We are in an era that urgently needs change. When traditional industries have not yet been fully developed, the internet thinking arrives; while we are still studying what internet thinking is, mobile internet comes. We are constantly in a clash between tradition and modernity, facing the end of the era of mass marketing and the rise of the world of micro-marketing.
So how to define mobile internet marketing? We believe that in the mobile internet era, it is not about imposing on consumers, but about empowering them; equal participation and interaction are more important. Mobile internet marketing is not about 'publishing information' to consumers via mobile terminals, but about building relationships with mobile consumers.
What new elements should mobile marketing capture? We summarize them into the following ten key words.
1. Personality and Precision. Mobile device screens are too small compared to PC screens, and users have very low tolerance for irrelevant content and ads. Therefore, it is very important to personalize mobile marketing through analysis of mobile user behavior and data mining. Based on user location, interests, device type, and time periods, precise mobile internet marketing can be delivered, and one-to-one more precise communication will become a reality in the future. At the same time, mobile marketing needs to respect consumer individuality. For example, Japanese fast-fashion brand Uniqlo launched an app called UTme!, which allows users to create their own UT. After downloading the app, users can doodle, use photos from their phone, or use letter patterns to make their own DIY T-shirts. This is also an opportunity for personalization brought by the mobile internet. .png)
2. Emotion and Scenario. The mobile phone is a terminal with emotions and feelings, and people's movement trajectories have the characteristic of scenario shifts. Therefore, mobile marketing first needs to consider how to mobilize consumer emotions. For example, Durex recently launched a new product APP on mobile, where couples can take photos before intimacy, and beautify or decorate them. Many mobile apps themselves are closely related to scenarios, such as Moji Weather and Chinese Calendar. Jeep partnered with Chinese Calendar to launch four historically significant JeepDays: June 6 to commemorate D-Day, featuring the Jeep Grand Cherokee; July 23 as the All-Terrain Experience Day, featuring the Jeep Cherokee; and two more JeepDays will be launched in August and September. This allows users to gain a deeper understanding of Jeep's brand history and products while engaging with the calendar scenario.
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3. Entertainment and Fun. All industries are entertainment industries. In the mobile internet era, we need to think about how to embed advertising in entertainment, and fun becomes very important. For example, the famous lingerie brand Victoria's Secret did a stylish outdoor ad, covering the model's chest with a QR code, and the ad copy was blatantly seductive—'Reveal Lily's secret'—making you eagerly pick up your phone to scan the QR code. Behind the QR code was Victoria's Secret lingerie, truly as the slogan says, 'More sexy than skin.'
4. Holographic and Interactive. The mobile phone is also a holographic media. Companies can combine the characteristics of smartphones to explore new advertising models, such as location-based ad push, shake, or blow interactions. Using LBS functionality, ads can also tell consumers where the nearest store is. The mobile phone is a terminal that can comprehensively use text, images, audio, video, and other types of information for transmission.
5. Benefits and Rewards. Surveys show that 76.6% of respondents are interested in discounts/rewards. eMarketer data shows that in 2014, one in four smartphone users redeemed a coupon. Mobile marketing also needs to give consumers rewards. Companies can bundle membership cards with smartphone apps or WeChat to drive consumers to mobile e-commerce platforms or to collect coupons and then take action in physical stores.
6. Instant Response and Action Acceleration. All marketing purposes are to achieve action. Therefore, letting consumers go from seeing an ad to completing a transaction and making a purchase is the only way to complete the marketing loop. Combining specific living spaces and scenarios with mobile marketing can also accelerate action. For example, in office building elevator ads, many brands have launched QR code interactions to obtain coupons. This kind of flash-sale-like method can prompt consumers to take action while intercepting them. China Merchants Bank's WeChat banking further enables real-time interaction, helping users transfer and pay instantly. The WeChat backend staff can also communicate with users in real time to meet their needs at a particular moment.
7. Cross-Screen and Cross-Media. Mobile technology becomes the glue that organically integrates consumer touchpoints, combining all other marketing touchpoints and screens, including TV, outdoor LCD screens, cinema screens, print media, and in-store media. Therefore, cross-screen and cross-terminal have become must-haves for mobile marketing. For example, when placing TV ads, you should coordinate with Weibo, WeChat, etc., to achieve greater depth of communication value, or make TV ads interactive with mobile phones. For instance, Coca-Cola launched a mobile app called 'CHOCK'. Users open the app when a designated 'Coca-Cola' beach TV ad airs. When the ad shows a Coca-Cola bottle cap and the phone vibrates, users swing the phone to catch the bottle caps on the TV screen, up to three per ad. At the end of the ad, they can reveal the prize results in the app.
8. Tools, Content, and Services. Many mobile apps are tools that meet specific consumer needs. But when content appears on these tools, consumer stickiness increases. If services can be provided based on such apps, their marketing value will be further amplified, becoming a precise marketing weapon for segmented groups.
9. Tribes and Communities. Tribalization is what mobile marketing needs to study to distinguish people. Building mobile communities based on common topics or common consumer characteristics has become a new marketing trend. For example, the women's menstrual health management tool 'Dayima' started as a small tool, but in less than a year, it gradually developed into a 'fully anonymous' community. As of March 2014, Dayima's registered users exceeded 40 million, and daily active users increased to 2.5 million. In this community, female users can discuss various private topics related to women's health. The average daily stay time for unique users reaches 20 minutes. Such mobile communities have huge marketing and service value for targeting female groups.
10. Localization and O2O. For many companies, the most important goal is to connect the last mile with consumers through mobile marketing. The diversification of users' localized scenarios has spawned the demand for local marketing. For example, when users search for keywords like 'restaurant' or 'fast food', they generally choose one closer to them and directly make a purchase. Many media are also actively exploring local integration. For example, in the second quarter of 2013, Facebook achieved its first large-scale profitability, largely thanks to its localized mobile advertising business, which grew to account for 41% of its total advertising revenue. Focus Media has installed WiFi hotspots in some of its building elevator ads. Consumers approaching these ads can connect to WiFi, and the elevator ads can interact with them, collecting their consumption and lifestyle habits, integrating mobile internet with local services. The localized mobile advertising platform Dianmei Lomark focuses on exploring local advertising client resources, aggregating the 'long tail' value of the mobile advertising regional market, and enhancing the value of advertising traffic resources, attracting attention from real estate, finance, FMCG, and other industries.
Finally, mobile marketing is not an independent entity; it can combine with all our communications. We are in an era of change. How to use mobile internet is a question all brands need to consider. How to make individuals on the mobile end actively spread the word for advertisers in the micro-marketing era is another question to consider.