Mobile

Unless you've been living under a social media-free rock, you've probably heard that there's a new Star Trek movie coming out today. The verdict is out on how favorable the fans' reviews will be, but it's a good excuse to revisit the nostalgia of one of the most popular science fiction franchises ever.

But even if you don't head to the theater, you can still witness a science fiction-esque transformation of technology within the very marketing technology that powers our digital communications. From email, social, and mobile to the new frontiers of marketing automation, the galaxies of marketing...

Whether you're just getting started with mobile optimization or you're a pro and need some tips to share with your colleagues, here are our top mobile design resources for email.

Report: Designing for the Mobile Inbox
Get strategic and practical advice to help you deliver content that’s easy to consume on any device in this new report on mobile optimization.

Case Study: CareerBuilder's Responsive Email Design Results
Learn how CareerBuilder optimized their email design and saw increases of more than 20% in click-through and more than 15% in open rates.

Quick Guide: Design Tips: Mobile + Email
This...

When it comes to the marketing industry, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. Not long ago, digital marketing was only a whisper within corporate marketing teams – now it’s here, it’s as competitive as ever and it’s completely changing the way we do business. Here are my predictions for what’s to come over the next year.

Smart, personalised content
It’s time to stop being oh-so-frightened of data capture and start taking advantage of the fact that personalised content makes browsing the web an absolute pleasure! Take Linkedin, for example – simply log in and you’re presented with the...

Every industry is unique, with its own challenges and opportunities. But for marketers in the travel and hospitality industry, the pressure of delivering the right message, at the right time, via the right channel is truly next level.

To succeed in this heavily-saturated market, travel brands must create a seamless information-gathering and booking experience for their customers. If they don’t, they risk missing that very narrow window of time when travelers are ready to make their tentative travel plans become a reality (i.e., book the trip!).

In short, missing that elusive window of...

Customers now expect content to be more personalized and relevant than ever, and marketing technology has risen to meet the challenge. But how many brands are currently leveraging the available technology, especially in the mobile space?

A new report from Econsultancy shows that few marketers are delivering on consumers' expectations of a personalized experience, especially on mobile. And this new infographic from ExactTarget takes you inside the current state of personalization in digital marketing and provides insights into how marketers can deliver more tailored mobile campaigns. This...

Welcome to another edition of the Baer Facts! In today's episode, Jay and I discuss the recent uptick of brands using SnapChat... namely TacoBell. TacoBell announced that they are launching a program called SnackChat... using the application SnapChat. 

For those of you who are not familiar with the application... SnapChat allows users to send each other pictures which will self-destruct in 10 seconds. There is no ability to archive the picture and/or message. Why would TacoBell want to be involved in a medium where your message is destroyed in second? Good question. Hopefully we answer that in...

You’ve all read the stats and seen the infographics: consumers are awash with technology, and mobility is leading the charge. Many marketers already have mobile marketing strategies in place--but for those who don’t, now is the time to prioritise. It’s no longer a matter of just being mobile-friendly. You have to think mobile first.

Remember, you’re up close and personal

Consider how you use your phone. You keep it in a special case, use it to take and store personal photos and communicate with loved ones. You work with it. You play with it. Heck, most of us even sleep with it! The smartphone...

Retailers spend most of their budget and energy on the in-store experience. It only makes sense: upwards of 95% of revenue is generated inside the bricks and mortar. However, retailers should also consider the following:

The path to purchase often begins online. 73%-83% of US consumers research online before buying in-store, per a Pricewaterhouse Coopers survey.  

Shoppers leave stores to buy online.  Per a Harris Interactive Poll, 43% of adults report that they’ve visited a brick and mortar store to examine a product before purchasing it elsewhere.

Customer expectations of online/in-store...

When Seth Godin introduced the concept of permission marketing in 1999, it was a big idea: ask customers to accept marketing messages from you. Looking at the best uses of mobile, I believe we are at a new crossroads; one where customers request marketing messages.

Never forget that digital messages rendered on mobile devices are personal and intrusive. On the Advertising Aggravation Continuum (shown below), they are most comparable to telemarketing. We all know what happened to that traditional marketing channel and the impact on brands that abused it.

In the middle of the continuum, people...

There’s no doubt that today’s consumers are mobile. They’re constantly on-the-go, sending and receiving communications of all types, and they’ve come to expect that information be (literally) in-hand at all times. Consumers in the UK and around the globe are no longer sitting at their computers searching for information—instead, they expect information to be available all around them. At the same time, they expect that information to be relevant to their lives.

The hyper-connected consumer expects brands of all sizes and industries to start meeting them where they are. It also provides new...

Bonin Bough, VP of Global Media & Consumer Engagement at Mondelez Brands, presented a webinar with SocialChorus earlier this week. The focus of the presentation was how brands like Oreo and Wheat Thins have been generating consumer advocacy in a marketing world that now largely revolves around social channels and mobile devices.

Probably the most staggering fact shared was this statistic: 3% of brand fans create 75% of engagement. Furthermore, a customer typically has one interaction with a brand per year, while an advocate will have around 12 interactions per year. Clearly, the importance...

Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, has had one of the fastest growing fan bases of any TV sports entertainment in the past decade. Boasting a huge audience--typically males in the teenage to 40s demographic--engagement has been key for retention as the sport has blossomed. As television broadcasts become less of a viewing experience and more of a conversation amongst individuals, Spike TV needed to discover a means of connecting MMA fans before, during, and after major events.

A little over a month ago, the Bellator app was born in the iTunes store. This mobile application for iPhone and iPad allows...

The ExactTarget team invites you to participate in our #ETCafe Twitter chat every Thursday from 11am-12pm ET, where we discuss emerging topics and trends from across the interactive marketing world. The virtual coffee chat is hosted directly on Twitter, hosted by @ExactTarget. 

It was no suprise to us that Australians are leading the world in their adoption of technology, and in partiular how they connect with brands on mobile devices. The unparalleled adoption of smartphones in Australia (49% of us own one!) means that today’s always-on, hyper-connected consumer is placing demands on marketers that can often seem bewildering. What was once seen as the "multi-channel opportunity" is now a "cross-channel imperative" as our audiences continue to adopt technology that opens up an increasing array of brand engagement mechanisms.

SMS is just another way to adapt to the...

There’s no doubt that today’s consumers are mobile. They’re constantly on-the-go, sending and receiving communications of all types, and they’ve come to expect that information be (literally) in-hand at all times. Consumers are no longer sitting at their computers searching for information—instead, they expect information to be available all around them. At the same time, they expect that information to be relevant to their lives.

It was no suprise to us that Australians are leading the world in their adoption of technology and in partiular how they connect with brands on mobile devices. The...

Once upon a time, in an age not so long ago, marketers were schooled to create a mobile-optimized version of their website. While this approach still offers advantages over most single sites, updating content on two separate sites is inefficient—and gets old quickly.

Smartphone penetration in the U.S. has reached 55%, and tablet usage climbs daily. Does that mean you now must have a tablet-optimized site, as well?

Not if you want to keep your sanity. Enter: responsive design.

Responsive designs adapt automatically to the size of the device, meaning the same site is navigable, legible,...

It’s safe to assume that technology, devices, and user behavior will continue to evolve over time. Whatever happens, marketers need to deliver a positive experience for every user.

With that in mind, let’s consider two solid approaches to design optimization:

• Mobile Aware
• Responsive Design

Mobile Aware: Simple Design Improvements

This approach uses design-only tactics, making simple improvements to enhance both the desktop and mobile experience. The goal is to create a single, mobile-friendly visual framework that works in all viewing environments. Here are few tips to create mobile-aware layouts:

• Fo...

I’ll make this quick, because I know you want to get back to your bracket and trying to figure out where it all went wrong...

According to MBA@UNC, more than a quarter of March Madness fans used mobile as their main viewing source during the 2012 finals—and more than two-thirds of consumers used their mobile devices in conjunction with watching the tournament on TV. See the specific mobile activity below:

Mobile Marketer confirms that mobile makes it even easier this year by giving fans 24/7 access to March Madness with live streaming. Turner Sports views mobile as a complement to...

With all the buzz about NFC and the mobile wallet still swirling post-SXSW 2013, I’ve been particularly interested in the consumer’s take. I know SXSW-goers and marketers are hyped about these possibilities and boldly proclaim that mobile is the future of retail, but is this a case where marketers are from Mars? Let’s take a moment to ground ourselves and learn more about the mobile shopper before going futuristic.

A poll by eMarketer shows the mobile wallet services that mobile Wi-Fi users have used to make in-store purchases. In Q4 2012, one-third of mobile Wi-Fi users had used PayPal, 20%...

This week I encountered something that I didn't think was possible: I met someone who does not own a mobile phone. You can pick your jaw up off the floor now. 

I had the same reaction. This guy must have been one of the only people--if not the only person-- in London who does not own a mobile device. Hey, maybe some people just don't want to be connected 24/7. Based on recent data on smartphone penetration in the UK,  this encounter is definitely the exception to what is on pace to become the rule. 

The one recent stat that I read that really jumped out at me was that, three out of four UK...