Aug

Mobile Marketing – The Future of Advertising

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Mobile Marketing – The Future of Advertising

The rise of the cell phone industry has brought about monumental changes in the way consumers view and respond to advertising data. Cell phone users can now surf the web and view specific content on their mobile devices with little exposure to traditional advertising media. Mobile marketing seeks to target users via mobile phone devices and thereby gain a wider audience for company promotion. Since cell phone numbers are not in the public domain, mobile marketing has created an opt-in program whereby users can choose to receive the advertising messages that interest them on their mobile phones. Users can also opt out of the programs by sending a simple text message to the company. Some networks also offer the ability to receive advertisements customized to the current location of the mobile device. These location based services operate by means of a GPS chip in the phone which allows the provider to determine the user’s location. In this way, companies are assured of reaching the consumer with the most applicable marketing information. Increasing numbers of companies are reaping the rewards of mobile marketing. A recent marketing campaign by Ace Hardware found in-person store visits by consumers rose by 30% among those who viewed the promotional material via their mobile devices. They also found that over 60% of the customers who had opted to receive advertisements from the company actually viewed the promotional material. In a society where marketing is all about visibility, these numbers are astounding. Ace Hardware found a significant increase in consumer viewing of their marketing campaign during their promotional period. Mobile marketing is available in a number of formats. SMS, or Short Message Service, provides short targeted messages to consumers who opt in to the service. Text messages can also be sent to an email address via SMS. MMS, or Multimedia Message Service, allows companies to send a compilation of text, video, audio, and imaging. In-game mobile marketing targets players of online video games while mobile web marketing places ads on mobile device oriented web sites. The Mobile Marketing Association monitors use of mobile marketing to ensure that companies operate within established privacy guidelines and that consumers are not SPAMed with unwanted advertising. They also provide advertisers with standards for recommended usage applications. Companies who desire to be on the cutting edge of advertising strategy cannot afford to overlook mobile marketing. It is the advertising medium of the future and current trends indicate that it will continue to grow in capability, viewing possibilities, and consumer awareness. As consumers increasingly rely on their mobile devices for internet access, news, gaming, and other applications, mobile marketing will not only gain wider viewing audiences, but will also ensure that those audiences are targeted specifically to the promoted advertising venue.