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.

Why mobile is a must this holiday season

The huge potential of mobile will be realized this holiday season as brands go all in ramping up their multichannel marketing strategy during this crucial, challenging time of year.

Mobile calls to action featuring an SMS keyword and short code or mobile bar code can make holiday-themed traditional media actionable and measurable. Savvy retailers can get the word out about holiday sales via SMS, the mobile Web and branded applications, while brands can use various forms of mobile advertising to achieve their holiday-specific goals.

?I suspect when we all look back?and we will?to try to understand when mobile moved from interesting to nice-to-have to the heart of an all-channel brand program, it will be Christmas 2010 we all nod knowingly and nostalgically about,? said Thom Kennon, New York-based vice president of strategy at Wunderman, part of WPP?s Young & Rubicam Brands.

?There?s simply a whole lot of consumer spending going on [during the holidays] and mobile is the hero touchpoint to reach and activate consumers at almost every moment of behavioral truth across their shopping, purchase and fulfillment journeys,? he said.

?[Consumers?] mobile phone is with them at every single moment from Halloween through to the January sales?get into their pocket and purse!? 

Mr. Kennon offered up a piece of planning advice: Hanukkah is early this year, Dec. 1-9, so marketers should use that as a mini-crescendo point bridging their Black Friday and Christmas mobile-centric holiday brand activation plans.

Breaking through the holiday clutter
During the holidays, consumers are bombarded with holiday-themed advertising of all kinds.

So how can a brand secure that real-estate ahead of and instead of its key competitors or other consumer alternatives?

The answer will range across a mix of consumer behaviors to trigger?everything from opting into SMS alerts, downloading a coupon application, opening a Bluetooth connection, sharing links with friends, and?here is where advertising is a no brainer?incorporating mobile, local and hyper-targeted keyword search into everything a marketer does this holiday season.

?Mobile media is a great channel to break-through the clutter,? said Maria Mandel, vice president of marketing and media innovation at AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions, New York. ?It is unique because you can target your exact audience by demographic, contextual, behavioral and even location-based targeting.

?Location-based targeting is unique to mobile and can be a powerful link to point-of-sale purchase during the holiday season,? she said. ?The holiday season is hectic for marketers and consumers alike?not only is it cluttered and competitive, but it is also a time when it is difficult to reach and connect with consumers. 

?Mobile advertising and marketing can be used to effectively reach target consumers with the right offer at the right time and place.?

Store or product locators, discounts, shopping/wish lists, gift suggestions, product information or tips can be great mobile tactics to leverage.

Or even simply adding a mobile call to action makes radio, print, outdoor and in-store media work harder and makes it more trackable. 

Mobile pay-per-click and pay-per-call advertising can be efficient ways to convert.

Mobile alerts, offers and coupons can be a powerful way to reach last-minute shoppers.

Mobile advertising and search can be effectively used to drive product awareness.

?Everyone is increasingly time-constrained?time is the most valuable thing they have, so any way they can save time is important, especially around the holidays when the time crunch is even more intense,? said Paul Gelb, director and mobile practice lead at Razorfish, New York. ?Mobile has normally only one ad on a page, whether it is an app or a site, so it focuses more attention than other mediums where there is a lot of clutter.

?Especially for publishers that are looking to maximize revenue during the holidays, on mobile you have more exclusivity and attention-capture due to the lack of ad clutter in mobile media,? he said.

?Given the travel behavior of consumers during the holidays, mobile is an extremely valuable medium for consumers, given that they may not be in front o their TV or interacting with traditional media, but they always have their mobile phone with them.?

Walk a mile in a consumer?s moccasins
During the holidays, consumers are truly bombarded with information and ads.

The mobile channel offers ways to cut though this clutter, but marketers need to do a better job of putting themselves in consumers? shoes.

Consider how consumers are now using their mobile devices: as a shopping tool for price comparisons, to share purchases with others, as well as a way to consume media and entertainment.

?Providing useful mobile applications that actually help the holiday shopping process is a great way to stay top of mind and drive repeat brand engagement,? said Webster Lewin, senior vice president and director of digital innovation and strategy at MS&LGroup Digital, New York. ?However, the challenge of discovery is one of the biggest hurdles in mobile.

?Fortunately, there is a wide range of mobile advertising opportunities within applications that support the shopping process,? he said.

The main reason that marketers need to include mobile media at holiday time is because that?s where the consumers are, on their phone checking prices with RedLaser, sending photos of a gift idea to their spouse for approval, talking about holiday shopping issues on Twitter and Facebook, and checking in from stores on mobile social networks like Foursquare and Gowalla.

?In many cases the consumers that spend the most time doing those activities are also the ones most likely to have more disposable income,? Mr. Lewin said. ?Also, consumers that engage with your brand on their mobile devices are more likely to have a favorable brand impression, and purchase intent.

?All of this combines to make mobile media a must for the holidays,? he said.

Mobile advertising has proven to be able to drive brand consideration, intent to purchase or other relevant action.

After exposure to a mobile campaign, increases in purchase intent average five points and even up to as high as ten points for the best-performing campaigns, according to Dynamic Logic.

?During last year's holiday season, I was involved in measuring a holiday campaign for a well-known retail company where a specific creative message about gift-giving increased by 28 points after exposure and intent to visit the store increased 13 points,? said Jennifer Okula, vice president of data innovation at WPP's Safecount, New York.

?The campaign included specific imagery of gifts and other holiday colors and pictures that drew attention,? she said. ?When targeting, media placement and creative are done right, marketers can make a significant impact on purchase and consideration.?

Think cross-channel
Like any other marketing medium, cross-promotion and a seamless transition for customers between the different retail channels is necessary.

Site promotion codes should work on all channels, but having special mobile coupons to increase adoption is becoming more common.

In fact, many are predicting a noticeable increase in the use of mobile coupons this holiday season.

This year, shoppers will be willing to spend more during the holidays than last year. However, they will still want to remain conservative in that spending.

A study conducted earlier this year by Harris Interactive, found that nearly half?46 percent?of adult Internet users who own a mobile phone are somewhat likely to try out mobile coupons.

Consumers are starting to get more comfortable with using their mobile phones outside of calls and texting and will be willing to experiment with relevant mobile offers that provide a clear value exchange.

?Geotargeted coupons and ads will have a much higher redemption rates than online versions, and can potentially make a non-shopper into a shopper by adding that extra incentive,? said Jill Dvorak, senior consultant of mobile commerce at FitForCommerce, Short Hills, NJ.

?Also, since social and mobile typically trend close together, having a mobile site with share to social abilities and vice versa is an easy win,? she said. ?Retailers can make a splash by thinking creatively about their brand and what the customer would want.

?If you go in with this strategy, the possibilities are endless.?

Final Take
Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Marketer

/>