Month Eleven – Mobile Marketing and Commerce
This class is one of the first of its kind and it is constantly evolving. We were taught about the history and future of mobile marketing. We focused heavily on cellular evolution and how to best use advertising mediums of the future in order to enhance your business.
One assignment we had for the class was to compare three different media delivery methods:
New media delivery methods are constantly being developed as technology evolves. There are often advantages to the new technology compared to older technology, such as greater interactivity or a brand new way to deliver content. When adapting to new media outlets we are not only presented with new opportunities, but also challenges. Three media outlets that substantially changed how media is distributed are radio, television and the Internet.
Prior to the invention of radio there was no way to get remotely broadcasted content into your home. In order to listen to music you would have to either attend live concerts or listen to records. One of the advantages of radio was that it exposed people to new music. Record companies were initially skeptical to radio. They feared that record sales would plummet as the public would no longer have to purchase records in order to listen to songs. The effect on record sales actually turned out to be the opposite. Songs that got a lot of radio exposure had increased record sales.
The invention of radio did not completely replace existing music delivery methods such a records and live concerts. Live concerts provide a sound and experience a radio cannot reproduce. Records remained popular because it gave the end user more control than with the radio since they control what songs they wanted to listen to and when.
Radio was a great media outlet for advertisers as it reached consumers directly in their home. A challenge advertisers may have faced is trying to convert print and movie ads to a format that translated well over radio. If the content sounded dull or bland a potential customer would likely just switch to another channel. One lesson learned from radio advertising is that content delivered to the consumer has to be relevant and interesting; otherwise it will be ignored.
Another medium that brought broadcasted content into homes and businesses was television. After it’s inception consumers could for the first time in history watch movies and broadcasts from the comfort of their own home. Prior to its invention people had to go to the theaters in order to watch movies. Television did of course not completely replace movie theaters as people still enjoy going to the movies for various reason including a bigger picture, better sound, ‘movie experience’, and earlier release dates.
A new marketing opportunity that presented itself through television was the ability to have both picture and sound with the advertisements. For the first time consumers were presented with visuals of products in the environment of their own home. As television evolved the number of channels increased, spawning niche channels with a very target demographic. An example of this would be a golf channel. Through niche channels advertisers are able to reach a very specific demographic. A challenge advertisers may have faced when first developing TV ads is the difficulty of keeping them relevant and entertaining. The general public typically hates advertisements. They are quick to change the channel if an advertisement bores them. I think one lesson learned from television ads is the power of rich media content. An example of this would be a restaurant chain telling a story about the experience of its restaurants while displaying its tasty products. The consumer is more likely to purchase a product they can see, than one they only hear about (Cebrzynski, 2008). As mobile technologies become more advanced this delivery of rich content can be carried over to mobile devices.
Another technology that revolutionized the way we receive and interact with media is the Internet. Unlike radio and television the Internet allows for two-way communications. We are now in direct control of what content we want to receive. The Internet did not replace any of the traditional media outlets.
A marketing opportunity that presented itself with the invention of the Internet was the ability to deliver targeted ads to the users browsing. An example of this are the context based text-ads provided by Google Adsense. They automatically target keywords found within the content of a website. A challenge advertisers may have faced is designing ads with two-way communication and interactivity in mind. I think a lesson learned from Internet advertisements that can be carried over to mobile is that ads that engage the user interactively are more likely to get their attention.
In conclusion, TV, Radio and the Internet provided new opportunities for advertisers. Even though they were faced with new challenges they learned to adapt and utilize the new media outlets to their full potential. As new technologies evolve advertisers will continue to embrace them.
With the knowledge gained from this class I now know how to take advantage of text messaging campaigns in order to achieve highly effective targeted marketing.
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