer by using SMS and giving them great value.

?SMS is a great way to get into apps,? Mr. Ahearn said. ?SMS will get you out of the book and into mobile.

?I don?t think we?ll be successful training a consumer,? he said. ?I do think they expect utility and value.
?We don?t need to train a consumer, they?ve trained themselves.?

It?s all about integration
Integration is another key piece that brands should have in their multichannel strategies.

Mobile cannot exist by itself.

Mobile should be integrated into other marketing channels, including print and Web.

According to Knotice?s Mr. Marshall, consumers are expecting their favorite brands to be available to them via their mobile devices.

Consumers have a certain expectation of what their favorite brand?s mobile site or application will look like, but once they find it in the mobile space, it might not be the same expectation they had, according to Mr. Marshall.

When brands are building a mobile site, application or SMS campaign, they have to remember that it is all about convenience.

?The great thing now is that shoppers are coming into the store with their own hardware and that?s a game changer,? Mr. Marshall said. ?They?re expecting a single brand experience.?

Seamless experience
Consumers are expecting their brands to have a mobile application or site specifically made for their device, according to Medialet?s Mr. Litman.

For example, retailers should make sure that if they have a mobile application, they extend it to all smartphone platforms.

?Consumers today are getting smarter about mobile,? Mr. Litman said. ?It?s not about smartphones, it?s about smart interactions.

?You want to make sure you?re speaking to a tech-savvy group of people who understand why they?re interacting with a mobile device,? he said.

Ocean Fine

Patti Freeman Evans and Shira Simmonds

Eric Litman and Bryce Marshall

Michael Ahearn and Jay Highley

Final Take
Rimma Kats interviewed Mr. Highley at the conclusion of the panel. Here is the interivew:

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