NewsLine Column: Agencies And The Mobile Media Marriage
Unlike the internet boom and bust experience, mobile communication has continued to develop progressively. Nick Wiggin, director at mobile marketing specialist, WhoHow, argues that agencies that have kept the mobile media channel at an arms length should consider the value of this tool as part of the creative communication mix. He thinks that the time is right for agencies that offer an integrated service portfolio to develop an independent mobile marketing capability.
The mobile market place is evolving quickly. Just as operators were slow to grasp the power of SMS as a peer to peer communication tool, some agencies that don’t add mobile to their service portfolio are likely to miss out on a powerful lever in developing consumer-brand relationships.
The speed with which mobile marketing has developed has been phenomenal. Over the last two years mobile marketing agencies have sprung up and answered the needs of questioning brand managers and agency account planners. Those who got burnt in the dotcom boom and bust, have been happy to outsource the mobile capability.
Within the industry a handful of mobile agencies have managed to secure a place sitting between agencies and mobile service providers, executing mobile campaigns as brands have typically tested the water with a number activity bursts. However, it is evident that due to the nature of mobile communication that this position is unlikely to be typical in the long term.
Mobile works across a variety of marketing disciplines, from sales promotion and DM to events and RM. It links media channels and enhances communication by creating that all important ‘engagement’ factor. In a society where media consumption is fragmenting the opportunity to talk to someone in the palm of their hand, 24 hours a day, is powerful.
As a result the relationship with consumers through mobile communication must be managed sensitively. The days of purchasing a list of numbers from dubious sources and pushing messages to them are limited. The agencies that can go to the client and offer the capability to grow a group of brand champions from pull and viral marketing campaigns are likely to reap major rewards.
While mobile communication is a small piece of advertising spend at present it won’t be long before we see a five digit number on most media messages. It took the internet long enough to establish a URL presence on most media. The opportunity to make, for example, a poster, beer mat or magazine interactive will make this standardisation of mobile number presence happen quicker.
As clients are looking to minimise lines of communication the mobile market place will evolve. It will be interesting to see which type of agency will own the mobile communication channel in the eyes of the client, a lively competition I suspect.
The value chain will undoubtedly shorten as agencies develop the know-how to liase with operators and aggregators direct. Already we are seeing some mobile agencies re-positioning to enhance agency capability through a variety of software solutions while others are re-aligning themselves on the content and service provider side. Now is the time for agencies to develop this capability internally, approach clients with the offer of mobile services and the key to unlock the interactive potential of traditional media channels.
If you would like to respond or make further comment on this or any other NewsLine article, please email [email protected], or contact Nick Wiggin at WhoHow on 07855 779590.
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