My last post on privacy made me realize, that although I and others have concerns about the security of our information, at the same time we are so willing to trust the same media that we attempt to protect ourselves from.
We as consumers sign up for mailing lists, memberships, submit our credit card information over the Internet for purchases and give out our contact information for many different reasons…
…and while emerging media are certainly “emerging” in regard to consumer trust, overwhelmingly, more traditional media and methods still reign supreme –surprising to me, even with the younger “Internet” generation.
According to the results of a Nielsen Online survey, published by eMarketer, word-of-mouth still proves to be the most powerful and trusted method to reach 20-and-under Internet-using consumers, with ninety-two percent (92%) indicating “completely” or “somewhat”.
Not surprising is the impact that the Internet is playing in establishing trust for these young users—consumer opinions posted online (72%), brand Web sites (69%) and e-mails signed up for (67%).
What is surprising to me is the part that traditional media still plays for these younger consumers—newspaper article, ads in newspapers, brand sponsorships, ads in magazines, on TV and on the radio all had a significant response.
The platforms that really need to work on establishing credibility and earning consumer trust are the media we’ve been discussing throughout this course—emerging media. Online video ads, banner ads and mobile text advertising were among the lowest trusted forms of advertising tactics.
It could be that these methods are simply newer, so it will take more time to gain trust and establish a trustworthy reputation.
So the next time you entertain advertising, on whatever medium it rears its head, ask yourself…who do you trust? You might be surprised.
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The marketing moral of this story—regardless the force of the “new media” movement, do not completely abandon traditional media for advertising your product or brand, instead integrate newer, emerging methods with those proven traditional media to create a well-balanced mix for a comprehensive integrated marketing campaign.
Technological capabilities and restrictions, along with evolving audience preferences and media capabilities has required marketers’ to find new ways to reach target audiences, has led them to explore the possibilities with mobile marketing and advertising.
“Mobile advertising remains one of the most exciting developments in the mobile market today and one which opens the door for marketers to target their customers and prospects more directly through an entirely new channel…” –Cristy Burgan, VP of Marketing Solutions, Acision
One form of mobile advertising is advergames –also known as mobile games, which are designed “to feature specific products in starring roles. The primary benefit of advergames is that they can create extremely immersive experiences for key demographic audiences.” WVU, 2010
- As discussed in a previous post on mobile marketing - Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular since the introduction of SMS (Short Message Service). And mobile marketing has certainly reached beyond kids and teens: “Given a choice of consumer electronic devices, boomer Internet users overwhelmingly chose PCs over mobile phones (51% and 21%, respectively), while the opposite was true for Gen Y and Gen X (47% and 38%), according to Accenture.” FuorDigital, 2008
More than a year after launch, there are 74,031 apps in the iPhone App store. Not exclusive to the Apple iPhone either, makers of competitor “smart phones” now offer a variety of cellular phone models that allow users to access cell phone applications.
Recently, I have become acquainted a cell phone application that has integrated mobile gaming, advertising and socialization through the Scrabble-inspired game, Words with Friends—that many call “the best word game application of today”.
The best part for marketers is that the FREE version allows third party advertisements to interrupt game play.
For users, compared to its competition, Words with Friends has some distinct differences and some lacking features; however, the speed of the application and the bounteous player group are enough to create a buzz and explode its popularity.
After registering (presumably for database marketing purposes), you are matched with a random opponent or you play a friend. Game play is essentially identical to Scrabble—creating words and scoring points.
Push notifications, offered by the mobile nature of the game, contribute to the active nature of the applications’ users—it creates a fast-pace that induces users to move quickly.
To be honest, I never really liked Scrabble—but for some reason, I cannot get enough of Words with Friends.
If you can’t wait to try it, my player name is MizzBowe—it could be fun…and I need the practice.
Early in 2009, IKEA launched a new furniture line called IKEA PS. The objective was “to stretch the idea of design, to think about empowering people, and to minimize the impact on the world.” MobiAd News, n.d.
With such unusual designs, IKEA felt they had to do something special to help customers imagine how this furniture would fit into their houses, so they turned to a mobile “augmented reality” solution.
German agency, CLANMO won the 2010 award for the worldwide Best Mobile Marketing and Advertising Campaign by helping IKEA customers who were interested in the IKEA PS design collection to overcome the purchase barrier by showing them how to use their mobile phone, essentially as a portable interior planning tool.
Customers were able to download a mobile application by entering their mobile number into a web form on the IKEA website or send a free text message to receive a download link. Additionally Bluetooth pillars were put up in IKEA stores to download the application right there in the store. The customer now sees which piece of the IKEA PS collection fits his/her room best. GSMA, 2010
The IKEA PS Mobile Interior Planning Tool gave its customers a convenient and useful planning tool for home furnishing. The IKEA PS furniture selection is stored in the mobile application and appears on the cell phone screen when selected by the user. With the help of the phone’s camera, an image of the selected furnishings can then be embedded into a snapshot of the users’ own room to give a better sense of how it would actually look in that location. Rather than to rely on imagination and memory alone to provide some sense of how the new acquisition might look, this application allows customers to see the new objects “live” in their potential new environment.
The interior design application, developed for IKEA in 2009, not only was unique, but also for showed an incredible significance for the future for a much broader mobile market. The IKEA PS Mobile Interior Planning Tool was a very innovative approach that can be easily set up to use in other industries—such innovation is also associated with the innovation of the IKEA brand.
The IKEA PS made the mobile application available to consumers in three ways:
1) In-store posters urged customers to send a free text message to IKEA to receive a link to download the application.
2) Customers going to the IKEA Web site were able to enter their mobile number and receive a download of the application.
3) Bluetooth pillars were installed in select IKEA stores. These would periodically send out signals to nearby mobile phones inviting the user to download the application.
The nature of the campaign relinquishes IKEA marketers from an ethical dilemma of major privacy issues. Perhaps the only concern would be with the Bluetooth pillars; however, due to the fact that the consumers receiving the messages were already those inside IKEA stores, the likelihood that these messages would be seen as overly intrusive or unwarranted is expected to be greatly diminished.
This pioneering approach allowed marketers to capitalize on a method that overwhelmingly users opted into for use. The strategy taken with this campaign enabled users to become interactive with a helpful spin on advertising—allowing for users to receive a benefit from the service, thus, encouraging a mutually beneficial relationship between the user and the brand.
Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular since the introduction of SMS (Short Message Service). And mobile marketing has certainly reached beyond kids and teens: “Given a choice of consumer electronic devices, boomer Internet users overwhelmingly chose PCs over mobile phones (51% and 21%, respectively), while the opposite was true for Gen Y and Gen X (47% and 38%), according to Accenture.” FuorDigital, 2008
More than a year after launch, there are 74,031 apps in the iPhone App store. Not exclusive to the Apple iPhone either, makers of competitor “smart phones” now offer a variety of cellular phone models that allow users to access cell phone applications.
Online shopping has become growingly popular in recent years—as more and more consumers take to the Internet in search of their next purchase. One of the most important consumer benefits associated with an online presence for purchasing is the “access to greater amounts of dynamic information to support consumers’ decision-making. Ghinea and Fagerstrøm, 2010
So what happens when marketers combine the power of mobile marketing with online purchases?
Mobile shopping is born.
A New York Times article describes the phenomenon:
Shoppers will soon be able to stand outside the designer Norma Kamali’s boutique in Manhattan, point a phone at merchandise in the window and buy it— Ms. Kamali is at the forefront of a technological transformation coming to many of the nation’s retailers. They are determined to strengthen the link between their physical stores and the Web, and to use technology to make shopping easier for consumers and more lucrative for themselves.
The main way they plan to do it is by turning people’s mobile phones into information displays and ordering devices. Can’t find the flour at the grocery store? Grocers will offer phone applications that tell shoppers exactly where to go. Is the department store out of size 8 jeans? Retailers want to make it simple to punch a couple of buttons and have the desired size shipped home.
Some supermarkets intend to offer real-time coupons while people shop.
Drugstores will offer loyalty programs on cellphones, not on plastic cards. And specialty chains will allow shoppers to breeze through the aisles compiling a wedding registry, just by pointing at merchandise.
Technology companies behind the products say retailers are sniffing around, with some planning limited introductions this year and wider deployments in 2011 or 2012.
We see the smartphone being used more and more in the shopping experience,” said Dick Cantwell, Cisco’s vice president for retail at Cisco’s Internet business solutions group.
Many big retailers have already created cellphone applications that do more than just dole out coupons. Target, for one, has an application that can identify which store aisle sells nightgowns.
Michael Falco for the New York Times
While many retailers were at first hesitant to adopting the early uses of online purchasing ability—in fear that it would impact the overall revenue too dramatically by reducing the need for brick-and-mortar stores, quite the opposite became true—could mobile buying have the same effect?
I, for one, am anxious to find out.
