Subscriber behavior is key to targeting: MMF panelist

By Giselle Abramovich

June 12, 2008

Mobile's eye

NEW YORK – Advertisers need to do whatever it takes to deliver relevant, personal and contextual campaigns to consumers in order to drive click-through.

This was the main point of a session at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum. Stephan Oman, program director for Changing Worlds, said that advertisers need to work with carriers to deliver personalized experiences to subscribers.

“Carriers can give advertisers insight into what subscribers do on their mobile phones,” Mr. Oman said. “Driving click-through rates is all about looking at what consumers do and trying to serve the right ad to the right person.”

Mr. Oman said that consumers are bombarded with advertisements nowadays. To press his point, he showed the audience of mobile marketers a picture of New York's Times Square.

“Look at this picture: there are more than 35 advertisements visible in it,” Mr. Oman said. “How can one ensure that their marketing message is even reaching the intended audience?

“There’s a lot of noise out there, so turn the volume down,” he said.

It is key to put people into statistics. But not in terms of  age, sex, income and types of wireless plan.

Knowing what consumers are interested in is better for targeting than just the usual demographics.

Marketers need to consider the types of services that consumers are accessing. Timing is important as well. For example, sports fans are more likely to be in basketball mode in the winter than in the summer.

“Marketers have been making assumptions about people based on demographic information for years,” Mr. Oman said. “Consumer behavior should be key to targeting consumers. Behavior can be modeled clearly.”

Behavior tells marketers what consumers do. A pattern of usage is important for targeting.

"Add personalization and you’ve got success,” Mr. Oman said.

Different subscribers have different interests. Wireless carriers group subscribers with common interests into communities. Carriers are not allowed to give out personal information on individual subscribers. They are allowed to give information on a community of subscribers’ common interests.

“If we use behavioral targeting we can limit the number of advertisers,” Mr. Oman said. “If subscribers get ads that cater to them personally, then they will not feel violated because they can appreciate it.

“Carriers have a deep knowledge of their subscribers,” he said. “As a result, a carrier can charge more for targeting their subscribers. For the advertiser themselves, it is the Holy Grail to advertise to a subscriber that you know will respond. Personalization is totally crucial.”