November 11, 2009 (2:04 PM) by Raff Viton
Innovation opportunities within the mobile arena are major game changers. With the proliferation and widespread adoption of the smartphone, brands are faced with a wide range of possible solutions and strategic choices when attempting to fill in this commercialization whitespace. Although auto brands like Volkswagen and Audi have already seen considerable success integrating their brands into the mobile spaces by leveraging the popularity of mobile gaming, for many others, the mobile waters can be tricky to navigate. Pepsi’s app “Before You Score,” a mobile interface designed to help adolescent boys and young men target different “types” of women, “score” and then share their experiences on Twitter and Facebook, received so much negative feedback from both women and their target audience that Pepsi eventually pulled it. In this consumer-driven market, what makes mobile advertising successful—and what makes it a liability? Strategy Accurate insights and up-to-date data are crucial to great brand strategy. Without it, brands end up overestimating the needs, desires and attitudes of their target market. And that, as we all know, ends up in near disaster. Mobile marketing is one of the most recent developments in the means of delivering the message, and for many it can be an innovative medium to build on. However, a foundation of solid research that supports an actual need is required to build something of worth—to the client and the consumer. Content We’ve all heard “content is king,” but what is content? For mobile advertising, the content is the medium within the medium. People are great at avoiding, skipping, or just plain ignoring ads—why shouldn’t they? What value does a logo bar on an RSS feed add to the lives of your target audience? Probably not much. To successfully penetrate the mobile space and your target market, brands have to add value to peoples lives and give them something they want or need to use or see. The method of delivering relative content has become part of the content in the mobile space. The numbers are there—mobile phone use, and smartphone use in particular is increasing dramatically. Are you prepared to innovate and ride the next commercialization revolution? Have you seen the new Maddock Douglas homepage? Follow Maddock Douglas on Twitter
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