Developing Principles for Mobile Marketing Communications

Transcription

1 Developing Principles for Mobile Marketing Communications Abstract This paper explores practitioner s perceptions of the key elements in planning mobile communication campaigns. Eleven in-depth interviews with communication agency practitioners were conducted and resulted in the development of a set of principles for successful mobile communications. Ten key principles are outlined in the paper, including a requirement to understand the market, the benefits of mobile and other channels, a requirement to treat data responsibly and the need to develop clear value propositions. Additionally, concept development should arise out of a combination of consumer insight and an understanding of technology, communications should be true to the brand and personal connections should be developed. Finally, the driving of engagement is crucial and mobile communication should be social by nature, planned with flexibility and longevity in mind. Introduction The new communication environment has pushed marketers towards more targeted and interactive media and the emergence of mobile media has opened up new possibilities for marketers to generate existing and potential customer interactions. The use of the mobile channel is currently thriving as more companies are realising its potential, beyond just advertising, for the promotion of goods and services (Karjaluoto et al., 2007). This is due to technological advances (Pitta, 2011), interactivity and changes in marketing thinking towards more personalised communications. The relentless technological development of mobile phones has transformed them from simple devices to highly complex tools incorporating high resolution digital screens, cameras, GPS functions, internet connections and therefore integrated social networking, mapping services and local business listings (Pitta, 2011). This research was undertaken to explore the current practitioner perceptions and understandings of mobile marketing communications with a view to developing practical guidance for incorporating mobile into integrated marketing communications campaigns. Methodology In-depth interviews were conducted with eleven representatives of London-based communication agencies. The use of agencies (rather than brands) was deliberate as we wanted to uncover understanding and knowledge from a wide range of experience across several sectors. Participants were mainly at director level, some generalists such as Client Services and Planning directors, but some more specialists, focussing on digital and interactive communications. Sampling was convenience-based, ensuring appropriate respondents who could give the best insights. A semi-structured interview guide covered the key areas we wanted to cover, but also allowed flexibility as new topics emerged. The guide was loosely structured around a framework based on work by Leppaniemi and Karjaluoto (2008). Interview data were recorded and transcribed, the analysis starting with a process of open-coding and then grouping concepts around emerging themes. Findings: Ten principles for integrating mobile into marketing communication strategies Analysis of the interview data led to the identification of ten themes which evolved into ten principles for integrating mobile into marketing communication strategies. These are presented below with participant quotations to provide further explanation.

2 Marketers must understand the market in which they operate As with any sound integrated communications planning process, an understanding of the audience of the mobile communications is vital. Given the freedom and mobility offered by mobile devices, both the elements of messaging and the context in which communications are made are important. Respondents noted that this is often difficult to comprehend due to a range of unpredictable variables such as mood and the weather. In addition, because of the rapid rate of technological change, the marketing landscape is also evolving: new channels are emerging, variations of platforms are being developed and new features and elements are being added and separated from existing technology. As one participant commented: The market is constantly changing; from the day that we start development to the time for launch there are new phones or software...so it s about acknowledging that you don t really know what s going to happen in a couple of months and saying look we will be prepared to duck and dive around it In addition to new technology, the wider fragmentation of the market has caused a transition in media frameworks, with a shift to highly complex, often individual and personal options. One participant identified this as an opportunity for a brand to step ahead of its competitors: If you think just because you re a big brand, you re bullet proof... when the customer could be two seconds away from deleting your app and two seconds from finding another one. Marketers must understand the benefits of the mobile channel and those of other channels in order to facilitate integration and consumer acceptance A key finding was the view amongst practitioners that a mobile device holds very personal information about its users (whether messages or contacts) and is present at all times in a consumer s life, making it very personal:...it s very personal and it s an intimate space so you re getting into people s pockets, you re getting specifically where they are exactly at that moment in time Participants also noted that each channel plays a different role in the consumer s life, helping them with different tasks. It was felt that these different functions should be used to orchestrate an integrated strategy that uses the individuality of each channel to develop holistic synergy of the overall strategy. To achieve this, an understanding of the nature of each channel and how it complements another is vital for the development of unified messages. Mobile devices appear to have two main functions in an integrated strategy: one is as the primary means of support through the use of social media to facilitate conversation and spark interest, accompanied by other media such as print. Secondly, mobile was seen as the support channel, often used in customer relationship management. It was also found that one of the key functions of mobile is to act as a bridge between reality and virtual reality:...(for mobile) the offline crossover is really big. We work with a lot of retailers...we are seeing demand for...kind of bricks and mortar retailers saying well how can we actually bridge our digital campaigns with our in-store stuff Marketers must be responsible with data and respect the users Responsible use of consumer data was seen to be a key element for successful mobile marketing communications. Linked with respect and trust, participants saw this high on their

3 list of concerns. All were aware of the potential pitfalls of offending consumers with irrelevant or mistimed offers and information and several identified that strong consumer insight could overcome some of these issues. In relation to this, it was felt that creating value for the consumer is crucial: providing consumers with a strong value proposition, maybe via convenience, relevance or some kind of enhancement to consumers lives help to mitigate feelings of intrusiveness and irritation. Marketers must provide a value proposition that is relevant and complementary to existing consumer behaviour Providing consumers with a strong value proposition with relevance was seen as one of the most challenging aspects of mobile marketing communications: The question you have to ask is what incentive is there to download this app or visit this mobile site, what are they actually after, what do they get out of this? Yeah it s a company blog or brand news but how is this enriching my phone? The customer has to see the value of your mobile stuff, which is a much harder service than the web is; you really need to make sure that there is some sort of value It was emphasised that any incentive should not be simply a short-term fulfilment but a longterm value proposition. Value, longevity and relevance were seen as vital to attract and maintain customer interest, whilst decreasing the perceived levels of intrusiveness and irritation. Concept development must not only arise out of consumer insight but an understanding of technology In order to stay ahead, it was found essential to have knowledge of new technology and how it can be utilised. Participants noted this to be one of the core shifts in practices that digital media has created. Previously, idea generation came first and was then fitted into different channels. Now however, an idea can emerge out of the technology: Yeah, there s a myth that creative directors and creatives don t need to know the technology,...but by looking at the most successful ideas of the last few years; you literally couldn t have come up with them without the technology. The Old Spice tweet reply is not an idea that could just work on any channel, it s an idea that has come out of the fact that you can now reply to things on Youtube Marketers must develop mobile communication that is true to the brand Many participants noted the difficulties of staying true to the brand across all digital technology: I think getting a consistent brand with mobile is pretty difficult because when most people came up with their brand they weren t including mobile unless you ve done it in the last six months Participants noted that this difficulty is due to the difference in context, consumption and functionality of digital technology, for example with mobile, screen size and use can vary. While marketers may want to make the most of new technology, it was also noted that it is important not to force-fit a piece of new technology with the brand, with a certain idea or with the target audience. Any communication will become more successful when itr is something that a consumer would expect from a brand.

4 Marketers must craft mobile communication to make personal connections Although not relevant to every sector, it was noted that during the planning process, marketers must consider what the consumer is going to feel when they see the communication. Some participants developed this further, suggesting the importance of forming an emotional selling proposition. However, again, this should be treated with some caution as not all offerings require such a personal approach. Marketers must drive engagement for stronger message delivery With increasing numbers opportunities for communicating with consumers, mobile is viewed as a powerful tool in generating engagement. An understanding of available opportunities is therefore essential during communications planning. Participants noted that engagement drives an increase in effectiveness of the message, but it also stimulates trust. Engagement encourages users to form positive opinions about a brand which could lead to social recommendation; The reason why engagement is so good is not just like so you have engaged with me, so I have loved the brand by creating engagement you are creating ripples of conversation that spread out to a load of people and the more social recommendation something s got, the more of my mates that I know are using it, the more rust I will ascribe to it Mobile communications should be social by nature The ability of brands to understand that communication is stimulated via social circles was highlighted as an essential element within the mobile planning process. Participants explained that it is important to look at social media with mobile because the mobile device is primarily a conversation piece. The key to successful mobile communication is going a step further than this and socialising the communication, creating a flow of two-way conversation evolving into a network of conversation between brand and consumers. The ability to develop mobile communication that facilitates social interaction and enhances consumers lives, rather than attempting to change behaviour was found to be a key element. Mobile should plan mobile communications with longevity and flexibility The importance of understanding trends and staying flexible was seen to be key to successful mobile communication: Trends are important because if you re not on-trend then you re not relevant and if you re not relevant the consumers throw you by the wayside, you could be on Facebook and the next you could be MySpace In addition to flexibility, longevity was seen to be important: I think the biggest part for me in terms of implication is how you are going to get longevity: what s the sustainability of it? If you launch it, are you going to add feeds to it, are you going to up-date it in six months, what is it you are trying to say with it, is it the experience you are trying to create or is it the outcome? Discussion Our findings suggest that marketing practices for mobile marketing communication planning need to be modified in a significant way compared to approaches taken with traditional and

5 other digital media. Existing literature on the development of digital strategies has provided valuable insights into consumer behaviour and trends (e.g. Kim, 2008; Sharp and Wind, 2009: Truong et al., 2010) but it has failed to discriminate between the nature of different channels and, as a result, has overlooked the personal nature of the mobile device. Those academics who have discriminated between channels, focussing on the unique characteristics and personal nature of mobile (e.g., Mirbagheri and Hejazinia, 2010; Smutkupt et al., 2010) have overlooked one of the most crucial characteristics of the mobile device: the fact that it is very much a social device. The social nature of mobile does need to be fully understood by practitioners and should be at the forefront of communications planning. Whilst the intimate and personal nature of mobile has led to the identification of challenges such as privacy, intrusiveness and irritation of communication (e.g., Cheng et al., 2009; Smutkupt et al., 2010), this study found that if a strong value proposition is provided, these issues are minimised. In addition, this study found that if value to the consumer is maintained, engagement increases often resulting in social recommendation, which in turn, increases consumers trust in the brand- providing that the brand is responsible with consumer data. Furthermore, if the value proposition has social benefits, this creates engagement and acceptance at group level which generates wider social recommendation. The personal and social nature of mobile not only has implications for strategy but also for integration. This study found that practitioners are not finding the ad hoc use of mobile to be successful and instead are using mobile as a tool within a holistic, integrated communication strategy encompassing both traditional and digital media channels, which is a finding supported by many academics (e.g., Leppaniemi and Karjaluoto, 2008; Mirbagheri and Hejazinia, 2010; Smutkupt et al., 2010 Conclusions With multiple opportunities for engagement and interaction with both individuals and groups, mobile marketing communication is rapidly becoming a staple element in integrated marketing communication strategies across all sectors. Technological advancements mean that marketing practitioners need to constantly monitor the latest techniques, both individually and as part of an integrated mix. A full appreciation of mobile marketing communications includes recognition of the mobile device as a social and just a personal device. It is no longer sufficient to view mobile as an advertising channel, but also as an engagement channel with opportunities to develop strong customer relationships. When mobile is included, communication plans can no longer be tackled as a set of manageable media channels, but instead as engagement and interaction with individuals and social circles through a web of interactive connections which has a life of its own within social circles. Practitioners must understand that this web of interactive connections is often beyond their control and that to fully benefit from its powerful reach, they need to understand wider social trends and provide relevance and value to consumers. Implicit in mobile marketing communications, and linked to the giving up of control, is the need to stay flexible in order to adapt communications to changing conditions.

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