Q&A with Mickey Alam Khan

It’s a new year, and today we’re debuting a new feature at Mobile Demystified: Guest Bloggers!

First up is our friend Mickey Alam Khan, editor-in-chief of Mobile Marketer. We wanted to get Mickey’s take on the mobile marketing space, and this email Q&A ensued.

WATERFALL MOBILE: Have any products or brands used mobile in a way that you’ve found to be especially smart or effective?

MICKEY ALAM KHAN: We find most brands in the apparel, travel, media, entertainment, retail and consumer packaged goods sectors get mobile. Their use of mobile banner ads for brand-building and engagement, SMS for loyalty programs, store drives and discounts, and applications for everything from information to shopping and transactions is transforming the use of mobile. The triumvirate of mobile Web, SMS and applications are ideal for brands with a decent mobile budget.

WM: Waterfall Mobile noticed a lot more major consumer brands activating their traditional media (TV, radio, print) with mobile calls to action in the second half of 2009. Have you observed this trend? What do you make of it?

MICKEY: The major trend we noticed last year was how mobile calls to action were increasingly integrated with other media such as television, radio, print and out-of-home. It indicates that marketers are wise to the chief benefit of mobile: driving traffic to other channels, or giving legs to other media. No medium can succeed on its own, and mobile is no different in this regard. SMS is the best tool to drive traffic to stores for discounts or sales. Similarly, applications are the perfect vehicles to deliver the latest deals or offers from the brand. And mobile Web sites are perfect for store locations, search and price-comparisons while out and about.

WM: Mobile applications get a lot of ink right now, but statistically far more people are using SMS. Do you think brands are buying into the hubbub (having an iPhone app for the sake of having an iPhone app) at the expense of more effective mobile messaging options?

MICKEY: Each mobile channel has its use. To convince a consumer to not only download the application but also regularly use it means that the loyalty battle has been won in that case. But there is no disputing that SMS is the most ubiquitous form of mobile advertising and marketing. It is low-tech and affordable, and is a language that every consumer understands. SMS is ideal for driving consumers to stores, and for delivering alerts, discounts, coupons and news of store openings and sales. Also, SMS is available on 99 percent of mobile phones in the marketplace.

WM: Mobile marketing ROI is an evergreen topic of discussion. How far do you think the industry is from uniform ROI metrics? Do the benefits of mobile outweigh any lingering questions of how to exactly calculate ROI?

MICKEY: We are on our way to getting uniform mobile metrics.

The Mobile Marketing Association has made great strides in this area. Besides, there shouldn’t be much trouble tracking mobile performance. Response to SMS is easily tracked at point of sale or via interactions, mobile Web banner click-throughs are recorded and application use data is easily accessible. So it is a myth that mobile can’t be measured for its ROI. Why isn’t the same question asked of television or print? Who knows how many people actually saw a commercial or read an ad? Mobile is way more measurable than the guesswork passing for metrics in TV and print.

The Dos and Don’ts of Holiday Mobile Marketing

“Make it Fun”
The Dos and Don’ts of Holiday Mobile Marketing

Giselle Tsirulnik over at Mobile Marketer recently posted a great list of the dos and don’ts of holiday season mobile marketing.

In case you missed them before Thanksgiving, I wanted to repost Giselle’s list here. It’s a must read for anyone pondering a holiday-timed mobile marketing program.

Drumroll, please…

1. Consider that these purchases are primarily for other people, so make sure to orient mobile offerings to that context.
2. Because it’s the holiday, if a brand doesn’t already have an established mobile market, it will need to do in-store tie-ins – “Can’t find that perfect gift? Text GIFT to 123456 for a link to our holiday gift finder!”
3. Consumers during the holiday season are typically tight on both time and money, so anything that can be done to help them save in either department is a nearly always a winner.
4. Allocate placements to on-the-go, “time saving” categories such bite-sized news, information, entertainment or even communications channels like mobile IM or email – all categories that are endemic to mobile.
5. Use tactics like store locators, discounts or just key product information or tips made mobile – basically anything that can make the lives of consumers a little bit easier will always be a hit during the holidays.
6. Make sure if you are launching or have a mobile marketing application, it is compatible with the full range of devices out there (no flash).
7. Think of the least common denominator in screen size and browser capability and make it work. Remember, in aggregate, BlackBerry has a larger penetration than the iPhone and it doesn’t do flash at all.
8. Keep your mobile marketing application lightweight. Not every area has 3G coverage.
9. Make sure messaging is consistent with other channels and information is accurate.
10. Make it fun.

Giselle makes an excellent point in her article – one that is not only important during the holiday season, but year round.  Keep the shopper in mind! The more brands integrate consumers’ interests and behavior into marketing plans, the easier it will be keep them engaged (and buying stuff) year round.

Here’s to an outstanding, and profitable, holiday season for all.

Beck Media Shows the Power of Mobile: Green Beer Finder

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day (Tues., Mar. 17), Beck Media & Marketing may have unlocked the greatest potential yet for the mobile platform: a text message-based search engine to find green beer.

Mobile phone owners in four major cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and New York City) can text GREENBEER to 67463. After selecting your closest neighborhood, the system will match you with a nearby pub or brewery serving the time-honored, magically green concoction for St. Patty’s Day.

Cheers!