Mobile Marketing And Advertising

I'm excited to start a new series on the ExactTarget blog centered around the hottest digital marketing stories and trends of the past week. We will publish a new list at the beginning of every week. Just to be clear, this is a blatant rip-off of the BBC series. 

1. The Power Behind Waze and Mapping: Waze was on the tip of many tongues last week with rumored bids from Apple and Google. Why is there so much buzz about Waze? The company, which initially launched in Israel, provides crowd-sourced information. Users can wave their hands over their mobile device while driving to vocally report...

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...

As I write this, 93% of UK online consumers are email subscribers and 40% of these subscribers are opening, reading and responding to email on their mobile phones or tablets. If you think these statistics suggest UK consumers prefer email above all channels for receiving offers and information from brands, you are absolutely correct!

A new report from eMarketer confirms why more marketing budget is flowing to permission-based email and why email has become “The Linchpin” of integrated digital marketing strategies.

Among the key findings in the report are these:

• Econsultancy and Adestra’s Email...

I’m not a big fan of country music.

I don’t mean to alienate anyone due to personal preferences, and I’m sure we can find common interests even if country is the only genre on your iPod, but country tunes are just not my favorite tunes to hear.

That being said, one of my closest friends loves country music. We were recently at a restaurant that was playing a country song called “Where I Come From.” I was poking fun at the whole situation because I’d recently heard a completely different country song also called “Where I Come From.”

Lo and behold, there are two country songs with the exact...

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,...

In the digital industry, it’s easy to talk about the fall of traditional advertising. While these sources certainly aren’t disappearing forever as many like to suggest, they are most certainly evolving. The Associated Press has long been linked with the print industry. The nonprofit news agency that has worked to fill newspapers is now adapting to the new digital world. In an ironic twist, this longtime print powerhouse is now asking: Are You Adapting?

This video points to the 2012 London Olympics as the tipping point in the sporting world’s digital evolution. We may not have noticed it while...

Viral Marketing: A marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message. Similar to the way a virus infiltrates its host to spread, this marketing tactic has been used for years through a variety of different mediums.

But more recently, the internet has allowed for viral marketing to be a much more low-cost/high-effect strategy. Videos like Gangam Style and The Harlem Shake have multiplied through YouTube like wildfire, having great impact on sales for these musicians in turn. But these stories came at audiences so hard and so fast, can they actually...

Golf is a game of tradition: green jackets, big trophies, and proper etiquette are an essential part of the game. While the rules and traditions have remained the same, the technology on the course has changed rapidly. And now, the technology off the course is catching up.

Traditionally, the PGA Tour has outsourced its digital technology and marketing. In 2013, that is changing and the toughest test may be just around the Amen Corner.  

In the old days (you know, like eight years ago), sports leagues were able to sell their broadcast rights for an extraordinary amount of money, and that was...

As we continue to see shifts in the way consumers access online content, Facebook is optimizing viewers' mobile experience with its latest UI update. Facebook made an announcement on Thursday regarding one pivotal feature, the News Feed. Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook would be making a “substantial redesign” of the News Feed, starting with a new look and feel.

The News Feed provides users with the most relevant content based on algorithms. This change will not alter any of those algorithms. Instead, the redesign will focus on more visuals and bigger links to articles—making it easier to see...

Recently comScore released their 2013 US Digital Future in Focus report, and the results are clear. If you aren’t embracing social and mobile, you’re missing out on some big opportunities.

Like most marketers, you are probably in the trenches, implementing campaigns to drive leads, opportunities, conversions, and purchases. While it’s easy to fall back on tried-and-true methods, don’t overlook trends that could forever alter the way you do business with your customers. The time is now!

Here are some suggestions to help you get started:

1. Experiment with Facebook advertising: Social networks,...

Kyle Lacy recently posted a compilation of 140 Mobile Marketing Tips collected from marketing professionals via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media outlets. These are great 140-characters-or-less nuggets of knowledge you can apply to your mobile strategy. I’ll dissect a few favorites here:

#6 – Always include a call to action in push or SMS
It’s mind-blowing how brands invest so much in advertising yet leave out a simple call to action. As an example, only two Super Bowl ads included a mobile CTA! In an analysis on these pricey misses, Jeff Rohrs discusses how “branding only” ads...

As a follow-up to my Punt, Pass, & Kick: Email, Mobile, & Social Misses at Super Bowl XLVII post yesterday, our incredibly talented design team has whipped up an infographic to capture just how few of the Super Bowl advertisers sought to drive viewers to engage on the web or via mobile and social channels. When viewed in this format, the missed opportunity is pretty striking.

One other quick thought...can we really even say that an advertisement is "social" if it just throws up a Facebook icon, Twitter icon, or hashtag without any further explanation? Should we be providing viewers with context ...

Did you see that blackout last night?!?  No, not the one that stopped Super Bowl XLVII dead in its tracks for over 30 minutes.  I'm talking about the near total blackout of meaningful email, mobile, and social calls-to-action in the commercials that brands were rumored to pay nearly $4 million per 30 seconds.

In my previous post, Super Bowl, Super Audience Building, I shared that I was looking forward to more brands hopefully following Papa John's lead by using their $4 million ad spend to build and engage email, mobile, and/or social audiences. To say I was sorely disappointed would be an...

I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Thomson, VP of business development and platform at Klout. During the interview, we talked about the future of marketing, influencer relationships, and social currency. There are many times when brands focus so much on lead generation and advertising that they forget the influencers within their community. 

The key to a successful social, mobile, and email strategy? Social engagement. Personalization. Influence. We are seeing a mobilizing base of influencers that is useful. How do brands get a better share of voice within the influencer community that...

Over the past couple of months, it seems the majority of buzz and conversation in our industry has been related to mobile. From our Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013 to redefining strategy, everything is related to the idea of mobile becoming increasingly important to the strategy of every marketer... especially retail. I debated calling this blog post "The Power of Now," because frankly... we are dealing with the idea of now. 

Give me my product now.

Let me browse products now. 

I want pricing on your product (and all your competitors) now. 

Not long ago, social changed the way people...

Every year, one event consistently redefines the limits of hype, production value, and viewership when sports and entertainment are combined. That event, of course, is the Super Bowl. Companies spend millions of dollars to sponsor, advertise, and promote throughout the 4-hour broadcast, achieving a reach of over 100 million individuals. But not until 2013 has a brand attempted to create an interactive experience for these viewers.

The Super Bowl halftime performer was announced in early January to be Beyoncé, with the return of Destiny's Child. One would think that with this announcement, Pepsi...

As a nod to the North American International Auto Show starting today in Detroit, we present this bonus #InspiredMarketing Predictions post from Jamyn Edis of Dash Labs. These predictions have been compiled in our new whitepaper, Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013.

The Automobile Ascends

As the evolution of consumer engagement moves from web to social to mobile, we'll see an increasing desire to leverage the latest innovations. The amusing thing is, a lot of that will be right under our noses— everyday objects. Some people call this the “internet of things.” Others call it “physical...

In a ritual that spans the age, people of all ages, nationalities, races, genders, and walks of life would sit down to play and listen to musical performances. For centuries, music existed as a written language that transcended word of mouth and served as a primary source of entertainment.

That was then. This is now, the age of digital. 

It is more common today for individuals to sit down at their computer, push a few buttons, and instantly gain access to 10,000 songs. It is no secret that the digital revolution has presented numerous road blocks for the entertainment industry. Purchasing...

Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing predictions on the future of marketing from 25 industry thought leaders. These predictions have been compiled in our new whitepaper, Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013. Today, our own Susan Marshall shares her thoughts.

Slimming Down, Shaping Up, & Getting Organized

It sounds like a New Year’s resolution that could easily go awry, but it sums up what will likely be a rude awakening for many marketers. Quality of fans and followers will matter more than quantity, and savvy marketers will begin to find creative ways to leverage social to drive...