This is a guest post by Jonathan Dunn is Manager, Mobile Marketing Solutions at Digital Cement, past articles by Jonathan are here.
During a mobile advertising presentation at a recent digital marketing conference, I heard the presenter say sheepishly that this was not “the year of mobile”. Besides injecting a self-defeating note into an otherwise interesting and compelling presentation, I have a hard time understanding why some people feel a need to constantly parrot this statement.
Mobile is a marketing channel, not a religious experience.
Would anyone know what “the year of mobile” will actually look like? Will marketing spend suddenly leap exponentially? Will consumers rise up in revolt demanding more brand presence in the channel?
Today, I’m taking a stand and refusing to participate in the “is it/isn’t it the year of mobile” discussion anymore. It’s unnecessarily apologetic and absolves everyone of the responsibility for seizing the opportunity in front of them.
And there is significant opportunity.
Mobile penetration in Canada skirts around 75% (a number greater than internet penetration at least according to some). We send over 20 billion text messages annually (and have been doubling that number just about every year). Over 20% of Canadians regularly use the mobile internet. AdMob, one of many mobile advertising networks, served just under 200 million Canadian impressions in August ‘09. And let’s not forget the iPhone, right? The audience exists and is exhibiting appealing behaviour.
There is second debate that I’m going to stop getting drawn into – the cost of data in Canada.
Yes, it’s higher than just about everywhere else and should probably be lower. Yes, the carrier oligopoly doesn’t help. But the truth is you can get 500MB of data for about $30/month. I’m definitely an above average data user and rarely come close to that amount. If you have 1GB of data (probably costing about $45/month), you’ve probably got way more data than you need unless you’re regularly streaming video.
For me, the data debate is less a question of cost and more an issue of a disproportionate value ratio. That is, it seems overly expensive because there’s a relative lack of available content and experiences. Your internet and cable bills are likely to be at least as much, and probably more, than your mobile data bill. But less issue is taken with that because of the dizzying mass of content those channels support.
So what to do? Well, there are grounds for optimism. The very fact that there is talk of “the year of mobile” suggests that we all recognize the channel’s potential and want to see it realized. There are certainly marketers and publishers that are active in mobile and succeeding. Perhaps the blame for the sluggish uptake is two-fold. The mobile industry needs to do a better job aligning and defining expectations, measurement and ROI. Marketers need to be willing to invest, build, test, learn and refine. There’s rarely reward without a little risk.
Elsewhere, it’s been suggested that 10% of your marketing budget should be devoted to mobile. If that number frightens you, I challenge you to invest 5% of your budget in mobile for 2010. Launch a mobile internet site. Test some mobile advertising. Build a mobile opt-in database. If you are concerned about the data issue, try SMS marketing. Text messaging offers the widest reach and enables all kinds of promotional and direct response tactics.
The right tactical mix will be different for each marketer but there are plenty of willing providers to help you navigate the options and manage the technology side.
Don’t wait. Make this your “year of mobile”.
Jonathan Dunn is Manager of Mobile Marketing Solutions at Digital Cement, a relationship marketing company that provides consulting, measurement & analytics technology and marketing agency services to leading organizations. His experience spans mobile messaging, internet, advertising and application programs for clients in the financial services, consumer packaged goods, technology, automotive and cultural sectors. 
