Tag: smartphone marketing

Mobile marketing report released by Millennial Media

Millennial Media, a mobile advertising firm, has released its latest 2012 SMART report, which highlights the trends that have emerged in the mobile marketing sector over the past year. Mobile devices are becoming more common, which has increased activity in the mobile marketing sector exponentially. More advertisers are looking to engage consumers through their mobile devices, and mobile marketing campaigns have been very successful in doing this in the past. Many advertisers are looking to maintain a strong presence in mobile marketing, but have been faced with significant challenges over the past year.

Advertisers using mobile marketing to maintain in-market presence

According to the report, 39% of advertisers around the world used mobile platforms in order to maintain their in-market presence. Mobile marketing is not only considered an effective way to engage consumers and encourage them to purchase new products; it is also an effective means of ensuring that consumers do not forget that particular products are available. Using mobile marketing to maintain in-market presence has proven somewhat successful for many advertisers, helping them sustain a constant connection with a wide range of consumers.

Brick-and-mortar store traffic on the decline

The report also shows that mobile marketing is being used to build brand awareness and drive traffic to websites. Relatively few marketers are using mobile marketing campaigns to promote in-store traffic. Those that are pushing in-store traffic are primarily operating within the restaurant and retail industries. While advertisers have found some success in driving consumer traffic to actual stores, many consumers prefer to shop using their smartphones and tablets, which has had a marked impact on the retail sector as a growing number of people opt to use their mobile devices to purchase products rather than visit an actual store.

Mobile commerce helping offset the decline of physical traffic for retailers

While physical traffic for retailers may be on the decline, the prevalence of mobile commerce has offset whatever losses retailers would see from this trend. Consumers are eager to purchase products through e-commerce sites, which has helped the retailer industry see impressive gains over the past year. Mobile commerce is expected to help retailers see promising growth in several sectors, as long as these retailers provide consumers with easy-to-use mobile commerce services.

Lucky Charms is using mobile to go beyond traditional “prizes” to appeal to adult consumers.

In its most recent mobile marketing campaign, General Mills has created an augmented reality app for its Lucky Charms cereal that sends adult consumers on a “Chase for the Charms.”

This app allows mobile device users to go on a virtual hunt for marshmallow treats.

The goal of the augmented reality game is to reach the end of the rainbow with Lucky the Leprechaun. The cereal manufacturer released a video as a teaser for the app ahead of its launch, which is St. Patrick’s Day.

The augmented reality campaign is linked to the holiday that is known for its similar theme of Irish lore.

On St. Patrick’s Day, users will be able to tap on their mobile device screens when they use the augmented reality application, to capture Lucky the Leprechaun’s charms as they appear before them. The charms use AR technology to look as though they are located in the real world. As an incentive, the company is also offering prizes based on the number and type of charms that were collected.

Among the instant prizes are t-shirts, a cereal dispenser, or a chance to appear as an animated character in an upcoming ad for the product. The grand prize is a pot of actual gold that is valued at $10,000.

Behind the augmented reality campaign is the creative agency called Saatchi & Saatchi. The app itself was the creation of Ogmento. The app itself is being heavily marketed. On Friday, mash-up music video was released, featuring several of the classic advertisements for the cereal. The video itself was performed by John Boswell, who is better known as “Melodysheep”, and who is otherwise recognized for his Julia Child tribute.

This new mobile marketing campaign is the latest effort by the brand – now 49 years old – to reach out to adults who had grown up with the cereal and who are now using smartphones and tablets and are receptive to the augmented reality experience. The strategy was started last year with a television ad which has since broadly expanded to include the AR technology.