Posted January 5, 2012 / as seen on marketingprofs.com
How Retailers and Brands Are Using Mobile to Win at Shelf... and Beyond
The original article on marketingprofs.com is found here.
According to Mobile Marketer, the advertising dollars spent
on mobile marketing this season will double what was spent in 2010.
Clearly, leading brands are taking the opportunity to capitalize on
the mobile boom this year and beyond.
Many retailers are doing an excellent job with mobile. Target,
for instance, has surrounded its customers with useful tools, such
as its mobile comparison shopper, which enhances the shopping
experience while keeping the brand top of mind with customers.
Likewise, brands that control the retail experience, such as
Starbucks, are winning as well. The simple, elegant Starbucks
mobile app is, by all accounts, a smashing success-tying mobile
with loyalty and convenience.
The truth is, however, that many brands haven't quite cracked
the mobile code yet. One reason for that is that their most
critical focus tends to be on budgets, operations, and
approaches.
Here are four quick points (with takeaways) that'll help brands
use mobile to win at the shelf.
1. Brand budgeting processes are not built for
test/learn
Shopper-marketing departments within brand-marketing teams often
work in silos, so the teams that work closely with retailers may
not have influence over the bulk of mobile budgets. Many have
mastered the art of the point-of-sale (POS) display, but have yet
to use mobile and digital to bridge the gap in-store. In addition,
many retailers have great programs that can be tapped into, and
some have even restructured themselves to resemble media
properties.
Takeaways: Align your mobile-marketing
strategies with your shopper-marketing team, and set aside an
annual test-and-learn budget to ensure you're built for innovation.
At the same time, devote a fixed percentage of your digital/mobile
budget squarely to the shopping behaviors of your target market.
Make sure that digital shopper marketing is part of your holistic
connections planning process. If your customer indexes highly for
online media consumption, chances are, so do her shopping
habits.
2. The myriad of choices can be
overwhelming
With choices, such as SMS, apps, mobile Web, quick response (QR)
codes, gamification, and augmented reality... where should you
focus your efforts? Prioritizing your mobile efforts can be
daunting, and it's just one slice of your overall marketing pie.
Successful brands have simplified the decision process; they have
ensured that they are ready when their customers need and want them
the most, and that often means getting their mobile Web homes in
order to meet the needs of the consumer at shelf. That's where
brands should start the prioritization process.
Takeaway: This holiday season, more
brands than ever before will take advantage of localization and
"geo-fencing" (targeting users within a virtual geographic area) to
drive consumers into their stores. Those brands that have already
laid the foundation for their efforts by solidifying their mobile
Web experience are most poised to take advantage of mobile
marketing opportunities this year.
3. The focus is on app development vs. a holistic
approach
Yahoo and Nielsen recently reported that 86% of consumers use
their mobile devices while watching TV. But many brands are missing
the golden opportunity to turn a TV spot impression into a
more-engaging experience because they aren't thinking holistically.
Rather, they've placed mobile into a silo with digital-or worse,
into its own silo.
Retail brands, such as Sears and Old Navy, are bridging the gap
this holiday season by using new technologies (e.g., Shazam) to
transport the user experience from TV to mobile. Those mobile
offers then drive to retail.
Takeaway: If your current marketing
plan includes heavy broadcast this holiday season, make sure that
you have smart, relevant, complementary mobile content ready.
Chances are your consumers are going to search your brand via their
smartphone or tablet device. Product finders, where-to-buy
information, ratings and reviews, and frequently asked questions
(FAQs) are all content that should be readily available to
consumers.
4. The consumers are in control
It used to be that brands and retailers were in complete control
of their messages-especially at POS. The brands and retailers that
are truly winning recognize that in today's digital age, the "Zero
Moment of Truth (ZMOT)," coined by Google, is just as
important, and the convergence of the ZMOT in-store via mobile
content is critical. Winning brands, such as Sephora, have
optimized the entire experience, from local search to enhanced
mobile Web content and offers. Items such as mobile-only offers,
store locators, and shopping lists own the valuable mobile homepage
real estate.
Takeaway: Put yourself in the shoes of
your consumer. If you were at shelf and searched for your brand,
what would you want to see? Chances are the answer is ratings and
reviews, product comparators, mobile coupons, and mobile-ready
video. Brands have rich digital insight into consumer behavior for
media consumption, but how does that translate to consumers'
shopping behaviors? Brands that are already capitalizing today know
the answer to that question.
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About Brunner
Brunner is a $220 million independent advertising agency with
more than 200 employees in offices in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and
Washington, D.C. The agency provides a broad range of services,
including brand strategy, research and planning, advertising,
digital, one-to-one, public relations, social media, mobile
marketing, and Shopper Marketing, to clients such as Bob Evans
Restaurants and Food Products, the Cub Cadet brand of outdoor power
equipment, CONSOL Energy, Eaton Vehicle Group, Food Lion, multiple
GlaxoSmithKline brands, GNC, Heinz, Huffy, Philips Healthcare, PPG
Industries, and Wise Foods. In addition to being ranked among the
Top 75 U.S. ad agencies, Brunner is recognized as one of the Top 75
digital marketing firms in the country.