Melissa: Welcome to eM+C’s third eChat. Today we’re going to be discussing mobile marketing programs. Anyone can comment: What types of mobile marketing campaigns have you executed?

Ted: 4INFO has executed a lot on both sides of the fence. We buy a fair bit of mobile media and sell the ad space on our own content.
Josh: We have used [short message service] as a call to action, mobile banners, mobile search and some custom applications for our clients.
Alex: We have mobile product search campaigns.
Josh: We actually have used Alex’s product for our clients.
Ted: We have had a lot of success promoting mobile alerts (like celebrity alerts) through sources such as Google Mobile and AdMob. Those are mostly text campaigns on [wireless application protocol] search and content pages.
Alex: Yes, one of our campaigns was with ID Media for helping consumers find Nikon cameras at their local stores.
David: We execute both promotional and CRM campaigns in many verticals: carriers, music, radio, TV, sports teams brands …
Ted: Were those all mobile Internet campaigns?
David: Scavenger hunts with opt-in objectives have been popular recently, many with integrated [interactive voice response] elements as part of the hunt and/or just entertainment/promotion.
Alex: In our case, it runs across SMS, wireless Web and applications that are GPS-enabled.

Melissa: In your opinion(s), what are the key benefits to using mobile?
Josh: There are several different options for utilizing mobile, but marketers need to have a strong understanding of their objectives and goals for a mobile-based campaign.
David: [I] agree with Josh — mobile augments (or should) the chance of meeting/exceeding existing objectives (which often don’t exist).
Ted: Targeting, interactivity and immediacy are great reasons to get into mobile advertising right now.
Josh: I think engaging a user in a unique way is a key benefit. The difficulty is you need to make sure there is an added benefit to the consumer when they are interacting with mobile devices.
Ted: But I think one element that is often overlooked is cost. We have found it to be a great way to drive a responsible [cost-per-action] on mobile products.
Alex: Agreed … it is a tool for marketers to complement existing campaigns and bring those projects to a more personal level.
Josh: We have found that cost is often a hindrance in moving forward with a mobile campaign. Many times the level of responses won’t pay out based on the high upfront costs. Especially with SMS and banners.
Ted: It engages a different audience, too. We have had a lot of success reaching the 20- to 30-year-old demographic.
Ted: Regarding costs, if you get started with ads on a service like AdMob, where [there] is no minimum buy and it is all [cost-per-click], you can get going pretty cheaply and optimize quickly.
Josh: While CPC may be a tactic, you also have to look at conversion after the click. We have seen varied results, but conversion can be a problem.
Ted: We have found you need to optimize quickly though. It can suck up some money if you are not managing it.

Melissa: What are some challenges facing marketers getting into mobile?
Alex: Education. More often than not marketers are given conflicting information about what is possible, how long execution will take and how many users they should expect to engage.