In compiling the piece, Smaato analyzed data from billions of mobile ad impressions served on its exchange during the third quarter of 2016 and found the extent to which mobile advertising spend is now heavily weighted toward in-app versus the mobile web.

All told, the new report shows that in-app accounted for 81% of global mobile ad spend compared to mobile web, and rose 8 share points versus the same quarter last year.

Even at the country level, the dominance of in-app versus mobile web advertising is a worldwide phenomenon. In mature mobile markets, such as the US, France, Sweden, and Germany, in-app mobile ad spending represented 83%, 88%, 90% and 94%, respectively, of ad spend on Smaato’s platform in Q3 2016.

“Smaato credits the increase of in-app mobile advertising to increasing advertiser recognition that people are spending more and more time in their mobile apps and to the unique, superior and more reliable user tracking and targeting characteristics of the in-app mobile environment,” the company says. “On average, in-app eCPMs for publishers are more than two times higher than mobile web eCPMs on Smaato’s platform, a trend that has remained consistent. However, mobile advertising within web browsers is far from dying out, as it still accounts for 19% of all mobile ad spending on the Smaato platform and – while growing significantly more slowly than in-app ad spending – is nonetheless up almost 4% from the same quarter last year. Furthermore, mobile web eCPMs grew more than 10% on average in Q3 2016 versus Q3 2015.”

The post Where is Mobile Ad Spend Growing Fastest? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

This year, Retail TouchPoints is recognizing 11 retail companies that are employing digital innovation and technology across the organization. Each of this year’s winners has strived to satisfy, surprise and delight shoppers in their respective industry segments.

Through a nomination process, the winners were selected based on, but not limited to, four specific criteria:

• Unique shopping/promotional offerings
• Customer engagement strategies
• Customer analysis
• Technology innovation

“These forward-thinking retailers are striving to improve their overall omnichannel approach to customer engagement while maintaining a critical balance,” said Debbie Hauss, Editor-In-Chief of Retail TouchPoints. “This year’s winners are poised to survive by knowing when to pull the trigger on the latest technologies, while continuing to focus on the basics.”

Winners include large and small retail companies in a variety of industry segments, from mattresses and sleepwear to food, books and electronics. This year’s winners are (in alphabetical order):

• Adore Me
• Books-A-Million
• Everlast Worldwide
• Guaranteed Foods
• Guess
• Jet.com
• Kohl’s
• Macy’s
• Samsung
• Serta Simmons
• Suitsupply

Those interested in obtaining further details should visit 11 Retailers Win 2017 Customer Engagement Awards, a feature report which provides additional information on each winner.

About Retail TouchPoints

Retail TouchPoints is an online publishing network for retail executives, with content focused on optimizing the customer experience across all channels. The Retail TouchPoints network is comprised of a weekly newsletter, special reports, web seminars, exclusive benchmark research, an insightful editorial blog, and a content-rich web site featuring daily news updates and multi-media interviews at www.retailtouchpoints.com. The Retail TouchPoints team also interacts with social media communities via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post Retail TouchPoints Announces 2017 Customer Engagement Award Winners appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

With over 10,000 stores and 5 million consumers already connected to the platform worldwide, GK Software now offers North American retailers what it calls “the benefits of incorporating the platform’s business-critical capabilities into their omni-channel strategy.”

The GK crew says that its Mobile Customer Engagement platform turns shoppers’ smartphones into a retailer’s ally by bringing a wealth of consumer-friendly capabilities to a retailer’s established Android or iOS mobile application.

“The simplicity of connecting the application to the retailer’s POS, ERP, CRM and other enterprise systems delivers rapid ROI with minimal business disruption,” the company announced Tuesday.

As for the Mobile Customer Engagement platform’s white-label capabilities, we’re told that they include:

Self-Scanning Using Shoppers’ Smartphones: Consumers can use their smartphones as a self-scanning device to eliminate the traditional pain points of the checkout process.

• Personalized Promotions: Through integration with SAP’s ERP and hybris Marketing, or other existing enterprise systems, GK’s Mobile
• Customer Engagement platform leverages personal shopping history to provide unique offers to consumers as they browse physical or digital storefronts, anywhere and at any time.
• Loyalty Programs: Digital loyalty programs deliver vouchers and rewards on the go, and can entertain campaigns across various suppliers. In tandem with personalized offers, integrated loyalty programs help provide a new level of excitement and value for shoppers.

“GK Software is excited to bring our comprehensive suite of mobile capabilities to the U.S. retail market,” said Michael Jaszczyk, CEO of GK Software USA. “Engaging customers in-store via smartphones is a business-critical component of omni-channel retailing. Retailers can now empower consumers in new and exciting ways, while maintaining complete control through easy integration with their enterprise infrastructure.”

The post GK Software Launches Mobile Customer Engagement Platform appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

And the report’s findings and projections are a must-read for the vast advertising community.

The report, ‘2017 TV & Video Outlook,’ is offered in two regional editions, one focused on the U.K. market and one focused on the North American market.

“In 2016, we saw unprecedented change in the global advertising landscape, with data, automation, quality, transparency and the quest for tangible results taking center stage,” said Scott Ferber, Founder and CEO of Videology. “Yet, we know this sea change is in its early stages. With this in mind, we’ve interviewed some of the industry’s top minds, from some of its most innovative businesses, to find out what they see coming in 2017. The aim of this report is to share their vision of the top challenges, changes and opportunities ahead, so that we can be prepared to achieve the greatest possible success in this shifting media landscape.”

Both reports can be downloaded from the company’s website here.

The post Videology Releases Global ‘2017 TV & Video Outlook’ appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The report, which incorporates research from 200 UK and US marketers, reveals the skills and attributes that marketers feel they need to acquire in order to survive today’s data-centric marketing landscape.

“With 72% of marketers hoping to acquire data analysis skills in the next two years, data management is now considered more vital than social media (65%), web development (31%), graphics design (23%) and search engine optimization (13%),” the report summary reads.

Despite this fact however, 27% of marketers are still handing over the process of data analysis to the IT department.

Anthony Botibol, Marketing Director at BlueVenn said, “In the age of big data, marketers have a better opportunity than ever before to truly understand their customers’ decision making processes. Unfortunately, as it stands, most marketers simply don’t have the time, the knowledge or the tools necessary to undertake this task in a practical and effective way.”

To download the full Customer Data: The Monster Under the Bed? report, click here.

The post BlueVenn Finds Majority of Marketers See Data Analysis More Important than Social Media Skills appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is an exclusive guest contributed post from Vadim Rogovskiy, Clickky‘s CEO and founder.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year for marketing. With the holiday season excitement in the air, people are more eager to spend their money. During Christmas time, mobile marketers tend to double their efforts, trying to explore additional opportunities to reach their clients. More specifically, according to Amazon and Target reports, nearly 60% of their customers were from mobile. And the number is about to increase this year – as with the rise of mobile traffic data we are waiting for mobile purchases to finally beat desktop.

Yet, when it comes to app marketing, there is another side of the coin. With the rise of quantity of ad campaigns, the competition increases and ultimately skyrockets the price for the install. Also, the obvious marketing opportunities of the holiday season campaigns are not the same for different categories. The platform matters as well.

According to Clickky’s ad campaign data, last year Lifestyle, Shopping, and Productivity apps on Android have seen an increase of CPI during the holiday season. Moreover, in January, the Shopping category demonstrated an even greater growth spurt. Finance and eBusiness app owners were much more active in September, and the CPI for those categories was higher.

As for iOS, the data patterns are slightly different: all categories (except Games, Lifestyle, and News & Magazines) have seen an increase in mobile traffic during the holiday season.

The overall comparison by category shows that the most significant cost per install increase was demonstrated by Shopping and Productivity apps. These categories are affected by the seasonal behavior of their customers the most. At the same time, the CPI in Finance, Games, and News & Magazines has shown a major drop down, while the quantity of ad campaigns decreased. Customers’ seasonal behavior doesn’t play such a huge role for these categories, as marketers are less inclined to boost their ad campaigns during the holiday season.

So, with all this data in mind, how to get the maximum from holiday season excitement? There are several simple tips to follow:

Base your approach on your app’s specifics

When adjusting your Christmas campaign approach, take into account the specifics of the industry and the app category. Don’t aimlessly implement strategies and discounts from other industries. What is good for retail might be a disaster for finance. Be sure to customize every idea to your unique situation.

Explore offline opportunities

With the growth of CPI and high competition in e-commerce, it might be a good idea to think again about integrated marketing, and try to explore offline advertising opportunities to reach customers. This might help increase the awareness of your product, as well as broaden your audience, if needed.

Create behavior-based campaigns

Personalization becomes extremely important on Christmas, so it would be wise to tailor ad campaigns to your users’ seasonal behavior. No one buys gifts for themselves during Christmas. While you might know everything about your customers, and have been delivering personalized campaigns throughout the year, you know next to nothing about their friends and family. The only way is to accumulate and analyse year-by-year data, checking what exactly your users are interested in most during the specific time of the year.

Don’t underestimate the power of search

Search results are playing a huge role in marketing success during the holiday season. People are busy, stressed, and short of time and resources. Filters, preferences, and reviews matter. They should be as clear and easy to find, as possible. Don’t forget about showing relevant information and clear calls-to-action.

Be ready for the next year

And the last, but not least: holiday season offers numerous opportunities, and while it might be late to explore everything this year, it is wise to double the efforts for 2017. It is never too early to start preparing for the next year.

So, as there are only few days left before Christmas, it is time to check all the efforts, make some last-minute adjustments to your ad campaigns, and prepare for January, which could be even more productive than December. And don’t forget to gather the data on your user’s behavior this year.

Happy Holidays!

The post Christmas Mobile Traffic Patterns, or How to Get The Most Out of the Holiday Season Ad Campaigns appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“The conventional notion that men are procrastinators when it comes to shopping seems to be holding true again this year,” reports eMarketer. “The gap between men and women isn’t dramatic, but it seems to be pretty steady.”

Retailers nationwide know the scoop and might be wise to do some special targeting of this demographic. A National Retail Federation (NRF) survey early in December revealed that 16.6 percent of men hadn’t begun holiday shopping (the percentage was 13.6 percent for women).

It’s a trend NRF surveys have observed for the past five years. The big excuse, according to the surveys?

“For those who had 50 percent or less of their holiday shopping wrapped up, men tended to cite reasons that smacked of procrastination, saying that they relished the “thrill of last-minute shopping,” or calling holiday shopping “a necessary evil” that they put off for as long as possible,” notes the NRF.

Fortunately for these men, they don’t “have the same shopping responsibility” as women, report analysts.

“The average woman buys Christmas gifts for 5 to 11 people,” said Britt Beemer, chairman and founder of consumer research and consulting firm America’s Research Group, in an interview. “Men buy for one or two. They can wait till the last minute. Men typically allow their wives to buy what they want. You don’t see many fathers buying their children Christmas gifts.”

But Beemer believes that — as more men buy online, and are able to go mobile instead of to physical stores — their shopping timetable could improve.

The post Marketing Madness: Last Minute Retailers’ Holiday Pitches Best Directed at Procrastinating Men appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post from Andrew Gazdecki, the founder and CEO of Bizness Apps — one of the best app makers, making mobile apps affordable and simple for small businesses. 

2017 has arrived, and with this year comes a lot of new mobile technology trends. The year ahead looks exciting for mobile apps and the mobile marketing industry. The rapid pace of advancements in mobile tech have become so common that consumers have become apathetic to its convenience. The simplicity that mobile technology has invited into the lives of people is no longer something consumers rave about; it’s something they expect.

The infographic below (Mobile App Trends for 2017) breaks down the innovation happening in the mobile industry. Here are some of the up and coming trends that you can expect to start seeing emerge in 2017.

• Location based serviced (LBS) will reach new heights
• Augmented reality will begin to enter more mobile apps
• Android Instant Apps will go mainstream
• IoT or “Internet of Things” will begin spreading across industries
• And more…

The post Mobile App Trends to Watch In 2017 appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

This week, MMW was briefed by the FollowAnalytics, a Mobile Marketing Automation and Engagement platform built for the enterprise, about their launch of the 2017 Enterprise Mobile Marketers’ Conference Guide, which is designed “to help marketers identify and prioritize 2017 mobile marketing conferences.”

“One of the biggest challenges of developing a marketing roadmap for the upcoming year is identifying and deciding which conferences to attend and at what level to participate,” said Amy Abascal, Head of US Marketing at FollowAnalytics. “Not only have we already done all of that legwork but we’ve been to just about every mobile marketing conference in the U.S. and EMEA. Rather than keeping our findings tucked in a private Google Sheet, we are sharing our insights on mobile marketing conferences with our fellow marketers.”

This is the second year FollowAnalytics has issued the guide, this week’s announcement explains.

“This year’s edition features 25 conferences and provides an in-depth analysis of the top five events according to the FollowAnalytics marketing team, based on quality of content presented, overall show organization and ROI of attendance,” a provided statement reads. “Over 40 mobile marketing conferences were under consideration for this list. The guide only includes conferences of at least 100 attendees that last for a minimum of one day.”

Listed in chronological order, the conferences that are spotlighted and highly recommend are Mobile FirstLook 2017, Mobile World Congress, Mobile Apps Unlocked, Connect: The Mobile CX Summit, and Mobile Shopping Summit.

To review the guide in full, click here.

The post FollowAnalytics Launches 2017 Enterprise Mobile Marketers’ Conference Guide appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

A recent survey released from the Mobile Marketing Association shows that 75 percent of marketers say they will adopt a multi-touch attribution (MTA) solution by 2019.

However, the report summary notes, the available solutions are not in-line with their performance needs.

The survey, which serves as a baseline of marketers’ intentions, familiarity and experiences with MTA solutions, showed that marketers believe that MTA is potentially a powerful attribution and planning tool.

Marketers believe that, although MTA is now more focused on conversions and sales, in the future it will also help them with upper funnel metrics, with almost 80 percent of marketers reporting that MTA will be the solution providing clarity for both budgeting and agile marketing efforts.

However, despite the promise today’s solutions might offer, marketers are still not confident in today’s vendor offerings, the MMA says. Marketers’ responses indicate there are several areas the vendor community should attempt to address:

• Complex offerings need more transparency: Only one out of four marketers who currently use MTA solutions say they are familiar enough with MTA approaches and methodologies.
• Costs and ROI must be in balance: Marketers need to be convinced that net impact will be positive. While more than half of marketers using MTA solutions believe it drives incremental results, only 40 percent of marketers report that they are convinced that the cost of MTA covers the benefits.

For the marketers who have yet to test MTA solutions, the complexity of the offerings combined with their lack of resources of are the main adoption challenges, the press release notes.

“Brands admit that they need to deepen their teams’ knowledge on attribution solutions, but the black-box approach is leading to hesitation and a lack of trust,” explains Greg Stuart, CEO of the MMA. “The promise of what MTA could deliver to marketers is the reason why we are empowering brands with the tools they need to find the right partner for the right program that meets their brands’ needs. We want to help MTA solution providers build this really important market.”

The post MMA Finds That More Than 75 Percent of Marketers Share This Goal appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.