During a discussion at the OnMedia NYC event earlier this week, a panel of mobile marketing and media experts came to the conclusion that mobile advertising is “harder than ever,” citing extreme fragmentation and a plethora of new devices sporting varying technical aspects as the main culprits.
With a fast-moving and ever-changing mobile ecosystem, marketers are quickly realizing that building a successful campaign while wading through the complication of varying device OSs, app stores, methodologies and other levels of fragmentation is proving increasingly difficult. On the other hand, the prospect of much higher click-throughs that mobile advertising promises is hard to deny, so where’s the middle ground?
Knowing your audience and trying not to over-complicate the issue is key in trying to develop a mobile advertising strategy. Instead of having to worry about reaching your entire audience no matter the device or OS they’re using, determine what your base audience is and choose a strategy that reaches the majority of users without killing yourself trying to make sure your campaign reaches every single person.
Good examples of this are advertisers like Samsung, who’s targeting tech-savvy users on smartphones, as opposed to Western Union and Wal-Mart with SMS text campaigns focused on regular phone users. Both brands recognize their audience and are utilizing the best strategy to reach them, without worrying about having a comprehensive strategy that reaches everyone. When you shift your thinking, simplify and focus on the single best way to reach your target audience, the concept becomes much less complicated.
Instead of coming to the close-minded conclusion that mobile advertising is “harder than ever,” you should revel in the fact that it’s actually the easiest it’s ever been, with endless possibilities and potential that no other medium can provide.
