Mobile grows in significance day by day, particularly in certain areas (communications, marketing, retail, etc.) — especially post-pandemic, where it seems everyone now knows how to buy things on a mobile and is used to scanning QR codes for further information about products and services. 

The “mobile” areas I want to focus on are around:

• The phenomenal rise of some particular mobile services such as MNOs and RCS (don’t worry, I will explain what these are if you don’t know already), plus the renewed rise of our old friend SMS for business/advertiser communications.
• The coming approach to the future of apps generally where a huge revenue opportunity lies ahead.

I will cover both today in this newsletter, trying to simplify a complex environment in straightforward language and no industry jargon.

It is really important to know what’s coming so we can provide insightful conversations with our advertisers and talk knowledgeably about the future and where they should be placing their bets — hopefully via ourselves — as they see us at the forefront of the advertising industry (the consultative sell).

By understanding the environment, we can also begin to see there are new revenue opportunities for us directly with some of the players in the mobile arena. 

With advertising spend predicted to grow by 2.6% over the next 12 months, according to the Magna 2022 annual forecast report, many brands are placing advertising tech at the top of this year’s list of desires. 

Worldwide mobile penetration is at a record peak. That means many advertisers are looking more and more to mobile marketing to engage customers and stimulate sales.

Are we offering mobile services to our advertisers? I fear that many publishers did (note: past tense) do so but it slipped off the priorities. Never has it been more relevant than now, I would argue, to get it back on your radar. 

Advertisers are becoming more focused on the tech and strategies that give the best ROI. In the post-pandemic era, where much upheaval and uncertainty still remain, it is encouraging nevertheless to also see an ever-rising consumer demand for better, richer, digital experiences and services.

What are we doing about that? 

Think too about your younger audiences. They have grown up with smartphones, social media apps, messaging, etc. They are your future audience. Mobile has to be the way to go whether it’s for our own marketing … or our advertisers.

MNOs 

Looking at the mobile marketplace and some of the players, the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have a unique role in coming times in capturing first-party data. This year is their chance to make a move in gaining a leading role in the digital ad eco-system. 

As advertisers look to work with trusted and capable partners who can help them boost the success of their multi-channel advertising campaigns, MNOs are well placed to assist them. Bear with me as there is a good reason we will want to know this. 

This will be an important year for MNOs and e-commerce brands as they seek to grow their audiences and revenues, set against recessionary times in the marketplace.

Driving ad-based revenue strategies will become a true focus for any forward-thinking MNOs. By capturing first-party data only available to them, they can personalise offerings to not only sell their own services but work with advertiser brands on a huge scale to aid the cookies phaseout once we reach 2024.

Advertising brands seeking to personalise customer messaging will win as the cost-of-living crisis begins to kick in. Inflation pushes up the living costs for customers, and therefore brands need to put in measures to demonstrate their relevance and to gain loyalty and trust. 

In an environment where up to 90% of customers find messages from advertisers annoying if they are not relevant to them, the personalisation of the advertiser messages is key.

Also, a focus on privacy means advertisers will have to use less intrusive data collection to personalise campaigns and ensure accuracy of audience targeting. MNOs will increasingly be seen as key partners for brands. Watch out for increased partnerships and deals here.

RCS

Add to this RCS, standing for Rich Communication Services, which is an international-standard protocol used in the telecomms industry to improve SMS/MMS messaging on Android phones. RCS works through the native messaging apps on any smartphone. 

RCS is set to soar in the coming months in Android phones as Samsung (the most popular smartphone vendor globally) confirms it will incorporate RCS into all its new phones by default. 

Integrating rich communication services to reach and engage with customers in no doubt highly creative, really visual, and interactive methods will be manna from heaven for advertisers when it comes to delivering creative, impactful, multi-channel ad campaigns.

Creativity will become ultimately limited only by your imagination.

And don’t forget SMS

SMS marketing is also set to rise this year, securing its comeback. 

Mobile industry data shows 67% of the global population subscribes to mobile services. Due to its simplicity and reach, text messaging is seeing an amazing resurgence, which can be easily integrated into an advertiser’s mobile marketing mix. 

If one realises that SMS has a 98% open rate (vs. 20% e-mail), plus 45% response rate (vs. 6% e-mail), it is almost guaranteed to be around as a service for a long time to come and only going to grow stronger (source: tasil.com).

Interesting fact: There are more text messages sent and received daily than there are people on the planet. Think about that for a moment. Incredible!

Where does AI fit in all this? 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will no doubt supercharge advertising and consumer engagement in the future. The recent breakthrough in AI adoption is pushing through a sea change in content creation possibilities — both for the likes of e-commerce and MNOs. 

Using AI for the creative process such as design and copywriting advertisers will mean more agility in creating and adapting content whilst opening up resource to focus on more strategic thinking and projects.

Additionally, the use of AI for personalisation of things like product recommendations will help advertisers increase conversions through a more honed and more tailored customer experience.

Summary 

Consequently, I believe all of the above above can open doors of new advertising revenue streams for media companies with the (largely, cash rich) MNOs, as they seek to push their prominence in this sector — and as we demonstrate an understanding of this complex arena with the agencies and advertisers we work with.

You should be providing access to mobile services for our advertisers and steer them to new thinking, new (younger?) audiences, and new additions to their multi-channel ad campaigns, which, from a mobile perspective, provide targeting, accountability, and clear ROI.

If you’d like to subscribe to my bi-weekly newsletter, INMA members can do so here.

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