Mobile, the new buzz word. And just like when social media first started filling up conversations from corporate enterprises to every Jack and Jill blogging on the Internet, so is mobile, except, it is a lot more complex than simply deciding whether or not to be on Facebook / Twitter and how to execute the social media campaign that will win a Loerie award. It has also been around for a lot longer. It is more, entering a more mature phase of life, and offering so much more.
So,
SO, WHAT IS MOBILE? ( in life terms)
Our remote control of life, we do everything on it in real time and based on our location or context within our daily lives.
SO, WHAT IS MOBILE? (in marketing terms)
“Mobile as a term is just a reference to an eco-system that phones are a part of…”
- Kevin Slavin
Most people don’t stare at a laptop, tv, radio, magazine, or billboard, or branding all day long. In store promotions have been trying for years now to be the most relevant, by providing information at point of sale. However, mobile – and this is what it is all about, is about being accessible where the brand is relevant. And not just from a communication perspective, but including products and services associated with the brand. Mobile is the closest you will ever get to personally influencing every customer experience.
So what does this mean in terms of your MARKETING STRATEGY?
In simple terms it means that for the first time in marketing, brands, companies and small businesses have the opportunity to provide relevant digital value, not just random content on a Facebook Fanpage that is supposed to ” make me like the brand because it tells me things about life”
No, it is about providing real relevant real time value, providing communication, products and services that will make my life better.
But here is the thing, this is not just going to happen with good looking creative, great copy writing and a well proposed media strategy. No, it will take a lot more than that, it will force you to think about your consumers, their life cycle, every possible way you communicate with them, how they live, what they want and the context in which they interact with you – across media, in store, online, out office, etc. It will force you to have a closer look and get up close and personal to the people you have in your brand life, and how they are experiencing you, in reality, not some brand story a bunch of people in a boardroom made up. It will force you to review your segmentation approach, and define targeted strategies aimed at specific consumers based on the context within which they are experiencing your brand, product, communication and the act of the sale.
To try and illustrate the complexity and true interoperability of MOBILE in Marketing is not an easy task, however, i found this diagram which I think is a good start:
It illustrates this new mobile way of thinking when thinking about marketing in the 21st century. Further supported by the below matrix – I believe this should give you a good understanding of the bigger picture, and tactically what it entails from a marketing strategy development perspective.
The below presentation is probably the most comprehensive one I could find online, and will certainly provide you with a solid foundation in starting to think within a mobile, connected marketing manner.
Source: http://www.slideshare.net/helgetenno/mobile-abilities-map
Secondly in this post, which I would have to continue with at a later stage I would like to touch on the second most important thing in mobile after having a clearly defined strategy and understanding the importance of CONTEXT, which goes hand in hand with it – especially in application or any property development – is the USER EXPERIENCE and DESIGN.
Just for fun…
3. Little World from Kevin Cannon on Vimeo.
Now, I am no expert, but one thing I have learned being in mobile development is -
WITH MOBILE - CONTEXT IS KING, where would people use your mobisite, application, etc? on the train, in a shop, at home? At work? To better illustrate where I am going with this – I found this presentation – which really illustrates in A LOT OF DETAIL what I mean, it is long, but totally worth it.
Source: http://www.slideshare.net/fling/designing-mobile-experiences
In addition to the above, and with relevance to our local market here in South Africa – I would like to end off with the following presentation – a touch on the iceberg of devices, and the clear debate that technology should be for everyone? And living in Africa, how many people actually have an iPhone?
In conclusion, and I realize this post is rather random and perhaps not quite in line with my usual style of writing, a bit all over the show. But I believe that is the purpose, to initiate thinking, to flip a switch in a mind, to open up a conversation, because the only way we will dictate our future – is to imagine it.
And then, to develop it.
So if you are in marketing, and see the future of communication, product development, service delivery and real people (not consumers) experiences – then hopefully this will inspire you to want to understand and engage with application development, mobile TV, mobile payments, QR codes / tagging, NFC, and the application of all new emerging mobile technologies that will shape the future of our daily lives 
Home work reading, do visit:
http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/
http://www.mocom2020.com/
http://www.mobileyouthreport.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/PSFK/psfk-presents-future-of-mobile-tagging-report
And yet, I have meetings here in South Africa where people are still asking the question – is this just a digital fad? Is this really where our country is going? It is completely understandable taking our current social and economic situation into account, majority of our population live in poverty. No one can see into the future, but we can have a look at statistics indicating the current situation and growth of Digital as a whole in Africa, and more specifically South Africa.
