by anton | Dec 14, 2015 |
We’ve written plenty of pages during the course of this blog around why brands should go the mobile marketing route. Perhaps it is time now to shine the spotlight on the individual people who work within client organisations and outline what mobile could mean to them. It’s important from a buy-in perspective to ensure the individual personalities within corporations see the value of mobile marketing when it comes to their specific organisational objectives. The Sales Director will find that mobile marketing enables current and potential clients to rapidly convert intention into actual purchasing behaviour. Mobile marketing means mere seconds can pass from the time a consumer is interested in a product or service, to the time they buy. The Finance Director will be pleased with mobile marketing’s almost immediate impact on the bottom line. Cash flow is boosted while costly inventory is reduced due to the up-to-the-minute statistical information that can be provided by mobile. The Marketing Director will see the company’s reputation climb to new heights as the brand is positively impacted by well-executed mobile marketing campaigns. Consumers appreciate it when brands make it easier to transact with them and do so in slicker and cleverer ways. The world’s love affair with technology is only just beginning and mobile marketers will continue to ride the crest of this...
by anton | Nov 30, 2015 |
Tomorrow is the first day of the last month of 2015. Now let me tell something else you already knew: mobile adoption is huge and the consumer’s purchasing of goods and services via mobile continues to rocket skywards. As we move towards another year it might be a good idea to take stock of where we are with regards to mobile marketing by checking out some facts and stats predicted for 2016. Globally, a significant c milestone will be achieved. According to new figures from eMarketer, cellular consumers worldwide will be exposed to some USD100 billion in digital ads served via their mobile devices. This is an incredible 430% increase compared to 2013. Africa’s mobile marketing sector will be amongst the top performers in percentageterms – so remember InTarget is one of the few South African mobile marketing firms with a credible and extensive footprint in Africa. It’s always tricky translating overseas data into meaningful local stats, but in 2016 it’s been suggested that over 60% of web traffic will come from mobile devices as opposed to desktops. I’d like to suggest that measure is probably closer to 80% in South Africa owing to the nature of our economy. Finally, video is set to expand again next year. The fact that – again, globally – YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google means that the mobile marketer who is already starting to incorporate more video into their campaigns is ahead of the curve in SA. It’s been said that, on average, people watch two online videos per day. If one considers that the impact a 60 second video...
by anton | Nov 27, 2015 |
The American sales tradition of Black Friday, scheduled annually for the fourth Friday in November, seems to have at last infiltrated our shores to a very good degree. Coupled with the traditional discount fest of Black Friday is Cyber Monday which was created to persuade consumers to shop online. Black Friday is said to be the biggest shopping day of the year and the start of the Christmas shopping season in America. While it’s traditionally been something of an event that South African shoppers could only drool at, retail commentators like Price Check say Black Friday is well established in South Africa and on its third year of real and substantial discounts. So, how should mobile marketers be taking advantage of millions of local consumers primed and ready to spend today and on Monday? Firstly, it is important to partner with a credible mobile marketing firm like InTarget who will be able to advise brands where they should be investing their mobile impressions for best effect. Mobile ads should not only have been placed in advance for today to reach optimal sales numbers, a strong strategy should have been planned for the whole extended sales weekend. Secondly, don’t think of Black Friday as a relic of the Main Street shopping world with hundreds of people queuing outside doors while you focus your mobile marketing spend on Black Friday’s younger cousin, Cyber Monday. While mobile data does indicate that Black Friday outpaces Cyber Monday, the entire ‘long weekend’ should be focused on as South Africa gets to grips with this relatively new phenomenon. Finally, once again, it’s important to link...
by anton | Nov 23, 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...
