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Mobile marketing cookie cutter strategies fail in emerging markets

| February 4, 2014

The latest smartphone statistics are showing that advertisers can’t use a one size fits all mentality.

Smartphones are rapidly becoming one of the best ways for brands to be able to communicate an interact with consumers in a relevant way, as mobile marketing techniques become better understood and employed, but marketers are discovering that there is no single solution to reaching everyone.Cookie Cutter Marketing Strategies Failure

There are massive opportunities through smartphone advertising, but a cookie cutter strategy does not exist.

While promotions and ads over smartphones can be extremely effective in emerging markets, mobile marketing firms have come to note that when focusing on emerging markets, they must not only work on engaging consumers, but also in converting new customers. Among the emerging markets where the growth has been greatest are Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. In those markets, mobile ad revenues have risen by over 60 percent, year over year.

It is clear that these are very promising areas for mobile marketing, provided that it is done correctly.

The latest projections are that these markets will make up the majority of mobile connections within three years from now. Marketers are boosting their advertising budgets in order to focus on these customers and reach them through their smartphones. This is especially true in the areas in which there is a rapidly growing middle class. The reason is that it is building the number of people who have a disposable income.

In these emerging markets, the use of mobile devices is considerably greater than that of laptops and desktops. In fact, smartphones are used broadly over tablets. The reason is that they did not have the infrastructure or disposable income available for widespread computer use as developed nations saw those machines become ubiquitous. Therefore, targeting consumers over smartphones is essentially the only way to go when it comes to digital marketing in those regions.

The key is to avoid the belief that mobile marketing in the West and in these markets can be conducted in the same way. Duplicating campaigns leads to a direct failure in emerging markets, nearly every time.

Augmented reality launched on buses in Scotland

| February 3, 2014

Passengers on public transit in Aberdeen are now taking advantage of new technology based entertainment.

Commuters taking the public transit buses in Aberdeen, Scotland now have a brand new augmented reality experience available to them that will allow them to gain a great deal more entertainment out of their rides.Scotland Buses - Augmented Reality

Through the use of mobile devices, they can now enjoy high tech entertainment while onboard.

Using smartphones and tablets, passengers on these Scottish are able to open up an interactive video channel that gives the viewer the choice to view a range of different content, including information about the transit services, interviews with staff, movie trailers, and even the ability to purchase tickets or surf the web.

There are 35 First Aberdeen buses that have been equipped with this augmented reality feature.

To make this service more readily available to a larger number of mobile devices, the buses also feature free WiFi for riders. This initiative has been generating a considerable amount of activity from passengers. In fact, since it first launched in November, there have been thousands of individuals who have accessed the content available through this AR channel.

All that riders need to do to access the AR material is to follow the instructions on the bus seat backs for downloading the free First Scotland app from Google Play or the Apple App Store. The app makes it possible to aim the mobile device at the seat back to trigger the video channel so that it can be streamed into the smartphone or tablet.

According to the General Manager of First Aberdeen, Duncan Cameron, “Our new augmented reality channel brings our seat backs to life and I hope makes bus travel that little bit more interesting and enjoyable.” He also went on to say that the transit system believes that they are the first company of that nature around the globe that has implemented AR tech on the backs of bus seats in order to help to encourage ridership on their vehicles. The sheer number of uses that the feature has seen until now has revealed the type of interest that this can, indeed, draw.