There is a new generation in town – generation M(obile). They are the generation that has to be reached through channels other than the traditional channels used by marketers, advertisers or public relations practitioners.
Generation mobile are those teenagers and young adults that use personal data assistants, cell phones and handheld devices to run their entire lives including work and personal. They do not read news print and direct mail nor do they watch television or listen to the radio as much as previous generations.
Traditional Marketing Channels Decline
Chris Anderson reported in his book, The Long Tail (2006, 2008 Hypericon Books, New York, NY), that in 1993 Americans spent 23 hours and 15 minutes per week listening to the radio. When the iPod started to hit consumers in 2001, radio began a decline.
In 2004, listeners tuning in dropped to 19 hours and 45 minutes per week and in 2005 one rock station in the U.S. went out of business per week.
Mobile Marketing Activities
Mobile marketing includes sending content to cell phones and other mobile devices, asking recipients to register online for contests, and sending advertisements and coupons to consumer’s cell phones. Click through rates on mobile campaigns are delivering up to 10 times those of Internet banner ads.
Recent data reported by MIT Sloan Management Review (Sloanreview.MIT.edu, August 2008) 90 percent of well-known U.S. brands are looking at implementing mobile marketing activities and they plan to commit 25 percent of their total marketing budget for mobile marketing. Companies such as Vodafone Group and Nokia Corporation have already entered the mobile marketing arena.
Recent Study Results for Mobile Marketing
Unfortunately, the picture is not all rosy and profitable. There are some from generation mobile that are not willing to participate. MIT Sloan Management Review released results of a study they conducted in the United States and Pakistan that some young consumers are willing to participate in mobile marketing and others are not.
MIT’s research shows the success of mobile marketing depends on several factors:
- Usage Characteristics – whether people use their cell phones for utility as well as enjoyment.
- Personal Attachment – whether carrying a cell phones means more to consumers than just having a communications device, mobile devices also define roles within various cultural groups.
- Consumer Innovativeness –campaigns are more successful if people are open to new experiences.
- Social Influence – there are those in generation mobile that carry a cell phone just for the appearance of being connected and may not be actually using the cell phone.
- Privacy Concerns – persons may be afraid their privacy will be breached if they accept mobile marketing, such issues need to be addressed.
- Permission-Based – marketers could offer the consumer more control over mobile marketing by asking first.
Attitudes – consumers’ attitudes toward mobile communications could have an impact on the effectiveness. Consumers with positive attitudes about mobile services will have a greater likelihood of using such services.
Get Started with Mobile Marketing
MIT suggests the following four steps to planning and implementing mobile marketing
- Conduct a beta or soft launch.
- Build trust through permission-based, opt-in approaches.
- Stress the innovation of the mobile platform.
- Provide value-based, viral mobile content.
MIT reported that worldwide, there are about three billion cell phones in use today.
Generation mobile and mobile marketing are becoming more vital to the marketing mix and as such professionals in both fields need to start developing, testing, planning and implementing.
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