Brands in need of mobile education: MMF panelists

By Mickey Alam Khan

June 12, 2008

Grey cell

NEW  YORK – Until mobile becomes as simple to buy as television, radio or outdoor, it’ll never reach the scale of traditional media.

That was one of three things holding mobile back, said Vlademir Edelman, CEO of mobile marketing agency Ansible, at the Mobile Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Forum yesterday. It’s very difficult to buy mobile media today and there are no proper metrics to measure campaign results, he said.

“Mobile to me is a more interesting marketing venue than an advertising venue,” Mr. Edelman told a packed hall of mobile marketers.

Fellow panelist Michael Collins, CEO of Kinetic, bemoaned the overall degree or lack of mobile knowledge both on the client and the agency side. Moreover, not many brand planners at this stage can justify mobile marketing, hence the degree of hesitancy.

“Nobody ever got fired for buying television,” Mr. Collins said, mouthing an oft-repeated quote.

Pitch to the top
Paul Gunning, newly named CEO of interactive agency Tribal DDB Worldwide, said that clients need to be educated on mobile.

“We’re still in the educational phase of block-and-tackle in interactive marketing,” Mr. Gunning said.

“The good news is that there’s lots of interest at the CMO level,” he said.

Mr. Gunning recommended that mobile marketing service providers make their pitch straight to the top, especially at retailers since “they know there’s a connection” between mobile and retail.

“CPG [consumer packaged goods] clients know they can use that shelf space for mobile,” he said.

Kinetic’s Mr. Collins suggested that marketers include mobile at the strategic planning level versus at the creative stage, which is a huge process.

Indeed, Mr. Gunning advised against force-feeding mobile at the end of the campaign.

In terms of creative, Mr. Gunning said mobile has got basic banners and video – very much like the early days of the Internet. He urged marketers to think differently in creative use of mobile.

“Find the right way to be there, the way the customer wants us to be there,” Mr. Gunning said.

Agencies such as Ansible position mobile as both a branding and direct response medium, so there’s little question of either or for Mr. Edelman.

The panelists said verticals such as automotive, entertainment, consumer packaged goods, retail and financial services have shown interest in mobile.

Mobile marketing is now trending from sweepstakes and text-to-win promotions to include utility-based executions including tracking technology such as GPS.

Get carriers on deck
Most panelists agreed that the wireless carriers play a key role in jumpstarting the Internet.

For example, flat-rate pricing for voice and data is a huge first step. A better mobile Web experience is another. So will the use of subscriber data that carriers have result in targeted mobile Web ads. But privacy and targeting practices have to be above board.

Carriers would certainly like to play in the intersection of search and advertising on mobile, particularly using their on-deck portals to serve as gateways. But mobile search has to be relevant and contextual.

“The true promise of mobile is that it’s a computer in your pocket,” Kinetic’s Mr. Collins said.

“Carriers see their deck as taking the role that search does: the starting point of the Internet,” he said.

Publishers and ad agencies also play a key role in the mobile ecosystem.

“Operators is only step 1,” Mr. Gunning said. “Once consumers get to the mobile Internet, there needs to be high-quality content that needs to work for the medium.”

Mr. Gunning extended an open invitation to anyone that could help his agency – Tribal DDB is one of the leading shops specializing in Internet marketing campaigns – navigate mobile.

“We’ll partner with anybody who can help us understand [how to tackle mobile],” he said. “Any help we can get in terms of a partnership, we’re actually looking at it. Our clients are looking at it.”