Blog Recap—Monday May 18
Blog Recap—Monday May 18

Blog Recap—Monday May 18

Blog Recap—Monday May 18

Posted on: May 22, 2009 – Filed under: Philadelphia

Mobile Monday Mid-Atlantic

This week’s sold-out Mobile Monday/PHIMA event drew nearly 400 people to Philadelphia’s most innovative high-rise, the Cira Center. Audience members listened as a distinguished panel of mobile executives discussed the current state of mobile marketing and advertising and where the industry is headed next.

A crowd of entrepreneurs, mobile executives, and technology professionals gathered to learn more about how companies are using the fastest growing advertising/marketing medium to more effectively reach target audiences with relevant messages.

Tole Hart, Research Director, Mobile Devices & Consumer Services at Gartner, began the program with a look at the current landscape of mobile marketing and advertising. With mobile advertising spending reaching $116 million in 2008 and expected to grow by 50-100% in 2009, Tole noted that several leading brands have become repeat advertisers in the space. He named three key drivers to mobile advertising growth; accountability, traceability and relatively low cost.

Steve Smith, author of Media Post’s Mobile Insider, moderated an impressive panel of executives from various facets of the mobile marketing and advertising industry:

  • AT&T: Jordan Berman, Vice President, Media Innovation
  • Millennial Media: Ethan Ross, Vice President Sales
  • NAVTEQ: Shawn Gunn, Director of Business Development & Advertising Affiliations, Americas & EMEA
  • PhindMe Mobile: Chuck Sacco, CEO
  • Razorfish: Brian Werner, Senior Media Planner
  • SmartReply: John Falcone, Senior Vice President

Highlights from the panel include:

  • As marketers realize the unique benefits of mobile advertising in terms of reach, targeting and engagement, they are increasingly embracing mobile as a target outlet.
  • Metrics for success are still being defined on a case by case basis, and may include click through rates, number of sign ups / opt-ins, click-to-call rates, number of store location queries, number of coupon downloads.
  • Particularly in the current economy, clear ROI is vital. Industry-wide standards would help achieve this.
  • Location based advertising offers huge potential and is beginning to come of age, under the caveat of “respectful engagement”. The opt-in model is the current standard to protect consumers’ privacy and maintain trust.
  • Speaking to the growth of the use of mobile phones for purposes other than calling, Jordan Berman of AT&T referenced Nielsen Mobile figures showing that SMS messaging topped mobile phone calls in Q2 2008 and text messaging increased by 450% in two years.
  • Ethan Ross of Millennial Media mentioned that MySpace predicts half its traffic will be from mobile devices in the next two years.
  • Brian Werner of Razorfish commented on the success of mobile internet sites such as ESPN Mobile – which attracted more traffic than its web equivalent on one particular day during last year’s NFL season.