Smarties Trend Report | MMA Global

Smarties Trend Report

The MMA developed the Mobile Creative Framework which highlighted strategies behind the most effective mobile campaigns from 2013. Many of the same trends are now carried over into this year’s winners, but as the world of mobile has evolved, so have the more traditional strategies marketers have deployed to take advantage of the uniqueness of mobile. Updates in mobile technology have provided new ways for marketers to leverage the device to create multi-channel engagement, and have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with their target by personalizing their campaigns, and granting access to content their consumers want, when they want it. A key to success is creating relevancy for the consumer, and making them the focal point of your campaign, inviting them into the brand story. While other channels tend to be a one-way dialogue, mobile puts the power to engage in the hands of the consumer, and provides brands an opportunity to get closer to their consumers throughout the entire path to purchase, and create an experience that lasts far beyond the point of sale.

The Gateway to Dynamic Personalization

One of the innate strengths of mobile is that it is not a shared screen, which presents an opportunity for marketers to speak to their consumers on a one on one basis, and provide personalized content for each individual. Personalization is key to breaking through clutter, and appearing relevant to consumers when they are in the right mindset to interact with your product. Successful advertisers in this space are able to develop a deeper bond with their customer by taking the information they know about a specific individual, and activating a completely personalized brand experience.

The Consumer-Needs Compass

The holy grail of marketing used to be reaching the right person, at the right time, with the right message. With the advent of location-based advertising, brands are now able to not only reach the right person at the right time, with the right message, but perhaps more importantly, while they’re in the right place with the right mindset. Location-based advertising has provided an avenue for brands to disrupt consumer habits and create instant demand, turning an audience into a customer, and directing them to the closest retail location, with cash in hand.

The “Always on” Brand Station

Mobile provides on-demand access to consumers 24/7, and some brands have exploited this by creating “always on” brand experiences that provide entertainment or a specific service to their consumer. While some brands deliver the experience through existing mobile technologies, some find success in creating their own app. However, it’s critical that the app earn its real estate on a user’s mobile device by providing an exclusive experience, or filling a void in the consumer’s life. If you give your customers a reason to come back again and again, they will reward you with frequent brand interaction and brand loyalty – allowing your brand to truly become part of their lifestyle.

The Campaign Engagement Link

Engagement is literally in the hands of the consumer. With the further development of mobile technologies that allow a user’s phone to interact with the world around them, brands are given the tools needed to launch one of a kind cross-screen executions. Using mobile to interconnect disparate advertising channels allows for a more immersive, fully-interactive brand experience, all in the palm of your target’s hand. Here, an opportunity exists for brands to build mobile-centric campaigns that harness mobile technology to amplify other channel efforts, creating a cohesive marketing strategy that will work to raise awareness and brand favorability through engagement and open access.

The Mobile Social Influence

As mobile social audiences continue to grow, and consumer consumption habits continue to shift to even smaller, more bite-sized pieces of content consumed on the go, everyone becomes an influencer within their own network. Marketers are taking advantage of existing social platforms, and their users, to grow their brands in more organic ways. The additional benefit that mobile social platforms offer is the ease of sharing – not only to each user’s own social stream, which helps to exponentially grow a brand’s audience, but also the brand’s own social stream, which will assist in further spreading any curated content.

The Internet of Things

Mobile has clearly transformed business and has changed what’s possible for marketers as they engage their consumers. Now we are seeing how the Internet of Things is further disrupting industry. The product is now becoming a conduit of the message and brand experience. While still in its infancy, we’re already seeing many different vertical industries, from health care to energy monitoring, embrace this movement to create new products and services. Before brand marketers jump on this trend, we suggest that they take a step back and think about how this adds value to consumer’s lifestyle and brand experience.