While cash-strapped Americans cut back on such cherished routines as eating out, buying the latest electronic gadgets, and driving their cars here, there and everywhere, a relatively new custom shows no signs of abatement: buying and talking on cellphones.
Love them or hate them, cellphones have become an ubiquitous part of life in America, as visible and inseparable as the clothes on people's backs. The total integration of cellphones into modern life is creating a vast new opportunity for savvy marketers to promote their brands and sell products and services through mobile advertising.
According to a study by Harris Interactive, teens are proving to be strong early adapters to mobile advertising, with adults quickly building a comfort level. Among teens surveyed, 56 percent said they would be interested in viewing mobile ads with incentives, while 37 percent of adults noted that they would be receptive to such advertising.
Top incentives among teens included:
- Cash (70 percent)
- Entertainment downloads (61 percent)
- Free music (57 percent)
- Free minutes (53 percent)
Top incentives among adults included:
- Cash (80 percent)
- Free minutes (49 percent)
- Discount coupons (37 percent)
- Free entertainment (31 percent)
- Music downloads (24 percent)
While matching the right incentive to the right audience is clearly a critical part of mobile advertising success, the survey revealed that the method of delivery is equally consequential. Text messaging was the advertising approach of choice for all consumers, appealing to 69 percent of adults and 64 percent of teens. Reflecting their more visual-orientation than earlier generations, teens were more open to seeing advertising images on their cellphones (47 percent) compared to adults (35 percent).
As consumers grow more personally connected to their cellphones, mobile advertising is a medium that's grown from the outskirts of marketing importance to the forefront. As the Harris study and other industry reports show, the key to acceptance for mobile marketing efforts is to know your audience, personalize your message, and offer meaningful incentives that make you a welcome caller instead of a pushy intruder.
For more ideas to drive sales, check out archives or visit Ambit Advertising and Public Relations.
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