The following is a guest post by Dan Trigub, VP Business Development at Blue Bite.
As we all know, over the course of the last few years media consumption has been in the midst of a fundamental shift from traditional channels (i.e. TV, Print and Radio) to channels outside of the home. Without question, this trend will only continue in the coming years.
Just recently JCDecaux’s Jeremy Male, Chairman of the Outdoor Media Centre, opened a conference by stating, “OOH [Out-of-Home] is showing a growth of 12.5%, only bettered by TV. Digital now represents 12% of all outdoors advertising…” Garry McGuire, CEO of Reach Media Group (one of the largest digital-out-of-home (DOOH) media networks in the U.S.) recently proclaimed in an article that DOOH advertising in public venues reaches more Americans each month than online videos delivered by Facebook, Hulu, and YouTube combined. Please take a moment to digest that – this is simply staggering. In an age of digital media and DVR technology where viewers fast-forward through commercials and glance over advertisements – the power of utilizing place-based media (whether traditional OOH or DOOH) is immensely more impactful.
The next step and one that I believe is already underway, is the bridging of place based media with the mobile device. In the world today, the mobile phone has become the single most influential decision making device. Thus, the key to reaching people out of their home is going to be through their mobile phone and one of the most important objectives of place-based media will be to trigger the decision-making device at the moment of maximum influence. This will be achieved through the use of varying forms of mobile content delivery technologies and a call-to-action message embedded on the OOH media. The “big” screens around us (whether digital or static) will primarily be responsible for getting us to do something on our “small” screens – our mobile devices (the most personal screens of all).
Just recently Forrester predicted that in 2011 marketers will take the training wheels off mobile programs and start investing in cohesive mobile marketing strategies – setting the stage for the convergence of mobile and place based media. With the stage set, what technologies should marketers and brands deploy to bridge place based media with the mobile phone? Today there are 7 critical mobile platforms and each serve their own underlying function. Let us now take a look at each and evaluate their pros and cons as well as how they should be implemented with place based media:
1. Short Message Service (SMS) – THE MOST UBIQUITOUS FORM OF MOBILE MARKETING
Pros:
- Mass adoption and understanding by consumers
- User initiated interaction
- Ability to activate other forms of media
Cons:
- Mass adoption has created a “spam” image
- Need own shortcode – can be expensive to implement at scale
- Lower level of accountability
Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:
- Implement for large scale campaigns looking to reach a general audience
- Perfect to integrate with other forms of mobile (i.e. send SMS to receive mobile app)
- Works well for localized information (i.e. text shortcode “12345” to receive driving directions to nearest XYZ Movie Theatre)
2. Proximity Marketing (Bluetooth & Internal WiFi Network) – ABILITY TO PUSH CONTENT TO BROAD RANGE OF MOBILE DEVICES
Pros:
- Content is pushed and always free to consumers
- Historically high opt-in rates
- Consumer information is anonymous
- Can reach all types of phones (both traditional and smartphones)
Cons:
- Early unsuccessful campaigns tarnished image of medium
- Blackberry experience is not optimal (Bluetooth)
- Not gateway to internet (closed WiFi network)
- Hardware needs to be deployed at location
Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:
- Works best for campaigns looking to deliver branded content to individuals within a certain location
- Works best when delivering offers that can be redeemed at point of interaction
3. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) – WEB BROWSING OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE PHONE
Pros:
- No hardware integration
- Works across multiple mobile phone platforms
- User can access content anywhere / anytime
Cons:
- Does not generate as much buzz (nobody talks about the great website they just saw)
- Not as personal of an interaction
- Requires data service
Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:
- Works very well when objective of campaign is to drive downloads of a mobile application or to obtain user data through form fields and send additional information later
- Can provide a great extension of placed based media experience on mobile device
4. Social Media – PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH DIGITAL SCREEN AND COMMUNITY
Pros:
- Tremendous amount of social media users among all age groups
- Becoming major sources for the acquisition of content
- Provides ability to monitor, listen, react and measure
Cons:
- Timely to build out DOOH network that is linked to all major social media streams
- Some concerns around privacy and “big brother” image limit full adoption
Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:
- Optimal for brand looking to stir reaction from a community and allow for consumers to influence DOOH content
- Works very well when integrated with SMS and even mobile apps
5. Mobile Applications – FULL BRAND EXPERIENCE AT OOH LOCATION AND BEYOND
Pros:
- Can generate great buzz – viral effect can increase adoption
- Allows you to build a richer experience
- Allows you to take full advantage of native phone features (i.e. camera)
Cons:
- Difficult to obtain the initial download
- Most consumers will not use an app more than once – must offer true utility
- Can be expensive and timely to create and bring to market
Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:
- Optimal for brand looking to extend the OOH experience beyond single location
- Works best when content can be designed to be location-centric – assigned and accessed via specific geographic coordinates and activated when consumer is near OOH location
6. Quick Response (QR) Codes – RICH CONTENT THROUGH “FUN” AND RECOGNIZABLE MEDIUM
Pros:
- Can link consumers to all types of rich media
- Beginning to gain major awareness from consumers
- Easy to deploy and implement across large OOH network
Cons:
- Requires a smartphone with camera and special reader
- Need to be in close vicinity / line-of-sight of QR Code
Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:
- Works great for campaigns looking to drive downloads of mobile application
- Ideal for campaigns that need to be implemented quickly and at low cost
- Great for campaigns looking to drive traffic to a specific mobile webpage
7. Near Field Communication (NFC) – EASY & HYPER-LOCAL EXPERIENCE DELIVERING RICH CONTENT
Pros:
- Very personal interaction with consumer (~4inches from reader)
- Not necessary to pair the device – instantly works
- Many big players (i.e. Google / Apple) adopting technology
Cons:
- Few phones have NFC capability
- Must be extremely close to the display
- Will first be used more for mobile payment than content delivery
Optimal Usage with Place Based Media:
- Display can be tagged with chip that will deliver specific offers / content to targeted customer base
As one can see, the options for bridging place based media and the mobile device can become quickly overwhelming. Unfortunately, where we stand today there is not much that can be done about this as there are a number of underlying factors. These include the large diversity of mobile phones and operating systems available today, varying ease of use across platforms, consumer acceptance, and various content delivery capability among other variables. However, what is clear is that there is no one silver bullet to bridge place based media and the mobile phone.
Marketers need to listen to their brands to determine the objectives of each campaign. With clear objectives, it is imperative that they work hand-in-hand with their OOH and mobile teams to figure out the right solution or combination of solutions for their clients. From there they should find a vendor who can offer a majority if not all forms of convergence since a cohesive and fully integrated campaign will ultimately yield the best results.
About the Author
Dan joined Blue Bite as VP of Business Development in March 2009. Dan is responsible for business development, marketing, operations, finance, and corporate strategy. Dan joins Blue Bite with over 6 years of early stage startup, finance and marketing experience. Most recently Dan held the title of investment banking Associate at GCA Savvian, a firm principally focused on providing M&A advisory and capital markets services globally in the digital media space among others. Previously he worked at Analysis Group, a leading financial, economic and strategy consulting firm in Washington, D.C. Dan has a B.S. in Economics from Vassar College.
Company Website: www.BlueBite.com
Company Media Kit: Blue Bite Media Kit (January 2011)
Email: dan@bluebite.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/datrigub (@datrigub)
