So what can you do with mobile marketing?

Mobile marketing is still truly in its infancy - not only as a technology - but also as a concept. It's still be developed and fleshed out. Some would say it's nascient. Some would say that it's inevitable. And some will say, "What? Putting billboards on cars? - It'll never catch on."

So what exactly do I mean when I write about mobile marketing? What are some of the top concepts in mobile marketing that people are starting to use? How does it all work.

Mobile Marketing: Mobile marketing is communication between business and consumer via the consumer's mobile device.

Using the above as a definition let's look at the various componets of the definition and why they apply here.

Communication Between Business and Consumer

The biggest quantum leap for mobile marketing over most other channels for marketings is the word "between". Whether text messaging or photo messaging, business has a way to interactively communicate with consumers. Sometimes this communication is one way from brand to consumer (Push Marketing) and sometimes it's a one-off query-response (Pull-Marketing) - and sometimes it's the beginning of an ongoing interaction with the consumer (Dialogue Marketing).

This is not print or radio advertising -- and it's not even Interactive Television advertising -- because it's truly ubiquitous in it's reach and it's truly an interactive experience that can happen at any time the consumer wants to engage with the brand.

Remember - it's not just one way. The possibility exists to actually create a dialogue with your consumer.

Via the Consumer's Mobile Device

The second half of the definition is almost as important as the first. The mobile device is the source of all manner of confusion and actually creates a considerable amount of clutter in the area of mobile marketing.

Some consumers have high functioning PDA devices with mobile phones included in the technology. These devices can do everything a PDA can do - everything your Gameboy can do - everything a camera phone can do - and then do a lot more things. However, the penetration of these devices is limited by the cost of the device, the size of the device, and the cool-ness factor of the device.

Other consumers barely have the ability to make voice calls and send text messages. And by ability - that includes the technical functionality of the device as much as it addresses the technical competence of the user. If the consumer has a full-functioning PDA but can't do any more than make voice calls and send text messages - then that's all the device is good for.

And just to really cloud up the waters - let's add personal computers to the mix. Laptops, Palmtops, portables, lugables, PDAs with Wi-Fi - these are also "mobile devices". But do they really fall into the arena of mobile marketing? Yes - and No. You thought I was going to make the water more clear - didn't you? - Ok -- I will.

Personal computers that have no wireless networking - they don't count. They are mobile devices, but we can't communicate with them.

Personal computers that have Wi-Fi cards for networking (the kind that you use when sitting in an airport lounge or a coffee shop) - they don't count. These mobile devices are surfing the internet and fall into the category of e-mail/web/pop-up advertising. Currently we can't communicate with Wi-Fi laptops other than through the Internet - so Internet advertising is all that applies.

Personal computers that have 3G or GPRS cards - they "might" count. These devices are similar to the Wi-Fi enabled devices from above, and subject to Internet Advertising guidelines. But because they may be attached to a 3G, 1XRTT or other high speed mobile network operator for their network connectivity - we just might be able to talk to them. It's possible that the software would support sending and receiving of text and photo messages using the GSM, CDMA or other voice network... Possibly.

In the end -- there aren't that many of these devices so let's just count them out entirely for right now. Mobile marketing won't address them nearly so well as Internet Advertising.

When designing a mobile marketing campaign be sure you know the mix of devices in your target demographic.


Ok - So now that we are on a level playing field as to what we mean by "Mobile Marketing" - Let's look at the top 3 types of mobile marketing:

Push
Pull
Dialogue

Look for those later this week.

Sr. Consultant - Mobile Marketing
Pocket Reach Solutions, LLC