Tag: smartphone marketing

Social media marketing spending over mobile set to take off

| April 10, 2013

Social Media Marketing spendingThe size of budgets designated to reach smartphone and tablet users is expected to climb.

According to a recent survey, the percentage of overall advertising budgets that is expected to be designated for social media marketing, specifically with smartphone using consumers in mind, is expected to explode.

This was reported in the latest CMO Survey, which looked into the types of spending within the budgets.

The survey involved the participation of chief marketing officers of various firms, who reported that they are currently spending an average of 8.4 percent of their overall budgets toward social media marketing. However, within the next year, that number is expected to climb to 11.5 percent of the budgets.

In 5 years, social media marketing will make up 21.6 percent of the budgets, said the survey.

This shift in the way that the funds are being spent and in the importance of social media marketing is expected to become a primary topic in advertising and technology circles. According to the CMO Survey director, Christine Moorman, “Companies are searching for novel ways to interact with their customers that will drive the growth of their companies. Unfortunately, marketers are behind the curve with their current levels of social media expenditure, given the amount of time customers spend engaged with one another and with companies online.”

The research, said Moorman, involved the participation of 468 American marketing execs who identified social media marketing as one of the most important areas for increased spending. These results, she said, show that the importance of this channel is now being heavily recognized. She also pointed out that some of the largest spending increases in this area are expected to take place in some of the business-to-consumer sector giants, such as Coca-Cola and Proctor & Gamble.

The survey showed that among companies of this nature, social media marketing spending will rise from an average 9.6 percent of the budget at the moment, to 24.6 percent of the budget in five years from now.

In Moorman’s news release, she stated that companies are still trying to figure out how to be able to measure the efficacy of their social media marketing campaigns.

Mobile marketing tech added to Costco print magazine

| April 8, 2013

Mobile Marketing CostcoAds with scannable watermarks have been added to the pages which link to smartphone friendly content.

Costco has decided to add mobile marketing to its printed monthly magazine by adding a watermark on the pages that can be scanned with a smartphone in order to access content that they feel consumers will find relevant, interesting, and helpful.

Though the content in the magazine, itself, hasn’t changed, it will allow the company to provide more information.

The mobile marketing watermarks can be scanned by readers who are interested in the subject to which the marks are connected, in order to access smartphone and tablet friendly content on that topic or product. This marks an important technological advancement for the Costco Connection magazine.

This mobile marketing technique is one that is rapidly growing throughout the print industry.

This particular mobile marketing program is implemented through the Digimarc Discover Intuitive Computer Platform from Digimarc Corp. It allows transparent digital watermarks to be embedded into print advertising and editorial content. The April issue is the first to include this feature.

The watermark being used for this mobile marketing can be used in a way that is very similar to the highly popular QR code. The consumer downloads a free scanner app onto his or her smartphone or tablet. The camera of the device is then aimed at the watermark, and the application automatically detects the image and directs the user to the appropriate page on the device’s browser. This instantly connects the consumer with the web-based content that is relevant to the topic on the scanned page.

According to Costco’s own figures, there are 8.6 million readers of its magazine. The Digimarc Discover app will allow those readers to use their smartphones to access over 50 unique watermarks per issue, including in the April edition. They link readers to videos, product information, store data, and even have mobile commerce features that allow readers to make a purchase over their smartphone or tablet.

The assistant vice president of publishing and the magazine’s editor, David Fuller, made a statement about the mobile marketing strategy, saying that “Many of our members are already browsing The Costco Connection with their mobile phones and tablets sitting nearby.”