Mobility through its various features like location-tracking, user profiles etc., offers an opportunity to brands to cut the clutter and distinctively target their audience. Consumers with an urgent need engage with the brands while on the go through their mobile devices. Brands can reach out to such audiences, influencing their decision-making and meet their well-defined needs. Mobile has re-defined the contextual point-of-purchase marketing, an effective strategy to know the needs of a consumer and then immediately present your product or services as a solution to his needs. Add mobile payment to the context and you have really shortened the sales cycle allowing users to satiate their needs, while on the move. Contextual marketing and its resultant effect, in soaring brand engagement, while trimming down the cost per sales, has made mobile a key channel in advertising. Needless to say, we are witnessing many enterprises following the mobility route to connect and target their audiences. A study by IHS estimates the global mobile ad spend in 2011 to be over $5.3 billion. So how exactly are brands engaging with their consumer base through mobile and how effective it is?
A look at the mix of verticals across the globe shows that entertainment, media, technology and telecom brands are most active participants in the mobile advertising space driving 67% of the total spend.
Studies suggest that consumers are more likely to click on a search advertisement when using a smartphone or a Tablet. The CTR or click-through rates is found to be 72% higher on smartphones and 32% higher on Tablets when compared with searches on computers. However, a key indicator for the success of any campaign, the conversion rate- the percentage of users who took the desired action by advertiser after they click an ad- is found to be highest in computers followed by Tablets and then smartphones. The lowest conversion for smartphones highlights the role of screen size in the success of a campaign.
The price-performance comparison suggest that Automotive, Style & Fashion, Social & Dating and FMCG & Retail industries have been in the lead in converting their mobile add campaigns into real sales validating that mobile advertising is yet to realize its true potential. But then, the m-advertising market is still in its early years. As it evolves further, we will see greater value generated by enterprises in terms of converting consumer interests into real business.
Tags: mobile advertising