DMC: mobile marketing

Lecture Objectives

  • Primary Goals:

    • To understand the importance of mobile marketing.

    • To consider different mobile marketing tools and channels.

Introduction

  • Common Morning Habit:

    • Inquiry into personal behavior: "What was one of the first things you did when you woke up this morning? Did you check your phone?"

Definition of Mobile Marketing

  • Definition:

    • Mobile marketing is "a multi-channel, digital marketing technique focused on reaching a target audience on their smartphones, tablets or other mobile devices via websites, apps, email, SMS, MMS and social media" (Source: Marketo).

Importance of Mobile Marketing

Statistics and Context

  • Users and Devices:

    • Billions of smartphone users globally.

    • Anticipated to exceed 18 billion mobile devices worldwide by the year 2025.

    • Individuals often possess multiple mobile devices.

    • Over 62.54% of all web traffic is generated from mobile devices (Source: Statista).

    • Mobile-first markets emerging in countries such as India, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.

    • Ubiquitous use of mobile devices influences purchasing behavior.

    • Purchasing Data:

    • 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online via their mobile device in the past six months (Source: OuterBox, 2025).

Opportunities in Mobile Marketing

  • Reasons Brands Utilize Mobile Marketing:

    1. Reach customers in novel ways.

    2. Increase the frequency of customer interactions.

    3. Foster immediate customer responses.

    4. Rising ownership of smartphones compared to desktops.

Benefits for Marketers

  • Capabilities for Marketers:

    • Deliver highly relevant and personalized content.

    • Gather extensive data on consumer behaviors, such as location and purchasing patterns.

    • Use interactive features for enhanced consumer engagement (Source: Tong et al., 2020).

Mobile Marketing Channels

  • Variety of Avenues:

    • Mobile Websites

    • Mobile Applications

    • Email

    • SMS (Short Message Service)

    • Social Media

Mobile Shopping (M-Shopping)

  • Definition:

    • M-Shopping refers to "using smartphones or tablets to compose, modify, or place orders online" (Source: Wang et al., 2015).

  • Characteristics:

    • Mobile shopping is convenient and encourages increased order frequency and size.

    • Typically employed for habitual products or previously purchased items.

Mobile Website Design Options

  • Types of Design:

    1. Responsive Web Design: Adjusts layout based on the device used.

    2. Adaptive Web Design: Presents a different site version depending on device type; typically more expensive.

Importance of Responsive Design for Marketing

  • Enhances user experience, resulting in lower bounce rates and higher engagement.

  • Google’s shift to a "mobile-first" approach emphasizes the priority of responsive, user-friendly websites.

Social Commerce

  • Definition:

    • Refers to direct purchasing capabilities on social media platforms, notably Instagram and TikTok.

    • Includes features like live streaming to drive engagement and sales.

SMS and MMS Marketing

  • Characteristics:

    • SMS provides personal and direct communication access, boasting a 98% open rate, with most messages opened within 3 minutes.

    • MMS messages are more shareable and prompt responses.

    • Low-cost method of communication, though concerns about spam and consumer distrust exist.

Mobile Applications

Definition and Benefits

  • Definition:

    • Mobile applications are defined as "software that is downloadable to a mobile device, which prominently displays a brand identity, often via the name of the app and the appearance of a brand logo or icon throughout the customer experience" (Source: Bellman et al., 2011).

  • Benefits of Mobile Apps:

    • Enhance accessibility to the brand.

    • Extend product features and drive consumer engagement.

    • Facilitate push notifications and in-app notifications for enhanced interaction.

    • E-commerce improvements, including capturing more data and convenient access for users.

    • Demonstrated performance benefits over mobile websites (Source: Sharma, 2021).

Reasons for Usage

  • Consumer Motivations:

    • Involvement in consumer apps stem from utilitarian motivations (security, usefulness, ease of use) and hedonic motivations (entertainment, attachment to the device, social utility) (Source: Stocchi et al., 2018).

Challenges

  • High adoption rates juxtaposed with low retention rates.

  • Increased costs associated with application development and maintenance.

  • Keeping pace with rapid technology changes (e.g., folding mobile phones).

Case Studies of Mobile Applications

Cult Beauty's Mobile App

  • Consumer Benefits:

    • Convenience and limited opportunities missed for special offers.

  • Branding Characteristics:

    • Use of push notifications and data analytics to enhance basket size and order frequency.

    • Features include new launches, exclusive offers, and expert advice.

Marketing Tools: QR Codes

  • Characteristics:

    • QR codes enable sharing of diverse media.

    • Compatibility with varied devices and low implementation costs.

Marketing Tools: Location-Based Marketing

  • Application:

    • Can be executed both inside and outside retail environments (e.g., through geofencing).

  • Price promotions are more effective when customer involvement is low vs. high (Source: Bernritter et al., 2021).

  • Ethical considerations like GDPR compliance must be addressed.

Marketing Tools: Augmented Reality

  • Definition:

    • Augmented Reality (AR) merges computer-generated elements with the real world, facilitating real-time interactions.

    • Examples include displaying information and images that interact with physical environments in real-time.

  • Marketing Potential:

    • AR presents unique opportunities for businesses to deliver innovative content to consumers.

  • Use Cases:

    • Ikea: Demonstrations of AR functionalities (Video link).

    • Wanna Kicks: Showcasing sneaker fits in AR (Video link).

Reflections on Campaign Effectiveness

  • Inquiry points for discussion:

    1. Perception of the campaign’s effectiveness.

    2. Overall thoughts on multiple examples presented during the lecture.

Building Relationships with Augmented Reality

  • AR can deepen connections with consumers by blending products/content into their real-life interactions.

  • Engages customers on an experiential level, enhancing brand recall and utility when visualizing products in their environment.

Consumer Preferences and Pitfalls in Augmented Reality

  • Negative reactions could stem from bugs, unrealistic appearances, or excessive branding reminders.

  • Development of AR tools can be costly, impacting marketing budgets.

Typical Mistakes in Mobile Marketing

  1. Reliance on opinions rather than research (HiPPO - Highest Paid Person's Opinion).

  2. Prioritization of platforms over customer value propositions—emphasize the Mobile Value Proposition.

  3. Lack of integration in mobile and cross-channel marketing strategies—must coordinate customer journeys.

  4. Arbitrarily creating separate sites without reviewing compatibility—assess responsive vs. adaptive designs.

  5. Assuming an app is essential—must evaluate actual need based on relevance.

  6. Neglecting mobile SEO and not following Google’s Mobile First Indexing.

  7. Overlooking the importance of Mobile AdWords and Display options.

  8. Not optimizing email practices to include responsive designs.

  9. Failing to optimize for other responsive needs.

Evaluating Marketing Channel Effectiveness

Metrics to Consider

  • Volume Metrics for Analysis:

    • Unique Visitors, Visits, Page Views per Device Type.

  • Quality Metrics:

    • Bounce Rate, Conversion Rate per Device Type.

  • Value Metrics:

    • Number of sales, Average Order Value, Goal Value per Visit, Revenue per Visit (E-commerce).

  • Cost Metrics:

    • Cost per Thousand (CPM), Cost per Click (CPC), Cost per Acquisition (CPA), Cost per Sale (CPS) (Source: Chaffey, 2019).

Strategic Considerations for Brands in Mobile Marketing

  • Assessing factors like marketing budget, customer desires, and business type influences channel choice.

  • Specific scenarios for channel selection based on budget constraints and marketing goals.

    • Low budget?

    • Large budget?

    • Focus on direct response?

    • Aiming to generate entertainment buzz?

    • Conversion-focused strategies?

Pros and Cons of Mobile Marketing

Advantages

  • Individualization, Interactivity, Engagement, Constant availability, Innovative approaches.

Drawbacks

  • User distractions, Abundance of options, Limited device capacity, Rapid technological changes, Privacy concerns.

Ethical Tensions in Mobile Marketing

Key Concerns

  • Issues surrounding addiction and overconsumption of mobile content.

  • Privacy concerns related to data collection and usage.

Recommended Reading

  • Key Reference:

    • Hanlon, A. (2022). Digital Marketing: Strategic Planning & Integration (2nd Edition). SAGE Publications Ltd., Chapter 7 on Mobile Marketing.