Going Mobile?

One of my all time favorite rock bands is The Who, but they were going home when they were “Going Mobile.” These days, going mobile is the future of marketing, IMHO.

While text messaging is still the dominant way of communicating messages of all types to mobile users, the increasing penetration of smart phones and tablets worldwide will eventually make cell application channels and the internet the main distribution methods for high definition and interactive ways to reach mobilized consumers. Just recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Jolie O’Dell of Mashable.com talk about the use of location-based marketing pioneered by foursquare.com. This tactic is now proliferating through the smart phone universe as mobile users “check in” voluntarily at participating businesses. While the marketing implications of location broadcasting are still murky (and the hidden collection of mobile data by Apple and Google is causing privacy concerns and government scrutiny), the most obvious conclusion is that mobile device users consider their hand-held technology the most convenient point for consuming information, entertainment, sales offers and social connections. Sounds like a “place” where marketing belongs, don’t you think?

If you’re interested in learning almost everything about the mobile world, there’s a great post at mobithinking.com. If you’re still in doubt about whether your business can benefit from entering this developing arena in marketing, consider this:

• 250+ million Americans carry mobile phones—over 80% of the nation’s population
• Cell phones subscriptions topped 5 billion globally before 2011
• The global mobile advertising market was valued at over $16 billion by 2011

And if you still doubt that mobile marketing can deliver the emotional intimacy that is the heart of effective marketing:

• Four out of five teens carry a wireless device, and the majority (57%) view their cell phone as the key to their social life

Going mobile?