@CTIA IT: Mobile marketing progress, steady but sure

SAN DIEGO–That slow, steady drumbeat you hear is the sound of mobile marketing initiatives across the globe. It’s a soft, steady sound that could explode into a wild, rich (and by that I mean lucrative) dance once the ecosystem is in place — but for now, it’s a cautious, quiet rhythm.
Progress is being made, panelists told audience members at CTIA’s Mobile Marketing & Advertising conference during a day-long presentation heading into Wednesday’s CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment conference here. Brands and advertising agencies are beginning to understand how mobile can be an effective part of any marketing campaign – if it’s conducted properly and relevant to consumers.
Text messaging is still a good method to connect brands with consumers. An ineffective mobile branding campaign is not the fault of the delivery platform, it’s the fault of a dull campaign, said Konny Zsigo, president of Wireless Developer Agency during a morning panel. “The medium is not the problem,” any more so than if the paper was the problem with a print ad campaign.
The social networking space has yet to figure out how to monetize self-identifying, peer-to-peer groups and it’s going to be a challenge going forward to figure out how to insert a marketing message in the space, said Mitch Feinman, a consultant at SayNow. Social networks that are highly focused and narrow may be more conducive to successful mobile marketing campaigns than their mass-market counterparts, Zsigo noted.
And yes, short codes still take 12 weeks to deliver, a timeframe in which many marketing campaigns may be completed before the mobile component had a chance to start, said Jack Philbin, president of Vibes Media. Further, mobile analytics are still problematic and advertisers and brands want to be able to measure their returns on their investments.
Nevertheless, brands and advertisers are continuing to move in the space. During another panel later in the day, when panelists were asked which segment of the industry is causing a bottleneck to better adoption, panelists did not singularly point to the carrier. This is significant in and of itself because in recent history, carriers were sometimes accused of stifling innovation in mobile marketing as they tried to control too much of the mobile marketing experience. For their part, carriers were quick to protect consumers from bad experiences from unscrupulous mobile marketing companies selling vaguely priced subscription services to ringtones and the like. (For the record, handset makers, the brands and ad agencies themselves and the general lack of awareness are today’s stumbling blocks to mass mobile marketing uptake.)
Developers are now a central component in the ecosystem, said Ty Wang, senior director of product marketing at Oracle Communications. Network operators, device manufacturers and Operating Systems developers are all actively trying to engage developers to write applications for their devices, networks or platforms. Vodafone Group plc’s chief executive said the success of advertising in the wireless space depends on third parties, Wang noted. A 2008 Cap Gemini study said a platform approach that includes ads can give carriers a 12% increase in revenues.
Mobile search, especially local mobile search, holds much promise. As Americans increasingly use smartphones, and increasingly access the Web from these smartphones, click-through rates for mobile search increase, said Bruce Crair, president and COO of Local.com.
The success of Apple Inc.’s iPhone has helped consumers discover applications and application storefronts have aided distribution, said Min Chan, GM of mobile products, AT&T Interactive. Speeds are increasing, which is good as consumers search for products and services.
In short, the industry has made significant progress from last year, but still has a way to go before it starts to turn the revenue projections into profits.