NEW YORK ? Experimentation is going to be the key to discovering best practices for engaging consumers using mobile applications, per a Hearst executive at the Digiday:Apps conference.

New mobile technologies such as the iPad are changing the landscape of the mobile space, and developers and content providers are still adjusting to consumer expectations. Publishers and advertisers will benefit from taking chances and experimenting to learn how best to reach mainstream consumers ? and not just early adopters.

?For me, the key trend is experimentation,? said Chris Wilkes, vice president of marketing and audience development for Hearst Magazines Digital Media, New York. ?This is still Monday morning of a long week ? we?re at the very beginning.

?Lots of opinions are forming, but we?re not really getting a large amount of feedback from real customers,? he said. ?We?ve got early adopters that don?t necessarily speak on behalf of who consumers will be two years from now.

?You should be figuring out as much as you can about what consumers will want.?

?The app economy: 2010 and beyond? panel discussion was moderated by Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer, New York.

Other panelists included Mike Germano, president and cofounder of Carrot Creative, New York, Raj Aggarwal, CEO of Localytics, Cambridge, MA, Aaron Kohn, vice president of corporate strategy and development and general manager of mobile for National Geographic, Washington, and Patrick Mork, chief marketing officer of GetJar, San Mateo, CA.

Tablet versus mobile experience
Handhelds and tablet devices are often conflated under the catch-all term, ?mobile.?

However, Mr. Wilkes said that developers need to understand the distinction between mobile devices and tablet computers.

The Hearst executive said it was difficult to create applications with premium business models on mobile phones because of the smaller screen.

However, he said that devices like the iPad opened the door for more premium content applications.

?It?s important to distinguish between the tablet experience and mobile in general,? Mr. Wilkes said. ?The tablet represents a unique opportunity to present a beautiful experience that goes beyond utility.

?There is an opportunity for some people to have meaningful revenue streams from a good experience on the tablet,? he said.

Mr. Wilkes said that Hearst was planning an aggressive applications strategy for the iPad.

?Utility is not what we?re out to deliver,? Mr. Wilkes said. ?We deliver engaging content experiences, but that?s harder on the small screen.

?We?re investing much more heavily in tablet experiences,? he said.

Advertising on tablets
Advertisers should exploit the greater degree of user engagement achieved on tablet devices to interact with and understand consumers.

?There?s a lack of knowledge about what consumers are looking for, and what the next behaviors will be and what they will be inspired to do next,? Mr. Wilkes said. ?The tablet represents the opportunity [for advertisers] to get what they?ve been wanting.

?There is a much bigger opportunity to integrate messaging and experience into an application in a lot of different ways,? he said. ?There?s the opportunity to do interactivity on the advertising side, to have customers go a little further.?

Additionally, advertisers and publishers should be more proactive in asking users for feedback.

Hearst has used a feedback form asking users a series of questions about their experience with its applications.

In some cases, the applications collected feedback from 40 percent of consumers.

?If you?re talking about analytics, automatically tracked metrics are important, but asking is important too,? Mr. Wilkes said. ?We?re aggressive about seeking feedback.

?We?ve gotten 40 percent feedback [from some apps],? he said. ?It?s time to take advantage of the willingness [of mobile users] to give feedback.?

Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro, editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer, New York

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