Continuing my predictions for the year ahead…
8. Mobile Marketing Explodes
…not this year I’m afraid. The marketing industry still doesn’t get it, despite sterling efforts by Vodafone and a handful of passionate advocates to convince them.
The ad industry needs to get to grips with this medium, not the least because the old big media model on which they built their house is crumbling around their ears.
Moving from big media to the highly fragmented niches of mobile and online call for new and complex skills that I simply don’t think the agencies currently possess.
But being in denial is not the answer either.
Post Script: Actually, maybe this is a little harsh. I think clients are beginning to “get” mobile and understand that perhaps there’s more to it than Yet Another Text ‘n Win promotion.
I think what we may see in 2005 is a lot of testing and experimenting before it really starts to happen in 2006/7.
The big agencies still don’t get it though. And I don’t think there’s much of a future for stand-alone outfits like Flytxt (sorry guys – please prove me wrong!).
The big opportunity therefore is a start-up who can do joined up marketing, which incorporates mobile and online into its offering. But the key is to offer creative promotional marketing excellence, together with a deep understanding of mobile. Not mobile marketing nous on its own.
But hopefully more money will start to flow down the mobile stream this year.
At the very least, the ad agencies need to think about using the mobile channel within their advertising. They finally nderstood about putting website URL’s up there. Why has it taken so long for them to put an SMS short code for customers who want more info?
Disagree? Leave a comment or drop me an email. russell at creative-weblogging dot com.
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