Research is key to any successful advertising campaign …

So my Mobile Advertising course strikes again …  Another week of articles to read and to comment on  ….  but oh how they do make you think. Personally I think that marketers can better connect with consumers with research. Each industry you are trying to market to are as different and diverse as the users who use a mobile phone. Just as you have to consider a potential clients economic status, their age, sex race you also have to consider the clients field of operation. Also you have to consider their goals. Is the clients product something that can be sold via a mobile phone ad or text, or does the product or service being marketed need a different venue. Research is key to any marketing campaign, the more research you do the more effectively you will be able to find your target audience and the best way to market that product or service.

Interestingly “SMS and MMS were cited as particular strengths in the United States mobile service market”  as stated in an article Mobile Marketing. This presents a great and direct way to reach potential customers “IF” that is you can find a way to obtain a large database of mobile numbers in the target market and demographic. “IF” you can obtain those numbers then SMS and MMS are a quick way to get your message to someone and know that they have been alerted to the message, in some instances you can even find out if the message was read or viewed giving another form of measurable analytics.

Another thing to consider is who your audience is, for instance, if you are targeting an audience from say Latin America, you would want to make sure you consider the native language of your target, Also you should do research into their mobile market statistics and see where people are accessing a majority of their information be it via a home computer, a laptop or mobile phone. Then figure out what venues they access most like mobile apps, games, web apps to help decide which way to steer your campaign. ”

The age of the audience also takes a major role in the decision making for marketing a product or service. You wouldn’t  put an ad for a heart medicine pill in a children’s geared app just as you wouldn’t put an ad for a action figure on a medical triage application. Always know your audience because anyone can market a product or service, but those that are successful are the ones who effectively market through detailed research. If you want to reach an adult audience look to adult oriented apps, look for apps that relate to the field of interest for that product or service, look for other sites and channels that are geared towards your specific service industry.

MobiAd News gives four suggestions on how to go about mobile marketing. First you should gain an “Intimate knowledge of the user/targeting”, next thing to do is make sure you have  ” Incentives and rewards” to persuade prospective customers. They also suggested that you use “multiple channels” and “metrics” to make sure you are reaching your target audience.

All in all a mobile campaign may be just the right thing for your marketing campaign, but before you start putting a campaign together, Research, Research & more Research into your target audience is essential.

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/research/3850.html

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/7717.asp

http://www.mobiadnews.com/?p=3007

Mobile Advertising Minority Report Style

In the past you could turn a channel or fast forward through previews, you were never forced to deal with advertising, now with the mobile generation upon us that is all changing. Want to download a “FREE” app on your mobile phone, yes the app is free but it also is usually loaded with advertising, static ads that stay on the screen or you are first made to watch an ad before playing you can actually use the app. The same thing goes for video content, now if you want to watch a show for free you can but you are forced to watch 1 to 5 commercials during the show that you cannot skip through. As we are relying on our phones advertisers are becoming more and more creative on the ways they get their advertising to us. At least some advertising is custom tailored to the individual users based on their web activity and search patterns, but some advertising is just random.

I think that the movie Minority Report with Tom Cruise nailed what our future will become like, a place where we will walk around and have special promotions pop up onto our phones, where as we pass a store we will see our name pop into a window specifically advertising a special directly to us as individuals. A world where Road signs will change to cater to the driver passing by. As technology improves and people become more inventive and innovative the advertising world will grow with it, we will be bogged down with advertising and promotions, but hopefully they will at least be customized to the individual user as opposed to just random advertising. I mean seriously, I am a guy, I really don’t need or want to see ads about Tampons or Menopause.

All in all though with mobile innovations comes change and I welcome the change to advertising as long as it is not obtrusive.

Digital Coupon Clipping Can Affect More Than You May Think

I believe that “digital couponing” can easily cause a consumer to change from a brand name product or service to a cheaper alternative. In this economic climate, many consumers will do whatever they can to save a few dollars.  For example, I am in the process of getting my own internet marketing business, Trust Buzzy, up and running. I finally got to the social media point where I have all of my domain names and email addresses together and my website built, so now it was time to order business cards to start promoting myself. I first went to Fedex Office, thinking they would have good prices, but when I went there the price I got seemed high, so I decided to compare prices online. I went home and typed in “business cards” on the internet and a variety of places came up, including VistaPrint. VistaPrint’s pricing was a lot better than Fedex Office, so I decided to do more research.  I typed in “VistaPrint” and “Coupons” and found a variety of links to coupon codes for VistaPrint, including Premium Business Cards for $3.99.  That was actually 80% better than their initial pricing of $19.99 for 250 cards. I also tried typing in “Fedex Office Business Cards Coupons” and was disappointed to not find a lot. All in all, due to “Digital Coupons” I will probably stop using Fedex Office and switch to Vista Print for future business printing projects.  I got to writing about this topic as part of a school assignment for my Mobile Advertising Class at Full Sail University.  We were asked to read a couple of articles, one which was written by Cory Treffiletti for OnlineSPIN, entitled “Coupon Clippers Proven To Drive Incremental Sales”. In the article Cory wrote “one out of three consumers report using more coupons than just one year ago…”. Even if they are accustomed to using a particular brand of product, many will choose a lower-priced brand if presented with a discount.  A study showed that “as much as 59% of consumers will sacrifice name brands for generic brands based on price”.  And since so many people are internet-savvy these days, it is very easy to come across digital coupons.  The process of obtaining coupons has also become a lot simpler.  Instead of cutting coupons out of a flyer, you now “can accomplish the same thing by pushing the “print” button on [your] computer”.  So altogether, the availability of digital coupons can cause consumers to forsake brand name products over cheaper products.

Another article we were asked to read was “JCPenney takes coupons mobile”, by Dianna Dillworth. In the article, she discusses the new marketing idea that JCPenney is implementing.  The plan is to make its coupons available to consumers through their mobile phones.  She discusses the reasons and advantages to doing this.  I personally think that JCPenney will be successful with their venture. If it is easy to get a mobile coupon on their phone and be able to redeem it as simple as scanning your phone under a reader, then people will pick up on the concept. I actually think that the company that can make an app that constantly updates and comprises the latest digital barcodes and coupons into their database will be a huge help in making this concept effective. If I could go to an app on my iPhone while at a a store and type in the name of the business and a visual list of barcodes and descriptions was available I would be more apt to use coupons. Couponing, I believe, still needs to be made simpler, otherwise people won’t do it. If it takes me a half an hour to save $3 it is not worth it to me, but if I can spend one minute of my time to save the same $3 I would  be more apt to use a digital coupon. There has to be a really good value in the time it takes to obtain and use the coupon and the ease of use of the coupon.  Making coupons available on the mobile phone is a very good way of making the process simpler.   “The idea is that mobile coupons make it easier for our [target] customer to use, because she doesn’t have to remember to put a mailer in her purse and she doesn’t have to print out an e-mail…”.  It also enables the company to reach customers who have busy lives and would not otherwise be able to access the coupons.  “On the mobile phone, you can target offers to consumers who are on the go.”  I think that this form of advertising is definitely a sign of the times and is not going anywhere any time soon.  Once consumers realize how simple it is to access coupons this way, it will likely drive up sales, which will reinforce this method of advertising and keep it going.  Technology is constantly growing, and I can only see marketing methods such as this continuing.  Methods such as mobile phone ads have already proven to be successful.  Companies are “…seeing redemption rates of 10% to 20%. This is much higher than traditional paper coupons, which only see about 0.5% redemption…’.

http://www.vistaprintdeals.com/

In Spirations-Coupon Effectiveness from ronberry67

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/117207/

http://www.dmnews.com/jcpenney-takes-coupons-mobile/article/149790/