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Toyota exec: Aligning mobile with other media requires constant vigilance

NEW YORK ? A Toyota executive at ad:tech New York 2013 said that brands need to make sure that they constantly have a presence across platforms so that they are not missing out on spillover from various campaigns.

During the ?$9 billion advertising opportunity: The digital, social and mobile revolution? session, executives from Toyota, Nestlé and Social Code discussed how to leverage social and mobile to directly impact key performance indicators and return on investments. The session was moderated by Marcus Whitney, cofounder and CTO of Moontoast, Boston.

?If we?re not always on, you may be putting media on specific content but then there?s a positive spill effect of other content,? said Florence Drakton, social media marketing manager of Toyota Motor, Torrance, CA.

?When you?re not always on, the platforms aren?t benefiting you as much as it would if you were aligned with media,? she said.

Always on
Toyota makes sure that its mobile and social efforts are always aligned with its efforts across other media.

If Toyota is running an elaborate social media campaign, that may lead a consumer to check out an older campaign that Toyota ran perhaps on its Web site. To act on such spillover, Toyota makes sure to keep up to date across platforms.

Toyota recently ran an Instagram campaign that saw more than 500,000 views.

For Toyota, this type of effort is a sticky campaign that engages its consumers on a continuous basis, which can be a challenge for an automotive company since consumers tend to purchase cars very infrequently.

Toyota is also focusing on a mobile-first philosophy since by definition the automotive industry needs to be on-the-go to interact with its consumers on the road.

According to Addie Conner, chief information officer of SocialCode, Washington, mobile-first should apply to all verticals and industries across every step of the purchasing funnel.

?Mobile is being used at every single part of the funnel,? she said. ?We have a long purchase lifecycle like Toyota, where people are getting less loyal, so it?s a great nurturing tool and CRM.

?You have people like Nestlé who want people to think about ice cream when it?s hot out, and then you have others where it?s your remote control. We?re having a lot of success at the bottom of the funnel, we?re also seeing success running a mobile ad and seeing people purchase downstream. How can you use the different phases of the funnel to hit them sequentially and create more demand??

Mobile first
Like Toyota, Nestlé also approaches marketing with a mobile-first always on philosophy, but as a CPG brand, Nestlé works in a very different way. It leverages mobile and social to enable each of its individual brands to create a relationship with consumers.

One brand is using dark posts on Facebook to create a voice for itself so that consumers can identify with the brand.

Nestlé's ice cream brands are leveraging mobile to push weather-specific real-time advertising so that consumers think of Nestle on a hot day.

As a whole Nestlé is realizing that its high-cost, professional content is not necessarily the way to go. It has been seeing more success with user-submitted, low-quality content that is relatable for consumers.

However, the chocolate brand is cognizant of the ?shiny-object syndrome.? Not all of its brands are on Twitter yet, but they are not going to immediately jump into the channel without strategic planning.

?The brands really need to think about how many channels you want,? said Meghaan Blauvelt, digital marketing manager of Nestlé USA, Vevey, Switzerland. ?They chase the shiny things.

?What?s the emotional benefit of your brand and what are the channels that best deliver,? she said. ?For us Twitter is beneficial for all our brands. The worst thing is to be on Twitter and repost content from Facebook.

?If you?re not equipped for mobile-first, do not go on Twitter. The worst is brands that do sweepstakes on Twitter and aren?t mobile-optimized.?

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York