New research commissioned by Velti, a specialist in mobile marketing technology and services, revealed that 79% of UK consumers believe the growth of mobile advertising is inevitable. The survey, which polled more than 1,600 UK mobile phone users about their usage habits, showed that the majority of Britons are starting to accept that mobile marketing and advertising will continue to increase in popularity, but also laid down a clear message for any marketers hoping to make use of the medium: 'we want something in return'.
The results of the study showed that, whilst 80% of UK adults surveyed initially said they did not wish to receive advertising on their mobile phones, 56% of all respondents agreed that they would support mobile marketing and advertising campaigns if it was on an opt-in basis and in exchange for incentives or rewards, ranging from cash, free minutes or relevant special offers from brands.
"This research clearly shows that although consumers expect mobile marketing and advertising to grow in popularity, brands using the medium to communicate with target groups will need to offer consumers added value to be successful," comments Alex Moukas, co-founder and CEO of Velti. "Learning how to incentivise and reward participants is key; consumers understand their value in the chain, so campaigns that fail to offer anything relevant or beneficial will, at best, be treated indifferently and at worst, create negative associations with the brand."
According to the research, cash is king with 50% of respondents admitting that hard currency is the key to securing their buy-in. Next on the consumers' incentive wish list were free minutes, free texts or data, with 40% of respondents citing them as an attractive reward for receiving advertising or marketing messages. Finally, 22% of respondents viewed location based services, such as local restaurant reviews, as a worthy exchange for mobile marketing communications.
Despite nearly 60% of all respondents agreeing that incentivised marketing and advertising campaigns were attractive, 55% of mobile users over 45 were determined nothing would encourage them to engage with mobile marketing. This was in contrast to only 29% of under 24's opposing the use of mobile as a commercial channel.
Chris Kaskavelis, Velti's COO and co-founder, added: "It's understandable that financial rewards such as cash and free minutes are attractive propositions for consumers, but the reality is that great value is also derived from timely and relevant communications. If you receive information that fits with the context of your personal environment, such as location based services, or community oriented communications, it can be just as rewarding. It's true that this can be the case with other marketing and advertising channels, but mobile offers much more direct, round-the-clock access to consumers than all other options. Advertising and marketing on mobile is going to be about 'consumer intent' rather than the number of screen impressions."
Mark Fallows, Director of Digital Content, McCann Erickson, comments:
"Mobile advertising and marketing has opened up a channel for brands looking to engage their consumers in a more contextually relevant manner. It's exciting as it forces agencies and clients to be very precise in the value we offer in exchange for consumers' interaction. The fact that consumers are becoming increasingly open to mobile as an advertising and marketing medium is an encouraging and timely development. This has become evident during recent mobile campaigns for our clients' where results generally exceed expectations."
Velti and Ansible, Velti's mobile marketing agency, recently completed a campaign with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) which engaged with pregnant women by asking them to text their due date to a shortcode. This allowed J&J to send the mothers-to-be only the most valuable information and offers corresponding to the exact stage of their pregnancy. The campaign also allowed mothers-to-be to join a mobile community contributing to a support network for pregnant women in their area. The campaign is said to have achieved great success with an impressive 94% retention rate over six months, with the expectant mums opting back in on a monthly basis.