2008 is the year of image-based campaigns: MMA's Marriott

By Mickey Alam Khan

January 11, 2008

Laura Marriott is president of the Mobile Marketing Association

As marketers and consumers realize the full potential of the mobile channel, expect more smart marketing to take off on the handset. In a way, mobile marketing’s growth trajectory is similar to Internet marketing’s in the late 1990s. But the mobile channel will benefit from the Internet as it coops interactivity in its applications.

Laura Marriott is president of the Mobile Marketing Association, the premier trade body for the industry. Not only is membership growing, but so are the number of campaigns and the size of budgets allocated to mobile marketing. The key challenge, though, is to convince the majority of global marketers to get off the fence and have skin in the mobile game.

In this exclusive interview with Mobile Marketer’s Mickey Alam Khan, the peripatetic Ms. Marriott discusses mobile trends, issues, standards, market acceptance and opportunities. One thing she’d like to see less of: trade shows. Excerpts from the interview.

What’s the outlook for mobile marketing in 2008?
Mobile marketing has started to take off worldwide. In the last few years we have seen campaigns grow from the single digits to the tens of thousands and I expect that 2008 will be no different.

Worldwide, we have seen a predominant number of text-based campaigns and as new handsets and networks are deployed, I expect that 2008 will be the year of image-based campaigns – video, television, MMS, mobile Web and so on.

These image-rich experiences will not only attract more brands to offer innovative and compelling mobile marketing campaigns, but we should also see an increase in consumer adoption – hence an expansion to reach – as wireless operators offer more aggressive data-pricing packages in order to encourage adoption.  2008 will be an exciting year.

Any key trends stand out?
Trends we can expect to hear a lot about next year include:

• Mobile commerce for couponing, ticketing, bar codes and loyalty programs
• Mobile advertising via all media types: voice, messaging, video and television, mobile Web and downloadables
• Mobile search
• Voice-based mobile marketing campaigns. Often regarded as a forgotten media channel, voice is returning consistent high-figure consumer response rates
• Measurement – the key to measuring the success of all of these initiatives in a consistent manner to drive brand adoption of the mobile channel
• Profiling and targeting. As an industry, we are working collectively with the operators to determine how to extract customer profile data to offer more relevant information and campaigns to the consumer
• Education. We are focusing on overall education. Educating the brands on how to use the mobile channel in a manner which protects consumer privacy and consumer experience. Also, educating the consumer on how to use the more advanced data functionality on their devices and how to interact with mobile marketing campaigns as controlled by them and their experiences.
• Location-based services. Something we have talked about for years, but is 2008 really the year for LBS?

Has mobile marketing finally gained market acceptance? Or is it still striving to make a case?
For those early adopters, mobile marketing has definitely gained acceptance and we are beginning to see multimillion-dollar budgets allocated to mobile. In fact, in many cases, mobile has become a line item in a brand’s budget and not simply a portion of interactive or digital spend.

Overall, however, experience with mobile has not reached the large majority of brands.  We are still seeing a large number of trials globally.

The brands that tend to get involved seem to be those that want to be in front of the consumers more – travel, entertainment, quick-service restaurants, consumer packaged goods, automotive, financial services. To these types of brands, mobile marketing has definitely gained acceptance.

The entry of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft: does that signify anything for the mobile channel and mobile marketing?
It is great to see these large players involved in the mobile marketing arena.  Each has long been a participant in mobile. But to see them ramping their investments – a la acquisitions – around mobile marketing and advertising, it helps increase the focus and opportunities for the broader industry.

How far behind or ahead is the United States in its use of mobile marketing, media and commerce? If it’s behind Europe and Asia, what are some of the reasons?
A long-time debate. I believe it is less about who is ahead or behind and more along the lines of how we are collaborating across local and regional boundaries to drive creative and innovative campaigns globally.

Each region has now begun to learn from the other and global brands can now work across geographic boundaries to launch campaigns.  We are seeing creativity and innovation worldwide.

When I do reference global, we always need to remove Japan and South Korea as these are climates excelling on their own schedules – in some cases far ahead of every region of the world.

Is mobile at a point where you can run a standalone campaign? Or is it still reliant on other channels in the media mix? It seems that a multichannel approach would be preferable.
The MMA always counsels to use mobile as part of a cross-media marketing initiative.  Integrating the mobile call to action within traditional print or digital media is key to its success.

Thus, integrate mobile into print, radio, television, online, etc., in order to maximize the opportunity to create a dialogue of engagement between brand and consumer.

Who’s leading the charge in mobile – handset manufacturers, wireless carriers, advertisers, service providers or consumers?
The great thing about mobile is that we have a complex ecosystem which requires the cooperation and collaboration of all in the ecosystem.

As an industry, we have been working together for years to drive the development of a sustainable ecosystem where all players are collaborating to drive the success and adoption of mobile for marketing purposes. The MMA’s membership of over 500 companies globally is a good indicator of this collaboration.

Any mobile campaigns that you liked this year?
There have been some excellent campaigns from all over the world.  In our annual awards program for 2007, we received over 260 applications across 12 categories profiling some of the best of the best globally – double the number of submissions from 2006.

I would recommend looking at the MMA Awards Program 2007 winners and finalists, which are profiled in our Mobile Marketing Guide.  All represent excellent initiatives across automotive, retailer, travel and so on.

I can’t wait to see the submissions this year. In fact, we received so many submissions last year that we will more than likely move to a regional awards program in order to deal with the sheer volume of applicants. Truly outstanding and a reflection of the success of our industry.

What milestones did mobile marketing achieve in 2007?
Tough question, there have been so many. From a Mobile Marketing Association perspective, we have launched global guidelines for mobile advertising for the mobile Web, which define creative formats to help ensure a consistent consumer experience.

We have updated and re-launched our Code of Conduct which protects the privacy of the consumer interaction. We have launched over 10 new educational white papers and guidelines documents. We have expanded the association into regional chapters including EMEA [Europe Middle East and Africa] and APAC [Asia-Pacific].

And we have expanded our membership to over 500 members worldwide. It was a significant year of growth for all in the industry.

From an industry perspective, I believe 2007 was the first year that brands actually started to share their success stories for mobile.  Not only details of their campaigns but their success rates.  The campaigns have seen enormous success and sharing the case studies only helps to drive adoption.

A successful channel requires marketing, media and commerce capabilities. Does mobile qualify?
Absolutely.

What are the Mobile Marketing Association’s plans for 2008?
In the past, we have defined our growth based on membership acquisition and diversification of membership classification, getting our diversify ecosystem represented appropriately.

In 2008, we will be heavily focused on ensuring the guidelines that we produce are in front of the market, protecting consumer experience, for all mobile media types worldwide so that we can ensure a self-regulated industry.

Measurement also plays a significant role for us in 2008 and we are collaborating with organizations like the GSM Association to ensure we represent the needs of our broad and unique mobile community.  Stay tuned for more on our 2008 plans.

For all the excitement around mobile, there are challenges to face as well. What would you say are mobile’s biggest challenges in 2008?
Reach. Ensuring consumer adoption of richer data services will provide marketers the reach that they are looking for through the mobile channel.

Also, measurement. Consistent definitions and reporting to ensure campaign success can be measured similarly across operators, vendors and geographies.

Finally, there’s education. Educating all in the ecosystem how to follow the rules and offer campaigns that adhere to the rules, as well as educating the consumer on device capabilities and services adoption.

Will the issue of common industry standards be resolved next year?
It is one of the goals of the Mobile Marketing Association.  A consistent set of guidelines and best practices will facilitate ease of market development and entrance for all.

The MMA is at the forefront of this development for mobile marketing including guidelines for cross-carrier mobile content programs, code of conduct, mobile advertising, mobile search, mobile commerce, mobile video and so on.

Ensuring consistency will encourage rapid adoption and, ultimately, revenue generation for all players in the space.  Lack of collaboration across players and industry bodies will only cause confusion and lead to the overall delay in adoption.  The MMA is working with global and regional industry associations in order to ensure consistency of guidelines and best practices.

What are marketers doing right in mobile? And where are they erring?
Tough question, Mickey.  This is so specific to each campaign and each media.  I think an overall message is to keep it simple and keep it relevant.  We want the consumer to keep coming back and derive value from their interactions.  As long as we can do this, we can ensure success.

So if you had to change one thing in mobile marketing in 2008, what would that be? And the one thing you wouldn’t change?
The one thing I would change – fewer shows! Maybe it is just that it is a yearend thing, but I believe a common complaint across our industry is that there are too many trade shows and conferences. Let’s work together to ensure higher quality programs and fewer shows.

Wouldn’t change – community! The mobile industry is a tight-knit community of folks who are working together to create new opportunities for consumers and marketers. It is an exciting place to be, and the passion, commitment and enthusiasm that pours from the faces of those in the space is like nothing I have ever experienced before. Mobile marketing is a great place to be.Thank you all for your determination and commitment in 2007, it has been a blast.

Reach Ms. Marriott at  .

This article appeared in Mobile Marketer’s Mobile Outlook 2008. It is saved in the Classic Guides section on www.mobilemarketer.com. Please click here to download the PDF file.