ADWEEK: Will Economy Put Mobile Marketing On Hold In 2009?
That depends on what you mean by "mobile marketing."
A new article in this week's ADWEEK seems to mash up mobile ad spend with mobile marketing in general.
Yes, mobile ad spend may see decreases this year - what with its unproven nature and brand hesitance over the medium's privacy implications. But mobile as an overall marketing channel - at about $10,000 per campaign - is likely to see growth, if anything.
Here's the deal: Mobile marketing is at about $1.7 billion this year, according to eMarketer. But $1.47 billion of that is in text messaging. Not text advertising, per se. But communications with consumers through things I strongly advocate in BRANDING UNBOUND the book: As a highly measurable response mechanism to print, broadcast, outdoor, online and direct mail advertising, and as an opt-in, 2-way communicaitons channel.
That doesn't take much money at all - so if anything, with more brands trying it, and with low-cost solutions for engaging in it proliferating, total spend is likely to go up in 2009, not down.
"In the current economic environment, smart marketing teams will likely move away from generic branding campaigns towards trackable, direct response channels, one of which is mobile,"Jim Shilale, VP of business development for mobile solutions provider 2ergo tells the pub.
Tom Cotney, CEO of Air2Web, which has created campaigns for Aflac and Wal-Mart, puts it more bluntly to this week's Mediaweek: "Mobile is a cost-effective channel and will capture market share from more expensive marketing and communications channels during the downturn."
Time will tell. I suspect with so little to cut from the cost of using mobile in its most effective manner, many brands will find it a no brainer in a tough economy.
But this mobile ad business, well that's another story all together.
Read more here.
Quick Links:
Generation Wow: Expanding the conversation to multi-platform marketing
BRANDING UNBOUND The Book
ADWEEK Magazines Excerpt
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