Emerging Mobile Technology: Timing your Jump onto the Bandwagon
The mobile marketing industry is a mixing pot of emerging technology and ideas, all of which have earned their rightful place amongst the established, time-honoured techniques of the early years of using wireless devices as a marketing channel.
The mobile technology industry is a frantically fast paced environment, in which handsets can be made redundant in a matter of months as the latest and greatest enhancements destroy their predecessors. Emerging technology often relies heavily on a level of acceptance and trust from the prospective audience, which doesn’t accumulate over night!
Advertising and marketing agencies are the key influencers on the adoption of this technology, because they are the stakeholders that monitor for emerging technologies and ultimately sell it to their clients. But when is the right time to use this technology? Jump on board too early and your audience aren’t ready; too late and you may have missed out all together. Below is a model that shows the correlation between consumer acceptance and different agency’s adoption of specific emerging mobile technologies.
Different agencies work in different ways, and have distinctive patterns as to how they employ these emerging technologies, but this does not mean they are always a success:
- Dedicated Agencies – Dedicated agencies are often founded and run by industry pioneers; people who have been in the industry for the majority of their career and can spot an impending boom when they see it. They are quick to offer the very latest technology to their clients, however in the early stages, the broad availability of the technology, or knowledge of how to use/interact with said technology is limited within the consumer base, and therefore must be delayed until this is up to a sufficient standard (not forgetting this obviously depends on your campaign objectives).
- Top End Agencies – We all know the ones; with three letter initial names and acquiring technology start-ups (and some dedicated agencies!) every couple of months. They are the big dogs that must be seen to work at the very forefront of the campaign market in order to tie down the big business and win the glitzy awards. They use this new technology in its infancy, and employ it in a brilliantly creative fashion 90% of the time, but once again, it is more often than not too far ahead of the consumer adoption/acceptance curve to recognise any established ROI.
- Mid Range Agencies – That’s the rest of us! These agencies keep an eye on the marketing industry from a broad perspective, and often offer a broad range of products and services; however shifts into emerging technologies are usually triggered by observing the top end agencies. This is where aspirations come into play and suddenly, they want a piece of the action. A desperate leap to join the big boys can sometimes pay off by employing the specific technology in the growth of the early majority sector, however if it is not used relevantly, it can also prove a disaster.
So it’s all well and good knowing where agencies are going wrong, but when is the right time for you and your agency/brand/client to pick up emerging technology and run with it? The answer is simple; study your consumer! It may seem like the oldest trick in the book, but unfortunately over time, everyone has forgotten about the consumer!
The more personal media channels have become, the more trustworthy environments need to be if they are to be effective. This is because positive personal communications are built from a basis of understanding, resonance and trust. This goes some way to explain the reports showing that 78% of retail purchases are based on personal recommendation.
Until the majority of consumers understand how to interact with these technological enhancements and the ways in which this technology can provide utility/entertainment, they will be redundant wheels on your campaign vehicle. Therefore, take time to think about these consumer issues before launching yourself in the general direction of the bandwagon:
- Is the technology readily available across a variety of handsets across a broad selection of manufacturers? If not, you are risking segmenting and isolating key audience members.
- How did your target demographic respond to the introduction of a previous emerging technology? Was it positive? If not, what were the reasons given for the negative reaction?
- Has there been any major research conducted into its success and usage?
- How does your use of the technology integrate into your proposed campaign? Is it a luxury targeting a specific group of users, or is it an essential part of the campaigns cohesion? Make sure you do the sexy stuff, but also make sure the standard, more traditional but mass market channels are in place so you’re hitting your target market in full.
- Do you understand how to use mobile appropriately? There are plenty of people in the know who can advise on the best course of action for your brand or business. Investment in their advice could be vital.
- Before you start, have you listened to what your consumers have to say? That doesn’t mean bombarding them with email surveys, we’re talking participating in the social-media-sphere and conversing with users on what they really want from you and their mobile.
- Ask yourself the question “How can we improve their lives?” – If this technology doesn’t improve their lives, it is probably not needed.
- Are you remaining flexible? Keep an eye on your competitors and current trends, and get to grips with the fact that your users will always want something new, and sometimes this can even be the latest tech
- Is there a call to action? Every campaigns underlying goal is conversions and sales, so no matter how sexy the latest technology is, without a call to action it does not create the opportunity.
- Drop your iPhone obsession – I know it without even seeing your face; you are thinking about using the latest iPhone technology as part of your campaign. Unless it’s a campaign directed solely at iPhone users, think long and hard about whether it is going to help you achieve your goals. So ok, currently the iPhone has a far bigger UK audience, but with the impending boom of Android, it will be worth keeping your options open.
The ultimate message is to bide your time. The technology isn’t going to go anywhere, so don’t feel the need to rush into rash decisions. Every decision we make is calculated by looking at stakeholder attitudes and recognising the correct time to explore a new opportunity. So regardless of whether its an iPhone application, an ecommerce mobile site or an augmented reality encyclopaedia, stop, take a breath, have a chat with your consumers, then, and only then, take that huge leap onto the bandwagon. And it’s not going to wait for you, so time your leap well.
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