by anton | Dec 31, 2015 |
As we say hello to 2016, and welcome all the opportunities that a brand new 12-month stretch holds, it’s perhaps pertinent to review some of the key mobile marketing learnings of the year that’s gone before us. Here are InTarget’s “Mobile Marketing Top 5”: 1. A good mobile campaign can directly translate into feet in stores, or tangible online purchases when time limits are applied to the special offer one is transmitting via SMS or OTT channels such as WhatsApp. Time limits add an immediacy that helps move stock. 2. The humble text message is an effective method of bulk one-to-many communication and one of the key tools in the mobile marketer’s tool kit. Underlining this, one overseas study found that in excess of 94% of all commercial text messages are actually read by the recipients. 3. Far from only competing for ad spend, mobile and traditional advertising are a perfect fit. The cellphone enables deeper and richer engagement with more traditional forms of media. The cellphone’s connected SIM card turns the mobile into a transactional device and means that users can rapidly respond to any promotion or invitation to interact with a brand displayed on radio, television, billboards, in magazines and other media. 4. The ‘Please Call me’ service holds enormous commercial opportunities for advertisers and is easily the jewel in the mobile marketing crown. Good news is that the golden opportunities made possible by Please Call Me can be exploited by practically any brand in South Africa and beyond through InTarget’s text-based ads tagged onto the end of Please Call Me messages. Text Tags are push notification...
by anton | Dec 22, 2015 |
With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reducing its GDP outlook for South Africa to a dismal 1.3% for next year, from an initial acceptable forecast of 2.1%, it’s clear that demand for goods and services will continue to be weak in 2016. This translates into lower revenue potential and bottom lines that will feel the pressure next year. The obvious solution is for organisations to cut costs while seeking more efficient ways of marketing their wares. Mobile marketing scores highly in both the cost savings and efficiency departments. Let’s take a look at exactly why the mobile route offers a cost-effective options for marketers: 1. Mobile’s measurability means wastage can be virtually eliminated. The fact that cellphones are very personal devices means that brands know who they’re interacting with, when, where and how. Inefficient campaigns can be rapidly identified as such and replaced with campaigns that hit the mark. 2. Mobile shortens the time between consumers identifying a need and the subsequent transaction required to satisfy that need. This greatly improves cash flow. In addition, costs are reduced by streamlining the channel and reducing the number of actions required to purchase. 3. Mobile eliminates the need for a dedicated, on-the-ground, cold-calling sales force. No more petrol cards, expense accounts and management fees associated with going direct to the consumer – courtesy of mobile technology – can radically reduce marketing costs. Over the past several years, the cost of conducting a mobile marketing campaign has been reduced dramatically. This is particularly true with text-based campaigns as the cost of individual bulk SMS messages has...
by anton | Dec 21, 2015 |
Far from being a threat, traditional media such as print, radio, television, and outdoor is perfectly-positioned to integrate mobile marketing technology into brand campaigns. Let’s take a look at some real benefits that mobile marketing holds for traditional brand custodians: 1. The Internet is easily reachable through the mobile web South African marketers have been hearing about the potential of the Internet for at least the last two decades. However, in a country with limited desktop and laptop penetration, reaching the online audience was always going to be tricky. Enter mobile. Phenomenal and growing feature phone and smart phone penetration in this country means traditional marketers can now easily connect with millions of current and potential customers who are also web users via their handset browsers. 2. Mobile has a certain cachet that traditional just doesn’t doesn’t have Mobile technology – and by extension mobile marketing – is sexy and that’s an attribute that a billboard by the side of the highway just doesn’t have. Mobile marketing can infuse that X Factor into traditional campaigns so valued by the young and on-trend. Essentially, mobile can deliver real reputational benefits – and that’s aside from its positive impact on the bottom line. 3. Mobile is so easily integrated into traditional campaigns As long as marketers are willing to partner with trusted mobile marketing advisors like InTarget, mobile elements can very easily be integrated into traditional media. Often, this is as simple as printing an SMS short code onto promotional...
by anton | Dec 18, 2015 |
InTarget continues to partner with some of South Africa and the Continent’s leading brands when it comes to exploiting the awesome mobile marketing opportunities offered by the ‘Please Call Me’ service. Most readers will know that InTarget’s established relationships mean it is able to commercialise this service highly-valued by literally tens of millions of prepaid cellular users. This is achieved by adding text tags onto the end of ‘Please Call Me’ messages for a specified time. Just as in SMS-based mobile advertising, there’s a certain art in composing or structuring text tags that get one’s message across in the most effective way. Here are a few tips that brand managers should bear in mind: 1. Don’t devalue the brand by reducing words to ‘SMS speak’ in an effort to save space. Using SMS abbreviations might be fine in casual conversation but consumers expect the brands they interact with to uphold a certain standard. 2. Because space is limited, don’t mix messages and ensure there is one clearly understandable call to action that’s also just a click away. 3. Know your audience by understanding that the products and services most suited to ‘Please Call Me’ text tags are usually low value recurring items that are also subscription or debit-order...
