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Introduction

This module provides a discussion of Mobile Marketing vs. Wireless Advertising with an introduction to Mobile Direct Response Marketing.

Mobile in Minute papers

 Mobile Marketing
vs Wireless Advertising

Wireless Advertising

“Wireless Advertising” can be defined as any promotional or advertisement material placed onto a wireless device including laptop/notebook, PDA, or most commonly a cellular mobile phone.  Issues surrounding wireless advertising involve user acceptance of the advertisement including interest level and perception of SPAM.  Advertisements are often thus content targeted for relevancy.  Click-through rates for Wireless Advertisements are surprisingly high compared to fixed Internet accessing, owing perhaps to the small screen size and intimacy of the user experience.

Mobile Marketing

“Mobile Marketing” can be defined as any use of the mobile channel for delivery of marketing communications.  Mobile Marketing is often used to broadly encompass everything from wireless advertising (as defined above) as well as promotion of mobile phone related content such as mobile personalization and entertainment items such as ringtones, graphics, and games.  Broadly defined, Mobile Marketing also encompasses various applications such as localized search and voting/polling such as use of mobile phones to interact with reality TV and various shows like American Idol.

Increasingly, Mobile Direct Response Marketing (MDRM) is the focus for many brands and advertising agencies as a means of marketing communication.  MDRM is the use of the mobile channel for allowing a consumer to interact with a brand and/or its products by way of the end-user responding to an advertisement, typically observed/heard in traditional media (broadcast, print, and outdoor advertising) by way of the mobile phone.  The mobile phone thus becomes a direct response tool for consumers to get information about products, engage in product promotions, and the brand to establish and maintain a relationship with the customer.

While MDRM has initially been concerned with on-pack (placement of a promotion on consumer package goods such as a soda), it is expanding to other media such as print advertising and event related advertisements.  Traditionally, the call to action for response relies on the use of SMS via a Short Code (SC) and Keyword (KW).  A SC is a short number used in the address field of a SMS message and a KW is some word placed in the body of the message that allows the receiving application to respond.  For example, placing a special code from a soda bottle cap as the Keyword that is SMS text to a particular SC allows the sender to participate in a soft drink promotion.